Yankees in season thread 2012

[jacksonianmarch]

So it begins. Spring training and thus far, Pineda's debut was successful. Sounds like he was pretty impressive in his first action. Cannot wait to see what he can do on a nightly basis

[SoxFanForsyth]

“@Ken_Rosenthal: Scouts yesterday had #Yankees' Pineda at 88-91 - "and there was some effort to get to 91," one said. Pineda averaged 94.7 last year. #MLB”

 

“@Ken_Rosenthal: Re: Previous tweet on Pineda. Yes it's early. But scouts were taken aback, asking each other if readings were accurate. #Yankees #MLB”

 

“@keithlaw: @Ken_Rosenthal I would say that's pretty light, even for a pitcher's first outing.”

 

“@keithlaw: Saw him on 3/7/11. 93-96. "@Jbeck73: @keithlaw Pineda's velocity yesterday is meaningless unless we know what it was at this time last yr"”

 

Wonder what's going on w this? Dead arm? Seems weird to struggle to get to 91, regardless of how early it is. Especially when he was 93-96 this time last year.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

So it begins. Spring training and thus far' date=' Pineda's debut was successful. Sounds like he was pretty impressive in his first action. Cannot wait to see what he can do on a nightly basis[/quote']

 

Before you crown yourselves world series champs, just remember they barely played any of their starters. Back a decade ago, the Phillies weren't a factor in the NL. Not a big achievement. /endtrolling

[jacksonianmarch]

Sounds like I shouldn't have taken the Yankees.com site at face value.

[jacksonianmarch]

Regardless, it's his first time out. If he's topping out at 91 in April then we've got a problem

[yeszir]

This is just the spring training thread right? We're not gonna do "in season" catch all threads. That just makes it absolutely impossible to find anything.

[jacksonianmarch]

yeah, it is. Sorry.

[Meh]

I know it's ST and stats are meaningless but Zoilo Almonte has impressed me a lot. Having good ABs so far. I hope he sticks around longer and doesn't get cut mid march.

[jacksonianmarch]

A few tidbits. Pineda's velocity is down, but he is sitting low 90s topping out at 93. Not like Hughes from a year ago. Speaking of Hughes, he's sitting 90-92 topping out in the 93-94 range as well. If he can maintain the velocity, then he'll be a hell of a bounceback candidate in the #5 hole. Over time, I expect Pineda's velo to come back, but if we need to ship him off the AAA for the start of the yr to work on his arm strength and changeup so be it. We've got enough depth to do that AND it would put an extra yr on his clock in terms of ownership

[Divinity]

I heard Pineda topped out at 94 in his last appearance, his fastball average last year was 94.2 He also said he has been taking it easy on his fastball so far this spring and expects to ramp it up over his last few starts.

[jacksonianmarch]

Regardless, I am not worried about his velocity at this point. It isnt like he is Hughes from last yr who went from topping out at 95 to topping out at 87. I am very excited about Hughes, btw. Good to see him actually put in a good offseason and come in throwing the ball like he can. If he can sit in that 92mph range and be able to run it up into the mid 90s, he's gonna be very, very effective. My only hope for him is that he masters that changeup and relies less on his cutter. He isnt Mariano, so he shouldnt expect the same success with it

[Spudboy]

Regardless' date=' I am not worried about his velocity at this point. It isnt like he is Hughes from last yr who went from topping out at 95 to topping out at 87. I am very excited about Hughes, btw. Good to see him actually put in a good offseason and come in throwing the ball like he can. If he can sit in that 92mph range and be able to run it up into the mid 90s, he's gonna be very, very effective. My only hope for him is that he masters that changeup and relies less on his cutter. He isnt Mariano, so he shouldnt expect the same success with it[/quote']

 

Jacko, what happened to Hughes? I did not pay enough attention to baseball last season. I lost track of Guys like Hughes and Dubrount.

 

Did he sustain an injury? Did the Yankees mishandle him the way they appeared to mishandle Joba?

 

I always liked Hughes' upside. Where does he stand now?

 

And what of Joba? Is he still in the mix? Is he still a Yankee?

 

Thanks.

[Divinity]

what happened to Hughes? I did not pay enough attention to baseball last season. I lost track of Guys like Hughes and Dubrount.

 

Did he sustain an injury? Did the Yankees mishandle him the way they appeared to mishandle Joba?

 

I always liked Hughes' upside. Where does he stand now?

 

And what of Joba? Is he still in the mix? Is he still a Yankee?

 

Thanks.

 

I can answer that for you, at the beginning of the '11 season Hughes suffered a dip in velocity. After a few horrible starts he was placed on the DL for arm fatigue. It was later revealed that Hughes had been suffering from shoulder inflammation. He underwent an arm strength rehabilitation program for several weeks. At the beginning of July he made his first start in nearly 3 months, pitching five innings, allowing two earned runs, striking out and walking two batters. . Hughes pitched pretty well in the second half, with a 3.72 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 4–2 record.

 

As far as where he stands now, he seems to be on track to have an successful '12 season.

 

During his last appearance on the mound a few days ago, Hughes looked sharp for most of his 36-pitch day, allowing only a leadoff single to Ben Revere in the first and a one-out walk to Ryan Doumit in the second.

 

His arm speed stayed up for all three innings and his velocity was consistent, the ball came out of his hand really well.

 

As far as Joba goes, yes he's still a Yankee. He's recovering from Tommy John surgery he had done last summer to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow.

[User Name]

As far as Joba goes' date=' yes he's still a Yankee. He's recovering from Tommy John surgery he had done last summer to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow.[/quote']

 

I didn't know you could have TJS for something other than a torn elbow ligament.

[Divinity]

I didn't know you could have TJS for something other than a torn elbow ligament.

 

you're right, the last part of that sentence wasn't needed.

[jacksonianmarch]

Hughes suffered from a few things last season that took him off the national map. First, he was jerked around in 2009 (obviously with good result) and in 2010, he was told he was going to start, so he stayed in great shape and had a solid season. Unfortunately, he had a massive jump in innings between 09 and 2010 and he came in with a weaker arm. Couple that with the fact that he showed up to camp out of shape and voila, you have a guy who usually sits low 90s to sitting mid 80s. He rehabbed and now his arm strength is back. He also put in a good offseason and has shown up much thinner

[jacksonianmarch]

Joba is ahead of schedule, but being held back. He's already throwing off the mound and should be ready by June.

[Spudboy]

Thank you Gentlemen.

[a700hitter]

So will Piniella be part of the Yankee broadcast team this season? That could be very annoying to listen to him and O'Neil trading hitting stories all game every game.

[jacksonianmarch]

So Pineda is having an effective camp. I do not know his velocity, but he's thrown 3 solid innings thus far, 3IP 2H 1ER 0BB 3K. Hope he keeps it up

[a700hitter]

Options could land Yankees' Pineda in minors

2:22 PM, March 14, 2012 ι By GEORGE . KING III

 

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Paperwork might determine what the Yankees pitching rotation looks like, and it's not out of the question Michael Pineda could start the season at Triple-A.

 

Wednesday, for the second straight day, manager Joe Girardi mentioned minor league options and how they may factor into the four-arm competition for the three spots left after CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda.

 

"That's a possibility,'' Girardi said about a hurler being sent to the minors to start the season. "Some of the guys have options if that's what we need to do. But if it makes us a better team putting them in the bullpen we might do it.''

 

Phil Hughes has one option remaining, as does Ivan Nova, and Pineda has all three options left, so they can be sent out with fear of being lost. Hughes has 4 years and 113 days of service time. When he gets to five years (in 67 days) he can't be reassigned without permission.

 

Pineda makes his third exhibition start Thursday against the Nationals and the Yankees will be looking closely to see if the large right-hander's velocity starts to climb.

 

After his start last Saturday against the Braves, Pineda said he was "conserving.''

 

Acquired from the Mariners for Jesus Montero, a catcher GM Brian Cashman believes is the best player he has ever traded, Pineda carried a mid-90s fastball and slider with teeth. So far, he hasn't come close to 95 or 96 with the fastball, topping at 92 mph but mostly staying around 90.

 

"If I didn't see a jump from one (start) to two and I saw a little jump, that would throw up more of a red flag,'' Girardi said. "You want his arm strength to be there because he is competing for a spot.''

 

When 23-year-old Pineda arrived in camp and admitted he was 10 pounds above the 270 he ended last season, the Yankees weren't too concerned because they really didn't know him. Now, they are staying the course when it comes to arm strength, an issue with Hughes last spring that led to a nightmare of a season and may have been the reason he missed significant time with an inflamed right shoulder.

 

"Some guys are a little bit slower coming along than others,'' Girardi said. "We haven't had him in spring training to really know how he is. We don't want him to conserve but we also want him to be ready to throw 95 to 96 when he is doing it. I don't want him going out there and just airing it out just so he can hit 95, 96 on the gun.''

 

Girardi is taking into account Pineda's age and one year of big league experience that consisted of a strong first half last season and a drop off in the second.

 

"You have to see how a guy does and how he responds,'' Girardi said. "This is not a kid who is 27 or 28 years old. Some of these springs are uncharted for him, too. As long as he is going in the right direction, that's the important thing for me.''

 

In addition to the three with options, the Yankees could put the loser in the bullpen.

 

Hughes has the most experience (49 games) than the others combined in relief but some in the organization view him as the third starter.

 

Of Freddy Garcia's 329 regular season games, two have come in relief. It makes no sense to have Pineda's 6-foot-7 frame in the bullpen when he could be starting every fifth day for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

 

Garcia left his start Wednesday after he was hit in the right hand by a batted ball.

 

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/yankeesblog/options_could_land_yankees_pineda_U53BVPzBKb3auGiq2reb2L#ixzz1pDeEqCJ2

[jacksonianmarch]

Pineda has shown significant improvement in the changeup. He topped out at 95 today, but was sitting 90-92. He says he isnt going full bore. We'll see if he is telling the truth. If he stays sitting low 90s, the Yankees might have a case to send him to the minors, rebuild his arm strength while delaying his free agency. The players union will love that, but so be it. If Pineda comes out sitting mid 90s before the start of the yr, they'd lose that grievance

[jacksonianmarch]

Sitting 92-93, hit 95mph. Improving!

[Station 13]

Pineda is fat from what I hear. 20 lb more than at the end of 2011, when he's already a damn hulking behemoth.

[jacksonianmarch]

He did come to camp fat. We'll see if he works it off

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Pineda is fat from what I hear. 20 lb more than at the end of 2011' date=' when he's already a damn hulking behemoth.[/quote']

 

Station 13 bringing the funny.

[jacksonianmarch]

Sitting 93-94 by the end of his outing today. He's a lock

[jacksonianmarch]

Kuroda really looked good yesterday. I watched him pitch for the first 4 innings, and he was mixing his pitches well, pinpointing both sides of the plate. His FB was in the 92mph range but he cut it, he ran it, he sunk it. It was just a very impressive performance and he could be quite an underestimated addition to this rotation. The Braves didnt have an answer

[jacksonianmarch]

Kuroda really looked good yesterday. I watched him pitch for the first 4 innings, and he was mixing his pitches well, pinpointing both sides of the plate. His FB was in the 92mph range but he cut it, he ran it, he sunk it. It was just a very impressive performance and he could be quite an underestimated addition to this rotation. The Braves didnt have an answer

[jacksonianmarch]

Got to see a little bit of Pineda today when eating. His velo was around 89 in his first inning, then was popping a few 94's up there, but he didnt have it today as he got smoked. Not the right way to finish ST when you are in a competition for a rotation slot. I have a feeling that after today, he's ticketed for AAA and will come up by June 1 with Pettitte.