Results tagged ‘ yankees ’
Small market teams vs. large market teams
During Thursday’s episode of MLB Tonight on MLB Network, the Analysis were discussing how small and large market teams can succeed, despite the huge difference in payroll.
They discussed how one bad draft can effect a small market team for four, five years down the road (Pittsburgh Pirates anyone?). Here is what they had to say:
Matt Yallof: “Money doesn’t guarantee anything. It doesn’t guarantee winning, but, if you have a lot of it, it can help ease the blow if you make some mistakes.”
Larry Bowa: “There’s no question about that. The Yankees in 2006 signed a pitcher from Japan named Kei Igawa. The total package was $46 million over five years. $26 million of that was for negotiation rights, to get him over here. Now, we all know everybody makes mistakes in this game. I don’t think anybody can say, ‘I was perfect.’ The point I’m trying to make here is when you are a big market team and you make a $46 million mistake like that, nobody hears about it…When you’re a small market team and you make a $46 million mistake like this, you’re paying for three, four, five years down the road. I think it makes a big difference what market you’re in.”
Mitch Williams: “You’re handcuffed. You’re absolutely handcuffed if you’re a small market team. What it does, you can not make mistakes. If you go down to Tampa and you look: Evan Longoria, first-round pick in 2006, David Price, first-round pick in 2007. Their scouts got it right. If they make that mistake, they sign both these guys and neither one of them pan out, they can’t recover from that. You can not make mistakes if you are a small market team…You have to have very knowledgeable scouts and they better know what they’re looking at and be tremendous evaluators of talent.”
Harold Reynolds: “Back to Larry’s point, you look at $46 million and you say that to Tampa or to Pittsburgh, and say, ‘You’re going to make a $46 million mistake’. They’re done. They’re sunk…We’ve seen it happen with the Red Sox, we’ve seen it happen with the Yankees, we’ve seen it happen across the board with big market teams. You just move on down the road and continue on…It’s not just one year, two years, for the small market, you may lose for five seasons before you’re able to recover. And people wonder why are the Pirates so bad the last 17 years? Well, they’ve missed it in their scouting early on. Now in the last four years they’ve put it together and all of a sudden everybody saying, ‘Oh. The Pirates are heading in the right direction.’ But before that, if you go back and you look at the first-round picks they made –They missed ‘em. And that was the end of them…You can’t miss. It’s a total different game when you’re a small market compared to a big team.”
A Rod homers off of Correia in Bucs 4-2 loss
Despite allowing a two-run home run to Third baseman Alex Rodriguez in the 1st inning, right-hander Kevin Correia was solid in the Pirates 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday afternoon.
Correia allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. It was the first time this spring he pitched into the sixth inning. Correia threw 92 pitches (59 for strikes).
Correia told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I thought it was definitely my best outing in spring. I felt strong the whole time. You want your last Spring Training outing to be good. You don’t want to go into the season thinking about how you didn’t pitch well the time before. I felt pretty good about this one.”
Manager Clint Hurdle told Langosch of MLB.com, “I thought he got stronger as he went on. He expects a lot of himself. He never shuts himself down on an inning or an outing. He takes a lot of pride in getting the ball and pitching deep and getting as many innings as he can get. I thought it was a very good way for him to finish up.”
Correia is set to be the opening day starter on April 1st against the Cubs in Chicago.
The Pirates put one run on the board in the 2nd inning after a two out double by Jason Jaramillo which scored Pedro Alvarez.
Chris Dickerson extended the Yankees lead to 3-1 after singling to center field, scoring Outfielder Nick Swisher.
The Bucs brought the game to within one run after second baseman Neil Walker hit a sac fly to score Jose Tabata.
In the 8th inning, Mike Crotta gave up his first earned run this spring, a RBI single by Austin Krum giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead. Crotta’s scoreless inning streak lasted 10.1 innings.
Hurdle told Biertempfel of the Tribune, “He’s pitching out of the bullpen now and that’s not something he did last year. He’s a big guy (6-feet-6, 235 pounds), he repeats his delivery pretty well, he’s got good downhill plane. It’s hard sink, mid-90s mph sink and he’s added a complementary breaking ball. And he’s pounded the strike zone. Those things are always going to work. We’ll see how he finishes it off, but he has done everything he could possibly do to build his confidence and let us know that maybe we should give him an opportunity, and possibly sooner than later.”
Notes:
- Manager Clint Hurdle announced earlier today that Andrew McCutchen will bat third in the lineup this year. Jose Tabata will lead off for the Bucs with Pedro Alvarez batting fifth (read more here).
- James McDonald (left side) threw a successful three inning game against the Yankees Triple-A team today. He reported to feel fine afterwards (read more here).
- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune reports that Pirates No. 1 prospect, Jameson Taillon threw three scoreless innings allowing three hits against the Yankees High-A team.
- The Pirates have lost five games in a row. Are the losses in spring training really important, or does it effect the team?
Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “We play every game to win. But if we don’t, we don’t. When we start the season, we’re not going to have any. We just haven’t played complete games for the last 10-11 games. You’ve got to throw a complete package out there. I’ll be more concerned when we’re running our regular team out there. We’ve been trying to take a very good inventory of all our players this spring and challenging guys in different situations. Winning’s always the intent, but the focus will shift to a higher degree of that once the season starts.”
- Catcher Chris Snyder was scratched prior to the game with back soreness (read more here).
- Colin Dunlap of the Post Gazette wrote a good article on Manager Clint Hurdle: “Hurdle lights Pirates fire”
McDonald throws three successful innings vs AAA Yankees
Right-hander James McDonald pitched three innings against the New York Yankees Triple-A team on Saturday.
McDonald threw 44 pitches (28 for strikes) allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts.
This marked the first time McDonald threw since March 11th. He has been sidelined with left side soreness.
McDonald reported afterwards that he felt fine.
McDonald told Jenifer Langosh of MLB.com, “I still need to build a little more stamina. It’s not fair for me to go three innings and leave the bullpen hanging.”
McDonald is scheduled to stay in Florida when the team travels to Philadelphia for two exhibition games and pitch in a minor league game on March 31st. He will extend himself out to five innings, or 80 pitches.
*Photo credit: CBS Pittsburgh
Hurdle announces McCutchen will bat third this year
Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle announced on Saturday that Andrew McCutchen will bat third this season with Jose Tabata leading off.
Saturday’s lineup against the Yankees is close to what you will expect to see this season.
Neil Walker will bat second, Lyle Overbay will bat in cleanup with Pedro Alvarez batting fifth. Matt Diaz/Garrett Jones (depending on righty/lefty pitcher) will bat sixth and Ronny Cedeno hitting seventh. The catcher batting eight with the pitcher hitting ninth.
Many expected Alvarez to bat fourth this year, but Manager Clint Hurdle explained his reasoning. Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I think right now it just sets us up best. Pedro has a lot on his plate right now, and I think Overbay — at least with the spring he’s had — his confidence is good. We’ll start that way and see where it takes us.”
Expect Alvarez to be bumped up eventually. In just his first full season, batting him fifth takes a lot of pressure off of him.
What may shock most fans is that McCutchen, who swiped 33 bags last year, will be batting third, not leadoff.
McCutchen says his approach at the plate will be no different where in the lineup he bats.
McCutchen told Langosch of MLB.com, “It’s not like I’m an Albert Pujols that was a leadoff guy. That would be a big deal. I’m a guy that can do a lot. I can bring a lot to the plate. I can hit first. I can hit third. It’s not really a big deal.
“The sky is the limit from here. Run production should go up, and hopefully everything else will be able to go up as well. It really doesn’t matter where I’m hitting at. I’m going to be comfortable hitting there.”
Tabata is looking forward to leading off for the Bucs this year.
Tabata told Langosch of MLB.com, “I love it,” Tabata said of the opportunity to lead off. “I can walk. I can score more runs. I can steal more bases. I can do more things.”
*Photo credit: Pittsburgh-Post Gazette
Day 41 of Pirates spring training: news and notes
The Pirates will face the New York Yankees in Tampa, Fla., at 1:05 pm. The game will broadcast on FSN Pittsburgh (for the last time before it transitions into ROOT Sports).
Right-hand pitcher Kevin Corriea will face left-hander Manny Bauelos.
- Chris Snyder was scratched from the lineup today with a stiff back. Snyder missed two weeks due to the injury. He caught against the Orioles on Thursday night for the first time since being sidelined and it was reported that he was sore on Saturday.
Snyder told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “Maybe I did a little too much, too soon. We’re going to have to see (about the severity), come next week. I couldn’t tell you right now.”
Just two spring training games remain, and two exhibition games in Philadelphia before the season starts on April 1st. Snyder being out could change the pitching plans.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Biertempfel of the Tribune, “It could have an impact on our catching situation. We need to re-evaluate and revisit what the issues are. For it to happen again after just catching a night game … we’ll see. It definitely could jeopardize what we do with the roster and who goes with us.”
Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that if Snyder is out for the beginning of the year, Ryan Doumit will be the opening day catcher with Jason Jaramillo as the backup.
Jaramillo will replace Snyder in the lineup this afternoon.
- Earlier this morning, the Pirates cut four players from camp: Left-hander Brian Burres, Infielder Andy Marte, Catcher Dusty Brown and Infielder/Outfielder Corey Wimberley (read more here).
With Marte cut from big league camp, Steve Pearce makes the Pirates opening day roster for the first time in his career (read more here).
- James McDonald is scheduled to pitch in a minor league game today in Tampa against the Yankees Triple-A team. This marks McDonald’s first outing since March 11th. The Pirates would like him to throw about 50 pitches.
Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that If for some reason McDonald is not ready to start on April 6th, Jeff Karstens would be asked to spot start in the rotation. If not, Karstens will remain as the long inning relief pitcher in the ‘pen.
- Three relievers remain for two final spots in the bullpen. Lefty Garrett Olson and Right-handers Mike Crotta and Chris Leroux.
- On Friday’s edition of Baseball tonight, Buster Olney discussed what must go right and what could go wrong for all 30 major league teams. Here is what he had to say about the Bucs:
Olney: “For the Pittsburgh Pirates. What must go right? The rising group of talent, positions players. Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata must continue to grow. You know what? Scouts really like the high ceiling players they’re putting together.
Now, what could go wrong for the Pirates? The rotation appears to be thin again. This torpedo, the Pirates went 57-105 last season. Neal Huntington, their General Manager, is in the last year of his contract. They are not committed to him long term.”
Pirates
Lineup: Tabata LF, Walker 2B, McCutchen CF, Overbay 1B, Alvarez 3B, Jones RF, Cedeno SS, Jaramillo C, Correia RHP
Pitchers: Correia, Crotta, Veras
Yankees
Lineup: Gardner CF, Jeter SS, Teixeira 1B, Rodriguez 3B, Swisher RF, Posada DH, Dickerson LF, Nunez 2B, Romine C
Pitchers: Bauelos, TBA
Pitching falters in Pirates 9-5 loss to Rays
Charlie Morton had his first bad outing of the spring in the Bucs 9-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Morton allowed five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts over five innings. His 1.29 ERA is no more, as it jumped to 3.32.
Morton told Rob Biertempfel of the tribune, “Walks and hit batters,” Morton said with a frown.
“What’s troubling about today is I kept missing with my sinker in and wasn’t making adjustments. I just couldn’t get a good feel for it. Instead of concentrating between the knees, trying to get it down there over the plate, I was trying to pick with it in, trying to get him to ground out to third.”
Pedro Ciriaco showed off his speed in the first, with a lead off single off of Jeff Neimann. He then quickly swiped second base. Ryan Doumit hit his fourth double of the spring to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
The Rays defense struggled in the 2nd. A bad throw by Dan Johnson advanced Matt Diaz to third base and then scored on a wild pitch by Neimann. Andy Marte doubled and was driven home by Charlie Morton, who hit a soft fly ball to left, putting the Bucs up 3-0.
Morton ran into trouble in the bottom of the 2nd. Morton hit Kelly Shoppach to load the bases with no outs. Sam Fuld drove in two with a double and Ben Zobrist hit a sac fly to tie the game at 3.
The Bucs battled back in the 4th, putting two runs on the board off of a single by Josh Rodriguez.
There was more trouble in the 5th for right-hander Charlie Morton as he had the bases loaded with no outs for the second time in the game. Morton escaped the inning with just two runs scoring –an Evan Longoria hit by pitch and a walk to Manny Ramirez — which tied the game at 5.
Joel Hanrahan allowed back-to-back walks and Justin Ruggiano took advantage of it by hitting a single to give the Rays a 7-5 edge.
The Rays tacked on two more runs off of Chris Resop in the 8th for a 9-5 lead, and went on to win by that score.
Notes:
- Andy Marte, who is battling for a corner infield position, went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a double.
- The Pirates stole four bases today. They have 25 steals this spring –last year they had just 16. The San Diego Padres lead the leagues with 36.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that James McDonald (left side) is scheduled to pitch in a Minor League game at Pirate City on Saturday. He will throw about 50 pitches in the outing.
Brad Lincoln (right arm contusion) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday. Lincoln threw from 120 feet today and felt fine afterwards.
- Biertempfel of the Trib reports, Right-hander Jose Ascanio threw 24 pitches in one inning of work today during a minor league game at Pirate City.
- The Pirates will face the New York Yankees in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday at 1:05. The game will be broadcasted on FSN Pittsburgh. Kevin Correia will start for the Bucs.
Taillon makes spring debut
The Pirates No. 1 prospect (and 2nd overall pick in the 2010 draft) Jameson Taillon made his professional spring debut on Sunday afternoon against the Yankees Class-A team.
The right-hander pitched two innings allowing three hits, one run and struck out two at Pirate City.
*Photo credit: Post Gazette
Pirates rack up K’s, lose 4-2 to the Yankees
If Sunday’s 13 strikeouts weren’t bad enough, the Pirates managed to top it on Wednesday night –fanning 16 times in a 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees in Tampa, Fla.
The Pirates have struck out 106 times through 13 spring training games so far but Manager Clint Hurdle isn’t worried.
“I’m not worried,” Hurdle said. “Worried wouldn’t be an appropriate word. I think one of the things you look at is how we’re getting to two strikes. I think we’re getting balls early to hit in the count and we’re not hitting on them.”
“Nobody likes to strike out 16 times,” Hurdle said. “That’s the challenge in front of our guys which has been presented since the beginning of Spring Training. It’s something they’ve got to continue to work at.”
As it was pointed out, The Arizona Diamondbacks have struck out 102 times in 15 games but no other team in the Arizona or Florida Leagues have struck out more than 87 times this spring.
Kevin Correia made his third appearance this spring, allowing three runs on six hits through four innings (65 pitches). He walked three and struck out four.
“I threw a couple of pitches I didn’t really like, but I feel like I’m getting a ground ball when I need to and a strikeout when I need to,” Correia said. “They hit the one ball hard in the first, and everything else, I kind of made a pitch that I wanted, and they got a hit. I think I’m real close. Obviously, there is a lot of work to be done, but we are in early Spring Training. I feel pretty good about where I’m at right now.”
Yankees’ Bartolo Colon struck out the side in the first inning on just 12 pitches (10 for strikes) and allowed two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts through four innings.
Charlie Morton pitched three strong innings –and is really having himself a nice spring. In eight innings he has allowed just two runs.
Pirates beat reporter, Jenifer Langosch said, “Actually, I think it’s fair to call him the favorite [for the 5th spot in the rotation] at this point — both because of what he has done and what Scott Olsen has not been able to do.”
Morton allowed just one run (Andrew Jones homer in the 5th) on two hits with two strikeouts.
“Very aggressive with all of his pitches,” Hurdle said. “I think the comfort is picking up. You’re watching him get on the mound, get set over the mound, get a sign and deliver. There’s not a lot of fidgeting. He’s very confident out there. He’s been very, very aggressive.”
“For the most part I felt pretty aggressive,” Morton said. “I fell behind in some counts, but I managed to stay in those counts and not allow a bunch of baserunners. That’s good. There are some things that I’m working on, but I feel fine. I’m just glad to get out there and compete instead of hanging out in Bradenton like I was all winter.”
Russell Martin hit a solo home run off of Correia in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead early. Steve Pearce hit a sac fly (scoring Matt Diaz) and Chris Snyder hit a RBI single (scoring Garrett Jones) to tie the game at two in the 2nd. The Yankees added two more runs in the third inning. Derek Jeter tripled, Alex Rodriguez singled and Robinson Cano had an RBI single.
Notes:
- Daniel Moskos, is one of the players most likely moving from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indy this year. Pitchers Bryan Morris, Jeff Locke, Tony Watson, Rudy Owens and Michael Crotta; Position players Chase d’Arnaud, Andrew Lambo and Gorkys Hernandez are in the mix to make the jump as well.
“The team last year in Altoona was really good,” said Daniel Moskos, a former first-round pick and Altoona’s closer for most of 2010. “I think it’s almost to the point where there are so many good ballplayers that I don’t know where they are going to put them all. There is a lot of young talent, and it’s really good baseball talent.
“It’s starting to be exciting. You’ve heard management talk about how the focus was on the Minor League system initially, and now the focus is on the Major League team. They’re right, because they’ve got a lot of talent.”
- Andy Marte doubled in his pinch-hit at-bat. Three of his four hits this spring have been doubles.
- Manager Clint Hurdle could have used a designated hitter in the 4-2 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday night, but wants to work the pitchers at the plate –and improve last year’s results (pitchers batted just .089).
If anybody watched our club last year you saw the lack of execution we had from our pitchers,” said Hurdle, who hasn’t used a designated hitter since Saturday. “It was worse than a soft spot in our lineup. So we’ve put the pitcher in play much earlier in the season than they did last year just so they can get acclimated walking up there, digging in, putting down a bunt or swinging the bat, running down the baseline then having to go out and pitch.”
Hitting coach Gregg Ritchie said, Ritchie said. “It’s going to run that pitcher’s pitch count up. It’s going to move a baserunner 90 feet. Every 90 feet we’re one step closer to scoring a run. So if that pitcher can always get in there and move the runner ahead of him 90 feet no matter how he does it — whether it’s a sacrifice bunt, putting the ball in play, drawing a walk — that’s going to give our offense a better opportunity to score runs.”
- Pittsburgh will face the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday at McKechnie Field. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. ET. If you are in the Pittsburgh area, the game will be televised on FSN Pittsburgh.
Paul Maholm will start, (four innings) followed by Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek, Chris Resop, Jeff Karstens and Tony Watson.
Bucs shutout the Yankees
The Pirates shutout the New York Yankees on Tuesday afternoon in front of 5,729 fans at McKechnie Field.
No, Derek Jeter nor Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira or Robinson Cano were in the lineup, but the Pirates didn’t send out many of their starters either.
James McDonald started for the Pirates and boy did he look sharp. He allowed just two hits over two innings –and one of those hits was because of a badly misjudged ball by Alex Presley.
“I felt good,” McDonald said afterward. “The goal today was to get ahead, throw strikes and really be efficient. Today was a success.”
“Actually, I feel like I’m a little ahead right now [compared to years' past]. I was surprised how well I could go side-to-side over the plate. I am pretty happy with myself with the way I’m going.”
The entire pitching staff pitched well against the Yankees, holding them to just four hits.
Daniel McCutchen redeemed himself after a bad last outing. He struck out two through two innings and picked up the win.
“I really like the way that he responded from his last outing,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “He went and filled the plate up with strikes, got after people. He’ll feel a lot better about himself tonight and that’s always good for all our guys. I like what I saw out of him today. He’s one of the guys that we’re expecting to see take a step forward and compete this spring.”
The Bucs put one run on the board in the sixth inning when Chris Snyder singled and pinch-runner Jeremy Farrell scored off of Pedro Ciriaco’s double off the outfield wall.
The Pirates scored again in the seventh after Garrett Jones walked, Steve Pearce doubled and Josh Fields hit a sac fly to center.
Click here for the box score.
Notes:
- The Pirates have been working on being more aggressive on the bases this year at spring training. During Tuesday’s game, it didn’t go so well.
Alex Presley was caught stealing in the fourth inning. John Bowker was thrown out at second base after trying to stretch a single into a double. Ciriaco and Snyder were a part of a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play –a hit and run gone bad.
- Steve Pearce had a nice out of bounds catch reaching over the Pirates dugout in the eighth inning.
- Both the Pirates General Manager (Neal Huntington) and Yankees General Manager (Brian Cashman) were sitting behind home plate at the game this afternoon.
- Jenifer Langosch, Pirates beat writer, reports:
The Pirates have added right-hander Cesar Lopez to their Minor League system after signing the 20-year-old as a non-drafted free agent out of Mexico. A native of Cuba, Lopez stands 6-foot-3. According to Latin American scouting director Rene Gayo, Lopez possesses an above-average sinker and a fastball that touches 94 mph.
Kristy Robinson
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