Granderson's Injury Is An Opportunity

There isn't much going on in the sports world in late February.   Yesterday afternoon's menu for sports fans wasn't very attractive.  There were some NHL and NBA games, but those sports don't start the postseason for a couple of months yet and 16 teams make the playoffs in those sports anyway so the drama is limited.  There were some NCAA men's basketball games on, but every decent team makes the tournament these days, so how excited can anyone get over a regular season game right now? The PGA tour was holding the first WGC event of the year but the match play format is a novelty event held on the PGA tour only one time each year, and to many of us that one time is one time too many.  It looked like some MLB preseason games might actually be the cream of the crop as far as sports viewing was going to go.  It appeared to be a lazy Sunday afternoon without much drama to unfold in the sports world.  That all changed when J.A. Happ threw a 2-2 fastball that caught Curtis Granderson on the right forearm in his first appearance of the 2013 Grapefruit League.

By now the whole world knows that Curtis Granderson is expected to miss at least ten weeks with a fractured right forearm.  Granderson will miss anywhere from 4-6 weeks of the regular season while he heals.  While this event was certainly newsworthy and not a positive event for the Yankees, it certainly isn't the apocalyptic event that many have proclaimed it to be.



When we last saw Curtis Granderson, he was flailing away hopelessly and comically at pitch after pitch in the 2012 ALCS.  Granderson was a disgraceful 0-11 in the ALCS with two walks and seven strikeouts.  In the 2012 ALDS series vs. the Orioles, Granderson was a feeble 3-19 with one walk, nine strikeouts, and one RBI which came on a solo home run in game five.  Granderson's 2012 postseason stat line was a pathetic 3-30(.100) with one HR and one RBI. While many Yankees were cold as ice in the 2012 postseason, Granderson's struggles in 2012 didn't begin in October.  Granderson was lost at the plate from August until the end of the season in 2012.  Granderson was 41-200(.205)  with only twenty walks from August 1st through the end of the 2012 regular season.  While Granderson did hit 15 homers in that time span, he was basically an all or nothing hitter that couldn't make simple contact and advance runners. When you add his laughable postseason stats to the equation, Granderson was as much of a hindrance to the Yankees as he was an asset down the stretch of the regular season and in the postseason.

The simple fact is that Curtis Granderson hadn't been the Curtis Granderson that anyone wants or longs for since July of last season and it is unlikely to assume that he will ever be that Curtis Granderson again.  Granderson's inability to hit breaking pitches had pitchers feeding him a steady diet of breaking balls out of the zone in the second half of last season and I see no reason why that would change this season or anytime in the future. While Granderson's power will be impossible to replace, his total value to the team is vastly overrated. An average CF at best these days, Granderson was already assumed to be moving to LF  for the 2013 season, with Brett Gardner taking over in CF.

Granderson's injury gives the Yankees four options to replace him.  The first option is to let Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera battle it out in spring training for the position.  That option seems a bit like the "battle" already going on between Chad Stewart and Francisco Cervelli at the catching spot.  No matter who wins the battle, it makes it tougher to win the war.

The second option is to sign a reclamation project/golden oldie such as Johnny Damon(age 39) or Bobby Abreu(turns 39 on March 11th). While some fans, nostalgic and sentimental as they may be, would welcome such a move, there is a very good reason why players like Damon and Abreu are available. They're done, through, finished and over with.

The third option would be to trade for an overpaid, over the hill player like Vernon Wells(age 34) or former Yankee Alfonso Soriano(age 37).  Trading prospects for either of these guys doesn't seem very sound, no matter how much money their current teams eat in the deal.

Option number four? It may be too much to hope for, but certainly makes the most sense.  To say that  Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi have been reluctant to use young players would be an understatement of epic proportions.  Girardi and Cashman act as terrified of starting a young player as two college kids staring at a home pregnancy test are of the plus sign appearing.



Alas, necessity is the mother of all invention, and perhaps Cashman and Girardi will allow the need for an outfielder motivate them to reinvent their own strategies and allow Slade Heathcott, Ronnie Mustelier, Tyler Austin, or Zoilo Almonte play left field for the Yankees.



By all accounts Heathcott was outstanding in the most recent Arizona Fall League.  Several scouts referred to him as the best player in the league.  Heathcott is a five-tool player and viewed by many as the most talented member of the entire Yankee farm system, even more talented than catcher Gary Sanchez.  The biggest knock on Heathcott by many scouts is his intensity. A popular school of thought is that Heathcott's eagerness may add to his injury prone nature.  If that's the worst thing you can say about a player than he is the kind of player I want in a lineup as soon as possible.While injuries have delayed Heathcott's major league debut, he is 22 years old, and they all have to be rookies sometime.  Is it a stretch to send someone from high A ball to MLB? Perhaps, but it wouldn't be outrageous based on Heathcott's age and performance in the AFL.

If not Heathcott? How about Tyler Austin,  Ronnie Mustelier or Zoilo Almonte?  All are talented and need to be given a chance sooner than later.   Given the choice between letting these youngsters battle it out instead of Diaz and Rivera or antiques like Damon or Abreu or trading for Wells or Sorianojust makes sense.  Mike Trout was considered a great future talent who was too young to play in MLB at this time last year and now he's considered by many to be the most talented player in MLB. You don't know until you try them.

Now is the time to give these younger players serious consideration to replace Granderson, especially with a Yankee team that is looking older and older by the minute. Fans are ready to embrace new young players and the lackadaisical attitude that an all-veteran team is vulnerable to was on display in the 2012 postseason.  Young blood is not only good for a baseball team, but is often vital.  Giving these kids a serious shot at taking over Granderson's outfield slot represents an opportunity to inject some badly needed youth and energy to the Yankees while motivating the young players in the Yankee system by showing them that home grown players under age 25 are allowed to start games in the Bronx.

Spring Training 2/25/13 Lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix 2B
Matt Diaz DH
Juan Rivera RF
Francisco Cervelli C
Melky Mesa LF
Dan Johnson 3B
Gil Velazquez SS
Kyle Roller 1B

LHP Vidal Nuno

Meet A Prospect : David Phelps

David Edward Phelps was born on October 9th, 1986 in St. Louis, MO where he attended Hazelwood West High School in Hazelwood, MO where he played both basketball and baseball. Standing 6'2" and weighing in at 200 lbs you can see why the New York Yankees drafted him in the 14th round of the 2008 MLB First Year Players Draft. Phelps can throw five pitches for strikes including a four seam fastball that sits around 92 mph, a two seam fastball that also sits in the low 90's, a cutter that sits in the high 80's, a curve ball that tops out at 80 mph, and a change up that hits the mid 80's. David likes to throw the two seam fastball primarily to left handed hitters while saving the four seam fastball for right handed hitters. He also saves the change up exclusively against left handed hitters to keep them off balance. Coming off of a stellar 2012 season out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation the sky seems to be the limit for David Phelps in pinstripes and nobody is happier about that then myself.

While attending Hazelwood West High School David was named to the All Conference team playing both outfield and pitcher as a sophomore. As a junior and a senior David was named All Conference, All Metro Performer, and his teams captain while also finding time to be in the National Honor Society. David played his college baseball at the University of Notre Dame even though he was ranked as the sixth best prospect coming out of Missouri before the 2005 MLB draft. David did not pitch much as a freshman for the Fighting Irish but bounced back in 2007 as a starter putting up a 1.88 ERA with 102 strike outs to go with only 30 walks in 110 innings pitched. David would be named to the Big East All-Conference Team as well as Academic All-District and Academic All-American teams as well. He would struggle as a junior putting up a 4.65 ERA with 75 K's and 28 BB's in only 93 IP after entering the season looking to be picked in the early first round. He would see his stock fall all the way to the 14th round when the Yankees signed him for a $150,000 signing bonus.

David would start his professional career in 2008 when the Yankees put him on the Staten Island Yankees. He responded by putting up an 8-2 record with a 2.72 ERA in 15 starts. In his 72.2 IP he struck out 52 batters and put up a 1.170 WHIP. David would split time in Charleston and Tampa, both A Ball affiliates, putting up a combined 13-4 record and 2.38 ERA in 26 starts. In his 151 IP he struck out 122 batters while putting up a 1.205 WHIP. He would split his 2010 season as well between the AA Trenton and the AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre teams putting up a 10-2 record with a 2.50 ERA in 25 starts and one relief appearance. In his 158.2 IP he struck out 141 batters and put up a 1.103 WHIP while being named to the Eastern League All Star Team and was also named the Yankees Minor League Pitcher of the Year. 2011 would see David being added to the 40 man roster for Rule 5 Draft protection and would see him start the season with the Gulf Coast Yankees.  After putting in seven innings in the GCL David was brought up to the Scranton team where he put up a combined 7-7 record with a 2.99 ERA in 20 starts. In his 114.1 IP David struck out 95 batters and put up a 1.277 WHIP. David would put in 18 IP across three of the Yankees affiliates in 2012 but spent the vast majority of the season with the big league club.

David would spend basically the entire 2012 season with the big league club after making the team as the long man out of Spring Training. David would start the season as the long man in the bullpen until April 29th when he was moved into the rotation to replace a struggling Freddy Garcia. He would only make two starts before being knocked back to the bullpen when the Yankees promoted Andy Pettitte to the big club. David would be sent down to Scranton when David Robertson came off the disabled list with his oblique problems but would be right back to the majors when the Yankees lost both CC Sabathia to Andy Pettitte to injury before the All Star Break. All in all David would appear in 33 games, 11 of them out of the starting rotation, to put up a 4-4 record with a 3.34 ERA in 99.2 innings pitched. He would compile 96 strike outs while putting up an impressive 1.194 ERA. David will be fighting Ivan Nova for the 5th spot in the rotation this spring so good luck to both men.

Yankees Shut Out In 2nd Spring Training Game

The Yankees banged out 11 hits today while the Blue Jays could only muster 9 hits but the Yankees lost the game today 2-0. The Yankees pitched well today but just could not string enough hits together to score a run. This may become a common occurrence as the Yankees also lost Curtis Granderson to a fractured forearm after taking a fastball from Blue Jays lefty JA Happ today and will miss the next 10 weeks before he is back to the majors.

The Yankees pitched well today but just did not have enough offense to stay in the game. Yankees starter Adam Warren had a pitching line of 2 IP 0 H 0 ER and we saw impressive performances by Jim Miller, Preston Clairborne, Juan Cedeno, and others but it was not enough as the Yankees go down 2-0.

The Yankees continue their Spring Training schedule tomorrow afternoon as they send Vidal Nuno to the mound to pitch against the Baltimore Orioles.

Replace Curtis Granderson With Eduardo Nunez In OF

The Yankees love the bat of Eduardo Nunez and would like for him to get 500 at bats this season if possible. With Curtis Granderson now out for the next 10 weeks with a fractured forearm the Yankees are probably scuffling to find a replacement even though Curtis should be back in May. The Yankees already have that replacement if you ask me and it is Eduardo Nunez. Nunez has enough speed and range to play left field with the Yankees and his right handed bat that is capable of power would be better than anything that Matt Diaz or Juan Rivera could give us. Also, let's face it, the Yankees can hide people in left field at Yankees Stadium, see Johnny Damon and Raul Ibanez. Before the Yankees go out and make a knee jerk reaction or lose someone on the 40 man roster for a temporary replacement why not give the at bats to Eduardo Nunez? Makes too much sense not to if you ask me.

Curtis Granderson Fractured Forearm To Miss 10 Weeks

EDIT Pt.  2: Curtis Granderson has a fractured forearm after taking a pitch from JA Happ off the right forearm and will miss 10 weeks before being Major League ready to play. 43 more home runs off the board, at least temporarily, for the New York Yankees. Here we go again.

EDIT: Curtis Granderson has a bruised forearm and was sent for precautionary x rays. Long story short he did not get hit on the wrist and he seems like he will be fine. Take a collective sigh of relief breathe Yankees fans...

Curtis Granderson has been hit on the wrist in a Spring Training game by Blue Jays lefty JA Happ. He was immediately taken out of the game after the Yankees staff examined him at first base. Hopefully this is nothing but a precaution because we cannot afford any more injuries, especially this early in the spring. Stay tuned for the latest updates.

Derek Jeter To DH In Spring Training On March 10th

Brian Cashman has told reporters that the Yankees will see Derek Jeter is a Spring Training game as a designated hitter on or around March 10th. This will be the first game that the captain will see since his ankle surgery last October. March 10th or so cannot come fast enough.

Offseason Winners Rankings

"All is well!" - to Yankee fans screaming about a quiet offseason

I ran across an article at the Wall Street Journal from Brian Costa, in which Mr. Costa uses Zip's WAR projections in order to find the the "winners" of the offseason. He has the Toronto Blue Jays as the offseason winner, whose moves have improved the team by 10.7 wins, thanks to the acquisitions of Jose Reyes (4.3), R.A. Dickey (4.0), Josh Johnson (3.4), Mark Buehrle (2.5), and Melky Cabrera (2.5). The Jays are followed up by the Cubs (+8.2), Indians (+7.2), Red Sox (+6.3), and Phillies (+5.4).

Right off the bat I was skeptical. Sure, the Blue Jays are the "cool" pick to do well this season, and although I don't see them winning the division they will be good, but the other top 5 teams don't frighten me. The Cubs just finished 2012 with a record of 61-101, the Indians were 68-94, and Red Sox were 69-93, and the Phillies were 81-81.

Yes, the rankings by Brian Costa are not trying to say those teams have set themselves up to win anything this coming season. But I wanted to point out that winning the offseason means nothing. Take a look at the top 5 from the Wall Street Journal's "winners" of the 2011/2012 MLB offseason. They had the Angels winning it, which makes sense as they added Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson, while really only losing Joel Piniero. However, they finished 3rd in the AL West behind the Rangers and Athletics. The Marlins, Tigers, Nationals, and Mariners rounded out the top 5. The Tigers went on to win the American League, while the Nationals finished with the best record in the National League. But the other two teams, the Marlins and Mariners, finished a combined 36 games below .500. Meanwhile, the eventual 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants finished 26th in those rankings.

So what does winning the offseason really mean? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"'Nothing'... kind of like my analysis."

Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees 2/23

The New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays will face off today in both teams second Grapefruit League game in this years Spring Training. The Yankees will send AAA Scranton starter Adam Warren to the mound for about 35 pitches or 2 IP. The game will be televised on YES and on MLB Network at 1:00 pm ET.

Here is the projected order of pitchers( which is always subject to change):

Adam Warren, Cody Eppley, Matt Daley, Francisco Rondon, Preston Clairborne, Juan Cedeno and Jim Miller.

Here is the second string of positional players:

Bobby Wilson (C), Addison Maruszak (1B), Jayson Nix (2B), Cito Culver (SS), Rob Segedin (3B), Ronnier Mustelier (LF), Adonis Garcia (CF), Thomas Neal (RF), Gary Sanchez (DH)


Here is the Yankees lineup:

Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson LF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Travis Hafner DH
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C

Granderson fractures forearm as Yanks fall to Blue Jays 2-0

I guess the odds weren't in Curtis Granderson's favor. In the second Spring Training game of the season, the Yankees were faced with a gigantic blow when Granderson was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat of the Spring. After watching enough baseball, I knew the outcome wasn't going to be pretty. Granderson's original diagnosis was a bruised forearm, but as a precaution they sent the outfielder to get some x-rays.

The final diagnosis was a fractured forearm, putting Granderson and the Yankees in a bind for the next ten weeks--and giving Brett Gardner the CF position by default. The Yankees had already lost 100 home runs and now the Yankees could lose 43 more this season. Granderson however, told YES Network during the telecast that he was planning on conditioning the lower half of his body while his forearm heals, just so he could be up to speed and return as quickly as possible. Granderson did say this to the media, showing optimism during what seemed to be a dark road ahead.

"It's just a little bump in the road. It's definitely not the end of everything."

Other In Game Notes:

-- Adam Warren pitched two scoreless innings, which easily erased his start with the Yankees back in 2012. Warren most likely won't get a spot on the roster as soon as Spring Training ends, but if a pitcher goes down, he could be one of the first they call to help.

-- Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Travis Hafner each had one hit in this game (Cano was robbed of two hits by his buddy Melky Cabrera).

-- Kevin Youkilis had no hits today, but in all three at-bats he hit the ball very hard, his first at-bat coming close to hitting a Grand Slam.

Side Note:

Earlier in the post I said that I knew enough about baseball to know Granderson was going to miss some time. Here's how I knew. Gardner: 2011. Alex Rodriguez: 2012. Both of them were hit by a pitch in the hand area. Gardner missed a few games and needed surgery after the season. Alex Rodriguez missed a lot of the 2012 season with a broken hand. Just know, when you get hit in the hand and you've seen as much baseball as possible--you know when it's serious.