Game 1 of the 2001 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
The Boring Winter Ahead: Watch the 2001 World Series Game One HERE
Game 1 of the 2001 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
MLB to Return to Mexico City in 2016
After spending the last 12 major league seasons outside of
the city of Mexico City the league and its players are making a return to the
Mexican capital. Major League Baseball is set to return to Mexico City, Mexico
for two spring training games between the Houston Astros and the San Diego
Padres.
MLB has not been in Mexico’s capital since March of the 2004
season when these same Astros faced off against the Miami Marlins in a two game
exhibition series. This time around the games will be played on March 26th
and 27th at Fray Nano Stadium home of the Red Devils of the Mexican
Baseball League. The venue can hold about 5,000 people.
Remember All, Justin Wilson Was Traded Because He Was About to Get “Expensive”
The New York Yankees made a trip this winter with the
Detroit Tigers that had a lot of the fan base scratching their heads a bit. The
Yankees had a dominant bullpen in 2015 and that was due in large part to the
threesome of Justin Wilson, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller. Betances and
Miller are still donning pinstripes as we speak today but Wilson is wearing the
Detroit Tigers uniform after the trade and a bit of a raise.
When asked what motivated Yankees GM Brian Cashman to make
the deal that brought back prospects Luis Cessa and Chad Green the reasoning
was two-sided. One side of things was that the Yankees lacked starting pitching
depth in Triple-A, and both men could start the season in the RailRiders
rotation, while the other side of things was that Wilson was about to get
expensive through the arbitration process. Well after this week when 156
players filed for salary arbitration we are beginning to know just how expensive
Wilson is going to get.
Wilson made $556K with the Yankees in 2015 and has agreed to a
deal with the Detroit Tigers worth $1.525 million avoiding arbitration. Wilson
is entering his age 28 season and is fresh off a season where he posted a 5-0
record with a 3.10 ERA in 74 relief appearances with the Yankees last season.
Wilson’s career totals are 14-5 with a 3.03 ERA in just a shade under 200
innings.
The Yankees traded away a player who was due roughly a
million dollar raise only to acquire one year (potentially more) of Aroldis
Chapman. Either Cashman had to justify to Hal Steinbrenner the worth or offset
the salary difference between Wilson and Chapman a bit or the New York Yankees
lack not only a plan but a direction as well. Either scenario is equally as
likely at this point or anyone’s guess I just hate being pissed on and being
told it’s raining is all.
Fangraphs: All 30 MLB Team's Projected WAR's
Fangraphs.com is a great resource for all your baseball information. I use Fangraphs along with Baseball Reference probably daily since I've had this blog and every once in a while they bring you something that's not just research only. This week they brought every team's projected 2016 WAR's broken down by position and totaled up. How did the Yankees and their super bullpen do? How do they stack up against the rest of the American League East? See for yourself...
It is also worth mentioning that Fangraphs has another 54.4 WAR available on the free agency market including Chris Davis, Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, and others.
It is also worth mentioning that Fangraphs has another 54.4 WAR available on the free agency market including Chris Davis, Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, and others.
Meet a Prospect: Anthony Swarzak
The New York Yankees continue to stockpile pitchers for the
arms race that the American League East is about to turn into and the latest
mercenary to join the squad is former Minnesota Twins starter and relief
pitcher Anthony Swarzak. Swarzak was playing in Korea as recently as the 2015
season as a member of the Doosan Bears and is said to be grateful for a second
chance after signing a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. The minor
league deal will come with an invitation to spring training camp so before we
officially meet him down at George Steinbrenner Field let’s meet him today.
This is Meet a Prospect: The Anthony Swarzak Edition.
Anthony Ray Swarzak was born on September 10, 1985 in
Florida where he attended Nova High School in Davie, Florida. While at the
school as a pitcher Swarzak earned two High School All-American titles in 2003
and 2004 which led to the Louisiana State University Tigers to offer him a full
ride for college. The scholarship promises were enticing but the Minnesota Twins
offer of $575,000 after drafting him in the second round of the 2004 MLB First
Year Players Draft was even more enticing and Swarzak accepted the Twins offer
to begin his professional career.
Swarzak entered his first professional season ranked the 15th
best prospect in the Gulf Coast League according to Baseball America while on
his way to a Midwest league All-Star Game. Swarzak moved up the list and moved
up the Twins ladder in 2005 and 2006 but in 2007 his stock and his development
took a bit of a hit after a drug suspension handed down by Major League
Baseball. On April 20, 2007 Swarzak failed a drug test for marijuana and
received a 50 game suspension. Swarzak took a step back after being reinstated
from the suspension and stumbled into the finish line in 2007.
In 2008 Swarzak was promoted to Triple-A and took off for
Minnesota posting a 5-0 record with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts leading the
Twins to add him to their 40 man roster. Swarzak was invited to the club’s
spring training camp in 2009 although he did not make the club and was sent
back down to Triple-A to begin the season. Swarzak was not long for the minors
though as the team called him up on May 20, 2009 and he made his Major League
debut three days later against the Milwaukee Brewers. Swarzak pitched seven
innings of shutout baseball earning his first MLB win. For every high though
for Swarzak was another low.
Swarzak missed a lot of the 2010 season after shattering his
foot on a line drive and spent the entire season either on the disabled list or
in the minor leagues rehabbing the injury. Swarzak entered 2011 looking to
rebound from a 6.21 ERA the previous season and looked to do so while pitching
both in long relief and as a spot starter for the Twins. Swarzak would continue
to be a swingman for the team not only in 2011 but in 2012 as well as he became
an asset for Minnesota. Another high for Swarzak and another low ad he began
the 2013 season back on the disabled list with fractured left ribs while what
he described as “wrestling around a little bit.”
Swarzak spent the remainder of the 2013 season as a long
relief pitcher and appeared in 48 games posting a 3-2 record with a 2.91 ERA
with 69 strikeouts in 96 innings. That was not enough to stick around with the
Twins though after the 2014 season as the team outrighted him off the 40 man
roster and allowed him to hit the free agency market. Rather than try to latch
on with another team Swarzak went to the Korean Baseball Organization to
rebuild his value with the Doosan Bears. Swarzak must have done something right
while over in Korea because the New York Yankees came calling on a minor league
deal that will pay him $750,000 if he makes the Major League roster this
season.
Welcome to the team, welcome to the organization and most of
all Anthony, welcome to the family.
Former Citadel Standout Asher Wojciechowski to Participate in Hot Stove Banquet
Houston
Astros pitcher to join Ryne Sandberg at the 12th annual event on
Jan. 22
CHARLESTON,
SC – Former Citadel standout Asher Wojciechowski of Beaufort who now pitches
for the Houston Astros, will join headliner Ryne Sandberg at the Charleston
RiverDogs’ 12th Annual Hot Stove Banquet on January 22 at the Marriott
Hotel on Lockwood Blvd.
Named
the Southern Conference’s pitcher of the year in 2010, “Wojo” helped lead Bulldogs
to the league regular-season and tournament championships as The Citadel
advanced to the Columbia Regionals hosted by the University of South Carolina.
That year, Wojciechowski struck out 155 batters over 125.2
innings and averaged 11.1 punchouts per 9 innings. For his three-year career, he won 20 games
and struck out 308 batters.
The reception begins at 6 pm with the dinner starting at
7. Tickets are $70 per person and include dinner, a table gift and autograph or
photo opportunity. Tables of 10 with preferred seating are available for $680.
For tickets and additional information, please contact
the RiverDogs at (843) 577-DOGS (3647).
Tickets may also be purchased online at riverdogs.com or
rileyparkevents.com.
This past season, Wojciechowski pitched in five
regular-season games and started three.
He threw 16.1 innings and fanned 16, and remains in the Astros plans for
2016.
The Toronto
Blue Jays selected Wojciechowski in the first round, with the 41st overall
selection, of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his professional debut with the
Auburn Doubledays of the New York-Penn League and in 2011, Wojciechowski played
for the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.
The Blue Jays later traded him to the Houston Astros on
July 20, 2012, and then played for the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA
Texas League. He started the 2013 season in Corpus Christi, but received a
midseason promotion to the Oklahoma City RedHawks of the Class AAA Pacific
Coast League. He was added to the Astros’ 40-man roster on November 20, 2013.
The Hot Stove Banquet, which coincides with the RiverDogs
new slogan of “Take Me Out With the Crowd,” is an annual event hosted by the
RiverDogs that brings baseball fans together to celebrate the magic of
America’s favorite pastime in a setting that usually sells out. The former
Chicago Cubs infielder and Philadelphia Phillies manager will share
behind-the-scenes stories, answer questions and pose for pictures all of which
will create memories that could last a lifetime.
Tom McQueeney State Farm Insurance is the presenting
sponsor for the ninth consecutive year. Proceeds from the Hot Stove Banquet
benefit The Citadel, College of Charleston and Charleston Southern baseball
programs in addition to the Singleton Memorial Fund.
The Singleton Memorial Fund is in memory of Chris
Singleton’s mother, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, who was one of the nine
individuals killed on June 17, 2015 at the Mother Emanuel AME
Church. Chris is a member of the Charleston Southern baseball team, and
funds will be used to meet Chris’s educational expenses. It is Chris’s
wish that any remaining funds be applied to the planned CSU Baseball enrichment
center in memory of his mother, Ms. Singleton
The RiverDogs will also offer the opportunity to rub
elbows with Sandberg during a special Meet & Greet opportunity presented by
Kickin’ Chicken earlier in the afternoon to secure autographs, photos and a
visit with the Hall of Famer. There will
be weekly opportunities in which to bid on the Meet & Greet and for more
information, please visit www.riverdogs.com.
--RIVERDOGS--
This Day in New York Yankees History 1/17: Alex Rodriguez Decides
Not really Yankees history as much as Houston Astros history but on this day in 2005 the Astros offered Roger Clemens $13.5 million in arbitration after Clemens asked for $22 million. That amount would make Clemens the highest paid pitcher in Major League history and would be the most given in arbitration passing the Yankees Derek Jeter in 2001 when he received $18.5 million.
Finally on this day in 1970 the Yankees drafted Fred Lynn in the January phase of the free agent draft. The Chicago native would become the first player in baseball history to win the MVP and Rookie of the Year Awards in the same season but he did it for the Boston Red Sox in 1975, not with the Yankees. Lynn chose not to sign with the Yankees.
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