Inside Pitch

As I wrote in Monday's paper, Andy Pettitte is at the point of diminishing returns as far as minor-league starts go. He may as well get to the Bronx and see what happens and that's what Yankees GM Brian Cashman has decided. He announced this afternoon that Pettitte will start Sunday against Seattle in his first game in the big league since 2010.

I know many of you were hoping Pettitte would go against the Mariners either Friday or Saturday because that would have meant start No. 2 would have been May 16 or 17 in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Instead,  it now appears Pettitte's second outing will be at home May 18 against the Reds and No. 3 will also be in the Bronx, May 23 against the Royals.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Buffalo Baseball Hall of Famer Terry Collins continues to do a terrific job with the Mets -- and continues to get plenty of contributions from players mined in his old stomping grounds.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis, the Bisons' Opening Day center fielder, was nearly the National League's Rookie of the Month in April. Jordany Valdespin, the Opening Day second baseman for the Herd who moved to the outfield for most of the season's first month, made a huge impact with his first big-league hit Monday night.

Valdespin rocked Phillies' closer Jonathan Papelbon for a three-run homer in the top of the ninth (click link for video--MLB doesn't allow embeds), to give the Mets a dramatic 5-2 victory in Citizens Bank Park. Valdespin hit 17 homers last year between Binghamton and Buffalo and had two this year, including a three-run shot in the home-opening romp past Scranton.

Here's Valdespin and Collins chatting postgame with SNY:

Valdespin had been sent back to the Bisons and called up a day later when Ruben Tejada was injured Sunday against Arizona. Tejada will be out a couple of weeks and Valdespin is scheduled to start at short for the Mets tonight.

The Bisons, meanwhile, opened a new series with a 4-3 win at Gwinnett. The Herd is 18-13, one game out of first place, while the Mets are 16-13 and currently hold the second National League wild-card.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

ROCHESTER -- Andy Pettitte says he's ready for the big leagues again. That's the clear message he gave the media this afternoon in Frontier Field.

"For me it's inevitable I believe to get me up there and get in the mix," Pettitte said after throwing five innings today for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a 7-5 loss to Pawtucket. "... I feel like that I'm ready to go up and I think they're ready for me to come up."

In the audio file below, hear Pettitte's thoughts on a variety of topics, including his outing, his readiness for the big leagues, the thinking behind his comeback and his reaction to Mariano Rivera's injury.

Andy Pettitte

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

4:30 p.m. update: We have still not had Pettitte's postgame presser.

ROCHESTER -- Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks issued a pregame proclamation declaring it "Andy Petttitte Day" and the Frontier Field and the stands are full for the Yankee veteran's start for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Pawtucket. MILB credential restrictions limit a pitch-by-pitch recitation of the outing but we'll have some thoughts here after each inning.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Mid-1st: A disastrous start and a good finish for Pettitte. The first four Pawtucket hitters reached base and two runs scored with men at the corners. Then Pettitte posted two strikeouts and a pickoff to escape the inning only down, 2-0. He threw 30 pitches, 22 for strikes. The radar gun is posting speeds only intermittently and the top one was 89. Pettitte is no flamethrower anyway. Leadoff man Pedro Ciriaco doubled on the 11th pitch in an at-bat that the Yankees flubbed back-to-back foul popups in the tricky wind (first baseman Steve Pearce was charged with an error). Jose Iglesias reached on an infield single that Pettitte couldn't field near third, Ryan Lavarnway added an RBI double and Lars Anderson an RBI single.

Top-2nd: Pettitte takes the mound in a 2-0 hole The folks here say attendance has already surpassed 13,000.

Mid-2nd: Already 52 pitches, 32 for strikes. This is only going to go 4-5 innings at this rate. Another error hurt Pettitte but so did an infield single and two walks, the second on four pitches to Iglesias with the bases loaded. Pettitte got out of the inning thanks to a Ryan Lavarnway 5-4-3 double play. He's down 3-0 through 1 1/2. Has given up three runs (one earned) on five hits, with three strikeouts and two walks. And he's gonna pitch in New York this weekend? Riiiiight.

Mid-3rd: Good hand for Pettitte as he fans Alex Hassan to end his first scoreless inning. Lars Anderson ripped a cutter up the gap in right-center for a leadoff double but Pettitte struck out Mauro Gomez, got Josh Kroeger on a liner to right and then fanned Hassan. He's at 65 pitches through three, 43 strikes.

Mid-4th: Pettitte in a 5-0 hole after a two-run fourth. Single by Che-Hsuan Lin,  RbI double by Tony Thomas, a sac fly by Ciriaco, a fly ball by Iglesias and a topper by Lavarnway that Pettitte did a nice job fielding coming off the mound near the third-base side. 76 pitches, 50 strikes, 4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Looks like Pettitte will go at least part of the fifth to get his count in the 85-90 range.

Mid-5th: Pettitte with his best inning, a 1-2-3 inning that ends with a standing ovation as he comes off the field and a tip of the cap from the veteran to the crowd. The crowd starts chanting "An-dy Pett-itte" and Pettitte emerges again to doff his cap to more cheers. First curtain I've ever seen for a starter who give up five runs in five innings. FINAL LINE: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 95-62.

Pettitte was unimpressive. But I don't really see what more minor-league work will do. May as well try him in New York, where the rotation is thin, and see what happens. We don't have to wait until after the game to talk to Pettitte. That chat is coming shortly. I'll post some info from it on a separate file.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle called it "Andy-palooza" this morning. Yes, Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte, he of the 240 regular-season wins and the 19 wins that are most in postseason history, will pitch today at 2 at Frontier Field against Pawtucket in what could be his final start before returning to the Bronx. I'll be on hand covering the event, which figures to rival a 1997 appearance by Hideki Irabu and a 1997 exhibition game against the Baltimore Orioles for the most well-attended in stadium history.

Pettitte should throw 85-90 pitches and then it will be up to the Yankees to decide what's next, be it another minor-league start or a badly-needed return to the tattered big-league rotation.

If you're going, Frontier Field is about 75 minutes from Buffalo. Take the Thruway to Exit 47 (LeRoy) and follow 490 East to Exit 12 (Broad Street/stadiums) Plenty of signs to get you the last mile to the ballpark. Parking in the adjacent Kodak lots is $6. But get there early.

The gates open at 12:30 and the box office is already open (8 a.m.) for will-call line pickup. You should not try to walk up to a will-call line at, say, 1:30 and expect to get in. That's not a Rochester issue; that's a fact in any stadium. As of this morning, there are standing-room and berm tickets still available at the Frontier Field box office or by calling 585-423-WING (9464).

D&C columnist Leo Roth gives it up to the Wings for working to get this game together for Rochester fans and makes all the salient points. GM Dan Mason is one of the hardest workers in the game and will do anything for his town's fans. But as I noted in today's Inside Baseball column, I simply disagree (first note after Johnny Damon interview). It's a moneygrab, pure and simple.

Far be it from me to bang the Red Wings for wanting to make a buck. I simply think they should be trying to cash in on their own team. But that's failing miserably (another lousy affiliate, one playoff season since 1997 and back-to-back 90-loss seasons), so they're jumping on the Yankee train for the one summer they can. Whatever.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

CLEVELAND -- I'm at the Indians-Rangers games pulling in a few assignments. A quick look around:

---Andy Pettitte is a big draw in Rochester. All grandstand seats for Sunday's rehab assignment in Frontier Field sold out today in four hours. There are nothing but standing room and a few dozen $40 all-you-can-eat spots left and you have to get them at the ballpark or by calling 585-423-WING.

---See tomorrow's paper for some of my thoughts on Mariano Rivera, including words from Sandy Alomar and Johnny Damon. If you missed it earlier tonight, Rivera tweeted he will pitch in 2013 and told Yankees beat reporters to "write it down in big letters."

---The Indians drew 16,147 on a warm Friday night tonight for the Rangers, the two-time defending AL champs. Folks here say it's easily the most bodies in seats they've seen since the annual Opening Day sellout. It's still odd for me to see. Covered every playoff game ever held in Progressive Field and numerous regular season games from the glory days of sellouts from 1994-2001. Can't get used to all these empties.

---The Bisons finish their homestand tonight and then won't be back home until May 15. And that will open the longest homestand in their history, a 16-gamer over 17 days (four of the games will be spent playing Scranton and batting as the visiting team).

---If you're looking for something to do Sunday and aren't going to Rochester, consider the three-hour drive here on I-90. Japanese sensation Yu Darvish is pitching for the Rangers.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Jeremy Hefner takes the mound for the Buffalo Bisons as they close out their homestand against the Syracuse Chiefs at Coca-Cola Field. It's the fifth start of the season for the righty who last pitched April 28 against Rochester. He went 7.2 innings allowing three runs (two earned) with five strikeouts. He took a no-decision in the Herd's 4-3 win.

Meanwhile left fielder Vinny Rottino had his contract selected by the Mets today. He was the only Bison to play in all 27 games, hitting .317 with eight doubles while driving in 14 runs. He left the Herd on a 14-game hitting streak. Fred Lewis takes his spot in the field tonight, hitting sixth.

The Mets optioned righty Chris Schwinden to the Herd.

Other roster moves including adding righty Elvin Ramierz from Double-A Binghamton, placing lefty Chuck James on the disabled list retroactive to May 2 and activating catcher Jean Luc Blaquiere.

Tonight's Bison lineup:

Bobby Scales -- 2B
Dustin Martin -- CF
Valentino Pascucci -- RF
Josh Satin -- 1B
Matt Tuiiasosopa -- 3B
Fred Lewis -- LF
Lucas May -- C
Omar Quintanilla --SS
Jeremy Hefner -- P

--- Amy Moritz 

It was hard enough to fathom the Yankees potentially without Mariano Rivera next season. Retirement seemed to be in his sights. Now? Looks like Rivera is done this year after the devastating and completely freakish knee injury the greatest closer of them all suffered during batting practice Thursday in Kansas City.

If you missed it, here's the MLB.com video recap of the freak injury, the concern shown by Alex Rodriguez and Joe Girardi and the removal of Rivera from the field. It's during BP, remember, so there's no voices narrating.

I know many of the Yankees beat writers and they were universal on Twitter that the clubhouse was somber as it's ever been after the game. Rivera was emotional as he chatted with reporters because there's so much unknown here. He's 42 years old. Can he really come back from this bad of an injury? Does he want to at this point? 

Here's an emotional Rivera after the game: 

I've been in the Yankees clubhouse speaking with Rivera after the best of times like World Series clinchers and the worst of times like Game 7 of the 2001 World Series or Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. It's hard to believe it would end like this for him. Be sure to check out Saturday's editions of The Buffalo News for a special edition of Inside Baseball with my thoughts on Rivera.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

A few final thoughts from the ballpark on a crazy day:

---Jeurys Familia is a long way from New York,  no matter what all the prospect manuals say. The 22-year-old is 2-1 with a 5.06 ERA in six starts, and has 29 strikeouts and 25 walks in 26 2/3 innings. His busy delivery is the main issue. It took him 94 pitches to get through five innings Thursday of a no-decision.

"His times to the plate are way too fast," said manager Wally Backman. "The slowest time he had today was 1.24 [seconds]. He's just rushing real bad. I had him last year and he really collected himself at the top of his delivery and he's not doing that right now. We'll show him some film [Friday] and we're going to try to get that kind back on track because I know there's a lot more in the tank. 

"There's too many moving parts. Maury Wills isn't going to steal second base on him ... he's got to slow himself down. He's so amped up all the time."

Catcher Rob Johnson said Familia has to trust himself and his catchers more.

"He's a young guy and this is a good league," said Johnson, who has spent plenty of big-league timee the last three years in Seattle and San Diego. "They've got more veteran hitters up here and they're picking out pitches on him. He's been unable to throw all three pitches for strikes when he needs to. When he figures that out, he's going to be very good.

"The biggest part of this game as a whole is the more we allow our mind to get into the play of the game, overthink stuff, think about this ... you just can't bring that stuff to the plate or the mound. Once you've got that sign, you have to have conviction with that sign and go with it. Let everything else go and let it fly. If it's a ball, it's a ball. If a guy gets a hit, he gets a hit. As soon as the ball leaves your hand, you can't control anymore."

----With their 6-5 win over Syracuse, the Bisons took over first place in the IL North when Lehigh Valley gave up four runs in the ninth and lost to Charlotte, 6-5. It's just the eighth day -- yes, I said day -- Buffalo has been in first in the four years with the Mets and just the third alone (May 2 and May 4,  2010 were the others). Pretty weird when you think the Herd went to the playoffs with Cleveland nine times between 1995-2005. No postseason since however. Maybe this year will change that.

---Johnson is 5 for 7 in two games off the disabled list with a sprained knee.

----D.J. Carrasco gave up a solo home run on rehab while relievers Josh Edgin,  Jack Egbert and Fernando Cabrera did not give up an earned run the final three innings. Cabrera (0.73 ERA) is tied for the IL lead with six saves. 

----Here's a stat we all missed in this 25th anniversary season: The 4-1 win April 17 over Lehigh Valley was Buffalo's 1,000th regular-season victory downtown. The Bisons are 9-6 at home this year and 1,006-727 since the park opened April 14, 1988.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

St. Francis product Jim Negrych is batting second and playing second base tonight for the Syracuse Chiefs as they meet the Buffalo Bisons and top Mets pitching prospect Jeurys Familia in Coca-Cola Field. Negrych, promoted from Double-A Harrisburg on Monday by the parent Washington Nationals, has not played in this series.

Negrych last played in his hometown in 2010 for the Indianapolis Indians. He spent last year batting .304 at Double-A Jacksonville of the Florida chain but was released by the Marlins this spring. In his lone game so far for Syracuse, he went 1 for 4 with a two-run single and two walks in Monday's 12-4 win over Charlotte.

The Bisons, meanwhile, have a chance to take over first place in the International League North tonight. They are 15-11 and a half-game behind both Pawtucket (16-11) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (14-10). I have to sift through the daily reports to get the answer but the Herd has been atop the IL North fewer than 10 days total in its four seasons with the New York Mets so this is no small feat.

IL batting leader Bobby Scales (.390) has the night off for the Bisons. No. 2 hitter Vinny Rottino looks to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, which would pass Valentino Pascucci for the team's longest this season.  Here's the rest of the Herd lineup:

Dustin Martin, cf
Vinny Rottino, lf
Josh Satin, 1b
Fred Lewis,  rf
Matt Tuiasosopo,  3b
Brad Eamus, 2b
Rob Johnson, c
Omar Quintanilla,  ss
Jeurys Familia,  p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

4:45 UPDATE: International League president Randy Mobley has confirmed the information to The Buffalo News.

Here's one from the bizarro world of minor-league scheduling: The Rochester Red Wings are postponing Sunday's game with the Buffalo Bisons in Frontier Field to allow New York Yankees veteran Andy Pettitte to make a rehab start with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the displaced Yankees' game against Pawtucket.

The link above is to the latest report on the situation from good friend of the blog Jim Mandelaro of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. The Bisons and Red Wings are scheduled for a 1:05 start and will now play a doubleheader Saturday night, with the time to be announced.

The Bisons certainly did not want to play Sunday night, as they have an early-morning flight to Atlanta Monday to start a road trip against Gwinnett. The Yankees, meanwhile, did not want Pettitte to have to wait through a potential extra-inning game between Buffalo and Rochester to make his start.

Follow the bouncing ball for a minute here: Scranton, remember, has no home stadium this year and is barnstorming mostly around Western New York. It has 37 games in Rochester and seven at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia, with Sunday's 1:05 first pitch against the PawSox scheduled to be one of them. But New York GM Brian Cashman said this afternoon on ESPN Radio in New York that Pettitte would pitch Sunday and that the game would be moved to Rochester.

"All of the teams involved have been part of the conversation," IL president Randy Mobley told The News late this afternoon from his office in Dublin, Ohio. "And this office has as well to make sure there were no rules being violated for things like travel and such."

The Bisons and Red Wings have yet to officially comment on the switch but are in the process of formulating releases. This is, of course, highly unusual for a team to push aside its own team and fans to accommodate a barnstorming group, although the Red Wings probably are figuring they'll have a better gate for Pettitte than they would for a standard-issue Buffalo-Rochester game.

"I don't have any concern about that at this time because I know the Rochester club discussed it with their affiliate (the Minnesota Twins)," Mobley said. "The Rochester club was concerned with that also. They didn't want to do anything to offend their own parent team so they made sure to keep them informed."

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Red-hot right-hander Matt Harvey, the Mets' No. 1 pick in 2010, is on the mound tonight as the Bisons host the Syracuse Chiefs in Coca-Cola Field. Harvey is 2-1, 4.85 in five starts this season -- but 2-0, 2.08 with 15 strikeouts and just three walks over 13 innings of his last two.

Chris Schwinden blew up again today for the Mets in an 8-1 loss in Houston and the rotation up top needs help. What about Harvey? I say that would be waaaaaaaaaay too soon. Harvey enters tonight with just 86 pro innings above Class A ball. SNY broadcaster and ex-Mets starter Ron Darling shot down any move with Harvey, or Jeurys Familia, on this afternoon's postgame show when he said, "Don't you dare touch them yet."

I would agree. We need to see more from Harvey and especially Familia, a lot more. From a selfish standpoint, it would be nice to see more of them here. This is just Harvey's second home start of the season; and he lasted just 3 2/3 innings of his first one, the 10-9 win over Pawtucket on April 15. And his next two figure to be on the road as well, Monday at Gwinnett and May 12 against Charlotte. We don't figure to see him here again until May 17 against the G-Braves.

Elsewhere on the Buffalo roster, catcher Rob Johnson has returned from a stint on the disabled list after a sprained knee and will catch Harvey tonight. Vinny Rottino carries a 12-game hitting streak into the game. As for Syracuse, St. Francis product Jim Negrych is not in tonight's starting lineup. Here's the Buffalo lineup:

Bobby Scales, 2b
Vinny Rottino,  lf
Valentino Pascucci, 1b
Fred Lewis, rf
Zach Lutz, 3b
Dustin Martin, cf
Rob Johnson,  c
Omar Quintanilla, ss
Matt Harvey, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Here's one that completely slipped under my transaction wire until broadcasters Ben Wagner of the Bisons and Jason Benetti of Syracuse just gave me a heads-up: Former St. Francis High and University of Pittsburgh star Jim Negrych got promoted to Triple-A Sunday by the Washington Nationals and is in town this week with the Chiefs.

The Nationals promoted infielder Tyler Moore and megaprospect Bryce Harper and that created openings in Triple-A. Negrych was 3 for 5 in three games at Harrisburg. He went to spring training with the Marlins but was cut in late March.

Negyrch is not in tonight's lineup. (Read my earlier post on how the Bisons shape up tonight in gunning for their fifth straight win). He had a good debut for the Chiefs in Monday's 12-4 win over Charlotte as he went 1 for 4 but reached base five times on a two-run single, two walks and two errors.

We last saw Negyrch here in 2010 with Indianapolis, where he hit .295 in 48 games after a promotion up the Pirates' chain from Double-A Altoona and even homered in a game to beat the Bisons. He spent all of last year at Double-A Jacksonville in the Marlins chain, batting .304 with five homers and 46 RBIs in 121 games. He's a career .302 in six minor-league seasons.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

After Monday night's rainout against Rochester, the Bisons are back in Coca-Cola Field this evening trying to win five games in a row for the first time since 2010 as they open a series with the Bryce Harper-less Syracuse Chiefs.

Garrett Olson (0-1) is on the mound for the Bisons, who have won three straight series. Syracuse is last in the IL North but coming off a 12-4 win Monday against Charlotte that saw the Chiefs pile up 11 runs in the first three innings. 

Be sure to catch up on my story in today's paper on the versatile Vinny Rottino. He's back in his normal left field slot tonight but should have a chance at some point to catch here. Rottino, remember, enters tonight's game on an 11-game hitting streak while Val Pascucci is on a 13-gamer.

Here's the Herd lineup:

Bobby Scales,  2b (leads all of minor-league baseball with .413 average)
Vinny Rottino, lf 
Valentino Pascucci, rf
Josh Satin,  1b
Zach Lutz, 3b
Fred Lewis, cf
Lucas May, c
Omar Quintanilla, ss
Garrett Olson, p

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)