The Broken Ankle That Started It All

Many baseball people like to argue that the "Dynasty" era of Yankees baseball ended with Luis Gonzalez's bloop single off of Mariano Rivera that won the Diamondbacks the 2001 World Series. Others claim that it was Josh Beckett tagging Jorge Posada out in the middle of the first base line that won the Marlins the 2003 World Series.

Personally, I believe the Dynasty continued on long after that, but ended one year ago today - October 14th, 2012.

The day before, October 13th, had made most of the Yankee faithfuls believe the Dynasty was alive and well. The Yankees took the field for Game 1 of the ALCS, just a handful of wins away from a trip to the 2012 World Series. After suffering through an inept offense for much of the ALDS, they were given a second chance to back up their "Bronx Bombers" mantra. And wow, did they ever!

Down 4-0 in the 9th, facing Tigers' closer Jose Valverde, Ichiro Suzuki roped a two-run home run that curved just inside the right field foul pole, cutting the Detroit lead in half. With two outs, Mark Teixeira was able to work his way on with a walk, and up came Raul Ibanez. The 40-year old New York native had provided plenty of clutch moments for fans to enjoy all season, including game-tying and game-winning home runs in Game 3 of the ALDS just a few days prior.

And after swinging and missing for strike one...this happened:

As TBS announcer Ernie Johnson proclaimed, "He's done it again!", Raul HAD done it again. It was unbelievable, and with a win seemingly inevitable, his home run would go down with the likes of Reggie's three homers in '77, Bucky's go-ahead shot in '78, Leyrtiz's in '96, Brosius' in '01, and so on. If anyone said otherwise at the time, I probably would have called them insane.

If not already, ALCS Game 1 was becoming an instant classic as the game went into extra innings and each team failed to score. With Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Delmon Young due up in the top of the 12th, most people felt a momentum shift, if only slightly. 

Cabrera led off with a single, but David Phelps then got Fielder to ground out. Young then laced a fly-ball into right field, in which Nick Swisher swatted at and missed completely as it went to the wall. Cabrera scored the go-ahead run, and the Tigers were now up 5-4.

Then came the knockout blow. Not just for 2012, but for everything that had happened up until this moment:

It was known that it was sore, but Derek Jeter's ankle finally snapped. After suffering only a handful of minor injuries that resulted in little-to-no time lost throughout his career, at age 38, the Yankees shortstop had suffered as bad a "break" (no pun intended) as any infielder can have. He was helped off the field and wouldn't return for the remainder of the playoffs -- which in reality was only a few days, since Detroit made quick work of New York and swept them aside.

Since Game 1 concluded in the wee hours of October 14th, Game 2 began later that afternoon, in which I was in attendance for. At no fault of their own, Yankees fans were terribly demoralized, as the Captain was done for the year and hopes for a pennant were as bleak as they'll ever be in mid-October at Yankee Stadium. 

The stats say that 47,082 fans made their way to the Bronx, but you wouldn't believe it by all the empty seats there were. The crowd was deathly silent all throughout the game, as was the lineup, which was only able to muster up 4 hits against Anibal Sanchez and Detroit's bullpen, headlined by 2009 Yankee alumni Phil Coke. It was like being in some alternate universe, where you could hear a pin drop at Yankee Stadium and Derek Jeter was not playing shortstop for the Yankees in October.

It was so surreal, but it was a perfect preview of this season and beyond. The game featured an 11-strikeout game by Hiroki Kuroda, but Jayson Nix was at shortstop and the lineup was putrid. With Mariano Rivera on the bench nursing a torn ACL, there also was no chance Mo could jog in from the bullpen and close out a win, which will become the norm come 2014. 

While the streak of winning multiple championships ended in 2001, the Yankees continued to be at the top of the division almost every season, always putting themselves in a position to add more titles to their illustrious history. They even did, of course, win it all in 2009, with the Core Four leading the way. 

Now, Andy, Jorge and Mo are all gone, and Jeter is still trying to limp back onto the field and be an everyday player. Even if he can, next season very likely will be Derek's last, so there is no denying that their time as the core of the Yankees is over, though it did live on way longer than many people ever expected.

Still, October 14th, 2012, may be the date we look back on in a few years when the Yankees are either A) Suffering through a period of mediocrity, or B) Returning to glory without their familiar playoff heroes. The future ensures a lot of change, and maybe its for the better. But wow, it's a shame how abruptly the Dynasty ended, isn't it?

Korean Pitcher Suk Min Yoon Trying Out For MLB Teams

Korean star pitcher Suk Min Yoon is interested in pitching in the major leagues next season and is trying out for various MLB teams. Yoon has hired Scott Boras as his agent after the 2011 season, which may be enough to stay away by itself, and is now a free agent. No posting fee would be required to sign Yoon and his money would not go against the international pool cap that each team has making him more attractive.

If you recognize the name you probably saw him shine in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for Team Korea. Yoon was also the MVP of Korean Baseball in 2011 with his fastball that sits in the low 90's. Yoon also possesses a changeup and a slider and posted a 4.00 ERA in 2013 with a 7.8 K/9 and a 2.9 BB/9 ratio.

Yoon may not be the most ideal pitching free agent this season and probably is not a Plan A, Plan B, or even a Plan C but the Yankees need pitching and Yoon may be worth looking at if we pass on the likes of Matt Garza or Masahiro Tanaka.

What I'd Like To See For 2014: Starting Rotation

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that starting pitching is the biggest issue facing the Yankees this offseason. Three of their five starters, who threw a combined 532.1 innings last season, are free agents. While one of them will likely only be missed by Yankee haters (Hughes), the other two leave large holes (Kuroda and Pettitte).

You're tired, and so were your numbers last season.

Phil, formerly known as "Philthy", Hughes was downright bad in 2013. On top of having an ERA of 5.19, opposing batters hit .293/.340/.492 with 24 home runs off of him. Those are the type of numbers you see from some All Stars. And with only 11 of his 29 starts being the of the "quality" variety, he rarely gave the Yankees a chance to win. So it's safe to say his loss is not a tough one by any means.

On the other hand, the loss of Andy Pettitte is not an easy one. Don't get me wrong, we're not talking about a perennial Cy Young award winner, but the big lefty has been a solid member of the Yankees' rotation for years. Andy's 3.74 ERA looks good on it's own, but add that to to a quality start percentage of 63%, and you can see that Mr. Pettite gave the Yankees many chances to win. Andy will turn 42 next June, but even at that age I and other Yankee fans would be okay seeing him come out of retirement for a second time in 2014. Not that any of us should hold our breath. And by "any of us" I'm including Yankee management.

That brings us to the third starter that will likely be leaving us... Hiroki Kuroda. The man they call "Hiro" had an ERA of 3.31 with the Yankees in 2012 and 2013, and was arguably the staff ace in both seasons. However, Kuroda struggled in the second half both years, so his loss may not hurt as much as some think. Sure, first half games mean just as much as second half games, but unlike some other fans I'd have a hard time leaning on him again next year. His strikeout rate has gone down in each of the past four years (19.6% to 18.2%), and opposing batters hit him harder than they have in his entire career (23% line drive percentage). That's not to say he would be bad should he decide to return to the Yankees, but I'm not one that'll be on the edge of my seat hoping it happens.

As for pitchers I do see on the team in 2014, let's start with the highest paid hurler on the team... CC Sabathia.

CC Sabathia and the Yankees hope to see the big guy rebound in 2014. His ERA last season was the highest it's ever been in his 13 year career. On top of that his strikeout rate was lower than it's been since 2005, when he was only 24 years old. Sabathia's problems have been talked about ad nauseam, so I'm not going to get into them here. However, while I don't feel too good about him going into next season as the staff ace, I have faith that he'll turn things around and be a strong piece of the rotation.

Believe.

I will be on the edge of my seat when the announcement comes about Masahiro Tanaka. I don't expect him to be as good as Yu Darvish has been for the Rangers, but it should be noted that Tanaka's had just as much success in Japan as Darvish did. Take a look at the numbers...

Not only are the numbers awfully close, but Tanaka will be the same age as Darvish was when he left Japan for Major League Baseball.

But Masahiro's ability as a pitcher is not the only big thing that attracts me to him. The other thing is how his salary will affect the team's payroll. You see, the posting fee does not factor into the team's payroll in regards to the Luxury Tax. But that posting fee is taken into account when it comes to that player's contract, as can be seen by the fact that while Yu Darvish is one of the best pitchers in MLB, his salary last season was only $9.5 million. In fact, the Average Annual Value (what is used to determine payroll for the Luxury Tax) is a bit lower at $9.34 million.  So you can see that signing Tanaka, instead of someone like Matt Garza, could save a ton of money.

I would like the team to not only sign Masahiro Tanaka, but also bring somebody like Garza on board. However, since I'm keeping the austerity budget in mind, I don't see how it can be done. Garza is looking to make around $17 million a year, and with Ivan Nova able to slot into the #2 or #3 spot in the rotation along with Sabathia and Tanaka, I don't think it would make sense to go over budget here. Not to mention that David Phelps or Adam Warren could prove to be solid starters next season, and Michael Pineda should be healthy and ready to actual throw a pitch in a MLB game for the Yankees.

Speaking of Michael Pineda, while I don't think he is going to return to the team and be their co-ace, like some thought he could be at the time he was dealt to New York from Seattle, I don't think Michael is going to be useless either. As the #4 starter on the team, or possibly the #5, I believe Pineda will do just fine. In fact, if the choice is between Pineda being better or worse than a bottom of the rotation starter, my money is on that he's better.

I got this.

I kind of skipped over him, but Yankees fans shouldn't dismiss what Ivan Nova could mean for the team in 2014 and beyond. Nova surprised most of us by posting an ERA of 3.10, which would be good for eighth among AL starters. I wouldn't expect him to throw a sub-4.00 ERA again next season, but I feel a whole lot better about having him around the team for next year than I did going into last year. And being in only his first year of arbitration, Ivan will be key to the Yankees getting under $189 million.

David Phelps started 12 games for the Yanks last season, to Adam Warren's 2, but we're likely to see both men compete for a spot in the starting rotation in 2014. Warren's ERA in 79.1 MLB innings is 3.97, while Phelps has an ERA of 4.11 in 186.1 innings, so at the moment I'd be okay with either man winning the job. But if I had to pick one over the other, I'd take the guy with more experience. And that guy is David Phelps. But keep in mind that the Yankees will have more than five guys start at least one game for them in 2014, which means that it's highly likely that Warren gets a handful of starts.

So here's what I'd like the Yankees starting rotation to look like in 2014...

*salaries shown are average annual value (AAV)
1. CC Sabathia $23.67 million
2. Masahiro Tanaka $9 million (signed for 6 years/$56 million)
3. Ivan Nova $2.5 million (arbitration 1)
4. Michael Pineda $500,000 (pre-arbitration)
5. David Phelps $500,000 (pre-arbitration)

Brian Cashman Wants ARod Back

“If it comes down to, would we want the player we signed to be playing that position without any problems? Absolutely, no question about that,” Cashman said on ESPN Radio’s “Ian O’Connor Show” Sunday. 

“I think if people think there’s some sort of benefit by losing that talent, I mean, you can’t replace it. It’s not like, all right, well, Alex is gone. If he winds up getting suspended and it’s upheld, how do you replace that? It’s not easy. 

“It’s not like, all right, we’ll take that money and go in this direction. I think … our fan base saw when we lost significant players at various positions, it was not easy to plug holes because the talent just doesn’t exist.”

Be careful, Cash. Your nose is growing.

There's just a bit of hyperbole going on here.

Would it be easy to replace Alex Rodriguez, should he be suspended? No. People forget that ARod is a good hitter. If Alex could stay on the field for 135 games, then we're talking about a guy that could hit 25 home runs. And those home runs would go along with a batting line somewhere around .275/.355/.445, numbers that would make him a top 5 third baseman in the American League.

But the hyperbole comes from the fact that Rodriguez has played a little over half the games the Yankees have played the last three seasons. Furthermore, ARod has made $88 million between 2011 and 2013, while only being worth $29.3 million (according to Fangraph's Dollar Value).

So while I agree with Brian Cashman that Alex is not going to be easy to replace, should the team have to for 2014 and beyond, you can't tell me that Cash isn't secretly hoping he's suspended. And you can't snicker at myself or other Yankee fans for hoping he's suspended either.

Brett Gardner 2013 Highlights

Watch Brett Gardner's best highlights from the 2013 season. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 10/14

On this day in 1976 the Yankees would win their 30th American League pennant on a Chris Chambliss home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Chambliss  hit the game winning solo home run against the Kansas City Royals in Game 5 by the score of 7-6.

On this day in 200 Roger Clemens beat the Seattle Mariners to put the Yankees up 3-1 in the ALCS. The Yankees would win the game 5-0 and Roger would strike out 15 batters allowing one hit in the victory.

Just for fun here is the video proof of the Chambliss walk off home run, enjoy!

O'Brien Wins Inaugural AFL Bowman Hitting Challenge

Down in the Arizona Fall League we saw the inaugural Peter O'Brien from the Yankees won for the American League  and the Pirates outfielder Alex Dickerson won for the National League. This competition was deemed a "Home Run Derby with a twist" as there were many targets out in the infield and outfield as well making this a hitting skills competition and not a "see who can hit it the farthest the most" competition which I like. Every major league team was represented with one representative to play in the game.

The competition started with four bunts at targets followed by two minutes of hitting off of live pitching while trying to hit as many targets in the infield, outfield, and home run grass as they could. The targets included over-sized baseball card, boxing rings, trampolines, buckets of balls, and home runs which all counted for different point totals. After the two minutes each player got one swing off of a tee and any target hit would result in double points. Like the Home Run Derby has the gold balls with nine outs this competition had the "Bowman Bonus Ball." Unlike the Home Run Derby though, seeing as this is a true hitters competitions, again there was a twist where the player would lose 50 points if he hit any ball foul. Ouch.

O'Brien finished with 1,575 points and Dickerson finished with 1,300 points while the top three from each league also received a cash prize. O'Brien hit five home runs including one to the deepest part of the ballpark resulting in 500 points making him the overall winner.

This is an impressive victory for O'Brien considering other notable prospects down in the AFL this year and competing were Byron Buxton(#1) from the Twins, Addison Russell (#17)  from the A's, Albert Almora(#21) from the Cubs, and other top 100 prospects from around the league. O'Brien was the Yankees second round pick from the 2012 draft out of the University of Miami and split time between the low A Charleston Riverdogs and High A Tampa Yankees in 2013. Congratulations to O'Brien and have fun taking that golden bat home for the victory.

MLB &Players Reach Winter League Deals

A deal has been reached between the MLB and the players association that will allow major leaguers to head down to winter league ball and play this season. With the Venezuelan Winter League and the Mexican Pacific League ready to start up this week, the Dominican Winter League starting on Friday, and the Puerto Rican League opening November 1st this news comes right on time.

This does not necessarily mean that the Yankees can let a, for example, Robinson Cano to go down and play in the winter leagues but it does relax the rules just a tad. If pitchers who spent the majority of their time in AA and threw 140 innings or more they will not be eligible which is down from 155 innings pitched from last year. The max for AA relievers has been reduced as well from 55 appearances last year to a max of 45 appearances this year.

With major league positional players with up to 552 plate appearances which is up from 502 plate appearances last season. Also the "physical incapacity" rule will be more strict and followed through instead of the club just filing paperwork. Other minor changes include better equipment, facilities, bathrooms, clubhouses, and fields.

Obviously teams are worried about their players being overworked and all that but teams still control whether their players can play or not so I see no problems with these new welcomed additions.

Seattle Is Quite Happy With Cashman's "Steals"

Being posted as a part of Syndicated Sunday from It Is High....!

It's not always fun to look at Brian Cashman's trades from the other side of the equation. The Yankee version goes that we acquire solid veterans and give up nothing, either because the other team wanted to dump salary or they simply aren't as smart as us.

Take Seattle, of course. Of course, the ultimate deal - Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda - now looks, at best, to be nothing for nothing. It's still on the board. But two lesser trades that have been widely celebrated as Yankee victories might need a second look.

According to the Seattle Mariners blog Lookout Landing, the acquisitons of Sean Kelly and Ichiro were not the giveaways the Yankees wanted us to think. In fact... yeesh. 

For Kelly, we gave up Abraham Almonte. Here's what Lookout Landing says:

"Abraham Almonte, 24, who received the Mariners Minor League 2013 Heart and Soul Award for his exemplary play and leadership, went from organizational filler to a potential big time player in the club's 2014 outfield plans with the season he turned in. The switch-hitter who came over in exchange for Shawn Kelley combined to hit .295 between two stops in the minors and in Seattle this season, cranking out 17 home runs, walking 73 times and stealing 27 bases while playing all three outfield positions. He showed a lot of defensive ability in all three outfield spots during his 25 game late season trial with the Mariners and looks like a steal for what he cost. His athleticism and versatility are a big change from the outfield the club started the 2013 season with, and that could see him stick on the 25-man roster in 2014."

 

And then there was Ichiro. Does anybody remember the non-entity we gave up for him? Of course not. It was a steal, right? Well, Seattle remembers him.

 

"Of everyone on this list... Danny Farquhar is probably the most surprising to have turned into something valuable at the big league level in 2013. Danny (26) came to the Mariners as one of the pieces in the Ichiro trade... Somewhat of an enigma as a 5-foot-9 right-hander that employed a lot of three-quarters and below arm angles, Farquhar had only two big league innings before his promotion to Seattle this season, but he ended the year as the club's closer and posted the 9th highest SO/9 rate of all MLB relievers in his 55 2/3 innings this season. And while his ERA was an uninspiring 4.20 his FIP was 1.86 -- the fourth best number in the majors among relievers. Farquhar's curveball really made a huge difference for him this year, and sticking to a more natural arm angle allowed him to refine his command past where it had ever been for him before. His 1.9 fWAR was the third highest number on the club and tied for 9th among MLB relievers for the 2013 season."

 

Farquhar is expected to be Seattle's closer this year, and Almonte might start in the outfield. Kelly pitched well for us this year until he ran out of gas, and Ichiro - well - less said, the better.

 

Surprise, folks: We don't get these washed up players for nothing.

This Day In New York Yankees History 10/13

On this day in 1921 the New York Giants beat the New York Yankees in the Polo Grounds in the first ever all New York World Series. The Giants beat the Yankees 1-0 on this day to win the Fall Classic in eight games.



On this day in 1960 we saw the first and only home run to ever end a World Series in a Game 7 when the Pirates Bill Mazeroski hit the winning home run off Ralph Terry to break a 9-9 tie. This may be the most exciting World Series of all time and the greatest World Series of all time.

On this day in 2000 the great Mariano Rivera broke Whitey Ford's 38 year old record for the most consecutive scoreless innings pitched in the postseason. Mariano Rivera's streak extended to 33.1 IP when he passed Whitey passing the 33 innings that Ford put up from 1960-1962.

On this day in 2001 the Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 1-0 staving off elimination in the ALDS as they were down two games to none. This will always be remembered as "the flip" game where Derek Jeter was backing up an errant throw and flipped the ball to catcher Jorge Posada getting the A's Jeremy Giambi at the plate to keep the 1-0 lead. This was one of the best and most clutch plays ever in the history of the postseason.

On this day in 2003 Don Zimmer gave a tearful apology a day after the brawl at Fenway Park broke out and saw the 72 year old Yankees bench coach rush the Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez. The Yankees would win this Game 3 of the ALCS.