Hank Having Second Santana Thoughts

Jon Heyman (SI) has a nice read out on Brian Cashman and Hank Steinbrenner. Although relatively short, the text is simply packed with information. Here are a few key points:

• Hank is upset with Cashman over Hughes and IPK. He’s reportedly having second thoughts about the non-Santana deal and “can’t get over it” says one source.
• Cashman has dealt with this type of thing before and knows that he himself has a lot riding on Hughes and IPK. However he acknowledges that their performance or value cannot be judged until further down the road.
• Gene Michael was one of the only people in the Yankee organization that thought dealing for Johan Santana was the right move (instead of keeping Hughes or IPK).
• Hal Steinbrenner is, according to Heyman, a big fan of Brian Cashman and he supports Cashman’s decisions. In the end, people within the organization think that the Steinbrenner and Cashman will work out their issues, come to an agreement and solidify their future relationship (meaning a new contract for Cash).

Interesting stuff. Steinbrenner’s blatant pouting has been somewhat embarrassing for the entire Yankee franchise. Also, publicly rethinking and revisiting the Santana trade isn’t going to help him feel any better when Santana squares off against the Yankees tonight (nor will it instill confidence in Hughes or IPK in the immediate future or down the road). What’s done is done and Brian Cashman he’ll have to live with it, at least until the next big trade candidate comes around.

Kennedy Defends Himself

From the NY Daily News:

“I felt like I was ready; I threw that one start (at Triple-A) and felt like I had the right mind-set,” Kennedy said. “Tonight doesn’t show it, but I felt like I was mentally a lot different. I was attacking guys.”

IPK only walked one guy tonight, which is fine with me and I thought he looked slightly better after a one-game stint in the minors. I feel like he should have stayed down there for at least one more start, but I guess now is the time for him to figure it out at the top level. He had a couple of poorly placed fastballs that got hit on the screws (one by Riggans comes to mind), but he did last 5 and had an economical pitch count (78 pitches). He’ll learn as he goes from this point on and the Yankee offense will have to show up to give the kid a breather next time. He’s still searching for that elusive first win in 2008.

Conflicting Reports on McCutchen

Earlier today, I reported some information from George King III about Daniel McCutchen. McCutchen was reportedly headed to Triple-A; however, Jeff Nalbone of the NJ Star Ledger spoke with Mark Newman, the VP of baseball operations for the Yanks and, apparently, McCutchen is staying put for now (AA). So we have a conflicting report on McCutchen’s status but I’ll keep you updated when we find out more.

(Thanks to Chad Jennings at the SWB Yankees Blog).

Revisiting a Familiar Place

The Yankees are back in last place (AL East) and it’s a position that is strangely familiar to them, especially at the beginning of the season. The team’s pitching has been decent, with a couple of rough outings mixed in here and there, but Wang, Rasner and Moose have been doing their jobs. The offense just has not delivered at all and even without Posada or A-Rod, the team should be putting up better numbers.

Joe Girardi sums it up with the following quote:

“You look at a guy like Kazmir today, and he threw 50 fastballs in a row,” Girardi said. “We get one hit. That’s not good. We’re a better hitting club than this. They threw the ball well and did the things well that have to be done to win three out of four. We did not.”

The lineup has just hasn’t hit anything that its supposed to hit. Girardi is totally right. Matt Garza did the exact same thing to the Yankees a few days ago, throwing almost nothing but fastballs yet somehow, the Yankees who are a good fastball hitting club, could not mount anything against him. It’s just frustrating for everyone, whether its the players, coaches or the fans, nothing seems to be working offensively and we all seem to be waiting on A-Rod to inject some sort of life into this stagnant group of powerless hitters.

To show you how bad the Yankees are offensively, let’s look at the AL league leader in RBI, Josh Hamilton. Hamilton has had an extraordinary season, driving in 44 runs while hitting .293 (he hits cleanup for Texas). Now, our cleanup hitter, Hideki Matsui, has been batting either in the cleanup spot or around the 5th spot (he started off the season either 6th or 7th). Hideki Matsui is hitting absolutely everything and his average is at .317. He’s hitting .273 with RISP and .308 with RISP and 2 outs. Yet, while hitting at such a high clip in the cleanup role for the NY Yankees, Hideki Matsui has… wait for it—18 RBI. Compare that to the league leading Josh Hamilton and his 44 RBI (Jose Guillen of the KC Royals has 1 more RBI than Matsui and he’s hitting .217 on the season).

How is this happening? What’s going on? Could it be Johnny Damon’s streaky ways (he had 1 measly hit against the Rays)? Maybe it’s Bobby Abreu’s declining eye? How about those endless lineup changes by Joe Girardi? Maybe it’s just the aging lineup in general? Eh, it’s hard to tell anymore, but these guys need to figure something out soon before it’s too late. It’s still early, however the team looks dead on their feet and when you can’t hit a fastball, something is wrong.

Matt Holliday Could Become Available?

From Ken Rosenthal (FOX Sports):

The Rockies, 10 games back in the NL West, almost certainly would consider trading Holliday, knowing they stand little chance of keeping him long-term. Holliday, 28, could be this year’s Mark Teixeira — a Scott Boras client traded with a year-plus remaining on his contract by a team seeking value for a franchise-type player. The Rockies signed Holliday to a two-year, $23 million deal in January, but could lose him as a free agent after the 2009 season and receive only draft picks in return. After overcoming an 18-27 start last season, the Rockies will not give up on their season easily, not when they are 15-25 with essentially the same team. Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, however, is out until the All-Star break with a leg injury, and the NL appears stronger than it was last season. The Rockies rank 13th in the league in runs and 15th in ERA.

Rosenthal then goes on to list the Yankees as a possible suitor for Holliday, although they would have to trade Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui in order for that to work (and pitching is currently a bigger need). A better way to make it work would probably involve dropping Giambi completely and moving Damon to 1B so that Holliday could slot in at LF, but that probably wouldn’t happen.

I usually wouldn’t entertain this idea, especially with a Coors Field guy, but Holliday broke out in a big way last year, putting together phenomenal home numbers and exceptional numbers on the road. If he’s available, the Yankees should definitely think about pursuing him (even if he wants a big extension). With Bobby Abreu headed for FA after the season, it could be the best move for the ballclub (Holliday is only 28). Yes, the Rockies would wan’t a lot of pitching talent in return, but after the Johan Santana situation that came and went, do you think that will really stop Hank Steinbrenner from a big move? Also, stockpiling so many bullpen arms and young starters has given the Yankees an excellent set of trading chips that the Rockies would love (they can’t all play for the Yankees).

A-Return is Near

A-Rod ran the bases well today and has been cleared to participate in some rehab games before he makes his way back to the team. Let’s hope he’s 100% when he comes back, because, as you can tell from watching the Tampa Bay game right now, the Yankees could use a big bat (a right bat especially).

A-Rod Supports Manny’s Trek to 500

Here’s a nice tidbit from George King III (NY Post):

Though Alex Rodriguez eyes a return from the disabled list Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, Rodriguez said he understands he set himself up for a vicious booing by Red Sox fans for helping friend Manny Ramirez celebrate when Ramirez hits his 500th home run.

“Manny wanted four people to make a video for him, and I was one of them,” Rodriguez said. “I filmed it last week.”

What does Rodriguez say to his friend upon entering the fraternity Rodriguez joined last year?

“I said, ‘Manny, I am going to make this brief because I am going to get booed. Congratulations and many more.’ “

With the Red Sox starting a seven-game home stand tomorrow night, there is a good chance Ramirez will reach the magic number.

That’s pretty cool. I’m looking forward to Manny’s 500th HR.

McCutchen Promoted

I haven’t written much on Daniel McCutchen (click here for a great scouting report by Pending Pinstripes), another solid (yet slightly older) pitching prospect had by the NY Yankees. McCutchen is an aggressive right hander and his numbers in Trenton have been pretty impressive. The Yankees have contemplated using Danimal, as he’s called, in the big league pen, and may have taken a step in that direction as George King notes in today’s NY Post that McCutchen has been promoted to Scranton (Triple-A ball). We could see him by the end of the year in some capacity.

A Very Yankee Graduation

From the NY Post:

A graduating New York University student was ejected from his commencement at Yankee Stadium yesterday after he was caught trying to steal home.

William Lopez, 21, of Manhasset, LI, was among 6,000 students who sat in the box seats behind home plate and along the first base and third base lines at the first graduation to take place at the House that Ruth Built.

NYU, which held its 176th commencement at the storied stadium because of construction at Washington Square Park, had a strict ground rule.

“The students had been repeatedly advised . . . that they were strictly prohibited from being on the field,” said NYU spokesman John Beckman.

About three-quarters of the way through the ceremony, Lopez, wearing his gown and mortarboard, leaped over the right-field fence onto the field.

He sprinted across the outfield behind second base and made it to third, as many in the crowd, which also included 20,000 guests, cheered him on.

Lopez, a Yankee and Met fan, turned for home as stadium security and NYPD cops tackled him just feet from his goal.

“I was trying to make it to home plate,” Lopez told The Post after he was issued a summons for trespass. “I wanted to do a head-first dive. I almost made it, only 10 feet to go.”

The Tisch School of the Arts grad said cops told him, “You ruined your graduation, and I said, ‘Are you kidding me? The crowd was cheering me on.’ “

Lopez’s father, Bob Lopez, said when he saw the figure running on the field, “My wife asked, ‘Could that be William?’ I said, ‘No. That kid’s an athlete.”

His son said, “This is the first and last graduation at Yankee Stadium. There’s no better stage than this.’ “

But Beckman said that “the Yankees were very gracious hosts and we were grateful to be allowed to be there, and it is always disappointing to us when one member of our community thinks there’s a special set of rules for him or her.”

What a great place for a graduation. Yankee Stadium is renting itself out this year, I mean, the Pope, the AS Game, hockey games, graduations, bah mitzvahs (probably), you name it. I actually applaud this guy for trying to touch home plate. Only million dollar fingers ever get to feel that dish, so you can’t be mad at him for trying.

A-Quad Progressing

A-Rod’s quad strain, which has progressed slowly from a Grade 2 to a Grade 1 strain, is almost “there” in terms of his rehab. The strain has healed well, thus far, and A-Rod’s next step will be to run the bases before tonight’s game against the Rays. Hopefully, everything will be in order and then he’s expected to play in a few rehab games before making his way back to the team (they’re dying to have him back). A-Rod’s strain was diagnosed as Grade 1 strain on Monday and ever since he’s been participating in fielding drills and batting practice. The Yankees have taken it slow with A-Rod and we’ll see if their pace was slow enough come tomorrow.

Cashman Speaks On Steinbrenner Situation

Brian Cashman responded to Hank Steinbrenner today with the following (via Tyler Kepner):

“All I know is, I agree that we’re not performing up to our ability for this period of time, and we are better than this,” Cashman said. “Every day we take the field, I believe it’s the day we’re going to be closer to getting back on track. Right now, I believe this is just a bad stretch. We’re a good team playing poorly right now, nothing more.”

When asked about Steinbrenner’s comments pertaining to changes next year (”by force” if need be), Cashman said that he’s not worried about his status with the club and that he’s only concerned with 2008. I don’t think that the “force” comment really pertains to Cashman (although Kepner does), especially since it’s Cashman’s ultimate decision as to where he’ll be in 2009. When asked about trades, Cash also said that the club will fix itself from within (like we haven’t heard that before) and that the team doesn’t really need extra help, they just have to perform up to their best abilities.

There’s nothing really new here. The Yanks are just dealing with some typical Steinbrenner bluster and they’re offering up the same old regurgitated responses. It definitely looks like we’re in for an interesting season. I wonder how Hank will react when (or if) we actually start winning a lot of games? Could silence actually be a possibility? Let’s keep our fingers crossed…

Yes You Can

Mike Mussina earned his keep tonight, pitching 6.1 beautiful innings of 5-hit, 1 run ball while making the giddy Tampa Bay lineup look fairly foolish with his slick mixture of yo-yo pitches and circus curves. Moose has now won 5 games in a row and is 6-3 a month into the season. He’s been even more than the Yankees were hoping for from a “declining” (or maybe we should say, changing) 39-year old. To nail it all down, Ross Ohlendorf, Joba Chamberlain (3 K’s in 1 IP), and Mariano Rivera (rebound) solidified the win and the Yankee pen continues to impress.

The offense, despite looking like they’ve been asleep while in the batter’s box, came alive just in time and just enough to score 2 for Mussina against the exceptional James Shields. Robinson Cano’s bat also showed that he’s pretty much out of his slump, going 4-for-4 (with an RBI), and leaving the game with an above-200 AVG (.205). Maybe it was the closed doors chat that Joe Girardi had with his club or maybe they were merely reacting to Hank Steinbrenner’s recent comments, especially since he himself was at the game. Either way, the bats worked when they had to and the Yankees won a squeaker.

So, the march to .500 begins yet again.

Game 3: Yanks VS. Rays

Here’s the lineup for the Yankees:

Damon LF
Abreu RF
Jeter SS
Giambi 1B
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Ensberg 3B
Molina C

Mike Mussina needs to be a stopper tonight. He’ll be opposed by the highly underrated yet amazingly effective, James Shields.

Hank’s Gauntlet

Hank Steinbrenner just keeps going and going. This time, he’s talking about the Yanks-Mets series this weekend, making reference to Johan Santana (which Hank clearly sees as a missed opportunity) and if that wasn’t enough, he decides to go even further into the future and has already begun talking about next year (confident much?):

“To me, it’s not any added significance because Santana is pitching. We want to win, it’s that simple,” Steinbrenner said. “We’re both kind of struggling. We just need to win. They just need to win. We just need to keep putting wins in the win column. We’ve got to start racking up some runs.”

Steinbrenner will likely watch Friday’s game on TV in Florida, but could be at Yankee Stadium over the weekend.

“I think there is a very good chance I might go up there,” he said.

Steinbrenner, in his first season overseeing the team’s baseball operations, expects the Yankees to put together a hot streak, which has become a trademark in recent years.

“We’re going to do everything we can turn to it around this year,” Steinbrenner said. “I guarantee we’ll get his thing straight next year.”

Wasn’t this the guy who was talking about being patient during the offseason?

It’s only May 14th and Hank sounds sort of like a bad fantasy baseball player, ready to call it quits and trade his whole team after a few bad weeks. Everyone, including the talkative owner, needs to relax, because things will sort themselves out just like they did last year. And, hell, if they don’t, at least Hank is letting us know that he’ll be making some splashy moves for 2009 (Teixeira and Sabathia) that could hopefully help the team with their dreadfully slow starts.

Igawaphobia

Just saw the following on MLBTR:

RotoWorld has done some translating of a Japanese Associated Press article. They learned that Japanese righty Kenshin Kawakami reportedly prefers the Red Sox as his 2009 destination (he’ll be a free agent). The translation notes that the Yankees and Mets have scouted Kawakami.

Back in November of 2007, I asked Aaron Shinsano and Jackson Broder of East Windup Chronicle for a profile on Kawakami, among others. Here’s what they wrote:

Kenshin Kawakami - Japan’s highest paid starter for the champion Chunichi Dragons (he made around $3MM) mixes a fastball, cutter, and curveball. His fastball runs around 87 and his curve is very slow. He’s known as a big game pitcher and always challenges hitters. He was 12-8 with a 3.55 ERA in 2007, but the K/BB ratio was an appealing 6.3 in 167 2/3 IP. He’s a HR prone strikeout pitcher. Kawakami has been healthy for the past four seasons.

87 MPH fastball? Slow curve? HR prone strikeout pitcher? Sounds like another guy the Yankees signed a year ago… I say let the Red Sox deal with this eventual headache and save the money for C.C. Sabathia (likely) or Yu Darvish (unlikely) if either one is available at season’s end.

Hank Huffs and Puffs, Yet Again

From the NY Post:

HANK Steinbrenner had a message yesterday for his Yankees: Gentlemen, it’s time to get your act together. New York Yankees

“We’ve got to forget about all the injuries and start playing our butts off,” Steinbrenner told The Post. The Yankees were buried by the Rays on Monday. These are difficult days for Joe Girardi’s club.

“The bottom line is that the team is not playing the way it is capable of playing,” Steinbrenner said. “These players are being paid a lot of money and they had better decide for themselves to earn that money.”

The Yankees, whose $209 million payroll is the highest in baseball, are in fourth place in the AL East with a 19-21 mark. Starting pitching ranked 27th with a 5.08 ERA heading into last night’s 2-1, 11-inning loss in Tampa.

The offense is limping along because of injuries to MVP Alex Rodriguez and perennial All-Star Jorge Posada, but this slide is deeper than injuries.

Steinbrenner is right to say that injuries cannot be used as an excuse. There is too much talent for the Yankees not to be playing better.

“We have good professional hitters and I have a lot of faith in them,” Steinbrenner said from Tampa. As for the team in general, he noted, “I’m not saying they are not giving the effort, but they need to be playing harder.”

He then paid the much-improved Rays a compliment, saying, the Yankees have “got to start playing the way the Rays are playing. (The Yankees) need to start treating it like when they were younger players and going after that big contract, like they’re in (Triple-A) and trying to make the majors. That’s the kind of attitude and fire the players have to have.

“There’s no question we need to turn it around and we have the talent to turn it around. We’ve got the team in place, and now they just have to go out and do it.

“This is going to get turned around,” Steinbrenner said. “If it’s not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have too.”

If you were a Yankee player, would this threat scare you? To be honest, I’d probably laugh and I can picture Bobby Abreu squinting his eyes and bellowing in the clubhouse. Then again, he’s playing for a new contract next year and he knows that the Yankees can give him a lot of money. Let’s see how he and the rest of the team reacts tonight against Tampa Bay and the talented changeup wielding, James Shields.

No Change Necessary

Here’s a quote from Joba Chamberlain regarding Goose Gossage’s recent comments about the David Dellucci celebration situation (Goose actually called Joba and they talked about his comments):

“It gives people something to talk about,” Chamberlain said. “It might be a topic of conversation for a long time, because I’m not going to change for nobody.”

Good to hear. You stick with whatever works and for Joba, what works is for him to be an energetic, fist pumping maniac. Let the guy live, or, if you’re going to go after him, why not go after everyone? How bout going after the guy who does an Irish jig after closing a game? I haven’t heard any news on that front lately.

Minor League Moves Sign of Something More?

From PA at the LoHud Blog:

Two interesting minor-league moves this week. J.B. Cox was promoted to AAA Scranton and Mark Melancon has been assigned to AA Trenton. Confirmed the moves with Brian Cashman today.

I haven’t had a chance to ask Cashman about this yet, and I’m not sure he would answer the question, but this is probably one of the steps in the Make Joba A Starter Plan. For the M.J.A.S.P. to work, they need some guys who can move into the bullpen. Cox and Melancon are high on that list.

Mark Melancon has some nasty stuff and he’d be a great replacement if Joba is moved to the rotation. The bullpen has been pitching well this year, so the desire to switch Joba seems even greater thanks to that success. If Farnsworth has finally turned the corner (it only took him a few years and a new pitch), he could have taken over in the 8th inning, but obviously, if these moves are precursors to a Joba role switch, then I guess Brian Cashman doesn’t have that much faith in the guy’s revamped performance, or they’re just precautionary measures for when Farnsworth takes over the role and blows it big time.

Good Grief

No, we have not entered the Twilight Zone. The Tampa Bay Rays are in first place after getting to Mariano in the bottom of the 11th inning. And, here the Yankees sit, 4.5 games out of first place.

Blame this one on the Yankee bats. Or, you can blame it on that annoying Jonny Gomes, who, with the help of a Gabe Gross single, continues to stick it to the Yankees after their spring rivalry (while we have offered little response).

A-Rod’s return couldn’t come any sooner.

Game 2: Yanks VS. Rays

Chien-Ming Wang VS. Edwin Jackson is the pitching matchup. Be on the lookout for Eric Hinske, who seems to play particularly well when facing the Yanks. He’s currently hitting .444 against CMW with 2 HR.

Here’s the lineup for the Yankees (via PA):

YANKEES
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui LF
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Gonzalez 3B
Molina C
Wang RHP

If I had to guess, I’d say that Hideki Matsui delivers for the Yankees tonight. He’s struggling with RBI opportunities and he’s hit .357 off of Jackson with 1 HR, so this would be a fine opportunity for him to bust out of that RBI rut and drive in some big runs for the ballclub.