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Orioles vs Yankees lineups and game preview for Sunday, July 13th

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A win will give the Orioles the series with the Yankees along with a four-game lead in the American League East.

8:05 pm, Oriole Park at Camden Yards

TV: ESPN
RADIO: 1090 WBAL AM

PITCHING

Kevin Gausman 2014:

ERAGGSIPHRBBSOERA+FIPWHIPH9HR9BB9SO9SO/W
3.516633.1113241153.341.328.40.33.56.51.85

vs. current Yankees:

NamePAABHHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
Brett Gardner5510002.200.200.200.400
Jacoby Ellsbury3300001.000.000.000.000
Kelly Johnson3300001.000.000.000.000
Ichiro Suzuki2200000.000.000.000.000
Zoilo Almonte1100000.000.000.000.000
Derek Jeter1100001.000.000.000.000

Chase Whitley 2014:

ERAGGSIPHRBBSOERA+FIPWHIPH9HR9BB9SO9SO/W
4.9411105151036813.811.45111.30.91.86.43.6

Whitley has never faced the Orioles. Let's hope that doesn't mean that we're looking at a repeat from yesterday.

Today's Lineups

NEW YORK YANKEESBALTIMORE ORIOLES
Brett Gardner - CFNick Markakis - RF
Derek Jeter - SSSteve Pearce - LF
Jacoby Ellsbury - DHAdam Jones - CF
Mark Teixeira - 1BNelson Cruz - DH
Brian McCann - CChris Davis - 1B
Brian Roberts - 2BJ.J. Hardy - SS
Ichiro Suzuki - RFManny Machado - 3B
Kelly Johnson - LFCaleb Joseph - C
Y. Solarte - 3BJonathan Schoop - 2B
Chase Whitley - RHPKevin Gausman - RHP

Yankees 1, Orioles 3: Yankees lose rain-shortened game

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Meh.

Rain is stupid. In the final game before the All-Star Break, the Yankees took an early lead on a Brett Gardner home run. But once the Orioles took the lead for themselves against Chase Whitley, the rain started falling. And after a lengthy rain delay the game was called and the Yankees fell to the Orioles 3-1.

The Yankees got off to a really quick start when Gardner led off the game with a home run. It looked like a perfect way to start off the game, but this wound up being the extent of the offense.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Orioles came back to take the lead. Whitley had pitched a solid first three innings, but he walked Nelson Cruz to start the fourth. Chris Davis then homered, giving the Orioles the lead. J.J. Hardy followed that up with a double. Whitley then got two ground outs, the second of which moved Hardy to third. Jonathan Schoop came up next and he singled to score Hardy, chasing Whitley from the game. He went just 3.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. He did strike out four, so that was okay. David Huff came in and got the last out of the fourth, but Baltimore now lead 3-1.

In the top of the fifth inning the wind started to pick up, and during the bottom half of the inning, the rain started to fall. The tarp was eventually brought on and the game went into a rain delay. It then became a farce. We played the waiting game for over two hours before the game was eventually called. The Orioles came away with a 3-1 win in the bottom of the fifth and we all lost two hours of our lives. Fun.

And that weird game will do it for the first half. We are now officially on the All-Star Break. Tomorrow will be the Home Run Derby. That'll be fun? I dunno.

Box score.

Orioles head into All-Star Break on wings of rain-shortened 3-1 defeat of Yankees

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Kevin Gausman got his first career complete game in unorthodox fashion, pitching the only five innings of a rain-shortened game on Sunday night. Chris Davis hit his 15th home run of the season to put the Orioles ahead for good.

When the Orioles called up Kevin Gausman to make Sunday's start, a complete game victory is the best thing that anyone could have hoped for. That's exactly what the Orioles got from Gausman as they beat the Yankees, 3-1, although the way it happened was not what anyone would have guessed. Thanks to rain, the teams only played through the top of the fifth.

After a 2:20 delay the umpires finally ended it and let everyone head off to their All-Star Break plans. As one Baltimore writer quipped on Twitter, they were in danger of running into the first Home Run Derby where a player could not participate due to having a regular season game still going on. The delay lasted longer than the game itself.

Things did not start out so smoothly in Gausman's latest return to the majors. He gave up a home run to Brett Gardner, the first batter he faced in the game, and ended up giving up hits to three of the first five batters he faced.

It's a good thing for the Orioles that one of the hits did not result in a baserunner. Mark Teixeira hit a ball to the right field wall and decided to challenge Nick Markakis by going for a double. This was a poor decision in retrospect, as Teixeira was just slow enough and Markakis' throw in from right was just off the bag enough that J.J. Hardy came far off the bag to fetch the throw right as Teixeira was passing by.

With two outs, that ended the first inning, so when Brian McCann got a single himself, that was in the second inning. In fairness to Gausman, this single was the sole result of Manny Machado making a boneheaded play, giving up on a pop-up as it floated back into left field even though he appeared to signal to left fielder Steve Pearce that he'd caught the ball. The official scorer, generous as ever to hitters, scored the play as a hit.

Following that, Gausman retired 12 of the next 13 batters, with the lone hit being a third inning Derek Jeter single. Gausman did not walk a batter in this shortened outing. Those 13 batters took him to the end of the game, not that we knew it at the time. in Gausman's peculiar complete game, he went five innings, gave up four hits (but it was really only three), one run, no walks, and had two strikeouts. He threw 78 pitches.

The Orioles didn't score until the fourth inning against Yankees starter Chase Whitley, who had a 14.80 ERA over his three previous starts. They loaded the bases in the second inning but it came with two outs, so a Jonathan Schoop fly ball to deep center did not have any material significance for the game's outcome. I heard that phrase on a World Cup game and just wanted to try it out, sorry.

The fourth inning breakout started, as many good things do, with a walk. It is, in general, a good idea in the year 2014 to maybe pitch around Nelson Cruz a little bit to get a chance to pitch to Chris Davis, who is real good at grounding into the shift. On a 1-1 pitch, Whitley threw a pitch around his shins and Davis went down and got it, driving it to the opposite field. Even this version of Davis is still a big, strong man; the ball flew to left and cleared the fence by a couple of feet for his 15th home run of the year. That gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead.

Following the home run, Hardy went opposite field for a double. He would score two batters later on a single by Jonathan Schoop that went, you guessed it, to the opposite field - just over a jumping Brian Roberts.

After the third Orioles run scored, Yankees manager Joe Girardi had seen enough of Whitley and pulled the plug. For once, the Orioles did damage to the guy they should beat.

The wind came during the pitching change, great gusts that sent garbage swirling across the Camden Yards infield. The radar was ominous, a lengthy delay was imminent. Markakis grounded out to reliever David Huff to send the game into the top of the fifth inning, after which the game would be official.

You know this scenario almost never happens except in jokes. The team takes the lead just in time for the game to become official, then the rain arrives. On Sunday night, they had to get through one more half-inning, with winds blowing every direction at once. One wild pop-up in the top of the fifth looked like it changed directions three times on Markakis and he ended up falling over as he caught it. The flags in left-center billowed out, the flags on the flag court blew strongly to the right.

It was wild. Every ball in the air was a reason to be nervous. Yangervis Solarte grounded out to third and with that, the game was official. Pearce led off the fifth inning with a walk, then the rains came in earnest. Though it took them a long time to get there, eventually, after midnight, the game was called and the Orioles were victorious. It's anticlimactic, but they all count the same in the standings.

The rain-shortened win sends the Orioles into the All-Star Break with a 52-42 record and a lead of four games in the division over the second place Blue Jays, who lost earlier Sunday. The O's won seven of ten to close out the first half of the season.

They needed every win they could get because they'll start off the second half of the season with a ten game West Coast road trip. Those are the good teams this year, and that's who the O's will have to beat on the road to maintain their place in the standings when the season resumes.

The next Orioles game is not until Friday at 10:05pm Eastern. Prepare yourself for the long haul. No one knows yet who's starting for the Orioles because like all of their starters are in the minor leagues, but O's hitters will be facing new Athletics acquisition Jeff Samardzija.

Poll
Who was the Most Birdland Player for July 13, 2014?

  16 votes |Results

Around the Empire: New York Yankees News - 7/13/14

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New York Post | Ken Davidoff: The unlikely success stories like Shane Greene and Chase Whitley are the team's only hope.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: The Yankees might finally be coming to the end of their long run of success.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Masahiro Tanaka has decided to skip attending the All-Star Game in order to focus on his rehab.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: With all the injuries that have plagued the Yankees, they are now just trying to survive and stay healthy.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: A look at how the Japanese media will be covering Masahiro Tanaka's injury rehab.

LoHud | Chad Jennings:Jacoby Ellsbury needed a DH-day before the All-Star Break because he's been a little beat up.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: The Yankees will hope that Shane Greene continues to succeed and keeps the team afloat.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Chase Whitley knows that he and other non-top 100 players need to perform to keep their jobs.

Times-Tribune | Donnie Collins: Handing out grades for the Scranton/Wilkes/Barre RailRiders players, including Jose Pirela, Rob Refsnyder, and Zelous Wheeler.

Sports Rumors Alert | Robert Murray: Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Bartolo Colon are just some of the pitchers the Yankees could look to acquire at the deadline.

Baby Bomber Recap 7/13/14: Jaron Long and Rob Segedin have big nights in Thunder win

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Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from July 13th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: Postponed for rain

Double-A Trenton Thunder:W 5-1 vs. Akron RubberDucks

CF Mason Williams 1-4, double, 2 RBI
LF Ben Gamel 1-3, BB, SB - batting .284 this season
DH Rob Segedin 3-4, double
RF Tyler Austin 1-4, RBI
C Francisco Arcia 1-3, RBI, K, pickoff
1B Tyson Blaser 1-4
3B Casey Stevenson 0-4, K
2B Jose Toussen 2-4 - batting .308 w/ Trenton
SS Ali Castillo 1-4, RBI

Jaron Long 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K - 61 of 97 pitches for strikes
James Pazos 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

High-A Tampa Yankees:W 4-2 vs. Bradenton Marauders

CF Jake Cave 3-4, double, SB
SS Cito Culver 2-4, 2 RBI - batting .217 this season
RF Aaron Judge 1-4, double, 2 K
DH Dante Bichette Jr. 1-4, K - 16-game hitting streak
LF Yeicok Calderon 1-4, RBI, K
2B Angelo Gumbs 1-3, K
1B Reymond Nunez 0-3
C Wes Wilson 0-3
3B Claudio Custodio 3-3, CS

Travis Hissong 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, K
Stefan Lopez 2.1 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, hit batsman
Ramon Benjamin 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, WP
Cesar Vargas 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, WP

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:W 5-0 vs. Savannah Sand Gnats

RF Mark Payton 3-5, double, 2 RBI, K, CS - batting .346 this season
SS Tyler Wade 1-4, K, HBP
DH Dustin Fowler 1-5
1B Mike Ford 1-4, HR, RBI - 10th homer of the season
3B Miguel Andujar 1-3, BB, K
LF Michael O'Neill 1-4, double, K - batting .245 this season
C Eduardo de Oleo 0-3, RBI, K
2B Gosuke Katoh 1-3, BB, SB - 15-game hit streak
CF Brandon Thomas 1-3, RBI, BB, 2 K, SB

Caleb Smith 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K - 48 of 80 pitches for strikes
Chad Taylor 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Philip Walby 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB
Eric Ruth 1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees: Suspended for rain

GCL Yankees 1 & 2: Off for Sunday

Poll
Who was the best Baby Bomber for July 13th?

  147 votes |Results

AL East Midseason review: Catchers, where the Orioles, surprisingly, may be the best

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The Orioles lost catcher Matt Wieters after a month of the season when he was hitting better than ever. How do Orioles backstops fare against the rest of the catchers in the division? Better than you might think, it turns out.

Going into the season, the Orioles looked to have the best catching situation in the division, with Matt Wieters the lone incumbent as other teams chased more stable catching situations. Despite losing Wieters to season-ending elbow surgery after he played only 26 games, the Orioles sit at the All-Star Break with the best hitting catchers out of all of their division opponents.

The table below is the total offensive output for each team heading into Sunday's games. This is whoever is catching that day, and would not include the production (or lack thereof) for a particular game by a player who is primarily a catcher but is the designated hitter on a given day.

AL EAST CATCHERS - HITTING

TeamAVGOBPSLGOPSAL OPS Rank2BHRRBI
Orioles.252.299.407.7068th191046
Yankees.246.297.379.6759th151046
Red Sox.232.273.357.62912th17839
Blue Jays.242.287.317.60413th11537
Rays.202.273.266.53915th8432

No team in the division has an above-average performance at bat from their catchers. The AL is led by the tandem of Derek Norris and John Jaso in Oakland, who have combined for an .834 OPS. For the O's and the Yankees, it is a situation that is meh at best. For the rest, despite free agent acquisitions in the offseason, it's a completely terrible offensive contribution at this position.

Tampa Bay Rays

Catchers: Ryan Hanigan (434.2 innings caught), Jose Molina (404)

Hanigan is batting  .212/.309/.327 on the season and he's the better hitter of the pair of Rays catchers. They have gotten similar amount of playing time despite Molina sporting a slugging percentage that is below the Mendoza line. Molina is slugging .199. That's absurdly bad.

Molina brings the reputation of a pitch framing wizard, which you'll see in action a few times a game when he catches, literally stealing strikes. He is less than adequate about throwing out runners once they reach, catching only 7 of 34 runners. That's a 21% rate. The league average is 28%.

Hanigan is more in line with league average in caught stealing, throwing out 7 of 26 runners, which is good for a 27% rate. However, this is poor by Hanigan's recent history, as he threw out nearly 50% of runners the past two seasons. That was probably a big part of why the Rays signed him to a modest deal for three years, and he's not living up to that end of the bargain yet.

Toronto Blue Jays

Catchers: Dioner Navarro (473.2 innings caught), Josh Thole (207.2), Erik Kratz (158)

Navarro has gotten the bulk of the playing time after signing a two year, $8 million contract in the offseason with the expectation that he'd be the starting catcher for the Jays. He has a .659 OPS and has thrown out only 9 of 46 baserunners - a rate of only 20%.

Thole is primarly the R.A. Dickey catcher, so his value is solely that he can approximate the ability to catch the knuckleball regularly. He has a .632 OPS and has thrown out only two of 15 base stealers.

Kratz is hitting to the tune of a .585 OPS, but he's thrown out five of 17 base stealers. For the Jays, much like the Rays, the catching position is largely a black hole.

Boston Red Sox

Catchers: A.J. Pierzynski (540 innings caught), David Ross (296), Christian Vazquez (future Hall of Famer, according to the Boston prospect hype machine)

Pierzynski has been so bad that the Red Sox already designated him for assignment even though they signed him to an $8.25 million contract for the season. As has become a Boston custom, the front office stuck the shiv in his back on his way out of town via leaks to the Boston media. He was pretty bad, with a .633 OPS while throwing out only nine of 47 runners, but nobody cares that he sat in the clubhouse after games with his phone out instead of paying attention to teammates.

Ross is basically the platonic ideal of a backup catcher, poor-hitting (.600 OPS) but decent defensively, throwing out seven of 27 base stealers. That's a 26% rate, just about league average. He's also the platonic ideal of a Red Sox whiner with the way he will occasionally pop off about other teams and PED players while ignoring the fact that David Ortiz is on his team.

Vazquez is destined for greatness, like Ryan Lavarnway before him.

New York Yankees

Catchers: Brian McCann (582 innings caught), J.R. Murphy (159.2), Francisco Cervelli (100)

McCann was signed to a five year, $85 million contract to bring his left-handed power bat to the lefty hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium. He's been a disappointment in that regard so far, with only a .669 OPS, although he does have double digit home runs. One surprise is that McCann has thrown out 21 of 48 basestealers, a 44% rate. His career best was 30% in a year where he threw out 36 of 120 runners. People are not afraid to run on McCann.

Murphy was pressed into service while Cervelli missed time due to a hamstring injury. He is back in the minors now and doesn't figure to be back up before rosters expand, barring another injury. Murphy hit for a .673 OPS in his big league action and threw out two of ten runners.

Cervelli, when not injured, has batted .697 this year, about what you'd expect from a career backup. In his 100 innings, he's been tested twelve times and thrown out four runners.

Baltimore Orioles

Catchers: Caleb Joseph (302.1 innings caught), Matt Wieters (194.2), Nick Hundley (176.1), Steve Clevenger (170)

One of the unfortunate things about this season for the Orioles is that Wieters was finally living up to the offensive production we hoped for from his prospect days. Before going down with a torn UCL, Wieters had an .839 OPS. It was clear something was wrong with his throwing arm, though, as he only threw out one of twelve runners -  he usually does 35% or better.

Joseph, who was in his seventh minor league season in part because he did not have a good defensive reputation, has been the surprise find in Wieters' absence. While he's only batting .189/.258/.311, he is performing far better than you ever could have hoped defensively, including throwing out 15 of 29 runners. That's over 50%! The league is testing the 28-year-old rookie and it isn't going well for them.

Hundley, acquired from the Padres once it became apparent that Wieters would not be returning, has a .666 OPS in Baltimore and has only thrown out two of 14 baserunners. He displaced the lefty Clevenger, who has a .670 OPS and only threw out three of 20 runners. The Orioles quickly realized their best remaining catcher was, improbably, Joseph, and they've used him the most ever since.

***

From bottom to top, here's how the division's catchers stack up collectively according to Fangraphs WAR:

Rays: -0.3
Jays: 0.2
Red Sox: 0.4
Orioles: 0.9
Yankees: 1.3

The Yankees are 17th in MLB in WAR for their catchers. Everyone else is worse. The Rays have the worst catchers in baseball by this metric. That seems fair. If McCann was throwing out runners as poorly as he usually does, he would be farther down. If he keeps that up, he gives Yankees catchers an edge over the likes of Joseph.

It's dire out there for everybody, but if you'd told me at the beginning of the season that the Orioles would only have Wieters for a month, I would have expected far worse out of their catchers. Joseph has no hope of replacing Wieters' bat, but if he keeps throwing out runners, the O's will keep not missing Wieters far more than I thought possible.

Despite missing their best catcher, the Orioles have close to the best catching situation in the division out of all of their AL East rivals.

Yankees potential trade target: Josh Willingham

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The Yankees need a boost to their offense, and Josh Willingham could be just that.

I know that there's a pall hanging over us all after the untimely demise of the amazing Masahiro Tanaka, but even if you're an inconsolable wreck the beat goes on. The Yankees are still in the playoff hunt and Brian Cashman and his army of trade ninjas are looking to improve this team as best they can. While the pitching rotation is by no means in great shape, the team's offense is clearly the Yankees biggest weakness. Since the Yankees don't have the necessary pieces to get Giancarlo Stanton, they'll likely be stuck looking for some veteran help for the lineup. One gentleman who fits the bill is Josh Willingham, left fielder and occasionally designated hitter of the non-playoff contending Minnesota Twins.

Willingham is, and has always been a bat. He's the type of player that provides literally no other benefit other than his ability to be a productive hitter. His career high is eight stolen bases and he has more often that not been a detriment to his team in the outfield per defensive metrics. I'm sure that assessment is probably not thrilling to Yankee fans who have had to endure Carlos Beltran and Alfonso Soriano thus far in 2014, but the important distinction is that Willingham has still shown to be valuable. He's sporting a solid 117 wRC+ in 2014 (123 career), which would slot him in as the Yankees' third best hitting regular immediately. He's kind of an Adam Dunn-type, though, as he's hitting .212 with 17.1% BB and a 26.6 % K ratios. So while undeniably useful, he doesn't have universal appeal at the dish.

He's also not an incredibly durable sort, never having played 150 games in his entire career. He seems to have recovered from a wrist injury that sent him to the disabled list earlier in the season, but his health could be a potential concern. At 35 years old he's no kid, but young enough that there shouldn't be too much concern about falling off the face of the Earth in the second half. He's in the last of a three-year deal with the Twins, and while it was assumed in past years that he was to be a trade chip, it seems this will be the likely season that he actually does get dealt.

As always, the key is the price. Willingham has the kind of profile that suggests both immediate upgrade while also not requiring a blue-chip prospect. But there's likely to be plenty of suitors for Willingham's services, so the Twins won't have to accept Austin Romine and a book of coupons and just be happy with it. My inclination is that a solid prospect or two should be sufficient for the team looking to nab the righty slugger.

He's certainly a fit for the Yankees, who can't keep trotting out Ichiro Suzuki everyday both due to his age and the fact that he is below-average offensive producer, particularly for a corner outfielder. So what say you, denizens of Pinstripe Alley? Are you willing to bring aboard Josh Willingham and if so, what is the cost you would accept?

Birds Up, O's Down - 2014 Week 15

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Who's hot and who's not for the Baltimore Orioles from July 7 - 13

Pitchers
Brad Brachhttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngAllowed 1 ER in a loss to the Washington Nationals, breaking a streak of 7 straight scoreless appearances.
Zach Brittonhttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngJust 2 innings of work - both scoreless.
Wei-Yin Chenhttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngGot into trouble in the 6th of his last start, knocking him out of the game before the inning was complete.  Still got the win and posted a decent line overall (3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K).
Kevin GausmanUpnew_mediumThanks to bad weather, Gausman got credit for a complete game after 5 innings of work and 1 ER allowed.  Other than a mistake to Brett Gardner early in the game, Gausman was solid and lowered his season ERA to a solid 3.29 (3.56 FIP).
Miguel GonzalezUpnew_mediumDid not receive a win for his efforts in a 3-2 extra innings win over the New York Yankees on Friday, but Gonzalez was excellent.  Struggled a bit early, but fell into a rhythm and posted a second straight start of 8 innings and 2 ER allowed.  Optioned to the minors in order to keep pitching during the AS break.
Preston Guilmethttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngDNP
Tommy Hunterhttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngAnother reliever who saw limited action.
Brian MatuszUpnew_mediumThis year has been a struggle for Matusz, but this was an up week by his somewhat lower standards (is that harsh?).  Just over 2 IP and no hits or runs allowed.
T.J. McFarlandUpnew_mediumHe's typical the long reliever, but Buck called on TJ to work out of a different role over the past week and he stepped in perfectly.  He saw some action late in games, including extra innings and came out with 2 wins and no ER allowed over 3.1 innings.
Bud NorrisDownnew_mediumStruggled mightily against the Nationals on Wednesday with 6 hits and 5 ER allowed.  Norris gave up two homers in the game.  Optioned to AA following the game in order to keep on schedule during the break.
Darren O'DayUpnew_mediumVery sharp in 3 innings of work.  Just 2 hits allowed and 5 strikeouts while working as the primary setup man for Zach Britton.
Chris TillmanUpnew_mediumESPN called Tillman's Saturday start against the Yankees "mediocre," probably because he walked 3 and allowed 3 ER, but Tillman posted a pretty decent line for the week.  In 13.2 innings, Tillman allowed 5 ER (3.29 ERA) and 4 BB while striking out 10.  Not entirely sure what's mediocre about that.
Ryan Webbhttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngLike his fellow bullpen mates, Webb picked up 2 scoreless relief innings.
Catchers
Steve Clevengerhttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngSaw his first MLB game action since the end of May
Nick HundleyUpnew_mediumPlayed pretty solid defense and had a big game-winning hit in extras on Friday.
Caleb Josephhttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngHundley got the bulk of the action this week, but Joseph added 2 hits in 7 trips.
Infielders
Chris Davishttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngWhile he's up to 15 homers for the year (2 this week), his statistics have been pretty dismal.  He went 4-22 this week, but hit two pretty big homers and added 6 RBI.
Ryan FlahertyDownnew_mediumGot a bit of extra playing time, but went 1-7.
J.J. HardyDownnew_mediumDismal 3-21 week.  OPSing just .671 for the season.
Manny MachadoUpnew_mediumApproach at the plate really sharpening.  Machado seems to be getting away from "spring training" and moving into mid-season form with an 11--20 week that included 2 homers and 2 doubles.
Jonathan SchoopDownnew_mediumJust 2-13, as Ryan Flaherty picked up some extra playing time.  It's possible the O's look to upgrade at the 2B position soon enough.
Outfielders
Nelson Cruzhttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngPhenomenal last week, less so this week at 5-21 (just 1 XBH).
Adam JonesDownnew_mediumJones, too, struggled with just 4 hits in 24 trips.  He also had 1 XBH.
David Loughhttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngPR only
Nick MarkakisDownnew_mediumHe's maintained a .350+ OBP, but added just 5 hits in 22 at-bats.  His slugging % is down below .400 once again.
Steve PearceDownnew_mediumMorphing into something of a regular player, but had to sit this week with a few NL games and went 3-15 with a home run.
Delmon Younghttp://assets.sbnation.com/assets/217757/dash.pngAlmost forgot he was even on the team.
Disabled List
Ubaldo JimenezSprained an ankle in his own parking lot.  You know...just to add insult to injury - er, injury to insult - on his 2014 campaign.
Matt WietersStill on track to begin his rehab soon enough.

Yankees Trade Deadline: Remembering the best and worst deadline deals in Yankees history

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Sometimes ya get Bobby Abreu, and sometimes ya get Steve Trout.

The Yankees have declared their intention to be buyers at the trade deadline this year, as even though they are exactly a .500 team at the All-Star Break, the American League East has proved to be far from dominant this year. They sit five games behind the first-place Orioles and just one behind the second-place Blue Jays as they rest for a few days. Although they will be resting, it will probably not be a relaxing time for GM Brian Cashman and his team as they try to find the right fit for new players to bring into the fold and improve this team.

Trade Deadline deals can be quite a mystery, with the ultimate results of whether or not it was a good one staying unknown for years. Sometimes, they are clear winners, such as the Phillies and Rangers both acquiring Cliff Lee in 2009 and 2010 respectively for an unimpressive return. Other times, they are duds, like when the Red Sox sent a prospect named Jeff Bagwell away in 1990 in exchange for Astros reliever Larry Andersen. There are even deals that look smart in the short-term but long-term turn out to be a mixed result--the 1987 Tigers won the AL East with Doyle Alexander pitching to a 1.53 ERA in 11 starts down the stretch, but in exchange they lost a future Hall of Famer in 20-year-old John Smoltz. The Yankees have made all sorts of deals like these over the years, so which were some of the best and worst?

2000
David Justice for Ricky Ledee, Jake Westbrook, and Zach Day

The Yankees were going for a three-peat in 2000, but they were only a couple games over .500 in late June. Their left field production from Ledee and Shane Spencer had been poor too, batting a mere .256/.320/.421 with a collective wRC+ of 86 through the first half. Ledee had been a promising prospect and both Westbrook and Day had flashed potential in the minors, but Cashman decided to go ahead with this deal with the Indians on June 29th anyway. Justice was in the middle of a career-high 41-homer season, and he hit 20 of them in pinstripes, hitting .305/.391/.585 with a 145 wRC+ down the stretch for the Yankees as they rallied to win the AL East.

Justice also earned ALCS MVP honors with an eventual pennant-winning homer off the Mariners' Arthur Rhodes in Game 6, and the Yankees won their 26th World Series title. Justice slipped a little bit to about a replacement-level DH in 2001, though the Yankees still came within a couple outs of another title. He was traded to the Mets in the off-season for Robin Ventura. The three players traded all had varying degrees of success (especially Westbrook in Cleveland), but this was still a smart move to make.

1988
Ken Phelps for Jay Buhner

Obligatory:

There were a couple of other minor leaguers involved in the infamous July 21, 1988 trade that sent the budding slugger Buhner to the Mariners in exchange for Phelps, and I've written about the deal before. To keep it succinct though, the Yankees were in a tight race for the AL East and George Steinbrenner wanted to add some power to the lineup. However, it was pretty silly from the start to acquire another DH when they already had Jack Clark doing a fine job in the DH spot anyway. Phelps did hit 10 homers in 45 games the rest of the way with a 147 OPS+, but he was gone from August of the next season. The Yankees didn't make the playoffs, and Buhner went on to bash 310 homers in Seattle.

Preach, Frank Costanza.

1996
Cecil Fielder for Ruben Sierra and Matt Drews

I'd be very curious as to how fans today would react to this trade. The '96 Yankees were in first place when they made this trade, but they had received some of the worst DH production in the league from Sierra, who clashed with new skipper Joe Torre and also seemed to constantly whine about his place in the batting order. The offense on the whole was around league average, but GM Bob Watson wanted more dingers. Thus, they arranged a trade with the last-place Tigers for the slugging Fielder, who up to that point had outhomered everyone in the 1990s.

People today wouldn't have been upset about Sierra's departure, but given how much more fans seem to love prospects these days, they might have been irked by giving up Drews. The 13th overall pick by the Yankees in 1993, the 6'8" righty Drews was twice a Baseball America Top 100 Prospect and had actually been ranked 12th-highest in baseball prior to the '96 season. Even though he struggled in the first half of '96 for High-A Tampa and Double-A Jacksonville, he was still a highly respected prospect. Would people have been okay giving that up for a season and a half of production from a DH? Maybe so since Fielder was such a force at the time, but who knows?

Fortunately, it ended up working out brilliantly for the Yankees, as Sierra didn't do much in Detroit and Drews never made the majors. Fielder's bat ended up helping the Yankees win the AL East and eventually the World Series, where he hit .391/.440/.478 against the Braves and probably should have been named World Series MVP over John Wetteland. He declined in '97 and after departing as a free agent, was suddenly done with baseball by the end of '98. Regardless, that '96 trade was a steal for the Yankees.

1987
Steve Trout for Bob Tewksbury and two prospects

Classic Steinbrenner quote to then-manager Lou Piniella: "Lou, I've just won you the pennant. I got you Steve Trout!"

Trout was nothing like the unrelated Mike Trout in terms of baseball talent. The Yankees acquired him from the Cubs on July 13th, and he never won a game for them, pitching to an atrocious 6.60 ERA in 14 games and nine starts while the Yankees missed the playoffs for the sixth straight season. Tewksbury ended up being the star of the deal, as he went on to have a fine career with Cardinals, peaking in 1992 when he finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting with 6.5 WAR and a 158 ERA+. Whoops.

2006
Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle for C.J. Henry and three prospects

Oh man, this deal. That move in 2006 pretty much cemented my admiration for Brian Cashman. The Phillies had been trying to pry better prospects out of Cashman for weeks in exchange for Abreu, an obvious fit for the Yankees since both Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield were hurt. Cashman stood his ground though, and eventually got Abreu and Lidle for essentially peanuts. The Yankees caught fire with Abreu and eventually won the division over Boston & Toronto, and they made the playoffs twice with him. In two and a half years with the Yankees, Abreu hit .295/.378/.465 with 95 doubles, 43 homers, and a 120 OPS+. Lidle was also a serviceable fifth starter until his tragic death just about a week after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs.

Henry was the 17th overall pick of the 2005 draft, but he just could not hit a lick. He quit baseball in '08, went back to college, and I later saw him playing college basketball in the NCAA Tournament with Kansas. Heh. None of the other three prospects (Jesus Sanchez, Carlos Monasterios, and Matt Smith) amounted to much of anything, either. Classic Ninja Cash.

***

There are countless other memorable trade deadline deals that I didn't mention. (i.e. good: David Cone for Marty Jenzen and two prospects in '95, bad: Lance Berkman for Mark Melancon in 2010, etc.) Which deals are your favorite? Which deals do you regret the most?

Yankees Potential Trade Target: Jorge De la Rosa

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With their rotation in shambles, the Yankees will likely be in the market for a starting pitcher. Jorge De La Rosa might be able to help.

With their rotation decimated by injuries, Yankees need starting pitching help. This was true last week, but is even more true now that Masahiro Tanaka will be out of commission for at least the next six weeks -- and possibly much, much longer. Hiroki Kuroda, Brandon McCarthy, and even David Phelps are serviceable starting pitchers, but the back end of the rotation -- currently occupied Shane Greene and Chase Whitley -- leaves a lot to be desired. Throw in the glaring lack of starting pitchers in the Triple-A pipeline and the need for an upgrade is pretty clear.

At 40-54, the Rockies are are 12 games out of first place and 11 games back in the wild card chase, and Fangraphs puts their playoff odds at a meager 0.1%. It's pretty clear that the Rockies are going nowhere this year, and its only a matter of time before they start selling off their useful assets and start rebuilding for the future. One of those assets is Jorge De La Rosa, a 33-year-old starting pitcher whose contract is up at the end of the season.  De La Rosa's far from the biggest name out there, but he's one of just a few starting pitchers left on the trading block now that Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel are in Oakland and Justin Masterson's on the DL. He could also be had for a much smaller prospect haul than the David Prices and Cliff Lees of the world. De La Rosa could be a useful three-month rental for somebody and the Yankees seem like as good a landing spot as any.

With a 4.56 ERA, the veteran southpaw hasn't fared so well in 2014, but actually wasn't half bad last year. Despite pitching in Coors Field, he managed a 3.49 ERA in 30 starts -- good enough for 39th in baseball for RA9-WAR. His ERA spike can be largely attributed to things out of his control -- mainly worse luck on fly balls leaving the park -- and the truth is probably somewhere in-between: His 4.39 SIERA from this season is right on par with last year's 4.37 mark.

De La Rosa my not be quite as bad as his ERA would imply, but a 4.39 ERA is still pretty mediocre, and De La Rosa has a long history of mediocrity as evidenced by his 4.37 ERA across parts of 11 major league seasons. Simply put, there's nothing sexy about Jorge De La Rosa. While his strikeout and walk rates are both worse than league average, he does induce a good amount of ground balls. With the help of his splitter, which he throws roughly 25% of the time, more than half of his batted balls have been on the ground this year: His 52% groundball rate puts him 17th among qualified pitchers. He's a guy who generally keeps the ball on the ground, which makes him a relatively good fit for Yankee Stadium, where fly balls have an annoying habit of leaving the ballpark.

Unlike some of the bigger names out there, the Yankees probably wouldn't have to give up very much for De La Rosa's services. Ricky Nolasco was a similar pitcher -- in a similar contract situation -- who was traded around this time last year, and he only cost the Dodgersthree warm bodies. I'd imagine De La Rosa could probably be had for a similar package, especially if the Yankees were willing to pay the remainder of De La Rosa's $11M 2014 salary. The Rockies reportedly want a "young impact starter" in exchange for De La Rosa. Those demands seem more than a little lofty and the Yankees don't really have any of those anyway. Bryan Mitchell could fit that mold if you squint hard enough, so maybe they could put together something around him. That's pure speculation, but that's probably about what someone like De La Rosa would likely cost.

The projection systems anticipate De La Rosa's rest-of-season performance will look a lot like what he's done to date. ZiPS pegs him for a 4.77 ERA and Steamer's 4.62 isn't much better. Even so, that's probably better than the Yankees would get from Greene, Whitley, Bruce Billings, or whoever else the Yankees decide to scrape from the bottom of the barrel. The Yankees will need to sure up their rotation if they want to make a playoff push this year, and De La Rosa would certainly be an upgrade. Nobody will mistake him for an ace, but at this point, he may be the best the Yankees can do, especially if they don't want to part with any top-shelf prospects.

2014 All-Star Game: Home Run Derby open thread

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Let's watch some dingers!

Now with all teams off for the next few days, the All-Star Break has finally begun with tonight's Home Run Derby. There are no Yankees participating this year, but let's still all come together and watch some dingers anyway. This year's Home Run Derby is operating under a few different rules in order to liven the event up just a bit:

Round 1

  • Ten participants total; five participants representing each league.
  • Batting order will be determined prior to the event. Hitter No. 1 for the NL will hit first followed by Hitter No. 1 for the AL (home team). This order will continue for hitters Nos. 2-5 for each league, with the NL going first followed by the AL.
  • Each participant will receive seven outs.
  • The player from each league who hits the most home runs (AL 1; NL 1) will automatically advance to round three (semifinals).
  • The next two participants with the most home runs from each league (AL 2; AL 3 / NL 2; NL 3) advance to Round 2.

Round 2

  • The two participants advancing from Round 1 for each league will compete against each other (AL 2 vs. AL 3 / NL 2 vs. NL 3).
  • The NL matchup will occur first, followed by the AL matchup, with NL 2 and AL 2 choosing if they want to hit first or second.
  • Each participant will receive seven outs.
  • The winners from the Round 2 matchups (one from each league) will advance to Round 3 (semifinals).

Round 3 (Semifinals)

  • The top seed from each league (AL 1; NL 1) will face the winner from his league's Round 2 matchup.
  • The NL matchup will occur first, followed by the AL matchup, with NL 1 and AL 1 choosing if they want to hit first or second.
  • Each participant will receive seven outs.
  • The participant from each league with the most home runs will advance to the Finals.
Round 4 (Finals)
  • The semifinal winners (one player from each league) will compete for the crown of Home Run Derby champion.
  • The batting order will be determined by a coin flip, which will be held at a meeting at home plate between the two finalists and their league captains (note that a finalist and team captain could be the same participant).
  • Each finalist will receive seven outs.
Tiebreaker(s)

If two or more players are tied for advancement into the next round or for the championship, each player will receive three swings to hit as many home runs as possible. If they are still tied after three swings, they will each take one swing. This process is repeated if necessary until one player wins the swing-off.

AL TeamNL Team
Jose BautistaTodd Frazier
Yoenis CespedesJustin Mourneau
Josh DonaldsonYasiel Puig
Brian DozierGiancarlo Stanton
Adam JonesTroy Tulowitzki

Who do you think is going to win?

Who do you think will hit zero home runs?

Feel free to also talk about the Yankees or anything else you might want.

Around the Empire: New York Yankees News - 7/15/14

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ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: Derek Jeter will try to enjoy his final All-Star Game.

Fangraphs | Jeff Sullivan: See how tough the Yankees' schedule is in the second half compared to the rest of the league.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch:Dellin Betances talks about being an All-Star at Derek Jeter's last ASG.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: Masahiro Tanaka, Dellin Betances, and David Robertson got the only As of the Yankees pitching staff.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty:Alex Rodriguez is being sued by his ex-lawyer for $380,000.

CBS Sports | Matt Snyder: Derek Jeter and Mike Trout hit back-to-back in the All-Star Game and that could be like the passing of the torch.

New York Post | Ken Davidoff: Troy Tulowitzki would be open to the idea of replacing Derek Jeter on the Yankees.

ESPN New York | Wallace Matthews:Brett Gardner gets an A and Jacoby Ellsbury gets a B+ among Yankees hitters.

Nj.com | Brendan Kuty: The Yankees will take the All-Star Break to determine if Chase Whitley, or someone else, will be the fifth starter.

Times-Tribune | Donnie Collins: The only thing consistent with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders has been the callups and more could be on the horizon.

New York Post | Ken Davidoff: Joe Girardi has been impressive in his ability to manage a team with so little to offer on the field.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Matt Wieters says that Masahiro Tanaka will know when it is time to choose Tommy John surgery.

2014 MLB All-Star Game starting pitchers: Felix Hernandez, Adam Wainwright keep improving

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Beyond being named as the starters for the MLB All-Star Game, Felix Hernandez and Adam Wainwright share another thing in common—they're both getting better with age.

With Felix Hernandez and Adam Wainwright named as the starting pitchers for the 2014 MLB All-Star Game, both right-handers' continued dominance of opposing batters should come as little surprise to baseball fans.

After all, Hernandez and Wainwright have been among the best at their profession for the better part of a decade, a theme that has carried through into the first half of 2014.

Hernandez's reputation is well-established; the Venezuelan native has been hyped since receiving the nickname "King Felix" at the age of 19, a moniker he has more than lived up to during his 10 years in the bigs.

Such consistent success won't make his start for the AL on Tuesday night any less special.

"It's an honor," Hernandez told MLB.com Monday afternoon. "To be the first Venezuelan guy is something special."

Beyond being the first Venezuelan native to start the All-Star Game, Hernandez will also pitch to countrymen Salvador Perez, who will be starting at catcher, making it an all-Venezuelan battery in the AL's starting lineup.

Wainwright is perhaps less renowned, but that hasn't prevented him from being one of the most consistent and underrated starters in baseball over the past few seasons. Although he has never won a Cy Young Award, Wainwright has finished in the top three in voting for the award among NL hurlers for three straight seasons.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny's decision to select Wainwright over Clayton Kershaw caused a slight stir of controversy Monday, but that shouldn't diminish how spectacular Wainwright has been this season. The 32-year-old's 1.83 ERA leads all qualified starters, with the St. Louis righty striking out 115 batters and walking only 27 through 138 innings pitched.

"Aside from having the ability to win two World Series with the Cardinals," Wainwright told MLB.com, "this has to be one of the highlights of my baseball career to this point."

Wainwright will also get his first opportunity to face Derek Jeter to begin the game Tuesday night, as the Yankees shortstop will lead off for the AL in his final All-Star appearance.

Beyond their stellar seasons, both Hernandez and Wainwright stand out for their ability to continue improving as they reach their second decades in the majors.

Hernandez has been far and away the best pitcher in the AL this year, but the 28-year-old is also having the best season of his career, which includes a Cy Young Award in 2010 and five All-Star appearances. He has cut his walk rate to a career-low 4.5 percent (the fourth straight season his walks have diminished), and his 27.7 percent strikeout rate would be a career high.

While he calls the pitcher-friendly Safeco Field home, Hernandez's ability to consistently generate weak contact (he has allowed just five home runs in 144⅓ innings) sets him apart. The right-hander has not just increased his strikeouts, cut down his walks, and kept the ball in the ballpark; he has also raised his ground-ball rate for the third-straight year.

For Hernandez to make such adjustments and improvements in his 10th big league season is nothing short of remarkable.

Wainwright, too, has shown little signs of slowing down despite being set to turn 33 in August. He leads all of baseball in ERA, is ranked second in FIP, and has allowed just four home runs in 19 starts, one less than Hernandez. Assuming his ERA remains below 3.00 for the rest of the season, 2014 would mark the fourth time in the past five years that Wainwright has posted a sub-3.00 ERA.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, for Wainwright and Hernandez to be taking the mound to begin this season's Midsummer Classic. Both pitchers have built their careers by excelling at getting hitters out inning to inning, year after year.

As Hernandez said on Monday, "I've just got to go out there and do what I do, throw up zeros to help my team win."

Cub Tracks Is An Exhibitionist

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Get your mind out of the gutter. This is about baseball games that don't officially count (well, sort of, let's not digress). Two big parts of the Cubs' future played in a game of the same name, the young All-Stars have headed off to the land of 10,000 lakes, and I become more confident in a friendly wager for a good cause.

Enjoy the links. Mostly good news, despite the last two games before the break.

Some bookkeeping: I'm off for the next two editions of Cub Tracks on Thursday and Sunday. But don't worry, Al or Josh will fill this space with linky goodness. Be nice and click often.

From Comcast SportsNet

From Cubs Den

From Cubs.com

From ESPNChicago.com

From the Chicago Tribune

From the Chicago Sun-Times 

From the Daily Herald

Miscellaneous

Today's food for thought

The Rays Tank: Hey now, you're an All Star

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Smashmouth Tuesdays at DRaysBay!

All that glitters is gold, only shooting stars break the mo-o-o-o-o-old. 15 years later and I still know every word. Valuable information, let me tell ya.

ICYMI, Yoenis Cespedes and his perfectly manicured eyebrows won the Home Run Derby last night, making him the first consecutive winner since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 and 1999.

The best part of the (excessively-long-and-drawn-out) night wasn't due to Cespedes though (sorry), as it was courtesy of Andrew McCutchen's reaction to a Giancarlo Stanton bomb:

...and the adorable children running around.

***

In Rays news, the David Price rumors continued onward despite the All-Star Break, with yesterday's mill conjuring up talks of a Rays-Indians trade that would include catcher-third baseman Carlos Santana, right handed pitcher Danny Salazar and shortstop Francisco Lindor.

Who will be the lucky landing potential landing spot today?!

Price joked that his ideal team would be the Nashville Sounds, the Brewers Triple-A team in his hometown, and Scott Boras decided to chime in with his opinion on the matter, claiming that "If the team was in Montreal he wouldn't get traded."

Oh, okay Boras, right. Thanks for the input.

Links:

- Marc Topkin had a nice little catch up with Scott Kazmir in Minneapolis, discussing about his refound success, and both Price and James Shields relayed their happiness for Kaz, and the hard work and determination that got him back on an All-Star Roster.

- You've seen this commercial already, but I'm gonna put it here anyways because it made my desk all dusty despite the fact that it's Derek Jeter and therefore the Yankees:

- "Hit my player with a pitch and I'll hit you." - The new motto of minor league baseball fans everywhere...or one drunk dude in Corpus Christi.

- Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey both hit grand slams in their game against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, which was all kinds of awesome.

- Jonah Keri focused on the AL East in his The 30 this week, as the standings have proved to be exactly what no one expected by the All-Star Break going into the season. Yay baseball!

- Grantland also provided a list of suggestions for how to "fix" the All-Star Game. Any input?


Baby Bomber Recap 7/14/14: Eric Jagielo homers in Gulf Coast League game

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Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from July 14th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: Off for All-Star break

Double-A Trenton Thunder: L 2-5 vs. Akron RubberDucks

CF Mason Williams 0-5 - batting .136/.191/.159 over his last 10 games
1B Dan Fiorito 1-4, K, HBP
3B Rob Segedin 2-5, K, E5 - throwing error, 10th of the season
DH Gary Sanchez 1-4, RBI, BB, 2 K - batting .270 this season
C Francisco Arcia 1-5, RBI
RF Tyler Austin 2-4
2B Casey Stevenson 0-4, K
LF Jose Toussen 1-3, K, SB, OF assist
SS Ali Castillo 0-2, BB

Matt Tracy 6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K - 54 of 85 pitches for strikes
Mark Montgomery 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, hit batsman
Manny Barreda 1.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Taylor Garrison 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB

High-A Tampa Yankees:L 2-6 vs. Bradenton Marauders (12 innings)

CF Jake Cave 0-5, K
DH Cito Culver 0-5, K
1B Greg Bird 0-3, 2 BB - .357 OBP this season
3B Dante Bichette Jr. 1-4, double, BB, K, E5 - fielding error, 11th of the season
LF Yeicok Calderon 1-5, 2 RBI
RF Aaron Judge 2-4, BB, K - batting .277 w/ Tampa
2B Angelo Gumbs 2-5, K
C Trent Garrison 0-5, K
SS Claudio Custodio 0-4

Miguel Sulbaran 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, hit batsman - 9 GO/3 AO
Kyle Haynes 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB
Chris Smith 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, WP
Nick Rumbelow 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K - 2.39 ERA w/ Tampa
Alex Smith 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Wes Wilson 1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 K, hit batsman

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: Off

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:L 3-4, L 1-7 vs. State College

Game 1:

C Luis Torrens 1-5, 2 K, E2 - throwing error, second of the season
2B Ty McFarland 0-3, BB, 2 K
1B Chris Breen 1-4, HR, RBI, K - third homer of the season
RF Austin Aune 1-4, double, K
SS Vince Conde 1-4, double, RBI, E6 - throwing error, first of the season
3B Renzo Martini 2-3, double, BB

Sean Carley 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K, WP
Dillon McNamara 3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, K, 2 hit batsmen

Game 2:

CF Collin Slaybaugh 0-1, RBI, BB
DH Ty McFarland 1-3
C Isaias Tejeda 1-3, E2 - throwing error, third of the season
RF Nathan Mikolas 0-1, BB, SB, HBP

Jordan Cote 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R/3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K - 3 GO/6 AO
Tim Giel 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Gulf Coast Yankees 1L 4-5 vs. Gulf Coast Yankees 2

Yankees 1:

SS Abiatal Avelino 1-3, double
3B Eric Jagielo 1-4, HR, 2 RBI - second rehab homer
DH Drew Bridges 0-3, BB, 3 K
RF Alexander Palma 1-4, double
CF Leonardo Molina 1-3, BB, K
2B Jose Rosario 2-4, HR, 2 RBI - first homer
C Alvaro Noriega 1-2, passed ball
1B Dalton Smith 1-4, K
LF Miguel Mojica 0-4, K, OF assist

Austin DeCarr 1.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, K, hit batsman - 2 GO/0 AO
Christopher Cabrera 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Simon De la Rosa 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, hit batsman
Deshorn Lake 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, K

Yankees 2:

2B Junior Valera 0-2, 3 BB, K, E4 - fielding error, fourth of the season
LF Ericson Leonora 1-4, K
SS Angel Aguilar 2-4, double, 2 RBI, SB
1B Bo Thompson 1-3, BB, K
3B Allen Valerio 1-5, RBI, 2 K
C Jesus Aparicio 1-3, RBI, BB, SB
DH Jake Hernandez 0-4, 2 K
RF Frank Frias 1-4, double, K, OF assist
CF Jose Augusto Figueroa 2-3, double, RBI, BB, K, SB, CS

Derek Callahan 3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K - 3 GO/4 AO
Jonathan Padilla 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Nestor Cortes 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Mike Noteware 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K

The Yankees need both David Robertson and Dellin Betances next year

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There's more than enough room for both pitchers to stay.

According to Yankees closer David Robertson, the team has yet to reach out to him about a potential extension. For what it's worth, if you read between the lines, it sounds like he'd be open to an extension, though he's probably not going to give them any discount by saying "there's just been zero talks. When the offseason comes, it comes and we'll hear what other teams and everybody else wants to say." That sounds more like he's ready to test free agency and see who gives him the best offer.

The 29-year-old strikeout machine will be a free agent at the end of the season, and though they have Dellin Betances to take his place, if that is actually the direction they want to go in, the Yankees are better off with both in the bullpen going forward. The way this usually works is the veteran closer goes out and gets himself an expensive contract and the new young closer comes in and makes the league minimum. It makes perfect sense in terms of strategy, just not in this case. They could let D-Rob walk, save the money for something else, and use Dellin, but they don't have anyone to really replace Dellin and they don't really need to save money. These are the Yankees, they can have their cake and eat it too. Just keep both assets and have a better bullpen.

Think about it, who exactly is in the Yankees bullpen that has been that impressive this year? It's just Dellin and D-Rob. Adam Warren has a very pedestrian 4.58 ERA since June 1 and batters are hitting .311/.370/.432 against him over his last 18 innings. That doesn't sound like a bullpen building block for next year. Shawn Kelley has dealt with injury and ineffectiveness, you have Matt Thornton, who has been hit-or-miss this year, and then a rotating supply of randoms. They will all be here next year, but take away Robertson and you're left with Dellin-Kelley-Warren? That's not very promising.

Jose Ramirez, Preston Claiborne, Chase Whitley, and Shane Greene would likely all be in the running for a spot in next year's bullpen, but how effective would that corps or relievers be? Sure, you have Jacob Lindgren and Tyler Webb coming through the pipeline, but Mark Montgomery should be a cautionary tale for putting too much faith into a relief prospect. Betances can be an effective closer, but that's really all the faith I would have in that entire bullpen. They can afford to re-sign Robertson and take on the risk of a reliever on a long-term contract (not too long) and they need him to push the pecking order down one rung and keep some very questionable arms, like David Huff or Jim Miller, out of the bullpen.

They locked up Brett Gardner this past offseason, proving that they were open to the practice, however, their disinterest in doing the same with Robertson doesn't seem to be too thought out. Yes, there is a certain amount of risk with a reliever, but they really don't have much of a choice at the moment. You could say that the Yankees can easily add a veteran reliever on a free agent contract, but they won't. The Yankees don't spend money on external relievers unless they throw with their left hand or are mandated by the Steinbabies. Even with Betances, the Yankees need Robertson and that's not really a bad thing.

Now we're midway through the season and the team seems to be hovering in mediocrity; it might be nearly time to start thinking about next year. They broke down and extended Gardner mid-contract, but could the next step forward be a midseason extension?

Poll
What should the Yankees do with David Robertson?

  309 votes |Results

All-Star Game predictions and "How the Yankees Explain New York" giveaway & review

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With some luck, you could win a superb book about New York City and the Yankees!

The 14th and final All-Star Game of Derek Jeter's career is tonight at 8pm on FOX. Much like last year's All-Star Game celebrated the retiring Mariano Rivera, this one will be interesting to check out if not only to see what MLB will do to honor Jeter. (Beyond this awesome commercial from Michael Jordan that will play during the breaks, of course.)

However, Pinstripe Alley is giving you extra reason to pay attention to the action, as we will be doing a book giveaway based off of predictions about what will happen during the game! The book is quite a good one--How the Yankees Explain New York by Chris Donnelly, the same author who wrote the brilliant retelling of the 1995 ALDS, Baseball's Greatest Series: Yankees, Mariners, and the 1995 Matchup That Changed History.

Donnelly's new book doesn't only go into the Yankees' history--it delves into the vast history of New York City as well, finding parallels between the City's past and the Yankees' as well. For instance, Donnelly explained some interesting comparisons between George Steinbrenner's hectic ownership and the corrupt leader of Tammany Hall during the mid-19th century, William Tweed. (Both men were, of course, known as "Boss.") It goes into how the Yankees have reacted to events throughout the City's history, most famously during the tragedies of 9/11.

There are also lengthy discussions of amusing stories about Yankees who really enjoyed the lavishes of the city, like Mickey Mantle and David Wells, and several classic "rags to riches" type stories of Yankees who came from seemingly nowhere to reach national fame, whether it was for a lifetime (Joe DiMaggio) or just a brief, thrilling moment (Bucky Dent). These notes are just a small sampling of the many tales Donnelly tells during the book, and I found it to be quite an enjoyable, well-paced read. Even if you don't win the contest, I highly recommend buying it, as it is both inexpensive (about $10 on Amazon) and of high quality.

Without further ado, the predictions contest:

All-Star Game Predictions

1.Will Derek Jeter get a hit?
2.Name the result of at least one Derek Jeter plate appearance.
3.Total number of strikeouts by Dellin Betances?
4.Name one player you think will hit a home run tonight.
5.Which inning will feature the decisive go-ahead run?
6.How many combined runs will be scored by the teams?
7.Who is the All-Star Game MVP?
8.Which team wins the All-Star Game?

Since there are so many player possibilities, guessing questions 4 and 7 will be worth double if you get it right. I will calculate the winner of the predictions after the game.

Go Jeter, go Dellin, go American League, go baseball.

Update

PSA Book Giveaway Results

1.Will Derek Jeter get a hit?Yes
2.Name the result of at least one Derek Jeter plate appearance.Double/Single
3.Total number of strikeouts by Dellin Betances?0
4.Name one player you think will hit a home run tonight.Miguel Cabrera
5.Which inning will feature the decisive go-ahead run?5th
6.How many combined runs will be scored by the teams?8
7.Who is the All-Star Game MVP?Mike Trout
8.Which team wins the All-Star Game?AL

The winner of the predictions contest is PSA member andrewmin, who earned a leading six points by guessing that Jeter would get a hit, that the teams would combine for eight runs, that Trout would be MVP, and that the AL would win. He wins the How the Yankees Explain New York, so congrats to him! Thanks to everyone for participating!

Yankees promote Luis Severino and Jake Cave from High-A Tampa to Double-A Trenton

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Severino is flying through the system this year!

Well, that didn't take long. After only four starts with the High-A Tampa Yankees, the Yankees have promoted 20-year-old righty Luis Severino to Double-A Trenton, per Baseball America writer Josh Norris:

Severino cracked the Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America midseason Top 50 Prospects lists, he pitched a scoreless frame in the Futures Game for the World Team (striking out top prospect Joey Gallo in the process), and his stock just keeps on rising. He began the year in Low-A Charleston, where he pitched to a 2.79 ERA, 2.80 FIP, and 1.064 WHIP in 14 starts (67 2/3 IP), fanning 9.3 batters per nine innings and walking just 2.0 per nine. While he was there, Norris took the following YouTube video (please disregard Eduardo de Oleo crying for his bottle during the warmup):

Nasty. Not long after that start, Severino was promoted to Tampa, where he was even better. Although it was just four starts and about 21 innings, he pitched to a microscopic 1.31 ERA and 1.52 FIP, posting crazy rate stat marks of 12.2 K/9 and 0.823 WHIP (along with a fine 2.6 BB/9). That was apparently enough for the Yankees' front office, and Severino will now be pitching for Trenton on Saturday in Binghamton.

Severino entered the season with some acclaim from ESPN and scouts, and it's wonderful to see a prospect performing so well that it actually prompts the Yankees to promote him quickly. They don't do that very often, so Severino must seriously be impressing them. Keep it going, Luis!

Update

Jake Cave has been promoted to Trenton as well! The sixth round pick from 2011 was hitting very well in Tampa, batting .304/.354/.395 with 25 extra-base hits and a 119 wRC+ in 90 games. He's made great progress since missing most of his first two professional seasons due to injury, and the lefthanded hitter is still only 21.

Derek Jeter has special All-Star cleats for final All-Star Game

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You get named to 14 MLB All-Star Games, you get special cleats made just for you. Just ask Derek Jeter.

New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is the center of attention on Tuesday night at Target Field, playing in his 14th and final MLB All-Star Game. Jeter, who is retiring at the end of 2014, his 20th season, has a special pair of cleats to wear Tuesday night. The shoes list every city in which Jeter has been an All-Star, including 2000 at Turner Field in Atlanta, when Jeter was named All-Star Game MVP.

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