TGP 2018 Predictions: 2018 Cy Young Award Winners

Cue the music, it is time for the big awards to be predicted and subsequently handed out as just two major awards remain here in Predictions Season. The AL and NL MVP Awards, which we will cover at a later date, and the hardware we will be handing out today for the American League and National League Cy Young Awards. The AL and NL Cy Young Awards go out to the best pitcher in each respective league and, again I am not saying this to incite a riot or really spark a debate, for that reason it is these awards that should, but don’t, disqualify a pitcher from winning either the AL or NL MVP Award. If a hitter could win the Cy Young Award, then sure. If not, then it just shouldn’t be allowed. My opinion only, just like these predictions are my opinion only as well. Leave your thoughts, comments, debate, banter and opinions in the comments section below or shoot us a line on Twitter by tweeting @GreedyStripes. Thanks in advance!

Will it finally be time for Luis Severino to shine? Will Masahiro Tanaka regain his dominance despite a lackluster spring? Is Sonny Gray finally going to get some run support here in the Bronx? Not likely. Not with the amazing bullpen that these young men have behind them and the undoubtedly short leash that they will all be on with new manager Aaron Boone presumably wanting to make a statement in his first season as an MLB manager. Boone will want as many wins as possible, and that in turn may mess with the win/loss records and peripherals of the Yankees starters much like it did under former manager Joe Girardi. With that said a New York Yankees pitcher will not win the 2018 American League Cy Young Award in 2018, but I truly believe that a member of the *pukes* Boston Red Sox will in Chris Sale. Sale had a down season in 2017 by many standards including a year where he did not record a victory against the New York Yankees. With the power of JD Martinez backing him in his starts and a few key bullpen pieces coming back from injuries and such for Boston I do not expect the Red Sox to go down quietly here this season, and I expect a much better campaign out of Sale. Unfortunately.

I wanted to go with Max Scherzer in the National League, I mean I do have his team heading to the World Series and all in these set of predictions, but I wanted to go a little outside of the box with my predictions. With that in mind I am going to go with a member of those Philadelphia Phillies I predicted to do so well this season. No, I am not going with Aaron Nola. I said I wanted to go outside of the box. Instead, I am going to go with Jake Arrieta. Arrieta’s velocity is down and his peripherals are not trending in the right direction, but a change of scenery and a change into a more pitcher-friendly ballpark should only help the right-hander. Plus, in a simple world anyway, Arrieta should draw some easier matchups on paper with Nola being the “ace” of the staff, but really this is just a gut feeling I am having. Go with your gut, win a prestigious award, and look like a wizard in the making.

Does New York Have Enough Money for Alex Cobb?

The New York Yankees and their General Manager Brian Cashman have done a masterful job this winter, in my opinion, adding the reigning NL MVP in Giancarlo Stanton, bringing back left-handed veteran CC Sabathia, acquiring Brandon Drury to play third base, and signing Neil Walker to play second base all while remaining under the luxury tax threshold for the 2018 season. According to multiple reports the Yankees payroll sit at approximately $182 million after the signing of Walker to a one-year deal worth $4 million, plus incentives, leaving the Yankees just $15 million to play with not only this offseason, but at the July 31^st trading deadline as well. With that in mind, do the Yankees have enough money to really “Get Greedy” and sign Alex Cobb?

It is worth mentioning before we get too deep into the financials that the Yankees would have to surrender draft picks if and when they signed Cobb after the right-hander was offered and declined a qualifying offer from the Tampa Bay Rays this offseason. Honestly, given the state of the Yankees system and their young core currently in Triple-A and at the Major League level I would have zero issue giving up a draft pick for a guy like Cobb, it is when giving up draft picks becomes the norm that the farm system is hurt. The Yankees system is deep enough to sustain the loss of a pick, and the team can also live with losing international free agent draft pool money as well after going over the luxury tax threshold in 2017 as well. Just don’t make it a habit is all I am saying.

With that little roadblock surpassed let’s get down to the financials and see if New York could strike a deal with Cobb. When looking at what a starting pitcher could sign for it is always best to look at what every pitcher around him got this offseason and use that as a guide and a stepping stone in your contract negotiations with said pitcher. Jake Arrieta was probably the top arm coming into this offseason and the right-hander received an Average Annual Value of $25 million on his three-year deal worth $75 million. Cobb is not Arrieta, in fact Cobb probably rates closer to a fellow right-handed veteran that recently signed a deal with the Minnesota Twins, Lance Lynn. Lynn signed with Minnesota for one-year and $12 million. Could Cobb be signed for a similar contract? You can answer that by comparing their stats and seeing whether or not they are similar pitchers.

Cobb has pitched in parts of six seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays posting a career 10.8 WAR, a 48-35 win/loss record, a 1.217 WHIP, and a 3.50 ERA with 570 strikeouts in exactly 700 innings pitched. For a 30-year old arm that has spent much of his career without much run support behind him or what many analysts would call an elite defense behind him, these stats are spectacular in my opinion. Lynn on the other hand has also pitched in parts of six seasons, missing the 2016 season with the St. Louis Cardinals, posting a career 14.1 WAR, a 72-47 win/loss record, a 1.288 WHIP, and a 3.38 ERA with 919 strikeouts in 977.2 innings pitched. Now some will argue the whole American League vs. National League lineup strength and pitching to a pitcher three-or-four times a night when comparing these stats, and I don’t necessarily disagree with you whatsoever, but some may argue that Lynn has actually been better than Cobb has been throughout their Major League careers.

With that said and keeping in mind that the free agent pool and the number of interested teams dwindling by the day I don’t find it out of the realm of possibilities for the New York Yankees to sign Cobb to a deal with an AAV of $10 million, whether that be on a one, two or three-year deal. I wouldn’t go any higher than three years personally, and obviously I would prefer to go no higher than two including option years, but the Yankees seem stuck on giving out just one-year deals to most this offseason. That, again in my opinion, will be the sticking point in any negotiations with Cobb. Cobb will want the security of a longer termed deal, any free agent would, but whether he gets that or not remains to be seen.

One thing to keep in mind when comparing the two is that Cobb recently missed a season after undergoing Tommy John surgery (Lynn did too, making this comparison even more relevant). Not only will that hamper the sample size of his stats, but it could also conceivably be used in any negotiations with a team this offseason as many front offices continue to wait out players in hopes of their asking prices to come down. Whether the fact that Cobb had his ulnar collateral ligament replaces has any hinderance on his ability to sign a contract that he feels he is worth or not this offseason remains to be seen, but it will be mentioned and will be mentioned more and more the closer we get to Opening Day despite Cobb bouncing back from the surgery in 2017 to post a 12-10 record with a 3.66 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 128 strikeouts in 179.1 innings pitched.

Cobb is American League East tested after pitching his entire career with the Tampa Bay Rays after the Rays made Cobb their fourth-round pick in the 2006 MLB First Year Players Draft, something that cannot be overlooked in my opinion. Cobb is also Yankee Stadium tested posting a career 3.12 ERA and 0.865 WHIP in five career starts in the Bronx, all with the Rays. Adding an arm like Cobb to a rotation that will contain some combination of Sonny Gray, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Sonny Gray and Jordan Montgomery doesn’t make the Yankees the obvious favorites to win it all in 2018, but I bet it makes all those cocky ass Houston Astros fans that have had plenty to say this winter take a back seat for at least a day or two… and at this point I’d take that.

SIDE NOTE: 

Yes I realize signing Cobb to a $10 million AAV brings the Yankees dangerously close to the luxury tax threshold and leaves the team little room to wiggle around and play with in July. I feel like this has been said over a million times this offseason and that it didn't necessarily need to be said again, but contracts like Brett Gardner's and David Robertson could conceivably be moved in July to teams trying to contend for the postseason to clear money if necessary. Also it is worth mentioning, and he been beaten more than a dead horse, that every day that goes by a few dollars come off the contract of Jacoby Ellsbury making him more and more attractive, which could make the Yankees more and more likely to eat more money to get him off the books. 

The New Guy Goes Yard...

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Reinhold Matay)

The Battle of New York…

I am always the first to say that Spring games mean absolutely nothing but I have to admit it was fun beat the New York Mets on Saturday by 7 runs for the second time this year. The Yankees won 10-3 at Steinbrenner Field after beating the Mets 11-4 last Wednesday in Port St Lucie, FL.  

Rumor has it the new guy, Giancarlo Stanton, can hit bombs. We were finally treated to the first Pinstriped home run by the big guy and man, did it feel good to see that one go out.  It made me realize how much I like watching Aaron Judge and Stanton hit back-to-back, considering I have been an advocate for breaking them up with Greg Bird. It was exciting to see Judge reach base and then both guys celebrating at home plate after Stanton completed his home run trot, which included the faux football hand-off by third base coach Phil Nevin as Stanton rounded the base. John Sterling’s call of the home run was “a Stantonian blast”.  Unclear if that’s just a temporary Spring call or if it will be the tagline for the season.  

Photo Credit: New York Post (Charles Wenzelberg)

Another great moment in Saturday’s game was the first Spring appearance of David Robertson, who had recently been felled by food poisoning. Luis Cessa started the game and reaffirmed my concerns about his stature as the rotation’s sixth man when he got into trouble in the second inning. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with only one out. Enter D-Rob. Six pitches…two strikeouts…inning over. I really hope the Yankees do not allow Robertson to leave at the end of the season when he becomes a free agent. The guy was made to be a Yankee and it was hard enough to watch his years away in Chicago. Now that we have him back, I don’t want to lose him again.

There was a scare in the top of the 6th inning when Tyler Wade rolled his wrist while attempting to dive for an infield grounder by Jose Reyes. Wade left the game and although he iced the hand, no further tests were planned. It sounds as though Wade will be back out on the field by Monday. The current leader for Opening Day second baseman, it would have been tough to lose Wade for any extended period of time. I am glad he is okay. It was certainly a scary moment.

The game also featured a bit of miscommunication.  Dellin Betances pitched the fourth inning and then went to the clubhouse. No one told Adam Warren that he was scheduled to pitch the fifth, so it became a scramble after the Yankees completed batting in the bottom of the fourth. There was some apparent confusion in the dugout, and Warren quickly got up in the bullpen. After a brief delay, Betances came back out to face one batter, giving up a single, before departing for good. Aaron Boone held his usual 5th inning in-game conversation with the YES Network broadcasters but clearly did not want to talk about the incident. "We had some issues there. We'll just leave it at that." Some on social media were crucifying Boone for the miscommunication but I’d rather see Boone make mistakes in Spring training and learn from them before the season starts. 

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Reinhold Matay)

A fair amount of drama for a “meaningless” Saturday afternoon game.

The Yankees had a couple more cuts yesterday when flame-throwing RHP Domingo Acevedo was optioned to Double-A Trenton and RHP Brian Keller was reassigned to minor league camp.

The Minnesota Twins may have lost the Wild Card game to the Yankees last season, but they will be a stronger team when they take the field this year. Although top starting pitcher Ervin Santana will miss the start of the season after surgery on his finger last month, the Twins previously added Jake Odorizzi in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and yesterday they signed free-agent Lance Lynn (an innings-eater and a very good pickup) to a one-year, $12 million contract. The Lynn signing triggered today’s release of Anibal Sanchez (Lynn was clearly an upgrade, in a total statement of the obvious). I would have loved to have seen the Yankees sign Lynn.  The Twins have also added former Rays first baseman Logan Morrison, who slugged 38 home runs in 2017, to be their primary DH. I haven’t really been keeping up with the Twins, but they are quietly getting stronger. They also added Fernando Rodney and Addison Reed to their bullpen. I’ve never been a big fan of Rodney but Reed was a great signing.

With Lynn signing for much less than anticipated, I can’t help but wonder what it would take to sign free agent righty Alex Cobb in this environment of falling prices. You can never have enough starting pitching. I know that he’d never do it, but it would be cool if Jake Arrieta came to the Yankees with an offer to play for a pillow contract so that he can test the free agent market again next year. He does know and trust the Yankees closer. I know, I am just dreaming but whatever it takes to bring the 28th World Championship to the Bronx.

Lefty Joe Mantiply, 27, who spent last season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and was in camp with the Cincinnati Reds this year as a non-roster invitee underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on Friday. We wish Joe the very best as he begins his journey on the road to recovery and hopefully fulfilling his dream of one day making it back to the Major Leagues (he pitched briefly for the Detroit Tigers in 2016). 

Photo Credit: Cheryl Pursell  

I am bummed that today’s game against the Miami Marlins in Jupiter, FL will not be televised.  For the Yankees making the trip, be sure to say hello to our old friend, Starlin Castro.

Go Yankees!

What About The Other Top Free Agent Starters?

Naturally, after Yu Darvish was signed by the Chicago Cubs, Yankees fans started looking at some of the other top free agent starters. Well, let me just say.... stop.

If the Yankees bring in any starter for this season it should be a top of the rotation type. That means guys like Andrew Cashner or Tyler Chatwood should not even be considered. Mind you, those two would make fine additions to a team looking for a solid starter for the middle of their rotation, but the Yankees have plenty of guys for that. Heck, with Sonny Gray as their #3 starter, the Yankees may very well have the best "middle of the rotation" in baseball.

That may make some fans think of the other "top" free agent starters that are still available. That being Jake Arrieta, Lance Lynn, and Alex Cobb.

Let's start with Arrieta. On the surface he may seem like a guy you'd like to see added to the rotation. Even if you throw out his 2015 Cy Young season by considering it an outlier, he still posted a 3.30 ERA, including an ERA+ of 129, in 61 starts from 2016 to 2017. But when it comes to guys like Jake, who will very likely sign with a team for five years, you have to consider how a contract would end. And seeing as how his home run rate has gone up in each of the past four seasons (0.3 HR/9 to 0.4 to 0.7 to 1.2), he gave up more hits per nine innings than he has since 2012, and his WHIP has gone up in each of the past three years, I think this should be a definite "pass".

Then comes Lance Lynn. After a little less than a thousand innings thrown in MLB, Lance's ERA has never been above 3.97. And for those worried about him having had Tommy John surgery a couple of years ago, he bounced back very well last season and started 33 games. But did you know that his strikeout rate was lower than it's ever been in his career, while his walk and home run rates were never higher? Sure, that could be a hangover from missing all of 2016, but it seems like an unnecessary gamble for a team that already has a pretty good starting rotation.

Finally there's Alex Cobb. Like Lynn, Cobb had Tommy John surgery as well, but he had it a year earlier in 2015. After missing the vast majority of the 2016 season while recovering Alex didn't bounce back quite so well in his five starts at the end of the year (8.59 ERA, along with giving up 15 earned runs over his last 4.1 innings). Then came last season when his ERA dropped down to a very nice 3.66. But what scares me away from Alex is that he's no longer able to use his best pitch... the split-finger fastball. He improved his curveball to give him a good complimentary pitch to his four-seamer, but am I willing to gamble on even a four year deal here? Not if I'm Brian Cashman and already have a full rotation and some nice prospects knocking on the door of MLB.

And let's talk about those younger guys.

Jordan Montgomery would likely be the odd-man out of the rotation, and I don't like that. Jordan may not be a future ace, but I wouldn't want to hold back a 24 year-old starter that had an ERA of just 3.88 last season, along with a very respectable strikeout rate of 8.3 per 9 innings. If we were talking about a 34 year-old then this would be a totally different conversation, but in the case of Monty we're talking about a guy that could very well get better. And better than 2017 Montgomery is as good as you can hope to get out of those three guys I talked about earlier.

Then you have Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield. Now, I'm not a big Adams fan, as I think he is destined for the bullpen, but you have to give the guy a shot as starter. And while Sheffield may begin the season in AA, he could very well get some starts in the Majors by the end of the season. By the way, every "expert" I've read ranks Sheffield ahead of Adams.

You can't forget that signing one of those three top free agent starters could lead to not seeing younger guys like Albert Abreu, another youngster that many people are high on. Or Dillon Tate, who... like Chance Adams... may be destined for the bullpen, but has earned a chance to be a MLB starter.

At this point I hope that Cashman sticks with what he has. I hope he gives things a couple of months to see how his current rotation pans out while seeing how his top prospects start the 2018 season. If an injury occurs, and neither Adams or Sheffield can be counted on to help, then Brian can use the Yankees nice crop of prospects to pull of a trade for a top of the rotation starter by the trade deadline, like they did for Sonny Gray last year.

Look... it's tough. Since Giancarlo Stanton was traded for this offseason has been a total bore. Well, it's been a "bore" for all of Major League Baseball, but for Yankees fans it's been nearly unbearable. Thankfully the "keep in mind we did trade for Stanton" memes help. But we must stick together and stay the course.

The Yankees Are One Trade Away From Calling It An Offseason

The New York Yankees are one of the best teams in the American League on paper right now, so I stand behind my thought process that the team doesn’t necessarily “need” to do anything else this offseason. Much of the team that was one win away from the World Series in 2017 is back and while the Astros probably got better with the acquisition of Gerrit Cole, it is debatable whether the team is better suited for a World Series run than the Yankees are currently. That’s another topic for another blog post though, instead I’d rather focus my efforts on one trade that, albeit an unpopular trade I am sure amongst most Yankees fans, could basically end the heavy lifting for the Yankees this offseason, at least on the trade front. The San Francisco Giants presumably need two outfielders and the Yankees have two to spare while San Francisco has a middle infielder that may strike the Yankees fancy for a season or two. Is it time for “Let’s make a deal?”

The Yankees need either a second baseman or a third baseman this offseason with Gleyber Torres waiting in the wings to take on either position full time later on in the year. The Giants second baseman currently is Joe Panik while their third baseman is a familiar foe in Evan Longoria. Now I don’t know about you, but I personally want absolutely nothing to do with Longoria in pinstripes leaving me with just one option, Panik. Who is Joe Panik? Panik is a proven second baseman with postseason and World Series experience at just 27-years old. Panik is a left-handed bat that would benefit from the short porch in Yankee Stadium, a solid defender in the middle infield that would fit in well with Didi Gregorius defensively, and a cost-effective piece for a Yankees team still looking to get under the $197 million luxury tax threshold.

Panik just agreed to a deal with the Giants worth $3.45 million through arbitration giving the Yankees a nice chunk of money to spend elsewhere on the free agent or trade market. How so? Because one of those two outfielders the Giants need that the Yankees will be giving them is Jacoby Ellsbury. The Yankees already reportedly have $22 million to play with this offseason while still remaining under the luxury tax “cap” and trading away at least half of Ellsbury’s salary would give New York a lot of wiggle room to make moves, maybe even enough wiggle room to land a Yu Darvish or another top-tiered free agent.

The other outfielder the Yankees would send to San Francisco, I know you’re dying to know and I know you probably already have a sneaking suspicion. It is Clint Frazier. As much as I would like it to be Brett Gardner I just can’t see the Giants taking on that much salary for two aging and identical players. The Yankees are going to have to sweeten the pot to get anyone to take Ellsbury and Frazier is that sweetener, in my opinion. The Giants already have Miguel Gomez, who made his MLB debut last season and is the team’s 22^nd best prospect according to MLB.com, ready to take over at the position in place of Panik as well as vastly improving their outfield situation with the trade.

Is giving up basically Clint Frazier for Joe Panik and cash considerations a “loss” for the Yankees? Some may think so, yes, but one must also remember that the money saved will or could lead the Yankees in another direction. Is Jacoby Ellsbury and Clint Frazier worth Yu Darvish, Alex Cobb or Jake Arrieta and Joe Panik? 100 times out of 100, yes. At least in my opinion. It is all about giving something to get something and that’s what the Yankees are doing here with this trade. You trade from a position of strength or depth to fill a gap, that’s how the 1995 – 2000’s Dynasty Yankees did it and that is how this team can do it as well.

And before you jump all over me let’s take a look at the stat line for Joe Panik while remembering that Panik plays half his games in the very pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. Just because Panik is left-handed and just because Barry Bonds made it look easy to hit home runs out of that stadium it doesn’t mean that it is. Panik will benefit from the dimensions at Yankee Stadium and the Yankees team as a whole would benefit from having another left-handed bat in the lineup day in and day out. Anyway, I’m rambling so here are his stats with the Giants

Year	Age	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2014	23	73	287	31	82	10	2	1	18	0	33	.305	.343	.368	.711	104
2015	24	100	432	59	119	27	2	8	37	3	42	.312	.378	.455	.833	129
2016	25	127	526	67	111	21	7	10	62	5	47	.239	.315	.379	.695	88
2017	26	138	573	60	147	28	5	10	53	4	54	.288	.347	.421	.768	104
4 Yr	4 Yr	438	1818	217	459	86	16	29	170	12	176	.282	.345	.408	.753	105
162	162	162	672	80	170	32	6	11	63	4	65	.282	.345	.408	.753	105

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

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As you can see, thanks to Baseball Reference, Panik is a very solid second baseman. Oh, and did I mention that Panik was born in Yonkers, New York? That has to count for something, right? Panik would be under contract through the 2020 season through arbitration and could give the Yankees comparable production to Starlin Castro for a fraction of the cost, while again also potentially bringing in a Yu Darvish type player as well.

I know, my trade proposal sucks so what’s yours? And do you think the Giants would go for it? Leave it all below in the comments section. Thanks in advance. 

The Patrick Corbin “Nugget” You May Have Missed

If you don’t know what a “nugget” is, and I didn’t either until I started reading and conversing with my friend Robert Casey of Bleeding Yankee Blue, a nugget is a small piece of information that is usually or possibly overlooked by many writers and journalists. Without getting too far off topic and off base I will say that today’s journalism, or lack thereof, is the reason I got into blogging and writing professionally. It doesn’t matter to many if it’s right, accurate or well thought out as long as it’s released first. Why? Views, clicks, and money. I have no issue with people making their money and earning their paychecks, I just chose to do things differently and that’s ok. I have never had ads and money-making schemes on my site and I will vow to keep it that way. With that said, as I digress, let’s get back to this nugget that isn’t being talked about in many places that I’ve seen. The nugget has to do with the Arizona Diamondbacks and left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin.

The Yankees have been linked to Corbin this offseason and while talks between the two clubs never seemingly went very far I truly believe that is because of the market and not because the two teams weren’t a great match in a trade. Reading an article by Steve Gilbert on MLB.com who conducted an interview with Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen the subject of potentially trading either Corbin or Zack Greinke came up which immediately interested me. While I am not interested in Greinke and his bulky salary I think Corbin would be a great fit in the Bronx, even with his projected $8.3 million in arbitration salary according to MLB Trade Rumors.

In the article and interview Gilbert states that the Diamondbacks are looking for a potential long-term option at the catcher position and outfield depth in any trade for Corbin, Greinke and any pieces that could potentially go with those two quality pitchers. It seems to me that the Yankees have both and are in a position of power to trade from both, especially considering that Corbin has one-year of team control thus seemingly keeping his cost down a bit.

In my opinion the Yankees could acquire Corbin and still hold onto Clint Frazier. Including Austin Romine or Kyle Higashioka along with a Jake Cave or Billy McKinney plus a lower-level pitching prospect or two could probably get Corbin alone. If the Yankees also wanted to try and pry away Brandon Drury in the deal then Frazier could be included to sweeten the deal, although I have made it very clear my preference is to hold onto Frazier this offseason. Maybe that’s the fan in me speaking but maybe it is also someone who has watched baseball for over 20 years speaking as well. I have especially paid attention to the rise and fall, the triumphs and the fails, of various prospects coming through the Yankees system and I really just think Frazier has all the makings of being something special.

I think the fact that we haven’t seen much movement in the Corbin sweepstakes is not because the Yankees aren’t willing to part with the pieces needed to acquire the lefty or because the Diamondbacks don’t want to trade him, I just think everyone is reluctant to make that move with pitchers like Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish still on the market. Once these pieces start to move I think Corbin will ultimately be dealt, Cashman is just lying in the weeds waiting for his time to strike. There’s more coming Yankees family and New York’s GM isn’t done. Now is just the time for patience, as hard as that is for some of us to do. Stay warm, be patient and Go Yankees!!

Oh, and I know. My trade proposal sucks. Leave your “better” one in the comments section. 

Oh, and I know I said I didn't think the Yankees needed another pitcher in a previous post. I stand by that and I still don't think the Yankees NEED another starter. It seems though, if you believe all the rumors you read, that Brian Cashman thinks otherwise hence the idea and trade proposal for Corbin. I'd be just as happy heading into Spring Training camp with what the team already has, although I would never pass up an opportunity to Get Greedy either.

Get Greedy, Get Corbin. 

Shohei Says No Way to New York, Now What?

The Shohei Otani ship has sailed Yankees fans but that does not mean this offseason has to be a disaster for Brian Cashman and company. The Yankees have a plan and a young stable of starting pitchers ready to start the 2018 season including Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray and Jordan Montgomery with the likes of Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams and others waiting in the wings down in the minor leagues. The Yankees need one more starter, if at all, next season and that one starter will likely be CC Sabathia. Just for fun though, and for the sake of not assuming that it will simply be Sabathia just because of old loyalties and such, let’s take a look at the free agent class of starting pitchers to see if any other arms should entice the Yankees.

First and foremost, you can erase any ideas of expensive arms like Jake Arrieta, Jeremy Hellickson or Yu Darvish joining the Yankees staff in 2017. Those three arms will look to cash in big time this offseason via free agency and neither will likely fit into the austerity plans the New York Yankees have going forward leaving a lackluster list of potential arms. Just some of the arms available for New York include Anibal Sanchez, John Lackey, Ubaldo Jimenez, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Tillman, Andrew Cashner, Jason Vargas, Hector Santiago, Lance Lynn, Clay Buchholz, Jaime Garcia, Miguel Gonzalez, Alex Cobb and Bud Norris to name a few.

Out of that group of names obviously Alex Cobb is the most intriguing, the problem with Cobb though is that he is tied to draft pick compensation after being offered a qualifying offer this winter by Tampa Bay. That should in itself rule him out in my book, although the Yankees do have a great farm system and may be willing to part with a first-round pick for Cobb’s services. Who knows. All I know is I want no part of any other name on that list. It is either Cobb and the first-round draft pick, CC Sabathia or bust if you’re asking me. If not, then I would be more than comfortable with letting the Yankees ride with who they currently have and bringing up another young kid from the minor leagues to battle it out during spring training camp.

Also, don’t forget about Michael Pineda even though he is likely to miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2017. He may be back in August or September of this coming season but to bank on that would be foolish for New York. Pineda may be an absolute steal for the 2018 season though, so a two-year deal is and should always be on the table in my opinion. 

"It's Not What You Want" Podcast Brought to you by The Greedy Pinstripes: Episode 3

My apologies for the delay but Jacob Westendorf and Matt Bove are back for episode three of the "It's Not What You Want" Podcast brought to you by The Greedy Pinstripes. Check it out and give it a listen before Game Two of the World Series goes live. Enjoy and have a great night.

World Series Game Two Thread: Chicago Cubs @ Cleveland Indians

Here we go ladies and gentleman, Game Two of the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians. Tonight's pitching matchup should be a good one as the hometown Cleveland Indians send Trevor Bauer to the mound to square off with the Cubs age and 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta. The game will be played at 8:08 pm ET inside Progressive Field and can be seen on FOX.

Good luck to both teams as time is running out on the series and the 2016 season as a whole.

World Series Game Two Preview: Chicago Cubs @ Cleveland Indians

Here we go ladies and gents, we’re back for Game Two of the 2016 World Series. Tonight Game Two will be played inside Cleveland’s Progressive Field with Trevor Bauer taking the mound for the home team while the Cubs counter with Jake Arrieta. The game will be played at 8:08 pm ET and can be seen on FOX. Let’s take a look at the pitching.

Bauer saw his last start end early after a pinky injury forced him to leave just after 0.2 innings pitched. Whether the extra rest will help or hurt Bauer remains to be seen so tune in tonight to find out. 

Arrieta is also well rested entering this start as he has not pitched since his Game 3 loss on the NLCS. Again the extra rest could help or hurt the pitcher tonight so stay tuned to see who is sharp and who may hand their team a loss. 

Tune in and see which World Series drought comes to an end all series long. This is the last baseball we have before the long, cold winter ahead. 

My Predictions for the 2016 NLDS

Ladies and gentleman the National League Division series have been decided and only two teams stand in the way of one another fighting for one final position. The World Series. Who will take it home? Will it be the Chicago Cubs who will finally reverse the Curse of the Billy Goat and win their first World Series in over 100 years or will it be the Los Angeles Dodgers who took the Washington Nationals to the brink before finally sending them home for the long winter ahead. Will it be the Cubs who won the National League Central Division race and sent the San Francisco Giants home in the NLDS or will it be the Los Angeles Dodgers who won a decisive Game 5 on the road just two nights ago? Let’s find out.

Earlier today we looked at how the Cubs offense has done against the Dodgers Game One starter Kenta Maeda and we also checked out how the Dodgers offense has done this season against the Cubs starter Jon Lester who starts tonight for Chicago and we’ve also seen what these two teams have done against each other head-to-head this season. So who wins and how many games will it take? Boy this one is harder to call if you ask me.

I want to go with the Cubs because they are clearly the better team in almost every aspect of the game. The Cubs have a better offense, a better defense, better pitching and they are young and hungry. Can the team get the whole curse out of their minds before they become their own worst enemies though? Ultimately I think that they can but I don’t think it will be as easy as it should be for the Cubbies.

I’m taking the Cubs in the NLCS but I can see it taking six games before they do it. The Cubs have to choke away a game or two just to make it interesting, don’t they?

Get ready for your Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians World Series in 2016 ladies and gentleman. 

The NLCS Pitching vs. Offense Breakdown

You know what they say about the playoffs, pitching and defense wins championships. Now thanks to great sites like Baseball Reference and Fangraphs we could all nerd out and compare these two defenses against one another but what is the fun in that? Especially on a Saturday, so instead we’ll focus on the pitching. What has the pitching for both the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers done against each other’s offense throughout their careers? Once again, thanks to great sites like Baseball Reference Fangraphs and this time ESPN we can easily find out. Enjoy as we get ready for the beginning of the NLCS here in a few short hours. Until then, enjoy your Saturday or Game Two of the ALCS that will also start here in a couple hours.

Jon Lester vs. Los Angeles

Kyle Hendricks vs. Los Angeles

Jake Arrieta vs. Los Angeles

John Lackey vs. Los Angeles

Kenta Maeda vs. Chicago

Kenta has never faced a single Chicago Cubs player

TBA vs. Chicago

TBA vs. Chicago

TBA vs. Chicago

Come on Dodgers, name some pitchers already! Will update when they do but right now it's speculated that Clayton Kershaw will start Game Two despite pitching in relief in Game 5 against the Nationals.

NLCS: Recapping the Head-to-Head Matchups from 2016

Yesterday morning we took a look at the six matchups between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians before the ALCS officially kicked off between the two clubs and today we will do the same for the two remaining teams in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs pretty much steamrolled any and all teams they had put in front of them this season en route to the best record in Major League Baseball but the Dodgers were no slouch either winning the National League West Division. Who had the upper hand during the regular season between these two historic clubs? Let’s find out.

Rk	Date	Tm		Opp	R	RA	Win	Loss	Save
50	Tuesday, May 31	CHC		LAD	0	5	Blanton	Richard
51	Wednesday, Jun 1	CHC		LAD	2	1	Lester	Bolsinger
52	Thursday, Jun 2	CHC		LAD	7	2	Hendricks	Urias
127	Friday, Aug 26	CHC	@	LAD	6	4	Wood	Liberatore	Chapman
128	Saturday, Aug 27	CHC	@	LAD	2	3	Urias	Hammel	Jansen
129	Sunday, Aug 28	CHC	@	LAD	0	1	Blanton	Cahill	Jansen

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference. 

Looking Back at My 2016 Cy Young Award Predictions

Before you jump all over my predictions, which I admit were atrocious, be sure to link me to where you predicted that Rick Porcello would be a 20-game winner and where you said that Jon Lester, Madison Bumgarner and others would be fighting it out in the National League. Until then I respectfully stand by my predictions and take the “L” like a man because boy was I wrong. Here are my predictions that originally went live in April of this year in all their glory.

The award, as much as I hate to say this, has to go to the Boston Red Sox ace David Price. Give David Price two runs of support or more and on most days that’s in the bag. While Boston did little to improve their offense on paper their core is getting a year older and closer to their prime while Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval almost can’t be as bad or worse for Boston then they were in 2015. The Cy Young can be an individual award sometimes more so than a team award and Price is the kind of pitcher to throw you eight or nine innings and win the game himself or hand it off to Craig Kimbrel in the 9th. Price for Cy Young, again.

In the National League the award has to go the new ace of the staff in Pittsburgh, and former New York Yankees draft pick, Gerrit Cole. Cole is an elite starter with an elite defense behind him and an offense that can win him games even on his off nights. Cole won 19 games last season with a 2.60 ERA and it seemed like many didn’t blink an eye thanks to Jake Arrieta, they will blink an eye this season as Cole takes the next step forward in his career. 

Yep, I bombed these predictions. Oh well. Maybe next year Cubs fans. 

Predicting the AL & NL Cy Young Award Winners

And so begins the meat and potatoes of the award predictions here on The Greedy Pinstripes, the American League and National League Cy Young Award winners. This award goes out to the best pitcher, either starter or reliever although it is generally reserved for starting pitchers, in each league every single season so who will win it this season? Truth be told I have no idea, so much can happen between then and now, but here is who I predict right now.

The award, as much as I hate to say this, has to go to the Boston Red Sox ace David Price. Give David Price two runs of support or more and on most days that’s in the bag. While Boston did little to improve their offense on paper their core is getting a year older and closer to their prime while Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval almost can’t be as bad or worse for Boston then they were in 2015. The Cy Young can be an individual award sometimes more so than a team award and Price is the kind of pitcher to throw you eight or nine innings and win the game himself or hand it off to Craig Kimbrel in the 9^th. Price for Cy Young, again.

In the National League the award has to go the new ace of the staff in Pittsburgh, and former New York Yankees draft pick, Gerrit Cole. Cole is an elite starter with an elite defense behind him and an offense that can win him games even on his off nights. Cole won 19 games last season with a 2.60 ERA and it seemed like many didn’t blink an eye thanks to Jake Arrieta, they will blink an eye this season as Cole takes the next step forward in his career.