Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Get Down Off That Ledge

Curtis Granderson declined to accept a 14.1 million dollar qualifying offer yesterday, officially making him a free agent and in all probability ending his time with the New York Yankees (until he is old and washed up and Brian Cashman signs him to a one-year deal to replace another old and washed up player who is injured).
Granderson was a very popular player with many fans who are upset about his exit. Tweets of gloom, doom, sorrow, and disappointment have abounded since yesterday afternoon.   While I understand that a player with the power and character both on and off the field that Granderson possesses will be popular with fans, it really is in the best interests of the Yankees to let Granderson go and pursue other options.
Curtis Granderson will turn 33 years old in March and is seeking an expensive multiyear deal.  Using an aggregate of what former Yankee Nick Swisher(4 years, 56 million dollars) and Michael Bourne(4 years, 48 million dollars)got last year as free agents it is reasonable to expect that Granderson will be seeking somewhere in the neighborhood of 52 million dollars over 4 years. Granderson will probably get such a deal, perhaps without even having to change his home address.  The Mets have been rumored to have interest in Granderson, who has been outspoken about loving New York.
Granderson's time with the Yankees was a major disappointment outside of 2011, the only season his OBP was above .324 in his stay with the Yankees.  In 2010 Granderson struggled at the plate, with a BA/OBP/OPS of .247/.324/.792.  Granderson's 2011 season was the high point of his Yankee career, a season in which he hit 41 HR's while driving in 119 runs and posting splits of .262/.364/.916.   While Granderson did post 43 HR's and 106 RBI's in 2012, his splits plunged to .232/.319/.811.  Granderson was virtually non-existent after July in 2012, going 41-200(.205) from August 1st until the end of the 2012 regular season.  For an encore in 2012, Granderson went a disastrous 3-30(.100) in the postseason with one RBI coming on a solo HR.
Granderson's 2013 may have been compromised by injury disruptions to his season but it is important to note that he was healthy in the 71 games that he did appear in on his way to 7 HR's and splits of .229/.317/.724.   Including his 2012 postseason statistics, Granderson has gone 93-444(.210) since August 1st of 2012 with only 23 home runs and 63 RBI's.  That's no small sample folks, that's 444 at-bats.
Granderson's fielding is average at best and references to his "speed" puzzling. In Granderson's four seasons as a Yankee career he stole only 55 bases and was caught stealing 17 times for only a 67% success rate.
Curtis Granderson had some great moments as a Yankee but Curtis Granderson was not great as a Yankee.
The Yankees have quite a few pressing needs and spending in the area of 52 million dollars on a four-year deal for a player with recent injury issues about to turn 33 years old with a  declining bat simply isn't rational. 
Appreciation for Granderson's great moments as a Yankee along with his great acts off the field is certainly in order for Yankee fans, but it's time to say goodbye to Curtis.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)