What About Ian Desmond?

You guys know me by now and know where I have stood on the Yankees second base situation for the past two seasons now, I believe the job belongs to Robert Refsnyder. Refsnyder, when given the opportunity, has done nothing but hit the ball and improve defensively in his time with the Yankees yet the team continued to give the bulk of the playing time to Stephen Drew, Brendan Ryan and Dustin Ackley. The talk for the 2016 season, however premature, if that Ackley and Refsnyder will platoon at second base to begin the season if Yankees GM Brian Cashman doesn’t bring in an alternative at the position, could that alternative be Ian Desmond?

Desmond struggled mightily for the Washington Nationals in 2015 but honestly outside of Bryce Harper, who didn’t? The team was hit by the injury bug harder than any team in the league and just had a down year overall as a collective unit. While I don’t feel like their manager Matt Williams was to blame I can’t say anything for sure since I am not in the clubhouse. If Williams was the issue then you should expect a resurgence from the team and its players in 2016, including free agent shortstop Desmond.

Desmond is a right-handed shortstop that could be moved to second base to fill the 2016 position that Stephen Drew was meant to fill in 2015. Desmond could play second base for the most part while acting as a suitable backup at shortstop and third base whenever needed. Desmond would add power and versatility to a team that is desperately needing both heading into the 2016 season and would likely come “at a bargain” considering the back of his baseball card. It seems unlikely that he would come back to Washington in 2016 and it seems even less likely that the team would risk extending him a qualifying offer meaning Desmond could be had for salary alone and would not come attached to any sort of draft pick compensation.

It’s hard to find an offensively productive everyday shortstop and if the Yankees signed Desmond to a relatively small pillow type contract to rebuild his value at second base then I would honestly have to be all for it. I want Refsnyder to get the job, everyone knows that by now, but I am coming to terms with the fact that the team does not think as highly about him as I do, and that’s okay. If the team fills the position with a player that makes sense then it’s hard to argue the logic, even if it is a 30-year old shortstop who struggled in 2015. 

If Gary Sanchez = John Ryan Murphy Then Why Keep Them Both?

This is going to be a tough sell and this would require a lot of roster shuffling but if it could work would the Yankees consider calling up top catching prospect Gary Sanchez to fix the offense? The Yankees could make it work but it would probably be ill advised to be completely honest because it would likely have to come at the expense of backup catcher John Ryan Murphy. With the two players being similar as both are catchers, both are right-handed, both have shown pop and are productive at the plate while both hold their own behind the dish (although Murphy is far superior defensively to Sanchez at this point in their careers) could one of them be traded this offseason?

I personally love Murphy and what he brings to the team. He is a wizard behind the plate controlling the running game, with his game calling and with his defense while he isn’t exactly a slouch when he’s standing at the plate either. I like Murphy because he is a line drive hitter and he never saw a good fastball that he didn’t like and he didn’t drive. Over the course of a 162-game schedule Murphy may put up 15 home runs and 50 RBI, he’s that good, so why would the Yankees call up Sanchez to replace him? To be frank, they won’t barring an injury so does that mean Sanchez is the more likely of the two to be traded?

I’m honestly surprised that Sanchez is still on the team to be completely honest. New York has a ton of depth in the minor leagues at the catcher position with Austin Romine, Sanchez, Luis Torrens and others leaving many to speculate that New York would trade from a position of strength to fill a position that was lacking, middle infield for example. After a standout season for Sanchez in Triple-A and an amazingly hot start to his Arizona Fall League Sanchez’s trade value has never been higher and it may be time for Brian Cashman to strike a deal.

Much like Cashman traded Ramon Flores, who could easily be replaced by Taylor Dugas, Mason Williams, Slade Heathcott, Tyler Austin, Jake Cave and others, this July he may do the same this winter with Sanchez. As much as I’d love to see Sanchez be everything that Jesus Montero was supposed to be for the team before his trade to Seattle if the deal makes sense it would be ill-advised to pass it up. We may be seeing Sanchez wear a Yankees hat and/or uniform for the final time down in Arizona with the Surprise.

Is Mike Leake the Answer for 2016?

With all the talk surrounding the New York Yankees and their offseason plans before the 2016 season many names are being thrown around like the team is playing with house money. Unfortunately for the fans of the Yankees the team is not playing  with house money, they are playing with Hal’s money and no matter how many times he stands at a podium and tells the fans that he’s not cheap I don’t think he is convincing many fans otherwise. In a free agent market where his father would snatch up David Price, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Jordan Zimmerman Hal may, or he may not, only open up the strings for Mike Leake.

Leake was said to be a trade target for the New York Yankees at this past July 31^st trading deadline before the Cincinnati Reds traded the right-hander to the San Francisco Giants for a couple of prospects that I have never heard of and that San Francisco fans are not losing any sleep over. New York, in my opinion with hindsight being 20/20 like it is, dropped the ball in acquiring Leake and a wrong, for lack of a better word, could be righted this winter with just a paycheck.

Leake will not qualify for a qualifying offer since he was traded during the season meaning the Yankees could hold onto their first round draft pick for the 2016 season. Leake will also not command the salary or the years that many of this year’s free agent crop will command. Leake will not touch the $30 million AAV that Zack Greinke is expected to ask for and he will not come anywhere near the six or seven years that David Price is said to be requesting this offseason. Leake could end up signing for three years or so with a modest $12 million AAV, although that is simply my estimation and I could be wrong.

Leake doesn’t solve the Yankees “lack of an ace” problem the team has but if the club feels like that ace could be either Masahiro Tanaka or Luis Severino then having a potential #2, but likely solid #3, starter in Leake would be ideal for the club. Leake will eat innings and keep you in almost every single ball game which is huge for a team that is built around a solid offense and a juggernaut of a bullpen. 

Major League Baseball’s Newest Sponsorship & How it Affects YOU, the Fan!

Major League Baseball is a business first and foremost so all the time you and I, the fans, see the official this of Major League Baseball or the official that of Major League Baseball but we, again as fans, never really get anything out of it. Okay sure I am wearing the official deodorant of Major League Baseball with the official tires of Major League Baseball on my car eating the official fast food chain of Major League Baseball while listening to the official radio station of Major League Baseball but what does that get me personally? Well until now, nothing. MLB is hooking up with Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Starwood Preferred Guests to make the hotel chain the “Official Hotel of Major League Baseball” and to make Starwood the “Official Hotel Loyalty Program of Major League Baseball” and they are giving back to the “Official Fans of Major League Baseball.”

Commissioner of Major League Baseball Rob Manfred negotiated the deal that, starting in 2016, would allow guests of Sheraton Hotels and SPG members to receive complimentary access to MLB.TV and MLB Network in all of their hotel rooms. Of course us, the fans, have to deal with seeing Starwood booking widgets when we head to MLB.com and your respective team’s schedule pages but everything is a give and take relationship in business I suppose.

I don’t travel much but I think, especially during baseball season, the easiest decision I will make in traveling is what hotel brand I am going to be using. Free MLB.TV and free MLB Network? Yes please. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/22: Damn You Jeff Weaver

Watch the entire Game 4 of the 2003 World Series by clicking above. FREE!

On this day in 2003 the Yankees Jeff Weaver gave up a home run to the Marlins Alex Gonzalez to tie the series up at two games each and give the Marlins a 4-3 victory in 12 innings. This game also ended the Yankees consecutive games winning streak in extra innings at seven games.


Also on this day in 2000 in Game 2 of the Subway World Series the Yankees extended their World Series consecutive games winning streak to 14 games. The Yankees beat the Mets 6-5, not that anyone really remembers the score. This game will always be remembered for Roger Clemens innocently, yes I am completely biased and humble, throwing a bat in the general direction of Mike Piazza. This came on the heels of Clemens drilling Piazza in July which resulted in the benches clearing before cooler heads prevailed.


Also on this day in 1974 the Yankees and a Giants pulled off a trade that saw Bobby Bonds come to New York and Bobby Murcer head to San Francisco. This, at the time of course, was considered to be the biggest one for one trade in the history of baseball. Both players made over $600,000 marking the first time two players making that much money were traded in the same deal. Murcer was donned the next Mickey Mantle while Bonds was donned the next Willie Mays so this was a huge trade at the time.


Finally on this day in 1967 Joe DiMaggio was named the Athletics executive vice president and consultant for the team. DiMaggio was also named a part time hitting coach and a public relations advocate for the club although Joe would leave the A's after just two years with the organization.

2015 Yankees: Dustin Ackley Talks Yankees Pride

Jose Bautista Needs to Calm Down

Jose Bautista has been seen during the ALCS pre-game workouts and such wearing a “Toronto vs. Everybody” t-shirt as the Toronto Blue Jays outfielder continues to play the victim. The victim that was seen in right field doing WWE star John Cena’s signature “you can’t see me” after throwing out two members of the New York Yankees. The victim that flipped the bat during Game 5 of the ALDS almost as far as the eventual game winning home run he hit. It’s not Toronto vs. Everybody it’s YOU vs. Everybody and you need to calm down.

I understand that this is the first time the Blue Jays outfielder has been to the postseason in his 12-year career and I understand that emotions and pressure are running amuck right now. Calm down, you have gone from keeping the Toronto Blue Jays relevant in a way only Carlos Delgado could in the past 22-seasons without a postseason berth to being the players that all the fans love to hate. You’re better than that Joey Bats.

It’s not a team-based thing, I actually respect the Toronto Blue Jays as a team and as an organization, and it’s 100% not an ethnic thing, although I’ve seen the ethnic card being tossed around of late, it’s a respect thing. You disrespect yourself, the game and the opposing team’s players and fans when you act like this, flipping bats, making gestures etc. You’re a role model, is this how you want your kids to act on the High School ball field when they don’t have the MLB Players Association, the league, droves of security and teammates and fans to back them up?

You’re 35-years old now and you’re finally in the postseason, congratulations. No one on that field probably deserves it more than you. I know I can’t say act like you’ve been here before, because you can’t because you haven’t, but act like the face of the franchise that many believe you to be and not some young, arrogant up-and-coming kid that that everyone is going to love to hate. Represent the game and represent your homeland and people, don’t give them a black eye before they even make their way over to the states to pursue THEIR dream.

Tim Hudson, Barry Zito & the New York Yankees

Who doesn’t remember the latter part of the “Dynasty Years” with the New York Yankees when the same teams kept coming up and meeting New York in the postseason. You had the Minnesota Twins, you had the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, you had the Boston Red Sox and you had the Oakland Athletics. Leading the charge for the Oakland A’s was a three-headed starting pitching monster that few could emulate, or beat for that matter, in Mark Mulder, Barry Zito and Tim Hudson. When all was said and done all three men left Oakland for greener pastures, pun intended money reference, and when all is said and done in 2015 the threesome will all officially be retired.

It was announced earlier during the season that Hudson, currently listed on the San Francisco Giants roster, would retire and around lunch time on Monday Zito, who will retire an Athletic after leaving town also for the San Francisco Giants, announced that he would be doing the same. Two great ambassadors and representatives in the game are leaving after 2015 and while most are sad I have a sneaking suspicion that the New York Yankees are not.

Zito and Hudson had varying degrees of success against the Yankees in their careers, Hudson more than Zito obviously, so I thought it would be fun to go over exactly what each did against New York respectively. The stats and such are meaningless in the grand scheme of things by today’s standards but just have fun with it as we inch closer to the World Series and the long, cold winter that we call the offseason.

Zito:

I	Split	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+
	New York Yankees	16	407	61	93	14	17	6	46	78	.264	.354	.460	.814	.293	127

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

I	Split	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	SO9
	New York Yankees	3	9	5.20	16	90.0	93	61	52	17	46	78	1.544	7.8

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Hudson:

I	Split	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+
	New York Yankees	12	329	35	70	13	7	5	25	58	.237	.298	.353	.651	.270	92

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

I	Split	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	SO9
	New York Yankees	2	4	3.83	12	80.0	70	35	34	7	25	58	1.188	6.5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

The Hisashi Iwakuma vs. Hiroki Kuroda Comparison That Could Help the Yankees in 2016

The Major League Baseball postseason is still in full motion as we sprint towards the World Series in a classic “hurry up and wait” type situation. I say that because the ALCS and NLCS series look unlikely to go deep into the month of October with seven game series looking less and less likely. We’re all in a hurry to get to the World Series so we can sit by our window looking out it with sadness across our faces while we wait for Spring Training 2016. The good news for the MLB fan, and especially for the Yankees fans until recently, is you have the Hot Stove and free agency markets to keep you busy and occupied until then. New York has never shied away from reloading and retooling via free agency, although the team is trying to be smarter about it these days, and that mindset may lead them to a man that reminds me a lot of a former Yankee Hiroki Kuroda, Hisashi Iwakuma.

The comparisons only begin at the fact that both are Japanese-born players that have made their way over to the United States to play in the Major Leagues. Both are veteran right-handed starting pitchers that have expressed an interest in staying out on the West Coast to stay closer to their native Japan, could both be lured East for significant salary on a one-year or two-year deal? If you’re looking at the stats and the current status of the Yankees starting rotation you would certainly hope so.

Here are Iwakuma’s stats thus far in the Major Leagues with the Seattle Mariners:

Year	W	L	ERA	G	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2012	9	5	3.16	30	0	0	125.1	117	49	44	17	43	101	121	4.35	1.277	8.4	1.2	3.1	7.3
2013 ★	14	6	2.66	33	0	0	219.2	179	69	65	25	42	185	138	3.44	1.006	7.3	1.0	1.7	7.6
2014	15	9	3.52	28	0	0	179.0	167	70	70	20	21	154	103	3.25	1.050	8.4	1.0	1.1	7.7
2015	9	5	3.54	20	1	1	129.2	117	53	51	18	21	111	107	3.74	1.064	8.1	1.2	1.5	7.7

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

And here are Kuroda’s stats, specifically with the Yankees:

Year	W	L	ERA	G	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2012	16	11	3.32	33	3	2	219.2	205	86	81	25	51	167	127	3.86	1.165	8.4	1.0	2.1	6.8
2013	11	13	3.31	32	1	1	201.1	191	79	74	20	43	150	121	3.56	1.162	8.5	0.9	1.9	6.7
2014	11	9	3.71	32	0	0	199.0	191	91	82	20	35	146	104	3.60	1.136	8.6	0.9	1.6	6.6

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Iwakuma would give the Yankees another top of the rotation type starter, maybe not an ace but definitely a solid #2 or great #3, adding to Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi and Luis Severino. Iwakuma would likely come attached to a qualifying offer and draft pick compensation but many of the great starters, besides David Price and Johnny Cueto who were traded mid-season and are ineligible, will be this winter so it’s six of one and a half dozen of the other. Iwakuma gives the Yankees a substantial upgrade in the starting rotation without sacrificing the future in long-term contracts and in potential trades on the trade market.

Iwakuma makes perfect sense for the Yankees, will Brian Cashman once again get his man?

What About Raul Ibanez for the New Yankees Hitting Coach?

Earlier in the week I discussed the possibility of Jason Giambi replacing the recently departed Yankees hitting coach Jeff Pentland and while writing it another intriguing name came to mind, former Yankee Raul Ibanez. Ibanez spent just a short time as a member of the New York Yankees but made the most of his time here in the Bronx leaving the fans with memorable home run and clutch hit after memorable home run and clutch hit. You think he could teach some of the Yankees hitters, namely Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann, to do the same in 2016?

Raul is a 19-year veteran of Major League Baseball spending time with the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Raul is the type of hard-nosed veteran type player that any team would be lucky to have if not for his production but what he brings to a group of young guys in the way of teaching. Much like Jason Giambi I truly believe that Ibanez is a candidate for a managerial job if that’s the route he so chooses to go in, he always seemed to have a grasp and a true knowledge of the game. That cannot be taught.

Raul has zero formal coaching and managing experience so he would likely be better suited as an assistant hitting coach or the potential replacement for Marcus Thames in the minor leagues (assuming Thames takes the big league job) but either way I think everyone would benefit from having him back in the organization. Raul, You’re so cool… now come back.