Game 132: Yankees vs. Athletics

Regular Season Game 132
Yankees vs. Athletics
Yankee Stadium - Bronx, NY
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES | Radio: WCBS | XM: 176

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES (81-50)
Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada C
Marcus Thames DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Ramiro Pena 3B

Pitching: RHP Phil Hughes (2010: 15-6, 4.12 | Career vs. OAK: 1-0, 0.77)

ATHLETICS (65-65)
Coco Crisp CF
Daric Barton 1B
Kurt Suzuki C
Jack Cust DH
Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Mark Ellis 2B
Jeff Larish LF
Rajai Davis RF
Cliff Pennington SS

Pitching: RHP Vin Mazzaro (2010: 6-6, 3.61 | Career vs. NYY: 0-1, 6.75)

News & Notes

- Andy Pettitte will throw another bullpen session tomorrow.

- As of right now there are no plans to put Javier Vazquez back in the rotation.

- The Yankees have won 6 of 7 against the A's this year.

- AL EAST STANDINGS:

YANKEES	--
RAYS	--
RED SOX	7.0 GB

- Click on the team name for the Yankees or Athletics 2010 batting stats.

- Come sign up for the forums. And like always, the chat room in the forums is open.

Stick around and discuss the game

as it happens in the comments section.

A-Rod Set For Sunday Return, Berkman Back Tomorrow

From Brian Costello:

Alex Rodriguez worked in the batting cage before last night's game between the Yankees and A's, his first step back to returning from a left calf injury.

Rodriguez is eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday against the Blue Jays, and both manager Joe Girardi and hitting coach Kevin Long expect him to be ready to play that day, barring a setback.

"He's good to go," Long said.

...

Lance Berkman (right ankle sprain) played his first rehab game for Double-A Trenton, going 2-for-5 with a run scored. He's expected to play for Trenton again tonight, then come off the DL and be activated tomorrow, when rosters expand.

Good news all around. Now they just gotta get Pettitte and Aceves back and they'll be at full force for the stretch run.

Tonight's Lineup vs. Oakland

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada C
Marcus Thames DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Ramiro Pena 3B

Pitching: RHP Phil Hughes

(hat-tip to Ben Shpigel)

Melky Mesa Wins FSL Player of the Year

From MiLB.com:

The Tampa Yankees have the best record in the Florida State League, and their center fielder, Melky Mesa, has been rewarded for personal and team success with the FSL Postseason Player of the Year Award, which was announced Tuesday.

...

Mesa has been slugging for the Yankees all season and sits second in the FSL in home runs (19) and slugging percentage (.475) and third in RBIs (74). The 23-year-old is not all brawn either, as he is fifth in the league with 31 stolen bases and third in triples with nine. Mesa's play has the Yankees on the cusp of clinching the FSL North's second-half title and the postseason berth that goes with it.

Also in the minors, Jesus Montero (C), Eduardo Nunez (SS) and Jonathan Albaladejo (RP) were named to the International League Post-Season All-Star team.

The Yankees farm system just gets better and better. Jim Callis said last week that the Yankees system should be in the top 10, and considering they were 22 at the start of the year, that's quite a leap.

Better Know a Prospect: Ivan Nova

Ivan Manuel Nova
Born: 12 January 1987 in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Height/Weight: 6'4"/210 pounds
Signed: 2004, amateur free agent

2010 Statistics
Scranton W-B (AAA) - 12-3, 145.0 IP, 135 H, 48 BB, 115 K, 2.86 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 3.52 FIP
New York Yankees (MLB) - 1-0, 14.0 IP, 15 H, 2 BB, 11 K, 1.93 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 2.56 FIP

Ivan Nova's first two Major League starts were quite good, to say the very least. In addition to limiting runs, the righty has demonstrated impeccable command and control, kept the ball on the ground (51.2% worm-burners), and maintained a solid strikeout rate. Further, his fastball velocity has sat comfortably around 94 MPH during both starts (topping out around 97 according to Brooks Baseball) - most scouting reports, including Baseball America's Prospect Handbook, had him topping out around 94. In fact, his Major League numbers on the whole are better than anything he did in the minors. While the small sample size caveat is obvious here, Nova's performance thus far does beg the question ... what sort of expectations should we have going forward?

Nova's stuff has never really been questioned. While the velocity was a bit lower in the minors, his fastball was always regarded as a plus-pitch with good movement, and he features a solid-average curveball and change-up. A perusal of Nova's minor league numbers does belie his good stuff - prior to 2010, he had never been this dominant over a full season. Nova certainly is young enough that he may very well be establishing a new plateau (and before our very eyes) - but how do we explain his mediocrity from 2007 through 2009?

The two primary concerns regarding Nova are his command and his delivery. A glance at his walk numbers may not reveal his struggles with location - but I'd suggest that his strikeout numbers do just that. A pitcher with his stuff should be garnering more strikeouts than Nova had prior to this year, put simply. Many scouts believe that Nova's command of his off-speed stuff is mediocre (at best), leading to an over-reliance on his fastball and a contact approach ... making his groundball rates all the more important. That seems to have improved with the Yankees, but how he sustains that command remains to be seem. In terms of his delivery, I'm far from an expert - so I'll leave it to RAB:

The biggest knock against Nova is his delivery, which I explained last winter in his prospect profile. It’s too smooth and effortless. There’s very little deception and hitters haven’t had too much trouble picking the ball up against him, hence the inflated hit totals earlier in this career.

In my mind, Nova profiles as a third or fourth starter in the mold of Javier Vazquez (particularly in his White Sox days) - 200 IP, solid walk and strikeout rates, league average-ish ERA. His stuff could lead to a fantastic season or two, or perhaps even a sustained stretch of dominance (if I'm donning my rose-colored glasses). In short, a useful pitcher with the potential for a bit more.

8/30 Minor League Report - Heathcott Hits 2-Run Walk-Off For Charleston

================

(Triple-A) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (82-53) lost to Lehigh Valley (54-83) 8-7: Box - Recap

Batting:
Kevin Russo SS: 1-for-5, R
Greg Golson RF: 2-for-4, 2B, HR (10), RBI (40), BB, 2 R
Jesus Montero DH: 0-for-5, RBI (66) --- now batting .284/.353/.498
Jorge Vazquez 1B: 1-for-2, RBI (57), 3 BB, 2 R
Chad Huffman LF: 1-for-2, HR (9), 3 RBI (43), 3 BB, R
Reid Gorecki CF: 1-for-4
Brandon Laird 3B: 1-for-5, 2 K's --- avg. at .215 with SWB
Robby Hammock 2B: 0-for-4, BB
Chad Moeller C: 1-for-3, BB, R

Pitching:
Alfredo Aceves: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (7.36 ERA)
Amaury Sanit: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K (8.51 ERA)
David Phelps: 5 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (3.32 ERA)
Royce Ring (BS, 2)(L, 2-1): 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, WP (1.99 ERA)
Zack Segovia: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (4.40 ERA)

Pitches-strikes: Aceves, A 33-21, Sanit 18-9, Phelps 98-66, Ring 16-9, Segovia 10-5.
Groundouts-flyouts: Aceves, A 2-1, Sanit 1-1, Phelps 5-5, Ring 2-0, Segovia 0-0.

(Double-A) Trenton (79-56) beat Akron (69-66) 4-3 in 10 innings: Box - Recap

Batting:
Justin Christian LF: 1-for-4, HR (6), RBI (48), BB, R
Austin Krum CF: 0-for-4, BB
Lance Berkman DH: 2-for-5, R
Daniel Brewer RF: 2-for-5, R, SB (26)
Marcos Vechionacci 1B: 0-for-4, RBI (48)
Corban Joseph 2B: 2-for-4, BB --- walk-off RBI single in 10th
Rene Rivera C: 2-for-4, HR (3), 2 RBI (8), BB, R
Luis Nunez SS: 1-for-3, BB
Matthew Cusick 3B: 0-for-3, BB

Pitching:
Adam Warren: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (2.88 ERA)
Wilkins Arias (H, 18): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (3.34 ERA)
George Kontos (H, 8): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (3.38 ERA)
Ryan Pope (BS, 3)(W, 4-6): 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 WP (4.19 ERA)

Groundouts-flyouts: Warren 5-5, Arias 0-1, Kontos 2-1, Pope 1-0.

(High-A) Tampa (Overall: 75-54; Second Half: 39-22) had an off-day.

(Low-A) Charleston (Overall: 62-70; Second Half: 31-32) beat Greenville (Overall: 79-53; Second Half: 37-25) 3-1 in 12 innings: Box - Recap

Batting:
Slade Heathcott CF: 1-for-6, HR (2), 2 RBI (26), R --- walk-off two-run homer
Ramon Flores 1-for-5 RF: 1-for-5
JR Murphy C: 0-for-4, BB
Robert Lyerly 3B: 1-for-4, BB
Luke Murton 1B: 1-for-5, R
Neil Medchill LF: 1-for-5
Taylor Grote DH: 2-for-4, HR (1), RBI (6), BB, R
Kevin Mahoney 2B: 1-for-4, R, HBP
Kelvin Castro SS: 0-for-5

Pitching:
Brett Marshall: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, WP (2.50 ERA)
Benjamin Watkins: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (4.33 ERA)
Jario Heredia: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (3.68 ERA)
Ryan Flannery (W, 7-6): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (2.26 ERA)

Groundouts-flyouts: Marshall 10-3, Watkins, B 3-0, Heredia 0-1, Flannery 3-1.

(Single-A Short-Season) Staten Island (30-35) lost to Lowell (23-45) 6-3: Box - Recap

Batting:
Shane Brown LF: 2-for-5, RBI (22)
Cito Culver DH: 0-for-4
Rob Segedin 3B: 0-for-4, R
Kyle Roller 1B: 2-for-3, BB
Gary Sanchez C: 1-for-4
Kelvin De Leon RF: 1-for-4
Casey Stevenson 2B: 1-for-4, 2B, R
Jose Mojica SS: 1-for-4, R
Kelvin Duran CF: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI (3)

Pitching:
Dustin Hobbs (L, 0-1): 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (7.20 ERA)
Daniel Burawa: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (1.50 ERA)
William Oliver: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (7.71 ERA)

Groundouts-flyouts: Hobbs 5-4, Burawa 2-0, Oliver 2-0.

(Rookie) GCL Yankees (24-32) season is over, they finished last in the GCL.

The Lineup & Series Pitching Matchups

Here are tonight's Yankees lineup and the pitching matchups for the series both via Chad Jennings:

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada C
Marcus Thames DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Ramiro Pena 3B

Pitching: RHP Dustin Moseley

Series Matchups

Game 1: Tonight @ 7:05 PM | TV: YES | Radio: WCBS
RHP Dustin Moseley (4-2, 4.53) vs. RHP Trevor Cahill (14-5, 2.43)

Game 2: Tomorrow @ 7:05 PM | TV: YES | Radio: WCBS
RHP Phil Hughes (15-6, 4.12) vs. RHP Vin Mazzaro (6-6, 3.61)

Game 3: Wednesday @ 7:05 PM | TV: YES/ESPN | Radio: WCBS
RHP A.J. Burnett (9-12, 5.17) vs. LHP Brett Anderson (3-5, 3.32)

Game 4: Thursday @ 1:05 PM | TV: YES | Radio: WCBS
LHP CC Sabathia (18-5, 3.14) vs. LHP Dallas Braden (9-9, 3.28)

Manny Headed To Chicago

In case you missed it yesterday, Manny Ramirez is headed to the Chicago White Sox. Here's more from ESPN:

Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez is headed to the Chicago White Sox on Monday in what is looking like a straight waiver claim, a league source with knowledge of the situation said Sunday on condition of anonymity.

The source said there was still some chance the two clubs will work out a trade that presumably would involve one from a list of a handful of prospects going from the White Sox to the Dodgers, a development that probably would mean the Dodgers would pay some percentage of the $3.825 million remaining on Ramirez's two-year, $45 million contract, depending on the quality of the prospect.

Another league source, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Dodgers' preference at this point is to simply allow Ramirez to go to the White Sox as a waiver claim, in which case the White Sox would be responsible for the entire $3.825 million. The Dodgers have had that option available to them ever since the White Sox secured waiver rights to Ramirez on Friday.

The White Sox have until 1:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday to complete a trade with the Dodgers.

In the past, Manny was the type of hitter who could bring a team back from 4.5 games in a month on his own, but I'm not sure he's still THAT good. But at .311/.405/.510 on the season, he's obviously still a dangerous hitter and his addition to the White Sox should make the race in the central very interesting.

105 MPH?!?!?!!?

According to Ed Price, Aroldis Chapman hit 105 MPH this weekend in a relief appearance for the Triple-A Louisville Bats.

Yes, 105 MPH.

... And he was sitting at 103.

Here are a couple tweets from Price:

Aroldis Chapman tonight hit 105 mph and "sat at" 103, with a 90-91 slider. Scout: "best fastball I have ever witnessed"

... scout there had 105. So did scoreboard.

Buster Olney and Peter Gammons reported the same:

Olney:

Aroldis Chapman just days away from being called up -- and tonight he was clocked at 105 mph while striking out 3 in 9th in Class AAA.

Gammons:

One of best scouts texted from Louisville that Chapman was 98-105 w/ 91 MPH slider and "best velo I've ever seen" Friday night. Hi, Cinci

If that's true it's amazing. It's also worth mentioning that he did strike out all three batters he faced in the inning. And, apparently this is nothing new:

"I will say that's the first time we've seen 105 on the (radar) gun," [Louisville manager Rick] Sweet said. "But we've had scouts tell us that they've gotten 105. So, yes, what you're seeing out of Chapman is what we've seen for the last two weeks."

It's also now being reported that the Reds are going to call him up today or tomorrow so that he's playoff eligible.

Nova Leads Yanks To Big 2-1 Win Over White Sox

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
N.Y. Yankees «	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	9	1
Chi. White Sox	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	2

W: I. Nova (1-0) L: G. Floyd (9-11)
S: M. Rivera (27)

The Yankees needed Ivan Nova to step up yesterday against the White Sox, and while that might have been too much to ask from a 23-year-old making just his second big league start, that's exactly what he did. Over 5.2 innings, Nova held Chicago to one run on five hits, walked one, and struck out seven to lead the Yankees to a hard fought 2-1 win.

With a mix of fastballs, change ups, and curves, Nova kept White Sox hitters guessing all day. The youngster seems to have the mound presence, confidence, and toughness of a seasoned vet, mix that with some pretty good stuff and there's a good reason Yankees fans are excited about the rookie. His fastball had the same surprising velocity as his first start, topping out at 97.1 MPH and averaging 94.2. His curveball was even better this time around, as he had much better command of it. In his first start against the Jays he threw 18 curves, but just 6 for strikes (33%), yesterday he threw 24, 13 for strikes (54%). And while two sources (MLB.com and Brooks Baseball) said he threw just one changeup, knowing he has it makes him that much tougher on hitters. Overall, it was just a great start and one the Yankees obviously needed. It was also Nova's first career big league win.

Gavin Floyd was also very good, but a few mistakes in the early innings cost him. Facing the red-hot Marcus Thames to start the 2nd, he left a 2-2 cutter up in the zone and Thames launched it into the seats in left for a home run, his 5th in five games.

An inning later, Francisco Cervelli began what would end up being a 4-for-4 day, with a lead off double. Brett Gardner followed with a single and the Yankees were up 2-0. It would be their last run of the game. They had base runners throughout the game and had their chances to score, but went 2-for-10 with RISP and left 9 men on base.

Chicago got a run back in the bottom of the 5th--Nova's only rocky inning of the game. With two out, Gordon Beckham doubled, Juan Pierre followed with singled, and the lead was cut in half.

Nova would leave the game after with two out and a runner on first in the sixth and was replaced by Boone Logan. Chicago would eventually load the bases with a single off Logan and a walk off his replacement, Kerry Wood, but Wood got Mark Teahen to ground out to first and escaped the jam.

Wood and Joba Chamberlain took care of the 7th and 8th, and Mo took care of the 9th to finish off the big win. Instead of coming back to the Bronx in 2nd place after a 2-4 trip, they went 3-3 and remain tied for first (Tampa beat Boston).

The open a four-game set with the Athletics tonight in the Bronx. Dustin Moseley will face Trevor Cahill in the opener. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. and the game will be on YES.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Brett Gardner, LF	4	0	1	1	1	2	3	.286
Derek Jeter, SS	4	0	0	0	1	1	2	.270
Nick Swisher, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	2	1	.294
Robinson Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.322
Marcus Thames, DH	3	1	1	1	1	0	2	.320
Curtis Granderson, CF	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.245
Austin Kearns, RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	.270
Eduardo Nunez, 3B	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	.296
Ramiro Pena, 3B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.220
Francisco Cervelli, C	4	1	4	0	0	0	0	.253
Totals	34	2	9	2	4	6
Batting
2B - Francisco Cervelli (8, Floyd)
HR - Marcus Thames (9, Floyd)
RBI - Brett Gardner (41), Marcus Thames (25)
SB - Brett Gardner (37, 2nd base off Jenks/Pierzynski)
CS - Francisco Cervelli (1, 2nd base by Floyd/Pierzynski)
RISP - 2-10 (Derek Jeter 0-2, Curtis Granderson 0-1, Marucs Thames 0-1, Brett Gardner 1-2, Austin Kearns 0-2, Nick Swisher 0-1, Robinson Cano 1-1) Team LOB - 9
Fielding
E - Eduardo Nunez (1, Misplayed grounder)

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Ivan Nova (W,1-0)	5.2	5	1	1	1	7	0	1.93
Boone Logan	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.59
Kerry Wood (H,3)	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	4.13
Joba Chamberlain (H,23)	1.1	1	0	0	0	1	0	4.89
Mariano Rivera (S,27)	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1.13
WP - Kerry Wood (4), Joba Chamberlain (3)
Pitches-Strikes - Ivan Nova 88-58, Boone Logan 3-2, Kerry Wood 31-17, Joba Chamberlain 22-16, Mariano Rivera 14-9
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Ivan Nova 6-4, Kerry Wood 2-1, Joba Chamberlain 2-1, Mariano Rivera 2-1
Batters Faced - Ivan Nova 23, Boone Logan 1, Kerry Wood 5, Joba Chamberlain 5, Mariano Rivera 4

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ivan Nova HONORABLE MENTION: Marcus Thames & Francisco Cervelli