We've gone over some of the specific player highlights and achievements, why not the entire team?
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Bring me Tyler Clippard
The New York Yankees may or may not be in on a right-handed relief pitcher this coming offseason as the team continues their goal towards building a super bullpen. As of right now I am banking on Adam Warren somehow working his way into the 2016 starting rotation leaving a large gaping hole in the Yankees bullpen, especially from the right side of the pitching rubber. Darren O'Day would be nice, albeit expensive, but would a familiar face for the Yankees be even better? Remember the Yankees once traded away their former top pitching prospect for a relief pitcher named Jonathan Albaladejo in 2007, that man's name was Tyler Clippard.
Clippard has had success both in the American League and the National League as the 7th inning guy, the 8th inning guy and most notably in the closer position. Clippard has pitched with the New York Yankees, the Washington Nationals, the Oakland Athletics and the New York Mets thus proving he is suited just as well in either league and seemingly suited for a big market like New York during a pennant chase and a playoff series. Clippard is legit and would not be attached to any sort of draft pick compensation after being traded before the July 31st trade deadline.
I'm not quite sure what Clippard would want in terms of a contract but if he was willing to come to New York for three years and an average annual value of $10 million I sign him every day of the week. If Clippard wants to sign a two-year deal to be off the books after 2017 just in time for the luxury tax plan to come to fruition for a higher AAV then I am okay with that too. Clippard allows the team to move Adam Warren to the starting rotation and completely locks down the back end of the bullpen from the 5th or 6th inning on. He's that good and he makes the bullpen that good.
Bring me T-Clip so I can go back to 2005 when I was quite possibly Clippard's biggest fan.
What If Alex Rodriguez Retires This Winter?
I hate to even bring up things like this because I have a
tendency of being right for whatever reason but what would the New York Yankees
do if Alex Rodriguez retired this winter rather than returning to the club in
2016? The last time I made one of these “worst case scenario” posts I wondered
what the Yankees would do if Robinson Cano walked via free agency and most of
the Core Four retired, and they did, so what if lighting strikes twice? Will it
be a blessing in disguise for the Yankees or will it be the straw that already
broke the camel’s back in 2016?
First and foremost the man jumping up and down the most,
well besides former Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig, if Alex
announced his retirement would be Greg Bird. Bird seems like the odd man out in
the Bronx right now assuming Mark Teixeira comes back fully and healthy after
fracturing a bone in his shin earlier this season. The man jumping up the
second highest, but not too high I hope, is Carlos Beltran who could be
penciled into the full-time DH position allowing the Yankees the roster flexibility
to sign a Justin Upton or another right-handed outfield option. Seeing Alex
retire, as much as it would bother me as a fan, may be the best thing to happen
to the team as long as Hal Steinbrenner is willing to reinvest that money he is
owed.
Speaking of the money owed to Rodriguez for the 2016 and
2017 season, and someone correct me if I’m wrong, the Yankees DH and former
third baseman would still be entitled to that money whether he steps foot on
the baseball diamond or not. The Yankees have insurance on the contract so they
may be able to recoup around 80% of that, I’m honestly not sure how that works
exactly, but at minimum the team is eating 20% of a huge amount of money. Hal,
using the bottom line as a mindset, would not be able to reinvest that money
per se as it would still be on the books for two more seasons.
If Alex were to retire in the winter of 2015 Alex would be
able to do it in true Alex fashion, at least prior to 2015. Alex would shock
the baseball world, Alex would leave the fans with yet another reason to hate
him and he would leave behind a trillion questions and a media circus. It’s
unlikely that Alex retires, he has stated in years past that he wants to pass
Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds on the all-time home run list, but if he
did he would definitely change the whole face of the winter before 2016 and the
2016 New York Yankees.
Labels:
Alex Rodriguez,
All Time Home Runs,
Babe Ruth,
Barry Bonds,
Carlos Beltran,
Free Agency,
Greg Bird,
Hank Aaron,
Hot Stove,
Justin Upton,
New York Yankees,
retirement,
Robinson Cano,
Rumors
You Kept the Prospects, Now Use the Prospects
As a fan of the New York Yankees first and Major League
Baseball second I am thoroughly enjoying the 2015 edition of the MLB Playoffs,
with or without the Yankees. There have been touch pitching matchups with great
arms like Dallas Keuchel, Jake Arrieta, Masahiro Tanaka, Gerrit Cole, Marcus
Stroman, Clayton Kershaw, Jacob deGrom, Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels and a slew of
other names I could throw out there. There has also been exciting young talent also making a name
for themselves, players like Colin McHugh, Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Addison
Russell, Stephen Piscotty, Robert Osuna, Josh Donaldson, Michael Conforto, Greg
Bird, Carlos Correa and a slew of others I could also throw out there. Watching
the 2015 MLB Playoffs got me thinking about the Yankees, their direction the
team is going and the 2016 season specifically. In July of 2015 the Yankees
held onto their prospects rather than acquiring a Ben Zobrist, a David Price or
a Johnny Cueto revealing half of their plan, the other half of the plan just
has to include using those same prospects.
Taking a quick glance at the Chicago Cubs depth chart you
can see homegrown and young talent at many key positions including first base
(Anthony Rizzo), second base (Tommy LaStella and Starlin Castro), shortstop
(Addison Russell), third base (Kris Bryant), left field (Kyle Schwarber),
center field (Dexter Fowler), right field (Jorge Soler) and the pitching staff
(Travis Wood, Neil Ramirez, Hector Rondon, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Kendricks, etc.).
The Cubs are a team with a plan, to build from within their deep farm system
and fill in the rest via free agency, and it’s a model that the Yankees should
consider emulating.
The Cubs were terrible for many years and that will not fly
in New York, there are no rebuilding years with the Yankees simply re-tooling
years, but it can still be done with the proper plan. It’s just going to take
longer. The plan was put into play this season when the team refused to part
with Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, Jorge Mateo or Greg Bird and it needs to
continue with Robert Refsnyder, Rookie Davis, Brady Lail, Domingo Acevedo and
the rest of the team’s top prospects. Stockpiling prospects is great, well
until Rule 5 Draft time anyway, but they are useless unless you use them. So be
more like Theo Epstein and the Cubs and use them already.
Are We Still Worried About Tanaka in 2016?
The talk of the offseason before the 2015 season around many
New York Yankees fans water coolers was centered around all the question marks
entering the year. Would Mark Teixeira be healthy and able to beat the shift?
Was Carlos Beltran done and would Brian McCann improve? Would the shoulder of
Michael Pineda, the elbow of Ivan Nova, the knee of CC Sabathia and the elbow
of Masahiro Tanaka hold up? While many of those questions were answered in 2015
a few of them probably still linger into the 2016 season, is Tanaka’s elbow one
of them?
First and foremost, before I get bombarded with tweets and
emails about how Tanaka needs to get the surgery done to “repair” a ligament
that isn’t broken (per five doctors including Dr. James Andrews, not just
speculating), Tanaka should not just go get Tommy John surgery just for kicks
and giggles. That’s the wrong opinion and there’s no doubt about it. If the
ligament tears then you get the surgery, not before. Tommy John surgery has
come a long way since becoming so prevalent in Major League Baseball but it’s
not 100% effective. Ask Ryan Madson, ask these guys getting their second and third
UCL’s replace ask anyone who has had the surgery since Tommy John made it
mainstream and never made it back to the mound. That’s like saying we should
completely break Mark Teixeira’s leg and start from scratch because the
fracture, which is exactly what Tanaka’s less than 10% tear that was treated
with rest and rehab, is.
Anyway, sorry I had to get that off my chest. The Yankees
pitched Tanaka as often as they could on five days of rest or more in 2015,
should we expect the same out of the club in 2016? Honestly I think they will,
the team is going to milk Tanaka’s arm out and baby it as long as they can (and
again before you flood my email let’s remember that Ervin Santana had a
partially torn UCL and never had the surgery and Adam Wainwright pitched for a
long, long time before needing the surgery) with the hopes of at least getting
him to his 2017 opt-out date healthy.
New York has a laundry list of names that will be vying for
a starting rotation spot and once again most of the team would benefit from the
extra rest that would come along with a true six-man rotation or an occasional
6th man. Luis Severino’s innings may become a concern if he makes
30+ starts, Ivan Nova is still recovering from Tommy John surgery himself,
Michael Pineda’s shoulder will probably always be a concern, Nathan Eovaldi’s
elbow inflammation is scary for a former TJS recipient and CC Sabathia’s knee
could break at any second. So if you’re asking me if Tanaka will still be
handled with delicate white gloves in 2016 the answer is probably a YES.
Quick Hit: Coaching Changes on the Way in the Bronx?
The 2015 season is over for the New York Yankees and I am turning almost all my focus to the 2016 season. I know I've said this before but I want to drill it into everyone's heads when they ask me why the blog is not posting more about the postseason or the World Series, it's because the Yankees aren't in it. I'm still watching, don't get me wrong, but this blog is a Yankees-based blog for a reason. With that said I got thinking the other day that widespread change could actually come to New York this offseason, but it will have to come in the way of coaching changes.
The contracts of bench coach Rob Thomson, first base coach Tony Pena and hitting coach Jeff Pentland expire when the 2015 World Series comes to an end and there is no guarantee that any of the three will be back in 2016. It seems like Pena will be back if he doesn't find a managerial position elsewhere but Pentland may fall on the blade after the team's offense disappeared for much of the last month and a half of the season.
Thomson was a terrible third base coach, let's not equivocate, but seemingly did better as the team's bench coach. It's hard to quantify how well he did but he has been with the organization for a while now and the team may look to head into a new direction in 2016 with a new and maybe a familiar face for the young guys like Dave Miley.
This Day in New York Yankees History 10/15: 2001 Yankees Move On
Also on this day in 1981 the Yankees clinched their 33rd American League pennant in the franchise’s history with a 4-0 victory and sweep of the Oakland Athletics. Dave Righetti, Ron Davis, and Goose Gossage combined for the victory sending the Yankees to play the Dodgers for the third time in the past five Fall Classics.
Finally on this day in 1923 the New York Yankees captured their first World Series championship when they beat the New York Giants in six games. The Yankees, still playing in the Polo Grounds at that time, would win the game by the score of 6-4.
Labels:
ALCS,
ALDS,
Dave Righetti,
Derek Jeter,
Goose Gossage,
Los Angeles Dodgers,
New York Yankees,
Oakland Athletics,
Playoffs,
Polo Grounds,
Postseason,
Ron Davis,
The Flip,
World Series
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