Yanks announce extra spring training invitees

The Yankees announced today they extended 20 spring training invitations to players outside of the 40-man roster. For full descriptions of all the players, check out Trenton Thunder beat reporter Mike Ashmore’s blog.

Catchers
Kyle Higashioka
Jesus Montero
P.J. Pilittere
Mike Rivera
Austin Romine

Infielders
David Winfree

Outfielders
Colin Curtis
Reid Gorecki
Marcus Thames
Jon Weber

Pitchers
Wilkins Arias
Jeremy Bleich
Grant Duff
Jason Hirsh
Kei Igawa
Zach McAllister
Royce Ring
Amaury Sanit
Zack Segovia
Kevin Whelan

Yanks add Thames for outfield competition

The Yankees signed added Marcus Thames to a non-roster contract to compete with Brett Gardner, Randy Winn and Jamie Hoffmann for the final outfield spot, according to SI’s Jon Heyman.

This is not the first time Thames has been with the Yankees, as he was drafted by them in 1996 and homered on the first pitch he saw in the Majors against Randy Johnson.

Here are his career stats.

Poll Results: Fans expect big impact from Vazquez

My latest poll shows Yankees fans are forgiving Javier Vazquez for his wretched second half and postseason performance in 2004.

This might be explained by Vazquez revealing he was in fact injured in the second half at his press conference on Dec. 22.

“In the second half, my arm didn’t feel as good as it did in the first half, and it was really the first time in my career, and really the only time in my career, that I felt my arm wasn’t where it’s supposed to be. I started getting treatment a little later than I should have. I never said anything. I went out there every five days. I hated not being out there. That might have been my mistake, I never said anything.”

I believe him. He was an All-Star that year, and he returned to that form after leaving the Yankees, especially last season when he placed fourth in Cy Young voting.

I’m surprised Curtis Granderson didn’t receive a higher percentage of the votes. His bat is far superior to Melky Cabrera’s and has a chance to make a great impact on the team, even if he hits as low as ninth in the order.

Also, Nick Johnson should’ve gotten some more love too. After all, he is projected to hit second this year…

New poll: Where will Johnny Damon end up?

Bill Buckner Featured Card of the Week

Everyone’s favorite Red Sox player is this week’s featured card of the week. In the 1986 World Series against the Mets, Bill Buckner let Mookie Wilson’s chopper to first trickled under his glove and the Mets went on to take the World Series.

Buckner was the man every Red Sox fan blamed for continuing the “Curse of the Bambino.”

Until the Sox finally broke the “Curse” in 2004, Buckner was a name nobody in New England wanted to hear.

Yankees fans used the name to their advantage, and some some still do.

Do you think the Yankees will win the Super Bowl?

It’s amazing what the Internet can bring us sometimes.

…sometimes…

I agree with Frankie B.

Yankees at the Super Bowl?

Tonight’s the biggest night of sports on television. The Super Bowl is being held in Miami this year, and although the Yankees haven’t reported for Spring Training yet, I’m betting there will be some World Champions at the scene.

I know Derek Jeter has a new mansion in Tampa, but that’s four hours away from Miami.

Of course, I’ll be watching and posting about any glimpses of Yankees in the stands.

News updates:

• Yankees haven’t made any moves for the Major League roster since acquiring Randy Winn.
• Johnny Damon is still out there and Scott Boras is still trying to find a team for him.
• Pitchers and catchers are expected to report on Feb. 17, but we already know Joba Chamberlain will be arriving earlier.

115-year-old Babe Ruth vs. Albert Pujols

Today is Babe Ruth’s 115th birthday. All hail:

• The Sultan of Swat
• The Wali of Wallop
• The Rajah of Rap
• The Caliph of Clout
• The Wazir of Wham
• The Colossus of Clout
• Maharajah of Mash
• The King of Clout
• The Colossus of Crash
• The King of Swing
• The Terrible Titan
• The Kid of Crash
• The Jovial Giant
• The Great Bambino 

Credit WikiAnswers for all the nicknames. I only knew the ones in bold.

Anyway, I’m a stats guy — not a sabermetrician — but enough to spend time compiling a lot of numbers. I thought it would be interesting to stack up Albert Pujols’s year-by-year stats to Ruth’s. There are only a handful of players who can hit for average and power. These two might just be the best ever at the rare combination.

I compared home runs, runs batted in, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage between Ruth and Pujols. I started the stats with Ruth in 1920 because it was his first year as a Yankee and a full-time position player.

I also decided to keep in 1925 for Ruth even though he missed significant time. I figured he already has the edge over Pujols anyway. As shown by the numbers, it still doesn’t put Pujols, who’s hardly missed any time, ahead of Ruth.

If you’re just interested in the totals, just from 1920-28 and 2001-09, here’s a quick data table:

Babe Ruth	Stat	Albert Pujols
421	HR	366
1181	RBI	1112
.356	BA	.334
.494	OBP	.427
.745	SLG	.628

And here are the graphs… (click to enlarge)

The iron men

The Yankees have a very durable group of guys leading their rotation. In fact, I just looked through every other team’s rotation, and I couldn’t find one more stable.

This idea popped into my head after reading a couple other bloggers post about how the Yankees should be expecting injuries to this year’s rotation. Obviously you have to expect some bumps and bruises, but I’m certainly not expecting any of the “big four” to be missing a month or more. Here’s a quick rundown:

CC Sabathia: In nine seasons, he’s made over 30 starts in all but one season, and has started 103 games in the last three seasons. I don’t think anybody has pitched more innings in the past three years than the big lefty (724).

A.J. Burnett: OK, so he’s the only guy I have some doubts about. Then again, he’s been completely arm-trouble free for the past two years (67 starts, 428.1 IP). His history of injuries before 2008 is something to take not of, but it doesn’t lead me to believe his name will appear on the disabled list this year.

Andy Pettitte: In 11 full seasons with the Yankees, he’s started less than 30 games just once. His rookie year he started at the end of April and made 26 starts. More recently, he’s gone five straight years with over 32 starts. Pettitte turns 38 in June, but are you really worried about his health?

Javier Vazquez: Ten straight years of at least 30 starts and 198 innings. Need I say more?

So for those who think Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes will be full-time starters by year’s end, think again.

What $103,579 can buy…

So many other things besides Alex Rodriguez’s 500th home run ball. The article from the Daily News lists a few other notable home run balls sold.

• Barry Bonds – 756 - $752,467
• Mark McGwire – 70 - $3 million
• Roger Maris – 61 – $5,000

I collect some memorabilia, but I’m not going to spend over $500 on anything. Maybe after I become rich and famous I will.

Freddy Guzman steals home

Remember Freddy Guzman? The outfielder was added to the Yankees roster in October as an extra speedster off the bench. He made the postseason roster, but the situation to steal never arose.

Well, yesterday Guzman stole home for the Dominican Republic Leones del Escogido. And no, the Yankees cannot re-sign him. Why? Because the Phillies already did — to a Minor League contract.