Charlie Furbush: 0.1 IP (7th inning), 1 H (double), 3 BB (1 IBB), 2 ER, 1 Inherited Runner Scored

I’m Curtis Granderson, and I am going to begin my season by starting it.

…and also going 0 for 3 with a walk.

With the plethora of 1-year deals and waiver pick-ups seen in the build-up to the season, many fans (including us) complained that the Yankees were once again headed down the path of choosing age/experience over homegrown prospects. And, if it weren’t for all these injuries those complaints may still be valid.

However, the Yankees’ lengthy disabled list collection has recently forced the club to harvest in bulk from the farm.

2013 Homegrown Call-Ups:

Adam Warren (made club out of spring training)
Vidal Nuno
Preston Claiborne
Austin Romine
Corban Joseph
Brett Marshall (yet to play and might not)

And that does not include others we may see this season like David Adams (reportedly coming up on Wednesday), Mark Montgomery, Ronnier Mustelier, and Zoilo Almonte.

We hope that some of these kids stick around when injuries heal and more farm products make the initial roster in 2014 (as opposed to more of these Ben Francisco/Brennan Boesch-type signings). But for now, we’re really enjoying this and stand by what we said Monday on Twitter:

There’s nothing like watching homegrown talent contribute at the big league level. So glad kids are getting their chances this season.

— NoMaas (@nomaas) May 13, 2013

Game 37: Phelps and bullpen are great, hitting is invisible (Cleveland 1, Yankees 0) – GAME 1 of 2
Game Notes:
- David Phelps gave the Yankees another strong outing, going 6.2 innings and allowing only 1 run on a homerun by Indians’ 2B Jason Kipnis in the bottom of the 1st.
- Control was a bit of an issue for Phelps, as he walked 5 and allowed 4 hits. This damage was minimized due in large part to Phelps’ continued ability to miss bats – he had 7 K this afternoon.
- Yankees’ called up Corban Joseph today and immediately started him at 1B, a position he’d played only a handful of times in his life.
- The Yankees also called up Alberto Gonzalez to play SS for both games of the double-header. No not the disgraced former U.S. Attorney General, but rather the light hitting INF who they once received back in a trade from Arizona for Randy Johnson…before trading him away shortly thereafter…and then re-signing him again last week after a 5 year separation.
- Maybe Justin Masterson (CG SHO, 4 H, 3 BB, 9 K) was dominant, but then again…maybe expectations should be tempered with a lineup featuring 5-9 hitters Boesch/Nelson/Joseph/Stewart/Gonzalez.
- Yankees’ farmhand pitching – Phelps 6.2 IP/Preston Claiborne 1.0 IP – gave the team 7.2 innings of 1 run baseball. Boone Logan was brought in to record one out.

YES Player of the Game: Justin Masterson (.736 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Justin Masterson (.736 WPA)

Game 38: The kids are just fine, thanks (Yankees 7, Cleveland 0) – GAME 2 of 2
Game Notes:
- Vidal Nuno made his first start of the season, exactly 2 weeks after his only other MLB appearance. He rewarded the team with 5 scoreless innings (3 BB, 3 H, 89 pitches, 54 strikes), earning his first big-league win. He’s now got 8 scoreless innings in the bigs. Looks like all he needed was a chance…but we could have told you that already.
- Adam Warren followed Nuno with 4 scoreless innings of his own, earning his first big-league save. Another kid, another chance, another we’ve been telling you so.
- Corban Joseph was 1-4 with a double, Alberto Gonzalez tacked on 2 hits, and Austin Romine picked up an RBI single which at the time may have been the biggest hit of the game. All kids being given a chance. We’ve been over this.
- Oh yeah, Vernon Wells also continued to pound the ball, going 2-4 with 1 BB and 2 RBI. His OPS on the season is now .904.

YES Player of the Game: Vidal Nuno (.301 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Vidal Nuno (.301 WPA)

The Yankees pitching staff went 17 innings, allowing only 1 run to score on the day – yet the team still split the doubleheader. The pitchers used were all kids – Phelps, Claiborne, Nuno, Warren and (one out from non-kid) Logan. Now that this Cleveland business is finally out of the way, the Yankees are 24-14 and will start a series on Tuesday in the Bronx, hosting the Seattle Mariners. The 3-game set kicks off tomorrow night with a marquee pitching matchup that has CC Sabathia oppose “King” Felix Hernandez for the first time ever. It looks as though the Yankees may have outfield help on the way for this series and moving forward.

Game 34: Ichiro hotter than two rats in a wool sock (NYY 11, KC 6)
Game Notes:
- The Royals celebrated Phil Hughes Regression Day, as the first 24,521 fans got to watch the soon-to-be free agent surrender 6 runs in 5.2 innings
- Ichiro Suzuki and Lyle Overbay combined to go 7-10 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and a stolen base
- Joe Girardi netted his 500th win as Yankees manager
- Royals fans are apparently STILL boo’ing Robinson Cano for not putting Billy Butler in last year’s Home Run Derby

YES Player of the Game: Lyle Overbay (.344 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Lyle Overbay, with special thanks to KC starter Wade Davis (-.448 WPA)

Game 35: Vernon, Andy continue to turn back the clock (NYY 3, KC 2)
Game Notes:
- Andy Pettitte got back on track, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 7 in 7 innings
- Vernon Wells jacked his 8th home run of the season
- Jayson Nix was the only Yankee to pick up a multi-hit game
- The Yankees improved to 7-1 in 1-run games
- Mariano Rivera “shhh’d” Joba Chamberlain after the game, and Joba was not pleased. This surely has the potential to shatter the clubhouse chemistry that has carried this team to the top of the American League East

YES Player of the Game: Andy Pettitte (.218 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Vernon Wells (.225 WPA)

Game 36: Yankees shhhhh Royals, sweep series (NYY 4, KC 2)
Game Notes:
- Hiroki Kuroda went 7.2 innings and gave up just 2 runs
- Robinson Cano and Vernon Wells went back-to-back in the third inning, giving Kuroda all the run support he would need
- Wells picked up 3 total hits and added a stolen base
- The 1 through 3 hitters went 6-12 while the 4 through 8 hitters went 1-35 with 7 strike outs
- Mariano Rivera picked up his 15th save of the season as the Yankees completed the sweep

YES Player of the Game: Vernon Wells (.204 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Hiroki Kuroda (.220 WPA)

After the sweep, the Yanks are in sole possession of first place in the AL East. The Bombers are 7-3 in their last 10 games. They now head to Cleveland for a double header on Monday before returning home to host Seattle.

The biggest news of the week was the conversion of Dellin Betances to a reliever. The once highly-rated prospect has been living a nightmare since 2012, and the Yankees decided to pull the plug on his starting pitcher aspirations. Betances is out of options at the end of the season, and if he doesn’t make the big club next year, he could be claimed on waivers by another team.

Headed into the 2012 season, Betances was ranked as baseball’s 63rd-best prospect by Baseball America. He is now another hyped Yankee starting pitching prospect that failed to live up to expectations. With his move to the bullpen, perhaps he can achieve some of the potential the front office envisioned. After all, most relievers are failed starters, including this guy.

Betances did make his first relief outing for Scranton on May 10th, which we highlight below.

– Covering May 6th through May 12th games –

Pitcher:
Shane Greene, 24, RHP, A+
8.1 IP, 12 K, 0 BB, 5 H, 1 HR, 1 ER
Notable: Career-high for strikeouts in a game

On May 8th, Shane Green whiffed twelve Fort Meyer Miracle hitters (Twins affiliate) in what was the best outing of his career. Drafted by the Yankees in the 15th round of the 2009 draft, the Florida native has a 2.82 ERA over 44.2 innings of work for High-A Tampa. He has a K/9 of 9.07. His FIP of 2.30 is 3rd-best in the Florida State League (his teammate Corey Black is first with a 2.13). He ranks 10th in ERA.

This is Shane’s second go-around at Tampa, having pitching 112 innings there last season. While he pitched better than his ERA suggested in 2012 (5.22 ERA vs. 3.93 FIP), he’s showing big-time improvement when it comes to walking hitters. He walked over 5 hitters per nine last season versus 1.21 per nine this year.

Hopefully, the second time continues to be a charm for Shane.

Hitter:
Robert Refsnyder, 22, RHB 2B, A+
.444/.500/.611 in 20 PA, 1 SB
Notable: 2nd MLPW of the season

This is Refsnyder’s second MLPW this season, with the first being our April 28th edition. The Yankees’ 2012 5th round draft pick just continues to hit the ball. Since he was promoted to High-A Tampa, he’s putting up even better numbers than he did in Charleston.

In 95 PAs, he’s hitting .392/.505/.544. He ranks 2nd in the Florida State League in OPS (1.049), 2nd in wRC+ (199), and 5th in BB% (16.2%). And in regards to that walk rate, he’s showing great discipline at the plate walking 16 times versus only 10 strikeouts.

This kid could end up being a gem.

Honorable Mentions:

Rafael De Paula, 22, RHP, A
6 IP, 12 K, 1 BB, 3 H, 0 HR, 1 ER
Leads the SAL in FIP (1.73) and Strikeout % (42.3%). Sick.

Alex Smith, 23, RHP, A
2 IP, 4 K, 0 BB, 1 H, 0 ER
18 K/2 BB in 19 IP, 0.95 ERA

Charlie Short, 24, RHP, A+
1 IP, 2 K, 0 BB, 1 H, 0 ER
First appearance at Tampa (promoted)

Brett Gerritse, 22, RHP, A
4.1 IP, 7 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 0 ER
Charleston long-reliever has 1.73 FIP in 22 IP

Danny Burawa, 24, RHP, AA
3 IP, 3 K, 1 BB, 1 H, 0 ER
9.90 K/9, but 4.50 BB/9 for Trenton reliever / 2.50 FIP in 20 IP

Dellin Betances, 25, RHP, AAA
2.1 IP, 3 K, 1 BB, 0 H, 0 ER
First appearance in the pen, fastball reportedly hit 97 and sat 94-96

Dietrich Enns, 22, LHP, A
2 IP, 3 K, 0 BB, 1 H, 0 ER
16.20 K/9 (30 K in 16.2 IP)

Jose Ramirez, 23, RHP, AA
10 IP, 14 K, 2 BB, 5 H, 2 HR, 3 ER
20 K / 3 BB in 15 IP since being eased into Trenton rotation

Jose Campos, 20, RHP, A
3.2 IP, 5 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 0 ER
Acquired in the Pineda-Montero trade, he’s being handled with care after missing most of last season (elbow)

Mikey O’Brien, 23, RHP, AA
6 IP, 5 K, 0 BB, 4 H, 0 ER
First start since being promoted to Trenton

Ben Gamel, 21, LHB OF, A+
.333/.400/.556 in 20 PA, 2 SB
.266/.345/.379 on the season, 2010 10th round draft pick

David Adams, 26, RHB 3B/2B/1B*, AAA
.294/.400/.588 in 20 PA
Reportedly will be called up to the bigs on May 15th (his birthday!), *getting work at 1B now too

Greg Bird, 20, RHB 1B, A
.278/.409/.444 in 22 PA
Second in the SAL in walks (28)

Jake Cave, 20, LHB CF, A
.353/.421/.529 in 19 PA
Hitting .292/.361/.422 over 72 PA, missed 2012 (knee)

Kyle Roller, 25, LHB 1B, AA
.348/.444/.652 in 27 PA
.306/.382/.507 in the season

Reymond Nunez, 22, RHB 1B, A
.455/.455/1.091 in 11 PA
2 HR on the week

Besides the incredible discovery that no person on earth other than Joba Chamberlain has ever had a word spat with a friend or colleague, there was something else about SHHHH-Gate that peaked our curiosity.

The Joba/Mariano “incident” took place well before Saturday’s game — a game that started at 7:10 Eastern. No member of the New York media reported the incident prior to game start and there were no reports immediately following the game. Then, at least 7-8 hours after SHHHH-Gate took place, the articles started coming through…all at once.

The following articles were released between 12:59 am and 1:42am on Saturday night/Sunday morning:

- Daily News: Joba Chamberlain disses Mariano Rivera after Yankees closer asks him to quiet down
- NY Times: Yankees’ Chamberlain Gives Rivera a Dugout Rebuke
- NY Post: Mariano, Joba exchange words in Yankees dugout

Is it just coincidence that three of New York’s major news outlets all released their reports on Joba/Mariano at the same time, in the wee hours of the morning, several hours after the incident took place?

Or do mainstream sports media outlets coordinate with each other before they release articles? Is this some type of protocol or unwritten good ol’ boys rule?

Serious question. It would be nice to think individual media members can act independently.

Hiroki: 7.2 IP, 2 ER / Cano: 2-4, 2-R HR


- Buy Yankees Tickets

Vernon Wells’ 2-run HR and Andy Pettitte’s 7 inning / 7 K effort put the Yankees into sole possession of first place in the AL East, with a 3-2 win over KC.

Having his best season since 2010

With the exciting news that 3B/2B David Adams is set to be called up from Triple-A Scranton on May 15th (after a bizarre journey), the Yankees will need to clear a spot on the 40-man and 25-man rosters. That means someone will be DFA’d. Reports indicate it could either be recently-acquired Chris Nelson or The Ben Francisco Treat.

Who will it be?

Is it possible? Will this actually happen?