Guzman Promoted, Claggett DFA'd

The Yankees made a move today, purchasing the contract of Freddy Guzman and DFA'ing Anthony Claggett. Claggett pitched 2.2 Innings giving up 11 hits and 10 ER. He was infamously known for his performance in the Yankees 22-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians in April.

Guzman will be used mostly for his speed in late game pinch-running situations.

Game Preview: Game 145 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim AT New York Yankees

Before I do my game preview I would just like to say that I had a great time at yesterdays game. I am adding it to my favorite games list, as it was close throughout then a blowout. I got to see 20 hits and Hideki Matsui go on a tear.

Here are the lineups for tonights game:

YANKEES
1. Jeter SS
2. Damon LF
3. Teixeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Matsui DH
6. Posada C
7. Cano 2B
8. Swisher RF
9. Cabrera CF

ANGELS
1. Figgins 3B
2. Izturis 2B
3. Abreu RF
4. Guerrero DH
5. Hunter CF
6. Morales 1B
7. Rivera LF
8. Aybar SS
9. Mathis C

PITCHING MATCHUP: LAA: Jered Weaver (15-5, 3.76) AT NYY: Joba Chamberlain (8-5, 4.45)

Yankees will need to win this game if they want to have any confidence going into a playoff series against the Angels.

PREDICTION: Angels win 8-5

Game Preview: Game 144 Baltimore Orioles AT New York Yankees

Sorry for the lack of updates lately i've been really busy.

I'm going to the Yankees game today and I'll try to update after I get home.

ANYWAY here is a game preview for today's game:

RHP Jeremy Guthrie (10-13, 4.96) AT LHP CC Sabathia (16-7, 3.40)

Guthrie is 1-3 vs. the Yankees this year and Sabathia is 3-1 against the Orioles. The Yankees are starting their regular nine today.

1. Jeter SS
2. Damon LF
3. Teixeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Matsui DH
6. Posada C
7. Cano 2B
8. Swisher RF
9. Cabrera CF

PREDICTION: Yankees win 7-4

As the Yankees Keep Winning, the Redsox Keep Fighting

The Redsox are currently in a battle with the injury-stricken Texas Rangers for the wild card. The Rangers, with Michael Young and Josh Hamilton both out, are 79-60 this season. Currently two games out of the wild card, the Rangers have surprised all of the MLB this season. Michael Young said after his injury "I could get upset about missing some time or I could visualize the impact I could have on the last two weeks of the season. As down as I was about it last night, what I was told today was very uplifting. It's only going to give me more energy about being aggressive with my rehab." It seems like this team is going to grind it out until he and Hamilton return. The Redsox, on the other hand are used to this kind of situation.

How does this play out for the Yankees?

If the Rangers win the wild card the Yankees will play them (if the yankees get home field advantage), while if the Redsox win the wild card the Yankees will play the Tigers, most likely.

I'd rather face the Rangers, due to their not-so-great pitching staff.

Minor League Recap (Final Week)

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Season Ends- Duncan MVP, Jackson ROY

The final week of the season was successful for the SWB Yanks, after sending up their top players to the MLB. They finished with an 81-60 record, winning the INT North, and will take on the wild card winning Gwinnett Braves, who were 81-63.

Shelley Duncan won International League MVP for the first time.
Final Stat line: .277 AVG 30 HR (LL) 99 RBI (LL) .370 OBP .546 SLG 2 SB 85 R (LL)

Austin Jackson won the IL Rookie of the Year. The 22-year-old lived up to his title of best Yankee prospect.
Final Stat line: .300 4 HR 65 RBI .354 OBP .405 SLG 24 SB

LL= League Leader

The Yankees will have home field advantage, starting away at Gwinnett on 9/9.

*This post was written by Dan Reiner*

Chad Gaudin Should be on the Playoff Roster

-If you aren't/weren't watching the game tonight....you missed out. Chad Gaudin threw an absolute gem tonight and may have pitched himself into a playoff roster spot. After Sergio Mitre's horrid start Sunday and Gaudin's terrific start tonight....I don't see why not.

-David Robertson will visit Dr. James Andrews with tightness in his arm.

-The Pinstriper will be posting only between 3-11ish on weeknights and any time during the weekends. Sorry, but work is important too.

Breaking News: Shelley Duncan Promoted to the MLB

Shelley Duncan has been called up to the Yankees. It is unknown when he will arrive. This will allow the Yankees to give more players rests AND not use Eric Hinske as much. Also, Brett Gardner has been activated and is in the game one starting lineup.

Here is the lineup:

1. Jeter SS
2. Swisher RF
3. Teixeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Cano 2B
6. Posada C
7. Hinske DH
8. Cabrera LF
9. Gardner CF

As of now I'm thinking Shelley will be brought back next year in a Hinske type role if he plays well enough. SWB is messed up right now, as they have no good hitters or pitchers at this point. Gotta feel bad for John Rodriguez as he has stated it is his dream to play in the Bronx. Similar #'s to Shelley, but no need for two of them. Likely won't reach that dream.

Series Preview: 9/7-9/9 Tampa Bay Rays AT New York Yankees

MONDAY GAME 1: TB: Matt Garza (7-9, 4.01) AT NYY: CC Sabathia (16-7, 3.48)

-Garza is 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA against the Yankees this year. Sabathia is 0-1 with a 5.93 ERA vs. Tampa Bay this year. In his career Sabathia is 7-2 with a 2.95 ERA vs. the Rays. Sabathia is also 20-11 with a 2.80 ERA in September in his career.

MONDAY GAME 2: TB: Andy Sonnanstine (6-8, 6.62) AT NYY: A.J. Burnett (10-8, 4.29)

-Sonnanstine is 0-1 with a 4.19 ERA against the Yankees this year, while Burnett is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA against the Rays this year.

TUESDAY: TB: David Price (7-7, 4.75) AT NYY: Chad Gaudin (1-0, 4.08)

-Price has only faced the Yankees twice in his career (once starting once in relief). The start came this year, as he went 5.2 IP giving up 2 hits and 1 ER. Gaudin hasn't faced the Rays this year, he is 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA in 4 games pitched against the Rays in his career (2 starts).

WEDNESDAY: TB: Jeff Niemann (12-5, 3.67) AT NYY: Joba Chamberlain (8-5, 4.41)

-Niemann faced the Yankees once in his career pitching 3.1 Innings while giving up 3 hits and 2 ER. I refuse to give any stats about Joba Chamberlain, as I am too dissapointed in him to talk about him. If you want his stats go here.

PREDICTIONS:

MONDAY: (GAME 1): Yankees 4, Rays 0

MONDAY: (GAME 2): Yankees 8, Rays 5

TUESDAY: Rays 6, Yankees 2

WEDNESDAY: Yankees 10, Rays 6

Problem: Sergio Mitre

On August 30th I wrote an apology to Sergio Mitre after his brilliant performance against the Chicago Whitesox. Now....I wish I could take that post back put it into a fire and burn it down. I am appauled at myself that I would trust such a bad pitcher after only one start. I apologize to my readers. Mitre is currently battling for a post-season roster spot with Chad Gaudin (who I hope will win) and is probably losing. He threw 4.1 IP giving up 11 hits and 11 runs (9 earned) against the Toronto Blue Jays today. His ERA is up to 7.02 and his WHIP is at 1.76. I say DFA Mitre now to activate someone like Jason Hirsh (who did leave his AAA start after 0.1 IP...possibly due to injury, however) or Zach Kroenke.

No matter what the Yankees do....they cannot afford to give a valuable roster spot in the playoffs to such a horrible pitcher.

Uplifting Story

If you are truly a fan of baseball, the players, the people, the game....you will read this story. What a wonderfully written story.

Here is the video (CAUTION: not good for the woozy)

Yankees Promote Josh Towers from AAA

The Yankees called up Josh Towers from AAA today.

UPDATE: 12:01 PM: Kevin Cash was released to make room for Josh Towers on the 40-man roster.

The Brian Bruney Problem

About a week ago I wrote about the Phil Coke problem. He was not pitching effectively as the main lefty reliever. Now I will talk about Brian Bruney. Bruney is 4-0 with a 4.55 ERA this season. Last season he was 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA. The year before, however, he was 3-2 with a 4.68 ERA. Bruney has shown the ability to be lights-out and started the year as the Yankees set-up man. I felt this was a great idea at the time and that he would be an awesome set-up man. I've changed my mind. Since June 28th Bruney has pitched 16.2 innings with a 4.44 ERA. That is mediocre. Bruney had an 11.81 ERA in July and a 0.87 ERA in August. The August ERA looks great. Here are the facts though:

-Bruney has gone 6 innings without recording a strikeout.

-In Bruney's last 9 appearances, only 2 of them were with a lead of 2 or less runs.

-Joe Girardi has only used Bruney in big lead or low-risk situations.

-Bruney has a 8.71 ERA with runners on when he enters the game.

-Bruney has a 15.00 ERA with runners in scoring position when he enters the game. (The ERA doesn't include runners that were already on base when he entered the game)

-Bruney has a horrific 38.57 ERA with runners in scoring position and 2 outs when he enters the game.

Pete Abraham listed Bruney as a borderline candidate for a postseason spot. If Girardi isn't willing to use him in tight situations....how can he help in the postseason?

I'd like to see Bruney be used in close games this month. If he pitches poorly: no playoff spot, if he pitches well: postseason spot. That simple.

Stop Making Fun of David Wright

As many of you may know, David Wright was out with a concussion for a little while recently. Wright came back two days ago wearing a new helmet that would protect him better if he got hit in the head again. The helmet, however looks horrible. It makes him look pretty funny. Does he need us (the fans) telling him that? No. Look, if this helmet is going to protect players, why wouldn't they want to wear it? What are we in High School where if you where something funny looking everyone laughs at you? What happens if Mark Teixeira gets hit in the head and he needs to wear it....will we be laughing then? It's a horrible blend of idiocy and ignorance that the fans are throwing Wright's way.

Yankees Raffle Info

This from a reader named Jon:

Celebrities for Charity is raffling off two premium tickets (section 105) to the September 26, 2009 Red Sox vs Yankees game @ Yankee Stadium. The prize also includes a $500.00 travel allowance as well as a $200.00 gift certificate to Michael Psilakis' Kefi Restaurant in Manhattan.


Proceeds from the raffle go to benefit charity and can be purchased at : https://www.celebritiesforcharity.org/raffles/alphaomega_sox.cfm.


Raffle tickets are only $2.00 a piece with a min. purchase of 5 tickets.


Entry deadline is September 23, 2009 @ 11:00am EDT.

Yankees Call Up A Bunch

With September Call-ups being made today, the Yankees decided to stack their bullpen with a few young guns. Here were the five September call-ups yesterday:

RHP Mark Melancon, RHP Edwar Ramirez, LHP Mike Dunn, IF Ramiro Pena, and C Francisco Cervelli .

Key SWB players not to make the call up list were Jon Albaladejo, Zach Kroenke and Shelley Duncan. Some people are angered by this, but these players are being kept down for the SWB Yankees attempt to repeat for the Governor’s Cup.


Albaladejo was not called up due to an eye injury he suffered a few days ago. He may be called up shortly.

Minor League Recap (8/27-8/31)

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees had a strong week to improve their lead in the division to 3.5 games as the season begins to wind down.

(8/27) Romulo Sanchez probably threw his best game of the season on Wednesday. Sanchez went 7 innings, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9. Juan Miranda provided the offense for the game with his 2-run (78) home run (19) in the fourth to lift the Yanks to a 2-1 victory over the Syracuse Chiefs. Zach Kroenke pitched an inning in relief, allowing a run (unearned) and Jon Albaladejo recorded his 10th save.

(8/28) The game was postponed due to rain against the Pawtucket Red Sox; rescheduled for the following night.

(8/29 [day]) The Yankees, behind Josh Towers, shut out the Red Sox in the day portion of the doubleheader. Towers went 6 innings, allowing just 4 hits and striking out 3. Mark Melancon went 2 scoreless, and Jon Albaladejo saved his 11th. Kevin Russo hit a solo home run (4) (25) in the 4th. Juan Miranda drove in RBI number 79, while Chris Stewart drove in number 16. The Yankees won 3-0. (There was a 2:19 rain delay during the game.

(8/29 [night]) The game was postponed due to rain, and was a makeup for the night before. The game for 8/28 was now moved to 8/30.

(8/30 [day]) The Yankees lost the day portion to the PawSox 5-3 on Saturday in a 7-inning game. Ivan Nova continued to show struggles as a starter, going just 4 innings and getting roughed up for 8 hits and 5 earned, falling to 1-4. Shelley Duncan hit home run 28 (88) and Yurendell de Caster hit number 5 (21). Kevin Russo also drove in RBI number 26. Amaury Sanit and Anthony Claggett combined for 3 scoreless innings in relief.

(8/30 [night]) Shelley Duncan and the Yankees took the game, and the series against the PawSox in 7 innings. Duncan’s grand slam (29) (92) in the 6th gave the Yankees a lead to hold. Jason Hirsh had another strong outing, going 5.1, allowing 2 hits, 0 earned and fanning 5. Edwar Ramirez went 1.2 to get save number 4.

(8/31) The Yankees took the opener of yet another series against the Syracuse Chiefs on Sunday by a 6-4 final. Kei Igawa got spanked for 11 hits in just 6.1 innings, but only allowed 3 runs (2 earned). Ramiro Pena (9), Francisco Cervelli 2 (7), Colin Curtis (25), and Juan Miranda (81) all drove in Yankee runs in the victory.

Transactions: The Yankees acquired outfielder Freddy Guzman from the Orioles for a player to be named later or cash. Guzman will be sent to AAA.

Performer of the Week: Shelley Duncan (.353 [6-17] 2 HR 5 RBI 1 GS).

*This post was written by Dan Reiner*