Let's Move On From 2018

Writing can be funny.

When I started writing this post I planned on keeping things short and sweet. I wanted to give my thoughts on the 2018 season, but there are or will be dozens... if not hundreds... of articles with people doing that same exact thing. But once I got started looking at the team over the past season I couldn't stop. I don't know if that makes you lucky or not, but I hope you can take at least one thing away from this.

I thought I'd start with what may be the biggest disappointment of the 2018 season... Gary Sanchez.

 

Coming into this season fans and haters alike were penciling in 30+ home runs for Sanchez. Since making his debut in 2016 (I'm not counting his two plate appearances in 2015) Gary had a batting line of .284/.354/.568. But what we got instead was sad... .186/.291/.406. And this isn't a guy that hit in the lower third of the order all season. No, Sanchez came to the plate 316 times in the four to six spots in the lineup. Thinking of the number of times he killed any sort of rally gives me a migraine headache. Hell, those types of numbers don't belong in any lineup spot regularly, let alone that high of one.

Oh, and that doesn't even get into his passed ball issues. I could live with most of those passed balls if he was hitting like in the past two seasons, but not from a guy with an OPS+ of 86. Not to mention how those passed ball issues compounded some of our starter's issues. Which leads me to my next thought...

Did you know that Sonny Gray started 23 games with an ERA of 4.90? Or that Domingo German started 14 games with an ERA of 5.57? Then there were four starts by Jonathan Loaisiga and his 5.11 ERA. And how can we forget Luis Cessa and his five starts with an ERA of 5.24? That's a total of 46 starts by pitchers with a combined ERA above 5.00.

For comparison, the Red Sox only had 15 starts by pitchers with an ERA over 4.90 (actually, outside of those 15 starts, every other start for the Sox came from a pitcher with an ERA of 4.28 or lower). 14 vs. 46. Yeah, that definitely didn't help the Yankees in their chase for the American League East title.

I should note, too, that as awesome as the bullpen was overall, the Yankees had to endure 24 appearances by Tommy Kahnle and his 6.56 ERA, 28 appearances of AJ Cole and his 4.26 ERA, and 40 appearances of Chasen Shreve and his 4.26 ERA. While some of those appearances happened when games were already out of reach, a handful of them came when the Yankees... especially with their great offense... could have come back and won the game.

Rectifying the starting pitcher problem, and doing a better job with bullpen usage, is a must for the Yankees next season and beyond.

While I've bagged on Gary Sanchez quite a bit so far, I must say that I do not agree with removing him from the starting catcher role. Honestly, the very idea of doing so his stupid. If his woes with the bat continue, along with his passed ball issues, heading into July then I'll discuss taking him out of the starting catcher role. But until then he is, and damn well should be, the Yankees' starting catcher.

Oh, and trading him for JT Realmuto, which so many people ("fans" and "experts" alike) think they should do, is silly. For starters, Gary's value is so low right now. Not that I think other teams truly think Sanchez is this bad a hitter and will be from now on, but they're unlikely to value Gary as he should be. Which means a straight Sanchez for Realmuto deal is unlikely, anyway. Plus, how do we know Realmuto would continue to hit as well in New York? It's kind of like the old saying... better to go with the devil you know, than the devil you don't.

One last thing I should mention in regards to Gary Sanchez... I was pleasantly surprised by his defense in the postseason, adding another reason to be optimistic about next season and not move on from him.

Next up is Greg Bird. What else can I say about the guy except for "yuck"? Out of all Yankees hitters that had more than a hundred at bats, Bird was the worst. He actually came to the plate 311 times in 2018, batting .199/.286/.386 with 11 home runs. Those stats are bad enough, but to come from the team's first baseman... a lineup spot that typically comes with nice offense... it's pathetic.

When Greg returned from injury in late August last season he was a solid hitter. Nothing to get head over heels about (.253/.316/.575 with 8 home runs in 98 plate appearances), but enough to be optimistic about his 2019 campaign. Unfortunately, outside of a serviceable month of July, in which he hit .265/.337/.458 (with just 4 homers, mind you), he was a black hole in the lineup.

So for the love of Paul O'Neill, it's time to move on! I'd like to see if Luke Voit can build on his successful run with the team this season, but I have other plans... which I'll share with you another time.

From a man that makes me nauseous to a man I have the utmost respect for... Brett Gardner.

For the record, I am grateful for everything Gardner's done for the Yankees since becoming a regular in the lineup in 2009. But I think it's time to have a better plan for left field in 2019 and beyond. Brett gets on base well against right-handed pitchers, as well as having more power, but his overall average bat should be upgraded. Again... more on that later.

It's time now to move on from the players, and that starts with Brian Cashman. In short, Brian has received way too much hate this season.

Mr. Cashman built a great team heading into this season, and did so while appeasing upper management by staying under the Luxury Tax threshold. Like I have said... nobody predicted Gary Sanchez would be as bad as he was, Greg Bird had a lot of believers both inside of and outside the organization, and the overall production out of left field very well could have been better if it wasn't for Clint Frazier's injuries.

On the pitching side of things, there were some that believed Sonny Gray would be the best pitcher on the staff this season, so Cashman wasn't the only one leaning on Gray. Losing Jordan Montgomery so early in the season was also very tough to overcome. Two more things you can't pin on the general manager.

Hell, we should be incredibly thankful to Cash for building such a great bullpen, without which this team would have missed the postseason entirely.

Frankly, going into this season the Yankees were... on paper... favorited by many to win the whole damn thing. And that's all a general manager can do... build a team on paper. What happens on the field after that is out of their control.

Which brings me to my final point before I wrap this up... the Yankees manager Aaron Boone. Like Cashman, I believe Boone gets more hate than he deserves. Sure, his bullpen decisions were baffling at times, but he's far from the biggest reason the 2018 Yankees season ended earlier than we all wanted. I do think building a better coaching staff, one with more experience, will help take some of the pressure off of Boone. In any industry a manager is important, but it takes good assistants and workers to make a company successful. Boone seems to have a good head on his shoulders, and having grown up around professional baseball (not high school, or collegiate, either), I think he can be a very good manager. And the Yankees have the workers to make a great team, too. They just need better assistants.

The bottom line is the Yankees are not far from being a team that could be World Series favorites year in and year out. I came up with a plan for this offseason, and I can't wait to share it with you. However, I'm trying hard to take my time with it so I don't leave anything out. Not to mention I want to think about my plans to make sure they are indeed what's best. Of course, there are a lot of smart people that read The Greedy Pinstripes (and they should, dammit!), so I fully expect them to find holes.

Finally, before I leave you, I wanted to say something about Daniel's post yesterday. I was all for it.

I posted something similar to Daniel's post earlier this season, and that subject absolutely needed to be expanded on. And Dan did a great job of it.

His point about the game being different than it was ten years ago is spot on. Being able to throw money at any and all problems, like George Steinbrenner was able to do over and over again, is no longer a viable plan. The reason the Yankees were so successful between 1995 and 2003 was their home-grown base of talent, and sprinkling in free agents here and there to complete the roster. And that's exactly what I see happening now. Like how those Yankee teams had Jeter, Posada, Pettitte, Rivera, and Williams, these Yankees have Torres, Sanchez, Severino, Betances, and Judge.

I left a name out of that, didn't I? Hmm...

I have no issue with people throwing out trade ideas, or who they think the Yankees should sign. What I have a problem with is people doing so with such arrogance and ignorance. The fact of the matter is none of us know what's going on in the clubhouse, or in the management offices. We can come up with educated guesses, sometimes based on direct quotes from guys like Boone and Cashman, but 99.9% of the time all we can do is speculate. It's sad, and is plain dumb, when so many act otherwise.

Like I said in my post where I went off on some fans... it's okay to criticize. But I believe true fans criticize their favorite teams and players like you would a loved one such as a wife or mother. Too often this season I've seen "fans" criticize the Yankees and/or their players like they actually hate the Yankees.

With all that said, be on the lookout for my post about what I'd like to see happen in the offseason. I've done a lot of research on it, along with plenty of digging into who I think will be available to the Yankees.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice day.

The Yankees Need A New Starter

Yesterday I sent out the following Tweet...

On a lighter note... the @Yankees WILL get a starting pitcher to solidify their rotation and help lead them into and through the postseason. There's no doubt about that. They are over-flowing with MLB help, as well as prospects.

— Bryan Van Dusen (@BryanVanDusen) May 28, 2018

While I believe the Yankees will have a new starter by August 1st, I have no idea how it will go down. The team could trade for their MLB roster, although teams in the hunt rarely subtract from their big league roster. Furthermore, I don't think Brian Cashman has to include Clint Frazier to get a big deal done. However, the biggest question is this...

Who will lose their starting rotation spot?

Let's look at the current starters...

Luis Severino - He's not going anywhere.

Masahiro Tanaka - 'Hiro is not "killing it" by any means, as he's given up three or more runs in seven of his eleven starts this season. But I don't see him going to the bullpen, and at $22 million a year ($23 million in 2020) I don't think anyone would give up anything while trading for him. Tanaka is here to stay.

CC Sabathia - The Rangers lit him up the other day, but CC has been the team's second best starter this season. I'd like to see him go a little deeper in games, but with the Yankees bullpen I'm okay with that. The second best starter, though? Ugh.

Sonny Gray - Normally I'd be yelling for him to be sent to the bullpen. In their first plate appearance opponents are hitting .200/.289/.338, but in their next plate appearance opponents are hitting .382/.486/.539. But I don't see where Sonny would fit there, as the bullpen is packed... Chapman, Robertson, Betances, Green, Shreve, Kahnle, Holder, and Cole. I don't think he's finished, but four quality starts out of ten starts is not good enough.

Domingo German - For starters, we shouldn't give up on German. He wasn't rattled after giving up a three run home run yesterday, and he's gotten a lot of swings and misses. Plus, he hasn't been pitching on regular rest very often. He may get pushed out of the rotation when Montgomery returns, but he could force the Yankees to keep him as a starter now.

Jordan Montgomery - Jordan just started playing catch, so he's still a ways away from returning. Based on early estimates, Monty should be back by late June. I don't think Domingo will do well enough to hold him back from regaining his starting role, though. Besides, Montgomery has been pretty good and should be a regular starter from the day he returns til the end of the season.

I wonder if Cashman would deal away one of those relievers I mentioned earlier to clear a spot for Gray or Montgomery (I believe German will be sent to AAA to continue starting), thus opening a starting role for their trade acquisition.

I've heard many people say that don't believe any big acquisition will happen, but based on how the season has gone so far I disagree. The current rotation can, at the very least, get the Yankees to the postseason, but beyond that they would be in trouble.

Severino would obviously be their top starter, but after that none of us should feel confident. The Red Sox #2 starter may be Rick Porcello, the Indians #2 may be Trevor Bauer, and the Astros #2 could be Gerrit Cole. I wouldn't feel good with any of our non-Severino starters in those spots. And if the Yankees need Severino to start the Wild Card game (I think we'll win the East over Boston, but you should have a plan), that'll leave someone else to likely face Sale, Kluber, or Verlander.

So not only should you believe the Yankees will acquire a top starter by August 1st, you should be rooting for it.

Candy Cummings & Inventions of the Curveball and Glove

William Arthur "Candy" Cummings was born on October 18,1848 in Ware Massachusetts and went on to be a professional baseball player that was eventually one of the first members to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. What Cummings added to the game of baseball was the addition of a curveball to a pitcher's repetroire and the addition of a glove for the catcher to catch the ball with.

When Cummings pitched the pitcher threw underhand and was essentially there to throw the ball where the "striker," or more commonly known as the batter today, wanted the ball to be thrown. The story goes that one day as a teenager Cummings was throwing clam shells into the ocean when he learned to added a bit of a curve to the shell when he threw. Cummings tried this with a baseball as a member of the National Association of Base Ball Players team the Brooklyn Excelsior's. Cummings pitched with Brooklyn in 1866 and 1867 before pitching for the Stars of Brooklyn from 1868 to 1871.

The problem with the curveball at that time was the fact that the catcher stood twenty feet behind the batter to catch the ball without a glove. When the curveball hit the ground it would skip away allowing runners to move up or score which led Cummings catcher, Nat Hicks, to stand behind the batter and catch the ball on the fly. Hicks and Cummings came up with the idea of the catcher having leather bound gloves with the fingers cut out of them to help with catching the ball and saving the catcher's hands.

The sport of baseball was in its infancy at the time but within a few years the way the pitcher played the game was changed, the pitcher's repertoire was changed, the catcher position was changed and how the catcher did his job was changed. All because of a 17 year old kid throwing sea shells by the sea shore that just loved playing this great game of baseball.

Cummings was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.

Now the Yankees know why they have those gloves on their hands and now it's time to start using them. Thanks.

Are the Yankees in for a rough June?

MSN Sports published an article laying out ten bold predictions for MLB as we head into June, and right away I wasn't disappointed.

Even Chuck Norris gave it two thumbs up.

The very first prediction involved the Yankees, where author Michael Dixon said that June would be a rough month for the Yankees. You might be thinking "why does that prediction not disappoint you?" Well, to be completely honest, I'm not disappointed with that prediction because I agree with Mr. Dixon. And if you click that link you'll read his reason why he made that prediction, and that reason falls right in line with why I worry the Yankees' success will not last.

In case you don't want to click that link I'll fill you...

Starting Pitching

1. While he may not strike out 13 hitters every time he starts a game, Masahiro Tanaka is much closer to the pitcher we saw against the Athletics last Friday night, than the pitcher we saw in his previous two starts. But, at least for now, 'Hiro is the only starter that I believe this team can count on.
2. Five of Luis Severino's nine starts this season have been really good to downright awesome. Another if his starts (May 19th vs. the Rays) was good... certainly not great, but good. That's six of nine starts where the Yankees had a good to excellent chance of winning. Unfortunately, after just 31 starts in MLB, I'm not ready to lean on this guy to start a game in the postseason. Don't get me wrong, I think he'd do a fine job, but I wouldn't be going into that game feeling all nice and cozy.
3. Prior to 2017 Michael Pineda's ERA+ as a Yankee, which spanned 72 starts, was 101. That, my friends, is as close "average" as you can get. In his last five starts he's failed to finish the 7th inning, and couldn't get through six innings in the previous two. You know how many times, last September, that Pineda completed six innings? None. You know how many times, after the 2016 All Star break, Michael completed seven innings? Once. Look, a quality start every time your starter takes the mound is nice, as it gives his team a shot at winning. But a mere quality start does not make a fan like myself feel great when the next time he takes the mound... particularly in game two or three in the postseason.
4. Jordan Montgomery has been a great story. I don't think I heard anyone during the offseason predict that Montgomery would make the starting rotation out of Spring Training. And in nine starts this year Jordan has posted a respectable ERA of 4.11. In fact, if Jordan could gain a little more control, thus keeping his walks down, then he'd be somebody the team could depend on in the home stretch of the season and beyond. But I just don't see it happening. His changeup and slider are good, his curveball is okay, and his fastball stinks. I don't know much about him, but I don't want to see him starting a postseason game.
5. CC Sabathia? Let's just say that if the Yankees need Sabathia to carry any load, of any size, during the season's home stretch and into the postseason we're in big trouble. 

"Sorry to keep dogging you, but don't be sad. I'll look back fondly on your first four years in pinstripes."

Michael Dixon went on to say that having a rough June could be a good thing for the Yankees, as it would push them to make improvements to the team. If they were to have another really good month, Cashman and Co. may hold off on doing anything to really improve, which could very well hurt their chances down the stretch. And I can't help but agree with him there, too.

I've said it in the past, and I'll say it again...

I don't want the Yankees to deal away good prospects for a rental. I absolutely do not want to sit here a year from now and see somebody we traded for playing elsewhere, while one or more of our good prospects is playing in another organization. Then again, a World Series title would make that okay, but 2016 is about the future as much as anything else.

Man how I salivate thinking of what this team could look like in 2019.

Yeah, yeah... this could be a very good year too.

Trade Deadline News & Notes

Joel Sherman is reporting that the Yankees will indeed trade away Ivan Nova before the Trade Deadline.

They will not extend the qualifying offer to Nova, which makes total sense. Ivan is not worth the estimated $16.5 million that the QO would give a player, which means that the Yankees would lose him and get nothing in return.

And when you look at the fact that the team will have Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, and Luis Severino in 2017, there's no reason to spend that much on a middle to bottom of the rotation starter.

To put that another way, the Yanks already have Eovaldi, Pineda, and Sabathia to fill the 3-4-5 spots in the rotation, and Nova is certainly not a 1 or 2. And when an injury pops up next season, the Yankees will have either Chad Green or Luis Cessa to fill in.

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Yesterday I was thinking that a player about to hit free agency would probably love to be traded. That way they can not be given a qualifying offer, which could very well hurt their chances of a contract since the team that signed him would lose a draft pick. That's especially true for a guy like Ivan Nova, who is not good enough for a team to disregard losing that draft pick.

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The Yankees are about to run into a problem. Mind you, it's a nice problem to have, but a problem none-the-less.

The manager of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders says that Aaron Judge is about four or five days from being activated from the disabled list. That means there would be quite the logjam in the outfield, with Judge, Ben Gamel, Jake Cave, Mason Williams, and Cesar Puello. And that's not including Tyler Austin, who the Yankees would probably like to keep putting out there to get familiar with the position.

Furthermore, that's not counting on the fact that newly acquired Billy McKinney and Dustin Fowler are right there in AA, about ready to make the jump to AAA.

Like when it comes to losing Nova, the Yankees should find a trade involving one or more of these prospects to clear things up. Perhaps they could package one of them with Ivan Nova to get a stronger return.

Candy Cummings & Inventions of the Curveball and Glove

William Arthur "Candy" Cummings was born on October 18,1848 in Ware Massachusetts and went on to be a professional baseball player that was eventually one of the first members to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. What Cummings added to the game of baseball was the addition of a curveball to a pitcher's repetroire and the addition of a glove for the catcher to catch the ball with.

When Cummings pitched the pitcher threw underhand and was essentially there to throw the ball where the "striker," or more commonly known as the batter today, wanted the ball to be thrown. The story goes that one day as a teenager Cummings was throwing clam shells into the ocean when he learned to added a bit of a curve to the shell when he threw. Cummings tried this with a baseball as a member of the National Association of Base Ball Players team the Brooklyn Excelsior's. Cummings pitched with Brooklyn in 1866 and 1867 before pitching for the Stars of Brooklyn from 1868 to 1871.

The problem with the curveball at that time was the fact that the catcher stood twenty feet behind the batter to catch the ball without a glove. When the curveball hit the ground it would skip away allowing runners to move up or score which led Cummings catcher, Nat Hicks, to stand behind the batter and catch the ball on the fly. Hicks and Cummings came up with the idea of the catcher having leather bound gloves with the fingers cut out of them to help with catching the ball and saving the catcher's hands.

The sport of baseball was in its infancy at the time but within a few years the way the pitcher played the game was changed, the pitcher's repertoire was changed, the catcher position was changed and how the catcher did his job was changed. All because of a 17 year old kid throwing sea shells by the sea shore that just loved playing this great game of baseball.

Cummings was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.

Now the Yankees know why they have those gloves on their hands and now it's time to start using them. Thanks.

Pitching For An Extension

While the 2017 rotation can be set from within, the only sure thing for the 2018 rotation is Luis Severino.

"Follow me, boys!"

Ivan Nova is now going into his third year of arbitration, and will therefore be a free agent after this season. Masahiro Tanaka can opt-out of his contract following the 2017 season. The final season of CC Sabathia's contract is 2017. And finally, both Michael Pineda and Nathan Eovaldi will go into their third and final years of arbitration in 2017.

When it comes to Sabathia I think we can all agree that he will not be re-signed (at least that's what we hope). However, when it comes to Tanaka opting out of his current contract, I can see the Yankees bringing him back after tacking on a couple of years to the three he'll leave on the table ('Hiro will only be 29 around the time of his opt-out). So while Severino will be around, and even if we assume Kaprielian will be ready, that still leaves two open spots for the 2018 starting rotation.

Prospect humpers will likely point to two guys that could fill those spots from within.

One of them is Ian Clarkin. While many believe that Clarkin has the most upside in the system, thanks to three pitches rated to be average or better, his health is a big question. A good and healthy 2016 will go a long way in helping determine what the Yankees do.

The other prospect that some rave about is Brady Lail. It's believed that Lail will find himself either at the bottom of the rotation or as a good middle reliever. Brady has had some issues with command, while his fastball and changeup are his only average to better offerings. If he can at least refine his curveball then a spot in the 2018 rotation is possible, but I'm not holding my breath.

"I believe in you, Brady!"

So as of this moment the Yankees are looking to see if James Kaprielian, Ian Clarkin, and Brady Lail can be counted on for the 2018 starting rotation. If even one of those guys pans out I think the team would be really happy, and that's something that I don't think is being too optimistic at all. All three of them working out? Highly unlikely. But let's say two out of three of those guys have great 2016 seasons, making their outlook for 2018 look close to certain.

To make things easier from here on out I'll predict that Kaprielian and Clarkin are the two that make it. That means the 2018 rotation will consist of Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, James Kaprielian, and Ian Clarkin. Which means one of three things will happen after this season...

1. The Yankees will look at free agency for another starter.

2. Extend Michael Pineda.

3. Extend Nathan Eovaldi.

Knowing the team's desire to get under the Luxury Tax threshold, the first option is the least likely thing to happen. Especially when you look at the list of free agent pitchers to be, and the only guy to really stand out (Stephen Strasburg) is not going to come cheap.

One of the final two possibilities will likely be the way the team goes. Frankly, neither one of those two stand out to me. Both of them have at least some injury concern, and both have flashed moments brilliance between moments of failure. If you look at their ages that doesn't help clear things up, either. Pineda is going into his age 27 season, while Eovaldi is going into his age 26 season.

Michael Pineda is my bet to earn an extension this season due to his higher upside. While his ERA was actually a bit higher than Eovaldi's last season (4.37 to 4.20), Michael gives up less walks (1.2 walks per nine innings last season to Nathan's 2.9) and strikes out more (8.7 K/9 in 2015 versus 7.1). And keep in mind that 2015 was Pineda's last full season (or close to it) since after 2011, while Nathan has thrown nearly 580 innings in that same timeframe.

In conclusion, if things work out like I think they will, the 2018 starting rotation look like this...

1. Masahiro Tanaka
2. Luis Severino
3. James Kaprielian
4. Michael Pineda
5. Ian Clarkin

I'm interested in hearing what you think of my plan, or what you would like to see happen.

Yes, I'm fishing for comments. Now shut up!

Most Popular Article of the Week: Analyzing The Aroldis Chapman Trade

Bryan Van Dusen Analyzes the Aroldis Chapman Trade HERE:

When I started writing this I wanted to talk about the reports of Aroldis Chapman choking his girlfriend and pushing her into a wall. Not to mention shooting his gun eight times in his garage afterwards. I wanted to say that what happened doesn't make Aroldis into a horrible person, who shall be shunned forever. Good people are capable of doing horrible things. But it's impossible to put my thoughts into words when I really don't know what to think about the whole thing.

So... yeah...


Major League Baseball is investigating the incident, and Rob Manfred will make a decision on a possible suspension, fine, or whatever. And I believe Brian Cashman didn't just say "meh, whatever" and trade for Chapman. The New York Yankees are one of the most well-known sports entities in the World, and to believe Cashman doesn't know that and is willing to harm their "good" name is ridiculous.


So I'm going to stop there when it comes to the off the field stuff. And when looking beyond the off the field stuff this trade is a total steal.


According to Baseball America's Top 10 Prospect list, none of the prospects traded to Cincinnati are in the Top 5. Rookie Davis is actually the #6 prospect in the organization, But Davis has only thrown 33.1 innings above A-ball, and I wouldn't say he "killed it" in his short time at AA Trenton (he went 2-1 in five starts, with an ERA of 4.32).


I wasn't happy to see Eric Jagielo included in the trade, but I'm certainly not heartbroken over his loss. Jagielo is a third baseman, who some think is destined for first base, and corner infielders aren't that difficult to replace. Plus there's the fact that Miguel Andujar, who is a better fielder and finished strong at high A Tampa last season, could be a future third baseman. Meanwhile, Greg Bird looks to be the Yankees' first baseman of the future.

"Yep. I'm the man."

Caleb Cotham is the third prospect that the Yankee sent to the Reds. Cotham threw 9.2 innings for the Yankees this season, giving up 7 runs and 14 hits (four of which were home runs). Caleb could have possibly been a part of the Yanks bullpen in the future, but I don't think it would be a significant part at all.


The last part of the trade was Tony Renda, who the Yankees acquired when they traded David Carpenter to the Washington Nationals. Mind you, Carpenter had been designated for assignment, so Renda wasn't looked at as much more than minor league filler. Renda hit .269/.330/.358 in AA last season, and I have yet to hear anybody saying anything along the lines of "he'll be missed".


Now, I don't have to tell you what Aroldis Chapman can do for the Yankees. I begged for the Yankees to re-sign David Robertson, so that they could deploy the three-headed monster out of the bullpen. Unfortunately that didn't happen, but almost a year later Brian Cashman came through for me. Chapman, Dellin Betances, and Andrew Miller will scare the bejesus out of any and all Yankees opponents next season. If the Yankees have a two run lead going into the 7th inning you may as well say "game over". Heck, even having a one run lead will be pretty darn good.


But will the Yankee starters be able to hand a lead over to the killer threesome?


Although Masahiro Tanaka was the only starter to average at least six innings per start, I'm confident that Michael Pineda will have a better season than last knowing that his shoulder can hold up over an entire season.


Luis Severino is looking at pitching only around 150 innings, so he won't be totally let loose next year. But for the most part the team can count on him to hand over a lead to the three-headed monster.


Nathan Eovaldi averaged 5.7 innings a start in 2015, so I can see the bullpen needing a couple more outs from the bullpen when he starts. Chapman threw more than an inning four times last season (twice in the last month), Miller threw more than one inning eight times, and of course we all know Betances is capable of giving the team more than an inning at a time.


And then there's CC Sabathia. Daniel recently posted about Sabathia, and reasons to be optimistic about him next season, so I'll just direct you over there. If that's too much for you, let's say that he could be a fine starter next season, and hand over plenty of leads to the three-headed monster next season.

"I think you're a little too trusting."

When speaking of Nathan Eovaldi I mentioned that Dellin Betances is well-known for throwing more than one inning, which led to him throwing a ton of innings the previous two years. Many people rightfully see that as a problem, especially after seeing Dellin's effectiveness go down towards the end of last season. With Aroldis on board, chances are Dellin will not be leaned on nearly as much to giving the team more than an inning at a time.


It would be nice if Cashman could acquire a better starter, but I have a feeling it won't happen. I hope to be proven wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time, but after talking about those five above I just don't see a strong enough need to pay the price that a young/good starter would cost.


In fact, I'm not holding my breath for anything else "big" to happen this offseason. There are a few teams out there that would probably love to have Brett Gardner, but it doesn't seem like Cashman really wants to deal away Brett, and I don't see any team offering enough for acquire him.


It would be a shame if this was the last "big" thing to happen, but as things stand right now I kind of like this team's chances of making a run next year.

Analyzing The Aroldis Chapman Trade

When I started writing this I wanted to talk about the reports of Aroldis Chapman choking his girlfriend and pushing her into a wall. Not to mention shooting his gun eight times in his garage afterwards. I wanted to say that what happened doesn't make Aroldis into a horrible person, who shall be shunned forever. Good people are capable of doing horrible things. But it's impossible to put my thoughts into words when I really don't know what to think about the whole thing.

So... yeah...

Major League Baseball is investigating the incident, and Rob Manfred will make a decision on a possible suspension, fine, or whatever. And I believe Brian Cashman didn't just say "meh, whatever" and trade for Chapman. The New York Yankees are one of the most well-known sports entities in the World, and to believe Cashman doesn't know that and is willing to harm their "good" name is ridiculous. 

So I'm going to stop there when it comes to the off the field stuff. And when looking beyond the off the field stuff this trade is a total steal. 

According to Baseball America's Top 10 Prospect list, none of the prospects traded to Cincinnati are in the Top 5. Rookie Davis is actually the #6 prospect in the organization, But Davis has only thrown 33.1 innings above A-ball, and I wouldn't say he "killed it" in his short time at AA Trenton (he went 2-1 in five starts, with an ERA of 4.32).

I wasn't happy to see Eric Jagielo included in the trade, but I'm certainly not heartbroken over his loss. Jagielo is a third baseman, who some think is destined for first base, and corner infielders aren't that difficult to replace. Plus there's the fact that Miguel Andujar, who is a better fielder and finished strong at high A Tampa last season, could be a future third baseman. Meanwhile, Greg Bird looks to be the Yankees' first baseman of the future.

"Yep. I'm the man."

Caleb Cotham is the third prospect that the Yankee sent to the Reds. Cotham threw 9.2 innings for the Yankees this season, giving up 7 runs and 14 hits (four of which were home runs). Caleb could have possibly been a part of the Yanks bullpen in the future, but I don't think it would be a significant part at all.

The last part of the trade was Tony Renda, who the Yankees acquired when they traded David Carpenter to the Washington Nationals. Mind you, Carpenter had been designated for assignment, so Renda wasn't looked at as much more than minor league filler. Renda hit .269/.330/.358 in AA last season, and I have yet to hear anybody saying anything along the lines of "he'll be missed".

Now, I don't have to tell you what Aroldis Chapman can do for the Yankees. I begged for the Yankees to re-sign David Robertson, so that they could deploy the three-headed monster out of the bullpen. Unfortunately that didn't happen, but almost a year later Brian Cashman came through for me. Chapman, Dellin Betances, and Andrew Miller will scare the bejesus out of any and all Yankees opponents next season. If the Yankees have a two run lead going into the 7th inning you may as well say "game over". Heck, even having a one run lead will be pretty darn good.

But will the Yankee starters be able to hand a lead over to the killer threesome? 

Although Masahiro Tanaka was the only starter to average at least six innings per start, I'm confident that Michael Pineda will have a better season than last knowing that his shoulder can hold up over an entire season. 

Luis Severino is looking at pitching only around 150 innings, so he won't be totally let loose next year. But for the most part the team can count on him to hand over a lead to the three-headed monster. 

Nathan Eovaldi averaged 5.7 innings a start in 2015, so I can see the bullpen needing a couple more outs from the bullpen when he starts. Chapman threw more than an inning four times last season (twice in the last month), Miller threw more than one inning eight times, and of course we all know Betances is capable of giving the team more than an inning at a time. 

And then there's CC Sabathia. Daniel recently posted about Sabathia, and reasons to be optimistic about him next season, so I'll just direct you over there. If that's too much for you, let's say that he could be a fine starter next season, and hand over plenty of leads to the three-headed monster next season.

"I think you're a little too trusting."

When speaking of Nathan Eovaldi I mentioned that Dellin Betances is well-known for throwing more than one inning, which led to him throwing a ton of innings the previous two years. Many people rightfully see that as a problem, especially after seeing Dellin's effectiveness go down towards the end of last season. With Aroldis on board, chances are Dellin will not be leaned on nearly as much to giving the team more than an inning at a time. 

It would be nice if Cashman could acquire a better starter, but I have a feeling it won't happen. I hope to be proven wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time, but after talking about those five above I just don't see a strong enough need to pay the price that a young/good starter would cost.

In fact, I'm not holding my breath for anything else "big" to happen this offseason. There are a few teams out there that would probably love to have Brett Gardner, but it doesn't seem like Cashman really wants to deal away Brett, and I don't see any team offering enough for acquire him. 

It would be a shame if this was the last "big" thing to happen, but as things stand right now I kind of like this team's chances of making a run next year.

The Surprising Patient Fans

I've been impressed with the amount of patience many Yankees fans have shown this offseason.

"It hasn't been easy, but we can do it."

When it comes to what needed to be done to best prepare the team for 2016, I believe getting a starting pitcher was priority #1 this offseason. And when I say "starter", I don't mean just anyone.

The Yankees don't need a middle to bottom of the rotation starter. Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, Ivan Nova, CC Sabathia... the Yankees can use those four to fill 80% of the rotation. However, the Yankees won't use all four of those starters in the rotation because they also have Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino. That's six options four five rotation spots.

Wait.... Do the Yankees even need a starter?

Speaking of Severino and Tanaka, the Yankees don't necessarily need an "ace" either. That's not to say neither of those guys have questions marks surrounding them. In fact, both of them have questions marks... Masahiro is somewhat of a health risk, and Severino only has 11 MLB starts under his belt. But if you assume they can stay healthy then a team could do a heck of a lot worse with those two at the top of the rotation.

Again... Do the Yankees even need a starter?

Yes.

While it would have been nice, the Yankees don't need a "David Price" or "Zack Greinke". The Yankees simply need somebody that they can lean on to throw 200+ innings, which means giving them 6+ innings over 30-32 starts. Someone along the lines of an Andy Pettitte or Hiroki Kuroda.

That guy may be Wei-Yin Chen, although he has yet to reach the 200 inning mark in any of this 4 MLB seasons, despite starting 31 or 32 times in three of those four years.

Johnny Cueto could fill that role fairly well. A 2.81 ERA over the past three years, and has thrown 455.2 innings over the past two? Sure!

Yovani Gallardo has started 30 or more times in each of the last seven seasons, and had an ERA below 4.00 in all but one of those years.

So what's the problem?

Well... money. Hal Steinbrenner will not let his general manager spend on free agents, so Cashman has to use trades to make any and all improvements to the team. But when you have pitchers like the aforementioned three available as free agents, teams willing to trade away their own pitchers are reluctant to do so.

Look at it this way...

If you're the general manager of a team, and you have a good/young pitcher you're willing to part with in a trade, would you deal away that player now when "buying" teams have more options, or would you wait until those "buying" teams have no other choice but to ask for your guy?

If you're smart, you'd wait until people are desperate for your guy, so you can charge them more. It's simple economics... supply and demand.

"What in the World is 'supply and demand'?"

The fact of the matter is the Yankees are unlikely to get their new "Andy Pettitte" or "Hiroki Kuroda" until those other pitching options are no longer available. And that requires patience... something that Brian Cashman has, but few Yankees fans (me included) do.

Which is why I'm so impressed with... *sigh*... Yankee Universe (I don't like that name). If you had told me the situation the Yankees would be in on December 13th, after the GM Meetings, and after two other trades were made, I would have predicted that Yankees fans would be up in arms that nothing has been done to improve the rotation.

But here we are... and the majority of Yankees fans I've spoken to are not worried. It's not as big a surprise, but a number of fans are not worried about the team replacing Adam Warren and/or Justin Wilson, either.

Of course, there will always be that fan who will call Brian Cashman an idiot. There will always be that fan that goes nuts over the Yankees passing up a "David Price" or "Zack Greinke". But for the first time in what seems like forever, Yankees fans in general are being patient and allowing Cashman to rebuild.

Does that mean we'll see another Core Four (or Five) soon? Unlikely. I wouldn't count on ever seeing a core like that develop again. But the Yankees finally appear to see the big picture, meaning that the future is no longer something they will take care of later. And I like that. Because as nice as it would be if the Yanks were true 2016 World Series contenders, it'll be so much better when they are World Series contenders year after year in the near future.

"I got this, folks."

Someone's Gotta Go!

With all of the trade talk surrounding Brett Gardner, which includes the Yankees acquiring a starter, it surprises me that I have yet to hear any talk of the logjam in the Yankees' rotation. We already have six legit rotation candidates in Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, Adam Warren, and... yes... CC Sabathia. So something's gotta give.

"I don't know if I'd call CC 'legit'".

I'm pretty sure Brian Cashman has a plan, but what good would I be as a blogger if I just sat back and didn't try and guess what that plan was? Or, at least tell you what I think that plan should be? So let's take a look at each of those six rotation candidates, starting with those that I don't think are going anywhere.

CC Sabathia - Okay... imagine you're the general manager of a baseball team. Would you trade for a pitcher that is 35 years old, and over the past three years has an ERA of 4.81? Furthermore, that same pitcher, assuming his throwing shoulder stays healthy, is due $50 million over the next two years. Are you interested? No? Yeah... I didn't think so.

Masahiro Tanaka - So you don't want to trade for Sabathia. That's understandable. But how about a pitcher that is only 27 years old, and has a 3.16 ERA in 290.1 MLB innings? I see your ears perked up there. Oh, but I should tell you that this pitcher comes with a contract that has at least two years and $44 million remaining, and could very well jump to five years and $111 million remaining. How is that? Well, he can opt-out of his deal and become a free agent after the 2017 season. By the way, his elbow is kind of messed up too. *click* Damn.

Luis Severino - Alright, I'm not going to play the "you be a gm" game here. Hal Steinbrenner has said over and over again that his goal is to get the Yankees' payroll down, but at the same time the team wants to compete for a championship year in and year out. And for that to happen a team needs somebody like Severino. He's young, he's under team control for another six years, and his ceiling is that of an ace in the rotation. Luis is not going anywhere.


Now that we got through the pitchers that aren't going anywhere, I'm going to move on to a set of pitchers that I can see being traded, although I'd lean towards them remaining with the Yankees.

Ivan Nova - I don't believe the Yankees will deal Nova because that would be selling low. I think he's better than a 5+ ERA like he had last season, but I don't think he's a 3.10 ERA guy like in 2013 either. The truth, like in so many instances, is somewhere in the middle. Besides, 2016 is his final year before free agency, so other teams would view him as a possible one-year rental... which is not nearly as attractive as players under team control longer.

Adam Warren - I was going to predict he gets traded, seeing as how he's not free agent eligible until 2019, making him quite attractive. Adam's started 20 games and has an ERA of 3.98 in those, which would also stand out to a team wanting somebody for the middle to lower end of the rotation. However, out of the remaining rotation candidates, he's the only one with bullpen experience. And with so many candidates, someone's going to be a reliever, and my guess is Warren is that guy.

"Umm... did I not just say that I wanted to start?"

This next pitcher is somebody that I believe the Yankees wouldn't mind trading away at all, but the problem is that I don't see them getting enough in return to make it worth their while.

Nathan Eovaldi - after leading the National League with the most hits surrendered in 2014, Nathan actually gave up more hits per 9 innings in 2015 (10.1 to 10.2). Furthermore, his walk rate actually went up from 1.9 per 9 innings to 2.9. The good thing is his strikeout rate went up, however... like Nova... I believe the Yankees would be selling low here. Eovaldi is only 25 years old, so it's possible he has yet to reach his peak. All of which leads me to believe we'll be seeing more of Nathan in pinstripes next season.


So that leaves us with one more pitcher, and knowing how smart our readers are, you're likely saying "Bryan thinks the Yankees will trade away Michael Pineda"? Yes... I do.

Michael Pineda - So why would another team be interested in Michael? Well, for starters, he's not free agent eligible until 2018, giving the buying team two more years of team control on him. And going into his age 27 season, he's still young enough to where we may have not seen him peak. Therefore, he could not only be a solid starter in the middle of the rotation, he still has a peak as a strong #2. As for his injury history, having started 27 games last season makes him less of a risk. And then you have the fact that Michael walks very few batters, while carrying a respectable strikeout rate. I'd like to be able to hold onto Pineda, as I think he can be a nice addition to the rotation, but the numbers game is going to catch up to somebody, and I believe that "somebody" will be Mr. Pineda.


I have to mention that it wouldn't surprise me to see two of the following pitchers get traded. While I'm almost certain the Yankees will make a trade for a top of the rotation starter like Carlos Carrasco, I believe Adam Warren's ability to either start or relieve gives the team the ability to deal away two pitchers, and have a fall-back option should they miss out on somebody like Wei-Yin Chen.

But hearing more and more about the Yankees' desire to keep payroll down, I believe they would rather roll with Nathan Eovaldi in the rotation than dip into free agency and pay somebody like Chen around $80 million. Not to mention that any team wants to have some depth for the rotation. Which would lead to a starting rotation including Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, and whoever they acquire via trade.

That rotation, along with a bullpen that includes Adam Warren, Dellin Betances, and Andrew Miller, and an improved offense that includes Jason Heyward or Justin Upton replacing Brett Gardner in the outfield, would make... in my opinion... a true World Series contender.

Doesn't Jason look cute in a Yankees uniform*?

*that's a picture of Jason Heyward in Little League.

Looking Back At The Trade Deadline

It would have been great if the Yankees traded for an ace-like pitcher like Johnny Cueto, David Price, or Cole Hamels. But I think we all agree that the asking price for those guys, which likely would have included one or more of Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Greg Bird, and Jorge Mateo, was a bit high. 

However, pitchers such as Dan Haren (traded to the Cubs), Mat Latos (traded to the Dodgers), and Mike Leake (traded to the Giants), were available for a much more reasonable price. Yet the Yankees were never truly in on those guys. 

Instead of making a move to acquire a pitcher from outside the organization, the only move the Yankees made to improve the rotation was to promote Luis Severino. Even though a lot of fans wanted to see Severino promoted, many weren't satisfied with Brian Cashman's lack of action at the trade deadline (the non-waiver one, that is). But how has that worked out?

"I'll give you a clue... not bad."

Here are some stats since the trade deadline...

Dan Haren - GS: 3, ERA: 5.40, WHIP: 1.467, FIP: 7.17
Mat Latos - GS: 3, ERA: 6.75, WHIP: 1.432, FIP: 4.40
Mike Leake* - GS: 1, ERA: 2.84, WHIP: 1.579, FIP: 4.53

*Leake was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring strain after just one start with San Francisco.

Luis Severino - GS: 3, ERA: 3.18, WHIP: 1.059, FIP: 3.40

I won't go as far as to say Severino will be the better pitcher for the rest of the season, but it's certainly possible. And one thing is certain, and that's the fact Luis has been the best pitcher out of the four since the deadline. 

Now, some may say the Yankees should have gone harder after a pitcher once they found out that Michael Pineda was headed to the disabled list, especially since it looked like it would be for longer than 15 days. However, Latos and Leake were dealt at about the same time it was learned that that's where Pineda was headed. And as for Dan Haren, I think the Yankees would have been better off with Bryan Mitchell and the bullpen, anyway.

In fact, especially if CC Sabathia can build on his last few starts (3.38 ERA and a .647 OPS against), Joe Girardi will have some tough decisions surrounding the rotation to make in a couple of weeks.

Coming To Terms After The Trade Deadline

The Toronto Blue Jays are better, the Kansas City Royals are better, the Los Angeles Dodgers are better, and the Texas Rangers are better. The New York Yankees are... pretty much the same team they were last week.

"That was a pretty boring week."

I'm not happy that Brian Cashman didn't find a way to improve the team, but I'm not convinced that something had to be done. Take the bullpen for example, where we heard rumors of Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman, or Carter Capps being traded for...

While it would have been incredible to have Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Craig Kimbrel/Aroldis Chapman/Carter Capps in the bullpen, would that be necessary? Those three could take care of four innings, making the starters only have to throw for five. But Masahiro Tanaka has averaged 6.23 innings per start, while Michael Pineda has averaged 6.21 innings per start. That means, unless those guys have a bad game, one of Betances, Miller, or Kimbrel wouldn't even be used in a game. And a bad performance by one of the starters could very well mean the Yankees are losing more than half-way through the game. That's not good, especially against the Royals, Orioles, Blue Jays, Angels, and Astros... all of which have pretty good bullpens.

I don't mean to be a hypocrite here. Yes... I was cool with the Yankees offering Jorge Mateo for Craig Kimbrel. I would have liked to keep Mateo, as you can never have too many middle infield prospects, but the facts are that Jorge is only in single-A, and Didi Gregorius has looked really good over the last month. So losing Mateo wouldn't be that bad. No, the bad part was Jed Gyorko.

The fact that Gyorko's OPS+ since the beginning of the 2014 season is only 77 wouldn't be that big a problem, especially seeing how the Yankees traded for Dustin Ackley and his OPS+ of 78 this season. The problem with Gyorko is that he's signed through 2019 for $32 million (plus a $1 million buyout of a team option for 2020). It's surely not an albatross contract like Sabathia's, but the idea of paying this guy $13 million in 2019 is ridiculous.

To sum up the bullpen, with the top two along with guys such as Chasen Schreve and Justin Wilson, a big upgrade was hardly necessary.

What about the starting rotation, which could use an upgrade at the top?

The Yankees were never close to acquiring an ace-type starter, and it turns out that doing so would have taken at least one of the big four... Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Greg Bird, and Jorge Mateo. But even if Brian Cashman would have been okay parting with one or more of those guys, would doing that for somebody like Johnny Cueto be necessary?

Yankees starters are currently ranked 6th in the American League in FIP, and out of the five teams ahead of them in that category, the Houston Astros are the only team with a good chance at making the postseason (the other four are the Oakland Athletics, the Chicago White Sox, the Tampa Bay Rays, and Cleveland Indians).

Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays did a good job of improving their rotation, adding David Price. However, the Yankees have destroyed Price recently, and the Jays' next best starter is Mark Buerle, who would struggle to strike out you or I.

Yes, a pitcher of the Mike Leake or James Shields variety would have been welcome, but there's no certainty that they would be any better than simply calling up Luis Severino. Not to mention that Adam Warren did a really good job in the rotation earlier this season, and he could be put back there. Then there's Bryan Mitchell, another fine starting candidate. Sure, Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda haven't been true #1 starters, but I still trust those guys. And Nathan Eovaldi has been fairly good lately.

Yeah.. anyway...

Fine, but Stephen Drew and Brendan Ryan are still our regular second basemen. Ugh!

That's true, and it's not good. However, there was never a solid rumor regarding an offensive upgrade. Plenty of people, myself included, brought up guys like Ben Zobrist or Martin Prado. Well, the Yankees' bats are already pretty good (2nd in AL in runs scored and wRC+), so I don't think a trade in this area was truly necessary. Bringing back Rob Refsnyder to be the team's regular second baseman over Stephen Drew may be all the team needs on offense.

What I find really funny is that, in the past, a number of fans spoke out against trading away all of the team's good prospects. Now that the team has changed gears when it comes to building from within, and we got through a trading deadline without losing a top 15 prospect, you'd think the fans would be happy. But no... they wanted a "big" trade to happen. Face it... Brian Cashman can't win.

I'm extremely excited about the team. Without possibly damaging the future of the team, they're six games in first place with 60 games to play. That may not be a lot, but it is hardly an easy hill to climb for the second place Blue Jays and Orioles.

We've been waiting to see Luis Severino get called up, and next week we're going to finally see it. And against the Red Sox no less. How awesome is that?

And as early as next season we could see the team's top prospect, and somebody the offense may be built around in the near future, Aaron Judge. Of course, that would mean delegating Carlos Beltran and his $15 million salary to the bench, but I don't think it's out of the question.

I've already talked about Rob Refsnyder being brought back up to permanently replace the combination of Drew and Ryan at second base.

Then there's Greg Bird, who may very well get a promotion to the big league some time next season, where he'll take his next stop towards taking over for Mark Teixiera at first base.

However, with how he's hitting homer after homer, and making plays like the gem last night, I'm not in any hurry for him to step down.

Finally, one of the best parts about not dealing for Craig Kimbrel, Cole Hamels, or others is that the Yankees are not obligated to pay a large chunk of money to another player. Nor are they on the hook for so many years of their contracts.

The New York Yankees are not the same team they were a few years ago. Maybe not even two years ago. If you're too young to remember when Don Mattingly played for the Yankees, then I can understand your frustration with the team not bettering their chances to win it all this year. But if you do remember Donnie Baseball, and the team's struggles prior to 1996, then building another Core Four like what Brian Cashman has said he's trying to do sounds pretty damn appealing.

The Unpopular Bullpen/Rotation Decision

"Is there anybody up there in the stands that can make this decision for me?"

Last night the Yankees announced that Nathan Eovaldi will start on Wednesday, which pretty much means Adam Warren is going to the bullpen. That news also means that CC Sabathia will remain in the starting rotation.

And while that's not a surprise since 1. Sabathia is the highest paid player (not just pitcher) on the team and 2. Warren was quite successful coming as a reliever last season, it's still disappointing.

Even if he were to remain in the rotation Adam Warren is not going to get any Cy Young Award votes at the end of the season. However, his ERA of 3.59 is a heck of a lot better than Sabathia's 5.59. For those of you that are correctly pointing out that ERA is not the best stat for comparing pitchers, I'll also show you that opposing hitters are batting .238 against Warren and .294 against Sabathia.

However, it's clear to anybody that's been watching the Yankees this season that Adam Warren gives the team a better chance to win. And with the AL East turning into a four-team race, every win and loss is important.

"Yeah, those stats aren't pretty."

But before going off in the comments, keep a few things in mind...

1. You can't put all the blame on Joe Girardi here. Joe is not the one that signed Sabathia to that extension (side note... if CC hadn't opted out this would be the final year of his initial 7 year deal). Brian Cashman and Co. put this team together, and Girardi has to manage it. And managing a team, especially the New York Yankees, is more than making lineups and pitching changes. CC Sabathia is a leader in the locker room, and not long ago was the ace of the rotation. The Yankees, and their fans, are big on history.

2. I talked about this before, but it's as true now as then. Between 2013 and 2014 Warren threw 155.2 innings. So far this season he's at 82.2 innings, and at that pace would eclipse 175 this year. No way would that happen. Workload concern has become an issue, as well it should.

3. The Yankees have wanted a right-handed reliever to add to their plethora of lefties, and they have it in Warren. Perhaps that 3.59 ERA isn't as valuable in the bullpen, but having somebody else in the bullpen you can rely on is definitely a good thing.

4. Since debuting in 2001, Sabathia has never made an appearance out of the bullpen. So there's no reason to believe he would be effective in that role now. In fact, I'd go as far as to say he would be a waste of a bullpen spot. Getting ready out of the 'pen is vastly different than getting ready to start a game. Relievers will get up and throw a dozen or so pitches in the 'pen, come out and throw a few more warm-up pitches on the mound, and then go at it. And sometimes they'll do so with men already on base. The mentality of a reliever is so different that I don't think CC could do it. Especially considering he has zero experience with it.

Like the Giants did with Tim Lincecum, there may very well come a time when Sabathia relieves games more than starts them. Unfortunately that time is not now.

I can't tell if he's thinking about pitching or eating my soul.

Candy Cummings & Inventions of the Curveball and Glove

William Arthur "Candy" Cummings was born on October 18,1848 in Ware Massachusetts and went on to be a professional baseball player that was eventually one of the first members to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. What Cummings added to the game of baseball was the addition of a curveball to a pitcher's repetroire and the addition of a glove for the catcher to catch the ball with.

When Cummings pitched the pitcher threw underhand and was essentially there to throw the ball where the "striker," or more commonly known as the batter today, wanted the ball to be thrown. The story goes that one day as a teenager Cummings was throwing clam shells into the ocean when he learned to added a bit of a curve to the shell when he threw. Cummings tried this with a baseball as a member of the National Association of Base Ball Players team the Brooklyn Excelsior's. Cummings pitched with Brooklyn in 1866 and 1867 before pitching for the Stars of Brooklyn from 1868 to 1871.

The problem with the curveball at that time was the fact that the catcher stood twenty feet behind the batter to catch the ball without a glove. When the curveball hit the ground it would skip away allowing runners to move up or score which led Cummings catcher, Nat Hicks, to stand behind the batter and catch the ball on the fly. Hicks and Cummings came up with the idea of the catcher having leather bound gloves with the fingers cut out of them to help with catching the ball and saving the catcher's hands.

The sport of baseball was in its infancy at the time but within a few years the way the pitcher played the game was changed, the pitcher's repertoire was changed, the catcher position was changed and how the catcher did his job was changed. All because of a 17 year old kid throwing sea shells by the sea shore that just loved playing this great game of baseball.

Cummings was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.

Now the Yankees know why they have those gloves on their hands and now it's time to start using them. Thanks.

The Yankees Should NOT Make A Big Trade

While so many people in the Yankees Universe are sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting for the team to trade for a big-time pitcher, I'm sitting back hoping they don't.

From this position I can see that the sky is certainly not falling.

There's no doubt that the Yankees' starting rotation has questions, mainly of the "health" variety. And although a team should be prepared for the worst, it's not always the smart thing to do. The Yankees don't have a plethora of trade chips, so if they make a trade that turns out to be unnecessary, then they've likely really hurt themselves should a hole someplace else open up, and they can no longer fill that hole by trade (at least not well).

Let's define "necessary"...

The Yankees currently have six starters to choose from (Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Capuano, and Adam Warren), and by June they could have seven (Ivan Nova). Should Tanaka's elbow, Pineda's shoulder, and Sabathia's knee actually hold up, Eovaldi's BABIP against comes down to normal levels (it was .327 last year, leading to him giving up a few extra hits), and Capuano remains a solid pitcher, then another starter will not be necessary. And that doesn't include Warren continuing to throw well, and Nova returning.

However, what happens should Carlos Beltran go down again? Chris Young? Yikes! Having all your trade chips at that time would be ideal in order to avoid starting Chris Young (who had a triple-slash of .217/.296/.399 the last three years) day in and day out. Garret Jones? We're not getting much better, here.

The fact is the Yankees don't have enough to trade for a good to great starter now, and trade for a good to great player during the season. So save those trade chips for when you have to make a deal.

Another thing to consider here is that if a team were to deal a pitcher, then that pitcher is going to come in one of two varieties...

1. A pitcher that has at least two years of team control remaining.

2. A pitcher that only has a year of team control remaining.

The pitcher in example 1 is going to cost quite a bit, especially if that "team control" means arbitration or pre-arbitration years. Additionally, teams tend to want to hold onto key contributors when they still have a shot, and seeing as how neither this nor future seasons have even started, they indeed have a shot. Besides, either the Yankees don't have what it takes to get that deal done, or they shouldn't do it because of what I discussed earlier.

The pitcher in example 2 may not cost as much, but you have to ask yourself... is this the year to make such a deal? I mean, to be honest, the 2015 Yankees don't look like serious contenders for the AL East, let alone the postseason. Sure, they are going to be really fun to watch, but trading away a huge package right now is like a Texas Hold-Em player going all-in with a ten of spades and nine of hearts as his hole cards. At least wait until you get another ten or nine on the flop and/or turn.

Please tell me I used those terms correctly. I'm not a poker player.

So the Yankees should avoid a big trade right now, and wait until the season starts to truly see where the holes on the team are, and then address them. Making a huge splash for somebody like Cole Hamels may lead to the Yankees having the best starting rotation in the American League (the Nationals would probably still be the best in all of MLB), but if they're forced to deal with Chris Young or Garrett Jones playing every day in right field, then it's all for naught.

Without Hiroki the Yankees Rotation is Thin

Hiroki Kuroda has officially decided to return to his native Japan to finish his baseball career where it started with the Hiroshima Carp. Many Yankees fans had held on to the fact that New York may bring Hiroki back for a fourth season to once stabilize the Yankees rotation but it will not happen a fourth time. So what's left in the Yankees rotation you ask? Without a free agent signing or trade, not much. 

CC Sabathia has not been effective really since the 2012 season and is coming off a knee surgery before his age 34 season. Has CC learned how to pitch with a decreased velocity? Has he been eating Captain Crunch? These are things we won't know until he is on the mound facing off with major league talent unfortunately. 

Masahiro Tanaka's battle with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament is well documented so I won't harp on it too much. Like Sabathia we won't know what we have until the season is under way and he is facing major league talent on the biggest stage. 

Michael Pineda has been inside the Yankees organization for three years now and has yet to pitch a full and healthy season in New York. Pineda has had shoulder issues and muscle strains and issues around the shoulder which makes it hard to count on him for 30-35 starts in 2015. 

Nathan Eovaldi gave up the most hits in 2014 and was very home run and fly ball prone inside a typically pitcher friendly Marlins Park. How will that translate into a very hitter friendly Yankee Stadium? See Tanaka, see Sabathia and see my very ugly and scary BIP locations post. 

Finally we have Chris Capuano. That's really all I have to say, it's Chris Capuano. Sure most fifth starters around the league are mediocre and sure he is probably just a place holder until Ivan Nova is ready but still.... it's Chris Capuano.