Today marks the middle of a pretty light week, blog-wise. Sure, there was the Rafael Soriano press conference, but that was mostly it, and I really don't do the major leagues. Don't worry, though, I have a few surprises left in my bag of tricks, but you probably won't see those until next week.

For now, here are a few standouts from the Yankees class of Winter Leaguers:

1. Justin Christian: A lightning rod at the top of the Thunder lineup, Christian simply dominated with Los Caneros de los Mochis. He hit .356/.452/1.013 with 10 HRs, 32 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 25 attempts. I guess that shoulder is fully healed now.

2. Jorge Vazquez: With his success, and the fact that Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez have placed a pretty solid block in front of him, maybe he should just return to the Mexican League and mash. He hit .346/.401/1.048 with 10 doubles, 10 longballs and 30 RBIs. Someone, however, decided it was wise for him to try to steal a base. They didn't make that mistake twice.

3. Wilkins Arias: That's right, when he wasn't causing massive labor stoppages, Wilkins Arias was dominating for Estrellas de Oriente, of the Dominican Winter League. The lefty, who takes great pride in luring reporters over to his card table for no apparent reason, put together quite an offseason for himself. In 17 appearances, Arias went 3-0 with a 3.21 ERA and 19 strikeouts against two walks over 14 innings.

4. Josh Schmidt: When he's with the Thunder, he's an oft-forgotten long man. When he's in Venezuela, however, he morphs into a pretty darn effective starter. With Aguilas de Zulia, Schmidt made 13 starts (14 appearances overall), allowed 52 hits and fanned 69 over 71 innings.

Mitchell, who was shaky at best to begin the season, no-hit the Binghamton Mets for 6 2/3 innings before finally allowing a single to Eric Campbell. He was greeted with an appropriate ovation for his feat, a lengthy ovation from some very aware fans at Waterfront Park.

Here's the interesting -- if slightly obvious -- part: Were Mitchell to have set the B-Mets without allowing a hit in the seventh, he still would not have come out for the eighth. Manager Tony Franklin said after the game that there was no chance. He finished with 106 pitches, thus reaching his limit for the evening.

Here's what Franklin had to say afterward:

"Very good performance by D.J. He was extremely good. That's probably the best he's been this year. Balance, rhythm, command of strike zone and pitches. Probably the best he's been, and he's been pretty good off and on. Very efficient with his pitches and getting guys out."

On whether he would leave Mitchell in for the eighth:

"No. He was racking up some pitches late in the game, so no. We were talking about it there, simply because we've got to look at what we've got here (and) is that important. It's probably important to him, but to the organization and to his future, probably not. So, no, he wasn't going to come back out there."

And here's what Mitchell himself had to say:



Also, it was announced after the game that first/third baseman Jorge Vazquez has been promoted to Triple-A. Oddly enough, the move came after the only game in which Vazquez went hitless. I suspect Kevin Smith will be activated from the DL to replace him, but a promotion of Addison Maruszak is also a possibility.

Well, it appears that Mr. Mike Ashmore has landed upon the treasure trove of news. First, Paul Bush has gone on the Disabled List and has had an MRI performed on his right elbow. Speaking to Bush in the clubhouse, Mike reports that Bush "doesn't seem real optimistic." How astonishing would that be if the Thunder, within the a span of less than two months, lost two pitchers to their second Tommy John surgery?

Secondly, it appears that Wilkin De La Rosa is headed back to the rotation. The experiment of sending De La Rosa and Lance Pendleton into the rotation appears has ended rather quickly. Pendleton didn't last two weeks, and De La Rosa didn't make it two months. Can't be really happy if you're a Yankees fan, losing Bleich, Garcia and Bush to arm troubles in less than 60 days.

Also, Jorge Vazquez, the slugging first baseman from Mexico, is back with the Thunder. After being slated to start the season in Scranton, Vazquez had an appendectomy before the season started. Now, back in Trenton, he joins Austin Romine and Brandon Laird in forming one of the most fearsome 3-4-5s in the minor leagues. When David Adams comes back, assuming Vazquez is still in Trenton, that is going to be a NASTY lineup. Kevin Smith was placed on the Disabled List to make room for Vazquez.