SWB Yankees

Media day 2011 has come and gone and I’m not really sure how you judge a media day but it seemed to go well.  Head shots were taken, interviews were done and most of the local and even a few regional members of the media got to talk and meet this seasons crop of SWB Yankees.

It’s hard to get a gauge on someone after only a couple of days but it seems to be a pretty good crop of players.  Everyone was in town with the exception of Adam Warren whose absence was excused, he should be in town on Wednesday and P.J. Pilittere who was slated to get into the area on Wednesday.

It was business as usual during the day on my few trips in and out of the clubhouse.  Manager Dave Miley and pitching coach Scott Aldred were talking baseball for a good part of the day and hitting coach Butch Wynegar and the new member of the coaching staff Frank Menechino spent most of the day in the indoor batting cage.  With the lousy weather outside there was not much work that got done.  Andrew Brackman threw a simulated game in the bullpen and a few of the other pitchers got in some work as well.  That was really about it on the field.  The busiest place in the clubhouse was in the weight room, where strength and conditioning coach Lee Tressel had the players going through their paces as if it was mid season.  In my 15 going on 16 years of baseball, Tressel is the best I have seen at his job.  There is not a player that misses a workout or training session.  He makes certain of that.

Wednesday night is the annual “Meet the Yankees” event at Legend’s at PNC Field (the stadium restaurant) and then on Thursday morning we’re off to Allentown to open the season at Lehigh Valley.  The roster is still four players too big (five if indeed Ryan Pope is sent here) so there will be some moves made before the season opener. 

Manager Dave Miley doesn’t have his line up set but has the defensive alignment ready to go for the season opener on Thursday. The defense behind Yankees starter David Phelps will look like this:

Jesus Montero – catcher
Jorge Vazquez – first base
Kevin Russo – second base
Ramiro Pena – shortstop
Brandon Laird – third base
Chris Dickerson – OF
Greg Golson – OF
Justin Maxwell – OF
Jordan Parraz – DH

A pretty solid defensive line up.  I’ll go out on a limb (not much of one really) and say that there may not be a better defensive outfield in all of Minor League Baseball.  The speed and coverage from the three the Yankees will start in the outfield on Thursday is ridiculous.  

The off season has been long and the blog posts have been few, but that will all change with the start of the season on Thursday night.  Make sure to check in with each SWB game here on the blog for updates.  You can also follow things from the Yankees radio booth on twitter at @vwoude.

Looking forward to Thursday night.  The start of another baseball season is always a reason to smile!

See you at the yard!
 

Kei Igawa returned to the pitching mound Thursday, looking
like his normal, laidback self.

There was no way to tell he was less than a week removed
from his emergency trip home to disaster-ravaged Japan.

Igawa rushed home after his wife called from their house in
Japan to tell him that the massive earthquake hit.

“My wife called right away and she was in a panic and that
worried me the most,” Igawa said through a translator.

That was last time Igawa was able to hear his wife’s voice
until he landed in Japan. He could only communicate with her through e-mail as
the tsunami crashed the shores of the island.

“Right after it happened I talked to her directly, but
afterwards I couldn’t get a hold of her because the phones weren’t working,” he
said. “And then the tsunami came, and that worried me a lot.”

It took Igawa three hours to make the normally one-hour
drive from the airport to his house, where he was finally able to see his town’s–the
town where he grew up–damage firsthand.

“It’s pretty disastrous. The roads were a mess, and–when I
was back home–the water wasn’t running and that was pretty hard,” Igawa said.
“My parents and family were OK, but, like I said, the town was a mess and right
now the radiation is a big problem.”

Igawa said that his family lives about 100 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant but, at this moment, he can
consider himself fortunate.

“Compared to the rest of the country, especially up north
where it was much worse, I think the town’s response was really quick,” Igawa
said.

While there was certainly a pull to remain in Japan and help
numerous friends whose homes flooded, Igawa had to return to camp.

“Obviously, I wanted to stay a little longer with my
family–they’re going through a hard time–but also I have to resume with baseball,
it’s my job,” he said.

By Conor Foley

Media Intern

There was not much to report in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee-land today,
as the team went on the road to Bradenton, but
here are some notes from the Spring Training complex, where Charleston
and Tampa
played games:

·        - The New York Yankees
traded Sergio Mitre to the Milwaukee Brewers for Chris
Dickerson today. Dickerson was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2003. He
has played at or above the Triple-A level since the 2007 season and has spent
the last three seasons in the major leagues, so it’s a safe bet that he’ll
start the year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
     Dickerson appears to be an above-average outfielder,
posting a career average of 16 defensive runs saved above average in the major
leagues. Add him to Greg Golson, Justin Maxwell, Colin
Curtis, Jordan Parraz and, possibly, Austin
Krum or Daniel Brewer, and you get a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
outfield that will be able to cover ground with the best of them.

·         - In another transaction, the New
York Yankees signed Kevin Millwood to a minor league contract. It’s
clear that Millwood is joining camp too late to compete in the New York rotation battle, so he could be spending some
time in Scranton.
      This could affect the all-prospect rotation
of David Phelps, D.J. Mitchell, Hector Noesi,  Andrew
Brackman and Adam Warren if Millwood were to be assigned to
Triple-A.

·         - Former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
ace Ivan Nova got the start and win in tonight’s New York game against the Houston Astros.
Nova tossed six innings of three-hit, two-run ball, walking two and striking
out two more.
      The outing lowered Nova’s Spring Training ERA to 1.80
over 20 innings of work. He has allowed just four runs on 11 hits, including
one home run, and has struck out nine batters while walking four. It would
appear that the 24-year-old has done enough to lock up the No. 4 spot in the New York rotation.

·        -  The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
lineup started to take shape Friday, as Greg Golson, Kevin
Russo and Jorge Vazquez, among others, made the trip to
Bradenton. Adam Warren was the starting pitcher.

·       –   Reegie Corona, the
slick-fielding infielder whose season ended after he broke his arm in July, is
at the Spring Training complex and is rehabbing. It looks like he is going to
be there for a while, according to Yankees Senior Vice President of
Baseball Operations Mark Newman. When all is said and done, it looks like the
injury could cost Corona
a full year of playing time.

·         - What Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has
in pitching prospects, Charleston
has in hitting prospects. The RiverDogs are loaded with young talent. Cito
Culver (Baseball America’s
No. 21 Yankees prospect), Mason Williams (BA’s No. 15 Yankees
prospect), J.R. Murphy (No. 14), Slade Heathcott (No. 9)
and Gary Sanchez (No. 2) were all in the Charleston lineup today. New RiverDogs
manager and former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre coach Aaron Ledesma will
have his work cut out for him in developing this talent.

Some first impressions
of these players:

Culver – hit the
ball hard in batting practice and has apparently made some outstanding plays in
the field.

Williams – a
pure athlete. He looks like he has Brett Gardner’s speed to go along with Will
Smith’s early-90′s flattop haircut. He also has a nice swing and hit a ball
hard to the opposite field in the first inning of today’s game.

Heathcott –
looks like the most physically developed player on this list. He’s a lefty
hitter with a quick swing that launched a deep home run just left of dead
centerfield in batting practice.

·         Gary Sanchez deserves his
own bullet-point. The 18-year-old catcher is already a physical specimen who is
probably still growing, and who — if he goes through aJesus Montero-like baby
fat dump in a couple of years — will be an absolute monster. He looks
comfortable behind the plate (like Austin Romine) and has a ton of
potential with the bat (like Montero). It looks like he is going to be the best
of both worlds of the Yankees’ catching prospects.  In today’s game, Sanchez faced a Pirates
pitcher who was throwing smoke and looked unhittable against the RiverDogs’
first three hitters. Sanchez, however, had no problem turning around the first
fastball he saw and driving it just short of the warning track in left field. It
was an out, but an impressive one.

·       –   Here are some pictures from today’s Charleston game.

·       –   Check back tomorrow for a story
on Jesus Montero.

·      -    Important Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
numbers:
     12 - days until SWB’s opening day at Lehigh Valley.
     18 - days until SWB’s home-opener vs. Buffalo.

That’s it for me from Spring Training. Keep checking the blog for more
Yankees news. 

-Conor Foley

Media Intern

Spring Training Recap — March 25

There
was not much to report in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee-land today, as the team
went on the road to Bradenton, but here are some notes from the Spring Training
complex, where Charleston and Tampa played games:

·        - The
New York Yankees traded Sergio Mitre to the Milwaukee Brewers for Chris
Dickerson today. Dickerson was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2003. He has
played at or above the Triple-A level since the 2007 season and has spent the
last three seasons in the major leagues, so it’s a safe bet that he’ll start the
year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Dickerson appears to be an
above-average outfielder, posting a career average of 16 defensive runs saved
above average in the major leagues. Add him to Greg Golson, Justin
Maxwell, Colin Curtis, Jordan Parraz and, possibly, Austin Krum or Daniel
Brewer, and you get a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre outfield that will be able to cover
ground with the best of them.

·         - In
another transaction, the New York Yankees signed Kevin Millwood to a minor
league contract. It’s clear that Millwood is joining camp too late to compete in
the New York rotation battle, so he could be spending some time in
Scranton.  This could affect the all-prospect rotation of David
Phelps, D.J. Mitchell, Hector Noesi,  Andrew Brackman and Adam Warren if
Millwood were to be assigned to Triple-A.

·         - Former
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ace Ivan Nova got the start and win in tonight’s New York
game against the Houston Astros. Nova tossed six innings of three-hit, two-run
ball, walking two and striking out two more. The outing lowered Nova’s
Spring Training ERA to 1.80 over 20 innings of work. He has allowed just four
runs on 11 hits, including one home run, and has struck out nine batters while
walking four. It would appear that the 24-year-old has done enough to lock up
the No. 4 spot in the New York rotation.

·        -  The
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lineup started to take shape Friday, as Greg Golson, Kevin
Russo and Jorge Vazquez, among others, made the trip to Bradenton. Adam
Warren was the starting pitcher.

·       –   Reegie
Corona, the slick-fielding infielder whose season ended after he broke his arm
in July, is at the Spring Training complex and is rehabbing. It looks like he is
going to be there for a while, according to Yankees Senior
Vice President of Baseball Operations Mark Newman. When all is said and done, it
looks like the injury could cost Corona a full year of playing time.

·         - What
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has in pitching prospects, Charleston has in hitting
prospects. The RiverDogs are loaded with young talent. Cito Culver (Baseball
America’s No. 21 Yankees prospect), Mason Williams (BA’s No. 15 Yankees
prospect), J.R. Murphy (No. 14), Slade Heathcott (No. 9) and Gary Sanchez (No.
2) were all in the Charleston lineup today. New RiverDogs manager and former
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre coach Aaron Ledesma will have his work cut out for him in
developing this talent.

S   

        Some first impressions of these players:
    
   

        Culver – hit the ball hard in batting practice and has apparently made
some outstanding plays in the field.

        Williams – a pure
athlete. He looks like he has Brett Gardner’s speed to go along with Will
Smith’s early-90′s flattop haircut. He also has a nice swing and hit a ball hard
to the opposite field in the first inning of today’s game.
         

       Heathcott – looks like the most physically developed player on this list. He’s
a lefty hitter with a

       quick swing that launched a deep home run just left of
dead centerfield in batting practice.

·      

            –  Gary
Sanchez deserves his own bullet-point. The 18-year-old catcher is already a
physical specimen who is probably still growing, and who — if he goes through
aJesus Montero-like baby fat dump in a couple of years — will be an absolute
monster. He looks comfortable behind the plate (like Austin Romine) and has a
ton of potential with the bat (like Montero). It looks like he is going to be
the best of both worlds of the Yankees’ catching prospects.
In Friday’s
game, Sanchez faced a Pirates pitcher who was throwing smoke and looked
unhittable against the RiverDogs’ first three hitters. Sanchez, however, had no
problem turning around the first fastball he saw and driving it just short of
the warning track in leftfield. It was an out, but an impressive one.

·       –   Here
are some pictures from
today’s Charleston game.

·       –   Check
back tomorrow for a story on Jesus Montero.

·      -    Important
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre numbers:
     12 - days until SWB’s opening day at
Lehigh Valley.
     18 - days until SWB’s home-opener vs. Buffalo.

That’s
it for me from Spring Training. Keep checking the blog for more Yankees
news. 

-Conor
Foley

Media
Intern

There was not much to report in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee-land today, as the team went on the road to Bradenton, but here are some notes from the Spring Training complex, where Charleston and Tampa played games:

By Conor Foley

Media Intern

Kei Igawa returned to the pitching mound Thursday, looking
like his normal, laid-back self.

Igawa rushed home after his wife called from their house in
Japan to tell him that the massive earthquake hit.

That was last time Igawa was able to hear his wife’s voice
until he landed in Japan. He could only communicate with her through e-mail as
the tsunami crashed the shores of the island.

It took Igawa three hours to make the normally one-hour
drive from the airport to his house, where he was finally able to see his town’s–the
town where he grew up–damage firsthand.

Igawa said that his family lives about 100 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant but, at this moment,
he can consider himself fortunate.

While there was certainly a pull to remain in Japan and help
numerous friends whose homes flooded, Igawa had to return to camp.

The two
newest members of the 2011 Baseball Hall of Fame class were announced on Wednesday with Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven gaining entry
joining executive Pat Gillick, broadcaster Dave Van Horn and sportswriter Bill
Conlin.

I’ve hardly
been a vocal leader in the fight on his behalf but on more than a couple of
occasions I have mentioned my bewilderment on Bert Blyleven’s absence in
Baseball’s Hall of Fame.  Other than
being 13 wins shy of 300 which would seem to make him an automatic entry into Cooperstown, the Flying Dutchman gained entry in his 14^th
season of eligibility gaining 79.7% of the ballot.  His strikeout total of 3,701 is fifth all
time and prior to getting the nod on Wednesday, he was the only pitcher with at
least 50 career shutouts not to be in the Hall.

During the
Christmas break, I took a day trip to Cooperstown
and visited the Hall.  It is an awe inspiring
place when you walk into the monument room and see all of the players, managers
and executives that have previously been enshrined.  It has always seemed in my opinion that
Blyleven belonged with the pitchers all ready enshrined and finally got his
due becoming the 63^rd pitcher to gain entry.  He did pitch on two World Series winners, the
’79 Pittsburgh Pirates and the ’87 Minnesota Twins going 2-1 with a 2.35 ERA in
four games, three as a starter.  His
overall record of 287-250 included 685 starts, 242 complete games and 60
shutouts.  There are those who will argue
against Blyleven that he was a compiler and picked up
those numbers as much due to the length of the career as opposed to him being a
Hall of Fame pitcher.  I would contend
with 537 career decisions (78.4% of his starts) he was a guy that gave his team
a chance to win each time he took the hill. 
In his 22 year career he played on just three teams that made the
playoffs (’70 and ’87 Twins and ’79 Pirates) hardly a reflection on how he
pitched as he had double digits in wins on 17 different occasions with 10
seasons of 15 plus wins.

With
those that gain entry there are those that fall short and certainly those that
are head scratchers on when they have fallen short.  The great Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry
Larkin picked up 62.1% of the 75% needed to gain entry.  His uptick in the voting from 2010 (51.6% in
his first year of eligibility) certainly seems to be a sign that he will be
joining the hall in 2012 or 2013. 

My
new cause (for whatever it’s worth) now that Blyleven is in will now rest with
Jeff Bagwell.  Having grown up in the Midwest I have never been a Red Sox fan, who drafted
Bagwell back in the fourth round in1989. 
Nor have I been an Astros fan with whom he made his big league debut
with the Astros in 1991 and played with Houston
through the end of his career in 2005.

The
Elephant in the room with players now eligible for the Hall is performance
enhancing drugs.  It makes a group of
very fickle individuals (Hall of Fame voters) even more skeptical of punching
the ballot for a player that played in the steroid era.  Tom Sever who has the top percentage ever in
Hall voting at 98.84% was marked on 425 of 430 ballots.  In Seaver’s first year of eligibility (1992),
three voters turned in blank ballots in protest of Pete Rose’s exclusion from
the process.  How does that have anything
to do with Seaver, who was a 300 game winner, a three time Cy Young award
winner and a 12 time All-Star? With that in mind based on what he accomplished during
his career how was Nolan Ryan (98.79%) not a unanimous selection? For further
proof take a look at Alomar who went from 73.7% to 90% from ’10 to ’11.  Did his career numbers suddenly look better
365 days later or was he punished for the spitting incident with John Hirschbeck?
I think that one is a pretty easy question to answer.  

Bagwell
got 41.7% of the votes in his first year of eligibility on the ballot.  He was a career .297 hitter with 2,314 career
hits, 449 home runs, 1529 RBI’s, 1,517 runs scored and even stole 202 bases
during a career that saw him win the ’91 NL ROY and the ’94 NL MVP.  He was a four time All-Star, won a gold glove
and three silver slugger awards.

His
only apparent “crime” was to have played in the steroid era, although he never
failed a test and is (to my knowledge) not brought up in the same conversation
of those who everyone readily assumes was on the juice.

The
toughest argument when you look at sports from a historical standpoint
(regardless of the sport) is when you try and compare players from different eras.  But that is essentially what the Hall of Fame
voting is essentially all about.  The
argument can be made that you need to take a look at what the player did during
his era and was/is is HOF caliber.  In
Bagwell’s case his numbers stack up favorably with ’80 HOF inductee Al Kaline.  I grew up a Tigers fan and although Kaline
was done with his playing career by the time I was five back in 1974, I watched
Kaline and fellow Hall of Famer George Kell call Tigers baseball on
television.  It was hard to escape the
stories of his exploits on the field while I was growing up in Michigan.

Kaline’s
career average (like Bagwell’s) was .297. 
The Tiger outfielder played 22 seasons compared to Bagwell’s 15 so the
overall hit total is stacked in Kaline’s favor with 3,007 hits to Bagwell’s
2,314.  Bagwell out homered Kaline 449 to
399 and is in the ballpark in several other offensive categories: runs (Kaline 1,622
- Bagwell 1,517), RBI’s (Kaline 1,583 – Bagwell 1,529) and doubles (Kaline 498
- Bagwell 488).

It’s
up for debate on who the better player was and who knows it may not really be
one in terms of what the establishment may think.  I never saw Kaline play in person but he was the heart and soul of the Tigers like Bagwell was with the
Astros.  That in itself is not criteria
for HOF
induction but in my mind the numbers certainly warrant better than 41% of the
vote.