Some Draft Notes

Here’s a list of our draftees from today (via Bryan Hoch):

Round 1: Gerrit Cole, RHP, Orange Lutheran High School, Orange, Calif. Cole tops out in the high-90s and sits in the mid-90s with his fastball, and he could project as either a starter or a reliever when he begins his professional career. He was 8-2 with a 0.46 ERA as a high school senior.

Compensation Round A: Jeremy Bleich, LHP, Stanford University: Bleich was 2-2 with a 1.09 ERA in five games for Stanford as a junior. He also played with the USA Junior National team in 2005 and earned Cape Cod League All-Star honors while playing for the Wareham Gatemen in 2006.

Round 2: Scott Bittle, RHP, University of Mississippi: Bittle was 7-1 with a 1.78 ERA and eight saves coming out of the bullpen for Ole Miss in 2008. In 70 2/3 innings, he allowed 35 hits and 15 runs (14 earned), walking 30 and striking out 130. A product of Texarkana, Texas, Bittle also lettered two years at Northeast Texas Community College and was named an All-Conference selection.

Round 3: David Adams, 2B, University of Virginia: Adams is a hard-nosed type who has drawn comparisons to Jeff Kent as an offensive player who is steady defensively. Adams hit .286 (66-for-231) with six home runs and 51 RBIs in 61 games for the Cavaliers in 2008. He was taken by the Detroit Tigers in 2005.

Round 4: Corban Joseph, SS, Franklin (Tenn.) High School: The left-handed-hitting Joseph has a slick glove and is a Kentucky signee. He hit .510 this season with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs at Franklin, striking out five times in 135 at-bats.

Round 5: Christopher Smith, LF, Centennial (Calif.) High School: Smith is a product of the MLB Academy program out of Compton, Calif., where he refined his tools and was selected as the RBI Player of the Year. He hit .708 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs in 72 at-bats this year for Centennial. A well-rounded athlete, Smith also played quarterback and point guard in football and basketball, respectively.

Round 6: Brett Marshall, RHP, Ross Sterling (Tex.) High School: Marshall has increased his velocity from 87-88 mph a year ago to 96 mph this year, and he also features a plus slider and a changeup. He’s relatively new to pitching, but with two plus pitches, he represents an interesting pick for New York.

The Yanks went heavy on pitching and they were able to grab Cole, who was their biggest target. He’s a tremendous arm although he has been described as overly emotional when pitching on the mound. However, Oppenheimer knows what he’s doing and takes into account a player’s ability to pitch under bright lights (makeup), so I’m sure the team did some research on this issue.

Also, for their 44th pick, the Yanks scooped up Jeremy Bleich. The Bleich pick was sort of a surprise for everyone. However, to his credit, he is a lefty with solid stuff and those guys don’t just grow on trees (see C.C. Sabathia, although I’m not saying Bleich is a pitcher like Sabathia). Bleich is an injury risk, but he could be a solid big league starter or even a great reliever.

I was going to do an in-depth sort of analysis of each player, but Peter Abraham (LoHud) has actually posted up some great analyses, mini-projections, texts, reads and evaluations of the drafted talent. I encourage you to check in with him, because he’s covered these guys well all day and has really done a great job.

Jonny Gomes is at it again…

From the AP (via Yahoo):

Ellsbury, who started the game in left and moved to center after Coco Crisp was ejected following a benches-clearing brawl in the second inning, dove to his right and rolled his wrist while making the grab. He walked off the field, holding his right hand, with manager Terry Francona and trainer Paul Lessard.

Red Sox spokesman John Blake said X-rays were taken at Fenway Park. The X-rays were negative and Ellsbury is day to day.

Kevin Youkilis entered the game in right field and J.D. Drew moved to center.

Crisp charged the mound after he was hit on the right hip by Rays starter James Shields. The two were ejected along with Tampa Bay DH Jonny Gomes, who raced from the dugout, jumped on a pile and threw punches at Crisp.

Never mind Coco “How am I still in Boston” Crisp, that Jonny Gomes is a class act, huh? I wonder if they’ll take his history into account when penalizing him? He seems to jump into situations that have nothing to do with him (he’s more of an escalator than an enforcer). Oh yea, so while Boston and Tampa Bay beat up on each other, they’re actually helping the Yankees maintain an even keel in the AL East. Boston’s even doing some of our dirty work for us, taking the wind out of Tampa’s sails (they’re winning 7-1).

UPDATE – Apparently, even the Sox were fighting within their own dugout (Manny Ramirez VS. Kevin Youkilis). I wonder what that was about? It was right after a big bottom of the 4th and I know Manny got on base and drove in a couple while Youkilis was out (but that doesn’t seem like it would have anything to do with it). Both players were unavailable for comments afterwards.

Holy Dirty Mustache Batman!

It looks like the stash will continue to live on.

Back later with some draft analysis…

Breaking News: Yanks & Cashman to Discuss Extension

Hank Steinbrenner told Ed Price (Star Ledger) that he intends on discussing a possible extension with GM, Brian Cashman, this week in Florida (Cashman has been visiting for draft matters). Cashman’s future has been sort of, up in the air, so to speak, as many people feel that he maybe getting tired of working under the Steinbrenner family. However, when asked about Cashman’s future, Hank Steinbrenner made it clear that Cashman seems willing to stay and that the Steinbrenners would like him to stay.

We’ll hear more on this as the week comes to a close, I’m sure (and just because they’re discussing contracts doesn’t mean anything will get done). Stay tuned…

Mechanical Wang

I’m sitting here watching Chien-Ming Wang get absolutely rocked by the Blue Jays (an embarassing miscue by Melky didn’t help him any, but that’s besides the point), and I’m wondering what it will take to snap him out of his current funk (this is becoming a reoccurring issue with key players, apparently). The Yankees, at this pace, cannot afford to lose to AL East opponents with their ace on the mound, although they’re lucky the Rays and Sox are beating up on each other.

They should hope that this slump by Wang, which has been brought on by poor mechanics, won’t continue from this point on. He’s their #1 starter, no matter what a hateful Yankee fan might tell you, and he is currently in the worst stretch of his career (4.57 ERA). However, he can bounce right back once he regains that arm slot and gets that sinker down. The Yankees need him more than ever and he’s going to have to right his ship and do it quickly (Dave Eiland, get to work).

Cano’s Troubles Continue

Jim Baumbach at Newsday has an interesting read on Robinson Cano and his season-long swoon. Although Cano has shown flashes of his former self throughout the season (hitting .295 in May), he has yet to put together a truly solid campaign. He’s an early season struggler, however, his numbers have never been this low before, not this late into the season (his SLG and OBP are miserable). One has to wonder, what’s up with Robbie?

Baumbach delves into a variety of explanations, and although the range is wide, the explanations are all mental, as opposed to mechanical problems. Whether Cano is worried about his cousin, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, or if he’s trying to justify his new contract (something Larry Bowa feels is the cause to Cano’s troubles), or if he’s pressing because he’s trying to play in the All-Star Game (seriously), these all seem like factors that are significantly contributing to his lack of production. They are all relevant to the problem and need to be addressed.

Worrying about your cousin is one thing, but if these other issues are, indeed, truly bothering Cano, someone is going to have to sit down and really talk to him. He has demonstrated, through his relationship with Larry Bowa, that he needs some brutally honest advice every now and then (a swift kick in the right direction). We cannot wait until the AS Game passes by for Robinson Cano to start hitting.

Jeter’s Place in History

With Derek Jeter’s 2,614th hit in yesterday’s game against the Jays, Jeter surpassed Mickey Mantle on the all-time hits list for Yankee players. His name now rests between legends, as he passes Mantle but still faces some stiff competition from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Here’s what the captain had to say about the historic achievement (which was, to many of us, a touching moment):

“My name doesn’t fit up there,” he said. “It sounds funny, doesn’t it? Just playing on the same team as those guys is pretty special.”

The funny thing is, he’s right. It doesn’t sound like it fits as of now, but guess what? In 20, 30, maybe even 40 years from the day Jeter retires, nobody will ever look at that list and make that same statement. All it will take is time as his newly minted name will grow old and his legend will simply build and build. By then, Derek Jeter’s name will most certainly “fit”.