So first off, for any regular readers, I am not Nick. I am his girlfriend and he has asked me to write a piece here because I, as he is, am an enormous yankee fan.
One would be hard pressed to find a Yankee fan who hasn't, for a greater part of this season, been on the edge of their seat (and not in the positive "THESE GAMES ARE SO CLOSE BUT WILL PROBABLY END IN OUR FAVOR" kind of way.) Between sometimes shaky pitching from the back end of the lineup, barring Bartolo Colon, to offense who has seemingly forgotten that if you have a runner on third with less than 2 outs, just about any in play ball will bring in a run, Yankee fans are finding themselves scouring scouting reports of their own to see what our chances are to win a game or series. However, one may wonder who is at fault here; is it the management? the players? pitching? defense? offense? Why is it that with a team of heavy hitting, strong players are we having such issues? Here is my breakdown.
Offense:
This is an obvious problem; they're not hitting when they need to be. It seems that we can get all the hits in the world when we're winning 15-0 but if the game is close and we're not scoring via long ball, our offense stands at the plate and perverbially scratches their asses waiting for the pitcher whose on the mound to do something (also known as throwing a pitch they can hit). Unfortunately, when we're down or up by only a run or two, we can't see the ball or are focusing too much on "we can't lose again" and end up making rookie mistakes.
One huge culprit of this is Robby Cano. Robby is a fantastic player, don't get me wrong, but for whatever reason he cannot seem to get his swing together as of late. Although he carries one of the teams highest batting averages at .273, he keeps swinging at pitches out of the zone, using a long lazy swing that has developed into a lot of groundouts or high pop-ups or just not swinging at the type of pitches he can hit for contact. All batters slump and he certainly isn't the only one in the line up that is doing it right now, but for a guy who is considered to be our best hitter, he isn't showing his stuff right now and instead of being a difficult out at the plate, he has become the exact opposite in the last few games.
It is also difficult to build a solid offense when certain members of the line up are going several games without a hit. These members are Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher. I have been a huge Posada fan for the entire time I've liked the Yankees and I have come to really like Swisher. However, these are two holes in the batting order that are causing some serious problems. With Posada hitting only .178 and Swisher plummeting from .270 last season to .206 this season there are basically two guaranteed outs when they come to bat. This is obviously a problem. Although one would immediately think to either bench them for a while or move them down in the line up, that has proven to be more difficult than it seems. With Posada being a long time Yankee and already irked that he had to give up his position as catcher, moving to 9th in the line up was not something that thrilled him. Although after the "Posadagate" incident in May Posada admitted that he was not hitting the way he should be and that he wasn't contributing much to the team offensively (which is all he can do, because he's the DH!) he still said that he felt disrespected by the Yankees. With ego's like that at work, it is difficult to make any moves or changes. Swisher, on the other hand, has not spoken much about his slump other than to say that he is working with Kevin Long and hopes to improve soon.
Basically, we need a new line up order. The one that we have right now is coming to bite us in the ass. Although Derek Jeter is improving (and then not improving, and the improving again) he is no longer effective in the lead off spot. We should have someone like Gardner batting lead off, Granderson following, Teixeira, Cano, Roderiguez, Martin, Jeter, Swisher, Posada. With a line up like this we would have a better shot at producing runs early and keeping leads. Unforunately, the management is afraid of hurting the feelings of integral Yankee players such as Jeter and Posada. Although Jeter is certainly far from useless, he is no longer (as I said before) effective where he is and until/when/if he improves he should be moved to a part of the line up that reflects his offensive contribution, not his time vested in the team. As far as Posada goes, he needs to take an enormous chill-pill and realize that if he wants to benefit the team he loves so much, he needs to take one for the team and bat 9th. Changes can always be made as players stats change, but for right now, a line up change would help incredibly. Other teams have had no problems moving strong players to lower batting slots in they weren't performing well. For example (and as much as it pains me to say it), Francona and the Red Sox had no problem moving Carl Crawford from the 3rd slot to the bottom of the order when he wasn't performing as he should. Again, I hate to say it, but that is good management. Although loyalty to players is something of a Yankee tradition, Joe Girardi needs to pull his head out of his ass and instead of babying the bullpen and starting pitchers do something about his fledgling offense.
Furthermore, the offense needs to learn the power of contact hitting. Although home runs are great, and they are certainly not a cheap way of scoring runs but they are not the ONLY way. Everyone wants to be the hero so when we have runners in scoring position, instead of taking the sacrifice (in a tight game just to tie the score or gain insurance runs) or trying to just loop the ball into the outfield, everyone starts swinging for the fences. In the process, they miss pitches, get out and we strand our runners. Working on manufacturing runs and playing small-ball will increase our chances of winning more games and make us a more solid team.
That brings me to our next problem, Management:
I do not like Joe Girardi. I feel I need to clear this up now, because I don't think I have many nice things to say about him.
A manager should listen to his players, which Girardi does so I give him that, but he is also supposed to make tactical decisions about problems that players may be biased on. That is what a manager does and that's what they're paying him for. Instead, he over or undermanages different aspects of the team to the point where they become ineffective. Although he does well with the bullpen and makes sure that they stay fresh and ready, he needs to understand what to do with a starting pitcher. Someone like CC Sabathia is easy to manage; he's a workhorse and rarely falters beyond his ability to fix so there aren't too many problems there. Unfortunately, not every pitcher is CC Sabathia. Guys like AJ Burnett are more difficult. Last season I was ready to overthrow the Yankee higher-ups and fire him myself because he was useless, but despite everything, Burnett has come back this season as a reliable pitcher. However, someone needs to deliver the message to Girardi that when he starts to lose the plate in the 6th inning and he has an upwards of 80-90 pitches, he rarely comes back from it without letting a run or two go. It's not entirely his fault, he's not 25 anymore and when he gets tired, as with any pitcher, he gets sloppy. Even though this has been shown time after time, Girardi chooses to rest on his laurels and wait for the score to be tied or give the other team he go-ahead-run before he makes the call to the bullpen. I don't know if he is just trying to give the bullpen time to warm or if he is waiting to see if Burnett will discover the plate again but he waits way too long (not just with Burnett, but with just about every starting pitcher) and it costs the team runs and games. Furthermore, he also has the opposite problem which consists of taking a starter out too early when they're dealing. For example, on April 24, Freddy Garcia was pitching against the Orioles and he was dealing. Of course, Girardi decides to take him out a little early. You could even seen Garcia saying that he was fine and wanted to go back out, but Girardi insisted. The bullpen came in and ended up blowing the lead and tying the game forcing it into extra innings. Although we won, it is possible that if Garcia had come back out it wouldn't have gone on that long. This is an example of his over/undermanaging style. He either makes too many or too few moves and it can render the team in a losing position.
To remedy this situation, Girardi really just needs to pay more attention and take his head out of his special little binder and watch the damned game. He seems to misread signs from the pitchers and overall just waits way too long to make a move when needed and sometimes moves to early when things are "too good to be true". Maybe he should take a him from himself and listen to his pitchers, if they say their tired than it may be time to do something, but if a guy is showing no signs of slowing down and says he can pitch, give him a shot. You can always bring someone in from the bullpen if they prove to be unable to make the outs. Or, there is another option (my personal favorite), fire Girardi's ass and employ Billy Martin's corpse to do the managing.
Finally, we have magically adapted a problem with our defense:
One thing you could always say about the Yankees was that they were solid defensvively, until recently. For some unknown reason (therefore I'm calling in laziness) we have adopted errors, and lots of them.
Robby Cano (sorry to pick on him again, but it's true), a former gold glove second basemen is losing track of the ball and making more errors through this part of this season (5) than he had all of last season (3). He wasn't always a great fielder, but you expect when someone makes advances that they will stick with them instead of regressing.
That coupled with some sloppy infield playing at times is causing some problems for us defensively. Hopefully this is just a phase and they'll come out of it.
This is just a matter of better communication among the infield. They need to decide where to play, how shallow/deep and they need to pay better attention to their signs. Also, our gold glove, silver slugger second basemen needs to wake the fuck up and smell the baseball. It's time to stop playing lazy like you're in little league and play to your full extent. We have the talent and potential to overtake and pull away in the AL East, but if we keep doing nothing with RISP, experiencing shit management and dealing with a sloppy defense, we'll be waiting and watching come post season.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Former Yankees: Juan Miranda
At the end of 2010 Miranda was out of options and had no chance of making the club as the Yankees have Mark Teixeira at 1st. As a result Miranda was traded to the Diamondbacks for Scott Allen who has been atrocious with a 9+ ERA however his last start was good with 5 innings of 1 hit baseball. He is very young, but the Yankees really weren't expecting to get anything substantial out of the trade as they might have gotten nothing if they had to place him on waivers to send him back to AAA. Plus the Yankees wanted to move up Jorge Vazquez.
Miranda made the Diamonbacks team as part of a 3 man platoon with Xavier Nady and Russell Branyan. Branyan has since been released and Miranda has been good enough that the Diamond backs will likely make him the full time first baseman when he is 100% after taking a pitch off his hand. D-Backs top prospect Brandon Allen is waiting patiently in AAA and I don't know if he is viewed as trade bait or the future at 1st by the club. Juan Miranda hopes to solidify himself at 1st especially with the NL West having just been blown wide open with De La Rosa and Posey being injured. Miranda is hitting getting on base and slugging, best of luck to you as a snakehead.
2011 Allstars: Ranking every yankees chance of being an all-star
I was going to do a post about who I think the All-stars will be from each league, but i've decided instead to take a different approach and rank how likely it will be for each Yankee to make the all-star team. I will adress all the Yankees starters both position players and pitchers. All my assumptions are obviously based on the players maintaining their current level of play and no injuries.
Russel Martin: we start with the newest Yakee position player who was brought in as the Starting catcher after he was non tendered by the Dodgers. Many thought that going with top prospect Jesus Montero was a better idea, but Martin leads that pack among AL catchers with a .370 OBP, 9 HR and 26 RBI's in 139 AB. This one is a no brainer as Martin is absolutely the best offensive catcher in the AL right now and his defense has been good enough.
Prediction: Starter
Mark Teixeira: tex came out of the gate better than last year but his stats are very much on pace for another sub-par year, just a more consistent sub par year instead of 1 really good month. If Tex does turn it on down the stretch he will be an MVP candidate but right now he ranks behind Adrian Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera despite better defense than both of them and the only reason he ranks ahead of Howie Kendrick is because Kendrick is hurt right now. Adrian Gonzalez will likely get the allstar game start for the AL even though Miguel Cabrera deserves it. Tex is going to be fighting for a bench spot but he has a very good shot of making that.
Prediction: Managers selection. Decent chance to be invited to Home Run Derby
Robinson Cano: Cano had an MVP season last year and was the 3rd most valuable player in the league behind Miguel Cabrera and Josh Hamilton. This year he has been marred by defensive and offensive miscues and has looked sloppy all year. That being said hes still the best second baseman in the American league overall and in performance this year. The only players who have performed better at second offensively this year is the Angels platoon of Kendrick and Callaspo at second. Pedroia has been poor offensively so far this year as has every second baseman in the AL east and the American league as a whole.
Prediction: Starter
Derek Jeter: Jeter has not been good and its probably exacerbated by the fact that he is hitting lead off. Jeter ranks near the bottom in almost every offensive category and while he is due for a rebound the fact is that his best days are behind him. The first ballot hall of famer is being replaced by the next generation of Short Stops. With that however Jeter is still Jeter and he is going to get 3,000 hits this year. When was the last time a player acomplished that and was left off the all-star ballot. He dosent deseve it but he will make the all-star team.
Prediction: Managers Selection
Alex Rodriguez: A-rod is looking to get back into it after an awful slump and his stats are hard to judge as he was at the top of the league before that slump. The only person with better offensive stats that A-Rod in the American league is Wilson Betemit of the Royals and how many times have you heard his name mentioned in all-star talk. A-Rod is looking to me like he will make the all-star team again this year and possibly as a starter. His only real deserving competition is Adrian Beltre, but Youkillis and Longoria are legitimate threats due to their name recognition. A-Rod is the opposite of Jeter he deserves to be the starting 3rd baseman on the AL all-star team but probably wont because of his name.
Prediction: Managers selection
Brett Gardner: Gardner has solid stats but they are not all star stats and he dosen't have enough offense and is currently not stealing enough to make the all star team. Not hitting home runs really kills you in baseball as Gardner lost out out on his Gold Glove because he only hit 6 last year.He deerves it more than crawford but he'll probably get a selection before Gardner.
Prediction: Not an All star
Curtis Granderson: at the beginning of the year some people were still talking about how Austin Jackson is better than Granderson. Granderson decided to flip those people off and have a phenomenal year while A-jax is struggling in Detroit. Hopefully Grandy can keep up this hitting all year as he has his best slugging percentage of career right now. Grandy will be an All-star this year and if he keeps it up he will win a Silver Slugger and could compete with Bautista for the HR king title.
Prediction: Starter. Home run derby invite
Nick Swisher: Swisher is struggling to stay above .200 and there no way he will make the All star team.
Prediction: Not an All Star
Jorge Posada: sub .200 he might not even play on the Yankees by the All Star break. He's a name but he hasn't been an all star since 2007.
Prediction: Not an All Star
The Pitchers: I don't feel like assesing every pitchers chances as the only ones who have any chance are Dave Robertson, CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera and Bartolo Colon. Colon is just a novelty and Robertson has been really good this year, but they wont likely make the team. Mo and CC both have good chances but i wouldn't be surprised if he either don't make the team.
Prediction: Mo and CC both likely on the team.
Russel Martin: we start with the newest Yakee position player who was brought in as the Starting catcher after he was non tendered by the Dodgers. Many thought that going with top prospect Jesus Montero was a better idea, but Martin leads that pack among AL catchers with a .370 OBP, 9 HR and 26 RBI's in 139 AB. This one is a no brainer as Martin is absolutely the best offensive catcher in the AL right now and his defense has been good enough.
Prediction: Starter
Mark Teixeira: tex came out of the gate better than last year but his stats are very much on pace for another sub-par year, just a more consistent sub par year instead of 1 really good month. If Tex does turn it on down the stretch he will be an MVP candidate but right now he ranks behind Adrian Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera despite better defense than both of them and the only reason he ranks ahead of Howie Kendrick is because Kendrick is hurt right now. Adrian Gonzalez will likely get the allstar game start for the AL even though Miguel Cabrera deserves it. Tex is going to be fighting for a bench spot but he has a very good shot of making that.
Prediction: Managers selection. Decent chance to be invited to Home Run Derby
Robinson Cano: Cano had an MVP season last year and was the 3rd most valuable player in the league behind Miguel Cabrera and Josh Hamilton. This year he has been marred by defensive and offensive miscues and has looked sloppy all year. That being said hes still the best second baseman in the American league overall and in performance this year. The only players who have performed better at second offensively this year is the Angels platoon of Kendrick and Callaspo at second. Pedroia has been poor offensively so far this year as has every second baseman in the AL east and the American league as a whole.
Prediction: Starter
Derek Jeter: Jeter has not been good and its probably exacerbated by the fact that he is hitting lead off. Jeter ranks near the bottom in almost every offensive category and while he is due for a rebound the fact is that his best days are behind him. The first ballot hall of famer is being replaced by the next generation of Short Stops. With that however Jeter is still Jeter and he is going to get 3,000 hits this year. When was the last time a player acomplished that and was left off the all-star ballot. He dosent deseve it but he will make the all-star team.
Prediction: Managers Selection
Alex Rodriguez: A-rod is looking to get back into it after an awful slump and his stats are hard to judge as he was at the top of the league before that slump. The only person with better offensive stats that A-Rod in the American league is Wilson Betemit of the Royals and how many times have you heard his name mentioned in all-star talk. A-Rod is looking to me like he will make the all-star team again this year and possibly as a starter. His only real deserving competition is Adrian Beltre, but Youkillis and Longoria are legitimate threats due to their name recognition. A-Rod is the opposite of Jeter he deserves to be the starting 3rd baseman on the AL all-star team but probably wont because of his name.
Prediction: Managers selection
Brett Gardner: Gardner has solid stats but they are not all star stats and he dosen't have enough offense and is currently not stealing enough to make the all star team. Not hitting home runs really kills you in baseball as Gardner lost out out on his Gold Glove because he only hit 6 last year.He deerves it more than crawford but he'll probably get a selection before Gardner.
Prediction: Not an All star
Curtis Granderson: at the beginning of the year some people were still talking about how Austin Jackson is better than Granderson. Granderson decided to flip those people off and have a phenomenal year while A-jax is struggling in Detroit. Hopefully Grandy can keep up this hitting all year as he has his best slugging percentage of career right now. Grandy will be an All-star this year and if he keeps it up he will win a Silver Slugger and could compete with Bautista for the HR king title.
Prediction: Starter. Home run derby invite
Nick Swisher: Swisher is struggling to stay above .200 and there no way he will make the All star team.
Prediction: Not an All Star
Jorge Posada: sub .200 he might not even play on the Yankees by the All Star break. He's a name but he hasn't been an all star since 2007.
Prediction: Not an All Star
The Pitchers: I don't feel like assesing every pitchers chances as the only ones who have any chance are Dave Robertson, CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera and Bartolo Colon. Colon is just a novelty and Robertson has been really good this year, but they wont likely make the team. Mo and CC both have good chances but i wouldn't be surprised if he either don't make the team.
Prediction: Mo and CC both likely on the team.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Former Yankees: Chad Moeller
 |
| So much Mediocrity |
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Former Yankees: The Pitchers
The Yankees had 10 different pitchers who were with the team in 2010 and are now elsewhere. The Reason I did Chan Ho Park separate was because he is actually the only one who was released during the season. 9 other pitchers spent time in the rotation, bullpen or both.
The man with the name Jonathan Albaladejo, he was the closer in AAA Scranton last year and his numbers were phenomenal with a 1.42 ERA and 43 saves. However with the Yankees Albaladejo was unimpressive sporting a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings, which is especially annoying considering that we traded Tyler Clippard for this guy and he has been good with the Nationals since being moved to the bullpen. Granted Albaladejo had been good with the Nats before coming to the Yankees and the AL east is a different beast. Albaladejo asked to be released after the season so that he could sign with the Yomiuri Giants, The Yankees received some type of compensation for Albaladejo and he just got his first win in Japan after failing to earn the closers job for the Giants. I expect that he could be back in the majors next year and i was a little surprised he had no trade interest as some bullpens could really use him and hope to catch his AAA magic in an easier division.
Another former Pitcher who likely wont have much of an impact this year is LHP Royce Ring. He only pitched 2.1 innings with the bombers and was awful giving up 4 runs. The former first round pick has had a disappointing MLB career spending only 1 full year in the majors where he was beyond bad with a 8.46 ERA in 42 appearances. His only positive is a good HR/9 rate, but its amazing what being a lefty will do for you. He's not on the Seattle 40 man, but his good AAA numbers means the 30 year old could earn another cup of coffee with a MLB team.
Javier Vazquez: There is a lot to say about Vazquez and I don't want to say it all. We traded two top pitching prospects in Michael Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino, as well as fan favorite OF Melky Cabrera for Vazquez. Vazquez had a sub 3 ERA in 2009, but the Yankees only needed him to repeat his numbes with the White Sox which was of a mid rotation innings eater with a lot of strike outs. The Yankees hoped that Vazquez could serve the team until some of their pitching prospects developed in the next few years, that didn't happen and the Yankees lost some real good pieces in that trade. Vazquez signed a 1 year $7 million deal with the Marlins who thought he would bounce back with a return to the NL. That proved to be untrue so far until his most recent start where he 3 hit the Rays through 7 innings. His fast ball has remained bad and will have to wait and see how this year turns out for him.
Mark Melancon was a prospect who was viewed highly and as a future key man out of the Bullpen perhaps even the successor to Mariano. He only pitched 20.1 innings with the Bombers before he was traded to the Astros for Lance Berkman. Many people have decried this trade especially since he was good with the Astros last year and this year he has really been the only good one in their bullpen and is now closing for Houston. Again hard to know if he would ever have been sucessful as a Bomber, but we wont have to face him very often to find out if we regret this trade.Best of luck to you in Houston Mark.
Chad Gaudin was a Yankee who was brought in as a Starter in 2009, where we won every game he pitched. He competed for the 5th starter job in 2010 spring training, didnt make it and was cut and signed by the A's. When he was cut by the A's we brought him in as our Lets just get this over with guy. He boasted a 4.5 ERA through 48 innings and his biggest contribution was a very attractive girlfriend and now wife by the name of Syndal Gordan. My girlfriend informed me that their wedding and dress picking out was on TLC. After the season he was cut and signed with the Nationals where he was mediocre before going on the DL with Shoulder trouble and he could be out for awhile.
Segio Mitre, the experience if you will, was traded in spring training for Chris Dickerson. The Brewers needed another bullpen arm espchily a long reliver/spot starter as Greinke was on the DL and Chris Dickerson has the potential to be a decent all around backup and is a better backup lefty bat option than Colin Curtis, i wrote about this trade here. The Yankees didn't need Mitre and getting Dickerson was a steal because they probably would have just released him if not for the trade. Mitre posted a career year in 2010 with a decent 3.33 ERA, but no wins and fans did not like "the experience" despite a good job as the long man in 2010. Mitre has been very good with the Brewers posting a sub 2 ERA in 21 inning of work so far and while that is likely not where he will finish the year he will likely be more appreciated in Milwaukee than he was in New York.
Kerry Wood has had a very interesting career formerly being one of the top starters in baseball before burning out his arm. He then moved to the bullpen where he was very effective and signed a two year deal with the Indians before the 2009 season. He struggle in Cleveland and was traded to New York where he posted an unreal 0.69 ERA in 26 innings. The Yankees declined his $11 Million option for 2011 but were reportedly still considering him before he turned down more money to sign a 1 year $1.5 Million deal to return to the Cubs. He has been pretty good with the Cubs so far posting a 2.41 ERA. Wood apparently really wanted to resign with the Cubs, but in retrospect picking up his option may have been a good idea as Carl Pavano 2.0 aka Rafiel Soriano is being paid $35 million over 3 year and may need season ending elbow surgery. The Yankees will definitely miss Wood this season and all genitalia related jokes that now cannot be said while watching the Yankees (however we do have Dickerson).
Dustin Mosely began the season with AAA Scranton after spending parts of each of the last 4 years with the Angels. He took Pettitte's spot in the rotation after looking better than Mitre and was overall mediocre in the rotation and poor in the bullpen. He was non tendered after the season and signed with the Padres. He became something of note for going winless in his first 5 starts despite a sub 2 ERA. however his most recent starts have been mediocre to bad, but his most recent on May 23rd was again good but no run support. Some may show this as the Yankees missing out but we saw what he did in the AL East and I don't miss him.
The Reason we don't still have Alfredo Aceves is a mystery to me. I know he missed almost the entire 2010 season because of his back and that he got into a motor cycle accident during the off-season, but the guy still had minor league options, was versatile as he could start or relive very well. On top of that he is only 28 and if we got something for Mitre we definitely could have got a return on Aceves. The worst part is that Aceves signed a deal with the Red Sox and has been good for them this year. I talked about it before he signed here and I am still upset about this as I would really really like to have Ace back right now. Of all the people that we lost/dealt Ace is the only one I just do not understand, Brain Cashman said that the Yankees Doctors thought his back would continue to be an issue, but seriously why non tender a guy with a 14-1 record and minor league options.
The man with the name Jonathan Albaladejo, he was the closer in AAA Scranton last year and his numbers were phenomenal with a 1.42 ERA and 43 saves. However with the Yankees Albaladejo was unimpressive sporting a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings, which is especially annoying considering that we traded Tyler Clippard for this guy and he has been good with the Nationals since being moved to the bullpen. Granted Albaladejo had been good with the Nats before coming to the Yankees and the AL east is a different beast. Albaladejo asked to be released after the season so that he could sign with the Yomiuri Giants, The Yankees received some type of compensation for Albaladejo and he just got his first win in Japan after failing to earn the closers job for the Giants. I expect that he could be back in the majors next year and i was a little surprised he had no trade interest as some bullpens could really use him and hope to catch his AAA magic in an easier division.
 |
| The man with the Name |
Javier Vazquez: There is a lot to say about Vazquez and I don't want to say it all. We traded two top pitching prospects in Michael Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino, as well as fan favorite OF Melky Cabrera for Vazquez. Vazquez had a sub 3 ERA in 2009, but the Yankees only needed him to repeat his numbes with the White Sox which was of a mid rotation innings eater with a lot of strike outs. The Yankees hoped that Vazquez could serve the team until some of their pitching prospects developed in the next few years, that didn't happen and the Yankees lost some real good pieces in that trade. Vazquez signed a 1 year $7 million deal with the Marlins who thought he would bounce back with a return to the NL. That proved to be untrue so far until his most recent start where he 3 hit the Rays through 7 innings. His fast ball has remained bad and will have to wait and see how this year turns out for him.
 |
| We saw the Javy sad face a lot |
Chad Gaudin was a Yankee who was brought in as a Starter in 2009, where we won every game he pitched. He competed for the 5th starter job in 2010 spring training, didnt make it and was cut and signed by the A's. When he was cut by the A's we brought him in as our Lets just get this over with guy. He boasted a 4.5 ERA through 48 innings and his biggest contribution was a very attractive girlfriend and now wife by the name of Syndal Gordan. My girlfriend informed me that their wedding and dress picking out was on TLC. After the season he was cut and signed with the Nationals where he was mediocre before going on the DL with Shoulder trouble and he could be out for awhile.
 |
| His wife is literally the first thing that comes up when you google him |
Kerry Wood has had a very interesting career formerly being one of the top starters in baseball before burning out his arm. He then moved to the bullpen where he was very effective and signed a two year deal with the Indians before the 2009 season. He struggle in Cleveland and was traded to New York where he posted an unreal 0.69 ERA in 26 innings. The Yankees declined his $11 Million option for 2011 but were reportedly still considering him before he turned down more money to sign a 1 year $1.5 Million deal to return to the Cubs. He has been pretty good with the Cubs so far posting a 2.41 ERA. Wood apparently really wanted to resign with the Cubs, but in retrospect picking up his option may have been a good idea as Carl Pavano 2.0 aka Rafiel Soriano is being paid $35 million over 3 year and may need season ending elbow surgery. The Yankees will definitely miss Wood this season and all genitalia related jokes that now cannot be said while watching the Yankees (however we do have Dickerson).
 |
| Wood is missed |
 |
| Do you have to grow a beard when you stop being a Yankee? |
 |
| Apparently it is a rule. You are missed Ace |
Monday, May 23, 2011
Former Yankees: The Outfield carousel+ former top pitching prospect
The Yankees broke camp with the backup outfield pair of Marcus Thames and Randy Winn. Winn was brought in as security in case Gardner failed to make it as the primary Left Fielder and Thames came in as the primary Lefty smasher. Leaving spring training Thames was crap and most fans thought he would be gone by June at the latest, Winn was very unmemorable, but many thought he would quickly become the Left fielder.
Randy Winn was awful in pinstripes, he struck out about 1/4 times contributed just 8 RBI and was released on June 2nd batting just .213. His only contributing moment was his 3-run HR against the orioles in a 4-1 game. Winn signed with the Cardinals and contributed as a backup switch hitting outfielder. Coming into 2011 Winn failed to draw interest before accepting a minor league deal from the Orioles to compete for a backup Outfield job which he lost and after accepting his release he retired. At 36 I had written about how I hoped he would go play in Japan, but he may not have had any offers.
Marcus Thames had a very interesting season with the Yankees. As I said before he had an awful spring and his defense in the Outfield was absolutely abysmal, as a result he did not play much in the field especially not after Austin Kearns was acquired. That being said Thames had some absolutely huge hits for the Yankees, hitting 12 HR in just 212 AB. Biggest was likely his walk off HR against Papelbon on May 17th, but his go-ahead single in the 8th of Game 1 of the ALCS was big as well. Thames signed a 1 year deal with the Dodgers this off-season and they decided to play him regularly in the Outfield for some reason. He had a pair of Home Runs and a Triple(?) before going on the DL, he was only hitting .176 and when he gets back don't be surprised if he gets cut considering the Dodgers financial peril. Don't worry though with a bat like his he wont be unemployed long and at the very least someone like the Nationals would see him as a better pinch hitting option than Matt Stairs.
The Outfield carousel began before Winn was cut when Kevin Russo and Greg Golson both spent time on the Roster due to injuries in June, but these guys as well as later call-up Colin Curtis are still with the Yankees. Chad Huffman was another piece of the carousel of 1st time call-up backup Outfielders and the Houston native was able to get his first hit against the Astros at Yankee stadium. His only real moment if he never lays another inning in the majors was his help in the Yankees comeback in the 9th against the Dodgers with his solid 2 run single in front of the entire nation. That being said he never had another hit after that game and only 3 total and the Yankees released him in September and he was signed by the Indians and taken off the 40 man roster. Best of luck to you Chad.
The last ex-Yankee on the carosel is one that is an espchily bitter pill to swallow by the name of Austin Kearns. The Yankees wanted a backup outfielder and the AAA kids weren't proving to be very reliable, but why Golson didn't get more time i will never understand. Kearns had been hitting .272 with the Indians and the Yankees needed somebody to play against tough lefties, as Grandy was slumping badly, who was not a complete disaster in the outfield. Kearns was traded for a player to be named later and despite starting well he ended the season hitting .235 and did not get a single at bat in the post season. At the end of the season Kearns resigned with the Indians, got a DUI and is actually hitting even worse than with the Yankees.
What makes this trade unbearable for me is that the Player to be named later was none other than the guy who came into the season as the the Yankees top pitching prospect Zach McAllister. At the time McAllister had a 5+ERA in AAA and many scouts thought his stuff just wasn't good enough to compete at the AAA level and when McAllister went to the Indians that looked to be true as his ERA jumped to 6.88. However coming into this year McAllister has bounced back with a 2.42 ERA in 52 innings and overall just great numbers from a pitching prospect. This infuriates me because the Yankees could have given the Indians anything and instead they just gave up on McAllister and traded him to the Indians for a one year rental on a backup outfielder and McAllister had been great every year before last year. At least when we traded Michael Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino for Javy Vazquez we were supposed to get a decent return it just didnt work out. With McAllister there is no excuse as the Indians probably would have accepted Chad Huffman or CASH, hell we payed less for Kerry Wood. How good would you feel if ZMAC was tearing it up in Scranton like this? Such a waste.
Up Next we will feature some 2010 ex Yankee pitchers.
I think that face says it all
Randy Winn was awful in pinstripes, he struck out about 1/4 times contributed just 8 RBI and was released on June 2nd batting just .213. His only contributing moment was his 3-run HR against the orioles in a 4-1 game. Winn signed with the Cardinals and contributed as a backup switch hitting outfielder. Coming into 2011 Winn failed to draw interest before accepting a minor league deal from the Orioles to compete for a backup Outfield job which he lost and after accepting his release he retired. At 36 I had written about how I hoped he would go play in Japan, but he may not have had any offers.
The Outfield carousel began before Winn was cut when Kevin Russo and Greg Golson both spent time on the Roster due to injuries in June, but these guys as well as later call-up Colin Curtis are still with the Yankees. Chad Huffman was another piece of the carousel of 1st time call-up backup Outfielders and the Houston native was able to get his first hit against the Astros at Yankee stadium. His only real moment if he never lays another inning in the majors was his help in the Yankees comeback in the 9th against the Dodgers with his solid 2 run single in front of the entire nation. That being said he never had another hit after that game and only 3 total and the Yankees released him in September and he was signed by the Indians and taken off the 40 man roster. Best of luck to you Chad.
The last ex-Yankee on the carosel is one that is an espchily bitter pill to swallow by the name of Austin Kearns. The Yankees wanted a backup outfielder and the AAA kids weren't proving to be very reliable, but why Golson didn't get more time i will never understand. Kearns had been hitting .272 with the Indians and the Yankees needed somebody to play against tough lefties, as Grandy was slumping badly, who was not a complete disaster in the outfield. Kearns was traded for a player to be named later and despite starting well he ended the season hitting .235 and did not get a single at bat in the post season. At the end of the season Kearns resigned with the Indians, got a DUI and is actually hitting even worse than with the Yankees.
What makes this trade unbearable for me is that the Player to be named later was none other than the guy who came into the season as the the Yankees top pitching prospect Zach McAllister. At the time McAllister had a 5+ERA in AAA and many scouts thought his stuff just wasn't good enough to compete at the AAA level and when McAllister went to the Indians that looked to be true as his ERA jumped to 6.88. However coming into this year McAllister has bounced back with a 2.42 ERA in 52 innings and overall just great numbers from a pitching prospect. This infuriates me because the Yankees could have given the Indians anything and instead they just gave up on McAllister and traded him to the Indians for a one year rental on a backup outfielder and McAllister had been great every year before last year. At least when we traded Michael Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino for Javy Vazquez we were supposed to get a decent return it just didnt work out. With McAllister there is no excuse as the Indians probably would have accepted Chad Huffman or CASH, hell we payed less for Kerry Wood. How good would you feel if ZMAC was tearing it up in Scranton like this? Such a waste.
Up Next we will feature some 2010 ex Yankee pitchers.
Former Yankees: Nick Johnson
Nick Johnson was a returning Yankee in 2010 and the Yankees 3rd choice for DH after Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui signed elsewhere. Johnson filled the number 2 spot with his very high OBP, as he had finished 2009 with a .426 OBP and the Yankees hoped he could stay healthy now that he would be primarily playing DH. Johnson played 24 games and batted only .168 with a .388 OBP which was his lowest since 2004. Johnson hurt himself in May and never played another game all year.
This year Johnson drew no interest, but did eventually sign a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians and has yet to play a single minor league game. There is really not much to say about Johnson, he is only 32, but his frequent injuries could mean that he is done in baseball. On top of that Indians first baseman Matt LaPorta is hitting decently this year and unless Johnson tears it up he will likely stay in AAA or opt out of his minor league deal. That being said Johnsons high OBP could still interest some teams looking for a cheap 1B or DH or as we get later in the year a team that just wants to have somebody at 1B. Unfortunately for Johnson he doesn't even have the option to go to Japan as his health issues wont stay in the US.
This year Johnson drew no interest, but did eventually sign a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians and has yet to play a single minor league game. There is really not much to say about Johnson, he is only 32, but his frequent injuries could mean that he is done in baseball. On top of that Indians first baseman Matt LaPorta is hitting decently this year and unless Johnson tears it up he will likely stay in AAA or opt out of his minor league deal. That being said Johnsons high OBP could still interest some teams looking for a cheap 1B or DH or as we get later in the year a team that just wants to have somebody at 1B. Unfortunately for Johnson he doesn't even have the option to go to Japan as his health issues wont stay in the US.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Former Yankees: Chan Ho Park
Chan Ho Park has actually had a pretty remarkable year, he is one of only 5 pitchers to start a game against every MLB team, is a former all-star with the Dodgers and has the most wins of any Asian born pitcher with 124 wins. Park was once considered a very good starting pitcher and after a successful 8 year career with the Dodgers he signed a 5 year $65 million deal with the Rangers where he was awful and was traded to the Padres where he was still awful. He was again awful with the Mets in 2007 and only played in one game, however he did well in 2008 with the Dodgers and after losing the 5th starter job to J.A. Happ he moved to the bullpen where he performed well with a 2.52 ERA and did not allow a run to the Yankees in the World series over 3.1 innings. The Yankees signed Park for $1.2 million in the off-season after turning down a $3 million deal from the Phillies. Many Yankees fans were skeptical of Park and it did not take long for that Skepticism to take root. CHOP lost the first game of the year to the Red Sox when he gave up a 2-run HR to Ortiz in the 7th. After the game was the infamous diarrhea interview and three days later CHOP pitched 3 great innings and won the game, however this would be one of his few good outings and he quickly worked his way into the last guy in the bullpen/Mop up role. He was eventually DFA and picked up by the Pirates, where he did pitch better, but still served a similar role as he had with the Yankees.
Park failed to earn a contract from an MLB team and signed with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan where he posted a 1-4 record with a 4.13 ERA as a starter before being sent to the 2nd division which is the equivalent of the Minors in Japan, read more here. At 37 there is no real chance of Park coming back to the MLB and its doubtful that he will play in the NBL, however he is still revered in Korea, as he was the first Korean to play in the MLB and could sign with a team there or simply retire. There is not much else to say about Park, hopefully he doesn't have any more Diarrhea
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Lets talk about Carlos Beltran
Carlos Beltran signed his 7 year $119 million deal with the Mets back in 2005 and his deal expires after this season making $18.5 million this year and the cash strapped Mets want to deal him. Beltran had knee surgery last year, he was moved from Center field to Right field and has not played more than 81 games since 2008. His name has come up in trade rumors as he has been very good this year and most think that a move to the American League to DH would be great for Beltran, but his high price tag and injury history has made teams wary.
The Mets have solved some of their financial issues with selling a minority stake in the club, but the ownership has also said that no player is off-limits to be dealt by the trade deadline.
Beltran had been part of trade rumors since before the season even began and at the time the Yankees did not seem as though they would be even considering Beltran as they had Nick Swisher in Right and Posada as the DH. Now its mid-Febuary and Nick Swisher is slumping bad and Jorge Posada is slumping really bad and so Carlos Beltran's name has come up in trade rumors with the Yankees. The idea is that the Yankees would trade for Beltran and split time with him in Right and at DH with Swisher and Posada and Jones would probably be released.
I don't think that the Mets would be realistically expecting anything for Beltran except maybe a mid level prospect or two, this trade is about Salary relief and the Yankees definitely can afford to take on Beltran's salary. This seems like a match made in trade rumors heaven as the Mets free up a lot of salary room and the Yankees get a bat that can energize their slumping offense as Beltran is swinging the bat pretty well slugging .564 in 39 games and just had a 3 homer game. The problem is that we as Yankees fans sometimes forget that those other guys who play baseball across town and make all those funny mistakes are technically our rival and Mets fans would probably be really pissed if Beltran was traded to the Yankees.
Also some Mets fans apparently think that Beltran is deserving of some legitimate prospects or even for some reason Brett Gardner or Nick Swisher in addition to taking on his salary. The Yankees could take Beltran's full salary and in exchange they would give someone of Justin Maxwell's caliber. If the Mets Front office expects more then that in a trade will never get done with the Yankees. This is also assuming that Nick Swisher does not rebound, because if he does and Posada continues to struggle then the Yankees would likely just promote Jesus Montero to DH and Catch once in a while or promote Jorge Vavquez who has hit 16 HR in 37 games with a .303 average.
Honestly even if Swisher continues to slump will likely keep him for next year even if they trade for Beltran and I think that a deal is unlikely to come about. To me the most likely scenario is the A's trading David DeJesus for Beltran with the Mets eating a large part of his salary. It is still more of a possibility than any of us expected coming into this year.
The Mets have solved some of their financial issues with selling a minority stake in the club, but the ownership has also said that no player is off-limits to be dealt by the trade deadline.
Beltran had been part of trade rumors since before the season even began and at the time the Yankees did not seem as though they would be even considering Beltran as they had Nick Swisher in Right and Posada as the DH. Now its mid-Febuary and Nick Swisher is slumping bad and Jorge Posada is slumping really bad and so Carlos Beltran's name has come up in trade rumors with the Yankees. The idea is that the Yankees would trade for Beltran and split time with him in Right and at DH with Swisher and Posada and Jones would probably be released.
I don't think that the Mets would be realistically expecting anything for Beltran except maybe a mid level prospect or two, this trade is about Salary relief and the Yankees definitely can afford to take on Beltran's salary. This seems like a match made in trade rumors heaven as the Mets free up a lot of salary room and the Yankees get a bat that can energize their slumping offense as Beltran is swinging the bat pretty well slugging .564 in 39 games and just had a 3 homer game. The problem is that we as Yankees fans sometimes forget that those other guys who play baseball across town and make all those funny mistakes are technically our rival and Mets fans would probably be really pissed if Beltran was traded to the Yankees.
Also some Mets fans apparently think that Beltran is deserving of some legitimate prospects or even for some reason Brett Gardner or Nick Swisher in addition to taking on his salary. The Yankees could take Beltran's full salary and in exchange they would give someone of Justin Maxwell's caliber. If the Mets Front office expects more then that in a trade will never get done with the Yankees. This is also assuming that Nick Swisher does not rebound, because if he does and Posada continues to struggle then the Yankees would likely just promote Jesus Montero to DH and Catch once in a while or promote Jorge Vavquez who has hit 16 HR in 37 games with a .303 average.
 |
| Jorge Vazquez |
Honestly even if Swisher continues to slump will likely keep him for next year even if they trade for Beltran and I think that a deal is unlikely to come about. To me the most likely scenario is the A's trading David DeJesus for Beltran with the Mets eating a large part of his salary. It is still more of a possibility than any of us expected coming into this year.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Notes 5/3/11
Well Francisco Liriano threw the first no hitter of the year against the offensively struggling White Sox. He walked 6 batters and ironically faced Edwin Jackson. A full month in the most surprising thing is that's only Liriano's second win and both teams are in the basement of the AL central while the Royals and Indians lead. Before anyone even thinks about it the Yankees will not trade Montero for Liriano and honestly I do not think that there is a single pitcher available that the Yankees would be interested in trading Montero for.
My bold prediction of the year is that Liriano's no hitter will be the only one of the year and Liriano is more likely to be traded than Montero.
Phil Hughes dosen't have some rare vascular disorder and so that means that the Yankees are back to having no idea what is wrong with him. I miss Philthy Phil and I want him back soon.
The Yankees looked pretty pathetic today against Brad Penny and CC looked bad. Is it just me or does A-Jax hit CC really well?
The Yankees need some Starting Pitching but where are they going to get it from and what will they have to give up for decent Starting pitchers?
My bold prediction of the year is that Liriano's no hitter will be the only one of the year and Liriano is more likely to be traded than Montero.
Phil Hughes dosen't have some rare vascular disorder and so that means that the Yankees are back to having no idea what is wrong with him. I miss Philthy Phil and I want him back soon.
The Yankees looked pretty pathetic today against Brad Penny and CC looked bad. Is it just me or does A-Jax hit CC really well?
The Yankees need some Starting Pitching but where are they going to get it from and what will they have to give up for decent Starting pitchers?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)