Liveblog 5: 2007 Futures Game

I'm not that interested in the All-Star Game this year, to be honest. As the season goes on and the Yankees continue to be inconsistent and mediocre, the playoffs continue to slip away, and I start thinking of the team's future. Not just the team, but the whole league. I'll watch the game and hopefully see some good baseball, but what I'm actually looking forward to is the Futures Game, where a lot of the top prospects in the minor leagues get a chance to pitch in front of a national audience, and we get a chance to see what they have. Isn't that a little more compelling than watching a bunch of guys who are already famous play in an exhibition that most of them probably don't care about?

Last year, Phil Hughes (Who'll hopefully be pitching in the bigs again by the end of the month) and Jose Tabata were selected to represent the Yankees. Phil actually got lit up a bit in the inning he pitched, which included Tabata smacking a single just past his head. How much would it have sucked to have our #2 prospect take out our #1 with a line drive to the face? Anyway, this year, only Joba Chamberlain will be representing the Yankees organization, but he could be worth it just by himself. Picked in the Supplementary Round of the draft last year, he has great talent and would have been picked earlier if there weren't concerns about his arm soreness and weight problem, but so far he's kept those at bay and been dominating hitters with a K/9 rate of over 13. I haven't been this excited about a Yankee pitching prospect since... Phil Hughes. Anyway, I'll be back to blog this game as it happens starting at 4.

Top 1 - The Yankees just beat the Angels 12-0 after losing 2-1 in 13 innings the day before, and winning 14-9 the day before that. What a weird sport. Michael Saunders reaches on an error off a pitch by Jeff Nieman and steals second. Chin-Lung Hu doubles down the line to score Saunders, then steals third and scores on a sac fly Wladimir "Misspelled Name" Balentin. Nieman has a really nice fastball and strikes out Joey Votto. Max Ramirez pops out on a ball that gets away from a fielder before being saved by another.

Bottom 1 - Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury leads off against Rick Vanden Hurk and grounds out. Justin Upton, brother of Tampa's BJ, is next. He strikes out looking. Evan Longoria, not to be confused with the Desperate Housewives star, doubles to center. He moves to third on a wild pitch. Ian Stewart squibs a grounder to the pitcher and the inning's over. Vanden Hurk had a good fastball too. I think we'll see that a lot today.

Top 2 - Chuck Lofgren of the Indians starts the inning, and I'm not sure why he's here, with an ugly ERA, and a good strikeout rate but a fair amount of walks too. German Duran launches a deep fly out to left. Robinzon Diaz (What the fuck is with these names?) bloops a single to center. Carlos Gonzalez pops out to third. Lofgren's fastball is surprisingly mediocre, but he has a good changeup. A wild pitch moves Diaz to second. Freddy Sandoval goes down on strikes and we're moving on.

Bottom 2 - Stephen Pearce pops out against Carlos Carrasco, but I wouldn't know that without the internet because Erin Andrews was interviewing World Team manager Juan Marichal. He was a great player, but this game is about the young, not the old, damn it. Brent Lillibridge fans on a breaking ball. Jay Bruce wallops a triple off the right field wall, the second Team USA hit that would have been a home run in most parks. Chris Coghlan (this is like an unusual name convention) draws a four pitch walk. Bryan Anderson opts for the completely generic name instead, and pays for it with a strikeout.

Top 3 - This is what I'm here to see, Joba the Hutt. He walks Saunders on 5 crisp fastballs, maybe a bit jumpy with the nerves. Saunders steals second. Hu singles to score the runner. Chamberlain gets ahead of the batter with a change and a curve before blowing a fastball by him, as Hu gets thrown out at second. The next hitter lines an out to first base and the inning's over. Disappointing - not the run, Hughes gave up three last year; rather, on the replay, Hu was safe at second, and I wanted to see some more of Joba.

Bottom 3 - Hey, Joba got an interview with Erin! I like the guy, what can I say. Fautino De Los Santos takes the mound and quickly strikes out Ellsbury. Of the saints indeed. Upton takes him deep on the very next pitch. Longoria gets hit by a pitch and takes his base. The next batter pops out. I've just been informed that he was the first positional player ever drafted in the first round by Colorado. Really? The team known for good hitting and terrible pitching? Okay. The next batter walks. Foul tip strikeout to end the inning, 3-1 World.

Top 4 - Kevin Mulvey is now pitching. This game will only be seven innings, which seems weird since they have ten pitchers, I think. Ramirez slugs a double to left. Duran whiffs. Diaz singles on a play that could have been made, and runners are on the corners. The US defense has been rough today. Replacement Colby Rasmus makes a nice running catch in center as Ramirez tags up easily, and the next batter grounds out. 4-1.

Bottom 4 - Funny thing about this All-Star Game commercial with the players riding trolly cars through downtown San Francisco - it was filmed initially with just a bunch of good players, but a large number of them didn't turn out to be voted into the game. So they reedited the commercial to take out all those players while adding a few other incongruous shots of unexpected guys who got in. New pitcher Henry Sosa induced a ground out to start the inning. He quickly gets another. Steve Phillips quips that Jose Reyes could throw 95 MPH if he pitched. I strenuously object. 95 MPH is an elite fastball, just because a guy's got a strong arm at shortstop doesn't mean he's got a better heater than most of the guys who are actually paid to pitch. A third grounder to end the inning.

Top 5 - Pitching is last year's top draft pick Luke Hochevar. Kenny Williams, GM of a terrible team, tells the broadcasters that Mark Buehrle has verbally agreed to an extension to pitch the next four years for the White Sox, without a blanket no-trade clause. I have no idea why Buerhle agreed to this, he could have gotten more money and it's well known that he wanted to play for St. Louis. Unless he really doesn't care about that anymore. Hochevar gets two grounders before a fly ball to wrap up the inning. He was the first US pitcher not to get exactly one strike out.

Bottom 5 - Deolis Guerra gets a ground ball and then a pop out. He throws a crazy wild pitch, but no one's on base, so no harm done, ha ha ha! I hate this laptop, I've somehow managed to accidently publish this post twice in the last two minutes. John Whittleman clubs a homer, two run game. Pitching change? You know it! Commercial for Pan's Labyrinth. I'm disgusted with myself for not having seen it yet. Franco Morales takes the mound. He looks dominating striking out Stewart.

Top 6 - I don't understand Sam Adams' marketing angle of suggesting that everyone who works at their company is a drunk. Liking beer is one thing, but pointing out someone happily accepting a brew at 5:30 AM... little weird. Votto homers off Boston's Clay Buchholz. Phillips mentions him outdueling Roger Clemens earlier this year. Good job giving up fewer runs than a 44 year old making his second start of the year, Clay. Strikes out the hitter. Brian Bocock makes a nice play to get the second out. Geovani Soto strikes out and the inning's over.

Bottom 6 - MLB's Gameday claims Morales' name is Franklin, ESPN says Franco. Franco seems more likely. Matt Tolbert fans. Quick cut to Joba pointing to the US flag on his uniform and giving a thumbs up. You're a Native American, Joba, this country has been screwing your people since they got here over two hundred years ago. Bocock walks. Steve Phillips, you don't have to tell us that Jose Reyes has "elite" speed. We know, okay? The fact that it's a minor league exhibition game suggests that the average viewer knows a few things about baseball, and the fact that Jose is fast is the first thing they teach you when you sign up to be a fan after they tell you what a base is. Stop patronizing us. Morales strikes out Bruce and he's removed for a reliever. Pedro Beato takes the mound and a pop up falls in between three fielders for a hit. Phillips explains that to be a regular catcher, you have to have a good throwing arm. 2007 all-star Victor Martinez says hi. Beato finishes the inning with a K.

Top 7 - Awesome-named Clayton Kershaw will probably be USA's last pitcher today. James Van Ostrand hits a home run. They're gonna have to pick an MVP for this game, which is usually completely meaningless. It's very unlikely a player even stays in the game long enough to be significantly more important to a victory than anyone else, so what's the point? Ground out. The batter is Gorkys Hernandez. Yes, Gorkys. He draws a walk. You know names are crazy when Elvis Andrus doesn't make me bat an eye. The King strikes out. Ah, manager Dave Winfield removes Kershaw when in all likelyhood, this will be the last out their pitchers have to get. Collin Balester in. Double to the left-center gap. Strikes out Votto, 7-2 World.

Bottom 7 - Rich Thompson will attempt to close out the game. He gets Ellsbury after a long battle with the big hook. A fly out, and Emiliano Fruto is brought in to wrap this bitch up. He allows a walk. Stewart flies out, and that's the game.

Wrap-up - Not a bad game. Some of the players looked pretty good. I was annoyed by how ESPN went out of their way to point out all the great players who played in past Futures Games. Really, have a lot of good players in the minors, selected to play in an exhibition, gone on to have success in the majors? How wild! I didn't pay as much attention as I might have if I didn't watch the Yankee game, because six hours of baseball can start to wear on you.