The good news is that the Red Sox lost last night to Detroit (which is bad and good, since Detroit could also be one of our big competitors for the AL Wild Card if we can't catch the Sox), so we could make up some position today with the double-header.
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Clemens had a great workout session yesterday at the Yankees minor league complex, but the biggest plus was that Phil Hughes, Jeff Karstens, and other minor leaguers were watching. I realize that Clemens is here for the money, but if he can get some of these guys started on the way to success, then I'm all for it.
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Sean Henn was optioned down to the minors because he still has option years left on his contract, which means he can move freely between MLB and AAA without fear of waivers. This is why someone like Vizcaino hasn't been sent down - he'd have to clear waivers, and likely wouldn't. Henn has done a decent job, its a shame he got rocked the other day.
Yet, we're giving Losscaino infinite chances to blow it?
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Guess who's tearing up AAA? Yeah. Andy Phillips. (sigh) I hate it when you have players too good for AAA, but not good enough for the MLB. It's tragic.
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So Villone is back in town. Hooray. Any fresh arm is a plus at this point. I'm just glad to see they didn't simply release him.
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Well, get ready for round 3 of AAA call-ups. With this double-header, its going to make moody Mike Mussina either pitch on short rest (which we know he'll throw a temper tantrum like a 8-year-old girl about) or, more likely, Tyler Clippard (Yes!), Steven Jackson (Woot!), or Chase Wright (Ugh!) will be called up to pitch against the Mets in the Subway Series.
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From the LoHud Yankees Blog:
Quote:
Meanwhile, the White Sox treat their fans incredibly poorly. The teams and media were told at 9:50 that the game was postponed. The announcement wasn’t made to the crowd for another 25 minutes.
They were showing the Bulls-Pistons game on the scoreboard, which the people were happily watching. When the announcement was made, they turned the scoreboard off and the crowd started booing.
Boy, that sucks. I'm more of a Cubs fan anyway (if I had to deviate from my pinstriped bloodline), but c'mon, that's shitty.
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ESPN is going to have Clemens Single-A start for Tampa on-air. Great.
Now watch how much people bitch because of this. Nobody said boo when they did this for his last comeback, but now that he's a Yankee, we'll hear everyone on ESPN talk about why this guy shouldn't be a such a big deal...
Admittedly though, I could give two fucks about his minor league start. I might watch it on YouTube, but oh well. If it shuts up Tony Korheiser for a little bit, I'm all for it.
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Papa Joe has redesigned the batting order to try and get some results. Setting the pace for the AL, Jeter is back at #2, while A-Rod's quiescent bat is at #3. Hot hot hot Jorge now cleans up, and Matsui should ride in right afterwards. Hoorah. Bobby Abreu hits 7th.
The back end of our order is now going to be devoid of any offensive ability - Abreu, Mientkeiwicz, and Melky.
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The Yankees have made some more "big" minor-league signings, hot on the Pete Walker coattails. Eric Junge, formerly of the Phillies affiliate Bridgeport Bluefish (this is where Klydon needs to tell us about this kid), has appeared in 2 games this season for Bridgeport will immediately report to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees. While in Bridgeport, Junge posted a 1.29 ERA in 5.1 innings of work, striking out 5 while walking only 1. Junge has appeared in 10 games on the major league level posting a 2-0 record with a 2.21 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 20 1/3 IP for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002-2003.
The problem? He's already a journeyman minor league, spending time with the Padres, Dodgers, Phillies, and the Mets.
Next comes the signing of Tim Lavigne (not Avril's brother! ), who allegedly has "chaotic" stuff according to a Mets blog I'm reading. He's a bit old for a prospect (28), but has a nice splitter.
