One Joe Out, Another Joe in

The Yankees announced today that they have named Joe Girardi the 32nd manager in franchise history, signing him to a three-year contract which extends through the 2010 season. He becomes the 17th Yankees manager to have played for the club and the fourth former Yankees catcher to skipper the team, joining Bill Dickey, Ralph Houk and Yogi Berra. At 43 years old, Girardi becomes the third-youngest manager in the Major Leagues, behind the Washington Nationals' Manny Acta (38) and the Cleveland Indians' Eric Wedge (39).
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Another surprising bombshell in Yankeeland. First A-Rod, and now Girardi over Mattingly. I was 100% convinced that Donnie Baseball would be Torre's successor. After all, why would Donnie leave a happy retirement to coach for four season without knowing of some sort of deal to follow?

Although I am shocked, I am quite happy to say the least. Girardi has the better baseball mind. Not only did he make the Florida Marlins look like a playoff team at times during the '06 campaign, being a catcher gives him a good feeling of what's going on on between the pitcher and the catcher on the field, something that wasn't the old Joe's biggest strength, although being a catcher himself too.

Not only is he smart, but he is a no nonsense kind of guy, something that I feel is very important to have as a manager. Although he has played with a good number of Yankees still on the team in the past, he will command respect for his mentality and mind, no matter how old or young he is.

Joe will do things his way, not how anybody else wants them done.

Minor League Notes From Big Guy #4

MINOR LEAGUE NOTES: 10-28 BigGuy

Florida Instructional League Notes:

The Florida Instructs ended a week or so ago and here are notes on some of the younger players in the Yanks farm system. Most have been sent to the 2 week Dominican Instructs where they will then play games starting early Nov.

Austin Romine: 2nd round pick 2007 was working with catching guru Julio Mosquera.

Francisco Cervelli: Played at Tampa A this year. He stopped switch hitting to give him more time to concentrate on hitting right. Focusing on his offense. Will start at AA Trenton in 08.

Chase Weems: 6th round 2007. Lefty-hitting catcher. Good at throwing & blocking balls. Working on hitting.

Seth Fortenberry: 11th round 2006 outfielder. Lefty hitter worked on going the opposite field and to cut down on K's.

Braedyn Pruitt: 14th pick 2007. Worked on defense at both 3rd and 1st. He hit .347 this year at Staten Island with at .458 OBP.

WINTER LEAGUE NOTES

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE:

Ross Ohlendorf: Has reported afte taking a week off. He's only appeared in 1 game with 1
perfect inning so far. Ross is on the "taxi" roster. That allows him to pitch on Wednesday's and Sunday's.

Brett Gardner: Working on being more aggressive at the plate and it's paid off so far. Gardner is off to a hot start hitting .368 with 9 stolen bases in 13 games.

Juan Miranda: According to his manager Tony Franklin, Miranda has enough power to hit the ball out of any part of the park no matter where it's pitched. Miranda is hitting .267 with a .382 OBP and 2 HR so far.

Eric Wordekemper: Won Single A Fla. St. Pitcher of the Year Award. Right-reliever is 2-0 with 0.57 ERA. Working on splitter and command. His stats so far in 4 games 6.75 ERA with .353 BA.

Steven Jackson: 0-1 in 4 relief appearances 7 IP he has 8K's

Steven White: 3 games. 5 IP, 6 Ks, .302 BA.

Reegie Corona: SS off to very slow start at the plate hitting just .111

HAWAII LEAGUE:

Austin Jackson: This highly rated CF is working on his stance to put him in a better posiiton to
handle breaking pitches. Had a 3-hit game to raise his average to .267. OBP .378. 3 HR. But 24K's in 75 AB.

Mark Melancon: The young gifted reliever recovering from TJ surgery was scheduled to pitch in Hawaii but a back issue popped up. Yanks aren't taking any chances with him. Nardi Contreras recently said he thinks Melancon could be next seasons version of Joba. Coming up late and dominating.

George Kontos: 5 games Has a 3-2 record with 25 K's in 19 innings. BA .253 and ERA 3.72

Anthony Claggett: From Sheffield trade. 9 games, 12 K's in 13.2 IP.

VENEZULEAN LEAGUE:

Marcos Vecchionacci: Hit a grand slam recently. Batting .361 in 12 games. OBP .425 with 2 homers.

NOTES:
Yankees signed 1st Israeli League player, Eladio Rodriquez--catcher, 28 years old. Hit .461 in Israel. SWB and Yanks have signed a Player Development extension thru the 2010 season. Damon Sublett was named to Baseball America's all-star team for 2007 draft picks at 2nd base. Baseball America rated the Yanks 2007 draft as 5th best in baseball.

Check This Out

Hey guys, I got an e-mail the other day that I think you guys would all like to check out..

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Hi blogger people.....pardon the intrusion.

If you can help in any way.....perhaps a link on your blog to my charity auction.

I work as a minor league equipment manager in the Yankees system. This season I collected whatever goodies I could to hold an auction to benefit The Domestic Violence Project. It's all legit...100% of the profit goes to the DVP.

http://www.domesticviolenceproj.org/

My hope is that I can encourage bloggers to pass along a little info about the auction to their readers so that we can raise as much money as possible for the women and kids affected by domestic violence.

Everything is on Ebay here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZclubsoulcity

or you can link through the Trenton Thunder website here: http://www.trentonthunder.com/

We have a nice collection of autographed balls, game used equipment from some high profile prospects, and some Yankee clothing that isn't available elsewhere.

I've been working in baseball 20 years, all at the minor league levels. Ten years ago, about a week before opening day, my wife's sister was murdered by her husband. I was angry for some time over the fact that I didn't get the chance to do something to save her. So, since then what I do is raise her son, and now this auction.

Hope you can help. Thanks.

Tom
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Cool baseball stuff for a cool cause! You should most definitely check this out!

-Josh

Alex Rodriguez Opts Out

In shocking news, Alex Rodriguez has opted out of his New York Yankees contract and choosing not to see the Yankees grand offer of $30 million a year for five years to go along with the three years and $81 million A-Rod had left on his previous deal.

I don't know about you, but I feel cheated. This is the same man who said that he wanted to stay with the Yankees and that he couldn't imagine playing anywhere else. Us fans stuck with him through countless shitty October after shitty October, all so Mr. April-September could walk because $30 million a year isn't enough money. Alex proved why the rest of major league baseball fans hate him. It isn't really about winning for him and his agent, as he has said many times before. He wants to go down with the legacy of the highest paid player of all time.

Why Alex couldn't wait just a few more days to make headlines once again so the World Series Champion Red Sox could have the spotlight, is just another brush of his ego. The guy just has a thing for the spotlight. The record-breaking deal with Texas. The incident at the strip club in Toronto. Now, rumors say that the Cubs will be offering him partial ownership of their organization. I may sound like a hypocrite, but I can't wait to boo his guts out once he comes back to Yankee Stadium.

Good Riddance, Mr. Rodriguez.

MINOR LEAGUE NOTES: Oct. 21, BigGuy

MINOR LEAGUE NOTES: Oct. 21, BigGuy

NARDI CONTRERAS INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS W/PinstripePlus

Mark Melancon: Two good fastballs, awesome curve, changeup coming quick before TJ Surgery. Could be next years version of Joba. Expected to move quickly.

Scott Patterson: Attacks strikezone. Doesn't walk people. Should be at AAA for start of year. Working on quickening curver.

Kevin Whelan: Hapy with the new slider and location the 2nd half of last season.

Anthony Claggett: From Sheffield deal working on change & delivery.

Jonathan Ortiz: Great changeup like Edwar Ramirez. Not much velocity and needs better curve.

WINTER LEAGUE UPDATES:

ARIZIONA FALL LEAGUE:

Juan Miranda: In 8 games so far .333, 2 HR, .417 OBP, 9 K's in 31 AB.

Brett Gardner: .385, .442 OBP. 4 stolen bases.

Reegie Corona: .190, 7 K's in 21 ABs.

Ross Ohlendorf: Just added to roster. No stats yet.

Steven White: 2 games. 3.0 IP, 8 runs, 4 K, 18.00 ERA, BA. .333

Kevin Whelan: 3 games, 3.0 IP, 4 runs, 4 K, 12.00 ERA. Ba. .357

HAWAII LEAGUE:

George Kontos: Struck out 11 in 5.1 IP in 2-0 shutout this week. In 4 games 2-2, 3.00 ERA, BA. 204

Austin Jackson: .259, .388 OBP, 17 K's in 54 AB's

Anthony Claggett: 7 games. 11 IP, 9 K, 4.09 ERA, BA .283

Brad Suttle: .103, .239 OBP, 13 K in 39 AB's.

VENEZULEAN LEAGUE:

Marcos Vechionacci: .368, .478 OBP

Justin Pope: 4 games, 5.1 IP, 4 K, .000 ERA, BA .059.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE: Just started this week. No big names are playing for the Yankees. The Dominican Instructs just started. Many of the Yankee players that were at the just ended Florida Instructs are now here.

NOTES: Wil Nieves was granted free agent status.

Joe Torre Era Ends

After flying down to Tampa to meet with team officials yesterday, Joe Torrie declined a one year $5 million offer with up to $8million in incentives, thus marking the end of the Joe Torre era in the Bronx.

Honestly, I was shocked when the news broke. After waiting so long to finally address the matter, one would think that he would be staying on for one more year. Anything else would make the Yankees Organization look bad. New owners Hal and Hank Steinbrenner certainly know how to make news, just as their daddy George. They decided to kick things off by offering Joe a contract they knew he couldn't accept.

It was their way of kicking Joe out the door. They wanted to make Joe look good on his way out, by not actually saying that he was released. Although I applaud the respect for Joe, waiting that long was BS. All of sports nation was shocked. I too, was shocked. I thought they were holding off so long because they were busy negotiating a contract extension. It turned they were negotiating a load of horse crap.

Joe will make his official goodbye speech today 2 p.m. at the Hilton Rye Town in Rye Brook. Don't be surprised to see the skipper very emotional. Joe Torre has bled Yankee pinstripes since 1996.

Don't forget the impact this will have on Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, hell even Alex Rodriguez.

As for now, I think Don Mattingly will be at the helm next year.

Minor League Notes From Big Guy #2

NARDI CONTRERAS interview highlights with PinstripedPlus.

Joba Chamberlain: Plans are to have Joba take the 5th spot in the rotation next season along with Wang, Hughes, and Kennedy. The 5th spot will allow Joba to keep the innings increase down because of skipped starts early in the season. If Mariano Rivera does not resign he will
take over as closer.

Phil Hughes: Nardi expects Hughes velocity to return next year. He thought the injuries played a role. He'll continue working on his slider and change up and will use them more next season.

Ian Kennedy: Nardi loves his poise and stuff. Very good command and mound presence. He's ready for the rotation next year.

Ross Ohlendorf: To work on curve and splitter this off season. Was to report to Fall League but was put on playoff roster instead.


Tyler Clippard: Needs work to get his delivery consistent. Will report to Tampa late Nov,
early Dec to begin working on delivery without throwing a ball. Will start throwing in January.

Chase Wright: Wright will be working on breaking ball and command before next spring.



ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE: Yankee players are on the 4-1 Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona
Fall Leauge that just started a few days ago.


Juan Miranda: In 4 games so far hitting .333 with 1 homer. In first game went 4-5 with 4 RBI and 4 runs scored.

Brett Gardener: In 4 games batting .471 with 2 stolen bases.

Reegie Corona: 3 games, hitting .364, with 5 K's.

Steven White: Started 1 game lasted only 1.2 innings .

Kevin Whelan: Relieved in 1 game, 0 runs, 1 hit.

HAWAII LEAGUE: Yankee players are playing for Honolulu.

Austin Jackson: 12 games, .273 ave, 5 stolen bases, 15 K's in 44 at bats.

Brad Suttle: 9 games .040 ave. 9 K's in 25 at bats.

Anthony Claggett: Relieved in 5 games . 1-1 with .338 ERA 8 IP, 6 K, 4 BB, 8 hits.

WINTER BALL: Scheduled to play winter ball this off season. Melky Cabrerra, Robbie Cano, Edwar Ramirez, Dellin Betances, Josue Calzado, Wilkins Arias, Ivan Nova, Hector Noesi.

NOTES; Colter Bean was granted free agent status. Yankee players are on the 4-1 Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League that just started a few days ago.

10/11/07 News And Notes - Kennedy, Rocket, Joe and More

It's been a very interesting day in Yankee land. One man who has had plenty of talk and rumors surrounding him this past week is.....

• Joe Torre. Ever since the third consecutive first round knockout of the bombers, Joe Torre has all but been removed from the Yankees payroll. Before game 3 of the ALDS, (which the yanks went on to win) George Steinbrenner sat down with Joe and basically called code red. "His job is on the line," the Yankees' owner said in a phone interview. "I think we're paying him a lot of money. He's the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don't think we'd take him back if we don't win this series." With the Yankees eliminated from the postseason already, I think it is safe to say that Joe Torre has sat in the home dugout of Yankee Stadium for the very last time. This has put the future of all time great.............

• Mariano Rivera in question. Joe Tore has been with Mariano Rivera for most of Mo's career. Without Mariano Rivera in pinstripes, we may not be even be debating this right now. Mariano Rivera is hands down the best postseason closer of all time, and the Yankees may not have had put on this glorious run of championships and gold without him. This may a big reason for Mariano's recent comments: "I don't feel good about it," Rivera said of the possibility that Torre will not return to the Yankees next season. "I don't see why they're even thinking it. But I wish he's back, definitely. If you asked me what I want, I want him back." Rivera and Torre have built a unique bond all of these years. Quite honestly, it would feel awkward to have one without the other. Mariano seems to agree..."It's going to be a good number," Rivera said when asked to what extent Torre's future will affect his own. "I won't tell you the number, but it will be a good number." Another certain Yankees great seems to agree.....

• Roger Clemens is a future hall of famer. He must know a thing or too about the game, don't ya think? Although Roger's own future is in question, he personally would love to see the old skipper back in pinstripes for one more season, whether he is playing or not. "I love playing for Joe," Clemens told KRIV-TV. "My wish would be that he finish and close Yankee Stadium with a championship and open up the new [stadium]."

Still, in the middle of all of this controversy, Joe Torre is one of ten finalists for manager of the year. I think it would be hilarious to see Joe win the award, while being given the pink slip after the same season.

• In the midst of all if this controversy over stars of the past returning, we must remember that you can not live in the future, and eventually need to count on younger guys to get the job done. 22 year old Ian Kennedy is sure making a case to join the newest group of Yankees. As if coming up down the stretch to pitch 19 innings of four run-ball wasn't enough, Kennedy went out and won the 2007 MiLB starter of the year. Speaking of young stud pitchers....

• Joba Chamberlain is looking forward to 2008. And why wouldn't any involved with the Yankees not be amped? This guy was as close to superhuman as possible during the regular season, in his rookie season. I can only laugh at the competition when this guy starts to gets older and better, especially as he begins his re-transition to a starting pitcher. Yet Joba, still being his laid back self, still does not care what role the future works out for him. "There's not one that's better than the other, and there's not one that's more important than the other. It's just going to come down to what's best for this team and what's best for me." This Team. Joba is a team player. Even with this little tast of Joba we saw this season, I can only believe that this guy is for real, and will sacrifice himself for his team.

The New York Yankees

What Happened?

What happened? Why couldn't we get through the ALDS? It's simple. The #1 offense in the regular season was once again shut down in the post-season. Bottom line, they did not hit with runners in scoring position. Not only A-Rod, but basically the entire lineup besides Johnny Damon and Robinson Cano SUCKED with runners on base. That includes regular clutch performers Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. Two men that have been with the Yankees since the beginning of the Joe Torre era in 1996, absoultely stunk up the place.

I just don't understand how every single year the offense dies out come October, and I'm damn sick of it. You can blame Wang choking in the clutch big time twice. As much as I'd like to, you really can't contribute Wang to the 'DS loss. The Yankees proved they could overcome those deficits all season long. If your going to suck with RISP, please don't wait until the postseason, because I was amped going into this series with the Yankees overpowering and CLUTCH offense.

Oh, and don't give me that BS about the bugs costing them the game in game 2. You can't win a game scoring one run in the playoffs, I don't care if you have Joba The Great and a future hall of famer in your bullpen. It's not happening.

Every single year fans wine and moan about the post-season pitching, yet everyone seems just seems to forget the offense' abysmal showing at the plate. Although it looked like they might have been able to come back early on in game 1, the terrible pitching took the spirit out of the game for the Yankees offense, scoring only three times. The Yankees easily got enough pitching to win game 2 and couldn't. Game three was won on the back of Phil Hughes(I still love his pitching) and FINALLY some offense. In game 4 they had many chances to overcome Wang's nerve-wracking performance, and just could not threw, falling victim to...Paul Byrd.

Please don't blame Chien-Ming Wang for this lost season. Blame the line-up. The whole goddamn line-up. This team needs and is ready for a complete overhaul. At this point I really don't care if Joe Torre stays or not. He did the best he could, and the players simply didn't play. However a new face of the ball club may feel nice and fresh for the organization, and I wouldn't be against it if the right man was brought in.

Minor League Notes From Big Guy

2007 Stock Up: These are just a couple of the minor league players that have had very good years. There are many others: Daniel McCutcheon: AA Trenton. 16-4, 2.41 ERA. Fastball 90-96, plus changeup, plus curve. Kyle Anson: switched from 3rd base to catcher. Great at blocking balls, quick release, strong accurate arm. Mike Dunn: Single A Charleston, lefty pitcher switched from outfield. 12-5 , 3.42 ERA, 138 K's in 145 innings. Great slider, good change, good command. Austin Jackson: Single A Tampa, outfielder, .345, 10 homers, 15 doubles, 6 triples. Ended at AA Trenton made a tremendous throw in AA playoffs. Will start at AA Trenton next year. Jaird Herrdia: plus fastball & curve. Yanks love mound presence. Abraham Almonte:-GCL changed to centerfield from 2nd base. Brandon Laird-2007 draft pick-GCL, 3rd baseman .339 , 8 homers, 14 doubles.

2007 Stock Down: Eric Duncan: SWB AAA, 2003 1st round pick: .241, 11 homers. 3rd straight year his average has been below .250. But still only 22. Andres Dionico: 2003 international pick, played in GCL, had trouble hitting. Gerardo Rodriquez--GCL, hit only .233, 2 homers. Tim Battle: AA Trenton, hit only .218 in 5th minor league season.

FLORIDA LEAGUE: Dellin Betances: working on delivery and arm angle in Fla. league that Yanks feel caused his elbow pain. Also working on his defense. Pitched 1 perfect inning in opener. Jesus Montero : working on hitting stroke, and getting his hands in at the plate. Also working on keeping his weight down. Austin Romine: 2007 draft pick. Threw out a runner at 2nd base in opener. Carmen Angelini: 2007 draft pick, went hitless in opener, but showed a strong arm and speed running out balls. Garrett Patterson: struck out 2 and HBP in 1 inning.

CHINESE PLAYERS: Pitcher Kai Liu, and catcher Zhengwany Zhang are at the Tampa complex . Zhang states the pitchers in China only throw about 90 mph fastballs. Liu wants to
increase his velocity from 85 mph.

ARIZON FALL LEAGUE: Going to the fall league are Pitchers Ross Ohlendorf, Steven White, Kevin Whelan and Steven Jackson. Position players Brett Gardner, Juan Miranda and Reegie Corona. The fall league begins play on Oct. 9th.

HAWAII LEAGUE: Going to the Hawaiian league this year. Mark Melancon: 9th round draft pick 2006. Had TJ surgery. Austin Jackson: 20 year old outfielder. Had a slow start, but turned it up at Tampa and had a big 2nd half. He'll start next year at AA Trenton. George Kontos: starting pitcher, 5th round 2006 draft, Had 3.12 ERA in April, but had a shoulder problem and tailed off the 2nd half with a 4.45 ERA. Brad Suttle: 4th round 2007, He only played 3 games in the GCL. getting more work.

ALDS Preview Yankees v.s. Indians

This is where the fun ends. No more playing inexperienced rookies. No more giving your scrubs a batting order spot just to make them feel good. We are no longer in September, folks. This is October.

There are no more easy games. No more "Tampa Bay Devil Rays" on the schedules. We have reached the big time. And the first stop is Cleveland. The Yankees swept the season series with Cleveland, finishing 6-0 against the Tribe. But don't fool yourselves, the Indians are a force to be reckon with. They boast a strong pitching rotation, led by one of my favorite pitchers, big C.C. Sabathia, followed up by 24 year old stud Fausto Carmona. With 19 wins and a 3.06 ERA in just his second full season, don't be surprised if this guy racks up few CY Young's before hanging up the boots. Oh, and you musn't forget veteran Jake Westbrook. When Jake is on, he is on.

Cleveland also has a few decent position players themselves. Wait a minute, decent? Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez, and Travis Hafner are superstars. All three can deliver a big blow with one swing of the bat at any time in the game. Grady is also a gold-glove caliber defender in CF. Johnny Peralta, Franklin Gutierrez and Johnny Peralta are also solid role players.

However, the Yankees will still win this series. Why? Not only is the offense by far the best in the league, the starting pitching has the potential to dominate, they just haven't all clicked at the same time. Chien-Ming Wang can hang in neck and neck with Sabathia, plus has the monstrous Yankees offense as a cushion. Andy Pettitte is a veteran that has been there before and has pitched his ass off this season. Mike Mussina is a grizzled veteran who like Pettitte has been in the post-season before. And the Rocket, well, he's just the Rocket. I do not see the Yankees sweeping, but I see them going the distance to 5 games with a very good Cleveland Indian ball club.

Let's get ready. This will be one interesting post-season.