THE STATE OF THE YANKEES PITCHING

First, let me give you alittle Yankee pitching news. 3 names have moved on according to LoHud, read it HERE.

Aaron Laffey was apparently claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals. Scott Proctor elected free agency as did Raul Valdes.

Now, for other important stuff coming out of Yankeeland. The next logical target for the Yankees as far as starting pitching is concerned is the Rangers lefthander CJ Wilson in my opinion. Yes, the 2011 rotation did much better than anyone anticipated, but there is definitely a need for improvement, so why not “Pretty Boy” Wilson, as Casey calls him? CJ Wilson has improved on his 2010 breakout year, proving more than capable as the ace of the Rangers staff. He finished the season with a 2.94 ERA, 206 strikeouts (8.3 K/9), and a career high 223.1 innings pitched.

Adding Wilson behind CC, assuming CC Sabathia returns, would certainly give the Yankees the most dominant pair of lefties in the game, which could prove to be a valuable commodity when facing the lefty laden lineups of Boston (who despite collapsing, is still an excellent offensive team) and the Rangers. That said, I don’t see the Rangers letting CJ get away. Don’t forget, the Rangers lost out on the Cliff Lee sweepstakes too and have plenty of money sitting around to make sure he stays. Losing their ace in back to back off-seasons would be a PR nightmare, especially given the current free agent market. Sure, the Rangers could abandon CJ and make a run at Yu Darvish, but should they fail in that pursuit, they’re left with a staff led by… Derek Holland and Colby Lewis. And, could Neftali Feliz truly succeed in a starting role with only two pitches? As much as I’d like to have CJ Wilson, I don’t see him going anywhere. He seems to love playing in Texas and the fans love him back. Additionally, I don’t see how a 31 year old with all of 2 years experience starting in a division with the Athletics, Mariners, and Angels is a sure thing to perform in the AL East. If Yu Darvish doesn’t work out (Read WHY I’LL CONVINCE YOU ON YU), I’d go for CJ.

Clearly, Manny Banuelos is another lefty that could prove reliable and dominant for the Yankees, very possibly in 2012. And speaking of Banuelos, what do we do with those other B’s? If their performance in AAA is any indication of how they’ll look at the beginning of next year, Betances and Banuelos should be given a chance to make the rotation out of Spring Training and boot Phil Hughes to the bullpen, but more than likely they need to be sent back to Scranton Wilkes-Barre (or I guess Rochester seeing as they’ll playing most of their “home” games there next season) and given their chance to dominate.

As for Andrew Brackman, I say he should be in the bullpen on Opening Day 2012, ready to work late innings. He proved last season that he has huge flaws as a starter, but towards the end of the season, he was an utterly dominant setup man for the Yanks’ AAA affiliate. His fastball + power-curve combo works fantastically out of the bullpen, and adding him into a bullpen with Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera would pretty much a guarantee that the Yankees have the best bullpen in baseball for the second year in a row.
If all went according to my plan, we’d have a rotation resembling Sabathia, Darvish, Ivan Nova, Phi Hughes, AJ Burnett for Opening Day, and as the season progresses, I believe Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances could both try their hardest to beat out the latter three. That’s a damn nice 1-2-3, and if Hughes maintains the form he displayed in the end of the season, he’ll be one of the better 4th starters in the game.

Finally, an important part to all of this is an extra lefty in the Yankees bullpen. Casey has been ranting about the need for an extra one in the pen, and he’s right. Boone Logan is a fine relief pitcher, but a lefty specialist he is not. We were all set for Pedro Feliciano to be our hero, but his entire career may be in jeopardy, so forget about depending on him in 2012. Damaso Marte was never any good, except of course the 2009 postseason, but let’s face it, that was 2009. I’m not sure who’s out there, but it has to be done.

Look, at the end of the day, I have a plan, it may not be perfect or realistic to some, but in my opinion, I think it could work. Do you agree, maybe disagree? You can comment… let me know what you would do.

--Grant Cederquist, BYB Staff Writer



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WHY IF THE ALDS ROSTER WAS A TEST...

I'd get 2 wrong. So I’m not a total screw up, am I? The Yankees ALDS roster was revealed earlier today and if you read WHY I KNOW THE YANKEES 2011 ALDS ROSTER, you know that I chose a few players that others disagreed with. That’s why this is a blog, so I can give my opinion and you can give yours.Chris Dickerson was a name I mentioned for bench help. He has an OK bat but more importantly, he has wheels and can play the outfield. To me, he was a perfect choice for the ALDS bench. I was right. He’s joining the Yankees on this trip.

You’re Welcome.

Look, let’s be honest, I had a tough time thinking about having Dickerson or Andruw Jones on my roster. In the end, Jones didn’t make the cut. The reason was because I wanted an extra lefty pitcher and I picked Raul Valdes. Because of that, I lost a bench spot. Now, it turns out the Yankees are sticking with 1 lefty, Boone Logan in the pen for this Series. In turn, they picked Andruw Jones to join the rest of the bench. Good choice.

I also made a bold statement and went against the grain on 1 more pick. Because I believed Hector Noesi earned a spot on the ALDS roster, I picked him over an often injured and non-battle tested Phil Hughes. To me, it was obvious. Noesi was pitching all season and really handled himself. Hughes, on the other hand was hammered with injury and didn’t really do anything this season. I was clearly overruled. The Yankees picked Hughes over Noesi. I’m fine with that, I just thought my reasoning made sense.

Every other roster spot was correct. It just made me smile, that’s all. Am I still just a blogger who gets it wrong more than I get it right? Yes, I don’t take myself too seriously, I just thought it was cool. That’s it.

Whatever the roster, one things for sure, it’s ALDS time… Sabathia vs. Verlander. LET’S GO YANKEES!

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WHY I KNOW THE YANKEES 2011 ALDS ROSTER

It comes down to who contributed and who didn’t this season. There were some newbie’s who came up in September who provided some pop and there were some that slowed down considerably. Evaluating the whole season and using my gut a bit helped me make my decision and to me, it was pretty simple. This is what I would do if I was the Yankees and had to fill a 25 man roster for the ALDS.

I’m like the Count on Sesame Street. (A lot of Sesame Street references lately. You can see where the other part of my life lies.)

There are the obvious guys of course; Russell Martin, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… ha ha ha.For the pitchers, You have to go CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano, Cory Wade, Luis Ayala, Boone Logan and the other lefty, Raul Valdes, who in a short batch of appearances, has impressed me. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14… ha ha ha

The outfield clearly has to be Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner. That’s 3 more… 15, 16, 17… ha ha ha

Now comes the tricky part. Who would I choose to fill in the blanks? I know. Well. First off, you need a Designated hitter and since the Yankees have an experienced veteran like Jorge Posada, he’s got to join the party, but, because he can’t hit lefties and Jesus Montero can, we add him. Montero can also be a backup at catcher if need be and Posada can as well. That’s 2 more. 18, 19.

There are 6 spots left and we still need at least 1 more starter. I am choosing Freddy Garcia. It’s bold but based on experience and his ability to get out of trouble, I go with my anchor. 20.

We need alittle speed and we need alittle pop on the bench. Automatically, I need to choose Eduardo Nunez and Eric Chavez. Both have demonstrated they deliver when called upon. 21, 22… ha ha ha. 3 spots left.

I need another bench player no doubt. Someone who can bat or run late in the game to scratch out another run if needed. I’m going with Chris Dickerson. He provides extra speed and can play the outfield. 23.

2 slots left and I need to concentrate on pitching now. Phil Hughes has been suggested as a guy they’d put in the bullpen in the ALDS. But this is my concern, if Hughes has a cranky back, why the hell are we going to do that? With this guys injury record this season, I decline that option. I go with Hector Noesi. Noesi has not only proved himself, he can go a few innings and I consider him my go-to-guy if shit hits the fan. Now I’m up to 24…ha ha ha.

1 slot left and I’m going with the most controversial pick of the post. AJ Burnett. AJ Burnett will be my wild card. AJ is there if a starter gets lit up early, God forbid, or if a starter tweaks his back, kind of like how David Wells did back in 2003. We probably won’t see AJ pitch in the ALDS, but just in case, he’s there. 25. 25 Yankee roster spots filled!

Yeah… it’s not easy and it may not be perfect in your mind, but this is my opinion based on what I’ve seen all season. Yeah, it’s tough because in this series, Andruw Jones didn’t make the cut and Phil Hughes would be staying home too because of injury, but I’m confident this formula would work.

Don’t agree? Tell me why. Comment. Keep it clean too by the way, I’ll respect your roster scenario if you respect mine. Oh and one more thing… LET’S GO YANKEES!

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YANKEES CLINCH! DIVISION TITLE NEXT!

Today was pretty exciting. The game itself was slow going because James Shields was very very good today. In fact, he was dynamite. Finally, after the 7^th inning, things changed. The Yankees had 1 run until Eduardo Nunez cranked out a homer to tie it up.

Then , in the bottom of the ninth, Robinson Cano knocked a 2 run double to bring the Yankees ahead 4-2. But let me back up. If Brett Gardner didn’t slash that opposite field single to start off that inning and Derek Jeter didn’t work a walk, Robinson Cano's hit means nothing. That’s team work, that’s the Yankees offense, that’s a team hungry for the postseason.

Hector Noesi started the game for the Yankees today. He was a last minute add because Phil Hughes was scratched with back spasms. Noesi pitched 2.2 innings, allowed just 2 runs on 4 hits and struck out 2. Like I’ve said in WHY THE YANKEES PEN IS THE BEST IN BASEBALL, Noesi is a team player and does what is asked of him. He did it again today, this time starting and you have to tip your hat to this kid, he handled it well. But that’s not all, the pen was incredible and they deserve much of the credit in keeping the Rays held to 2 runs the rest of the game. The combination of Raul Valdes, George Kontos, Aaron Laffey, Cory Wade, Boone Logan, Luis Ayala (who earned the win), and Mariano Rivera was brilliant for a day game before this night game. Girardi mixed up the pitchers, righty to lefty and kept the Rays off guard. Terrific job today.

1 heads up base running situation that I wanted to point out which took place today and I loved it because you know I love speed if you read Bleeding yankee Blue. Eduardo Nunez stole second and third in the same inning (I believe the 5th.) No, it didn't give us a run, though it's important because it shows agression and pure grit. Gotta love it.

Final Score: Yankees 4 –Rays 2

Congrats to the Yankees for making the postseason for the 16^th time in 17 years. That is incredible. But no celebration yet. The Yankees have a night game with the Rays and CC Sabathia is on the mound right now. After a win tonight, then let's talk about party time...one game at a time.

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WHY OUR YANKEES FELL SHORT

The Yankees only have 3 hits last night and 1 of them was a home run by Jesus Montero. We can celebrate Montero's talent since being called up all we want, but the reality is, it's not as sweet if the Yankees don't win. Last night the evil Red Sox lost and being on the West Coast, they knew about it by the time they started. More incentive to push harder.
Jered Weaver pitched well, striking out 11, walking only 2 and allowing only 3 hits. We knew the Yankees were going to have a tough time. But we also knew Weaver was beatable, in his last 5 outings he struggled a bit. It was the right time for New York. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. We needed the Yankee pitching to do the same and they did for the most part. Bartolo Colon was awesome last night, as I suggested he needed to be. He only allowed 1 earned run.David Robertson, who may be the greatest set up man in Yankees history, pitched a perfect 8th inning. In the ninth, Aaron Laffey gave up a single and quickly Girardi's Binder went into panic mode. Quickly Laffey was replaced by Luis Ayala. Vernon Wells singled and the runner advanced the third. Ayala then hit Peter Bourjos by a pitch and that loaded the bases. Maicer Izturis hit a deep fly that scored the runner from third and that's the ball game, Angels win.

My own observation after tonight. I love extra lefties in the bullpen but I feel like Aaron Laffey is a poor man's Boone Logan. It's time to try out Raul Valdes. I feel as though Laffey gets into trouble too much. But what do I know, I'm a blogger.

Final Score: Angels 2 - Yankees 1.

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THE YANKEES GANG OF 6

I wanted to just break down the September call-ups for you. These guys have a great opportunity here and will help energize and already hot Yankees team:



Raul Valdes: Finally, my wish has come true. Another lefty in the pen to help out Boone Logan on consecutive days. Many don't see the reason for this because the bullpen is so hot, but to me, it makes sense, sometimes you need to play the odds with lefty hitters and lefty pitchers and Valdes could prove helpful. In 7 appearances last year for the Cardinals he had a 3.38 ERA.Scott Proctor: He's back and older and wiser, we hope. In the four years with the Yankees, Proctor had a 4.29 ERA in 190 appearances. To me, Scott Proctor was the early 2000's David Robertson, before we knew how great David Robertson could be. While in Scranton this year, after 7 innings, he posted a 2.57 ERA. Welcome Back Scott Proctor.



Lance Pendleton: I like this kid and I'm glad he's back. In 14 innings pitched this season in Scranton, Pendleton has a 3.21 ERA with 8 strikeouts.Chris Dickerson: He provides the speed and has a decent bat and good defense. He's a perfect late inning bench guy and I love the kids energy.



Brandon Laird: He had a shot earlier this year and did well getting his first hit and first RBI in the Bronx. What a way to start. Another guy that can be a good addition to the bench, plus he can play 3rd base and outfield. Utility is good.Jesus Montero: What can I say that hasn't already been said. The rising of Jesus is all over Yankeeland and we are happy to have him. Slow start in his major league debut although he did get a big run off of Russell Martin's triple against the Sox the other night. I believe that his presence will be an asset to the Yankee team. Youth can bring energy and the hype surrounding this kid is incredible.



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WHY YOU LOVE BYB YANKEE NOTES

Alex Rodriguez: ARod is with the Yankees in Minnesota and hopefully the big guy will get into the lineup as the Yankees DH on Sunday. Look, let's be honest, the Yankees are winning. Sure, having Alex's bat in the lineup is great and can help the team, but what's the rush? The story about Alex in case you live under a rock is that he looked alittle timid in his rehab starts in the minors. He admitted he wasn't comfortable even though he felt fine. Read about it HERE.

Freddy Garcia: So what appeared to be a cut on his finger and a delayed start has turned into something more, a brief DL trip. Freddy Garcia has been placed on the Disabled List and will start the following Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles. Freddy hasn't pitched since August 7th at Boston. Girardi said on the DL move "We just thought it was a safer route. He hasn't pitched in 2 weeks." Read about it HERE.

(Photo: Getty)

Buddy Carlyle: Our Buddy... Buddy was released by the Yankees. He posted a 4.70 ERA this season while on the big squad. With Scranton he had a 3.98 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. The Yankees apparently just thought it was time to cut him loose, after all, they are trying to stock up with lefties after signing Raul Valdes (Read HERE) to a minor league deal just the other day. Read about it HERE.

(Photo: Steven Bisig/US Presswire)

Aaron Laffey: The Yankees claimed lefty pitcher Laffey from the Seattle Mariners. Read about it HERE. The best part about Laffey is he's young, 26 years old and he's major league ready, when needed. Laffey has appeared in 36 games for the Mariners going 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA.Gustavo Molina: Our guy Molina, no relation to the Molina brothers was released by the Yankees. He was released to make room to Laffey. Molina was batting .239 in Scranton. Thanks for your service Gustavo.



Stay here at Bleeding Yankee Blue for more as it happens.



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WHY YANKEES NEWS IS TAKING OVER BYB

(Photo: Getty)

Freddy Garcia: Freddy threw a bullpen session the other day to test his cut finger, but he only threw his fastball and some other breaking balls, not his splitter. The splitter has been his go to pitch this season, which has been a big part of his 10-7 season with a 3.17 ERA. If he can't make his start Sunday, manager Joe Girardi said there is a possibility of Garcia landing on the Disabled List. Read that HERE.Alex Rodriguez: His rehab from his knee surgery is complete. After a 1 for 2 day including two walks and an RBI in Scranton for the AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees, A-Rod made the flight to Minnesota to join the Yanks. He didn't play Thursday, and he won't play Friday. The date for Alex's return will probably be Saturday. Check that out HERE. He's been sketchy at best defensively during his rehab, but that's to be expected. He's been out of action for over six weeks.

(Photo: Getty)

Raul Valdes: Veteran lefty reliever Raul Valdes was signed by the Yankees the other day. You can read that HERE. The Yankees moved pitcher Jeff Marquez to the 60-Day DL to make room for Valdes on the 40-Man roster so he could possibly get a chance at the Bigs come September. This could be just a minor league depth move, considering they had JC Romero awhile back. Romero was released a few days ago and has signed on with the Colorado Rockies. Valdes tossed a scoreless inning for Scranton Wilkes/Barre against the Durham Bulls, AAA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, on Thursday.

Those blasted Umpires: The umpires did in fact make the wrong call when they upheld Billy Butler's home run after turning to the replay booth during Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Royals. Check that story out HERE. The ball appeared to ricochet off the padding on the top of the wall and off the second chained fence behind the padded wall and onto the field. According to the ground rules, the ball is supposed to go over that second small fence and into the stands. If you haven't seen it for yourself, check it out HERE.



As it comes, Bleeding Yankee Blue will continue to deliver. Stay with us, we do our best for you.









--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer









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