Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Japanese Posting Fee To Be Split Over Two Years


The posting fee of $20 million for Japanese players will be paid in two installments, $13 million the first year and $7 million the second year. Why? You got me, but that's the way it is apparently according to MLB Trade Rumors. The idea was to give teams a more realistic shot at going after the talent but is $7 million really that big of an amount for a team, especially when it doesn't count against the luxury tax or overall payroll? Probably not, something is fishy here.

Ubaldo Jimenez Seeking $14 Million Or More Annually


So apparently many writers, readers, and fans took speculation of "I think the Yankees will end up with Ubaldo Jimenez" and turned it into "the Yankees are interested and the front runners for Ubaldo Jimenez." I really love Twitter and such but like everything else in the world it has it's downfalls. I digress. Let's assume the Yankees are the front runners and are interested in Ubaldo Jimenez, are we still interested after what was announced today?

It was announced that Jimenez is seeking a multi year deal worth $14 million plus annually in salary. Obviously Jimenez's market has been slowed by the wait, and now 30 day window, for Masahiro Tanaka but is expected to pick up later this month or early in February. The problem with Jimenez is that he rejected a qualifying offer which links him to draft pick compensation which is less of a problem for the Yankees when they have to give up a pick somewhere in the 50th overall range than other teams.

The market for Jimenez seems limited right now with possible suitors limited to the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, and possibly the Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles.

Yankees Will Not Move Tampa Yankees To Ocala


There has been speculation that the Yankees would move their High A Tampa Yankees squad to Ocala, Florida but that deal has fallen through and New York has backed out of any proposed deals. The deal is not completely dead, it is categorized as on hold until April, but the Ocala community does not seem completely sold on the idea of having the baseball stadium there. Obviously the community would have to be the one to shoulder the proposed tax hikes and such to pay for such a stadium and now the city of Ocala is out the $300 K they spent trying to lure the Yankees there.

This is not the first time the Yankees have tried to move the Tampa Yankees or a deal has fallen through, remember the Yankees tried to move their High A affiliate to Orlando back in 2010. The $45 million new ballpark deal in Ocala was agreed upon in October and would have been ready by Opening Day 2016 before the deal fell through. The Ocala Community was upset was held up over a half a cent tax over the next 10 seasons... half a cent.

Here is the quote from Ocala City Council President John McLeod:

“While we expected to bring the community together with this project, it has unfortunately become a source of division.”  “They were a little taken aback at the first county commission meeting where they were expecting a little bit more united support, and they didn’t get that. That’s politics. That’s the way things go sometimes.”

Darrell Rasner Talks About Pitching W/ Masahiro Tanaka


Former Yankees pitcher Darrell Rasner has spent the last five seasons pitching in Japan along side Masahiro Tanaka and has been recently interviewed by Sweeny Murti about the Japanese star. Rasner was quoted as saying the following:

I watch him pitch at 88-89 or 90-91, and then I’ll see him jump up to 98-99 when he needs it. I saw him do this (last) year, and there was one game that really stands out to me. I wanna say it was the eighth or ninth inning and he was 140 pitches in and he needed a strikeout, and he jumped it from that 90 to about 98-99 and punched the guy out. … He’s always been great, he’s always been special. But this year I saw him learn how to mess with guys’ timing—he would do a quick pitch, change speeds. He really has a good feel right now of what he’s doing.

Ken Davidoff's Hall of Fame Ballot

Ken Davidoff posted his Hall of Fame ballot on Twitter the other day and boy was it a bold one...

Jeff Bagwell - YES
Barry Bonds - YES
Roger Clemens - YES
Tom Glavine - YES
Greg Maddux - YES
Mike Mussina - YES
Mike Piazza - Meh, at the end of the day probably not.
Curt Schilling - No. Absolutely not. Call me biased, maybe he is not qualified, or maybe he's just a douche.
Frank Thomas- YES
Larry Walker - No

If you include Bonds, Clemens, Piazza, etc how can you include Walker and leave off Mark McGwire? Rafael Palmeiro? Sammy Sosa? Craig Biggio is not deserving? Edgar Martinez changed the game and turned the designated hitter into an offensive power show, not that that alone should merit him in the hall. Tim Raines deserves to be in as well and probably Alan Trammell as well. Just too many guys and not enough spots.


Yankee Stadium Legacy: #84 Derek Jeter


The New York Yankees knew that they had something special when they called up Derek Jeter to the major leagues in 1995. The New Jersey native immediately stepped up for his first full season in 1996 batting .314 with 78 RBI's and 104 runs scored. Jeter won the American League Rookie of the Year Award that season as well as his first of five World Series rings. The hits kept coming as Jeter pounded out 203 hits in 1998 and a career high 219 hits in 1999.

84 days until Yankees Opening Day.

This Day In New York Yankees History 1/7


On this day in 1920 Babe Ruth reacted to being called "the most selfish and inconsiderate man to ever put on a baseball uniform" by former owner Harry Frazee. Ruth was quoted by the Boston Evening Standard saying "Frazee is not good enough to own any ball club, especially one in Boston."


On this day in 2006 former Yankees GM Bob Watson received the Jackie Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The honor was given to the first black general manager in baseball history during the Legacy Awards in Kansas City.


On this day in 2007 Randy Johnson agreed to a two year deal worth $26 million with the Arizona Diamondbacks leaving only a physical and approval by MLB to finalize the trade with the Yankees. The Yankees will receive reliever Luis Vizcaino, minor league right handed pitching prospects Ross Ohlendorf and Steven Jackson, and minor league infielder Alberto Gonzalez.