Most Popular Article of the Week: The Return!!!

Predicting and Projecting the Yankees 2017 Opening Day Lineup

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays will kick off the 2017 Major League season with a game inside Tropicana Field on Sunday, April 2nd. While the Opening Day starters have yet to be announced and while a lot can go down between then and now I wanted to take a stab at predicting the Yankees Opening Day lineup anyway. Keep in mind this may not necessarily be my lineup but this is the lineup that I believe manager Joe Girardi will throw out there here in a couple months. So keep that in mind when directing the hate mail, friends. Thanks.


LF. Brett Gardner
CF. Jacoby Ellsbury
DH. Matt Holliday
C. Gary Sanchez
1B. Chris Carter
SS. Didi Gregorius
2B. Starlin Castro
3B. Chase Headley
RF. Aaron Judge

Predicting and Projecting the Yankees 2017 Opening Day Lineup

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays will kick off the 2017 Major League season with a game inside Tropicana Field on Sunday, April 2^nd. While the Opening Day starters have yet to be announced and while a lot can go down between then and now I wanted to take a stab at predicting the Yankees Opening Day lineup anyway. Keep in mind this may not necessarily be my lineup but this is the lineup that I believe manager Joe Girardi will throw out there here in a couple months. So keep that in mind when directing the hate mail, friends. Thanks.

LF. Brett Gardner

CF. Jacoby Ellsbury

DH. Matt Holliday

C. Gary Sanchez

1B. Chris Carter

SS. Didi Gregorius

2B. Starlin Castro

3B. Chase Headley

RF. Aaron Judge

Imagining a Yankees Lineup w/ Matt Holliday

The New York Yankees have Matt Holliday in the fold for at least the 2017 season after giving the free agent a $13 million contract for next season. Holliday will DH for the Yankees but don’t be surprised to see him in left field from time to time as well as first base. Let’s assume everything is in a perfect world with everyone healthy, everyone having equal splits against RHP and LHP and that no one “needs a day” from manager Joe Girardi. What will the Yankees lineup look like in 2017? Here’s my shot at it.

Against RHP:

CF: Jacoby Ellsbury

LF: Brett Gardner

DH: Matt Holliday

C: Gary Sanchez

1B: Greg Bird

RF: Aaron Judge

2B: Starlin Castro

SS: Didi Gregorius

3B: Chase Headley

Against LHP:

CF: Jacoby Ellsbury / Brett Gardner

2B: Starlin Castro

1B: Matt Holliday

C: Gary Sanchez

RF: Aaron Judge

LF: Aaron Hicks

SS: Didi Gregorius

3B: Chase Headley

DH: Robert Refsnyder/Tyler Austin/ Rotation

Keep in mind that this is what I would do, not what I think manager Joe Girardi will do. Thanks. Leave your lineups and criticisms in the comments below. 

Has Anyone Seen Mark Teixeira?

Extra! Extra! Read all about it. Yankees first baseman missing offensively for weeks now and no one has taken notice. If you’ve seen this man return him to Yankee Stadium and/or call Brian Cashman at 1-800-GoYanks1.

In all seriousness though while much of the attention has been on Alex Rodriguez, until recently, Chase Headley and guys like Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Hicks the real question that Yankees fans need to be asking themselves is where has Mark Teixeira been for the past couple of weeks?

The Yankees don’t have Greg Bird to fall back on if Teixeira cannot perform or gets hurt and the team is really banking on a huge contract season from their first baseman for a plethora of reasons. One being that the team wants to compete in 2016 and the other being the presumable qualifying offer coming his way after this season. If he has a huge season it’s unlikely, even as he inches towards 37-years old, that he accepts it where as if he struggles or has a mediocre season he may be back in the Bronx for one more go around to give Bird all the time he needs after offseason shoulder surgery.

I can tell you one thing though, Teixeira’s stats to date have been neither mediocre nor have they shown any inkling of a monster season. Sure Teixeira has three home runs and 11 RBI as he entered Camden Yards last night for the series with the Baltimore Orioles but one must remember the old adage of “what have you done for me lately?” Remember that Teixeira hit two of those three home runs in the opening series of the season against the Houston Astros and his third home run came on April 14^th of this year. Since that home run Teixeira has had just one extra-base hit and a whopping three RBI. This is not middle of the lineup caliber and this is not a great trending sign for a free agent to be whom wants to play for “four or five more years.”

Sure Teixeira is historically bad in April and he may just be priming up for a huge May, June, July etc. but until it happens I just can’t see it. The Yankees pitching staff has been inconsistent and horrible outside of the bullpen and Masahiro Tanaka for the most part and the pressure of being behind in almost every single game is spilling over to the offense. It’s obvious and it’s going to take a village to raise this child and at the head of that village has to be Mark Teixeira or the Yankees are in serious, serious trouble. 

Can Ellsbury Provide the Missing Spark for the Offense?

Most of the games during the Yankees’ recent 1-7 slide have followed a familiar pattern. Very few of the losses were blowouts. New York’s pitching has not been spectacular, but they’ve kept them in games. The real issue has been the inability of the offense to muster more than 2-3 runs per contest. The result has been a number of frustratingly close defeats. The first half of Friday night’s matchup against the Rays followed this pattern. The Yanks were down 3-2 in the fifth. Although they had two runners in scoring position, they also had two outs. The team’s struggles with RISP have been well documented in the early going, so the odds seemed against a clutch hit.

With a full count to Brett Gardner and two outs, Jacoby Ellsbury made a bold call that resulted in easily the most exciting and memorable play of 2016. He stole home against the deliberate Matt Moore, something he hadn’t done since April 2009, ironically against

the Yankees. After the game, Girardi expressed his admiration, telling reporters, “It's not a play you see every day. The last time I saw it, he did it against Andy Pettitte. That kept me up a few nights. It's good to be on this side." The decision was daring because there was two strikes on Gardner. If Moore threw him a pitch down the middle, he would have to swing, possibly putting Ellsbury in danger of being hit with bat or ball. Of course, the gamble paid off, and the run tied the game at three. The play completely reversed the momentum of the night and began the rally that led to an eventual 6-3 victory.

Despite his hefty salary and lengthy commitment, Ellsbury has been looking more and more like a platoon option (at best) in 2016. The only reason he was in Friday’s game at all was because Aaron Hicks, who started in centerfield, had to leave the game with a sore shoulder. With Hicks day-to-day, Ellsbury will have the next few games at least of playing regularly, even though the team will be facing several left-handed starters in a row. Ellsbury got off to a miserable start to the season (a 54 wRC+ in his first 51 PAs), but has started to turn things around the last three games, going 6-12 with two doubles and two RBI.

Friday’s steal of home felt like a statement. Ellsbury was signed to be the spark at the top of the Yankees lineup. They are at their most dangerous when he and Gardner are healthy and causing havoc at the top of the lineup. The further he gets from the knee injury that hobbled him in the second half of 2015, the better the chances are that fans will see that dynamic player return. An aggressive Ellsbury who is fighting to regain his everyday job may be the catalyst the Yankees need to reverse this losing streak and  dig themselves out of the AL East cellar.

As the Top Goes, the Offense Goes

It sounds simple enough and it could be said for any of the 30 MLB teams around the league but it seems to be especially true for the New York Yankees. As the top of the order goes so does the rest of the New York Yankees offense. This was on full display this weekend in the Bronx against the Seattle Mariners and it has been especially true over the past two or three seasons, well since the Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury to be their leadoff hitter for $150+ million. If the top of the order is doing well and getting on base it seems to take the pressure off of the middle of the Yankees lineup and the runs seem to come in bunches but when the top of the order isn’t doing so well, well we don’t like to talk about that too much out loud.

Ellsbury lived up to expectations in the first year of his new Yankees contract and has fallen short ever since dropping his Yankees average to just .265 before the start of the 2016 season. Ellsbury is hovering around the Stephen Drew line already this season, yes I changed the name… no disrespect to Mr. Mendoza, and has been just as mediocre in the field as he’s been at the plate. Ellsbury is not only not hitting but he’s also failing to reach base at a respectable clip leaving many to wonder why he is still leading off rather than the next man that needs to step things up in order to get the Yankees offense going, Mr. Brett Gardner.

Gardner has always hovered around the .260 - .280 mark with good defense but a weird fascination with striking out. That’s the Gardner we drafted and that’s the Gardner we developed and handed a contract extension to. That hasn’t changed thus far in 2016 and neither has his seemingly inability to get a good jump, judge a pitcher or steal a base consistently throughout a season. If Gardner can improve his on-base percentage and average a bit, marginally or at all he could unseat Ellsbury in the leadoff spot. If he doesn’t though Mr. Alex Rodriguez will be coming up a lot this season in the first inning with nobody on and two outs.

Alex struggled out of the gate this season before responding in the final game of the Seattle Mariners series. Alex only responded after being moved down in the order as apparently he takes offense to hitting sixth in the Yankees lineup. A Rod went 0-21 after hitting his home run in Detroit and is creeping up on 41-years old. Does he have anything left or are the Yankees doomed to see another hitter rely on home runs only with a .220 average? If he hits the latter it’s going to potentially be a long summer in the Bronx. 

Most Popular Article of the Week: Imagining a Lineup without Teixeira & with Swisher

The talk all week around the Yankees blogosphere, especially after an off day Monday and a rainout on Sunday, and on Twitter has been the second coming of the man they call Swish, Nick Swisher. Swisher is still working out down in Tampa at the Yankees minor league complex waiting on his minor league deal to be finalized and waiting for his number to be called so he can return to the Bronx. Swisher is not what he once was, not after a pair of knee surgeries and not by a long shot, but the grim reality is that same man that couldn’t crack a rebuilding Atlanta Braves roster could be on his way to a Yankees bench near you. Nostalgia aside what would the Yankees lineup look like tonight in Toronto if Swisher were in it and Mark Teixeira was not?

Let the speculation begin:

Jacoby Ellsbury

Brett Gardner

Alex Rodriguez

Brian McCann

Carlos Beltran

Chase Headley

Starlin Castro

Didi Gregorius

Nick Swisher

Keep in mind this is the lineup I think the Yankees will put out there. This is my speculation on Joe Girardi’s lineup, not my own. Please forward the hate mail accordingly. I’d personally have Starlin Castro hitting second, McCann third to keep the left, right, left thing going and maybe A Rod cleaning up. This lineup doesn’t look as much like a daunting task for opposing pitchers with Swisher in it and Teixeira out of it, does it? Let’s hope for the health of Teixeira if we plan on watching any meaningful baseball this October in the Bronx.

What If Alex Rodriguez Keeps Not Hitting?

Has Father Time caught up to the Yankees 40-year old designated hitter and what will New York do if Alex Rodriguez continues not to hit in the middle of the lineup? These are questions that many fans are asking after two weeks of the 2016 MLB regular season but none of them have been doling out many answers unfortunately. Have no fear, and keep in mind small sample sizes and the fact that I know no more than you, for I am here to attempt to answer a few of those for you this morning.

First and foremost one must remember, and I know I’ve said this a million times already this season but it needs to be beaten into some people’s head unfortunately, that two weeks is a terrible sample size to judge a player on. Some players still have eye popping numbers that are sure to come back down to Earth while the exact opposite is true for some of the struggling players that came out of the gate looking sluggish and behind. Of course you have the players that start slow and never recover and you also have players who start hot and stay hot, see Nolan Arenado’s stats in September of this year for proof of this, but for the most part you generally don’t worry after two weeks. Well unless you’re 40-years old and a player that will turn 41-years old later this summer.

It is extremely possible that Father Time has caught up to Alex Rodriguez and that he will be a former shell of himself and half the man he was, statistically speaking, in 2015. The Yankees lineup looks a whole lot thinner with some combination of Brian McCann, Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran hitting in the middle of it than it does with a healthy and 30+ home run producing Alex Rodriguez in the middle. If New York had to though they could weather the storm if Starlin Castro keeps up his torrid pace. Having Castro hit in the 5^th or 6^th hole and dropping Alex to the 7^th-9^th hole is possible, although I would venture to guess Joe Girardi would give Alex every opportunity to snap out of this funk.

I’m not down on Alex. I won’t be down on Alex after two or three months let alone two or three weeks so don’t mistake this post as that. I love to play devil’s advocate and I love to look at both sides of an equation when I write on this blog. Maybe that’s why a lot of you come here, I’m not sure. I look at what I think would happen if Alex were to hit 30 home runs again in 2016 and the next week I look at what I think would happen if he hit three all season long. It’s what I do and I hope you enjoy because I enjoy putting the content out for you guys. 

Imagining a Lineup without Teixeira & with Swisher

The talk all week around the Yankees blogosphere, especially after an off day Monday and a rainout on Sunday, and on Twitter has been the second coming of the man they call Swish, Nick Swisher. Swisher is still working out down in Tampa at the Yankees minor league complex waiting on his minor league deal to be finalized and waiting for his number to be called so he can return to the Bronx. Swisher is not what he once was, not after a pair of knee surgeries and not by a long shot, but the grim reality is that same man that couldn’t crack a rebuilding Atlanta Braves roster could be on his way to a Yankees bench near you. Nostalgia aside what would the Yankees lineup look like tonight in Toronto if Swisher were in it and Mark Teixeira was not?

Let the speculation begin:

Jacoby Ellsbury

Brett Gardner

Alex Rodriguez

Brian McCann

Carlos Beltran

Chase Headley

Starlin Castro

Didi Gregorius

Nick Swisher

Keep in mind this is the lineup I think the Yankees will put out there. This is my speculation on Joe Girardi’s lineup, not my own. Please forward the hate mail accordingly. I’d personally have Starlin Castro hitting second, McCann third to keep the left, right, left thing going and maybe A Rod cleaning up. This lineup doesn’t look as much like a daunting task for opposing pitchers with Swisher in it and Teixeira out of it, does it? Let’s hope for the health of Teixeira if we plan on watching any meaningful baseball this October in the Bronx. 

Brett Gardner & the Yankees 2016 Starting Lineup

The New York Yankees finally got their first glimpse of Brett Gardner this spring on Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays and while the Yankees left fielder went hitless he said he felt good after the game. What he did in that game is not the biggest story to come out of it though, in my opinion anyway, but what was more important was the lineup for that game and what it could potentially mean for the upcoming season. Jacoby Ellsbury led off with Gardner hitting second followed by Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Brian McCann had the day off while Chase Headley, Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro hit at the bottom of the order. Was this just a mid-March lineup or is this a preview of what’s to come this season?

Let’s assume Brian McCann hits sixth followed by Headley, Castro and Gregorius in that order that would give the Yankees a pretty deep lineup and a headache for opposing managers. The Yankees will once again stack their lefty leadoff hitters at the top of the lineup before putting two switch hitters, a right-handed bat, a left-handed bat, another switch hitter, a righty and a lefty. How does one matchup their bullpen in the later innings against a lineup that alternates like that?

The lineup will likely move around a bit against left-handed pitching as well with Castro possibly hitting second, one of Gardner or Ellsbury sitting and Aaron Hicks getting his turn in the rotation of the outfield. Gary Sanchez may also get at bats against lefties for Brian McCann while Robert Refsnyder could presumably also play second base while Castro plays shortstop for lefty-hitting Gregorius. The mixing and matching this season, assuming health and effectiveness, are unlimited for a manager that loves playing the numbers and mixing and matching.

The team may hit too many damn home runs and they may simply sit back and wait for the three run home run while refusing to hit against the shift but they should not run into the buzz saw that they did last season against left-handed hitters. 

ICYMI: Imaging a Yankees Lineup W/ Starlin Castro

I like having a couple leadoff men and a whole lot of speed. The Yankees think that means you can stack a couple of leadoff hitters at the top of the order while I prefer to have the order turned over with Ellsbury hitting first and Gardner hitting ninth. Which lineup is better? Who knows but one thing is for certain having those two at the top has cost the Yankees runs, not gotten them more runs. Having them both there has made Joe Girardi gun shy when it comes to calling for stolen bases since he doesn’t want to take the bat out of the hands of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. This can be alleviated by having a high contact and high batting average/on base percentage guy in the two hole like Castro.

MY LINEUP: 

1. Jacoby Ellsbury
2. Starlin Castro
3. Alex Rodriguez
4. Mark Teixeira
5. Brian McCann
6.Carlos Beltran
7. Chase Headley
8. Didi Gregorius
9. Brett Gardner

GIRARDI'S LINEUP

1. Jacoby Ellsbury
2. Brett Gardner
3. Alex Rodriguez
4. Mark Teixeira
5. Brian McCann
6. Carlos Beltran
7. Chase Headley
8. Starlin Castro
9. Didi Gregorius

What’s your lineup? Leave it below in the comments section. Thank you. 

Imaging a Yankees Lineup W/ Starlin Castro

I like having a couple leadoff men and a whole lot of speed. The Yankees think that means you can stack a couple of leadoff hitters at the top of the order while I prefer to have the order turned over with Ellsbury hitting first and Gardner hitting ninth. Which lineup is better? Who knows but one thing is for certain having those two at the top has cost the Yankees runs, not gotten them more runs. Having them both there has made Joe Girardi gun shy when it comes to calling for stolen bases since he doesn’t want to take the bat out of the hands of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. This can be alleviated by having a high contact and high batting average/on base percentage guy in the two hole like Castro.

MY LINEUP: 

1. Jacoby Ellsbury
2. Starlin Castro
3. Alex Rodriguez
4. Mark Teixeira
5. Brian McCann
6.Carlos Beltran
7. Chase Headley
8. Didi Gregorius
9. Brett Gardner

GIRARDI'S LINEUP

1. Jacoby Ellsbury
2. Brett Gardner
3. Alex Rodriguez
4. Mark Teixeira
5. Brian McCann
6. Carlos Beltran
7. Chase Headley
8. Starlin Castro
9. Didi Gregorius

What’s your lineup? Leave it below in the comments section. Thank you. 

Yankees to Pass on Zobrist and I Say…. Good!

Ben Zobrist, often imitated but never duplicated. Zobrist has been the epitome of money ball for multiple seasons now because he’s a switch hitter that can get on base and play multiple positions in the field on defense. Versatile, flexible and you can’t really shift on him or bring in a specialist relief pitcher against him. Any team would love to have him and often time’s teams try to acquire or develop talent like him. For the first time since finally being recognized for what he’s done all along Zobrist hits the free agency market thus giving teams the opportunity to not trade for a player like him, to not develop a player in his shadow but to acquire THE Ben Zobrist. According to recent reports though one of those teams will not be the New York Yankees and if you ask me, that’s good.

Sure Zobrist adds a lot to any team and would be especially helpful on this team. As I said he’s a switch hitter so he would help manager Joe Girardi stack up lefties against right-handed pitching and he could also help the team’s biggest flaw, hitting left-handed pitching. Zobrist plays good defense everywhere in the outfield and the infield (with the exception of catcher) but his natural position is second base, a position the Yankees face some uncertainty at going forward and Zobrist can hit anywhere and on the biggest stage, see his performance in the 2015 World Series. Zobrist has a laundry list of pro’s but the con’s may outweigh them all.

Zobrist is 34-years old and turns 35-years old in May. That would be fine on a short term deal, one or two years, but Zobrist is likely to want the final big contract of his career. Zobrist could be in the market for around four-years and $60 million this offseason after hitting 13 home runs and posting a .809 OPS between the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals. In a world where the importance of versatility and flexibility are key you may want to spend $15 million annually for Zobrist’s age 35-39 seasons but thankfully it looks like the New York Yankees will not. 

Imagining a Lineup w/ Heyward & Zobrist

Zobrist's reaction when he learned the New York Yankees signed him. 

Earlier today and also earlier this week we announced here on the blog that MLB Trade Rumors predicted three free agents coming to the New York Yankees this offseason, Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and Chris Young. Young would fill his old role from the second half of the 2014 season and the entire 2015 season while Zobrist would presumably be the team's starting second baseman. You have to think with Young in the fold and a couple of no-trade clauses attached to the contracts of Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury that Heyward would be playing left field on Opening Day 2016 for the Yankees. What would that Opening Day lineup look like for New York is the team was to sign these two men this winter?

Hopefully a little something like this:

Ellsbury
Heyward
Rodriguez
Teixeira
McCann
Beltran
Zobrist
Headley
Gregorius

Bring me Justin Upton

The New York Yankees, and this is just my opinion, experiment of having two lead-off type hitters at the top of the order has failed miserably in their two-year experiment. Having two speedy guys to set the tone for the big boppers in the middle of the lineup is a great idea in theory, it turns solo home runs presumably into two-or-three run home runs but the game is not played in theory. The game is played in real life and when you have a Brett Gardner and a Jacoby Ellsbury at the top of the lineup, both left-handed by the way (more on that later), you need to also be stealing runs and creating runs with your legs. The Yankees did not do that in 2014 nor did they do that in 2015 which leaves me wanting to leave the left-handed heavy lineup more balanced at the top and the team’s lineup more potent against left-handed starting pitching, and that’s where Justin Upton comes into play.

This one is going to be tricky but I run a blog called “The Greedy Pinstripes” for free while Joe Girardi gets paid, and paid well, to make the decisions on the field and get everyone the work that they need. The Yankees outfield is very left-handed heavy with Ellsbury and Gardner pure left-handed hitters with Carlos Beltran, albeit a switch hitter, with splits leaning heavily in his favor as a left-handed hitter opposed to him as a right-handed hitter. Adding Justin Upton into some sort of rotation (since both Ellsbury and Gardner can play center field and Upton can play both corner outfield positions) would not only be ideal for the team I think it would be ideal for Upton as well.

Upton struggled a bit in San Diego with the Padres and would laugh in the faces of anyone who tells him it’s tough to hit home runs inside Yankee Stadium as a right-handed bat. Upton was long thought to be a Yankee before being traded to the Atlanta Braves and then again to the Padres and Cashman usually tends to get his man, even if it’s a few years late and especially when it’s just for money. The only thing here is whether Hal is willing to open up his purse strings a little and Girardi can convince him that he’s going to get enough at bats between left field, right field and DH. 

Imagining a Lineup without Brian McCann

The New York Yankees announced last night that Brian McCann was listed as day-to-day with an MCL injury in his knee. McCann suffered the injury while blocking a curveball in the dirt and is said to be healthy enough to avoid the disabled list. While I'm not flat out calling the Yankees a liar I will preface this post by saying that the team stated that Mason Williams was just fine and would be back soon and before we knew it he was on the 60 day DL and undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. While we don't really have to imagine what a lineup would be without McCann, he's not an everyday player anymore, we should really start to take notice at what the lineup would look like if he was to miss a significant portion of time this season.

1. Ellsbury

2. Gardner

3. Rodriguez

4. Teixeira

5. Beltran

6. Headley

7. Murphy

8. Gregorius

9. Drew

When the bottom of the order is clicking on all cylinders that lineup can be just fine but if Didi goes back to hitting in the low .200's and Drew starts falling away from .200 again that could mean a lot of automatic outs in the Yankees lineup again. Any team losing one of their middle-of-the-order hitters is tough but it could be especially bad for the Yankees.

Here's to hoping McCann will be okay for the remainder of the 2015 season.

Examining the Possible Opening Day Lineup

Yesterday afternoon the New York Yankees played host to the Tampa Bay Rays at home inside George M. Steinbrenner Field with a pretty interesting spring lineup. Joe Girardi posted what could be his Opening Day lineup yesterday against the Rays although he wouldn't confirm that. Let's assume this is the Opening Day lineup, how would this lineup stack up?

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Carlos Beltran RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Chase Headley 3B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Stephen Drew 2B
Didi Gregorius SS

I thoroughly enjoy seeing Jacoby Ellsbury at the top of the order. Ellsbury steals more bases and has better instincts as a leadoff hitter. Without having Martin Prado or Derek Jeter in the lineup Gardner makes a ton of sense in the second hole followed by Beltran, Teixeira and McCann. Me personally I am putting McCann in the four slot and Teixeira in the fifth slot but I'm not willing to really put up much of a fight on that one.

Having Rodriguez hitting seventh could be amazing if he can still turn on the fastball and hit 15 or so home runs. Stephen Drew could hit another 15-20 home runs out of the #8 spot and Didi Gregorius could be the best #9 hitter in the league if he hits like he did at the end of 2014.

The lineup all depends on health and production but this could be a playoff starting lineup. We're not the 2000's Yankees and we're especially not the 2009 Yankees but the second Wild Card could easily be within reach if who needs to bounce back bounces back.

Yankees Lineup with Stephen Drew

With the addition of Stephen Drew to presumably play second base for the New York Yankees the defense looks to be improved but the offense will likely struggle once again in 2015. The lineup is very left handed heavy, which is not uncommon for Yankees lineups, and lacks true pop in many (most) positions. Let’s take a quick look at the starting lineup for New York is the season started today.

-          Jacoby Ellsbury (CF)

-          Brett Garder (LF)

-          Carlos Beltran (RF)

-          Mark Teixeira (1B)

-          Brian McCann ( C)

-          Chase Headley (3B)

-          Stephen Drew (2B)

-          Alex Rodriguez (DH) *Hitting low here to break up lefties but probably hits behind Headley*

-          Didi Gregorius (SS) 

The New Yankees Infield & Lineup After Friday

The New York Yankees were busy on Friday adding Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Jones while sacrificing David Phelps and Martin Prado so let's take a quick look at the defensive alignment and lineup. We are assuming that Brian Cashman is not in on Asdrubral Cabrera or Stephen Drew at second base and are willing to give the job to either Robert Refsnyder or Jose Pirela.

C: Brian McCann
1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Refsnyder/Pirela
SS: Didi Gregorius
3B: Chase Headley
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury
RF: Carlos Beltran
DH: Alex Rodriguez

BN: Brendan Ryan
BN: John Ryan Murphy
BN: Garrett Jones
BN: Chris Young


It is worth mentioning that now Jones is on the bench backing up Mark Teixeira at first base, Carlos Beltran in right field and Alex Rodriguez at DH there will not be enough room for both Pirela and Refsnyder. Like it or not this is what we are likely looking at on Opening Day 2015. On to that lineup:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury
2. Brett Gardner
3. Carlos Beltran
4. Brian McCann
5. Mark Teixeira
6. Chase Headley
7. Alex Rodriguez
8. Didi Gregorius
9. Refsnyder/Pirela

Imagining A Yankees Lineup w/ Troy Tulowitzki

Yesterday I wrote, seen HERE, that the Yankees should empty the farm for the Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, I won't spend too much time on it as you can easily click the link and read the article for yourself but just for fun I wanted to take a look at a lineup this season and next with Tulo in the middle of it. That right handed power and presence really changes this lineup dramatically, doesn't it?

*note this is what I think the Yankees lineup would be, not what I would personally send out there

2014:

Jacoby Ellsbury
Derek Jeter
Carlos Beltran
Troy Tulowitzki (3B/2B)
Mark Teixeira
Brian McCann
Brian Roberts
Yangervis Solarte/Ichiro Suzuki
Brett Gardner

2015:

Brett Gardner
Jacoby Ellsbury
Troy Tulowitzki
Mark Teixieira
Alex Rodriguez (remember me?)
Carlos Beltran
Brian McCann
Yangervis Solarte
Robert Refsnyder