Saturday, December 13, 2014

Max Scherzer Won’t Save the Season


Max Scherzer was the best available free agent on this year’s market and being a Scott Boras client is still available on the market. Many around the Yankees team and their fan base think that signing Scherzer is the obvious, and only, option for New York this season. While having Mad Max in the rotation in 2015 and beyond would really help many believe, including myself, that it wouldn’t be enough to propel the team even into the playoffs, let alone the World Series.

Scherzer would top a rotation that includes CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, David Phelps, Michael Pineda and a mixture of David Phelps, Manny Banuelos and Bryan Mitchell. The problem with the team last season was not the pitching though it was the inability to score runs consistently. New York could have about five Scherzer’s in the rotation but the team, without big bounce back seasons and contributions from the likes of Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann, would still lose far too many 1-0 and 2-1 games.


New York has done a bit in the run prevention game adding Didi Gregorius to take over for Derek Jeter and the possibility of having young and fresh legs at second base in either Jose Pirela or Robert Refsnyder can only help. Martin Prado is slated to be the team’s third baseman right now barring a Chase Headley signing and that being Prado’s best position also helps with the infield run prevention but I don’t think it would be enough. Adding Scherzer won’t be enough. This team still has a lot to do and they are running out of time to do it in. In closing I don’t think lighting candles and beating drums for Max Scherzer will do much good in the short term or in the long run without a whole lot of help. 

9 comments:

  1. Originally, I was dead set against signing Scherzer. Now I'm for it. By the time his contract becomes dead weight, and it will, we would have room to carry it. I figure he'll be productive for 5 more years. By then, most of our other bad contracts will be gone. Scherzer, and Ellsbury will be the only bad contracts we have. That's far less than the money that's hamstringing us now.

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    1. I agree Jeff. With the limited amount of mileage on his arm he could work out for five years as a top of the rotation starter.

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  2. Jeff again I agree with you. If Tanaka comes back strong with no setbacks and Pineda can stay healthy and we sign Max we would have as good as anyones 1-2-3 int he rotation and CC would be a great number 4 and you can fill in with Nova when he gets healthy or Phelps and keep Warren in the pen where he belongs. His contract would not be a deterrent like the CC and Tex and Arod contracts have all lumped together. Unlike others on here I don't think we have that much help on the farm so I think it is a must

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  3. I think Severino and Clarkin are the real deal. But Severino is still a year away, and Clarkin is at least 2-3 years. I don't think Banuelos is a starter. I believe we have good players in our system, but not much in the way of starting pitchers. Scherzer would definitely help.

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    1. I want to give Manny every chance in the world to start but his FB and CH combo would be filthy in the pen if it came to it.

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    2. Finally, someone joins the "Man Bam" for the BP along with Phelps. Although Phelps may stat the season in the rotation until Nova comes back then go to the BP.

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    3. Don't get me wrong guys. I have always liked Manny's potential. I just think the window of opportunity may have passed him by. He's now 3 years removed from the original surgery. He rehabbed for a year and a half. He missed half of the 2012 season, and all of the 2013 season. His career high in innings pitched is 129.2. And that resulted in Tommy John surgery. He'll pitch next year at 24. I don't think they can waste another season "building arm strength". Put up or shut up time with Mr. Banuelos.

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  4. I think, especially after the elbow injury/inflammation last season, the team needs to make up their mind on Phelps. Is he a reliever or is he a starter? he can't be both I don't think.

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  5. I believe Both Phelps and Banuelos are best suited for the BP. Phelps has had the same trouble for years with his elbow after so many innings it gives up on him. Banuelos, of the starters about or ready for the big show is the 1st pick to go and stay in the BP. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see him one of the top three or four relievers in the BP. But we need a starter, unless we pick one up somewhere until Nova comes back, plug Phelps in and let him go a few starts but watch his pitch count per game. After all he has done it before !

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)