tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54032395854812892532024-03-04T21:27:33.696-08:00A True YankeeI started this blog because I'm tired of all Connecticut sports blogs talking only about the Red Sox, so I made a Connecticut Yankees blog.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.comBlogger261125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-20439605772733983252014-07-31T15:24:00.001-07:002014-07-31T15:24:19.782-07:00Crazy Trade deadline day sees the Yankees get better<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmvZG22UHZ5mU0HUtbmngnnPg7GRCJOkw1jG91pW9aUf2W1FN6Ng6a1vuB2kHQmLHg1gXRwazC3BlenW1R_TYoc3M3CjDoK53Sw3If5K1e5fGjEsf4XMRO2sAePuNG3iNlAjVHvvjG3DX/s1600/prado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmvZG22UHZ5mU0HUtbmngnnPg7GRCJOkw1jG91pW9aUf2W1FN6Ng6a1vuB2kHQmLHg1gXRwazC3BlenW1R_TYoc3M3CjDoK53Sw3If5K1e5fGjEsf4XMRO2sAePuNG3iNlAjVHvvjG3DX/s1600/prado.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin Prado</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYcJZ1wqFzGmKqvTpjcklL1Qt3ZriQfoCN6y9U8A66UWDHPzP211_bEinwQcBEwbdbByqUAAlpq7iD3qf4Dn2tpw1W2EByOJxKyp0Exkn5m7Y7Hypr2hdZg84obMc4M3aMyhowmL72RuGv/s1600/drew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYcJZ1wqFzGmKqvTpjcklL1Qt3ZriQfoCN6y9U8A66UWDHPzP211_bEinwQcBEwbdbByqUAAlpq7iD3qf4Dn2tpw1W2EByOJxKyp0Exkn5m7Y7Hypr2hdZg84obMc4M3aMyhowmL72RuGv/s1600/drew.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stephen Drew</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Trade deadline was pretty crazy today with some blockbuster moves happening, namely the A's acquiring John Lester from the Red Sox for Yoenis Cespedes and the Tigers getting David Price in a three team deal. The Red Sox were particularly busy today as they also sent John Lackey to St. Louis for Allen Craig and Joe Kelly, and most importantly they sent Stephen Drew to the Yankees in exchange for Kelly Johnson. The Drew trade was the first trade that the Yankees and Red Sox have made since 1997 and I would expect that the Yankees will try and sign him to an extension so that he can be their Shortstop next season, but they will probably wait and see how he does in the Bronx based on his terrible season so far in Boston.<br />
The Yankees also acquired Martin Prado from the Arizona Diamondbacks for slugging 1st base prospect Peter O'Brien, Prado is under control for the next two seasons and is a very versatile player having played at every position except catcher and Center field, he also adds a much needed right handed bat. I know fans will be disappointed that O'Brien was traded because of his 31 homers but really that is all O'Brien is, he has no real position, doesn't walk, doesn't hit for average but he does have a lot of power so selling high on him is a good thing. Their is a funny thing here that Prado will likely be the regular right fielder but he has only played two innings in Right Field although he has played over 2000 innings in left field so the transition shouldn't be too big of a change. Next season the Yankees will have the ability to play Prado at either 3rd, 2nd or in RF depending on their need and I expect that he will backup 1st base as well. In order to make room for Prado the Yankees DFA Brian Roberts who had been their starting second baseman and has been terrible offensively and defensively. The Yankees also claimed <span class="posticle">RHP Esmil Rogers off waivers from the Blue Jays and he will join the bullpen, but no word on who he will replace but it will probably be either Chase Whitely or David Huff. </span><br />
<span class="posticle">Despite fan complaints Brian Cashman has been very good this season in terms of trades trading</span><br />Nuno/Solarte/De Paula/Johnson/O'Brien for McCarthy/Headley/Drew/Prado which is a great haul for the Yankees and while the rotation was not improved Michael Pineda starts his rehab assignment on Sunday and hopefully we can get some good news about Masahiro Tanaka as well. <br />
<br />Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-45165861679277906572014-07-06T11:24:00.002-07:002014-07-06T11:24:16.930-07:00Yankees shuffle roster with Nuno trade and Soriano DFAAfter missing out on Jeff Samardzija the Yankees traded Vidal Nuno for <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mccarbr01.shtml">Brandon McCarthy</a> in hopes of getting some more innings out of there rotation, McCarthy has pitched poorly in Arizona with a 5.01 ERA in 18 starts but the Yankees are hoping that he can turn it around in New York but he will likely be better simply because he can throw a lot of innings and this team needs an innings eater. The Yankees also designated Alfonso Soriano for assignment, this was only a matter of time as Soriano had followed up his monstrous half season with the Yankees last year by hitting .221/.244/.367 with six homers over 238 PA. I don't expect that Soriano will be claimed on waivers as he is still owed a good chuck of money even with the Cubs paying a large part of his salary, but he can sign with any team after he clears waivers. The Yankees called up RHP Bruce Billings as the bullpen has been very taxed the last few games and its expected that RHP Shane Greene will come up tomorrow to start in Cleveland. After the pitching staff gets settled the Yankees will call up another position player and it will probably be one of Zoilo Almonte, Yangervis Solarte or Jose Pierela. If the Yankees hope to contend then these cannot be the only moves they make but honestly the team would need to see some improvement before making bigger moves. Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-39326185975853339712014-06-12T08:36:00.002-07:002014-06-12T08:36:32.969-07:00Happy 40th Birthday Hideki Matsui!<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Happy 40th birthday to the 2009 <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23WorldSeries&src=hash">#WorldSeries</a> MVP and the man they call “Godzilla”, Hideki Matsui. <a href="http://t.co/dNBgj7q1RR">pic.twitter.com/dNBgj7q1RR</a><br />
— MLB Milestones (@MLBMilestones) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBMilestones/statuses/477087952938364929">June 12, 2014</a></blockquote>
<br /><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
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Godzilla turns 40 today and its now been five years since he was the world series MVP in 2009. He will be in this years old timers game, along with Johnny Damon. I had a post about Matsui when he announced his <a href="http://ctyankeeblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/godzilla.html">retirement</a> and from his actual retirement <a href="http://ctyankeeblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/godzilla.html">ceremony</a> as a Yankee last season, it was a great career for Hideki and I do not know if I will ever love a player like I did Matsui.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-91127499270945652232014-06-11T06:34:00.001-07:002014-06-11T06:34:11.831-07:00Connecticut in the 2014 draftThere were 23 players picked in the MLB draft from Connecticut this year and I am particularly pleased because two were picked by the Yankees and two were picked from my alma matter Central Connecticut State University. For Central its the first MLB draft picks since <a href="http://ctyankeeblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/ccsu-loves-evan-scribner.html">Evan Scribner</a> was picked in 2007, so congratulations to J.P Sportman who was picked in the 27th by the Athletics and Nick Neumann who was picked in the 28th by the Pirates, best of luck to both of them. The Yankees two Nutmeg draft picks are RHP Austin DeCarr and 3rd baseman Will Toffey, The Yankees already signed Austin DeCarr for double his slot money so he takes home $1,170,200, which is good for him, but apretly Toffey will be a tougher sign as he is committed to Vanderbilt and it might be hard to pry him away with 23rd round money; fun note though both of these guys go to the same High school, Salisbury School.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hmSRfhnLAuG8Mn-3tvoPZOKHY80RvIQpdjVTwFa_VHxQzeDE-IU5DaXdkT-OCxZTTF3_V7NCayM70I8Kw5vGTHiyEkyKGBzFM-S8UC2MlEueT4kQfn3C__c9CaZ5i3WXTyXTBjN4HEdR/s1600/Austin-DeCarr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hmSRfhnLAuG8Mn-3tvoPZOKHY80RvIQpdjVTwFa_VHxQzeDE-IU5DaXdkT-OCxZTTF3_V7NCayM70I8Kw5vGTHiyEkyKGBzFM-S8UC2MlEueT4kQfn3C__c9CaZ5i3WXTyXTBjN4HEdR/s1600/Austin-DeCarr.jpg" height="147" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DeCarr. (<a href="https://twitter.com/Xaverian_Hawks/status/474979929155989504" target="_blank">@Xaverian_Hawks</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Austin DeCarr was the Yankees third round draft pick and because they took Jacob Lindgren in the second round, who is more of a relief arm that could have a quick impact and had no first round pick DeCarr is the Yankees highest drafted true prospect which is a bit of a letdown after last year in which they had three first round picks, its nothing against DeCarr he is a good pitching prospect but when the first prospect you are drafting is in the third round then its probbaly not the best draft for the Yankees. I really do not know anything about draft prospects but mlb.com <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2014/drafttracker.jsp#ft=team&fv=nya">describes</a> DeCarr with "<span class="commentsspan">He'll pitch at 92-93 mph, but can reach back
for 95 mph when he needs it. His curveball shows flashes of being a plus
offering, and his changeup gives him the chance to have a very
effective three-pitch mix." Its also apparently only his second year as a full time baseball player but is apparently more polished than some other High schoolers, which may have something to do with the fact that he isn't actually a high schooler because he only went to Salisbury academy as a post graduate because he did not get drafted last year and is now 19, still a good prospect just kind of a weird not high school or college guy, so still technically a high school guy. Honestly though I am excited to see what this guy can do.</span><br />
<span class="commentsspan">DeCarr was actually the second Nutmeger drafted, although he is really from Massachusetts but we will take him nonetheless, Sean Newcomb was taken 15th overall by the Angels and is a junior at the University of Hartford and I wish him the best of luck on behalf of all Nutmegers. Best of luck to all of the Nutmegers who got drafted, you can see the full list <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2014/drafttracker.jsp#ft=state&fv=ct">here</a>.</span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-33461108580084663302014-05-27T11:07:00.001-07:002014-05-27T11:07:46.361-07:00Weird Predictions 50 games in!At the beginning of the season Brooke, Chris and I all came up with some <a href="http://ctyankeeblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/weird-2014-predictions.html">odd</a>
prediction ideas instead of the normal home run leader and such
predictions. Here is what we came up with based on absolutely nothing.<br />
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #ccc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup><col width="120"></col><col width="120"></col><col width="120"></col><col width="120"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Nick</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brooke</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Chris</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">7th inning doubles</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Alfonso Soriano</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brendan Ryan</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brett Gardner</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Non-Nunez Errors</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Kelly Johnson</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brendan Ryan</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Carlos Beltran</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Batters hit</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Michael Pineda</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Dellin Betances</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Hiroki Kuroda</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">HBP</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Kelly Johnson</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Francisco Cervelli</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brian McCann</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
As of right now the Yankees have played fifty games and we have our leaders for all the categories<br />
<b>7th Inning doubles: Ichiro Suzuki 2 </b><br />
That's right Ichiro <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/split_finder.cgi?type=b#gotresults&type=b&as=result_batter&offset=0&match=season&min_year_game=2014&max_year_game=2014&team_id=NYY&min_season=1&max_season=-1&min_age=0&max_age=99&isActive=either&split_1=situa%3Ainnng&sid_situa%3Aleado=situa%3Aleado%3Aany&sid_outcb%3Aoutcb=outcb%3Aoutcb%3Aany&sid_oppon%3Aoppon=oppon%3Aoppon%3Aany&sid_situa%3Atimes=situa%3Atimes%3Aany&sid_plato%3Aplato=plato%3Aplato%3Aany&sid_situa%3Abases=situa%3Abases%3Aany&sid_defp%3Adefp=defp%3Adefp%3Aany&sid_opptp%3Agbfb=opptp%3Agbfb%3Aany&sid_opptp%3Apower=opptp%3Apower%3Aany&sid_hitty%3Atraj=hitty%3Atraj%3Aany&sid_lineu%3Alineu=lineu%3Alineu%3Aany&sid_total%3Atotal=total%3Atotal%3Aany&sid_dates%3Ahalf=dates%3Ahalf%3Aany&sid_locat%3Astad=locat%3Astad%3Aany&sid_situa%3Ainnng=situa%3Ainnng%3A7th+inning&sid_locat%3Asite=locat%3Asite%3Aany&sid_dates%3Amonth=dates%3Amonth%3Aany&sid_situa%3Acount=situa%3Acount%3Aany&sid_situa%3Aouts=situa%3Aouts%3Aany&sid_locat%3Ahmvis=locat%3Ahmvis%3Aany&sid_wpa%3Alever=wpa%3Alever%3Aany&sid_role%3Astsub=role%3Astsub%3Aany&sid_hitty%3Ahitlo=hitty%3Ahitlo%3Aany&sid_situa%3Aclutc=situa%3Aclutc%3Aany&exclude_incomplete=1&c0gtlt=eq&c0val=0&number_matched=1&orderby=2B&sr_split_totals_choice=by_split&c1criteria=2B&c1gtlt=gt&c1val=1&c2gtlt=eq&c2val=0&c3gtlt=eq&c3val=0&c4gtlt=eq&c4val=0&c5gtlt=eq&c5val=1.0&location=pob&locationMatch=is&pob=&pod=&pcanada=&pusa=&ajax=1&submitter=1">leads the team</a> with two doubles in the 7th inning and six players are tied for second with one, including Alfonso Soriano so I guess that means Nick is winning that category.<br />
<br />
<b>Non-Nunez Errors: Brian Roberts and Mark Teixeira 5</b><br />
Non-nunez errors became a moot point as Nunez was traded to the Twins, but Johnson, Ryan and Beltran all have errors so they can defiently still catch up to Tex and Roberts.<br />
<br />
<b>Batters hit: CC Sabathia 4</b><br />
CC was a surprise as the leader here as he hit four batters all last season, but he could easily lose the lead as he is currently on the disabled list, but of our predictions only Kuroda has actually hit a batter and he hit one so it will take some work.<br />
<br />
<b>HBP: Brian McCann and Mark Teixeira 3</b><br />
fun fact Tex should actually be leading this with four but Tex was ruled to have swung at a pitch that hit him even though he obviously didn't, but you can't review that. So here is the only category where someone has the correct pick with Chris picking McCann.<br />
<br />
So as of right now Chris leads with one correct answer. Update in fifty games, im sure you will all be keeping track.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-81157354972548582612014-05-20T10:27:00.001-07:002014-05-20T10:27:11.065-07:00The legend of Yangervis<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_1RFczbX2I4mXf1QeDrQJPBmpyPFbXFexB7FaWI3aVAg1WX5rZaW2KYJBCXcR65y1pQAxy0KSr3v9cJb1ejRya-ZSLkV4EoYAzlw9DXU8nPm-J63TI5W4O50r4aeqd83h870y1MbxfIIe/s1600/yangervis-solarte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_1RFczbX2I4mXf1QeDrQJPBmpyPFbXFexB7FaWI3aVAg1WX5rZaW2KYJBCXcR65y1pQAxy0KSr3v9cJb1ejRya-ZSLkV4EoYAzlw9DXU8nPm-J63TI5W4O50r4aeqd83h870y1MbxfIIe/s1600/yangervis-solarte.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yangervis in action</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The last two season Yangervis Solarte was one of the better hitters on the Texas Rangers AAA team, The Round Rock Express, but he did play in the PCL which is a league known for inflating offensive numbers and was not someone that would be considered a potential contributing big league player, keep in mind that his offense in AAA was something new as he had spent the previous seven years in the Twins organization not hitting, this is a guy who only signed with an agent because his uncle <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Cede%C3%B1o">Rodger Cedeno</a> asked his own agent to do so as a favor. Which is why when the Yankees signed him to a minor league deal, nobody gave him any consideration as he looked like one of the many players that's brought in who had no shot of making the team. However Eduardo Nunez had dreadful spring, Brendan Ryan was hurt and so Solarte's great spring earned him a spot on the opening day team and he carried over his hot spring to a great start to the season and now its the middle of May and he still has not stopped hitting, in fact he is second in the American league right now in batting average.<br />
On top of that Solarte is helping out in the field as he has played second base, third and even a little short stop and while he is not what you would ever call a good fielder, he inst a bad one either and his versatility really helps the team. In many ways I think that Yangervis is the player that the Yankees wanted Eduardo Nunez to become, a high contact infielder who doesn't hurt the team with his defense. The real problem for everyone is how Solarte just came out of nowhere and has been such a success, but I think we as fans are waiting for for bubble to burst; Solarte has been so successful and so out of nowhere that we don't believe it. Personally I have trouble believing it, he was 0-11 coming into the second game of the double header this weekend and that doubt started creeping into my mind and then he went 2-4 with a clutch home run that was no Yankee Stadium special. If Solarte had been a prospect then Yankees fans would be ecstatic and not stop talking about this guy, but he really has not gotten much media attention despite his great play, really the Yankees have two Rookie of the year candidates on their roster right now in Solarte and Tanaka. Solarte has been a godsend for the Yankees as he has been able to be an everyday infielder for them on this team and turned the infield into a place where they must upgrade before the end of may into lets find a player who is better than Brian Roberts or Kelly Johnson before the trade deadline.<br />
The thing everyone was watching Solarte for was his high BABIP to start the year and his .313 BA is supported by a .322 BABIP, but thats not so far out of the range of possibilities to be true and really we have no data to really know what Solarte should be doing and none of his batted ball numbers really jump out as way to good to keep going, his line drive percentage are right around league average and his ground ball percentage of 41% is a little better than the league average of 44%, obviously these numbers could change quickly but they are pretty exactly where we would expect this type of hitter to be at. Solarte's good line drive rate and low ground ball rate do help us believe that his numbers aren't just ground balls getting through but are coming from solid contact and if you have watched any of his game you would see that for yourself.<br />
Another factor that some thought would hurt Yangervis is that often with guys first coming up they see a lot of fastballs but then teams start to adjust and diversify the pitches they throw the hitter and the hitter will regress, many people thought this would happen to Yangervis but now its May and he is still hitting, in fact according to fangraphs he has hit Sliders better than any other pitch and other non-fastball pitches haven't slowed him down much either.<br />
There is also the fact that Solarte has been very good in terms of his walks and strikeouts, he currently sits at exactly 17 walks and 17 strikeouts which works out to 11% for each which is the lowest strikeout rate for anyone on the team with at least 100 Plate appearances and second in walk rate behind Mark Teixeira, although Yangervis is actually ahead of Teixeira in total number of walks due to Mark missing some time. His walk rate shows that he is not a hacker going up there and just getting lucky by putting the first pitch into play, he is showing plate discipline seeing 3.89 pitches per plate appearance which would rank him 4th on the team behind Gardner, Ellsbury and McCann. But we are still not believing this and it fells like Yangervis has really gotten very little press outside of New York and really not much local coverage either.<br />
At this point we still don't know what Yangervis Solarte is, is he a flash in the pan or is he a legitimate big league contributed, at this point I don't know and I really don't think anyone really does but when I see him hit a home run like this:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="224" src="http://m.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=32982711&topic_id=8878548&width=400&height=224&property=mlb" width="400">Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe><br />
I really think "maybe this guy can make it work, after all he wouldnt be the first guy to break into the big leagues as a solid player at age 26; Dan Uggla did it with the Marlins in 2006 after being taken in the rule 5 draft from the Diamondbacks and while he has been bad these last two years in Atlanta he was a very solid player for the previous seven seasons in Atlanta and Florida averaging around three Wins above replacement in each season, the Yankees would take that production from Yangervis in a second and they also have the versatility to acquire another infielder as they can easily play Yangervis at either Second or Third base. At this point even if Yangervis stopped hitting altogether, the Yankees have already gotten more production out of him then they would have dreamed of back when they first signed him and everything after this is just addign to the legend that is Yangervis.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-51214806306226136432014-05-09T09:51:00.001-07:002014-05-10T12:42:26.850-07:00Keep Alfredo Aceves in the pen<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQHxat-3DBNk4FMw7nlGcFlvwGVxAF2eM14G-PjlgDJ0gS_tN2XAIzc9tfU5ilpMTBJiWJMS1N3MqoNf67ok7kJRsyb2pRzJyWd3Bh_ic3we1eqIHe0zDrSUe_eOLe41bAhOWfp5_jWfF/s1600/Baltimore+Orioles+v+New+York+Yankees+w7PpkSUvCvqm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQHxat-3DBNk4FMw7nlGcFlvwGVxAF2eM14G-PjlgDJ0gS_tN2XAIzc9tfU5ilpMTBJiWJMS1N3MqoNf67ok7kJRsyb2pRzJyWd3Bh_ic3we1eqIHe0zDrSUe_eOLe41bAhOWfp5_jWfF/s1600/Baltimore+Orioles+v+New+York+Yankees+w7PpkSUvCvqm.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alfredo Aceves</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last Sundays game against the Rays was not a good one as CC Sabathia had another poor outing in only three and two thirds innings and then in came Alfredo Aceves who wound up pitching the rest of the game and only gave up three hits and no runs. This caused some <a href="http://yanksgoyard.com/2014/05/06/alfredo-aceves-possible-plug-rotation/">people </a>to clamor for Aceves to be in the rotation based on that performance. I am here to tell everyone to hold off on that for now, because Aceves might be of more value where he is.<br />
<br />
Alfredo Aceves was with the Yankees from 2008 through 2010, during his time with the team though he served as a versatile pitcher, starting several games, coming in for high leverage innings and doing that odd piggyback starter thing that the Yankees did with Joba Chamberlain where Joba would pitch 3-4 inning and then Aceves would come in for about the same. After the 2010 season he was non tendered by the team after missing most of the season with a back injury of which the Yankees did not think he would come back from. Some fans were upset about this, including myself, especially when <span class="bold_text xx_large_text" itemprop="name">Aceves</span> ended up signing with Red Sox and pitched well for them in 2011 with a 2.61 ERA over 114 innings, mostly as a reliever but with a few starts. The next two seasons did not go as well with Aceves pitching poorly in both the bullpen and the Red Sox rotation, he ended up being demoted to the minors last season and then cut him after the, he was with Orioles in spring training before opting out and then signing a minor league deal with the Yankees. Its easy to think that these five inning wipe away what has really been poor pitching the previous two season but lets be real, its very possible that his pitching on Sunday was a complete and total fluke. It would not be the first time a pitcher came in an d pitched well in a small sample size, I remember Lance Pendelton has a three inning relief debut a few years ago in which he was perfect and people were wondering if he could be something and he wasn't, he was just a nondescript reliever who the Rangers made look very good in one game.<br />
I really hope that Aceves outing is a sign that Aceves can be effective in the future but for now I think the best place to keep him is in the bullpen as the Yankees really need someone effective in the back-end of their bullpen as the Chris Leroux and Bruce Billings of the bullpen have not just been bad, they have been astoundingly awful and while that may seem like a pretty minor but the complete meltdown of the bullpen in many of these games has turned a deficit into a complete blowout and squashed any chance that the Yankees had to come back in these games.Aceves looks like he could the guy that they need who can come out of the bullpen and give the team some length and be effective.<br />
<br />
The other factor in this is a very simple one, Alfredo Aceves has been better as a reliever than as a starter.<br />
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<script src="http://widgets.sports-reference.com/wg.fcgi?css=1&site=br&url=%2Fplayers%2Fsplit.cgi%3Fid%3Daceveal01%26year%3DCareer%26t%3Dp&div=div_sprel" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
<br />
The ERA isn't too different between starting and reliving, but the big one for me is his strikeout to walk ratio, as a reliever its 2.76 SO/W in 288.2 innings while as a starter its an even 42 walks to 42 strikeouts and this is over 15 starts. Everything about Aceves's numbers says that he is better as a reliever than as a starter 4.29 ERA as a starter, compared to 3.46 as a reliever and the Yankees already have some mediocre pitchers in their rotation, would Aceves really be any better? I personally doubt that he would be any upgrade over Nuno or Phelps right now, however he would probably be my top choice if the Yankees needed another starter but lets hope they do not need one anytime soon. Fortunetly it does appear as though the Yankees have anyNickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-40496867453693808342014-05-02T11:52:00.002-07:002014-05-02T11:52:48.724-07:00So April just happenedIt doesn't feel like April was that much of a success because the infield still stinks and we lost Pineda for a month on top of his suspension and Nova is out for the year, but the Yankees lead the division with 15 wins, which is actually tied for second in the American league. Its April and so small sample sizes still abound, remember Vernon Wells was hitting .300 at this point last season with six home runs and people were asking if Wells could be a brilliant move from Cashman, but Wells hit .216 with five home runs and twenty walks the rest of the year and everyone went back to deciding Cashman was an idiot. April is a lie and it has always been one, but the Yankees have shown real promise in a lot of areas, while they also shown that they will need to upgrade others at some point.<br />
At the end of April the Yankees are currently fifth in batting average and 6th in OPS in the AL which is not bad, but their rotation has been unimpressive behind Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda and that will need to change as Kuroda and Sabathia simply need to be better if the Yankees want to win this season and now with the injury to Nova they will likely need to look to trade for a starter or hope than Manny Banuelos can take a huge leap forward and contribute this season because he is likely their best hope in terms of a home grown starter who can be a positive force for the team, otherwise they will need to look to acquire a starter.Its obviously too early to look for who might be available but two names that jump out at me are Cliff Lee because duh and the other is Brandon McCarthy, there is nothing particularly special about McCarthy except that he has been a solid pitcher in the past and he is playing on the absolutely awful Arizona Diamondbacks who seem more likely than anyone to blow up their team and McCarthy seems like a guy who they would be likely to move, however Kevin Towers may decide that McCarthy, who was struck on the head by a line drive in 2012, is too gritty be traded or he may also decide he is not gritty enough; Towers seems to make odd decisions with personnel. Lee is pretty obvious but I doubt that the Phillies will move him because they also make odd personnel decisions and they are very unlikely to trade him in May when they may be playing well. <br />
The other position that the Yankees need help in is there infield and its not really specific of where they would need that help as they need somebody to play either second or third and preferable a young player who could move to short stop next season, but trading for a player like would be hard as most of those players are either starting for a team or the team is looking to move an older veteran so that he can start. Obviously Brian Roberts has not been very good but its really too early for us to see who is interested in making deals and with the new playoffs it seems like teams stick it out much longer because they cling to this idea that they will be able to contend. The Yankees were tied to Didi Gregorius in the off season, but the awful Diamondbacks would seem more likely to try and move someone so that Gregorius can start everyday and they have two players that they could possible trade to clear a spot in Martin Prado and Aaron Hill both of whom would likely interest the Yankees.The player I think the Yankees would prefer is <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pradoma01.shtml#contracts">Martin Prado</a> who is a versatile player capable of playing either third or second base, but I think the Diamondbacks are more likely to try and trade Aaron Hill who is strictly a second baseman and has not been a very good defensive one these last two years. In 2012 Hill hit .302.360/.522 with 26 Home runs and won a silver slugger but only played 87 games last season after suffering a hand injury in April, he would obviously fit well for the team but I am not sure how the Yankees will feel about him being under contract for the next two season, they may find it a boon or they may not like it the money however is fairly reasonable at $12 million a season in 2015 and 2016 and Hill will be 34 when the contract expires so it is not a bad deal, we also have no idea if the Diamondbacks want to move him. Another player that the Yankees could have interest in is Chase Utley who while not an MVP candidate anymore is still a very good player and only under contract for next season, although he does still have vesting options for 2016-18 that depend on him having 500 PA in the previous season. Utley would likely be a huge addition for the team but he is also one of the better players on the Phillies and they do not have a younger player looking to push him out just yet, even at 35 I do not see the Phillies moving him unless they are completely lost by the trade deadline. Another player could be Nick Franklin of the Mariners and there is some intrigue here as the Mariners need help but Nick Franklin doesn't have a lot of history because he is a prospect and I do not really know what the Mariners are going to want for him, probably a similar player but the Yankees do not really have a good prospect who is stuck behind a solid major league starter and other than that I have no idea what they will want, especially in April. Other than these guys its still way too early to talk about a possible trade for anyone and honestly its too early to talk about a trade for these guys either but I did it anyway. The Yankees will need to make a move eventually though as they cannot expect Solarte to keep playing this well, it just likely will need to be later this year.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-2541427936409709812014-04-07T10:26:00.002-07:002014-04-07T10:26:30.566-07:00So who here can play the infield?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Eduardo Nunez reacts after grounding out to end" height="278" src="http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.6134635.1380071722!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye Nunez</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It came out in <a href="http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/eduardo-nu-ez-asked-for-release-and-got-it-from-yankees-1.7578574">Newsday</a> that Eduardo Nunez had asked for his
release when he was informed that he did not make the team, the team obligated
him and designated him for assignment to add Yangervis Solarte to the roster.
However Mark Teixeira hurt his hamstring in the series against the Blue Jays
and with the designation of Eduardo Nunez the Yankees have no real depth in
their infield in fact every infielder they have is either on the 25 man roster
or on the disabled list, so when Teixeira went down they had to call up a Austin
Romine who has no experience at any position other than catcher. In fact of the
three catchers on the roster right now only Francisco Cervelli has any experience
at any position other than Catcher and he has eight total innings at third and second
as a pro baseball player. That’s it, of all five catchers on the roster John
Ryan Murphy played several games at third when they thought about moving him
from catcher and Gary Sanchez has one inning at 1<sup>st</sup>, every other
game in their entire pro careers for all five catchers has been at Catcher or
DH. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what this means is that the Yankees are going to use
Kelly Johnson as their everyday 1<sup>st</sup> baseman and might use Francisco
Cervelli there, they do currently have him taking ground balls at first, I doubt
that they want to use him there but they probably do not want to use Kelly
Johnson at first either. What irks me a little is how the Yankees knew that
they had very little experience at first outside of mark Teixeira and they neglected
to play any of their infielders at 1<sup>st</sup> base, especially since they
were trying get their young catchers into as many games as possible and
evidently never thought to put any of them at 1<sup>st</sup> during spring
training. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Corban Joesph could help as he is playing at first in AAA
Scranton and he played a game at first for the Yankees last season, but he is
relatively new to the position as he has mostly played as a 2<sup>nd</sup>
baseman. He is also not on the 40 man roster right now as he was removed this
offseason and so obviously the Yankees do not have a ton of belief in him and
they would also need to remove someone from the 40 man and so unless another
infielder or two go down then it seems unlikely he will be back with the team. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obviously the depth situation will get better when Brendan Ryan
gets back from the disable list but it’s not as though he will help with the
current 1<sup>st</sup> base issue and frankly we have no idea how long he will
be out for, he may even be out longer than Teixeira will be. It’s still
possible that the Yankees will acquire someone, I mean Stephen Drew is still
out there and Eduardo Nunez can still be traded for someone by the 11<sup>th</sup>.
If you were wondering the Yankees could not add Nunez back to the 40 man unless
he passed through waivers, which seems unlikely. These two early Infield injuries
further emphasize how the Yankees have a real need in the infield, but so far
they have not been able to make a move to bolster the infield. Until the
Yankees make a move they may be grabbing players on the waiver wire to bolster
their depth quite a bit until they have a more permanent solution. It’s still
much too early to really find a team that might be willing to trade a piece and
until then we are just going to have to hope that nobody else will get hurt. <o:p></o:p></div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-46932012243610801982014-04-01T13:19:00.000-07:002014-04-01T13:19:26.979-07:00Eduardo Nunez Designated for assignmentEduardo Nunez has been Designated for assignment to give Yangervis Solarte a 40 man roster spot. So this has been a rough week for Eduardo as he lost the competition for the last 25 manroster spot to Yangervis Solarte, then Solarte took his number and now Solarte has taken his 40 man spot as well. No word on if Solarte has also kicked Nunez's dog or taken his girlfriend too but I assume that both of those have either already happened or will happen shortly. <br />
Seriously though I am pretty surprised that the team DFA Nunez as I assumed they wanted to keep him for infield depth but apparently not, it would have seemed a better idea to DFA Preston Claiborne but I guess the team had other ideas, they probably feel that Nunez can slip through waivers now that all the rosters are set.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-52604921865815005232014-03-29T13:04:00.000-07:002014-03-29T13:04:48.632-07:00Weird 2014 PredictionsSo instead of doing the standard predictions for the season we decided
that we would have some different predictions for at least April. If you
have not already listened to the Podcast then do so, but here are our
predictions and we will see if any of them are correct in a month.<br />
<br />
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<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Nick</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brooke</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Chris</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">7th inning doubles</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Alfonso Soriano</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brendan Ryan</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brett Gardner</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Non-Nunez Errors</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Kelly Johnson</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brendan Ryan</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Carlos beltran</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Batters hit</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Michael Pineda</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Dellin Betances</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Hiroki Kuroda</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">HBP</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Kelly Johnson</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Francisco Cervelli</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">Brian McCann</td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-size: 120.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-5201384905306769872014-03-29T11:31:00.000-07:002014-03-29T11:31:45.516-07:00A True Yankee Podcast 2014 Season<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="85" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://atrueyankee.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2014-03-29T10_50_30-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fatrueyankee.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-03-29T10_50_30-07_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D440%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0" width="440"></iframe><br />
<br />
Nick, Chris and Brooke review the Yankees off season, discuss the
acquisition of Tanaka and the loss of Robinson Cano. We also talk about
what the Yankees still need to do and how this team looks going into the
new season. Finally we make some interesting predictions about the
teams performance through April. Also after our podcast Yangervis Solarte made the team over Eduardo Nunez, Nunez was optioned to Triple A.<br />
<br />
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-55926566677628869062014-03-26T07:05:00.001-07:002014-03-26T07:05:53.772-07:00Michael Pineda is the 5th starter<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPAp8NJu_2uqXzkc3XKm6j_yb5FQhMVXOo-SzR6L4rKvLc0vHTmui2Y6hojLYZ3AAuHThek2I1GXEFDwhO5HLirl-C4hjEdlfmy9Uw0LHgiIB3ePBDyQcHXoZmhYQNwxospc2KuTgZVTx/s1600/michael-pineda-32514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPAp8NJu_2uqXzkc3XKm6j_yb5FQhMVXOo-SzR6L4rKvLc0vHTmui2Y6hojLYZ3AAuHThek2I1GXEFDwhO5HLirl-C4hjEdlfmy9Uw0LHgiIB3ePBDyQcHXoZmhYQNwxospc2KuTgZVTx/s1600/michael-pineda-32514.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He is still only 25</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Coming into spring training the competition for the Yankees 5th starter spot was between David Phelps, Michael Pineda, Vidal Nuno and Adam Warren, but really nobody expected it to be anyone but either Phelps or Pineda. This was not a rigged competition where Pineda was going to win no matter what, but I think that they wanted Pineda to take this opportunity to show what he could do and that is exactly what he did. Phelps had a good spring, but in his two major league seasons he has not done anything to make people believe he is anything more than a back of the rotation starter and Pineda was an all star in Seattle and is still only 25, actually two years younger than Phelps.<br />
<br />
Pineda and Phelps both had good springs, but more importantly for Pineda his stuff looked very good and his velocity crept upward as spring training went along, that slider of his looked very crisp as well. The Yankees have also expressed confidence in him, saying that he will have no innings limit this season, but they may just be trying to avoid any controversy around an innings limit.<br />
<br />
Phelps and Warren will be in the bullpen, as might Vidal Nuno but I would not be surprised if all of these guys start for the Yankees at some point this season as teams always need more than five starters and the Yankees have not used fewer than eight in a season since 1975 and a team usually has a 6th starter that they use pretty heavily throughout the season.<br />
<br />
The Montero-Pineda trade was two years ago and we still haven't seen the debut of Michael Pineda, but now it will happen on April 5th in Toronto and I for one am very excited about this and if Pineda does find success and Nova is able to be more consistent then the Yankees could suddenly have a young power rotation with Tanaka, Nova and Pineda all young and under control for the next several seasons. Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-58541366739036605522014-03-24T08:10:00.001-07:002014-03-24T08:10:28.551-07:00The 25 man roster approachesFor the most part the Yankees 25 man roster is set, we are really down to the last three or four spots on the roster and it seems likely that the Yankees already know who they will be taking with them. The Yankees do not have any obvious release candidates on their 40 man roster and so their options related to who makes the team a are somewhat limited. The 5th starter competition ended up being a two man race between David Phelps and Michael Pineda and it would seem that while you can make the argument for Phelps the Yankees love what they have seen with Pineda. I guess theoretically they could send Pineda down to the minors to start the year but I do not think that's what they are going to do. Obviously this does not really change the roster as Phelps will be in the bullpen and even if Pineda was sent down to the minors then I expect Nuno would simply go to the bullpen.<br />
<br />
The bench and bullpen are a little more interesting as you have to take the 40 man roster crunch into account when looking at who will make the team. Five of the spots are pretty much guaranteed as Adam Warren, David Robertson, Shawn Kelly, Matt Thorton and presumably David Phelps are all going to be in the bullpen. That leaves two spots in the bullpen open and it seems likely that Dellin Betances will make the team but that still leaves a spot open in the bullpen. Chris Leroux and Matt Daley have been great this spring pitching a combined 18 innings with sixteen strikeouts to eight total base runners, however neither of these guys has faced many MLB quality bats this spring and while relievers do have a hard time facing quality opponents in spring training, neither of these pitchers is on the 40 man roster and would it really be worth designating someone to carry one of these guys on the 25 man roster? Neither Preston Claiborne nor Cesar Cabral has had a particularly good spring and haven't faced opponents any better than Daley or Leroux but their being on the 40 man roster likely gives them a leg up on them. If I had to guess I would say that the Yankees will probably go with Betances and Claiborne to fill out their bullpen as it would allow them to maximize their depth, remember Cody Eppley broke camp with the team last year after an awful spring but they did not wait long to designate him for assignment and that could be what happens here with Claiborne.I also expect that they will keep Nuno in AAA as rotation depth in case they quickly need a starter early on in the season. The bullpen will change as the season goes on and its very possible that Leroux and Daley will end up in the Yankees bullpen at some point this season but I expect they will go to Scranton to start the year.<br />
<br />
The story of the bench battle is a little different as the only way Ichiro or Cervelli were not going to be on the bench was if they were traded away and it seems unlikely that a trade for either player will happen at this point in the spring, but it still remains a possibility. Their was initially only going to be one spot to battle for and it seemed likely that Eduardo Nunez would keep his job, but with Brendan Ryan going down with a variety of injuries it would seem likely that Eduardo Nunez will make the team based on the fact that he has major league experience, but of all the bench spot competitors he has arguably had the worst spring. With Sizemore still not looking 100% ready it seems likely that he will go to the minors to start the season, which really leaves Yangervis Solarte, Dean Anna and I suppose Zelous Wheeler to compete over the last bench spot, none of whom have any time in the majors. Solarte is a switch hitter who is raking this spring and had a very good last two years in AAA, however this is only 39 PA and Solarte played in the hitter friendly Pacific coast league the last two years. We see this all the time where a player hits the crap out of the ball in spring training and then goes to the majors or the minors and does absolutely nothing, the same is true for Anna or Wheeler but at least Wheeler and Solarte have actually hit this spring and they have all faced around the same quality of pitchers. Again just like with Claiborne, Dean Anna's being on the 40 man roster will likely be the deciding factor as they would not want to risk losing the depth given Ryan's injury, in this case if Anna is terrible then they can remove him from the 40 man and bring up someone from the minors or wait out his terribleness until Ryan comes back but if they lose him on waivers by designating him now then they would need Solarte to play even if he was playing poorly. The other factor in this is simply that Anna is regarded as a glove man and that is what the Yankees need to replace Brendan Ryan with right now and so it would be a surprise to me if Anna did not make the team. Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-29814063659032592662014-03-06T10:36:00.002-08:002014-03-06T10:38:45.880-08:00Is it finaly time for Betances?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCgkSJO_OWGbK2LHPPfbFwkiD33LC_3cOPkYmL5er7n2ie0l0PQGNMnQH5UTHoJBR9Lqc7EPmZKGqG8K4YqZpZIHCFr8jk3QVK7e899w-ak2NVoLKY2rLStGMlXoNTk0wiDmSvJVd_g9j/s1600/dellin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCgkSJO_OWGbK2LHPPfbFwkiD33LC_3cOPkYmL5er7n2ie0l0PQGNMnQH5UTHoJBR9Lqc7EPmZKGqG8K4YqZpZIHCFr8jk3QVK7e899w-ak2NVoLKY2rLStGMlXoNTk0wiDmSvJVd_g9j/s1600/dellin.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Betances in spring training</td></tr>
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Dellin Betances was one of the
top Yankee prospects a few years ago but despite some good signs along the way
he was never able to harness his stuff as a starter and was moved into the
bullpen. Betances has had a taste of the majors last season and in 2011, but
was not successful in either brief September stint. However this Spring Betances
has looked very good as he has pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, giving up only
one hit and two walks, while striking out four batters and the Yankees are
definitely trying to see if he can break camp with the team. Betances has great
stuff with a great swing and miss curveball, a fastball that is mid to upper
90’s, a slider that he almost never uses and a changeup that has really yo-yoed
around in terms of effectiveness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This arsenal
of pitches and Dellins imposing 6’8 body has made the Yankees keep him in the
rotation for as long as they could but last season they finally relented and
put him in the bullpen where he was much improved, putting up a 1.35 ERA in the
Scranton bullpen as opposed to 6.00 as a starter. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Betances was taken by the Yankees in the 8<sup>th</sup>
round of the 2006 draft and they gave him $1 million to sign but here we are in
his 9<sup>th</sup> year as a Pro and it might finally be his time, he does have
another minor league option available for this season but the Yankees need help
in their bullpen and Dellin can step right in and be the pitcher that the
Yankees need and turn himself from a hard throwing prospect who could never put
it together into a true major league contributor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dellin has definitely been frustrated with
his slow progress and unfortunately he has been for a <a href="http://ctyankeeblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/dellin-betances-frustrated-killer-b.html">while</a>, maybe especially
because he is a gy who grew up a Yankees fan in Washington Height, Manhattan
and he wants to be able to show everyone that the Yankees did not make a
mistake by sticking with him and right now this spring training is probably the
most important point in his career because he can do that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-48143523938769091382014-02-28T06:13:00.000-08:002014-02-28T06:13:02.607-08:00Who would like a Yankee catcher?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66myOj572CRRnonXMHhK19vLeJeI0vEHu-e2G0a9uqUX59wXRNfSVYF8_44ax2ueP4ifJDHBIF5C2E-mXYw8HfpRnbS0lM9Dx8pv3T2ZMBL5ht3EfmSnC50Pun36xRGowtn453RIUx-eg/s1600/catcher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66myOj572CRRnonXMHhK19vLeJeI0vEHu-e2G0a9uqUX59wXRNfSVYF8_44ax2ueP4ifJDHBIF5C2E-mXYw8HfpRnbS0lM9Dx8pv3T2ZMBL5ht3EfmSnC50Pun36xRGowtn453RIUx-eg/s1600/catcher.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Romine, Murphy and Cervelli</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Yankees have a plethora of young catchers with five catchers on the 40-man roster and only one backup spot considering that Brian McCann just signed a five year deal. Obviously Gary Sanchez still needs time to develop and he will probably spend the entire season in Double-A Trenton, but Austin Romine and John Ryan Murphy are both behind Francisco Cervelli at this point and the Yankees probably do not want to have both of them there. The possibility comes up then couldn't the Yankees trade one of these catchers to try and shore up the left side of their infield and who exactly is out there?<br />
One team that has been known to be looking for a catcher is the White Sox whose Tyler Flowers had a very poor year and while he says he is going to bounce back he has not done anything in his career so far to make there be anything he will bounce back to as he has never hit better than .213 in the majors. The White Sox would like a backup and probbaly want someone who can push Flowers and really any of Cervelli, Romine and Murphy are capable of being that player for Chicago. The problem is that there really is no player that they do not match up very well as the the only player I see that the Yankees would likely be intrested in as an upgrade or at least a young player with potential is probbaly Marcus Semien who can play all three left infield positions. However I have no idea if the White Sox would be interested in moving Semien and I would bet that they probably want him to take over for a veteran and don't really want to move him, but I could be wrong.<br />
Another pairing that has been <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/02/d-backs-asking-for-young-catcher-in-exchange-for-shortstop.html">suggested</a> is the Arizona Diamondbacks who are looking for a backup to Miguel Montero and even that they would be willing to give up a shortstop to get one. The two names that being thrown out there are Chris Owings and Didi Gregorius as the D-Backs have a good amount of depth in terms of Shortstop prospects however it is believed that they want a very good return or else they would have dealt one of the two already. That means its unlikely that they will want to trade Owings/Gregorius for just Romine or Murphy and so I do not know if the Yankees would be willing to do that at this stage. One of these guys would be perfect though as they could move around the infield this year and then be an option to play any infield spot the Yankees would need filled next season which is likely to be every spot on the left side of the infield. <br />
The other name that is out there is the Milwaukee Brewers who would like to move Rickie Weeks and at some point this year they will probably also try and move Aramis Ramirez and the brewers would like a catcher as they only have two on their 40 man roster and while Jonathon Lucroy has been a solid starter for the Brewers they really have no depth behind him as Martin Maldonado had a very poor year after a good 2012. But Ramirez and Weeks are both players who are making a good amount of money this season and despite a very good 2012 Ramirez was just about replacement level last season and only played 92 game and he is being payed $16 million this season with a mutual option for $14 million that requires a $4 million buyout, while Weeks is owed $11 million this season and has been below replacement level the last two years but he was a 3 WAR player the two years before and Weeks is only 28, that so there is some chance of a bounce back. The Brewers want to move him as they have Scooter Gennett waiting to take over 2nd but on top of this years salary Weeks also has an option for next season although it seems unlikely that he will get the 600 PA that he would to pick up the $11.5 million option.<br />
After these teams any trade ideas are just pure speculation but I would expect the Yankees to keep shopping these catches in hopes of acquiring an infielder and preferably one that can contribute this season as Murphy, Romine and Cervelli are all capable of doing. Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-53061172643491657432014-02-24T06:57:00.003-08:002014-02-24T06:57:40.012-08:00Yankees sign Brett Gardner to an extension<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEqF8QJ3Z_-Zo9wEtS6Gu_HstL591hRnfvVmjJbWUgfxmtVDy-pH0K_-91jjnWQwiyPhmQa3BHiEmoNCQKYI9C0mPOKucib7AR335_JWX3OLWktDV_9-JQYOps3P_tXnhLngWgx2Kx3jsa/s1600/yankees-v-houston-astros.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEqF8QJ3Z_-Zo9wEtS6Gu_HstL591hRnfvVmjJbWUgfxmtVDy-pH0K_-91jjnWQwiyPhmQa3BHiEmoNCQKYI9C0mPOKucib7AR335_JWX3OLWktDV_9-JQYOps3P_tXnhLngWgx2Kx3jsa/s1600/yankees-v-houston-astros.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4 class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">
Robert Sabo/New York Daily News </h4>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Brett Gardner <a href="http://web.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140223&content_id=68240538&oid=36019">signed</a> a four year extension with the Yankees worth $52 million and now has a clear picture for their outfield over the next several seasons as Carlos Beltran is under contract until 2016, Jacoby Ellsbury until 2020 and now Brett Gardner until 2019 although Gardner and Ellsbury both have team options that could give them another year of control. This deal is a bit of a surprise as Gardner had been connected to a few trade rumors this off season and most people expected that the Yankees would let him walk after this season, but instead they signed a very agreeable deal for both parties. The part that is odd is that the Yankees had just signed Jacoby Ellsbury to a big deal and the two players now seem a bit redundant, don't get me wrong having two elite defenders in the outfield is never a bad thing and neither is two great speed threats or two great on-base guys, but Gardner can play a good center field and now that they signed Gardner to this deal why did they sign Ellsbury to that big deal? The only thing that makes sense to me is that the Yankees must think that Ellsbury's power from 2011 was the real deal and they plan on having him hit 20-25 Homerus a season for the next few years, that's just a theory though.<br />
Andy Martino of the New York daily news mentions in his <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/baseballinsider/2014/02/who-won-the-deal-brett-gardner-or-the-yankees-actually-both-did-now-about-th">article</a> about the deal one of the better parts of the deal which is that Gardner is still a trade asset if the Yankees decide to move him in a year or two, his $12.5 million a season is reasonable and would definitely be movable.<br />
Gardner is a good story for Yankee fans as he was a walk on at Charelston College and a third round pick but never considered a top prospect who came on the scene in 2010 as the starting left fielder and now he would appear to be the starting left fielder for the next several seasons and all at a time when the Yankees struggle to grow players Gardner is still there as a home grown talent. On his deal Gardner <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/gardner-agrees-52m-yankees-extension-article-1.1699265?utm_content=buffer0eafc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">said</a> "<em>I made it known to them that I wanted to stay here and be a part of
this. I learned from guys that come from other places that there's no
better place to play, so I look forward to staying here and helping the
team win.</em>" <br />
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Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-20863754730232939402014-02-19T22:30:00.001-08:002014-02-19T22:30:49.315-08:00Best and worst of the offseasonThis has to be one of the most interesting off seasons for the Yankees, the Yankees spent almost half a billion dollars but lost their best player and still have glaring holes on the team. Its hard to narrow this down to the best and worst moves by the Yankee's this off season because as with most new contracts it really depends on how they will play out than on how it looks right now. Look at the Jesus Montero for Michael Pineada trade, that has changed whose won several times and Pineada has not actually pitched for the Yankees yet.<br />
<br />
<b>Best Move</b>: <u>Masahiro Tanaka</u><br />
I said in our <a href="http://ctyankeeblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-true-yankee-podcast-offseason.html">offseason podcast</a> that I thought that signing Tanaka was the most important part of the off season and that if it came down to Cano or Tanaka that it was more important for them to sign Tanaka and apparently the Yankees agreed with me because they let Cano walk and signed Tanaka. Tanaka provides the Yankees with what they needed a young pitcher with high upside and while he has a risk of flopping it seems very unlikely as the Yankees have been scouting him for 7 years.We will have to wait and see how Tanaka adjusts to the MLB but it was truly a move that the Yankees needed to make if they want to contend in the very competitive AL East let alone vie for another World Series title.<br />
<br />
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<b>Worst Move:</b> <u>Carlos Beltran</u><br />
This is one that everyone seems to love but I really am not enthused about it. They gave Beltran at 36 three years this off season when they could have signed Nick Swisher for his age 32-35 seasons last off season. I know that Swisher did not hit well in the postseason but you have to get to the off season first and we have no idea if Beltran is going to be able to last all season while Swisher has always been a model of consistency.In the end though its crying over spilled milk from a year ago, but there was a better move than Beltran that the Yankees could have done and that was signing Shin-Soo Choo who like Swisher is a high walk guy who can hit 20+ HR a year, he isn't a switch hitter like Beltran or Swisher and his platoon split isn't very good but guys who walk a lot don't stop doing it as they age and that power and patience is exactly what the Yankees look for in a player. instead the Yankees gave three years to Beltran based largely on the fact that he has been great in the postseason, which is significant but I don't know if he will last to the postseason and with an aging roster I do not want the Yankees to have to be trying to get him in the lineup two years from now when his knees are shot but he, Teixeira and McCann all need time at the DH spot. Beltran is a bat only player at this point as his defense has declined due to being old and his walk rate has steadily declined with a career worst 6.3% walk rate last season. Also as great as Beltran has been as a switch hitter last season he hit only .251 against LHP and recorded only 7 walks in 171 PA and so he is unlikely to help a lineup that looks like it will be weak against lefties. Beltran may bust out and have an amazing season but it honestly seems like this deal is likely to be an overpay and leave fans disappointed.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-66699400097906040572014-02-12T11:15:00.002-08:002014-02-12T11:15:08.973-08:00Derek Jeter will retire after this season!On his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/derekjeter">Facebook</a> page Derek Jeter announced that he will be retiring after this season. Obviously we will be getting more information but this is his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=691146467603636&set=a.177911252260496.48936.177902535594701&type=1&theater">statement</a> as of right now. So we have another epic feels season after wishing Mariano goodbye last year. This will be the last season of the core four, lets make it a good one. Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-48657539826570609192014-02-12T06:13:00.002-08:002014-02-12T06:13:10.758-08:00Chris's Best and Worst Offseason Acquisitions <div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This offseason has been very interesting
for the New York Yankees, they made a lot of acquisitions like Brian
McCann, Masahiro Tanaka, Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kelly Johnson,
and Brian Roberts. This cost the Yankees a lot of dough, but it will
definitely make the Yankees a better team and is a better strategy than
last year's version of The Replacements. Many Yankees fans, including
myself, are looking into the upcoming season with hope. Of course
everyone has their own opinion on what the Yankees did well, and what
made you go "wait, what?", here is my opinion </span> </span></div>
<u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Best: McCann</span></u><br />
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What I felt was to be the best acquisition by the Yankees in the offseason was one of their first, Brian McCann. He is 29 years old, and will be 30 on February 20th, has a career batting average of .277 and On Base Percentage of .350, and has hit over 20 home runs in his last 6 seasons. Pretty similar number to one Russel Martin. McCann will be filling the biggest hole in the Yankees lineup of Catcher, which was previously filled by Chris Stewart. This is a huge improvement over Stewart who batted .211, had an OBP of .336, and hit a whopping 4 home runs last year (a career high for him). </div>
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The New York Yankees signed Brian McCann to a five-year $85 million contract that includes a vesting option for a sixth season that could push the total to $100 million. In my mind a good deal for the talent that the Yankees acquired. In the past few years McCann has had some injury issues, but has been able to bounce back quickly, I do not feel it will be an issue in the future. Another good thing McCann brings to the Yankees is experience, which will be especially useful because the Yankees have young talent behind the plate in Austin Romine who will be able to learn from Brian McCann.</div>
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That being said, I hope that Austin Romine does not pick up Brian McCann's personality. In case you do not remember, McCann was the catcher who BLEW UP on Jose Fernandez after Fernandez hit his first career home run and McCann apparently had a problem with Fernandez for admiring his first home run in the MLB for two seconds. Another incident last year was after Carlos Gomez hit a home run, Brian McCann blocked him from getting to home plate, causing the benches to clear. That is not something you want your catcher to do, I remember watching the game at the time and saying he would make a good Red Sox catcher with that personality, A-rod/Varitek fight 2004, but I digress.</div>
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Even with this, I still believe that Brian McCann was the best off season acquisition that the Yankees made because he is a good hitter, with decent defense, and was by far the best catcher on the market, and catcher was definitely something the Yankees needed.</div>
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<u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Worst: Ellsbury</span></u></div>
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What I feel was the worst off season acquisition by the New York Yankees this off season was signing Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year $153 million contract. Ellsbury is 30 years old, has a career batting average of .297, an On Base Percentage of .350 and hit 9 home runs last year. A big part of Ellsbury's game is stealing bases which he stole 52 of last year. He is also a very good defensive outfielder, so why is he the worst signing by the Yankees if he is such a good player? Three big reasons, one we don't need him.</div>
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The Yankees needed only one outfielder going into this off season, they signed two, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Carlos Beltran. Beltran is 36 years old, has a career batting average of .283, an OBP of .359, and hit 24 home runs last year. So why isn't he the worst signing? For one, we signed him first to a position we needed, and two because we got him a whole lot cheaper, three years $45 million. The Yankees only needed one outfielder going into the offseason because they already have Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki, and Brett Gardner, and that was before they signed Beltran.</div>
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The second reason is that Ellsbury is not worth $153 million, he would be if he was coming off his 2011 season where he hit .321, had an OBP of .376, and hit 32 home runs; that is the only season he hit more than 9 home runs by the way, and stole 39 bases. But Ellsbury is coming off of a season where he his .298, had an OBP of .355, hit 9 home runs, and stole 52 bases, again not bad numbers, but not $153 million dollar numbers either.</div>
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Finally, the third reason Ellsbury was the worst signing by the Yankees was that there were so many other things they could have used that $153 million on. For example, signing a third baseman, someone better than Kelly Johnson or Brendan Ryan perhaps or we could have used it to keep Robinson Cano, or a relief pitcher. The point is the money could have been used for things the Yankees actually need and Ellsbury is not something the Yankees needed.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05284970446406297535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-12755385078327708982014-02-05T08:50:00.000-08:002014-02-05T08:50:48.157-08:00I believe in Zoilo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjawcWw8KNMhYCY2vFe1Il1uMb11qVaxKLYuUVxrjo1DRBTW46BRV4UEtxLn8mfPFl3LufxAzrYuH0knQdbIHqshYcdSvr2hU2EMQkbLjfMAAg4xxYoBGso4uET5V2gbXOEswG2GbwYtW/s1600/Zoilo_Almonte_on_June_29,_2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjawcWw8KNMhYCY2vFe1Il1uMb11qVaxKLYuUVxrjo1DRBTW46BRV4UEtxLn8mfPFl3LufxAzrYuH0knQdbIHqshYcdSvr2hU2EMQkbLjfMAAg4xxYoBGso4uET5V2gbXOEswG2GbwYtW/s1600/Zoilo_Almonte_on_June_29,_2013.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
The man with the name Zoilo Almonte, the switch hitting outfielder made his debut last year as did so many Yankee rookies and he played very well before a high ankle sprain landed him on the DL and some wisdom teeth kept him there for most of the year. In the end Zoilo played 34 games games for the Yankees and his first 17 games were great, he batted .309/.339/.436 in 59 Plate appearances and it really looked like he could be a contributor to the team but he started to slide in July and then he landed on the DL. When he came back he just wasn't the same when he came back in September managing just 2 hits and both of those came in the last game of the year. However I believe in Zoilo, I believe that he can contribute to the Yankees and I believe he can contribute better than Ichiro Suzuki, can he be a starter for the team? I really don't know but you know how we can find out, by giving him a limited bench role to see how he handle's the majors over a full season because struggling at a new level is something that players do, Brett Gardner's stats when he first came up in 2008 were bad .228/.283/.299 bad, but he turned it around and became a good major leaguer. This is how a team develops young talent that can help the major league club and its what the Yankees don't do, they always side with the veteran over a young player and that's mostly good for a team that is always winning but now the Yankees have gone years without developing a single contributor to their team and Zoilo just might be one of the guys who can help stop that trend. Zoilo is by no means a godsend of a prospect and more than likely he is a 4th outfielder long term but there is a chance that he can become a decent starter and keeping him in AAA behind Ichiro is not the way to have him show what he can do.<br />
Mike Axisa <a href="http://riveraveblues.com/2011/12/hoping-for-a-homegrown-outfielder-in-2013-61246/">wrote</a> about Zoilo Almonte before last season and said that he might be the Yankees best shot at a home grown outfielder and I think he still might be right. Almonte is a guy who walked at a very good rate in the minors, can be a decent base stealer and play solid defense in the corners. There are a few warts on Zoilo as he did not hit left handed pitching well last season but I expect that to adjust as he is a natural right handed hitter. It is possible that the Yankee brass agrees with me as Brian Cashman <a href="http://web.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130224&content_id=41943048&oid=36019">said</a> last season that the club has “future everyday right fielder scouting grades”on Almonte and keeping Almonte as a 4th outfielder would be very similar to how the Yankees broke Brett Gardner into the major leagues in 2009 and it is really what they should do for Zoilo in 2014. Spring training is only a short time away so hopefully for Zoilo's sake he can have a good spring training and make the club, I just fear that they will keep Ichiro on the roster over him.<br />
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-76247819498530257172014-01-23T10:27:00.001-08:002014-01-23T10:27:39.792-08:00Masahiro Tanaka signs with the Yankees<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLo0B77jckvLwPqU9myimYqJkmOMBA67i5PwQ2WAwzuaVqhaSSfJongdua5TPt69pLXfAAsa1MUVaBWUEmmiqIdRupmGflQgNHqgK4EREr_XCh9DliOFzMnpMEJh-w10lbRctPT5EJZjo/s1600/tanaka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLo0B77jckvLwPqU9myimYqJkmOMBA67i5PwQ2WAwzuaVqhaSSfJongdua5TPt69pLXfAAsa1MUVaBWUEmmiqIdRupmGflQgNHqgK4EREr_XCh9DliOFzMnpMEJh-w10lbRctPT5EJZjo/s1600/tanaka.jpg" height="185" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Koji Watanabe/Getty)</td></tr>
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The Yankees <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/426001466562973696">signed</a> 25 year old Masahiro Tanaka to a seven year $155 million contract on top of the twenty million dollar posting fee that they will pay to his former club. At various times it was being reported that Tanaka was close to signing with the Cubs and the Dodgers but the Yankees came in and got their man. The deal is already final as the Yankees officially announced the signing and they DFA David Huff to clear a spot. This also blows the $189 million plan out the window, but that was kind of to be figured as the Yankees lost a lot of money in ticket revenue last season and they probably figured out that using their monetary advantage was a good thing. Most people have heard about his great numbers in Japan including going 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA average last season in 27 starts and you should check out his numbers <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/japan/player.cgi?id=tanaka003mas">here </a>but simply put Tanaka will not be as good in the US as he was in Japan. I guarantee you that in his first bad start people will say that he isn't good enough for the MLB and will call him the next Kei Igawa but almost every pitcher struggles when they first move up a level and even the great and powerful Yu Darvish struggled at times in his first MLB season. Don't bother comparing him to Yu Darvish or Dice-K or any other Japanese pitcher because he is different from all of them and will show that over the course of what I am sure will be a fantastic Yankee career. <br />
In a slightly different note Tanaka may very well end up being the youngest player on the Yankees, he is younger than Preston Claiborne and Dellin Betances and that's very much due to the fact that the farm system has produced very little talent the last few years and the Yankees are so old that they all drink prune juice and tell those damn hooligan teenagers to get off their lawns. Aparently the Yankees have been scouting Tanaka since he debuted at the tender age of 18 in Japan and lets hope that it will pay off because the Yankees needed him and now they need him to be good because right now they still have weaknesses at the infield and in the bullpen and I do mean at the infield because they are basically relying on three bounce back seasons and Kelly Johnson to make a good infield.<br />
Even with Tanaka the Yankees need a lot of things to go right as they will need a bounce back season from CC, Jeter, Teixeira, Brian Roberts and Ivan Nova and the bullpen none of which are a given, but as I said the Yankee are a lot better with Tanaka than they are without him. Brian Cashman has also said that he thinks this is the last major move for the Yankees but lets hope they can still acquire a quality bullpen arm so that David Robertson has some actual support in the earlier innings. Now all we have to do is wait and see what number Tanaka takes as I doubt Kuroda is going to give up 18, Tanaka did wear 17 in the World baseball classic but I am kind of hoping he takes 24. Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-43529530874649606022014-01-17T10:57:00.001-08:002014-01-17T11:22:00.702-08:00Yankees avoid arbitration with everyoneIvan Nova, David Robertson, Brett Gardner, Francisco Cervelli and Shawn Kelely were all eligible for arbitration and the Yankees agreed to deals with everyone but Nova.<br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/status/423955079834529793">Francisco Cervelli </a>signed on the 16th for $700,000 which was less than his projected $1 million but he did have almost no playing time the last two years and was suspended for 50 games this season. I honestly thought he was going to be non tendered but the Yankees are keeping him at only somewhat above league minimum so its a deal for them. This was his first time through arbitration and so he has two years of team control remaining. <a href="https://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/424222720767692801">Shawn Kelley</a> signed for $1.7625M with a $25 thousand bonus if he appears in 55 games. Kelleys 4.39 ERA is helped by a 3.69 FIP and a ridiculous 11.98 K/9 (31.3 K%) in 53.1 innings across 57 games. Unless the Yankees sign someone I expect that he will be the Yankees setup man this year. This is also his first time going through arbitration. <a href="https://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/424225647909535744">Brett Gardner</a> received $5.6 million in his last arbitration year which is a decent amount more than his projected $4 million but the MLBPA had <a href="http://riveraveblues.com/2013/12/rosenthal-mlbpa-expects-gardners-salary-to-be-higher-than-projected-in-2014-98050/">said </a>that they thought he would get more than $4million and they were right. <a href="https://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/424240315990437888">David Robertson</a> who projects to be this years closer earned $5.215M which was under his projected $5.5 million, he has one more year of team control and unless something goes horribly wrong his salary will increase quite a bit more than his roughly $2 million raise for this year. Saves pay in arbitration and he could easily rack up a lot of saves this season. '<br />
<strike>Ivan Nova remains unsigned but all that really means is that they could not come up with an agreement today and they will file an amount with the arbitration court and likely agree to a compromise, the Yankees have not gone to an arbitration hearing since 2008 with Chien Ming Wang. </strike><br />
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The Yankees <a href="https://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/424258080818204672">signed</a> Ivan Nova for $3.3 million and so they avoided arbitration with all five of their players signing them for a grand total of $16.58 million. Nova was projected at $2.8 million and so he received half a million more than projected, this is Nova's first time through arbitration and that's always the best for players because its when they starts making bigger money, Nova made $575K last year.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-92022173854325489232013-12-18T08:10:00.002-08:002013-12-18T08:19:57.501-08:00The bullpen takes shape<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt Thornton</td></tr>
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The Yankees <a href="https://twitter.com/JackCurryYES/status/412997516062654464">signed</a> Matt Thornton yesterday to a two year $7 million deal and he is expected to be a LOOGY for next seasons Yankee bullpen. With him in the fold the Yankees bullpen now is David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Matt Thornton, Preston Claiborne and a lot of question marks. To be honest I only put Claiborne on the list because Girardi mentioned him specifically when talking about sure things in the bullpen. That still leaves three spots in the pen open and while they can technically fill those spots internally it would probbaly be a good idea if they did not have to do so, however a lot of it depends on how they finish their rotation. If they sign another starting pitcher, whether it be Tanaka or anyone else that will leave Adam Warren, David Phelps, Michael Pineda, Vidal Nuno and any guy they happen to invite to spring training to compete for the 5th spot in the rotation and the long relief spot in the pen; however if they do not sign another pitcher then they will need to use their starting depth right away and the bullpen will suffer for it. The Yankees do have several players who will be competing for bullpen spots but they are very thin on veteran relief pitchers and while I have full confidence in David Robertson being the closer I am more concerned with handing Shawn Kelley the setup job, not that I have any issues with him being able to handle the 8th innings simply that I am not sure that he can be as good as he was for most of last season. Kelley was terrible in April and even worse in September so we are essentially basing his success on 30 innings and while I know he was injured in September its still a limited sample size to make this guy a key feature of the bullpen and if he stinks up.; Cody Eppley was effective for a longer period of time in 2012 and he was so bad in 2013 that he would up playing independent league baseball. All I am really saying is that while I know the Yankees could fill out their bullpen with internal candidates I think it would be really good for them to bring in some veterans to balance out the risk, they could decide to go after someone with a track record Fernando Rodney or go after a guy like Jesse Crain who is coming off a solid season but one in which he was injured for the entire second half. Personally I would like them to go after the Jesse Crain or Ryan Madson types, specifically Jesse Crain as he will likely be cheaper than someone like Rodney and stands a good chance of being more effective too. Thornton made a ton of sense for the Yankees because he is great against left handed batters and while he is no longer the great setup man that he once was the White Sox he will fill a need for the Yankees at a much cheaper cost than Boone Logan, but the Yankees still need to add a dependable arm so that they do not need to rely on Preston Claiborne or Dellin Betances in the 7th inning from the start of the season. The Yankees have had good bullpens with Girardi but they just lost the greatest relief pitcher of all time and there is probably going to be some drop off but they can help mitigate that by adding a veteran to this relatively inexperienced bullpen.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403239585481289253.post-63545798869858628882013-12-06T10:01:00.000-08:002013-12-06T10:01:27.423-08:00Robinson Cano signs with the MarinersWell there is a sentence I never thought I would have to type ever, or speak or even really think. But yes Robinson Cano signed a ten year $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners and I am really expecting that there will not be any Jay-Z concerts at Yankee stadium anytime soon. The Yankees offered Cano a 7 year $175 million deal which has a higher per year pay but obviously not the years or total money and Cano took it. I never blame players for leaving in free agency and I do not blame Cano for taking the money, really I see it simply as Cano wanted money more than he wanted to be a Yankee. I am not bashing Cano with that statement or making any kind of slash at his character but it is simply that he wanted to maximize his earning potential and who are we to judge him for that? Anyways I hope that Cano is happy in Seattle and that he never gets a hit against the Yankees. Also it is really weird to be outbid by the Mariners for an elite homegrown Yankee player, I don't know the last time the Yankees were outbid trying to retain one of their own or if its really ever happened. <br />
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On another note the Mets signed Curtis Granderson to a 4-year $60 million deal and I wish Granderson all the luck in Queens. I have to bring up that I think I may have preferred Granderson 4/60 to Ellsbury 7/153 but they are different players and we will have to see what happens. The Yankees also resigned Hiroki Kuroda to a one year deal and are very likely to make several more moves as they have all of there Cano money left to use. We will have to wait and see what happens here on out and I know personally I hope the Yankees go hard after Tanaka if he is indeed posted. Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05589251514246907257noreply@blogger.com0