» New York Yankees

After a year and a half hiatus, we shall return with the New York Yankees Blog.  Our first topic is, the Red Sox hiring of Bobby Valentine…

The Red Sox have hired Bobby Valentine! 

This means that they:

-       Had an historic collapse to miss the 2011 playoffs

-       Have lost Francona

-       Have lost Epstein

-       Have lose Papelbon, and

-       Have hired the most notorious over-manager in recent baseball history!

Oh Fortuna, you capricious sprite…

I’m more than content. Cliff Lee was lights out for the Phillies, they have less payroll flexibility for 4 years, and the Phillies could have had both Lee & Halladay leading that rotation together.

Halladay; Lee; Hamels;  Happ; Blanton/Drabek/Moyer would have been Lights Out.

Also I think some other moves fall into place now. The Mariners upgraded already this off season with the Figgins signing and another ace in Lee. I think they’ll next go with power in LF via Bay or Holliday, which then potentially forces the other to accept a little less money from the Mets/Giants/Red Sox/Yankees. However, with Cameron to Boston, the Sox are out of it, and in my opinion Damon (for 5-7 million and 3-4 years less than Holliday) re-signs with the Yankees. Therefore, either Holliday or Bay signs to a slightly less than expected deal with the Mets.

No matter what, I fully expect the Phillies to take the NL East yet again – unlike the past 3 years.

I truly wish the Mets were the 3rd team in the Yankees-Tigers-(D-backs) deal replacing the D-backs. I thought 0f a crazy, but interesting scenario that could have actually worked: Carlos Beltran, Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada or Reese Havens, and Brad Holt or Bobby Parnell from the Mets; Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson from the Yankees, and Edwin Jackson, Curtis Granderson, and Miguel Cabrera from the Tigers.

Mets receive: Miguel Cabrera/1b, Robinson Cano/2b, Curtis Granderson/cf, Phil Hughes/sp (go on to sign a FA LF & another SP and their offseason needs would have been completed beyond expectations)

Yankees receive: Carlos Beltran, Edwin Jackson, Wilmer Flores (and go on to sign Hudson or FA 2b + FA lf)

Tigers receive: Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Tejada/Havens, Holt/Parnell, Austin Jackson (and get even more payroll flexiblity trading Miguel Cabrera for a decent haul). I of course understand the Tigers got a very nice haul of SP’s from the trade they actually did complete with the Yanks & D-back. I think if Scherzer stays healthy, Verlander through Porcello can still keep them toward the top of the AL Central.

Do you think my proposed 3-way above is irrational, however? It completely depletes the Mets farm system, which isn’t great any way, but I think it instantaneously helps them compete with the Phillies.

Wow, it has been a long time since I have been able to post here! I just got married, and boy were times crazy…but a good type of crazy!

Anyway, when we last left off, the Mets had a chance, the Mets had hope, the Mets were looking half decent…but here we are now…and as the whole world knows, the Mets completely fell apart. We can’t put the full blame on the players who led us to the record we finished with, but it was more of a combination…When you combine injuries and an overall lack of “Cohesiveness” led them to this end.

Well enough about the Mets..how about those Yankees! That’s right the Met’s blogger is 100% for the Yankees. Unlike a lot of Mets fans I am not at all a Yankee hater. I only dislike the Yankees when they beat the Mets, OR lose to the Phillies! Speaking of the Phillies…tonight is the night…tonight is the night to end their little run and bring the glory back to New York.

The Yankees absolutely must win this game tonight. Pettite has to step up big and the bullpen needs to be ready…ready to face a motivated and very dangerous Phillies lineup. A-Rod and Damon, in my opinion, will carry them through tonight. I also believe Jeter will have a HUGE game.

So from this Met’s fan…I want to let the whole world hear this…. “LET’S GO YANKEES”

Any friggin’ Mets fan out there that is rooting for the Phillies in this series need to check themselves..take off the Red and White you would never ever wear during any regular season (or post season for that matter) and slip into some pinstripes for tonights incredible game!

When the season ended for the 2008 Yankees there was one glaring need: Pitching.  This was nothing new, and as the old adage went, “you can never have enough.”  But the Yankees from 2004 to 2008 never had enough starting pitching to bring a World Series, or even a Pennant, home.  The Yankee pitching staff has not been outstanding since the end of 2003 when Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens momentarily defected to the Astros.

So when the Yankees signed C.C. Sabathia to a huge deal, they hoped they got the true ace they have long coveted.  Well, in case anybody was not sure after a dominant year of 19 wins, C.C. Sabathia proved to all that he was for real tonight.  Sabathia may have labored through some long innings, and some bad breaks, but he limited the damage, and only let up 2 runs in 6.2 IP.

Those two runs were more than enough for the Yankee offense, which hammered the Twins for 7 runs.  Derek Jeter, of course, was on base all four times he came to the plate.  Hideki Matsui had an important two run home run.  And Nick Swisher had a key double.

But the biggest news of the night was the exorcism that took place at Yankee Stadium.  No I am not talking about a movie from the 70’s, but the two clutch hits, and yes I say clutch hits, for Alex Rodriguez.  There are two important parts to these hits.  First, the team, and A-Rod, will not have to deal with questions about his inability to hit in the clutch during the playoffs.  Second, the manner in which A-Rod got these hits proves he is more devoted to the Yankees.  The two clutch hits were singles that drove in one RBI.  In years past, A-Rod would have been swinging for the fences, trying for the big splash on one swing.  Perhaps he finally realized that a single with RISP in the playoffs is just as important as a homerun; something Bernie, Tino, and Paulie knew all too well.

Whatever the reasons for A-Rod’s sudden productivity in October, all this blogger knows for sure is that A-Rod exorcised some demons with a couple of big swings tonight.  And the Yankees now lead the series 1-0.

Wowzer. 3-4 years ago, I thought the Braves and Mets would never trade with each other again in the history of baseball. I thought only the Red Sox and Yankees were less likely to make a deal – a now it’s Phillies and Mets of course. Interesting deal! The potential out of Jeff Francoeur I like a lot more than the injury potential of Ryan Church. Jeff Francoeur is a great right-fielder, fairly healthy, and young enough where he can improve – ten-fold from how he’s performing now. He’s only 25 and went back to back years with 100+ rbis in 2006 and 2007. He hit for average in 2007, but I don’t know if he’ll ever really do that again, and if its his mind making him perform bad in Atlanta…well, I don’t think that will get much better in New York, but again, I still like the deal. It’s a small shakeup. The Mets need to do a lot more, but they won’t with the market and asking prices. So lets hope this and JJ Putz, Billy Wanger (I mean Wagner, but I figured i’d leave the mispelling), and Carlos Delgado can help the team enough in August and the same for Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes when they get healthy (as well as John Maine & Oliver Perez who already had the epitomic Oliver Perez-like start). And most importantly, the Mets need the help of the Phillies, that they have somewhat received early season until now, but may not any longer.

The Baltimore Orioles. A good offensive fantasy baseball team. But that’s about it, unfortunately. They’re a Pitching Staff and a Bullpen away from a playoff spot – and 3 top MLB teams as well (Red Sox, Yankees, Rays -probably respectively). You have to absolutely love their lineup (i’ll include Matt Wieters of course over Gregg Zaun):

1-Brian Roberts/2b: According to ESPN Player Rater (http://games.espn.go.com/flb/playerrater?) he’s the 3rd best 2b as of now. Probably more like the 5th or 6th best, but still top notch in r;sb;295+avg

2-Adam Jones/cf: ranked 10th overall by ESPN Player Rater. Enough said. HR/SB + R/RBI + 315+Avg?!

3-Nick Markakis/rf: top 45, but Avg should raise and make him top 25

4-Aubrey Huff/1b: i’ll take him and his rbi on the O’s for one more year

5-Melvin Mora/3b: should put up acceptable #5 hitter stats in this lineup

6-Matt Wieters/c: I’m sure you already heard the Evan Longoria at 3b comparisons

7-Luke Scott/dh: 3 hr and 7 rbi in his last 2 games back from shoulder injury

8-Nolan Reimold/lf: top 6 prospect for the O’s (3 hr the past 3 games; 5hr in 53 ab’s)

9-Cesar Izturis/ss: Bleh. Sorry.

Their rotation consists of (for the most part): Jeremy Guthrie; Koji Uehera; Rich Hill; and then a sundry of guys. Their pitching prospects (that rate from B to B-) are David Hernandez; Troy Patton; Chris Tilman; Brian Matusz; Jake Arrieta; Brandon Erbe; and Zach Britton.

So the question is, what should/can they do? Honestly the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays should be great for years to come with their payroll availability, players, and rotations (minus payroll for the Rays of course). This year (although only 6 games outs), they probably don’t have a chance. Not without a solid rotation or bullpen. They have the third worst ERA in all of baseball.

I think they have some pieces other teams should be interested in that are more than expendable: Felix Pie/of, Ty Wigginton/if, and Gregg Zaun/c. This first tier probably won’t yield many good players in return. The next tier consists of Aubrey Huff/1b, Jeremy Guthrie/sp and maybe Melvin Mora/3b. They have 7 pitching prospects that are generally rated b- or better.

Aubrey Huff + Jeremy Guthrie to maybe the Mets could work out. The Mets should be looking for a 1b/of replacement for Carlos Delgado and an additional SP that can be more consistent than Oliver Perez, Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, and Jon Niese. I think Huff + Guthrie can net the Orioles a group of Tim Redding (a MLB starter); Jon Niese(sp) or Brad Holt (sp); Reese Havens or Wilmer Flores (ss); Joe Kunz(rp); and Jefrey Marte(3b) or Ike Davis(1b). This deal provides them a young sp for Guthrie plus a needed relief arm along with someone who can at least pitch for them now (Redding). In addition, it provides the Orioles with a 3b and ss for when Mora and Izturis are done/not worth it. As a Mets fan, I think it’s a bit much, but I’m attempting to be realistic. I’d rather the Mets go for Nick Johnson/Nationals for cheap and keep Daniel Murphy in LF. Honestly, I just want the Mets to get another Ace and forget about everything else – especially if the Phillies end up landing another SP.

Unless the Orioles want to trade Wieters+ to Boston, since they would love the Catcher, for Clay Buchholz + Michael Bowden – if the Red Sox or Orioles would even do that, obviously, Wieters should be untouchable. A deal like this, however, may make them a contender this year or next. The Red Sox rotation is probably deep enough: Beckett; Lester; Dicek; Penny; Smoltz; Wakefield; Masterson to maintain pace. A rotation of Guthrie; Ueherea; Buchholz; Bowden; Hill + Prospects looks pretty good.

So in my fantasy land, if I was the Orioles GM, I would perform the following trades:

In about 2-3 years, the team could then potentially compete for the AL East or at least the Wild Card. Else, at least the Orioles should enjoy watching their only 4 current bright spots for years to come (Roberts; Jones; Markakis; Wieters) with hopeful pitching prospects.

Tonight’s comeback victory marked three wins in a row for the Yankees.  Although this does not seem like much, its a nice change of pace for a team that has looked lost for the past few weeks. 

Ever since the Red Sox came back to beat the Yankees in the ninth off Rivera, the Yankees have looked like a team without hope and direction.  Furthermore, the big winter signings were not panning out: Teixiera was batting below .200 and Sabathia was getting knocked around.  The Yankees were in a funk. 

But the Yankees have put together three good wins in a row.  Sabathia dominated the Jays on Wednesday, Jeter and Matsui powered the Yankees to a comeback win yesterday, and tonight they score three runs in the ninth off Joe Nathan to win.  So it appears, for one night at least, that they are pulling themselves out of their funk. 

Peter Abaraham asked after today’s comeback win, “Is it the start of somethin?”  It may turn out to just be one good moment; but with the regulars coming back to the team, the new signings starting to come alive, and the Yankees seemingy out of their slump, the may Yankees become the team we all expected, or hoped, they would be in the spring.

My wonderful wife showed me this story this morning: Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090415/lf_nm_life/us_usa_civilrights_baseball;_ylt=Aqd_qRmbM1UvuqQJA8qu4y4LMxIF) reported that a man was ejected from Yankee stadium during the August 26th (Yankees vs. Red Sox) game’s God Bless America song. He attempted to go to the bathroom, but stadium police did not allow this. The police did say that he was being unruly, smelled of alcohol, and they ejected him so others wouldn’t have to be subject to his behavior, however, as per Yahoo, an officer also said “if the [ejected fan] didn’t like this country, he should get out of ‘it’”. If true, this statment alone makes this story horrendous and absolutely despicable, and I don’t think I’ve ever actually written the word despicable down to explain anything.

I hope nothing like this ever happens again. It is unconstitutional – in state, in basketball, in school, and in baseball.

On a related (religious) and very funny note: I think it was last year on April 16th, a 14 or 15 inning game against the Washington Nationals- I’ve never seen so much religion in one AT-BAT. Jesus Colome of the Washington Nationals was pithing to Jesus Flores. Angel Pagan of the New York Mets was on 2nd base. Ryan Church was up at bat. Who won the game? It was a walk-off Base on Balls by none other than SHAWN GREEN – just kidding – it was Brian Schneider…Sounds Jewish though. haha.