Tagged: Chone Figgins

An end to the first half, looking forward to the second

In three hours, the Yankees will disperse in many directions, with most coaches and players going to their offseason homes and three Yankees heading to St. Louis. There are a bunch of people hoping to not do a whole lot over the next four days. A four-day All-Star break is big. We’ll be on WFAN from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this week with Adam the Bull. Yes, we’ll try to blog a bit during the week. And, no, Twitter won’t be happening anytime soon.

Phil Hughes: We can’t help you with posting the Innerview. Really, we just don’t know how. But, Internet Guru Kevin Sullivan reads this blog. Hopefully, we’ll get back to posting those Innerviews here for those of you who, for some reason, miss our “Batting Practice Today presented by Audi.”

abreu250_071209.jpgBobby Abreu: He seems to enjoy playing against the Yankees, huh? But not as much as Howie Kendrick, who mystified the Angels with his awful start to the season but has hit the Yankees. Of course.

Chone Figgins: He’ll be a free agent after the season. It would be interesting to see how the free market assesses his value. He’s just perfect for the Angels.

Joba Chamberlain:
Had a nice pre-game chat at his locker. His frame of mind is good. He truly believes he’ll have a strong second half. (Then again, what’s he going to say?) He figures a few quiet days at home in Nebraska will do him good.

Eric Hinske:
He’s fitting in quite nicely. After he was acquired in a trade, a bunch of Yankees, perhaps chiefly Damon, were absolutely certain he’d make a strong contribution. Two starts — and three home runs — in, they seem to be correct. It’ll be interesting if Girardi can keep all of his outfielders happy — Hinske makes five for three spots — if all of them continue to play well.

Sergio Mitre:
His eight scoreless innings for AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre have to make him the odds-on favorite to start against the Orioles a week from Tuesday. He struck out five and walked none and, unlike Aceves, starting Mitre won’t tax the bullpen for days. Or shouldn’t.

Mark Teixeira: Overheard at his locker today, a reporter asking Teixeira, “When did you know you could bring the thunder?” Teixeira’s response: “What does that mean?” The reporter, who isn’t a regular on the Yankees beat: “Swing the bat.” Teixeira then answered.

The All-Star break is coming at a good time. We’ll look forward to mixing in some Q&As with players and coaches in the second half. This initial run with the blog has been fun, if a bit of a work in progress. As always, thanks for reading.