Via nesn.com –

Culver’s father, Christopher Culver, Sr. won’t be joining in on any draft parties, as he is scheduled to be imprisoned for at least six more years after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including first-degree burglary and third-degree arson. He burned down the family’s Rochester home on Easter Sunday 2008.

What is it with the Yankees and taking kids #1 who come from broken families? They did it last year with Slade Heathcott too. And, of course, we know about Joba’s mother.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that kids can’t pick their parents. Shoot, for that matter, let’s talk about Babe Ruth’s parents. Obviously, people can rise above these things, sometimes. But, also, at times, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as well. And, when I hear Jonathan Mayo on the MLB Network say that there are questions about Cito Culver’s effort (at times) and then see reports like this about his father, I have to wonder if the Yankees did all the requisite background checks on this kid’s make-up.

In this analysis, the Red Sox (3.40 GPA), Diamondbacks (3.20), A’s (3.10), Phillies (3.05), Rays (2.90) and Twins (2.90) were the top five teams in baseball in terms of drafting well over the last ten years. (Rays and Twins were tied for fifth.) And, the Yankees ranked 26th overall – with a GPA of 1.95 – only bettering the Mets (1.90), White Sox (1.75), Astros (1.55) and Mariners (1.45).  Clearly, this is not pretty news for the Yankees front office in terms of grading out well in the draft.

In the same edition of Baseball America, Jim Callis had a feature on the best scouting directors (current and former) in the last few years. Among those listed were David Chadd, Mike Rizzo, Logan White, R.J. Harrison, and Jason McLeod. Note there’s no mention of Damon Oppenheimer, the man in charge of the Yankees amateur scouting and draft, or anyone else within the Yankees front office here.

And, today, with their first pick in the 2010 draft, the 32nd overall pick, the Yankees selected Cito Culver - probably two or three (or maybe four?) rounds earlier than he should have been selected – passing on talent like Anthony Ranaudo, Bryce Brentz, Ryan LaMarre and Seth Blair (just to name a few).

Considering all this, and then factoring in that the Yankees had screwed up their first three picks in the draft just about every year from 1998 through 2008, I have to wonder about what’s going on in the Yankees front office with respect to handling the draft?   (“What about 2009?” some may say?  Well, the jury is still out on that one.)

At some point, Damon Oppenheimer – and his bosses, Mark Newman and Brian Cashman – have to be held accountable for the way they’ve been wasting the Yankees “prime” picks, draft after draft, no?

I’d love to give you guys a nice writeup from Baseball America or Keith Law or even John Sickels but, alas, I wasn’t able to find anything.  I suppose that should sum up the kind of reach this pick was, especially with some of the talent that was sitting there.

I’ll reserve judgment for a later date and will give this kid a chance to earn his ’stripes but my first reaction is definitely disappointment.

Update #1 (10:41 p.m.): This comes from Baseball America’s writeup for prospects in New York State which had Culver as the #3 ranked prospect in NYS:

Cito Culver, ss
Irondequoit HS, Rochester, N.Y.

Hidden away in upstate New York—hardly a baseball hotbed—Culver sticks out like a sore thumb. He is the rare Northeast prep product with a legitimate chance to play shortstop in the major leagues. Culver’s best tool is his arm, which rates as a 65 on the 20-80 scouting scale. Some scouts report seeing him up to 94 mph off the mound, but he has no interest in pitching. The game comes easily to Culver, whose actions, instincts and range are all plus at times, though he has a long way to go to become a consistent defender, and some believe he profiles as a utility player down the road. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Culver is a solid-average runner and a switch-hitter with a loose, whippy swing from both sides of the plate. He projects to have below-average power and is mostly a slap hitter, but he does generate good bat speed and could be an average hitter as he gets stronger. Culver is an excellent athlete who plays basketball in the winter, and he could take off once he focuses on baseball. He could be drafted in the fourth- to sixth-round range, but he is considered a difficult sign away from his Maryland commitment.

The good stuff here is the arm, the bat speed and the athleticism.  The bad stuff here, obviously, is that people perceived him as available in the mid-rounds scheduled for tomorrow or Wednesday.  Plus, if he’s got such a strong commitment to Maryland, does that mean the Yankees have to buy him away from the Terrapins at over-slot for a questionable first rounder?

I feel marginally better about the pick although I still really would’ve pissed my pants for Castellanos or a pitcher.

Ralph had a very unusual career as a major league skipper.  He took over from Casey Stengel in 1961, winning World Championships his first two seasons and a pennant his third.  He is the only manager to start his major league career in such a spectacular  manner.  In 1964 he becomes the Yankee GM with a pennant to show for his first year in that position.  In one of the oddest turn of events in baseball history, Ralph decides to fire Yogi as manager after the 1964 pennant winning season, and hire Johnny Keane the manager of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Call it the curse of crossing Yogi, call it the evil eye (CBS became owners of the Yankees), but Ralph’s luck  had just run out.

Ralph’s second run as Yankee manager starts 20 games into the 1966 season when he fired Johnny Keane.  The Yankees record at the time 4-16.  The Yankees would finish last his first year back and ninth (in a ten team league)  in 1967.  After that, the club would have a series of .500 type seasons finishing around the breakeven mark each year through 1973 with the lone exception of 1970.   In 1970, the club won 93 games finishing second a distant 17 games out of first.  Ralph resigned after the final game in 1973.

Ralph wasn’t gone for long, he was back at the helm for the 74 season this time leading the Tigers to four dismal seasons winning  between 57 and 74 games each season before his final Tiger campaign in 1978, where he won a respectable 86 games.  Ralph resigned after the 1978 campaign.

In 1981 he takes over as manager of  Boston finishing in 5th place for the first half of that strike season and 2nd place for the second half of the season.  He manages the Boston club for three more years finishing 3rd, 6th and 4th in his final campaign as major league manager.  He resigned after the 1984 campaign.

So there you have it, best start to a career as manager and  ends with 17 straight seasons without winning so much as a division title. Amazingly, he never was fired from any manager’s job in spite of the fact that his teams only contended twice in those 17 years (losing both times).

Ralph had his odd quirks as a manager.  For example, he liked his lead off hitter to be a second baseman.  Bobby Richardson was the lead off hitter between 61-63, his OBP for those years .295, .337, .294.  Horace Clarke led off between 1967-1973, his highest OBP was .339 (1969), lowest .258.  In 1972 and 1973, leading off both seasons, he scored 65 and 60 runs respectively.  Ralph did not allow his pitching coach to visit the mound, all visits were done by Ralph.   Ralph decked a singer/movie star named Gordon MacRae in the late 1960’s in a nightclub for making a pass at his wife.  Ralph is the oldest living major league manager, he turned 90 last August.

Check back here if you’re interested in draft coverage!

Update #1 (12:20 p.m.): I’ve compiled all of the names the Yanks have been associated with via various mock drafts and projections from the writers at Baseball America, Keith Law (ESPN.com), Jonathan Mayo (MLB.com), Frankie Piliere (MLBFanHouse) and John Sickels (minorleagueball.com).  Instead of listing the links for each incarnation of the mock draft these sources have published, I’ll just list out the names the Yanks are supposedly considering.

Baseball America — Kyle Parker (OF/1B, Clemson); Tyrell Jenkins (RHP, Henderson (Texas) HS); Ryan LaMarre (OF, Michigan); Christian Yelich (1B/OF, Westlake (California) HS)

Jonathan Mayo — Austin Wates (OF, Virginia Tech)

Keith Law — Tyrell Jenkins (RHP, Henderson (Texas) HS); Christian Yelich (1B/OF, Westlake (California) HS); Gary Brown (OF, Cal-State Fullerton)

Update #2 (2:15 p.m.): Frankie Piliere just released his most updated mock draft so I’ve added the new name below in italics.  I’ve also compiled Andy Seiler’s mock drafts from his MLBBonusBaby website.

Frankie Piliere — Anthony Ranaudo (RHP, LSU); Jedd Gyorko (SS, West Virginia); Drew Vettleson (OF, Central Kitsap (Washington) HS)

Andy Seiler — Justin O’Conner (C/SS, Cowan (Indiana) HS); Cameron Bedrosian (RHP, East Coweta (Georgia) HS); LeVon Washington (OF, Chipola (Florida) Junior College); James Paxton (LHP, Grand Prairie AirHogs (Ind. League)); Barret Loux (RHP, Texas A&M); Matt Harvey (RHP, North Carolina); Zach Lee (RHP McKinney (Texas) HS)

Update #3 (2:25 p.m.): John Sickels just released his most updated mock draft so I’ve added the new name below in italics.

John Sickels — Matt Harvey (RHP, North Carolina); Nick Castellanos (3B, Archbishop McCarthy (Florida) HS); Jedd Gyorko (SS, West Virginia)

Bear in mind that these names come from various incarnations of mock drafts going back as far as October 5th of last year.  Since the MLB draft is a huge guessing-game of signability issues and players climbing/falling draft boards, it’s really hard to get a read on where the Yanks will go with the 32nd (and final) pick of the first round.

Scouting reports and other content to follow…stay tuned!

Update #4 (9:15 p.m.): YES!  Christian Yelich and Gary Brown were just taken by the Marlins (#23) and Giants (#24), respectively!  I feel like we dodged a bullet there because those were two of my least favorite players associated with the Yanks in the mock drafts.  Only seven more picks until the Yanks add some talent to the system!

Update #5 (9:45 p.m.): With only three more picks before the Yanks make their selection, the “best available” players are:

Nick Castellanos, 3b, Archbishop McCarthy HS, Southwest Ranches, Fla.
Stetson Allie, rhp, St. Edward HS, Lakewood, Ohio
Justin O’Conner, c, Cowan HS, Muncie, Ind.
Brandon Workman, rhp, Texas
Asher Wojciechowski, rhp, The Citadel
Peter Tago, rhp, Dana Hills HS, Dana Point, Calif.

I’d piss my pants if we ended up with Castellanos but I have a feeling we’re going to take either the college arm (Workman) or the prep arm (Tago).  I guess we’ll find out…

I thought he did a solid job.

What I liked most about Lorez was his style. He’s got that nice and “every guy” delivery but it’s very professional and polished – somewhat like it was with Frank Messer, back in the day.

And, what I loved about listening to Bob Lorenz do these games was that he made sure the story was “the game” – instead of attempting to make “his announcing of the game” be the story of the game. You know what I mean? (See: Kay, Michael.)

What did you think of Bob Lorenz in the booth this weekend?

Friday, June 4th: The Jays beat up A.J. Burnett, pretty good, getting six earned runs in six innings against the Yankees #2 starter. And, New York only manages 5 hits in 30 At Bats against Toronto’s pitching. Yes, that’s a BA of .167 – which, ain’t good…ever. Yankees lose this one, 6-1.

Saturday, June 5th: The Yankees had a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th inning in this game – but, Andy Pettitte got touched up for a solo homer in that frame which allowed the Jays to tie the score. And, it stayed that way until the 14th inning when Chad Gaudin blows it for New York. Again, the Yankees bats were MIA in this contest. In total, New York was 8 for 47 in this one against the Jays pitching. And, that’s a BA of .170 – which is just as bad as it was for the Yankees in the first game of this series. Yankees lose this one, 3-2 in fourteen.

Sunday, June 6th: The Yankees were losing this game, two-zip, heading into the 8th inning. And, then, the Jays gifted four runs to New York in that frame. How? Here’s how the Yankees “offense” went in the 8th inning: Batter hit by a pitch followed by another batter hit by a pitch. Runners on first and second, no outs. Double – one run scores – and now it’s runners on second and third with no outs. Next is a strikeout and an IBB. Based loaded, one out. Then the Jays wild pitch in a run. Another strike out – runners on second and third, two outs. Single – two runs score. So, in total, the Yankees score four – and it’s greatly assisted by two HBP and a WP. In any event, New York now takes a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the 8th inning. But, here comes Joba Chamberlain who almost chokes it up allowing hits to “sluggers” Jose Molina and Fred Lewis. One run does score. However, thanks to Mo Rivera locking down the ninth, the Yankees squeeze out a run-one win – again, assisted by two HBP and a WP in a key inning (late in the game).

All told, over these three games, the Yankees batters were not very impressive, at all. And, they were spanked by the Jays – and barely avoided getting swept (if not for the Jays pitchers getting wild in the 8th inning today).

On the bright side, the Yankees next six games are against the Orioles and Astros. There should be at least four wins in there, somewhere, for the Yankees, no?

Is it time to worry about Mark Teixeira?

The Yankees first baseman went 0-for-6 and tied a career high with five strikeouts in a 3-2, 14-inning loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday. Traditionally a slow starter, he is now hitting .215 with eight home runs, 34 RBI, 45 strikeouts and 33 walks.

“I’ve done it before. Strikeouts are a part of the game,” Teixeira said. “Today, I just didn’t see the ball real well.”

A year ago Teixeira was hitting .213 on May 15 and went 29-for-72 (.403) to raise his average to .284 on June 5. That makes this year’s average by far the worst of his career through the same date. The drop in home runs and RBI is not as significant but still disconcerting. Teixeira, 30, is on pace for 23 home runs and 98 RBI, the homers ranking as a career low and the RBI being his lowest total since his rookie season of 2003.

So there is no doubt his numbers are down, but a closer look at Teixeira’s performance suggests they won’t stay that way.

His walk rate is up (13.2% from 11.5% in 2009) and strikeout rate down (18.8% from 18.7%) from a year ago when he led the American League with 39 home runs and 122 RBI. But the red flag is in his BABIP (batting average on balls in play), which is only .236, nearly 70 points lower than his career mark of .305.

As long as Teixeira keeps walking and striking out at his current rate, he will start to find more luck and more balls dropping for hits.

Then again, sometimes this bad BABIP thing can last for a full season – like it did for Nick Swisher in 2008:

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New York’s overall team ERA during this period hasn’t been all that bad: 4.25 in 239.3 IP. However, their bullpen has allowed 35% of inherited runners to score during this span too. (The overall big league average, to date, is 32%. So, the Yankees pen has been worse than average in this area during this time. As you can see later, we can probably thank Joba and Chan Ho for that.)

During this span, the Yankees collective bats have posted a BA/OBA/SLG line of .282/.353/.426 (in 1,069 PA). And, that’s been good for an average of 5.0 runs per game. But, that’s misleading because there were three games within these 27 where the Yankees scored 11 runs – where they won two and lost one.

But, the big number here, of course, is that record of 13-14. Given their team roster/payroll, there’s no excuse for the Yankees playing one game under .500 over a period of four weeks. Plus, the Yankees play has been worse than that 13-14 mark suggests.

During these four weeks, the Yankees went 6-1 when facing the Orioles and Indians – who are two of the worst teams in the league with records of 15-41 and 21-33, respectively. The Yankees also went 2-1 against the Twins – who, for some reason, just cannot beat New York if their life depended on it. (Since 2002, Minnesota is 18-54 against the Yankees under Ron Gardenhire and 725-572 against everyone else.)

This means, since May 9th, the Yankees are 8-2 when playing the O’s, Tribe and Twinkies and 5-12 when playing everyone else. Yes, five and twelve. That’s not exactly the level of play that you would expect from the defending World Champs, is it?

So, whose to blame? Well, let’s look at some Yankees pitchers, first, during this span:

CC Sabathia: 5.81 ERA in 33 IP
A.J. Burnett: 5.65 ERA in 36.6 IP
Joba Chamberlain: 7.94 ERA in 11.3 IP
Chan Ho Park: 7.45 ERA in 9.6 IP

If not for Javier Vazquez (2.77 ERA), Andy Pettitte (2.91 ERA) and Phil Hughes (3.41 ERA), the Yankees pitching would look a lot worse than that aforementioned 4.25 ERA during this span.

Next, some Yankees batters and their BA/OBA/SLG marks during this four week span:

Marcus Thames: .205/.360/.308 in 39 AB
Francisco Cervelli: .208/.302/.278 in 72 AB
Mark Teixeira: .222/.311/.343 in 108 AB

And, really, that’s about it on the truly bad side. Everyone else has been doing as expected during this span – or better. In fact, Robbie Cano, Curtis Granderson, Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher have been great over the last four weeks (when they’ve played) – and Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have both been reaching base 36% of the time since May 9th.

So, does this all mean, if CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira play lousy then the Yankees will not do well? Sure seems like it, over the last four weeks, no? And, of course, we know what happens when they perform well – as we saw the Yankees Championship season last year.

Let’s hope these three get their act into gear soon…and that, what we’ve seen from them the last four weeks doesn’t last for another four weeks or longer.

We also get a featurette on Cotto and Foreman. The Cotto interview centered on the question: Is he done? I think not. He may not be upper echelon like Paciquaio, but he can still be a bankable draw.

In Foreman’s feature – we learn about his emigration – first to Israel (where he fought out of a Palestinian gym) then to Brooklyn.

We’ve also been beaten up with the Jew vs. Puerto Rican story line – with Max Kellerman throwing a ton of Yiddish out for the fans at home.

Walk-up: Seems to be a pro-Cotto crowd, which as Kellerman explained might be related to the Jewish fight fan community not yet believing in Foreman.

Foreman is coming into a mix of some crazy Hebrew horn and then Slipknot (?). So confused.

Introductions: Michael Buffer rocking a white tux… nice look, even minus the pinstripes.

Bit o’ history: Benny Leonard won the first fight in old Yankee Stadium – July 24, 1923. Beating Lou Tendler in a lightweight title fight in front of about 58,000.

Crowd gets pretty amped for Cotto – not Derek Jeter amped, maybe David Justice amped. Foreman gets A-Rod applause – mixed at best.

Round One: Cotto pushed Foreman around, landing a couple solid jabs that pushed Yuri back a few times. Foreman rode his bicycle for most of the round. 10-9 Cotto.

Round Two: Cotto staggered Foreman another couple of times. Foreman’s got way faster hands, but Cotto’s just stronger. If this goes the distance, Foreman might have a shot – but it won’t at this rate. Cotto 10-9.

Round Three: Foreman, despite dropping his mouthguard, had the better of things – but just barely. His big shots just aren’t that big – think Brett Gardener home run swings – they look impressive, but c’mon, it’s still Brett Gardener. Foreman 10-9.

Round Four: Color man Roy Jones Jr. says Foreman is throwing big shots even though he’s not a knockout guy because Cotto’s had the better of things. I think its more that he’s feeling his oats. Oh, the attendance is officially 20,272 – or just about what you could put into Madison Square Garden. Foreman 10-9.

Rounds Five and Six: The magic of the DVR keeps me from missing anything when the boy wakes up for a minute. In Round Five, Cotto got a bit of his starch back, but Foreman was still very fast. Cotto 10-9. In Round Six – the numbers say there haven’t been many punched landed… but the fight feels like its been busy. Cotto’s gotten his mojo back after a two-round hiatus. Foreman’s hands are quicker, but they just don’t seem to do much. He’s got a bloody nose and a very red face. Cotto 10-9.

Round Seven: You know what, bully for Yuri Foreman. He tripped once, banged up his knee and then fell again. His knee is Mickey Mantle in ‘68 bad at this point, but he’s not giving up. Cotto just teed off . Foreman’s all speed and without speed, well he’s done. Cotto 10-9.

Round Eight: Foreman’s corner throws the towel in – against the wishes of the fighter. But it’s not over! The corner did not throw the towel! The ref: “You’re fighting hard, I don’t want you to go out like that.” Cotto’s gonna win, but Foreman’s gonna win a TON of fans. This is all guts right now.  Cotto 10-9.

Round Nine: Cotto with a left hook to the body and down goes Foreman. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stops it at 42 seconds of the ninth round with a TKO Miguel Cotto – new WBA Super Welterweight Champ. Foreman was a warrior, but that was a good stoppage – certainly better than a flying towel.

Post-Fight: Cotto’s pleased… wants to keep fighting big name guys – and he probably can. Maybe a Sergio Martinez or someone like that.

Foreman is the story here – thanks God for keeping them both “healthy more or less.” The replay of the fall – shows Yuri’s leg just buckle – I’m thinking the 15-DL, but probably out 4-6 weeks.

“Listen, I’m the former world champion – I’m here to fight.” ~ On not quitting.

The ref – Mercante – felt the towel was unwarranted and he was protecting the fan’s interest. This guy should take Cowboy Joe West or CB Bucknor’s job.