Haren Throws CG Shutout, Yanks Drop 4th Straight

(Getty Images/Yahoo!)

Just this sight alone, though a somewhat happy one, represented that things were not going right for the Yankees tonight. Russell Martin left the game with an injury in the 3rd inning, and in to replace him at catcher went 40-year old Jorge Posada. Though he did a serviceable job, the Yankees bats did not, and the Bombers dropped their 4th straight game 6-0.

CC Sabathia had another very high pitch count, but another nice outing as well, throwing 6 innings of 1 run ball. CC managed to escape a few jams, and normally would have done enough to get a win. But not tonight. In fact he was tagged with the loss.

For the Halos, Dan Haren threw a complete-game 4-hit shutout, as the Yankees simply couldn't get anything started against him. Yes, Weaver has been great, but don't overlook Dan Haren. If the Angels make the playoffs, that 1-2 punch can seriously give them a chance to get to the Fall Classic.

Rough outings by Hector Noesi and George Kontos (his MLB debut) gave the Angels those 5 extra insurance runs.

Luckily, Boston lost to Tampa again, so the Yankees' lead in the AL East remains 2.5 games.

The Yankees will now try to regroup, and honor New York City with a win on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The game will be on YES.

Padres Return Rule 5 Pick George Kontos

As per Chad Jennings:

Rule 5 pick George Kontos has been returned from the Padres. He’ll report to minor league camp.

Short and to the point - I like it.

For what it's worth, while his days as a potential high-ceiling prospect are a thing of the past, I do think that Kontos could be a solid bullpen arm for the Yankees this year. It's not much, but it's something more than worthless.

Arizona Fall League Rosters Announced

As per Baseball America, the following Yankee farmhands will be playing for the Phoenix Desert Dogs:

RHP - Craig Heyer
RHP - George Kontos
C - Austin Romine
2B - Corban Joseph
3B - Brandon Laird

Who's Next In Line? The Minor Leagues

Although his DIPS numbers look pretty good, Sergio Mitre has been giving up runs and if he gets hammered in his next start, he may not get another chance. Even though their depth is extremely thin right now and the trade deadline is past, they still have a few options. I'll make three different posts like this. One for their options in the minor leagues, one for options in the bullpen, and one for options outside of the organization to finish it up. First comes their AAA options.

1. Josh Towers - Already the ML veteran has been with three different AAA teams this year. He's spent most of his time in the Yankees and Rockies minor league systems. He was disastrous for the Rockies and, although his ERA looks good, he really hasn't been all that great for the Yankees either. The last time he had a good season was 2005. Obviously not the ideal option. Not on the 40 man roster so I'd be very surprised if they went to him.

2. Ivan Nova - A very legitimate pitching prospect. After two dissapointing years in 2007 and 2008, he has finally broken out this year. He dominated AA and earned a promotion to Scranton. Nova got off to a great start there but has cooled off since then. Now his ERA is up to 4.93, his K/BB is only 1.50, and his FIP is 4.21. I'm happy they got him back from San Diego but I doubt he'll have an impact in the ML rotation this year. Also not on the 40 man roster, maybe he'll be an option in the bullpen this year.

3. Kei Igawa - We all know the Kei Igawa story. He has been completely incapable of handling the ML's but has dominated the lower levels of AAA and Japanese baseball. This year though, his dominance for Scranton has actually slipped. His ERA is up to 3.91 and his FIP is up to 4.43. He's been good there but not dominant anymore. They've invested a lot of money in him so he may get a shot. I don't have very high hopes for him though.


4. George Kontos - Kontos is having another very nice year in the minor leagues. He's been in the Yankees system for a while now, since 2006 and has slowly marched up prospect lists. He's a controversial prospect but has overall been very succesful. He made AA hitters look silly early on in the year and got a promotion to Scranton after only 20.1 innings with an ERA of 3.66 and an FIP of 2.46. In Scranton he has fallen off a bit but still looks good. The biggest difference is that he is striking out less. He's probably not ready for the ML's yet but he's an option.


5. Zach Kroenke - Probably a longshot here. He started out his career as a starter but was moved to the bullpen early on. The lefty has been nothing short of incredible in AAA this year. He has a sub 1.00 ERA and an FIP of 3.64. So why do I mention a possible future setup man in this post? The Yankees have been stretching him out lately and he's made a couple of spot starts with impressive results. Just yesterday he threw five innings, giving up only 1 run, 2 hits, and a walk while striking out three. Something to consider.

One other thing to note is that the long forgotton Ian Kennedy is making his way back from his aneurysm. He could be back in September and I imagine he'd bypass all these guys if they still need a starter then. That's a longer shot than even Kroenke though.

EDIT: Kontos is on the DL so scratch him.

Game thread below