All Things Bubba

Not too much in this week's minor league transaction report. Most of the interesting stuff has already been reported. There are a couple of tidbits. Sal Fasano signed with the Braves. And the Braves activated Matt DeSalvo from the DL (still don't know why he was on it in the first place).

The Yankees put Alan Horne on the DL. I was at the game where he was injured. I didn't realize it was an injury, though. Here's what Baseball America says about the Yankees' transactions this week:

Gonzalez is off to a great start filling in for an injured Derek Jeter, as he’s 4-for-his-first-11 with a pair of doubles. No team could carry both Duncan and Morgan Ensberg, a pair of righthanded-hitting first baseman types, but it was perhaps a bit surprising that the Yankees went with the latter. Duncan has smacked four doubles and three homers in 18 at-bats (1.167 slugging) since heading back to Scranton. Horne left his Thursday start after two innings and 38 pitches with what may be a tendon issue or nerve problem in his right arm. MRI results were pending.

Doesn't sound like good news about Horne. I suspect Duncan got sent down because he has options left. Ensberg probably doesn't.

The Yanks did several major league transactions today. Chad Moeller (the Reds' backup catcher last year) was called up, because Molina pulled a hamstring. Joba Chamberlain was put on the bereavement list to be with his ailing father. Jonathan Albaladejo, who was just sent down April 5 when Andy Pettitte came off the DL, was called up again. Betemit was put on the 15-day DL with pinkeye.

What I'm really wondering about is what's going on with Andy Phillips. He DH'ed Wednesday, was out of the lineup Thursday, started at 1B Friday, and was out of the lineup Saturday and Sunday. (Sunday's game was rained out, but they posted the lineup before the game was called, and Andy wasn't in it.)

Tonight, they played a doubleheader to make up for the rainout...and still no Andy. He was not in the lineup for either game, which seems really strange, since he was playing every day before last Thursday.

I e-mailed the Bats radio guys and asked if Andy's injured. So far, they haven't answered me (though they did mention my e-mail). They may not know.

I suppose it's also possible that the Reds are considering calling him up or trading him. That's the other reason they sit players. Andy apparently played well on Friday (8 innings at 1B, 2 for 4 at the plate), which you wouldn't expect if he were injured. Krivsky and other Reds brass were reportedly in Louisville yesterday and today, fueling rumors that a roster move is coming. There was bad news about A-Gon announced today, and some think the Reds may call up a right-handed infielder, preferably one with some power.

Personally, I don't buy it. This weekend was the home opener for the Bats; that's probably why Krivsky is there. Or maybe he wanted to see Homer Bailey pitch. (Bailey was supposed to start yesterday, and ended up pitching the first game of the doubleheader today.)

Maybe there will be some news tomorrow night, if not later tonight. So far, Andy is not on the DL.

Labels: Andy Phillips