The LoHud Yankees Blog

The change in the Red Sox front office became official today, with two different press conferences in two different cities.

Ben Cherington was officially introduced in Boston.

“There will be changes,” Cherington said. “There will be small things we do differently, but we’re going to continue to build on the culture that Theo helped create with the Red Sox… It’s my job as part of that change to preserve what we’re good at and also serve as a catalyst for the change that we need. Because what’s going to work moving forward is not exactly what’s worked in the past.”

Theo Epstein was officially introduced in Chicago.

“I don’t believe in curses, (and) I guess I played a small part in proving they don’t exist, from a baseball standpoint,” Epstein said. “I do think we can be honest and upfront that certain organizations haven’t gotten the job done. That’s the approach we took in Boston. We identified certain things that we hadn’t been doing well, that might have gotten in the way of a World Series, and eradicated them. That’s what we’ll do here.”

• The big news out of the Cherington press conference was that John Lackey needs Tommy John surgery and will miss all of next season. This wipes out whatever slim chance the Red Sox had of dumping his contract.

• The Twins declined their option on closer Joe Nathan.

• Over at MLBTradeRumors, Tim Dierkes checked with some folks to come up with a price estimate on Yu Darvish. The conclussion: A minimum of a $100-million if he’s posted this year.

• The Blue Jays will not let manager John Farrell – the former Red Sox pitching coach — interview to be the Red Sox new manager.

• My father is a farmer, and I’ve never asked his advice for fantasy sports. Maybe that was a mistake.

Associated Press photo of Epstein

MLB Network announced today that it will televise all five games of the 2011 Taiwan All-Star Series between MLB players — including Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson — and the Chinese Taipei national team from November 1-6. Greg Amsinger and Larry Bowa will call the games.

The complete American roster is below, but it was also announced that the Chinese Taipei team will include former Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo, who were both born in Taiwan.

The first game of the series, played at XinZhuang Stadium in New Taipei City, will air on MLB Network on Tuesday, November 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Games two and three, played at Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung, will air on November 3 and 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET, and games four and five, played at Chengcing Lake Stadium in Kaohsiung, will air at 5:00 p.m. ET on November 5 and at 9:00 p.m. ET on November 6.

The complete game schedule is available here.

PITCHERS
Collin Balester, Nationals
Trevor Bell, Angels
Bill Bray, Reds
Phil Coke, Tigers
Ross Detwiler, Nationals
Dillon Gee, Mets
Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles
LaTroy Hawkins, Brewers
Mark Melancon, Astros
Felipe Paulino, Royals
Ramon Ramirez, Giants
Rich Thompson, Angels
Jose Veras, Pirates

CATCHERS
Drew Butera, Twins
Jeff Mathis, Angels
Ronny Paulino, Mets

INFIELDERS
Erick Aybar, Angels
Robinson Cano, Yankees
Michael Morse, Nationals
Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks
Pablo Sandoval, Giants
Danny Valencia, Twins
Ty Wigginton, Rockies

OUTFIELDERS
Emilio Bonifacio, Marlins
Curtis Granderson, Yankees
Logan Morrison, Marlins
Josh Reddick, Red Sox
Andres Torres, Giants

Associated Press photos

Talking to the Kansas City Star after being hired as the Royals pitching coach, former Yankees coach Dave Eiland briefly addressed his 2010 leave of absence when he was away from the Yankees for 25 days.

“It was something that if it happened in the off-season,” Eiland said. “Nobody would have known anything about it. It was something I had to take care of. I came home, got everything where it needed to be and moved on.

“All is well, and I couldn’t be happier from a personal or professional standpoint. As I told (manager Ned Yost on Monday), I wish spring training was starting tomorrow.”

The Yankees Double-A team ranked in the bottom half of the Eastern League in just about every offensive category and had only one player reach double digit home runs. The pitching staff wasn’t much better, and that led to a sub-.500 record.

This might have been a breakout season for several Thunder players — Melky Mesa, Brad Suttle and Graham Stoneburner were intriguing for various reasons — but instead it was usual suspects Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances who had most of the attention most of the year in Trenton (when the team didn’t have a future Hall of Famer at shortstop, that is).

Hitter of the Year: 2B Corban Joseph
Nothing especially overwhelming about Joseph’s season, just a typically solid all-around year for the versatile infielder who was an everyday second baseman this year. Joseph hit .277/.353/.415 and was one of only five players to get into more than 100 games for the Thunder. He led the team with 58 RBI and tied for the league lead with 38 doubles. A fourth-round pick in 2008, Joseph has been a steady hitter while playing second and third base, and should move up to Triple-A next season with an eye on a big league utility role at some point.

Starter of the Year: RHP Dellin Betances
He had a losing record and pitched only 105.1 innings for Trenton, but Betances still stands out because he led all starters with 115 strikeouts and a .219 opponents batting average. Betances and Banuelos each battled some control problems, a sign that they still have work to do before they’re fully polished, but both showed that they can be dominant. Betances allowed two runs or less in 12 of his 21 Double-A starts. He was better in the first half than in the second half, but more than held his own when given his first big league start in late September. He’s clearly not a finished product, but Betances showed why he’s such a highly touted young arm in the Yankees pitching-rich system.

Reliever of the Year: RHP/LHP Pat Venditte
Josh Schmidt and Wilkins Arias delivered typically Double-A impressive numbers, but neither pitched more than 35 innings, and Tim Norton’s incredibly dominant Double-A stint was cut short after just 29 innings. Meanwhile, Venditte threw a whopping 90 innings — all of them out of the pen — and carried a 1.23 WHIP that was the best on the team among anyone with more than 35 innings. Seen as a kind o sideshow, Venditte has gotten results at every level, and this year he held lefties to a .213 average with 43 strikeouts in 136 at-bats. He pitched at least three innings 10 times, and went as high as 4.1 innings (on 57 pitches). As he keeps getting outs at higher and higher levels it’s becoming more and more difficult to completely dismiss him as a legitimate prospect.

Breakout performance: RHP Tim Norton
Trenton’s truly eye-opening performance lasted only the first two months of the season. Coming back from injury, Norton put himself firmly back on the map with 22 exceptional relief outings for the Thunder. He struck out 44 batters in 29 innings, allowed a .124 opponents batting average and earned a promotion to Triple-A. After one outing for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Norton landed back on the disabled list and was never heard from again. One of several pieces of the Trenton roster that seemed so close to a breakout but ultimately fizzled for one reason or another.

Disappointing numbers: CF Melky Mesa
Coming off an MVP season in the Florida State League, Mesa came into this year with a 40-man spot and renewed hope that he might finally turn his exceptional tools — power, speed, defense — into legitimate baseball progress. Instead, he took a step back. Mesa’s strikeout totals went up slightly and his slash line dipped to .251/.329/.404 with nine home runs and 18 stolen bases. In an organization light on elite upper-level outfield prospects, Mesa offered some hope this season, but he didn’t do much to keep the attention. Austin Romine’s power numbers also dipped this season, Brad Suttle did nothing to resurrect his prospect status and Graham Stoneburner was limited to just 11 starts.

Top prospect watch: LHP Manny Banuelos
One of the top left-handed pitching prospects in baseball, Banuelos generated a ton of buzz in spring training, but he had 52 walks in 95.1 innings with Trenton. Only three of his 20 starts lasted more than five innings. But there were, of course, plenty of positives. Banuelos struck out 95, had a 3.59 ERA and held lefties to a .229 average. He was bumped to Triple-A in August and made seven starts at that level, including a seven-inning, one-hit gem against the Red Sox top minor league affiliate. Banuelos had a good-but-not-overwhelming season, showing the promise and the youth of a 20 year old.

Notable: C Austin Romine didn’t hit for the same power that he showed last season, but his batting average and on-base percentage both improved in his second Double-A season. He threw out 23.9 percent of base stealers, ranking seventh of nine qualifying catchers in the Eastern League… LHP Shaeffer Hall and RHP Craig Heyer each had 10 wins in solid but not standout seasons out of the rotation… After an impressive 2010 seasons, RHP Graham Stoneburner had a 1.69 ERA through his first three Double-A starts before being shutdown with an injury. He returned in late July, but he’ll ultimately need to take a mulligan on his season… RHP Josh Schmidt first got to Trenton in 2008. In his past three seasons he’s had a 1.61, 2.67 and 1.83 ERA in Double-A, but he’s gotten just 21 opportunities in Triple-A. Such is the life for a soft-tossing right-hander. Have to feel for the guy, though… SS Jose Pirela made a team-high 39 errors, the most among Eastern League shortstops… Nice year for OF Ray Kruml who hit .290 and earned some playing time in Triple-A… Up from High-A Tampa, OF Ziolo Almonto, 3B Robert Lyerly and RHP Chase Whitley were among the biggest names on the roster at the end of the year.

Former Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland is reportedly close to joining the coaching staff of the Kansas City Royals.

Jerry Crasnick reported late last night that Eiland is “close” to being named the Royals pitching coach. It was reported earlier this month that Eiland was a candidate.

After his rather bizarre departure at the end of last season — missed a significant chunk of the season to deal with a personal issue, then the Yankees announced immediately after the season that he would not be brought back — Eiland spent this season serving in an advisory role with the Rays.

On that note: Today is Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey’s 45th birthday.

UPDATE, 1:31 p.m.: The Royals made it official and hired Eiland as their pitching coach.

First, an admission that this comparison is far from perfect, but it’s the first thing I thought about when Mike Napoli hit that game-changing double for the Rangers last night.

When a guy can hit like that, do you think the Rangers care that minor league scouting reports said he’d never be able to catch at the big league level?

Of course I ask this question because of Jesus Montero, and of course it’s not a fair comparison because Montero is a far bigger prospect than Napoli ever was, but even so… Back in 2005 — when Napoli had just finished his fifth professional season, like Montero just did — this is what Baseball America wrote in its Napoli scouting report for the prospect handbook:

Napoli has a polished, professional hitting approach and obvious power. He has natural loft in his swing and drives the ball well from center to the opposite field… The biggest question surrounding Napoli is whether he’ll be able to catch at higher levels. His catch-and-throw skills are adequate, but his flexibility and footwork are poor. He doesn’t move well behind the plate — or on the bases, for that matter — and several Cal League observers didn’t think he’d be able to serve as a backup catcher in the majors.

Sounds fairly familiar, doesn’t it?

Back in 2005, Napoli was ranked as the 29th-best prospect in a loaded Angels system. He was 23 years old, had never played above Class-A ball and had just come back from a torn labrum. He was no Jesus Montero.

But Napoli also just finished a season in which he hit .320/.414/.631 and actually did a pretty nice job of throwing out base runners (36 percent caught stealing). He has four straight seasons of at least 20 home runs, and he’s played more than 114 games in only one of them. He’s a heckuva hitter, and hitters like that find a way to stay in the lineup.

If Montero hits like that — he’s been a better minor league hitter than Napoli was — how good would his defense have to be to earn a job as an everyday catcher in the big leagues? When you see a guy having an offensive impact like Napoli’s having in the World Series, it makes you forget about defensive scouting reports a little bit.

—

One other quick note about Napoli and the 2005 Prospect Handbook: That list of Angels prospects is/was incredibly deep. A few highlights from the Top 25:

1. Casey Kotchman; 2. Dallas McPherson; 3. Erick Aybar; 4. Jeff Mathis; 5. Kendry Morales; 6. Brandon Wood; 7. Ervin Santana; 8. Howie Kendrick; 9. Albert Callaspo; 11. Mark Trumbo; 13. Joe Saunders; 14. Sean Rodriguez; 15. Dustin Moseley; 16. Maicer Izturis; 19. Kevin Jepsen; 20. Nick Adenhart; 24. Reggie Willits

Big leaguers Alexi Casilla and Bobby Wilson were also in the Angels system at the time but couldn’t crack the Top 30, and Jered Weaver had been drafted but hadn’t signed yet, so he was Angels property without being eligible for the rankings.

Associated Press photos

Back to the aces in Game 5. Chris Carpenter outpitched C.J. Wilson in the World Series opener, and tonight one of those two could put his team on he verge of a championship. The Cardinals shook up their lineup with Skip Schumaker in center field. The Rangers are keeping the same lineup from last night.

• Despite Derek Holland’s dominant performance last night, the Rangers announced that Matt Harrison will be their starting pitcher if the Series goes seven games.

• Interesting question in the Morning News: How much does Carpenter have left? If he gets eight outs tonight, Carpenter will set a career high for innings pitched in a year, and at 36 he was the oldest pitcher to lead his league in innings pitched since Randy Johnson in 2002.

• Last night’s game drew 11.9 million viewers between 8-11 p.m. ET, which ranks as the FOX’s highest-rated and most-watched Saturday night since January 15.

• Demi Lovato is singing tonight’s National Anthem. Absolutely no chance I could pick her out of a lineup. None whatsoever. Is she the same thing as Hannah Montana?*

CARDINALS
Rafael Furcal SS
Allen Craig RF
Albert Pujols 1B
Matt Holliday LF
Lance Berkman DH
David Freese 3B
Yadier Molina C
Skip Schumaker CF
Nick Punto 2B

Chris Carpenter RHP

RANGERS
Ian Kinsler 2B
Elvis Andrus SS
Josh Hamilton CF
Michael Young DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Nelson Cruz RF
David Murphy LF
Mike Napoli C
Mitch Moreland 1B

C.J. Wilson LHP

* Kidding. I know Hannah is the same thing as Miley Cyrus, but seriously, I have no clue who this Lovato person is.

Assocaited Press photo

Here’s the announcement from Major League Baseball…

Major League Baseball announced today that Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays and Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers have been selected as the winners of the 2011 Hank Aaron Award. This is the second consecutive year Bautista has won the award. Established in 1999 to honor the 25th Anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, the Hank Aaron Award is officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball and recognizes the most outstanding offensive performers in each League.

Fans voted for the award on MLB.com, and for the second straight year, a special panel of Hall of Fame players led by Hank Aaron joined fans in voting for the award. The Hall of Fame panel included two new members – personally selected by Hank Aaron – Roberto Alomar and Joe Morgan. They joined panelists from last year, which included Tony Gwynn, Paul Molitor, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams and Robin Yount, forming a group comprised of some of the greatest offensive players of all-time who combined for 23,536 hits, 11,445 RBI and exactly 2,800 home runs.

Bautista batted a career-best .302 and led the Majors with 43 home runs. The 31-year-old outfielder added 103 RBI and also led the Majors with a .608 slugging percentage and 132 walks to go along with a .447 on-base percentage (second in Majors), 24 doubles, two triples, 105 runs scored (sixth in the A.L.) and 312 total bases (sixth in the A.L.). The Dominican native became just the fifth player in Major League history to record at least 40 home runs, 130 walks and nine stolen bases in the same season, becoming the first American Leaguer to do so since Babe Ruth in 1930. In addition, the two-time A.L. All-Star was the only player in the Majors to record at least 40 homers, 100 runs scored, 100 RBI and 100 walks with a .600 slugging percentage in 2011, marking the second consecutive season that he has accomplished the feat and making him the first to do so in consecutive seasons since David Ortiz in 2005-2006. The 20th round selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft reached base safely in 136 of his 149 games played in 2011. Dating back to September 1, 2009, Bautista leads the Majors with 107 home runs, 22 more than Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, who ranks second during that span.

Kemp, 27, batted .324 (third in the N.L.) with 39 home runs and 126 RBI in 2011, leading the National League in homers, RBI, runs scored (115) and total bases (353). The 2011 N.L. All-Star also finished among league leaders in multi-hit games (57, tied for first), hits (195, second), slugging percentage (.586, second), extra-base hits (76, second), stolen bases (40, tied for second), on-base percentage (.399, fourth) and walks (74, tied for eighth). Kemp became the seventh player in Major League history to finish the season ranked in the top three in homers, batting average, RBI and stolen bases in their respective league, joining Hall of Famers Ty Cobb (1907, 1909-11), Honus Wagner (1908), George Sisler (1920), Chuck Klein (1932), Willie Mays (1955) and Hank Aaron (1963). In addition, the sixth round selection in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft was the first Dodger to lead the N.L. in home runs and RBI since Dolph Camilli in 1941 and the first Dodger in history to lead the N.L. in homers, RBI and runs scored. Kemp, who hit .335 on the year with runners in scoring position, is one of five players all-time to eclipse 30 homers, 35 stolen bases, 100 RBI and a .310 average, joining Ken Williams (1922), Barry Bonds (1992), Alex Rodriguez (1998) and Vladimir Guerrero (2002).

Past winners of include: Jose Bautista and Joey Votto (2010); Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (2009); Aramis Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis (2008); Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder (2007); Jeter and Ryan Howard (2006); David Ortiz and Andruw Jones (2005); Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds (2004); Rodriguez and Pujols (2003); Rodriguez and Bonds (2001-02); Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton (2000) and Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa (1999).

The Phillies today officially declined options on right-handed pitchers Brad Lidge and Roy Oswalt. The veterans will become free agents this winter.

Obviously the Yankees don’t have much use for Lidge, but at the right price, Oswalt could be a short-term investment to fill a rotation spot while the Yankees wait for their top pitching prospects to finish their development. Again, it all depends on the price (doesn’t it always?).

A few other quick notes from this afternoon…

• Commissioner Bud Selig will announce the Hank Aaron Award winners tonight at 7 ET. The awards go to the top offensive players in each league.

• David Waldstein tweeted today that Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner spoke today at Yankee Stadium. No deal is done just yet, but it obviously seems to be moving that direction.

• Joel Sherman wrote today that the Yankees seem more interested in Yu Darvish than C.J. Wilson. Sherman also wonders whether the Yankees and Pirates might be a trade match because of the Pirates desire for a young catcher.

Some of you follow the Yankees minor league system very closely, and for you, this is going to be familiar information. For those who don’t pay much attention, we’ll try to provide the nuts and bolts with a level-by-level look at what happened this season, and we’ll start at the top with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Young pitching was expected to be a strength, and it was The Triple-A Yankees were fourth in the International League with a 3.80 ERA, but their lineup was in the bottom half of the league in runs scored.

Hitter of the Year: 1B Jorge Vazquez
He strikes out a ton, but there’s no denying the raw power of perhaps the organization’s most unusual prospect. Vazquez is already 29 years old, and he spent most of his career playing in Mexico, but at this point there’s little reason to doubt his ability to hit. His batting average is, well, average. His on-base percentage is disappointing. But the guy hit 32 home runs and 20 doubles in 118 Triple-A games this season. He missed a little bit of time with minor injuries and still finished second in the league in RBI.

Starter of the Year: RHP D.J. Mitchell
Honestly, you could make a case for Mitchell, Adam Warren or David Phelps, and truthfully, Mitchell is probably the smallest name of the bunch. He doesn’t have Phelps strikeout stuff, and Warren held hitters to a lower batting average, but Mitchell has ground ball stuff that carried him to 13 wins and a 3.18 ERA through 161.1 innings. A 10th-round pick in 2008, Mitchell would probably standout more if he weren’t in an organization with so much pitching depth. As it is, he’s more than holding his own with bigger names.

Reliever of the Year: RHP George Kontos
In the first half, it was closer Kevin Whelan who stood out, but by the end of the season, it was impossible to ignore Kontos. In his first full year back from Tommy John surgery, Kontos fully adapted to the bullpen as a long reliever with a 2.62 ERA, .221 opponents batting average and a little more than a strikeout per inning. The Yankees rewarded Kontos with a 40-man spot and a September call-up. He fell a little bit off the prospect map after the injury, but he’s back on the radar and pitched his way into the big league mix for next season.

Breakout performance: RHP Kevin Whelan
This is probably the closest Scranton came to a traditional breakout performance. Jordan Parraz had a great year in the outfield, but I’m not sure it changed his status. Lance Pendleton earned a lot of big league time, but he finished year out of the organization. Justin Maxwell was doing big things before he got hurt. Whelan, on the other hand, landed on the 40-man roster by finally improving his control and taking advantage of good stuff that’s always led to low opponents batting averages. Now the question is whether the Yankees were impressed enough to keep Whelan on the 40-man this winter. It might be telling that he didn’t get a September call-up.

Disappointing numbers: RHP Andrew Brackman
After last season, and strong first impression this spring, things seemed to be back on track for the former first-round pick. But the wheels fell off again this season. Brackman seemed to fall back into his old rut of high walk totals and erratic production. There is a bright side to his 6.00 ERA: In the second half, Brackman’s ERA was a much-improved 2.35 with a .149 opponents batting average. In his last nine outings — coming immediately after a nine-walk disaster — Brackman had a legitimately good pitching line: 20.1 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 17 K.

Top prospect watch: C Jesus Montero
There were quite a few prospects on this roster, but obviously none stands out quite like Montero. The Yankees top young hitter finally emerged in the second half and made an impact down the stretch. Overall, it wasn’t the dominant season some predicted — .288/.348/.467 — but he had a good July and a terrific August, and he might be finished with the minor leagues altogether. Of the regular catchers in the league, Montero had the lowest caught stealing percentage at just 20.5 percent. Montero was the only regular catcher below 25 percent and he was well behind league leader Raul Chavez who threw out 47.1 percent of base stealers.

Noteable: 3B Brandon Laird took a step back from last year’s breakout season, but still showed some of the power that makes him an intriguing corner man… Two of the true breakout prospect performances this season came from RHP Ivan Nova and RHP Hector Noesi, but they combined for only nine Triple-A appearances because they spent so much time in New York… OF Justin Maxwell spent most of the year on the disabled list, but before he got hurt, he had a .358 on-base percentage and a .588 slugging percentage. He’s still on the 40-man, and given the Yankees lack of upper-level outfield depth, his 48 games do standout a little bit… RHP David Phelps would have led the team in strikeouts with a relatively low walk total if not for a late-season injury. He’s now getting innings down the Arizona Fall League… If he had a spot on the 40-man, OF Jordan Parraz might have won a call-up with his .289/.362/.440 slash line. Truth be told, he outhit both Greg Golson and Chris Dickerson down in Triple-A… This team used 40 different pitchers. Forty!