Grant Balfour Comes Off The Yankees Board

If Grant Balfour was ever on the board for the New York Yankees he came off today after signing with the rival Tampa Bay Rays. Balfour got a lot more money, $12 million, and years, two year deal, then I thought he would after all the injury concerns. Balfour returns to the team where he had his best season of his career, 1.54 ERA in 2008, and his worst season of his career, 4.81 ERA in 2009. Hopefully Balfour see's a lot more of the latter then the former while in Tampa.

With The $189 Goal Toast It's Time To Get Greedy!

This blog was built on the backs of the New York Yankees dominating the offseason and free agency spending millions of dollars at will, much like they did this offseason. The Yankees have flirted with the whole luxury tax $189 goal, but not a mandate, threshold for two seasons but I think the Masahiro Tanaka signing for seven years and $155 million put that whole discussion to bed at least for another season. With that said Mr. Hal Steinbrenner himself said that the Yankees would either get under the cap or go way over it, no middle ground, so it is time to get greedy.

The Yankees bullpen is now the biggest glaring "weakness" on the team with the starting rotation all but set in stone up so Grant Balfour come on down! Balfour has stated that he has a willingness to pitch the 8th inning and that is perfect for us because we have David Robertson closing out games. The Yankees truly need a guy in the 8th inning with closing experience just in case D Rob's Houdini act does not translate well into the 9th inning. With the "concerns" over Balfour's wrist and knee he should come relatively cheap as well on a one or two year deal, sign me up.

The Yankees infield is the second biggest weakness and easily the biggest question mark on the team, Stephen Drew come on down. Drew has stated, through Scott Boras of course, a willingness to play a different position other than shortstop where he has played his entire career. That's perfect for us as we need a third basemen and will likely need a second basemen before it is all said and done. Also Drew could sign a multi-year deal and have the opportunity to go back to shortstop for the 2015 season assuming Derek Jeter decides to walk away. Sounds like a perfect match to me, but that's just if you ask me.

Finally the Yankees, because it wouldn't be getting greedy if you weren't signing someone just for the simple fact of signing someone, need to bring Ubaldo Jimenez into the fold. When he is on he is on, and unfortunately when he is not he is not, but we would be paying for when he is on. The Yankees would have enough starting pitching on the team to be able to mask and hide his AJ Burnett type splits and still survive. Plus I have always liked the guy and I am a fan first, sue me.

In closing it's time to man up, get greedy, and show the rest of the league that the real evil empire is not sitting on a beach on Los Angeles right now it is right here in New York City!

Balfour Expected To Sign Within The Next Week

Here is one for a couple of our guys who hang around in our comment section of the site, Mr. Patrick Walsh and Mr. Ken Hans, Grant Balfour is expecting to sign a contract "in the next week, if not in the coming days" according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Whether the Yankees are interested or not really remains to be seen but the Washington Nationals look like favorites right now for the Aussie. With the wrist and knee concerns surrounding Balfour I would be a little weary, plus I have all the confidence in the world in David Robertson, but I am excited for this discussion to be coming to an end.

David Robertson vs. Grant Balfour - The Ultimate Battle

I am growing more and more aggravated with the idea among Yankees fans that Grant Balfour should be closing for the Yankees in 2014 and not David Robertson. Instead of waste all the stats and knowledge in a comment, we have a great discussion going on in our comments section by the way for those who have missed it all these years, I thought I would rather put it into a post for all to see. I really think it is a gamble to put Balfour in the 9th inning role for the Yankees, and I want to point out that I would be more than willing to have him set up for Robertson and he has said he would be willing to pitch in the 8th, and I think it is a fools bet for anyone who thinks otherwise. I can sit up here all day on my soap box and tell you about the risks and rewards of going all in on Balfour but I would rather just show you. Read on...

One of the more common complaints about D Rob is that he walks too many batters:

D Rob's BB/9 in 2013 - 2.4

Balfour's BB/9 in 2013 - 3.9 

Another is that D Rob throws too many balls and plays with batters too much:

D Rob throws a ball 35.6% of the time in 2013

Balfour throws a ball 38.4% of the time in 2013

"But D Rob screws around too much and sees too many 3-0 counts:"

D Rob 3-0 counts seen in 2013 was 10

Balfour's 3-0 counts seen in 2013 was 14

"Well D Rob throws too many pitches!"

D Rob threw 4.02 pitches per plate appearance in 2013

Balfour threw 4.35 pitches per plate appearance in 2013

"Well closers put guys away quick!"

D Rob saw 65 0-2 counts in 2013 and threw 35 strikes in those counts

Balfour saw 58 0-2 counts in 2013 and threw 32 strikes in those counts

oh and David had 13 strike outs on three pitches in 2013

Balfour only had 12...

"Strikeouts make for a good closer:"

D Rob had 77 K's in 2013

Balfour had 72 K's in 2013

"But Balfour has more fire!"

Well you got me there. Worked for Mariano so it should work for Balfour as well. Oh wait...

Balfour gave up seven home runs to Robertson's five home runs and if you remember my BIP post on Balfour from earlier in the offseason if Balfour had pitched in Yankee Stadium in 2013 his home runs could have doubled, or more!! Double the home runs which means you add runs to the ERA, the 2.59 ERA that was already 0.55 points higher than Robertson's 2.04. You also add some points to the WHIP, the same 1.197 WHIP that was 0.157 points higher than Robertson's 1.040 WHIP in 2013. That also means lowering that 145 ERA+ to a number even farther below Robertson's 199 ERA+ in 2013.

Leave the "fact" at home that Balfour is doing it in the 9th inning and Robertson is doing it in the 8th because I don't wanna hear it. Robertson is doing it in a bigger market and in a smaller stadium in a better division with more success. It's not like Robertson has ever been given a real shot at closing anyway because if you can remember he was injured himself a mere 12 days after Mariano Rivera tore his ACL in 2012 and lost the job to Rafael Soriano, not because Robertson was necessarily bad, albeit he wasn't great, but because Soriano was too good to put back in the 8th inning. Looking at the above and using common sense tell me again why anyone wants Grant Balfour closing games in New York next season?

Yankees Interested In Grant Balfour Again

After Grant Balfour's two year deal with the Baltimore Orioles fell through due to concerns with Balfour's physical the Yankees are said to be interested in the right hander again. The Yankees had interest in Balfour before a shoulder abnormality popped up on the Orioles physical which led to the deal being thrown out. It is worth noting that two doctors have checked out Balfour since the deal was killed and they both say that he is perfectly healthy so I don't see this as a discount type of signing.

We all know I personally do not want Balfour. I think his fly balls and home runs were kept in check by the huge Oakland Coliseum and I think his home runs could double in Yankee Stadium. Also I want to give David Robertson a shot to close again so maybe that is clouding my judgement as well, who knows. If we can get him on a bargain and have him pitch the 8th I would jump for joy, if we got him for a deal and he pitched the 9th I would be okay with that too. This will be interesting to follow in the coming days so stay tuned...

Grant Balfour Comes Off The Yankees Board

I am not entirely sure if Grant Balfour was ever really on the Yankees board or not but if he was he isn't anymore after signing a deal with the Baltimore Orioles. Balfour will replace Jim Johnson as the closer in Baltimore and brings that fly ball and home run prone tendencies to the AL East. Balfour was really helped out playing in the spacious Oakland Coliseum and I think we will see his numbers increase with the Orioles. Balfour reportedly turned down a bigger deal for a two year deal with Baltimore. No word yet on the contract details but it looks like a done deal.

Grant Balfour Is Not The Solution For The Yankees

So this week we have looked at Phil Hughes and learned that he will still be home run prone and home run friendly in Target Field much like he was in Yankee Stadium. We then learned that Brian McCann and his "left handed swing tailor made for Yankee Stadium" was overblown because he would not get any more extra base hits or home runs in Yankee Stadium over Turner Field in Atlanta. We then realized that Carlos Beltran would be a significant upgrade in Yankee Stadium over Busch Stadium but that Corey Hart would be an even bigger upgrade from his 2012 Miller Park numbers including a possible 20 home runs added to his final line. This look today shows you just how scary Grant Balfour may be if he was thrown at the end of the games in Yankee Stadium.

Information found using Katron.org

I know we are talking about a pretty small sample size obviously since Balfour only pitched in 62.2 innings but the Yankees have a vacant closer position and have been linked to Balfour this offseason. Looking at the picture above we see that the dark blue dots show all the home runs that Balfour gave up in McAfee Coliseum and see that all four of them would have gone out in Yankee Stadium by a long shot. The light blue dots signify doubles that Balfour gave up in Oakland and we see that at least two of them would have been out of Yankee Stadium bringing his total to six home runs. Finally the orange dots show us all the fly ball outs that Balfour recorded for the A's and see that if he were closing games for the Yankees at least one of them would have gone out for sure. This obviously does not factor in elevation, humidity, wind, the fans, etc but one would think that the orange dot close to the right field wall would have gone out of Yankee Stadium.

That brings Balfour's impressive four home runs given up to eight home runs in a season. In comparison Mariano Rivera had a struggle of a season in 2013, although was still dominant, and only gave up six home runs in 2013. That is a ton of home runs and RBI's to make up for in such a short sample size and would make that final line look really nasty for Balfour. He would be boo'd off the mound in New York as we have grown accustomed to dominance from the great Rivera. Either give the ball to David Robertson in the 9th next season or go get a guy like Joaquin Benoit for way too much money, just stay away from Balfour if you know what's good for you.

Jim Johnson, Joe Nathan, & Brian Wilson Off The Board

If the Yankees were interested in a closer this season three of the bigger names on the market came off the board in the last 24 hours. Jim Johnson was traded to the Oakland Athletics to replace Grant Balfour at the back end of their games. Joe Nathan is reportedly going to the Detroit Tigers, that's all that team needed, to replace Joaquin Benoit. Brian Wilson is close to a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers where he rebuilt his market value last season. The reliever market is slowly starting to take shape and the Yankees are missing out on the big names, although I am more then comfortable handing the ball to David Robertson in the 9th inning.

Smash Or Pass: New York Yankees Edition

I know a lot of people are going to click this link, especially considering the fact that we have the very popular Wives & Girlfriends section of the site, to see half naked women with their bodies hanging out and I want to apologize in advance that this is not going to happen. When I say smash I believe that these players would smash it in New York and be a great pickup for us, pass is pretty self explanatory. Now would I smash or pass?

Brian McCann - Pass

While I like Brian, I like his switch hitting bat, his power numbers, his premium offense at a premium position, and I like how much he upgrades such a glaring hole. What I do not like is giving anywhere near $100,000,000 for four or five years with a guy that has multiple injury riddled seasons lately on the wrong side of 30. If we were playing MLB The Show '14 I sign McCann 10 times out of 10 but in real life with four catchers already on the 40 man roster and Gary Sanchez in AA needing to be added and protected I have to pass unfortunately.

Masahiro Tanaka - Smash

I really don't care if the posting fee was $100,000,000 sign this man at all costs and sign him now. I don't care if he is better then Yu Darvish, marginally worse then Darvish, or the same as Darvish make sure this man is in pinstripes for 2014. I don't want to say that anyone is a must have for 2014 but I do things I don't want to do all the time so Tanaka is a must have. If we pass we will get smashed in 2014 by opposing offenses.

Grant Balfour - Pass

I have the most confidence in David Robertson that you could possibly have and that's as a closer or as a set up man. I think Robertson can learn to nibble less and challenge hitters more and really fit into the role well. He may never be Mariano Rivera but that's what made Mo so special because nobody will be Mo ever again. Balfour is well on the wrong side of 30 years old and is very fly ball and home run ball prone, something that will not translate well in New York but he has benefited from in the spacious Oakland Coliseum. If we're going to get a closer I have no problem with one or two more seasons with D Rob as the set up man but not setting up Balfour.

Joe Nathan - Smash

The only thing keeping me from going all in on Nathan is going to be an assumed $15,000,000 AAV for two or three seasons for a pitcher closer to 40 then to 30. Nathan has done it in Texas, a hitters friendly park and environment, and pretty much everywhere he has ever been. He has been on the large stage and could easily transition to New York in my opinion. He also helps us ease into the post Mariano era of Yankees baseball a little easier.

Carlos Beltran - Pass

Ask me two weeks ago and I am saying smash at the top of my lungs but now not so much anymore. Beltran is 37 years old and is asking for a three or four year deal, umm no? Beltran is considered to be a poor fielding right fielder with serious knee concerns after knee surgery, which is the probably cause for the loss of range and speed. While he has posted at least a 5.0 WAR the last two seasons his price and his age are making me pass up the opportunity to sign the veteran.

Corey Hart - Smash

Ask me two weeks ago and I am saying pass at the top of my lungs but now not so much anymore. Hart is 31 years old and is coming off of a missed 2013 season due to two separate knee surgeries in each of his knees. Hart is considered to be a poor fielding right fielder but has posted at least a 5.0 WAR in his last two seasons minus the 2013 campaign. If it seems like I just copied and pasted Beltran's post for Hart it is because these two are almost identical with six years between them in Hart's favor, three less years on the deal for Hart, and probably $40-$50 million less on the contract. Hart can also backup Mark Teixeira at first base and kills lefties, something Beltran does not do.

Yankees Interested In Grant Balfour

The New York Yankees have a gaping hole in the back end of their bullpen and may be looking to fill it with Oakland Athletic's closer Grant Balfour we learned today. Balfour did not receive a qualifying offer from the A's and is coming off of a 2.59 ERA in 62.2 IP with 38 saves in 41 chances. The Tigers, Rockies, Angels, and Rays are among the teams interested in the soon to be 36 year old closer.

Balfour is fly ball prone and is a little too home run friendly for my liking and needs to stay in a bigger ballpark like the Oakland Coliseum to be successful. He would get blown up in New York in my opinion so I hope that we pass on him.