Ensberg looks just fine to me defensively.

he had a rough inning in that rain game in Chicago where he missed that hot shot and also opted to go home on a ground ball.  but besides that, he’s been pretty solid.

also, here is a thought: i am not sure he is going to meet his projections with the Yankees b/c his projections were based many HRs hit in Minute Maid park.

the ball he hit last night in the 2nd inning was probably hit farther than the HR that Cano hit, but as a RH batter, it died in LF.  also, that ball is probably a HR in Houston.  he might have a tough time hitting HRs in YS.

just a thought.

Good point about Ensberg.  In his career he’s slugged .429 on the road compared to .517 at home.  I did some research on home/road splits in general and found a 10% advantage for hitters at home, regardless of park so some of that is probably built into his numbers already.

I did adjust his CAIRO projection for Yankee Stadium but I think all the other projections are based on PETCO where he finished up last year, so his slugging projection does have the Minute Maid park taken out somewhat already.

If we take away say 4 HRs from the 15 he’s projected to hit in 308 AB, that drops his SLG to .407 and drops his batting runs for the 150 plate appearances above from 21 to 19.

SG- Why not send him down to Scranton?
I see 2 real problems in Hughes, that both can be because he is really young. One is that he has only 2 pitches, he “never” uses his change up. I think we can say that because he has only 2 pitches he gets hit much harder when he faces the lineup for the second and third time. Look at this (I know it’s a small sample size, but the difference is significant).

1st PA in G   .250 .327 .295
2nd PA in G .400 .500 .714
3rd+ PA in G .600 .625 .667

The second problem I see in Hughes is the inconsistency of the velocity of his FB. I don’t buy that he “always” sit in the low 90’s. Because I read reports that he was hitting the mid 90´s in the minors and I watched him throw in the mid 90´s in the majors last year and also this year. I just don’t get it, why does his FB velocity is different every start.

I think this kid needs some time in the minors to make some adjustments, along with IPK who needs to work on his control. I think that’s the best for their future. But I easily could be wrong.

I just don’t get it, why does his FB velocity is different every start.

i think it’s mechanical.

last night, it looked like he was short-arming.  muscling up instead of whipping his arm through his motion.

he looked like he was throwing free-er in Chicago and his velocity was up.

Hughes’s FB, according to gameday which is generally the most accurate, was 90-93 all game yesterday. The YES gun is a mess, so ignore it. Inconsistency of FB is pretty common. Or rather, pitchers vary by 3 or so MPH all the time, its just that people are obsessed with Hughes’s mechanics and velocity of late.

I felt that people were obsesed with Hughes FB too, but I realize that he relies on that few extra mph to get hitters out.

Why not send him down to Scranton?

Because that won’t help him figure out how to get major league hitters out.  Look at how Kei Igawa is dominating AAA.  Do you really think he’s suddenly gotten good?

Speaking of Igawa-san, isn’t it high time the Yanks try to deal the guy, even for a few sticks of bubble gum?  I’d rather see Chase Wright (who is dominating AA once again) get another start in the majors before Igawa.  The Yanks also have Rasner at AAA and a well performing Dan McCutchen as insurance in case of injury to the starters.  The team has absolutely no use for Igawa and never will.

I don’t think Igawa became good. But Hughes is a 21 year old pitcher. He has to make some adjustments to be consistent with his mechanics and velocity. He won’t figure out how to get major leaguers out, but maybe he will throw his change up more and will figure out how to gain some mph on his FB without worrying about the standings.

I am rather pleased we have Ensberg rather than, say, Wilson Betemit.  Even if Ensberg looks like someone’s dentist (not mine, who is 5’ and named Dr. Fang).

Dr. Fang has to be the best name for a dentist EVER.

Speaking of Igawa-san, isn’t it high time the Yanks try to deal the guy, even for a few sticks of bubble gum?

why sell at the absolute lowest?  he is pitching very well in Scranton.

MAYBE if he pitches very well for a few months, they can get a decent part for him.

i haven’t completely given up on the guy.  he has shown some ability to miss bats.

I learned that Rasner is throwing a new cut FB this season. I think he can be a succesful starter in the majors, but I think I am wrong because for some reason the Yankees don’t want him in the majors this season and he is dominating AAA. Also Torre pulled him last year after 80 pitches when he was cruising in the 4th or 5th inning. So must be a reason they don’t like him, right?

So must be a reason they don’t like him, right?

no.  he sucked in ST, so he didn’t make the team.

now, since he isn’t on the 40 man, it requires a roster move to bring him.  since he is out of options, they’d have to pass him through waivers to send him down and they would probably lose him.

i don’t think they don’t like him, it’s just a little more complicated to bring him up.  they can’t shuffle him back and forth, or else he’d be up already.

if they send Hughes or Kennedy down at some point, they move him to the roster.

To me, the warning sign with Phil is when he starts throwing the fastball that leaks toward his right hand side. It’s always high and outside, and it gets him behind in the count. I have no idea why that happens, and I’m no expert on scouting by any means, but when I saw that yesterday sometime during the third (he may have already given up the runs), I knew that he wasn’t going to be effective. When he’s throwing effectively, which seems to vary wildly from batter to batter, the fastball doesn’t leak like that; he spots it well and gets ahead, like in Sheffield’s first PA. That’s something that he may well be able to work on if he were sent down, though I don’t think the time is right for that yet.

Keep in mind that the Yankees don’t have to evaluate Hughes’ performance in the minors on his ability to retire batters. They can send him down and evaluate his performance from a mechanical or strategic standpoint and move him based on that. They don’t have to send him down with the edict to win games and strike batters out. They can send him down with the instruction to work on his fastball command or develop the change up or whatever they feel he needs to do.

I leave the future of Hughes in the hands of the coaches.  They know best.  If Hughes’ problem is mechanical, they’ll probably send him down to work out the kinks.  If the problem is adjusting to MLB hitters, then he’d probably be best served working it out in the bigs - but maybe from the BP.

If Rasner is going to cause roster problems, then I would suggest trading him for a player that will offer more flexibility.  Frankly, I’d drop Betemit and put Rasner in his place.  They aren’t using Wilson and there’s no sense letting him rot on the bench.

“They can send him down with the instruction to work on his fastball command or develop the change up or whatever they feel he needs to do”

I want that.

I think the Yankees have a free 40 man roster spot.  Adding Rasner to the team isn’t a problem.  However, if they then decided to move him back down, he’d have to clear waivers, which is a problem.

i’m re-thinking my Hughes position a little this morning.  If he can’t start to last more than 3 innings a start, maybe they should send him down.  His development has to be balanced with the big league teams needs, and having to get six-seven innings out of the pen every 5th day is not helping things.

If you move Hughes to the BP to work out his issues (assuming they are not mechanical and need a stint in AAA to fix), you can bring up Rasner.  If/when Hughes is ready, you can move Rasner to the BP and send one of the other relievers back down - someone who won’t have to clear waivers.

This assumes Rasner would work out in the rotation long enough for Hughes to get fixed and Rasner adjusts to the BP as a long man.

Betemit’s on the DL and can’t be moved until he comes off (though he could be a PTBNL).  It does seem that Ensberg/Gonzalez may be enough of a backup infield and he could be gotten rid of.  I’m no scout but I sort of think he may need to fins a position and play there most every day to reach what people think is his potential, and the Yankees obviously aren’t that team.

There is nothing wrong with a talented pitcher being sent down to make adjustments. Francisco Liriano has been sent down recently. Roy Halladay was sent down to minors to work out his issues.

I agree with dakranker that Hughes is a two pitch pitcher right now, and that won’t get it done in the bigs as a starter. He needs to throw a change-up or a slider. And he needs better command. I leave it to the coaches, but it seems to me he (and Yankees) could benefit from a trip to the minors.

That game sucked.  I hate watching Phil struggle like that.  He didn’t have command of his fastball.  He wasn’t helped by the 4th-stringer (Mr. Crossup) behind the plate or his OF defense (Matsui/Damon instead of Damon/Cabrera, which I do not understand), but it was mostly on him. 

By the way, Ohlendorf was good.  Until now, I wasn’t impressed with him, to say the least.  I’ve repeatedly said I don’t see what others see in him.  Last night I saw it.  I hope it continues.

“If you move Hughes to the BP”

I don’t know.  He struggles from the get-go and then gets worse.  In what situations do you want to see that from a reliever? 

OTOH maybe he loves it and thrives—and then it’s “How can you move Hughes back into the starting rotation?  He stunk there!”

By the way, I missed the game thread, but how fucking annoying was McCarver proclaiming that “you can’t move Joba to the rotation—the Yankees missed their chance to do it in ST—they won’t do it this year.”  Really, does he never read the papers?  Is he unfamiliar with best-pitcher-in-the-majors Johan Santana?  With the concept of a swingman?  What a dummy.  I guess it’s useless to complain.

You know what really sucked?  Despite Phil’s struggles, the Yankees should have won that game and didn’t.

Hughes’ struggles are exacerbated by Kennedy’s struggles - you can’t have two pitchers in the rotation for very long who don’t give you more than 3-4 innings each.

Matsui/Damon instead of Damon/Cabrera, which I do not understand

i understand it in that Melky needs a day off sometimes and Damon had good numbers against Rogers.

that said, i hope Girardi learned to never do it again.

Despite Phil’s struggles, the Yankees should have won that game and didn’t.

yup. 

they left a million men on base.

and hey, it wasn’t even A-Rod’s fault.

You know what really sucked?  Despite Phil’s struggles, the Yankees should have won that game and didn’t.

I didn’t watch the whole thing because I was frustrated and sometimes I need to take a break before I let the Yankees drive me insane.

However, when we loaded the bases against Rogers with two outs and got *nothing* out of it, I knew we were in for one of *those* nights. Kenny had nothing, and, apparently, neither did we. Blah.

Any word on who is gonna be called up to take A-Rods place on the roster?

I’m not defending Hughes, he’s clearly not pitching with command, but the one game he pitched in anything resembling ideal conditions was his first start…which was also his most successful. Rain in Kansas City, rain in Chicago, cold and windy last night, cold and windy in Boston. And he’s got a new catcher every time on the mound. That can’t be easy.

That said, I’m not opposed to the idea of sending him down and straightening him out. John Lynch, i like your reasoning on that.

Weren’t there a few night games mixed into Hughes’ sparkling minor league record?

I would attribute Hughes’ troubles more to command issues than only having two pitches.  If he spots the fastball and can throw the curve for strikes, he will get plenty of outs.

Any word on who is gonna be called up to take A-Rods place on the roster?

The only infielders not active from the 40 man roster are:

Betemit (15 day DL) and Juan Miranda.  I suppose they could add another pitcher.  Maybe Chris Britton can be recalled to not pitch.

From the article I read in the Post, Hughes is having difficulty seeing what signs the catcher is putting down.  I think this is also a problem that started THIS year, and that so far his vision is checking out at 20/20.  They are apparently thinking of trying some sort of glasses for him to correct the glare problem.  IMHO, if this is TRULY a problem - and indications are it is - and if they feel they can fix it using glasses or something, he should be doing it in the minors.  Maybe it is two starts, maybe it is 10.  I don’t see how that hurts his confidence or sets back his development, if he knows the reason he is being sent down is to get comfortable with a physical issue.

Besides that…as for as working on mechanical/confidence issues, give him 2 or 3 more starts.  If he works it out great, if not he’ll have to be sent down.  Rasner or Igawa up, depending on roster issues.  Give Igawa a chance.  Sure he may suck, but he may also be good (or at least better than Kennedy/Hughes right now).

“Hughes is having difficulty seeing what signs the catcher is putting down”

I believe that could be true, but I feel like I’ve seen a lot of problems communicating between pitcher and catcher, no matter who’s pitching or catching.  Maybe Girardi has some crazy-ass new sign system?

Or maybe there’s a low blood sugar situation due to candy deficit?

Or maybe there’s a low blood sugar situation due to candy deficit?

That’s my quess.  Bring back the candy!

Seriously, the signs thing sounds like excuse-making.  Even if Hughes can’t see the signs, I don’t think he’s assuming the catchers are calling for pitches that keep missing the strike zone or meatballs that can get clubbed for line drives all over the park.

Even if Hughes can’t see the signs, I don’t think he’s assuming the catchers are calling for pitches that keep missing the strike zone or meatballs that can get clubbed for line drives all over the park.

true, but there was definitely something wrong last night.  there were about 4 cross-ups.  one of them may have cost him an out on Sheffield.

that said, who wouldn’t want to Hughes make his next start in Ricky Vaughn glasses?

Well, he’s got the Wild Thing down pat…in a manner of speaking…

He doesn’t look nearly as cool/badass as vintage Charlie Sheen though….

Even if Hughes can’t see the signs, I don’t think he’s assuming the catchers are calling for pitches that keep missing the strike zone

Look, Hughes clearly has other issues that have to be worked out.  But depending on how bad this glare problem is, it certainly *could* be affecting his ability to pick up the target, no?  And that could also be affecting his confidence.  If he isn’t confident he is throwing the ball to the right spot, he may not be throwing free and easy.

Sure, maybe the Yankees have been sending him to the eye-doctor and are contacting a company to get special-glasses ALL to make excuses for Hughes while they let him struggle.  Or maybe there is a problem they’re concerned about.  Fix one problem first, and then fix the rest.

“Maybe Chris Britton can be recalled to not pitch.”

SG, that is one GREAT IDEA!  Think the Yankees will go for it?

The glare thing… it could help account for the crossups (one of which REALLY hurt - strike 3 to Sheff), but I don’t see that it accounts for his fastball being all over the place.

i understand it in that Melky needs a day off sometimes and Damon had good numbers against Rogers.

I would have preferred to rest Melky when a GB pitcher was starting.

I would have preferred to rest Melky when a GB pitcher was starting.

true, but i guess we were happy it didn’t happen on sunday when Wang pitched.

i really don’t want to see Matsui in the OF ever, so hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

i really don’t want to see Matsui in the OF ever, so hopefully it doesn�t happen again.

<u>LF ZR</u>
Damon, .943: 33 plays made in 35 chances, 5 plays above average
Matsui, .621: 18 plays made in 29 chances, -6 plays above average

Yikes.

We don’t like seeing Matsui in left because it’s not fun, but it would be bad baseball to never put him out there again.  Depth is a major strength of this team.  If you lock Matsui into the DH spot you are diminishing that strength.  There will be many games this season when the best possible lineup will call for Matsui in the outfield, whether because someone is hurt or resting, or because, say, you want to get an extra righty bat in the lineup but not at Matsui’s expense.

I agree Matsui should play OCCASIONALLY in LF.  But not often.

I agree Matsui should play OCCASIONALLY in LF.  But not often.

Right, and Damon should play some CF to rest Melky too.  It should pay off down the road.

It should pay off down the road

I certainly CAN question it when you have a lefty pitching and a struggling young pitcher on the mound though.  However, based on the recent and coming schedule, not sure when the best time would have been; though today seems good.

The Yankees need to fix their rotation.  Hughes and Kennedy are just not cutting it right now.  They’ve been both bad and unable to provide innings.  Mussina’s been good, but he also isn’t providing innings.  This is not sustainable, and the Yankees have to think about a Plan B.

I think that Rasner and Igawa deserve a shot right now.  If Rasner is too difficult to get in there due to roster concerns, then try Igawa.  As bad as Igawa was in 2007, Hughes has been WORSE this year, and Igawa is throwing well in AAA.  I’m not sure why the minor league numbers of Rasner and others seem to count, while Igawa’s are discounted based on a relatively small-sample of starts in 2007.

And it’s not a stretch to start thinking about a Plan C, which could involve acquiring a veteran starter from outside the organization.

As for Hughes being sent down:  while young pitchers struggle, is there any precedent for a young pitcher being allowed to stay in the bigs with a 9.00 ERA?  At a certain point, it doesn’t help the team or the pitcher to get hammered like that.

If IPK has a game like Hughes, and let’s hope he doesn’t, who would be better choice to send down Hughes or IPK?

However, based on the recent and coming schedule, not sure when the best time would have been; though today seems good.

Yeah, that’s the problem.  When you’re hovering around .500 for a month and expected more, every game seems like a must-win.  I cringe every time I see Matsui penciled in LF, and I would regardless of whether it makes the most sense (when Wang starts or against a team loaded with righties), but I also understand that there will be days when he has to be out there for the long-term benefit of the team.

There will be many games this season when the best possible lineup will call for Matsui in the outfield, whether because someone is hurt or resting, or because, say, you want to get an extra righty bat in the lineup but not at Matsui’s expense

in retrospect, he probably should have played Matsui in RF and sat Abreu.

with A-Rod and Posada out, i think he just thinking of putting the most offense on the field that he could.

not a bad strategy, but it bit them on the ass.

I think the question for New York is: are the caliber of Hughes’ pitches close to what they were in the minor leagues when you consider location, velocity, movement, mechanics, etc?

If the answer to this question is mostly “Yes,” then I think you have to let Hughes fight his way through this in the big leagues. He’s not going to fix anything by being sent down to face weaker competition, so he has to learn how to be consistently sharp and how to attack MLB hitters.

If the answer to this question is mostly “No,” then you almost have to send Hughes down until he can regain the form he has had in previous years, not in terms of raw results, but in terms of pitch quality and mechanics.

The Yankees should be in an excellent, almost unique position to evaluate this. I am not, and I suspect no one here really is. I’d love to know what they think the answer to this question is.

Call me hopelessly optimistic, but I like the fact IPK gutted through another 3 innings after one atrocious one the last time he pitched. I think he might have turned a corner a bit. I think he’ll give the Yanks a quality start tomorrow.

Moello! went unclaimed and passed waivers.  I shouldn’t be this excited.

Moello! went unclaimed and passed waivers.  I shouldn’t be this excited.

Ditto. I nearly did a fist pump in my office. Still, he should be better than who we have right now.

“I shouldn’t be this excited.”

Sometimes you need to celebrate the small victories.

Hello “hopelessly optimistic”

I hope you are right but it wasn’t like he was overpowering or missing a lot of bats. I thought Ollie was lousy on Saturday but he looked great last night. Some were calling for his demotion last night as he was announced. They ate crow subsequently.  You just can’t tell with these young guys for a year or so. Bonderman was just killed his first two years in Detroit. Most pitchers absent control and 98 MPH fastball won’t be huge successes right out of the gate. Finesse types will struggle early in their careers due likely to nerves. IPK and Hughes will need to pitch on the margins more successfully- particularly IPK. When they miss and are behind in the counts they will pay. If they let nerves get the best of them they may never materialize ala Ankiel when he was a can’t miss pitcher.

“Sometimes you need to celebrate the small victories. “

Yes, but they don’t get much smaller than that one though.

Did anyone see where Reggie Jackson is working with Cano? That must make the hitting coach really secure.

I was intending to share my overjoyment from the good news about Moello and see that I was beaten to it.  It’s nice to be among <strike>similarly psychotic people</strike> friends!

overjoyment

Word (or not) of the day.

That must make the hitting coach really secure.

they gave Long a 3 year contract, almost unheard of for a coach in MLB.  he should be pretty secure.

I have a semi-related question: what happens if a manager/coach/GM gets fired?  Is he still owes the $ left on the remainder of his contract or not?

*owed

i don’t think so.

i read that backwards.  Yes, i believe the team is still on the hook for his salary. same as a player.

at least for managers.  not sure about coaches.

That would be some bulls**t if coaches’ contracts aren’t guarunteed.  Do the coaches have any union affiliation?

So, I’ve been reading a lot of stuff on how the Mike Hampton deal was slightly worse than the Zito one (we’re only 1.1 years into it, so it’s early on that one) because Zito is at least pitching, Hampton was always hurt.  Is there any way to find out if the contract was insured?  I would have to bet it was.  If there’s insurance, the Hampton deal really wasn’t that bad.  It’s the same thing with Pavano, yeah, he sucks and is always injured, but how much did the Yankees actually spend on him and how much did the insurance company have to shell out?  I know the premiums on these deals are pretty high, but I would still think there’s a considerable amount of the cost defrayed when the player is on the DL all the time.

I thought there was a clause that pitcher contracts aren’t insured if they’re longer than x years (3, I think)?

I thought there was a clause that pitcher contracts aren’t insured if they’re longer than x years (3, I think)?

a) You can insure any 3 specific years of a long-term contract.
b) The cost of the insurance is leading to more and more teams not insuring contracts any more.

I’m not sure of the Pavano contract and how insurance plays into it.

Ah, enlightenment!  Thanks, SG.

If Pavano’s deal was, in fact, insured, I wonder how whoever signed off on it feels?  And/or does he still have a job?

i think the Yankees *do* have some insurance on Pavano. 

i thought that was the reason they asked if they could sign him to a minor league deal so he’d still be under contract, but not on the 40 man roster.

who knows though.

Since GMs, Managers and Coaches aren’t under the player’s union, I don’t know whether their contracts are guaranteed or not.  I’m guessing the contract of each GM/Manager/Coach has specific monetary stipulations/payouts depending on whether the employee is fired or quits.

I can’t believe Moello passed through waivers!

That is so awesome!

That said, he’d still have to go through waivers again if the Yankees send him down again in the future, right?

Kat O’Brien has updates!  Looks like SG was right about Britton:

To clear room on the 40-man roster for Moeller, Sean Henn was activated from the disabled list and then designated from assignment.

Chris Britton was re-called from Scranton to take Rodriguez’s slot

More here

Reggie worked with Austin Jackson last year, to good effect.

It appears that Hughes has one foot in Scranton. I disagree with this, as I posted last night. Rasner likly to take his spot.

he has only 2 pitches

Hughes throws his fastball or curve 89.6% of the time.  Josh Beckett throws his fastball or curve 88.1% of the time.  Ben Sheets throws his fastball and curve 96.8% of the time.  Yes, 96.8%.  He’s 4-0 with a 1.64 ERA.  Brandon Webb won a Cy Young award throwing 92.2% fastballs and curves.  Johan Santana throws fastabll or changeup 84.6% of the time.  Most successful major league starting pitchers rely heavily on two pitches.  Guys who throw a third or fourth pitch more than a handful of times a game are the exception, not the rule.

Hughes’ problem is not the lack of a third or fourth pitch.  It’s the way he’s throwing the first two.

Hughes doesn’t have a problem per se.  He’s just young.  He needs time to develop.  Unfortunately, when playing in an organization that stresses Win Now, young pitchers are under a lot of pressure and on a short leash.

There are very few pitchers who are successful their first time around.  Most need a couple of seasons to adjust to the bigs.  Some need to shuttle between the bigs and AAA.  Some need to work in the BP before hitting the rotation.

Thinking that Hughes would settle into the 3 or 4 spot in the rotation with little to no problem was wishful thinking.

Hughes on DL with oblique strain:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05012008/sports/yankees/oblique_sends_phil_back_to_dl_108880.htm

I’ll let other argue about whether he’s really hurt or if this is just a cover for his poor results.  Or alternatively, how long he’s been hurt and how much of his poor results stem from pitching hurt.

Brian Bruney has decided against having season ending surgery to correct the Lisfranc problem in his right foot. The right-hander will wear a boot on his foot for the next month and then begin rehab with the hopes of returning by August.

If he ain’t coming back for three months, shouldn’t he still go on the 60-day DL to open up a roster spot?

If he ain’t coming back for three months, shouldn’t he still go on the 60-day DL to open up a roster spot?

I was thinking that as well.  My bet is the Yankees will decide in the next few days whether or not to do that; if they really feel he is coming back in August, they’ll try to hold off putting him on the 60 because then they’ll have to do more roster-rearranging in August to get him back on the 40.

Or looked at another way, if they are thinking of Igawa starting in Hughes’s spot next time, Bruney will stay on the 15, but if they are thinking of Rasner he’ll be moved to the 60.

BTW, it does seem that there are currently only 39 players on the 40 man roster

they’ll try to hold off putting him on the 60 because then they’ll have to do more roster-rearranging in August to get him back on the 40

Yeah, but I was thinking that in some ways it might be easier to make a move in August, since you should have a better idea about who can really help and who you should probably just give up on.

Abraham says Cashman told him that Rasner will start on Sunday.  Doesn’t say anything abut a roster move, so I’m going to assume that I counted right and they already have a 40 man spot.

OK, I just counted again, and now I get 43 with 3 on the 60-day.  Of course, they don’t have to activate Rasner until game time on Sunday, so I guess they can think it over some more.