Ichiro turns back the clock and Dominates

Ichiro is pleased

Well Ichiro Suzuki turned back the clock and went 9 for 12 with three doubles a home run and four stole bases. He was the key cog in the Yankees sweep of the Jays, especially the second game of the double header in which he stole all four of his stolen bases and hit the go ahead run in the 8th. Perhaps the most impressive part of the series is how well he hit left-handers, he went 7 for in the series with all his extra base hits coming against lefties. Even better one of those doubles would have been an easy triple and very likely an inside the park home run, but it bounced into the stands.The Yankees acquired Ichiro to essentially be a platoon left fielder, but Andruw Jones has been so brutally ineffective in the second half that Suzuki will be pressed into full-time duty going forward and so far it looks like it will be well deserved. Also the speed element that Ichiro showed the last two days has been great as only he and Eduardo Nunez are true stolen base threats with Brett Gardner out and Ichiro wasn't even close to being out on any of his four steals. It cannot be overstated of how good Ichiro looked in this series and how pivotal he was to the sweep of the Blue Jays.

Its been said on this blog that everyone has just been waiting for Ichiro to be a Yankee and this series is exactly what everyone had in mind when they thought about Ichiro in Pinstripes. This series has also sparked many people to ponder the idea of the Yankees retaining Ichiro next season and it does remain a possibility, however if the Yankees retain Nick Swisher then there is no chance. Ichiro just had a great series, but don't forget he is 38 and entering the twilight of his career but these flashes of his former greatness should be great to see for all fans.

PLAY CHRIS DICKERSON!!!

.226 that is what Raul Ibanez is currently hitting and its below .200 for the last few months and yet the Yankees continue to put out Raul Ibanez in the outfield. Chris Dickerson is clearly a better option than Ibanez right now and the Yankees need to stop playing Ibanez regularly as they afford the automatic outs. Dickerson is a better hitter than either Jones or Ibanez right now and is a better fielder so it makes no sense to keep running those guys out there, but the Yankees will likely keep Jones out there against lefties but it does not make any sense to keep playing Ibanez over Dickerson and I am calling out the Yankees on it right now. Chris Dickerson also gets credit for being a legitimate stolen base threat so in every single facet of the game Dickerson is the better choice. During this pressured pennant race Girardi has made some questionable decisions and to me playing Ibanez over Dickerson is chief among them.

The Yankees resign Andruw Jones

The Yankees and Jones came to terms today on another 1 year deal, with essentially the same deal as last year with a slight increase in the incentives in his deal. Last year Jones agreed to a $2 million deal with $1.2 million in incentives, his new deal is the same with $1.4 in incentives. It probably holds true that Jones wanted to return to the Yankees because I seriously doubt that he did not get a bigger offer from another team and the possibility of more playing time. Jones will assume his role from last year and be the big right handed bench bat and backup outfielder. We had heard that the Sox and Rox were pursing Jones, but in the end the Yankees brought back Jones. It seems that Cashman must have checked my earlier post on how the Yankees needed to resign Jones. The Yankees 40 man is full so they will probably DFA Kevin Whelan or Trade Justin Maxwell/Chris Dickerson to clear a roster spot. Another spot will likely have to be opened when the Yankees either sign Nakajima or resign Eric Chavez and I think the Yankees will end up trading Dickerson.

Why we need Andruw Jones back

Anduw Jones

 In 2010 the Yankees had Marcus Thames as their primary lefty smasher, but his biggest fault was that he could not field the ball and he ended up playing DH more than OF. The Yankees parted with Thames and brought in former superstar Andruw Jones who we hoped could do close to what Thames did. Jones ended up exceeding Thames both with his hitting and ability to field the ball. In fact Jones actually did too well and now could try and sign with a team that would give him more than 190 AB, the fewest since he came up with the braves in August of 1996. The Yankees and Jones had expressed mutual interest in a deal, but talks have reportedly not progressed recently and Boston may look to Jones. The problem is that Jones fits with Boston even better than with the Yankees, as they look like they will have either Reddick or Kalish in Right Field and both of them are lefties, with Bostons primary lefty smasher being Darnell McDonald who Jones far outclasses.
So you see the need to keep Jones isnt so much that the Yankees can not possibily replace him its that we cannot let a commodity like Jones slip away. What I expect the problem is, is that Jones knows he will not get the number of at bats he wants so he wants more money that the $2 million he got last year. To be perfectly honest I would rather see the Yankees give Jones $3 million or two years $5 million than let him go to Boston. We have already provided the Sox with Alfredo Aceves and  former prospect Mark Melancon is their closer as of right now; I just don't want to see us fill out Bostons roster anymore than we already have.

The 2012 Yankees Bench

The Yankees had one of their better benches this season even with injuries to Eric Chavez and Francisco Cervelli that had both spend a good deal of time on the DL. Chavez hurt himself in Detroit back in May and Cervelli started and ended the year on the DL with a Broken leg and a Concussion. Cervelli only appeared in 43 games with 137 PA, but he was on a Offensive tear before going down with a concussion, including 3 home runs in the week before he went on the DL. That being said with Jesus Montero showing that his bat is definitely MLB ready and Russel Martin likely coming back their really isn't place for him and Austin Romine. Either one could get traded but I would bet that Cervelli will seeing how they have tried to trade him twice in the last year. Chavez appeared in 58 games with 175 PA  he finished exactly replacement level and is apparently strongly considering retirement. Andruw Jones also did well despite a poor start, the only real problem was that the outfield played well enough that he really didn't get too many plate appearances. In fact Jones had the fewest plate appearances since his debut as an 18 year old back in 1996. Jones could be back but he also could probably get the same contract from a team that would give him more playing time. So honestly the only guy who is more than likely going to be back in 2012 from the 2011 bench will be Eduardo Nunez who had an interesting season to say the least, but was the primary backup for Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
If Andruw Jones and the Yankees part ways there are a number of options for the Yankees if they bring in another Right Handed Outfield Bench bat, including Marcus Thames or Jonny Gomes. The Yankees have also said that they want to give Nunez more reps in the outfield and if that's true they could bring in a Lefty bat like Chris Dickerson, Scott Hairston or Laynce Nix. A left handed outfield bat isn't ideal but the Yankees may have a problem finding a good left handed infield bench bat especially since reports indicate that if Eric Chavez retires then the Yankees would consider Brandon laird who is a right handed bat and can play the outfield and infield corner spots. Ramiro Pena is a no offense option but the Yankees will probably keep him as a depth option because they know exactly what they would get from him and his defense was not very good in his limited time with the Yankees. The other internal infield options are the aforementioned Brandon Laird as well as Jorge Vazquez, Kevin Russo and Mike Lamb. I doubt that Kevin Russo is an option as he is essentially a lesser version of Eduardo Nunez and was already removed from the Yankees 40 man once. Vazquez is a power bat who can play 3rd and 1st  but has primarily played 1st in the Yankees organization. Mike Lamb is really the only internal left handed infield option but I don't know if the Yankees consider him a real option despite a good 53 games with the Scranton Yankees. Casey Blake is another suggested option after he had his contract bought out by the Dodgers and probably the best available one but he is another right handed bat and would probably be the most expensive option.
The likeliest option is that the Yankees will have a competition in Spring training for the non-Nunez/Montero bench roles. I expect that they will go with a right handed outfield bat, an infielder, Eduardo Nunez and Jesus Montero. This would leave them with another spot as Montero will probably be the primary DH and while the Yankees will probably go with a second infielder they could potentially bring Cervelli as a third Catcher/emergency infielder. We really wont know until Spring training so we have a while to wait.

What to do with the bench Outfield spot.

The Yankees started this year their only backup Outfielder being Andruw Jones who despite his 6 Home Runs is hitting a dismal .204 in 98 AB. I wrote about Jones in an earlier post, obviously Jones hasn't been the Lefty smasher than Thames was last year and has only hit .240 against Lefties this year. As I said in my earlier post despite his poor numbers Jones is a useful bench bat because he is a right handed with some pop and can play the field well and so he was the only backup outfielder that they needed. Last year the Yankees started with Marucs Thames and Randy Winn but Winn was DFA in May and the Yankees used a combination of several AAA outfielders. This year the Yankees decided to mess up my post about the 5th Outfielder by not having a 5th Outfielder and their primary AAA Outfielder is Chris Dickerson who has the most major league experience. Even with injuries to Justin Maxwell and Colin Curtis the Yankees have good outfield depth but none with any real offensive ability. Jones hasn't really been needed this year because both Gardner and Granderson have been hitting lefties well and despite his early struggles Swisher has been solid. The problem with a guy being a good bench bat is that if he is a good enough bench bat then somebody will give him a starting job and even Andruw Jones could sign with a team that gives him more playing time. Next year the Yankees will likely do without a full time DH and will probably use a rotating DH and one or more Veteran bench bats who can DH and play the field. They could look to retain Jones and Chavez next year or they could try and acquire a new fourth outfielder this year or during the coming off-season. However Jones will likely be the Yankees only real option for this year as I doubt that the Yankees can pick up anybody on waivers and with their lack of action on the trade market I assume that they are okay with Jones. If Jones goes into a prolonged slump the Yankees could always call up Marcus Thames, but more likely they would simply give Montero more time at DH and use either Jones, Golson or Dickerson in the outfield occasionally. If Jones can keep playing decently well the Yankees will probably try and keep him for next year, but like I said he could end up on a team where he would get more playing time.

My thoughts on Andruw Jones

Andruw Jones signed with the Yankess for 1-year/ $2 million with $1.2 Million in incentives possible and he was brought in to face tough Lefties for either Gardner or Granderson which in the offseason was necessary due to both of their poor numbers against LHP and while he did not mash LHP as much as Marcus Thames he did have the ability to play the field which Thames did not. Then Granderson decided to mess everybody up and he is currently hitting LHP better than RHP this year but still has absolutely great numbers against both and Gardner is also hitting decently against LHP with a .250 BA against lefties. In fact Gardner is hitting better than Jones's .245 BA against lefties and Jones is 2-16 against RHP, with all of his HR and RBI's coming against Lefties. The only category that Jones is better than Gardner in is Slugging in which Gardner has a very poor .286 against Lefties while Jones has a .531 slugging rate.
Benching Granderson or Gardner last year for Thames made sense because Thames was mashing Lefties, but this year benching Gardner or Granderson for Jones hasn't worked out, however having a veteran right handed bat on the bench can be very useful, especially when you have two left handed bats in the outfield. However if I were the Yankees I would be wondering how useful keeping Jones would really be as he isn't hitting well and he's not good enough anymore to be a defensive replacement. The Yankees could easily give his spot to Greg Golson who is great defensively and has a rocket arm, he could be the Yankees right handed bat. However as we do play in the American Leagee we sometimes do not appreciate how useful having a solid bat off the bench can be and a bench bat with some real offensive possibility is a real plus. Greg Golson is a .264 career hitter in the minors and only got his first hit last year with the Yankees, but all of his 6 of his hits came against Lefties and he also some speed on the base paths. That being said the Yankees do not likely view Golson as a leftie smasher and the conundrum of what to do with Jones continues. Next year the Yankees will not bring Jorge Posada back and they may go the road of not having a single DH as they could decide to platoon their Veterans with Jesus Montero who will likely be the backup catcher next year behind Russel Martin. In that situation the bench will likely have Eric Chavez, Eduardo Nunez and a backup outfielder like Greg Golson, Colin Curtis, Justin Maxwell or Chris Dickerson. That would leave the Yankees wanting a veteran outfielder who has the potential for some offense as he would likely take some AB as the DH as well. I think the Yankees would like someone like Andruw Jones to fill that role, but his offensive production this year has been poor and it has been declining for years and I don't know if the Yankees would choose to get someone else next year. That being said if Jones can pick up his offensive production I think the Yankees would likely tender him a new contract for 2012 as long as he stays around the $2-3 Million range. As of right now though its completely up in the air.

Yankees sign Andruw Jones

Well this is my first post for this blog and I will the start it out with the Yankees signing of Andruw Jones today. Jones signed to a 1 year deal for $2 million and the possibility of another $1.2million through incentives. In 328 PA he hit .230 with 19 home runs and had an OBP of .341 with 45 walks. Andruw Jones will be the Yankees 4th outfielder and lefty smasher. His defense is not what is was, but is definitely better than Thames. That aside I'm not sure how i feel about this deal knowing that Thames signed for $1 million with the Dodgers. Thames was terrible in the field, but I think his monster Lefty smashing more than made up for it, especially with the superb defense of Gutty Gritty Greg Golson as the fifth outfielder. Thames hit 12 HR in 237 PA with a .288 BA and against lefties he hit .300, while Jones hit .256 against lefties. Between 05 & 06 Jones combined for 92 HR 257 RBI and an average of .262, but his .230 BA last year was the best he has done since, but perhaps working with Kevin Long and Yankee stadiums short porch will boost his stats like it did for Marcus Thames and as i said before his defense is far better.
Overall the Yankees are probably hoping that Jones will flash some of his old power and that he can still play the field neither of those assumptions proved true about Randy Winn, but Jones is obviously a much better player than Winn. We will have to see how Jones fits into the clubhouse and how he plays, because you never know, if you remember back to last offseason Randy Winn was supposed to compete for the Starting Left field job while most people thought Thames would be cut/traded by June at the latest.
Good luck in Dodger Blue Thames,  we will always have the memories....

As a side note I would have thought it was kind of funny if  Thames went to Japan as had been rumored, because if he had then three Yankees from the 2010 club would have been playing in Japan in 2011 with Randy Winn looking like he might have to head to the far east to play as well. Jonathan Albaladejo  signed with the Yomiuri Giants and Chan Ho Park  signed with the Orix Buffaloes. Park only pitched 63.2 inning last year and while he is a superstar in Korea he is likely done in the MLB, but Albaladejo will likely make a comeback to the MLB next year as his numbers in AAA and with Washington are absolutely lights out.