Monday, May 2, 2016

ICYMI: Brian Cashman CANNOT Rely Solely on Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira

I hate being right but dammit, when I am right I am usually right. Thus far, again it's only May 2nd, it looks like I was right back in November when I wrote this little article below. In the article it stated that the New York Yankees and Brian Cashman could not solely rely on Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira in the middle of their lineup if they plan on competing in 2016. Long story short the Yankees didn't make any significant moves to the offense other than Starlin Castro, who has been hitting at the bottom of the order for much of the season, and the Yankees offense in struggling. Can't say I didn't warn you although I'm not ready to say I told you so... yet.


The New York Yankees made the postseason for the first time since their 2012 loss in the ALCS to the Detroit Tigers this past season and if the team wants to return improvements will need to be made. Much of why the team made the postseason as the first Wild Card winner in 2015 was the returns of a healthy Mark Teixiera and an effective Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees were flying high until the month of August when Rodriguez’s production, undoubtedly due to fatigue after basically missing the last two seasons with injuries and a suspension, and Teixeira’s health, he fractured his shin and missed the remainder of the season, reared their ugly heads. I’ll say it again, if New York wants to return to the Promised Land in 2016 they absolutely cannot rely solely on the returns of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira in the middle of the lineup.


In 2015 Rodriguez finished with a .50/.356/.486 triple slash playing in 151 games. Rodriguez hit 33 home runs but it was obvious that the fatigue had set in by the month of August. Rodriguez disappeared in the months of August and September slashing just .215/.313/.454 since August 18th. Speaking of August 18th, this was the day after Teixeira fouled a ball off his shin and it was also the day after Teixeira’s season ended. Teix played again on the 15th and 26th of August before ending his season at .255/.357/.548 and 32 home runs in just 111 games. If Cashman thinks he is going to get another productive season like this out of Rodriguez as he creeps towards 41-years old, even as a full-time DH, and a healthy season of 140+ games out of Teixeira, he hasn’t played in more than 123 games since 2011, then the Yankees are in for another long season.


According to Fangraphs and their Steamer projections system Teixeira is projected to play in 126 games in 2016 and will slash .233/.328/.451 while hitting 27 home runs while Rodriguez projects to hit .240/.335/.415 with 21 home runs in 128 games. To be fair the Steamer projections usually underbid a lot of these projections, the 2015 versions had Teixeira hitting 20 home runs and Rodriguez only hitting nine home runs, but the fact of the matter is this cannot be the middle of your lineup in 2016. The consensus around sabermetric based franchises is that your best hitter is supposed to hit third in the lineup, if Alex is hitting .240 and hits 21 home runs and is the Yankees best hitter in 2016 I think this team is truly in trouble.



New York won’t have the weak Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays to pick on for at least half of the season this time around. Tampa will be better, they always are, and Baltimore could be better as well even if they lose many of their big free agents. Boston will definitely be better, I have the utmost faith in Dave Dombrowski unfortunately, and the Blue Jays will have full seasons with Troy Tulowitzki and their newly revamped offense in 2016. Aaron Hicks is a nice move that compliments the team and the bench well but if another bat isn’t added somewhere that can help the team I truly worry about this team’s chances in 2016. Another year older, another year out of their primes and another year closer to the twilight's of their careers.

8 comments:

  1. Burch a few of us stated the same thing with the lack of doing anything so there is no surprise here. Let's see if the boy accountant still feels the way he did the last few years sitting pat and not doing shit. I'm sure Reed will state they did more than enough to be competitive in this division.

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    1. He won't like the results. Not in the win/loss column, not in the attendance column and not int he bank account.

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    2. I have been saying that for however long I have been on here and all I got was lambasted on it. Hal doesn't give a shit about the fans, he cares about the pocketbook of the Steinbrenner clan. Unlike his father who understood you need to spend money to make money Hal has taken a different approach, more of an FU approach I'll spend as little as I can and no matter where I finish I'll still make money.

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    3. With Hal, you may be right...I don't remember ever defending him at all.
      With George, you are way off base in a few different ways. George would have eaten one or two contracts and spent money on high priced talents...True! But you may have overlooked something else he may have done, like, trading away our best farm players for guys on the cusp of being C.C.s, Ells, Headley etc. Then the circle begins all over again and we find ourselves in the same situation again...old players and no farm system.
      George ran the team for 37 years, in which time he had 7 WS Crowns and played in 11. This is considered a great time in Yankee history and victories...not so much. He spent his own money to build the team into what it was at the time he went to the Great Party. But along the way the major league system changed, all to stop the Yankees building an unstoppable team. Things can't be done like they were back 10 years ago. It has to be a build and buy team now days not buy, buy and buy again. Look at the good teams, most have built from within and added a player or two from trades...not the other way around.

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    4. Reed some points you are correct, however you fail to realize that the elf is not the guy I want to have the franchised rebuilt by. Like I said he is a puppet of the Tampa Mafia and that is why he doesn't get canned and if the guy was so hell bent on showing people he was a top flight GM then tell me why he didn't leave all those times his contract was up? I'll tell you because he knows he is 2nd rate and doesn't want his legacy which Stick and Watson built for him to go by the wayside. The great Yankee gm who won all the WS.

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    5. News Flash Hans, "Stick" had been the Vice President of Major League Scouting from 1996 to 2002 (Cashmans Scouting Boss) and Vice President & Senior Advisor to Cashman in 2003----. So, maybe that will shine a better light on the Drafting situation back in the day.
      AS much as I like "The Stick" the drafting situation changed for the better after he quit...in 2009(?).

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    6. Reed does the names Oppenheimer and Newman mean anything to you because they were in charge of the draft and now you have a former minor league hitting instructor in charge of it? Oh joy

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    7. No you are wrong, they did the drafting but "Stick" was in charge, therefore it was his draft! At least that's what you said when you thought Cashman was in charge..."Cashman made bad drafts" or there about!
      Cashman changed personnel and has had much better results.

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