Results tagged ‘ Staten Island Yankees ’
Down on the Yankee Farm
Desperate times call for desperate measures. And right now, it’s really no secret the Yankees are turning to desperate measures. As reported yesterday, the Yankees signed Bartolo Colon to a deal worth $900,000 plus incentives. According to Buster Olney, Colon pitched for Tony Pena’s team this winter, which may have played into the Yankees’ decision to sign him.
This signing caused a little bit of an uproar from Yankee fans and analysts. One source said, “Bartolo? Maybe he can be Alex Rodriguez’s personal batting practice pitcher. 22-for-51 lifetime with eight home runs.”
Colon is 14-21 with a 5.18 ERA since 2005. His signing puts him in line with Mark Prior, another starting pitcher the Yanks acquired with a history of injuries. The Yanks inked Prior to a minor league deal this off-season and to my best estimate would be a bullpen pitcher, if he is healthy and makes the team.
On the edition of Yankees Hot Stove I watched tonight, the starting rotation and lineup for 2011 were both projected. As far as the rotation goes, the YES Network has CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, and Sergio Mitre penciled in as the five starters.
Nova in 2010 was 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA. He allowed 21 earned runs in 42 innings, which doesn’t seem bad. He also hasn’t really had the opportunity to showcase his stuff, but for some reason he doesn’t excite me. Nova will get the chance next year to show what he’s got.
I just hope that he doesn’t become another Ian Kennedy or Darrell Rasner.
Mitre was 0-3 in 2010 with an ERA of 3.33 in 27 appearances. Since becoming a Yankee, Mitre has only three wins under his belt and hasn’t been very effective, to say the least. The only start of note Mitre made was in August of 2009 against the White Sox when he took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Eventually he ended the outing with 6 1/3 scoreless innings recorded with one hit allowed.
Aside from that outing, Mitre hasn’t done much to benefit the team.
The Yankees have now made several moves in terms of signing free agents. But judging by tonight’s Yankee hot stove report, they will be turning to the Minor Leagues this year. It seems as though they have a few youngsters who will be looking to make the team and from their own words, the Bronx is where they want to be come March 31 when the Yanks open up at home against Detroit.
Since we already know the so-called “Baby Bombers” might get a taste of the show this year, I have singled out five top Yankee prospects that we could see in the Bronx this season–and others we will surely see in the near future. Some of them may have to wait a few more years; others may get the call to the show in ’11.
Nonetheless, we’ll undoubtedly see each of them in Spring Training at the end of next month.
5) Cito Culver
He is a player I do not expect to see in the Bronx in 2011. However, we could be looking at the heir apparent to Derek Jeter’s shortstop throne.
I saw Cito Culver play this summer. The Hudson Valley Renegades, the Minor League affiliate of the Rays (and a team I interned for this past summer), played the Staten Island Yankees a few times, as both teams are in the McNamara Division of the New York Penn League. With that I was able to watch him play, but the only game he played in: 0-for-2 with a walk.
Not much to look at there.
Culver, who will be 19 this August, has played in 56 games since getting drafted in June of last season–51 with the Gulf Coast Yankees and 15 with the Staten Island Yankees. So far in his young career he has a .251 batting average and has only hit two home runs with 18 RBIs. He has shown ability to hit the ball in the gap, as he has legged out eight doubles and a triple over that span.
He is very young and is a work in progress. But by the time Jeter’s contract expires in 2014, Culver might be developed enough to succeed him. Culver will still be in his early 20s while Jeter will be in his early 40s.
If I were the Yankees I would start getting him ready now. If they play Culver wisely, he produces, and he doesn’t he injured, he can potentially be the next long-term Yankee shortstop. From the scouting reports I have read, he has great bat speed for a kid his age and can play above average on defense.
4) Manuel Banuelos
The majors in 2011? Maybe. Maybe not. Right now, I am thinking not.
Left-handed pitcher Manuel Banuelos is going to be 20 years old on March 13 and has risen through the ranks of the Yankees’ Minor League system. He has been down on the Yankees’ farm since 2008 and had his best season in 2009.
For the Tampa Yankees and Charleston River Dogs in ’09, Banuelos compiled a 9-5 record with a 2.64 ERA, making 19 starts and 26 appearances. In three Minor League seasons, he is 13-10 with an ERA of 2.59 which includes 37 starts and 215 2/3 innings.
An upside about Banuelos: he seems to be a strikeout machine while not allowing as many free passes. In the 215 2/3 innings he has logged in the minors, he has sat down 228 batters on strikes–only issuing 66 career walks.
228:66 strikeout-to-walk ratio: not bad.
Banuelos has only been up to the Double-A level, pitching three games in Trenton last year. He will have to prove himself worthy again with a tough 2010 (0-4 overall with a 2.51 ERA coming off his solid ’09 campaign) but expect good things from him in the future.
If he has a great bounce back year, he may be a September call-up. A scouting report said he features a smooth, easy delivery and he demonstrates the ability to repeat it. They say he throws a devastating 12-6 curve ball. His fastball has been clocked at 94 on the speed gun and shows tailing action on right-handed batters.
The same report compared him to Johan Santana.
3) Dellin Betances
The Show in ’11? Yes. I can see him there.
I think what benefits the 6’8, 245-lb. right-handed starting pitcher is his age. Dellin Betances will be 23 by the time the 2011 season begins, unlike most of his comrades who are still in their late teens. Betances has been in the Yanks’ system since 2006 and has put together a career Minor League record of 20-14.
He has registered 349 strikeouts over that span, but has walked 135 batters. He has given up less than a run per inning, as he has thrown 299 2/3 innings for his career and has given up 134 runs.
One of his downsides is the fact that he has had reconstructive surgery, which was apparently a ligament reinforcement procedure. His surgery may have been what has stopped him from making it all the way to the majors this early in his career.
Scouting reports indicate Betances exhibits a fastball, a curve ball, and a changeup. His fastball has been gunned at 96-97 and he has the ability to pound the strike zone with it. From what they say, he starts most hitters off with his fastball and eventually finishes them off with it, using it as an out pitch.
His curve ball is said to stay down in the zone and he does not overuse it. The changeup is about 82-85 mph and if he can obtain better command of it, it will become faster over time.
Betances has the ability to be an ace. Look out for him. With the lack of starting pitching this year, he may finally get his chance to show Yankee Universe what he has got. I think it will all depend on how he performs this spring.
2) Austin Romine
Not only will he probably make a big league appearance this year, he has the possibility to make the team out of Spring Training.
Austin Romine, 22, was the Yankees’ second-best prospect in 2010 according to Baseball America. Drafted in 2007, Romine has been a solid catcher down on the Bomber farm. In 2007 he played one game for the Gulf Coast Yankees and had one hit, a walk, and two runs scored in that game.
From there on out, he has had at least 10 home runs in every season he has played and through four Minor League seasons, he has batted in 191 runs. He has played as high as Double-A Trenton and his overall batting average is .281. He also won the 2009 Florida State League Player of the Year Award and participated in the 2010 Futures Game.
Scouting reports say he is a well-rounded catcher, but his defense is a hair above his offense. They say his arm strength is very good and it will probably get better as he develops. What’s more, he is a gap hitter with 84 career doubles and four career triples.
“Expect those extra base hits to turn into home runs as he fills in his 6’1, 195-lb. frame,” one report suggested.
Romine said he hopes it comes down to the wire in Spring Training in terms of making the team. He would like to do battle for the final roster spot with…
1) Jesus Montero
The Yankees’ number one top prospect and the fifth best prospect in all of baseball.
The cream of the crop. The sure thing? Perhaps.
Catcher Jesus Montero, 21, has already been declared ready for the majors by Yankee Hitting Coach Kevin Long. However, his defense is what has kept him down. His height (6’4) is what apparently makes him not a viable catcher. Some have even suggested that he switch positions, moving to first base or a corner outfield position.
While that remains to be seen, he has demonstrated stellar offensive numbers. In 380 career Minor League games he has recorded 449 hits with 58 homers and 251 RBIs. Last season in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he averaged .289 with 21 home runs (a career-high) and 75 RBIs.
Montero obviously has it right on offense. A source called him the Yanks’ best hitting prospect since Jeter–that’s something that cannot be taken too lightly.
One scouting report said he is expected to eventually average .300 with 30 homers a year.
The Yankees have signed Russell Martin this off-season, which gives them the chance to continue to mold Montero on defense. I suppose they can try him out at different positions during the spring if his defense at the catcher spot is a major concern and will keep him down.
Either way, expect big things from him. And soon.
A Nice Baby BoSox Player
The world might be ending. I never thought I would say nice things about a potential Boston player.
I am just about finished with my summer internship with the Hudson Valley Renegades these past two nights have been eventful, in terms of speaking with more players. I wrote the other night about the Staten Island Yankee who interestingly enough hates the big Yankees and how he wanted to go home.
To close out the season the Renegades are playing the Lowell Spinners, a farm team of the Boston Red Sox, in a three game series. In game one on Friday night, the Spinners beat the ‘Gades 11-3.
At one point in the game, the Renegades pitcher came set to deliver to one of the Spinners. Right before he was about to throw the pitch, the batter called time and stepped out of the box. Our man on the mound said, “Are you going to get in the box and hit or stand there and watch it all night?”
That didn’t go over very well.
After that exchange there was a little bit of a standoff between both sides. The Renegades stayed in their dugout (albeit their defensive players were on the field, obviously) but the Spinners looked ready to pounce. They all came out of their dugout and stared down the Renegades before order was restored.
However, one player toward the end of the dugout looked at me. I was working in the third base pit, standing less than five feet away from him. He smiled at me and some of the other interns who were working. One of my friends smiled back and jokingly said, “You guys need backup?”
He couldn’t help but laugh.
I wound up talking with him for the better part of the night. His name is Garrett Rau, an up-and-coming reliever. Honestly, he was a nice guy. He was asking me where the best local bars were, because he was contemplating a night out after the game. I told him about a bar down the street from the Stadium and gave him the drink prices.
“$3.50 for a bottle of Bud Lite,” I told him.
He nodded, as if to say, “Not bad.”
I saw Rau again tonight, as I was back in the third base pit for tonight’s game. The Renegades won 6-2.
“Did you go out last night?” I asked.
“No, I was just too tired to go out, so I nixed the idea,” he replied.
“I hear you,” I said, sympathizing with the exhausted feeling after last night’s game.
We chatted for a little while longer about the silly games that take place on the field in between innings. The Renegades have a different theme every night and tonight was (no joke) “Child Please Night.” We honored the end of summer and the start of the NFL season with different football style games on the field.
One contest was the touchdown celebration game. We picked contestants out of the crowd and gave them a football. They had to do their best touchdown celebration and the winner was decided by loudest ovation from the crowd.
None of the celebrations were all that original.
Rau looked at me said, “That was lame.”
I agreed.
“They should have come up with something cool, like Terrell Owens falling asleep on the ball,” I said.
Rau agreed. He then said that we at least change up the games every night. According to him, the interns at the Spinners’ ballpark in Massachusetts conduct the same contests every night and the players get tired of them.
It’s good to know we are at least providing everyone with new material on a nightly basis.
The ‘Gades and Spinners will play the rubber game tomorrow night to finish off their 2010 New York Penn League seasons. Rau was a little annoyed about the start time of tomorrow’s game. Before the game ended tonight, he asked me what time tomorrow’s game started.
“Seven, I think,” I answered.
“Great,” he sarcastically remarked. “It’s our last game of the season and we’re going to be starting later than usual.”
Normally Sunday games begin at 5:00 but since it’s the last game of the year, it starts later.
Perhaps I’ll see him again tomorrow, but driving home I got to thinking: is it bad that I was conversing and almost cultivating a friendship with a baby Red Sox player? After all, I am one of the most die-hard Yankee fans there is, so is it wrong for me to be talking to this guy?
I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s not his fault he was drafted by Boston. It’s just like the Staten Island Yankee who hates the Yankees–he is not playing for the team by choice, he is only playing for them because they drafted him.
Maybe one day Rau will make the majors. If he does happen to go all the way and he becomes a member of the Red Sox, I will not like him so much.
But for now, I’ll say that he’s not a bad guy.
A Baby Yankee Hates the Big Yankees
This isn’t going to be a long entry, to begin. This particular exchange happened tonight, I found it amusing, and I figured I would write a small blog about it–just to let everyone know what happened.
Tonight I was working at Dutchess Stadium, home of the Hudson Valley Renegades. I blogged earlier in the summer about the internship opportunity they afforded me.
The ‘Gades were hosting the Staten Island Yankees , the short season Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, in a doubleheader.
At one point in the night I went with my buddy Dan Burckhard (A.K.A. “Crash”… it’s his nickname. Long story) to open up a gate behind the opposing bullpen for an on-the-field activity in between innings.
We wound up getting a chance to speak with some of the relief pitchers on the Staten Island Yankees. One of them looked right at me and then asked me a strange question.
“Do you have a gun? I’d like to shoot myself now.”
“No,” I responded. “I’m guessing you want to go home?”
He laughed and said, “Yes. We’ve been here for way too long.”
No argument from me. I wanted to leave, too.
He continued, “Can you get me a beer?”
I laughed and said, “If I could I definitely would. And I would have a drink with you, since technically you are a Yankee and I am a huge Yankee fan.”
Here’s when it happened.
“I F-(expletive) HATE the Yankees,” he said.
“But…you play for them,” I responded.
“Yeah, but not by choice,” he said.
Wow. I laughed pretty hard when he said that. A player on a team of baby Yankees hates the adult Yankees. I just found it rather ironic and it was quite interesting to me.
It made for good conversation, at least.
When I got home I looked him up. His name is Michael Recchia from Crestwood, Illinois. Maybe he’s a White Sox fan? Or maybe he likes losing. He could be a Cubs fan.
And if you were wondering, the Renegades beat the Yanks 2-1 in the first game and crushed them 15-1 in game two of the twin bill.
Hudson Valley Renegades: Fun Team is Fun
It’s about 1:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. I got home from work about an hour and a half ago–well, my internship anyway. This summer I am a part of the Hudson Valley Renegades’ “Fun Team.” I have just completed my first week, and I can say that it is a well-rounded internship with a lot of work involved.
For starters, the Renegades are a Single-A, short season farm team affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays in the New York Penn League. A number of current and former Major League Baseball players have come from the Renegades, including Evan Longoria, Scott Podsednik, Wade Davis, and Josh Hamilton, among others.
So yes, we have produced some big-name big leaguers.
As for my internship: I really do like it, but there are some things that could be better. As a member of the “Fun Team” I feel as though I am an important person in making things happen. One of our main jobs is to entertain the fans in between innings with silly, ridiculous games which take place on the field. You may think it is easy just watching from the stands, but it’s actually pretty difficult.
Every game has to end within 90 seconds–that’s pretty much all the time we have before the half-inning begins. It’s hard to get everything on and off the field so quickly. Difficult yes, but I can’t say it’s not fun. It’s pretty cool to be on the field as the players are warming up!
Along with being on the field, I have had to help out with the tickets and even walk the mascots around, almost as their bodyguard. When it rained on Tuesday night when the Staten Island Yankees were in town (yes they’re a Yankee farm team!) I had to help pull the tarp over the infield with the grounds crew.
I can tell you (now from experience) that yes it is fun, but it’s pretty hard! There’s a reason so many people are needed to pull the tarp, because that job requires a lot of strength. It’s pretty much “all hands on deck” when it comes to rain delays at our ballpark.
I also love hearing about the different backgrounds of the players. For example, the Renegades have a young infielder by the name of Burt Reynolds (no, he is not the actor, but his name is spelled the same!) As it turns out, Reynolds is Robinson Cano’s second cousin, and they have worked out together in the off-season.
In fact, Reynolds wears the number 24, just like Cano.
I’d like to ask Reynolds if he wears 24 because of his cousin; in fact, I’d like to do a whole interview with him! But I don’t think I’m allowed to. The Renegades’ manager, Jared Sandberg (a member of the Devil Rays from 2001-03) does not want his players “fraternizing with any staff members.” So in other words, I can’t talk to the players.
Well, I at least can’t hold long conversations with them.
Today Geno Glynn, one of their backup infielders, said hi to me and one of the other interns while we were on the field before the National Anthem. I politely said hi back, nodded my head, and smiled. I wanted to say more and maybe start a little conversation with him about baseball, but I obviously didn’t want to get him or myself in trouble, so I didn’t.
Sandberg actually told his players that if they talk to the staff they will get fined. I think that’s kind of pushing it and honestly a little ridiculous. I don’t see the harm in talking to staff members, so the rule (to me) is stupid. Yet I don’t want them to get in trouble, so unless they speak to me, I won’t speak to them.
The last thing I want to do is to cause them any problems with their manager.
It’s been pretty exciting to this point and a number of neat things have happened. Consider Wednesday night when the Brooklyn Cyclones (a farm team affiliated with the New York Mets) were in town. My fellow Mercy College alumnus Mookie Wilson was at our game–signing autographs. He isn’t part of the Cyclones team, so I could have talked to him.
I wanted to talk to him, but unfortunately I was so busy with work that I wasn’t able to. It would have been nice to ask him how he liked Mercy; if he enjoyed the school as much as I did. He also got his degree from Mercy 10 years after he won the World Series with the Mets in 1986, so I would have asked him why he went back to school.
Again, it could have made a great interview.
Speaking of the Cyclones, they have a player named Corey Vaughn. He is the son of Greg Vaughn (who played for the San Diego Padres) and the nephew of Mo Vaughn (who played for the Mets, Angels, and Red Sox as a journeyman). It’s pretty interesting that some of these youngsters have such a good baseball lineage. Again, it all goes back to the background of each player.
Tonight the Renegades beat the Cyclones 4-3, capping a three-run, ninth-inning comeback. The Stadium went wild for the walk-off victory. According to my boss and everyone else within the organization, not only was tonight the largest crowd in the team’s history, but it was their first walk-off win in three years.
Talk about a good night for the ‘Gades on and off the field.
It has been a week into this job. I have gotten to know a lot of new people and I have made some new friends. I am having a good time with the internship and I think it fits me perfectly, because I am such a “baseball buff,” if you will.
I can only hope the best is yet to come with this internship. I’d like to have more adventures over the summer and who knows…maybe when it’s all over they will offer me a full-time position. Many of the other interns are still in college. I just graduated from college, so I might have a good shot to stay on board after the season ends in the beginning of September.
Again, I can only hope. Until then, I’ll just be working as hard as I can.
Go Renegades! (If you’re wondering they are 4-3 this year, good for second place in their division–we haven’t lost a game at home yet, either. Maybe I’m their good luck charm…?)
A.J. Martelli
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