Hughes is getting a real shock. Ever since he got rocked in Spring Training, I've really kind of questioned whether he has the tools. He's burned up A and AA, but I think he's got a rude awakening in AAA. I'm hoping to see him when Scranton-Wilkes Barre comes to play the Buffalo Bisons this summer. I'll give you my personal scouting report.

But yeah, its good to have a wealth of pitching talent prospects...and it doesn't hurt to maybe sign Johan Santana, either.

DJ, it certainly wouldn't hurt now, would it??

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=t422&m=06&y=2007

The Bisons play the Yankees four days in June, so hopefully Hughes will pitch. I can't wait. I'll go to every game for sure.

I have an office 5 minutes from the Scranton/WB stadium (the area where I was born and raised). My scouting report on Hughes:

He may not be tearinfg up the International League hitters, but he's going through cocktail waitresses like nobody's business.

Actually, I think the kid is keeping a low profile.

Surprise, Surprise!! I just saw on the news that Pavano will miss his next start because of a "strain in his forearm". WTF????

Kind of surprising, because I heard he is married.

---

Yeah, SB, Joe confirmed on Mike and the Mad Dog today Pavano has a little tweak, but he'll start Tuesday. They're attributing it to him not pitching in like 2 years. Ugh. Oh well.

Lodger Cremens fee just went up by another million!

Wang to pitch Saturday

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The New York Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang is scheduled to pitch Saturday in an extended spring training game, his first action since injuring his right hamstring while running on March 23.

Wang will likely throw around 50 pitches against Tampa Bay minor leaguers. The Yankees hope the 19-game winner will rejoin the major league team in late April.

A second injured starter, Jeff Karstens, is slated to pitch for Class-A Tampa on Monday night. He has been sidelined since experiencing right elbow stiffness during a spring training start March 25.

Wang and Karstens played catch and took part in fielding drills Friday at the Yankees' spring training complex.

Source: SI

Wade Boggs was married too.

I was going to school when the Margo Adams "scandal" broke in (I'm guessing)1987. The popular t-shirt in Fenway was ".333 Lifetime Average...and you thought it was the chicken."

Pavano scratched from Saturday's start

OAKLAND -- Before this month, Carl Pavano missed the last 1 1/2 seasons with a multitude of injuries and mishaps. A sore right elbow and forearm have become the newest additions to the Yankees right-hander's unwelcome collection.

Pavano has been informed that he has been scratched from his scheduled start Saturday at Oakland with what he called "muscle soreness" and what manager Joe Torre called "soft-tissue problems."

The issues popped up late in his start on Monday, when Pavano was New York's winning pitcher in an 8-2 decision over the Minnesota Twins.

"It was just a little tight," Pavano said. "I decided to say something because of what happened last year. I thought that was the best way to go about it, [to] just get it out there so they can take care of it."

Pavano said he noticed the tightness in his right elbow area during the final two innings of his appearance at Minnesota, logging his first big-league victory since May 2005. Pavano was economical in the outing, throwing just 79 pitches, but he surrendered a pair of doubles in the seventh inning and was relieved by Brian Bruney for the eighth.

Torre suggested that Pavano's long layoff may have had something to do with the injury. Pavano said that reasoning would make sense, and the Yankees -- for now -- are considering Pavano's setback a minor annoyance.

"We don't think it's something to worry about, but we're certainly going to keep a close watch," Torre said.

Right-hander Darrell Rasner will start Saturday in Pavano's place, with the Yankees aiming to push Pavano back to Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium.

"As long as he feels it, even though it's not necessarily pain, we're going to take the safe way out," Torre said. "We hope by Tuesday that it won't be an issue."

Pavano had been receiving a treatment package that included muscle relaxers to relieve tension since earlier this week.

He threw on Tuesday and Wednesday in Minnesota, part of his usual long-toss routine, but said that he realized the elbow did not feel like he thought it should.

"I'd like to get out there on the mound and have it feel looser and better," Pavano said.

Pavano said that he did not expect to go for further tests, but said he would have preferred not to miss Saturday's start, especially given the state of the Yankees' rotation.

Ace Chien-Ming Wang has been sidelined since last month with a strained left hamstring, while right-hander Mike Mussina strained his left hamstring on Wednesday, with a disabled list assignment still considered to be possible.

"With the way things have gone with Chien-Ming and now Moose, yeah, it's disappointing," Pavano said. "I want to be out there. I think the wise course of action is [the way] we're going about [it]."

Source: Yankes

What, did his arm fall off or something?

"Get da crazy glue!"

Igawa showed flashes of brilliance last night...I was quite pleased.

Maybe Darrell Rasner will shock us all and pitch well.

Finally some good news:

Yanks' Wang throws hitless, scoreless five innings


TAMPA, Fla. -- Yankees right-hander Chien-Ming Wang didn't allow a hit over five scoreless innings in an extended spring training game Saturday.

It was Wang's first outing since he hurt his right hamstring while running on March 23. The 19-game winner last season is scheduled to pitch in another minor league game Thursday -- likely with Class-A Tampa -- and might rejoin the Yankees' rotation for a start April 24 at Tampa Bay.

"He's going to pitch one more time here and then we'll see what happens after that," Yankees vice president Billy Connors said. "He's almost right there."

Pitching against Tampa Bay minor leaguers, Wang struck out six and walked one. He threw 35 of 55 pitches for strikes.

"I thought it was very good for the first time out," Connors said. "He did a great job."

Wang struggled with his control early on, walking one and throwing seven of 14 pitches for balls during the first. He then struck out two in each of the next two innings.

"No problems," Wang said. "I felt stronger [each inning]."

Wang will play catch Sunday and is scheduled to have a bullpen session Monday.

Source: ESPN

Tied again. I can barely stay awake for these CA games, you think that they'd try not to go into extra innings.

I hope that Wang is as strong as is being stated.

Did anyone see that great catch that Jeter made, he flipped it to first, and then Phelps couldn't keep it in his glove. This sucks, but Posada's homeun provided an excellent sense of pride!

Notes: Farnsworth spots flaw

OAKLAND -- After he was lifted from Friday's game at McAfee Coliseum, Kyle Farnsworth immediately headed inside the Yankees' clubhouse to review game film.

It didn't ease the sting of a performance in which Farnsworth could not protect a lead for New York starter Kei Igawa, surrendering a game-tying home run to Nick Swisher, but at least Farnsworth might have a better idea of what he can do to fix the problem.

"I just need to get on top of the ball more," Farnsworth said. "I think I'm rushing myself a little too much. It's still early in the season, but it's something that I've got to get done right now. I don't want it carrying over."

Farnsworth, 31, is off to a shaky start this season, which is particularly troublesome because the Yankees believed they had found a way to better utilize the right-handed setup man.

By not using Farnsworth on back-to-back days, Yankees manager Joe Torre believed he could keep Farnsworth fresher and not run the risk of losing his availability to conditions like the persistent back spasms which nagged Farnsworth last season.

But Farnsworth -- who showed promise in Spring Training by compiling a 1.80 ERA in 10 relief appearances -- has not been able to make that early success translate to the regular season. In five appearances, his ERA is 10.38.

Torre said he spoke with Farnsworth before Friday's appearance and warned against trying to be too fine with his offerings. With a fastball that regularly clocks in the high 90s and has been known to touch triple digits, Farnsworth may simply not be leaving enough room for error.

"He's still having trouble locating," Torre said. "It'll come around, because physically he's fine. It's just a matter of finding that release point and groove, and being confident that it's going to find its way."

Farnsworth said that the adjustment is one that he has made before in his career, and that it does not require any tinkering in-between appearances.

Instead, Farnsworth said, he will warm up as usual when called upon and consciously make an effort to get on top of his pitches, trying not to drop his arm as he delivers.

That, he said, should cure the problem in a single day.

"Sometimes there's just something you try to overcompensate for and try to do too much," Farnsworth said. "The main thing is just not rushing and allowing myself to catch up."

Changing of the guard: With Doug Mientkiewicz mired in an 0-for-21 slump, Josh Phelps was given the start Saturday at first base, even though a right-hander -- Joe Blanton -- was on the mound for Oakland.

Torre said he took Mientkiewicz aside and explained the situation, saying that the move is not permanent. Mientkiewicz is batting just .125 in 24 at-bats and has not had a hit on this road trip.

"He certainly understands," Torre said. "In the next day or so, we'll get him back in there. Right now, he's fighting himself."

Meanwhile, Phelps said he has pleasant memories of facing Blanton, having gone against the hurler in his rookie season of 2005. Phelps has two doubles in four at-bats against Blanton, with six walks.

"I knew it was a possibility," Phelps said. "I figured one of these games here, I'd get in, just so I wouldn't get two series off in a row."

Comeback trail: Chien-Ming Wang pitched five scoreless, hitless innings in an extended Spring Training game against a roster of Devil Rays players Saturday in Tampa, Fla. It was his first rehab start as the right-hander makes his way back to New York's rotation from a strained right hamstring.

Wang threw 55 pitches, walking one and striking out six in the performance. He is scheduled to make his second rehab start on Thursday, which could come with Class A Tampa of the Florida State League.

"No problems," Wang told the Associated Press. "I felt stronger [each inning]."

Right-hander Jeff Karstens -- who hit the disabled list when right elbow tendinitis set in late during Spring Training -- is scheduled to pitch in a rehab game on Monday. Following that start, the Yankees will discuss the prospect of Karstens being activated to the Major League roster.

"Off of what he did in Spring Training, if the people who are watching him feel this is where he should be, we'd obviously take that advice," Torre said.

Source: Yankees

Glad to hear A-Rod homered again. Can you say AL MVP? Sure it's only 10 games into the season but he's never opened the season like this. It's good because we need the offense since our pitchers are going down faster than a rollercoaster. Why is it these guys continue to go down so much the past couple of years? Back in the "glory" days (1996-2001) our guys were there when we needed it. I know age plays into it (Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson) but now even the younger guys are going down (Wang, Pavano, etc). I think there's something in the water or else it's something else. Watch Boston's rotation and see how long their starters (Schilling, Dice-K, Beckett, Wakefield and their 5th) are out compared to ours (Wang, Pettitte, Moose, Pavano and Igawa).

The Red Sox rotation faced the same situation last year. It happens. The Yankees have an old AND injury-prone rotation. Mussina is on the wrong side of 35. Pettitte is near ancient, and has had injury issues in the past. Pavano is the Crash Test Dummy...he can't go more than a start without getting a hangnail. Wang is just a kid, and his injury from last year and this year are unrelated, so its too early to tell, but he's probably the only stable workhorse in the rotation. Rasner and Karstens? They're really long relievers anyways, and both have had injury issues in the past.

That leaves Kei Igawa as the only true healthy, non-injury prone pitcher on our starting rotation at this point. Luckily, every game he seems to be edging closer to the control-freak we expected from the Japanese league. His curveball is increasingly nasty. That's good. We're going to need it.

---

A-Rod's performance is a God-send. If I'm not mistaken, he's very close to breaking Mattingly's eight home runs in eight games record. Good for Alex. We need it bad.

---

Hopefully Giambi has turned the corner now as well. Because the spotlight has been on A-Rod, everyone is ignoring Giambi's slow start, but his cannon was loaded for bear last night.

---

Phelps nor Mientkeiwicz are proving to be the answer at first. Yes, Eye-Chart has sparkling defense, we knew that coming in. But I really wonder if Cashman won't make some kind of deal for Richie Sexon before the All-Star break. That position is generating zero offense for us right now, and is the only major black hole in our lineup.

---

I read a line that said Melky is a starting outfielder in backup outfielders clothing. I don't think its true. I've never been impressed with his offensive production; he has very little patience of the plate, and doesn't demonstrate the power he carried through the minor leagues. He's a great fielder, no doubt, but maybe he needs to spend a bit of time with Mattingly to figure out how to develop a stroke. His average is a mediocre .179, and while his OPS isn't too bad for a backup outfielder (.399), it isn't good for an everyday player.

Someone get this kid some time in the batting cage.

---

Without a doubt, the Yankees have one of the best bullpens in baseball. I can't believe I'm saying that. And yes, that includes Kyle Farnsworth. 5 out of our 7 relievers have an ERA at or better than 1.29. Proctor and Farnsworth are the only two over (with 3.68 and 8.44, respectively).

Vizcaino has been a great pickup, and probably should be moved into the 7th/8th inning eater role. Mike Myers can pitch! Who knew? Sean Henn is 100 times the reliever he was the starter. It may have saved his career. Bruney is getting his control better. Proctor will come around. Mo is Mo.

Farnsworth is the only question mark, and we still have a number of minor league options, including Chris Britton, Kevin Whelan, Ron Villone, TJ Beam, and Chase Wright waiting in the wings.

---

Strange brew: Guess who has the highest batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS on the Yankees?

A-Rod? Nope.

Damon? Nope.

Posada? Nope.

Kevin Thompson.

Yeah. That guy.

Someone get him a uniform.

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Wang is getting stronger (hence my new title) which bodes well for the rotation, particularly if he can get back in time for the Red Sox series.

---

A real pitching battle today. Rich "Dick" Harden is the new ace of the A's rotation now that Zito sailed for greener pastures (hah! pun), and he has done a good job thus far. Pettitte's ERA comes in under 2.00 and really is looking sharp as well. If you've missed the first two games of the series, this would be the one to watch. It should be a pitchers duel.

Freakin' Mo!

4-2 Yanks, 2 outs in 9th...
5-4 A's Final.

Ouch....

the irony is that he blew the save in the very same day of the #42 homage to Jackie Robinson.

But its kind of irrelevant, since Mo always wears #42...

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Well, I guess I called it in my previous post. Chase Wright is going to make his first MLB start, for better or worse. He's lighting up the Eastern League. Here's hoping he can just avoid getting rocked...

---

So, umm...I hope Roger Clemens phone is ringing?

---

Who better than Doug Mientkeiwicz Richie Sexon?

---

Mo didn't have his control today. It happens to the best closers. He looked sharp in his previous outings. It's nothing to worry about.

Hey, everyone has an off day, even Mo. However, it was still a very disappointing loss.

Especially disappointing considering we're near the basement of the Al East, and the Blue Jays (yes, Toronto...) are on fire.

On fire eh?

"Eyes
Boring a way through me
Paralyse
Controlling completely
Now
There is a fire in me
A fire that burns

This fire is out of control
I'm going to burn this city
Burn this city
If this fire is out of control
I'm gonna burn this city
Burn this city

This fire is out of control
I'm going to burn this city
Burn this city
This fire is out of control
I'm going to burn it

Then I
I'm out of control and I burn

Eyes
Burning a way to me
Overwhelm
Destroying so sweetly
Now
There is a fire in me
A fire that burns

This fire is out of control
I'm going to burn this city
Burn this city
If this fire is out of control
I'm going to burn this city
Burn this city

If this fire is out of control
I'm going to burn this city
Burn this city
If this fire is out of control

Then I
I'm out of control and I burn
Oh how i burn for you
Burn, oh how I burn for you
burn
how I burn
How I burn

This fire..."

Oh sorry, got carried away.

For those wondering about who the hell Chase Wright is...

2006 Florida State League Stats


2007 AA-Trenton States


Yep, that's a 0.00 ERA folks. And, yes, this is that kid who held the Tigers lineup to 2 hits and 1 run 6.2 innings of a Spring Training game, which is why they are giving him the nod. He throws a low-90's fastball, a nasty changeup, and a decent curveball.

Yanks put Mussina, Pavano on DL

OAKLAND -- The Yankees' beleaguered pitching rotation suffered another major hit on Sunday, as right-handers Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano were both placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Both players were disabled retroactively, with right-hander Chris Britton joining the club from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to help a staff that entered Sunday having played two consecutive extra-inning games at Oakland.

The Yankees have announced that Double-A left-hander Chase Wright -- who leads the Eastern League with 19 strikeouts in 14 scoreless innings and is already on the 40-man roster -- will be recalled in time to start on Tuesday against the Indians, making a start that was envisioned to go to Pavano.

Mussina strained his left hamstring in the third inning of his appearance on Wednesday at Minnesota, and Pavano was scratched from a scheduled start Saturday due to stiffness in his right forearm.

The hurlers join a corps of walking wounded that includes right-handers Chien-Ming Wang and Jeff Karstens, who were expected to be members of the Yankees' starting rotation but suffered injuries in Spring Training and have not yet pitched in the Majors this season.

"You just find a way to get through it and deal with these things," Mussina said. "It's unfortunate, but you have to deal with what you have to deal with. Nobody's having surgery, nobody's out for three months. Nobody's having a situation like that. It's a couple of muscle pulls and a strain. It'll be fine."

The rash of injuries are especially striking because they involve Pavano, who missed the last 1 1/2 Major League seasons before finally progressing through Spring Training healthy and making two starts for New York this season.

"For one reason or another, these things happen," Pavano said. "I've been through this before. I've just got to keep working. We're going to get on top of this, and we'll do what it takes. I'm going to get back out there."

Pavano said that his right forearm began to tighten up in the final two innings of his start at the Metrodome on Wednesday, when he logged his first Major League victory since May 2005.

He suspects that one of the sidearm throws he made in the contest -- one on a double play of Joe Mauer in the first inning, and another on a pickoff throw to first base -- could have caused a strain in the muscular area between his elbow and forearm.

Pavano had been slated to pitch on Saturday at Oakland, but he was pushed back to allow the stiffness time to clear up, with an effort for Tuesday against the Indians in New York targeted. But with Pavano still reporting issues as of Saturday, the Yankees will need to find another starting pitcher for that contest.

"It's not where I want to be and not where I need to be," Pavano said. "It just doesn't feel good. It doesn't feel good to have a time like this when guys are going down. I need to be part of the staff, but it's not something that's going to get any better by going out there and trying to be a hero."

Both Mussina and Pavano tested their respective injuries early Sunday at McAfee Coliseum, but neither was pleased with the results each received.

Mussina performed some light running and briefly attempted to throw off a mound, but he stopped himself; Pavano performed long-toss and never even took the bullpen rubber, concerned that revving up his pitch velocity might cause further discomfort to what he believes is a muscular issue.

"I was going to take a shot and just go out there, and see if I got up on the mound and it loosened up," Pavano said. "It hasn't been responding the last three or four days the way I'd like it. Sometimes, a little bit more time would have taken care of that, and we gave it that little bit extra time. It's just not good enough."

Mussina said that he is able to play catch and throw, and all things considered, he believes his situation could have been a lot worse just four days after suffering the initial injury.

As a right-hander, the left leg affects Mussina's ability to stop, as he delivers on the mound's downward plane. Mussina said that if the situation progresses as much in the next four days as it did in the previous four, he would be in good shape.

"It's smarter to get rid of it and then go pitch," Mussina said. "We'll take our time and go do it right. If I can improve this much in the next four days, I'll feel pretty good.

"I don't want to come back to the beginning. I've made a lot of improvements. I don't want to start over."

The Yankees' rotation picture might begin to appear a little brighter in the coming days, as Wang moves closer to rejoining the Major League club.

Wang pitched five scoreless, hitless innings in an extended Spring Training game against the Devil Rays on Saturday and is scheduled to pitch for Class A Tampa on Thursday in a Florida State League contest. After that point, the Yankees will consider activating Wang, who suffered a strained right hamstring while performing conditioning drills on March 23.

Source: Yankees

Staff infection

Nobody has had a better first two weeks than Roger Clemens, whose price is probably up to $7 million a month now. (OK, maybe that's an exaggeration. But it certainly is escalating.)

With Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano on the disabled list, the Yankees are struggling to fill out their rotation, which now includes Double-A callup Chase Wright, who has a low 90s fastball, nice changeup and Hollywood name. Wright, who gets the call Tuesday night against the hard-hitting Indians, has wowed the Yankees with 19 strikeouts in 14 innings so far. Of course, those whiffs came in Trenton, which is an unimaginably long 77 miles from the Bronx.

If the Yankees are the favorites to land Clemens over the Red Sox and Astros -- and there seems to be momentum their way now -- it probably has something to do with their desperation. "We're going through a crisis right now because of the injuries,'' general manager Brian Cashman admitted on Monday.

The Yankees have tried to speed up Clemens' timetable, with no luck. They've also tried to enhance their chances, with George Steinbrenner issuing a personal invitation during spring, Robinson Cano switching from Clemens' No. 22 to 24 and many other little things, just the sort of things that impress Clemens, according to his friends.

The possible early working title for New York's season: From Crisis to Clemens.

They hope, anyway.

Cashman remains the most outwardly positive and patient GM in baseball (he actually asserted Monday he thinks Pavano is not a slacker and will return in a reasonable amount of time.) But even he's starting to wonder what's up, with three-fifths of their rotation on the disabled list. The only ones who aren't out are Clemens' buddy, Andy Pettitte, who suffered a back injury late in spring but is toughing it out, and Kei Igawa, who is unproven at the major league level.

The injury epidemic is such that there are even clubhouse whispers questioning the new training methods instituted by the just-hired duo of "performance enhancers.'' The question is being raised among uniformed personnel about whether the players did enough running in spring training. As to that claim, Cashman asserted that the team does everything "to the benefit'' of the player, but he added that he is investigating the cause-and-effect issue.

Of course, it takes no investigating to know that the Yankees need Clemens even more than before.

Cashman's defense of Pavano

One early effect of the latest spate of Yankees injuries is that the game-worn jersey of Pavano's that was on e-Bay this spring is increasing in value. It's easy to think Pavano, a man who didn't pitch for 643 straight days because of an unusual array of pains, will be out longer than projected. "I hope not. I can only go by what they tell me,'' Cashman said, asserting he doesn't believe that Pavano is disinterested in pitching for the Yankees.

"I never believed that. I never bought into that,'' Cashman continued. "I just think his body has prevented him from pitching. I know he's working hard.''

He may be working hard, but once again he isn't technically working. He's in his usual spot on the sidelines.

Source: SI

Yankees are winning 8-2!! Hooray!!!

I can't see the game because I don't get My9 or whatever it is in my local package from DirecTV. However, I'm watching on Gamecast, and though its a bit clinical, it *appears* that Wright is pitching his heart out (and possibly earning a spot in the rotation...)

Wow! A Wright that can pitch for the Yankees...it's unprecedented!

Well, through 5 innings, Chase Wright has allowed three runs, and struck out a few. He's getting great run support. Let's hope it continues!

Well, it's 8-3, bottom of the 7th, 1 on, 1 out, Melky's up at bat, the count is 1-1.

And you are right about Wright. He did a very nice job.

Melky just got a single, btw.

Although we do get My9, there's something screwed up with the audio. We can only hear the crowd, and not the announcers.