There’s a moment in one of the direct-to-video sequels of Aladdin where the palace guard bursts into the dungeon where our stalwart prince is awaiting his execution*, takes a deep breath, and says, with pleasure, “Mmmm.  Aaaahhh. Dawn.” While I am not as sadistic as a villainous guard ...

It’s that time of year again—bags are packed, we dream of Florida (or Arizona) sunshine, football season’s over, and the pundits come out with their preseason top prospect lists… 1. Manny Banuelos, LHP (write-up) It probably won’t come as a surprise that after the departure ...

Not much activity in the Hot Stove League today. I suspect if we just started referring to it as the Hot Tub League, we’d get more news. Kirk Gibson As was expected by almost everyone, Arizona’s Kirk Gibson walked away with the National League Manager of the Year Kirk Gibson trots past Steve Garvey ...

I'm just going to keep using this image of A.J. Burnett. (AP) Not sure what caused more shaking around here, this afternoon’s earthquake tremor or Brian Cashman saying that there are “no guarantees” that A.J. Burnett remains in the rotation after his next start. That’s quite the turnaround ...

He's almost ready for his close-up. (AP) Sunday’s trade deadline came and went without the Yankees making a move. No Hiroki Kuroda, Erik Bedard or Wandy Rodriguez. No lefty reliever. No bench bat. A whole lot of nothing, not that there’s anything wrong with that when you’ve got ...

Manny Banuelos' impending promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre better positions him for a late-season appearance in the Bronx. (AP) With the rest of the baseball world attuned to whether the Yankees will make a deal to beat the trade deadline, the organization does appear poised for a noteworthy ...

It's all well and good to be armed with young pitchers, but they're not going to grow up to be Felix Hernandez just because you promote them at a young age. (AP) Reading Steve’s recent piece about the supposed dangers of rushing young pitchers, I was struck by something that inspired my ...

Brian Cashman says that promising young pitchers Dellin Betances, 23 next month, and Manny Banuelos, 20 next month, will have no chance to make the major-league team even if they out-pitch the rather decrepit choices the Yankees have lined up for the back of the rotation. This cautious attitude is understandable, ...

Three Up Andrew Brackman: Live and Unfettered. (AP) Keeping with tradition, the Yankees summoned three promising prospects—Dellin Betances, Andrew Brackman, and Jesus Montero—for a taste of life in the majors. Brackman is the only one of the group with a 40-man roster spot, and as Chad Jennings reported ...