Yankees @ Athletics 7/20/12

Yankees drop their 2nd consecutive game to Oakland 3-2

Robinson Cano extended his hit streak to 22 games with an 8th inning home run

Game two of the Yankees and A's series starts tonight and game two of a seven game west coast trip for the Yankees. Ivan Nova will be on the mound for the Yankees and will be facing off against the A's Tommy Malone. The game will be televised on the YES Network at 10:05 pm ET.

Lineups 

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano DH
Nick Swisher RF
Andruw Jones LF
Jayson Nix 2B
Russell Martin C

Go Yankees!!

Meet A Prospect : Ty Hensley

The Yankees, with their first overall pick in the first round (30th overall) of the 2012 MLB First Year Players Draft selected high school pitcher Ty Hensley. Ty spent his high school years pitching for Santa Fe High School in Oklahoma. Ty ended up signing a below slot deal for $1.2 million instead of going to College and burning the Yankees. 

Hensley is definitely a project at this point in his career but there is absolutely no reason he should have fallen to us at the 30th pick. Hensley was an absolute steal at the back end of that first round, with or without those "abnormalities" in his throwing shoulder. Hensley is considered "tall and projectable" while throwing his fastball comfortably in the low 90's , although hitting as high as 94 mph. Although he struggles with command of his secondary pitches, namely his curveball, he gets great movement on those pitches which is a good sign for pitching coaches. 

I think the earliest we could see Ty Hensley is in the 2015 season because he is still sort of raw in his development right now. He tends to pull his front side open too quickly sometimes on his delivery to the plate and does not always have the full extension needed to be a consistent starting pitcher. In my opinion Hensley is either going to be a big hit or a big miss but the great thing is the Yankees can afford, both player wise and fiscally, to take the chance on a guy like Hensley and fail. I will personally be watching Hensley very closely as I am extremely intrigued. 

Follow Ty Hensley on twitter @TyHensley17

Brett Gardner's Season Likely Done

Brett Gardner's season is likely done after his MRI revealed that he will need arthroscopic elbow surgery. The surgery will be to go in and remove some inflamed tissue in the elbow. The good news is though we only have 11 more days of hearing Justin Upton trade rumors and "my package of scrubs for your superstar" trade proposals.

Yankees @ A's 7/19/12

UPDATE:

Darnell McDonal has cleared waivers and will be assigned to AAA Empire State. That is a nice piece to have down there in AAA with Chris Dickerson. 

Cano extends hitting streak to 22 games in a 4-3 Yankees loss

Tonight the Yankees will start a four game series with the Oakland A's, Game 7 of 13 consecutive games in 13 consecutive days. How can you expect the Yankees to not be tired when they were in New York yesterday afternoon and are playing in Oakland this evening but hey I do not make the schedule. Although the Yankees did get a little help off their bench yesterday when Mother Nature came up and shortened the game after 6.5 innings. Tonight on the mound will be Freddy Garcia for the Yankees and for the A's it will be AJ Griffin. The game will be televised at 10:05 pm ET on YES.


Lineups


Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Eric Chavez 3B
Chris Stewart C


Go Yankees!!

The Yankees Don't Need Anybody's Help

"You know you want me."

Although I'd like to see the Yankees trade for Justin Upton, it's hardly a necessity. Just look at the numbers...

As a team the offense has put up 449 runs, good for 3rd best in the American League. They've hit 146 "evil" home runs, tops in the AL by 15. And the Bombers own the 6th best team batting average (.265), 2nd best on-based percentage (.339), and the best slugging percentage (.467), in the younger half of MLB.

The official baseball of the New York Yankees.

Just looking at the Yankee outfielders, the combination of Curtis Granderson (1.9), Nick Swisher (1.5), and Raul Ibanez/Andruw Jones (.5/1.2 = 1.7) have put up a fWAR of 5.1. The two biggest rivals in the AL East are the Boston Red Sox* and Tampa Rays, and the combined fWAR of their starting outfields is 4.8 and 4.7 respectively.
*Boston recently got back Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford, which should vastly improve their outfield.

Add all of that to a 10.5 game lead over Boston and Tampa, and it should be crystal clear why the Yankees don't need to do anything.

I, and millions of Yankees fans, believe that too.

Even when looking at the future I'm not 100% sold on trading for Justin Upton. For starters, Upton is signed through the 2015 season for another $38.5 million, meaning if he were to be a Yankee next year he'd basically be on a 3 year deal worth $38.5 million. In his last 3+ seasons Justin's put up a triple-slash of .285/.363/.480. His total fWAR between 2009 and today is 15.7.

On the other hand, in his last 3+ seasons (all with the Yankees), Nick Swisher has put up a triple-slash of .265/.364/.483. His total fWAR between 2009 and today is 12.6. This past offseason Josh Willingham signed a 3 year contract with Minnesota worth $21 million, and his numbers are incredibly close to the one's Swish has put up. The biggest difference between the two men is that Josh is a year older. So it's not "out there" to think Swisher is looking at a contract around 4 years and $40 million this offseason.

Nick: "Wow! So I don't suck as much as some fans think I do?" Me: "Nope."

So production wise, after seeing what the team may need, I don't think the boost in batting average from Swisher to Upton is that big a deal. And the Yankees would be paying Upton around $2 million less for one less year, so that after adding another outfielder for 2016 season to replace Justin, it would cost the Yankees less to re-sign Swisher.

In summary, I'm not saying Nick Swisher > Justin Upton. I'm not saying the reverse either. What I'm saying is that the team doesn't need to make this (or any) move at all. They can compete for a World Series title with what they have, and see what the trade market looks like for an outfielder during the offseason, then compare that to Nick Swisher's demands.

David Phelps Called Up, DJ Mitchell Sent Down

The Yankees called up David Phelps from AAA Empire State Yankees late yesterday and sent down DJ Mitchell to make room on the roster. Phelps has been absolutely dealing down in the minor leagues and DJ Mitchell has not been used very much since being in the Yankees pen. I wish the Yankees would let Phelps start in place of Freddy Garcia tonight in Oakland but I do not see that happening. 

What scares me about this whole deal is I wonder if this is just a showcase for a July trade for a Justin Upton or Shane Victorino or someone like that. I sure do like David Phelps and I would hate to see him go but for Justin Upton I would survive.

Nick Swisher Or Justin Upton : The Battle Of AAV

UPDATE:

With the latest Gardner set back we now would have a place to play Upton rather then having to trade for him and potentially bench him a couple times a week. This makes this all the more intriguing. 

Don't get me wrong I love Nick Swisher, I think that needed to be said, and I love everything that he brings to the team. The walks, the defense, the smile, the clubhouse antics etc. I love the guy and I think everyone that is a fan of the Yankees does but would just like a little more. He maintains an average of about 15% walk rate and about a 3.0 WAR as a Yankee while playing more then adequate defense in right field in Yankee Stadium. He is what he is though and that is a mid .250's hitter generally and a 33 year old outfielder at seasons end. His prime, unless he has read Barry Bonds book, is probably gone and the decline will start in the next couple of seasons. We are not going to extend Swisher unfortunately though and I say unfortunately because his AAV , the point of this whole article, is only $5.92 million. That will not matter if he hits free agency. I'll give you a hint too imagine the dollar figure that Swisher is going to sign for and see if what you thought will be a higher AAV then Upton's current AAV below. 

I have always kind of had a sweet spot for Arizona and I cannot explain it. Well I did until they bought Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling and beat our asses in the World Series in 2001, but I digress. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the Brandon Webb's, the Stephen Drew's, recently the Ian Kennedy's,  and the Justin Upton's of the world grow up before our eyes. With that said I have seen some "laziness" and "attitude" problems out of Justin Upton that concern me a little but you have to remember that Justin is the man in Arizona. I would like to see how it would go if he started that kind of stuff in New York with the Derek Jeter's and the CC Sabathia's and the Mariano Rivera's of the world on the team. 

Upton walks an adequate amount, about 10% of the time while averaging about a 4.5 WAR and an above average UZR (take it for what you will). He has young and fresh legs and makes good plays out there in right field in what is considered a pitchers park in Arizona. Some will say that his UZR is bloated because of so much ground that Chris Young covers but I do not buy it, I watch the games. Upton is usually around a .280 average with lots of pop in the bat.Oh and Justin's AAV, which is why we are all here, is $8.33 million. It is currently higher then Swisher's but remember that Swisher is not going to sign an extension with the Yankees during the season. Swisher will sign for AT LEAST $12 million and for 3 years... his age 33, 34, and 35 seasons. 

Let's remember that positional players tend to pull in MUCH more in the offseason then they do at a trade deadline. I do not know why but that is the way it has been for a long time which makes this the perfect time for the Yankees to strike on a deal. I think we would have to get a third team involved unless the Diamondbacks are just in love with Brandon Laird, Eduardo Nunez, Ramiro Pena, Addison Maruszak, etc. Upton makes the lineup and the defense younger, more balanced as a right handed power hitter, and all around better.

In closing...
Get Greedy.... Save Money.... Get Upton

2013 Draft Competitive Balance Lottery Results

Part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was, beginning next year in 2013, there would be 12 extra draft picks given to twelve teams that were deemed "low revenue" or "small market" teams. Six extra picks would be made in between the first and second round and between the second and third rounds much like compensation sandwich picks are made now. The Yankees were obviously not one of the twelve teams that were picked but what I thought was interesting was the fact that these picks could be traded. Now naturally they put stipulations on these trades saying that they could not be done during the offseason which means today through the end of the regular season and opening day until the draft these twelve teams can trade these lottery picks.

Via MLBTR here are the twelve lucky teams and their draft positions 

Selections Between First & Second Rounds (Round A)

1. Royals
2. Pirates
3. Diamondbacks
4. Orioles
5. Reds
6. Marlins

Selections After Second Round (Round B)

1. Padres
2. Indians
3. Rockies
4. Athletics
5. Brewers
6. Tigers

 I am sorry but how do the Rays and Cardinals , to name a couple, not get these picks but the Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins do? Something is obviously wrong with this system but hey what do I know. 

Blue Jays At Yankees 7/18/12

UPDATE:

Robinson Cano extends his hitting streak to 21 games

Nick Swisher got his 500th hit as a Yankee, an rbi single to put the Yankees up 1-0

Mark Teixeira , on Mark Teixeira bobble head day, hits a two run home run to make it 3-0 Yankees

Andruw Jones with an rbi single to make it 4-0

DeWayne Wise does his best Curtis Granderson impression with an rbi single to put the Yankees up 5-0

Yankees win 6-0

This afternoon the Yankees will look for a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium. On the mound for the Yankees is Hiroki Kuroda who has probably been our ace in the last two months. On the mound for the Jays will be Ricky Romero. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on YES

Lineups

1. Derek Jeter DH

2. Nick Swisher RF

3. Mark Teixeira 1B

4. Alex Rodriguez 3B

5. Robinson Cano 2B

6. Andruw Jones LF

7. Jayson Nix SS

8. Russell Martin C

9. Dewayne Wise CF

Go Yankees!!

Yankees Trade Targets : Francisco Liriano

Another starting pitcher another "interest" from the New York Yankees. The Yankees will be linked to any starting pitcher that comes available this trade deadline, whether we have true interest or not. 

Liriano was highly touted as the next ace for the Twins and was supposed to lead them to the promised land. All the Twins have got for all that anointment oil was a boat load of inconsistency, bloated ERA's, a 15 strike out game and a no hitter. The problem with Liriano is he is not better, nor more consistent, then any of our current starting pitchers and half of our bullpen arms. The good thing about Liriano? He is only set to make $5.5 million this season and half of that is more then gone already with more then half the season played. Pro rated salary would be estimated at $2 million. 

If we were trading for, or even needed, a LOOGY then I would be all over Liriano. Especially if we paid the Twins like we were trading for a LOOGY and not a decent starting pitcher on a hot streak. The Twins are going to ride that 15 strike out game and that no hitter from last year and his short streak of good starts all the way to the bank this July... and my bank is personally closed. I dislike the idea of trading for Francisco Liriano in hopes of him being a good starter.