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Albaladejo convincing Girardi

Posted by Chris H. at 8:18 pm 3 Responses »
Mar 302009

Jonathan Albaladejo appears to have a stranglehold over the final bullpen spot after a strong spring. Obviously, if he makes the team, that would mean that the Yankees would not carry a long reliever (despite Joba’s innings cap).

Now, Albaladejo is a solid option, however, I wonder why he would make the team over someone like David Robertson. This spring, Albaladejo has struck out 8 and given up 1 ER over 9 2/3 IP (1 BB). Meanwhile, over 6 2/3 IP Robertson struck out 10 and gave up 1 ER (3 BB). Albaladejo’s numbers are certainly better, overall, but Robertson’s stuff is undeniable. Also, Albaladejo has only been with the team for a season yet has been given ample opportunities to excel while Robertson has been with the Yankees since 2007 and, at least for now, is destined to toil away in Scranton.

At this point, in order to maintain depth, I guess you can afford to leave Robertson in the minors (he’ll be 24 this year) and go with the older Albaladejo (26). Nonetheless, regardless of whether or not Albaladejo makes the team, I’m sure we’ll see Robertson again, at some point, in 2009.

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Ramiro Pena Overkill

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 5:41 pm No Responses »
Mar 302009

I linked to this article on Ramiro Pena yesterday, suggesting that we use caution when discussing a prospect who has seemingly come out of nowhere. Pena hit only .266/.330/.357 in Trenton and has never been higher than AA, yet Madden still felt that it was prudent to write the following:

Fact is, Pena has always demonstrated world class defense since being signed by the Yankees out of Mexico in 2005, but his improvement with the bat is what’s elevated him to legitimate major league prospect status.
“When I first saw him three years ago, you could knock the bat out of his hands,” said one veteran scout whose primary assignment is in the minor leagues. “But he was a magician with the glove and that made him someone to keep an eye on. Now that he’s gained a little weight, put on a little muscle, he’s no longer an ‘out.’ He can handle the bat. I always felt his glove would get him to the big leagues, but now I can see him as an everyday shortstop.”

This is Rob Neyer’s response:

I haven’t seen Ramiro Pena play. Until Sunday, I had never heard of Ramiro Pena. And now he’s the Yankees’ shortstop of the future!

Well, maybe.

This past winter, John Sickels wrote about 40 Yankees prospects in his book. Ramiro Pena wasn’t one of them.

This past winter, the guys at Baseball America wrote about 30 Yankees prospects in their book. Ramiro Pena wasn’t one of them. They mentioned a number of other young players, too, in their minor league depth chart for the Yankees. And here’s where Ramiro Pena shows up: behind Carmen Angelini (Yankees’ No. 28 prospect), Garrison Lassiter (not ranked) and Eduardo Nunez (not ranked).

Exactly. Pena may end up being a suitable utility infielder, and I guess it is possible to suggest that he might someday develop into a starter. However, most of the evidence that we have seen from him suggests that he cannot hit. Let’s not anoint him as the future just yet. We can leave that kind of “reasoned analysis” for Red Sox fanboys and the Bill Madden’s of the world.

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BA Checks In On Montero and DeLeon

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 1:57 pm No Responses »
Mar 302009

Baseball America’s Ben Badler recently penned a brief writeup on some Yankees minor leaguers after watching a spring MiLB game. His words about Jesus Montero’s defense and Kelvin DeLeon’s plate discipline were far from encouraging:

Jesus Montero doesn’t have too many doubters about his abilities at the plate. On Friday Montero showed excellent bat speed that allows him to let balls travel deep into the hitting zone, power to all fields and a knack for putting the barrel to the ball.

While there aren’t too many 19-year-olds who can hit like Montero, the industry consensus is that the young Yankees’ prospect will likely have to move off of catcher down the road. Yesterday Montero showed all the reasons why scouts question Montero’s ability to stick at catcher. His arm strength is just OK, and he’s not especially good at throwing out base stealers.

More problematic was his receiving, as Montero committed three passed balls in one inning. Tall catchers—Montero is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds—can provide a big target, but they sometimes have trouble getting down low enough to block balls in the dirt, which Montero showed on Friday. He’s not particularly agile, which allowed a ball in the dirt just to his right to get by him. The third passed ball was an inside pitch to a righthanded batter that just bounced off his glove…..

It’s easy to see why De Leon commanded a $1.1 million signing bonus because his skill set is ideal for a workout. He takes a good BP, he crushes a fastball with plus power to all fields, his arm strength is plus and he’s a good athlete. De Leon also struck out in more than one quarter of his plate appearances last year in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League—74 strikeouts in 281 PAs—and he showed why on Friday by looking completely lost against breaking balls.

While I hate to read stuff like this, Badler is just echoing comments that have been made by a multitude of scouts. Montero is unlikely to stick at catcher, and DeLeon is primed to be Wily Mo Pena unless he can learn to deal with the breaking ball. The Yankees really need Kelvin to improve, as he would supplement the team in a department where they are really weak: power hitting outfielders. In regard to Montero, the ideal situation would be for him to improve as a catcher. However, it would not be the worst thing in the world if he ended up in LF or at 1B, as he has the bat to play anywhere. Furthermore, Austin Romine provides the Yankees with an alternative option for the catcher of the future.

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Comparing Bernie, Melky, and Gardner

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 12:00 pm No Responses »
Mar 302009

Mark Carig made an interesting point this morning about Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner by comparing their credentials with those of a young Bernie WIlliams:

What if Bernie Williams (the 1992 version) were involved in the Yankees’ current position battle in center field? How would he stack up competing against Gardner and Cabrera? Would he go on to earn a chance to play enough to develop into the steady star that he became?

Gardner isn’t in the same offensive universe as the other two, though his speed and glove in center might help offset some of the difference, though certainly not all of it. Melky and Bernie appear more comparable, with one big difference. Cabrera has already had chances to prove himself, thus exposing a limited upside. This was not the case with Bernie, who didn’t log his first full season until he was 24.

Anyway, I’ve pulled out two -year chunks during somewhat similar times in their respective careers. Using this year’s CHONE projections to forecast the 2009 season for Cabrera and Gardner, here are the comparisons:

BERNIE WILLIAMS
1992: Age 23, 62 games, 261 at-bats, .280/.354/.406
1993: Age 24, 139 games, 567 at-bats, .268/.333/.400

MELKY CABRERA
2008: Age 23, 129 games, 414 at-bats, .249/.301/.341
2009: Age 24, 146 games, 515 at-bats, .280/.345/.402

BRETT GARDNER
2008: Age 24, 42 games, 127 at-bats, .228/.283/.299
2009: Age 25, 119 games, 446 at-bats, .258/.371/.360

Melky compares favorably to Bernie, while Gardner needs to point to his speed and defense to justify being included in the conversation. Does this mean that Melky is going to turn into Bernie Williams? Certainly not. However, it does caution against giving up on young players who have struggled in the majors at a very young age. Melky’s 2006 was very strong for a player at his age, and his regression since then does not mean that all of his potential has dissipated.

I agree with the choice of Brett Gardner as the starting center fielder, and I have suggested that the Yankees should try to trade Melky. However, I would not be entirely shocked if Melky develops into a decent player in the coming years. I do not think he will ever be good enough to start on a championship caliber team, but he could fashion a starting career on some weaker teams.

What do you think about Melky’s potential? Is the comparison to Bernie useful or distinguishable?

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Gardner named starter in CF

Posted by Tom Gaffney at 11:21 am 2 Responses »
Mar 302009

Manager Joe Girardi continues to make the fans happy as he names Brett Gardner the starting Yankee centerfielder, according to the NY Post.  “It’s not going to be day by day, Gardy is our center fielder,” Girardi said.  “He brings a little more speed to the lineup and defensively he brings a little more speed. Offensively, they were pretty even this spring and Gardy will steal more bases.”  Melky hit .340 this Spring to Gardner’s .385.

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Burnett: Championship Or Bust

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 10:00 am No Responses »
Mar 302009

From Mark Feinsand:

For years, Jeter has preached that the season is a failure if you’re not the last team standing.
“I agree with him 100%; that’s why we’re here and why we play this game,” Burnett said.
But is a World Series-or-bust edict more pressure than players need over a 162-game season? Burnett doesn’t think so.
“I think it’s a good mind-set to take to the field with you every day,” he said. “I’ll start thinking that in my preparation now, because I think it’s true. There are 25 guys in here, but we’re not just playing for ourselves. We’re playing for the fans, we’re playing for the city and we’re playing for the world of pinstripes.”

Burnett seems to have really taken to the Yankee way of approaching the sport. When the Yankees signed him, some doubted that he had the right mentality to fit in in New York. However, he has surprisingly taken a leadership position, mentoring Joba and CMW while making himself available to the media on a regular basis. AJ constantly talks about how much he has matured over the last few seasons, and this spring has confirmed that notion. He looks like a perfect fit for this team, and only his health can prevent him from being a major cog on the 2009 Yankees.

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Pondering the absence of Alex

Posted by Steve S. at 7:34 am 18 Responses »
Mar 302009

There two popular scenarios that Yankee fans envision the team pursuing in his absence until his (estimated) May 15th return. They reflect two distinct areas of the fan base and could have ramifications in both cases. They are as follows:

First Scenario: The Yanks are limping along, unable to muster enough runs to allow their improved pitching staff to make the impact the brass had hoped for. They have a record somewhere within a few wins of .500 on either side of the ledger. Alex comes back and lengthens the lineup, puts up his usual great numbers and leads the Yanks to the playoffs. Most of these folks are younger fans who are more sabermetrically inclined.

Second Scenario: The Yankees are flourishing in his absence. Freed of Alex and all the drama that surrounds him, The Yanks play as a team, as opposed to the 24+1 group they have when A-Rod is around. Knowing they don’t have a big bat in the lineup, they do the little things needed to win games. They play the kind of Baseball the Yanks were known for in the late 90′s, when they didn’t have any big stars in the lineup, they had them on the mound. Most of these are older fans who’ve seen the team win in various configurations, some without a big hitter, and think Alex is a choker.

Which scenario will be proven right remains to be seen, but there are implications for both. If the Yanks were to struggle in his absence, the pro-Alex camp would be reinforced in their belief that he is essential to the team’s success. Opponents would be dismissive of this result, and cite the Yanks previous slow starts in recent years, but would get to see what a Yankee world without Alex would look like and be given pause.

If the Yanks were to flourish, especially in the context of previous teams slow starts, then the anti-Alex camp would become even more emboldened. That would remove any doubts they have of the team’s chances to win in a post A-Rod world. They wouldn’t just be criticizing him anymore, but actively rooting for his exit, and making that desire known on radio stations and newspapers everywhere. It would also give the anti-Alex forces in the Yankee brass (which include the GM) further ammunition in their argument for his departure from the Bronx sometime down the road. They’ll need plenty of ammo, because that exit would be very, very expensive.

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