Robertson Had Back Spasms

From Bryan Hoch:

Dave Robertson went for a MRI today, showed no structural damage. Unavailable w back spasms.

And that's why Chad Gaudin came in for the 7th.

Moseley To Join Yanks On Friday

Mark Feinsand is reporting that the Yankees will add Moseley to the roster after tomorrow afternoon's game and he will be available on Friday. He also said that Chad Gaudin will likely be designated for assignment. He's been utterly useless, so the move makes sense.

Moseley Could Be Bronx Bound

From Tim Bontemps:

After being scratched from his start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night, Dustin Moseley could be on his way to The Bronx.

The 28-year-old right-hander, who is 4-4 with a 4.21 ERA in 12 starts, was a late healthy scratch from his start against Rochester in favor of Kei Igawa. Because Moseley has an opt-out clause in his contract if he isn't on the major league roster by Thursday, there's a good chance he will be promoted in the next 48 hours.

As of last night, though, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said no decision had been made.

If he does get called up, and the Yankees decided to go with the extra pitcher, they could send Colin Curtis or Chad Huffman back to Scranton. The other option is going with an 11-man rotation, and either sending Chad Gaudin packing or optioning Boone Logan back down to Scranton. They could say goodbye to Chan Ho Park, but I think it's more likely that Gaudin or Logan are moved.

Should Girardi have gone to Mo?

As soon as Chad Gaudin came marching out of the pen for the 14th inning today I knew the game was over, and I'm sure many of you felt the same way. Sure enough, Gaudin walked the first batter he faced on four pitches and two batters later the game was over with Mariano waiting for a save situation that never came.

I was on Twitter at the end of the game and many people, including beat writers, bloggers, and fans, began the debate well before Gaudin threw his first pitch. Should Girardi have called on Mariano Rivera, the greatest relief pitcher of all time, instead of the struggling Gaudin?

Conventional baseball wisdom tells you that you never use your closer in extra innings on the road unless it's a save situation, and managers generally stick to that rule. It makes sense most of the time, but in certain situations like today, when you're down to the final two guys in the pen, one is the greatest ever, and the other is Chad Guadin, I think you've got to go with Mo, and hope to at least extend the inning and give your offense another chance to score.

There are valid arguments on the other side.

Since Mo couldn't go two innings, what happens if the Yankees score a run in the 15th? Who closes?

What if they don't score in the 15th?

Neither of these situations are ideal, and Gaudin is just as likely to mess up and blow the game, but at least you gave yourself three more outs and a chance to put something on the board. Remember, the Jays were running low on relievers too, so the Yankees could have gone up in the 15th and put 3 or 4 on the board, making Gaudin's 15th much easier to deal with.

There are a lot of factors involved, and I'm not sure there is really a right answer here, but what do you think: Did Girardi make the right move today?

Welcome back, Chad

According to Mark Feinsand, a source says the Yankees agreed to terms to re-sign Chad Gaudin on Wednesday and will add him to their bullpen as a long reliever for tonight's regularly scheduled game against the Twins. Here's a little more from Feinsand:

Gaudin's arrival may mean that the Yankees received bad news on Alfredo Aceves, who suffered a setback with his injured back on Tuesday and could be headed for surgery to repair a herniated disk.

I like the move. It won't save their season or anything like that, but the added depth can't hurt.

Yankees Release Chad Gaudin

According to Bryan Hoch, Chad Gaudin has been unconditionally released by the Yankees.

"I'm disappointed," Gaudin said. "I enjoyed every minute with these guys. Unfortunately, our roads are going different ways."

He was 2-0, with a 3.43 ERA for the Yankees in '09. In 42 innings he allowed 16 ER on 41 hits, walked 20 and struck out 34.

Gaudin, 27, will be owed only $737,500 of his $2.9 million salary for this season, and is free to sign anywhere. He'll sign somewhere, and probably pretty quickly too.

Gaudin Placed on Waivers

According to this Tweet from Ed Price (Hat-tip to my friend RL) Chad Gaudin was placed on waivers.

Yankees have put RHP Gaudin on waivers. Once he clears, Yanks can send to AAA & pay entire $2.95M or release & pay 1/4 of total.

I wouldn't be surprised if he clears waivers, gets sent down and Yankees either keep him for insurance or trade him in the near future. Looks like we are officially down to four candidates for that fifth starter spot. Don't forget though Gaudin can refuse the AAA assignment and become a FA.

Could Hoffmann still be in the Yanks plans?

From Mark Feinsand:

Hoffmann heads back to the Dodgers for now, but don't be surprised to see him back in the Yankees organization at some point. There have been plenty of whispers in recent weeks about the Yankees sending either Chad Gaudin or Sergio Mitre to Los Angeles for Hoffmann, who the Yankees could then send to Triple-A. As a Rule 5 pick, Hoffmann had to stay on the 25-man roster or be returned to the Dodgers.

I'm sure the Yankees would have loved to keep Hoffmann and start him in Triple-A, but thanks to the Rule-5 rules that wasn't possible. Trading for him would open up that possibility, and since we've already heard that Gaudin or Mitre will almost certainly be traded before the season this would make sense.

Sherman: Yanks "Almost Certain" to Trade Gaudin or Mitre

Joel Sherman of the New York Post says in his morning column that the Yanks are "almost certain" to trade Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin before the season begins. Here is the full quote:

The Diamondbacks are concerned about the depth of their rotation, especially with former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb continuing to work back from labrum surgery and not ready to start the season. They are concerned enough that one NL executive told me that the D’backs are shopping for a starting pitcher. We provide this information because the Yankees are almost certain to trade either Chad Gaudin or Sergio Mitre before the season begins.

It makes sense. If you read the bullpen breakdown post earlier you can see that both Gaudin and Mitre seem to be on the outskirts. The D'backs have a need and have made deals with the Yankees in the past. If one of them is traded I bet it will be Gaudin, maybe he has less upside, but he has been healthy and has pitched as a reliever and a starter. Plus, Girardi likes Mitre, he proved it late last season continuing to start him down the stretch while defending his 6.79 ERA.

Yanks Sign Gaudin and Logan

It was announced yesterday via this press release from the Yankees that they have signed both Boone Logan and Chad Gaudin to one-year deals. Gaudin got $2.95 million while Logan received $590,000.

Gaudin and Logan File For Arbitration

Chad Jennings reported yesterday that Chad Gaudin and Boone Logan have both filed for arbitration. Like he mentions, both players can still negotiate a deal with the Yanks prior to the arbitration hearings, which take place in February. He also explains how the process will go on from now:

The players and Yankees will submit salary figures on Tuesday, and if the cases make it all the way to a hearing, an arbitrator will choose one number or the other. But contracts are quite often negotiated before an actual arbitration hearing.

One way or another this isn't a big deal for the Yanks. They'll likely end up with both at reasonable prices.

Yanks Will Now Try To Trade Gaudin or Mitre

From Joel Sherman:

With Vazquez, Yankees will try to save some $$ by trading Gaudin or Mitre to team seeking backend help before spring training ends

I doubt they'll get much for either, but they don't really need them so why not.

Arbitration Decisions Coming For Yanks

Chien-Ming Wang, Melky Cabrera, Brian Bruney, Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre are all eligible for arbitration. The Yankees have to make any offer by December 12th.

Melky will get an offer, I'd like to see the same thing happen with Bruney and Gaudin. It makes sense to bring them both back. I wouldn't expect Wang or Mitre to get an offer. Mark Feinsand points out that "The consensus seems to be that the Yankees will non-tender Wang, then try to re-sign him to a smaller deal with some incentives." He doesn't think this will happen because he thinks other teams will make Wang a better offer, which is certainly possible.

For the full list of all 210 eligible players click here.

Rosenthal: Starting Gaudin Isn't A Bad Idea

Ken Rosenthal had another interesting article this morning, this time about whether CC Sabathia or Chad Gaudin should start game 4. If the Yankees lose game 3 he says that CC starts, end of story. I agree.

But if the Yankees win game 3 he argues that starting Gaudin wouldn't be a bad idea. He mentions that "since 1999, teams using a starter on three days' rest against a fully rested counterpart in the postseason are 8-27". Although he did also point out that Sabathia proved to be an exception to that in Game 4 of the ALCS.

Another point he brings up is that if they were to start CC in game 4 that would mean that both A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte would have to pitch on short rest in games 5 and 6, meaning that the Yankees would go with a starter on short rest for five straight games.

If Gaudin started, it would be in Game 4, enabling Girardi to start Sabathia, Burnett and Pettitte on normal rest in the final three games. Sabathia then would be available in relief for Game 7, the way Lee will be for the Phillies.

Not so awful, is it?

My biggest problem with this is losing CC for game 7, which would become a much bigger worry if the Yanks were to lose game 4 and then have to face Cliff Lee in game 5.

If the Yankees win tonight, having a pitching matchup of CC vs. Joe Blanton strongly favors the Yanks and puts them in a great spot to go up 3-1 on Sunday. Cliff Lee could throw a perfect game in game 5 and it wouldn't matter because the Yanks would still have two shots at home to close it out. With that said, the time you'd want to throw a guy like Guadin would be against Blanton, so I'll give Rosenthal that.

As far as the short rest thing goes, this is the World Series; these guys should be able to pitch with one less day of rest. CC and Burnett have each had success in their careers on short rest, and while I do worry a little about Pettitte on short rest, he'd probably be fine. Once again, this is the World Series.

If it were up to me I'd probably do my best to avoid starting Gaudin. What about you?

Some Decisions Made, Some Not

According to Bryan Hoch, Joe Girardi confirmed today that Johnny Damon will start game three in left, so no Matsui in the field. Didn't think that would happen anyway. Though as Hoch said "Girardi made it sound a lot like he is considering telling Matsui to dust off his glove as a potential defensive replacement on a double-switch or in an emergency." Girardi also had this quote:

"I'm going to look at some things today, watch a little bit, see how he moves around and see if we think that it's physically possible for him to do it," Girardi said. "It's something that we have to look at, and if we can't do it, we'll use him in a role to pinch hit when we feel that he can be most valuable to us. It might be a situation where you might think about a double switch at high time, but you don't want to lose his bat. As productive as he's been for us this year, you don't want to lose his bat."

You also don't want to give up a double on what should be a routine out, especially late in a game. It's not an easy decision for Girardi to make.

One thing that's still up in the air is games three's right fielder. That will either be Nick Swisher, Jerry Hairston, or Eric Hinske. The favorite would seem to be Swisher.

Joe Girardi also has not yet decided who will start game four, but he did tell the large lefty to prepare as if he was going to start. The Yankees could also go with Chad Gaudin.

Also in the pitching department, A.J. Burnett apparently loves the idea of pitching on short-rest in game five. And why not? In his career Burnett is 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA in four starts on three-days rest.

Gaudin and Game 4

Since coming over from San Diego, Chad Gaudin has been a mini blessing of some kind when it came to a back end of the rotation guy. Sergio Mitre didn’t fit the bill and we all know about C.M. Wang’s injury problems this season.

In 11 games with the Yankees, 6 of which were starts, Chad posted some decent numbers, and he was 2-0 with a 3.43ERA. Chad also struck out 34 guys, gave up 41 hits and allowed 21 walks in his 42 innings of duty. All in all, the guy did well and made a strong impression.

When the post-season started there was the thought that Chad would be handed the ball in a Game 4 if the Yanks desperately needed one. Then there was the announcement of a 3-man rotation and Chad was thrown back out in the bullpen.

However over the recent days his name is popping back up as a possible candidate if the team loses off-days because of a storm that is moving through NY. That storm happens to coincide with the opening of the ALCS. The off-days lost are the off-days that allow CC to make 3 starts in this series, Games 1, 4 and 7.

I love what Chad has done and would love to see him have a chance, but his career line is ugly against the Angels. The Angels are batting .301 against Gaudin, and have a team OPS of .966. As a team the Angels have lit Gaudin up, mashing 12 homers off him as well as 7 doubles and if my math is correct 19 base hits. The only regular in the line-up without decent numbers is Torii Hunter. Everyone else though, Guerrero, Figgins, Izturis, Napoli and Morales have completely dominated him.

Who should be handed the ball? At 1st I thought, well Joba Chamberlain should get the shot, but the Angels have bounced him around more then they did Gaudin. Alright I exaggerated a bit there, the BAA Joba is high, but homer, rbi and hit totals are less . Then I landed on Al Aceves. I know the history is limited but he has the best numbers out of the 3. Given the Vulture that Aceves is I think he could handle the task in the post season.

What are your thoughts and opinions?

Why It May Not Matter If CC Or Gaudin Go In Game 4

I know I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but I'd like to bring up the fact that all this controversy over using a 3-man rotation and weather to start Chad Gaudin or CC Sabathia in Game 4 may not mean anything come the day of Game 4. Here's why:

First of all, the Yankees are playing the first two games at Yankee Stadium, and they have CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett going up against Jon Lackey and Joe Saunders. Both of those matchups seem in the Yanks favor, and if the Yanks could at least win 1 game in the Bronx and possibly Game 3 in Anaheim, they would have a 2 games to one lead, and to me, I think the Yankees could afford starting Chad Gaudin in Game 4, even though it looks like CC will start Game 4.

I think this because remember, whoever starts Game 4, they'll be going up against Scott Kazmir, who has not had a very good season. He started Game 3 of the ALDS (thank you Name) at Fenway Park and allowed 5 runs in 6 innings of work, and obviously did not get off to a good start in the playoffs.

Also, some of you may not realize, Chad Gaudin is a good pitcher. Yeah, he's not nearly as good as CC or A.J., or Andy Pettitte, but he actually held the Angels to just 2 runs in 4.2 innings a couple of weeks ago when the Yankees clinched a playoff berth. And actually, that was at Angel Stadium. Plus, the Yankees offense is amazing, and I don't think they would have a hard time getting to Kazmir early and often.

I know some of you may strongly disagree, and this may not make any sense to you, but this is just my opinion. And if CC starts Game 4 and dominates, I'll have no complaints.

Thoughts?

Yanks Three-Man Rotation Is Out Of Fear?

This from Bob Klapisch of Fox Sports:

" The upcoming ALCS figures to be an old-fashioned war between two teams that clearly respect each other. But the Yankees are already bracing for this sobering reality: unlike the Twins, the Angels don't fear them.

"To be honest, I think they look down on us," said general manager Brian Cashman. "They've had their way with us for some time, and now we have something to prove to them. It's not the other way around.

"I think the Angels feared the Red Sox, but they don't fear us. I think they're happy they're playing us."

That sentiment, shared throughout the Yankees hierarchy, is one reason the Bombers are poised to use CC Sabathia three times in this series, in Games 1, 4 and 7. It's a remarkable concession to the threat posed by the Angels; a $204 million team can't find a fourth starter it trusts with the season on the line."

You can read the full post here.

I don't think the Yankees fear the Angels, I think they respect them, being as they're a good ball club. How can the Angels possibly look down on the team with the most wins and the most powerful offense in the majors? I really think the rotation is mainly out of the fact that CC Sabathia is better than Chad Gaudin. If they were facing anyone else, I think it would still be the same way. What do you guys think?

Damon Works On His Hitting

After hitting an embarrassing .083 (1-for-12) in the ALDS, Johnny Damon was at Yankee Stadium today and hit in a simulated game. Along with Damon, Eric Hinske, Jerry Hairston Jr., Brett Gardner, and Francisco Cervelli also took part in the simulated game.

Five pitchers threw in a simulated game in an effort to stay sharp during the break between the first round and ALCS. Chad Gaudin threw 50 pitches, Alfredo Aceves threw 30, David Robertson threw 20, Phil Coke threw 20 and Damaso Marte threw 15.

Nick Swisher was also in the Bronx today for his normal batting practice session. And CC Sabathia threw his normal bullpen session.

Girardi Considering Three-Man Rotation

From Erik Boland:

“We’ve talked about importance of winning Game 3 [against the Twins] so we could set up our rotation the way we want to,” Girardi said. “Not getting him [Sabathia] to 250 innings in the regular season allows us to consider that [pitching him three games].”

He said the topic has been broached with Sabathia, but not in depth.

“We’ve talked a little bit about what we might do,” Girardi said. “But we’ve told him to concentrate on Game 1, that’s the most important game, and we’ll go from there."

Here's some quotes on the topic, via Mark Hale:

"I think it's something you go into the series with a plan in mind," Girardi said. "Obviously weather can always change a lot of different things, depending on how we are this weekend, Friday and Saturday.

"So that could change things. But we are definitely considering possibly going to a three-man rotation in this round. But we will have to take a look at it and see how it goes."

Good, this is how they should set things up. The fact that he's publicly stating that he's considering it is basically like saying, "yea, we're going with a three-man rotation." With a three-man staff, not only do you avoid having to start a pitcher like Chad Gaudin, but now if a pitcher does get bombed the Yanks have two long men in the pen so they can use either Gaudin or Alfredo Aceves for as long as they need.