Screw you Mauer!  We have the best. Offensively.

Interesting new baseball book: Fifty-Nine In ‘84. Review at the link.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/book-guide/2010/269836.html

I believe the best offensive catcher is clearly A.J. Pierzynski.

Speaking of catchers, Montero is up to .300/.364/.450. Not bad for a 20 year in his first 40 ABs in AAA.

CP —  Sample size.

Montero speaks English pretty well.

Also, notice the shiny dome of the interviewer. It is sparkling.

So that’s 300 passed balls and 364 stolen bases in 450 attempts, right?

Don’t forget 350 outs on the basepaths.

I know this is a complaint thread, but I am excited to see Jesus play. Is he on the major league team next year if he continues to hit well?

Montero with another HR today.

On the same topic, Adam Warren had a great outing for Tampa today - giving up one hit and no runs in six innings with five strikeouts.  Also, 22 year old Eduardo Nuñez is playing out of his mind at Scranton thus far, hitting .370.  Many prospect gurus don’t like him and his defense is supposedly a bit shoddy and he had a few poor years in the minors (although a good one at Trenton last year).

More minor league updates would be terrific.

[11] Know anything about his stuff? Last year he was sitting mid 90s with his fastball, something he hadn’t done in school. If he’s back to the low 90s high 80s he’s a fringy prospect/solid reliever most likely. But if he’s flashing the plus velocity again he could be a legit mid rotation possibility. He should be beating up on Tampa given his age and college experience.

[11] Also, 5-8 GO/AO ratio, but with 4 IF pops.

To me, Nuñez is the more intriguing prospect because the Yanks have so few position players (aside from their wealth of catchers) with any real upside in the system and most of those who do, i.e. guys like Slade Heathcott are years away from the big leagues.  Nuñez had a great year at Staten Island as an 18 year old and then had a few awful seasons at Charleston and Tampa.  Last year, however, he had a decent year for Trenton with a .318/.344/428 slash line as a 21 year old.  Obviously, one cannot draw many conclusions from a fast start given the sample size but his solid year in Trenton could possibly have been the beginning of something.  On the other hand, while he has a strong arm his defense is supposedly spotty and he doesn’t draw all that many walks.  He does have good speed though, with 4SB thus far this year.  All in all, he’s become an interesting guy to watch.

Nunez has walked more than he has struck out so far this year, so that’s got to be considered a positive. If he isn’t a Major League SS, could he cut it at 2nd or third or even center?

@12, some numbers for some notable guys:

AAA:

McAllister has been alright in AAA. 12/5 K/bb ratio, although with a .52 GO/AO, but he’s kept runs off the board so far.

Russo has been awful so far. A .521 OPS with 9 ks in 44 ABs.

AA:

Romine has also been terrible, with a .575 OPS, although he’s hit alright the past few games so he may be coming out of it. But it’s his first time in AA and it’s an extreme pitchers park, so I’m not too worried. But he has K’ed 7 times in 32 ABs.

David Adams has a .902 OPS, but he’s cooled off after a ridiculous start and he hasn’t walked much and struck out a bit.

Bleich and Mitchell both have pretty lousy peripherals, Bleich has an 8/5 K/BB ratio in 12.1 IP. Mitchell has a 2/5 K/BB ratio in 8.2 IP.

A:

Venditte has struck out 15 in 9 IP and walked two but somehow gave up three runs.

This guy Hector Noesi has struck out 18 and walked 1 in 17 IP. He supposedly has above average stuff but I hadn’t heard of him before this year.

Brackman has been awful (13.50 ERA) but he’s only walked one guy and K’ed 5.

[16] Addendum: Banuelos is out with an appendectomy and Brackman has been DL’ed with an unnamed injury (most likely a dead arm)

Noesi missed almost two years following TJ surgery, he pitched some last year I think. He’s supposed to have an around average fastball, better offspeed stuff and great control/command.

There was some silly article yesterday about how “New York does have other prospects!” in relation to Ike Davis’ much-hyped debut.

Because yes, everyone knew who Ike Davis was but did not know about Jesus Montero.

Gimme a break.

ugh, I just remembered that California isn’t on eastern standard time.

No Thames v. LH starter. Yay, Girardi:

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

RHP Javier Vazquez

[16] [17] and all the rest, thanks.

[19] I had to go to the mlb site to understand what you were talking about. Drat!

[19] I had to go to the mlb site to understand what you were talking about. Drat!

As if you guys weren’t going to switch over to Glee at 9:00 anyway…

[23] I never really understood the allure of Glee.

No Thames v. LH starter. Yay, Girardi:

Very cool!

I guess Gio Gonzalez is the new standard for what lefty Gardner is allowed to hit against.

= or < Gonzalez = Gardner starts

> Gonzalez = Thames starts

[25] Wouldn’t it make more sense to start Thames against the weak LHPs rather than the strong ones?  When you’re facing a CC or a Lester, it doesn’t really matter who is batting, right?  The chances of productive at-bats go down significantly (in my opinion) against that kind of quality pitcher.  In fact, I would say a Gardner-type bat would be better in that situation.  He can get on base without making much contact and then get into scoring position on his own.  That’s not even really considering the plus defense he will provide in LF.

Against a weaker LHP, however, I’d say Thames is much more likely to change the game with his bat. 

I’m very happy to see Gardner starting vs. a LHP, but I have a feeling it’s much more to do with the spacious OF in Oakland than it is the handedness of the starting pitcher.

[26] Then why bother starting Thames at all? Gardner has never shown much of a platoon split in his career.

Rangers with 6 SB 0 CS through three innings. Lead 2-1, wasting opportunities.

Okay, Vlad just stole second AND third against Wakefield/Martinez.  Stealing third came on a double steal, but isn’t that embarrassing?  I mean, really, really embarrassing?

I will basically do anything I can now to not work on my thesis.  It’s quite sad.

[29] Well, it is really hard to tag a ghost out.

[30] They’re simply too scared to tag him.

What number ace is this?

“I will basically do anything I can now to not work on my thesis.”

I taught myself French and Italian, and read both parts of _Don Quixote_, and I don’t even remember what else.

5-1 Rangers with 7 SB. In 1913 the Bosox had 9 SB against them.

In nearly all circumstances, I always root for Wakefield.

He’s just, in-dislike-able.

It was 8 SB, but I guess they took back one for a wild pitch. 4th inning. What is the AL record?

Yankees had 13 SB in 1911, Branch Rickey was the catcher.

6 BB, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 7 SB, 4 IP.  Wow.  How have they only scored 5 runs?

Also, 5 hits and one of them a double.

Player A could steal home on Wake/Vmart.

[23] I never really understood the allure of Glee.

Me neither.  But I damn well better not mess with the my wife’s Glee DVR recordings.

Number 9, number 9, number 9…....

6-2 Rangers.

Damn! Too many aces spoil the park.

The Rangers have had a few scorchers caught, that’s why it took them until now to reach 6 runs.

You guys should make sure to cast your All-Star ballot soon.  We’ve already had 7% of the season in the books, which is plenty of time.

Plenty of time for more SB!

9 steals??? How did these guys get on base that many times?

Wakefield just threw a curveball. I think that is a Poisson event.

How has this game not started yet? Are they playing in Honolulu??

[48] I’m a huge fan of Wakefield’s 78 mph “fastball”

[49] - Just imagine how those of us on the left coast feel when day games start at 10 am.

I don’t think Oakland is as nice as Honolulu.

It seems the power Rangers thrive in the Land of 1000 Aces.
sorry wilson

[51] Oh the horror! Of course, I was usually up between 5:30 and 7 every day.

When I was stationed in Pearl Harbor the NFL began at 0700.
Why go to bed? We partied like it was 1982 and took long naps after lunch.

[51] I would love a day game at 10 in the AM. Pour some coffee, crack a beer, get a croissant, eat some chips, read the paper, watch some baseball. You’ve just about convinced me to head west.

I’ve never thought about following sports from Hawaii. Glad I’m not moving there.

Mmmmmmmmmm! Beer and croissants.

[56] Similar to my schedule of get up at dawn, run, eat a large percentage of my body weight in food, beer + homework and then baseball.

[51] I’m probably weird, but I would prefer a 10am day game to a 12ish day game. I can’t decide if I prefer 4pm or 7pm.

I think the 4pm vs. 7 pm really depends on your work constraints.  As a grad student, it’s fine, because I wouldn’t be home to watch the game at 7 anyway, and I don’t have many restrictions during work.  Starting a real job in a couple months, and I think 7 pm starts will be much better for me.

[60] The problem with 7PM is that it interrupts prime dinner cooking time. I almost never eat before 7 so I’m usually cooking in the 7-8 range.

I can’t decide if I prefer 4pm or 7pm.

What are the parameters?

An egregious call by the umpire to give the Red Sox an extra run. Should have been a ground rule double.

What are the parameters?

Whether or not I have plans for the evening. 4pm is usually disrupted by work; 7pm by dinner and stuff.

I’ve never thought about following sports from Hawaii. Glad I’m not moving there.

My brother is currently deployed in Hawaii with the military.  He’s definitely *not* a fan of following East Coast sports while out there.  NFL usually isn’t too bad - even if he has to be alert by 8AM some Sundays - but following baseball and basketball the games are usually finishing up by the time he gets out of work, so he only sees/hears week-day games when his teams are playing on the West Coast.  Of course, since he’s a Mets and Knicks fan he’s probably better off *not* following the games live…