No, this post isn't an ode to The Eagles. And I hardly feel like singing.
Right now, I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Clearwater. In less than three hours, I will board a flight home to New Jersey still without knowing the entire Thunder roster. The Yankees are apparently waiting until at least tomorrow, the end of spring training, to finish their minor league rosters.
Manager Tony Franklin gave me lists of players who potentially fill the remaining holes on the roster. But I get the feeling that there could be more shifting around tomorrow before camp breaks, and even a move or two on Monday or Tuesday. If only the Yankees decision makers would show some consideration towards us scribes who have preview stories to write. Grrrrr.
Here are the players I know are on the team, as of today:
Outfielders (4): Brett Gardner, Justin Christian, Matt Carson, Shawn Garrett. The first three all played in Trenton last year. Garrett is a veteran who has spent the last two seasons in Triple-A with the A's, Cardinals, and Phillies.
Infielders (3): Cody Ehlers, Gabe Lopez, Ramiro Pena. Kevin Howard could also come back to be the starting third baseman, but he still hadn't been moved to Double-A as of today; the other candidate is Aaron Baldiris. I've also been told that Carlos Mendoza and recent acquisition Juan Francia are also candidates.
Catcher (1): P.J. Pilittere. He'll be the starter. My guess is Jason Brown returns once again as the backup.
Starting Pitchers (5): Chase Wright, Jeff Marquez, Alan Horne, Brett Smith, and Jason Jones. Expect Wright to get the ball for Thursday's opener.
Bullpen (2): Kevin Whelan, Gerardo Casadiego. From what I've been told, as many as seven guys are candidates for the other five spots. My guess is Scott Patterson (who was called up for the major league game today), Jeff Kennard, Paul Thorp, Edwar Ramirez, and Michael Gardner. But this could change entirely due to the wild card here - Ron Villone. He has reportedly received a minor league offer to pitch for Triple-A Scranton after losing out on a major league spot to Sean Henn. If Villone accepts, I'm afraid Charlie Manning will get squeezed out of Triple-A once again.
So that's 15 out of 24 players. This really sucks when you're trying to write preview stories.
Oh well. Talk to you again tomorrow, after I get home, start my laundry, and hopefully find out more.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
Here's what we know
On the second to last full day of spring training, Thunder manager Tony Franklin would only confirm Brett Gardner for his opening day roster. That makes 1B Cody Ehlers, C P.J. Pilittere, SS Ramiro Pena, and pitchers Chase Wright and Jeff Marquez, and relievers Kevin Whelan and Gerardo Casadiego as the "confirmed" members of the opening day roster.
Obviously, common sense can figure out some other likely selections. With the news today that Jeff Karstens will begin the season on the DL, the starting rotation appears to be locked into place - Wright, Marquez, Brett Smith, Alan Horne, and Jason Jones (though not necessarily in that order). Wright, who pitched solidly for the Yankees today in Lakeland (six innings, three runs), is the favorite to be the Thunder's opening night starter.
Since Kevin Thompson, Kevin Reese, and Bronson Sardinha will be the Triple-A starting outfield, Justin Christian is an obvious guess to return to the Thunder outfield. The same would seem to be true for Gabe Lopez, but he's been in Triple-A camp (and not playing much) all week. More indications are pointing toward Howard going to Triple-A and former Mets farmhand Aaron Baldiris starting at the hot corner for the Thunder.
Paul Thorp, Scott Patterson, and Jeff Kennard are three guys who could either go to Triple-A or return to the Thunder bullpen.
Here are the positions still to be settled:
*Right Field
*Reserve outfielder
*Second Base
*Third Base
*Fifth and sixth infielder
*Backup catcher
*Closer
*Three middle relief spots
Obviously, common sense can figure out some other likely selections. With the news today that Jeff Karstens will begin the season on the DL, the starting rotation appears to be locked into place - Wright, Marquez, Brett Smith, Alan Horne, and Jason Jones (though not necessarily in that order). Wright, who pitched solidly for the Yankees today in Lakeland (six innings, three runs), is the favorite to be the Thunder's opening night starter.
Since Kevin Thompson, Kevin Reese, and Bronson Sardinha will be the Triple-A starting outfield, Justin Christian is an obvious guess to return to the Thunder outfield. The same would seem to be true for Gabe Lopez, but he's been in Triple-A camp (and not playing much) all week. More indications are pointing toward Howard going to Triple-A and former Mets farmhand Aaron Baldiris starting at the hot corner for the Thunder.
Paul Thorp, Scott Patterson, and Jeff Kennard are three guys who could either go to Triple-A or return to the Thunder bullpen.
Here are the positions still to be settled:
*Right Field
*Reserve outfielder
*Second Base
*Third Base
*Fifth and sixth infielder
*Backup catcher
*Closer
*Three middle relief spots
Yankees set roster
The Thunder still featured a work group today consisting largely of players who definitely won't be on the team when camp breaks on Sunday. But the Yankees roster is set.
*Will Nieves will be the backup catcher, beating out veteran Todd Pratt.
*Thunder alum Sean Henn will join Mike Myers as the team's lefty relievers, beating out the struggling Ron Villone
*Josh Phelps will be the righty in the first base platoon, beating out Andy Phillips
The Henn and Nieves picks are surprising only because of Joe Torre's tendency to favor veterans over youngsters who may be performing better. But while Henn hasn't been dominant in spring training, Villone has an ERA of over 14. The Nieves-Pratt debate from all accounts was very close. Phelps was the obvious choice over Phillips.
Henn's selection means that Charlie Manning is ticketed to start the season in Triple-A. I'm happy for him; he's a great guy and this is the first time he's really gotten a shot at that level. After spending most of the last four seasons in Double-A, he deserves that chance.
*Will Nieves will be the backup catcher, beating out veteran Todd Pratt.
*Thunder alum Sean Henn will join Mike Myers as the team's lefty relievers, beating out the struggling Ron Villone
*Josh Phelps will be the righty in the first base platoon, beating out Andy Phillips
The Henn and Nieves picks are surprising only because of Joe Torre's tendency to favor veterans over youngsters who may be performing better. But while Henn hasn't been dominant in spring training, Villone has an ERA of over 14. The Nieves-Pratt debate from all accounts was very close. Phelps was the obvious choice over Phillips.
Henn's selection means that Charlie Manning is ticketed to start the season in Triple-A. I'm happy for him; he's a great guy and this is the first time he's really gotten a shot at that level. After spending most of the last four seasons in Double-A, he deserves that chance.
Today could be the day
Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday. The big news around the Thunder yesterday was that there was no news.
That should change as soon as today, as the Yankees will set their major league roster and start the final tricke-down process that will set the minor league rosters. Kevin Reese and Kevin Thompson were optioned to Triple-A after last night's spring training game in Dunedin, so Justin Christian should be back in Thunder camp today, ready to go north with the Thunder. It will be interesting to see who fills the other spots. Here is where I see the openings, entering today:
Infield: Third base, second base, and the two reserve spots. I've talked about Gabe Lopez and Kevin Howard, but both have been in Triple-A camp all week. Another name I've heard is Aaron Baldiris, a former Mets prospect.
Catcher: Backup catcher.
Outfield: Right field and the reserve spot. Matt Carson will likely get one of those, but I hope the Yankees send someone better for the starting position.
Bullpen: Three middle relief spots and closer. As I reported in Wednesday's paper, the Yankees plan to use Kevin Whelan in multiple-inning stints, like J.B. Cox and T.J. Beam were mostly used last year. That means they need a closer. Gerardo Casadiego has been in Thunder camp for several days, which leads me to believe he's a candidate for a Thunder bullpen spot.
My main in today's paper was on West Windsor native and Peddie grad Fernando Perez, who is the 15th-ranked prospect in the Devil Rays farm system. He's ticketed for Double-A Montgomery in the Southern League this season. Very nice, and extremely bright kid.
That should change as soon as today, as the Yankees will set their major league roster and start the final tricke-down process that will set the minor league rosters. Kevin Reese and Kevin Thompson were optioned to Triple-A after last night's spring training game in Dunedin, so Justin Christian should be back in Thunder camp today, ready to go north with the Thunder. It will be interesting to see who fills the other spots. Here is where I see the openings, entering today:
Infield: Third base, second base, and the two reserve spots. I've talked about Gabe Lopez and Kevin Howard, but both have been in Triple-A camp all week. Another name I've heard is Aaron Baldiris, a former Mets prospect.
Catcher: Backup catcher.
Outfield: Right field and the reserve spot. Matt Carson will likely get one of those, but I hope the Yankees send someone better for the starting position.
Bullpen: Three middle relief spots and closer. As I reported in Wednesday's paper, the Yankees plan to use Kevin Whelan in multiple-inning stints, like J.B. Cox and T.J. Beam were mostly used last year. That means they need a closer. Gerardo Casadiego has been in Thunder camp for several days, which leads me to believe he's a candidate for a Thunder bullpen spot.
My main in today's paper was on West Windsor native and Peddie grad Fernando Perez, who is the 15th-ranked prospect in the Devil Rays farm system. He's ticketed for Double-A Montgomery in the Southern League this season. Very nice, and extremely bright kid.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Some major league action
After filing my pieces for tomorrow's paper, I went to the major league game at Legend's Field. I got to say hello to a few Thunder alums that I covered who have since made their way to the show. Jeff Karstens said his elbow is doing better. He'll play catch tomorrow, and Joe Torre said that he could still go north with the team, instead of starting on the disabled list.
Karstens' replacement, Darrell Rasner, got shelled by the Astros - nine hits and seven earned runs in only 4 2/3 innings. Ron Villone, whom Torre ran into the ground last year (the same way he did Tanyon Sturtze and Steve Karsay in the past), fared no better, retiring none of the three batters he faced before being lifted for Sean Henn, who gave up another hit before mercifully ending the inning.
Torre said he would be open to only taking one lefty reliever (Mike Myers), though it seems hard to believe he would actually do that, since they have to face David Ortiz 19 times a year. Henn has performed better than Villone overall, but Henn has the option, and Torre tends to favor experience. If he does take Henn, Charlie Manning is pretty much assured of getting a spot in the Triple-A bullpen.
The other two major positions for the Yankees to resolve are backup catcher and the righty in the first base platoon (Josh Phelps or Andy Phillips). I expect Torre to go for experience again, meaning he'll take Todd Pratt, which means Will Nieves goes to Triple-A. That could mean the end of Omir Santos's run in the organization, as P.J. Pillitiere is ticketed to be the starting catcher for the Thunder and it's hard to see Santos being a backup here or a third-stringer in Triple-A.
Karstens' replacement, Darrell Rasner, got shelled by the Astros - nine hits and seven earned runs in only 4 2/3 innings. Ron Villone, whom Torre ran into the ground last year (the same way he did Tanyon Sturtze and Steve Karsay in the past), fared no better, retiring none of the three batters he faced before being lifted for Sean Henn, who gave up another hit before mercifully ending the inning.
Torre said he would be open to only taking one lefty reliever (Mike Myers), though it seems hard to believe he would actually do that, since they have to face David Ortiz 19 times a year. Henn has performed better than Villone overall, but Henn has the option, and Torre tends to favor experience. If he does take Henn, Charlie Manning is pretty much assured of getting a spot in the Triple-A bullpen.
The other two major positions for the Yankees to resolve are backup catcher and the righty in the first base platoon (Josh Phelps or Andy Phillips). I expect Torre to go for experience again, meaning he'll take Todd Pratt, which means Will Nieves goes to Triple-A. That could mean the end of Omir Santos's run in the organization, as P.J. Pillitiere is ticketed to be the starting catcher for the Thunder and it's hard to see Santos being a backup here or a third-stringer in Triple-A.
Cox undergoes elbow surgery
This bit of news doesn't really affect the Thunder, since he wasn't expected to be ready to start the season anyway with Triple-A Scranton. But according to one report, reliever J.B. Cox underwent surgery this week to repair a ligament in his right elbow. Note that it was repaired, not replaced, as in Tommy John surgery. He could return this season, but likely not until at least the latter part of the summer.
As I wrote in my notebook in Tuesday's paper, Cox first experienced elbow problems when he returned from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Cuba last September. The Thunder had planned to reactivate him for Game 3 of the Northern Division Championship Series at Portland, but he complained of a stiff elbow and didn't pitch at all.
As I wrote in my notebook in Tuesday's paper, Cox first experienced elbow problems when he returned from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Cuba last September. The Thunder had planned to reactivate him for Game 3 of the Northern Division Championship Series at Portland, but he complained of a stiff elbow and didn't pitch at all.
A change in plans?
Steve Swindal may no longer be the heir to the Yankees.
Owner George Steinbrenner's daughter Jennifer filed divorce papers Tuesday in Hillsborough County (Fla.) Circuit Court Family Law Department, Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein said in a statement today.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2816598
This means Swindal, who was arrested for DUI in St. Petersburg on Feb. 15, could be out of the picture to run the Yankees. According to the Journal News, Steinbrenner's other two sons have not exhibited much interest in the past in owning the team. So once he dies, the possibility exists that his family could sell the team.
Owner George Steinbrenner's daughter Jennifer filed divorce papers Tuesday in Hillsborough County (Fla.) Circuit Court Family Law Department, Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein said in a statement today.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2816598
This means Swindal, who was arrested for DUI in St. Petersburg on Feb. 15, could be out of the picture to run the Yankees. According to the Journal News, Steinbrenner's other two sons have not exhibited much interest in the past in owning the team. So once he dies, the possibility exists that his family could sell the team.
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