Mariners Could Outspend Yankees For Tanaka?

Ben Badler broke down the Top 10 teams that would likely sign Masahiro Tanaka and the New York Yankees came in at the second position, the first spot went to the Seattle Mariners. Could the Mariners really outspend the Yankees again on the free agent market and steal Tanaka away from us?

The Yankees are desperate for starting pitching, let's be honest, but so are the Seattle Mariners. Yes they have Felix Hernandez and yes they have Taijuan Walker and yes they have been linked to a David Price trade but the Mariners are desperate to win now. After they handed out a 10 year contract to Robinson Cano and extended Felix Hernandez for big money they have to win and win now while these core players are still stars. Could the Mariners outbid the Yankees on the best free agent pitcher and free agent hitter in the same offseason? I think so.

That doesn't mean that they will, Tanaka may just want to play in New York and not under 14 inches of water every day, but they could and that scares me. The Mariners have a new regional television contract that will pay them $2 billion over the next 17 years and outside of Cano and Hernandez, who will make a combined $47 million in 2014, not much else is on the books. I am officially worried that the Seattle Mariners will blow everyone out of the water and get the man they want from the Yankees, again.

This Day In New York Yankees History 1/3

On this day in 1920 the secret deal made on December 26 to sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 is announced to the public. This amount was twice the amount every paid previously for a player when Harry Frazee made the sale. Frazee also put up Fenway Park as collateral on a $300,000 loan.

On this day in 1943 Yankees 37 year old pitcher Red Ruffing is drafted into the Army. As a 15 year old the future Hall of Famer lost four toes on his left foot in a mining accident in Illinois.

On this day in 1973 Lester Crown, John DeLorean, Nelson Bunker Hunt, and George Steinbrenner purchased the New York Yankees from CBS. The Boss will become a well known owner due to his pursuit of talent at any cost, feuds with players and managers that were well documented in the media, and his frequency of firing his employees. He is also the reason this blog was started so thanks are in order.

On this day in 1974 the Yankees sign Bill Virdon as the teams manager. The former Pittsburgh Pirates manager will manager for two years in New York but will finish his tenure never winning a game at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are playing their home games at Shea Stadium these days due to the renovations happening in the Bronx.

On this day in 2005 Bud Selig approves the trade of Randy Johnson from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the New York Yankees for Javier Vazquez, Dioner Navarro, Brad Halsey, and $9 million in cash. This trade came about three or four years too late and would lead to Arizona then flipping Navarro and the cash to acquire Shawn Green from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On this day in 2013 the Yankees lost a fan favorite in Nick Swisher to the Cleveland Indians via free agency. Swish was let walk and signed a four year deal worth $56 million that included a $14 million option for a fifth season with the tribe.

Gammons: Six Teams Tried To Trade For Gardner

According to Peter Gammons, someone I want to reiterate that I am not a fan of at all, at least six teams have contacted Brian Cashman about the availability of Brett Gardner. Gammons said of the half a dozen teams that everyone "from the Phillies to the Tigers" have attempted to land the free agent to be.

The Yankees theoretically have seven outfielders who have a legit shot at making the roster out of Spring Training in Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Beltran, Ichiro Suzuki, Vernon Wells, and Zoilo Almonte. Gardner is our best shot at getting anything for in a trade although Cashman is said to only be interested in a trade if it would bring a starting pitcher back. Hopefully we hold on to Gardner and go for more "Billy (Martin) Ball" and show teams that speed really kills. If the deal is too good to pass up you make it but I cannot see one of those deals coming for the free agent to be, so keep him.

We'll finish this with a quote from Brian Cashman from Gammons site in regard to Gardner:

“Brett is one of the toughest players in the game, an incredible competitor,” says Cashman. “We feel very strongly about him and his role as a leader and catalyst.”

Vernon Wells Wants One More Year W/ The Yankees

Vernon Wells was interviewed and told reporters that he wanted one more year with the Yankees. That makes one of us. Here is the quote from NJ.com from Wells:

"I had so much fun," he said. "My family had fun. It's a truly unique experience."

But, he also said, he's not worrying about his future.

"There's possibly one spot" up for grabs in the outfield, Well said, "depending on if there are any moves made between here or there. But I've learned not to concern myself with things I have no control over. All I can control is getting ready for spring training and going in, and being ready to help the team in whatever what I can. Whatever role that I end up playing, whether it's there or somewhere else, I have to be ready and ready to produce."

MLB Eliminating $300K From International Spending Cap

Major League Baseball is expecting to eliminate $300K from the International Spending pools. This will begin this June for the 2014-2015 International Spending year, you know the one where the Yankees are planning on spending up to $15 million on. Each team has been given six exemptions of $50K each in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement for up to four international amateurs and those exemptions are now being eliminated.

Teams will not be given a number to work with until probably April anyway but the numbers are now expected to be lower than usual, which could really help the Yankees. If the Yankees stay true to their word and blow the cap out of the water there should be less teams involved you would think. $300K does not sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things but when you only get $1-$2 million anyway it could be a huge number and make or break you signing a player.

A Rod Ruling Not Expected This Week

When reports said "early January" in reference to the Alex Rodriguez decision they did not mean this week. The arbitrator that holds A Rod's career, season, and legacy in his hand Frederic Horowitz is unlikely to announce his decision today or tomorrow according to Mike Puma. A Rod has not been informed of anything on the matter either that we have been made aware of so the A Rod watch continues until at least next week.

Bobby Valentine Warns Yankees Stay Away From Tanaka

Bobby Valentine, according to NJ.com, says that the New York Yankees may not be the best fit for Masahiro Tanaka and vice versa. If Bobby V says the Yankees should not get Tanaka, with his history of evaluating talent, I think we should hand Tanaka a blank contract, tell him to fill it out, and call us in the morning. Bobby Valentine is an idiot and you can see why in this quite from NJ.com:

“If I was him, I would pitch in the National League,” Valentine said, according to a New York Post report. “I would pitch on the West Coast and I would pitch where the weather isn’t going to be a factor.”

Franklin Set To Defend Title; Returning For 8th Season

(Trenton, NJ)- The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced on Thursday that Tony Franklin will return to ARM & HAMMER Park to manage the Thunder for an eighth consecutive season. Franklin, already the longest tenured skipper in the Thunder's 20 year history, is coming off his third Eastern League championship.  

Franklin will be joined in the dugout once again by pitching coach and former Major Leaguer Tommy Phelps who returns for a sixth season, as well as Strength and Conditioning Coach Orlando Crance who returns for a second year in Trenton. The coaching staff will include new additions Hitting Coach Marcus Thames, Coach Orlando Mercado and Trainer Lee Meyer. 

"Tony Franklin is a great asset to the Thunder and our community," said Thunder General Manager Will Smith. "The success that we've enjoyed on the field during his tenure is unprecedented and we're excited to see Tony back to defend last season's championship."

Franklin guided the Thunder to the 2013 Eastern League Championship in a run that included a perfect 6-0 record in the playoffs. He was at the helm for Trenton's back-to-back Eastern League Championships in 2007 and 2008 and has reached the EL Championship Series in five of his seven seasons. He owns a career managerial record of 1,160-1,040 (.527) including a record of 568-457 (.554) with Trenton (records include post-season). The skipper recorded his 1,000 career managerial win and was named Eastern League Manager of the Year in 2012.   

The 2013 Eastern League Championship was Franklin's fourth title as Manager. In 1993, he led South Bend (Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox) to the Midwest League championship. Prior to his time in Trenton, Franklin was the Minor League Infield Instructor for the San Diego Padres. His managerial career began with the White Sox organization as the Manager for Geneva (NY) of the New York-Penn League in 1982. Franklin spent four seasons in Geneva, making the playoffs in 1985. After one season with Wytheville (Appalachian League), he guided the White Sox affiliate in the Florida State League, the Sarasota White Sox, to a playoff appearance in 1989. Franklin spent two years as the skipper of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League, including 81 wins in 1991 and a berth in the Championship Series.

Tommy Phelps will return for his sixth season as the Pitching Coach for the Thunder. Phelps pitched for the Florida Marlins in 2003 and 2004 including a 2003 season in which he went 3-2 with a 4.00 ERA in 27 games (seven starts). He was part of a Marlins team that won the World Series over the Yankees. Phelps pitched in 29 games for Milwaukee in 2005 and went 7-4 with a 4.45 ERA in 2006 with Columbus (Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees). Phelps was originally an eighth round pick by Montreal in the 1992 draft. 

New Thunder Hitting Coach Marcus Thames spent the 2013 season as the Hitting Coach for the Tampa Yankees. He played in 640 games over 10 years in the Major Leagues after making his MLB debut for the Yankees in 2002. He played for the Yankees (2002 and 2010), Rangers (2003), Tigers (2004-2009) and the Dodgers (2011). As a Minor Leaguer, Thames spent three seasons in the Eastern League (1999-2001).

Orlando Mercado joins Trenton as a Coach after spending the last three years as the Roving Catching Instructor for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Prior to that he was the Bullpen Coach for the Angels from 2003 to 2010. Mercado played all or part of eight seasons in the Major Leagues between 1982 and 1990 having suited up for the Mariners (1982-1984), Rangers (1986), Tigers (1987), Dodgers (1987), Athletics (1988), Twins (1989), Mets (1990), and Expos (1990). The former catcher spent all or part of 17 seasons in the Minor Leagues including one season in the Eastern League with the Lynn Sailors (1980).

Lee Meyer joins the Thunder as Athletic Trainer following two seasons with the Tampa Yankees. He previously worked one season with the Charleston RiverDogs and one season with the Staten Island Yankees.

Orlando Crance returns to Trenton for a second season as Strength and Conditioning Coach. He served in the same capacity for the Florida Marlins AA affiliate in Jacksonville, Florida in 2010 and previously for the Savannah Sand Gnats (Class A, Mets). 

The Thunder will begin the 2014 season at ARM & HAMMER Park on Thursday, April 3. Season tickets, group outings, Pic-A-Plans, and Mini Plan renewals are on sale now. Single game tickets will go on sale on March 1, 2014. For more information about tickets, fans should call 609-394-3300 or visit trentonthunder.com.

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder organization. The original article can be seen HERE.

Yankee Stadium Legacy: #89 Roger Clemens (Again)

Roger Clemens is the only pitcher in Major League history to win the Cy Young Award seven times. Clemens took home his sixth trophy in 2001 after going 20-3 with a 3.51 ERA and 213 strikeouts in Yankees pinstripes. This was the sixth time Clemens reached 20 wins and it was the 11th time he struck out over 200 batters in a season. His winning percentage of .870 ranked the third highest in team history.

89 days until Yankees Opening Day.

This Day In New York Yankees History 1/2

On this day in 1940, with Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in attendance, Lou Gehrig was sworn in as a member of the New York City Parole Commission. The term is for 10 years but Gehrig became too ill with ALS to even sign his name on the contract and has to ask for a leave of absence the very next year.