Can we see the Strikeout Factory in 2014? Please?

Believe it or not, September call ups are just around the corner. Once September 1 rolls around and rosters expand, players who are normally stuck in the minors will have a chance to get into a major league game. After seeing Matt Thornton get shipped off to DC, it's clear that the Yankees plan to focus on the bullpen, especially the lefty specialist portion of it, so expect a few pitchers to get the call soon.

While these players will be from the 40-man roster, not all of them are there just yet. The Yankees currently have plenty of fodder from which they can create open roster spots for some exciting young players to make their debuts. Chris Capuano, Esmil Rogers, Matt Daley, and Rich Hill could all be sent packing in order to create a spot for someone who has more potential, namely these six pitchers:

It's time for Tyler Webb to be in the majors. Drafted last year, he's made it all the way up to Triple-A already and has struck out 13 batters in only 8.2 innings there. He also K'd 51 over 35.2 innings in Double-A. He's ready for the big leagues right now and I'm hoping to see him in the majors even before September.

Lindgren was literally just drafted in June and he's already on the cusp of a major league call up. Of course, it was believed he could get major league hitters out even before his selection, so this should come as no surprise. The Strikeout Factory has already reached Double-A by striking out 30 batters in only 13.1 innings and has yet to struggle at any of the levels he's seen so far. If he can continue to plow through the upper levels of the minors, expect to see Lindgren as the new LOOGY on, or around, September 1.

Drafted just last year, Rumbelow has proven to be a solid reliever in the small amount of time he has spent in the Yankees system. After striking out 15 batters in only 7.1 innings at Double-A, Rumbelow was recently moved up to Triple-A and his 2.7 walk rate on the year says that he's ready to take the plunge. He still has a few weeks before September 1, so if everything runs smoothly for him until then, expect him in the Bronx very soon.

I would not have picked Pazos to be on a list of potential call ups, but Joe Girardi specifically mentioned him when referring to the Yankees' abundance of impressive lefty relievers in the minors. Pazos has kept a 1.33 ERA with a 9.3 K/9 in Double-A, however a 4.0 BB/9 might ultimately leave him out in favor of one of their better pitchers.

After struggling mightily in his return from Tommy John surgery, ManBan has improved, surrendering only one run in his last 14 innings. He's still just in Double-A, but Brian Cashman has at least not ruled him out on a call up. It's more likely they'll let him loose next year, but I suppose there is a non-zero chance we see him in the Bronx as an extra lefty reliever, depending on what happens to all their other lefty relievers, of course.

Mitchell has pitched poorly for most of the season, however things seem to be working now, according to his 1.06 ERA over his last 17 innings in Triple-A. He's already making himself a candidate to fill in for David Phelps, but if he's not called up to take a rotation spot, the Yankees can probably find another use for him by September. They didn't trade him for Dustin Ackley because they'll need him at some point.

Less exciting options include Nik Turley, Pat Venditte, and Matt Tracy, while Jose Ramirez and Preston Claiborne have been out with injuries. It also doesn't look like Andrew Bailey will be making it back this year as he has yet to throw a pitch for a Yankees minor league affiliate.

A lineup much like the other lineups.

The Yankees look to secure at least a split of their four-game series against the Tigers with a victory tonight, but it won't be that easy with Chris Capuano facing Justin Verlander. No, Verlander isn't having the season we've come to expect of him...but Capuano doesn't exactly inspire all of the confidence in the world in going up against a former Cy Young winner and MVP. Here is the lineup that Verlander will need to contend with.

#Yankees lineup vs DET: Gardner LF Jeter SS Ellsbury CF Teixeira 1B Beltran DH McCann C Headley 3B Drew 2B Prado RF Capuano P

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 6, 2014

Pretty much exactly as it has been since the acquisitions of Stephen Drew and Martin Prado. For those who wanted Joe Girardi to go with a more consistent lineup day in and day out, it seems as though your wish has been granted.

In somewhat surprising news this afternoon, Michael Pineda was seen throwing a bullpen session at Yankee Stadium. Pineda was set to start a rehab game on Friday which would likely be his last step before rejoining the team. With Friday now open for a spot start with David Phelps on the DL, it looks like the team may be setting up Pineda to return a bit ahead of schedule. The alternative starter would likely be Esmil Rogers. Despite the fact that Brian Cashman said that he did not consider Pineda an option for this Friday's start, Pineda throwing at Yankee Stadium could very well suggest otherwise.

Orrrrr it doesn't mean anything at all!

Pineda just told me he's pitching in Scranton Friday night, pitch limit of 80, could be final rehab start before return

— wallace matthews (@ESPNNYYankees) August 6, 2014

Rogers it is then, I guess.

Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $18,000 Fantasy Baseball league for tonight's MLB games. It's $2 to join and first prize is $2,000. Jump in now. Here's the FanDuel link.

Biggest WPA gain

Brian McCann (.227 WPA on seventh inning solo homer)

Worst WPA loss

Carlos Beltran (-.058 WPA on strikeout with runners on first and second in fourth)

Top Five Commenters

The Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the series thanks to great pitching by Chris Capuano, and the fact that the offense finally came alive.

Justin Verlander took a perfect game to the fourth inning, before the Yankees finally got a baserunner. The offense was able to stay alive after that and the Yankees snapped a streak of 16 straight games decided by two or less runs.

Detroit scored their one and only run in the first inning. Rajai Davis lead off with a grounder to Derek Jeter, which was bobbled, allowing Davis to reach. A wild pitch allowed Davis to take second, then he advanced to third as Ian Kinsler ground out. The run scored off of a sac fly by Miguel Cabrera.

The Yankees couldn't get anything going until the fourth inning, when Jacoby Ellsbury singled to break up the perfect game. In the next inning, Chase Headley was able to tie the game with a home run to the second deck in right. Brian McCann gave the Yankees the lead in the 7th, by dropping a home run into the Yankees' bullpen.

Chris Capuano had a fantastic outing, going 6.2 innings with zero earned runs, just five hits and a walk. He struck out 8 batters, including Cabrera and Victor Martinez. He was pulled from the game after giving up back-to-back singles. Adam Warren came in to get Davis to ground out for the final out. Things got interesting in the 8th inning, when Warren came out again and had to work out of the jam caused by the shoddy defense behind him. With one out, Cabrera drew a walk. Stephen Drew then made consecutive errors, first booting a grounder hit by V-Mart, then throwing it way past Mark Teixeira, allowing Cabrera to advance to third base. With runners on the corners, Warren was able to get J.D. Martinez to strikeout, and Nick Castellanos to fly out to end the inning, but not before both batters worked a full count.

The 8th inning was clearly the most exciting inning of the game. Brett Gardner led off the eighth with a single, followed by a walk to Ellsbury. The Tigers were playing no doubles, which allowed Tex to hit an RBI single through the hole in left. Beltran followed with a single of his own. McCann then grounded into a force out, with Beltran out at second. The ball was then thrown to first, where McCann was safe because no one was even covering first. Ellsbury scored, and Tex was called out at the plate. The Yankees eventually decided to challenge the play, and it was determined that Tex was safe. Unfortunately, Tex also appeared to jam his pinky into Bryan Holaday's foot while sliding his hand over the plate, and he was removed from the game in the 9th inning. It didn't look good.

David Huff was able to get the last three outs of the game, giving them a 2-1 lead in the series. The Yankees will finish off the four game series against the Tigers tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 pm EST. Yay random weekday games. Shane Greene will take the mound against Rick Porcello.

Box score.

Justin Verlander pitched well enough to win most games, but received no run support in taking his 10th loss of the season. The Tigers' offense remains missing in action during the road trip, held to one run on five hits by three Yankees pitchers.

In dropping a 5-1 decision to the New York Yankees, the Detroit Tigers' offense was once again a no-call/no-show. In what was a sloppily played game on defense for both sides, the Yankees were charged with four errors and a wild pitch, the Tigers adding an error of their own in a badly played eighth inning. But the story of the night was the Tigers' missing bats and their inability to do anything with Yankees' starter Chris Capuano, who entered the game with a 4.50 ERA on the season.

Capuano held the Tigers' offense in check, allowing just one run and five hits, striking out a season high eight and walking only one in 6 2/3 innings. Capuano was rewarded with a no-decision for his efforts.

The Yankees' bullpen continues to give the Tigers fits. Adam Warren (W, 2-5) and David Huff held Detroit hitless over the final 2 1/3 innings. Warren received credit for the victory with his 1 1/3 innings of work in relief of Capuano.

Justin Verlander (L, 10-10) allowed just two runs for a second consecutive start, but it was one run too many on a night where Detroit's offense was AWOL. A pair of solo home runs did all the damage in Verlander's seven innings of work, giving up just five hits and the two runs, striking out five and walking only one.

If the Tigers' bullpen is forced to go deeper than Joakim Soria, Joba Chamberlain and Joe Nathan, trouble often ensues. Asked to keep it a one run game in the eighth, Blaine Hardy failed miserably. He would allow three runs, three hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. Phil Coke took over and retired the one batter he faced, but it was too little, much too late.

The Yankees had just eight hits, but two swings of the bat gave the Evil Empire all the runs they would need. Chase Headley's solo shot tied the game at 1-all in the fifth, Brian McCann supplied the game-winning run with a solo homer in the seventh. Mark Teixeira and McCann would each drive in a run during the Yankees three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth.

Helped by the Yankees' porous defense, the Tigers pushed across their only run of the game in the first inning without benefit of a hit. Miguel Cabrera drove in his 84th run of the season with a sacrifice fly.

Formerly dominant away from Comerica Park, Tigers haven't been road warriors as of late. Having lost 2-of-3 to the Yankees, they are now 1-5 in their last six road games. During that stretch Detroit is hitting all of .158, averaging just 1.3 runs per game and have struck out 54 times. But they weren't going to play .650 ball on the road for the entire season, so consider a correction underway. But the Tigers also need to greatly step up their game at home, where they are currently only three games over .500 for a mediocre .526 winning percentage.

ROARS:

Justin Verlander: Given next to no run support, Verlander was forced to pitch without a safety net for seven innings, ultimately allowing two runs on five hits, exiting the game down 2-1. On a night when Verlander could not afford any miscues, he made two. Unfortunately, both mistakes ended up in the right field seats. Detroit's either full blast or completely shut down offense was the latter, leaving Verlander in the lurch. He pitched damn well and deserved a better fate.

Andrew Romine and Ezequiel Carrera: Chis Capuano pitched into the seventh and held the Tigers to five hits. Four of those hits came from the bottom of the bottom of the order. Number eight hitting Romine doubled in the second and singled in the seventh. Number nine hitter Carrera reached via a bunt single in the fifth and also singled in the seventh.

New York's defense: Yankees defenders did their damnedest to give the Tigers the lead, committing four errors and tossing a wild pitch. The Tigers said, "No, thank you."

HISSES:

Detroit's offense: Take what Romine and Carerra produced out of the lineup and it gets real ugly, real quick. One through seven in the order were a combined 1-for-25 with two walks (both issued to Miguel Cabrera). The only Tiger not named Romine or Carerra with a hit was Victor Martinez. Number five hitter J.D. Martinez has been one of the more egregious offenders with the bat, now 1-for-13 with six strikeouts in the three games against the Yankees.

NOTES:

The Yankees gave the Tigers a gift run in the opening frame. A Derek Jeter error, a Chris Capuano wild pitch, Ian Kinsler's ground out and Miguel Cabrera's sacrifice fly allowed Rajai Davis to circle the bases station-to-station.

Chase Headley hit his second home run as a Yankee in the fifth, a no-doubt shot to right.

Brian McCann, Yankees catcher self-anointed arbiter of baseball's unwritten rules, took Detroit pitching deep for the second straight game. McCann's solo home run in the seventh was his 13th of the season.

The Tigers down 2-1 in the eighth, the Yankees' defense decided to throw the ball around while in the shift for Victor Martinez. They were ultimately charged with two errors on Martinez's ground ball, which put runners on the corners with one out.  Reliever Adam Warren went to a 3-0 count on J.D. Martinez. Given the green light, Martinez swung at the next three pitches, striking out. Nick Castellanos was unable to pick up Martinez, ending the inning on a can of corn to right.

The Yankees added a trio of insurance runs in the eighth off Tigers' lefty Blaine Hardy. Mark Teixeira singled in the first run of the inning. Two more runs scored on McCann's ground ball when the Tigers did their own impression of the Yankees' defense by trying to turn a double play without anyone covering first base. Miguel Cabrera made a diving stop, firing to second from his knees for the second out of the inning. Romine fired to first, but Hardy took his time leaving the mound and was nowhere near the bag as the throw sailed past. Romine was charged with an error and McCann credited with an RBI as two runs scored on the play, giving the Yankees their final 5-1 advantage.

6) Profit? RT @NeilWeinberg44: Okay: 1) Cabrera made a great play 2) Romine turned it well 3) WTF? 4) Nice recovery! 5) Uh oh, was he safe?

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 7, 2014

STREAKS AND STATS:

Andrew Romine has five extra base hits this season, only three since May 31. But two have come in the last two games, much in thanks to Yankee Stadium's short right field porch. Romine homered to right last night, and doubled off the right field wall in the second inning tonight.

ermahgerd RT @PhilCokesBrain: Andrew Ermine flashing the power! pic.twitter.com/P6QXIrLQKp

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 6, 2014

Justin Verlander retired the first 11 Yankees he faced before giving up a two out single to Jacoby Ellsbury in the fourth inning.

Verlander's last two starts combined: 15 innings, 215 pitches, 13 hits, four earned runs, two walks, nine strikeouts.

Verlander fell to 10-10 on the year, giving him double-digit losses for a second straight season. It's the third season of his career with 10 losses or more. Verlander was 13-12 last season and 11-17 in 2008.

Chris Capuano temporarily set a season high of six strikeouts when both Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez went down swinging in the sixth. Recently acquired from from the Rockies for cash, the Yankees right-hander would end his night with eight strikeouts on the night. Capuano's previous high for strikeouts in 2014 came in his last start, whiffing five in 6 1/3 innings versus the Red Sox (the team which cut him in July).

In the Tigers' two losses in New York, they combined for two runs and 11 hits. Even during the one victory in which they scored four runs, the offense was far from effective with just eight hits in 12 innings.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs

ROLL CALL:

TOP TEN COMMENTERS:

TOP RECS:

It's About the Money | Domenic Lanza: Despite the uncertainty of the 2015 starting rotation, there exist enough options on the free agent market to add what they need.

The Record | Bob Klapisch: The Yankees have managed to remain in the playoff race despite an underwhelming team, and for that they deserve credit.

Huffington Post | Lincoln Mitchell: With Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner occupying similar roles on the team, does it make sense to trade the less expensive Gardner?

Newsday | David Lennon: The Rays and Red Sox were not allowed to trade David Price or Jon Lester to the Yankees.

SB Nation | Grant Brisbee: The Yankees and Braves are two teams that still contend every year, despite being made up of old, underperforming, zombies.

New York Times | David Waldstein: Alex Rodriguez is attempting to repair his image and relationship with MLB so as to allow him to have a future in the sport.

Fangraphs | Jeff Sullivan: Brett Gardner is hitting for more power because pitchers are not adjusting to his new approach and are basically daring him to do more damage.

Bleeding Yankee Blue | Steve Skinner: An interview with Yankees pitching prospect Ian Clarkin about pitching and being a Yankee.

Baseball America | Matt Eddy:Ichiro Suzuki and Alex Rodriguez have had the best tools in baseball since 2000.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: The Yankees plan to trim their bullpen back down to seven pitchers, and it will likely include one of Tyler Webb or Jacob Lindgren.

The Tigers try to split their four game series at Yankee Stadium this afternoon. Rick Porcello will take the mound for the Tigers.

Detroit Tigers (62-49) at New York Yankees (59-54)

Time/Place: 1:05 p.m., Yankee Stadium

SB Nation blog:Pinstripe Alley

Media: Fox Sports Detroit, MLB Network, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Pitching Matchup: RHP Rick Porcello (13-5, 3.18 ERA) vs. RHP Shane Greene (2-1, 3.68 ERA)

You can laugh about the fact that a team with a $200 million payroll is using a dude named Shane Greene as one of their starters, but the 25 year old right-hander hasn't been half bad so far. He had a rough debut in April, allowing three walks and three unearned runs in just one-third of an inning in relief, but returned with something to prove after a short demotion to the minors. Greene has won two of his three decisions since joining the Yankees' rotation in early July, allowing a 3.72 ERA in 29 innings of work. He has a solid 23:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio during this stretch, though a fair number of those came in a dominating performance against the first-place Baltimore Orioles on July 12th. Greene held the O's scoreless through 7 1/3 innings while striking out nine, leading the New York Daily News to dub him the "Yankees' only hope."

He also did this, so maybe we should temper expectations a bit.

Greene's command has been fine through five major league starts, but it has gotten the better of him at times in the minor leagues. He had three separate outings with four walks or more with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in May and June, and has walked a total of 36 batters in 95 2/3 innings this season. He has also allowed plenty of runners to reach base at all levels. The last time Greene held opponents to under a hit per inning was way back in Single-A ball in 2010. Things have been better at the major league level so far, but he has given up 14 hits (and six runs) in his last two starts.

Rick Porcello dazzled on BYB meet-up day, allowing two runs in eight innings while striking out 10. While his ERA didn't fall much, his 10 strikeouts (to two walks) took a sizeable chunk out of his FIP and SIERA. Those figures were 3.78 and 3.98, respectively, at this time last week. He got a whopping 16 swings and misses on 108 pitches, a solid 14.8 percent whiff rate. For reference, Porcello doesn't have that high of a whiff rate on any of his individual pitches this season. However, this was the fourth start in a row that Porcello posted a whiff rate above 10 percent. He has 24 strikeouts to just five walks in 29 innings since getting throttled by the Tampa Bay Rays -- led by now teammate David Price -- on July 6th.

Hitter to fear:Jacoby Ellsbury (.700/.727/1.400 in 11 plate appearances)
Hitter to fail:Derek Jeter (.111/.111/.167 in 18 plate appearances)

Holy hell, Jacoby. Ellsbury has seven hits in 10 career at-bats against Porcello, including a double and a pair of home runs. One of those dingers came in that 20-4 drubbing that the Boston Red Sox put on Porcello and the Tigers last season. Things haven't gotten much better for the Tigers' right-hander at Yankee Stadium either. Porcello has allowed nine earned runs in just 10 innings at the park, and has a career 4.69 ERA overall against the Yankees. Ichiro Suzuki and Brett Gardner have joined in on the fun as well, hitting .360 and .308, respectively.

Outlook

The Tigers would love to get a win against a rookie pitcher and a ragged Yankees' lineup -- they had scored just six runs in 27 innings prior to last night's eighth inning -- but things don't always go their way in New York. They are 4-12 in regular season games at Yankee Stadium since 2009 and haven't won a series in the Bronx since 2008 (go figure). Ironically, the Tigers' offense has done them in this time around despite ranking in the top five in baseball in batting average, slugging average, OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ away from home.

Prediction

Porcello keeps rolling and the Tigers split the series.

Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting daily $18,000 Fantasy Baseball leagues. It's $2 to join and first prize is $2,000. Click here for details.

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from August 6th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: Off

Double-A Trenton Thunder:W 7-3 vs. Altoona Curve

CF Jake Cave 1-5, triple, RBI, K - batting .321 w/ Trenton
LF Ben Gamel 1-4, RBI
DH Gary Sanchez 1-4, double, RBI, 2 K
RF Tyler Austin 0-3, BB, K
1B Greg Bird 4-4, double, 2 HR, 2 RBI - 1st and 2nd Double-A homers
3B Dan Fiorito 1-3, BB
C Francisco Arcia 1-4, RBI
2B Casey Stevenson 1-4, RBI
SS Ali Castillo 0-1, 2 BB, SB

Manny Banuelos 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K - 49 of 79 pitches for strikes
Francisco Rondon 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Jacob Lindgren 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K - Double-A debut
Danny Burawa 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
James Pazos 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K - 1.24 ERA w/ Trenton

High-A Tampa Yankees:L 6-5, W 3-2 vs. Brevard County Manatees

Game 1:

CF Mark Payton 0-4, 3 K
SS Cito Culver 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, K - third homer of the season
3B Jose Rosario 0-3, E5 - throwing error, sixth of the season
DH Eric Jagielo 0-3, 2 K
RF Danny Oh 1-3, K
2B Angelo Gumbs 1-3, K, E4 - fielding error, sixth of the season
C Trent Garrison 1-3, double, passed ball
1B Matt Snyder 0-2, BB, 2 K, E3 - missed catch, second of the season
LF Anderson Feliz 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, E7(1st) - second homer of the season

Miguel Sulbaran 2.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R/3 ER, 0 BB, K - 5 GO/4 AO
Ramon Benjamin 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, pickoff
Chris Smith 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB

Game 2:

RF Jose Rosario 1-3, double, 2 RBI, HBP
SS Cito Culver 0-2, BB, 2 K
3B Eric Jagielo 0-3, BB, K
DH Aaron Judge 1-4, RBI, K - batting .294 w/ Tampa
LF Ericson Leonora 0-3, K
2B Angelo Gumbs 0-3, K
1B Reymond Nunez 1-3, 2 K
C Kyle Higashioka 1-3, K
CF Danny Oh 1-2, BB

Taylor Garrison 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, WP - 1 GO/0 AO
Philip Walby 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Cesar Vargas 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 0-2, L 3-5 vs. Savannah Sand Gnats

Game 1:

LF Michael O'Neill 0-3, BB, K
SS Abiatal Avelino 1-3, 2 E6 - fielding error and throwing error, 6th and 7th of season
2B Tyler Wade 0-3
3B Miguel Andujar 1-3, K
1B Mike Ford 1-2, BB
CF Dustin Fowler 0-2, BB, K
C Eduardo de Oleo 0-3, K, passed ball
DH Gosuke Katoh 1-3, K, SB
RF Yeicok Calderon 0-3, 2 K

Gabriel Encinas 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, hit batsman - 31 of 57 pitches for strikes
Conor Mullee 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R/0 ER, 0 BB, K

Game 2:

SS Abiatal Avelino 0-3, BB, K
3B Kale Sumner 0-4, 3 K
DH Tyler Wade 0-3, BB, 2 K - batting .281 w/ Charleston
1B Mike Ford 2-4, triple, RBI, K
LF Michael O'Neill 1-3, RBI, 2 K, OF assist
C Jackson Valera 0-3
2B Gosuke Katoh 1-3, 2 K
CF Brandon Thomas 2-2, double, BB, SB
RF Yeicok Calderon 1-3, double, RBI

Chaz Hebert 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K - 50 of 79 pitches for strikes
Eric Ruth 1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:L 3-5 vs. Batavia Muckdogs

CF Devyn Bolasky 0-4, K
C Luis Torrens 0-3, RBI
2B Ty McFarland 1-4, K - batting .291
DH Isaias Tejeda 0-4
1B Connor Spencer 3-4, 2 doubles
RF Austin Aune 0-4, K, OF assist, E9 - fielding error, sixth of the season
SS Vince Conde 0-4, 3 K
LF Nathan Mikolas 1-3, double, K
3B Renzo Martini 0-3

Sean Carley 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R/2 ER, 1 BB, K - 6 GO/2 AO
Dillon McNamara 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R/1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, E1
Rony Bautista 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K

GCL Yankees 1:W 7-5 vs. GCL Tigers

SS Tyler Palmer 1-5, triple, 3 K
2B Billy Flemming 3-3, 2 doubles, RBI, 2 BB, E4 - fielding error, 2nd of the season
CF Leonardo Molina 2-4, RBI, K, SB, E8 - throwing error, second of the season
RF Alexander Palma 2-5, 3 RBI
DH Drew Bridges 2-5, double, RBI, K
3B Dalton Smith 1-3, BB
C Alvaro Noriega 1-3
LF Griffin Gordon 0-3, BB, K
1B Miguel Mojica 1-3, BB, K, 2 E3 - fielding & throwing error, 2nd and 3rd this season

Austin DeCarr 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K - 2 GO/2 AO
Reynaldo Polanco 3 IP, 3 H, 4 R/2 ER, 0 BB, K, 2 hit batsmen, E1
Dayton Dawe 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

GCL Yankees 2:L 1-2 vs. GCL Phillies

RF Jose Augusto Figueroa 1-4, K
2B Jake Anderson 1-4, 2 K
3B Allen Valerio 0-3, BB
1B Jake Hernandez 0-4, K
LF Frank Frias 1-4
DH RJ Johnson 0-3, 2 K
C Jesus Aparicio 0-1
SS Graham Ramos 1-3, CS
CF Jordan Barnes 1-3, SB

Eduardo Rivera 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, K, WP - 0 GO/4 AO
Nestor Cortes 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, E1 - 7 GO/1 AO
Felix Santiago 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB

If Greene could summon the Dragonzord to pitch against the Tigers, that might be pretty effective.

Comment of the Game

Yesterday repeater1990 claimed he was going to defend his COTG title and well, he did. Yes, repeater repeated!

Best GIF of the Recap

NoMahbles wins the Best GIF of the Recap with my all time favorite GIF of all time. Did this GIF win purely for that reason? Perhaps. Will it wn again for this reason? Probably not. Did NoMahbles just earn a cheap, almost bribery win here? Oh yeah!.

Best Comments of the Day

ShaunRunDMC's post, not mine, in the Grant Brisbee article about how the Yankees are zombies that keep contending. If you haven't, I recommend you read it.

Harlan's quick wit got the better of myself and Rorschach in yesterday's COTD Thread.

This stream of imagining if Jeter actually looked at advanced metrics of his defense was priceless, especially if you read NoMahbles' "Nah, Jeets" post in Jeter's voice.

Fun Questions

• Which Yankee makes the nicest defensive play?
• Recommend a restaurant for your fellow PSAers?

Cubs fans have been waiting for the debut of their young talent for over two years. In Javier Baez' case, the wait is over.

Welcome to the big leagues, Javier Baez -- best I can tell, this link lists players who hit a walk-off or game-winning home run in extra innings in their first game. Way to make an entrance, and way to make me completely re-write my opening to this post. As a Cubs fan, feel free to do this whenever you want.

More from our team sites

Chicago Cubs

Follow

Most Cubs fans are aware of their plan for developing sustained excellence -- build a solid farm system, develop the young talent and don't waste money on over-priced free agents (like Edwin Jackson ). It's easy to articulate, far more difficult to accomplish and creates pent-up demand for excellence amongst the fan base. Team President Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer have not been shy in their statements that patience is a virtue, with Epstein going so far as to say:

I’m shaking my head at the notion that we should make baseball decisions based on the notion that we should give our fans cookies. We’re cooking the whole meal. We want to give them an annual feast. The only way to make fans happy is to give them pennant races and October baseball.

To their credit they've been true to their word and the time is at hand. Arismendy Alcantara was brought up last month, and Javier Baez joined him Tuesday evening. Every team is excited when their young prospects are brought up, but the buildup to Baez has been nothing short of unbelievable. Baseball Prospectus 2014 wrote this about him:

If you listen carefully when Baez swings from his heels and makes solid contact, you'll hear both a thunderclap and a choir of angels singing hosannas to the fastest bats in the minors . . . Baez may never post high OBPs or win Gold Gloves, but the possibility of game-changing power at a premium position has Cubs fans hoping to see him in Wrigley this summer.

That wish has been granted -- if you think the prose set a high threshold, look at the Oliver projections from FanGraphs:

I tweeted these projections Monday evening and was inundated with responses, including these from two men for whom I have tremendous respect:

Damn... RT @ScottLindholm: #Cubs I do this with great trepidation--Javier Baez 5-year Oliver projections pic.twitter.com/2dFmFTkquc

— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) August 5, 2014

#damn RT @ScottLindholm: #Cubs I do this with great trepidation--Javier Baez 5-year Oliver projections pic.twitter.com/XvhY5eHAJL

— Brandon Lee (@bleeinternets) August 5, 2014

Indeed. I was reminded by Harry Pavlidis of the Baseball Prospectus projections:

These are stunningly high expectations for a man not yet turned 22. To project anyone with 30+ home run power in this day and age, let alone a middle infielder, is setting the bar extremely high.

So far I've shown projections -- what about actual results? The following tables are from Daren Willman's outstanding MLBfarm.com (PS -- drop Daren a tweet since he's about to become a first-time father). All the data can be seen here, and this first chart shows Baez' minor league numbers for 2013-2014:

This chart shows the results of his at-bats:

Yes, the strikeouts are a concern, even for a power hitter. Yes, it's hard to miss the fact he has almost as many home runs as walks. Yes, his strikeout rate of 30% would be among the highest in baseball this year, and none of this takes his fielding into consideration or what position he's going to play. And yes, he did strike out in three of his six at-bats in his debut game.

And as a completely rational Cubs fan, I don't care! The Cubs have been down so low for the past couple of years that any ray of sunshine will be gratefully accepted. The Cubs need pitching since there's a very good chance it's not currently in their system, but with enough prospects and with a willingness to spend this can be addressed fairly quickly.

Things are going to start happening very quickly for the Cubs --  approval for Wrigley renovations finally appears to have been resolved, but I'll believe it when our daughter tells me heavy equipment is in the area. Other young talent like Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and Kris Bryant is on the cusp with more on the way. Will they all become huge stars and change baseball the way the Yankees' Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte did over a ten-year span? That's far too high an expectation to place on any group of prospects, but I will cautiously state that it's not outside the realm of possibility. The young Cubs are coming, ready to turn irrational exuberance into sustained excellence. As a cruel teaser, these are the Baseball Prospectus projections for Kris Bryant:

It could be the best of times to be a Cubs fan, it could be the worst. No matter what, the plans of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are about to come to fruition and judged as a success or failure. Part of any of the call-ups includes starting the clock towards when players will be eligible for free agency, but the Cubs have shown the willingness to lock up young talent like Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo, making that clock almost an afterthought. In the end the Cubs will be judged not on how they managed a payroll but on winning, and they're poised to enter a period of sustained excellence in both aspects if all goes as planned, the most important (and overlooked) caveat in sports.

Just wait 'til next year. Scratch that -- the wait may be over.

Data from FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, Baseball Prospectus and MLBfarm

Scott Lindholm lives in Davenport, IA. Follow him on Twitter @ScottLindholm.

The Yankees go for the series win against the Tigers tonight as Shane Greene goes up against Rick Porcello.

Yankees lineup: Gardner 7 Prado 5 Ellsbury 8 Beltran DH Headley 3 Drew 6 Cervelli 2 Ichiro 9 Ryan 4 Greene RHP

— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) August 7, 2014

Today's lineup looks a little different behind the sinker-throwing Greene. As you'll see, Derek Jeter is out today in order to get the best possible infield defense behind him. Brett Gardner leads off with Martin Prado getting a start at third base. Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran follow in their usual spots, but with Mark Teixeira out after getting stitches to his pinky, Chase Headley is at first base. Stephen Drew gets to play his actual position at shortstop and Francisco Cervelli gives Brian McCann the day off behind the plate. Ichiro Suzuki will play right field and Brendan Ryan will be at second base.

For those of you who want the Yankees to sign David Robertson to a contract extension, according to the closer, that ship might have already sailed. He was expecting talks of an extension over the winter, where he stated he would have "gone for a discount," but at this point he's content to finish out the season and see what free agency has in store for him. While he's not completely shut off from an extension now, he also says "it would have to be a legit offer at this point of the year," meaning he's no longer going to take a discount. It would have been nice to lock up both Gardner and Robertson in the offseason, but, of course, since he wasn't a Proven Closer yet, they likely didn't want to do anything crazy. I say they still make an offer and try to get something done, just so no one can outbid them in the offseason, but that's just me.

In Masahiro Tanaka news, the Japanese right-hander played catch for a third time, after taking yesterday off, and everything seems to be going well so far. Please come back to us, Tanak.

Tanaka played catch again at 60 & 90 feet, reported no problems. More catch coming in the future... Will go to baltimore w/ team monday.

— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) August 7, 2014

Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $18,000 Fantasy Baseball league for tonight's MLB games. It's $2 to join and first prize is $2,000. Jump in now. Here's the FanDuel link.

Some were hoping for one last hurrah, while others were expecting an exit that was hard to watch. But it really hasn't been either.

I think entertainment sometimes colors our perspective on real life matters. There are the occasional films and shows that feature unremarkable people in a stories where nothing of note happens, but for the most part screens feature extraordinary people who are put in extreme situations. Most consumers don't want to see a guy commute to work, go through his day and come home without any fantastic dilemmas or wacky situations. This mindset seems to lend itself to sports, where everything is either terrible or wonderful. Where the average and the vanilla does not capture the attention of fans or the media like the positive and negative extremes do. It's particularly interesting to me, then, that while Derek Jeter is in the midst of his farewell tour that has gotten more attention than the moon landing he's also having a  completely unremarkable season. Not good or bad, it's just kind of....sitting there.

Those looking for him to be the Jeter of days gone by have been disappointed, but his detractors hoping for him to mostly resemble a living and breathing fossil haven't been rewarded for their awfulness either. Jeter's 85 wRC+ is 16th among all qualified shortstops, which isn't great or anything but still workable. His .277 batting average just feels mediocre. I'd argue .270 is the least interesting average a player can have (there's no disputing this). Even his defense, normally the most lampooned portion of his game isn't going to come near his career worsts as per defensive metrics. I suppose he's seemed kind of slow out there, but according to the always fallible eye test I think he's looked mostly okay.  He sits currently at 0.6 fWAR, which when compared to the output of some other Yankee greats in their last year is downright shiny. It's a performance that can best be described as "meh".

It just doesn't seem right. To have such a fascinating career end with such an uninteresting final season. It's not that I would prefer him to hit .190 or anything or punch out Joe Girardi and add some real drama to his starting every day, but it all feels so anticlimactic. Maybe Jeter still has a couple of crazy moments left in him down the stretch. But in all likelyhood he'll just stay an okay contributor who chips in a big hit from time to time and grounds into an absurd number of double plays. In some ways, Jeter's end serves as a reminder that life doesn't always imitate art. Whether it's the end of our careers or even our existence on this planet, the likelyhood is that they will conclude without any particle accelerator explosions or sacrifices to save Earth from an alien force. They'll just end.

So unless the Yankees go on to win the World Series, the director of "Yeah Jeets: The Derek Jeter Story" would probably be better served not focusing too much on the player's final season. There's been no adversity to overcome, no tragic downfall, no triumphant return to greatness. It's just been a middling performance on a so-so team. A very calm ending to a bombastic career.

It's nice to see Bichette move up, but it's also nicer to see him get out of Jagielo's way

As you've undoubtedly heard by now, Dante Bichette Jr. has been promoted to Double-A Trenton where he will be the team's everyday third baseman for the remainder of the season. It's great to see him rebound this year after two very bad seasons in Low-A Charleston, and while it's good to see him move up a level, the move really benefits fellow third base prospect Eric Jagielo more.

After two seasons where Bichette hit a combined .232/.308/.331, his prospect status didn't just come into doubt, it essentially disappeared. His ability to stay at the position was already in doubt, but his inability to hit made it all a moot point anyway as it looked like he was destined to fall into the minor league abyss. With the seeming bust of their third base prospect, the Yankees drafted Eric Jagielo in 2013 and gave him the keys to the third base castle. No matter where he was assigned, he wouldn't have to worry about any other third baseman because he was going to be top dog wherever he went.

Then in 2014, the Yankees did something odd; despite his struggles, they let Bichette move up to High-A Tampa while also aggressively pushing Jagielo to the same team. Still, it didn't seem like too much of a problem because Jagielo would start 70% of the time at third and Bichette would be the DH. Of course, no one was planning on Jagielo getting hurt and Bichette actually turning into a halfway decent hitter. From the time Jagielo went on the disabled list at the end of May to when he returned in mid-July, Bichette, now the everyday third baseman, hit a surprising .303/.380/.444, thanks to a completely refined swing. While it was unexpected, it didn't exactly get in the way of Jagielo's development because he wasn't even there. When Jagielo came back, Bichette was hitting well and not exactly deserving of being pushed back to his old role.

Since coming off the DL, Jagielo's time at third base has gone down to 63%, despite him hitting .250/.333/.426 and Bichette coming down to earth with a .208/.266/.347 batting line. The better prospect deserved more time at his position, however, Bichette had built up enough goodwill to keep his bat at the hot corner. If it looked like Jagielo would be getting less playing time at his position, the Yankees should have acted immediately and had Bichette moved somewhere else. Since Jagielo had already been assigned aggressively to Tampa, it made more sense to push Bichette up a level and get him out of there to let Jagielo have more playing time.

Neither are considered to be very good defensive third baseman, so it's absolutely for the best that both get their own assignment where they don't have to share the position with anyone. It's nice to see Bichette move up after all his struggles, but his promotion is more about getting him out of the way than rewarding his performance, which has leveled off quite a bit. As the better prospect, Jagielo should have the position all to himself. He should be the team's priority and no way was he about to get pushed up to Trenton so soon in his career and after coming back from injury. Moving Bichette is certainly good for him, but it's better for Jagielo.

It was easy to look at this four-game series against the Tigers and wonder if it wouldn't just go terribly for the Yankees. New York's offense has been sputtering all season and their pitching staff only features one starter who broke camp in the rotation. Going up against a team that just recently added another Cy Young winner to their rotation seemed like it might be a recipe for doom that could put the Yankees in a rough position in the push for a playoff spot, but that Yankees team just took three out of four games from the team with three Cy Young winners in their rotation.

You really can't say enough about the job that the Yankees' pitchers have done recently. Shane Greene was absolutely no exception today as he held Detroit scoreless through eight innings. Joe Girardi gave Greene a chance to start the ninth inning after he'd looked impressive all game, but a single to center to open the frame ended Greene's afternoon in favor of David Robertson. The Yankee closer walked the first batter he faced before the Tigers sent up Miguel Cabrera to pinch hit for J.D. Martinez. Cabrera grounded to Brendan Ryan at second base for a double play and a liner to Stephen Drew at shortstop ended the game.

The offense did just enough to get by this afternoon, scoring only one run off Rick Porcello. Drew roped a ball down the left field line in the fourth inning that bounced into the seats for a ground rule double. Carlos Beltran came around to score on the play to give the Yankees their one and only run of the game. Greene's brilliant pitching made sure that one run stood up. He allowed only five hits and three walks while striking out five. Francisco Cervelli was the lone Yankee not to pick up a hit, but he did an amazing job behind the plate in the ninth inning to block a few Robertson curveballs in the dirt with a runner on third to preserve the shutout. The Yankees had another chance to score with the bases loaded in the seventh inning but failed to capitalize on it. It's a good thing that that turned out not to matter.

New York's next challenge will be the visiting Cleveland Indians for a three-game series this weekend. Friday's game will feature Trevor Bauer against a Yankees starter yet to be determined.

Rick Porcello gave up just one run in seven innings but suffered a tough loss against the New York Yankees as the Detroit Tigers' offense took another day off.

Rick Porcello had a strong outing against the New York Yankees, but one run allowed seemed more like 10 with the Tigers offense on vacation. As a result, the Tigers were shut out 1-0, dropping the game, and the series to the Yankees as their lead in the American League Central Division was cut to three.

Porcello retired the first seven batters before he allowed a single to Ichiro Suzuki in the third inning. Porcello said he didn't have firm command of his fastball and continued to leave several pitches up in the strike zone. As a result of that, the Yankees got several hits, striking first in the fourth inning and three consecutive hits yielded a run with two outs.

The Tigers caught somewhat of a break though, because had the ground-rule double by Stephen Drew stayed on the field it would have likely given the Yankees another run. Instead, they went into the fifth inning trailing 1-0 rather than 2-0. As much as Porcello's command of the zone lacked on Thursday, he managed to keep the damage to the bare minimum.

The sixth and seventh innings put Porcello into jams because of his difficulty keeping the ball down, however, he managed to escape them without giving up one run as solid defensive plays by the Tigers kept the damage low.

However, the offense either couldn't get a hit or couldn't catch a break. While a one-run deficit seems like an easy one to overcome, the Tigers made sure that wasn't the case and even though Miguel Cabrera came on in the ninth inning after what was supposed to be an off-day for him, the Tigers couldn't get the job done.

The Tigers missed out on an opportunity in the fourth inning when Victor Martinez singled and J.D. Martinez drew a four-pitch walk to put two aboard with two outs. However, Don Kelly, who had singled to right field in the second inning, struck out swinging on three pitches on the appeal to third base.

In the sixth inning, back-to-back hits by Ezequiel Carrera and Ian Kinsler put runners on the corners with one out. Just as quickly as the rally began, however, it died off the bat of Victor Martinez, who hit into an inning-ending double play.

The only other opportunity came in the ninth inning when Kinsler hit a leadoff single and Victor Martinez walked to put two aboard. Miguel Cabrera came on to pinch hit for J.D. Martinez, but he grounded into a double play and with Kinsler at third base, Don Kelly popped out harmlessly to end the game.

The Tigers offense certainly helped the Yankees take the series as a result of their slumbering at-bats, but the Yankees starting rotation didn't exactly pitch an awful series. To the Yankees' credit, they pitched well against one of the better teams in baseball and sometimes you have to tip your cap when it happens.

ROARS:

Rick Porcello: Like Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, Porcello deserved a much better fate than the one that was handed to him. He went seven strong innings despite not having his best stuff, giving up just one run on nine hits while striking out five. Porcello slipped out of four big jams, most notably in the seventh when the bases were loaded without allowing a run. The only run he gave up was in the fourth inning on a ground-rule RBI double by Drew.

Tigers defense: Strong plays by the defense, in particular Andrew Romine, Ian Kinsler and Ezequiel Carrera, prevented more than the one-run of damage from being done. Kinsler started two sparkling 4-6-3 double plays in the third and sixth innings that ended the third and gave Porcello two outs to work with.

HISSES:

Tigers offense: Forget the idea that the offense never left the airport, it stayed on the plane and took a vacation. Despite two golden opportunities to score in fourth and sixth innings with runners at second and third respective to their innings, they kicked both to the curb without so much as a thank you.

Tigers offense? Heyyyy ... you ok? pic.twitter.com/wZrxkcNRHX

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 7, 2014

Yankees defense: The Tigers had a few hard-hit balls, but the Yankees flashed the leather and took them away just as quickly as they could hit them.

Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera: Both came on in big moments of the game with the ability to break things wide open. Instead, Martinez and Cabrera both grounded into a double play in the sixth and ninth innings respectively.

STREAKS AND STATS:

• The Tigers have scored eight runs in the last seven road games and have hit a mere .160/.200/.225 with just nine extra-base hits and nine walks. They have struck out 59 times in that stretch.
• The Tigers defense turned the 23rd double play behind Porcello and their 122nd of the season, which is first in MLB.
• The Tigers were shut out for the sixth time this season.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs

ROLL CALL:

TOP TEN COMMENTERS:

TOP RECS:

The late-90's teams were a joy, but that doesn't make their roster construction any better than later years in the dynasty era.

Build a core. Get younger in the field. Abandon the over-the-hill free agents. These are the kind of criticisms levied against the Yankees these days. Starting next year, we're going to be heading into the post-Core Four Era, and people are concerned. After nearly 20 years of constant winning, the future isn't as certain as it once was. Competitive balance has made it more difficult to just scoop up talent, and free agency isn't the boon it once was. Things are changing. So, of course, people reminisce. As people reminisce about the "good 'ole days", we enter what is of course a classic case of Golden Age Fallacy. The issues of the dynasty years (1996-2000) are pushed aside, while everything after that was a failure. That is of course not true at all, and the myth that the roster construction during that period was superior is outrageous.

What people forget about the dynasty years is that they weren't as reliant on the "farm" as people would believe it to be. And in contrast, the later years weren't as reliant on free agents as people would believe. Each had varying levels of success, and one could not draw a conclusion that one method was better than another. What made the dynasty teams great weren't that they were carried to the World Series via the farm (like other small market teams), but that they were equal parts free agency, trade, and amateur players. Take a look at position player rWAR by acquisition type from 1995 to 2013:

If it doesn't look like there is a pattern, that's because there is none. What's even more telling is that the level of contribution via the draft or amateur free agent has generally remained the same over the course of the Yankees' most successful years. And here are the pitchers:

This area is where the criticism may hold true, but only to an extent. The level of contribution via the farm has been extremely low in recent years, and you can obviously see how free agents then supplemented that. But one could also say that the team is turning towards younger arms. Michael Pineda, Masahiro Tanaka, David Phelps, Adam Warren, and Dellin Betances are all young. The organization has also found almost no production in their trade endeavors, another avenue they could pursue as other wells run dry.

Frankly, the composition of each year's roster construction was so unique that to draw a conclusion that the late-90's teams were the "right" way to build a ball club and that the latter teams were the incorrect way to build a ball club is just fallacious. Let's take a look at the Core Four in 1998, for example, and compare them to a completely different core later in this era.

As you can see, the core of 2010 actually produced more than arguably the greatest Yankee team of all-time, yet I'm sure fans of 2010 would argue that the team was way, way too old. Are they getting old? Here's a graph of batter and pitcher ages across those aforementioned years:

Of course the team had very young players at the beginning of their run, but you can see that the ages went in ebbs and flows. They were very old in 2003-2004, but those were some of their best teams. They had great success at such an age and they were able to sustain it. The idea that older age does not give way to sustainable success was obviously not true.

The Yankees had, currently have, and will continue to have a core of younger players to supplement free agents and trade acquisitions. That may change with changes in free agent strategy, but the team will always spend money. And they should. The Core Four was great, but the teams of the 90's and 00's would be naught without players like Mike Mussina, Roger Clemens, David Cone, Alex Rodriguez, and the like--some of the greatest players of their generations. An important part of the Yankees is big signings--that will always be the case--and I doubt that the team will ever go the way of the Astros and gut the organization. Even for them that is proving to be difficult and does not necessarily yield the core they're looking for. People may feel uneasy that the team will enter a phase where all they do is sign free agents to plug holes, but if the trade deadline, and this season in general, has taught us anything, it's that the organization will do whatever works.

Fangraphs | David Laurila: When it comes to hitting, Derek Jeter likes to keep it simple, choosing not to look at video or make many adjustments.

New York Daily News | Mark Feinsand: The industry was shocked that Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler didn't get hired by the Padres.

Just A Bit Outside | Ken Rosenthal: Give the Yankees credit for sticking around in the playoff hunt, despite a a negative run differential.

ESPN | Mark Simon: A look at how Shane Greene managed to do so well against the Tigers and what it might mean for the Yankees going forward.

Baseball Prospectus | Jeff Moore: Greg Bird had an impressive night in Double-A on Wednesday.

Fangraphs | Drew Fairservice: With Brandon McCarthy becoming an effective pitcher in pinstripes, it's fair to ask whether he's regressed to the mean or if the Yankees unlocked something.

Sports On Earth | Eno Sarris: The Yankees added the most value at the trade deadline by acquiring two whole wins with Martin Prado, Chase Headley, and Stephen Drew.

Just A Bit Outside | Rob Neyer: The Yankees and Red Sox traded Kelly Johnson for Stephen Drew, but who is to blame for division rivals not making deals more often?

ESPN New York | Wallace Matthews: Francisco Cervelli's defensive abilities in the ninth inning may have saved yesterday's game against the Tigers.

MiLB.com | Sam Dykstra: Greg Bird is getting his chance to shine in Double-A Trenton now that Peter O`Brien has been traded away.

There are nearly two months of baseball left. Let that sink in.

Well, we're back under .500 again. But at least we're out of the tree. Or something. Here's what's going on around baseball:

Yesterday's game: Reds 4, Indians 0

The Ohio Cup will reside in Cincinnati for the next year thanks to another Tribe loss. That's really about all I can say about it without swearing, and last I checked this is still a family website. Of course, I'm not sure what kind of sadist would subject their family to this.

• LGT recap (Jason Lukehart)
• Indians.com recap (Jordan Bastian)
• Cleveland.com recap (Paul Hoynes)

Indians news & notes

Is Kipnis headed in the right direction? | Cleveland.com - Jason Kipnis went 3-4 on Wednesday night, showing some signs of encouragement and hitting the ball to the opposite field. Maybe he can suck less down the stretch.

Carrasco to start Sunday against Yankees | Cleveland.com - Let the Carlos Carrasco v376735.4 experiment begin. It's happening whether we like it or not.

Indians go for upside with Clevinger | Indians Baseball Insider - IBI discusses the Tribe's newest acquisition, Michael Clevinger. Like the man he was traded for, Vinnie Pestano, Clevinger is also a Tommy John "survivor," but he's got potential.

Reliving yesteryear with Bobby Avila | Waiting For Next Year - WFNY looks at one of the Tribe's 50's greats as part of their ongoing series.

Ohio senator introduces resolution encouraging removal of Wahoo | Cleveland.com - Loathe as I am to bring this up again, it seemed newsworthy. Hard to tell if this resolution would have any teeth even if it passes, but the issue seems to be gaining critical mass.

Tidbits from around MLB

Baseball's top August pickups | Sports On Earth - SOE reminds us that some of baseball's biggest blockbuster trades happened after the deadline.

Marlins' Jennings gets concussion from being hit by batted ball | CBS Sports - Scary stuff here. Marlins reliever Dan Jennings was hit in the head by a well-struck batted ball. Fortunately, he never lost consciousness, and was diagnosed with "just" a concussion. I wonder how long it'll be until we see more pitchers wearing a protective cap.

Patchwork rotation keeping Yankees in the race | CBS Sports - It's tempting to look at the Yankees rotation and laugh, but it's bad form given the state of our rotation. Actually scratch that, it's always right and good to defame the Jackasses.

Dodgers acquire Fauxsto Carmona | LA Times - ICYMI, LGFT Roberto Hernandez is not only an immigrations dodger, but also a Los Angeles Dodger.

MLB asks DEA for names in new probe | ESPN - MLB is looking for the names of five new players named in a new Bogenesis probe.

Tulowitzki thinks things "need to change" in Colorado | Denver Post - Troy Tulowitzki wants to win. He doesn't necessarily want to leave Colorado, but he's "sick and tired of losing."

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from August 7th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: L 0-7 vs. Columbus Clippers

RF Jose Pirela 0-4, K
2B Rob Refsnyder 3-4, 2B, K - hitting .341 over last 10 games
CF Zoilo Almonte 1-4, 2B, K
1B Austin Romine 0-4
DH Kyle Roller 0-4, K
SS Zelous Wheeler 0-3, K
C John Ryan Murphy 0-2, BB
LF Taylor Dugas 0-3, K
3B Rob Segedin 0-3

Chris Leroux 5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, BB, 4 K, HR - 48 of 73 pitches for strikes, 6 GO/3 FO
Diego Moreno 1.0 IP, H - 3 GO/0 FO
Branden Pinder 1.0 IP, K - 1 GO/1 FO
Tyler Webb 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K - 1 GO/1 FO

Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 0-5 vs. Altoona Curve

CF Jake Cave 0-4
LF Ben Gamel 1-4
C Gary Sanchez 0-3, BB, 2 K, threw out runner
DH Tyler Austin 0-4, K
1B Greg Bird 0-3, K
2B Dan Fiorito 1-2, BB
3B Dante Bichette 1-3, 2B - first hit in Trenton
RF Mason Williams 0-3, K
SS Ali Castillo 0-3, K

Joel De La Cruz 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K - 49 of 77 pitches for strikes, 7 GO/3 FO
Cesar Cabral 1.2 IP, H, BB, 2 K, throwing error, 22 of 35 pitches for strikes, 3 GO/1 FO
Mark Montgomery 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, HR - 23 of 38 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/4 FO

High-A Tampa Yankees:W 6-4 vs. Brevard County Manatees

CF Mark Payton 2-5, 2 2B
SS Cito Culver 0-3, K
3B Eric Jagielo 0-3, BB, 2 K - hitting .235 over last 10 games
RF Aaron Judge 1-3, RBI, BB, K
1B Matt Snyder 3-4 2 2B, RBI, K
LF Ericson Leonora 0-4, 3 K
2B Angelo Gumbs 2-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI
C Trent Garrison 3-4, threw out runner, picked off runner
DH Anderson Feliz 0-4

Ian Clarkin 5.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K - 5 GO/1 FO
Brady Lail 3.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K - 5 GO/1 FO
Alex Smith 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 1-3 vs. Rome Braves

DH Abiatal Avelino 0-5, 2 K
SS Tyler Wade 0-4, K, two errors (19)
CF Michael O`Neill 1-3, BB, K
1B Mike Ford 2-4, SB - hitting .419 over last 10 games
3B Miguel Andujar 0-3, fielding error (23)
RF Dustin Fowler 2-4
C Jackson Valera 1-4
2B Gosuke Katoh 0-2, 2 BB, CS, PO - OBP of .371 over last 10 games
LF Brandon Thomas 0-3, RBI, BB, 2 K

Luis Niebla 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R/0 ER, K - 12 GO (!)/5 GO
Evan Rutckyj 2.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 K, balk - 2 GO/2 FO

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:W 2-1 vs. Batavia Muckdogs

CF Collin Slaybaugh 0-2, BB, K, CS
C Luis Torrens 0-4, 2 K, PB (10)
2B Ty McFarland 1-1, 2 BB, CS
DH Isaias Tejeda 0-4, K
1B Connor Spencer 2-4 - hitting .415 over last 10 games
LF Chris Breen 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, outfield assist
SS Vince Conde 2-4, SB, throwing error (4)
3B Renzo Martini 1-4, fielding error (7)
RF Daniel Lopez 1-3, 2B, BB, fielding error (2)

Jordan Cote 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K, HBP - 5 GO/5 FO
Matt Borens 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R/0 ER, 2 K, 3 HBP - 2 GO/4 FO
Joe Harvey 0.1 IP, H - first save

GCL Yankees 1:W 8-5 vs. GCL Tigers

SS Billy Fleming 1-4, 2 RBI, two fielding errors (4) - hitting .457 over last 10 games
RF Alexander Palma 3-5, RBI, 2 SB
3B Dalton Smith 1-4, 2B, BB, K
1B Alvaro Noriega 1-5
LF Miguel Mojica 0-5, 2 K
CF Dominic Jose 4-5, 2 2B, SB - hitting .387 over last 10 games
DH Griffin Gordon 0-1, 4 BB, K, SB
C Brian Reyes 1-4, RBI, K
2B Derek Toadvine 0-4, BB

Gean Batista 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R/3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 5 WP - 4 GO/7 FO
Christopher Cabrera 2.2 IP, H, 1 R/0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K - 5 GO/1 FO
Francis Joseph 2.0 IP, BB, K - 5 GO/0 FO

GCL Yankees 2:L 7-11 vs. GCL Phillies

LF Jose Augusto Figueroa 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
2B Graham Ramos 2-4, HR, RBI, fielding error (3)
SS Angel Aguilar 4-5, 2B, 2 RBI, K, SB
3B Allen Valerio 2-5, 3B, RBI, K
1B R.J. Johnson 0-4 - hitting .171 over last 10 games
DH Kevin Alexander 0-2, 2 BB
RF Wilmer Romero 0-5, K
C Rainiero Coa 0-3, BB, caught two base stealers, PB
CF Jordan Barnes 0-3, BB 2 K, fielding error (1)

Melvin Morla 3.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 HR, WP - 5 GO/1 FO
David Rodriguez 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, WP, pickoff - 1 GO/1 FO
Hector Martinez 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R/0 ER, 2 K - 2 GO/2 FO
Alex Polanco 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K, HBP - 3 GO/1 FO

Tyler Anderson allowed a run, but was effective yet again in Tulsa's win over Midland which highlighted a mixed day for the Rockies farm system.

AAA - Omaha Storm Chasers 16, Colorado Springs Sky Sox 9

The Sky Sox and Storm Chasers engaged in a slugfest at Security Service Field last night, and then the ninth inning happened. Jair Jurrjens started for Colorado Springs and gave up five runs in six innings and left the game in a 5-5 tie. Omaha then scored three in the seventh to take an 8-5 lead.

In the ninth, the teams almost managed to equal the 8-5 score in one inning, combining to score a dozen runs. The Storm Chasers scored eight in the top of the inning against Sky Sox relievers R.J. Seidel and Tim Smalling (who is actually an outfielder) to take a 16-5 lead. The Sky Sox then scored four in the bottom of the ninth to close the game to 16-9, but could not get any closer.

AA - Tulsa Drillers 8, Midland RockHounds 5

After not allowing a run in his last four starts, Tulsa lefty Tyler Anderson (No. 11 PuRP) took just two batters to allow a run in Midland, allowing a two-run home run to Conner Cumbliss in the first inning. However, he still pitched well enough to secure his fifth win of the season, allowing three runs on two hits in six innings with three walks and four innings, throwing 96 pitches, 57 for strikes.

Luckily for Anderson, the home run he allowed in the first inning only tied the game as Ryan Casteel (No. 15 PuRP) hit a two-run homer of his own, his 15th of the season, in the top of the first. It was one of three hits for Casteel and 16 for the Drillers on the night as they cruised to an 8-5 win.

High-A - Stockton Ports 6, Modesto Nuts 0

A 6-0 shutout loss in Stockton dropped the Nuts to a staggering 49 games below .500 at 34-83 on the season. Ports first baseman hit his 34th home run of the season, a three-run shot, to get the ball rolling for the Ports, who never looked back. Modesto had just four hits on the night, one of them coming from David Dahl (No. 2 PuRP).

A - Asheville Tourists 5, West Virginia Power 4

First baseman Correlle Prime (No. 23 PuRP) had a pair of doubles and the go-ahead single in the seventh to lead Asheville to a 5-4 win over West Virginia. With the Tourists already up 3-0 thanks in part to Jordan Patterson's (No. 29 PuRP) two-run home run, the Power scored all four of their runs in the fourth against Asheville starter Zach Jemiola. Prime then tied the game with an RBI double in the fifth before giving Asheville the lead for good in the seventh.

Short-Season A - Vancouver Canadians 8, Tri-City Dust Devils 6

Three hits, including a double and triple, from left fielder Drew Weeks were not enough for Tri-City to overcome Vancouver, dropping an 8-6 decision to the Canadians. The Dust Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead through three innings, but Vancouver came back with three in the fourth and two in the fifth against Ryan Castellani and Logan Sawyer to take a 5-3 lead they would not relinquish. Tri-City did get the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs in the eighth, but Sam Bumpers struck out to end the threat.

Rookie - Grand Junction Rockies 9, Billings Mustangs 5

Four stolen bases in the first inning, including a steal of home by Forrest Wall (No. 12 PuRP), helped stake the Rockies to a 2-0 lead after an inning, which expanded to 6-0 after three, and lead them to a 9-5 victory over Billings. Sam Howard pitched five shutout innings with six strikeouts to help preserve the lead before the Rockies bullpen let the Mustangs back into  the game. Randy Reyes' ninth-inning three-run homer sealed the win for Grand Junction. Also, Michael Cuddyer went 2-for-4 in the second game of his rehab assignment.

DSL - DSL Yankees1 5, DSL Rockies 2

Run-scoring doubles from Jose Gomez and Daniel Suero were not enough to help the Rockies overcome an early deficit in a 5-2 loss to the Yankees in the DSL. All five Yankees runs were scored against Rockies starter Erick Julio, who pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up five runs, three earned, while striking out five in the loss.