Brackman Shuts Down Rock Cats in Regular Season Finale

So rather than spend the day frustrated by a Yankee defeat at the hands of the rejuvenated Baltimore Orioles, I traveled again to New Britain Stadium to see Andrew Brackman take on the Rock Cats in the season finale for both teams.

Brackman didn't disappoint. He had good stuff all day, firing fastball's that sat at 93-94 and touching 95 on several occasions. He snapped off some good curves that made a few New Britain batters look silly and even threw several quality change ups. He was fairly consistant through out his start. The only time he seemed to lose his command was in the fourth. He didn't walk anybody, but it was the first time he fell behind hitters all day.

Brackman battled back and struck out the first to hitters in the inning before allowing a hard hit single through the left side of the infield.

Brackman's line for the game says it all. Though he didn't strike out a ton of guys, none of the Rock Cats had comfortable at bats against him. He induced a bunch of ground balls and only a couple of balls were hit hard.

As for the bats, Austin Romine showed what he could do with the bat today, launching a homer that easily cleared the left-centerfield wall. He also ripped an opposite-field RBI-double down the right field line to score Dan Brewer in the fourth.

Night in New Britain with the Baby Bombers Part II

Here are a few more photos from last night's game. The first two are of Corban Joseph and the last two are of Austin Romine. Sandwiched in between the two of them is a shot of the night sky at the start of the game courtesy of the remnants of Hurricane Earl.

Joseph has a sweet swing and seemed to hit the ball hard every time up. He may not be the all-around player that David Adams was before the ankle injury, but he has some skill with the bat. I think that if he was given more time in Tampa his bat wouldn't have seemed so diminished at the Double-A level.

Romine looked tired at the plate. Even his first double was more a result of poor defense on his ball in the gap.

It is to be expected that he would tire toward the end of his first full season as a catcher. After having his OPS north of .850 in April and May Romine has been in a steady decline over the last three-plus months of the season. His swing was still solid. He just lacked some life in behind it and it was slow through the zone.

Check back over the weekend. Hopefully I'll have some photos for tomorrow night's game and then Monday afternoon when Andrew Brackman takes the mound for the regular season finale.

A Look at the Future After Jorge

Jorge Posada will be coming off the disabled list tonight the Yankees will get another big piece of the puzzle back into their lineup. But how long he stays there depends on if his aging body can continue to take the riggers of everyday catching.

And I think the answer to that question is a resounding no. Posada is on his way out and everyone can clearly see it. He might have another year behind the plate but in all likelihood he wont be the full time catcher beyond next season.

So that begs the question who will replace him in? Francisco Cervelli is a nice player and could be a decent backup next season and for his career, but he doesn't have the stick for a full-time gig. Kevin Cash is, well, Kevin Cash and there isn't much at Triple-A or even Double-A for that matter.

Where the Yanks are stacked is Single-A Tampa. Down there the future looks bright for the Yankees with two catchers who could feasibly take on the starting job for the Yankees by mid-2011: Jesus Montero and Austin Romine.

Montero is who the Yankees go to sleep dreaming about. The kid is a beast. At 6'4 225 he has the body to mash with the bat and it shows. At Tampa in the Florida State League Montero is tied for fourth in batting average, second in slugging percentage and first in total bases. It is abundantly evident that he can hit and scouts agree that his bat is the indisputable aspect of his game. Its his fielding that comes into question. Most think he will eventually have to move from behind the plate (where he would go now that Teixeira is at first for the foreseeable future who knows) because of his lack of mobility behind the plate.





But that's something I don't think the Yankees will ever seriously consider moving him from behind the dish. The bat plays up big time at catcher and the reality is you can live with substandard defense behind the plate if that catcher is jacking the ball out 35 times a season just look at Mike Piazza, Victor Martinez and, of course, Posada.

Now Austin Romine is a bit of a different story. He is more of a complete package. He is better behind the plate, but he is obviously not the same kind of bat as Montero though, he isn't an empty batter's box. He is capable with the stick though his BB:K (5:27) doesn't give a lot of faith in his eye at the plate. What helps the lack of walks is he is a doubles machine, hitting 13 in 161 at bats. Scouts aren't down on Romine, they just aren't as high on the second round pick from 2007, but he could become a solid regular at the big league level.

Obviously both of these guys are a long ways away from being in a position to help the Yankees and a lot can happen along the way. For now though, the Yanks have some options coming up the line.