Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from June 24th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L 5-7 vs. Rochester Red Wings

LF Jose Pirela 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K - seventh homer of the season
2B Rob Refsnyder 0-3, 2 BB, K
C John Ryan Murphy 2-4, double, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K - first Triple-A homer of the season
3B Scott Sizemore 1-4, K
DH Kyle Roller 0-4, 3 K
RF Zelous Wheeler 0-4, K
SS Dean Anna 1-4, E6 - fielding error, ninth of the season
1B Austin Romine 0-3, BB
CF Taylor Dugas 0-1, 3 BB, K

Bruce Billings 6 IP, 5 H, 5 R/2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, WP, E1 - 62 of 93 pitches for strikes
Diego Moreno 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Francisco Rondon 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, K
Preston Claiborne 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Robert Coello 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K

Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 3-6 vs. Bowie Baysox

CF Mason Williams 0-5, K, CS
SS Carmen Angelini 1-4, double, 2 K
C Gary Sanchez 1-4, HR, RBI, K - ninth homer of the season
DH Peter O'Brien 0-4, 3 K
RF Tyler Austin 1-3, double, BB, K - batting .324 over his last 10 games
1B Rob Segedin 2-4, double
LF Zach Wilson 1-3, BB
3B Dan Fiorito 0-4
2B Ali Castillo 2-3, 2 RBI, BB

Dan Camarena 4.2 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, K - 47 of 73 pitches for strikes
Tyler Webb 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, hit batsman
Fred Lewis 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB

High-A Tampa Yankees:W 4-3 vs. Clearwater Threshers

CF Jake Cave 1-5, 2 K
SS Cito Culver 0-5
1B Greg Bird 1-3, RBI, 2 K, HBP - batting .273 this season
3B Dante Bichette Jr. 0-2, 2 BB, K
DH Matt Snyder 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K - third homer of the season
RF Aaron Judge 1-4, 2 K
LF Danny Oh 1-3, BB, K
C Trent Garrison 0-4, K
2B Jose Rosario 2-3, triple, HBP - batting .314

Jaron Long 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K - 8 GO/4 AO
Chris Smith 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Cesar Vargas 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:W 6-1, L 0-2 vs. Savannah Sand Gnats

Game 1:

RF Michael O'Neill 1-2, BB
SS Tyler Wade 2-3, RBI, BB
CF Dustin Fowler 1-4, HR, 3 RBI - fifth homer of the season
DH Mike Ford 0-3, BB
1B Reymond Nunez 0-3
C Jackson Valera 0-3
3B Miguel Andujar 2-2, BB, E5 - fielding error, 18th this season
2B Gosuke Katoh 2-3, double, RBI
LF Brandon Thomas 1-3, K

Caleb Smith 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K - 24 of 37 pitches for strikes
Omar Luis 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, WP
Brett Gerritse 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Game 2:

RF Michael O'Neill 0-3
SS Tyler Wade 1-3, K, SB - batting .270 this season
CF Dustin Fowler 0-3, 2 K
1B Reymond Nunez 0-3, 3 K
C Eduardo de Oleo 0-3, 3 K
3B Miguel Andujar 0-3, 2 K
DH Kale Sumner 1-1, BB, SB
2B Gosuke Katoh 0-2, 2 K, E4 - pickoff error, 10th of the season
LF Brandon Thomas 0-2, K

Rookie Davis 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K - 56 of 83 pitches for strikes
Angel Rincon 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, K, WP

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:W 4-0 vs. Aberdeen IronBirds

CF Devyn Bolasky 2-3, RBI, BB - batting .300
DH Brady Steiger 1-4, K
1B Chris Breen 1-4
2B Ty McFarland 2-4, double, 2 RBI - batting .324
RF Austin Aune 2-4, double, RBI, K
LF Nathan Mikolas 0-3, BB, K, CS
SS Thairo Estrada 1-4, 2 K, SB
3B Renzo Martini 0-4, K
C Isaias Tejeda 0-3, K

David Palladino 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, WP - 7 GO/1 AO
Andury Acevedo 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Rony Bautista 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Gulf Coast Yankees 1:W 8-7 vs. GCL Phillies

SS Jorge Mateo 2-5, double, 2 K, E6 - fielding error, first of the season
3B Drew Bridges 1-5, RBI, 2 K
2B Angelo Gumbs 1-5, 2 K
DH Luis Torrens 3-5, RBI - batting .308
CF Leonardo Molina 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K
C Alvaro Noriega 1-3, double, passed ball
LF Miguel Mojica 2-5, double, triple, K
1B Dalton Smith 2-4, 3 RBI, BB, SB
RF Dominic Jose 3-5, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 2 K

Luis Niebla 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Reynaldo Polanco 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Dayton Dawe 2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, hit batsman
Gean Batista 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, hit batsman

Gulf Coast Yankees 2:L 11-12 vs. GCL Braves

2B Junior Valera 3-5, HR, RBI, BB, K
C Jesus Aparicio 0-3, BB, 2 K, passed ball
SS Angel Aguilar 1-6, double, BB, 2 K
DH RJ Johnson 1-5, RBI, BB, 2 K
1B Jake Hernandez 3-6, 3 RBI
LF Anderson Feliz 1-4, RBI, 2 K
RF Wilmer Romero 4-6, RBI, 2 K, OF assist
3B Tyler Palmer 2-4, RBI, HBP, E5 - throwing error, first of the season
CF Jose Augusto Figueroa 2-4, RBI

Jhon Morban 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, WP - 5 GO/1 AO
David Rodriguez 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, hit batsman
Hector Martinez 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, hit batsman
Lee Casas 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R/0 ER, 1 BB, WP
Jonathan Padilla 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Kevin Alexander 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB

Word is that Brian Cashman will receive a (I think) much deserved extension. But the haters were out in force, asking why the Yankees haven't drafted anyone to replace the current core? In the subtext of this critique is the argument that there is enough talent in the draft to restock a team, and that the Yankees should have a GM able to identify inefficiencies that other teams haven't so the Yankees can walk away from the draft with enough talent to reload.

This has always seemed unfair to me, because you're evaluating Cashman by the part of his job that he has the least advantage in. A lousier team gets higher draft picks, and a quick look back through recent history shows us that there are one or two great players in any draft.

Using the incredible draft tool at BaseballReference, reminds us of that: in 2000, for instance, Joe Mauer was taken with the first pick and has amassed more than 44 WAR in his career; Mark Teixeira went with the 5th pick and has 48 WAR. The Yankees (and every other team) that year missed on David Wright, who was picked 38th overall and has 48 WAR. Only one other player from the first five rounds of that draft (Dan Haren) has had a successful enough career to amass 30 WAR.

So I'd like to use 2007 as a test case. It was after all the drama of Cashman consolidating power from George's Tampa faction.

If the draft had been perfect for the Yankees in the 2007 MLB Draft, they would have drafted David Price, Giancarlo Stanton, Matt Wieters, Madison Bumgarner, Jordan Zimmermann, Chris Sale, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Mitch Moreland, Rick Porcello, Craig Kimbrel, J.P. Arencibia, Todd Frazier, Brett Cecil, Dillon Gee, and Mike Moustakas.

Combined with the Yankees' resources, pundits would be picking the Yankees to win the World Series for the next five years. But what if every team had picked perfectly? What if all the players in the draft had been picked in order of future output?

The Yankees picked 30th, 94th, 124th and 154th. Would they have come out better than they did?

In reality, the Yankees took Andrew Brackman (0.1), Austin Romine (-0.7), Ryan Pope (AAA), and Bradley Suttle (AA).

Who was the 30th best player to come out of the 2007 draft (out of the first four rounds)? Ross Detwiler, a Nationals starting pitcher who made it to the bigs in 2009 and has settled in as a mediocre middle reliever with a 103 career ERA+ and 4.18 FIP. He racked up most of his value in 2012 when he made 27 starts and pitched 160 innings (1.2 out of 2 career WAR).

Who is 94th? Hard to say. 94 players from that draft class haven't made it to MLB yet.

That suggests to me that while teams might not pick perfectly, they pick consistently as a whole. Not every future MLB player is taken in the first round, but the ones who aren't have some obvious holes in their game that concerns nearly all the scouts in baseball.

Picking at the end of the draft means the obvious talent is gone. The scouts are looking at 18 or 22 year olds and imagining what they'll look like at 28. It is, to say the least, inexact.

In 2007, the Yankees drafted players they thought could help them. Austin Romine still might, but there was no obvious success like the year before (David Robertson, Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Mark Melancon) or the year after (David Phelps, and dammit, Gerrit Cole).

On Tuesday night, the Toronto Blue Jays had a walkoff win over the New York Yankees on a Melky Cabrera sacrifice bunt attempt. Jose Reyes reached on a double to start the inning, and Cabrera dropped a bunt towards the third base line in hopes of advancing the runner; however, a moment of hesitation over who would field the ball between pitcher Adam Warren and third baseman Yangervis Solarte led to a rushed throw by Solarte that sailed past first base.

This was actually the second time Toronto had walked off on a bunt attempt this season. Less than a month ago, Anthony Gose bunted to Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Juan Carlos Oviedo, who fielded it and threw low to first. Kevin Pillar scored all the way from first base on the play.

Bunt walkoffs are a fun, but rare, breed of baseball plays^{[citation needed]}, so it is pretty incredible to have a team have two of them in one season and probably even rarer to have a team do so before the halfway mark of the season.

Baseball-Reference's Play Index allows subscribers to look for specific incidents like a walkoff bunt in their Event Finder tool. That search revealed that there have been 37 walkoff bunts since 2001 (the list may be incomplete as a "bunt" event relies on the proper description of a play, which is less reliable than counted events like a single or a home run).

Data from Baseball-Reference. Click to see original tables [2001-2007, 2008-2014].

As you can see, the two that the Blue Jays had this year were their first two in this century; while the Milwaukee Brewers seem to be the King of Walkoff Bunts, recording eight of them since 2001. The 2004 Brewers completed two of them in one season, but the latest team to do it before the Blue Jays were the 2005 Twins. Interestingly, in all three cases, one of the walkoffs were ruled a single and the other a reached on error, and the two walkoffs occurred within a month of each other.

Thanks goes to @simon_shargot for asking the question, although this doesn't really answer it.

Unrelated #1

Colby Rasmus is the best.

Now, in front of Rogers Centre, chicken hot dogs are gonna sell like hot cakes.

Unrelated #2

You know how first base coaches always signal "safe" when a close play happens no matter if their team's runner is safe or not? Blue Jays first base coach Tim Leiper certainly didn't get that memo:

Hey Tim Leiper, when it's your player running to first, you shouldn't signal "OUT". https://t.co/Zci01j8viC

— Minor Leaguer (@Minor_Leaguer) June 25, 2014

Unrelated 3

The @BlueJays, reenacting the van scene from Inception (thanks to a foul liner). http://t.co/FXQcojPobrhttp://t.co/hJ2KxnIUDa

— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 25, 2014

Remember when the Yankees swept the Blue Jays last week? Let's not let them return the favor.

Let's not even talk about last night's game.

6/24/14 Daily Prediction Answers

Long time listener, Selftitled85 and Blanky all tied with 1000 points, which means no winner today. Hat tip to LTL for correctly guessing that Jeter would hit a home run, though. It was a bold choice.

6/25/14 Daily Predictions & Fun Questions

Name a toy that you always wanted when you were a kid, but never got.

If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?

What are your tricks for getting rid of the hiccups?

What is your all-time favorite town or city?

The Yankees will send Hiroki Kuroda to the mound tonight to try and avoid the sweep. Traditionally, Kuroda tends to suffer from a distinct lack of run support, so if the offense could show up that would be great.

Just win tonight.

The Blue Jays try to sweep away the Evil Empire tonight at 7:07 as Drew Hutchison takes the mound against right-hander Hiroki Kuroda. The Japanese veteran has been a little off this season and is heading for his first ERA north of 4.00 since he came to the MLB in 2008. He's been hurt by an unlucky 63.9 LOB%, so there's a chance this season could turn around for him, since the rest of his peripherals are pretty much in line with his career norms. The problem for the Yankees is that even in a down year for Kuroda, he's still the team's second-best starting pitcher behind fellow Japanese righty Masahiro Tanaka.

As is widely known across baseball, Kuroda relies heavily on a sinker, slider, splitter combination of pitches that leads to a bunch of weak contact from hitters. Right-handed hitters see all three pitches fairly equally, but lefties mainly just get the sinker and splitter. The split is without a doubt his put away pitch and has late arm-side action that is nearly impossible to hit solidly:

via gamereax.com

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera LF
3. Edwin Encarnacion 1B
4. Adam Lind DH
5. Colby Rasmus CF
6. Dioner Navarro C
7. Juan Francisco 3B
8. Kevin Pillar RF
9. Munenori Kawasaki 2B

Find The Link

Gut Feelings

Arizona is going nowhere and has new leadership, so should the Yankees be interested in what the D'backs might be selling?

Baseball's a funny game. Just three years ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks went from worst to first and made a 29-game improvement to win the 2011 National League West division title. Although they lost a tight five-game Division Series to the Milwaukee Brewers in the bottom of the ninth (ah, sweet justice), they had a bright young core and a skipper who was widely respected throughout the game in former World Series hero Kirk Gibson.

Then, they played exactly .500 ball for two years in a row, and in 2014, they have utterly crashed and burned. They are back to the pits with the worst record in the National League at 33-47, their manager is now derided for being an overly macho clown interested in beanball wars, and the owners have hired Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa to serve as their "Chief Baseball Officer," a nebulous role that is still being defined. One part of La Russa's job that few are questioning though is that he now runs the baseball show, not GM Kevin Towers or Gibson. Thus, it wouldn't be surprising to see one or both of them canned before the season ends. The Diamondbacks' team on the field is at a crossroads, and according to reporter Nick Piecoro, the Diamondbacks are getting ready to hold a fire sale. They will be listening to offers for pretty much anyone except for their incredibly valuable slugging first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt, who has a wRC+ over 150 the past season and a half and is only getting paid $32 million through 2018.

With the Yankees struggling along at just a couple games over .500 in a very winnable American League East, the question must be asked: who on the Diamondbacks will the Yankees most likely look into acquiring? To preface, I highly doubt that the Diamondbacks would be interested in dealing young and effective cost-controlled players like center fielder A.J. Pollock and shortstop Chris Owings, so they are not included.

Brandon McCarthy

A line drive comebacker survivor and a wonderful Twitter personality, McCarthy signed a two-year, $15.5 million deal with the D'backs prior to the 2013 season after bouncing around the AL with three teams since 2005. The righthander will turn 31 on July 7th, and due to his inexpensive cost, several teams are likely to be after him. McCarthy is a control artist, and his minuscule 1.5 BB/9 has led to a fine 3.89 FIP since the beginning of 2013 (38 starts, 232 innings). Unfortunately, McCarthy has a big blemish in his game that could scare the Yankees away--it's possible that he just throws too many strikes. Opposing batters have hit him to a .298/.331/.485 triple slash in 2014, belting 15 homers off  him, a figure that is a big reason why his ERA is an unsightly 5.38. Arizona's Chase Field surrenders a lot of homers, and Yankee Stadium isn't a pleasant home park for his style of pitching, either. Unless he can be acquired for a very cheap cost, it probably wouldn't be in the Yankees' best interest to trade for him.

Martin Prado

The longtime Brave was a critical part of the Justin Upton trade prior to the 2013 season, and the Yankees could seek to reunite the infielder with his old teammate, Brian McCann. Prado was splendid for the Braves in their Wild Card 2012 season, batting .301/.359/.438 with 42 doubles, a 117 wRC+, and 5.6 fWAR. In his first full year in Arizona, he hit a steady .282/.333/.417 with 36 doubles, a 103 wRC+, and 2.3 fWAR. He can play second and third base, both positions of need for the Yankees right now. At first glance, he would seem like a guy the Yankees should definitely have their eye on. The downside however is his disappointing 2014 to date. The 30-year-old righty has slipped to a .272/.320/.372 triple slash with an 89 wRC+ as his power has taken an unfortunate dip. Complicating matters further is that after this year, he still has two more years and $22 million remaining on his four-year contract extension. If Arizona is truly seeking to shed salary, they might accept an low-prospect return for him in exchange for the Yankees absorbing some of the cost. If the Yankees have confidence that this half-season is an anomaly and Prado can recapture at least his 2013 form, then he might be someone worth looking into due to his versatility and their ability to absorb excess dollars. Put him as a "maybe" for now.

Oliver Perez

Yes, the former Mets punchline has actually reinvented himself as an interesting lefty relief arm over the past few years with the Mariners and D'backs. Since the start of the 2012, Ollie has pitched to a 2.94 ERA and 3.15 FIP. Perez is not just a LOOGY, either, as he has proved himself decent at retiring righties as well. In 2014, the 32-year-old has a 2.35 ERA and 3.19 FIP in 34 games and 30 2/3 innings. If the Yankees traded for him, they would be on the hook for the year and a half remaining on his two-year, $4.2 million deal. A relief arm isn't going to be the answer to all of the Yankees' problems, so again, the prospect cost would have to be low. Nonetheless, Perez is an option who might help take some of the stress off Dellin Betances in the 'pen. If Perez doesn't do it for you, then righty Brad Ziegler would be another option, though his more noticeable success over the past few years might make his cost higher.

***

The Diamondbacks might be open for shop, but few of their assets really seem capable of helping the Yankees. There are more players beyond the ones I listed too. They have either already been discussed in the off-season (shortstop Didi Gregorius, who would be more of an acquisition for the future), bad (Cody Ross and his 47 wRC+, Aaron Hill and his high-cost/replacement level play), or hurt and unattractive (Bronson Arroyo, Mark Trumbo, and Eric Chavez). The only ones I would really advocate taking a long look at would be Prado, but time will tell whether or not the D'backs would actually be willing to absorb enough of the cost to make him a more interesting option.

Gary Sanchez has seen his value take a hit this season. Should the Yankees sell low or wait for a bounce that may never come?

Just over a month before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, the Yankees' needs are plentiful and diverse. Between an injury-wrecked starting rotation, a Cenozoic era right field platoon and an infield that's looking worse by the day thanks to Yangervis Solarte's best Vernon Wells impression, the question isn't whether the Yankees should make a trade, but whether they can. The troubles of the Yankee farm system have been well-covered over the past few years. They're thin in the kind of upper-level minor league talent that would entice other clubs to part with true difference makers.

They're thin, except for Gary Sanchez. Well, sort of. Unfortunately for the Yankees, the 21-year-old catching prospect, ranked 35th on Baseball America's top 100 heading into 2014 and 85th on Baseball Prospectus' list, has seen his value take a plummet this season at the worst possible time. There have been questions surrounding his attitude and drive before and a recent mystery benching from Trenton Thunder manager Tony Franklin hasn't done anything to help on that front. Besides that, Sanchez's on-field performance hasn't been all that good. In his first full season at the Double-A level, he's posted just a .260/.329/.420 triple slash with a middling wRC+ of 106. His skills behind the plate have received mixed reviews, but despite a cannon arm, six passed balls and nine errors this season are proof that his defense hasn't improved to the extent that the Yankees would like. Over the coming weeks, Brian Cashman and friends will face the unpleasant catch-22 of whether to sell low or to wait for a bounce that may never come.

Gary Sanchez: A disappointing dud of a prospect thus far in 2014

The Yankees' top prospect has been anything but exciting so far in 2014.

If there's a deal to be made for Jeff Samardzija or another prime-years high-end talent, there wouldn't be much of a groundswell against including Sanchez. But what if it's for a guy a notch below that...someone who'd simply fill a need for a team that seems likely to spend the second half of the season in a cluster of a pennant chase, or a rental on an expiring contract, or an older player whose high salary limits his value. On the one hand it could be a mistake to sell low on a player as physically gifted and with as high a ceiling as Sanchez. If he goes somewhere else and excels and all the Yankees get back is a role-filler, there'll be Frank Costanza/Jay Buhner style screaming laments for years to come. On the other, if Sanchez's trajectory continues to slope downward, his value could end up worn down to nothing. Aren't the Yankees better off getting what they can while they're still able to, especially with Brian McCann signed for five years and John Ryan Murphy also in the fold?

There are plenty of parallels in Yankee history when the team faced a decision on whether to give up on a prospect or to hold on and hope for the best. Ruben Rivera and Jose Tabata stand out the most as top prospects that ran afoul of the organization off the field and ended up getting dealt for less-than-stellar returns. Rivera, once called the Panamanian Mickey Mantle, was Baseball America's number three prospect in 1996, but he hit just .235/.324/.395 at Triple-A Columbus that year, and even though he managed a respectable 107 OPS+ as a late-season call-up, he slipped to ninth heading into 1997. That April he was traded to San Diego in a deal that brought back Homer Bush and the rights to sign Hideki Irabu. Irabu didn't amount to much - in fact Bush's eventual inclusion in the Roger Clemens trade was probably the most worthwhile thing that came out of that exchange - but Rivera was a complete bust, stumbling (literally) through a nine-year career that was worth just 4.9 fWAR. To date, he's best known as the guy who stole Derek Jeter's glove during spring training in 2002.

Tabata, Baseball America's number 37 prospect prior to the 2008 season was traded in a deadline deal that season in a package that brought back Xavier Nady, a journeyman in the midst of a career season and Damaso Marte, a mid-30's lefty reliever. Nady played decently in the Yankees' futile playoff push in 2008 then missed most of the season in 2009, while Marte was injured and ineffective except for a few big innings in the postseason that year. Tabata, meanwhile, has produced just 2.9 fWAR across parts of five seasons in Pittsburgh with a career triple slash of .275/.338/.380. In both cases what the Yankees got wasn't exactly good, but their players' stock continued to dip after the deal.

Everyone remembers the ones that got away. Buhner for Phelps, Doug Drabek for Rick Rhoden, Fred McGriff for Dale Mitchell...it's still debatable whether Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy for Curtis Granderson really worked out in the end. We remember the near disasters, too...that Mariano Rivera for Felix Fermin deal that almost happened and the almost Bernie Williams for Darren Lewis swap. But what about the deals teams should make and don't because they're too protective of a particular prospect? Think the Indians would include Jaret Wright for Curt Schilling or Pedro Martinez if they could do it over? Think the Yankees would maybe part with Joba Chamberlain for Roy Halladay? Would they kill the Cliff Lee deal over Eduardo Nunez again? The Yankees have seen eighteen of their prospects grace the Baseball America top 100 since 2004 and only three - Jackson, Kennedy and Phil Hughes - have produced more than 10.0 fWAR in the majors (though Masahiro Tanaka and Dellin Betances are hopefully on their way).

There are no sure things and Sanchez seems to be getting farther from being one by the day. In managing assets you can't look backward. Saying "we can't trade him for X now because we could have gotten Y a year ago" isn't useful. Other teams may not value Sanchez that highly - if they don't believe he can stick at catcher, his bat hasn't looked strong enough to make him a standout at first or DH. But if a deal should come along that can help, even if it's not for a star, the Yankees shouldn't be afraid to pull the trigger.

Yankees 5 Blue Jays 3

One bad inning cost us. So no sweep.

Drew Hutchison threw 5 good innings, unfortunately he was out there for 6 innings. His bad inning was the 4th. He gave up a walk to Kelly Johnson, then an RBI double to Francisco Cervelli, then got two quick outs. Unfortunately, before he was able to get the 3rd out there was an RBI single to Jacoby Ellsbury and a 2-run Mark Teixeira home run. 3 hits, a walk and 4 runs in the inning. In his other 5 innings he allowed just 4 hits, 1 walk and no runs. He had 6 strikeouts in all, including 3 in the 6th inning.

Rob Rasmussen started the 7th inning and was terrible, 2 walks and a hit batter later, Sergio Santos was in with the bases loaded and no outs. Sergio got out of it allowing just one run on a sac fly. Todd Redmond did a nice job pitching two scoreless innings.

We didn't score enough. We had 10 hits, 3 from Jose Reyes, including a home run on the first pitch of the game and a double. 2 each for Melky Cabrera (who drove in our other 2 runs) and Munenori Kawasaki.

Anthony Gose had a particularly lousy day. He was 0 for 4 with a strikeout. And allowed 2 catchable balls to hit the turf. One a fly ball to the fence that he (a) got too close to to play off the wall (it hit the wall and bounced past him), but (b) pulled up on just short of catching. He either should have caught it (preferable) or played it properly off the wall. Then, in the 8th, there was a popup, foul near the right field line, that he got to, then pulled up an let it fall at his feet. It was mystifying. The way he's hitting, he has to make the plays in the field.

There was an interesting moment in the bottom of the 8th, we had 2 on and Adam Lind due up. The Yankees brought in lefty Matt Thornton. We figured Gibby would pitch hit for Lind, but he didn't and Lind ground out. There might be an explanation:

Gibbons told us Tolleson has having vision problems. Been to the eye Dr a couple times this week. #bluejays

— Barry Davis (@SNBarryDavis) June 26, 2014

Tolleson would have been the choice, but I'd have put in Brad Glenn.

Jays of the Day are Reyes (.166 WPA) and Cabrera (.100). And I'm giving an honorable mention to Santos.

Suckage goes to Gose (-.171, not counting the defensive lapses), Lind (-.184 on a 0 for 4), Rasmus (-.143), Navarro (-.109 on a 1 for 4), Rasmussen (-.160) and Hutchison (-.148).

Source: FanGraphs

We had another good GameThread, 1303 comments. Spor led again, good job.

A win's a win, right?

After a rough outing by Chase Whitley and an ugly ending to last night's game, the Yankees turned to Hiroki Kuroda to spare them from a three-game sweep at the hands of the division leading Toronto Blue Jays.  And with a little timely hitting (and, of course, some missed opportunities) the Yankees snapped their four-game skid and managed to steal one of three from the Blue Jays in Toronto.

The game did not get off to a good start.  In the top of the first, Brett Gardner led off with a double, only to find himself eventually stranded at third as the heart of the Yankee order failed to bring him home.  Then, on the first offering from Hiroki Kuroda, Jose Reyes took him out to right, immediately making it 1–0 Blue Jays.

In the third, the Yankees offense got going, as Francisco Cervelli doubled home Kelly Johnson, who had walked to open the inning.  After Gardner popped out and Derek Jeter struck out, Jacoby Ellsbury came through with some clutch hitting, spanking a liner up the middle for a two-out RBI single to give the Yankees the lead. Mark Teixeira then hit a deep fly ball that just got out of the park, and all of the sudden, Kuroda had a decent lead to work with: it was 4–1 Yankees.

The bottom of the fifth saw the Jays offense get something going.  Munenori Kawasaki worked a one-out walk, and after a three-pitch strikeout of Anthony Gose, Jose Reyes drove another ball deep to right for a ground-rule double to put runners on second and third with two outs. Melky Cabrera didn't miss his chance with runners in scoring position as he singled to left to score both Reyes and Kawasaki.  While Adam Lind flew out to end the inning, the Jays had trimmed the lead to one heading into the sixth.

The game stayed a one run affair until the seventh.  Jays starter Drew Hutchinson didn't return in the top of the inning, replaced instead by Rob Rasmussen, who immediately ran into trouble.  The Yankees got their first two men on in the inning, with Gardner working a walk and Jeter being plunked.  Rasmussen then delivered a wild pitch, and suddenly the Yankees had the bases loaded with no one out.  This knocked Rasmussen out of the game, but replacement Sergio Santos proved to be much better - he limited the Yankees to just one run, surrendered on a Teixeira sac fly that scored Gardner, keeping Toronto within striking distance and giving their offense a chance to earn a sweep after all.

Luckily for us, Kuroda was dealing, and the bullpen was on point tonight.  Kuroda made it into the seventh before being pulled with one out, and Shawn Kelley and Matt Thornton finished off the inning (although the Jays did get runners to second and third with two outs).  Adam Warren got one out in the night before surrendering a single, at which point Joe Girardi turned to Robertson for a five-out save.  Robertson, being a beast, obliged, striking out three and getting all five Blue Jays in order to preserve a little Yankee dignity and escape Toronto with a win.

The Yankees have an off day tomorrow before returning to New York for a three game set against the Red Sox this weekend.  Let's hope they can put this ugly trip to Toronto behind them and push Boston even farther down the AL East standings.

New York Post | Ken Davidoff: Derek Jeter can't begin to show his age now because the team still needs him to perform.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: The Yankees have had really bad infield defense this year and it has cost them.

The Star-Ledger | Jorge Castillo: Alfonso Soriano still believes that he can turn things around and be an everyday player.

Baseball Prospectus | Jason Parks: Damon Oppenheimer and Billy Eppler could be the next GM candidates to get a chance at a job.

A-Blog For A-Rod | Brad Vietrogoski: Alfonso Soriano must be delusional if he thinks he is still a starting player.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Brendan Ryan explains why he makes trick plays with his glove during batting practice.

NoMaas | SJK: The Yankees should dump Alfonso Soriano and Brian Roberts and call up Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Before he ever became a top Yankees prospect, Dellin Betances almost chose basketball instead.

YES Network | Lou DiPietro: Now in Monument Park, Goose Gossage recalls his 1978 season with the Yankees.

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from June 25th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: Postponed

Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 3-7 vs. Bowie Baysox

CF Ben Gamel 2-4, 2 doubles, K, OF assist - batting .283 this season
SS Carmen Angelini 0-3, 2 K
C Gary Sanchez 3-4, double, RBI, passed ball - batting .350/.368/.550 over his last 10 games
1B Peter O'Brien 0-4
RF Tyler Austin 1-3, BB, K
DH Rob Segedin 0-3, HBP - batting .231 this season
LF Zach Wilson 2-3, BB
3B Dan Fiorito 1-4, HR, 2 RBI - second homer of the season
2B Ali Castillo 0-4, K

Eric Wooten 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R/4 ER, 0 BB, K - 59 of 87 pitches for strikes
Manny Barreda 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, K
Nick Goody 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB
Phil Wetherell 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

High-A Tampa Yankees:W 9-3 vs. Clearwater Threshers

CF Jake Cave 5-6
2B Jose Rosario 1-5, BB, K
1B Greg Bird 3-5, double, BB, K - batting .429/.523/.629 over his last 10 games
3B Dante Bichette Jr. 1-5, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K, E5 - throwing error, ninth of the season
DH Matt Snyder 2-6, double, 2 RBI, 2 K
RF Aaron Judge 1-3, triple, 2 RBI, 2 BB, K, OF assist
LF Yeicok Calderon 2-5, double, 2 RBI, K - batting .295 this season
C Wes Wilson 1-4, RBI, K, HBP
SS Claudio Custodio 2-5, double

Luis Severino 6 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K - 8 GO/1 AO
Stefan Lopez 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R/2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, hit batsman
Ramon Benjamin 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 0-4 vs. Savannah Sand Gnats

RF Michael O'Neill 0-3, K, OF assist, HBP
2B Gosuke Katoh 0-4, 2 K, E4 - fielding error, 11th of the season
CF Dustin Fowler 0-1
SS Tyler Wade 1-3, K - batting .271 this season
C Jackson Valera 0-4, 2 K
1B Mike Ford 1-4
DH Kale Sumner 0-2, BB
3B Miguel Andujar 2-3, E5 - throwing error, 19th of the season
SS-LF John Murphy 0-2, BB - throwing error, eighth of the season
LF-CF Brandon Thomas 1-3, K

Chaz Hebert 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 WP - 56 of 88 pitches for strikes
Giovanny Gallegos 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R/1 ER, 1 BB
Evan Rutckyj 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, WP

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:W 9-0 vs. Hudson Valley Renegades

CF Devyn Bolasky 1-4, triple, 2 RBI
3B Brady Steiger 1-3, 2 RBI, K
LF Chris Breen 0-4, K
RF Austin Aune 0-4, 3 K
1B Bo Thompson 1-4
DH Nathan Mikolas 1-3, double, BB, 2 K
SS Thairo Estrada 1-4
C Isaias Tejeda 2-3, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, passed ball
2B Jose Javier 1-2, RBI, HBP

Justin Kamplain 2 IP, 1 H, 0 H, 0 BB, K - 3 GO/1 AO
Sam Agnew-Wieland 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, hit batsman
Tim Giel 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB
Manolo Reyes 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Conor Mullee 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Gulf Coast Yankees 1:W 5-0 vs. GCL Blue Jays

SS Jorge Mateo 1-4, BB, SB
C Luis Torrens 0-3, K
DH Leonardo Molina 0-2, RBI, 3 BB, K
RF Alexander Palma 1-5 RBI, K
2B Bryan Cuevas 0-4, RBI, K
LF Kendall Coleman 0-3, BB
3B Dalton Smith 0-4
1B Roybell Herrera 1-4, HBP
CF Dominic Jose 1-4, K

Joe Harvey 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K - 0 GO/1 AO
Orby Tavares 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Francis Joseph 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Christopher Cabrera 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB
Roybell Herrera 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB

Gulf Coast Yankees 2:L 5-7 vs. GCL Astros

2B Junior Valera 2-4, double, RBI, SB
SS Tyler Palmer 0-3, RBI, BB
DH Angel Aguilar 0-5, 2 K
1B RJ Johnson 0-3, BB, 2 K
3B Allen Valerio 0-4, 3 K, E5 - missed catch, 2nd error of the season
LF Frank Frias 3-4, K, SB
RF Wilmer Romero 0-3, BB
C Rainiero Coa 1-1, BB
CF Jordan Barnes 3-4, triple, 3 RBI

Jordan Foley 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB
Carlos Diaz 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, WP
Alex Polanco 0.1 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, K
Felix Santiago 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Abel Mora 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, K

11 K's and a tip of the cap from @DAVIDprice14: pic.twitter.com/9JlF5FhQMP

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 25, 2014

We know it's coming, and it makes sense, but I hate these "potentially his last start at home" games. Though I will say, I had tears streaming down my face when it was James Shields leaving the mound and B.J. Upton on the bench crying into a towel. Those apparently tugged at my ole heart strings a wee bit more for some reason.

David Priceshared postgame yesterday that he's, "never been as good as I am right now, period...this is the best pitcher I've ever been."

Is he right? Looking at the numbers, seems so:

• DP is the the first pitcher to throw 5 consecutive games with 10 or more strikeouts, the first to do so since Johan Santana with the Twins in 2004.
• He's had 8 Games with 10 or more K's in 2014, which is a team record and three more than any other pitcher (Yankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka).
• In his five June starts he's had 54 strikeouts, making that the franchise record for any month, which was previously held by Scott Kazmir at 50 in August 2007.
• And they just keeping coming: in four straight starts David has worked 8 IP and recorded 10 strikeouts, making him the first guy to do that since Randy Johnson in 2002.
• Is the first pitcher to record 8 double-digit strikeout games in his team's first 80 games since Curt Schilling in 2002, and the first AL pitcher to do so since Pedro Martinez in 2001.
• Probably the most impressive: Price is on pace for 292 strikeouts, which would be the most in the majors since 2002 and in the AL since 1999.

(Stats c/o Marc Topkin and the Rays press team)

Though per what he's expressed this week, it's apparent DP doesn't want to believe that he's long and gone just yet,

"My last batter at Vanderbilt was a home run," Price said. "My last hitter last year was a home run (in the playoffs) when I thought I was gone. You guys think I'm out of here now, and my last hitter for the Rays was a home run again. So take that into consideration."

Links:

- To add to Price's stellar time right now, Vanderbilt beat Virginia to claim their first College World Series title.

- Carlos Pena is back in the majors with the Rangers, and with his return comes hitting home runs into batches of brisket. Seriously.

- These will never get old. A young Royals fan received a surprise reunion with his his dad at the Royals game Tuesday night, not knowing his father was back after a year-long tour of duty. All the feels.

- The Freak was the old Tim Lincecum yesterday, and the best part of it all: the season numbers he's this year and the last, the years of his two no-hitters.

- The Hardball Times continues to produce quality pieces, sharing "The Complicated Serenity of Being On-Deck" today.

A roundup of what the experts have to say about some Yankee prospects you know and some you might not know yet

Keith Law saw the Trenton Thunder recently and had some disappointing things to say about Manny Banuelos, Peter O`Brien, and Mason Williams.

Law was not very impressed by what he saw from Manny Banuelos coming off Tommy John surgery. The 23-year-old lefty sat at 90-92 mph, which was down from the 92-95 mph he averaged before the injury. It wasn't just the velocity though, as his secondary stuff, his curveball and cutter, saw varying degrees of effectiveness throughout the night.

Things weren't all bad, though:

His delivery is still compact and on line, providing a little deception because he keeps everything close to his body...he may be more likely to find a role as a starter who relies more on an assortment of offspeed pitches and some touch and feel, especially if he can tighten up the rotation on his curveball and doesn't have to lean so heavily on the cutter.

In my opinion, that's a bit harsh for someone coming off Tommy John. I mean, it's conventional knowledge that it takes over a year for a pitcher to properly recover from the procedure. He's also been dealing with a dead arm. It's obviously not what you want to see, but let him get a little further removed from surgery and wait for him to actually get stretched out and fully healthy before determining that he's a completely different pitcher now and forever.

Slugging first baseman Peter O`Brien was a big concern for Law as well, believing that he'll never hit for enough power against major league pitching because "he doesn't have great bat speed and he has poor plate discipline, including recognition of non-fastballs." He could get by with one or the other, but both is pretty damning. My concern is that he might not even be a three true outcome hitter because he doesn't ever walk. I imagine the best case scenario for him is a Mark Reynolds-type bat, which certainly has its value, but he needs to continue to improve for that to happen.

Law didn't have much to say about Mason Williams:

@1Pierre64 at the plate? Awful. Extra OF at this point

— keithlaw (@keithlaw) June 19, 2014

At this point I'm right there with him. Mason has the abilities to be a useful bench player, but he doesn't make enough quality contact, and probably makes too much poor contact, to ever be a competent offensive player. Yes, he's still young for his level at just 22 years old, but that's all he has going for him now.

There are many evaluators who don't think much about the Yankees' starting pitching prospects. After seeing Jose Ramirez move to the bullpen, it seems like that is now the new norm in this system, but at least some are more likely to stay than others.

Severino. @Savino36: Better chance at starting: DePaula or Severino? @Yankees

— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 21, 2014

Both Luis Severino and Rafael De Paula have been projected as future relievers, but it's clear that Severino has a better chance to remain a starter.

At the age of 23, De Paula continues to struggle in High-A Tampa. He's able to get strikeouts (11.5 K/9), but control and command (4.3 BB/9, 10.2 H/9) seems to be a problem. His lack of a full repertoire will likely move him to the bullpen where his velocity can play up and he can focus on what he does well.

Severino just made the move up to High-A Tampa at the age of 20 after putting up a 2.79 ERA with a 9.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in Low-A Charleston. He's described as having a reliever's delivery, but if he continues to find success he should be fine.

Ben Badler of Baseball America spoke about several of the Yankees' 2013 international prospects, but he spoke most highly of their high-dollar signings:

Signed to a $1.4 million bonus, Leonardo Molina has a projectable body with plus-plus speed in the outfield and an above-average arm, but he's inconsistent against live pitching. Badler says that he has great bat speed as well, but an unusual load that throws his swing out of whack. Molina started his professional career in the GCL at the age of only 16 because that's how highly the organization thinks of him.

Signed to a $550,000 bonus, Yonauris Rodriguez is projected to remain at shortstop with above-average speed, good hands and an above-average arm. His bat is behind his glove and, according to Badler, his wiry frame suggests that he'll never hit for much power. Rodriguez has hit .333/.442/.472 in 16 games at the age of 17 in the Dominican Summer League.

A player to keep your eye on is Jorge Mateo:

Name to watch is Jorge Mateo. Shortstop with what Newman called the best tools in the organization. 80 runner with power. #Yankees

— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) June 12, 2014

After two seasons in the Dominican, Mateo has finally made the jump to America this year at the age of 19. In 2013 he stole 49 bases while hitting seven home runs and six triples, so if he can get stronger and continues to run, he could be a real threat on every side of the ball.

Because where wouldn't a round number celebration be without an arbitrary list?

Derek Jeter turns 40 today. It seems like just the other day when he was a fresh-faced kid taking over the New York City sports market, winning championships and racking up crazy hit totals. Life is weird. Nonetheless, the big 4-0 is definitely a notable milestone. To celebrate, how about an arbitrary list? Most of the first 30 could really be in any order (and I had some fun with a few of them), so try not to read into the ranking too much; the only ones I really tried to rank were the top 10. Enjoy.

Top 40 Derek Jeter Moments

40. First career hit

39. #6 overall pick

38. Minor League Player of the Year

Derek Jeter accepts his trophy for Baseball America's minor league player of the year in 1994. pic.twitter.com/QJKmG2s6uv

— Baseball Pictures (@BasebaIl_Pics) December 29, 2013

37. Vintage Jeter applause GIF

36. Almost an MVP

So close.

35. Jump play '98

34. Removing Mo

33. 25-game hitting streak

32. Back-to-back-to-back in '97

31. Sportsman of the Year

#TBTCover Happy birthday to @Yankees Captain & 2009 SI Sportsman of the Year, Derek Jeter: http://t.co/ILGQkFjTKKpic.twitter.com/maGWklEXc4

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 26, 2014

30. 1,000th hit

29. Catch over Cano

28. Walking off the Sox

(At 2:00)

27. Emphatic, yet brief, return

26. First walk-off

25. "Yeah Jeets"

Why the Bronx wind will forever whisper, "YEAH JEETS": http://t.co/JucOx1T24c

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) February 12, 2014

#NeverForget

24. Casual celebration

The Jeterian order of thinking:

1. I did not achieve this feat,
2. therefore I cannot issue a "Yeah Jeets" when watching this highlight in two hours time,
3. therefore I will not expend any energy celebrating this.

Text from the brilliant mind of Matthew Floratos

23. 57-game reaching base streak

22. 2000 All-Star Game MVP

21. Jeter & Zim

20. 2,000th hit dribbler

19. Steals leader

18. Captain

On this day in 2003, Derek Jeter was named the 11th captain in New York Yankees history. pic.twitter.com/QczVV3Jlso

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 3, 2014

17. Classic celebration

16. First slam

15. Gift baskets

The MLB made an (imaginary) retirement gift basket for Derek Jeter! http://t.co/iJwIU8JWCVpic.twitter.com/hCXQLEhl0u

— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 12, 2014

14. Subway Series relay

13. Kicking off 2003 rally

12. '96 Opening Day dinger

11. '96 Opening Day catch

10. Old Yankee Stadium speech

9. First epic fall into stands

8. Most hits at the Old Yankee Stadium

7. Maier-assisted homer

6. Franchise hit king

5. 2000 World Series MVP

4. Second epic fall into stands

3. DJ3K

2. Mr. November

1. The Flip

***

And just to add some extra candles, the five truly greatest parts of his career:

1996

1998

1999

2000

2009

Happy birthday, Captain.

Slade Heathcott's season-ending injury is the latest chapter in the disappointing tale of the Yankees' once heralded outfield prospect trio.

It seemed not that long ago that the Yankees were blessed to have a surplus of young, exciting outfield prospects in their farm system. Slade Heathcott, Tyler Austin and Mason Williams all were either consensus Top 100 prospects or, if left off a particular expert's list, very close to it. In 2012 they all posted a wRC+ above 130 at their respective levels while Austin became the first to hit the AA level that year. It looked like in a year or two that the Yankees were going to have three major league ready outfielders with a lot of potential. Of course an embarrassment of riches in baseball tends not to last long as injuries and other pratfalls loom around every corner, and as such the Yankees now only have three young players with cratered value and very cloudy futures.

Heathcott is the one whose possible major league career is in the most jeopardy since he can't seem to stay on the field for any extended period of time. His knee continues to betray him as he only managed nine appearances this year at AA after having his 2013 cut short because of similar issues. It's hard to even assess what will become of Heathcott at this point since his athleticism was part of his upside and it may not be the same when he returns. For the time being his outlook is just a big question mark.

Tyler Austin has seemingly recovered from his own injury difficulties as his wrist issues appear to be behind him. Of course that's not the only matter of concern as Austin has yet to distinguish himself as a hitter at AA. As the least dynamic athlete of the three, Austin was always going to have to hit well in order to make it and that just has yet to happen (103 wRC+ in '13, 91 wRC+ in '14). The team has had him working at first and third to increase his versatility, but like the corner outfield spots he had been patrolling they're positions that are usually home to plus hitters. He's been hot as of late, so perhaps he's starting to turn a corner.

Mason Williams is the one I would wager still has the best chance of making an impact in the big leagues. He still has the speed and defensive tools that made him an exciting prospect, and even with his disappointing 60 wRC+ this year there are positive signs. His walk rate is up and his strikeout rate is down, while his BABIP is almost 50 points lower than last year but slowly normalizing. It seems he's gradually recovering from an absolutely hideous start to his season. His ceiling may never be more than as a serviceable hitter, but he could still make it on the strength of his other talents.

While it's unfortunate that these three youngsters have all but evaporated their trade value, they still have plenty of time to possibly contribute for the Yankees. None of them are yet what you would consider "old": Heathcott will be the senior of them at 24 next season. Not every player can make a continual, swift ascent up the minor league ladder. As Dellin Betances has shown, sometimes the process is a long and drawn out one. You just would have hoped that one of the three would have been knocking on the door of the majors by now.

Last night, in the 7th inning, The Jays had the tying run on base, with two outs, with Adam Lind scheduled to bat. Yankees manager Joe Girardi, not being a complete idiot, brought in lefty reliever Matt Thornton.

Buck and Pat quickly inform us that Adam is 1 for 11 (with 8 strikeouts) against Thornton.

The camera pans to the Jays dugout, in anticipation of John Gibbons counter move. Gibbons sits.

We wait, we see Brad Glenn with a bat in his hand. Cool. Tough spot for a guy getting his first MLB at bat, but that's why we called him up. If not Glenn, then Steven Tolleson would bat. Right? Right?

Well, no, Lind bats. Pretty hard to believe.

After the game, we are told that Tolleson is dealing with some vision problems. He's had dry eyes and blurring vision for the past few days, so maybe not the best choice to pinch hit. The immediate question in my mind is why hasn't he been put on the DL? I mean, he might not need 14 days but, he's Steve Tolleson, we can survive without him for a few days. But, ok, he wasn't available.

That doesn't explain why Brad Glenn wasn't brought in. I mean we sent out Kevin Pillar because he wasn't happy that he was pinch hit for the night before. Not that he made a huge display of his anger. I didn't see it during the game. But, of course, the Blue Jays have never seen a player show a temper before (subtle sarcasm, did you notice it), so we had to make an example of him.

Actually, we've have guys throwing much larger temper tantrums on a daily bases. But this one, we can't abide, because......well because Pillar is the 25th man and if you are going to prove you run the team, it's easiest to use the 25th man as your example.

I'm really not one to complain when someone shows a bit of a temper, I figure I would have wanted to bat there, and it isn't like he showed up Gibby in front of all the fans. It wasn't shown on TV and I'd bet less than 50 people in the stands noticed it. But, ok we send him out. And up comes Glenn.

I figured that a contributing factor for calling up Glenn was that he has played some first base in the minors and with Edwin Encarnacion being run over the day before and Lind still limping, someone else that owned a first baseman's glove might me a good thing to have.

Apparently I was wrong.

Shi Davidi asked Gibby about the lack of a pinch hitter for Lind and:

"(Glenn) is not a first baseman. I guess he could play over there, I guess I could, too," said Gibbons. "It might have been a chance for Tolleson, we could have put Tolleson over there, but the last couple of days, something has happened to his eyes, he's having trouble seeing. He's been going to the eye doctor trying to figure it out, he can't play, we found that out (Wednesday), it kind of hamstrung us a little bit. If Lindy's in the game, the way the team is set up right now, unless he's DHing he's going to have to hit against some lefties."

Yes, frig, anyone can play first. But, Gibbons doesn't trust Glenn to catch balls thrown to him by the other infielders, for 2 innings.

Even if Glenn couldn't play first. Josh Thole was sitting on the bench, we've used him at first before. Glenn could have hit and Thole could have played first.

A day later and it still pisses me off.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: Joe Torre, David Cone, Paul O`Neill and others talk about Derek Jeter at 40 years old.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Mark Newman talks about Manny Banuelos, Eric Jagielo, Bryan Mitchell, Mark Montgomery, and other prospects.

The Record | Bob Klapisch: Do the Yankees have to worry about the workloads of Masahiro Tanaka and Dellin Betances?

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: The Yankees could drop Derek Jeter in the lineup, play Ichiro Suzuki more, and cut Brian Roberts, but is it really worth the drama?

Minor League Ball | John Sickels: A preview of the All-Star Futures US Team, including Yankees prospects Peter O`Brien.

NoMaas | SJK: Despite their struggles, there's no way Shane Greene or Bryan Mitchell can be worse than Vidal Nuno.

MLB.com | Anthony Castrovince: Derek Jeter doesn't feel that his 40th birthday is any different from any other birthday for him.

New York Post | George A. King III: The Yankees and Red Sox will faceoff while neither are at the top of the AL East.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Rob Refsnyder, Jose Pirela, and Kyle Roller are players who could help the major league infield.

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from June 26th, lightning-style.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: W 7-4, L 3-4 vs. Syracuse Chiefs

Game 1:

LF Jose Pirela 2-4
C John Ryan Murphy 0-4, K, passed ball
RF Zoilo Almonte 2-4
DH Kyle Roller 2-3, BB
2B Rob Refsnyder 2-3, double, 2 RBI, BB, CS

Alfredo Aceves 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, hit batsman
Danny Burawa 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Game 2:

LF Jose Pirela 0-3, BB
2B Rob Refsnyder 2-3, BB - batting .333 w/ SWB
RF Zoilo Almonte 2-4, SB
1B Kyle Roller 1-4, 2 K
C Austin Romine 2-4, double, 3 RBI, E2 - throwing error, fourth of the season

Nik Turley 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K - 43 of 75 pitches for strikes
Diego Moreno 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, K

Double-A Trenton Thunder:W 10-5 vs. Erie SeaWolves

CF Mason Williams 1-2, SB
LF Ben Gamel 1-5, double, 2 RBI
DH Gary Sanchez 2-3, double, 2 BB, K
1B Peter O'Brien 2-5, double, RBI, K - batting .223 w/ Trenton
RF Zach Wilson 1-4, HR, RBI, BB, K - first homer
3B Rob Segedin 3-4, RBI, SB, HBP

Jairo Heredia 4 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K - 7 GO/1 AO
Fred Lewis 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB

High-A Tampa Yankees:L 3-4 vs. Clearwater Threshers

CF Jake Cave 3-4, 2 doubles, RBI - batting .313 this season
SS Cito Culver 1-3, K
1B Greg Bird 0-4, 2 K
3B Dante Bichette Jr. 2-4, 2 RBI, K, CS - batting .278 this season
RF Aaron Judge 0-4, K

Conner Kendrick 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Alex Smith 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, K, WP

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:W 9-0 vs. Savannah Sand Gnats

RF Michael O'Neill 2-5, 2 K
SS Tyler Wade 1-5, SB
1B Mike Ford 2-4, BB
C Eduardo de Oleo 2-4, double, RBI
3B Miguel Andujar 2-3, HR, 6 RBI, BB - sixth homer of the season
2B Gosuke Katoh 1-3, RBI, BB

Ian Clarkin 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K - 6 GO/0 AO
Eric Ruth 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees L 3-14 vs. Hudson Valley Renegades

CF Daniel Lopez 1-3, BB
LF Chris Breen 2-4, K
2B Ty McFarland 0-2
RF Austin Aune 1-2, K
SS Thairo Estrada 1-4
3B Renzo Martini 1-3, double, 2 RBI

Matt Borens 1.1 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, WP
Jordan Cote 3.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R/5 ER, 1 BB, K, WP
Ethan Carnes 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, hit batsman

Gulf Coast Yankees 1:W 5-0 vs. GCL Blue Jays

RF Miguel Mojica 2-3, BB, K, SB
2B Anderson Feliz 2-4, RBI, 2 K, SB
1B Dalton Smith 2-3, double, 2 RBI, BB, K
CF Dominic Jose 2-4, RBI, K

Simon De la Rosa 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Travis Hissong 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K

Gulf Coast Yankees 2:L 1-3 vs. GCL Astros

2B Junior Valera 2-4, 2 K, SB
3B Allen Valerio 1-4, double, RBI
LF Jose Augusto Figueroa 1-3, 2 K, SB

Domingo Acevedo 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Mike Noteware 2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Elvin Perez 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R/0 ER, 2 BB

Vidal Nuno won't blow any batters away, but many "crafty lefties" have gotten by with similar stuff. Why can't Nuno do the same?

Even following Chase Whitley's abhorrent performance this week, its pretty evident that Vidal Nuno is the weakest link in the Yankees' rotation. A big reason for Nuno's struggles is that he lacks the stuff to blows away big league hitters. With a four-seam and two-seam fastball that rarely break 90 MPH, and a bland assortment of offspeed pitches, Nuno's stuff is about as fringy as it gets, which is why he found himself pitching in the independent leagues three years ago.

Nuno's repertoire leaves plenty to be desired, but it's not as if there hasn't been a pitcher who's gotten by with comparable stuff. Since 2008, there have been 40 left-handed starters who have thrown at least 2,500 pitches and had an average four-seam fastball velocity of less than 90 MPH. Most of them were fringe major leaguers -- the Garrett Olsons, Wade LeBlancs, and Bruce Chens of the world -- but there are a few good apples in the bunch. Nine pitchers managed sub-4 ERAs despite not lighting up the radar gun, including Jaime Garcia, Wandy Rodriguez, Dallas Braden, Ted Lilly, Mark Buehrle, Tommy Milone, Travis Wood, Jason Vargas, and our old friend Andy Pettitte. If these guyscan be successful pitchers, why can't Nuno do it to?

Command's a big part of it. Unlike Nuno, many of those pitchers were adept at painting the corners. Nuno, on the other hand, hangs far too many pitches. Big league hitters are usually all over mistakes like this, this, this... orthis, especially if the ball's coming in at 88 MPH. Time and time again, Nuno's paid the price for pitches left over the heart of the plate, leading to a disgraceful 15 home runs allowed. His 2.00 HR/9 is second to only Marco Estrada for pitchers with at least 40 innings this season.

Nuno's inferior secondary stuff has also held him back. Many successful soft-tossers get by by complimenting their blasé fastballs with quality offspeed offerings. Jason Vargas spins a deceptive changeup and Wandy Rodriguez made a living with his knock-out curveball, but Nuno's offspeed pitches are pretty ordinary -- and they've been getting clobbered. In 206 plate appearances between this year and last, opposing hitters are hitting .300 and slugging .497 off of Nuno's curveball, slider, and changeup. Just 15.5% of these plate appearances ended in a strikeout, so it hasn't even been a BABIP fluke. Nuno's soft stuff just isn't fooling anyone.

From Jamie Moyer to Tom Glavine to Mark Buehrle, there have been plenty of "crafty lefties" who managed to have successful careers in spite of their lackluster stuff. They didn't blow anyone away with their fastballs, but had pinpoint control, and mixed in quality secondary pitches. Unfortunately, Nuno's struggled to do both of these things. The Yankees don't have a plethora of in-house alternatives, so barring a trade, Nuno will  get at least another start or two. But unless his command takes a leap forward, its hard to imagine he'll be anything better than the 5-ish ERA pitcher we've grown to know and hate.

The Yankees avoided the sweep on Wednesday partially thanks to a hot Mark Teixeira. Tonight they take on the Red Sox for the first time since April. Let's start a win streak.

After winning the last game in the series against the Blue Jays, and getting an off day yesterday, the Yankees should at least be well-rested to face the Red Sox.

6/25/14 Daily Prediction Answers

So, so many of you tied for Wednesday's predictions. Long time listener, goyanks69, Lilly, designatedquitter, Valentin Matos, and Blanky all ended up with 2,000 points. Ties don't count in the realm of things, but good effort. Hopefully Greg is keeping track of this somewhere. Speaking of Greg, he should be back by the beginning of the week.

6/27/14 Daily Predictions & Fun Questions

Do you have any pets? What are their names?

Pick two Yankees to go head-to-head in a cook-off competition and tell us who you think would win.

Now that the group play is over, who do you think will win the World Cup?

Do you usually show up on time to meet someone, or do you tend to run late or early?

Vidal Nuno is pitching tonight. I challenge him to be the best Yankee of the night. If that doesn't work, offense, be prepared to pick him up.