Greg Bird's highlights in his rookie season.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Bring me Ben Zobrist
The Yankees are becoming more and more mainstream each and
every season removed from the George Steinbrenner and Joe Torre era. The team
has adopted defensive shifting, having a fireman in the bullpen, a LOOGY in the
pen and have tried their hardest to add as much versatility and youth to the
lineup as a team with the pressure of a constant “World Series or bust”
mentality can. The Yankees lineup and 25 man roster is basically set for 2016
without Brian Cashman getting pretty creative in the trade market but one man
on the free agency market is intriguing. The Yankees need stability at second
base and will presumably need a fourth outfielder that can replace Chris Young,
is that where the Royals Ben Zobrist comes into play?
Would the Yankees, and more specifically would Hal
Steinbrenner, be willing to go $45-$50 million for a player with no real
position on the team? Zobrist could be the fourth outfielder that the Yankees
thought they were getting when they signed Chris Young, an outfielder that hits
left-handed pitching consistently, and at the same time be the Yankees second
baseman they have presumably been searching for since the departure of Robinson
Cano.
Zobrist is versatile and a good player, WAR and other stats
will tell you that, that switch hits and is generally the type of player that
the Yankees covet. He can play almost any position well and hits well enough to
stick at any and all of them. Any team would love to either have Zobrist or
emulate Zobrist which is why his price tag is expected to soar. Is he worth $50
million or more? Honestly, probably not but if the Yankees can get him for that
number or less on a contract similar to Chase Headley’s I don’t think I’d be
too terribly upset personally. With that said I wouldn’t be opposed to Justin
Upton in the outfield and Robert Refsnyder at second base either, I’m
indifferent.
Bring me Darren O’Day
The New York Yankees plan over the last couple of seasons
has been clear, concise and easy to understand. Get through at least five
innings with the lead led by a young pitching staff and hand the ball off to
the bullpen. In 2013 it was Mariano Rivera and David Robertson, in 2014 it was
Robertson and Betances and in 2015 it expanded to Justin Wilson, Betances and
Andrew Miller. Brian Cashman’s plan has worked, at least on the pitching side
of things, and I’d bet the bank on the fact that a similar plan is already in
place for the 2016 season. Cashman dropped an interesting nugget of information
in a recent interview, which obviously is subject to change, when he said that
Adam Warren was a starter for the 2016 season. Adding Warren to the rotation
helps secure a good starting five but it weakens the bullpen considerably, and
that’s where Darren O’Day comes into play.
O’Day finally gives the Yankees the super bullpen they have
been searching for the past couple of offseasons while likely solidifying the
starting rotation at the same time. Warren becomes likely the best 5th
starter in the league, depth chart wise, while O’Day joins a refreshed Chasen Shreve,
Wilson, Betances and Miller at the back end of the bullpen. This would also be
addition by subtraction as the Yankees would be taking away an integral part
from the Baltimore Orioles success in 2015 and their bullpen. Won’t Buck
Showalter be proud?
O’Day had a breakout season in 2015 holding both left-handed
and right-handed batters to minuscule batting average against averages and
should command a healthy contract despite his age, 33-years old, on Opening Day
2016. If the Yankees are going to make any splashes this winter I think it has
to be for O’Day, everything else is merely a want and less of a need.
The T.G.P Game for the Yankees Bullpen
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Yesterday afternoon we introduced a game we’ve all probably
seen across the blogs just with a different name, we call it the TGP Game for
obvious reasons. The “T” stands for tumble, or get worse from 2015 to 2016,
while the “G” stands for get better in 2016. The “P” in this game stands for
plateau which means the player will be around their 2015 statistics in 2016,
original I know but I like playing the game and I wanted to put my own gist to
it. Yesterday we tackled the starting rotation and today we’ll tackle the
bullpen.
Andrew Miller – P
Miller was fantastic all season long for the New York
Yankees and I see no reason, barring injury or unforeseen circumstances, that
he can’t be as good or better in 2016. Miller, in my eyes, will be a great free
agent signing for Brian Cashman.
Dellin Betances – P
How in the world could Betances get any better in 2016? I
can’t see him getting any better than nearly damn perfect but I see no reason
why he might be worse next season either. He used to be a starter and he’s used
to the heavy workload on the arm. Even visibly exhausted in 2015 he was still
sharp when he needed to be, he just struggled with his command overall, and
will be back to 100% in 2016.
Justin Wilson – P
The same that has been said for Miller and Betances can be
said for Wilson as well. Wilson was a great asset and a strikeout pitcher for
New York in 2015. He was a strikeout pitcher and an asset with the Pittsburgh
Pirates before that and he looked just as strong in October of 2015 as he did
in May of 2015. He can’t get better but he’s still going to be awfully good.
Chasen Shreve – G
It all depends on which Shreve we’re talking about here. The
first half Shreve was dominant, tough on lefties and righties and a key piece
to the dominant bullpen. The second half Shreve was terrible, home run and wild
pitch prone and just generally ineffective. The overall piece of work should
get better as I cannot see another second half meltdown in 2016 so I’ll go with
better.
Adam Warren – G
Warren is here until further notice but he could start the
2016 season in the Yankees starting rotation before it’s all said and done.
Warren shouldn’t be bounced back and forth like he was in 2015 so he should be
more consistent and better in 2016.
Andrew Bailey – G
Bailey is finally healthy and ready to come all the way back
from his shoulder surgery that almost ended his career. Bailey has been
rehabbing with the Yankees for two seasons now and finally made it all the way
back to the Major Leagues in 2015. There is no replacement for live MLB caliber
hitters so Bailey should be better in 2016 with a few at bats under his belt
this season.
Branden Pinder/Caleb Cotham/James Pazos/Jacob Lindgren/
Chris Martin – G
Going to lump all these prospects together as they all
battle for presumably the last spot in the Yankees bullpen. There is no
replacement for actual MLB experience and all of these men got that in 2015.
All that experience should help all of them in 2016 as the Yankees super
bullpen continues to mold.
I Love Stats: Yankees Trade Joe Gordon
On this day in 1946 the New York Yankees traded second baseman Joe Gordon to the Cleveland Indians for right handed starting pitcher Allie Reynolds. The future Hall of Famer ended his Yankees career with exactly 1,000 games played and exactly 1,000 hits.
This Day in New York Yankees History 10/11: Four Game 5's
Also on this day in 2006 Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor Tyler Stanger die in an airplane crash. Lidle was learning to fly the four person plane crashed into an Upper East Side high-rise building in New York.
Finally on this day in 2002 former Yankees and Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter was hired to be the manager of the Texas Rangers. The Cubs, Brewers, Mets, and Devil Rays all were courting Showalter before he decided to sign in Texas.
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