We learned this morning that the Red Sox are expected to sign first round pick Brian Johnson and that Kevin Youkilis continues to draw some trade interest. Here are more notes from the AL East, starting in New York…
- Melky Cabrera broke out as an All-Star caliber player after the Yankees traded him, but hitting coach Kevin Long told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the switch-hitting outfielder has always had star potential. “If Melky committed himself to the Yankees as he does now, he would still be a Yankee,” Long said.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Sherman he considers Eduardo Nunez a shortstop. Nunez, who has been sidelined since May with a thumb injury, "does not profile as an outfield guy," Cashman said.
- Jamie Moyer can opt out of his contract with the Orioles in the next few days if the team doesn’t select his contract from Triple-A, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (on Twitter). The 49-year-old left-hander has a 1.69 ERA with a 16K/0BB ratio in three starts at Triple-A.
“If Melky committed himself to the Yankees as he does now, he would still be a Yankee”
Or stated another way: If the Yankees could motivate players they way the Giants can, they’d have a star named Melky Cabrera.
That’s a little harsh on the Yankees. The big turn around was after he left the Atlanta Braves. Melky got his act together because everyone knew he had talent but as everyone knows out of all the sports baseball will humble you the most. If you’re going to give credit to an organization look at the Royals when his rise to prominence started.
You mean like they are motivating Lincecum this year.
“…the way the Giants can…”
Please, being a Yankee is a privilege that one must earn just like it is to play for any other club you must prove yourself worthy. If you are not motivated by the aura of being a New York Yankee then you should not even be considered for the job.
And this comment is why Yankee fans are the most disliked in all of baseball.
Melky found himself on the Royals, not the Giants. And that was two years after leaving the NYY.
Getting cut by the braves is what motivated him to work out harder, he was overweight as a Yankee and as a brave. Then he was cut worked out harder with arod and turned it around.
Or stated another way: you have no idea what motivated Melky, and cant even identify where he turned his career around.
Yes, because the Giants are GENIUSES at cultivating offensive players.
Barry always knew how to motivate the others.
If you’re a professional earning $1 mil plus to pay baseball then THAT is suppose to be motivation in and of itself.
Youk is drawing trade interest? Thanks for the update. I’ve been waiting on pins & needles for a real update about the situation..
I’d trade A-Rod for Youk 🙂
Allow me to edit that a bit…Melky Cabrera broke out as an All-Star caliber player A YEAR after the Yankees traded him
Jamie Moyer is dominating Triple A
Bring him up!
Do you really think it’s fair to have him get shelled in the AL East? He might dominate AAA, but now in his age, he’s a AAAA pitcher at best.
Then let him demonstrate what he can do in the AL East!
I suppose it could be worth a try, though I wouldn’t count on him making a dramatic impact.
That Moyer kid has no future.
Wow Moyer is tearing it up in Triple A!
Yeah, but eating his dinners at 4:30 & constantly clogging up the clubhouse TV w/ Golden Girls repeats is starting to annoy his teenaged teammates.
So basically Long is saying that Melky didn’t give his all to being a Yankee? Just because the Yankees are obnoxious as a team doesn’t mean all the players have to become Yankees.
Yup. He got fat and lazy so the Yankees soured on him. Now he’s in shape and fulfilling his potential as a player. You don’t hit .280 with patience in the majors at the age of 21 if you suck. His wakeup call was being outright released by the Braves.
Looks like Tabata could use the same wake-up call.
If the Yankees are an obnoxious team, what does that make the Cubs?
melky was terrible with the braves too…
for the love of god, the yankees need to get over nunez.
I agree with Cashman about Eduardo Nunez. Nunez despite some defensive problems projects as a shortstop. I’m a big advocate of OOTP Baseball in regards to simulation and stat projection and Nunez projects quite nicely offensively when healthy. Nunez is the type of player the Yankees need to hold onto. Although he is raw, he has the tools to be an above average shortstop offensively. Jeter may or may not be able to field the position forever and with some maturity, Nunez will fill in quite nicely. It’s no surprise that Nunez who has been sidelined since May still leads the team in stolen bases. He brings a dynamic that the Yankees lack. When Nunez and Gardner come back, the Yankees will have a lot more speed. Getting Nunez back over Jayson Nix will seem small but it will loom large in the long run. Speed guys like Nunez and Gardner are appreciated and missed when offenses become one dimensional. You see how important they are when your offense becomes station to station. Speed guys break that habit and get the ball rolling. The ability to steal bases is key.
Hey if the Orioles give up on Moyer release him and I am sure the Jays will take him! Even if he is 1 or 2 runs better than any of the the 3 plugs that they have filling in right now, that would give them a better chance to win.
Then he was cut worked out harder with arod and turned it around.
so you’re saying melky’s on the Arod juicin” 24/7 plan?
That is not what he is saying.
Whatever you may think of the Yankees, the Braves are considered a good and nurturing organization, and he was really poor for them. He had a cumulative OPS+ of 86 for the Yankees, and 83 in his one season for the Braves. His performance the last two years is really abberational.