So, including today, in 5 of the last 8 games where CC Sabathia has faced the Boston Red Sox, he has not pitched as well as he does when facing the rest of baseball. And, the last three times he’s faced Boston, Sabathia has been battered.
This, my friend, is not good.
Via Michael Silverman -
You’ll agree that the sale of Babe Ruth by the Red Sox to the Yankees in 1920 turned into a pretty big deal.
And you’ve probably never been able to stop wondering what would have happened if the Red Sox and Yankees had actually agreed to swap Ted Williams for Joe DiMaggio, straight up, as the owners discussed one night over a bunch of drinks in 1947.
So you’re going to love seeing this not-entirely-mythical 2012 scenario between the Yankees and Red Sox thrown against the wall.
Try imagining David Ortiz as the designated hitter for the Yankees and CC Sabathia in the Red Sox rotation next year.
Believe it or not, hallucinogens are not required.
Sure it’s a longshot. It’s the very definition of one, or two. But whenever the chance exists that certain chips can fall in a certain way, it’s too risky to simply ignore it altogether.
Sabathia, today’s Yankees starter, has been everything the Yankees asked for when they signed him. A third of the way into his seven-year, $161 million contract, Sabathia has led the Yankees to one World Series title and has been among the five best starters in baseball with his 56-20 record, 3.07 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in that span.
He has been brilliant, but the smartest thing Sabathia ever did when he signed that deal was to tuck in an opt-out clause after this season.
That’s right: Sabathia, still just 31 years old, can be a free agent after this season.
Now, no doubt the Steinbrenners have already asked Sabathia to renew vows and given him the PIN to the Yankees’ ATM. There is no way to exaggerate how vital Sabathia is to the future of the Yankees rotation. Just listening to manager Joe Girardi spend 15 minutes yesterday going through the mental gymnastics required to pencil out how the Yankees will deploy and rest starters such as Ivan Nova, Bartolo Colon, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia down the stretch was exhausting, but it was crystal clear how Sabathia was undeniably exempt from the discussion.
He is cemented in as their No. 1 starter, and since the club failed to sign Cliff Lee last offseason, it is vital that it re-sign Sabathia.
The southpaw has said he wants to stay, and the huge mansion he has built in New Jersey is a pretty good indication he means it. But, then again, who knows what he’s going to decide?
Would anyone really be shocked if Sabathia said that he wants to be a free agent again? The Yankees certainly have to prepare for that, which is why they will probably never let him get that far because they will renegotiate a new, even more massive contract — adding to his current $23 million a year deal.
But let’s say the Yankees screw it up, or they don’t but Sabathia wants out and, like Lee, the Yankees can’t pay him enough. You don’t think John Henry will have his private jet ready to whisk Theo Epstein to Sabathia’s doorstep the second he is on the open market?
Ortiz’ pending free agency is not so complicated, and it’s a lot easier to see how the Red Sox could decide that — given Ortiz’ late-career productivity — he is going to ask for more years than Epstein is comfortable to give.
The Yankees do not have a true DH now, even though they might as well reserve the spot for Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez as they enter their dotage. But if they think they could find room for Ortiz for a couple of years, there is no disputing that Ortiz’ pull power to Yankee Stadium’s short right-field porch is as perfect a player-ballpark fit as there is in baseball.
If this does happen, I will puke.
Last night was just the 8th time since 1991 where the Yankees played a game at Fenway Park, that was 9-innings or less, where they held the Red Sox to 2 runs or less while throwing 140 or more pitches in the contest. Here are the eight games:
| Rk | Date | Rslt | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | Pit | Str | IR | IS | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011-08-05 | W 3-2 | 9.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 155 | 106 | 4 | 0 | 35 |
| 2 | 2006-08-21 | W 2-1 | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 144 | 96 | 2 | 0 | 38 |
| 3 | 2005-04-13 | W 5-2 | 9.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 152 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
| 4 | 2002-05-25 | W 3-2 | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 151 | 101 | 5 | 0 | 37 |
| 5 | 1998-09-08 | W 3-2 | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 141 | 92 | 4 | 0 | 34 |
| 6 | 1997-06-02 | W 5-2 | 9.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 143 | 91 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 7 | 1995-05-12 | W 12-2 | 9.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 149 | 94 | 1 | 1 | 33 |
| 8 | 1991-06-27 | W 8-0 | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 147 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
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Last night, I went to see the Lakewood BlueClaws host the West Virginia Power. (I had the tickets since the start of the season. It was Fireworks Night. Was able to catch the Yankees game starting with the last out of the bottom of the 8th inning, on the radio, on the ride home.)
The Power’ catcher in the game was Kawika Emsley-Pai.
Ever since Thurman Munson, I’ve had a soft spot for catchers with unique names. So, I decided to look this kid up, today, and this is what I found:
The Pirates signed 22-year old minor league catcher Kawika Emsley-Pai on Thursday [January 20, 2011], an intriguing case for a few reasons:
1. He’s a catcher. You can never have enough young catchers, especially with the likes of Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie and Zack Von Rosenberg in the system to have to bring along.
2. And here is the most intriguing part — Emsley-Pai was drafted just last year (June 2010), by the Diamondbacks, in the 10th round. While he didn’t light the world on fire in short season Yakima (.167 batting average, .265 OBP), he hasn’t played all that much pro ball and, again, is a young catcher.
So why has a guy like this landed in the Pirates organization? Perhaps it could have a lot to do with a man named Jim Dedrick. Dedrick was the scout who signed Emsley-Pai when Dedrick worked for the Diamondbacks, but in this offseason, he shifted jobs and now works for the Pirates. In fact, Arizona had a shakeup in their scouting and development operation, as they now have a new scouting director, new farm director and some other changes.
That said, this is most likely a case of a new regime coming in with the Diamondbacks and identifying that — for one reason or another — Emsley-Pai wasn’t “their guy” and cutting him loose. That was on the back side; on the receiving side, it would be Dedrick speaking on his behalf to his new organization, putting in a good word and leading to the Pirates signing him.
And, I also found this:
One of the milder surprise players in the 2011 Pirates’ minor league system is Kawika Emsley-Pai, the Catcher/Designated Hitter for the West Virginia Power. Emsley-Pai was originally a 10th round pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010, but was cut after just one short-season stint for them. He signed with the Pirates in December and to date it is like the Pirates got a “bonus” 10th round pick from last year’s draft.
Although he has slumped in June, Emsley-Pai still has an AVG/OBP/SLG of .306/.447/.408 (855 OPS) for the year. He has an exceptional walk/strikeout rate of 23 walks and 15 strikeouts in 98 at-bats.
He grew up in Washington state and has four older sisters – two of them now in their 40′s or close to it. That must have been interesting – growing up with five ladies in the house. I wonder how many major league baseball players had four or more sisters and no brothers?
In any event, seems like this kid has an eye for the strike zone and is a switch-hitting catcher. Is he a prospect? No, probably not a major one…but, like Thurman Munson, he’s got that type of name…once you hear it, once, you will remember it.
John Sickels takes another look at the Yankees top prospects. It’s a good read. Click here to see it. Here’s HIS summary:
I’m not worried about Montero, he just needs to play. The big failure on the list is Brackman, but I’m wondering if Heathcott’s propensity for shoulder issues is going to end up hampering him just as much as his makeup issues. Gumbs and Culver will be an intriguing combo up the middle in full-season A-ball next year.
Tonight was the jab. Hopefully, tomorrow afternoon will be the cross. And, then, the Yankees can go for the knockout on Sunday.
Why can’t I shake the feeling that something “major” is going to happen in Yankeeland today?
Via Pete Abe -
Based on the standings in the American League right now, the Red Sox or Yankees will be the wild-card team.
As the Red Sox proved in 2004, that is not necessarily a big deal.
But it could be this year.
The wild card team could well get Texas and the Sox are 6-16 against the Rangers the last three years, 2-10 in Arlington. Anything can happen in the postseason, but clearly he Rangers are not a good matchup for the Sox.
The Yankees probably feel the same way, having lost to Texas in the ALCS last fall.
That’s what makes the final 52 games of the season interesting. Win the division and you get home field against a team from the Central. Lose and you could be en route to Texas and a few days in roasting heat against the defending league champs.
There are times when it’s better to rest up and not worry about home field. This may not be one of those years.
“Clubs are built around your ballpark, that’s the bottom line,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on Thursday. “If you can have a home series at your ballpark and home field advantage, you want that.”
Hey, what about the Angels?
Via Jayson Stark -
An official of one team that talked to the Yankees on several potential trades: “They wouldn’t trade [Manny] Banuelos in any deal. They would have traded [Dellin] Betances in a big deal. And I still think at some point they’ll wind up trading [Jesus] Montero. Right now, they’re overvalueing him — but they have to, to keep the perception of his value as high as they’d like it to be.”
With Pettitte gone and CC able to opt out, the Yankees shouldn’t trade a LH-SP prospect. So, this makes sense.
The same bastard just got me four times – twice on the left foot, once on the left knee, and once on the base of my left thumb.
I’ve had it this year. It seems like I’ve been bitten 100 times already – and I work in an office 9 hours a day, four days a week.
Granted, part of my problem is that, between two kids and two dogs, the doors of my house are opened and closed like twenty times a day.
In any event, I’m losing it. I want to be ensconced in DEET at this point.
Via Tony Massarotti
With 52 games to go, the American League East is now the purest of dead heats. Boston and New York both are in comfortable possession of a playoff spot, eight games ahead of even the American League West-leading Texas Rangers, perhaps on a collision course for the American League Championship Series.
Under the circumstances … edge, Yankees?
“I wouldn’t say [that],’’ Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said yesterday during an interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
“When Theo Epstein and his staff approached the winter dealing with areas of weakness on the roster, he was able to shore them up in the winter time. As I entered spring training, I still had question marks remaining. Andy Pettitte had retired. We failed in getting Cliff Lee. So the questions were, `Who was going to able to do what?’
“I had things that needed to be answered where they didn’t. And I think a lot of those question marks have turned into very positive answers for us as the season has played out, so I think we’ve closed the gap considerably.”
Hard to debate that – considering the standings this morning. Of course, there’s still two months of baseball to be played.
What do you think? Are the Yankees now the team to beat in the A.L. East? Or, is it still the Red Sox?
I just saw the Amazon details on “Clubhouse Confidential: A Yankee Bat Boy’s Insider Tale of Wild Nights, Gambling, and Good Times with Modern Baseball’s Greatest Team.” Here’s what’s said on this one there:
The explosive, inside story of Yankees players and managers by a bat boy who saw it all
You are invited to come behind the closed doors of the Yankees’ clubhouse for the ride of your life in this intimate memoir about the team’s recent glory years and the superstars who made it all possible.
For the first time ever, Luis “Squeegee” Castillo, bat boy and clubbie for the Yankees from 1998 to 2005, talks about working with Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Joe Girardi, Bernie Williams, Roger Clemens, Joe Torre, and many other modern-day Yankee greats. Luis saw and heard what really happened in the privacy of the clubhouse, at parties, and in hotel rooms, bar fights, and secret meetings from Miami to St. Louis, from Detroit to Arizona, and from Toronto to New York. He even vacationed with some players and got to know them like family, discovering their pitching and hitting secrets, joining them in all-nighters, and learning their often hilarious methods of meeting girls and having fun on the road.
Like a fly on the wall, Luis takes you backstage to show you how A-Rod’s bragging when he hits home runs annoys teammates. Discover how manager Joe Torre checks racing results during games. Hear what happens inside the sanctity of the clubhouse after Roger Clemens beans Mets catcher Mike Piazza and then—a few months later during the 2000 World Series—throws a bat at him. Find out how Mariano Rivera eats junk food during games, why Posada routinely fights with El Duque, what Jeter is really saying to players on other teams as he rounds the bases, and so much more.
Everyone knows what happened on the field. Now pull up a chair and enjoy the secret stories that only Luis can tell about what really happened behind the scenes—and why.
This one comes out in 11 days. And, it could be very interesting!
When was the last time the Yankees went into Fenway Park, in August, and didn’t do well? You probably have to go back to 1995 for that one.
In August 2009, the Yankees took two of three at Fenway. Ditto in 2003. In August 2006, they swept three at Fenway. In 2002, they took two of two.
But, back in ’95, New York lost two of three to the Sox, in Boston during August. (For the record, in August 1993, the Yankees took two of three at Fenway. And, in August 1985, they swept three at Fenway.)
It’s like the Yankees own the Red Sox when they play them in Fenway in August. Let’s hope it continues this weekend.
Via Ian O’Connor and ESPN -
In the fall of 2007, the New York Yankees played their own game of poker when they put down $305 million on Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees were betting in salary and home-run bonuses that Rodriguez would be worth the trouble he was almost guaranteed to cause.
Brian Cashman, the team’s general manager, didn’t want to do the 10-year contract. Hank Steinbrenner, Cashman’s superior, overruled his GM and betrayed his own pledge to exile A-Rod in the event the third baseman opted out of his previous deal.
The Steinbrenners, Cashman, team president Randy Levine — they all knew that signing up Rodriguez meant signing up for an extended migraine a couple times a year. But they also knew A-Rod to be a hell of a slugger, a megastar vital to YES Network ratings and ticket sales at the new Yankee Stadium to come.
So nearly four years later, do the pros outweigh the cons? Is the liberating championship that Rodriguez delivered in 2009, the first season at the new ballpark, worth all the unwanted drama and distraction he will surely keep creating through 2017?
Either way, this is the package the Yankees bought. This is the price they have to pay.
“This is classic Alex Rodriguez,” one high-ranking baseball official said Wednesday night, after the commissioner’s office announced it will interview A-Rod as part of its investigation into his alleged involvement in illegal high-stakes poker games.
“In a lot of ways Alex is no different than Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. He’s a thrill seeker, and he does everything he can to be overt. He’s a classic example of where we are in society, the age of celebrity, where everyone loves triumphs and tragedies.”
This case could turn out to be neither. A-Rod’s spokesman, Richard Rubenstein, is on record denying that his client participated in the poker games that reportedly included the likes of Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
Star Magazine reported that one poker player openly used cocaine in Rodriguez’s presence, a claim that elevated the alert level inside baseball and Yankeedom. With investigators sorting through allegations the league said it is taking “very seriously,” an MLB executive told ESPNNewYork.com’s Wallace Matthews that a suspension is possible.
Six years ago, A-Rod was warned to stay away from the underground poker clubs he was reportedly frequenting. If this latest story proves to be true, perhaps A-Rod can argue he was never warned to stay away from Beverly Hills mansions and high-profile actors.
“It’s always something with Alex,” said a second baseball official. “The amount of energy everyone has to devote to him is unbelievable.”
The steroid confession. The half-baked story of his cousin securing the steroids. The re-emergence of the banned cousin at the team hotel. The link to Dr. Galea. The gambling allegations.
Alex Rodriguez has made himself a monument to high-maintenance living.
“I think I created a lot of that for myself,” A-Rod told me in March. “I had a lot of maturing to do, and I’ve done that. I think a lot of the noise around me was self-imposed … and I made it easier for you guys to write about me. But what I’ve done now is basically eliminated a lot of that stuff and just play baseball.”
Following his steroid admissions and his hip surgery in the spring of ’09, Rodriguez was ambushed in a Tampa diner by longtime friend Gui Socarras and Yanks PR man Jason Zillo. They shouted at A-Rod over breakfast, told him he had to change his self-absorbed ways.
On the eve of the World Series, Rodriguez credited that intervention for sending his inner diva to the bench. “They showed me tough love,” A-Rod said, “and I thought from that breakfast on I’ve stayed with the plan and it’s been a good plan.”
But in A-Rod’s world, good plans can only be followed for so long.
I’m sure, back in the day, MLB and the Yankees got their bloomers in a bunch more than once due to some off-field action or association connected to Babe Ruth. Of course, back then, there was no Twitter, TMZ, Cell Cameras, ESPN, etc. And, even the local media members were in the bag. Therefore, a lot of what the Big Bam did was kept out of the public. Plus, Ruth’s bat made the bitter pills go down a lot easier.
Today, it’s so different. And, A-Rod is not close to the batter he’s been in the past when he was on PEDs and/or playing for his next contract. Yes, he’s still good. But, the question is: Is he that good? And, is he worth having to deal with all this stuff?
Also, keep in mind, since A-Rod has been out on the D.L. this year, the Yankees have gone 17-7. So, it’s not even like he’s that valuable to the team anymore. They’re proving that they can win, just fine, without #13 in the line-up.
Because, without it, the games up at Fenway tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday would be a war.
As it is, the goal of the next 52 games is to just stay healthy, sharp, and get your ducks in a row for the ALDS.
You know that’s the way the Yankees are going to play it – just look at last season.
Milestones and Breaks
July Record: 16-11 (@ NYM, 2-1; @ CLE, 1-2; vs TB, 2-1; @ TOR, 2-2; @ TB, 2-2; vs OAK, 2-1; vs SEA, 2-1; vs BAL, 3-1)
Season Standings: Boston, New York (-1), Tampa Bay (-11), Toronto (-12.5), Baltimore (-24)
Team Offense: .757 OPS
The Good
The Bad
The Watch
Team Pitching: 3.33 ERA
The Good
The Bad
Trade Deadline? What Trade Deadline?
The trade deadline came and went on Sunday with the Yankees n0t making a single move. Honestly, I don’t mind the lack of moves. If the Yankees needed anything, it was a front line starter, and I’m not sure if what was available was worth the cost. Or, more accurately, I’m not sure if the cost was worth the marginal difference in the record. This will be a real test this weekend when the Yankees will once again face the Boston Red Sox. It would be nice if the Yankees could beat them once and again.
August is looking like a particularly brutal month with the road trips, the double headers, and the lack of days off.
On a side note, I want to thank those posters who mentioned liking the Months in Reviews in t
And, last night makes the list now twenty-one…
| Rk | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2000-06-19 | NYY | BOS | W 22-1 |
| 2 | 2007-07-22 | NYY | TBD | W 21-4 |
| 3 | 1999-08-23 | NYY | TEX | W 21-3 |
| 4 | 1999-07-24 | NYY | CLE | W 21-1 |
| 5 | 2009-08-21 | NYY | BOS | W 20-11 |
| 6 | 2005-06-21 | NYY | TBD | W 20-11 |
| 7 | 2002-06-19 | NYY | COL | W 20-10 |
| 8 | 2008-09-26 | NYY | BOS | W 19-8 |
| 9 | 2005-04-18 | NYY | TBD | W 19-8 |
| 10 | 2000-07-25 | NYY | BAL | W 19-1 |
| 11 | 1996-09-25 (1) | NYY | MIL | W 19-2 |
| 12 | 2008-07-02 | NYY | TEX | W 18-7 |
| 13 | 2004-08-28 | NYY | TOR | W 18-6 |
| 14 | 2004-05-27 | NYY | BAL | W 18-5 |
| 15 | 1997-08-26 | NYY | OAK | W 18-2 |
| 16 | 1994-04-07 | NYY | TEX | W 18-6 |
| 17 | 1988-04-18 | NYY | MIN | W 18-5 |
| 18 | 1982-09-05 | NYY | KCR | W 18-7 |
| 19 | 1980-10-01 | NYY | CLE | W 18-7 |
| 20 | 1974-08-31 | NYY | CHW | W 18-6 |
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Via ESPN.com -
Major League Baseball is taking “very seriously” the allegations that Alex Rodriguez took part in some illegal, underground poker games, one of which reportedly turned violent, and he could face suspension if his participation in the games is confirmed.
“We’re talking to people involved in the investigation and we’re taking this very seriously,” said an MLB executive who spoke to ESPNNewYork.com on condition of anonymity. “Because he had been warned about this before, I would say a possible suspension would be very much in play.”
The allegations, first published by RadarOnline.com, are that the New York Yankees third baseman played in at least two of the games, one of which took place at the Beverly Hills mansion of a record executive at which “cocaine was openly used and a fight nearly broke out when one of the players refused to pay after losing “more than a half-million dollars.”
According to the story, details of which were reportedly provided by another player at the games, Rodriguez “tried to distance himself from the game,” once the violence broke out.
“He just shook his head, not knowing what the hell happened,” the whistle-blower revealed. “He didn’t want to deal with it at all. He was like, ‘OK, whatever. It’s your game.’ I would estimate A-Rod lost, like, a few thousand dollars that night. After everything that happened, he paid up and left.”
In 2005, Rodriguez had been warned about gambling in underground poker clubs by the Yankees and by baseball commissioner Bud Selig, both of whom were concerned that possible involvement with gamblers who might be betting on baseball games could result in a Pete Rose-type lifetime ban from baseball.
Various reports have the games under investigation taking place as far back as 2007.
Although baseball’s investigation centers upon Rodriguez’s card-playing and he is not thought to have gambled on the outcome of any baseball games, the fact that he may have disregarded Selig’s warning is said to have angered the commissioner.
MLB is also concerned that Rodriguez’s name will resurface in the ongoing federal investigation of Dr. Anthony Galea, the Toronto physician charged with smuggling human growth hormone and other illegal substances into the United States. Galea has treated numerous professional athletes, including Rodriguez and Tiger Woods.
“It’s like there’s something new with him every day and it’s impossible to keep up with it,” a baseball insider said.
Yup.
A fun list. It’s non-pitchers since 1973 who played with the Yankees in the last season of their big league career.
| Rk | Tm | W | L | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOS | 67 | 41 | .620 | — |
| 2 | NYY | 66 | 42 | .611 | — |
| 3 | TEX | 61 | 49 | .555 | 6.0 |
| 4 | LAA | 60 | 50 | .545 | 7.0 |
| 5 | DET | 58 | 51 | .532 | 8.5 |
| 6 | TBR | 56 | 52 | .519 | 10.0 |
| 7 | TOR | 56 | 53 | .514 | 10.5 |
| 8 | CLE | 54 | 53 | .505 | 11.5 |
| 9 | CHW | 52 | 56 | .481 | 14.0 |
| 10 | MIN | 50 | 59 | .459 | 16.5 |
| 11 | OAK | 49 | 61 | .445 | 18.0 |
| 12 | SEA | 47 | 62 | .431 | 19.5 |
| 13 | KCR | 46 | 63 | .422 | 20.5 |
| 14 | BAL | 43 | 63 | .406 | 22.0 |
| Avg | 54 | 53 | .503 |
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Barring a monster collapse, the Yankees will be in the post-season this year.
It’s who they face. Check the stats.
To date, this season, Bartolo Colon has faced a team with a winning percentage of .500 or better in 13 games (with 11 coming as a starter). He’s thrown 69 innings in this situation and his ERA is 4.57 (when facing these teams). Over these games, he’s faced 300 batters and allowed an OPS of .797 (and 11 homeruns).
To date, this season, Bartolo Colon has faced a team with a winning percentage less than .500 in 6 games (with 5 coming as a starter). He’s thrown 40 innings in this situation and his ERA is 1.13 (when facing these teams). Over these games, he’s faced 153 batters and allowed an OPS of .517 (and zero homeruns).
To date, this season, Freddy Garcia has faced a team with a winning percentage of .500 or better in 13 games (with 12 coming as a starter). He’s thrown 70.2 innings in this situation and his ERA is 3.82 (when facing these teams). Over these games, he’s faced 310 batters and allowed an OPS of .797 (and 7 homeruns).
To date, this season, Freddy Garcia has faced a team with a winning percentage less than .500 in 7 games (all as a starter). He’s thrown 46.2 innings in this situation and his ERA is 2.31 (when facing these teams). Over these games, he’s faced 185 batters and allowed an OPS of .616 (and 2 homeruns).
If the overall numbers of Colon and Garcia look good this year, to date, it’s because they really feasted on some bad teams.
Great stuff from Ken Rosenthal today -
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, for the second straight season, refused to trade prospects for a starting pitcher who could provide more immediate help.
Cashman is intent on proving that even the big-money Yankees can win with young talent. And even though his approach is curious, I’m reluctant to criticize him too strongly when he may be proven right.
That is, if Banuelos, Betances and Co. — the Yankees’ almighty prospects — are as good as Cashman thinks.
We know what happened last season — the pitcher whom Cashman failed to acquire, left-hander Cliff Lee, helped the Texas Rangers beat the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
This year’s trade market did not include a pitcher of Lee’s quality. But the Yankees’ need for another starter arguably is greater than it was in 2010, when the team had Andy Pettitte and a more effective Phil Hughes.
This year’s rotation, as I wrote last week, amounts to CC and the Uncertains. Maybe Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia will pitch effectively into October. Maybe Ivan Nova will, too. Just don’t bet on it.
If Cashman was turned off by the Colorado Rockies’ price for right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, OK. But he couldn’t have acquired righty Doug Fister, who went to the Detroit Tigers, or lefty Erik Bedard, who went to the Boston Red Sox?
The Yankees on Sunday made a play for Houston Astros lefty Wandy Rodriguez, but that push was driven by ownership, not Cashman, according to major-league sources. The Yankees were willing to pay $21 million of the $38 million remaining on the final three-plus years of Rodriguez’s contract, according to SI.com. The Astros, on the other hand, were willing to pay $2 million of Rodriguez’s salary this season or $5 million if his option for 2014 were exercised, sources said. But the teams, unable to bridge the financial gap, never even got to the point of discussing names.
If Cashman viewed Jimenez as only a No. 3 or 4 starter, he surely thought even less of Rodriguez, a finesse pitcher who might get swallowed whole in the American League East. Either way, Cashman prefers his young talent. One rival GM who spoke with the Yankees said Cashman had seven untouchables in trade discussions — a high number for a team that considers its season a failure if it does not win the World Series.
Cashman told me after the deadline passed that the difference with the Yankees’ prospects is that they are closer to the majors than those of many clubs. Nova and infielder Eduardo Nunez already have made significant contributions this season. Banuelos was promoted to Triple-A on Sunday; both he and catcher Jesus Montero could join the Yankees at some point soon.
To get Lee a year ago, the Yankees would have needed to trade Montero plus Nova or Nunez to the Seattle Mariners, a price that would have been reasonable if the Yankees had been assured of keeping Lee long term. Acquiring Lee — and winning the World Series with him — would have enhanced their chances of doing just that. But who knows how it would have worked out?
Lee, remember, lost two games in the World Series. As it later became clear, he had a clear preference for the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent. And Cashman would not look so good now if the Yankees had lost the World Series, lost Lee and lost Nova to the Mariners.
“I’m really confident with what I’m doing,” Cashman said. “We have the second-best record in the American League. People should focus more on that, on how strong the farm system is, how strong the team’s performance is. We’re going about it the right way.”
Cashman knew he would be criticized if he did nothing at the deadline; he even said as much to a fellow GM. The Phillies, Giants and even the Indians were among the clubs willing to trade prospects for pieces that they deemed appropriate. Cashman gambled on kids who will face inordinate pressure to succeed in New York.
All I know is, Banuelos, Betances and Co. had better be good.
Who are those seven untouchables?
Could it be T.J. Beam, Eric Duncan, J.B. Cox, Estee Harris, Jon Poterson, C.J. Henry and Jeff Marquez?
Whoops. Wrong year.
August, 1st, 1973. The Yankees are in a virtual tie for 1st place in the A.L. East with the Baltimore Orioles. This could be it! The year the Yankees make it back to the World Series. Visions of a pennant are swirling around my 17 year old head. Is G.M. Lee McPhail’s much vaunted “Five Year Plan” finally paying off? Does manager Ralph Houk have the right pieces in play? Yes! Yes! Oh, please Mama, say “yes!” It all made perfect sense. After all, this was the teams last season at the real Yankee stadium and each Bomber proudly wore a 5o year commemorative patch on his home jersey’s right sleeve. Why not close the Grey Lady down the same way the opened her back in 1923? That would make for a most harmonic closure, wouldn’t it?
Then came today’s game
Wednesday, August 1, 1973 1:35PM, @ Fenway Park
For those who want to cut to the chase, skip to the 9th inning, with Thurman Munson on 3rd, Gene Michael at bat and the score 2-2.
A squeeze play gone bad. A horrendous home plate collision. A bench clearing brawl. A double ejection (Munson and Fisk). And finally a two out game winning hit in the bottom of the 9th off Sparky Lyle by the immortal Mario Guerrero.
And that was it. From that point on the Yankees would post the worst record in the A.L. East and finish the season in 4th place at 80-82. Ralph Houk would retire, almost in tears, almost immediately after the team’s last game, after almost 11 years, frustrated by season after season of “almost” but not enough. Gone, too, was McPhail, the architect of the club’s supposed resurgence to the level of contender, his “Five Year Plan” a stunning failure. And gone, long gone, was the erudite and polished (and, some would say, snobbish) Michael Burke, who as team president had made mediocrity a staple under the eight year aegis of CBS. All three gone. Yankee Stadium gone. And what was left? This Steinbrenner guy? WTF could he do? He didn’t have the experience of a Houk, the skills of a McPhail or the brains of a Burke. All he had was money—and not a whole lot of it, to tell the truth—and arrogance.
Well, it seems like only yesterday to me. As I say, I was only 17 on 8/1/73. But in many ways today is my 38th birth-day as a real fan. It was the turning point in the season, in the season when I came to consciousness, you might say. It’s when I brushed away all the front office BS images from the Yearbooks, programs, and WPIX placebos circulating about to see the real portrait “warts and all” actually playing on the field—and learned to accept it and own it.
And I suppose it all started on this day in Yankees history.
I’ve always believed that every game in October where you don’t own a two-game advantage in a post-season series is a “Must Win!” game.
Sure, I know that some may think that every game in the post-season is “Must Win!” And, I can dig that – especially after 2004.
But, hey, it’s baseball. And, in the reality of things, you’re going to lose some games – even in the post-season. And, related, the trick is to lose them when the loss doesn’t put you in a really bad spot.
So, even if See-See-Bathia (as my son sometimes calls him in a rush) is perfect for the Yankees this October, there’s going to be some “Must Win!” games for New York where they’re going to be started by Bartolo Colon, A.J. Burnett, Freddy Garcia, Phil Hughes and/or Ivan Nova.
And, that’s scary.
Colon and Garcia have been better than expected this season – by far. Can they give the Yankees quality starts in the post-season too? Maybe? Maybe not? We just don’t know.
Burnett and Hughes cannot be trusted. Anyone who says that can is living with their head in the sand.
Nova? Hey, like Colon and Garcia, sure, maybe he can rise to the occasion and throw a gem in a post-season game? And, maybe I’ll win the lotto too. Anything is possible. But, you cannot count on it.
In fact, even assuming that CC Sabathia is an automatic win in the post-season is a mistake. He could lose a game 1-0, or something like that. And, then, that’s more “Must Win!” games for the likes of A.J., et al, in October.
Yeah, I know, I know…this is not Brian Cashman’s fault. There were no pitchers on the trade market worth trading for this year, yadda-yadda. But, is not Mr. Cashman responsible for the fact that the Yankees rotation has guys in it now that you cannot count on or trust? If he did a better job at building this rotation before this season, we would not be in this spot.
In any event, yeah, every roll of the dice could come up the Yankees way this October and this is all moot. But, then again, it could be like 2005, 2006 or 2007 where the Yankees get a ton of crap starts from the rotation in October and the whole thing goes down in flames. And, that’s never any fun.
