« July 5th vs. The Twins | Main | Finding Buried Treasure »

July 06, 2007

Running Elvis Has Left The Building

From the Times-Tribune -

While the steady downpour fell outside the stadium, the Yankees were inside the clubhouse saying goodbye to starter Runelvys Hernandez.

After six starts for the Yankees, including a no-decision Wednesday, Hernandez was released on Thursday. There is no official word on who will take his place on the roster, but it seems likely that T.J. Beam could join the team over the weekend.

Although Hernandez was winless, he had a 3.56 ERA and pitched well in all but one start. The move, though, seems to have little to do with performance.

Hernandez was signed in early June, at a time when the Yankees badly needed pitching. Tyler Clippard was in New York, Kei Igawa was struggling in Triple-A, Steven White was coming back from a shoulder injury and Roger Clemens had yet to return to Yankee Stadium.

Today, the pitching has become more settled, and Hernandez is no longer a necessary reinforcement. With Hernandez out, there are two more pitchers who seem ready — or at least nearly ready — to rejoin the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre staff.

Beam has been on the disabled list since May 4 with a strained lat, but in the past two weeks he’s made four rehab appearances for the Yankees’ rookie league team. He gave up two runs in one inning on June 23, but has since pitched three times without allowing an earned run. He went two innings in each of those past three appearances, giving up a total of just two hits and one walk while striking out six.

His last outing was Monday when Beam struck out three through two hitless innings.

It’s not remotely official, but Beam seems a likely choice to rejoin the Triple-A Yankees in the next few days.

Meanwhile, starter Ross Ohlendorf could return shortly after the all-star break.

Whew! The thought of seeing Hernandez in the Bronx was chilling for me. File this one under "Bullet, Dodged."

Posted by Steve Lombardi at July 6, 2007 09:14 AM

Comments

I don't think there ever was a chance that Hernandez was going to pitch in the Bx.

Given the tone of the article, it was pretty clear that Hernandez was holding down a roster spot for the SWB Yanks.

Posted by: Raf [TypeKey Profile Page] at July 6, 2007 09:41 AM

MLB drug testers were at the Stadium yesterday and tested.......MIKE MEYERS ! What did they possibly think they would find? The words "performance enhancing" just don't apply to any discussion of this loser.

Posted by: Santino53 [TypeKey Profile Page] at July 6, 2007 10:33 AM

I guess either the Yanks reneged on a promise to join the team in the majors or there never was a promise like you were sure of. That's why you can't get in a tizzy when a middling player is signed for the minors unless you know the purpose of the signing or who he's taking time away from.

Posted by: RICH [TypeKey Profile Page] at July 6, 2007 10:36 AM