Via Michigan Live’s Tigers Blog with a h/t to BBTF –

Two major league scouts and two national baseball writers interviewed by Booth Newspapers said the Tigers got the best of the deal, obtaining center fielder Austin Jackson, starter Max Scherzer, reliever Daniel Schlereth and reliever-starter Phil Coke.

Each requested anonymity.

“I’d say Detroit did the best,” one veteran scout said. “I believe the Yankees are going to see that they are not getting what they think in (Curtis) Granderson. I changed my mind on his defense this year. He turned routine plays into ‘Web Gems’ because he got bad jumps. And he struck out too much and couldn’t hit left-handers.

“He’s a real good kid and all. But I just don’t think he’s a great player, even with all of his homers.”

One writer noted the Yankees made out well by obtaining Granderson, while a scouts thought the Diamondbacks came out second because they got All-Star pitcher Edwin Jackson.

I’ll have some additional thoughts on the Granderson deal later today. In the interim, feel free to discuss this report in the comments section here.

Filed under Possible Bad News ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via the CHB today –

Do not buy the bill of goods the Red Sox are selling.

John Henry and Theo Epstein are preparing you for the Big Slide. While they continue to raise ticket prices and drain every dollar out of Fenway, they are telling you to put your expectations on the shelf. No more “championship-driven’’ campaign for your Red Sox. The Sox are building a “bridge’’ for the future. They are giving up on competing with those big, bad Yankees.

What a joke.

In an e-mail to the Globe’s Amalie Benjamin last month Henry explained that the Sox might not be as good this year, writing, “Those realities are a function of available talent and age-related transitioning once again, as we did prior to 2007.’’

Tuesday at the winter meetings in Indianapolis, Epstein hammered at the same theme with “we’re kind of in a bridge period. We still think that if we push some of the right buttons, we can be competitive at the very highest levels for the next two years. But we don’t want to compromise too much of the future for that competitiveness during the bridge period.’’

Translation: Don’t expect us to make any big deals. We don’t want to spend any more money on payroll. We’ve already blown enough on the likes of Matt Clement, Edgar Renteria, Julio Lugo, J.D. Drew, Daisuke Matsuzaka, John Smoltz, and Brad Penny. Let the Yankees spend the money. We’re not going to compete with them anymore.

So keep ponying up the dough for those Fenway tours and wait for our “kids.’’ You’re gonna love Jose Iglesias, Ryan Kalish, Ryan Westmoreland, Casey Kelly, and Lars Anderson, but they are a couple of years away.

Just like Juan Bustabad was always a couple of years away.

I’m not buying. The Sox have the dough to sign Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. Just like they had the money to bag Mark Teixeira last winter. But they keep getting beaten by the Yankees and then they cry about it.

Stop. It’s hideous of the Sox and their fans to complain about the Yankees buying championships. Sure, the Yanks can afford Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett, just like the Sox were able to afford Matsuzaka and Drew. The Sox got Curt Schilling and Victor Martinez the same way the Yankees got Curtis Granderson this week. The Sox are not the Pirates. They are not the Brewers or the A’s. The Sox are Haves, not Have-Nots. Like the Yankees, the Sox are happy to raid the rosters of teams that can’t afford high-priced talent.

Fun stuff, huh?

Filed under Rivalry Snapshots ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Is this why Brian Cashman thinks Staten Island’s Jason Marquis is a “tough” guy.

By the way, I’m just kidding…

…from what I’ve heard, Marquis is a really nice guy. In fact, the kid of someone who I know once worked out with Jason and Frank Menechino and said they were great guys with no ego whatsoever.

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via Ken Rosenthal -

The Yankees are closing in on a one-year contract for nearly $12 million with free-agent left-hander Andy Pettitte, according to a major-league source.

The deal, first reported by SI.com, would ensure that the Yankees started next season with the same three starters that helped them win the World Series — CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Pettitte.

Right-handers Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain could join that trio in the Yankees’ rotation, but the team continues to explore other possibilities, from a trade for Blue Jays right-hander Roy Halladay to free agents, including right-hander John Lackey.

Pettitte, who turns 38 on June 15, went 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 starts during the regular season, then 4-0 with a 3.52 ERA in the postseason, winning the clinching game of all three Yankees’ playoff series.

Good news.

I’d still like to see the Yankees starting rotation line-up where Pettitte would be counted on as being a “#4″ (with Burnett being a “#3″) – which would require the acquistion of a “#2″ (to slot behind Sabathia). With a set-up like that, you could live with anyone, within reason, as your fifth starter.

Going with Chamberlain and Hughes as your last two starters really isn’t all that different than going with Hughes and Kennedy in your rotation – as the Yankees did in 2008. And, we know how that worked out…

Then again, more than once, I’ve heard Brian Cashman say that he feels that your fourth and fifth starters are not that key at the start of the season and can be replaced/upgraded, if needed, during the regular season. (Think: Sidney Ponson.)

Filed under Off The Field News ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Please consider taking the following poll:

Thanks in advance. And, please feel free to add comments on your opinion in the comments section below.

Filed under Surveys ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via Lynn Henning of the Detroit News

[Curtis] Granderson fell from grace.

That’s the only way to say it.

He hit .249 this past season. He batted .183 against left-handers and became so overmatched by them that manager Jim Leyland sometimes sat him, or more often dropped him deep into his batting order.

You could feel the tension building inside Comerica Park’s clubhouse. Granderson, even as he hit 30 home runs, came to embody the Tigers’ sputtering, sprint-and-slip offense. The supposed ignition switch often became a drag on a batting order that seemed to deflate or inflate based on what Granderson was doing.

If it were just a matter of having an off season, the Tigers might have lived with it. But it goes deeper than that. Granderson has been spread too thin in Detroit. In that respect, his charm is also his curse.

He’s involved in everything. He has a difficult time saying no. He loves community work. He’s here for this event, there for that gathering, and almost always available for a kid who needs him at a hospital.

Wonderful, and praiseworthy. And also of likely consequence to his fundamental assignment: playing baseball.

One must be careful about making criticisms here. But this feeling has been deep for a very long time, mostly because Granderson, for all his decency, on too many days appeared to be putting in more of a work shift than concentrating adequately on a game that must be played with consummate passion and attention.

I’ve had discussions with Granderson on this very subject and his testimony has been compelling. He acknowledged last summer that he probably was over-scheduled during past seasons. But not in 2009. In fact, he had trimmed his schedule — a lot, to hear him detail.

That’s no doubt true.

But being Granderson is different from being another baseball player. He’s literally an ambassador to Major League Baseball, complete with overseas tours of duty and the whole package.

See, that’s why the Yankees are smart to get all this stuff done in just one week. And, yes, I’m just kidding here…

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

The trade details, via Tyler Kepner -

Curtis Granderson is the Yankees’ new center fielder, coming over from the Detroit Tigers in a three-way deal that also included the Arizona Diamondbacks. The deal, which is pending approval of medical records, will send outfielder Austin Jackson and reliever Phil Coke to Detroit and starter Ian Kennedy to Arizona.

The Diamondbacks will also receive starter Edwin Jackson from the Tigers, who will also get starter Max Scherzer and reliever Daniel Schlereth from Arizona.

I’m only going to comment on the Yankees end – since I really don’t care about the Tigers and D-backs.

What the Yankees gave up: Austin Jackson, Phil Coke and Ian Kennedy. And, what the Yankees got: Curtis Granderson.

Ian Kennedy is a AAAA-pitcher. Maybe he’ll be effective in the big leagues, at times? But, too much has to be perfect for him to excel at the major league level. Basically, he was expendable.

Phil Coke is a nice kid and has a bulldog attitude towards pitching. But, he’s probably never going to be better than he was this season and could be worse. He’s a “nice to have” pitcher – but, he’s not a “can’t do without pitcher.”

Basically, the thing the Yankees gave up here was Austin Jackson – their best position playing Triple-A prospect. Now, back in August, I asked this question about “A-Jax”:

Is he a true blue-chip prospect as the Yankees say, or, is he just a good athlete who will never be a solid, everyday, major league player?

And, today, we still don’t know the answer to that question. It may take another couple of years to get that answer – maybe more.

This brings us to Curtis Granderson. Last month, I had this to say about him:

In terms of “make-up,” Granderson is off-the-charts…probably Derek Jeter like, in that regard.

And, I still stand by that comment. But, what about his on-the-field production? Well, first off, he doesn’t hit LHP – at all. See his career splits in that regard:

I          Split   G   PA   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG
    vs RHP as LH 618 2211 572 102 51 86 245 229 449 .292 .367 .528
    vs LHP as LH 305  685 130  23  6 16  54  45 169 .210 .270 .344

Further, as a center fielder, he leaves something to be desired. Note his 1.6 UZR/150 in CF in 2009 and his -9.4 UZR/150 in CF in 2008.

If the Yankees end up playing Curtis Granderson in left field next season and give him the day off when the likes of Jon Lester, John Danks, Mark Buehrle, Dallas Braden, David Price or Joe Saunders is starting for the other team, he should be a fine addition to their team – all things considered.

But, if the Yankees are going to play Curtis Granderson everday, against all pitching, he’s probably going to bat between .260 and .275 with an OBA around .350. And, if they play him in center, at best, he’ll match what Melky Cabrera did out there with the glove and will not be as good, defensively, as Brett Gardner.

So, is this a smart trade by Brian Cashman? It sort of depends on how the Yankees use Granderson and how Austin Jackson develops. Let’s just hope it turns out better than the last three-team deal that Cashman brokered with the Tigers being involved.

Filed under Roster Moves ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via the fellas from FOX -

The Yankees, Diamondbacks and Tigers have discussed a three-way trade that would send Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson to New York and right-hander Edwin Jackson to Arizona, major-league sources say.

The talks are at an impasse, according to one source. The proposed deal is being pushed by the D-Backs, but was rejected by at least one of the two other teams, the source says.

While trade talks are fluid and the names involved could change, sources say the following scenario is under discussion:

• The Yankees would receive Granderson from the Tigers and one or two prospects from the Diamondbacks.

• The Diamondbacks would get Jackson from the Tigers and right-hander Ian Kennedy from the Yankees.

• The Tigers would get right-hander Max Scherzer from the Diamondbacks, and center fielder Austin Jackson and left-handed relievers Phil Coke and Michael Dunn from the Yankees.

When I first heard this rumor, my heart sank.

I wanted to take some time before commenting on it – but, I cannot wait any longer.

I guess this means the Yankees like Curtis Granderson a lot. And, I guess it means they’re not as high on Austin Jackson as some think they are…

Update, 12/8/09, 1:45 pm EST: According to Buster Olney, a source with knowledge of negotiations says Granderson deal is close to being completed.

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via Tyler Kepner –

[Brian] Cashman flew to Indianapolis on a private jet with the agents Sam and Seth Levinson, who represent Jason Marquis, the Staten Island native who made the All-Star team for Colorado last season but has never pitched in the American League.

“He’s very successful, pitched in tough markets, and he’s a New Yorker,” Cashman said. “That means he’s tough.”

Seems like it was just yesterday that Marquis was all the rage for Tottenville High School…

…but, actually, that was 1995-96.

Signing Marquis to a short-term deal would make more sense than relying on a comeback or hoping to find a genie in a bottle.

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

According to reports, #99 on the Yankees is now available for anyone who wants it.

Filed under Roster Moves ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Joel Sherman has the story.

I wonder what number it will take to get this done? $12 million? Closer to $15 million?

I really don’t see this going to fifteen. But, if the Yankees get close to twelve, it should be a done deal – and done quickly.

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via Buster Olney –

The Yankees will try to re-sign Andy Pettitte and look for another starter, and they could dole out one moderate-sized (by Yankees standards) contract of about $7-8 million annually to a left fielder. Beyond that, though, the team that accounted for about 40 percent of all free-agent dollars spent last winter doesn’t intend to spend much.

If the Yankees are looking to spend that much on a left-fielder, it may be time to say good-bye to Johnny Damon and hello to Mark DeRosa in Yankeeland…

As far as that “other starter” after Pettitte, it will probably depend on what Boston is doing with respect to Doc Halladay. If they’re in, the Yankees will be in as well. If not, and assuming Pettitte comes back, expect the Yankees to look at swinging a deal for guys like Edwin Jackson, Brandon Morrow or Zach Duke.

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via Tracy Ringolsby -

Former San Diego general manager Kevin Towers is planning to attend the winter meetings in Indianapolis this week. He won’t be on official business, but he could finalize his next job.

Towers has been approached by several teams to be a special assistant to the general manager.

He is leaning toward accepting an offer from Yankees GM Brian Cashman, a close friend of Towers, according to sources close to the situation.

The Yankees would present Towers with two new views on baseball — working for a team that has money to spend (he has spent his time with the Padres and Pirates) and getting a feel for life in the American League.

Kevin Towers is everything that Brian Cashman is not. Towers was a pitcher at BYU and a 1st round round draft pick in 1982. He pitched seven seasons in San Diego’s farm system before injuries ended his career at the Triple-A level. He’s been a minor league pitching coach and a scout.

More on Towers via Jeff Fletcher back in April:

“Kevin has an incredible passion for the job,” said A’s GM Billy Beane, who counts Towers among his favorite colleagues, personally and professionally. “He gets along with everybody. He’s a well-liked guy, a good communicator. He’s fun to be around.”

Former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta, who now works under Towers as an executive vice president with the Padres, said: “He’s a very down-to-earth guy. People realize when they talk to him that he is very genuine. When people talk to him, they know they’re getting the real deal. They never think he’s trying to fleece them or do something underhanded. It’s always above-board and honest. He gets along with everybody… I think that helps him make deals, with clubs and with agents. Those things combined make for quite a run as the GM here.”

It doesn’t seem like 1995 was so long ago, but that was before most Americans had any idea what the Internet was. It was before most baseball fans — or even executives — paid any attention to acronyms like VORP or OPS. And it was before anyone around the game gave much consideration to how these players were getting so strong so quickly.

Yes, it’s been a long 13 years, with a lot of changes that have forced Towers to adapt.

[Towers] was an old school, scouting GM, by his own admission, when he took the job. He had little use for the numbers stuff.

“The scout says go get a player, so you go get a player,” he said. “I didn’t look into park factors, OBP, OPS. We weren’t looking at trends that were important to look at along with your scouting reports.”

Towers said that started to change for him when he hired a kid named Theo Epstein as a Director of Baseball Operations. He also hired Eddie Epstein (no relation), well-known in baseball circles as a statistical analyst.

“They educated me on the importance of these things,” Towers said. “The more I looked at them, the more I thought ‘There is something to this.’ I still valued the old traditional scouts. There are things that scouts see on the field that don’t show up in the numbers, intangibles a player might posess. I think think you need a balance of both.”

If there is a man to bring unity to the battle between the Numbers Guys and the Scouting Guys, the new school and the old school, Towers is the guy. He is admired in both camps.

“Kevin has always been open-minded and used every resource available to him,” Beane said. “There is no question Kevin likes to get his fingernails dirty and get out and see players himself, but he also has progressed with the times. He’s a nice combination of both sides.”

Towers is comfortable enough with the sabermetric guys — “propellerheads,” he playfully calls them — that the Padres employ a full-time statistical analyst, not to mention the Harvard-educated DePodesta.

Now, in a perfect world, at least in my dreams, the Yankees will fire Randy Levine, promote Brian Cashman to Team President, and install Towers as Senior Vice President, General Manager. But, in the interim, just getting Towers into the Yankees mix is a great move too.

Filed under Off The Field News ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Yup, just 300 days ago, Alex Rodriguez was hiding and partying in the Bahamas. And, now, he’s celebrating and partying in the Dominican Republic. Maybe the Vengaboys should do a song about A-Rod? Via the Daily News -

Just over a month after winning his first World Series ring – when he buried both his postseason demons of the past and the tumultuous beginning of his 2009 season – Alex Rodriguez is still speechless when it comes to reflecting on life as a champion.

“It’s still hard to put into words what we accomplished as a team. We just believe in Joe’s (Girardi) message, which is team, team, team. I’m still enjoying it,” A-Rod told the Daily News Saturday night.

Dropping by to support his good friend David Ortiz at the Red Sox slugger’s charity golf weekend, Rodriguez made a brief but memorable appearance at the Cap Cana resort. It was the latest stop of Rodriguez’s unofficial World Series champion tour. Friday night he partied with hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and teammate Robinson Cano in the resort town of La Romana, celebrating Jay-Z’s birthday. Last week Rodriguez was in London with main squeeze Kate Hudson as she did press for the premiere of the movie “Nine.” Last month, he was courtside for a Lakers game.

Yes, it’s good to be the king, even if Rodriguez is still keeping his cards close to the vest and his comments brief. Asked if he plays over in his mind any particular World Series memories, Rodriguez replayed an answer that was common this season, when he avoided headlines and controversy following a rough spring training.

“Nothing personal. To me it’s just the great team spirit,” Rodriguez said. “Everyone basically checked their ego at the door and was concerned about one thing, that’s winning games. The World Series, the championship (series) and the division series was really how we played all year as a unit.”

Rodriguez certainly looked the picture of contentment Saturday night, arriving in a golf cart and taking dress-casual to a whole new level. A-Rod sported shorts, a baseball cap and a Cap Cana polo shirt while most of the other guests were dressed in semi-formal attire for the dinner that raised money for Ortiz’s charity that supports needy Dominican and American children with heart problems.

“A-Rod, since day one, he told me, ‘I’ll be there, Papi. I’ve got to support you. I love the cause. I’ll be there.’ He always wants to help the most he can,” Ortiz said. But no sooner had Rodriguez arrived, doled out embraces to current and past athletes and slipped Ortiz a check, he was slipping out the entrance into a white SUV.

David Ortiz? A-Rod? I wonder if Angel Presinal was serving drinks at this party?

Filed under Off The Field News,PEDs & A-Rod,World Series 2009 ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

And I’m talking about the place that I used to pilgrimage to back in the early 1980′s…

The good folks at Misc. Baseball tipped me off on these…

Babe Ruth speaking about when he might retire.

Babe Ruth talking about his called shot home run in the 1932 World Series versus the Chicago Cubs.

A short clip of Babe Ruth speaking at Yankee Stadium for the last time, in 1948, a few months before he died from throat cancer.

Filed under Yankees History ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

I caught a little of the 1976 Mark Fidrych Monday Night Baseball Game (against the Yankees) replay on the MLB Network today. I remember watching that one when it was actually played that season. I was 13 1/2 years old at the time.

Back then, I had no idea what On Base Percentage was, or OPS – and, naturally OPS+. RCAA? RSAA? Offensive Winning Percentage? Command Ratio? Pythagorean Winning Percentage? Defensive Efficiency? UZR? Nope – I had no idea what any of those were “back then” either – zero, zip, nada, zilch. Life was a big sabermetric goose egg in those days.

I also had no idea what player’s salaries were in 1976 – well, maybe outside of Catfish Hunter. And, for the most part, I had no clue as to what players were doing off-the-field in their downtime…at least not like we know now about most players.

I knew that Gabe Paul was the General Manager of the Yankees in 1976. But, as far as I knew, then, the G.M. was just some guy who made trades. I had no knowledge whatsoever that Pat Gillick was the Yankees Scouting Director back then and that Patrick Nugent was their Farm Director. Related, the fact that Pat Tabler, Calvin Riggar, and Johnny Crawford were the Yankees first three picks in the Amateur Draft that summer was beyond my brain.

I was aware of some prospects in the Yankees system – like Mickey Klutts, Ron Guidry, Terry Whitfield, Gil Patterson, Larry Murray, Scott McGregor, Dave Bergman, Dell Alston and Larry McCall. But, what I knew was limited to what Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer and Bill White told me about them.

Nonethess, I enjoyed baseball a helluva lot more back in 1976 than I do now…and watching this rebroadcast today confirmed this feeling for me. It was just the players and the game.

Man…Thomas Gray nailed it.

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via the Boston Herald –

Fenway Park has lost its grip on first place to Yankee Stadium, according to a new survey.

Readers of SportsBusiness Journal gave top honors to the Bronx Bombers’ $1.5 billion baseball stadium that opened in April. Friendly Fenway finished second, followed by the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field, Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park and the San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park.

Fenway, a field of dreams (or nightmares) since 1912, had topped the trade publication’s list since its inception in 2005.

“The Yankees’ new home received plenty of attention and raised the bar for major league ballparks,” said David Bourne, a SportsBusiness Journal editor. “But as earlier surveys show, people really like the classics. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Fenway back in the top slot next year after some of the shine of the new Yankee Stadium wears off.”

Sam Kennedy, Red Sox chief operating officer, balked at the results of this year’s survey. “There are lots of great ballparks, but we’re proud of all the changes we’ve made. We continue to try to keep up with the Yankees on and off the field.”

Ah, the Curse of Janet Marie Smith strikes its first blow!

Filed under Rivalry Snapshots,Yankee Stadium ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via Anthong McCarron -

After finishing their budget meetings in Tampa Friday, the Yankees are ready to dive into both the trade and free-agent markets and their priority is pitching, according to one insider.

With that in mind, the Yankees will “see what’s there” in the Roy Halladay trade sweepstakes, the person said, and likely will be engaged in talks on the Toronto ace.

The Yanks also hope to resolve Andy Pettitte’s status as soon as possible and they will look at John Lackey, the top free agent starter, the person said. All of the Yankees’ own primary free agents – Pettitte, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui – are “in the game,” as well, the person added.

Less likely are bids for slugging outfielders Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, unless the Yankees are unable to retain Damon to fill left field.

Reached Friday while waiting for his flight back to New York, Yankees GM Brian Cashman would not be specific about the team’s plans, saying, “We’ve got our (payroll) numbers and I have the priorities we’ve lined up. We’ll go to the trade and free agent markets and hopefully make good decisions.

“I feel like I’ve got work to do, simple as that.”

Cashman got to work immediately. He spoke to Matsui’s agent, Arn Tellem, as he was boarding his plane Friday and the two plan to meet at baseball’s winter meetings, which begin Monday in Indianapolis.

The Yankees’ payroll should drop from the roughly $206 million it was last season, the insider said, but probably not by much. The Yankees have about $45 million coming off the books with their own free agents, though they are due to pay roughly $15 million in raises to other players. So if they add several pieces, they’ll likely be close to their 2009 figure.

Dare we dream of a rotation of Sabathia, Halladay, Lackey, Burnett and Pettitte?

I remember being extremely excited before the 2002 season over the rotation of Clemens, Mussina, Pettitte, Wells and El Duque. But, Sabathia, Halladay, Lackey, Burnett and Pettitte would top that one, for sure.

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Damn, I miss these guys…

Filed under Random Thoughts ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Is it just me, or, do the Yankees lead the league in “unnamed team sources”?

Via Marc Carig –

The Yankees wrapped up their organizational meetings on Friday afternoon, allowing general manager Brian Cashman to focus his attention on filling his team’s holes heading into baseball’s winter meetings.

“I’ve got a set budget now,” Cashman said. “Now we’re in position to start engaging in the trade and free agent market and trying to put the 2010 team together, to see where it takes us.”

Cashman offered few details and refused to comment about how much money he’ll have to work with.

But a team source said on Friday that the team will lower its spending from the approximately $206 million spent on payroll this season, a reduction that had been expected. However, the source declined to offer more details.

The Yankees do have about $40 million coming off their payroll this off-season. But, they’re going to have to replace Damon and Pettitte, at the least, and that should cost around $20 million with somewhat cheap replacements. This could be an interesting winter meetings…or not…in Yankeeland.

Filed under Off The Field News ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Remember Andy? Via Jack Curry –

When the Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman visited Yankee Stadium in October, the Yankees asked his representative if Chapman could throw a bullpen session for them. Edwin Mejia, who has since been replaced as the agent, said Chapman would not at that time.

Joe Kehoskie, an agent who has represented Cuban defectors for 11 years, said Chapman “might have more upside than any pitcher on the planet.” But in terms of being ready for the major leagues, Kehoskie added that Chapman “is a strong candidate for being the fool’s gold of the current free-agent market” because he is still developing complementary pitches and working on his control.

Before the Yankees signed Orlando Hernandez (four-year, $6.6 million contract in 1998) and Contreras, they had scouted both multiple times and knew they were pursuing pitchers acknowledged as the best in Cuba. In the year before the Red Sox signed Matsuzaka, they watched each of his starts in Japan and knew he was the best pitcher in that country. No team has as detailed a dossier on Chapman, who was not yet the best pitcher in Cuba. “I find it very difficult to believe any team would offer Strasburg money, based on eight-month-old gun readings from the W.B.C.,” Kehoskie said. “Beyond that, Chapman was declared a free agent nine weeks ago. When was the last time a player was a free agent for nine weeks, generated little or no action, and then had teams suddenly making record-breaking offers?”

Robert Eenhoorn, a former Yankees infielder who is the general manager of the Netherlands national team, is the rare official who has seen Chapman pitch. Eenhoorn watched Chapman against South Korea in 2007 and said Chapman was impressive for that level of play.

“He has an exploding fastball, but was also wild with it,” Eenhoorn said. “He is, without a doubt, a great player. But, as everyone knows, velocity alone is not enough nowadays.”

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman declined to discuss Chapman. Although Chapman is much different from Kei Igawa, the soft-tossing left-hander from Japan, it would be natural for Cashman to ponder what went awry with Igawa as he considers Chapman.

After the Red Sox outbid the Yankees for the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka, the Yankees bid $26 million for Igawa’s rights, then signed him to a four-year, $20 million deal. Igawa had a 6.66 E.R.A. in 2007 and 2008 and was marooned in the minor leagues last season.

Speaking generally about the pursuit of international pitchers, Cashman said: “Everything influences you. On the failures, you assess where it failed and why. You look at the competition level and how it translates to pitching here.”

I’ll repeat what I said last month, we don’t need another Brackman. Pass.

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via the fellas from FOX –

Once the major free agents sign, the Royals expect left fielder David DeJesus and possibly right-hander Gil Meche to draw significant trade interest.

Both players are under club control for two more years. DeJesus will earn $4.7 million next season, and his contract includes a $6 million club option for 2011. Meche is owed $24 million over that period.

For the Royals, the idea of trading either or both players would be to reduce payroll and increase their inventory of young talent.

DeJesus, 30, had the fourth highest OPS in the American League out of the leadoff spot last season, trailing only the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, Rays’ Jason Bartlett and Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki.

Meche, 31, had a 3.82 ERA and averaged 213 innings in his first two years with the Royals, but took a step backward last season, in part because he missed nearly a month with lower back spasms.

Hmmm…

Suppose that Johnny Damon does not return to the Yankees. And, suppose that Andy Pettitte shocks the world and retires. Further, let us assume that the Yankees whiff on guys like Roy Halladay, John Lackey, Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Mike Cameron, Randy Winn, etc.

Would that bring cause for New York to consider offering Joba Chamberlain and a young relief pitcher, say, like Mark Melancon, in exchange for David DeJesus and Gil Meche?

Yeah, I know, that’s alotta “if’s”…

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via George King –

Since Girardi was on hand, what to do with Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain was likely discussed. Should one be returned to the rotation, the Yankees will see what it will take to sign free agent right-hander Rafael Soriano, whose power arm has seduced some Yankee scouts.

I wonder if those are the same Yankees scouts who loved Kyle Farnsworth? Granted, back in the day, the stats on Krazy Kyle fooled me too. But, we’re supposed to learn from our mistakes, right?

Filed under Possible Bad News ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via a recent Mediamark Research & Intelligence report -

Only 3.4% of US adults have written a blog post in the past 30 days and only 10.1% have visited a blog, but bloggers still appear to be wielding a disproportionate amount of influence online, according to new findings from Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI).

MRI found that the heaviest activity among blog browsers and writers occurs in the 18-24 and 25-34 age brackets. Adults ages 18-24, for example, are 118% more likely to have written a blog in the last 30 days than the total adult population.

The incidence of both visiting and writing blogs declines consistently in the higher age ranges, MRI added. Just 6.4% of adults aged 55-64 visited a blog in the last 30 days while only 1.3% of them wrote a blog.

This must be why all those blog authors and readers who cast aspersions on me with relish consistently employ the adjective “old.”

I’m not sure if I should paraphrase Casey Stengel here and say “I’ll never make the mistake of being forty-seven again” or if I should just remind myself everyday that I’m a middle aged man playing in the sandbox of emerging adults?

Filed under Random Thoughts ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

The Yankees, or rather MLBAM, are going after Yankees bloggers now.

I’m sure many are having 2002 flashbacks hearing this news.

Ah, the old Intellectual Property thing…

I guess it comes up once every seven years or so…

Filed under Random Thoughts ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Via Buster Olney today -

The Yankees, Mets and Red Sox have spent more money in free agency over the past decade than any other teams, as ESPN’s esteemed Mark Simon notes:

Biggest free-agent outlays 1999 to 2008 (approximate in millions)
Yankees: $1.45 billion
Mets: $651.3 million
Red Sox: $621.0 million
Cubs: $598.4 million
Giants: $595.2 million

Smallest free-agent outlays 1999 to 2008 (approximate in millions)
Pirates: $55.6 million
Twins: $80.2 million
Athletics: $87.7 million
Nationals: $91.5 million
Padres: $106.1 million

But then again, you knew that already. Even in years in which free-agent outlay is diminished by a high percentage — and this is probably going to be one of those years — the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox are usually pretty active, relative to teams like the Pirates. To put the above numbers in perspective: Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia will make more in free-agent dollars in the first three years of their current contracts than the Pirates have spent in the past decade … on anybody.

$1.45 billion over the last ten years?

That’s twice as much as the next highest team on this list (the Mets).

Now, granted, a huge chunk of this is Burnett, Teixeira, Sabathia and, I suppose, A-Rod (who was re-signed as a free agent). But, man, that’s alotta cash. Or, should I say, that’s alotta Cashman?

Filed under Trap Door Items ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

…or should it be “Hugheses”? Nonetheless, here’s Phil Hughes’ 2009 major league stats – broken into four snapshots:

April 28, 2009 through June 10, 2009:
176 Batters Faced – .260/.347/.500 BA/OBP/SLG allowed

June 14, 2009 through September 7, 2009:
136 Batters Faced – .157/.213/.165 BA/OBP/SLG allowed

September 8, 2009 through October 4, 2009:
39 Batters Faced – .243/.282/.351 BA/OBP/SLG allowed

2009 Post-Season:
33 Batters Faced – .379/.455/.552 BA/OBP/SLG allowed

Which Phil Hughes will show up in 2010 for the Yankees?

I mean, let’s not forget that, in 2008, Edwar Ramirez had a streak from June 29th through August 30th where he faced 97 batters and allowed a BA/OBP/SLG of .180/.247/.326 during that time.

Was Ramirez’ great 97 batter streak in 2008 that much different from Hughes’ great 136 batter streak this season? Sometimes a RP just gets hot, right? In any event, Phil Hughes got beat like a dirty rug during the post-season, for sure. It will be interesting to see if there’s any carry over to 2010…

Filed under Math Class ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

They’re gonna have a what? Via the AP -

The New York Yankees started their organizational meetings with an afternoon session Wednesday at the team’s spring training complex.

Team president Randy Levine and chief operating officer Lonn Trost were among the officials at George M. Steinbrenner Field with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner and co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner.

The 2009 World Series champions were scheduled to have full-scale meetings on Thursday.

Topics to be discussed include whether the Yankees should make a bid to acquire Toronto ace Roy Halladay, the interest level in re-signing Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, and looking at other free agents such as pitcher John Lackey and outfielder Matt Holliday.

New York also has shown interest in Cuban free agent left-hander Aroldis Chapman.

I’m sure the two words we’ll hear most coming out of these meetings will be “Yankees” and “budget.”

Yankees budget…

Yeah, that one’s right up there with “real fantasy,” “insane logic,” and “required donation”…

Filed under Off The Field News ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

As requested by readers earlier today, and powered by the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia, here’s every Yankees batter with at least 3,900 PA with team ranked by their RCAA/502 PA in those PA:

PLAYER		RCAA	PA	RCAA/502 PA
Babe Ruth	1634	9197	89.19
Lou Gehrig	1247	9660	64.80
Mickey Mantle	1099	9909	55.68
Joe DiMaggio	708	7671	46.33
Charlie Keller	386	4466	43.39
Alex Rodriguez	316	3924	40.43
Tommy Henrich	280	5409	25.99
Bill Dickey	339	7060	24.10
Earle Combs	307	6509	23.68
Dave Winfield	200	5021	20.00
Bobby Murcer	199	4997	19.99
Derek Jeter	388	9809	19.86
Yogi Berra	323	8352	19.41
Don Mattingly	293	7721	19.05
Bernie Williams	343	9053	19.02
Bill Skowron	139	4102	17.01
Paul O'Neill	178	5368	16.65
Jorge Posada	208	6312	16.54
Tony Lazzeri	221	7059	15.72
Roy White	242	7735	15.71
Ben Chapman	114	4013	14.26
Bob Meusel	139	5544	12.59
Joe Gordon	104	4216	12.38
Hank Bauer	132	5373	12.33
Tom Tresh	102	4518	11.33
Thurman Munson	113	5903	9.61
Gil McDougald	100	5395	9.30
Graig Nettles	109	6247	8.76
Tino Martinez	71	4244	8.40
Willie Randolph	115	7465	7.73
Elston Howard	63	5485	5.77
Red Rolfe	58	5405	5.39
Wally Pipp	18	6340	1.43
Phil Rizzuto	-10	6710	-0.75
Joe Pepitone	-8	4116	-0.98
Hal Chase	-16	4466	-1.80
Rgr Peckinpaugh	-50	5269	-4.76
Horace Clarke	-63	5143	-6.15
Tony Kubek	-66	4494	-7.37
Clete Boyer	-67	4035	-8.34
Frank Crosetti	-150	7273	-10.35
B. Richardson	-141	5783	-12.24

Boy, that Richardson-Kubek-Boyer three-quarters of an infield that played for the Yankees, most of the time, from 1960 through 1965 was a sabermetic nightmare with the sticks.

Filed under Math Class ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post

Back in September, I mentioned that Larry Koestler had started a new blog called “Yankeeist.” Since then, Larry’s been busy – including doing interviews with “SG” of Replacement Level Yankees Weblog, Alex and Cliff of Bronx Banter, and the guys at RAB.

Well, now it’s my turn. Click here to see the recent interview that I did with the “Yankeeist.” And, of course, my thanks to Larry Koestler for asking me to take part in his interview series.

Filed under Special Messages ·  Print This Post ·  Email This Post