Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Closing the Door on Max Scherzer


By my very unofficial count the New York Yankees payroll for 2015 sits at about $212 million after the Chase Headley signing for $52 million. The Yankees have two open roster spots on the 40 man roster and at least two holes to fill in the starting rotation. With New York seemingly waiting out the 2016 and 2017 seasons to once again make a run at getting under the luxury tax and giving austerity another chance this all may be closing the door on Max Scherzer in pinstripes.

What Hal Steinbrenner fails to realize when making these “Hal Cap” goals is that the team, more so than any other team, needs to spend money to make money. The Yankees fans are spoiled and expect, not appreciate, the big signing and the star power that the checkbook brings to the team. If the Yankees were to make it to the playoffs and the World Series a Scherzer contract would be more than paid for in merchandise, ticket sales and revenue. What Hal fails to realize is the YES Network and stadium attendance have been going down ever since the teams win total started to go down and that was with a Mariano River and a Derek Jeter farewell tour going on. What will those numbers look like in 2015 when the longest tenured Yankees are Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner and Ivan Nova?


The Headley contract looks like it really shut the door on a Scherzer contract and the lack of a Scherzer contract may really put the damper on a lot of future contracts when the fans don’t flock to the overpriced stadium like they once did. It’s the domino effect and I’m not talking about pizza Hal, pay attention. 

8 comments:

  1. Why would we give-up on anyone not signed?
    I think this will test the resolve to put a good team on the field for Hal and Cashman. Unless there is a reason (like a bad team) for Scherzer to decide not to come to NY, there is no reason why the Yankees can't sign him.

    Hal, this is one time you have no choice, if you want to see full support from the fans!

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  2. Because on more than one occasion Brian Cashman has said that he isn't signing Scherzer. Not to say Hal can't swoop in and overturn his decision. The payroll where it is before a potential 25-30 million AAV for Scherzer is what makes me think it's not happening.

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  3. Hal treats thius franchise like its a 400 million valued franchise and not the 3 billion it is actually worth if not more. Daniel you nail home the points in the article that revenue will not be generated when this team can't get out of its way. Anyone who thinks Nova will be back to Nova this year is mistaken. Anyone who thinks they can rely on CC or Pineda is dreaming and if anyone is comfortable with Warren or Phelps then you need your head examined. Warren was moved to the pen because he just doesn't have the stuff to start in my opinion. Phelps is a 5 or 5A at best. 4th place right now is looking to be ours

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  4. Replies
    1. I'm clearing the Canyon of Heroes as we speak, lol. Welcome I aboard Henry, hope to hear more from you.

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  5. Yes Henry unfortuantely I know that. Another mistake by Cashman

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  6. Article on Cashman.. 4th place is looking more and more like a reality..

    The Yankees have officially announced the Chris Capuano signing, and general manager Brian Cashman has made it clear that Capuano is meant to fill a rotation spot, not simply add a rotation possibility.

    “He’s coming in as one of our starters,” Cashman said.

    So that’s four spots essentially filled right now: Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia and Capuano. The Yankees expect Ivan Nova back from Tommy John by June at the latest, and for now, they’re looking at a list of predictable candidate to fill the fifth spot.

    Cashman specifically named David Phelps, Adam Warren, Bryan Mitchell, Chase Whitley and Jose De Paula as rotation possibilities. Esmil Rogers, Cashman said, could also emerge as a rotation candidate. There’s a chance Manny Banuelos could pitch his way into that mix in spring training, but the Yankees aren’t counting on it.

    “He could become an option probably sometime more in season than to start the season,” Cashman said, “because he didn’t have a very good coming out party after the Tommy John. … But I still have high hopes for him.”

    Unless Japanese starter Kenta Maeda is posted — and there’s little guarantee the Yankees would bid on him — the free agent market seems to have lost most of its mid-rotation possibilities. With Brandon McCarthy getting a four-year deal and Brett Anderson getting $10 million guaranteed, a few potential bargain candidates wound up signing significant contracts, and the Yankees are still saying they have no plans to enter the bidding for Max Scherzer because of the money and years attached (I’ve heard recently that the Yankees also didn’t enter the bidding for some guys like Anderson because they were told early on how much it would cost).

    Hiroki Kuroda remains a possibility, but Cashman said he still hasn’t heard whether Kuroda wants to come back next season.

    “I think it’s safe to assume we are open to any legitimate possibilities to improve our club,” Cashman said. “Obviously making sense in the current circumstances that we have. … The preference would be to never have to go to the free agent market to get what you need, but that’s just not realistic.”

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  7. Kuroda wouldn't be the worst option... but far from the best.

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