Yanks give up on McAllister

The Yankees acquired OF Austin Kearns from the Indians in exchange for a player to be named. That player to be named was minor league RHP Zach McAllister. McAllister, ranked fifth in Baseball America's prospect rankings entering this season, never really fit in with the Yankees organization. McAllister is a sinker-slider pitcher. Most of the starters that the Yankees develop throw four-seam fastballs and hard breaking balls (ex. Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain with Chien-Ming Wang a notable exception). McAllister was leapfrogged by Ivan Nova, who throws a low-90's four-seam fastball and a high-70's power curveball. (Nova was just called up to the majors to make a few starts because Phil Hughes is nearing his innings limit.) McAllister has struggled through a disatrous season in the minors, going 8-10 with a 5.09 ERA for the Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees, primarily because he has allowed 11.2 hits per 9 innings, a remarkably bad ratio. (Nova has gone 12-6 with a 2.86 ERA.) Bottom line, the Yankees were going to stick with McAllister and his sinker-slider repertoire as long as he was successful in the minors. But, since he started struggling and had been passed by Nova (and possibly David Phelps) in the race for the next available major league rotation spot, he was expendable, and the Yankees gave him a chance with another organization. Good luck to him as a member of the Cleveland Indians.

Brackman finally shows his potential

Andrew Brackman has always had a major league body. The 2007 first rounder (30th overall) by the Yankees is 6"10, 240 pounds. Of course, that great size gives him great stuff. He throws a mid-90's fastball with a curveball that's just as effective. He also mixes in a changeup. So, why is Brackman only showing his potential now? Well, shortly after being drafted, he underwent Tommy John surgery and didn't make his minors debut until '08. '08 was a conplete disaster for Brackman. Altough he only gave up a hit per inning and had an 8.7 K/9, he went 2-12 with a 5.91 ERA for Low-A Charleston. The reason; a terrible 6.4 BB/9. But, pitchers always have problems their first year after Tommy John surgery, so the Yankees remained patient. In '09, their patience finally paid off. To start off '09, Brackman went 5-4 with a 5.10 ERA in 12 starts for High-A Tampa. That doesn't sound so good, but he lowered his BB/9 to 1.4 while keeping his K/9 at 8.4. But, he gave up 7 more hits than innings pitched. The Yankees noticed the improvement in Brackman's BB/9, and promoted him to Double-A Trenton. Brackman has shined in Double-A. He has gone just 3-7, but with a 3.68 ERA, a 8.7 K/9, a still decent 4.0 BB/9, and just 1.1 more hits than innings pitched. He just hasn't gotten very much run support. This is the Brackman that the Yankees drafted and the 1st round. If Brackman continues to improve, look for him to make the big leagues by the end of 2011 and compete for a rotation spot by 2012 or 2013.

Thomson belongs in a unique class of players

Everyone baseball fan knows Bobby Thomson. He hit the 'shot heard round the world' to send the NY Giants to the 1951 World Series. But, he's not a Hall of Famer. He was a career .270 season with 264 homers. 1951 was the only season in which he hit .264 homers. Still, everyone knows him. There aren't too many players like that. Most universally known players are either Hall of Famers (ex. Babe Ruth), future Hall of Famers (ex. Derek Jeter), or would be Hall of Famers whose careers were derailed by injuries (ex. Nomar Garciaparra) or some other problem (ex. Dwight Gooden or Mark McGwire). The universally known players who aren't anywhere near Hall of Famers had one legendary moment or one legendary season. Thomson, Roger Maris, and Kirk Gibson are the only ones I can think of immediately. (If you're thinking of Bill Mazeroski, who hit a walkoff homer to win the 1960 World Series for the Pirates, he was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2001.) Maris and Gibson only had 275 and 255 homers respectively. Still, we'll always remember them. Some players are legends their whole career, but others are legends just because of one moment or one season that will be remembered forever.

What if Joba did have to come up to bat?

In Monday's 3-1 loss to the Tigers, Derek Jeter grounded into a game-ending double play with Joba Chamberlain on double deck. If you weren't watching the game, Alex Rodriguez left the game with a calf injury and was replaced by Ramiro Pena. Pena was then pinch-hit for by Marcus Thames and Francisco Cervelli moved from catcher to 3rd base to replace Thames and Jorge Posada moved from DH to catcher to replace Cervelli, so the Yankees lost their DH. The Yankees had a empty bench because Lance Berkman was injured and Nick Swisher had also left the game with right forearm tightness and Austin Kearns went to RF to replace him. So, let's say that Jeter beat out the relay throw to 1st (he actually almost did because Brett Gardner took 2B Carlos Guillen out at 2nd base). Then, it would be 1st and 3rd with 2 outs, a 3-2 score, and Mark Teixeira coming to the plate. The Tigers would then obviously intentionally walk Teix to bring up Joba with the bases loaded. What would the Yankees do?

The first thought would be to pinch-hit Berkman even though he was injured, but Girardi wouldn't do that because he wouldn't want to gamble with the rest of Berman's season to win one game. So, the only possible pinch-hitters were all pitchers. If the Yankees did decide to pinch-hit, it would have probably been either CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, or Mariano Rivera.

Joba is 0 for 5 at the plate in his MLB career with a walk and 2 sac bunts. He never had an AB in the minors.

CC is 25 for 97 (.258) in his career with 3 homers and 14 RBI. He's a decent hitter. But, he was the next day's starter.

AJ is 35 for 267 in his career (.131) with 3 homers and 9 RBI. He's not the worst hitter ever.

Mo is 0 for 3 with a walk and an RBI. You may remember his bases loaded walk against K-rod on the same night that he got his 500th save. Would the Yankees hope for the same magic? If he did walk (or get a base hit), he would stay in the game to pitch the 10th.

I would pinch-hit CC. If Valverde gave him a hittable pitch, CC could have gotten a walk-off hit. He probably would have gotten out, but you never know. If Girardi didn't want to take a chance that CC could get hurt, he would have either stuck with Joba or sent up Mo because there was no point of sending up Burnett. No matter who the Yankees sent up, the Yankees would have probably lost the game anyway, but who knows? Maybe Valverde's wildness could have continued and he walked whoever the Yankees sent up to bat, or, maybe he could have given CC, Joba, or Mo a mistake pitch and most unlikely walkoff ever could have occurred. It sure would have been a sight to see.

Castro putting up numbers similar to a young Jeter

Before I start this post, let me make this clear: Starlin Castro is not Derek Jeter. He certainly can't be compared to Jeter at this point in his career. But, 20 year old Castro's 2010 rookie season has some simularities to Derek Jeter's 22 year old rookie season in 1996. Castro is hitting .316 in '10 with 21 doubles, 3 homers, 37 RBI, 5 triples, 6 SB, and a .362 OBP in 89 games. Jeter hit .314 in '96 with 104 runs, 183 hits, 25 doubles, 10 homers, 78 RBI, 6 triples, 14 SB, and a .370 OBP in 157 games. Obviously Jeter has better non-rate stats (all stats I listed besides BA and OBP) because he played in 68 more games to this point in the season. If you projected Castro's stats over 157 games, he would have 65 runs, 182 hits, 37 doubles, 5 homers, 65 RBI, 9 triples, and 11 SB. Castro doesn't have as much power as Jeter, but he appears to be a better hitter for average than a young Jeter, and a better doubles and triples hitter. (Jeter having more runs scored is basically because the 1996 Yankees scored 5.38 runs per game and the 2010 Cubs have scored 4.27 runs per game.) So, Castro and Jeter and very different hitters, but Castro is posting some stats that are comparable to Jeter's rookie year and that's always a good thing. Will Castro also be a Hall of Famer that gets 3000 hits? Ask me in 2025.

A decade of Yankee first round picks

We all remember the days when the Yankee farm system was a complete joke. The Yankees always drafted badly and when they did have a good prospect, they traded him for a veteran. But, the Yankee farm system has turned around the last few years, starting with Phil Hughes being drafted in 2004. Let's look at the Yankee 1st round picks since 2000 to see if the Yankees have improved, at least in terms of their first round picks.

In 2000, the Yankees drafted catcher David Parrish with the 28th pick in the draft. The Yankees also drafted him in the 10th round in 1997, but he didn't sign. Parrish had the potential to be a great defensive catcher. He threw out 30% of attempted base stealers his first 3 years in the minors. But, he made too many errors behind the plate, and never hit above .253 any of his years in the minors for the Yankees. He ended being a journeyman minor leaguer who never made the majors. Grade: F

With the 23rd pick in 2001, the Yankees selected Florida State outfielder John-Ford Griffin (no, his name is not a typo). At Short Season-A Staten Island in '01, he had a great season, hitting .311 with 17 doubles, 5 homers, 43 RBI, 10 SB, and a .413 OBP in 66 games. But, he was lost in the outfield, posting a .943 Fld%. In '02, he hit .267 with 16 doubles, 3 homers, 31 RBI, and a .344 OBP in 65 games for High-A Tampa before being promoted to Double-A Norwich. He hit .328 for Norwich with 3 doubles, 5 homers, 10 RBI, and a .400 OBP in 18 games. With his trade value at its absolute highest, the Yankees traded him to the A's as part of the blockbuster 3-team deal that sent Ted Lilly to Oakland, Carlos Pena to Detroit, Jeff Weaver to the Yankees, and Jeremy Bonderman to the Tigers. After hitting just .143 in 2 games for Double-A Midland, Oakland traded him to the Blue Jays for a player to be named (Jason Perry). He never hit .280 in any of his years in the Toronto, but he hit 13 homers in '03, 22 homers in '04, and 30 homers in '05. He made his major league debut in '05 for Toronto, hitting .308 with 1 homer and 6 RBI in 7 games. He also played in the majors for Toronto in '07, hitting .300 with 1 homer and 3 RBI in 6 games. Griffin played in the minors for the Dodgers and Cubs to finish off his career. He was pretty much a journeyman minor leaguer who had a couple of "cups of coffee" in the big leagues. But, he did have a role in the Jeff Weaver trade. Grade: D+

The Yankees had no 1st round pick in '02. In the 2nd round, they drafted RHP Brandon Weeden. He went 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA and 30 K's 7 starts, 4 relief appearances, and 34.2 IP in '02 for the Rookie ball Gulf Coast League Yankees. In '03, he went 2-2 with a 2.58 ERA and 31 K's in 9 starts and 3 relief appearances for the Rookie ball Gulf Coast League Yankees and the Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees. He was promptly traded to the Dodgers in the Kevin Brown deal. After posting ERA's of 5.39 and 5.70 at Low-A Columbus for LA, he was a Rule 5 draft pick (Triple-A portion) by the Royals and he posted a 6.03 ERA for them. Weeden went back to school, going to Oklahoma State University. He is now in position to be their starting quarterback this upcoming season, after starting QB Zac Robinson was drafted by the New England Patriots. Weeden did pretty well in the low levels of the minors for the Yankees and served a role in the Brown trade before completely falling apart. Grade: C-

There was a point when it seemed that 2003 first round pick Eric Duncan was going to be a star. Duncan, a 3rd baseman and the 27th overall pick in the '03 draft, hit .301 between the GCL and Staten Island Yanks in '03, with 17 doubles, 4 homers, 41 RBI, 6 triples, and a .364 OBP in 61 games. He then took his power up a notch in '04 between Low-A Battle Creek and High-A Tampa, hitting just .258, but with 43 doubles, 16 homers, 83 RBI, 75 runs, and a .357 OBP in 129 games. Duncan never hit that well again, and was stuck behind some guy named Alex Rodriguez at 3rd base. He was moved to 1st base in '06, but never hit well enough to be called up when Jason Giambi was injured. Duncan is hitting .285 right now as a Double-A utilityman for the Braves, but with just 4 homers. Duncan started off strong, but just completely fell apart. Grade: D

In 2004, the change started. The Yankees drafted some guy named Phil Hughes with the 23rd pick in the draft, who is 11-3 with a 3.99 ERA for the Yankees so far in '10. He struggled in '08 to the tune of a 6.62 ERA, but got back on track in '09 as a reliever and now is a pretty good starter. Grade: A

2005 first rounder (17th overall) C.J. Henry, a SS, never hit over .250 any year in the minors, although he was part of the Bobby Abreu trade. He is now a guard on the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team. At least he was part of that trade. Grade: D+

In 2006, the Yankees drafted RHP Ian Kennedy with the 21st overall pick in the draft. Kennedy never had an ERA over 2.22 any year in the minors, but he posted a 6.03 ERA for the Yankees, including an 8.17 ERA in '08. He was part of the Curtis Granderson. Kennedy was a decent pick, but he certainly didn't live up to expectations. Grade: B

In 2007, the Yankees drafted RHP Andrew Brackman with the 30th overall pick. He immediately had Tommy John surgery after he was drafted, and didn't make his minor league debut until 2009. He went 2-12 with a 5.91 ERA in '09, but he has rebounded from a terrible start in '10 (13.50 ERA after 2 starts) to post a 4.94 ERA between High-A and Double-A. He still has a shot to make an impact in the future for the Yankees. Grade: B

In 2008, the Yankees drafted high school RHP Gerrit Cole. Cole didn't sign, and went to UCLA. After going 11-4 with a 3.37 ERA in '09 for the Bruins, he could be the number 1 pick in the 2011 MLB draft. The Yanks picked a great talent, but this was a terrible pick because they couldn't sign him. Grade: F+ (the plus is for effort)

In 2009, the Yankees drafted 5-tool OF Slade Heathcott with the 29th overall pick in the draft. He is hitting .277 with 5 doubles, 1 homer, 13 RBI, 8 SB, 19 runs, and a .351 OBP in 34 games. He hasn't done very well so far, but its hard to tell how good a player is through 37 pro games. At least he's stealing bases. Grade: ?

In 2010, the Yankees drafted high school SS Cito Culver with the 30th overall pick in the draft. Culver is the heir-apparent to Derek Jeter. After signing quickly, he is hitting .237 for the Rookie ball GCL Yankees with 3 doubles, 0 homers, 6 RBI, 1 triple, 1 SB, 8 runs, and a .310 OBP in 21 games. Definitely too early to tell for him. Grade: ?

The Yankees have improved in terms of drafting their first round picks. Their top picks from 2000-2003 were complete disaster, while 3 out of their 5 1st round picks from 2004-2008 were at least decent picks, and Cole would have been a great pick if they signed him. Their 1st rounders in 2009 and 2010 both have potential.

Do the Yankees need to trade for another bullpen arm?

The Yankee bullpen was a big strength for the team in 2009. No reliever who appeared in 40 or more game posted an ERA over 4.50. It has certainly been a different story in '10. Excluding Mariano Rivera, who has a miniscule 1.05 ERA, no Yankee reliever who has appeared in 13 or more games has posted an ERA under 4.08. Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson, and Chan Ho Park have posted 5.79, 5.48, and 6.18 ERA's respectively. What's going on with the Yankee bullpen? Let's go through the stats of each current member of the bullpen individually.

Rivera has gone 2-1 with a 1.05 ERA, 20 saves, and 33 K's in 34 relief appearances and 34.1 IP. He has given up just 16 hits on the year for a tiny 4.2 H/9 ratio. That's less than 1 hit every 2 innings! He has walked just 6 batters on the year, or 1.6 per 9 innings. He has struck out 8.7 batters per 9 inning. Also, Rivera has given up just 1 homer all year, the grand slam to Kubel. He has been amazing and nearly untouchable.

Joba has gone 1-4 with a 5.79 ERA, 18 holds, 2 saves, and 40 K's in 39 relief appearances and 37.1 IP. He has a great 9.6 K/9 and a decent 3.4 BB/9, but what's been bad for Joba has been the amount of hits he has given up. He has given up 42 hits, more than a hit per inning, for a 10.1 H/9 ratio. It's all about the amount of hits given up. He's has struck out more than enough batters, and walked few enough batters, but he's just given up too many hits. More problems with Joba include a .293 BA against him by righties compared to a .269 BA by lefties, and allowing batters to hit .348 against him with runners in scoring position. But, all hope is not lost for Joba. He has been incredibly unlucky. Batters are hitting a ridiculous .370 on balls in play against him. That's .70 over the MLB average! Batters are even hitting .333 against him on ground balls! Hopefully that will turn around soon and Joba will end the year with a repectable 4.00 ERA. But, can Joe Girardi wait for Joba's luck to change? Joba has a critical role in the bridge to Rivera as the setup man. Should the Yankees acquire another reliever to be setup man? I think yes. The Yankees should acquire a player such as Octavio Dotel that can step into the setup role so Joba can straighten himself out in situation with less pressure. Then, when Joba does straighten himself out, he can move back into the setup role, while that acquired reliever remains an important part of the bullpen assuming he does well. Joba hasn't been good so far, but he's had bad luck on balls in play and his luck will eventually turn around.

Robertson has gone 1-3 with a 5.46 ERA, 6 holds, and 32 K's in 31 relief appearances and 29.2 IP. He has posted a great 9.7 K/9, but a below-average 5.2 BB/9. Also, just like Joba, he has given up 36 hits for a bad 10.9 H/9. Robertson has just allowed too many base runners. He has allowed nearly 2 base runners per inning. He has also allowed a .316 BAA against righties and a .283 BAA against lefties. Robertson has been even more unlucky than Joba, allowing an improbable .398 BA on balls in play. He has allowed a crazy .343 BAA on ground balls, a .357 BAA on fly balls, and even a .500 BA on bunts But, despite the extra base runners, Robertson has a better ERA than Joba. He has allowed a better .303 BA with runners in scoring position. I think Robertson will also straighten things out by season's end. With better luck, he could have had a 3.50 ERA or better. An acquired reliever would allow Robertson to appear in some situations with less pressure. Just like Joba, Robertson has had terrible luck that has led to his bad performance, and his luck will eventually turn around.

Chan Ho Park has gone 1-1 with a 6.18 ERA, a terrible 0 holds, and 22 K's in 21 relief appearances and 27.2 IP. He struck out a decent 7.2 batters per 9 innings, and posted a great 2.3 BB/9 ratio. But, the continued theme is too many hits allowed per9 innings. Park has allowed a completely terrible 11.1 H/9 ratio. Park has been a bit unlucky, allowing a .326 BAA on balls in play, but the real reason he has a 6.18 ERA is because he has allowed 2.0 homers per 9 innings. That's more homers than Rivera, Chamberlain, and Robertson have allowed per 9 innings COMBINED. He has just been terrible. I don't think there's anything the Yankees can do with him. They should designate him for assigment.

Damaso Marte has gone 0-0 with a 4.08 ERA, 9 holds, and 12 K's in 30 relief appearances and 17.2 IP. He has struck out 6.1 batters per 9 innings, but walked a bad 5.6 per 9 innings. He has allowed only 5.1 hits per 9 innings, so he has been hard to hit. Unlike Joba, Robertson, and Park, he has been incredibly lucky. Batters have hit just .161 against him on balls in play. He has a 4.08 ERA because of his 5.6 BB/9 and because he has allowed exactly 1 homer per 9 innings. He has been pretty good.

With Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre hurt, and Boone Logan and others sent down to the minors, the only other active Yankee reliever is Dustin Moseley. He has gone 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 2 games. I hope he can keep that kind of ERA going.

So, the Yankees do need another reliever. Joba and Robertson are still waiting for their luck to change, and Park is just a complete disaster. Another reliever could help every reliever in the bullpen be comfortable, and play well.