Bronx Rumors

Yankees Sign Neal Cotts

2010-11-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

Via Matt Eddy, the Yankees have signed LHP Neal Cotts to a minor league contract. Cotts, 31, had pitch surgery last year and did not appear in 2010. He had Tommy John surgery in 2009 and hasn't appeared in a major league game since May of 2009. Cotts has spent his career in the Cubs organization and thus worked with, new Yankee pitching coach, Larry Rothschild.

While the Yankees are looking for a lefty reliever, it is unlikely Cotts is that guy. It's more likely that Cotts will fill the role that Royce Ring did last year and reside mostly in Scranton.

Yanks Make Offer to Jeter

2010-11-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

Via Jon Heyman, the Yankees have officially offered Derek Jeter a 3-year, $45 million contract. He is expected to turn it down just because that's how these things go. Making progress.

Notes: DePaula, Miranda

2010-11-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

Yes there haven't been posts for a while, but that's just because I don't think it's necessary to report every time the Yankees and Jeter have a hiccup because we all know the deal will get done. Anyways, onto the news:

According to Melissa Segura, the Yankees will sign Domincan RHP Rafael DePaula later today. The bonus is said to be around $700,000. After lying about his age and identity, DePaula was suspended for a year but was cleared by MLB's verification process earlier this year. The 19-year-old DePaula is 6'3" and his fastball has touched 97 in workouts. Here's some video.

The Yankees also traded Juan Miranda to the Diamondbacks for (not Justin Upton) RHP prospect Scottie Allen. This move not only frees up a 40-man roster spot (for someone like Cliff Lee or Jesus Montero) but Allen is probably the best the Yanks could've gotten for Miranda. Once considered the Yankees' future first basemen, Miranda really fell off the radar once Mark Teixeira was signed. According to Joel Sherman, Allen has an improving fastball (88-93) and is developing an above-average curveball. He has good arm action which speaks to his command and control. Plus, dude's only 19.

And to sum up everything else that's happening in Yankeeland: Jeter wants more years and money which makes Randy Levine angry but not really. Will they work it out...(yes). Justin Upton was made available and he has every GM in baseball drooling, however the Yanks might or might not get him. Huge asking price. And King Felix won the Cy Young.

Notes: Lee, Jorge, Jeter, Gold Gloves

2010-11-10T21:11:00.001-08:00

A few notes from Yankeeland today:

Brian Cashman and some other Yankee brass members flew to Lee's home in Arkansas to speak to the lefty today. While they did not make an offer, at least not yet, the Yankees wanted to reach out to Lee as they did with CC. When Cash spoke to CC, he told him the Yanks didn't go after Santana the year before because they were waiting for Sabathia. This made CC feel wanted and people believe Cash could be using the fact that they were willing to give up Jesus Montero for Lee in the same way. While a deal won't be getting done in the next few days, look out for this one.

Jorge Posada underwent the same surgery on his knee that CC Sabathia recieved earlier this offseason and Brian Cashman has informed him that he will have to battle it out with Jesus Montero in Spring Training for the starting job. It is likely that Jorge will be the Yankees' primary DH in 2011.

And finally the Yankees and Derek Jeter are starting to make some progress, as talks have begun heating up. The two are still miles apart, but they are getting closer and an offer will most likely be made shortly.

Oh and in-case you missed it, Teixeira, Jeter, and Cano all took home Gold Gloves this past week. Gold Glove voting isn't anything meaningful, the voters basically find the best hitter and if he can field decently, he gets it. Jeter should not get the award but the issue that bugs me more is Brett Gardner. By UZR, Gardner was the best fielder (not just outfielder) in the entire major leagues. Does he get any recognition for it? No.

Top 10 Yankee Prospects For 2011

2010-11-08T22:08:00.001-08:00

It seems like every time after, right before, or in the middle of the season people start publishing lists of their top 10 Yankee Prospects. Well, now its my turn. Here's my list of the pinstripes of tomorrow:

1. Jesus Montero, C, 20

This one should surprise no one. Jesus is the Yankees' best hitting prospect since Derek Jeter and should rank within the top three prospects in all of baseball this year. Montero's been described as having "the best bat in the minor leagues" and this year, he'll be taking it to the show. While Jesus is a clear number one, it begins to get a bit cloudy from here on out.

2. Manny Banuelos, LHP, 19

ManBan started in the Arizona Fall League Showcase and received a glowing report from Keith Law for his performance. Banuelos ranges from the low to high 90s with his fastball, and compliments it with a nasty change and good curveball. What really sets him apart though is his demeanor and his free and easy delivery. Though there have been questions about his height (only 5'10"), the kid's only 19 and is a lefty. He has future-ace written all over him.

3. Gary Sanchez, C, 17

The second coming of the second coming, Sanchez has been repeatedly compared to Jesus Montero due to his insane bat and not-so-stellar defense. What has been more un-noticed though is that some people actually think Sanchez could be better then Montero. Gary hit .353/.419/.597 in the Gulf Coast League as a 17-year-old. He was then promoted to Staten Island where he had a .759 OPS. Bottom line: kid can mash. Plus he has the potential to improve behind the dish. Lookout.

4. Dellin Betances, RHP, 22

It's all there physically for Betances. He's got a plus, plus fastball and nasty secondary pitches. The huge (6'8") Brooklyn native definitely looks the part of an ace and the only thing holding him back is his injury history. Dellin is a Tommy John survivor, but returned last year to put up career highs in 3 very essential categories: IP (85.1), K/9 (11.4), and BB/9 (2.3). If he can stay healthy and retain good control, he's definitely going to be a number one.

5. Austin Romine, C, 21

The last of the Yankees big-time catching prospects and the battery mate to Banuelos in the AFL showcase game, Romine's got the stuff to catch in the bigs. Austin's bat isn't other-worldly like those of Jesus Montero and Gary Sanchez, but he can still hit pretty good. Unlike Montero and Sanchez though, the kid's above-average behind the dish. A lot of people view him as either the Yankees' future starting catcher, or very good trade bait.

6. Andrew Brackman, RHP, 26

The final Killer B of this list, Brackman had never put up great numbers for the Yanks before '10. However in 2010, Andrew shot off the line and pitched so well that he earned himself a promotion to the show during September. While Girardi (annoyingly) never put Brackman in a game, it was a good reward for a kid who's worked hard. Brackman's got the stuff to be a solid #2 or #3 starter in the show as long as he can retain his command.

7. Slade Heathcott, CF, 21

The 2009 first-round pick by the Yankees put up decent numbers in his first season in pro-ball, but the Yankees project him much higher then that. Physically, he very much resembles Brett Gardner. Unlike Gardner however, Slade's predicted to develop much more power and could turn into a good 5-tool outfielder.

8. Hector Noesi, RHP, 24

The lone Yankee rep on the Futures World team, Noesi has great fastball command, however he is lacking a real put-away secondary pitch. He's struggled a lot with his curveball, but it definitely could be improved. A lot of people view him sort of as an Alfredo Aceves type pitcher or trade bait.

9. Adam Warren, RHP, 23

Kid has great control to go along with rising velocity. Highlight of the 2010 season came when he struck out 15 (!!) in one game for AA Trenton. Posted a 2.66 FIP in A Tampa and Trenton combined. Possible 2 or 3 starter but a sleeper prospect for sure.

10. Brandon Laird, 3B/LF, 23

Laird is an interesting case because he is learning to play multiple positions. As a third basemen, he holds almost no value to the Yankees other than maybe a power bat off the bench. However, he is trying to learn to play the outfield in order to make himself more versatile and claim a solid bench job for the Yanks. Plus, dude can rake! Laird won the Eastern League MVP despite getting bumped up to triple-A near the end of the season. He hit .281/.336/.482 with 25 HRs and 102 RBIs overall. Named the Yankees' Minor League MVP by River Ave. Blues.

Yanks To "Overpay" On Jeter

2010-11-08T17:45:00.001-08:00

Via a report by Wallace Mathews of ESPN.com, the Yankees are prepared to offer Jeter the big-bucks. While they have yet to make an offer to Jeter, as well as all their other free agent targets, "the Yankees are going to overpay him," said a source with intimate knowledge of the discussions. "The question is, how much[?]"

It was reported that the deal will be for three years, $45-60 million. That's $15-20 million a year, about what was expected. Locking up the captain is one of the Yankees' top priorites this winter, as well as signing Mo, and more pitching (AKA Cliff Lee).

"What If?" - Cano/Kemp Trade

2010-11-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

This is the first post in our "What If?" series. We will be taking a look at past rumored deals and ask what if they went through? What would the Yankees look like today? What would be different?

Beginning in the 2006-2007 offseason, there was a lot of speculation towards a potential Robinson Cano for Matt Kemp deal between the Yankees and Dodgers. The Yankees were desperate for outfield help with Bernie William and Gary Sheffield leaving, Hideki Matsui's legs going away, and don't even get me started on Bubba Crosby. After the '07 season it made even more sense when Joe Torre and Don Mattingly put on Dodger blue. Cano had a very close relationship to both men and people speculated it was the kind of thing they wanted to maintain. It didn't help things when Cano had a down-year in '08, hitting .271/.305/.410.

To all of us at the time however, this seemed like the usual "one young player for another young player" deal and it sort of felt like it was just going to go away within a few weeks. However, it hung around for a while and didn't actually get cut-off until after the 2008 season.

But what if it had gone through? What if Robby had gone to LA and Kemp to the Big Apple? Well let's talk about the very simplest of details first: uniform numbers. Robby currently wears #24 but switched after '06 from 22. Had he been shipped to LA, he probably would be sporting the double-twos whereas either Kemp or Joe Giardi would have to pick another number. But on to the more pressing matters...

The Yankees would be without a second basemen and would probably have to turn to the free agent market for help. Lets say this deal goes down after the 2007 season, when the rumors reached their climax. The best free agent second basemen that year were Luis Castillo, Jerry Hairston Jr., Kaz Matsui, and Mark Loretta. Now, it doesn't take much to realize how bad those four would pan out. Castillo probably would've been the most appealing out of that bunch, and well, yeah...not even gonna go there. Hairston still had some good years in him and probably could've been productive over there at second. As for Kaz and Loretta, they were at the end of their primes and have both become wash-ups since then. Clearly, none of these players come even close to what Robby has given the Yankees and what he will continue to do in the future.

While the trade would've left a void at second, the Yankees outfield would've been much stronger for the time-being. They would have Damon in left, Kemp in center, and Abreu in right. That is a damn good outfield, however, it isn't built for the long-haul. Abreu seems to be done now with '08 being his last real productive year. Damon, as we all know, was a great contributer for the Yankees, who cut him loose after the 2009 season and at the right time. Kemp too has had his struggles, hitting only .249/.310/.450 this past year.

This star-studded outfield would also have many negative effects besides aging players too. With Melky Cabrera in center, the Yankees definitely had a hole, but that weakness had a silver lining, and its name is Brett Gardner. When Cabrera began to struggle, the Yanks slotted in Gardner, and vice-versa. If the Yankees had Johnny, Matt, and Bobby, it's very unlikely that Gardner would get a real shot in the outfield and thus 2010 could've been a much different year for the Yankees in left field.

Having Kemp in the outfield also means different stories for the rest of the fielders we know and love today. Swisher was acquired after 2008 in hopes of having him as the everyday first basemen, but switched to the outfield once Teixeira came aboard. Before him, Xavier Nady was the rightfielder after having been acquired before the 2008 trade deadline. The Yankees got Nady because of the problems in their outfield which wouldn't of been there had they had Kemp. No Nady, means the Yankees probably would've gone hunting for a new rightfielder come the 2008-2009 offseason. Do they still get Swisher? Maybe, maybe not. We easily could've wound up with Brad Hawpe or maybe even Bobby Abreu for at least one year too many. Curtis Granderson also wouldn't of been acquired because there would be no gap for him to fill. The Yankees' outfield today would probably look as follows: Johnny Damon in left, Matt Kemp in center, and Brad Hawpe in right. Not pretty.

So who won this deal? Obviously the Yankees did. They were able to upgrade their outfield to the point where it stands today as one of the best in the bigs. Plus, they were able to do so without giving up the best second basemen in baseball. That is a win by any standards.

2010 All-MLB 25-Man Roster

2010-11-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

In my last post, The 2010 All-MLB Team, I picked out the best players at each position from last year. Now, it's time to make a 25-man roster out of all that. *Keep in mind that I had to add some relief pitchers in order to fill this all out.

Starting Lineup:

1. Carlos Gonzalez LF

2. Troy Tulowitzki SS

3. Josh Hamilton CF

4. Joey Votto 1B

5. Robinson Cano 2B

6. Joe Mauer C

7. Adrian Beltre 3B

8. Vladimir Guerrero DH

9. Jayson Werth RF

Starting Rotation:

1. Roy Halladay RHP

2. Felix Hernandez RHP

3. CC Sabathia LHP

4. Adam Wainwright RHP

5. David Price LHP

Bullpen:

LRP: Darren O'Day

MRP: Daniel Bard

MRP: Mike Adams

LOOGY: Hong-Chih Kuo

LOOGY: Matt Thornton

SU: Joaquin Benoit

CL: Mariano Rivera

Bench:

1. Buster Posey C

2. Miguel Cabrera 1B

3. Omar Infante IF

4. Carl Crawford OF

The 2010 All-MLB Team

2010-11-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

First off, I would like to apologize for not posting throughout this season, I have been very busy and Bronx Rumors has been put on the back-burner. I'm hoping to step it back up now. So on that note, I would like to present to you the 2010 All-MLB Team:

Catcher: Joe Mauer MIN

As far as choosing players go, this one is a no-brainer. Mauer led all catchers with a .327 BA, a .402 OBP, and .871 OPS. Add to that Mauer's .469 SLG and you have yourself the best catcher in the major leagues for the last 5 years.

Runners up: Buster Posey SF, Victor Martinez BOS

First Base: Joey Votto CIN

As easy as Mauer was, this one was very difficult. Miguel Cabrera by the numbers was the best first basemen last year. However, he and Votto are not very far apart. Cabrera's line was .328/.420/.622 and Votto's was .324/.424/.600. The factor that I think really sets them apart is defense. Votto is a superb defensive first basemen and could even win the gold glove. Cabrera on the other hand is one of the slowest, most awkward first basemen you'll see. Advantage: Joey Votto

Runners up: Miguel Cabrera DET, Albert Pujols STL, Aubrey Huff SF

Second Base: Robinson Cano NYY

I don't think I need to say anything other than "step aside Chase Utley, there's a new sheriff in town."

Runners up: Omar Infante ATL, Martin Prado ATL, Dan Uggla FLA

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki COL

Tulowitzki is a player i'd trade for in a heartbeat. He has all the tools. He hit for a .315/.381/.568 line and complimented that with a .949 OPS, 27 HRs, and 95 RBIs. As far as shortstops go, no one reaches his level of completeness.

Runners up: Hanley Ramirez FLA, Starlin Castro CHC

Third Base: Adrian Beltre BOS

This one may surprise some folks, but Beltre really was the best third basemen in all of baseball last year, not some guy named Evan Longoria. Beltre's line was .321/.365/.553, leading the majors in batting average and SLG. He also was the only 3B to get an OPS over .900 (his was .919). Top that off with 28 HRs and 102 RBIs and you have yourself a winner.

Runners up: Ryan Zimmerman WSH, Evan Longoria TB

Left Field: Carlos Gonzalez COL

Just a quick note, because of the insane depth of left fielders and sheer openness of center fielders, I have decided to call Josh Hamilton a center fielder for simplicity's sake. CarGo had a monster year hitting .336/.376/.598 while leading LFs in BA, SLG, OPS, HRs, Rs, Hs, and RBIs. Needless to say, the dude's a beast.

Runners up: Carl Crawford TB, Brett Gardner NYY, Ryan Braun MIL

Center Field: Josh Hamilton TEX

He's being put here because the CF race was dreadful and he played center throughout the postseason. As for my reasoning, try this: he led all MLB in batting average (.359) and SLG (.633) and led all CFs in pretty much every offensive category: BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, and he led in Hs, HRs, and RBIs despite missing about a month of the season. American League MVP right there.

Runners up: Wouldn't be fair to say anyone was even close

Right Field: Jayson Werth PHI

The soon-to-be-free agent had a monster 2010, leading RFs in SLG and OPS while batting .296, reaching base at a .388 clip, belting 27 HRs and driving in 85. Sin-Shoo Choo was close, but his numbers just weren't as good as Werth's.

Runners up: Sin-Shoo Choo CLE, Nick Markakis BAL, Nick Swisher NYY

Starting Pitcher: Roy Halladay PHI

What began as a very close race, Doc Halladay emerged as the easy favorite for the NL Cy Young. He was 5th in the majors with a 2.44 ERA, first in WHIP (1.04), tied for first in wins (21), 5th in Ks, and first in innings pitched. You could definitely make a case for Felix, but i'm gonna go with the Doc. Dude threw a perfect game and a post-season no-hitter in the same year!

Runners up: Felix Hernandez SEA, Adam Wainwright STL, Josh Johnson FLA, CC Sabathia NYY, David Price TB

Relief Pitcher: Mo

Choosing Mariano as the best relief pitcher is like the instant replay rules in baseball: a call can only be changed if there is indisputable evidence. And there is none. Sure, Rafael Soriano had a great year and Brian Wilson became crazy-popular with the "fear the beard" campaign, but none of them can touch the mystique that lies in Rivera's hand, body, number, and name.

Runners up: Rafael Soriano TB, Brian Wilson SF

Designated Hitter: Vladimir Guerrero TEX

'Ol Vladdy can still hit. Guerrero had a .300/.345/.496 line for the Texas Rangers, knocking in 115 RBIs and knotching a .841 OPS. He had a damn good year in the DH spot.

Runners up: Luke Scott BAL, Hideki Matsui LAA, David Ortiz BOS

2010 Yankees Roster: Mine vs. Actual

2010-03-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

I recently read this post and it got me thinking about how I would put together the 2010 Yankees roster. Note that the *s mean the players definitely will be on the active roster when the season starts.

Pitching Rotation:

1. CC Sabathia*

2. A.J. Burnett*

3. Andy Pettitte*

4. Javier Vazquez*

5. Phil Hughes

Bullpen:

CL Mariano Rivera*

SU Joba Chamberlain

MRP David Robertson*

LHP Damaso Marte*

LRP Alfredo Aceves

LRP/MRP/SU Chan Ho Park*

Starting Lineup:

1. SS Derek Jeter*

2. DH Nick Johnson*

3. 1B Mark Teixeira*

4. 3B Alex Rodriguez*

5. 2B Robinson Cano*

6. C Jorge Posada*

7. CF Curtis Granderson*

8. RF Nick Swisher*

9. LF Brett Gardner*

Bench:

IF Ramiro Pena*

C Francisco Cervelli*

OF Randy Winn*

1B Juan Miranda

OF Greg Golson

Notes:

I decided to go with an extra person on the bench (Golson, who is a speed-demon and solid outfielder) rather then an extra arm in the bullpen (Melancon would be my next pick) because of the flexibility of Chan Ho Park. He can eat up innings, pitch dominant set-up relief, or anything in between. I also felt more comfortable having a dedicated pinch-runner (Golson) and a pinch-hitter (Miranda, who I badly want to see in the majors on a regular basis).
I don't really want to get into the whole Hughes/Joba thing, but I will give my 2 cents. After seeing Joba and Hughes in both roles, it seems like Joba is better in the bullpen, and, while he certainly was better in the pen than as a starter, Hughes is a more polished starter, with more then a fastball-slider combination. We saw it last year during the playoffs. Hughes began to struggle in the 8th inning, so Girardi instead handed the ball to Joba who took up his beast-mentality. So, to be clear: In the future, I see Phil Hughes as a Rick Porcello-type pitcher, and Joba Chamberlain as the heir to Mariano Rivera as the Yankees' closer.
Some people have been talking about putting Granderson in left and Gardner in center, which does seem like a good idea to me. Joe Girardi called Gardner "one of the best defensive centerfielders in the game." On the other hand, people have been doubting Granderson defensively for years (despite this play) and his production resembles that of a corner-outfielder. That being said however, the reason Gardner's not in center is because he could very easily fall into a slump and have to be replaced. The Yankees do not want to see a Marcus Thames or a Jamie Hoffman rooming around in center field and are just going to stick with the security that Granderson brings. Besides, it can't hurt to have a centerfielder that hits 30 homeruns.

Around The Horn

2009-10-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

Whenever a Yankee pitcher records a punch out, Jorge Posada throws the baseball around the horn where it reaches some pretty legendary hands. That baseball hits the leather owned by Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira, otherwise known as possibly the greatest infield in baseball history.

The members of this infield have already accomplished some impressive feats: Jeter and Cano are the first double-play combination to both record 200 hits, Alex Rodriguez recorded his 12th straight season with 30+ HRs and 100+ RBIs, that's a record in itself, and Mark Teixeira is already notching switch-hitting records. Each of these are pretty amazing in themselves, however it's the combination of the three that separates this infield from those of years past.

Sure you could make the case for Murderer's Row, the Big Red Machine or even the 2008 Florida Marlins (who each hit at least 25 HRs), but none come anywhere close to the power that is the 2009 Yankees infield. A-Rod and Captain clutch are both first-ballot Hall of Famers, and Teix and Robbie could theoretically join them. All four have/are putting up incredible numbers in their career and I doubt I need to go into much detail there. If you add in the great defense of all of them (and the World Series ring they could possibly receive this season) it puts them over the top as the greatest of all time.

Personally, I wonder if Jorge, Jose, or even Francisco Cervelli ever thinks about who he's tossing to when he throws around the horn.

How Good Is Jesus Montero?

2009-10-05T20:29:00.001-07:00

Earlier today, EJ Fagan wrote a story on just how good Jesus Montero is. I'd like to add to that by showing you the minor league statistics of two catchers:

Player A:

G: 257

PA: 1071

BA: .325

H: 318

2B: 65

HR: 37

RBI: 176

OBP: .379

SLG: .509

OPS: .888

Player B:

G: 285

PA: 1210

BA: .330

H: 350

2B: 62

HR: 9

RBI: 169

OBP: .407

SLG: .426

OPS: .807

Now I know what you're probably thinking: these players are almost equal. Player A seems to hit more for power and player B hits a little more for average, but they're almost the same. Well guess what. Player A is Jesus Montero, and player B is none other than MVP-to-be Joe Mauer. (Keep in mind these are the career minor league stats for both players).

Yes, in fact, Jesus Montero has outhit the great Joe Mauer. Despite playing in 28 less games and notching 141 less plate appearances, Montero has a whopping 28 more HRs than more, he's driven in 8 more runs, hit 1 more double, and his OPS is .081 points higher than Mauers. Now that's pretty damn impressive if you ask me.

The Johan Santana Trade Revisited

2009-08-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

On February 2nd, 2008, the Minnesota Twins traded LHP Johan Santana to the New York Mets for four prospects. All seemed right with the world after it: the Mets, a year after they blew a historic lead to the Phillies, acquired one of the best pitchers in all of baseball in Santana and everyone thought they were primed for the post-season.

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry (both teams considered front-runners for Santana at different times) didn't dramatically shift in one direction since neither team nabbed Johan.

Plus the Twins felt that they got some very good prospects in return for their ace pitcher.

Oh how we were wrong. Let's play this thing out with the winners and losers as they stand today in 2009:

Winners:

New York Mets:

The Mets acquire Johan Santana and then immediately signed him to a 6-year, $137.5mm contract, the largest contract for any pitcher at the time. This would prove to be a great move as Santana went 16-7 with a 2.53 ERA and 206 K's in 234.1 IP. He would finnish 2nd in the NL Cy Young voting to Tim Lincecum of the Giants. This year he's been good as well pitching to the tune of 3.13 ERA, .01 higher than that of his career. However, due to injuries to other players and bad offense surrounding Santana, the Mets failed to reach the postseason in 2008 and it looks as though the same ending will result here in 2009.

New York Yankees:

By not trading for Santana, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman was bashed by the New York media. However, the move not to trade for the ace lefty has to proved to have been possibly the best move of Cashman's career; Due to the prospects he didn't give up at the time.

The Yankees top offer was Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, Jeffery Marquez, Ian Kennedy and Jhonny Nunez.

By not making the deal, the Yankees spun those prospects around for great things. Now the Yankees have C.C. Sabathia/Mark Teixiera in place of Johan Santana (they wouldn't of been able to sign all three), Melky Cabrera has been playing a good centerfield and is having a solid bounce-back season, Phil Hughes is finally realizing his potential as a dominate set-up man, and Marquez and Nunez were both traded to the White Sox for Nick Swisher, the Yankees powerful right fielder. All has worked out extremely well for the Yankees.

Boston Red Sox:

While Brian Cashman's move not to deal for Santana was good, Red Sox GM Theo Epstien's may have been even better. The Red Sox top offer looked like this: Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, Michael Bowden.

By not trading for Santana, they now have an dominate pitcher in Lester, one of the best base-stealers in the game in Ellsbury, Lowrie's a below-average shortstop, and Bowden has huge potential (despite a terrible performance against the Yankees on Friday.

Losers:

Minnesota Twins:

Yes it's true, the Twins, the team that dealt Santana are our one-and-only losers in this deal. They held out on Santana for too long and wound up taking the worst package on the table. Carlos Gomez, despite playing terrific defense and having amazing speed, never gets a chance to show off that speed because he never gets on base. His OBP his barely over .300 while his BA is constantly in the low to mid .200s.

The Twins recently released Phillip Humber so he's a dud. Mulvey has pitched a little in the majors and hasn't been that bad and Deolis Guerra is ranked as the Twins #12 prospect.

However, what's even worse is what the Twins didn't trade for: both the Red Sox and the Yankees had great offers on the table but the Twins kept asking for more.

With the Yankees, the Twins kept asking for Phil Hughes AND Joba Chamberlain, even though the Yankees stated clearly that Joba was off-limits.

With the Red Sox it was even worse, the Twins were asking for Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, AND Jacoby Ellsbury. The Red Sox were never going to do it. Plus the Twins just should've asked for Lester and Ellsbury, both of whom were much better better than Buchholz.

Bottom line, the Twins messed up and the Mets, Yankees, and Red Sox all capitalized...big time!

Yanks Should Sign El Duque

2009-08-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

I know I already have proposed this idea before, but I still believe that the Yankees should sign Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. Despite getting released by the Texas Rangers earlier this year because he "didn't show enough velocity or command," I believe he could still pitch in the big leagues. It seems to me that he could benefit from a Bronx return like many players have in the past.

However, the bottom line is this: the Yankees could use another starter, El Duque's a free agent, and he's a proven winner. He pitches extremely well in the postseason which the Yankees could use if he proves effective over the regular season. In his career, El Duque is 9-3 with a 2.55 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 106.0 innings. The Yankees could use him as their 4th starter and put Joba in the 'pen with Phil Hughes (an idea I've already pitched before). If you do that, you don't have to limit Joba's innings as much in the regular season.

Yankees Outfield Off-Season Plan

2009-08-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

After the news came that there was mutual agreement from Johnny Damon and the Yankees for resigning after the season, it made me think what they could do with their outfield after the season. Here's how it ideally works out in my mind:

1. Yankees outfield has openings

After the Yankees let Hideki Matsui walk to Japan after the season and Johnny Damon going to free agency, it will leave their outfield weak offensively (no Yankee fan wants to see a Melky/Gardner, Austin Jackson, Nick Swisher offense). They will probably look to sign a free agent.

2. Rays let Crawford go

With Carl Crawford set to become a free agent and Desmond Jennings waiting in the wings as the heir to the stolen base throne, it appears as though Tampa Bay will not pick up Crawford's $10MM option for 2010. So with Crawford set to become a free agent and the opening in the Yankees outfield, it makes for a perfect storm (just like Joe Mauer in 2011).

3. Yankees sign Damon, Crawford

The Yankees make a big splash in free agency signing Johnny Damon and Carl Crawford. They get Damon for two more years and $18mm and then nab Crawford for a 5-year, $64mm contract. The Yankees also resign Xavier Nady for the bench.

4. Giardi: "Were not ready for Ajax yet"

Joe Girardi tells the media at Crawford's press conference that the Yankees will not call up Austin Jackson. This causes multiple Yankee writers to start complaining about Girardi at which point Cashman reassures them "were sticking with Joe." Hank Stienbrenner (who breaks free from the stranglehold that the Yankees PR has on him) complains that "Ajax will start."

5. Spring Training Starts

Spring Training in Tampa starts with Ajax and Melky duking it out for the starting centerfield job which Ajax wins.

6. Regular Season

The regular season begins and the Yankees roster looks like this (the Yankees have accepted the fact that Damon is now a power hitter and turn him into the 5th place hitter and DH):

Lineup:

1. Carl Crawford LF

2. Derek Jeter SS

3. Mark Teixeira 1B

4. Alex Rodriguez 3B

5. Johnny Damon DH

6. Robinson Cano 2B

7. Jorge Posada C

8. Nick Swisher RF

9. Austin Jackson CF

Bench:

Francisco Cervelli

Xavier Nady

Melky Cabrera

Ramiro Pena

Rotation:

1. CC Sabathia

2. A.J. Burnett

3. Justin Duchscherer (the Yankees will sign him or another pitcher if Pettitte retires)

4. Joba Chamberlain

5. Phil Hughes (or Zach McAllister or Aceves if Hughes stays in the 'pen)

Bullpen:

1. Phil Coke-Lefty Specialist

2. Huston Street-Set-up Man

3. Brian Bruney-Reliever

4. Aceves/Hughes/McAllister/Melancon

5. David "K-Rob" Robertson-Reliever

6. Mariano Rivera-Closer

*A note: The Nady/Marte trade hasn't worked out that well. Both are pretty much out for the season while Jose Tabata is raking and Jeff Kartasens and Ross Oldendorf have both been pitching very well (Ross would've been a nice 5th starter).

Pat Venditte On E:60

2009-08-19T11:39:00.001-07:00

Venditte's one-of-a-kind. I really hope he gets to the majors and that the Yankees don't trade him for some mediocre player.

Yankees Sign 3 Draft Picks

2009-08-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

The Yankees have signed their 1st, 2nd and 5th round draft picks today according to Jim Callis and Keith Law.

1st Round Pick: Slade Heathcott

The Yankees signed their 27th pick overall for $2.2MM, that's about $1.9MM over the recommended amount. Heathcott will play as an outfielder in proball and is a legitimate 5-tool player.

2nd Round Pick: JR Murphy

Murphy joins in a long line of Yankees catching prospects (J. Montero, F. Cervelli, G. Sanchez, A. Romine) after signing for probably 7 figures. Murhpy was an outfielder but converted to catcher due to athleticism.

5th Round Pick: Caleb Cotham

The Yankees signed the righty out of Vanderbilt for $675,000. That's just $5,000 short of the most in the 5th round and 4 times the recommended amount. Cotham was bothered by a sore knee in the Spring, but didn't allow an earned run in the Cape Cod league and threw 91-94 with his fastball.

2009-08-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

What More Could You Ask For?

2009-08-08T07:15:00.001-07:00

What more could you ask for from this series so far. On Thursday, the Yankees and Red Sox slugged it out in a 13-6 Yankee win. The two teams combined 19 runs, 26 hits, and 6 home runs.

However, the story was much different on Friday as fans (that watched all 15 innings) witnessed quite possibly the greatest pitched game in Red Sox-Yankees history as the two teams held each other scoreless until the bottom of the 15th. At that point, the only pitcher left in the Boston bullpen was rookie pitcher Junichi Tazawa who had never before pitched in the majors. So that, combined with the fact that Alex Rodriguez was overdue for a home run (he hadn't it one in a career-high 70+ ABs) set the stage for a 2-run walk-off home run by A-Rod who had been booed early in that game.

So what's next? What could they possibly do to build on these first two games. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking no-hitter? They've certainly come close: remember August 29th and 30th 2007? Plus it's not out of the question with CC on the mound.

Papi Was A No-Brainer

2009-08-03T11:33:00.001-07:00

For years Yankee fans were tormented by those of the Sox for all the pinstriped players using PEDs. But no longer must we just look back at them blank-slated, for now we have a comeback. His name: David Ortiz.

When the Minnesota Twins released Ortiz after the 2002 season, they did so knowing that they were giving up an average player. However, he was no where near the level that he was at when he arrived in Boston. "Big Papi" hit 58 homers combined with the Twins over 6 seasons. That's only 4 more home runs than he hit in the 2006 season alone. Ortiz never drove in more than 75 runs in the Twin Cities, but has accomplished that feat in every single season in Boston and had driven in more than 100 runs in everyone until last year when he "only" knocked in 89. His SLG%, which always hovered below .500, rose up to the mid .600s on the BoSox.

It really was no secret that something happened when he changed cities and it definitely wasn't the stadium. Before joining the Red Sox, Papi was a terrible 1-for-23 at Fenway with only 2 RBIs and no home runs since 2001.

At this point, it was pretty apparent that Ortiz was probably taking PEDs, but the way he talked about them, he made some people think otherwise. David was one the biggest voices against steroids in baseball that you would've never thought he would have been taking them himself. However, that has now turned him into one of the largest hypocrites to ever play baseball (unless Wade Boggs turns up on a list as well).

The only thing that remains is for Papi to admit it, something he has yet to do. And if he doesn't, that'll mean just another thing that A-Rod has surpassed him in.

Yanks Primed For The Postseason

2009-07-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

Now while the challenge remains of actually getting to the postseason, the look ahead to it looks extremely promising.

The Yankees will only need 3 or 4 pitchers. They could go with a rotation of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte. That's a team that would strike fear into the hearts of any opposing manager. Plus, if they were to acquire an arm today or tomorrow like Jarrod Washburn (no news on him at the moment), they could slide him in there as well.

Now what this also does, it allows the Yankees to put Joba back in the bullpen where you would have Hughes, Joba, and Rivera to end the game. That's quite possibly the most dominant bullpen the Yankees have ever had in the postseason. Think what it would mean. The starters would only have to go six innings, at which point you could bring in Hughes, then Joba, and finish it off with the greatest closer in postseason history. Plus, with the starters only having to go six, it gives them rest for when they'll have to pitch more.

You combine that with one of the best offenses in the majors, you got yourself a World Series champion.

Gardner Breaks Thumb; Heads To DL

2009-07-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

After sliding hard into second base yesterday, Brett Gardner came up looking fine. However, he wasn't, but he even hit a triple and made two great catches. However, after the game he told Girardi it was bothering him so after some x-rays, they discovered that he had a broken thumb.

Gardner was hitting for average and led all rookies in stolen bases. The Yankees will call up Jonathan Albaladejo to take his place, but the Yankees will need to call-up another outfielder later. However, that outfielder will not be top prospect Austin Jackson as Joe Girardi pointed out.

Yanks Looking Down

2009-07-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

As the title says the Yankees are looking Down (at Scott Downs and the Red Sox). With a growing 2 1/2 game lead in the AL East, the Yankees have been scouting Toronto's LHP Scott Downs.

According to numerous sources, the Yankees have had scouts in Toronto monitoring Downs, not Roy Halladay like most teams.

Downs is one of the most under-appreciated relievers in all of baseball and is posting a 2.08 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 30.1 IP.

A Look Ahead: Catchers

2009-07-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

In part three of "A Look Ahead" we look at catchers. In case you missed them, heres part one where we looked at pitchers and here's part two where the focus was on infielders.

Catchers:

The possible need(s): Back-up catcher

The options: Francisco Cervelli, Jose Molina, Ramon Castro, Gregg Zaun, Bengie Molina (unlikely)

The Yankees are going to need a back-up catcher next year. With Jorge Posada getting older, they're going to need that catcher even more.

The two most likely candidates are Jose Molina and Francisco Cervelli. The way Cervelli played this year, I think he'll get the nod over the aging Molina. While Molina still is one of the better defensive catchers in the league, Cervelli is exceptional behind the dish and brings more to the table hitting-wise. Plus, he's bubbling with energy and all the Yankees pitchers seem to love him, especially CC Sabathia (and you know the Yanks want to keep him happy).

However, if they don't want to pursue one of those options, they could turn to a veteren such as Gregg Zaun or Ramon Castro. Castro is the better hitting of the two, but Zaun could help bring up the young pitchers (something that Jorge Posada hasn't done that great a job at).

However, in the end I think the Yanks will just give the job to Cervelli, after all, the front office loves him.

A Look Ahead: Infielders

2009-07-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of "A Look Ahead." Today we look at infielders:

The possible need(s): Utility Man

The options: Eric Hinske, Cody Ransom, Ramiro Pena, Mark DeRosa, Felipe Lopez, Bobby Crosby, Marco Scutaro, John McDonald.

As proven by recent teams that reached the World Series (Boston in '07, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia in '08), a good bench is a key to success. The Yankees have already improved their bench dramatically this year with the acquisition of Eric Hinske and could make it even better this offseason.

They could retain the services of Hinske and Ransom (they don't have to worry about Pena) and then have the three of them duke it out in Spring Training with probably two of them making it to the big league club.

Another option would be to sign a free agent. The best looking name out there is that of Mark DeRosa. DeRosa is the definition of a utility man. He can play all four infield spots as well as the outfield. You combine that with a .300 BA and 20 HRs, you have yourself the best benchwarmer in the league. However, there are a couple of things going against DeRosa landing in the Bronx. In the past, he has expressed an interest in starting, something he was able to do in Cleveland. However, he would not be able to start in the Bronx (unless an outfield spot opened up. More about that later). A lot of other teams will be interested as well so the Yankees would have to out bid about 15 other teams, which they've managed to do plenty of times in the past.

They could also go after one of the other names out there. Lopez and Scutaro are certainly very attractive options. Or they could look at Bobby Crosby (remember his name was floated out there in trade rumors when A-Rod went down). Bottom line, Yanks have plenty of nice options when it comes to a utility man (or too).

A Look Ahead: Pitchers

2009-07-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

With the season passed the halfway point now, the needs of teams become apparent. Now most contenders look to the MLB Trade Deadline on July 31st to solve there needs, but I'd like to give you a look ahead to the off-season. Please note that these forecasts could change depending on trades made by the Yankees or other clubs.

Starting Pitching:

The options: Erik Bedard, Justin Duchscherer, Rich Harden, John Lackey, Cliff Lee, Jason Marquis, Brett Myers, Brad Penny, Andy Pettitte, Joel Pineiro, Jarrod Washburn, Roy Halladay.

All of the pitchers above are viable options for the Yankees. The club will have 1 or (barring a Chien-Ming Wang comeback) 2 open spots in their rotation. Andy Pettitte sort of holds one of those spots as he would probably receive a contract offer if he doesn't retire at the end of the year. If Chien-Ming Wang (or a Yankee prospect like Zach McAllister) can pitch effectively, they could also receive a spot. However, I would expect there to be at least one open spot for the Yankees to bring in another starter.

The most likely candidates would seem to be Duchscherer, Marquis, or Washburn, but don't rule out the others. The Yankees are already scouting the A's as they look at Duchscherer and Matt Holliday (more about him later) for a possible trade. He seems a good candidate as he's young and can keep the ball down and in the park. The deciding factor will be if he can remain healthy or not.

I think Marquis would be a good pickup, however, I'm not sure the Yankees will pull the trigger. He's more of a fly ball pitcher, which doesn't go well in the new stadium. Plus something tells me they're more likely to go after some of the bigger names.

Next up is Washburn. At 35, Washburn might be a bit old, but he's also putting up some terrific numbers in Seattle. His 2.87 ERA is no joke, and if the M's don't trade him this summer, he could wind up in the Bronx.

Some of the other big names on the list the Yankees could avoid for other reasons. Josh Beckett could be a free agent, but the Red Sox will most likely lock him up. Same goes for John Lackey and the Halos. It's a little different with Rich Harden and Erik Bedard, both of which you would never feel comfortable giving a large contract do to their poor health histories. Cliff Lee's Cy Young season is probably well behind him and I don't think Brad Penny or Brett Myers's personalities would fit in the Bronx.

The one other name on the list is Cardinals pitcher Joel Pineiro. After a tough start to the season, Pineiro has really rebounded nicely. He's a sinker-ball pitcher, which could bode well in the Bronx Bomb-Zone and I think the Yanks could make a run for him.

Finally Roy Halladay. I'm kind of tired of rumors about him but basically, I don't think the Jays will be trading him to the Bronx any time soon.

Relief Pitching:

The options: Mike Gonzalez, Kevin Gregg, Fernando Rodney, Rafael Soriano, Jose Valverde, Billy Wagner, Chad Qualls, Huston Street, Dannys Baez.

The Yanks would love to have any of these pitchers on their roster. If they were able to sign one of them, they could send them to the 8th inning and move Phil Hughes back into the starting role.

They could sign a LHP like Wagner or Gonzalez to replace the unfortunate Damaso Marte. Or they could acquire someone like Chad Qualls or Huston Street through a trade. If young guys like Hughes, Robertson, and Melancon step up then they could stick with them.

The Yankees really have a lot of options when it comes to the bullpen this offseason.

Shelley Second in Triple-A Derby

2009-07-13T22:40:00.001-07:00

Shelley Duncan came in second in today's Triple-A Home Run Derby:

Shelley came in second to Chad Huffman of the hometown Portland Beavers......Kevin Tracy, a local high school student, actually made it to the semi-finals after blasting 8 home runs in the first round.....Shelley got robbed by the umpire in the final round when he called a home run foul. The catcher, pitcher, fans, and of course Shelley all thought the ball was fair......I also learned the hard way that he doesn't like to sign autographs and is very intense during the game.

Could the Yankees Make a Call to the Doc?

2009-07-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today, Ken Rosenthal reported that Blue Jays G.M. J.P. Richardi will listen to offers for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. If Halladay reaches the market, he would definitely be the best pitcher available. Rosenthal also noted that the Yankees could make a bid for him using a package of young players, one that could include Phil Hughes, a minor-league catcher like Austin Romine, and a 3rd prospect.

I think this deal would be a great move for the Yankees. If you dealt Hughes, you could move Joba into the 8th inning and once again have a bridge to Mo Rivera (so much for the Bruney plan). This would free up a spot in the rotation where you could plug in Halladay. Imagine what the Yankees pitching would look like: You have two Cy Young winners in Roy Halladay and CC Sabathia. Then you have the nastiest pitcher in the majors in A.J. Burnett. If Wang can return to his former self than you have the best 4th in the majors (if not, you could move a Zach McCallister into the rotation in his place and deal him for prospects). And Andy Pettitte can still pitch as evidence by his team-leading 8 wins.

The bullpen would also benefit with that move. By putting Joba back in, you end teams hopes when losing after seven. Plus, if Bruney can regain his form you can end the game after the 6th inning. Imagine how many wins that would save for pitchers that get taken out early.

Now losing a guy like Romine (they should definitely deal him over Jesus) would be a blow to the organization, but it wouldn't leave them empty-handed as they already have an abundance of catchers in Montero, Cervelli, and newly-drafted J.R. Murphy.

I don't know who the Blue Jays would ask as a third prospect, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be Jesus Montero or Zach McCallister. Maybe they'll take a lower down guy such as Melky Mesa. Or maybe they'll pick a guy to fill a hole like Ramiro Pena or Ed Nunez (they're losing Marco Scutaro soon).

The last scenario is probably the one the Yankees hope for: what if the Blue Jays wanted Chien-Ming Wang? Then the Yanks could deal him, Romine, and I'd say Melky Mesa. Then they could keep Hughes in the bullpen or switch him with Joba. We'll see how the Yankees play this one.

But no matter what they do, they really should try to get the Doc.

Should-Be All-Stars

2009-07-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

With the 2009 All-Star teams set to be announced on Sunday, here's a look at who I feel deserves to start the contest:

American League:

First Base:

1. Justin Morneau MIN

2. Mark Teixeira NYY

3. Carlos Pena TB

Second Base:

1. Ian Kinsler TEX

2. Dustin Pedroia BOS

3. Robinson Cano NYY

Third Base:

1. Evan Longoria TB

2. Scott Rolen TOR

3. Alex Rodriguez NYY

Shortstop:

1. Derek Jeter NYY

2. Jason Bartlett TB

3. Elvis Andrus TEX

Outfield:

1. Jason Bay BOS

2. Torii Hunter LAA

3. Ichiro Suzuki SEA

(NOT Josh Hamilton)

Pitcher:

1. Zach Grienke KC

2. Roy Halladay TOR

3. Edwin Jackson DET

National League:

First Base:

1. Albert Pujols STL

2. Adrian Gonzalez SD

3. Prince Fielder MIL

Second Base:

1. Chase Utley PHI

2. Orlando Hudson LAD

3. Dan Uggla FLA

Third Base:

1. David Wright NYM

2. Chipper Jones ATL

3. Ryan Zimmerman WSH

Shortstop:

1. Hanley Ramirez FLA

2. J.J. Hardy MIL

3. Jack Wilson PIT

Outfield:

1. Ryan Braun MIL

2. Raul Ibanez PHI

3. Justin Upton ARI

Pitcher:

1. Tim Lincecum SF

2. Dan Haren ARI

3. Matt Cain SF

FSN Nick Swisher's a Reliever Now?

2009-06-30T21:57:00.001-07:00

I didn't know the Yankees dealt him...and that he became a pitcher.

Yanks Acquire Hinske

2009-06-30T09:13:00.001-07:00

Some news out of NY, the Yankees have acquired infielder/outfielder/Mark DeRosa-like player Eric Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash and to minor league players.

Hinske, hit .255 with 18 runs, 9 doubles, 1 HR and 11 RBIs in 54 games (13 in right, 6 at first, 3 at third, and 29 pinch-hit appearances. He also played on the 2008 AL Champion Rays, the 2006 and (World Series-winning) 2007 Red Sox, and the 2002-2006 Blue Jays.

He will report to Yankee Stadium which means a roster move will be made for his return. I would think that either Ramiro Pena or Brett Tomko will be sent down or designated for assignment to clear up room.

The Yankees sent over RHP Casey Erickson and OF/C Eric Fryer to the Pirates along with cash for Hinske. The Yankees traded LHP Chase Wright for Fryer earlier this year.

Yanks Win Bidding For Dominican Catcher

2009-06-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

According to George A. King III of the New York Post, the Yankees have agreed to terms with Dominican catching prospect Gary Sanchez. Sanchez, 16, isn't able to sign with a major league team until the international signing period begins on July 2nd. Until then, no deal can be made final. That being said, Sanchez expressed a lot of interest of joining the Yanks and has agreed to a deal which includes a $2.5MM signing bonus.

Sanchez is not expected to hit as well as, fellow international-signing catcher, Jesus Montero, however he is more adapt defensively.

The other international prospect the Yanks are viewing is infielder Miguel Angel Sano who has drawn interest from multiple teams. He will be tougher to sign due to the inflation of competition, but it all depends on how much desire the Yankees have for the young shortstop. After all, they have still not found a decent replacement for when the captain hangs up his pinstripes.

Other Notes:

Despite having sent a scout to watch him, the Yankees show no interest in signing, former Red Sox and Met pitcher, Pedro Martinez. Martinez has been working out for scouts in the dominican republic, but, according to his agent, seeks a deal worth at least $2MM. The Yankees would only be interested if he would be willing to accept a minor-league deal......Yanks' first round pick in this years draft, Slade Heathcott, was with the team the during the Nationals series and took BP while wearing a full uniform. He has yet to sign.....Possible 2010 draft No. 1 pick and S.I. coverboy, Bryce Harper will play for the Yankees this summer against the Red Sox (no not like that). Harper, 16, was one of many players picked for the Yankees to play a Red Sox high school team. Both clubs will choose various high school prospects, put them in uniform, and pin them against each other in Fenway. Harper has expressed a lot of interest in joining the Yankees in the future, listing "Playing in pinstripes" as one of his goals in Sports Illustrated.

Bruney Activated; Yanks DFA Veras

2009-06-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

Before the news, a quick little update: I apologize for having not posted in a while. I had a lot on my plate.

But now onto the real news:

You never really want to claim that one player could determine the fate of your club's season, but that's pretty much what Brian Bruney is to the Yankees. If he stays healthy, the bridge from Startersville to Motown (and I don't mean Detroit) could be renamed from its previous name of "Verascokeandeveryfifthdaysabathia Bridge" to "Brian Bruney." That would go a long way towards pushing the Yankees to a very strong run deep into the postseason.

Today, the first step was taken as Bruney was activated from the disabled list. However, I praise the Yankees for the second part of that move more than the first. For in order to clear up roster space, the Yankees had to DFA RP Jose Veras, a move that was the entire 2009 season in the making.

Veras struggled with his command all season long so it seemed like he was the obvious choice for the boot. The other possible candidates were RHPs David Robertson and Brett Tomko.

Robertson has put up very nice numbers this season and has been probably the most reliable reliever for Joe Girardi. Tomko had good numbers, although his last outing quickly inflated those, and gives the Yanks a lot of versatility in the pen.

In the end, I'm sure that Veras will get picked up by a club in desperate search of relief pitching (like the Nationals who the Yankees kick off a series with in a little over half an hour from now, wouldn't that be interesting if Veras pitched against the Yanks in this series). He's a flamethrower who's still only 28 and could be very attractive to said teams. However, the Yankees got rid of another Kyle Farnsworth-type pitcher in favor of a dominant setup man so it's still a win for them.

Bruney Activated

2009-05-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

Despite the results of a YES Network Quiz (bottom right of the page), Brian Bruney is probably the most important person for the Yankees to get back. There starting rotation can live without Chien-Ming Wang (although he'll be back shortly according to RAB's Chad Jennings) and the Yanks have proven that they're offense is strong enough to absorb the loss of Jorge Posada (who will also be returning soon as he got some running in today). They're bullpen however, has struggled mightily without Brian Bruney. The only really reliable arm out there this year has been that of Phil Coke. The rest have been extremely inconsistent. It'll be nice to get a strong arm to bridge Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees sent down RHP Edwar Ramirez to clear up roster space for Bruney. Ramirez, 28, has a 5.19 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 17.1 IP. He has been criticized mostly for his poor command. Already this season, he's dealt 15 free passes and 6 home runs.

3 Games; 3 Walk-Offs

2009-05-17T13:59:00.001-07:00

You could not ask for a more exciting weekend. The Yankees have played three games of this four game series against the Twins and have had walk-off wins in each of them.

Friday: MIN 4-5 NYY

Hero(es): Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner

Things were looking bleak for the Yankees when Johnny Damon was tossed by HP Umpire Wally Bell. The strike zone was very frustrating for Yankees hitters and it reached its climax when in Johnny Damon's 2 at-bats, he struck out twice looking, both on questionable calls. You could say that Minnesota's loss was all Johnny Damon's fault as his ejection gave way to Brett Gardner. Gardner, who earlier this year lost the starting CF job to Melky Cabrera (stay tuned), went on to go 3-for-3 in that game with his biggest hit being an inside-the-park-home run. Gardner blooped Twins' starter Francisco Liriano's pitch down the LF line and once Denard Span overran it, you knew Gardner would be racing around the bases.

Well that made the score 4-2 Twins, but it would be Gardner again who sparked the Yankees rally as he led off the 9th inning with a triple and then was driven in quickly by Mark Teixiera to make it a one run game. Well after the Twins got 2 more outs and the Yanks added a baserunner, Joe Nathan intentionally walked Robinson Cano to load the bases up for Melky Cabrera. Well the Melk-Man delivered and on the first pitch he saw, blooped a 2-run, walk-off single to end the game.

Saturday: MIN 4-6 NYY

Hero(es): Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixiera

Everywhere around baseball, writers are saying that the person who would benefit most from A-Rod returning to the Yankee lineup would be Mark Teixeira. Well that became very obvious on Saturday as Teixiera went 4-for-4, drove in the Yankees first 4 runs, and ended up a triple shy of the cycle. He raised his batting average over 30 points. In the end however, it would be the higher-paid star that would end the game. In the bottom of the 11th inning, after Mark Teixeira drew a lead-off walk, Alex Rodriguez belted a 2-run, walk-off home run to win the game for the Yankees. It was just A-Rod's second game at the New Yankee Stadium.

Sunday: MIN 2-3 NYY

Hero(es): Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira

What started out as a pitchers dual, this game saw some great defense throughout. After A.J. Burnett loaded the bases with nobody out, the Yankees brought in RHP Jonathan Albaladejo to try to work out of the jam. Well facing Denard Span, he threw a fastball down and in and Span hit a sharp grounder to first. However, Mark Teixeira showcased his defensive abilities as he made a great diving stop, but then (as he was pretty much lying down) made a good through to catcher Kevin Cash to record the second out. The Yankees would get out of the jam and then would also get out of a similar one the following inning.

That meant that in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning when Nick Swisher lined a base hit, the Yankees would pinch-run Brett Gardner. After a Melky Cabrera sac-bunt (the 3rd one of the game after the Yanks had just 8 the rest of the season) Francisco Cervelli hit one back up the middle. But this is when the Twins' great defense struck. The ball hit off of the Twins' lefty as Gardner was approaching third. Well Mijares threw home to Joe Mauer who started running to first and faked a throw. Well that fake was a good one as it caused Gardner to start running home where Mauer made a great diving stop to get him.

That play kept the game tied until the bottom of the 10th when Johnny Damon could wait no longer. After he worked the count full against Jesse Crain (the same pitcher who served up A-Rod's shot a day earlier) Damon got a pitch down and in and he didn't miss it. Johnny cranked it into the second deck (tagged the Johnny zone by a Yankees' broadcaster) to give the Yankees the 3-2 win. It was Damon's second walk-off hit as a member of the Yankees.

Yanks Scouting Darvish

2009-05-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

According NPB Tracker, the Yankees had several scouts watching Yu Darvish earlier this week. The scouts witnessed Darvish hurl his shortest outing of the year: 7 innings. He shut down Orix in Nippon Ham's 10-1 win.

Dispite Darvish not carrying his best stuff with him, he still threw 7 innings of 1 run, 4 hit ball. His fastball topped out at 91 MPH.

The Yankees sent Gene Michael to Japan last year in order to watch Darvish pitch. This story just proves further the Yank's interest in the Japanese righty. Although Yu won't be a free agent until 2014 due to Japan's rules and the fact that he's denied wanting to play in the MLB, many teams still have significant interest in acquiring him down the road.

A-Rod Update

2009-05-08T16:11:00.001-07:00

First AB: On the very first pitch the A-Rod saw this season, he crushed to left field. Welcome back!

Second AB: Unfortunately he struck out in his second AB. It looks like he hasn't seen a Major League curveball in a while. He looked fooled facing Jeremy Guthrie's hook.

Third AB: Once again a K on A-Rod's box. The only difference this time is that it's a backwards one (Also the pitch actually looked a little high and tight).

Fourth AB: Alex got jammed and just hit a weak grounder to short so he's 1-4 but than 1 was big.

Vote Swisher

2009-05-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

With the 2009 All-Star Game balloting already underway (wayyyyyyyyy too early there MLB) I realized that they have the opening day lineups only. This means that Nick Swisher is not on the ballot. Well I noticed this as I was voting and I actually started wondering "will some fan create a site to elect swisher sort of how the how "Support the Stash" thing worked last year with Giambi. Well sure enough, someone did and here they are. You gotta check em out!

A-Rod's Comin' Back

2009-05-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

We just need to hold until then. Friday. When the Yankees will travel to Baltimore and Alex Rodriguez will rejoin the Yankees lineup, and boy it couldn't come at a better time. Losing their fourth-consecutive game on Wednesday, the Yankees have proven three things to their fans: Number 1: (The only good one) Joba Chamberlain can dominate as a starter and should probably remain their for a while. Number 2: The Yankees' bullpen is a definite weakness. They're bullpen ERA is worst in the majors and Joe Girardi has shown that he only really trusts two members of it: Mariano Rivera and Phil Coke. Well this year, Mo has become mortal and Coke just gave up a game-winning home run.

One of Girardi's strong points last year was not going to the same relievers day in and day out (something that Joe Torre did a lot of and was criticized for). However, that has faded this year as it appears he really likes to go to Edwar Ramirez, Phil Coke, Jose Veras, and Jonathan Albaladejo. All of which have been very hittable and wild so far this season. I think that Girardi should look more to the likes of Mark Melancon and David Robertson. Even though he had a rough last outing, I still believe the pieces are their for Melancon to succeed. Same goes for Robertson. However, the main thing is that the Yankees just need to find somebody in the bullpen who can get hitters out.

Finally number 3: the Yankees can't successfully hit with runners in scoring position. They only had 6 hits out of 25+ tries during their 4-game losing streak. Mark Teixiera was greatly applauded for his clutch, 3-run double in the bottom of the 8th, however, that over-shadowed his failure in the 10th. With the Yankees down 4-3 with 1 out and runner on third, Teixeira got a 2-0 fastball right down the middle but he hit it too shallow for the runner to score. After him, Matsui got out to end the game.

It's those kinds of scenarios where the Yankees really need A-Rod back. Hopefully, he can become clutch-Rod like he was in '07.

Update From New York: Joba Dominating

2009-05-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

Joba Chamberlain is absolutely DOMINATING! After a rough first inning in which he gave up 4 runs, 4 hits, and didn't record any K's, he has given up only 1 hit, no runs, and has had 12 strikeouts since then. Oh and by the way, the 12 strikeouts (9 looking), career high! He has all his pitches working for him, including the change-up, which he's possibly thrown more tonight than he has in his entire career.

If this doesn't silence all you Joba-back-to-the-bullpen fans, than this stat might: since his first start back in 2008, Joba has a 2.85 ERA. Now since that same time, only 5 pitchers in the MLB have better ERAs. Among those are such pitchers as Johan Santana, Dan Haren, Derek Lowe, and Roy Halladay. That's pretty good company. He also had a K/9 ratio of 10.58 last season. That's 3rd for all MLB starters last year (top 2 are Rich Harden and Mark Mulder, both of whom missed significant time due to injuries).

An update on Chamberlain, he left with 2 outs in the 6th after recording the last 8 outs with punch-outs. When Girardi took him out, he was booed like crazy! But Joba was given a great hand when he exited. Now lets just hope the bullpen can keep this game close for the Yankees offense. Joba won't be getting a win in this one (although he certainly deserves one). If not for the 4 runs, it was the best start of Joba Chamberlain's career.

Other Game Notes:

Earlier today, Jorge Posada was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring. However, Joe Girardi said that those 15 days would be the only ones that he missed. The Yankees called up C Francisco Cervelli from Double-A Trenton to replace Jorge on the roster.....Alex Rodriguez played another extended Spring Training game today. He went 3-6 with 2 HRs and also played the field for all 7 innings. However, he only got two chances at third, but he fielded both of them perfectly. Although the Yankees are still saying May 15th, there are whispers that he will be back this weekend and possibly Friday for the series against Baltimore (where he ironically injured his quad last season)......Ramiro Pena is in the lineup again today, the Yankees seem very fond of him and he is certainly opening a lot of eyes for the future.

Bits 'n' Pieces: Marte, Fossum, Melky

2009-05-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

Marte Injured:

Well this explains a lot. Yankees' LHP Damaso Marte has been placed on the DL because of a sore elbow. He came out of the WBC with his left elbow sore but pushed through it. However, it has now caused him to land on the DL. Marte, the second-highest paid player in the Yankees bullpen (Rivera's no. 1), holds an 0-1 record and a crazy-high 15.19 ERA. Anthony Clagget (should be better than his terrible MLB debut) has been called up to take his roster spot.

Yanks Sign Casey Fossum; Sharp in Triple-A Debut:

The Yanks signed LHP Casey Fossum to a minor-league deal after he was released by the New York Mets. Since he cleared waivers before he was released and the Yankees signed him as a free agent, Fossum does not have to be added to the 40-man roster. He was mainly signed as a fill-in in Scranton's rotation as he takes the spot of Phil Hughes (who goes today against Joe Saunders).

Casey made his Scranton Wilkes-Barre debut yesterday and it was sharp. Even with a pitch-limit, he went 3 2/3 innings, only allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks, and K'd 4.

Melky Takes Over Center:

Melky Cabrera's hot start, combined with Brett Gardner's slow one, has led to the 24-year old Cabrera overtaking Gardner for the Yankees' starting center fielder. He has taken over the same position that lost just a couple weeks ago.

So far this season, Cabrera is hitting .321 with 4 HRs (including one walk-off one) and 10 RBIs. In that same time Gardner, is only hitting .222 with no homers (although you can't expect them), only 4 RBIs and 5 stolen bases (he should have a lot more than Derek Jeter who's currently tied with him). Will see how long this move lasts

Update: Players Hopping the Shuttle

2009-04-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

Some call-up news; The Yankees have decided to call-up David Robertson and Angel Berroa. They are most likely replacing Chien-Ming Wang and Cody Ransom.

But an even more exciting call-up: apparently Mark Melancon is being sent to Fenway as well as he will either be replacing (hopefully) Steven Jackson or Brian Bruney.

You also have to count in who will be getting sent down when Phil Hughes gets called up.

I agree with RAB that Eric Duncan (who's hitting .362 so far) should be called up instead of Berroa, who has played a total of .1 innings at third and didn't touch the ball on that play.

Yankee Injury Updates:

2009-04-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

A lot of news on the Yankees injured players:

Chien-Ming Wang:

After three terrible starts, a bad start in an extended Spring Training game, and a bad diagnosis, Chien-Ming Wang is hitting the DL. The Yankees think that Wang's "weak abductor muscles in his hips" were the primary cause of his lack of success this year. David Robertson will be called up to replace him but will most likely be sent down before Wang's next start. Phil Hughes will probably then be called up to take the ball against the Tigers.

Cody Ransom:

Ransom has also been placed on the DL as he injured his hip while sliding into second base on Friday. Ransom, who has been diagnosed with an injury to his right quadriceps, was supposed to hold the fort down until A-Rod came back from his injury. However, the Yankees now will have to replace him with an infielder at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Angel Berroa would probably be the most likely candidate.

Brian Bruney:

Now this one just sucks. Wang and Ransom weren't doing so well, but Bruney was on fire before he complained in some soreness in his elbow. He is now back in New York getting it examined. Yankee fans, lets hold our breath on this one.

Hideki Matsui:

After getting his knee drained on April 16th, Matsui has come back better than ever. Since that time, he's 7-17 (.411) and he feels that "little by little, (the knee) is getting better."

New Yankee Stadium Tribute

2009-04-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

A tribute of the first series at the New Yankee Stadium:

Bits 'n' Pieces: New Yankee Stadium

2009-04-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

"Real" Firsts:

Despite having already recorded all the firsts at the New Yankee Stadium when the Yanks played the Chicago Cubs in two exhibition games, people were still anxious for the firsts that actually counted. Well here they are:

First Pitch:

CC Sabathia (ball outside)

First Hit:

Johnny Damon (Line-drive to left-field)

First Run:

Kelly Shoppach drove in Ben Fransisco with an RBI-double

First

First HR:

Jorge Posada (Solo-Shot to centerfield)

First Strikeout:

CC Sabathia (K'd Victor Martinez)

Series Wrap: NYY 2-2 CLE

Although the first four games at the New Yankee Stadium didn't go exactly as the Yankees planned, the ceremonies were still considered a success. That aside, the series gave way to some highs and lows. In the first game of the series (and at the New Stadium), the game was tied 1-1 in the top of the seventh. But the Yankees bullpen gave up a 9 spot in the inning, ending the Yankees' hopes for a good start to the new ballpark.

The 2nd game showed better results from the Yankees as they won 6-5 with 5 of their runs coming on solo-home runs. Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira, Melky Cabrera, and Robinson Cano all hit home runs, but it was Captain Clutch (Derek Jeter) who hit the big one. With two outs in the bottom of the 8th, Jeter belted one over the right field wall to give the Yankees a 1-run lead, one that they wouldn't give up.

The 3rd game was unthinkable. It was one of the worst losses in Yankees' history as they fell to the Indians 22-4. Chien-Ming Wang tossed his third-consecutive terrible start as he only lasted 1 1/3 innings and gave up 8 runs. Recently recalled Anthony Clagget didn't over much support as he and Wang combined to serve up 14 runs to Cleveland in the 2nd inning. That ties the Yankees' club record for most runs given up in a single inning and breaks the record for most runs ever in the 2nd inning by any team in the MLB, a record I'm sure the Yankees wished to steer-clear of. The only bright spots in the game were Mark Teixeira and Melky Cabrera who both belted 2-run home runs.

Today's game resulted in a much better outcome. The Yankees won 7-3 in a very well played game by both sides. The Yanks fell behind early 3-0 as Shin-Soo Choo and Kelly Shoppach both belted home runs off Yankee starter, A.J. Burnett. But the Yanks rallied, Mark Teixeira drove in a run with an RBI-single to make it 3-1, but it seemed as though the game was lost in the 7th inning when the Indians loaded the bases with one out. But Jonathan Albaladejo worked out of it with a little help from Cody Ransom. Ransom later proved to be the

hero of the game as, after Jorge Posada belted a pinch-hit, 2-run homer that required the first

use of instant replay at the new Stadium, cleared the bases with a 3-run double. He also added

some nice defense to the game as he came up with a great bare-hand play and a diving stop in

the same game.

Quick Preview of the A's Series:

Here's a quick preview of the Yankees' next series with the Oakland A's: It will be a home- coming

of sorts for A's DH, Jason Giambi who will return to the Bronx after spending 7 seasons in

pinstripes. However, I predict it won't be a very good one as I'm thinking the Yanks may have

their way with Oakland. We've all seen the New Stadium is a great, great hitters park (20 HRs

in the first 4 games breaks MLB record) and with the Yankees great offense combined with the

A's lack of one, there could be some pretty lopsided games. On top of that, the Yankees will have

two LHPs going in the series in Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia so Oakland lefties won't be

getting as good as a chance as they had hoped and cranking a few long ones.

Wang Off To Another Bad Start

2009-04-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

It's only one out into the bottom of the first inning, but Chien-Ming Wang has already proven to the Yankees that his sinker isn't what it was a year ago. It has been up this whole year (Spring included) and he has been hit because of it.

The Rays are beating up Wang, scoring 3 runs off of back-to-back doubles by Carlos Pena and Pat Burrell. Wang walked B.J. Upton to start the game, then hit Carl Crawford and struck out Evan Longoria. After a double-steal, Pena blasted a double to right-center field and Burrell followed up with one of his one to left. Dioner Nivarro followed up with a grounder up the middle but reached on a wide throw by Robinson Cano.

The only out Wang has recorded was his K of Evan Longoria, who actually had 2 really good pitches to hit but wiffed them both.

No Joe. Just No.

2009-04-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

Despite it being only a week into the season, Yankees' skipper Joe Girardi has already made two questionable moves. The first came before the season started when he announced that Xavier Nady would start right field instead of Nick Swisher (a move that Swisher is making him regret). The second one came today in the 8th inning of the Yankees 6-4 loss to the Royals. With two outs and one on, the Royals called on a pinch hitter, Brian Pena. Girardi decided to remove RHP Jose Veras from the game for LHP Phil Coke, forcing Pena to turn around and bat righty.

Lets stop right there. Before even considering what happened after that move, think about this: Mariano Rivera was available. He's pitched plenty of 4-out saves in his career, what's one more to him. And even if Pena batted from the left side against him, Mo actually is better against lefties due to his nasty cutter. There really is no reason why Coke, the Yankees long-reliever, should've been in the game at all.

Well as soon as Girardi made the move, the Royals made him regret it. Coke came in with two outs, but promptly allowed 3 runs to score on 3 extra-base hits. That marked his second outing this year where he's given up at least 3 runs. Not only did Girardi's decision cost Joba Chamberlain his first "w" of the year, it cost the Yankees the game. Joe Girardi's seat just got a little warmer.

CC Comes up Clutch

2009-04-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

In his first regular season start as Yankee, CC Sabathia made a lot of people nervous as he gave up 6 runs in less than 5 innings. Sportswriters bashed him for his poor performance.

However, those same writers that criticized him last week, will be praising him tonight as CC pitched 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball. He looked dominant, setting the tone early by striking out 3 of the first 4 batters and went on to notch 7 punch-outs on the night.

Sabathia will make his next start April 16th as he will open up the new Yankee Stadium as he starts against the Cleveland Indians at 1:05 PM Eastern Time.

Late Rally Too Late

2009-04-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

Down 7-2 in the ninth inning with 2-outs, the Yankees staged a 3-run rally and even brought the tying run to the plate. However, the rally came too late as Hideki Matsui popped out to end the game. Nick Swisher drew a one-out walk but then was erased when Brett Gardner grounded into a force out. However, Jeter then followed up with a two-run blast to the opposite field making it 7-4. After Johnny Damon reached base via the base-on-balls, Mark Teixiera came threw in the clutch with his first hit as a Yankee: an RBI-double off of Oriole closer, George Sherril. However, Hideki Matsui popped out to Melvin Mora on a 2-1 pitch to end the game. It was an exciting finnish to a terrible game.

Another Early Exit

2009-04-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

As with Monday's game, another Yankee starter got knocked out early as Chien-Ming Wang left after just 3 2/3 innings. Wang was pulled out of the game after surrendering a Nick Markakis 2-run HR to cap off the Orioles 5-run inning. Wang's line:

IP: 3.2, H: 9, ER: 7, BB: 3, SO: 0

It marked the second straight game in which the Yankees starter gave up 6+ runs, lasted less than 5 innings, and didn't record a strikeout (although he's not as well known for K's as CC). A bad start for the Yankees' hyped rotation.

Some other notes from todays game:

Jeter's continued his good start to the season as he's been on base twice now...Teixeira has still not recorded as he's 0-for-3 today after going 0-for-4 yesterday. He has had a runner on base every time he's batted

Two (Very) Rich Men, Two (Very) Sub-Par Debuts

2009-04-06T21:03:00.001-07:00

When the Yankees signed CC Sabathia ($161mm) and Mark Teixiera ($180mm) to mega-deals this off-season, they marked one date on their calenders: April 6th. Well that day finally came today, but it wasn't the Opening Day game they were expecting. Sabathia and Teixeira's lines say it all:

Sabathia: IP: 4.1, H: 8, ER: 6, BB: 5, K: 0

Teixeira: AB: 4, H: 0, R: 0, RBI: 0, LOB: 5

Two very bad lines for two men with very fat wallets. Even though people expected a lot more out of the players than what the above, they had to have seen this coming. I mean think about it: each guy is really (maybe even overly) hyped. They both signed monster deals this off-season. They both have historically gotten off to bad starts. And they both said they would handle the New York media just fine; something that both of them will now have to do. It was a perfect storm.

That being said however, I would like to remind all of you that this is just Opening Day, it's just one game out of 161 other ones. The only two reasons we care so much about these terrible performances are that Opening Day is way, way to focused upon; it's just one game. The other reason is just because of how much coverage the two players are receiving and how bad their performances were. But the bottom line is this; one game isn't going to kill you.

Bits and Pieces:

One of the things that made Teixeira's performance stand out so much was the fact that Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon went a combined 5-8 in front of him and all he did was get one little walk; that's a lot of runners being left on base...Nick Swisher pinch-hit in the 8th and lined a lead-off double right down the left field line in his first Yankee at-bat. Gardner (more about him later) bunted him over but then Jeter and, who else, Mark Teixeira failed to drive him in.....The Yankees escaped a huge fifth inning when Gardner turned a double-play when he caught the ball than threw the runner out at home to end the inning.....A-Rod should be back before Spring's end.

Joba Sharp In Final Spring Start

2009-04-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

In his final Spring Training start, Yankees' fifth starter, Joba Chamberlain, hurled 5 1/3 innings, striking out 5. The most impressive part about his start however, was the 16 straight batters he retired after giving up two hits and a walk to start the game.

"It took me just a little bit to get going," Joba said. "I wanted to work on fastball command and my changeup, and I think I did a great job with those two. I think it was one of my most productive days as far as consistency. It was good."

Since Chamberlain's turn in the rotation was going to be skipped, the Yankees had him fly to Florida to pitch for Double-A Trenton in a game against Triple-A Scranton/Wiles-Barre. His first regular-season start is slated for next Sunday at Kansas City.

"I'm excited to get going," he said.

2009 Season Predictions

2009-04-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well it may not make much sense to some writers, but I'm going to give my predictions for the 2009 MLB season. For fun. It doesn't actually serve a purpose but it's just a fun thing to do. So here we go:

American League:

East:

1. New York Yankees

2. Boston Red Sox*

3. Tampa Bay Rays

4. Toronto Blue Jays

5. Baltimore Orioles

Central:

1. Chicago White Sox

2. Detroit Tigers

3. Minnesota Twins

4. Kansas City Royals

5. Cleveland Indians

West:

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2. Oakland A's

3. Texas Rangers

4. Seattle Mariners

MVP: Mark Teixeira-With A-Rod sitting out the first month, a short porch in right, and with his numbers on the rise, Teixeira is in a perfect position to nab the MVP trophy and bring it back to the Bronx.

Honorable Mention: Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Matt Holliday

Cy Young: CC Sabathia-While I'm not really comfortable selecting two teammates to win these great awards, I feel as though I must make it that way. This is because the only other pitcher besides Sabathia that I could see winning the Cy Young is, Toronto's Roy Halladay. However, I don't think that Canadian offense will be able to give him enough run support to reach very many wins. Sabathia on the other hand, will have the great Yankee lineup to work with and, not to mention, one of the greatest (if not the best) closers of all time closing out his games in Mariano Rivera.

Honorable Mention: Roy Halladay, Jon Lester, and Justin Verlander

Rookie of the Year: Travis Snider-With the other two major candidates for this award (Matt Wieters and David Price) starting the year in the minor leagues, Snider should produce good enough numbers that the others just won't be able to catch up. Look for him to bop about 30 HRs and drive in over 85 runs.

Honorable Mention: Matt Wieters, David Price, and Elvis Andrus

National League:

East:

1. New York Mets

2. Philadelphia Phillies*

3. Florida Marlins

4. Atlanta Braves

5. Washington Nationals

Central:

1. Chicago Cubs

2. St. Louis Cardinals

3. Milwaukee Brewers

4. Cincinnati Reds

5. Houston Astros

6. Pittsburgh Pirates

West:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

3. San Francisco Giants

4. Colorado Rockies

5. San Diego Padres

MVP: David Wright-Wright's numbers have been on the slow incline over his career and it seems as though he's ready to take the crown as the National League's best hitter. After he set career highs in HRs and RBIs last year, it seems as though he's ready to top those numbers as well as add to his .300+ batting average. If you combine that with him hitting in the middle of the Mets order along with Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, look for this guy to catch fire next season.

Honorable Mention: Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, and Ryan Braun

Cy Young: Tim Lincecum-The reigning Cy Young Award-winner will win it once more as Lincecum was flat out nasty last year and I think he could be even better this year. His biggest competition is the Mets Johan Santana who also pitched incredibly well last year. However, Santana is having elbow troubles, making Lincecum the obvious favorite.

Honorable Mention: Johan Santana, Jake Peavy, and Roy Oswalt

Rookie of the Year: Cameron Maybin-Maybin was a part of the blockbuster trade between the Tigers and the Marlins last off-season as he was sent over to Florida, along with some other players, for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Maybin is a 5-tool player who will show off his great talents next year for the Marlins. Expect him to run down a lot of fly balls in the giant center field in Dolphin Stadium as he will be there for the majority of the 2009 season.

Honorable Mention: Jordan Zimmerman, Colby Rasmus, and Jason Motte

Playoffs:

American League:

ALDS:

Yankees over White Sox

Red Sox over Angels

ALCS:

Yankees over Red Sox

National League:

NLDS:

Cubs over Dodgers

Phillies over Mets

NLCS:

Phillies over Cubs

World Series:

Yankees over Phillies

Series: 4-2

MVP: Alex Rodriguez (that's right I said A-Rod would do well in the playoffs)

*=wild card winner

Bits and Pieces: First Games, Stadium Firsts, Final Roster

2009-04-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

Reggie Jackson threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the new Yankee Stadium before the Yankees' game against the Cubs on Friday.

First Games at The 'Ol Ballpark:

Change that to *new ballpark and it would fit Friday and Saturday's games perfectly. The Yankees opened up their new (palace) stadium with two exhibition games against the Chicago Cubs, winning them both. The Yanks beat out the Cubs in the first game on the strength of three home runs, one of which was off the bat of Robinson Cano and was the very first ball to clear the fence at the new ballpark. The other two consisted of home runs by Hideki Matsui (2-Run) and Cody Ransom (3-Run) and both of them banged off the foul poles with Matsui's hitting the RF foul pole and Ransom's hitting the LF one. The homers, along with solid pitching, gave way to the Yankees 7-4 victory.

The Yanks brought out the long ball even more in the second game, blasting four of them on route to a 10-1 win. Mark Teixeira highlighted the home runs as he blasted two: one was hit deep into the right-center field bleachers and the other went into the second deck down the left field line. Derek Jeter also hit a three-run shot and Shelley Duncan added a homer also in the later innings. However, in a game filled with offense, the Yankees also were helped by great pitching by the likes of Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett who limited the Cubs to just one run (Alfonso Soriano solo-HR) on 8 hits to insure the win.

Stadium Firsts:

With the opening of the new Yankee Stadium, fans were on a sharp look-out for all of the "firsts" that would happen in the first couple games at the park. The first "first" was obviously the first pitch" a sinker-strike thrown by Chien-Ming Wang to Aaron Miles. Moments after that however, Miles rocketed the first base hit through the hole between Jeter and Ransom. After Miles scored the first run, Robinson Cano belted the first home run in the following inning. Other "firsts" consisted of: First hit by a Yankee: Derek Jeter, double in the bottom of the first inning. First strikeout: Ted Lilly K'd Mark Teixiera in the bottom of the first inning. First save: Jonathan Albaladejo closed out Friday's game for the save.

Pena Beats Out Berroa With Glove:

The last competition of Spring Training was the one for the utility infielder. It was between, former rookie of the year, Angel Berroa who had a very good spring after not having productive seasons the last couple years. The other candidate was Ramiro Pena, a double-A shortstop who had always been amazing with the glove, but didn't do so well with his bat. However, after he stepped up his numbers in 2008 and after a pretty good Spring, Pena, who played in the Futures game at Yankee Stadium during the 2008 All-Star break, will be returning to the Bronx sooner than he thought as he has beaten out Berroa for the final spot on the Yankees' 25-man roster.

Gardner Swipes Center Field

2009-03-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

Yankee manager Joe Girardi has officially announced that Brett Gardner will be the first man to play in center field at the new Yankee Stadium (and a little bit more than that as well) as he has beaten out Melky Cabrera for the Yankees CF job. Girardi said that he informed both players of his decision this afternoon after the team's 9-8 win over the Pirates. "Both of them played great," said Girardi. "Melky had a tough year last year, but he played very well in camp. Gardy finnished up strong and had a great camp. We're just going to go with Gardy." The move means that Gardner will most likely be batting ninth in the Yankees order and patrolling CF come opening day on April 6th in Baltimore.

Note to Girardi: Don't Screw This One Up Too

2009-03-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Those may seem like harsh words to a man who will probably never read them, but Joe Giradi really needs to hear them. After making the wrong decision on the starting right fielder in choosing Xavier Nady over Nick Swisher, it appears that Giradi may make another bad call when it comes to center. Brett Gardner (left) has seemed to be the front-runner this Spring, hitting over .450, belting 3 home runs and stealing 5 bags. However, with Melky finishing up strong, Girardi seems like he's leaning towards him to start in center.

Well before he does that, I'd just like to remind him of something. I'd just like to remind him of how poorly Cabrera did last season. So bad, that the Yankees actually sent him down to Triple-A in order to show him that his job was not safe. And as he was sent down after hitting under .250, Brett Gardner took his place and hit .357 in 14 games down the stretch. If you combine that with a good OBP and stealing bases almost every time he reaches base, you have yourself one good center fielder.

So my message to Joe Girardi: Put. Gardner. In. Center.

Bits and Pieces: Jackson 'n' Jackson, Swish/Nady, Melky

2009-03-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Austin Jackson (Right) high-fives Hall of Famer, Reggie Jackson (Left) after hitting a grand slam on Tuesday.

Jackson 'n' Jackson:

As Yankees' top prospect, Austin Jackson, was rounding the bases on Tuesday, Reggie Jackson was feeling like a proud-papa. Reggie has taken it to himself to help and support Jackson throughout his minor-league career, attending to numerous games at each level that he has reached. "Its a good thing," Austin said after the game. "He comes back and works with me in the cage and gets me back to where I need to be when I'm struggling a little bit. It's good to have a Hall of Famer working with you." Jackson was reassigned to minor league camp after the game, making his grand slam a bittersweet-victory.

Girardi: Nady is starting RF:

Joe Girardi announced this week that "if we were to break (camp) today, Nady would be my right fielder." This comes as disappointing news to Nick Swisher, who has had a very odd off-season. He was dealt to the Yankees in the beginning of the year as part of a 4-player trade and was informed that he would be the club's starting first basemen. Once the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira however, it became apparent that Swisher would instead battle Xavier Nady for the right field spot. After now losing that job to Nady, Girardi will have to work hard to find at-bats for Swisher.

However, I strongly believe that Swisher should be the right fielder, not Nady. He is better in basically every category. Nady will hit about 25 HRs and drive in over 100 runs. Swisher will hit 25-30 HRs but will probably not reach the 100-RBI plateau for he is willing to take a walk in a RBI situation. However, that too is another one of his strengths: his eye. Swisher has one of the best eyes in the game (see the book "Moneyball") and works deep into counts, a trait of recent successful Yankee teams. Scouts also say he is the better baserunner and fielder. This basically means that the Yankees are choosing the worse hitter, fielder, baserunner, eye, and power-hitter to play right field for them.....wait what??

Yanks Looking to Get Melky-Dealty:

Earlier this off-season, the Yankees attempted to trade Melky Cabrera for Mike Cameron of the Milwaukee Brewers and after it seemed like a deal was imminent (so close that I even added Mike Cameron to the Yankees roster in MLB '08 The Show) the talks were broken off. A couple months later, they were renewed again. However, they too were broken off. Well now Melky is still out there and the Yanks are looking to deal him (just not for Cameron). The most likely suitor at the moment are the Chicago White Sox who would most likely use Cabrera as their starting CF.

Alex Rodriguez Steroids Tribute

2009-03-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

Due to legal issues with Youtube that involved the content of this video, it could not be posted on Youtube.com and thus will be uploaded here.

THE U.S. WINS IT!

2009-03-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

With 1 out and the bases-loaded, down 5-3 in the ninth, the U.S. were very close to being eliminated. But after Kevin Youkilis' walk brought in a run, David Wright of the New York Mets lined a 2-run, walk-off single to (where else) but right field to win the game, propelling the U.S. to the semi-finals!

Yankee Fans Get a Look Into the Future

2009-03-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

In the top of the sixth inning at McKechnie field, one man strode to the plate. He had heard all the hype. He had heard scouts rave about his "five-tools." They knew he had the talent to succeed, he just had to harness it. They said he could "hit for average, hit for power, field, throw, and run." They said he couldn't do any of them really well, but could do them all okay. They knew that sometime during the 2009 season he could be manning center field. But it wasn't just the scouts that knew all of this; Austin Jackson did as well.

Jackson (right) is the Yankees' number one prospect. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 2005 draft due to the fact that he was a multi-sport athlete and many were doubtful that he'd choose baseball over basketball. Well the Yankees took a chance and it sure paid off. Since 2005, he has risen through the Yankees system (despite a slow start). He currently is playing a triple-A Scranton as the team's starting center fielder, a role the Yanks hope he will take in the near future.

Before this season, the Yankees invited Jackson to big-league camp in Tampa, FL for the second-consecutive season. Since then, he has notched a fare amount of at-bats, but barely any hits. He's just 4-for-18. Today however, he stepped it up a notch. After notching a hit early in the game, Jackson was hungry for another. So with one man on and two outs in the top of the sixth, Austin let-loose; belting a drive over the center field fence for a two-run big fly! It gave the Yankees organization and the Yankee fans a chance to glimpse a little bit of what the future may hold in the Bronx.

Jackson's home run sparked something for the Yankees, who had been held down for the whole game until it. The next inning, the Yanks hit the ground running, scoring three runs and then loading the bases for their second-best prospect. His name; Jesus Montero.

The Yankees signed Montero (left) out of Venezuela to a 1.6MM contract back in 2006. Since then he has been called the best 2006 international signee by any team. Because of his great power and ability to hit for average, Jesus has also been referred to as "the best hitter that the Yankees have had in their system since Derek Jeter!" That's saying something. Last year at class-A Charleston, Montero hit a whopping .326 with 17 HRs and 87 RBIs! That was enough to earn him the 2008 Yankees Offensive Player of the Year Award and a spot of the international team's roster at the 2008 Futures Game at (where else) Yankee Stadium.

The main reason that Montero isn't the Yankees no. 1 prospect however, is due to the fact that he's a defensive liability behind the plate. He's a giant behind the plate, standing at 6-4 and weighing 224 lbs. (but let's not forget that Joe Mauer is an inch taller). However, Montero has been working hard with Yankee coaches this Spring in hopes of becoming a better catcher and possibly, replacing Jorge Posada one day as the Yankees' backstop.

Unlike Jackson, Montero has had quite a successful Spring, notching five hits in his eight at-bats (5-for-8). However, he too was hungry for something more and with the bases-loaded in the seventh inning, he got his chance and didn't waste any time taking it. Jesus blasted a pitch from the Pirate-pitcher over the center field wall for a grand slam! A moment that neither he, nor the Yankees, will ever forget.

These opportunities that young players, such as Jackson and Montero, get are part of what makes Spring Training something special. Sure the games don't mean anything, but it allows organizations and their fans to get a glimpse of players that could possibly play for them in the future; something that all great baseball fans love to experience.

Update From Tampa

2009-03-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

Here's an update from Tampa where the Astros are visiting the Yankees. The Yankees are winning 1-0 thanks to a laser-beam home run by Johnny Damon in the first. As for pitching, A.J. Burnett is DEALING! He's pitched four perfect innings and has looked like he's in mid-season form! He's hitting his spots perfectly and has showed great command of his pitch count and keeping it low (he's thrown less then 40 pitches in four innings). Hideki Matsui has just hit pitcher Alberto Arias with a line drive in his pitching hand. Arias had to be taken out of the game.

Update From Tampa

2009-03-10T17:28:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick update from Tampa where the Yankees are battling the Reds:

Joba Chamberlain pitched 3 very strong innings, K'ing 4 and only giving up one run. That run was scored on a deep fly-ball that was misplayed by Brett Gardner. The Yanks are winning 3-1 with RBI's by Cody Ransom, Brett Gardner, and Juan Miranda. Ransom drove in Hideki Matsui with an RBI-single, Gardner also got an RBI base-knock and Miranda blasted a towering homerun to put the Yankees up by two.

A-Rod To Have Surgery; Out For Two Months

2009-03-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

Yankees' third basemen Alex Rodriguez has opted for surgery. According to numerous sources, A-Rod will have a "hybrid" surgery which will only cause him to miss two months instead of four. To do this, the surgery will be "limited" and will not completely heal him. A-Rod will have the procedure done tomorrow (Monday) morning by Dr. Marc Philippon, one of the best hip-surgeons in North America.
If the Yankees were to let A-Rod play with the torn labrum, he would've done more long-term damage to himself. The Yankees were stuck in-between the decision to have the surgery or not, for they are a much weaker team without their slugging-third basemen. But for now, they'll have to make due with Cody Ransom or whoever takes over at third. But even with that, this seems like the smart move for the Yankees.

On another note, I am sorry for the lack of videos posted on our Youtube account, there have been some technical errors. But, the first video will be posted some time this week.

Who's on First, What's on Second, Bobby Crosby at Third Base?

2009-03-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

With A-Rod (possibly) out, it comes time to ask the question: "who will play third instead." It's pretty interesting because there aren't very many good options. In fact, most of them consist of run-down or league average players such as Mark Grudzielanek or Aaron Boone. The only in-house options for the Yankees are Cody Ransom (hasn't even logged 200 MLB at-bats), Angel Berroa (mmm...no), and Eric Duncan (a former top-prospect, Duncan was rushed through the minor leagues and has been there since 2003). Now there might be some decent or far-fetched ideas out there (like a Phil Hughes-Alex Gordon trade, which I would be totally behind by the way), but I've already made up my mind of who I want to see donning the pinstripes: Bobby Crosby. Despite a career BA of .239 and having never hit over .276 in his career, Crosby seems like a good candidate. He's cheap, has been asking for a trade, and would probably do well in a temporary role with the Yankees. His teammates have come out and said that with Crosby's work this off-season, he's primed for a good 2009. Now a lot of you people out there may point to his bad statistics and say "no way!" but I think you should give him a shot. Give him a few starts or so and if he's not performing well, deal him, there's plenty of teams that could use a good back-up infielder. Or, keep him and do just that. There's really no reason not to make this deal. The Yanks would only have to give up a medium level prospect to get him and the deal could prove to have a lot of upside!

Update From Sarasota

2009-03-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

A live update from Sarasota where the Yankees are battling the Reds:

Top 9th: NYY 11-13 CIN

To close out the game, the Reds brought in pitcher Jordan Smith who struck out Kevin Russo to begin the inning. Shelley Duncan popped out for the second one and Todd Linden grounded out to end the game. Final score, Yankees 11, Reds 13.

Bot 8th: NYY 11-13 CIN

Possible heir to the Rivera-throne, Mark Melancon takes over for the Yankees and struck out Stubbs to start off the inning. After a foul pop was barely missed, Chris Valaika hit a triple on a missed played ball by the right fielder and the next batter drew a walk, setting up a possible double-play. The Reds scored another run on a passed ball by catcher Jesus Montero, who was taken out with a possible groin injury. T.J. Pilittere took over for Montero behind the plate.The next batter reached base on an error by Kevin Barker. Then the next batter flew out for the second out and Juan Francisco struck out to send the game to the ninth.

Top 8th: NYY 11-12 CIN

James Avery became the new pitcher for the Reds, as Eduardo Nunez popped out to the second basemen for the first out and Juan Miranda struck out for the second one. Justin Leone almost broke the 1-2-3 inning but was robbed by a nice play by the third basemen to rob him of a hit.

Bot 7th: NYY 11-12

Christian Garcia takes over for the Yankees and got Kevin Barker to groundout for the first out. Luis Boulevare then got a single up the middle followed by Wilkin Castillo who reached on an error by Kevin Russo, Boulevare went to 3rd on the play. The Reds loaded the bases on a Juan Francisco single and Craig Tatum promptly unloaded them with a grand slam, the 8th HR of the game. Luckily Nix struck out and got the next batter to ground out to end the inning.

Top 7th: NYY 11-8 CIN

Shelley Duncan lead off the inning with a walk against new Red's pitcher, Ben Jukich. Todd Linden flew out and then Doug Bernier popped out in the infield, 2 outs. In his first at-bat, Jesus Montero hit a single through the left side and Austin Jackson struck out to end the inning.

Bot 6th: NYY 11-8 CIN

Brian Bruney took over on the mound for the Yanks and Yankees 2nd best prospect, Jesus Montero takes over behind the plate. Lance Nix greeted Bruney rudely with yet another home run, the 7th of the day. Robinson Cano made a nice catch, roaming into CF to catch a pop up for the first out. Drew Stubbs struck out for the second one and Bruney got a groundout to end the inning.

Top 6th: NYY 11-7 CIN

Some changes for the Reds, Francisco Cordero takes over on the mound and there's too many others to count. Cody Ransom picks up a bloop single to start off the inning and moved to third on a double to left field by Kevin Cash. Yankees top prospect, Austin Jackson took over for Brett Gardner, and brought home Ransom on an RBI-groundout. Kevin Cash moved to third on the play. Edwardo Nunez pinch-hit for Derek Jeter (who is now going to the WBC), and got a lucky bounce base hit that barely cleared the head of the drawn in third basemen, driving in Cash. On the first pitch to Juan Miranda, Edwardo Nunez promptly stole second base, but Juan Miranda struck out for the 2nd out. Justin Leone followed up the hit parade with an RBI-single driving in Eduardo Nunez and then stole 2nd base uncontestedly on the first pitch to Kevin Russo. But Russo struck out to end the inning.

Bot 5th: NYY 8-7 CIN

A couple of changes for the Yankees: Damaso Marte takes over on the mound, Kevin Russo stays in the game and plays second, Miranda stays at first, Leone plays third, and Shelley Duncan takes over in right. Joey Votto lead off the inning with a long home run, the 5th of this game. Phillips grounded out to Jeter for the first out and Chris Dickerson blasted out his second homer of the game. Marte struck out Keppinger for the second out and Craig Tatum, taking over for Alonso, also K'ed.

Top 5th: NYY 8-5 CIN

Arthur Rhodes took over for the Reds, facing the top of the order in Brett Gardner who reached base on an infield pop-up that was taken by the wind. However, Gardner got greedy and tried to take another base but was tagged out. Jeter followed up with yet another base hit up the middle, he's now 3-for-3. Tex also notched a single, but was removed for the pinch-runner, Juan Miranda. Then, A-Rod notched his second RBI-double of the day, scoring Derek Jeter and moving Juan Miranda to 3rd. Alex was taken out for pinch-runner Justin Leone, signalling an end to his Spring with the Yankees as he's leaving for the WBC. Robinson Cano recorded the Yankees 5th straight hit with an RBI-double that scored Jeter and Leone. Cano, like A-Rod, finished with the Yankees when he was taken out for Kevin Russo. Nady moved Russo over to 3rd with a groundout and John Rodriguez flew out to left field to end the 3-run inning.

Bot 4th: NYY 5-5 CIN

Norris Hopper started off the inning with a lead-off walk, moving to second on a Ryan Hanigan groundout to pitcher, J.B. Cox. Hopper then scored on a base hit by Darnell McDonald, who was caught while taking too much of a lead off second. Cox ended the inning with a punch out of Adam Rosales.

Top 4th: NYY 5-4 CIN

David Weathers, taking over for Harang, was quickly greeted by a Robinson Cano home run to right center field. The blast was Cano's first of the spring and bounced off the scoreboard on a 2-2 pitch for a home run. Weathers retired Xavier Nady on a punch-out but non-roster invitee, John Rodriguez somehow hit a home run to dead center field. I say somehow because he hit the ball on the label, Weathers was actually smiling after the ball cleared the fence. Cody Ransom was then retired on an easy groundout but Kevin Cash kept the inning going with a base hit up the middle but was caught stealing second to end the inning.

Bot 3rd: NYY 3-4 CIN

Adam Rosales grounded out to start the inning, but then Joey Votto notched a single and stole second base while Brandon Phillips drew the walk. However, when the Reds attempted a double-steal, Votto was hung out to dry as Kevin Cash got him easily. Chris Dickerson drove in Brandon Phillips with a base hit and picked up his 3rd RBI of the day. Jeff Keppinger then struck Jonathan Ablaladejo with a line drive, removing him from the ball game. J.B. Cox took over for Ablaladejo, getting Yonder Alonso to ground out to Robinson Cano to end the inning.

Top 3rd: NYY 3-3 CIN

What just happened??? Brett Gardner hit yet another home run! He called his first HR this Spring "possibly the only one he'll hit this year." Well he did it again today as he pulled a low curve down the right field line, over the wall for a home run. Jeter followed it up with another base hit but was then erased when Mark Teixiera grounded into a double play. Alex Rodriguez, followed by another mix of cheers and boos, flew out to right field to end the inning.

Bot 2nd: NYY 2-3 CIN

After replacing starter Alfredo Aceves, Jonathan Ablaladejo came in and gave up a leadoff double to Yonder Alonso. However, he then stranded him at second by picking up a groundout, strikeout, and another groundout.

Top 2nd: NYY 2-3 CIN

The bottom of the Yankees order (John Rodriguez, Cody Ransom, Kevin Cash) went 1-2-3.

Bot 1st: NYY 2-3 CIN

Adam Rosales drew a 1-out walk, then promptly stole second and moved to third on a Joey Votto groundout. Then Brandon Phillips blasted an RBI double which was followed up by a towering HR off the bat of Chris Dickerson.

Top 1st: NYY 2-0 CIN

After a 1-out single by Derek Jeter, Mark Teixiera moved him to third with a base hit up the middle. Then, on a Alex Rodriguez double, Jeter scored and Teixeira went to third. The Yankees then went up 2-0 when Robinson Cano notched an RBI single and Mark Teixiera scored. However, the inning ended when Xavier Nady bounced into a 6-4-3 double play.

Today's Starting Lineups:

Yankees:

1. Brett Gardner CF

2. Derek Jeter SS

3. Mark Teixiera 1B

4. Alex Rodriguez 3B

5. Robinson Cano 2B

6. Xavier Nady RF

7. John Rodriguez LF

8. Cody Ransom DH

9. Kevin Cash C

P: Alfredo Aceves RHP

Reds:

1. Darnell McDonald CF

2. Adam Rosales SS

3. Joey Votto 1B

4. Brandon Phillips 2B

5. Chris Dickerson RF

6. Jeff Keppinger 3B

7. Yonder Alonso DH

8. Norris Hopper LF

9. Ryan Hanigan C

Bronx Rumors 100th Anniversary

2009-02-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

Well, it's finally here. This is Bronx Rumors' 100th post!!! To celebrate this event, we have created another means of receiving Yankees news via Bronx Rumors. I am pleased to announce that Bronx Rumors will have its very own Youtube channel which is up and running now! There, we will post videos that have to do with Yankees news. These will include weekly videos of game highlights, up-to-date news and rumors, and tributes to great Yankees. If you would like to, subscribe to us or add us as a friend on Youtube! The first video will be posted this weekend so look for it here! However, these videos will not be posted on the websites themselves, only Youtube (Twitter and Facebook will give video updates and links to the videos). I hope you enjoy!

Who's Getting In?

2009-02-16T20:18:00.000-08:00

I've noticed a lot talk about A-Rod not getting into the Hall of Fame now that it's been revealed that he has taken steroids. Well does this mean that Alex was going to get in the Hall before he took 'roids? I've heard the term "future-hall-of-famer" thrown a lot recently (*cough* *cough* Michael Kay) especially when talking about guys like A-Rod and Jeter. Well that brings me to my main question: who are the "future-hall-of-famers" and what did they do to get that honorable title. Players with a "*" next to their name have won a major award (Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, MVP) Well I've selected the bunch that I believe will make it (in no particular order):

The Sure-Things:

Greg Maddux*: If you go up to someone, in this day and age, and tell them that a pitcher, that pitched during the steroid era and in the age of 5-man rotations, would rack up 335 career wins, a 3.16 ERA, 109 complete games, 3371 Ks and over 5,000 innings, they would think you're crazy (especially for that giant run-on sentence). But none the less, Greg Maddux did all that. He might even get the first unanimous Hall of Fame election ever.
Derek Jeter*: One of the things that I would be amazed to see in my life, is an argument against putting the captain in the Hall. He's a sure bet for 3,000 hits, he's one of the greatest leaders, shortstops and post-season performers of all-time. There really isn't any limit on the good things you can say about Jeter. He's definitely going to make the 218 mile trip to Cooperstown sometime soon.
Mariano Rivera: Another Yankee, another post-season great. In the post-season, "Mo" is 8-1 with 34 saves and a 0.77 ERA. You put that with more sub-2.00 ERA seasons than Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman combined, and you've got yourself the greatest closer of all-time. Looks like he will be the first pitcher ever to make the Hall with one pitch.

The Probablys:

Alex Rodriguez*: He had it all. He was young, rich, and was possibly more talented than any player in MLB history. But in 2003, Alex Rodriguez took a turn to the dark side when he took performance-enhancing-drugs. However, that is the only mark in what could be, the greatest career in big league history. A-Rod is pretty much a sure bet to break the home run record and some have even speculated that he could even reach 800 career big-flies. I think that says enough.
Ken Griffey Jr*: Once called the best player of all-time, Griffey put up possibly the best clean-numbers of anyone during the "Steroid Era." "The Kid" blasted his 600th home run this past season and probably could've even hit 700 if he had stayed healthy. However, the one mark against Griffey is that he's never won a championship; something that could play a big role in his Hall-consideration.
Manny Ramirez: Manny is definitely one of the greatest right-handed-hitters of all-time. I really don't need to go into statistics, just know that they're huge. There isn't much reason to keep him out of the Hall other than his personality (which I'm sure you all know about). However, I highly doubt any writer will care that much.

Other "probablys" include:

Randy Johnson*

Tom Glavine*

Pedro Martinez*

Albert Pujols*

Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez*

Ichiro Suzuki*

Trevor Hoffman

Frank Thomas*

John Smoltz*

Chipper Jones*

Jeff Kent*

Omar Vizquel

Mike Mussina

Jim Thome

Carlos Delgado

Curt Schilling

Gary Sheffield

Todd Helton

Roy Halladay*

Jorge Posada

Andy Pettitte

Troy Percival

Todd Jones

Vladamir Guererro*

Kerry Wood*

Jamie Moyer

The Close But Not Quite (no description):

Mark Prior

Roy Oswalt

Andruw Jones

Adam Dunn

Johnny Damon

Tim Wakefield

David Ortiz

Bobby Abreu

Vernon Wells

Jason Giambi*

Carlos Beltran

Carlos Lee

Jermaine Dye

Travis Hafner

Torii Hunter

Troy Glaus

Nomar Garciapara*

Alfonso Soriano

Aramis Ramirez

Derek Lee

Jason Varitek

The Too-Young-To-Tell, But Promising:

Johan Santana*

Miguel Cabrera

Mark Teixeira

Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez

David Wright

Joe Mauer

Hanley Ramirez

Evan Longoria*

Grady Sizemore

Lance Berkman

CC Sabathia*

Brandon Webb*

Joba Chamberlain

Chien-Ming Wang

Robinson Cano

Dustin Pedroia*

Kevin Youkillis

Jason Bay

Fausto Carmona

Matt Holliday

Jonathan Papelbon

Joe Nathan

Nick Markakis

Felix Hernandez

Tim Lincecum*

If there are any players you feel were left off this list, please leave a comment.

Week Overview: A-Rod Admission and Other Yankee News

2009-02-15T17:17:00.000-08:00

Hey Yankee fans. I'm sorry for not posting for a while, I've just been really taken back by all this new news springing up. But I gotta cover it so here it goes; a quick summary of the events that have taken place lately and my thoughts on them:

A-Rod's Admission:

Alex was very emotional during his interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons. He admitted to taking steroids in 2003 and perhaps even years before. A-Rod listed being young, stupid, and feeling an enormous pressure after signing a giant deal with the Rangers, as his reasons. I, along with many players including former Yankee, Jason Giambi, am glad to see Rodriguez come clean with this. It would've been much worse had he done what Roger Clemens did, and flat out deny it. Instead, he chose the clean, virtues path of admission. It will allow people to forgive him easier, something I hope all of you do.

First Days at Camp:

At the beginning of the off-season, Yankees GM Brian Cashman had one thing, or rather person, on his mind: CC Sabathia. Sabathia helped the Yankees reach their goals of better pitching, getting younger, and adding some life to the clubhouse! His, and A.J. Burnett's ('cause lets not forget him), signing(s) represent two things: hope, and anxiousness. Immediately after Sabathia's signing was announced, every Yankee fan had one thing on their mind: I wanna see him pitch! Well that day finally came this week, as Sabathia took his first pitch in a Yankees uniform, in a bullpen session at, newly renamed, George M. Steinbrenner Field. It was a great moment that again made Yankee fans anticipatory for another date: April 6th.

Other Yankees News and Notes:

Alfredo Aceves withdrew his name from consideration for a chance to play for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. He will instead be at Yankee Camp for all of Spring Training.
Chien-Ming Wang, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera are all recovering from their recent surgeries quite nicely; Wang took a bullpen session today and Jorge and Mo will be ready for Opening Day.
The Yankees signed Brett Tomko to a minor-league deal.
Joe Girardi, Jorge Posada and other members of the Yankee team will, literally, stand by A-Rod during his press conference on Tuesday in Tampa.

Yankees Off-Season Moves

2009-02-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick look at the moves the Yankees have made this off-season (this list is as of February 8th, 2009):

Controversy Around A-Rod; Nothing New

2009-02-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems as though once again, Alex Rodriguez cannot avoid scandals in the media. It was first reported by SI.com that A-Rod failed a steroid test in 2003, a season in which he blasted, a career high, 57 HRs. This story has already been interpreted many different ways: some say it was only a matter of time, others say they knew it all along, even some think he should be suspended! Well that last one isn't happening because the test was more of an anonymous survey that MLB held just to see if players were "doping." They then planned on destroying all testing records (which obviously didn't work). This means that A-Rod failing the "test" will have no repercussions. He also won't have any issues with the Yankees organization as all of this happened before he joined the team, and they had no knowledge (he may have not either) of any of this.

So what's to make of this whole thing? Should we be angry? Sad? Maybe even happy (Red Sox fans)? Well I say, it's nothing new. A-Rod always has, and always will have scandals surrounding him in the media and to help illustrate this point, I've created a little summary of the scandals he's had in the past:

2001: Signed a 10-year, $252mm contract with the Texas Rangers. The contract immediately drew media attention as it was the largest in MLB history (a record he still owns).

2005: Was bashed for his lousy playoff performance when he only hit .133 in October.

2006: Once again drilled for even worse playoff performance: he only had one hit and was doing so badly that Joe Torre even dropped him down to 8th in the lineup. There were even talks of trading him during the off-season.

2007: A-Rod's (now ex-) wife, Cynthia, was seen wearing a shirt that said **** you at one of her husband's games. Later in the year, A-Rod said he had been tested for steroids 10 times, which the media quickly caught onto as no player would be tested that many times unless they had tested positive in the past. A-Rod quickly came back and said that he was merely exaggerating the number.

2008: The media caught on to a possible scandal involving A-Rod and pop-signer Madonna. It was reported that A-Rod spent many late nights at her house doing, what he said was, "helping her son with baseball." All of this was happening during his divorce with his wife, and mother of his two daughters, Cynthia.

2009: You already know.

So as you can see, this is nothing new for A-Rod as he has had to deal with controversy in the media quite a bit in his great career. The only challenge now, is figuring out an effective way of dealing with it and not letting it slip into his mind (as it has in the past). The one positive thing I would like to say about this topic however, is that as we've seen in previous years, A-Rod always follows up big (see 2007).

In-Depth Look at All-Prospect Team: Lineup

2009-02-04T19:01:00.000-08:00

Previously I posted a look at the Yankees "All-Prospect Team". I have decided to a little more in depth and include scouting reports, projections, and reasons for why I placed them on the team. Today we look at the starting lineup:

Lineup:

R Austin Jackson (22) CF: Austin Jackson is the Yankees top prospect. He's young, athletic, and has a good mix of all 5 tools. He will start the year in Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, and will most likely join the major league club later in the year. Expect him to be the Yankees CF for years to come after that call-up.
S Melky Cabrera (24) RF: This ranking was not actually because I truly believed that Melky Cabrera is going to play RF for the Yankees in the future, far from it. I simply put him here because he is the Yankees third best outfield prospect and this is where he fit in. Unless he beats out Brett Gardner (see below) for centerfield this year, the "Melk-man" will most likely be used as trade bait.
R Jorge Vazquez (27) 1B: I'm not going to go too in-depth with Vazquez because I've already written a bit about him right here. The main stuff to know about him (if you're too lazy to just click the link) is that he's a power-hitting first basemen that the Yankees signed out of the Mexican league and he's been tearing up the Yankees winter leagues. However, with the recent long-term signing of Mark Teixeira, he probably won't get very much playing time in the future. Still, he fits this list.
R Jesus Montero (19) DH: Montero is the Yankees' second-best prospect and probably their best-hitting one. He absolutely killed Class-A pitching last year when he hit .326! However, his body isn't fit for behind the plate and most people see a position change in the future, most likely to first base. However, since Vazquez is already occupying that position, I decided to put him at DH (where he actually may wind up in the future). You can expect big stuff out of this kid, who has already reached the Bronx despite being in single-A (he played in the futures game at Yankee stadium in 2008) and will probably return in the future.
L Robinson Cano (25) 2B: Cano doesn't really need any introduction. He's been in the major leagues for three years already. After hitting .322 in 2006 and .306 in '07, he "only" hit .271 in 2008. I put the "only" in quotes like that because .271 is still pretty good. In fact, I was recently reading "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis (a book a strongly recommend for all you baseball fans out there) and it talked about the difference between a .270 hitter, and a .300 hitter. Do you know what it is? It's .3 of a hit per nine at-bats. That is almost nothing! And yet we continue to rank .300 hitters way higher than their .270 counter-parts. But back to Cano, the only reasons he's getting bashed so much, is how it's less than his previous seasons, and because of his very slow start at the beginning of the year. I fully expect a bounce-back season from him.
R Austin Romine (20) C: Romine got put on this list because he's the Yankees top catching prospect behind Jesus Montero. However, Romine is a much better defensive catcher than Montero and thus gets the nod behind the plate. In fact, his defense is his best attribute. His time to second base ranges between 1.78 and 1.85 seconds which, on a scale of 1-10, puts him at about a 9.5! If you put that with an decent, non-power bat, you got yourself a catcher.
L Eric Duncan (24) 3B: After being drafted by the Yankees in the first round a while back, Duncan has yet to really do anything. He's risen through the Yankees system, but has found himself stuck at Triple-A for some time now. The Yankees are also implementing a position-change to first base due to the long-term contract of 3B Alex Rodriguez. However, for this lineup, Duncan remains at third.
L Ramiro Pena (23) SS: One of the major concerns that Yankee fans have had recently, is "who will replace Derek Jeter?" Because, lets face it, Jeter's not going to be around forever. Well unfortunately, the list is pretty thin. The Yankees actually don't have any very good prospects at short but this guy heads the list (if there even is one) of them. Pena offers a big switch from Jeter as Ramiro's an amazing defender but his bat is lacking. Jeter's pretty much the opposite. Expect the Yankees to make a move for a short stop and use this guy as a utility guy in the future.
L Brett Gardner (25) LF: People have doubted Gardner's ability lately. They think that he's doesn't have a good enough bat to play CF. Well that's where they're wrong. Gardner's actually got an average bat for a center fielder, with his projected .270 BA falling right into the norm. He also has an un-teachable trait that is very, very valuable for all Yankee players: clutch. After notching only 142 ABs last year, Gardner actually had two walk-off hits! That's more than Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter had combined! Not to mention he's one of the fastest guys in the major leagues. Expect him to be in the Yankees outfield for years to come.

Tune in later for the starting rotation...

Yanks Deal Prospect Wright to Brewers

2009-02-04T14:39:00.001-08:00

In a minor-deal (that has received a lot of media attention due to the stillness of the free agent market) the Yankees have dealt LHP Chase Wright to the Brewers for (former outfielder) catcher Eric Fryer. Fryer, 23, sent last season in Class A playing for the West Virginia Power in the South Atlantic League. There he hit .335 with 10 HR and 63 RBI in 104 games. He was picked in the 10th round of the 2007 draft by the Brewers and the Yankees have said that he will be assigned to Class A Tampa.

26-year-old Chase Wright (left) was designated for assignment last week when the Yankees added LHP Andy Pettitte to the 40-man roster. He spent most of the year with Double-A Trenton where he went 8-2 with a 2.96 ERA in 16 starts. He was then promoted to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre where he went 2-1 with a 2.41 ERA in 6 starts. However, Wright is most well-known for what he "accomplished" at the major league level: he went 2-0 despite a high 7.20 ERA. But on April 22, 2007, in a game at Fenway Park, Wright broke history: he became just the second pitcher in major league history (Paul Foytack of the Angels in 1963 was the first) to give up four straight home runs in one game, a record I'm sure he would've loved to stay away from. But never-the-less, this move is one that adds minor-league depth to both teams with the Brewers most-likely getting the better end of the deal.

Wang Throws Off Mound

2009-02-03T20:29:00.000-08:00

Yankees RHP Chein-Ming Wang took his first bullpen session of the year Tuesday as he rehabilitating from the foot injury he recieved while runing the bases in a June inter-league game in Houston. Wang also had many bullpen sessions in October but this was probably the most successful one as Wang threw 27 pitches before calling it in. Yankees pitching coach, Dave Eliand said: "He's full go for spring training. He felt strong. He really looked good. A good day for him." This comes as a good news as Wang, a 19-game winner in 2006 and 2007, really could've helped the club last season. Wang also played long-toss with fellow-rotation member, Joba Chamberlain. A rotation that has been much improved due to the signings of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and the permanent addition of Joba Chamberlain. However, those moves have also caused Wang to be over-looked. With him most likely receiving the 3rd spot in the rotation, Wang won't have all the pressure he had as the Yankees' ace and thus will be more likely to succeed.

In other injury-news, longtime Yankee catcher, Jorge Posada, made 140 throws on Monday and plans to throw even harder on Wednesday. He won't catch a spring training game until somewhere around March 8th, but expects to be ready and willing for Opening Day.

Yankees All-Prospect Team

2009-01-31T16:26:00.001-08:00

I decided to figure out what a Yankees team would look like, if it was completely made up of prospects. All of the players on this list are/were top Yankees prospects. Also, players on this list have to have come up with the Yankees organization and are under 28 years old. Inside the ( )s is the players age on opening day, 2009. Players who have made their major league debuts have a * next to their name.

Lineup:

1. R Austin Jackson (22) CF

2. S Melky Cabrera (24) RF*

3. R Jorge Vazquez (27) 1B

4. R Jesus Montero (19) DH

5. L Robinson Cano (25) 2B*

6. R Austin Romine (20) C

7. L Eric Duncan (24) 3B

8. L Ramiro Pena (23) SS

9. L Brett Gardner (25) LF*

Rotation:

1. Joba Chamberlain (23)* RHP

2. Phil Hughes (22)* RHP

3. Dellin Betances (21) RHP

4. Andrew Brackman (23) RHP

5. Zach McAllister (21) RHP

Bullpen:

LRP: Alfredo Aceves (26)* RHP

LHP: Phil Coke (26)* LHP

MRP: David Robertson (23)* RHP

MRP: Kanekoa Texeira (23) RHP

MRP: Brian Bruney (27)* RHP

SU: Pat Venditte (23) Switch-Pitcher

C: Mark Melancon (24) RHP

Bench:

L Juan Miranda (25)* 1B

L Brad Suttle (23) 3B

R Francisco Cervelli (23)* C

Joe Torre Statistics Bias

2009-01-31T07:30:00.000-08:00

Now I'm not one to criticize other writers. However, in this particular case, I felt the need to. A writer, who's name will not be mentioned, had a story about Joe Torre in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. It had to do with all the controversy he's created with his new book, the Yankee years. Now as I was reading it, it all seemed to be going pretty well, except I noticed one thing. The article said that the Yankees had made Torre a 1-year deal worth $5mm, "a 33% pay decrease from his '07 salary." Now 33% sounds like a lot, but don't be deceived. If the offer was for $5mm, then that means that Torre actually made $7.5mm in the previous season, a pay decrease of just $2.5mm. That's $3mm less than the pay decrease that Andy Pettitte would've received if he had taken the Yankees initial offer ($10.5mm). Plus, the most his contract could be worth if he reaches incentives is $12mm, still a $4mm pay decrease.

So does Torre really have a right to be upset? Did he receive a fair offer from the Yankees considering his club hadn't won the world series in seven years (a lot for the Yankees)? Have you lost your respect for Torre, not just because of this article, but for all that he's done with his book? These are all questions I'd like to hear your answers to. Please comment below.

An Official "No" to Manny in Pinstripes

2009-01-30T17:23:00.000-08:00

After signing three type A free agents (Sabathia, Burnett and Teixeira), people around baseball thought the the Yankees actually could sign another. Maybe even Manny Ramirez? However, those hopes were completely diminished today as it turns out that there is a rule against such a signing. That is that after signing 3 type A free agents, a team cannot sign another type A or B free agent, unless it is one of their own team. This means that next season, there will be no Manny Ramirez. No Adam Dunn. And no all the others. Sorry Manny fans, it's not happening.

One Heck of an Off-Season

2009-01-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

After not making the post-season for the first time in what seems like a century, the Yankees set their sights on improving their ball club through the free-agent market. Well, that's exactly what they did. By signing CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixiera, the Yankees have had, what I consider to be, the best off-season in team history. Never before have they spent so much money, to acquire such great talent. Now I've heard many people around baseball say that the Yankees are just going back to what they've always done. However, it's not what they've always done. The Yankees used to be the club that signed the over-priced veteran to a contract that's way to long. These players ranged from Kevin Brown to Randy Johnson, Ruben Sierra to Gary Sheffield, and of course, the infamous Carl Pavano. In fact, the only good signing the Yankees have had since the turn of the century, was when they signed Mike Mussina to an 8-year deal in 2000. But that's just about it (unless you count Giambi who was probably one of the better 1-sided players around, but that's not saying much).

So is that really the same as signing three of the best players in all of major league baseball? Are these signings really going to help the Yankees? Please leave your comments below.

Who's Next

2009-01-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

Now that the Yankees have signed Andy Pettitte, they are pretty much done with their offseason spending. And for all of you Manny Ramirez hopefuls out there, you should probably understand this before you embarrass yourself in front of a friend or co-worker: ahem...MANNY RAMIREZ IS NOT GOING TO THE YANKEES!!!! GET OVER IT!!!

Okay, so now that i've gotten that off my chest, it's time to go over what this article is really about: who (if anyone) will the Yankees go after next offseason after spending a gagillion ($422mm to be precise) dollars on CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixiera alone. Well, there really isn't that much choice. With most of the top free-agents likely to exercise options or sign long-term deals with their current teams (Josh Beckett and John Lackey to name a few), really the only top-knotch player out there, is Matt Holliday. After being traded to the A's this offseason, it appears that Holliday is headed for free agency (unless of course he gets traded to a club that then signs him to a long term deal, which is extremely unlikely considering his agent is Scott Boras).

Of course that brings us to the question of "will the Yankees pursue him?" It's the same question that was brought up earlier this offseason with A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixiera, and Manny Ramirez (there was never any question about Sabathia). The Yankees will have $45mm coming off the books as Jose Molina, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, and Andy Pettitte will be free agents. More importantly however, with Damon, Nady, and Matsui leaving, it will mean the Yankees will have a vacancy in the outfield and in the DH hole. Now a lot of things could happen with that. Prospect Austin Jackson will be ready to man centerfield, which may or may not put Brett Gardner or Melky Cabrera in left, and would also give Nick Swisher the right field job. For DH, the Yankees could either switch Jorge Posada over there and use a prospect such as Francisco Cerevelli to man the catchers position, call up maybe an Eric or Shelley Duncan, or sign a Carlos Delgado or a Hank Blalock to a one year deal. However, the option that you've all been waiting for: signing Matt Holliday.

Now there are many reasons why the Yankees could probably sign him. Number one, the money. Holliday would probably require Mark Teixeira type money, which the Yankees actually have room for. In fact, they could even sign him and another player if the really wanted to. They have room for him financially. The next reason is that he would fill a potential hole. If the Yankees had an outfield of Matt Holliday, Austin Jackson, and Nick Swisher, I'd be just fine. Plus if someone really didn't like Holliday in the outfield, and wanted Gardner there instead, the Yanks could just slot Matt in the DH spot and it would work perfectly. However, that would have a few ramifications. It would mean that Jorge Posada would be forced into being the full time catcher since he wouldn't be able to turn to the DH role as backup. However, I see the Holliday playing left field scenario as more likely.

Another thing this would do, would be to allow Jesus Montero the time he needs to develop. I know that some people view him as the predecessor to the Jorge Posada throne, but that's just not very likely for two main reasons: Number 1, when Posada's contract expires after the 2010 season, the Yankees will likely try to sign Joe Mauer (which is a story for another day). But the more important, reason number 2, is that Montero is really lacking as a defensive player. He's overweight, and slow behind the plate. In fact, many scouts and people around baseball see him as a first baseman/DH type of player (just like Jason Giambi). And if the Yankees were to sign Holliday (or just leave things as they are for that matter) it would give Montero the time he needs to fully develop as a hitter and get used to that DH role which he would most likely occupy in the Bronx. A quick note, for those of you who are not familiar with Jesus Montero, check him out. The guy hit over .320 last year in Yankees single-A and has frequently been called the best hitter in the Yankees system.

If the Yankees signed Matt Holliday, it would all but signal the end of Johnny Damon's years in pinstripes, and let me be the first to say "it was a hell-of-a-run." Johnny has really had some great times in the Bronx, with probably the highlight coming last year when he went 6-for-6 in a hot afternoon game against the Royals. However, Damon's leaving really takes a toll on the Yankees' defense as Damon was frequently sacrificing his body for the team. More importantly though, it leaves the Yankees without a true, number one hitter. But not to fear, Austin Jackson is (almost) here! Jackson fits the leadoff hitter model perfectly (speedy guy with decent power who can get on base). Plus, if he can't handle it, they can always try Gardner, or Cabrera or whoever the hell is manning center for the Yankees these days. The Yankees have really seemed to take an over-the-top interest in centerfield lately, I mean, Mike Cameron?? What??!! But I'm getting off topic.

There has also been some speculation that the Red Sox, fresh off of getting beaten by the Yankees in the Mark Teixeira derby, will go all-out for the young left fielder. However, I don't see it. They just don't really have room for him with 2 young players (and J.D. Drew) manning the 3 outfield spots. Of course I mean Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Bay, both of which are very talented players. And if Ellsbury's not going anywhere (I bet the Twins are regretting not taking that Ellsbury, Lowrie, and Lester for Johan Santana deal right about now), than it seems as though Jason Bay would be the odd-man-out. But hold on a second, the Red Sox are actually quite fond of Jason Bay and aren't about to let him leave. So if there's no room in the outfield, where do you put Matt Holliday? DH? *Buzzer Sound* Big Papi's already got that and isn't about to give it up to some hot-shot kid. Well then is there any where else? No. That's it. The Red Sox just don't have room for Holliday and thus I don't think he's going to go there.

The final point (finally) that I'm going to make has to do with Matt Holliday's family, mainly his Dad. Holliday's Dad is a big fan of the Yankees and it would be a "dream come true" for him to have his son don the pinstripes (of course Scott Boras may beg to differ but that's beside the point). Last year at the 2008 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, when his son Matt hit a homerun for the NL squad, his dad Tom literally jumped out of his seat and rejoiced. Before Matt had been traded to Oakland, Tom Holliday said, "if someone would have called me today and said Matt had gotten traded to the Yankees, I'd have been hunting for a place to celebrate." Well for now Tom's going to have to stay up watching his sons games on the West Coast. However in future, he might just be playing in a city closer to home: New York.

Pettitte to Be Pinstriped Once Again

2009-01-26T15:49:00.000-08:00

Today, Yankees GM Brian Cashman held a conference call with Andy Pettitte to announce the left-hander's re-signing with the club he's been with for 11 of his 14 major league seasons. Pettitte said that he really couldn't imagine playing for any other team and that he really wanted to open up the new Yankee Stadium. However, the main thing preventing the return, was money. The last two seasons, Pettitte has been paid $16mm. He was probably looking for about that this time around as well. However, the Yankees were not as lenient as they've been with him in the past. This was because of a couple things:

Number one, Pettitte didn't have his best year last year by any standards. In 2008, Pettitte went 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA. Also, one of Pettitte's key traits throughout his career, has been his effectiveness down the stretch. Well that also wasn't there last year, as after the all-star break, he went 5-7 with a disastrous 5.35 ERA.

The other reason was the fact that the Yankees really didn't have very much room financially. After investing over $400mm in contracts with CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, the Yanks didn't really have very much money to work with. In fact, Brian Cashman even said that they really only had about $10mm left in the budget. Well it appears as though that $10mm (and possibly a little extra) will be going to Andy Pettitte as he signed an incentive-ladened contract with a base of about $5.5mm. If he reaches incentives (that could include innings reached and time on the roster), the deal could be worth about $12mm.

The great thing this does for the Yankees (besides give them 'ol Andy back) is that it gives them great depth to what could be one of the best rotations in baseball. Before they signed Pettitte, it seemed as if the Yankees were prepared to put the 5th spot in the rotation up for grabs in Spring Training, with youngsters Phil Hughes, Dan Giese, Alfredo Aceves, and Phil Coke viewed as the favorites. However, that spot will now be given to Joba Chamberlain, as he slides into the 5th spot and gives the 4th hole to Pettitte. This gives the Yankees a rotation of: CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, and Joba Chamberlain. Pretty good if you ask me.

50 Ways to Say That Someone Hit a Home Run

2009-01-24T19:14:00.000-08:00

I recently had the idea to make a list of 50 ways to say that someone hit a home run. These include all sorts of things ranging from famous sportscaster calls (in "s), to general terms thrown around by baseball fans. Enjoy:

Hit
Creamed
Crushed
Bashed
Slaughtered
Killed
Drilled
Slugged
Shot
"See Ya!"
"Gone"
"Goodbye"
"Adios"
"There it goes"
"It's out-a-here"
Clobbered
Murdered
"He was all over that one"
"Gone to souvenir city"
Smoked
Blasted
Boomed
Cracked
Deposited
Driven
"That one's not coming back"
"Whoops"
"Oh what a shot"
"He squared it up"
Beat
Pulled
Yanked
"We have lift-off"
Ripped
Belted
"That's long gone"
"He got good wood on that one"
"It's up and it is good"
"This one is gone"
"Back, back, back, back gone"
"How about that?"
"Kiss it goodbye"
"You can put it on the board"
"Goodnight Irene"
"Touch 'em all"
"Holy Toledo"
"..he hits it deeeeep..."
"Goodbye baseball
"It is high, it is far, it is gone!"
"Holy cow"

Yanks in Talks With Sheets, Pettitte

2009-01-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

The New York Yankees are in talks with free agents pitchers Ben Sheets and Andy Pettitte according to SI.com's Jon Heyman. I recently wrote a post about how the Yankees should try to sign Ben Sheets and it seems as though it may actually take a 2-year deal to sign the injury-prone right hander. Since they are the Yankees however, they might be able to sign Sheets to a 1-year deal with one or two option years.

The Yankees have also "resumed" talks with LHP Andy Pettitte after Pettitte declined the Yankees $10.5mm offer. Pettitte refused the deal due to, in most part, the pay decrease it would result in from last year's salary ($16mm). Unless the two sides are willing to compromise to a deal around $13mm, Pettitte may be forced into retirement.

Yanks Should Go For Sheets

2009-01-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

Recently I made a post about why the Yankees should sign Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. I still support that, but I have another name to float out there: Ben Sheets. With the Yankees recently in the running for Freddy Garcia, it shows that they would still like to add some depth to their pitching rotation. To me, Sheets seems like a much better version of Freddy Garcia, for about the same cost. Garcia's contract from the Mets could be worth anywhere between $6-9mm. Sheets could command a $10mm deal with a couple more million in incentives, plus a few option years. The Yankees do have about $10mm left in their budget for free agents and Sheets would be a great guy to use it on.

Now the main pitfall to Sheets, has been his injuries. Even last year, when he started the All-Star game for the National League, he still ended the year with an injury and couldn't even pitch in the play-offs. However, if you want to compare him to Freddy Garcia, Sheets is actually less of an injury risk than Garcia. Sheets has pitched 339 innings over the last two years. In that same period of time, Garcia has only pitched 73. Now you can point to the fact that Sheets is a much better pitcher than Garcia, and thus has gotten a lot more opportunities, and that's true. But, one of the main reasons that Freddy hasn't gotten more chances, is because he's been injured most of the time.

The final reason why the Yanks should go after Ben Sheets, is the upside. If Sheets can be relatively healthy (decent chance), the Yankees would have an amazing pitching rotation: CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett topping it off, with two other Cy Young candidates in Chien-Ming Wang and Ben Sheets in the middle, and then have an above-par pitcher in Joba Chamberlain round things out. That is a staff that no team would want to face and if you put that with the enhanced lineup that includes the likes of A-Rod, Teixeira, and Jeter, you've got yourself a ballclub.

Yanks Lose to Mets on Garcia

2009-01-22T22:21:00.000-08:00

According to numerous reports, the New York Mets have come to an agreement with RHP Freddy Garcia. It is a minor league deal that could be worth $7-9mm if Garcia reaches the incentives. The Yankees were also in the running for the aging right-hander, but were apparently beaten out by the Mets.

Manny to Yanks? Unlikely

2009-01-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

I recently read an anonymous comment from someone that asked me what I thought of the possibility of Manny Ramirez signing with the Yankees. Well, this topic has been floating around all winter, and actually really heated up at one point right before the Yankees signed Mark Teixiera. However, it remains very unlikely for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Manny would have to DH, a role currently occupied by Hideki Matsui. The Yankees are already shopping Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher, and they would have to move another outfielder/DH in addition to them in order to make room for Manny. That doesn't seem like an option however, because the Yankees only want to trade one of Nady/Swisher and they can't find anywhere to trade Matsui, who would have to move. The second reason is the money factor. Manny already commands a 2-year, $45mm offer from the Dodgers, and they would likely go a little bit higher than that to sign him. However after investing almost $400mm in contracts to CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, the Yankees wouldn't be able to go very high and thus Manny would still most likely wind up with the Dodgers.

It sure would be nice to add Manny to the already powerful A-Rod and Tex combo, but it just isn't going to happen. Wrong place, wrong time.

Yanks, Mets Front-Runners for Garcia

2009-01-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

According to a report by FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees and Mets are now the front-runners for landing RHP Freddy Garcia. Previously it had seemed like the White Sox and Mets were leading the pack, with the Yankees all but dropping out. But it now appears as if they are right back in it. If the Yankees or Mets gets Garcia, neither will give him a rotation spot, but rather use him as rotation depth or let him battle for a fifth-spot in the Spring. Garcia has spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Mariners, with a few recent stints with the White Sox, Phillies, and Tigers.

Garcia, Yankees Interested

2009-01-14T16:24:00.000-08:00

As reported by SI.com's John Heyman, RHP Freddy Garcia will sign a deal within the next few days. Garcia has shrunken his list of possible teams to just three: The White Sox, Mets, and Yankees and he is likely to sign with one of them. This would provide excellent rotation depth for the Yankees who could have Garcia, Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Dan Giese, and Jason Jennings fight for the fifth rotation spot in Spring Training.

Pettitte-Yanks Talks Dwindling

2009-01-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

Talks between LHP Andy Pettitte and the Yankees are starting to cool off. After Pettitte rejected the Yankees' 1 year, $10mm offer, talks have all but stopped and one baseball executive even said there was less than a 50% chance of Pettitte putting the pinstripes back on.

My Pitch to The Yankees; Sign El Duque!

2009-01-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

We've heard so much talk this offseason about "bargains" and "cheap players." Well my pitch to the Yankees and Brian Cashman; bring back El Duque! After Andy Pettitte rejected the Yankees offer, they could use a no. 4 or 5 starter and Hernandez could fill that spot. He was a fan-favorite during his time in the Bronx side of town and would come VERY cheaply. In fact, the Yanks could probably just ink him to a cheap, minor-league deal and have him fight it out in Spring Training. He is old, but hey, as the Red Sox have demonstrated over the last couple years, pitching depth never hurts. The Yankees could use him at the beginning of the year (or start him in triple-A) and if he gets injured, or starts pitching badly, then they can just demote him. It would be a very low-risk, good reward move for the Yankees (something the Red Sox have been doing a lot of lately).

The one obstacle might be Orlando Hernandez's possible retirement. However, if there's one team that could convince him otherwise, it's the Yankees. The team that he left his country to play for.

Pettitte Has Put a Black Mark Next to Legacy

2009-01-11T17:24:00.000-08:00

By turning down the Yankees' 1-year, $10mm offer the other day, Andy Pettitte did a number of things; he not only all but removed himself from the Yankees 2009 rotation, but he has forever put a black mark on his Yankee legacy. One larger than when he tested positive for human growth hormone (HGH). For a little more than a decade now, Pettitte has been adored by Yankee fans and has been a face of the franchise. They have always stood by each other. When Pettitte was apologizing about the HGH results, the Yankees took him in and allowed him the time he needed. All along this off-season, Pettitte has claimed that "he only wants to play for the Yankees" and that he wants to play in the new stadium. However, now that he's rejected their offer (which is quite fair for a pitcher who went 14-14 last year) it appears that those are publicity-lies, meant to look good. Now I'm not against Pettitte. In fact, I'd love it if he comes back. But if he doesn't take their offer and joins another team instead, his reputation, his legacy, will be ruined.

Morneau Should've Been MVP

2009-01-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

Many of you Red Sox fans will probably disagree with me, but I believe that Justin Morneau should've been the American League MVP, not Dustin Pedroia. Now before you go ballistic, let me give you my argument:

I'll start off with stats; Pedroia's batting AVG (.326) was 26 points higher than Morneau's (.300), but, as we saw last year with A-Rod and Ordonez, if the other stats are large enough, batting average doesn't matter as much. In 2008, Morneau drove in 129 runs, good enough for 2nd in the American league (Josh Hamilton had 130). However, Pedroia only had 83 which is 27th in the AL! That's also a difference of 46 RBI! Morneau also had 23 HR while Pedroia only had 17. And for all those people saying "but wait, the Red Sox made it to the playoffs and the Twins didn't." Well that would work except for the fact that the Twins only missed the playoffs by 1 stinking game. The discussion of playoff-team players shouldn't be included because of that. So as you can see, it should be Morneau, not Pedroia, owning the hardware and on the front of MLB '09 the Show.

AL East Best Player List

2009-01-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

ESPN.com has MLB player rankings on their site. They use a combination of 2008 statistics and formulas to determine the best players in the league. I've put together my own list using the same basic principles but I factored in new players as well

Top 10 Position Players:

1. Alex Rodriguez NYY

2. Mark Teixeira NYY

3. Dustin Pedroia BOS

4. Kevin Youkilis BOS

5. Nick Markakis BAL

6. Brian Roberts BAL

7. Derek Jeter NYY

8. Carlos Pena TB

9. Alex Rios TOR

10. B.J. Upton TB

Top 10 Starting Pitchers:

1. CC Sabathia NYY

2. Roy Halladay TOR

3. Daisuke Matsuzaka BOS

4. Chien-Ming Wang NYY

5. A.J. Burnett NYY

6. Jon Lester BOS

7. James Shields BOS

8. Josh Beckett BOS

9. Scott Kazmir TB

10. Joba Chamberlain NYY

Ultimate Lineup:

1. Dustin Pedroia 2B

2. Derek Jeter SS

3. David Ortiz DH

4. Alex Rodriguez 3B

5. Mark Teixeira 1B

6. Nick Markakis RF

7. Jason Bay LF

8. Jorge Posada C

9. B.J. Upton CF

Ultimate Rotation:

1. CC Sabathia

2. Roy Halladay

3. Daisuke Matsuzaka

4. Chien-Ming Wang

5. A.J. Burnett

Free Agent Team

2009-01-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

On Buster Olney's blog, he created a team out of the remaining free agents. I've put done sort of the same thing. Instead of using the best of the remaining free agents, I used the best of the players that were on the market (via trade or free agency). Here's what I got:

Lineup:

1. Brian Roberts 2B

2. Orlando Cabrera SS

3. Jermaine Dye RF

4. Manny Ramirez DH

5. Adam Dunn LF

6. Nick Swisher 1B

7. Jim Edmonds CF

8. Joe Crede 3B

9. Jarod Saltalmachia C

Starting Rotation:

1. Ben Sheets

2. Derek Lowe

3. Andy Pettitte

4. Randy Wolf

5. Jon Garland

Closer:

Bobby Jenks

Yanks to Lower Pettitte Offer?

2009-01-09T22:50:00.000-08:00

According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, the Yankees have lowered there $10mm offer to Andy Pettitte. This is coming after Pettitte rejected the offer and it appears as though the Yankees are standing pat on what they have been saying all along: they weren't going to budge on their offer.

Team USA Roster

2009-01-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

A look at the USA team roster so far:

Starting Pitchers:

John Lackey LAA

Roy Oswalt HOU

Jake Peavy SD

Relief Pitchers:

Jonathan Broxton LAD

Brian Fuentes LAA

Matt Lindstrom FLA

Joe Nathan MIN

J.J. Putz NYM

B.J. Ryan TOR

Scot Shields LAA

Matt Thornton CHW

Infielders:

Mark DeRosa CLE

Derek Jeter NYY

Chipper Jones ATL

Dustin Pedroia BOS

Jimmy Rollins PHI

David Wright NYM

Kevin Youkilis BOS

Outfielders:

Ryan Braun MIL

Curtis Granderson DET

Grady Sizemore CLE

Catchers:

Brian McCann

Type-A Free Agents Remaining

2009-01-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of all the Type-A Free Agents remaining:

C Jason Varitek
2B Orlando Hudson
SS Orlando Cabrera
LF Adam Dunn
LF Manny Ramirez
RF Bobby Abreu
SP Derek Lowe
SP Oliver Perez
SP Andy Pettitte
SP Ben Sheets
RP Juan Cruz
RP Russ Springer
CP Trevor Hoffman

So as you can see, there's still a lot left, and for it being January already, this list is a lot bigger than normal.

Yanks Make Small Moves

2009-01-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

On a day in which the Yankees made a big splash, they also made a lot of little ones too. They signed Angel Berroa, Jason Johnson, and John Rodriguez to minor league deals. Berroa, 30, will likely compete with Cody Ransom for the job as the Yankees' utility man. Johnson, 35, will compete for the fifth-starter spot in the Yankees' rotation and is known for inducing ground-balls. The Yankees signed John Rodriguez for a little over $400k.

Mitre Slammed With 50-Game Suspension

2009-01-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

Sergio Mitre, now on the Yankees' Triple-A roster, was handed a 50-game suspension, along with Phillies reliever J.C. Romero, by Major League Baseball. Both pitchers said they had unknowingly ingested banned substances that were in unmarked containers, however they both lost their cases.

Note On Teixeira Announcement

2009-01-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Today Mark Teixeira was announced as the newest member of the New York Yankees (I'm sorry for not announcing this news earlier). At first he seemed a little tense, but after a couple minutes of being up there, he seemed to fit right in as he was beaming through the whole thing. And that's pretty much how his basic season goes; he gets off to a bad start, but then comes through big at the end and produces good season numbers. Teixeira said it was mostly his wife's decision for coming to the Yankees and he is glad to be here after idolizing them for so long as a kid. A few notes on Teixeira's signing:

Final contract: 8 years, $180mm with a $5mm signing bonus
Teixeira will wear number 25, which is interesting because that not only used to be Joe Girardi's number, but it was also worn by the man Tex will be replacing at first base, Jason Giambi.
In order to make room Teixeira on the Yankees 40-man roster, they designated Shelley Duncan for assignment.
Teixeira wanted #23 because he grew up idolizing former Yankees 1B, Don Mattingly. Who, interestingly enough, is the one that retired that number.

Pettitte Rejects Yankees' Offer; Return Unlikely?

2009-01-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

According to a person with knowledge of the negotiations said that Andy Pettitte has rejected the Yankees' 1-year, $10mm offer. At the beginning of the offseason, it appeared as though a reunion between Pettitte and the Bronx was inevitable. However, after signing CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, Pettitte's future in pinstripes became in doubt and it now appears as though it might be over. The Yankees have been stubborn as to giving Pettitte more than $10mm and if he holds out for more, he probably will have a forced-retirement, something that he does not want.

Teixeira Announcement Set For Tuesday

2009-01-04T17:57:00.001-08:00

The Yankees have made plans to announce Mark Teixeira as the newest Yankee at a press conference on Tuesday. Mark is currently in town and will take a physical tomorrow. The Yankees reached an agreement with Mark Teixeira for an 8-year, $180mm contract.