Saturday, August 25, 2012

David Aardsma Takes Step Towards The Bronx


David Aardsma threw a bullpen session today which consisted of 35 pitches, including sliders, today to live batters. David is working himself back from Tommy John surgery and, depending on whose report your read, will or will not be back this season for the Yankees. It does not matter if he gets back this season, although it would obviously be better for everyone involved, because the team has a measly 500K team option for next season that will undoubtedly be picked up. With the minor league season drawing to a close it is now or never on the rehab assignments for David.

Yankees @ Indians 8/25/12

UPDATE:
3-0 Indians after 1 IP
Indians win 3-1

Tonight the Yankees will play their 2nd game of a weekend series against the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland, Ohio. On the mound tonight for the Yankees will  be Yankees "ace" Hiroki Kuroda looking to put some space in between us and the Rays. Standing in our way will be Justin Masterson, former Red Sox and current Cleveland Indians right handed starter. The game will be televised at 7:10 pm ET on YES and on MLB Network.

Lineups

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
Raul Ibanez DH
Ichiro Suzuki LF


Go Yankees!!

Fiscal Look At The Yankees Disabled List

One of our fans asked to see a total of salary that we have dished out this season to players missing time on the disabled list or just sitting and resting nagging injuries. Here are the findings:

I only included guys that have missed a minimum of 2 games missed. Everyone has that one day they take off for a sore this or a nagging that.

Alex Rodriguez        27 Games Missed    $29,000,000 salary     $179,012.36 per game = $4,833,333.72
David Aardsma       125 Games Missed   $500,000 salary         $3,086.42 per game = $385,502.50
Cesar Cabral          125 Games Missed   $480,000 salary          $2,962.96 per game = $370,370.00
Pedro Feliciano      125 Games Missed    $4,000,000 salary      $24,691.36 per game = $3,086,420.00
Brad Meyers          125 Games Missed   $480,000 salary          $2,962.96 per game = $370,370.00
Andy Pettitte           49 Games Missed     $2,500,000 salary      $15,432.10 per game = $756,172.90
Michael Pineda       125 Games Missed   $528,000 salary          $3,259.26 per game =  $407,407.50
Mariano Rivera       99 Games Missed     $15,000,000 salary    $92,592.59 per game = $9,166,666.41
CC Sabathia           20 Games Missed     $23,000,000 salary    $141,975.31 per game = $2,839,506.20
Brett Gardner         114 Games Missed    $2,800,000 salary     $17,283.95 per game =  $1,970,370.30
Austin Romine        121 Games Missed    $482,000 salary        $2,975.31 per game = $360,012.51
Mark Teixeira         9 Games Missed       $22,500,000 salary    $138,888.89 per game = $1,250,000.01
Nick Swisher          8 Games Missed       $10,250,000 salary   $63,271.60 per game = $506,172.80
Robinson Cano       2 Games Missed       $14,000,000 salary   $86,419.75 per game = $172,839.50
Eric Chavez            7 Games Missed       $900,000 salary        $5,555.56 per game = $38,888.92
Eduardo Nunez      60 Games Missed      $524,000 salary       $3,234.58 per game = $194,074.80
Russell Martin        10 Games Missed      $7,500,000 salary    $46,296.30 per game = $462,963.00
David Robertson    28 Games Missed      $1,600,000 salary    $9,876.54 per game = $276,543.12
Joba Chamberlain  113 Games Missed    $1,675,000 salary    $10,339.51 per game = $1,168,364.63


The Yankees , to date, have lost a total of $28,615,978.82 to players missing time due to injuries with or without a disabled list trip. Really kind of scary when you think about the fact we're in the discussion for best record in the American League and running away with the American League East.

Don't worry I know your tired of reading about the Yankees and their DL so this will be the last post on it.

Reviewing The Boston/Los Angeles Trade

When it comes to looking to free up money, the Sox did a great job. Adrian Gonzalez is set to make $127 million over the next 6 years, Josh Beckett's contract gives him $31.5 million over the next two years, Carl Crawford will receive $102.5 million between 2013 and 2017, and Nick Punto has 1 year and $1.5 million remaining on his 2 year deal. That's a total of $262.5 million, of which Boston will only pay $12 million, putting the Dodgers on the hook for $250.5 million.

But was the money well spent, and will it be well spent for either team? Let's take a look at the key pieces of the deal, all coming from Boston.

Raise your hand if you want to move back to the west coast.

When it comes to dealing Gonzalez I'm not really sure why Boston did that. I'm not saying it isn't a lot of money, but it's not as if Adrian hasn't been a big contributor to the team. For starters, according to Fangraph's, Gonzo was worth $29.5 million last season, well above the AAV of his contract ($22 million). This season hasn't been going quite as well, as he's only been worth $12.3 million, but he's still putting up pretty respectable numbers (.300/.343/.469 with 15 HR and 86 RBI). If the Sox were looking into the future, which I believe they are, then it would make sense if Gonzalez only had a year or two left on his contract, but as I've pointed out... that's not the case.

The Sox didn't have any first basemen on Baseball America's preseason top 10 prospect list, but perhaps they believe Mauro Gomez, who is hitting .310/.371/.589 in AAA Pawtucket so far this season, is the long-term answer at 1B. Or it could be Jerry Sands, who was acquired from Los Angeles. Sands hit well in the minors, batting .303/.380/.531 with 24 HR in AAA, although his 251 plate appearances in MLB haven't been "all that" (.244/.325/.376). But Jerry is only 24 years old, so maybe Boston has something here.

Adrian could have been a key part of the future, but now he'll be giving Giants fans headaches instead of giving me and other Yankee fans headaches (in 12 games against the Yankees this season his triple-slash is .375/.388/.667).

On the other hand I understand why the Dodgers traded for Adrian. Gonzalez dominated the NL West for 5 years prior to being traded to Boston before the 2011 season, putting up a triple-slash of .288/.374/.514 to go along with averaging about 32 HRs a year while with the San Diego Padres. Los Angeles had James Loney, who was dealt to Boston in the deal, at 1B this season, but James was putting up a paltry batting line of .254/.302/.344 at the time. So getting a a 30-year old that could hold down that position for the next 6 years makes sense. Although Adrian is earning his money so far, I'm sure that by the end of the deal Dodgers fans will be happy to see him go, just as Yankee fans will be about guys like Mark Teixiera and Alex Rodriguez.

Verdict: Good for the Dodgers, bad for Boston.

"No! Due to the time difference, watching sports on the west coast sucks!"

With Boston possibly thinking a few years down the road, it made sense to unload Josh Beckett. Last season Beckett finished 9th in Cy Young voting, after putting up an ERA of 2.89 and WHIP of 1.026 in 30 starts, last season. This season hasn't been going as well, as Josh's ERA has ballooned to 5.23 and his WHIP has gone up to 1.327. Although, according to Fangraph's, Beckett more the earned his salary in 2011, that won't be the case in 2012.

The Red Sox do have Justin Germano, who has an ERA of 2.40 and WHIP of 0.905 in 16 AAA starts, to go along with 4 other starters already in the Sox rotation that are all under 30 years old (Lester, Buchholz, Doubront, and Bard). And that doesn't include picking up Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa. Webster had an ERA of 3.55 and WHIP of 1.455 in AA Chattanooga so far this season, so he isn't blowing anybody away. De La Rosa was a surprise call-up to the Dodgers this season, having just come back from reconstructive elbow surgery 13 months before, but only lasted .2 innings after walking 2 of the 4 batters he faced. So I'm not sure what they have there.

The Dodgers though picked up a solid pitcher to put behind Clayton Kershaw in the rotation, and at $15.75 million a season, they aren't drastically over-paying. It doesn't look like the Dodgers have better choices within the organization for 2012 and beyond, as nobody in AAA is "killing it" out side of John Ely, and Ely has been lit up so far in MLB to the tune of a 5.35 ERA and 1.456 WHIP in 19 starts and 112.2 innings. Chad Billingsley is a good #3 starter, but he hasn't been able to replicate the great numbers he put up in his 2nd and 3rd years in the Majors.

Verdict: Good for both teams.

Picture this, but with Carl wearing a Dodgers uniform instead.

In his first two seasons with Boston Crawford has earned, again... via Fangraph's Dollar Value, only $2.5 million of the $33.5 million he's been paid. And now Carl's having Tommy John surgery, ensuring that he won't have a shot at making up for at least some of that the rest of this season, and possibly part of next season. So it was a no-brainer for the Red Sox to dump this guy before he cost them any more money, since Carl will be paid $102.5 million more dollars over the next 5 years.

But I have no idea why the Dodgers agreed to this. They recently extended the contracts of Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, and both players are doing pretty well (Kemp has an OPS+ of 168 and Ethier has an OPS+ of 121). LA also has a guy by the name of Alfredo Silverio, who was their #4 prospect in Baseball America's preseason Top 10 list, and is hitting .306/.340/.542 at AA Chattanooga this season. So why clog up an outfield spot with a guy making that much money, and only hitting .260/.292/.419 in his last 664 plate appearances?

Verdict: Good for Boston, bad for Los Angeles

In the end I really don't know how to feel about this trade. The good part about it for both teams, the swap of Josh Beckett, is the least cost-wise out of the key pieces involved. While both of the expensive parts of the deal, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, are a wash (Gonzo good for LA, Crawford good for Boston).

But what really matters here is how it affects the Yankees. Initially I thought that it was not good for the Bombers, as the Red Sox now have a lot of money they can use on buying some good replacement players. But there's a big "if" there, in that one of Mauro Gomez or Jerry Sands would have to be a good replacement for Adrian Gonzalez's contributions, and remember that not only did Adrian hit well but he was a great fielding 1B too. So to be honest, the loss of Gonzo could cost the team more than half of what they just saved to replace. Couple that with the good possibility that the Sox bring back Jacoby Ellsbury, who is a free agent after this season, and that could be that as far as having more money.

The best thing that came out of this trade is that it made for some more exciting baseball stuff to talk about. Unfortunately I don't think the Red Sox front office is in the business of giving people like me stuff to talk about.

"I'm just trying my best to give Bryan more things to write about at The Greedy Pintripes."

Feliciano Strong In 5th Rehab Appearance


Pedro Feliciano was moved up to High A Tampa for his fifth rehab appearance after making his first four appearances for the GCL Yankees. He allowed four hits and one run in his inning but three of the four hits were against right handed hitters and we all know that Feliciano is a lefty specialist and a LOOGY. Feliciano has a long way to go but this was yet another step towards the Bronx.

Meet A Prospect : David Adams

With September call ups and an expanded active roster on the way I thought it would be a good time to look at the prospects that we have on the 40 man roster that may not be household names. We will start with AA affiliate Trenton Thunder 2B David Adams.


David Lee Adams was born in Margate, FL on May 5th 1987. Adams, now 24 years old, was added to the Yankees 40 man roster before this season to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. David Adams is your typical and perfect stereotype of an infielder... more glove then bat. He is not considered to be a defenseive guru, do not get me wrong, but he is more then average with the glove at 2B. He is more of a doubles kind of hitter and lacks any real power to speak of but he has a great eye and was even voted for having the best plate discipline in the Yankees system in 2011. Adams could easily get 30-40 doubles in a season if he was given a full time starting job somewhere. In all honesty David Adams could possibly start on a team like the Rockies but is nothing more then a bench player for the New York Yankees. He has been hitting the cover off the ball lately though so you never know he just may be back on the fast track to the major leagues again because he is healthy.

David Adams attended high school at Grandview Preparatory School in Boca Raton, Florida where he was ranked as the second best high school third basemen in the United States. He was originally drafted in 2005 in the 21st round by the Detroit Tigers in 2005 but he decided not to sign with the club and go to the University of Virginia. Three years later in 2008 the Yankees drafted him in the third round and signed quickly.  Adams has been sidelined with many injuries including, but not limited to, his 2010 ankle injury in Trenton that has really slowed his career down. Interestingly enough David Adams would have been included in the mega deal the Yankees almost made to get Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners for Jesus Montero and others.

David Adams is now still in AA Trenton and taking reps at 3B ever since the Alex Rodriguez injury. With David Adams being the closest and most major league ready prospect we have in the infield I think this is something we need to watch closely. Injuries have definitely slowed down Adams progression but he has a way with making contact that just cannot be taught.