Bryce Harper's a great player BUT...

How much are these stats worth?

13 Home Runs

36 RBI’s

.355 Batting Average

.468 OBP

.702 SLG

1.170 OPS

New speculation is placing the value of Bryce Harper’s next contract closer to $500 million than the previously thought $400 million.  With an argument that Harper is twice the player Giancarlo Stanton is, is he worth twice the contract (or $650 million)?  Harper is going to bring new meaning the term “franchise player”.  How much did George Steinbrenner pay for the Yankees back in 1973?  It’s a rhetorical question but the answer is $10 million (with 60% in borrowed funds).  Granted, the Yankees are now worth more than $3.7 billion but it’s still phenomenal to think how much money Harper is going to get.  

At face value and with a strong right-fielder already in place, I have to say that despite Harper’s greatness, Manny Machado is looking better and better every day.  As luck would have it, we happen to need a third baseman.  I am just not so sure about the one more year of Chase Headley part…

Credit:  Patrick Smith/Getty Images

As a Yankees fan, I am not a supporter of the Toronto Blue Jays but their players continue to provide more reasons to dislike them.  The bat flip by Joey Bats after a home run against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday was ridiculous.  I had no problem with Braves catcher Tyler Flowers pointing at Bautista with an inside-fastball sign on a pitch selection the next night.  Braves pitcher Julio Teheran promptly drilled one into Bautista’s thigh.  But the homophobic comments that Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar directed at Braves reliever Jason Motte were totally unacceptable.  The anti-gay slur resulted in a two-game suspension for Pillar.  I hope the Atlanta Braves fans realize that the Blue Jays are not representative of all AL East teams.  

Tyler Austin has joined High-A Tampa to begin his rehab assignment.  The Yankees will have some decisions to make when he finishes the rehab assignment.  With Greg Bird ready to begin his rehab assignment next week, it increases the likelihood that Austin heads to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  But the RailRiders have a good recent addition at first already.  Mike Ford, called up last week from AA-Trenton, has three homers in six games and nine RBI’s.  He is 8-for-26 (.308).  The RailRiders are also loaded in the outfield with Clint Frazier, Dustin Fowler, Mason Williams, and Mark Payton.  If it were up to me, I’d think hard about moving/cutting Chris Carter and slotting Austin in as backup first baseman/outfielder. 

Roy White Day.  

Alright, I'll join the Daniel Burch bandwagon.  My awareness of White was more acute during his age 30+ seasons, but he was a trusted, reliable and a bit under-appreciated member of the Yankees and those back-to-back World Championships in the late 70's.  For a team that was overflowing with superstars, White simply did his job when called on.  With no disrespect to Joe Torre who retired #6, I still think of White when I see the number.  Not many players stay with one team their entire career, but White was one of them with fifteen years in Pinstripes.  The other outfielders, Reggie Jackson and Mickey "Mick the Quick" Rivers, were more flamboyant but White always seemed to come up big whenever you needed him.  I agree, he gave his baseball life to the Yankees and it is only right that they give Roy his day at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees have a new manager!  

Credit:  Brendan Kuty/NJ Advance Media

Okay, it was just one game.  Bench coach Rob Thomson was manager of the New York Yankees on Friday night so that Joe Girardi, could attend his daughter’s high school graduation.  Congrats to Joe Girardi for showing (and the Steinbrenner Family for allowing) that family does truly matter.

Credit:  YES Network

A lost night in St. Petersburg...

Rob Thomson, you’re fired (just kidding…well, maybe a little serious).  One-game manager Rob Thomson, filling in for Joe Girardi, failed in his one attempt to steer the ship.  Back to the bench for you, Rob.  The Yankees were undone by a pitcher who couldn’t make it more than five innings, thereby placing a heavier burden on the bullpen, a bad defensive play at third, and Thomson’s decision to leave his best hitters on the bench in a three-up, three-down ninth inning that led to the 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Luis Severino only gave up one run, a first inning double by Logan Morrison that scored Evan Longoria, and struck out seven Rays.  But he gave up five hits and three walks with 89 pitches (only 59 for strikes) and was gone by the sixth inning.  

After the Rays had tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning at 2-2 with runners at second and third and two outs, the Yankees could have avoided further damage.  With third baseman Ronald Torreyes thinking about the runner advancing to home plate, a hopper by Rickie Weeks Jr went under his glove into left field, scoring the two runners on base.  Weeks Jr was credited with a double in a very liberal decision as it probably should have been an error by Toe.

Matt Holliday did his part in trying to bring the Yankees back.  After a walk to Brett Gardner and a pop-out by Jacoby Ellsbury to open the eighth, Holliday homered to right to tie the game at 4.  The Rays came right back in the bottom of the inning when Tyler Clippard (0-2) gave up a run-scoring single by Evan Longoria after putting two men on base through walks.  Longoria has gotten off to a slow start this season but against the Yankees, he always looks All-World.  A 4-for-5 night, with two runs scored and the RBI, ensured the Yankees were playing from behind.  

Credit:  Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

Still, the Yankees could have rallied again in the ninth inning, but Thomson kept both Gary Sanchez and Aaron Hicks on the bench so we’ll never know.  Sanchez and Hicks, both of whom had the night off, could only watch as Chris Carter struck out (surprise, surprise) and Austin Romine grounded out to end the game. 

The loss dropped the Yankees to 24-15.  With Baltimore’s 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings, the O’s closed the gap in the AL East to just a half-game again.  The Boston Red Sox lost so I guess the evening wasn’t a complete disappointment.

Welcome back, Joe Girardi.  I will be glad to have you back in the saddle for today’s game.  I hope the graduation ceremony was a tremendous success for Serena and the family, but it will be great to have you making the lineup decisions today.  

Have a great Saturday!  Let’s win the games we should win and not give them away.

Defending My “Yankees vs. Toronto Lineups” Blog

So apparently I wrote a pretty unpopular article over the weekend comparing the lineups of the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. I had the Yankees winning seven of the nine head-to-head matchups and apparently that means the cheese has slid off my cracker. Without actually looking at the stats or doing the research I was attacked, and that’s fine, but at least give me the opportunity to defend myself.

The first position that likely turned some heads was the shortstop position. I picked Didi Gregorius as the better shortstop over Troy Tulowitzki and if you look at the stats you know that it’s true. Didi’s start to his Yankees tenure was slow and forgettable but so was Tulowitzki’s. The difference is that Didi improved, Tulo got hurt again and never did. Didi had a WAR of 3.3 with the Yankees with Tulo managed just a 1.4 WAR with Toronto. If we’re playing Playstation is Tulo the better shortstop? Sure, but we’d also win every World Series there ever was as well. I don't see how a .239 hitter with five home runs and 17 RBI manages a 1.4 WAR anyway, just saying. Oh any by the way Tulo had a 1.5 WAR in Colorado in 2015 so his 2.9 WAR combined is still less than Didi's and Didi almost, and should have, won a Gold Glove at shortstop. 

Speaking of getting hurt that’s what was used as reasoning to think that Chris Colabello will be better than Mark Teixeira in 2016. One word comes to mind, LOL. Teixeira was hurt in 2015 and still managed to hit 31 home runs and drive in 79 RBI with a 3.8 WAR. Colabello? 15 HRs, 54 RBI and a 0.7 WAR. I rest my case. If it works for one, Tulo, then it works for the other.

The Blue Jays lost their second baseman Devon Travis and are forced to go with Ryan Goins, currently, at second base. This may have been a homer pick, we all know how I feel about Robert Refsnyder and his development, but Goins is not exactly putting the fear of God into opposing pitchers himself. It’s just a personal preference, hell a push would have been more accurate but this is a Yankees blog. Sue me. Also, REFSNYDER is projected to have a better season than GOINS according to Baseball Reference and they are usually pretty damn accurate. 

The final instance is Jacoby Ellsbury against Kevin Pillar. We’re talking a lineup here, an offense. If we are counting Web Gems on Baseball Tonight then Pillar wins every time. If we’re talking about a table setters and someone who can hit for not only average but power as well that’s Ellsbury. Sure he’s been injured and could be injured again, you don’t think Pillar’s all out play can get him injured at any time? Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean that it won’t. Pillar and Ellsbury could go either way though, I do admit that. Pillar is no slouch offensively, I just like a healthy Ellsbury better. Pillar had a 5.2 WAR in 2015 but much of that was his defense, Ellsbury had a relatively healthy season in 2014 and posted a 3.3 WAR. Pillar is allowed to steal bases, the Yankees don't want to take the bat out of their middle of the order hitters as they wait on the three run home run. If you want to go Pillar here I'm not against admitting I'm wrong, it's close though. 

Then you have the no brainers. Brian McCann is a better offensive catcher than Russell Martin is. I don’t need to put out the stats on that one. Same can be said for Brett Gardner over Ben Revere, Josh Donaldson over Chase Headley and Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion over anyone and everyone in the Yankees lineup.

These projections and my picks are all on paper. Just because Ellsbury is the better offensive weapon it doesn’t mean that he will be. It doesn’t mean that Mark Teixeira won’t re-break his leg in Spring Training and miss the entire season. It doesn’t mean that Bautista will continue to dominate the world with his annoying bat flips and home run trots. It’s on paper and it is how it stands today. If you disagree then I apologize, and I do appreciate your readership and comments, but this is how I feel and I’m not going to change it. 

The Daily Dozen: April 6, 2015 Edition

Hello all you Greedy Pinstripers out there...today was the beginning of the 2015 Major League Baseball season for the New York Yankees and in turn is the RETURN of the Daily Dozen: Twelve Takeaways from Today's Game...

1. For the first time since 1995, the New Yankees Roster does not include a man named Derek Jeter.  It's a sad day indeed..especially with his replacement Didi Gregorious (I know, it just falls of the tongue so smoothly, doesn't it?) having a lackluster first day in Pinstripes.  But you know, in order for the Yankees to move on with their new "Royal-esque" approach, the Core Four needed to be retired.

2. Mr. Joe Torre got to throw out the first pitch today.  It seems like the animosity between Torre in the Steinbrenners is completely gone now...at least publicly.

Joe Torre knows how to pitch in the Bronx (Photo Credit: CBSlocal.com)

3. An error by Chase Headley opened the Floodgates for the Jays.  I wonder if A-Rod would have made the play, or if he would have broken his hip playing 3rd base to begin with.

4. Masahiro Tanaka.  Not such a good start of the season for #TanakaTime, but it is a long season.  It will have to be in order to get that 9.00 ERA down.  He probably would have done just that if it were May instead of April.  The Binder had him on a strict 90-pitch count, which with the Yankees bullpen isn't such a bad idea.  An interesting stat I saw from Mr. Lou DiPietro of the YES Network ~ Tanaka gave up as many runs today to the Blue Jays (5) as he did in 18.1 innings against them last season.  I'm personally looking forward to those shutouts coming in his next 2 games against Toronto to even that stat line out.

5. Six Ks are not equal to Five Rs.  I know this due to my advanced Science degree.  Check out this equation below, which tells you what 6 Ks are really worth:

                  6K = R^5 - sin^2 / tan (sqrt of xHRs)

In case you missed it, that was the important part of Tanaka's line through 4 innings pitched.

6. Kevin Pillar.  Seriously...the guy's name is Kevin Pillar...is this just Kevin Millar in disguise?  The dude went 2 for 4 today and of course is a lifetime .239 hitter.  Of course.

(Photo Credit: JaysProspects.com)

I'm not sure if they resemble each other or not...but knowing
what a prankster Millar is...(Photo Credit: KevinMillar.com)

7. Speaking of "OF COURSE"... The curse of the ex-Yankees continues this season with Russell Martin adding 2 very important RBI in the Tanaka-killer 3rd inning.  We miss you Russell...

8. Isn't it IRONIC...don't you think?  Alex Rodriguez became the first baserunner for the Yankees this season batting 7th in the lineup after missing the entire 2014 season.  It's like rain on your wedding day.  Mr. A-Rod went 1-2 with a walk and is batting .500 with a 0.667 OBP to start his 2015 foray into what could be a COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR type season or one that fizzles him into obscurity...let's hope as Yankees fans for the former.  For what it's worth, the Yankees fans on hand today seemed to welcome him back with open arms.  Maybe it was the lack of Bronx Bombing last year that made them happy to see him...?

I can't tell if Alanis is amused or not...

9. Chris Martin's Debut.  Speaking of the Yankees Bullpen.  Mr. Martin (the "other" Martin in the game today) came into the game in the 5th to relieve #TanakaTime...he only recorded 3 strikeouts on 17 pitches to record a perfect inning in his Yankees debut...not too shabby!  I'll probably be following him on the morrow on Twitter...

10. So what is the chance...?  What is the chance of winning the World Series after going 0-1?  A quick glance at the last TEN World Series Champs revealed the following:

2014 San Francisco Giants...won their first game
2013 Boston Red Sux...won their first game
2012 San Francisco Giants...went 0-3 to start the season
2011 St. Louis Cardinals...went 0-2 to start the season and 2-6...they were awful
2010 San Francisco Giants...won their first 3 games
2009 New York Yankees...lost their first 2 games and were 15-17 by May 12th...left for dead
2008 Philadelphia Phillies...lost their first 2 games and were 8-10 by April 19th
2007 Boston Red Sux...lost the first game of the season
2006 St. Louis Cardinals...won their first 3 games
2005 Chicago White Sox...won their first 2 games

So...it's 50/50 in terms of the last 10 World Series Champions...that's right...the first game doesn't really count...it's what they do in the next 161 that really matters...here's to a 161-1 season!  A big shout out to BaseballReference.com for having these stats so readily available.  Love that site...

Is #28 coming to a Bronx near you?

11. How about that bullpen, ehh?  5 innings of 1 run ball will go a looooong way to giving the Yankees a shot at winning.  But then again, if the Yankees are counting on 5 innings of relief every day they are probably in for a losing season.

12. What kind of season will Brett "The Hitman" Gardner have?  Well, right now he's on pace to hit 162 home runs.  Sounds crazy right, but so did the thought of him hitting 17 dingers last season.  I think he'll end up with right around 25 for the year, which would look mighty nice next to 60 stolen bases.  One can wish, right??

"HULK....SMAAAAASH"