Two down, potentially five more to go. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, it's World Series Game Three as the series shifts to Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets. The Tuesday game goes over five hours and well into the night but when we have a Friday night game it will be over by 11:00 pm ET, book it.
Friday, October 30, 2015
World Series Game Three Open Thread
Two down, potentially five more to go. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, it's World Series Game Three as the series shifts to Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets. The Tuesday game goes over five hours and well into the night but when we have a Friday night game it will be over by 11:00 pm ET, book it.
The Free Agency Royal Rumble Returns – Infielders
For the first time in Free Agency
Royal Rumble history an incumbent member of the New York Yankees will have his
job on the line as both Dustin Ackley and Robert Refsnyder will be in the
rumble. Joining Refsynder and Ackley in the rumble will be the Kansas City
Royals second baseman Ben Zobrist, the Los Angeles Dodgers second basemen Chase
Utley and Howie Kendrick and the incumbent Yankees second baseman, Mr. Stephen
Drew.
Howie Kendrick was taken out and
backstabbed almost immediately by Chase Utley on an errant slide into the ropes
leaving the field at five. Utley hurt himself on the slide, he is 37-years old
after all, and was easily eliminated by Stephen Drew who was stat padding his
stats in garbage time leaving the field at four. Ben Zobrist felt excited
looking at the field remaining, especially considering he is not linked to
draft pick compensation but the Yankees threesome quickly took advantage of his
head in the clouds, and bulky contract that in my opinion he will never live up
to at 35-years old and after all the hype he received in Oakland, and
eliminated him.
In a shocking turn of events the
Yankees Three, that’s what they are now calling themselves, left the ring
hand-in-hand-in-hand leaving the Yankees with all three of them for the 2016
season. According to reports, reports I am making up for the purpose of this
post and for fun, Drew will ride the bench and be the backup to Didi Gregorius
and Chase Headley while both Ackley and Refsnyder will platoon at second base.
When Refsnyder is at second Ackley will relieve one of the corner outfielders,
especially Brett Gardner, to keep them fresh and prevent another second half
letdown.
The Free Agency Royal Rumble Returns – Starting Pitching
Last year around this time the
blog was in full offseason mode with our eyes, as writers, on the 2015 season.
The World Series was over and all 30 MLB teams were making their shopping lists
and checking it twice for the winter so I thought this year we would do the
same with the return of the Free Agency Royal Rumble. This is a bit of a play
on the popular WWE PPV, the Royal Rumble, as we pit all the potential starting
pitching targets for the New York Yankees and see which one wins the rumble
(and is most likely to sign with the club).
The participants in the 2015 Free
Agency Royal Rumble for starting pitchers are David Price, Johnny Cueto, Mike
Leake, Jordan Zimmerman, Zack Greinke and Wei-Yin Chen. Men, take your
positions the rumble is about to begin.
Immediately the group begins to
wrestle and Zack Greinke, feeling his anxiety kick up and wondering what it
would be like being booed off the Yankee Stadium field like the team was during
the AL Wild Card Game, throws himself over the top rope and eliminates himself
from the competition. The rest of the competitors take this opportunity to work
together while they still can to get David Price up and over the top rope
before his $30 million expected AAV on the wrong side of 30-years old and his
postseason demons and monkey’s on his back make it impossible to take him out.
Four remain.
Johnny Cueto walks up to Jordan
Zimmerman and takes a peak at the contract he is said to be asking for that
will undoubtedly set the market and wants to mimic Zimmerman’s demands with his
own. Zimmerman catches Cueto peaking and reminds him of his numbers after
switching to the American League and his postseason numbers as he throws him
over the top rope to eliminate him. While this is happening Mike Leake, the
opportunist, is also sneaking a peak at Zimmerman’s proposed contract demands
and gets offended that he won’t make that for the rest of his career, let alone
in one contract, and throws Zimmerman over the top rope while he is distracted
leaving just two contestants remaining.
Mike Leake and Wei-Yin Chen.
Leake has been active, eliminating Zimmerman, but Chen has quietly been sitting
back resting and waiting for the opportunity. Chen is an ace in the making but
is never mentioned alongside the other aces in this market and that has visibly
angered him. Chen rushes at Leake intending to take out his frustrations on the
former Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants right-hander and knocks him
over the rope and to the floor. The problem is his momentum also carries himself
over the rope and to the floor leaving no clear cut winner for the Yankees.
Chen is probably the best suited
for the Yankees because he won’t command an astronomical contract in terms of
years and dollars despite being American League East tested and Leake is the
most likely for the same reasons, just on a lesser scale than Chen. With the
Yankees already having a ton of depth, although no defined ace as we stand
today, it seems unlikely that either are signed, or anyone in this field for
that matter. The Yankees may take this rumble as a sign to stand pat here this
winter.
When Did Bat Flipping & Showing Up Your Opponent Become Okay Again?
Many times I find myself not watching the MLB Playoffs or
the World Series if the New York Yankees aren’t in it, I can’t help it but the games
just aren’t as interesting for me without a vesting personal interest. This
season I decided to go against the grain a bit and watch as much playoff
baseball as I could, although obviously I’ve missed more than my fair share,
and I see a trend developing that I find to be pretty disturbing, the bat flip
and showing up your opponent apparently is okay again.
I saw it happen in the American League Wild Card Game when
the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros faced off head-to-head. Carlos
Gomez is known to be a confident player, I call it cocky but whatever, and had
a bat flip while Colby Rasmus did as well on what turned out to be the
game-winning home run off Masahiro Tanaka. I didn’t like it as a fan and I’m
sure the Yankees players and Tanaka specifically didn’t appreciate it either,
just a hunch. The bat flipping didn’t stop there though as Jose Bautista did
one as well in Game 5 of the ALDS. I understand that was the biggest postseason
home run since Joe Carter’s walk-off home run against the Philadelphia Phillies
but there is a higher purpose at stake here, it’s called respect.
In Game One of the 2015 World Series the Kansas City Royals
came from behind to beat the New York Mets on a walk-off sacrifice fly by
Royals star Eric Hosmer. Naturally when the winning run crossed the plate in
front of his home crowd an emphatic bat flip and helmet toss came along with
the victory once again. Celebrating is one thing, disrespecting the opposing
team, pitcher and fan base is another and there is a fine line. Bat flips, in
my opinion, are crossing that line.
Come to think of it… the Astros lost the series after their
bat flips. The Blue Jays lost their series against these same Royals after the
Jose Bautista bat flip seen round the world. Are the Royals the next victim of
some instant karma? Guess you’ll have to stay tuned.
Revisiting the Omar Minaya to the Yankees Idea from 2014
Just around this time last year the World Series was just
ending and the long winter before Spring Training was beginning with little in
the way of news. The New York Yankees had missed the postseason for the second
straight season despite spending in excess of $500 million the offseason before
in trades, signings and extensions and the fans and the organization were
hungry for a new voice and vision. That vision and voice was thought to be of
Omar Minaya, the former New York Mets GM, but for some unreported reason Minaya
never joined his close friend Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees
organization, could he before the 2016 season though?
Say what you will about Minaya but the New York Mets are not
in the World Series right now without him. Minaya whiffed, and sometimes he
whiffed badly, with the Mets but when he hit on a deal he usually struck it
big. The problem was he was not given enough time to see some of those deals
and his ultimate plan come to fruition.
Minaya is responsible for drafting Daniel Murphy in 2006 and
Mike Pelfrey, Bobby Parnell and Jon Niese in 2005. In fact many of the Mets
young pieces that are either being utilized now or were used in trades to
acquire other pieces were drafted and signed internationally by Minaya including
Lucas Duda and Steven Matz. This in no way is meant to discount what Sandy
Alderson has done for the club, many of the young aces you see now were signed
and developed under his tenure, but he had a little help building a World
Series caliber team by Minaya in my opinion.
The Yankees have basically given one of their top scouts Tim
Naehring the vacant job left behind by Billy Eppler but they fell short of
mentioning him as the team’s assistant GM. Could Minaya fill that void? As long
as he’s bringing another Steven Matz with him then I’d have to say yes. What could it
hurt when Hal Steinbrenner likely makes the final decision anyway?
Weekly AFL Check In: Chaz Hebert
The Weekly Arizona Fall League check in posts continue this
morning with a prospect that the casual New York Yankees fan probably doesn’t
know, Chaz Hebert. Chaz is a pitcher in the Yankees organization that spent
time with the Charleston Riverdogs, the Trenton Thunder and the Scranton/Wilkes
Barre RailRiders this season down on the farm.
Hebert has basically been the piggyback to Ian Clarkin as he
has entered in from the bullpen first after both of Clarkin’s starts this fall.
Hebert is not the sexy name that we all salivate over in the AFL but he’s
climbing the ladder quickly and quietly and may be a common name in your
household before you know it.
Chaz Hebert
G: 2
GS: 0
IP: 5.0
W/L: 0-1
ERA: 0.00
K: 7
BB: 7
WHIP: 1.00
This Day in New York Yankees History 10/30: Joe Replaces Joe
Also on this day in 2001 President George W. Bush became the eight President to attend a World Series game and the first since Dwight D. Eisenhower to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. This all obviously came on the heels of the September 11th terrorists attacks. Bush brought the nation back together with his thumbs up and his perfect strike off the mound. 'Merica!
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