For no reason at all, I have decided to have a little fun today on the blog. Thus, today is catcher day. I will post as many things as I have available about the catchers up and down the Yankees system.

Why catcher? First, it's one of the team's positions of strength. From Montero to Romine to Murphy to Sanchez to Liccien to Bird, the Yankees are bursting with backstops. Second, and more selfishly, I happen to have a good deal of catcher-related media lying around, including video clips and unpublished interviews.

We started the day with some Gary Sanchez material, and now we'll move to his first-half teammate, J.R. Murphy.

In a way, Murphy and Sanchez found their way to the RiverDogs in similar fashion. Both spent their formative years learning the game and honing their craft, Sanchez on ballfields in the Dominican Republic and Murphy at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Each was identified by the Yankees as a high-level talent, especially at the plate, and summarily handed a seven-figure bonus to join the fold.

Unfortunately for both players, there was another parallel this season: Each had his year cut short by injury.

Before it was over, Murphy earned a promotion to High-A Tampa, and compiled a .287/.325/.434 line with 29 doubles, seven homers and 46 RBIs. I imagine he'll start the year back at Tampa and earn a midseason promotion to Trenton if everything goes accordingly.

Here's an unpublished interview I did with Murphy this April, as well as a couple of videos from his series against the BlueClaws.

Q: What’s it like knowing that Brian Cashman took time out of his schedule to come watch you guys play for five games?

A: Obviously you don't want to put even more pressure on yourself thinking about who is watching, but I just think it's cool that he is around. Not just at the game but walking around the clubhouse. Very cool and something you don't get to see every day.

Q: He’d said that it was important to let you guys know that there was a connection between the front office and the minor leagues.

A: That's great to know. A lot of people think, ‘Oh, we’re in Low-A, guys up there don’t really know who we are.’ It’s really cool that he’s around here watching the games, taking the time to come watch us and stuff, so it’s cool. There are times when you think they don't even know who we are down here.''

Q: You were with Charleston last year – are you surprised to be back to start the season?

A: "(Being back) is a good opportunity. I wasn't surprised. They've got me working on different positions now, too. Surprised? No. I’m just looking forward to trying other positions and getting better at them.

Q: Which position, outside of catcher, do you believe is your strong point right now?

A: Probably third. I haven’t played any outfield – I did in spring training. Definitely third base is the strongest because of taken more reps there than in the outfield.

Q: Eventually this logjam at catcher will probably dissipate, but how do you deal with it while it exists?

A: You just have to worry about yourself and go about your business day to day. Playing other positions is only going to help me. It's all about making it to the big leagues. What position I play, that's up to them. I love catching, but if playing third base or the outfield is going to help me move up then I am all for it.

Q: You and Sanchez are together for now. How do you help each other grow?

A: Sanchez and I work a lot together, whether it's just watching each other while we are catching, or working off the field with Victor, we feed off each other and are learning stuff from each other.

Q: What specifically have you learned from Sanchez?

A: He’s come a long way from last year. Seeing his progress with footwork, receiving and the transfer of his throws to second base is what I learned most.

Q: On the other side of the coin, what do you think he’s gotten from you?

From my end I think he sees my work ethic and how I go about my business. Working with Victor every day you have to constantly push yourself and get better. I think that’s what he’s learned.

Q: They obviously have a lot invested in a handful of players here financially. Mark Newman said a lot of the organization’s better position prospects are here. Do you see you guys pushing each other?

A: I think we do. We have a good mix of Latin guys and American guys. As far as that goes, I think we are just starting to know how good we can be when play together as a team. When everything meshes with us, hits are contagious with this team. When we’re on defense, it’s a plus.

Q: The focus at the upper levels seems to be more individualized, rather than a team-first attitude at the lower levels. Do you agree?

A: Yes and no. I think the American guys work a lot together more than the Latin guys do. As a whole, as a team, we work real well together. It’s not very individual down here at all, I don’t think.

TAMPA, Fla. — Even before the team throws its first pitch of 2011, it’s time for a cold splash of reality. The Trenton Thunder, as currently assembled, will not be the same group upon which a playoff berth will hinge – not even close.

The stars that dot the first few months of lineups – Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelos and Austin Romine, to name a few – will most likely be long gone by the time August rolls around.

When the 2010 team broke camp from Tampa, its rotation was: Christian Garcia, Ryan Pope, Jeremy Bleich, David Phelps and D.J. Mitchell. Come playoff time, all five of those names were gone, replaced by a starting five that included Betances, Banuelos, Andrew Brackman and Adam Warren.

Hector Noesi also contributed significant innings in Double-A, but was bumped to Scranton two weeks before the Eastern League Division Series began.

With that sense of inevitable change in mind, here are a few players who could make or break Trenton’s defense of its Eastern Division crown, starting where every good team does, with the pitching.

1. Brett Marshall — A right-hander with hard fastball that both cutting and boring action, he’s the odds-on pick to be Trenton’s ace down the stretch and into a September run. When he got to New York, he famously told Mark Newman, the team’s vice president of player development, that he was going to throw 100 miles per hour one day.

Nobody’s seen him top triple-digits just yet, but they have seen him mature into a pitcher who knows that, despite its sex appeal, simply blowing it past a hitter isn’t always the most effective plan of attack. He’s learned that a weak ground ball can be just as effective as a strikeout, and it can you keep you on the mound longer, too.

2. Jeremy Bleich — Yes, denizens of Waterfront Park, you’ve seen this name before, and it hasn’t always been worth the meager cost of your ticket. Over parts of two seasons with the Thunder, the former first-round pick is 6-8 with a 5.92 ERA in 21 starts. More alarmingly, Bleich, who earned a reputation as a control artist coming out of Stanford, has issued 62 walks in just 106 2/3 Double-A frames.

His 2010 season was ended when he had surgery to repair a torn left labrum, a procedure that, for a pitcher, is arguably more daunting than an elbow reconstruction. He’ll more than likely begin the season in High-A Tampa (though not in April) and if everything goes right he’ll probably finish up in Trenton.

3. David Adams — Yep, that David Adams. The one who, were it not for an unfortunate slide in Hadlock Field in May, might have helped fit Cliff Lee for set of pinstripes. The slide left him with a broken foot, and ended what had been a boffo beginning to his first tour of the upper levels.

Unfortunately for Thunder fans, although the break has healed, Adams’ feet are once again giving him fits. He’s currently dealing with a bout of plantar fasciitis that will cost him the beginning of the year. Once it subsides, he’s more than likely ticketed for a spot in Trenton’s infield.

4. J.R. Murphy — This one is a little more of a long shot. The catcher and sometimes infielder will start the year back at Low-A Charleston, but he’s an extremely advanced hitter and could make enough strides to bully his way into the upper levels toward the tail end of 2011.

Sure, he hit just .255/.327/.376 with the RiverDogs last season, but as a product of the IMG Sports Academy, in Bradenton, Fla., there’s a considerable amount of polish already, so a jump to Double-A by the end of year wouldn’t be such an outlandish idea.

Yes, his defense is beyond poor, and will not get him far in the major leagues.

For Jesus Montero, briefly a Thunder catcher and our choice for the Yankees’ top prospect entering the Hot Stove season, the defense is merely a footnote.

It’s his bat that generates the ink — and justifiably so.

Montero recovered from an ice-cold start to dominate the International League at a tender 20 years old.

After May was completed, he looked lost, compiling just three home runs and 21 RBIs. By the time the season finished those totals were at 21 and 75, meaning he’d swatted an incredible 18
bombs and drove home 54 runs in a span of just 79 games.

The finish was so hot, in fact, that some were clamoring for Montero to earn a September call-up. A late infection quashed those talks, but the youngster will almost surely play a role in the Yankees’ catching picture in 2011.

2. Manny Banuelos - LHP
Continuing the trend of youth flourishing at the upper levels, there’s Manny Banuelos, a Mexican southpaw who, at just 19 years old, more than held his own at Double-A over the final few weeks of the season.

Scheduled as High-A Tampa’s Opening Day starter, Banuelos underwent an emergency appendectomy and missed more than two months before debuting in mid-June.
No matter, Banuelos bullied his way north from Florida to join the Thunder in the midst of a hotly contested pennant chase with the Fisher Cats.

The lefty wound up pitching his finest game during the finale of Trenton’s three-game sweep in the Eastern League Division Series, dispatching New Hampshire in dominating fashion.
Expect him to make a return to trip to central New Jersey next April.

3. Andrew Brackman - RHP
After seeming incapable of throwing a strike in 2009, things finally came together for Brackman last season.

After some early struggles, Brackman found his way in Tampa and earned a promotion to Trenton shortly thereafter.

Slowly but surely, control and confidence returned for Brackman, who admittedly was still not at 100 percent after having Tommy John surgery shortly after being drafted in 2007.

By the end of the season, the 6-foot-10 Brackman was the Thunder’s most dominant pitcher. He earned the team’s only win in the EL Championship series, flashing as high as 98 miles per hour and showcasing a devastating spike curveball.

It seems a coin-flip as to whether Brackman returns to Double-A to start next year.

4. Dellin Betances - RHP
Like Banuelos, Betances began the year on the shelf, although his absence was expected.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pounder spent April and May recovering from ligament reenforcement surgery on his throwing elbow.

When he returned, so did his high-90s fastball and wipeout curveball, as well as a revamped change-up and a much-improved sense of command.

New weapons in tow, Betances tore up the Florida State League, allowing a scant 43 hits in 71 innings, while fanning 88 against just 19 walks.

He’ll more than likely return to Trenton in 2011, but could move quickly.

5. Gary Sanchez - C
Another young, slugging catcher from Latin America?

Yep.

Just 17 years old, Sanchez, whom the Yankees signed out of the Dominican Republic for $3 million, was a man above boys in the Gulf Coast League. He slugged six bombs in 31 games before earning the promotion to Short Season Staten Island.

He struggled a bit there, but the dirt on Sanchez remains the same: He’ll hit, and hit a ton.

6. Slade Heathcott - OF
New York’s first-rounder in 2009, Heathcott spent the year in Low-A Charleston, and put up fine numbers for a 19-year-old getting his feet wet in pro ball.

The numbers tell one story, but here’s another: During one game of his I saw this year, Heathcott collected two hits against the Lakewood BlueClaws.

On the surface, that’s nice, but not exceptional. When you consider he did it while missing a contact lens, it shows some pretty nice determination from the young man.

7. Austin Romine - C
Handling the duties for Trenton all season, Romine didn’t quite flourish, but he didn’t flounder, either.

He hit .268 with 31 doubles, 10 home runs and 69 RBIs. The defense, while drawing some very positive reviews from scouts, didn’t look great on the stat sheet.

Still, his six passed balls marked a career low, and he expertly guided a talented and fluid staff all year long.

His work behind the dish does have flaws — he doesn’t handle velocity as well as he should, and he sometimes rushes himself — but he’ll e 22 next season, so there’s no reason to think he can’t overcome his problems.

8. J.R. Murphy - C
Another in a line of young, talented backstops, Murphy more than held his own in his full-season debut with Charleston — including a two-HR, nine-RBI game in mid-August.

He split time with Kyle Higashioka, and is athletic enough to perhaps move to the outfield down the line.

His .255/.327/.703 line doesn’t jump out at you, but seven bombs and 51 RBIs as a 19-year-old isn’t bad.

Still, he’s extremely polished, and could handle the staff next year at High-A.

9. Hector Noesi - RHP
He tossed the Thunder’s first nine-inning complete game since 2008, and apart from a mid-season struggle with his stride, Noesi was the team’s workhorse until he was moved up to Scranton for the season’s final weeks.

His solid four-pitch mix is enhanced by impeccable control.

He’ll start 2011 in Triple-A, more than likely.

10. David Phelps - RHP
Lost in the hubbub surround Brackman, Banuelos and Betances was Phelps, who quietly carried Trenton’s staff through the first part of the season.

He sports a a low-to-mid-90s fastball that he throws with excellent command and confidence anywhere in the zone.

Phelps was up and down after he was promoted to Scranton, but with a good showing in the early season, he could push for a spot in the 2011 bullpen.

The Charleston RiverDogs came into New Jersey for a four-game set with the Lakewood BlueClaws last week, and with them came J.R. Murphy, the Yankees’ second-round pick in 2009.

Murphy is one of the team’s second wave of catching prospects behind Jesus Montero and Thunder backstop Austin Romine that also includes RiverDog teammate Kyle Higashioka, Gulf Coast League wunderkind Gary Sanchez and 2010 draftee Tyler Austin.

Murphy spoke with The Trentonian before the third game of the series. Here’s what he said:

JN: How do you think your first professional season is going?

JM: I think it’s going well. I think the adjustment’s been pretty good. I like the way we’re doing the catching thing — two on, two off with me and (Higashioka) — I think that’s helped the transition a lot.

JN: This is a system that is stocked with catchers. Do you envision yourself staying at that position, or perhaps moving away from the dish at some point?

JM: I love catching, so that’s what I’ll do until they tell me I can’t. There is a lot of great catchers here, but I think that helps me. I learn a lot from them.
Spring training, I talked to them a lot, got feedback from them on a lot of things. Like I said though, I can’t control them and I can’t control their years and what not, so I’ve just got to keep going about my business.

JN: Specifically, who did you talk to about catching?

JM: Montero a lot last year in spring training, I talked to Monty a lot. Romine, talked to him during instructs — he was getting ready for the fall league — talked to him a lot.
Even Higgy this year, learning how to handle pitchers and stuff like that.

JN: Being from Bradenton, did that make your first big league spring training a little bit easier of a transition?

JM: Definitely. We had Sundays off, so I would go home every Saturday night and spend the day with my family. I’m real close with my family, so that was a lot easier than having to go out to Arizona or something like that, with one of those teams.
I met a lot of good guys here, so I didn’t have a problem staying up in Tampa a lot. Definitely being close to home was definitely a plus.

JN: You’re a product of The Pendleton School, which is known for being a bit of an athlete factory. What was it like going to a school where you job is becoming a better baseball player?

JM: I talked to a lot of high school draftees here, and I definitely get a different view of high school than they do.
A lot of guys probably played multiple sports through high school, but I was fortunate enough to go there just play all year long. I think that made the adjustment to pro ball a lot easier, too. It’s just playing every day.

Obviously it’s different when you’re playing games like this every day and traveling, but I think I definitely have an edge on a lot of the high school drafts because of the coaching I had there and playing every day.

JN: Was there a summer or winter break, or was it baseball 24/7?

JM: We had the normal Christmas break and stuff, but as far as baseball goes, we’re practicing every day in the fall and playing every day in the spring.

JN: You call your own game behind the plate. At what point did you learn how to do that?

JM: They want us all to do that. The catching coordinator, Julio Mosquera, he’s pretty big on that, and I know (Yankees manager Joe) Girardi is). That probably stems down from him.
I think as long as you start learning from a young age, I think it’ll help as it grows. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I’ll second guess myself on pitches all the time, but that’s part of the learning process.

Here are, from the top, two videos of Josh Romanski facing Jonathan Singleton, another of Romanski striking out Jiwan James, and one of J.R. Murphy singling against Trevor May.

From the top down, here are today's first-inning at-bats from: Slade Heathcott, J.R. Murphy, Jimmy Paredes, Neil Medchill, Luke Murton, Rob Lyerly, DeAngelo Mack, Kyle Higashioka and Kelvin Castro. Enjoy.

And, as the title says, here's some video of J.R. Murphy from last night:

The Charleston RiverDogs, the Yankees' Low-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League, are coming to New Jersey for a four-game set with the Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) starting tomorrow. I will be at the first three games of the tilt, and will see the following pitching matchups:

RHP Jose Ramirez (3-4, 3.51) vs. RHP Josh Zeid (5-3, 3.09)
RHP Brett Marshall (1-1, 2.86) vs. RHP Brody Colvin (5-6, 3.67)
LHP Josh Romanski (4-2, 3.28) vs. RHP Trevor May (1-1, 5.06)

These games make me as eager to see baseball as I have been all year. I've seen none of the Charleston hurlers, and am excited to get a second look at Colvin and a first look at May, who started the year in Clearwater.

Of course, that's only the pitchers.

The RiverDogs also have Slade Heathcott and J.R. Murphy, the Yanks' first- and second-round picks from 2009. In total, Charleston has six of New York's first dozen selections from a year ago. The others are: Sean Black, Rob Lyerly, DeAngelo Mack and Neil Medchill.

Lots of pictures and videos to come over the next three days.