Friday, November 30, 2012

Obligatory "Derek Jeter Is Out Of Shape" Picture Post


It's crazy I know to fracture your ankle and have surgery on it and not stay in shape, I mean it's Derek Jeter. Derek should find a way to rest and rehab his ankle AND stay in shape this early in the off season. Come on Derek get it together! 

Yankees Sign Jayson Nix To Avoid Arbitration


UPDATE: The Deal is worth $900K after he accepted an assignment to AAA Scranton. If he clears waivers he will head down to AAA and become a non roster invitee to spring training.

The Yankees have announced that they signed INF Jayson Nix to a major league deal worth around $1 million avoiding arbitration. This is just minutes after being designated for assignment to make room for Mariano Rivera.

Yanks Sign Mo, Claim Miller, DFA Storey & Nix


The Yankees announced a flurry of roster moves with the signing of Mariano Rivera becoming official. The Yankees designated INF Jayson Nix for assignment to make room on the 40 man roster. The Yankees also claimed RP Jim Miller off waivers from the Oakland Athletics and designated recently claimed Mickey Storey for assignment to make room on the 40 man roster.

Yankees Have Shown Little Interest In Pierzynski & Napoli

Things can surely change, but according to George King the Yankees have not shown much interest in AJ Pierzynski.

This is hardly a surprise, as AJ is not the most respected player on the field. The Yankees like their players to be upstanding citizens. For instance, Curtis Granderson is very well-known for his charity work and being an all-around good guy, and that was talked about a lot when the Yankees traded for him.

When I wrote about free agent catchers in my Offseason Decisions series at the end of the World Series I mentioned Pierzynski, and listed him in the "maybe" category. Having a catcher hit .284/.324/.429 with 15 HR a season would be great (that's AJ's career batting line, and his 162 game average in home runs), and he's also a fine defensive catcher, but I'd rather look elsewhere for a backstop.

As for that Offseason Decisions post, I put Mike Napoli in the "yes" category. Unfortunately I didn't take into account that Napoli only caught in 72 games last season, and likely couldn't catch much more than that. Not to mention how well he'd be at it. So while the offense would be nice, he wouldn't be a good fit.

Which is good, since Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the Yankees aren't really interested in Mike either.

Not that there's much to choose from in free agency, so the Ninja would have to work more of his dark magic.

To the rescue!

If I Had A Hall Of Fame Vote...


If I had a Hall of Fame Vote I think my ballot would look a lot like this:


Roger Clemens
Barry Bonds
Jeff Bagwell
Craig Biggio
Curt Schilling
Tim Raines
Mike Piazza
Bernie Williams #homer
Pete Rose #writein


I have no proof that Roger Clemens did any kind of performance enhancing drugs and until I do I am going strictly on on-field performance. Barry Bonds kind of fits in the same category in my eyes so he is on my ballot as well but then again so is Pete Rose as a write in so I may have just blown any chance I had at a real vote. I know I have the poster child for steroid use (allegedly) in both pitching and the offense in Clemens and Bonds and I know that I do not help my cause with suspected users like Jeff Bagwell but it's my vote and I am kind of over the steroid era. 

Yankees Could Not Match Offer For Russel Martin


The Pittsburgh Pirates, as predicted by yours truly at TGP, signed Russell Martin on a two year deal worth $17 million which is far under market value. The shocking news came when Russell came out and said the Yankees told him that they could not match the offer or beat it and that is why he is headed to Pittsburgh. Say what?!?!

I can get behind the 2014 luxury tax plan and all that but at what cost? Then today we hear that the Yankees have no intentions of going after Mike Napoli or AJ Pierzynski... say what again ?!?! I am hoping that this is more of a ninja cash type scenario that nets us a Joe Mauer and not the beginning of New York Rays.

Miley Named Manager Of The Year By Baseball America


Baseball America has named their minor league manager of the year and it is our very own Scranton Wilkes-Barre Dave Miley. Miley is no stranger to the hardware as he also won International League Manager of the Year as well this season. After leading his homeless team to a division crown and playoff birth for the fifth time in six seasons managing a Yankees minor league affiliate. Congratulations to Dave!!

Welcome Back Mo From The Greedy Pinstripes


You know you have done something special in this game when you celebrate your 43rd birthday and agree to a $10 million contract in the same day, especially after basically missing all of the 2012 season. I just wanted to personally give you a welcome back and thank you for your service to baseball and your loyalty to the Yankees.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Rivera Returns!

The Yankees have been monitoring the health of Mariano Rivera, and apparently they're happy with what they've seen because they've reportedly signed the GOAT to a deal worth $10 million, with another $5 million in incentives.

Although the pitching staff is pretty much set, I'm sure we'll see the team do a bit of tinkering. I wouldn't put it past Ninja Cashman to move one of the young Yankee starters (Hughes, Nova, Phelps, etc) in order to fill positional holes like right field and catcher.

Russell Martin Signs With Pirates

David Waldstein tweeted that Russell Martin has agreed to a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jon Heyman tweeted that the Yankees only offered a two-year deal to Russell for $12-$14m, however Buster Olney says the Yankees didn't make any offer at all.

Outside of Twitter I don't see anything official, but for the time being I'm going to start thinking about other catchers for the Yankees.

Pirates Willing To Go 3 Years With Russell Martin

I know that I said yesterday that I thought the Pittsburgh Pirates were the front runners for Russell Martin's
services and i feel a whole lot better about that prediction today. The Pirates announced today that they knew they would have to pay more in years and dollars to sign Russell and they proved it by their willingness to go a third year on a potential contract. No way the Yankees should go three years after Russell's 2012 season in my opinion so this will be worth keeping an eye on at the winter meetings.

Happy 43rd Birthday Mariano Rivera

A very happy 43rd birthday goes out to Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. He is not officially signed yet but is expected to be before weeks end.

BJ Upton Signs With Atlanta Five Years $75 Million

The Atlanta Braves and BJ Upton have announced that the two have agreed upon a five year deal in the $75 million range that will make BJ the highest paid Braves player in the history of their franchise. The deal is pending a physical and there is no word yet of a potential no trade clause or anything yet. Why do we care? The Rays, on paper, just got worse until they call up their next uber prospect.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Ryan Madson Comes Off The Board

One of the two formerly elite closers that underwent Tommy John surgery last year came off the board, as the Angels came to terms on a 1 year contract with Ryan Madson worth $3.5 million, with another $2.5 million in roster bonuses (meaning how many days he's on the active roster) and yet another $1 million based on incentives (games finished).

This is a good sign for the Yankees, and for fans such as myself that want the team to bring Joakim Soria on board. Soria has already said that he's willing to set-up for Mariano Rivera, and seeing that it could simply take a one year deal I really hope Brian Cashman and Co. is looking hard at the guy. Joakim had a poor 2011 campaign, in which he put up an ERA of 4.03, but that could have been due to his elbow as he had an ERA of 2.01 over the previous 4 years.

Yankees Designate Eli Whiteside For Assignment

Just days after avoiding arbitration with Eli Whiteside just days removed from claiming him off waivers from the San Francisco Giants the Yankees have designated Eli for assignment. Was it the gray hair? Do they have someone targeted in the Rule 5  draft? Did Francisco Cervelli find those damning pictures that Andruw Jones had that kept him in the lineup? The world may never know...

Yankees Have A Good Problem To Have

All of a sudden a big question mark and concern for the Yankees in what was a slow and boring offseason has become a good problem to have in New York. The Yankeea have filled huge holes in their rotation with the signings of Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte and with Mariano Rivera presumably on the way the bullpen is looking better and better by the day as well. Not that it has to be said but here is the rotation as it stands right now.

CC Sabathia
Hiroki Kuroda
Andy Pettitte
Phil Hughes
Ivan Nova or David Phelps

Michael Pineda, Adam Warren, Mark Montgomery, etc waiting in the wings to fill spots in the rotation or bullpen never hurts either I guess.

The Yankees have a great problem to have because if need be a David Phelps or Ivan Nova or (as much as I am against this) Phil Hughes could be made available to fill the void left by Nick Swishers departure by trade, can you say Justin Upton?

Russell Martin Seeking Four Year Deal

Russell Martin has been linked to many teams this off season in what is a weak class for catchers but has expressed interest in returning to the Bronx. He may have just talked his way out of the Bronx today when he announced he wanted a four year deal this off season, sonething the Yankees would be insane to do. The Pirates have expressed interest in his services and would be willing to go four years in my opinion so they just became the front runners in my eyes. I would rather give AJ Pierzynski a one year deal and hope for the best with Austin Romine then give Russ four years.

Andy Pettitte Officially Back In Pinstripes

Andy Pettitte and the Yankees have agreed upon a one year deal worth $12 million. No word on incentives or anything like that yet but I will keep you posted.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Return of Mo

Ken Rosenthal and Joel Sherman both report that the Yankees are closing in on a deal with Mariano Rivera. The deal is said to be worth at least $10 million, and possibly a bit higher than the $11 million Andy Pettitte is close to signing for.

The Yankees have already re-signed Hiroki Kuroda, so if they are able to solidify the rotation with Pettitte and the bullpen with Rivera, then this would free up Cashman to concentrate on Nick Swisher's replacement during the Winter Meetings.

How About Shane Victorino?

This plane may carry our new outfielder.

Jon Heyman reported last night that the Yankees are interested in Shane Victorino, and went further by saying several teams are willing to go 3 years for the center fielder. In the same article it's noted that Shane is willing to move to a corner outfield spot, as he's played center field in nearly 80% of the innings he's played in his career (Victorino has never been a DH, having played his entire career in the National League).

Before the 2012 season the idea of acquiring the Flyin' Hawaiian was a good one. Shane's batting line up to that point in his career was .278/.334/.438, and he'd averaged 15 home runs and 26 stolen bases a season between 2009 and 2011. On top of the offense he provided, Victorino was considered a good defender in center field, and a very good corner outfielder.

However, 2012 did happen, and Shane had a poor season at the plate hitting .255/.321/.383. He was able to steal a career-high 39 bases, but only hit 11 home runs, and tripled 7 times after doing it 39 times over the previous 3 seasons. So the desire to see the guy in pinstripes went down a bit.

No! That's not what I wanted for Christmas!

I'll repeat... My desire to see the guy in pinstripes went down a bit. At 31 years I believe the guy has plenty left in the tank. Taking Shane's age into account, and the fact his poor 2012 should bring down his price in free agency, I'm cool with the Yankees possibly signing him.

Shane Victorino's walk and strikeout rates in 2012 remained around his career averages of 11.6% and 8.2%, as his rates were 12% and 8%. Nor is he watching more strikes, or swinging at more strikes, than he has throughout his career. Shane also put 34% balls into play, just as he's always done. Finally, Victorino has been pretty healthy in his career, having missed 97 games in 9 years.

The only thing that truly concerns me about Victorino is the fact that his line drive percentage has gone down in each of the last 4 years. It went from 20% in 2009, to 19% in 2010, to 16% in 2011, and finally 15% this past season. Perhaps a BABIP of .278, which is 21 points lower than his career mark of .296, was the problem. Not to mention that he hit a few more balls on the ground this past season than he has in years.
\
Like anything else it comes down to just how much the player will cost. Shane will likely command more per year than the $14.7 million Fangraphs figured he was worth in 2012, but as long as it's not much more than that, and only for 3 years, then I'd be happy to invite him into our world.

Ichiro Signs With Yanks 1 Year $5 Million

EDIT: Erik Boland says that there is "no truth" to the report that the Yankees and Ichiro have agreed to a deal. I expect the team to look for a better starter to take over for Swisher before either signing Ichiro as the starter or backup.

Japans news sports outlet Nikkan is reporting that Ichiro Suzuki and the New York Yankees have agreed upon a one year deal worth $5 million plus incentives. I will update this when more information becomes available and when I am not mobile. This is a great depth signing but if this is Swishers replacement I cannot say that I am jumping for joy here honestly.

Andy Pettitte Close To Deal With Yankees

I am posting this mobily if that is even a word but Buster Olney posted to his twitter account this morning that Andy Pettitte and the Yankees are close on a deal to bring Andy back in pinstripes for the 2013 season. One word comes to mind when I hear this and that is hallelujah.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Yankees Playoff Revenue Share Set At $115,065.28


So apparently fielding a team that was only good enough to get swept out of the ALCS can gain a team a whopping $115,065.28 for 58 players and coaches. Just as an FYI the World Series champion San Francisco Giants earned a little over $377 K after they swept the Detroit Tigers which surpassed the previous record of $362 K held by the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals.

Yankees Avoid Arbitration With Eli Whiteside


The Yankees and Eli Whiteside have announced that the two have come to an agreement on a contract for the 2012 season worth $625 K avoiding arbitration. Eli is a great defensive back up catcher but it sure would be nice if we were more worried about who guys like Eli will be backing up and less about saving a few dollars in arbitration. Maybe it is just me...

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Russell Martin Wants To Play SS In WBC


Yankees free agent catcher Russell Martin has expressed an interest in playing the shortstop position for Team Canada in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Martin has never played professionally at short stop but he has played both SS and third base in high school, college, and for the Team Canada team before so it will not be out of the realm of possibilities. He has also played fifteen games at third base and one game at second base in the majors although he calls short stop his "natural position" so there is always that.

Russell Martin Prefers Return To New York


The Yankees, much like in the Ichiro Suzuki situation, have not yet reached out to their own free agent in Russell Martin even though he has expressed an interest in a return to the Bronx. The Yankees have said that their main concern is the pitching, namely Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, before moving on to the rest of the roster. After signing for a one year deal and $7.5 million last season the new deal is expected to be in a two or three year deal worth $20- $25 million. Hopefully the Yankees call Russell soon because it is very obvious that we have nothing in house to replace him and people like Mike Napoli are asking for four year deals. There is always AJ Pierzynski but the contract year and his age at his position just screams red flags to me but what do I know, right?

Yankees Check In On Stanton

According to Nick Cafardo the Yankees have inquired about the availability of Giancarlo Stanton. This news is hardly a surprise due to the Marlins fire sale/trade with the Blue Jays about a week ago, and the Yankees were not the only team to check the waters regarding Stanton. The Phillies, Red Sox, Orioles, and Cubs have also called Miami regarding the 23 year old phenom.

Stanton has hit .270/.350/.533 with 93 homers in 373 MLB games, hit .290/.361/.608 with 37 bombs in 2012, and has played all but 1 of his MLB innings in right field, making him a great player to fill the hole left by Nick Swisher's departure. I'm not sure the Yankees have what the Marlins would want in return, but if a deal is possible the Yankees should do whatever they can to get it done.

The Yankees May Be Old, But So What?

"Hurry up and get your uniform on, you're starting for the Yankees tonight!"

A lot of people, from both inside and outside the organization, have criticized the Yankees for being old. I can't say that's not true, but the only problems I see with having an old team would be if the team wasn't winning, or that multiple positions were filled for a while... thus blocking prospects from being called up to Major League Baseball.

Even though the Yankees haven't won the World Series in a few years, nobody can say that the team hasn't been successful. They've won a total of 287 games over the last three seasons, with two division championships, and two trips to the American League Championship Series thrown in. So even though the Yankee motto each year is "World Series title or bust", it's ridiculous to say the team has not been a success.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox feel like the guy in the white shirt, having missed the playoffs in each of the past 3 years.

So what about blocking prospects? We saw Jesus Montero traded during the last offseason, and a big reason it happened was because neither the catching or first base slot was open for him in 2012. The Yankees felt the need for a possible front-line starter that was still young and under team control for a while, so they pulled the trigger on the deal that sent Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda (not to mention that Hector Noesi was also sent to the Mariners for Jose Campos). So the "prospects being blocked" thing is a problem for the Yankees, right?

Wrong.

Here are the top 10 Yankee prospects at the end of the 2012 season, according to Baseball America. The player's estimated time of arrive in MLB is listed next to their name.


Mason Williams, of - 2015

The Yankees current outfield consists of Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, and... who knows? Brett will be eligible for free agency after the 2014 season, while Granderson is going into the final year of his contract next year. So currently all three outfield spots could be open for Williams when he arrives in MLB in or around 2015.

Slade Heathcott, of - 2014

Although Heathcott is 21 years old, and therefore is as old as some guys when they make the jump to the Majors, he is likely to spend at least one more season in the minors due to having just finished the 2012 season in high-A ball. Depending on what happens with right field this offseason, two of the outfield positions could be available to Slade in 2014.

Gary Sanchez, c - 2015

Even if the Yankees were to sign Russell Martin to a three year deal, as has been rumored, that would mean the starting catcher spot would be open for Sanchez in the 2016 season. Some believe Gary could be MLB-ready by 2015, meaning he could spend a season as Martin's backup, which is a pretty good idea to me. Russ has a good rapport with the pitchers, and does a great job defensively, so having Sanchez learn from him for a season could be a really good thing.

Tyler Austin, of - 2014

Yet another outfielder in the Yankees top 10 prospects. Theoretically, since I pointed out that two of the three outfield spots could be available by 2014, both Heathcott and Austin could fill those holes. Although I highly doubt that, by 2015, the Yankee outfield would have a rookie (Williams) and two second-year players (Heathcott and Austin), so I fully expect at least one of them to be used in a trade.

Jose Campos, rhp, Brett Marshall, rhp, Manny Banuelos, lhp, Ty Hensley, rhp, Rafael De Paula, rhp - 2014

It's almost pointless for me to talk about the pitching situation in the future, as things can chance so much in just one season (see Ivan Nova, who went from sure-thing starter to somebody I'd like to see bumped from the rotation), but let me point out that CC Sabathia is the only Yankee starter under contract after 2013, while Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, and David Phelps are the only other current Yankees with true starting experience that will be under team control by 2014.

Angelo Gumbs, 2b - 2015

Gumbs is the only top 10 prospect that will likely be blocked from being able to move into a starter's role in MLB, as I fully expect the Yankees to eventually work out an extension with Robinson Cano. The idea crossed my mind that he could move to SS, as he has some experience playing there in the minors, but it turns out that it's only 7 games worth... and 6 of those were a couple years ago in rookie ball. Perhaps 3B would be a viable alternative, although I think being trade fodder is more likely for Angelo.

By the time 9 of those 10 players are MLB-ready, there could be starting spots waiting for them. Which tells me that the Yankees being "too old" right now is nothing to worry about.

Just like Hef, the Yankees may be old but they're still having plenty of fun.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Ichiro Willing To Wait On The Yankees


Ichiro Suzuki has gotten a lot of attention from teams this off season after what seems like a reset on his career since joining the Yankees in the middle of last season but Ichiro still wants to be a Yankee. After hitting .322/.340/.454 for the Yankees last season the 39 year old is still willing to wait for the Yankees to get Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte back in the fold before looking elsewhere for a contract. I think we need more dedicated players that actually want to be here and care less about the money, for perfect example look at Kuroda leaving money on the table, because they tend to give just a little more in my eyes. I am not sure how crazy I would be about a Ichiro, Gardner, Granderson outfield offensively but it is not like the Yankees cannot survive with a LITTLE bit of an offensive regression.

Saturday Morning Music Recommendation


A little something to get everyone awake on this Saturday morning. Enjoy!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Kuroda Comfortable In Pinstripes

How bad did Hiroki Kuroda want to be a Yankee?

Via Andrew Marchand, Hiro had received offers of multiple years (guaranteed or by player option) but decided to return to the Bronx. This is actually Kuroda's 4th MLB contract, and each time he's left money on the table. Goes to show you that Hiroki is more about comfort than he is about making the most money, something that makes him different than the vast majority of pro athletes.

Source : Pettitte Decision To Come Next Week


According to the greatest source in the world, a "personal friend" of Andy Pettitte to Jon Heyman, the Pettitte decision is expected to come by the end of next week. The Yankees have yet to offer Pettitte a contract this off season but with Hiroki Kuroda back in the fold the Yankees feel confident that Andy will give us one more year. I personally feel confident that 12 starts plus two in the post season and 75 IP is not going to be enough to get that out of Andy's system or we would have already heard that he is retiring but maybe that is just the fan in me and wishful thinking. I know that sour taste that Detroit left in our mouths also cannot hurt the Andy decision so next week cannot come fast enough.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving From The Greedy Pinstripes


We wanted to take a minute to tell all of our readers, which we consider to be our extended online family, a very Happy Thanksgiving from everyone here at TGP. Bryan and I have been only blogging for less then a year but we have been greedy Yankees fans our whole lives so thank God for that. Hope everyone has a great day full of fun, family, football, and being thankful. Have a great holiday guys!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Yankees Could Be Interested in Dallas Braden and Stephen Drew

Now that the Yankees have signed Hiroki Kuroda for 2013, and the chances of Andy Pettitte returning to the team looking good as well, it's believed that the Yankees will look to add less expensive possible starters (a la Freddy Garcia). In fact, Joel Sherman believes that Dallas Braden is a possible target.

Speaking of possible free agent targets, Stephen Drew is apparently drawing interest from  the Yankees (reported by Jon Heyman). The Oakland A's turn down their half of a $10 million mutual option with Drew,
making him a free agent. Drew hit .223/.309/.348 last season, so I totally understand Oakland's decision, so he'd likely only be a backup infielder. Frankly, I'd rather stick with Nunez.

Five Most Underrated Yankees Seasons By OF & P

Andrew Mearns of Pinstriped Bible posted last week the five most underrated Yankees seasons by a Yankees infielder and this week he continues the series with the outfielders and the pitchers. I highly suggest going over to the site by clicking HERE to give them a view and shoot them a comment of appreciation for a well written post. I will also syndicate the post here so enjoy!!




Continuing my post from last Thursday, here's the remainder of the Yankees' all-time best underrated seasons by position.
Left Field
Charlie Keller, 1941 (.289/.416/.580, .450 wOBA, 161 wRC+, 33 HR, 8.2 fWAR)--In the previous post, I discussed infielder Gil McDougald and how he was great but forgotten. Keller is the "Uber" version of McDougald, a much better player than McDougald ever was who was probably the greatest primary left fielder in the history of the team. Yikes. The war interrupted his career in the middle of its prim, and he fell victim to injuries after one last great hurrah in '46. It's a damn shame, too. Playing in the shadow of the otherworldly Joe DiMaggio in '41, Keller had his finest season. The 24-year-old nicknamed "Kong" had a career-high in homers and simply kept getting on base. One could make a very good argument that Keller was the best player in baseball that year aside from Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, and it took some of the most iconic seasons in baseball history to surpass Keller. It's just a shame fans could not enjoy Keller's prime for very long.
Center Field
Bobby Murcer, 1971 (.331/.427/.543, .430 wOBA, 177 wRC+, 25 HR, 7.4 fWAR)--Many modern fans simply know Murcer as a former broadcaster who sadly passed away frombrain cancer in 2008. They heard tales of his playing days as Mickey Mantle's successor in center field and how much he loved hitting into the right field short porch. Murcer's playing career is definitely worth further study though. In his prime, he was one of baseball's finest players and a fearsome threat at the plate. His '71 campaign was arguably better than his more famous 33-homer '72 season (.292/.361/.537) since his triple slash statistics were higher. He led the league in OBP, OPS, and wRC+ and was named to the first of five consecutive All-Star teams. The Yankees missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season, but it was by no means Murcer's fault. Though he was not Mantle, he was a fine player by himself who should not have had to constantly be compared to the all-time greats.
Right Field
Dave Winfield, 1988 (.322/.398/.530, .408 wOBA, 157 wRC+, 37 2B, 25 HR, 5.5 fWAR)--I wish, wish, wish that I could put Paul O'Neill's phenomenal 1994 (.359/.460/.603, .450 wOBA, 177 wRC+) in this position. Alas, due to the Players' Strike, Paulie was limited to only 104 games. There's no way of knowing whether he would have kept it up over the rest of the season--for instance, Andrew McCutchen was at .363/.423/.610 on August 11th this year (18 years to the day of O'Neill's final game in '94), and McCutch finished 2012 at .327/.400/.553. So jumping to the next great full season, the future Hall of Famer Winfield turned in a fantastic final hurrah in his last full season as a Yankee. His performance had dropped down to merely good levels for a player of his caliber from 1985-87 as he aged into his mid-thirties. However, he recovered in '88 to turn in arguably his best season as a Yankee in '88, even better than his 30-homer seasons earlier in the decade. Only two players in the league had a higher wRC+ than the athletic star--40/40 club founder Jose Canseco and batting ace Wade Boggs, who was in the sixth of seven straight 200-hit seasons. '88 was the end of an era of sorts for the Yankees, who fell into an under-.500 malaise for five years after that. Don't be fooled by the fifth-place finish--it was a five-team race for the AL East among the Yankees, Red SoxBrewersTigers, andBlue Jays, and the Yankees only finished 3.5 games behind Boston. It was the last contending team until Gene Michael resurrected the Yankees, and Winfield kept the Yankees afloat.
Starting Pitcher
Spud Chandler, 1943 (20-4, 253 IP, 20 CG, 1.64 ERA, 50 ERA-, 2.30 FIP, 68 FIP-, 1.9 BB/9, 2.48 K/BB, 6.8 fWAR)--I'll be honest, I came up with the idea for this post with the plan to remind the public of a forgotten Ford in Yankees history--Russ Ford. One could make a decent case that his rookie season of 1910 was the greatest such campaign in the history of baseball's premier franchise. Although he faded from the major league scene within a few years, a recent SABR study unsurprisingly decided that he would have won the 1910 AL Rookie of the Year had the award existed. Well, after adjusting for era, I cannot in good conscious give the lesser Ford this title. Mr. Spurgeon "Spud" Chandler was just better than him in both '46 and '43. The latter might actually be the best pitching season in team history behind Ron Guidry's 1978 (and probably Jack Chesbro's 1904, but I have personally heard much more about Chesbro's '04 than Chandler's '43, so Spud gets the nod). Many players were already in the military for '43, but not quite to the extent that they were over the next two years. Nonetheless, Chandler's MVP season and the Yankees' tenth World Series title remains an overlooked chapter in the team's history. Chandler is still the only Yankee pitcher to ever be named league MVP, and he put the team on his back while leading them to their fourth straight AL pennant and seventh in eight seasons. To cap his tremendous season, he allowed just one earned run to the St. Louis Cardinals in two World Series complete games as the Yankees avenged their five-game loss to St. Louis in '42 with a five-game victory in '43 (Chandler threw a shutout in the Game 5 clincher). Had the award existed, he almost surely would have received a World Series MVP to add to his trophy case from '43 as well. Here's to you, Spud.
Reliever
Sparky Lyle, 1977 (72 G, 137 IP, 26 Sv, 2.17 ERA, 55 ERA-, 3.18 FIP, 80 FIP-, 2.17 BB/9, 2.6 fWAR)--Believe it or not, I very nearly put David Robertson's ridiculous 2011 on here, but for the sake of history, we'll go with Sparky. To address the elephant in the room first though--he absolutely did not deserve a Cy Young Award (or a sixth-place AL MVP finish) for a season in relief. That trophy probably belongs in the trophy case of either Dennis Leonard or Frank Tanana. That is not a slight on Lyle's season at all, though. It was phenomenal, and he was used in true "fireman" situations as relievers used to so frequently before Tony La Russa and Dennis Eckersley encourage their contemporaries to make that role extinct. Armed with a devastating slider, Lyle pitched at least two innings in 34 of the 72 games he appeared in that year, and at least three innings on 14 occasions. Lyle's total amount of innings pitched in '77 remains the most for a pitcher with no starts in team history. It was a symbol of how versatile he truly was, and like the aforementioned Chandler, he also excelled in the playoffs. He pitched four of the five games in the ALCS victory, blanking the Kansas City Royals for 5.1 innings in Game 4 and saving the pennant clincher before tossing 3.1 shutout innings in World Series Game 1 to earn the victory in a tight 12-inning win. The Yankees won their first championship in 15 years, and his 1.29 ERA in 14 playoff innings were crucial to that title. Bizarrely, Steinbrenner decided to reward Lyle for this fantastic season by replacing him at closer with free agent Goose Gossage. It ended up working out for the Yankees because Lyle was never the same after '77 and Gossage had a Hall of Fame career, but it was still a pretty raw deal for Sparky. As Graig Nettles (also on the underrated list) said, he "went from Cy Young to Sayonara."



Six Protected & Moved To 40 Man Roster


The Yankees have moved six of their prospects to the 40 man roster, thus protecting them from a potential Rule 5 Draft pick. The list includes Nik Turley, Manny Banuelos, Ramon Flores, Francisco Rondon, Brett Marshall, and Jose Ramirez. Manny B will miss 2013 with Tommy John surgery so this is more of a procedural move in my eyes. Brett Marshall went 13-7 with a 3.52 ERA in 27 starts in Trenton. This is the next line of Yankees prospects coming up together and this excites me.

Yankees Re-Sign Hiroki Kuroda


Buster Olney of ESPN is reporting that the Yankees have resigned starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a one year deal. The deal is worth $15 million with $1 million in incentives which will keep the 38 year old will be in pinstripes for at least one more season. This makes me feel a whole lot better about 2013 then I did just five minutes ago. Welcome back #HIROK!

Former Yankees Update : Cory Wade


Remember the spectacular season that Cory Wade had for the Yankees in the bullpen in 2011? Probably not after the horrific 2012 season he followed it up with which resulted in him being designated for assignment and later picked up by the  Toronto Blue Jays. Well the Toronto Blue Jays, I do not know if you guys have heard or not,  raped robbed pillaged dismantled the Miami Marlins and the 40 man roster spots are now at a premium so the Jays announced they have DFA'd Cory Wade and two others to make room for new players. I wonder if the Yankees will give him a shot because we are giving everyone else's scraps a 40 man roster spot why not one of our own?

Yankees Claim Mickey Storey


The Yankees continue their boring off season with yet another guy picked up off the scrap heap today when the Yankees signed Mickey Storey from the Houston Astros. Storey is a right handed pitcher that pitched out of the Astros bullpen in the last season. In his age 26 season Storey pitched to a 3.86 ERA with a 10/1 K/9 ratio with a 3.0 BB/9 ratio in 30 innings and change. He posted better numbers in 65 innings in AAA last season as well with a 3.05 ERA and a 10.0 K/9 with a 1.99 BB/9 ratio. Seems more like a depth move to me with very few, if any, spots available in the bullpen but I guess those never hurt. It may also mean a trade involving Joba, David Robertson, or whoever else has trade value right now may be in the works... #NinjaCash

News Corp. To Buy Up To 80% Of YES Network


News Corportation has announced that they and the Steinbrenner family have announced that agreed on a deal that would sell 49% of the YES Network to News Corp. After three years News Corp. has the opportunity to buy up to 80 % of the YES Network which is currently worth more then the New York Yankees team at $3 billion. This really adds some validity, in my eyes at least, to the rumors of the Steinbrenners willingness to sell the team somewhere soon down the road.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Andy Pettitte To Give Timetable This Week

Dan Martin makes another appearance at this blog, this time because of Andy Pettitte.

Andy has said that he'll give the Yankees a "timetable" some time this week. Whether that means he'll make a decision about returning next year, or he'll let the Yankees know when he'll make the decision, is unclear. Pettitte had said he was going to make his decision soon after the ALCS, apparently meaning about a month, and we're about at that point.

Unlike Hiroki Kuroda, who has interest from other teams, when it comes to Andy it's Yankees or retirement. We all want what's best for Andy and his family, but I don't think I'm alone in hoping he comes back for another season.

Yankees Looking At Scott Hairston

You want to know how slow things have been lately? Here's the guy I'm writing about now...

That uniform probably doesn't make Yankee fans any more excited.

According to Dan Martin of the NY Post, the Yankees have been speaking with Scott Hairston. I'm sure the Yanks are looking at Hairston to fill the hole left by Andruw Jones, which honestly isn't that difficult after Andruw put up a line of .197/.294/.408 last season, which included only .202/.294/.411 vs. left-handed pitchers.

Hairston did smack 20 home runs last season, but his batting average of .263 and on-base percentage of .299 probably doesn't excite many people in the Yankee Universe. But against lefties Scotty did hit .286/.317/.550.

Hairston is also a decent corner outfielder, while being able to fake center field in an emergency.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

List Of Yankees 2012 Arbitration Eligible Players


It is that time of the year where the Yankees, and all other clubs for that matter, have to go through the arbitration process with their eligible players. This season the Yankees have 8 players that they will go through the process with and a couple of them will not be cheap. Let's take a look at the list and MLBTR's projected salaries.

Boone Logan RP (4th time eligible) $2.8 Million
Phil Hughes SP (3rd time eligible) $5.7 Million
Joba Chamberlain RP (3rd time eligible) $1.8 Million
Brett Gardner OF (2nd time eligible) $2.8 Million
David Robertson RP (2nd time eligible) $2.7 Million
Eli Whiteside C (2nd time eligible) $600 K
Jayson Nix UTIL (1st time eligible) $900K
David Herndon RP (1st time eligible) $600 K


I do not know if we should be thankful or not for injury riddled seasons by Joba Chamberlain and Brett Gardner but the past is in the past now and MLBTR does not expect a raise for either of these men due to missing so much time in 2012 so that helps. I know Joba made $1.675 million in 2012 and to go up to $1.8 million is obviously a raise but I did not think it was noteworthy. Boone Logan would be getting around a $1 million raise after making $1.875 million in 2012 which is not much at all if he pitches like he did in the first half of 2012. Phil Hughes made $3.2 million in 2012 so he would get a $2.5 million raise for 2013 which is pretty significant for someone who pitched like a 4th starter for most of the season. David Robertson made a bargain $1.6 million in 2012 so the jump to $2.7 million seems like a bargain for us looking at the Boone Logan jump. Eli Whiteside is a non tender candidate and will not be receiving a raise from his 600 K salary of last season and David Herndon would only be receiving a $125 K raise from 2012. Overall if MLBTR is close on these numbers I think they are very much in the Yankees favor so let's hope for the best.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Hiroki Kuroda Prefers A Return To California


Hiroki Kuroda has come out and said that he would prefer a return to Southern California so he can be near his daughter and her grade school. This would automatically put the Dodgers and the Angels, both who have expressed real interest in Kuroda, at the top of the list. The Dodgers were not financially able to offer Kuroda a deal last year so that may be the only reason we got him in 2012, hopefully he enjoyed himself enough to want to give it one more go. I would hate to lose Kuroda but the money the Dodgers and Angels are spending and their new dedication to winning it may be enough to lure Kuroda back West...

Former Yankees Update : Ryota Igarashi


So you know it is a slow off season thus far when the first post of the day is updating you on where Ryota Igarashi signed. Ryota has signed a three year deal to pitch in Japan worth an estimated 600 million Yen. Last season with the Yankees in very limited service Ryota gave us 36.2 IP in the minors and a meager 3 IP in the Bronx. What did we expect after getting him off the waiver wire from the Toronto Blue Jays back in May anyway, right? I hope he enjoys his next three seasons in Japan and his, what sounds like, insane salary that comes along with it.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Arizona Fall League Wrap Up


The Yankees sent three of their big time prospects down to the Arizona Fall League to play for the Scottsdale Scorpions this off season including David Adams, Dellin Betances, Slade Heathcott, Mark Montgomery, and Austin Romine. The Scorpions ended the season with a 15-16 record and finished 2.5 games behind the Rafters.


Dellin Betances had a AFL to forget, much like his entire 2012 season, finishing with a 1-3 record and a 5.25 ERA in 12 IP. While he started off really slow and really ugly he finished with some solid outings out of the bullpen. He did fight with a groin injury that nagged him a little and kept him on the bench but he apparently has a clean bill of health now and is ready to build on his recent success and take it into 2013.


Austin Romine missed almost all of the 2012 season with a nagging back injury that he got in Spring Training with the Yankees. He finished with a triple slash of .222/.342/.286 over 18 games with 4 doubles and 6 RBI's. He struck out 13 times and drew 12 walks. Not exactly the kind of stats you wanted to see from your closest positional prospect in the system but he was down there more to get work in than for the results so I guess that is the silver lining.


Zach Nuding and Danny Burawa were also sent down to the AFL but neither had spectacular seasons in the AFL. Burawa went down to Arizona to get some work in after missing the 2012 season with a back injury as well. Nuding actually took a step back after what was a stellar season in Tampa.


Slade Heathcott may just end up being the Arizona Fall League MVP for this go around around putting up a triple slash of .388/.494/.612 over 18 games and 67 at bats. He hit 1 HR, 3 triples, 6 doubles, and 15 RBI's. In his last 10 games he hit exactly .500 with two 4-5 games that earned him the Player of the Week Award for the week of November 6th. This is huge news that he is healthy and knocking the cover off the ball because if he can build on this and continue at this pace he may be in the majors in the next 2-3 seasons.


Mark Montgomery continued to do what Mark Montgomery is becoming known for, well known for by Twitter followers and prospect huggers alike anyway, and that is striking people out and bring kind of a cocky kind of guy. In 10.1 IP Mark had a 2.91 ERA only giving up three runs while shutting down offenses for seven straight games. He struck out 19 batters while only walking five batters allowing five hits and those three runs. His batting average against, or BAA, was a minuscule .174 which is a truly great sign for a guy that could conceivably make the jump to the majors as soon as 2013 if the situation in the Bronx got bad enough.


David Adams has been riddled with injuries for the past 2-3 seasons but put together a nice bounce back healthy season in 2012. He built on that down in Arizona while putting up a triple slash of .286/.388/.524 in 22 games played. Adams hit 3 home runs, 2 triples, 7 doubles, and 15 RBIs while playing 2B and 3B for the Scorpions. He was also nominated for the Stenson Sportsmanship Award that will be handed out during tomorrow's Championship game at 3:00 pm ET on MLB Network.



Jeter May Not Be Ready For Opening Day After All


It seems like forever ago that the Yankees were eliminated from the ALCS by the hands of the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees got swept and had to play three of the four games without Derek Jeter after finally breaking the ankle that he had nursed for the better part of two months. Derek has had surgery on the ankle and is still non weight bearing on it and now his status for Opening Day 2013 is up in the air. At age 38 Derek Jeter may need a little longer then his normal 4-5 months to recover from this like the doctors say but then again he is Derek Jeter so we will never know.

Former Yankees Update : Melky Cabrera


Former New York Yankee and San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera signed a two year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays today. The deal is worth $16 million which is a ton more then I ever expected him to get after missing the last 2 months of the season, including the playoffs and World Series, due to a PED suspension and forged website. Now the speculation game can start all winter long whether Melky Cabrera without PED's is closer to the guy that got him traded from New York and dropped from Atlanta or the guy that excelled in Kansas City and broke out in San Francisco.

Five Most Underrated Seasons By A Yankees Infielder

Our friends over at Pinstriped Bible have been putting out some really great posts here lately so I want to commend them for that. I want to share their latest post that I read this morning by Andrew Mearns which showed us the five most underrated seasons by a Yankees infielder. You can read the post HERE but I am also going to syndicate it here on TGP for you guys. It really is a great read so I encourage you to at least click the link and give him the views and leave some comments because it is well written. Thank you Andrew!

Spoiler Alert! I have a feeling that Tino Martinez and Ken Griffey Jrs personal Home Run Derby of a 1997 season MAY make the list, I'm just saying. Enjoy!



Most fans of the New York Yankees can rattle off numerous seasons of excellence by any of the legends to ever play for the team. Babe Ruth, 1921. Lou Gehrig, 1934. Joe DiMaggio, 1941. Mickey Mantle, 1956. Derek Jeter, 1999. Alex Rodriguez, 2007. The list goes on and on. These were some of the finest seasons in the history of baseball, and it's unsurprising that they are so fondly remembered.
However, these fantastic seasons have overshadowed some terrific years by other players who were Yankees as well. They might not have been stars, but they had campaigns worthy of recalling in the many years after. Yet they have fallen by the wayside in the memories of most Yankee fans. Let's give them the moment of honor they deserve with this list of the most underrated seasons by position among forgotten players in Yankee history. The criteria will be fairly simple--if the player is not honored in Monument Park or destined for that location, then he is eligible.
Catcher
Mike Stanley, 1993 (.305/.389/.534, .401 wOBA, 147 wRC+, 26 HR, 5.2 fWAR)--When Stanley was allowed to depart to the rival Boston Red Sox after the Yankees' first playoff season in 14 years, fans were in an uproar. While this reaction might seem surprising for a guy who did not come up through the system and spent just four years with the team (398 games), the step down in offense from Stanley to successor Joe Girardi was immense. Stanley did not have a great defensive reputation, but that '93 season really stuck in the minds of Yankee fans. Stanley snatched the starting job from incumbent Matt Nokes, then thrashed American League pitching with a season that would easily fit into the season-by-season ledger of fellow slugging catcher Mike Piazza. In '93, the Yankees were in the playoff mix for the first time in five years, and they had Stanley to thank in part for that.
First Base
Tino Martinez, 1997 (.296/.371/.577, .396 wOBA, 141 wRC+, 44 HR, 5.5 fWAR)--Curiously, the best season of Tino's Yankee career came in the only season of his first run in New York that the Yankees failed to make the World Series (discounting his return in '05 as a part-time player). The defending champion Yankees were eliminated by the Cleveland Indians in a hearbreaking five-game Division Series, but it was hard to blame Tino for the Yanks coming up short. In an alternate universe where Ken Griffey, Jr. had already decided to force the Seattle Mariners to trade him to his hometown Cincinnati Reds, Tino might have carried home AL MVP honors in '97. Alas, he finished second to Junior, who deservedly won it with arguably the best season in a Hall of Fame career. Still, Tino's 40-homer season was the first by a Yankee in 17 years, a surprising drought for a team known as the "Bronx Bombers." Adding to the fun, he became the first Yankee to win a Home Run Derby with his victory at Jacobs Field in the '97 All-Star festivities back when the contest was done in daylight and didn't drag on deep into the night. '97 was disappointing after the fun of '96, but at least we got to see Tino at his best.
Second Base
Snuffy Stirnweiss, 1945 (.309/.385/.476, .404 WOBA, 148 wRC+, 8.8 fWAR)--Ah, the Ballad of George "Snuffy" Stirnweiss. Declared "4-F" and ineligible to be drafted into the military, he instead rose to prominence as Hall of Famer Joe Gordon's replacement at second base for the Yankees in the World War II years. He was all over the AL leaderboard in both '44 and '45 while the majority of the Yankees struggled and went consecutive seasons without a World Series appearance for the first time in a decade. In both seasons, Stirnweiss finished behind Detroit Tigers ace Hal Newhouser for AL MVP honors, but he sure had a good case for the award. He won a batting title, led the league in slugging and wRC+, unheard of for a second baseman. It's really a toss-up between either of his two seasons in the wartime era; however, Stirnweiss was never up to snuff after the war. He stayed in the lineup after the war ended and Gordon returned by moving to third base, but Stirnweiss's hitting went down sharply with the better pitchers back on the mound. His career ended not long after and he died far too young at age 39 in a train crash. Poor Snuffy. Phil Rizzuto always credited Stirnweiss for calming him after the Yankees cut "the Scooter" in '56, preventing Rizzuto from lashing out against management and causing animosity between him and the team that would have probably prevented him from becoming the team's longtime broadcaster. Holy cow, indeed. Speaking of that '56 season...
Shortstop
Gil McDougald, 1956 (.311/.405/.443, .384 wOBA, 131 wRC+, 5.5 fWAR)--My goodness, was Gil McDougald an underrated player. Eat your heart out, Michael Young. The man played well defensively all around the infield, knew how to get on base, and was a key cog on five World Series championship teams. It was he, not Mantle, who won the '51 AL Rookie of the Year award, and his versatility was crucial to his platoon-happy manager, Casey Stengel. He had never played shortstop in the majors prior to '56, but Stengel asked him to step in at the position when Rizzuto continued his decline. It turned out that playing short fit McDougald just fine, and he had perhaps his best season at the plate in '56 as well. He only played in 120 games, but the reason for that can be pinned on Stengel's constant tinkering with the lineup. Mantle was the easy MVP choice thanks to his Triple Crown season, but McDougald surprised by finishing seventh in the balloting. Perhaps if casual fans took a closer look at his season, they would not be so shocked.
Third Base
Graig Nettles, 1976 (.254/.327/.475, .364 wOBA, 136 wRC+, 32 HR, 8.3 fWAR)--Fun fact: Graig Nettles has a career fWAR of 71.8 and a career rWAR of 62.8. Another fun fact: Graig Nettles finished just 10 homers shy of 400, led the AL with 32 in the Yankees' return to the Fall Classic in '76, and slugged 250 in his Yankee career (10th in team history). Not-so-fun fact: Graig Nettles is not a Hall of Famer, nor has he ever really been in a discussion for the honor. I think I could be persuaded that Nettles was not deserving of Cooperstown despite good hitting and tremendous defense over a 22-year career, but it kind of baffles me that he's not even briefly considered in discussions. The third-base position is pretty barren in Cooperstown, anyway. Meanwhile, Mr. Nettles frequently had All-Star seasons like his All-Star '76, yet the writers never seemed to consider him the fantastic player that he was. Hell, Nettles probably deserved that '76 AL MVP more than his friend and teammate, Thurman Munson. Nettles's greatness at third was often overshadowed by contemporaries Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson, and that hardly seems fair. It's not his fault he played in the same era as probably the greatest fielding third basemen in the history of the game. At least give him a plaque in Mounument Park, Yankees. Sheesh.
***
I'll be back later in the day with the most underrated Yankee seasons by outfielders and pitchers.
Did I ironically ignore more deserving underrated seasons? Let me know.

Pettitte Signs On For 2013!


It is too bad we are talking about Josh Pettitte and not Andy Pettitte though huh? The son of Andy Pettitte, Josh, has signed a commitment letter of intent to pitch for Baylor University in 2013. Josh is a right handed starter just in case you were wondering. We are still waiting on Pettitte Sr. to decide on his 2013 commitments.  By the way that is obviously an old picture that we used with Derek Jeter greeting him at home plate, he is not a that short. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Cabrera & Posey Win 2012 MVP Awards


Miguel Cabrera and Buster Posey won the American League and National League Most Valuable Player Awards tonight. The awards were announced on MLB Network tonight and they were not as close as you would think. Miguel Cabrera actually kind of ran away with the award when you consider all the debate. Buster Posey took home the batting title and 27 of the 32 first place votes in a landslide. Congrats to both of these men.

To finish the award week predictions I finished with a record 5/8 getting both of the Rookies of the Year, Davey Johnson as Manager of the Year, David Price as the Cy Young Award winner, and had Miggy winning the MVP, seen HERE.

Trading Robinson Cano

You want to do what?

I was reading today's chat at The LoHud Yankees Blog and questions regarding trading Robinson Cano were flying around. The first time I read it I rolled my eyes and thought it to be ridiculous, but they didn't stop. Since there's a chance some of those "trade Cano" people come to The Greedy Pinstripes, I decided to share my reasons why Robbie will not be dealt.

1. Cano only has one year remaining on his current contract, meaning the team trading for him would be hesitant because there's no guarantee that they would have him for longer than 2013.

2. Due to Cano demanding a lot in a trade, chances are the team that acquired Robbie would want to re-sign him. That means the team acquiring him would be able to spend quite a bit of money. When I say "quite a bit of money" I'm talking about a 7+ year deal for $20+ million per season. How many teams in MLB are willing to shell out that type of money? Besides the Yankees, the only teams that spent $20 million or more on one player were the Red Sox who have Dustin Pedroia possibly signed through 2015 (club option in '15), the Angels who have Howie Kendrick signed through 2015, the Mets who have Daniel Murphy under team control for 4 more years, the Phillies who have Chase Utley signed for one more season, and the Tigers who have Omar... LOL! So the Tigers are probably the only team that would be willing to trade for and sign somebody of Cano's caliber.

3. Which brings me to my third point... do the Tigers have the players to trade for Robbie? Well, Jacob Turner would have certainly been intriguing in such a deal, but since he's in Miami now we can forget that. According to Detroit's top 10 prospect list put out by Baseball America last season, the only position players that would be of interest to the Yankees would be catcher James McCann and outfielder Avisail Garcia. However McCann is not only not MLB-ready because of age, but he's not MLB-read because of talent either, as James put up a line of .200/.227/.282 in 64 AA games last year. Avisail did see some MLB games late last season, and had an impressive batting average of .319 and OBP of .373. However, Garcia didn't put up a .319 or better BA, nor a .373 or better OBP, in any of his 5 minor league seasons, which tells me chances are not good that he's going to put up that same batting line in a full MLB season.

That's a really nice gift basket, but I'm going to need more than that for Mr. Cano's services.

Those three points go for trading Robbie this offseason. But what about mid-season? Well that's a little simpler. See, the only teams that would trade for a rental player are those teams that are in the hunt for at least a postseason berth. But seeing how the Yankees will very likely be one of those teams also in the hunt for a postseason run, I see no way that they'd want to give up an MVP-caliber player. Especially since teams that trade for rentals would likely only give up prospects (whether marginal or great ones) who wouldn't help their receiving team in 2013. That type of team is not the Yankees.

So if you just want to have some fun playing the "what if" game in regards to trading Cano... fine. But if you're serious about trading Cano and want to talk about it... I'm not the guy to do it with.

Awards Week : MVP Predictions


The big one, the one we have all been waiting for, the MLB MVP will be announced tonight at 6:00 pm ET on MLB Network. The MVP is the biggest Award for any positional player, or any player in my eyes, in all of baseball and is the highest honor you can achieve. Here is a list of all 10 finalists for the award in each league.

American League Finalists:

Miguel Cabrera- DET
Mike Trout - LAA
Robinson Cano - NYY
Josh Hamilton - TEX
Adrian Beltre - TEX


Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown, what more really needs to be said here? If hitting .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBIs is not enough then his 377 total bases, .999 OPS, .606 SLG in 161 games should be enough. I get that Mike Trout had a great season, especially for a rookie, but Andruw Jones was Mike Trout just 16 seasons ago. We have not seen a triple crown winner since 1967 and probably never will again in my lifetime and that is just special. No disrespect to Cano, Beltre, Hamilton, or Trout but I wasted way more time on this then I should have had to. Congrats to Miguel Cabrera and if I am wrong I will lose all faith in the award system in Major League Baseball.

National League Finalists

Ryan Braun - MIL
Chase Headley - SD
Andrew McCutchen - PIT
Yadier Molina - STL
Buster Posey - SF


Somehow midst all the steroid rumors and losing basically his only protection in Prince Fielder the Brewers Ryan Braun found a way to have a BETTER season in 2012 then his MVP season of 2011. Andrew McCutchen could have really had a case had he not faded in the last month or two of the season and had a power outage. No offense to Chase Headley and Yadier Molina because they had great seasons all things considered but I think they are just here to fill spots, they have no reason being in the discussion for the NL MVP.  Ryan Braun finished 2012 with 41 home runs (33 in 2011), 112 RBIs (111 in 2011), a .319 average, .391 OBP, .595 SLG, and a league leading .987 OPS. Buster Posey may end up taking the award home at the end of the night but in my eyes it needs to go to Ryan Braun. 



Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees Change Their Name


Brian Cashman has noted that he would like for all of the New York Yankees minor league affiliates to no longer use the team name "Yankees" for whatever reason. The Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees have officially changed their name today to Rail Riders. Yeah, let that sink in for a minute... the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders... New stadium and new name heading into 2013 so these are exciting times down in Scranton for the Rail Riders.