My mini blog hiatus is over — thanks to Twitter. Finally with a second to breathe, as I was watching the Yankees demolish the Red Sox I thought of how young Yankees might contribute to the Yankees’ postseason run.
So I polled Twitter. In two unanimous sets of results, Jesus Montero WILL make the postseason roster and Ivan Nova WILL pitch Game 2 in the ALDS. See all of the responses below. To contribute in future polls, follow me on Twitter @lenNYsYankees.
Well football is back, which is bad news for baseball. With very few division races even close, baseball may have to take a backseat to football for the next month. The Yankees had an interesting week. They didn’t play particularly well and they suffered a few injuries that may have a long-term affect on their roster.
But after a week where the Yankees suffered some heartbreaking losses, you look at the standings and find that not only are the Yankees up by three and half games, but the Rays are dangerously close to being a real wild card threat. The Rays are only three games behind the Red Sox in the loss column and Yankee fans can only hope that a Red Sox team that has dominated the Yankees all year fails to reach the post season. Here are my takes.
Montero has exactly seven professional games under his belt and nearly has an RBI per game (six). He also has three home runs and is hitting .348 with a .423 on-base percentage.
A very solid week for the Yankees as they took two out of three up at Fenway and swept the Blue Jays at home. The Yankees saw some interesting pitching performances, too, including a start from A.J. Burnett that may have saved his spot in the rotation.
And finally, Jesus Montero received the call to the majors and the Yankees continued to stick with a six-man rotation. The Yankees have a one and a half game lead and have a very easy schedule coming up. Here are my takes on the week.
I’m shocked, but Joel Sherman has the news. Jesus Montero will make his debut tonight hitting seventh as a DH.
Against the Red Sox. In September.
Unreal. Tonight’s game just got a heck of a lot more entertaining. (As if it needed anymore attention.)
The Yankees were three outs away. Three outs away from winning two out of three at Fenway Park. Three outs away from an excellent road trip. Three outs away from ending all the talk that the Yankees can’t beat the Red Sox. It just wasn’t meant to be, as Mariano Rivera blew his fifth save of the season and the Yankees found themselves in second place once again.
While this was a heartbreaking loss, Yankee fans can’t lose sight of how good this Yankee team still is. The Yankees are in great position to make the playoffs and still have a chance of winning the division. With that said, here are my takes for the week.
The reason I’m so curious — other than pure excitement for seeing prospects of any sort get their first cracks at the big leagues — is that making Banuelos a late-season call-up, like the Yankees did with Joba Chamberlain in 2007 (four years ago, yesterday, actually), might turn out for the worst. History could repeat itself. That’s why I’m making this my poll topic for the week. Cast your vote!
Should the Yankees have second thoughts about calling up a star pitching prospect late in the season with Joba in the back of their minds?
This type of result tends to occur with prospect value. Some fans put an incredible value on potential, while others realize they are still just prospects. If that statement didn’t reveal my vote then I’ll be a little more blunt for you: Yes, the Yankees should absolutely include Montero in a trade for Jimenez.
After an anti climatic All-Star Game the Yankees got off to a rough start in Toronto. Before that, Robinson Cano brought the Home Run Derby crown back to New York after his teammate Derek Jeter was bashed for making the first mistake in career full of perfection. In the past couple of days, CC Sabathia showed why he should be the front-runner for the AL Cy Young award and Brett Gardner showed why he should replace Jeter in the leadoff spot.
The Yankees right now find themselves in an interesting spot. With the trade deadline looming it’s hard to find a legitimate trade target that makes sense for them. The signing of Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon have worked out well so far, but who knows if they can keep it up. While the bullpen has suffered injury after injury, they still remain one of the best in baseball. While the lineup has had its ups and downs the Yankees feature one of the best lineups in baseball and have very little room for an acquisition.
One trade target the stands out is Ubaldo Jimenez. While the name sounds good, Jimenez has struggled for almost a year now. The Rockies would want a huge package in return starting with at least Jesus Montero. With the trade deadline approaching here are my takes.
Hello Yankee fans. Last week I said the Yankees would want to be within a game of the Red Sox before Tuesday’s home opener (that I am attending!). It’s surprising the Yankees are up a game with a chance to get revenge on a surging Red Sox team. What a job the Yankees have done in the past five games beating some very good pitchers and almost beating Felix Hernadez before that. The Yankees pitching staff seems to be carrying their sporadic offense (who would have thought that at the beginning of the year?).
I don’t know about you guys, but I couldn’t be more excited about this Yankees-Red Sox series. After all the games the Yankees have lost to their rival this year, all of that can be erased in the next four days. It has a 2009 kind of feel to it. A Yankees sweep would put them up four games, which would be the biggest division lead in baseball this year.
Wow what a terrible week for the Yankees. After losing two out of three to Eric Hosmer the Royals, the Yankees just never showed up to play versus the Red Sox. The Yankees find themselves two games back in the division and have allowed the Red Sox the opportunity to pass them in the standings in the next few days. A combination of not hitting, poor pitching and terrible defense has left fans wondering what this group of former all-stars has left.
Almost everyone in the lineup besides Curtis Granderson is having a down year and Jorge Posada has the worst batting average in baseball. What was supposed to be a lockdown bullpen has looked average at best and Yankee fans can’t help but wonder if changes are coming soon. Here is my take on the week.
I hereby declare 2011 the year of the three B’s and two C’s. That motto refers to the Yankees’ top five prospects: three pitching prospects with last names beginning with ‘B’ and two catchers.
| Three B’s | Throws | Birthday | Two C’s | Bats | Birthday |
| Manny Banuelos | L | 3/13/91 | Jesus Montero | R | 11/29/89 |
| Dellin Betances | R | 3/23/88 | Gary Sanchez | R | 12/2/92 |
| Andrew Brackman | R | 12/4/85 |
Nine in the lineup, seven in the pen and five in the rotation leaves four spots for the bench. Three of which are made up of a backup catcher, infielder and outfielder, while the last spot is typically for a speedster or a slugger.
I love writing about the Yankees and interacting with you faithful readers in the comments and on Twitter, but yesterday I had a chance to talk about the Yankees on the air. Paul Bauer and Joe Castello of Yankee Roll Call — a Yankees radio talk show — gave me that chance. Here’s my segment:
On the show we discussed:
Hope you enjoyed it, but I’m always open to constructive criticism! Let me know what you thought of my latest radio appearance in the comments.
Thanks again, Paul and Joe, for giving me the opportunity. Hope to be on again soon!
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