PAT VENDITTE IS AMBIDEXTROUS, NOT AMPHIBIOUS

When big words happen, people can blow it.

As every Yankee fan knows, Pat Venditte is an ambidextrous pitcher that the Yankees apparently gave up on, and now, he's with the Oakland Athletics.   Well, he made his debut this past weekend and with it, alot of press followed.  Here's a few of the headlines.

Switch-Pitcher Makes It To The Major League Mound (WUNC)
Pat Venditte show comes to Oakland (SF Gate) 
Here's the six-fingered baseball glove that ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte uses (Market Watch)

But this is my favorite one: 

Now, I'm pretty sure someone gets fired for a headline like that.  After all, Amphibious means: 

"relating to, living in, or suited for both land and water." 

Not exactly what Pat Venditte is.

Venditte is Ambidextrous. That means:  

"(of a person) able to use the right and left hands equally well."

Now, I'm not gonna sit here and yell at that AP article. I just find it silly, but there's something called Google now. Doesn't that have everything? That's all I'm saying.

By the way, in his debut, Venditte pitched 2 scoreless innings. Good for him. Hey, the Yankees are always looking for a righty and a lefty pitcher for their pen, aren't they? Seems silly to give up on an ambidextrous pitcher now, doesn't it? Just sayin'.
 



 
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THE YANKEES ARE KILLING OFF THEIR YOUNG

The Yankees are driving me crazy!

Did you hear what they just did to our youngish guy (28 year old) Zelous Wheeler? They got rid of him... I'm not kidding.

Hardball Talk's Aaron Gleeman, love this guy, writes:

"...the 28-year-old career minor leaguer is headed to Japan. Wheeler has been sold to the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese League, removing him from the Yankees’ roster.

He hit just .193 for the Yankees, but Wheeler batted .296 with nine homers and an .834 OPS in 82 games at Triple-A and has the defensive versatility to potentially have stuck in a bench gig."

That's all fine and good, and many of you will say, "Well, Wheeler wasn't gonna give us much." I say this... "How the hell would you know? We didn't give the guy enough time."

Truth be told, Wheeler was never expected to last too long in New York, but he was fun to watch once in a while, and he had alittle pop. He also filled in in a crucial time last season.  This unloading of course comes 1 day after Pat Venditte took a hike and signed a 1 year minor league deal with the A's.  Read  SWITCH-PITCHER PAT VENDITTE TOOK A WALK.

I was just on Fahey & Chivari, a Chicago broadcast today (#4 on their broadcast list) screaming about the fact that we needed the Youth Movement with the Yankees... then they turn around and do this.

I have a feeling Jeana Bellezza, one of our BYB writers has something to say about all of this. She's big on the youth movement in New York.

Hey Jeana, I have an assignment for ya...

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SWITCH-PITCHER PAT VENDITTE TOOK A WALK

Interesting nugget out of Yankeeland... or in Oakland, or Athleticland... or something.

Minor league pitcher Pat Venditte, a guy the Yankees at one point were quite high on, weren't any longer apparently. Or maybe it was just Pat not too high on the Yankees anymore...

According to his agent, Venditte signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics. Check this out:

Client @PatVenditte has signed a minor league deal w/an invitation to #mlb spring training with the @Athletics. @MiLB @mlb @Yankees
— Marc Kligman (@MLBAgent) November 19, 2014

I was reading Hardball Talk because I wanted to get alittle background to refresh my memory on Venditte. After all, I remember when the Yanks signed him. And then I felt like the guy fell off the face of the earth.  Not exactly true... I just didn't hear as much about him.  Here's Drew Silva of HT with some background:

"Venditte was selected by the Yankees in the 20th round of the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft out of Creighton University and posted a promising 2.46 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 10.1 K/9 across 384 2/3 innings in the Yanks’ minor league system, but he went six years without getting called to New York."

Now, I'm surprised at this. Actually, I'm not. After a while, if things don't change, you need to make a change for yourself.  Well, Pat did. Good for you dude.

Another Yankee minor leaguer without a shot in the Bigs.  When will the Yankee wake up? Bring up the kids!



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GIANCARLO MANIA & THE YANKEE YOUTH CONTRADICTION

All I've heard about over the past 6 to 7 years is how great our Yankee farm hands are "going to be." I hear about how we as fans need to have high hopes for these kids in our farm, and you know what, we do...we definitely do. It takes a lot of hard work to get to the major leagues and being in the minors is just a step to the big time. I understand the work and the commitment.  But God forbid I even suggest the Yankees pursue a stud like Giancarlo Stanton, suddenly I read "experts" on Twitter say that the Yankees "don't have the farm system to make that type of deal. Really?  You're talking out of both sides of your mouth, you really are.

My take on this is simple, it's not our jobs to know who the Yankees should deal for Stanton, that's Brian Cashman's job and trust me, he's feverishly working out a package right now as you read this, especially if he knows the Mariners are trying to get Stanton as well. You can read that report HERE.  To be honest, if Cashman's not working the phones, he should be fired.  It's players like Giancarlo Stanton that you push for in pinstripes.

Now I know all about the Mariners and their farm system and that it's supposedly better than the Yankees... whatever.  My point is this... Cashman will offer what he thinks is right and when it comes down to getting Giancarlo Stanton in return, a 23 year old stud with power, AND right handed, AND a right fielder, you make it happen, SOMEHOW.

(In Photo: Slade Heathcott)
People can tell me "Well, you can't get rid of Tyler Austin or Slade Heathcott, they are the future of the Yankees..." OK, you may be right, in fact, you are right... but getting Stanton in pinstripes is also the future of the Yankees.  Know it, learn it, do it.  You don't play to win in 2015, you play to win NOW... in 2013. Guess what? It's 2013.

Now Brian Cashman has stated he is not done this off season, that was music to my ears. When he said that, quoted here in this MLB.com piece (HERE),  I immediately thought about the buzz surrounding Giancarlo Stanton and the timing of all of this and the words Cashman chose so wisely.    He said "I think patience is a virtue, and it's something we've learned can be used effectively... It's a harder road to walk, but sometimes it's not the worst road to walk. Sometimes you've got to wait for the right time and the right place to strike." Wow... sounds like something's coming down the pike... or at least it does to me.  Cashman's good like that, he makes these subtle hints as if to not show his hand, but still be honest enough that something is in the works.  This makes sense.

As far as I'm concerned, you work with the Marlins and you help them to help you. You give the Marlins whatever they like within reason, be it Slade Heathcott, Jose Campos, Dellin Betances, Mark Montgomery, Pat Venditte and on and on.  There is somehow a top 5 combination to score Stanton and then, you don't look back. 

(In Photo: Mark Montgomery)
And fine,  you can sit here, reading me right now and bitching to the computer screen saying "Don't give up" Heathcott or "Montgomery? You're nuts!" Well, you made my argument for me,  the farm system is good, good enough that you're not willing to part with them. I'm tell you, guys like Stanton don't come around too often. You give up what you can and hold onto the guys you believe in.

Sure, there's a report out that suggests the Marlins have back tracked a bit. And the chances of trading Stanton is "as close to zero as you can be", Read HERE. Sure, but not to sound naive, but there's always a chance...this is baseball, this is a business. Couple that with Stanton being fed up and trust me, if a deal can get done, a deal will get done.

The Yankees youth is talented ladies and gentleman. Talented enough to make it to the pros with the Yankees OR talented enough to be traded to Miami. That's where Cashman and his brilliant shell game comes in. He does it better than anyone and trust me, if he's not reaching out to the Marlins and being persistent even after the Marlins say "No", well, then I don't want him handling my players. That's my bottom line.

Come on Yanks... let's get this deal done... What the hell are we doing here?

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WHY WE'LL LOVE SWITCH PITCHER VENDITTE

Glove on, glove off. Glove on, glove off. Left hand, right hand. Left hand, right hand.

No, I’m not misquoting The Karate Kid, I’m talking about Pat Venditte, the Yankees’ minor league switch pitcher. No, not switch hitter. Switch pitcher. That is, he throw with both his right hand and left hand. This isn’t Wonderland, this is Earth, and this kid is a professional baseball player who can throw with both hands. In case you can’t grasp how weird this is, I’ll put it in perspective: the only player in Major League history to do this is Greg A. Harris of the Texas Rangers (and other teams, including the Yankees for 1 second.)

Being a switch hitter is much more common, but like any oddity, it involves a very specific incident in which one decides that they want to do something outside the realm of normalcy. So, how did Venditte decide to be a switch pitcher? He didn’t. It was all his dad’s idea. When Pat was only 3 years old, his father noticed he was good at throwing with both hands, so from that day on he had little Pat use both hands. It may have just been a gut feeling, but his dad had a feeling that this kid was going to do something special. Being the only switch pitcher in professional baseball? I’d say that’s something very special.If you know anything about baseball, you know why this is a big deal. No matter which side the opposing batter hits from, you have the edge. Like a switch hitter, Venditte switches handedness on the fly to gain the advantage. Switching is a bit trickier than just taking a couple steps like a

hitter though, Venditte has to use a custom made 6-fingered glove. The ease with which he switches caused quite a dilemma the first time he matched up against a switch hitter. He and Ralph Henriquez comically switched hands for a few minutes before a long discussion over the
unwritten rule was had. Watch the hilarious situation of Venditte and Henriquez HERE. They ultimately allowed Venditte to have the advantage and he then struck Henriquez out. This prompted a new rule, nicknamed “The Pat Venditte Rule,” to be written.

The big question is: How good is this guy? I could probably throw with both hands too if I tried, but would I be effective? Not so much. Venditte though is pretty damn good. Through 5 Minor League seasons, he has a 1.98 ERA. Granted he definitely needs more time to develop; his ERA

so far in AA is a 9.00. His stuff is pretty good, with his right hand he throws a fastball that hangs between 87 and 93, a curve ball with good movement, and a good change-up, with his left he sidearms a nasty slider, a low-80s fastball, and a pretty good change. However before we consider him a possibility to break into the majors he’ll need to become a bit overpowering. If he makes it, he could be as popular as Derek Jeter. Fans will scream for him to come out of the pen if only for entertainment value. He’s got a ways to go, but everyone should be pulling for this little freak of nature to make it in the big leagues. It will be alot of fun to watch.

--Grant Cederquist, BYB Staff Writer

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