jacksonianmarch

Doubting, yes. Hence why I said "outside chance" dumbass. That means, not likely but possible

Yeah, he's made 2 bad pitches tonight. The hanger to Bautista and the sinker that didnt sink to Escobar. Other than that, the balls that went through have been dribblers. He gets a ton of groundballs and he's around the plate. I am more impressed with him than I was as a prospect. The way he pitches, I dont think he'll ever be an ace. But he has good stuff and is around the plate. He reminds me a bit of CMW

I thought the sox were winning the wild card coming into the yr. I thought you had an outside chance of making the wild card until Youkilis went down.

2 issues with that comment... 1. Groundball pitchers typically have higher BAA's since a grounder has a better chance of being a hit than a flyball. Buch's is sitting at .220. So luck has a major component here. 2. He's not an extreme GB pitcher. His GO/AO is only 1.1. Not like he's throwin grounder after grounder out there

Nova got porked in the previous inning. Grounder to SS, throw to 1b Tex picked, but the ump said he was off the bag. Replays show us he was out. Then Bautista crushed one. Should be tied.

It sucked. But we also went out and bought CC, AJ, and Tex.

I am pretty sure you guys care. I know I would if I were a sox fan

Wait, I thought Buchholz' ceiling is what Lester did last yr. Let's look at the two season... Lester 2009- 203IP 186H 77ER 225K 64BB 3.41ERA 1.23WHIP 10.0K/9IP 2.8BB/9IP Buchholz 2010- 139.1IP 114H 35ER 96K 53BB 2.26ERA 1.20WHIP 6.2K/9IP 3.4BB/9IP Lester's peripherals from 2009 are similar in WHIP and MUCH better in BB/9IP and K/9IP. Buch is getting by on some seriously low BABIP. I stand by my statement. Buchholz' ceiling is what Lester did last yr. Even with his ridiculous ERA and low BABIP, he isnt there yet

Notice the date captain

Much better inning. 2 seamer biting down, not afraid to go up with the 4 seamer. Much better than the first inning.

They have it sometimes, but I havent seen it recently

K'd Lind with a 97mph

Nova showed me a lot there. Was willing to elevate on both Wells and Lind. Kid is throwing ched. 94-95 on the YES gun

Gardner saves a run!

He's lost the zone

Nice to take the lead. Not nice to see the Jays teeing off on Nova. I agree that this isnt his best team to face. He pitches to contact against a team that has serious power. Not good

Pretty psyched to see Nova tonight. Problem is, we're facing Morrow who has finally figured it out

He's a terrible LFer. He is an even worse CFer

Time for an update thread... 1. Slade Heathcott, OF, Texas High (Tx.)- Heathcott has played the entire yr as a 19 yr old in the long season leagues. His OPS is barely over .700, but that has a lot to do with his power as his .364OBP is pretty solid. The power is expected to eventually come, but the approach has been dynamite. He needs work on the bases. He has speed to burn, but has only stolen 13 of 22 attempts. His defense has been stellar in CF. Thus far, the tools havent lied. They are just waiting for him to grow into his body. He was a solid pick 2. John Murphy, C, Pendleton School (Fla.)- JR Murphy started off very poorly with Charleston as well. He just turned 19 this past May and is, like Slade, very young for his league. He is also OPS'ing right around .700, but for different reasons. JR is much less patient than Slade, but has also showed more power than his counterpart, hitting 7 homers on the season. The big thing that Yankee draft buffs will look at, though, is his OPS by month. From May to August, he has improved steadily, with an OPS now at .810 for August. He's also clubbed 6 of his homers after the ASB. Looks like the power should be coming. In terms of position, he is taking to the catcher's position, but he definitely still has a long way to go. Thus far, holding his own in low A and looks like a quality pick 4. Adam Warren, RHP, North Carolina- Warren was selected pretty highly by the Yankees compared to where he was projected to go, but the Yankees liked his projectable frame and his ability to command a FB, curve and change. He was very well polished at the time. Well, when he came to the pros, he saw a spike in velocity, from 88-92 to 92-94, topping out mid 90s. Well, this has caused him to rifle through the system. After dominating the NYP last yr, he skipped Charleston and went to Tampa. He dominated Tampa and has moved up to AA Trenton, where he has also owned the league. In his last start, he threw 7 shutout innings, striking out 15. Not sure where he projects. His stuff would look pretty good at the top of a rotation, but he has been pretty hit or miss with his strikeout ability. Then again, he's only 22 and should be in AAA next yr at 23. Not a bad pick, and one that the Yankees could get many yrs of quality out of in the future 5. Caleb Cotham, RHP, Vanderbilt- what an unlucky guy. He tore a meniscus last yr, then reinjured it in instructs. He had surgery again, then while rehabbing the knee, he tore his labrum in his pitching shoulder. Cotham was billed as a lights out two pitch pitcher when signing, and was considered more of a relief option anyway. Now that he'll be rehabbing from shoulder surgery, it is very likely that he gets converted full time to relief. 6. Robert Lyerly, 3B, Charlotte- was injured almost immediately in the NYP and didnt get onto the field until instructs. But this yr, he's been the best hitter at Charleston, putting up a line of .313/.354/.436 while playing good D at 3b. His future will be determined by his power category, something that has been coming along nicely over the past few months, as 6 of his 7 homers have come past the ASB. Regardless, not a bad pick in the 6th round, although he is pretty old for his league (23) and the fact that the Yankees havent moved him up means they either want him to work on something or they arent too high on him 7. Sean Black, RHP, Seton Hall- Black had the best stuff of any college pitcher we drafted last yr, but he had trouble putting it together in college. He came to the NYP last yr and dominated. Then, on moving to Charleston, he hit a major snag. His ERA pre ASB was near 5 and his WHIP was 1.51. But after the ASB, something clicked. He put up a 2.39ERA in 9 starts with a WHIP of 1.16 while striking out 44 in 49 innings. That earned him a promotion to Tampa, where he is awaiting his first start. Overall, looks like he could be a really good pick 8. Samuel Elam, LHP, Notre Dame- he was drafted as a project. Lefty who can throw 96mph with a slider that has massive bite. His big problem has been control. Well, that hasnt improved yet, as he has walked 27 in 21IP this yr. If he doesnt get it close to the dish, then this experiment will be a failed one 9. Gavin Brooks, LHP, UCLA- lefty reliever who was lights out, albeit also wild in SI a yr ago. Was expected to close in Charleston this yr, but is going to miss the season with an injury of some sort. Not sure if it is his arm, all we know is that it is an upper body injury 11. Neil Medchill, OF, Oklahoma State- Neil set the NYP record for homers, then proceeded to skip Charleston and go to Tampa. Well, that was a failed experiment. He moved to Charleston where he started to hit, then was injured and hasnt been the same since. He's looking more and more like a flash in the pan here 12. Brett Gerritse, RHP, Pacifica High School (Cal.)- Gerritse was a bulldog looking kid when drafted with a plus curve and projectable frame. He's been hot and cold in the GCL, having runs of dominance followed by runs of awfulness. He has shown the ability to rack up K's, and has been showing improved command. Regardless, he is going to be mixed in with a lot of talented arms and is probably another yr away from contributing at the long season level. We'll see if this pick was a good one in about 2-3 yrs or so 13. Deangelo Mack, OF, South Carolina- came billed as a guy who K's a lot, but has a good approach and can hit for power. Well, 11 homers, 93K's and a .081IsoPatience later, and he's done nothing to dispel that. His problem is that he doesnt look like he's going to generate enough power to be a regular corner OFer and doesnt have the speed to patrol CF at the big league level. Right now, he's looking like a 4th OFer who is probably more of an org guy than anything else 14. Graham Stoneburner, RHP, Clemson- best pick in the draft. Stoneburner throws hard with sink and has a lights out slider. He skipped the short season leagues, even though he didnt pitch in them last yr. And he proceeded to dominate Charleston and received a promotion to Tampa. Well, he's been just as good. ERA in the mid 2's, WHIP under 1, and 8K per 9IP. He's looking like the real deal and should start off 2011 in AA 15. Shane Greene, RHP, Daytona Beach CC (Fla.)- Interesting pick. Was an OFer until a few months before last yrs draft. Went to the mound, showed mid 90s heat and was drafted. The Yankees took him and stashed him in EST for a yr, then trotted him out in SI this yr. His initial work sucked, but he improved enough to earn a promotion to Charleston. In his first start in Charleston, he allowed 5 baserunners in 6 innings while striking out 7. I think his future is in the pen, but right now, he's taking all the right steps towards improving his overall pitchability 16. Bryan Mitchell, RHP, Rockingham County High School (N.C.)- Probably the highest ceiling arm taken in the 2009 draft. Mitchell signed late for 800K and dominated in EST. Came out in the GCL and has been hit or miss. He's only allowed 4ER in his last 22.1IP and has shown good K ability. His problem has been walks this yr, which he'll need to improve to get to the long season leagues. My guess is they take it pretty slow with him and send him to the NYP for 2011 18. Hector Rabago, C, Southern California- filler 19. Luke Murton, 1B, Georgia Tech- power hitting filler 21. Joe Talerico, OF, Brookdale (N.J.) CC- released 23. Kevin Mahoney, 3B, Canisius- filler 24. Isaac Harrow, 2B, Appalachain State- released 25. Shaeffer Hall, LHP, Kansas- interesting pitcher. Throws pus, but got a chance in Charleston, where he dominated. Moved to Tampa, where he dominated for a few more starts before he got figured out. Probably just a filler, but interesting start to his career 27. Jeffrey Farnham, New Mexico State- filler 31. Judd Golson, OF, Mountain Brook HS (AL)- will probably end up as a filler, but was drafted out of HS as a speed first kid with very raw bat skills. He's done nothing to dispel that, as he hasnt reached the Mendoza line and has shown lightning speed. 37. Justin Milo, OF, U Vermont- retired to play European hockey 40. Ben Watkins, RHP, U Pittsburgh Johnstown- filler 41. Mariel Checo, RHP, Norman Thomas HS (NY- very interesting pick. 18 yr old who can spin a good slider and throw mid 90s. Problem is, he has no clue where it's going. One of the only HSers I have seen be used exclusively as a reliever. He's the rawest kid from this draft and probably will need a minimum of 2 more yrs of short season before he can move to Charleston 43. Isaiah Brown, CF, Paradise Valley CC- filler 44. Evan DeLuca, LHP, Immaculata HS (NJ)- The Yankees signed this guy with minutes left in the window for 500K. He's a tall lefty with a power fastball and a projectable change. He's shown power stuff in the GCL, striking out 28 in 24IP, but he's also allowed 26ER and 22 walks in those 24IP. He's got the stuff, his location and mechanics need work. He is another project but my bet is he figures it out before Checo

Nova moving up likely means they'll use a 5th spot as a reliever/spot starter. There is always the chance they get really agressive and move Warren to AAA

Yankees signed Tzu Wei Lin from Taiwan. He was the best player in the 16 yr old and under worlds in Canada. 350K pretty big coin.

This has been my point from the beginning. The voters seem to make the Cy Young all about the most valuable pitcher. Felix is the most deserving candidate

Well, the sox would need a Cy Young type finish to the season for them to get to the playoffs, so if the sox do make the playoffs, then yeah, Clay will win it