Hughes in 2012!

Don't make me eat my words, Phil.

I've said in the past that I believe the Yankees are just fine going with guys like Andruw Jones, Jorge Vazquez, and others as the DH heading into the 2012 season. That's not to say that I think they won't have to, or want to, make a move sometime during the season. But as of right now their offense has enough firepower to contend.

There was some talk of trading Phil Hughes for Billy Butler, but it wasn't anything serious (I believe I read that it was started by somebody at Bleacher Report, and there were no sources behind the rumor). I'm against that idea, or trading Hughes at all. For one, we don't know where Phil's ceiling is. He's only 25 years old, after all. We're not talking about a 30 year old guy that's had more than his fair share of starting opportunities in MLB. And secondly, it's really selling low on the guy. I mean, Hughes' value was way higher when the guy was still in AAA. I'm not saying that he'll ever be an ace, like some believed was in his future back in 2006. I can't even say for sure he'd be a decent bottom of the rotation starter. But due to what the team already has, there's no reason to give up on him. Even if he flames out and goes 0-5 in April, the team hasn't missed out on anything big.

I want to see what the Yankees can get from Phil, either as a starter for them all season, or in a trade by mid-season once he's shown the ability to be a solid starter. Simply put, he has a higher ceiling than either Freddy Garcia or AJ Burnett.

I've all but given up on AJ Burnett. There's still a sliver of optimism inside me, regarding what he could do for us, but I'm not about to bet even a penny on it. It's been shown that he was a bit unlucky last season, as evidenced by a BABIP of .376 in the 2nd half of 2011 (.293 throughout his career) and HR/FB ratio of 12.4% (8.3% average, with MLB average of 7.9%). And the guy has given the team an average of 194 innings a season. But when we have a 1-4 as good as we do, I see no reason to settle on AJ. It would be different if we didn't have any other option, but the Yankees actually have two other options. So... yeah.

Freddy Garcia would probably make a fine #5. I don't expect him to repeat that 3.62 ERA (career average of 4.09), but even a repeat of the 4.64 ERA he put up as a White Sox pitcher in 2010 wouldn't be awful. The problem here is "upside". Not just when comparing him to what Burnett or Hughes could do, but "upside" for what he could give the team. The salary relief of dealing Burnett, should he show the capability to be a decent starter, is worth more to the team than Freddy in my opinion. And what Hughes could net the team in a trade is worth more than Garcia as well.

In all, if it wasn't for a very large part of me saying "forget about AJ ever doing something for the team", I'd say start Burnett at the beginning of 2012. But I would rather just eat the $16.5 million he'll make this season, and hope to pawn him off on somebody else and save a few million bucks next offseason. Because I truly believe Hughes will not only be a better starter, but could also get the Yankees the largest return via trade.

Whelan DFA'd

Via MLBTradeRumors.com -

The Yankees designated right-hander Kevin Whelan for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The 28-year-old debuted with the Yankees in 2011, appearing in two games.

Whelan posted a 2.75 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 52 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2011. The 2005 fourth rounder owns a 3.23 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in seven minor league seasons.

Andruw Jones Signing Becomes Official

Andruw Jones Will Be A Yankee in 2012

According to our partner blog, Lohud Yankees Blog, The Yankees have officially re-signed Andruw Jones to a 1 year major league contract with potential incentives. This officially makes our 40 man roster full with an unofficial signing of Hiroki Kuroda to come. Here is a little info about Andruw courtesy of Lohud Yankees Blog:

The Yankees finally made this move official. Here’s the announcement.

 The New York Yankees today announced they have re-signed five-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder Andruw Jones to a one-year Major League contract.
Jones, 34, batted .247 (47-for-190) with 27 runs, eight doubles, 13 home runs and 33 RBI in 77 games in his debut season with the Yankees in 2011, appearing in 39 games in left field, 19 games in right field and 16 games at designated hitter. He recorded his highest average, on-base percentage (.356) and slugging percentage (.495) since 2006. Following the All-Star break, he hit .291 (30-for-103), including a .344 (21-for-61) mark off left-handers in the second half. Overall, he batted .286 (36-for-126) off left-handed pitching with 16 of his 36 hits off lefties going for extra bases (eight doubles and 8HR).

Jones is a 16-year Major League veteran, appearing in 2,102 combined games with Atlanta (1996-2007), Los Angeles-NL (2008), Texas (2009), Chicago-AL (2010) and the Yankees (2011). He owns a .256 (1,887-for-7,366) career batting average with 376 doubles, 36 triples, 420 home runs and 1,255 RBI, and is one of four players all time—and the only active player—with at least 400 career home runs and 10 Gold Glove Awards, joining Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Ways and Mike Schmidt.

Originally signed by the Braves as a non-drafted free agent in 1993, Jones ranks 45th on Baseball’s all-time home runs list, hitting at least 25 homers in 10 consecutive seasons from 1998-2007 (tied for fourth-most such seasons among active players currently signed with a Major League team) and recording seven seasons of 30-or-more home runs. He has also collected at least 100 RBI in a season five times and scored at least 100 runs four times. He is a career .262 (497-for-1,894) batter against left-handed pitchers with 110 home runs.

Jones’s defense garnered him 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards with the Braves from 1998-2007, making him one of just five outfielders in Major League history to win the honor that many times – also Roberto Clemente (12), Willie Mays (12), Ken Griffey Jr. (10) and Al Kaline (10). Over the last three seasons (2009-11), has combined in left field and right field for a .987 fielding percentage (three errors, 233 total chances). He is a career .273 (65-for-238) batter in the postseason with eight doubles, 10 home runs and 34 RBI, appearing in 76 career playoff games.

A native of Willemstad, Curacao, Jones became the third player from Curacao to reach the Majors when he made his debut at 19 years, three months and 23 days old on August 15, 1996 with Atlanta, joining Yankees outfielder Hensley Meulens and Florida’s Ralph Milliard.
The Yankees’ 40-man roster now stands at 40.

This signing makes a lot of sense for the Yankees. He can still play adequate defense and can absolutely mash left handed pitching. He is still somewhat of a power threat off the bench as well. He could slide into a situational DH spot as well for us against LHP. Good signing Cashman!

Kim Jones Leaving YES Network

Kim Jones Leaving YES Network

This post is being borrowed from Neil Best and his twitter account, seen here, among other places. Here is the write up:

After seven seasons at YES, @YESKimJones will not return in 2012. YES offered her a contract but she opted to explore other opportunities

Kim Jones is leaving the YES Network? Who am I going to drool over now? Hmm...

ESPN's Erin Andrews

Here's to wishing!

Developing Pitchers

If only the Yankees could develop ace-like starters.

A comment under my post at the LoHud Yankees blog has been rattling around my head for a few hours now. I don't remember exactly what it said, but it was in the form of a question, which went something like this...

Why can't the Yankees develop ace-like pitchers, instead of buying or trading for them?

I looked up the top 10 Yankee starters, in terms of WAR, over the last 10 years. Here's the list, including where they started their careers...

Mike Mussina - 31, drafted by Baltimore

Andy Pettitte - 24.8, drafted by NYY

CC Sabathia - 18.8, drafted by Cleveland

Chien Ming-Wang - 12.8, signed by NYY (spent 5 years in minors before MLB debut)

Roger Clemens - 11.4, drafted by Boston

David Wells - 8.4, drafted by Toronto

Randy Johnson - 8.2, drafted by Montreal

AJ Burnett - 6.4, drafted by NYM (spent 2+ years in Florida's minors before MLB debut)

Phil Hughes - 4.9, drafted by NYY

Orlando Hernandez - 4.4, signed by NYY (although he was 32, so not a true prospect)

So that's three pitchers that entered, and were brought up in, the Yankees farm system that turned out to be among their top 10 best pitchers over the last decade (note, I'm not including Hernandez as he was not "developed" by the Yankees). Not bad in my opinion, especially when you consider the fact that the list includes the #2 pitcher (Pettitte), a guy who had a lot of promise before a freak injury (Wang), and another that's only 25 and whose future is yet to be determined (Hughes).

And let's not forget that, during those 10 years, the team missed the playoffs once (2008), made it to the World Series once (2003), and won the World Series (2009). Which brings me to my main argument... the Yankees are not a team that rebuilds. They aren't going to settle for missing the playoffs for a few years in order to develop players, and make a run at a title down the road. This is a team that looks to win now and develop players (at least in the past few years, as their philosophy has changed quite a bit). And due to winning like they have, the Yanks aren't able to draft nearly as much great raw talent as teams like the Tampa Rays, Washington Nationals, or Kansas City Royals have.

This topic has been brought up a handful of times by me over at Daily Sports Pages, and I'll repeat it again...

If you want to root for a team that has great minor league systems, then take off the Yankee t-shirt and root for somebody else. I'd much rather cheer for a team that not only creates some great players every once in a while (Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Robinson Cano), some serviceable MLB players (Brett Gardner, David Robertson, Melky Cabrera), and has some good/great prospects (Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Gary Sanchez), but also wins.

And just for kicks, here are the 4 teams that made it to their respective League Championship Series last season, along with their 2011 farm system ranking according to AOLNews' Frank Piliere...

Milwaukee - 30th

Detroit - 24th

Texas - 9th

St. Louis - 17th

Where did the Yankees finish on that list? 4th. I rest my case.

Sometimes Waiting Is Not The Right Thing

This was my Pinch Hitter post for the LoHud Yankees blog, which was posted this morning.

Our next Pinch Hitter is Bryan Van Dusen, who was born in upstate New York a little past midnight on the night the Yankees won the 1977 World Series. “I’m sure my father resents me to some degree for missing the game due to my mother being in labor,” he wrote. Bryan now lives in Columbus, Ohio and says he gets “disgusted” looks when he wears his Yankees gear around town. He recently co-founded a Yankees blog called The Greedy Pinstripes.

For his guest post, Bryan looked back at his feelings at the beginning of this offseason, then he wrote about why he’s glad the Yankees didn’t settle on the strategy he initially wanted.

—

When C.J. Wilson was signed by the Angels, that was okay with me. When I found out how much Texas paid to negotiate with Yu Darvish, I was happy the Yankees weren’t as aggressive. I would have liked Mark Buehrle in pinstripes, but four years is a bit long for a guy about to enter his age 33 season, so again, no problem. As for trading for guys like Gio Gonzalez or Mat Latos? The Yankees could win in 2012 without them, so why deal away good/great prospects?

You see, I wanted the Yankees to be in position to go after one of the many good/great pitchers that could be free agents after the 2012 season; starters such as Cole Hamels, Matt Cain and Zack Greinke.

But there was, and is, a major problem with that thinking: Hamels, Cain, and Greinke may not be available to the Yankees, or anybody else, after the season.

Cain is about to enter his age 27 season, so it’s not like the Giants should be concerned about giving him an extension due to age. I could see Milwaukee wanting to bring back either Greinke or Shaun Marcum – or both — to go along with Yovani Gallardo. Although I don’t buy into all the talk that Hamels will eventually sign an extension, it’s certainly not because he isn’t worth it. The Marlins might also want to extend Anibal Sanchez, and guys like Gavin Floyd, Dan Haren, Tim Hudson, and James Shields all have club options for 2013 that will likely be picked up.

Overall, there’s a decent chance that not one good/great pitcher will reach free agency after the 2012 season. For all those people pointing at CC Sabathia and saying, “we spent money on CC instead of trading for him, let’s do that again,” we’re in a different era, and we may not have that choice. Trading for somebody could very well be the best route to take, and doing so now may not be a bad idea at all.

Which brings us to January 13th, a day Yankees fans may never forget.

Jesus Montero could very well be a stud in the big leagues. In 61 MLB at bats last season he put up a triple-slash of .368/.406/.590, and it was all but certain he would be the team’s regular DH for 2012, and I was okay with that. But it’s not ideal to have a 22-year-old, full-time DH on a team that might need that spot for A-Rod, Jeter and possibly Teixeira sometime down the road. They say that when it comes to a talent like Montero, you find a spot for the guy, and the Yankees were doing exactly that. But it doesn’t mean it was a good spot, so if there was a way to improve the situation … go for it.

That’s exactly what Brian Cashman did.

Michael Pineda had an ERA last season of 3.74, which was 22nd among all qualified American League starters. His FIP of 3.42 was tied with James Shields for 11th. His K/9 of 9.11 was 2nd. Pineda could easily be a team’s No. 1 starter. Pair him with a guy named CC, and outside of Philadelphia I don’t think you’ll find a better 1-2 punch in all of baseball. Oh, and I should point out that Michael is only 23, and is under team control for another 5 years.

Can the offense survive without Montero? Yeah, something tells me they’ll be okay there. After all, they scored the second most runs in all of MLB last year, and did most of that without Montero, not to mention that A-Rod only played in 99 games and Teixiera had his worst offensive season since his rookie year.

So I’m happy about the trade. I’m also happy about signing Hiroki Kuroda for only one year at $10 million. I won’t get that much into why I’m pleased with the Kuroda signing, let’s just say that according to Fangraphs, Hiroki has been worth $13.225 million per season since he joined MLB. I believe his numbers will get a bit worse in the AL, but $10 million for only one season as the team’s No. 3 starter sounds just fine.

Waiting for next year’s free agent market might have seemed like a good strategy, but free agency is no sure thing, and the Yankees were right to strike when they had the opportunity.

Fielder for how much?

"I didn't overpay... did I?" - Mike Ilitch's inner thoughts

I'm still not sure I'm reading this news right.

The Detroit Tigers and slugger Prince Fielder have agreed to a nine-year, $214 million deal, a source told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.

I've been told by so many fans of different teams that only the Yankees would do something so nonsensical. You know, it's one thing to spend a ton on a guy that's needed, but I don't really see a need here.

For starters, Detroit already has an MVP-caliber player at first base. Apparently Miguel Cabrera will be moved to 3B so that Fielder can stick at 1B (Prince has never played anywhere but 1B in MLB or the minor leagues). Which sounds like a fine plan since Miggy has played some 3B, but a couple problems... 1) he hasn't played 3B since 2008, and 2) his UZR/150 there that season was -36.8. To be fair Cabrera only played 116 innings there at year, but in the previous two seasons... in which he averaged about 1,318 innings at 3B... he was still below average. So the defense has certainly taken a step back.

Like I was saying when it came to the Yankees not needing to improve their pitching by signing Cole Hamels next offseason, now that they have Michael Pineda to go along with CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova for another 5 years, I don't think the Tigers needed this offensive boost. Sure, losing Victor Martinez for a season hurts, but look at their runs total last season. They scored 787 runs, which was 47 more runs than the next highest team in the AL Central. And that was the 4th place Kansas City Royals, as the 2nd place Indians scored 83 less runs (704), and the 3rd place White Sox scored 133 less runs (654). Not to mention that in 2013 and 2014 the team will get Victor Martinez back, and have an offense that is way more than they need. Especially when you consider the contracts that will be on the books.

Now, keep in mind that Detroit's payroll last season was around $107 million. Well, over the next 3 years, the team will be paying 4 guys a total of $77.9 million a season (Fielder's AAV is $23.8m, Cabrera's AAV is $21.3, Verlander's is $20.1m, and Martinez's is $12.7m). Unless the team plans on raising the team payroll then they are looking at having 73% of their payroll for only 4 guys on the 40-man roster. That's insane. I looked up the top 4 players, as far as salary, for the Yankees and they'll make just over $93.9 million (ARod - $30m, Sabathia-$24.286m, Teixeira-$23.125m, Burnett-$16.5m), or less than 50% of the team's payroll. That's still a ton for just 4 players, but it's a little different when the team is spending around $200 million.

I'm not saying I won't be nervous about facing Detroit, but I really don't think it made sense for them.

Thank You, Jorgie

He may not have made the play, but it's the effort shown in this photo that tells the story.

To start, I was never the biggest Jorge Posada fan. I've always been partial to defensive catchers, and all of you are aware of Jorge's deficiencies behind the dish. But I would never downplay Posada's importance to the Yankees. That importance went a lot further than the numbers show, although the numbers are pretty impressive.

Jorgie made his first appearance for the Yankees against the Mariners on September 4th, 1995. He didn't bat in that game, which is kind of funny to look back at now. This is a guy whose Hall of Fame career (yeah, I'm calling it) is based around what he did with the bat, and not so much the glove. But instead of batting in his first game, he entered the game in the 9th inning for Jim Leyritz as the catcher. Posada actually didn't get his first hit (a single) until his 7th at bat over a year later against the Brewers. Another funny thing I saw here is that he moved to 2B on a groundout by Mike Aldrete, then scored from 2B on a single by Luis Sojo. Why is that funny? First of all, how often do you remember Posada advancing two bases on a single? Secondly, the guy that knocked him in was one of the reasons Posada was moved from 2B to C in the minors.

Jorge started one more game in 1996, and was a substitute in a couple more games after that, but his career with the Bombers didn't really start until 1997, when he walked up to the plate 224 times. From 1997 to 2010, when he was at least a part-time catcher (catching one game the following season doesn't do it for me), Jorge's WAR was 48.2. Looking at catchers over that time period, Posada was 2nd to another Hall of Fame catcher... Ivan Rodriguez. In that time he hit 261 HR, second only to Mike Piazza... another Hall of Famer. Over those 14 years he had the 2nd highest OBP (Mauer was #1, in 867 less games), and the most RBI (1021).

But as I alluded to in the opening paragraph, Jorge Posada's legacy goes further than that. I'll start with this quote from Mr. Posada during the press conference this morning, where he announced his retirement...

"I could never wear another uniform. I will forever be a Yankee."

I'm sure there will be people calling bulls*** on that, saying that he would have played elsewhere but he didn't get an offer. Well, the fact that he didn't wait another month or so shows that that's untrue. If he had held off on retiring I have to believe somebody would have stepped up, namely the Tigers after the loss of Victor Martinez. Not to mention that MLBTR reported that the Rays, Orioles, and Phillies had interest too. But the fact is that when somebody thinks of Yankee players, Posada's face is bound to pop into their heads. That's what'll happen when a guy was part of 4 World Championships with them (1998, 1999, 2000, 2009), played in two more World Series as a Yankee (2001, 2003), and 9 other postseasons in pinstripes (1995, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011).

I'm going to let others speak for me on Jorge's importance outside of the numbers...

"He plays the game, I think, the way Thurman played it. " - Diana Munson

"Jorge is a good kid and he had a wonderful career. The Yankees don't win those championships without him." - Yogi Berra

"Jorge was one of the cornerstones of all those championship teams, handling the pitching staff all those years." - Tino Martinez

"He was one of the greatest catchers of his era, and one of the best Puerto Rican players to ever play the game" - Bernie Williams

"He played under pressure as well as anybody for me." - Joe Torre

"We're going to miss that intensity and what he brought to the game everyday." - Joe Girardi

"He's a brother..." - Derek Jeter

"Jorge was obviously one of the heart and soul pieces of all those championships with us." - Andy Pettitte

"Jorge has bled the pinstripes for a long, long time, and he played with a passion that certainly rubbed off on his teammates." - Alex Rodriguez

"in my mind, he was the greatest catcher." - David Wells

"Jorge was one of my most favorite teammates of all time." - Paul O'Neill

Jorge didn't say he would try coaching, but there's no doubt in my mind that he'd make an excellent one. The game is played through catchers, so nobody knows the game like they do. And we're talking about a catcher that spent 17 seasons in MLB. I'd tell him to take a year off, where he can not only relax and enjoy things, but he can reflect on his career and think about what he wants from there.

He probably won't see this, but just in case I want to end this by saying "thank you, Jorgie".

What To Do With The 40 Man Roster

We Can Only Carry 40... We Have 41 And Counting

Currently the Yankees 40 man roster, which can be seen here on The Greedy Pinstripes, had 39 players on it. That is a great problem to have a week before February until you remember that Hiroki Kuroda's deal is not official yet and neither is Andruw Jones' deal. Not to mention we currently do not have a DH on the roster or a utility infielder. What do we do?

The Yankees, like I alluded to in the previous paragraph, have Andruw Jones on the roster to mash left handed pitching and be adequate in the field from the right side. This sounds a lot like Justin Maxwell, who is occupying a 40 man roster spot. I think he is the most obvious cut and the first to go, especially with no options and a better version of himself in Chris Dickerson already on the roster. 

We have two guys on the 40 man that were selected in the Rule 5 draft, Cesar Cabral and Brad Meyers. I think both of them will have a 40 man roster spot going into Spring Training so I do not see either of these two as an option for a cut RIGHT NOW. I personally do not see either of them making it on the roster when camp breaks and we head to the regular season but we have seen weirder things happen. 

George Kontos is another player I could potentially see on the chopping block. He is 27 years old and was already claimed and returned once in the Rule 5 draft. He really does not do anything special and is too old to really be counted on for anything in the majors. He could easily be replaced by a Hideki Okajima on the roster and probably give us more on the field.

Kevin Whelan has gotten a call up last season and did not take advantage of it. He is the last guy remaining over from the Randy Johnson trade to Arizona. He has been less then impressive in the minor leagues to boot, which makes him another potential cut on the 40 man roster. Especially considering I think he could clear waivers and return back to the Yankees if he chose to.

AJ Burnett... no I could not do it with a straight face, never mind. We are not ridding ourselves of him this season unfortunately. Get used to it Yankees fans. 

Here are three very likely cuts to be made to make room for Kuroda/Jones/DH/UTIL. Also if someone just blows us away in Spring Training we can potentially cut and return Cabral/Meyers. The 40 man roster situation looks difficult and grim right now but it is not as dreary as it may seem.

Michael Pineda's First Interview As A "Yankee"

"I'm Not Scared"

Christian Red of the NY Daily news traveled to the Dominican Replublic recently and interviewed the soon to be Yankee Michael Pineda, his first time being interviewed since being traded to the Yankees. I say "Yankee" because the trade is not official yet, pending physicals. If you want to read the whole write up you can read it HERE, but I wanted to skim and just hit the high notes. 

Pineda , when talking about the team that he will soon be playing for:

“It’s a tremendous team, with good pitching. It’s very exciting for me — for the first time in my life, I’ll have the pleasure of playing with Alex Rodriguez, a huge star, and Derek Jeter, one of the most well-known players ever. And Mariano Rivera, (Robinson) Cano, (Mark) Teixeira, Rafael Soriano,” Pineda says in Spanish, his voice trailing off as he sifts through the Yankees’ roster. “I never thought in my life that I would be in this situation.”

Pineda, when asked if he was scared to pitch for the Yankees:

“I’m not scared. I’m always focused, working very hard every day,” says Pineda, whose gold earring spelling his name sparkles in the late-evening sunlight. “I don’t think about anything else on game days. I’ve never pitched in New York or at Yankee Stadium, but I’m dying to. We’ll see what happens. I’m going to work very hard to do my job.”

There is much more but if you want to read it then check it out on the Daily News link , again, HERE

Pineda sounds like he is excited to be a Yankee and almost grateful to be a Yankee. That is the kind of people that we need on the team, players that want to be here and not just simply collect a paycheck. Once his number situation is resolved, because he wore #36 in Seattle which is currently occupied by Sweaty Freddy Garcia, I fully intend on purchasing a Pineda jersey.

Welcome to New York Michael.