Adam Ronis here to discuss tonight's home run derby. There's no clear cut favorite and I could see several guys winning it. I'm just going to go with my gut feeling and take Lance Berkman to emerge as the home run derby champion.
10:51 p.m.: Well, Hamilton was the story and the crowd was certainly behind him, but Hamilton hits just three homers in the final and finishes with a total 35, but still loses to Morneau. When people recall this derby, Hamilton will certainly be the focus, even as the runner-up. Morneau is the 2008 champion.
10:40 p.m.: Morneau hits five home runs in the championship round. Does anyone think that's enough with Hamilton's night so far?
10:25 p.m.: Hamilton elects to take his hacks in round 2. He hits four home runs and only uses four outs. He has a total of 32 homers. The first two rounds are wiped out for the final. Good thing for Morneau.
10:20 p.m.: Ryan Braun hits seven homers in the second round and finishes with a total of 14. That isn't enough to advance. The final pits Josh Hamilton against Justin Morneau.
10:08 p.m.: Justin Morneau hits nine home runs and has a total of 17. That eliminates Berkman. Too late to change my pick? The crowd has been quiet since Hamilton hit.
10:01 p.m.: We go on to round two. Lance Berkman hits six home runs and has a total of 14. He had a tough job following Josh Hamilton.
9:49 p.m.: Simply an amazing performance by Josh Hamilton with 28 home runs!! That's a derby record. Almost all of them were hit far. There were no cheap ones. By far, he is the star of the show so far. He hit some moonshots, including one that went 518, 502, and 504 feet. The crowd loved it. He got a standing ovation after his second homer. Must be the 71-year-old throwing to Hamilton. He should get some credit too after throwing 54 pitches. The players mobbed him after he was done. Hamilton said he had a dream about being in a home run derby at Yankee Stadium. All the fans were chanting his name. His amazing turnaround continues.
9:21 p.m.: Ryan Braun puts on a nice show. He hit some good shots. He hit seven home runs.
9:13 p.m.: Justin Morneau matches Lance Berkman with eight home runs. He didn't get too much attention before the derby. He has great raw power.
9:03 p.m.: At least my pick got off to a good start. Lance Berkman hit an absolute shot to center and a few shots to the upper deck in right. At least it looks like my pick will surpass the first round. He hit eight home runs.
8:51 p.m.: Utley starts off slowly, but has a strong finish to hit five home runs. He trails two players at the moment. Utley hits home runs, but this contest isn't suited for him.
8:44 p.m.: Evan Longoria struggled with just three home runs. Two were bombs to the upper deck in left field, but for the most part he swung like Eva Longoria.
8:35 p.m.: Grady Sizemore hit a few bombs. He finishes with six home runs to tie Uggla.
8:27 p.m.: Dan Uggla starts out first. He has a good showing with six home runs. He's in good shape.
Comments (31)
all class by Utley by dropping the f-bomb on nationla tv
This All Star Game is filled with the guys I wanted the Yankees to trade for ...
Ludwick
Cliff Lee
Josh Hamilton
Ankiel has 20 HR's and 50 RBI's even after missing so many games. Add to that the Hall of Fame catches in CF.
Ankiel will be in the All Star game next year and many more after that.
I hope it is a good All Star Game ... and nice send off for the Yankees.
Can we please get rid of Cashman and rebuild the team?
With Lilly instead of Igawa, with Percival instead of Farnsworth, with Ludwick or Colby Rasmus or Ankiel instead of Melky, with Beckett instead of Pavano, we'd be in the World Series.
"With Lilly instead of Igawa, with Percival instead of Farnsworth, with Ludwick or Colby Rasmus or Ankiel instead of Melky, with Beckett instead of Pavano, we'd be in the World Series."
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And if I was George Clooney, I'd be with a gorgeous woman every night.
It doesn't seem like you know the concept of baseball.
Beckett was not a FA. The Red Sox traded Hanley Ramirez and Annibal Sanchez for him. In case you haven't noticed, that Ramirez guy is pretty good.
Percival was a FA and wanted to close. The Yanks already have some guy named Mariano Rivera to do that closer thing.
Josh Hamilton was traded for Edinson Volquez, who might be the leading candidate to win the NL Cy Young right now.
The Yanks already had Matsui and Damon on the team. How were the Yanks supposed to trade for Josh Hamilton and Rick Ankiel when they already had four outfielders?
It's not as simple as trading Matsui and/or Damon because another team has to want them.
Contrary to your fantasy trades, teams just can't pluck anyone they want from any team they want. Not every team in baseball is looking out for the Yankees and looking for opportunities to bail them out of trouble.
Edison was so so when he was traded for Josh, The Reds just happened to luck out. The real question is if George was himself would he have picked Josh out of the scrap heap before the Reds?
I see George giving a player like Josh a chance
This current front office is on that character . moral front and that lead them to the mess they have now.
George's last signing Giambi has more fire in him than half of the Boy scout mess on the field right now.
As much as I love Johnny , Brian Cashman messed up when they did'nt replace Bernie with Carlos Beltran. people would say such about carlos but he would have probally played different in Pinstripes.
However I feel that Brian Cashman see;s reality and will view things differently, His latest comments regarding Hughes and Kennedy said alot.
He said it will not be automatic that Hughes comes back to the Bigs this year.
I feel a star was born last night and that Texas may have at this pace their greatest offensive Star if he continues.
According to the NY Post the Yankees are going to accelerate Eric Milton's return to the majors by using him as a relief pitcher for the rest of the season. That way the team doesn't have to worry about building up his arm strength to the point where he can throw 100 pitches.
Victor Zambrano has been granted permission by the Yankees to work out at their minor league complex. The team is monitoring him but has not made a decision on whether or not they want to offer him a minor league deal.
The Yankees are also one of 9 teams in on Freddy Garcia. Alex Rodriguez (Garcia's teammate in Seattle) is leading the charge to try and get the Yankees to ink him.
Not for nothing, Papelbon outta keep quiet. World Series champ or not, it's Mo's stage tonight. If it was in another ball park, I'd say otherwise. But, with it being in Yankee Stadium, it's a no-brainer that Mo closes. If Papelbon is going by W.S. rings, he outta know Mo has 4, not 1.
Miguel:
After going on and on about how he's not conceeding that Rivera deserves to close tonight, Papsmear did say that Rivera is the Godfather of closers and went on to say that Mo will be closing tonight.
That said, Miguel, you're right - Papelbon should shut his mouth.
Papelbon may be the darling around right now, but he's not even CLOSE to being in the class of Rivera.
This quote shows ignorance on his part: "We've both earned that right; us, by winning the World Series and having the opportunity of having our manager there and our team being represented, and Mariano by what he's done for this role, we're in Yankee Stadium and blah, blah, blah," Papelbon said.
And though he did say after that he doesn't want to close - that Mo should do it. He did so in such a way that makes it sound like he thinks that the closer's job is his to give to Mo.
Plus I don't like him since he addressed himself in the third person...that just irks me.
Chip,
I'm sure Papelbon's retraction only came after a slap in the mouth from Francona. The kid is good but he needs to know when to shut his yap.
Joel Sherman relates in his blog on NY Post that there is a chance pat Gillick leaves Philly for Seattle and that Crashman joins him there! From your mouth to God's ears Joel!!
Awesome HR display by Hamilton, I wish him the best! He's got crazy tools and is a great natural talent at the plate and in the field.
As far as he was hitting them, it makes the bombs Mick was hitting back in the day even more impressive. Not only did the Mick hit his HR's further than Josh's, but they were in real games AND the Mick didnt lift weights or take care of himself. Imagine Mantle's raw power in todays game with bandbox stadiums, year round weight training and state of the art physical therapy for his injuries? The Mick would be hittting 700 ft shots in the HR derby!!!!
Now lets check in to see what the kids are up to....
Brian Bruney started, pitching a scoreless inning and giving up 1 hit.
Phil Coke came in and pitched 8 shutout inning, giving up just 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 11. This was more than enough to outduel Binghamton’s unfortunately named Tobi Stoner. Coke retired the last 20 batters he faced, and his 2.74 ERA for the season is very impressive.
( Coke is really turning it up, could be a back end LHP in the 2010 rotation after Andy hangs em up )
Austin Jackson was 1 for 4 to drop his average to .282.
Dellin Betances got the start, and was knocked around a bit. In 4 innings, Betances gave up 5 runs on 7 hits and only 1 walk, while striking out 6. The strikeouts indicate that he had good stuff today, but the low number of walks combined with the high hit total indicate that maybe he was focusing on throwing the ball over the plate, at the expense of giving up a few more hits than usual. It is going to be a long road with Betances, but I am still very excited by his potential.
( at least he's throwing strikes, I would rather see him work on his control than anything else )
Austin Romine had a huge game with the bat, going 4 for 5 with 2 doubles, his 4th homer of the season, a walk, and a steal. His defense wasn’t at its best, however, as he made a throwing error and allowed his 14th passed ball.
Jesus Montero was 1 for 4 with a double and a walk to drop to .299.
( cant wait to see that C combo in the near future! I love that they're pushing each other and coming up together )
Enjoy the rest of the break and the game tonight!!!!
GO AL!!!!!!
I love Papelbon and I love his competitive juices...
But this is a Yankee party and Francona should use Rivera in the 9th no matter what the score is
Terry Francona and Clint Hurdle looked so different at their press conferences yesterday. Francona looked like an accountant and Hurdle looked like one of those old, wiley veteran salesman you see bouncing around. It made me feel old as I remember when both were supposed to be "the next big thing" as players.
Reggie Jackson is 62......62! Where did the years go?
You know I didnt know how cute Josh Hamilton was until last night,...Grrrrrrrrrr, what a tight bod. Anyways, remember, fans Viper and myself want ALL Yankees fans to go to MLBPA.com and say "We Need a Salary Cap in Baseball NOW, For America.
Sully - Grrrrr? Don't tell me seamonsters go that way! Good grief!
Thanks for stickin' up for Mo. The same thing was done for Hoffman, so why not for the greatest closer in the history of baseball - Mariano Rivera.
Can't wait to get back to the season - not a fan of AllStar games of any kind.
Mike - I don't mind the MLB All Star game because they do a great job of including the stars of yesterday into the pomp and circumstance. It's more a celebration of baseball and it's history than a celebration of the players who are in the game. I think that's why having it at Yankee Stadium is so cool. No matter what you read or listen to they're all saying essentially the same thing, for the first time in a long time the venue is the most important part of the game. Yankee Stadium has been the star of these last few days.
It wasn't just, how far can Josh Hamilton hit the ball, but can he leave a park that no one has ever left. And the players themselves are saying it. No one grew up saying "man I hope I get the chance to play at the Vet" but for all these guys they've always wanted to play in front of a packed house at Yankee Stadium.
Cashman was on Mike and Mike this morning saying that young players like Andre Ethier, when the Dodgers visited the Mets, called to ask if he could take a tour of the stadium because he's never been there. The Padres players when they came to the Stadium were in awe of the place. If I were a Met fan I would feel a little jealous that Yankee Stadium is getting a great send off and Shea is being allowed to fade into the background.
Sounds a little like the Yankees are inching closer to a deal that would bring Marte and Nady to the Yankees for a package of Melky, Al Horne, Dan McCutchen, and Jose Tabata (according to the Baseball Show on XM)
Also, Buster Olney thinks that Matt Murton (just traded to the A's by the Cubs in the Harden deal) could be on his way to Tampa. Buster speculates that the Rays could also be interested in getting Huston Street included in the deal. He also has the Yankees as front runners for picking up Richie Sexson but says that Sexon's final decision will be based on which team can offer him the most playing time in the second half of the season.
Chip: I see that as a deal the Yanks would come to regret both in the short term and the long term, so I hope XM is dead wrong.
HYD (and anyone else):
Damon has suffered a set back in his rehab and who knows about Matsui. That said, even if they sign Sexson they're going to need help offensively. Would you sign Bonds?
We all know the negatives: bad guy, steroids, federal indictments, it all goes without saying. But we know the guy can hit, and hit, and hit some more.
Assume Damon is out until late August with his shoulder - wouldn't a lineup of
Jeter - SS
Abreu - RF
Bonds - DH
Alex - 3b
Giambi - 1b
Matsui - LF
Posada - C
Cano - 2b
Melky - CF
be something worth seeing?
Even if Damon and Matsui are both healthy - the Yankees could replace Melky's bat with Bonds's, move Damon back to CF, play Matsui in LF and DH Bonds giving them:
Damon - CF
Jeter - SS
Bonds - DH
Alex - 3b
Giambi - 1b
Matsui - LF
Posada - C
Abreu - RF
Cano - 2b
and you can have a bench of: Melky, Sexson, Betemit, Molina rather than Christian, Betemit, Molina, Moeller
Given the Yankees' offensive struggles what harm could it do? Plus, if anyone can make Alex less of a lightning rod, it would be Bonds.
Chip,
Whether that deal becomes reality or not remains to be seen. But I must say, I'd pull the trigger on that one.
Gardner becomes the every day CF. Nady becomes the LF until the season is over and goes to RF next season.
Abreu walks at the end of the year.
They rid themselves of Melky and add dependable lefty in the pen.
I like the deal but I don't think Gardner is ready for the major leagues. If the Yankees could pick up a decent OF (Randy Winn?) for insurance, I'd be all for it.
I'm not a Bonds guy and it would make me sick to see him in Pinstripes. Mind you this has nothing to do with steroids as I always was a Bash Brothers Fan (granted Canseco is a nut, did you see him get knocked out in his boxing match?). I just never have liked Bonds. So, whether it's good on paper or not, he's just not a player I'd like to see on the team. Sexson, sure, but at the same time, is he really an upgrade over Betemit? They hit HRs at about the same clip (Betemit 1/23 ABs, Sexson 1/25 ABs), but Sexson walks more, but hits for a lower average. Sexson's performance against lefties this year seems to be an abnormality when you look at his career. He's a career .265 hitter against lefties and a career .260 hitter against righties. Sexson plays 1b better, but Betemit plays multiple positions. So, I'm not sure how I feel about Sexson either. If we were in the playoffs, I'd say I'd rather have Gardner on the bench than Sexson for what it's worth.
I don't think adding offense is really the key for this team as several players are performing under expectations. Hopefully this is an abberation and not a sign of the future.
I'd like to see McCutchen get a shot in Rasner's place before we ship him out. There's something about him that I like and could see being a dependable 4/5 type pitcher for a good number of years with some better years sprinkled in. I see him with Jake Westbrook type performance.
Well I would imagine that the Yankees would count on Damon coming back and plugging him into CF.
And if anyone doesn't like the idea of Bonds, I'm fine with that. But when shouting it down give me a BASEBALL reason. Reasons that are unacceptable are "I don't like him," "he's not a good guy," or "he did steroids" because we've had bad guys (Sheffield, Giambi, Clemens) and steroid abusers (Sheffield, Giambi, Clemens, Andy) on this team in the past.
HYD - I don't think Betemit would lose his roster spot if the Yankees brought in Sexson. More likely it would be either Chad Moeller or Justin Christian who would be sent out (or maybe LaTroy Hawkins who hasn't pitched in about 2 weeks)
Chip,
I think it will take a lot more than Melky, McCutchen, Horne, and Tabata to make that deal.
In fact, I bet it would take a package of Horne, Tabata, and McCutchen for Nady alone.
Also, there are a couple of things about the Bonds stuff. No team is going to sign him. Not Cashman nor anyone else. Cashman has said that Bonds will not be an option.
Also, Matsui will not play LF the rest of the season - so if he does return - it will be as a DH.
Chip: You may be right, but that depends on Jorge. I'd still rather have Gardner on the bench than Sexson and I don't see that much of a need for Sexson since we do have Betemit. It's not like Sexson is this great upgrade, though he does play solid defense.
As far as Nady, here are my issues:
1. He's 30
2. He's never played more than 130 games (2006 split between NYM and Pitt)
3. He's a career .279 hitter
4. His best BA for a season was 2006 and he hit .285
5. He's a sell-high trade for Pitt
6. While his pitch selection seems to have improved this year, I'm not sold since last year his SO:BB ratio was 4:1 and this year it's still 2:1
To me, you don't take a player like this in place of a young Melky when you're building a team for the future and Nady isn't the key that makes this team a WS winner.
I have to agree with HYD, the Yankees committed to a plan of building with the young guys and they have to be smart enough to know that growing pains are a part of that process and they can't cut bait in the middle of the season and try to patch together a contender.
I've said all along I just didn't think this team had the right balance to be a factor in the playoffs this year but next year might be promising with a mix of the right people coming, going and growing.
Having said that, trading Melky doesn't bother me at all. I was never really high on him so I would not be sorry to see him go if the Yanks can get someone useful for him.
Bonds is the type of addition that Cashman would like if he felt the Yanks were a player or two away from contention as he would only require a very short commitment, but I just don't want to see Barry Bonds in pinstripes, as much as I think his presence would make the lineup outrageous.
If you could go back to 1999 and tell yourself that someday the Yanks could have A-Rod, Giambi, Bonds, Abreu and Sexson in the same lineup you would not believe it.
More than anything else I want Matsui, Wang and Damon back and healthy.
By the way, CC Sabathia's HR the other night probably hurt the Yanks' chances of getting him even more as we all know he is a California kid, but he also loves to hit so the NL (Dodgers) will probably be his landing spot, as much as it pains me to admit.
Jim A,
Do we really know if any of these young guys are going to pan out. When I keep hearing that this guy projects to a 4 or 5 starter, well if we can get Marte and Nady for that, do it! Nady is only 30 and gives the Yankees protection when they let Abreau walk at the end of the year. Marte is death on left handed hitters, we haven't had a good lefty in the pen since Stanton.
TY,
Of course we don't know, but if they don't then it will tell us a lot about the Yankees scouts, farm directors, player development folks etc. so if changes need to be made in that area, so be it.
What I'm saying is if your trusted talent evaluators, in this case Cashman, Oppehheimer etc. all say that so and so is going to be a good or great player in the majors than you either trust them or you don't and if you don't, they need to go. Right now the case is the Yankees trust them so why should they trade those youngsters for players with mediocre careers? Let's not jump all over Nady because he's having a good season, he's 30 and he's been what, a .279 hitter his whole career? He's not exactly a savior and he's not exactly a rare breed either. I bet there are a lot of mediocre outfielders who will be FA's at the end of the year.
Im with Jim A and HYD, Nady and Marte are nothing more than complement players. A deal like that should only be made if we were clicking on all cylinders and just needed a couple more vets to bring home a ring. Does this team look like that? no.
Horne, Melk and Marquez have just as much upside but are cheaper and younger than their Pitt counterparts. Tabata is only 18 and projects to be a high end OF. I dont know if any of those 4 players will pan out, but Im willing to wait and see. To me the worst case scenario is that we make that deal, Marte and Nady continue to do what they have done their entire careers and then ANY of those 4 players turn into a stud. Now imagine if the scouts were right....Marquez and Horne turn into decent back end starters, Melk becomes just a decent bat ( match Nady's numbers ) and Tabata turns into a 5 tool solid OF...thats a worse scenario than keeping the 4 kids and they all bust. Like Jim said, we have to trust our souts ( recent ones like Damon Opp ) until proven otherwise.
Bonds..nah, Im passing on that one. The last thing the Yanks need is another left handed, old DH, clogging up the bases and collecting tons of money.
Time to bite the bullet folks, trim the fat, bring up some kids ( Marquez, Montero, Cox ) and position ourselves for future success. There's no need to panic because Damon and Matsui cant play..just keep trotting Gardner out there. If you look at his minor league track record, he seems to struggle when promoted, then does much better the following year. Im willing to have him take his lumps this year and see what he can do over a full MLB season next year.