Is This The Beginning?

Colter Bean Pitches An Inning
Carl Pavano ending up with surgery has opened up a roster spot for Colter Bean to come up for a look-see. It kind of went under the radar in the Yankee loss to the Mets. Bean pitched for an inning with no runs conceded, with 1k and 1BB.
The question is, will this be the beginning of the Colter Bean era?

Colter Bean is one of those pitchers over whom the scouting community and sabermetric crowd differ on sharply. The scouts really don't see much in this pitcher. He's even be left off the Yankee 40-man roster to be picked up by The Red Sox no less in the Rule 5 draft, and got flung back at the Yankees by the end of spring-training. Basically, his stuff looks nothing like the strikeout pitcher he's been in the minors.
So what's the big deal you say? What we have here is a guy soft-tosssing a whole bunch of Ks at a pretty good clip in the minors.

2003 Columbus IL Age: 26 AAA ERA 2.87 27BB 70k hits/9: 6.91 HR/9: 0.65 BB/9: 3.52 K/9: 9.13 WHIP: 1.16

2004 Columbus IL Age: 27 AAA ERA: 2.29 23BB 109K Hits/9: 6.64 HR/9: 0.33 BB/9: 2.50 K/9: 11.87 WHIP 1.02

2005 Columbus IL Age: 28 AAA ERA 3.01 39BB 82K Hits/9: 7.53 HR/9:0.63 BB/9: 4.90 k/9: 10.30 WHIP: 1.38

This guy was arguably ready in 2003! Instead the Yankee brass sort of smothered him down in the minors for tossing too softly. Personally, I blame Mel Stottlermyre.
The point is, the numbers are telling us *something*; now is the time we'll find out what that *something* and that's why it's a little more exciting.

Here's a link to the outrage when the Yankees callled up Scott Erickson.
Here's a link to a discussion out at BTF which kind of petered out as soon as it began.

It's seriously about damn time they let this guy have a shot at the majors.

UPDATE:
On further reading the following day I have discovered he was pulled for pitching 5 straight pitches outside the zone in his second inning for the 1BB, according to SG in AT at the RLYW.
Steven Goldman had this to say on his weblog:

I thought my one good eye might pop out of my head when I saw Colter Bean had been called up for Mitch Jones. I had been assured that the Yankees wouldn't call on Bean unless he was the last man alive, but I'm male, and I've just checked with my editor here at YES, and he assures me that he is as male today as he was yesterday. A recent diaper change also confirmed that my son is male. As such, I am forced to conclude that the Yankees have lowered their standards and decided to call Bean even if he was at least the fourth-to-last man alive. Thank heaven for flexibility in the coaching ranks — or maybe the Yankees simply had no alternative at this point. As my wife reminds me every night, desperation makes for strange bedfellows.

If used wisely, which means to take on two or three consecutive righty batters in the order, Bean will pitch well. That's if his Bernie Williams-ish habit of going for a long walk between pitches, concertedly licking his hand all the while, doesn't drive Joe Torre to distraction.

Good luck Colter Bean!

It's Going To Be Too Long Until We Say So Long To Long
In other news, this one really bad, both Bubba Crosby and Shawn Chacon have ended up on the DL. In response to the climbing toll of the injured, the Yankees have bravely (an unwisely) signed Terrence Long. What's worse, he's now with the big club.

Long will get some starts in leftfield, Torre said, because he doesn't want to start Bernie Williams every day in place of the injured Hideki Matsui. Aaron Small, who started in Chacon's place and took the loss last night, will continue to occupy Chacon's turn in the starting rotation, Torre said.

Long was the kind of ballplayer people laughed at the A's for having signed to a long term contract; the joke only got funnier when the Kansas City Royals actually signed him up. What is he doing with the Yankees? he was signed to fill the holes in the AAA Columbus outfield, but now he's actually in the Yankee dugout. *ick!*

Gary Sheffield says he's now coming back sooner rather than later. I'm sure he took one look at Terrence Long and thought, "if that guy plays, I'm never getting to the World Series! That's going to hurt my value ads a free agent if the Yanks don't pick up my option!"
I mean it's one thing to have your playing time filled in by a prospect; it's anonther thing entirely to have it filled by Terrence Long.

It will be a good day when the Yankees bid so long to Mr. Long, obviously, none too soon.