Friday, January 2, 2015

Bold Predictions for the 2015 Yankees


If you guys know anything about me by now it's that I absolutely suck at making predictions that are not in the moment of a game or whatever. This season on Twitter I was donned the "Yankees Wizard" after multiple predictions including a couple Chris Young walk offs and David Robertson's implosion and Derek Jeter's walk off on the final game at Yankee Stadium just to name a few. For some reason I do great in those sort of predictions and not so great in the predictions I am about to do, the bold predictions for the season. Let's keep that in mind so you can be gentle in the comments sections.

- Alex Rodriguez, if he gets enough at bats due to injuries, will be a 20 home run guy in 2015. Rodriguez may only hit .265 but will drive 20 balls over the fences for 60 RBI.

- The Yankees world right now is etching Robert Refsnyder's name in stone for the starting second base job but I think Jose Pirela will win the competition in the spring.

- New York will have a closer by committee, at least to start the season, as Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller won't be tied down to the "defined roles" that Joe Girardi loves so much.

- Carlos Beltran will hit 30 home runs with optimal rest, the friendly dimensions at Yankee Stadium, the bone spur no longer an issue and the DH position.

- Mark Teixeira will play in 135 games because every player that has had a comparable wrist surgery is much better the second year removed like Teix will be in 2015.

- Didi Greorius hits .275 and slugs 17 home runs... because why not.

- Yankees win the second Wild Card with 89 wins

23 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. They are called bold predictions, not realistic lol. It's January, it's still a time for optimism. I'll do plenty of bashing, ranting and raving come June to October.

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  2. TONIGHT, I AM A DRAGGER....

    For those of you that live inland, and not on the shores of the eastern seaboard....a " dragger " is
    a mid sized trawler, that when in the off shore waters, drags its enormous nets along the ocean floor.
    Back, and forth for miles they go....in search of fish they can sell back at the piers.
    As you can imagine, everything is caught,and dies in those deadly nets. Dolphins, sharks, rays...
    it is overkill in the highest order.

    Oh ! I'm sorry. I'm not talking baseball, and I should leave !..... Thank you, Bryan / Brian...

    Being a dragger tonight, I've brought to the surface, Gary Sanchez.
    Seriously, after looking at stats from the past 3-4 years...what is the big deal ?
    Montero had more going for him. I don't think I'm visually impaired. Tell me if I'm wrong.

    Toss him into the basket, with Brett Gardner, and some others...for a true masher / raker.
    Another year of Gardner, and his Gator-aide bucket dumping, will shorten my life.

    A northeast dragger, is what you need in January.

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    Replies
    1. To be fair on Sanchez he should be entering Double-A this season based on his age alone and he was there for 2014. He shouldn't be in Triple-A this season and likely will be there if he doesn't start there. The excuse for Sanchez has always been his advanced age for his stop in the minors.

      Montero was getting old for Triple-A when the Yankees finally called him up and ultimately traded him.

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    2. STONE MOUNTAIN BURCH :...

      TOO many pecan log rolls for you, at Stuckey's.....?

      Montero...traded in 2012...was 23 years old.
      His numbers, across the boards, were superior to Sanchez'.

      Send him packing, while you can.

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    3. Montero was a waste and hasn't gotten any better in 4 years.
      Sanchez is a prize, at his age he is a better catcher than Montero is now.
      As Daniel said, he is young to be in AAA, at 21 years old and is considered one of the better catchers around the minors.

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    4. Maybe the Mayan Calendar actually ends the world today as I agree with Danica Patrick on his assessment of Gardner and Sanchez. In fact he is getting better with his glove and has a very good stick and we have a few of those catchers already in the alleged better farm system so packaging him with a 260 corner outfielder that is a terrible baserunner and has a sissy arm and is a very good defender is a move that Cashman the elf should look to do

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    5. Good day KenH...
      Hope you had a fine Christmas and Happy New Year.
      Sanchez is a very good tooled catcher, and hopefully he continues to develop as he has done. Some have said he will be better than JR or Romine!
      As for Brett going in a trade, I have said, "I don't want to trade him but, for the right deal...ok"!
      If Cashman were to package the two of them, it had better be for one hell of a player or players!
      One thing it would ...if Brett were traded...is open a spot in the OF for one of our own players.
      The Yankees have a history of players with avg., arms and great speed playing LF. So, having Brett out there is nothing out of sorts for the team.
      New Year, hopefully it will be a good year for this Blog and the Yankees!

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    6. Good Day Ken Reed. I never thought Gardner was a good player. I think he is a very good defender with weak arm terrible base running skills and weak hitter for a corner outfielder. I'm old school that corner outfielders should have power which he really doesn't have

      I also am if the belief that you are what you are and we know what Murphy is and we know what Romine is but Sanchez is just potential at this point and potential doesn't get you to the show. Results do and staying there is predicted on delivering the goods.

      I would package them without hesitation if I got the right package. I don't believe Cashman has made one good trade this off season and I feel he got fleeced on every trade. The only move I think he made that was very good was Miller and Headley. You all know I thibk Cashman is a third tier Gm at best.

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    7. To be fair Hans Gardner is in left field because of Hal/Cashman and not because he wanted to be or because anyone thought he should be. He was in CF until the team signed a nearly identical CF'er in free agency.

      And what was he supposed to do? Turn down the contract extension? Demand a trade?

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  3. DID WE STEAL ONE ?.....
    With Chasen Shreve, LHP, acquired in a trade this week from Atlanta....we may have.

    Lets take a quick first look :

    2013...6.2 / 4.3 K/BB...per 9.
    2014...12.2 /1.7 K/BB...per 9.

    Sometimes the pendulum swings back in the Yankees favor.

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  4. Mr. Burch. Brett Gardner is no where the player Ellsbury is. Gardner couldn't carry Ellsbury's jockstrap and bat bag in fact he probably is the most talented player the Yankees have and he carried the team the first two months of the year. I expect Jacoby to have a great year

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    Replies
    1. identical center fielder in speed and defense first, offense and power later. Of course Ellsbury is the superior player but in a normal season neither player is going to hit 30 home runs. More or less my point.

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  5. I beg to differ. Ellsbury can hit 30 and Gardner who have to sell his soul to the devil to hit 25 let alone 30

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    Replies
    1. I agree Ken H...
      It wouldn't surprise me to see them trade Brett, as there are a few teams out there that need and want a lead-off hitter to man CF for them.
      But we don't have a better option at the moment for LF. It would be nice to have a good fielder, .300 hitter with 30+ HRs in place of Brett, but until we do, he is what he is. He and Ells carried the team the first half of the season in fact until Brett was hurt and had to try and play through it, he and Ells were neck and neck.
      As for his arm, it is not good but check back a year or two, he had a few assists, only because his speed cut the ball off and he gets to the ball faster than most LF players do.
      Bottom line, teams quit trying to challenge his arm, as much as they normally would with a slower player and arm.
      Yes, I think we all can agree, as with the infielders, the corner spots are for Power more so than defense.
      If they trade Brett...let's say...for a pitcher, the only ones we have to play there are; Pirela, Flores, Payton, Dugas, and Judge with Austin a maybe. All of them are young, but have shown talent. Pirela and Flores are most likely the better choice as they are more advanced.
      As you say, projection is fine but that is, what it is...projection.

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    2. Ellsbury CAN hit 30 but that's not his game, it's speed and defense first.

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  6. Replies
    1. Why thank you Mr. Hans! One of many times I hope! Well maybe, many times, is pushing it a bit! LOL

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  7. I don't even want ELLS to try hitting HRs, they will come within the game.
    As it is right now, we have two centerfielders and one power hitter...with little defense in right field. Beltran would need to hit 35 HRs and 120+ RBIs to make up for the hits that will drop in around him.
    Whereas, the other two outfielders only need 15+ HRs and 70 RBIs, as they will save many more runs.
    One run given up, is two we need to score! Think about it!
    Defense and hitting needs to be balanced, one without the other is nothing but high scores and 3rd place finishes...or low scoring games with 3rd place finishes.
    I have seen (and most of you have also) well balanced teams win time after time, whereas, teams built on power alone, fall by the wayside.

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  8. Just a note:
    Almost, no, strike that...everything in sports is tied to balance. From the ground up...thus, the old (but true) saying; "so goes the legs, so go you" or "the legs are the first thing to go"!
    Balance or center...the same, just different words.
    A well balanced team, in any walk of life (my career or sports) is always going to have a better chance to come out ahead, than being one dimensional.
    Check out some of the better Yankee teams, one or two stars, the rest were good ballplayers, also, they had 2 to 5 home boys, the rest were FA or trades.
    Just my take, not fact, but very close to it, on average. Check it out!

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  9. HANZEL & GRIDDLE.......
    After scrolling down the vastly improved ' 25 comment ' section, I see that Hanzel has resurfaced.
    How should patrick, now called ' Danica Patrick, by the German fairy tale pundit, handle this ?

    I prefer being referred to as ' Little p, the porn star ', as opposed to some transgendered stock car driver.
    This is not the day to cross swords with the fairy tale character.
    But, sad as it is, that day is coming.

    Speaking of sad. What ever happened to Bryan / Brian Van Dussen ? ( excuse my spelling, or not )
    Did he get his visa, and fly off to Havana ? He tells me to go some place else, while all the while
    he may be hiding under Fidel's bed. While under there, try the cigars.
    Wonder he many bodies are under that bed ?

    " Go some where else."....What a stupid thing to say to one, who was only commenting, on
    baseball article.....that you wrote. Maybe the caliber of the writing in your article over whelmed me ?

    Nah, the intriguing article was interesting as bath water, as I recall.

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  10. That's a good one Patrick...
    A Dutchman in Cuba!? That is almost as bad as an Irishman in Iraq or Afghanistan! I take that back, been there and done that (1980's)!
    Bryan is a good poster, I don't always agree with him...hell, I don't even agree with myself, sometimes. LOL

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