BREAKING: Kuroda to Return to Japan in 2015

A little bit of breaking news that affects the New York Yankees specifically as Hiroki Kuroda has finally made his decision for the 2015 season as he will be returning to Japan and not pitching in the majors. Kuroda was very solid for the Yankees in his three seasons in New York and it always seemed like Kuroda would pitch in the Bronx, in Japan or retire in 2015 with no other options. Apparently that option has led him back to where his career began in his native country of Japan.

Good luck for the rest of your career Hiroki and thank you for all you gave the team. We appreciate you.

Sabathia Feeling Good About His Injured Knee

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia is making progress with his injured knee.

That's the message he sent while talking with the YES Network earlier this month, telling Yankees Magazine the wound no longer limits him in his baseball-related activities. It became clear Sabathia was suffering from the degenerative condition after a May game in Milwaukee, eventually causing him to miss the rest of the season.

"It feels good," Sabathia said. "For me, I have no complaints. I'm able to do all of my workouts, play catch and do everything. So I'm excited about how it feels."

It's a safe bet the Yankees are too after hearing that, as Sabathia is one of the biggest question marks on the team going into 2015. Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova also missed good amounts of time last year, but Nova is coming off the much more common Tommy John surgery and Tanaka and Pineda were both able to return to the mound in September.

Indeed, Sabathia's issue is a unique one, and it's difficult to predict how he'll come back from it.

"I've been doing everything I can to stay active," he said. "I've been working out, playing catch, I'll just continue to do that all this offseason and be ready to go."

When next season begins, it's probable Sabathia will be penciled in as the Yankees' third starter, behind Tanaka and Pineda and in front of Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Capuano.

Eovaldi is a youngster of whom the Yankees just want to learn the capabilities, so it's unlikely he'll be expected to dominate much. Capuano is really just a fill-in until Nova gets back in May, so the same presumably goes for him.

That being said, it can be fairly assumed the Yankees will need Sabathia to perform well if they want to start the year off on the right foot, hard as that may be for him.

Max Scherzer Is Officially On The Clock...

The Christmas holiday is over and while things around Major League Baseball generally stay quiet until after the new year the game's best free agent is still available and is officially on the clock. Max Scherzer, a well known Scott Boras client, was the best available free agent coming into the winter and was not expected to sign a deal during the 2014 calendar year anyway. Where will Scherzer land now that he has officially been put on the clock by the staff here at TGP?

Surprisingly there are no real obvious suitors or front runners right now for Scherzer unless you consider Detroit retaining the right hander for a "discount" or the Washington National (and that's only if they trade Jordan Zimmerman). San Francisco presumably needs another starter to go along with Madison Bumgarner and Jake Peavy but fiscal restraints will likely keep them out of the race for Scherzer as well as the New York Yankees who are penny pinching right now with six starting pitchers including Ivan Nova already penciled into the rotation. 

The Dodgers can never be counted out of things, especially this offseason, and it's also worth mentioning that the Cardinals could add a starter and Max is a St. Louis native. Boston has been throwing around money and players like it's going out of style and would really distance themselves from everyone else in the American League East if they were to sign Scherzer. Another AL East team that needs Scherzer, although seems unlikely to pursue him, is the Toronto Blue Jays who only boast young arms in Marcus Stroman and Drew Hutchinson along with RA Dickey and Mark Buehrle. 

I said all that to say this, I have no idea where Scherzer is going and I don't think Max, Scott Boras or anyone else does either. Really though, I'm predicting the Cubs just because of how insane that staff would be. 

Alex Rodriguez Makes NJ.com's List of 2014 Sports Villains

What a shocker, Alex Rodriguez has made the Top List of Sports Villains from the 2014 season. NJ.com does great work, especially Brandon Kuty and their Yankees coverage, and earlier in the week the team was at it again releasing their top sports villains of the calendar year. Click the link HERE to see the entire list but to no one's surprise Rodriguez made the list. See below for the Rodriguez excerpt and be sure to give those guys a click or two, they do great work. 

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been a villain for almost his entire career, but 2014 represented the end of the line for the serial performance-enhancing drug offender. 

When an independent arbitrator reduced Rodriguez's 211-game suspension to 162 games, the verdict was hardly a win for the three-time American League MVP. After going scorched earth in his case against Major League Baseball, even asserting the sport was lying and out to get him, Rodriguez disappeared for the year and accepted a spot on this list.

What Key Yankees Got for Christmas

As we all know yesterday was Christmas so I called a few key Yankees to wish them well and ask what they got from Santa Claus yesterday. The presents were well thought out from the fat man up north, good work Mr. C. Anyway, on to those presents:

Mark Teixeira: A healthy and productive 2015 season

Carlos Beltran: The ability to play 125 games in right field

Brian McCann: The ability to beat the shift consistently

CC Sabathia: A healthy and productive 2015 season

Alex Rodriguez: $61 million and a "Enjoy retirement" card

Masahiro Tanaka: The Christmas miracle, no Tommy John surgery as a Yankee.

Thank You!

It's a slow day for news and it's the first day I have really written anything since my "Ghost of Yankees Past" post which was written on Christmas Adam (Adam comes before Eve so I heard). I've taken a much needed break to spend time with my family and a much needed break to recharge my batteries. I hope everyone had a safe, productive and great holiday off with family, friends, too much food and way too much fun.

With that said I just wanted to thank everyone for being here with us, I want to thank everyone for their positive feedback on the Ghost of Yankees Past and the Brian Cashman Significant Trades posts and I want to thank everyone for their patience in allowing the staff to spend the holidays with their families.

We're back, now let's get to it!

This Day In New York Yankees History 12/26: George Herman Ruth

On this day in 1919, although not official until January, the Yankees purchased pitcher in outfielder Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox. Ruth would end up costing the Yankees $100,000 with a $300,000 loan with Fenway Park as collateral. Too bad they didn't default on that huh?

Scherzer reportedly not receiving interest from wealthy teams

The Yankees have made headlines in recent weeks due to their assurance they won't pursue former Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer.

Unbeknownst to them, they may just be one of many teams in that category.

The New York Post's Ken Davidoff reported Thursday most of the other wealthy clubs are too shying away from the right-hander, who's gone 39-8 with a 3.02 ERA over the last two seasons. Scherzer is said to be asking for upwards of $200 million, a price few can be expected to want to hand out.

"Many clubs, among them the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants and Dodgers, have been vocal about their disinclination to enter the Scherzer sweepstakes," Davidoff wrote. "The Angels are sending signals they’re good to go with their current starting rotation. The Tigers and Nationals, two favorite destinations for [Scott] Boras clients in the past, also say they aren't going there."

It's worth noting those teams aren't the only ones to express their intention not to negotiate with Scherzer. The Cubs, who signed another free agent ace in Jon Lester at the Winter Meetings, have also stated their plans to stand clear of him, according to Davidoff.

But could that leave the door open for the Nationals and Angels to take him, despite their past claims? 

"One official from an AL club on Tuesday speculated the possibility of the Nationals trading Jordan Zimmermann, a year away from free agency himself, and signing Scherzer," Davidoff divulged. "Another official from a second AL team pegged the Angels as the team to give in and sign Scherzer."

The Angels could probably use Scherzer as a way to solidify their place at the top of the AL West, seeing as their main divisional competitor, the Mariners, have long been known to have a dominant rotation. Jered Weaver, their veteran contributor, has struggled to stay healthy lately, and lefty C.J. Wilson has underperformed. 

Yet since Weaver and Wilson are both on high-paying contracts, it's also possible Los Angeles will just stick to its guns, an act that'd leave Scherzer on the market even longer and in doing so give others more time to think.

Yankees Not In on Asdrubal Cabrera

Whether this is all a ploy and Bubba Crosby is going to be our center fielder next season or if this is the truth remains to be seen but the New York Yankees are apparently "out" on Asdrubal Cabrera. Cabrera was at one point a offensive minded shortstop who has lost some range and is now better suited as a second baseman. Earlier in the week we reported that Cabrera would be willing to take a one year deal to establish his value and his market in next year's class, which would be right up the Yankees alley, but it seems like New York is content using Robert Refsnyder and/or Jose Pirela for the job.

In a word, good. The team doesn't need any more reclamation projects and the team doesn't need another veteran undeserving of a job that is blocking a prospect. Let Refsnyder have the job and let the Mets have Cabrera.

Merry Christmas from The Greedy Pinstripes

We wanted to take a short minute to wish everyone reading this from whatever part of the globe your on a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or Happy Thursday/Friday depending where you are and depending on your beliefs. We truly do appreciate and love every single one of you out there, whether you agree or disagree with our postings and opinions, and we wish you nothing but the best from the bottom of our hearts.

Thank you and Merry Christmas.