Coke, Kontos staying in Trenton

Good thing George Kontos and Phil Coke -- but especially Kontos -- still planned on reporting to Waterfront Park Saturday despite numerous reports that they had been traded.

A day after Coke was pulled from his start against the Portland Sea Dogs after one inning because the Yankees had tentatively agreed to trade him to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the deal was reconfigured early Saturday, with Triple-A right-handers Jeff Karstens and Dan McCutchen replacing Kontos and Coke.
Kontos, who stayed to chart pitches in the stands Friday night after he leared of the reported trade, is scheduled to pitch Saturday night against Portland. Thunder right fielder Jose Tabata and Ohlendorf are still in the deal, which brought outfielder Xavier Nady and left-handed reliever Damaso Marte to the Yankees. Nady was in the Yankees' lineup Saturday against the Red Sox, batting seventh and playing left field.

Marte was also in uniform. Coke, somber in the clubhouse after Friday night's game, said he was disappointed that he wouldn't get to spend his entire career in the Yankees organization. "I thought I had a chance at staying in this organization for the rest of my life," he said. "That's kind of the idea that I was under. My impression of it, anyway. That I might have been here, like a lifetimer. Guess not."

But thanks to last-minute changes reportedlty orchestrated by the Pirates, Coke and Kontos are still in the Yankees organization, and the Thunder may not need to overhaul their starting rotation.

Coke, Kontos staying in Trenton

Good thing George Kontos and Phil Coke -- but especially Kontos -- still planned on reporting to Waterfront Park Saturday despite numerous reports that they had been traded.

A day after Coke was pulled from his start against the Portland Sea Dogs after one inning because the Yankees had tentatively agreed to trade him to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the deal was reconfigured early Saturday, with Triple-A right-handers Jeff Karstens and Dan McCutchen replacing Kontos and Coke.
Kontos, who stayed to chart pitches in the stands Friday night after he leared of the reported trade, is scheduled to pitch Saturday night against Portland. Thunder right fielder Jose Tabata and Ohlendorf are still in the deal, which brought outfielder Xavier Nady and left-handed reliever Damaso Marte to the Yankees. Nady was in the Yankees' lineup Saturday against the Red Sox, batting seventh and playing left field.

Marte was also in uniform. Coke, somber in the clubhouse after Friday night's game, said he was disappointed that he wouldn't get to spend his entire career in the Yankees organization. "I thought I had a chance at staying in this organization for the rest of my life," he said. "That's kind of the idea that I was under. My impression of it, anyway. That I might have been here, like a lifetimer. Guess not."

But thanks to last-minute changes reportedlty orchestrated by the Pirates, Coke and Kontos are still in the Yankees organization, and the Thunder may not need to overhaul their starting rotation.