Game 87 @ LA of Anaheim

For the second straight game, the Yankees took an early lead, but the starting pitcher just fell apart. Andy Pettitte did his Joba Chamberlain impression and gave up 6 runs in 4.1 innings, followed by pathetic performances by David Robertson, Brett Tomko, and Phil Coke. No one did their job on the mound tonight.

The offense did continue to roll in the 14-8 loss. A-Rod and Hinske both put up two homers, and Matsui added another one of his own.

The Yankees just played sloppy, ugly baseball, which is something they usually do against the Angels. I can't put my finger on why, but it just seems to be a trend that they have. Hopefully the Yankees can avoid the sleep in tomorrow's afternoon game, when CC Sabathia hits the mound against John Lackey. Should be a good game.

Minor Leaguer Underperformers and Busts

We've already taken a look at those who have greatly exceeded their expectations, so let's see who has not nearly lived up to their hype at all...

J. Brent Cox: I criticized the Yankees this offseason for not protecting him from the Rule V draft, but I guess I should have trusted the guys that see him on a regular basis. He struggled badly in Scranton and left the team after being demoted to Trenton. It's too bad that the Tommy John surgery that he had will probably prevent him from having a career. Maybe it wouldn't be a terrible idea for him to try to learn a funky sidearm/underhand type of delivery. He's still only 25. In Scranton he missed time with an injury and had a 7.08 ERA when he did pitch.

Marcos Vechionacci: I hoped this would be the season where he did something productive after hitting .302 in an injury-shortened 53 at-bat season last year, but the 22 year old Venezuelan is only hitting .199. I don't understand why he is not in Tampa right now. He's young enough that he should continue getting at-bats as long as he is not blocking someone, but it should be at a lower level.

Justin Snyder: There wasn't room at Tampa, so the Yankees had Snyder skip High-A completely and start the year in Trenton. So far, Snyder has been terrible, which is surprising considering his numbers the previous two years - he has always had a good contact ability and a lot of walks. He is only 23 though and has a track record so he's not a lost cause, but he is only hitting an abysmal .181/.292/.551 with only 7 extra base hits.

Chris Garcia: After rebounding from yet another injury he put up a 0.71 ERA in 5 starts. But then Mr. Glass hurt his shoulder again and will need surgery, likely putting him out for most of next year.

Alan Horne: I hoped that his struggles last year were related to his shoulder injury. Well, he went into this season and did even worse, putting up an 11.15 ERA in Trenton and now he is back on the DL. Too bad.

Damon Sublett: He had to repeat Tampa due to missing a lot of last season, but he's just been mediocre this year at Tampa with a .752 OPS. But I wouldn't be surprised if the 23 year old second baseman really picks it up in the second half of the season.

Jairo Heredia: Heredia got a lot of hype after putting up very good numbers in Charleston as an 18-year old. Unfortunately, he has not thrown a single pitch this season with an "upper body" injury that the Yankees won't reveal. Hopefully he can get into action by August and get some innings in the offseason, and avoids (or avoided) surgery.

Brad Suttle: After a decent season in Charleston last year, he had two shoulder surgeries and will miss the entire season.

Brandon Laird: Last year he had 23 homers in Charleston and clearly got better as the season moved on. But he has hit a wall in Tampa so far. The 21 year old has a .678 OPS with only 5 homeruns and a .247 batting average.

Dellin Betances: It looked as if he found the ability to locate his pitches the second half of last year. However, this year, he walked 27 in 44 innings and has missed most of the season with injuries.

Humberto Sanchez: He made his Major League debut last September and looked like he could be a piece in the bullpen this season. But he got injured again and is now struggling down in Tampa.

And the award for biggest bust goes to...
Andrew Brackman: He was actually doing very well for the first 2 months of the season, but then just hit a wall. Now he has 56 walks in 73.1 innings and a 6.01 ERA in Charleston. The only encouraging sign is the almost 1 strikeout/inning. Not a great first season for the 1st round draft pick...

Mets Claim Angel Berroa from Yankees

According to Adam Rubin of the Daily News (from his 'Surfing The Mets' section) the New York Mets have claimed IF Angel Berroa off of waivers from the Yankees. They assigned him to Triple-A Buffalo.

Is it me or have we seen a lot of terrible baseball moves in the last few days? First of all, Omar Minaya practically gives Ryan Church to the Atlanta Braves for Jeff Francoeur, who, by the way, has had three full seasons (including this one) where his on-base percentage below .300. And he will never show any signs of improvement in this field as well.

Then, the Royals acquire SS Yuniesky Betancourt and most of his $10 million dollar contract from the Mariners for two decent prospects. Betancourt, 27, is a Cuban refugee who is basically the shortstop version of Francoeur, but without power. He is also a terrible fielder. It could be argued that he is one of the worst starters in all of baseball. But you can never be surprised by the moves the Royals make - they did give away Ramon Ramirez and Leo Nunez this offseason, acquired Mike Jacobs while they have a good first base prospect in Kila Ka'aihue just waiting in Triple-A, and signed Kyle Farnsworth to a multi-year deal.

I know this is a Yankees blog, but I need to stress how incompetent Omar Minaya and the Royals are. I'm sure Minaya is discussing trades, but he needed to do something weeks ago if he thought that the Mets can contend.

EDIT (3:32 Eastern): Turns out Rubin was incorrect about the details. The Yankees actually released him Tuesday and he was just signed to a minor league contact, so he is not on the 40 man roster. Therefore, this actually means absolutely nothing - he's just depth. But regardless, Angel Berroa stinks.

First Half Exceeders!

This post will take a look at the Yankee prospects whose performances have exceeded expectations. Soon I will make a list of those not meeting their expectations, and then one for those meeting those. These will help me to put together an overall prospect list. I hope to have the time to put together a prospect list soon.

Note: only full season-ball guys are being considered for now. Rookie ball guys have too small a sample size.

Alfredo Aceves: The so-called “Mexican Gangster” has been amazing thus far in the bullpen. He has been dubbed the new “Ramiro Mendoza” and rightly so. With Wang out, he will be given a legitimate chance to prove that he can handle a rotation spot in the AL East. If he can’t, he will return to the bullpen and have a spot in whatever inning, or four innings, the Yankees need that night. I don’t really have a problem with him in the bullpen opposed to starting because he doesn’t have “dominant” stuff, so I could see him failing in the rotation. I was very impressed with him last season but didn’t expect him to keep it up – well he has, and I am very happy about it. The Mexican League continues to be a breeding ground for the Yankees.

Phil Coke: He has some “growing pains” this year, but he has established into a legitimate 7th inning guy, not just a LOOGY. A good walk-rate, decent K-rate, and the ability to throw with his left hand have given this former-starter a career.

Wilkin de la Rosa: With de la Rosa, I will pretend he is a little younger because this is only his second full season pitching professionally. He pitched so well in Tampa that he got promoted, where he is holding his own (3.81 ERA) and striking out almost 9 batters per 9 innings. The only thing that might be an issue is his proneness for the flyball and control occastionally; his BB/9 is in the 4’s, not great but not terrible. (FYI, Mike Ashmore confirmed for me that this is his actual name – not Wilkins or de la Rossa)

David Robertson: Too wild right now to trust in big situations, he has become a useful part of the Major League bullpen. If he can work on his control (he is prone to fits of wildness) he can be an 8th inning guy. His K-rates have always been fantastic.

Manuel Banuelos: I wouldn’t be surprised if he is a Top 100, or even Top 50 prospect by season’s end. He’s 18, playing in Low-A ball, and has a 2.20 ERA, and 66 strikeouts and 15 walks in 72.3 innings. This is just plain ridiculous…

Brett Gardner: He is making a case for the centerfield job for the rest of this year, and possibly the future. He is hitting more line drives, is easily one of the best defensive centerfielders in baseball, and walks at a good clip. Of yeah, he’s ridiculously fast. He – not Melky – might be why they move Austin Jackson to left field…

Ivan Nova: The righty made it up to Triple-A this year. He has a lousy K/BB rate but gets a good amount of grounders and is only 22. The Padres must be mad at how much he is improved thus far. He could be in their rotation right now if they held onto him. The Yankees got lucky.
Jesus Montero: I really don’t need to explain how amazing he is, but I will. At the age of 19 he is already is holding his own at Double-A after embarassing the High-A pitchers (.989 OPS) all while (at the moment, at least) being a catcher. He could very well be in the Majors next year.

Reegie Corona: The Yankees got lucky with him too. I didn’t expect it, but the second baseman has a .400 OBP in Double-A, and is showing some power too (3 homers, 16 extra base hits in 220 at-bats).

Hector Noesi: Getting a chance to start stateside, he had a 2.38 ERA with a 78/11 K/BB ratio in Charleston. Yes, that is very good. He is 22.

D.J. Mitchell: Like Noesi, the 22-year old dominated Low-A and is now in the High-A rotation.

And now, my pick for second-half break out player....

Mitch Abeita: Abeita is a 23-year old catcher that has been splitting time with the struggling Chase Weems down in Charleston. Yes, he is a little old for Low-A, but I would like to see him get the majority of the at-bats from hereon. In only 137 at-bats, he has shown power (13 extra base hits, 4 homers), extraordinary patience (22 walks, 11.3% of the time), and has caught many of the prospects that have whizzed by Charleston. The Yankees might have another catching prospect on their hands.

I'm Likely Back

Clearly I haven't been too focused with this blog lately...well, I'm back. I am looking for a guy that could do game recaps too. Please post in the comments or email if interested...