jacksonianmarch

It does. Regardless, I dont necessarily agree with the ESPN insider POV, as it is typically wrong when it comes to amateur players, but it is something to keep an eye on. Theo made his bones by choosing SS defense over offense in an extremely unpopular move at the time. By signing this guy for big money, he continues that trend. That being said, there is a certain level to where the lack of bat detracts from spectacular glove. Theo must think that this kid can at least hit to some level of mediocrity to be worth that kind of money

I bet they do, but I doubt they do it with the frequency that NY does it. They did it with over 10 of last yrs draftees, even one who was selected in the 50th round. Granted, Turley was much better than a 50th round pick, but thats saying something. They are willing to try anything to coerce these kids into signing

I could provide sources. Most of my stuff comes from pinstripesplus, baseball america, and the nomaas draft corner with Lane Meyer (which is actually really good)

Jason Bay >>> JD Drew. I am sorry, but defense from LF or RF is not as important as it is at SS or catcher. The COF positions are a place to put mashers. Now, JD Drew is a great OBP kind of guy, but he is not a big time power hitter. Hell, he's only hit 20+ homeruns three times in his career. He's not a big doubles guy either (30+ only twice). And he is not a big RBI threat either (max total of 100 once). He is what he is. A guy with incredible patience who works a ton of walks, hits the occasional homerun and misses a lot of time due to injury. Jason Bay is different. He's your MVP IMO even with Youk playing to his level. Why? Because Bay is more durable, way more powerful and much more apt to drive in runs. He is your #4 hitter for a reason and I think his slump had a lot to do with the mediocrity of the sox overall play during that span. Bay is on his way to his 5th 30+ HR season. He's on his way to his 4th 100+ RBI season. His OPS after a month long slump is still over .900. And he is 3 yrs younger.

that being said, the sox have not been good at all of late in terms of INTL signees. Their bread and butter has been the draft. Whereas NY seems to have done well in the INTL period but have only recently done adequately in the draft.

insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog...=ESPNHeadlines

I know they do. That being said, most teams do not do it with signability cases. Most teams only do it with first rounders

they did outplay us by a lot. I think that we could have taken one game in the series if we used Hughes in the Aceves role. Thats it.

Two guys who have really opened up some eyes in the Cape for the yankees are Brett Bruening and Aaron Meade. Bruening was a 35th round selection out of Grayson County CC in Texas. He's 20, stands 6'6" and throws 96mph consistently. The word on him was that he was going to U of Texas and would be a tough sign, so he dropped. All he has done is see his draft stock rise. In the Cape, he has struck out 20 in 18IP, while posting a 1.93ERA. Aaron Meade has also opened some eyes. He's a DES lefty out of Cal with a solid three pitch arsenal and a FB that tops out at 92mph. He's struck out 27 in 21IP while holding opponents to a 2.57ERA. Now, the yankees have been using the cape this yr as a proving grounds for some of their pitchers. They had a pretty full minor league roster coming into the draft, so they took signability cases pretty much throughout the entire draft. It will be interesting who they decide to sign and who they dont, but these two guys definitely have the goods to make it through a system quickly, especially if they play well against the best talent in the college ranks

The Yankee treatment is when they give the kid a Yankee uniform and bring him to a yankee game. The player spends the day with the entire club, hangs out in the clubhouse, gets paired with a player akin to their position and essentially gets to see what a day as a yankee is like. Hitters get to take BP, while pitchers get to warm up on the practice mound and do the usual running. The yankees do this every yr with their top picks aside from last yr as Cole did not want to go to Yankee Stadium. They have been doing it increasingly for signability cases hoping that the amenities and the mystique will coerce the player into signing. For the most part, every player that I know of over the past 3 yrs that they did this for has signed.

He's 19 in a system that has Beckett, Lester, and DiceK at least through 2010 with Buchholz, Bowden, and Masterson ahead of him. They can afford to slow up his pitching development to appease the kid. And if he comes out of the box on fire, then, they might have something. That being said, I would assume the sox worst nightmare would be when he turns doubleplays.

that wont stop some stupid team from offering him close to a full time position.

The yankees gave the Yankee Treatment to Chad Thompson, the yankees 18th rounder. He's the 6'8" high schooler who topped out at 97mph before tearing his UCL and needing TJ right around draft time. He had said he wanted to rehab as a pro and could be back by this time next yr. They typically give the yankee treatment to guys they anticipate signing. Slade Heathcott and JR Murphy already got the treatment.

This happens with all good prospects who hit a snag. You find your consistent contact and patience first then the power comes. I am not breaking new ground here. I do think, though, that those who clamored for him ASAP should push his ETA back another season. If the power doesnt come in the second half, they might stash him in Portland to start 2010

Lars hit a snag in his development. It happens. His power is getting stymied due to the improvement in skill of the pitchers he is facing. You have to get back to basics in order to improve. He's getting back to good contact and a good eye. The power will come.

its okay to use the option and keep him on the shuttle this yr. Next yr, he cannot be optioned, so that makes it a bit more of a pain in the ass

Baldelli has proven he can stay healthy in a 4th OFer role and that he can still hit. That being said, there will be plenty of teams willing to offer him a spot in their everyday lineup, either as a full time OFer or a OF/DH split to keep his legs fresh. I think with his illness, he is best suited as a 4th OFer, but I do think some team will come calling with a reasonable deal for lots of playing time.

I havent seen a game since the beginning of the Twins series. I was working all day and will be doing so through the end of the summer and through the winter. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer, but I am still far enough away to know it. In the end, from an armchair QB POV, Girardi did not manage his pen well. His best relievers this yr have been Coke, Hughes and Rivera. We had leads in all three games and in two of those games, the pen was handed a tie or a lead. The fact that Coke kinda torpedoes himself with his error and WP didnt help. But not using Hughes as a long guy in one of those games really hurt us. Girardi needs to know he is coming up against 3 days rest for everyone and he should have gone harder after at least one win than he did. Regardless, we just cannot beat that team in their park

Brett Gerritse became our first HS pitcher to sign. He was taken in the 12th round. He's a 6'4 225lb righty who tops out at 92 and has a plus curveball now. The yankees are hoping he can add some velocity due to his big frame and work on his minus changeup to get it to big league average or better. Though his velocity isnt overpowering, grabbing a kid with a big league curveball and the frame to increase velocity was enough to spend overslot on him. No word on his signing bonus, but he had a strong college commit and was considered a pretty difficult signability case Sean Black, the yankees 7th round pick and reclamation project, has signed. He's a tall RHP from Seton Hall who had been considered a first or second round talent out of high school, but decided to forgo the pros for college. There, he did not perform as well as his talent would indicate, and his stock dropped. The Yankees are hoping he can regain the command that eluded him. He features a mid 90s fastball and a plus potential breaking ball. He could be a quick convert to the pen if he shows difficulty out of the rotation

Chen is a AAAA player. He goes to AAA and completely dominates. Then he gets brought up and sucks. He had a 3 game shutout streak when they called him up.

Also, we need to stop tiering the pen past Mariano. These past 2 games, we needed length from the pen. Going 1 inning at a time with guys like Robertson, Melancon and Tomko is not the way to do it, even though I think Robertson and Melancon have a solid future in our pen. Right now, they are going to be hit or miss. We have Hughes who is a converted starter, he can give length and he most certainly could have altered the course of yesterdays game. Especially when the ASB is coming up, you can empty his tank and then guarantee he gets 3 days off. He's fresh tonight for CC, which means he might be used for an inning. It was a poor managerial decision to keep Hughes from either of the past 2 games.

Without Aceves out there, this pen is completely different. We need to rethink the idea of Aceves to the rotation because one of these past 2 games could have been significantly altered with him in the games. Joba and Andy fell apart in the fifth right after Aceves couldnt get through the 4th, so the toll has been high. I'd venture to guess that Aceves gets called up right after the ASB and Sergio Mitre or Ivan Nova could come up and snag that last rotation spot in Wang's stead. Depending on how long they think Wang could be out, we might be in the market for a SP. I think at the low end would be Jon Garland. 1.50WHIP and a .290BAA, but he averages >6IP and should keep his ERA at or under 5. We need innings more than we need dominance, so he could come cheap. If we really want to make noise, we could sell our souls for Halladay, but I dont see that happening.

He's maturing. He's getting stronger as he gets older and is now capable of sitting at a velocity he used to top out at. He's hitting his spots with much more frequency and is learning the ins and outs of how to set up hitters rather than just trying to locate to the corners every pitch. I think he is finding out that a few inches off the corners with 2 strikes is getting him a lot of swings and misses, where before he was either missing and walking a lot of guys, or leaving it too far in and getting hit.

We'd been playing at such a high level, sometimes games like these happen. Joba cruises along until ARod errs in the 5th and then he falls apart. Jeter errs and Bruney falls apart. It certainly is disappointing