Yankee Issues Begin Early At Training Camp
As the New York Yankees begin their 2013 training camp, issues have already started to creep up as it was announced that Phil Hughes will be shut down for 2 weeks with a bulging disk. Hughes was to be one of the constants of a pitching staff that needs to be the team's strength if the Yankees are to make the playoffs. Moreover, with an aging starting rotation, losing Hughes for any amount of time would be a huge problem. The Yankees are optimistic that this won't effect Hughes' ability to be ready for Opening Day but with backs one has to wonder.
ESPN New York is reporting that Yankee owner Hal Steinbrenner is freaking out about the reaction from fans and the media as it relates to his edict to reduce payroll to $189 million in 2014. The fear of a half-empty stadium and declining YES ratings may have something to do with Hal's concerns. Maybe he has come to the realization that the farm system is not ready to bring up young cheap talent that is going to keep the Yankees competitive.
There is a report that the deep bone bruise that Derek Jeter suffered late in the 2012 season was actually a stress fracture. If that was the case, how did the Yankees allow Jeter to play in the playoffs?? It would be obvious that this is what caused the Yankee Captain to break his ankle. Something is terribly wrong. They didn't know which hip was bothering ARod and we don't know what they knew about Jeter's ankle. Whether they knew about Jeter's ankle or not, it doesn't look good on the team.
Joe Girardi's claim that Eduardo Nunez does not have a guaranteed spot on the Yankee opening day roster better be a way to motivate the young Yankee because if Nunez is not on the roster Brian Cashman needs to be held accountable. Remember Cashman's refusal to include Nunez in the deal to bring Cliff Lee to the Yankees is what killed the trade with Seattle. The Yankees inability to find a place for Nunez has been a failure and as a result the best thing that could happen to Nunez may be that he is moved to another team.
My Take On ARod, Yankees
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report in a couple of weeks, it is a good time to look at the upcoming season for the New York Yankees. Tied to that is the blockbuster story that has come out linking Alex Rodriguez, once again, with performance enhancing drugs. When the Yankees acquired ARod in 2004, it was believed that the Yanks were set up for another run of multiple championships. But here we are in 2013 and the boys from the Bronx have only added one championship and along the way ARod has caused plenty of controversy.
We all remember the reported feud between ARod and Derek Jeter. But that paled in comparison when it was reported in 2009 that ARod had used performance enhancing drugs. ARod, at the time, admitted using steroids but indicated that it was during the time period of 2001 through 2003. He stated that he was clean since then. At the time, I wasn't enraged at ARod. In fact, I felt like he was singled out because of who he was as there were a number of players who were named in the report but their names were never published. He was contrite and was committed to educating young baseball players about the ill-effects of steroids.
The Yankees won the World Series in 2009 and ARod seemed to be on his way to having a place in Yankee history as he led the team, particularly in the division series against the Minnesota Twins. However, if last week's reports are true, as far as I'm concerned ARod will go down as one of the biggest embarassments in the history of this storied franchise. You see, as long as Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association refuse to police itself, the whole argument about these guys being cheaters doesn't fire me up. But what does have me boiling is if these allegations are true, then ARod flat out lied to all of us. He said his use of PEDs was between 2001-2003. The recent reports allege that he was using PEDs in 2009 and beyond. In essence, he was taking us all for suckers.
How much more can this franchise take from ARod? The feud with Jeter, flirting with women in the stands during the playoffs and his much publicized dalliances with a stripper in Toronto are all incidents that the team has had to put up with but are not situations that were earth shattering. After all, there are many stories about teammates not getting along and players' extracurricular activities. But if you lie about taking a substance that enhances your ability to perform then you not only make yourself look bad but it also looks bad for the organization you work for. One has to wonder, what did the Yankees know and if they knew anything, when did they know it.
What makes it worse for the Yankees is the amount of money that they have tied up with ARod. With Hal Steinbrenner's self-imposed $189 million salary cap, the ARod contract is a killer particularly in that they don't know how he is going to recover from the recent hip surgery and if these allegations are true will he be suspended and for how long. As has been mentioned before on this blog, what compounds the problem is that the Yankee farm system is probably 2 to 3 years away before it will bear any fruit for the big club. And at the end of the 2013 season, the Yankees will have to decide what they are going to do with free agents Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson.
The Yankees still don't have a legitimate right handed hitting outfielder unless you consider Matt Diaz the answer. The signing of Travis Hafner as your left handed DH is questionable based upon Hafner's health status over the past several years. The pitching staff needs to hope that over 35 year olds, such as Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, stay healthy.
The 2013 season looks to be a very difficult one for the Pinstripers. Many question marks and the never ending soap opera surrounding ARod. It will all begin soon enough and I can hardly wait.
Yankee Fans Deserve Answers
Yankee fans typically know that their team is committed to getting better in the off season. The team's organizational goal is to win the World Series. This has been the Yankee mission statement since George Steinbrenner bought the team 40 years ago. But this winter has been different. While the Yankee brass mouth the mission statement, their actions give fans cause for concern. So my question to Hal Steinbrenner, Lonn Trost, Randy Levine and Brian Cashman is: what's the long-term plan for this franchise??
You see for the first time since the Steinbrenner family has owned the Yankees, the team will place its own salary cap on its payroll. As Joel Sherman reported first many months ago, the Yankees have stated that they will get their payroll down to $189 million by 2014. As a result, Brian Cashman has only signed free agents to one year deals (with exception of Ichiro) thus excluding them from many outfield and third base options. This has led to the Yankees being one of the oldest teams in baseball and still having questions at catcher and who will be their right-handed hitting outfielder. Not to mention who will be their everyday DH.
Would the Yankees under George Steinbrenner be content with either Francisco Cervelli or Chris Stewart as their starting catcher. Would Matt Diaz be their right-hand hitting outfielder?? Would Russ Canzler be the answer to replace Nick Swisher?? Would Eduardo Nunez be the everyday designated hitter?? My answer to all of those questions is probably not.
New York is the toughest media market in the world. That being the case, I am asking Mike Francesa, Joel Sherman, Jack Curry, Ken Davidoff, Anthony McCarron, Mark Feinsand, George King III or Bill Madden to begin asking the question: What is the long-term plan for this franchise?? If payroll reduction is the answer, what is the plan as far as re-signing Robinson Cano? Will Curtis Granderson be re-signed or will he be traded?? When the contracts of the following players expire who will replace Hiroki Kuroda, Mariano Rivera, Kevin Youkilis, and Andy Pettite. And finally, has the Yankee mission statement changed??
As Yankee fans who have supported this team, making it the richest professional sports organization in the world, we deserve answers. We deserve to know what the long-range plan is for this team. We deserve to know what the timetable is for Mike Montgomery, Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez, Manny Banuelos and whoever else Cashman & Company want to sell us as being the next young group to lead us to the Canyon of Heroes. In my mind, its the least they can do.
2012 Ends, With Uncertainty For Yanks, Browns & Leafs
As 2012 ends, all 3 of my teams face the New Year with many questions. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Toronto Maple Leafs will actually begin playing in January. As the two sides are supposed to meet today, it will be interesting to see where the Leafs will be from a salary cap standpoint once the new CBA is agreed upon. There had been plenty of rumors that Roberto Luongo would be heading to Toronto. If that doesn't happen, the Leafs will head into a shortened season with James Reimer and Ben Scrivens in goal.
If the season is saved, a shortened training camp would seem to hinder Leaf Head Coach Randy Carlyle in trying to fully institute his system. The big questions facing the Leafs: Will Luongo be in the Blue and White?, will Tyler Bozak be the center for Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul?, will Nikolai Kulemin have a bounce back season?, and will Nazem Kadri finally exhibit the skills that made him the Leafs first round pick a couple of years ago? Oh, and the biggest question: will the Leafs make the playoffs?
The New York Yankees will head into the 2013 Major League Baseball season as one of the oldest teams in the sport. Hal Steinbrenner's edict to get under the salary cap in 2014 has left open many questions particularly since the Yankee farm system is no where near ready to fill the team's major league roster. The big questions facing the Yankees: Who will be the Yankees' starting catcher come April?, who will be the right-handed hitting outfielder?, will Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter be able to bounce back from injuries?, will ARod be playing in 2013 and at what level?, will Andy Pettite, Hiroki Kuroda and CC Sabathia remain healthy for the entire season and will Kevin Youkilis fit in as a Yankee? The biggest question: Will the Yankees make the playoffs?
Today is probably the day that the Cleveland Browns relieve Tom Heckert and Pat Shurmur of their duties as General Manager and Head Coach respectively. New Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has vowed to return this once proud franchise back to NFL prominence. The big questions facing the Browns: Who will be the new head coach?, will it be someone with NFL experience or will it be a hot shot college coach?, will the new management structure with Joe Banner being in charge really work?, who will be the Browns' starting quarterback next season?, and will Joshua Cribbs and Phil Dawson be back with the team next season? The biggest question: Will the Browns go 8-8 in 2013?
Well, it looks like it will be an interesting year for all three teams. Fortunately, due to the NHL lockout, I have been re-connected to the New York Knicks who seem to have a real shot to make some noise in the NBA. Otherwise, 2013 could be another year of sports agony for me. Oh well, Happy 2013 and be safe this evening.
Tomorrow, the first 2013 Tuesdays Thoughts will be posted. Make sure you check it out.
Yanks Have No Choice: Sign Youkilis
With free agent third basemen going off the board and their self-imposed salary cap for 2014 on the horizon, the New York Yankees made a move that they had to make by signing former Boston Red Sox Kevin Youkilis to a one year deal for $12 million dollars. The 34 year old, who has had a history of back issues, is very familiar with playing in the pressure-filled American League East and the hope is that he will continue to perform as he did in the second half of the season for the Chicago White Sox.
We need to remember that Youkilis is a stop-gap signing. This goes beyond keeping the hot corner warm for ARod because the truth be told is that we really don't know when ARod will be back this year and what his condition will be for the remaining years of his contract. Youkilis may very well be a stop-gap fill until the Yankees are able to make a trade for a young player or bring up someone from their farm system to play third base.
An examination of Yankee prospects make it highly questionable that the likes of David Adams or Tyler Austin would be ready by 2014. In fact, when looking at positional players, the potential for homegrown kids coming to the Bronx is probably closer to 2015 which probably means that we will see more geriatric one year signings through 2014. For me, the most important thing to be watching this year won't be the AL East standings but will be following the progress of kids like Austin, Adams, Gary Sanchez, Slade Heathcott, Jose Pirela and Zolio Almonte. It would be great if one or two of these kids were able to make it to the big club at some point in 2013.
With Youkilis on the roster and the signing of Ichiro imminent, the Yankees will be one of the oldest teams in baseball. They may have enough to make the playoffs this year but I have a hard time thinking that they will have enough left in the tank to win it all. That's why I will be watching what's going on in places like Scranton and Trenton this summer as much as the Bronx.
Martin To Pirates….Now What??
Last night it was announced that Russell Martin signed a two year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for a contract worth $17 million dollars or $8.5 million dollars a year. This all happening as it was being reported that Mariano Rivera and the Yankees had agreed to a deal for the 2013 season. Interestingly enough, it was also reported that the Yankees never made an offer to Martin.
While many will say, "good let him go", the fact remains that the Yankees are now stuck with the option of using Chris Stewart, Austin Romine or Francisco Cervelli as your starting catcher. The free agent market is not conducive to where the Yankees want to be in 2014 because both Mike Napoli and AJ Pierzynski will be looking for more than a two year deal and Napoli will definitely want more than $8.5 million a year. Both of these free agents have issues as far as I'm concerned. Napoli is not an every day catcher and the Yanks have enough available DHs lying around. He also seems to fit into the current Yankee mold of hitters: home run or bust. Pierzynski is 36 years old. In my mind, even a 2 year contract for a 36 year old catcher seems to be a stretch. One also has to wonder how AJ's personality would fit in the Yankee clubhouse.
While Martin had a terrible first half of the season at the plate, he was one of the Yankees better hitters down the stretch, defensively he was solid and he could handle the pitchers well. On top of the fact that he turns 30 years old next year. This is why based upon Hal Steinbrenner's payroll edict, re-signing Martin made sense while the Yankees wait for somebody from their farm system to be ready, whether that's Romine or Sanchez.
It will now be interesting to see what the Boy Wonder Cashman will do now to fill this position. If we are to believe what the Yankees were saying that they wanted Martin back, why in the world would this have happened. $8.5 million dollars a year for 2 years for a soon to be 30 year old catcher is not unrealistic. Maybe it's because Cashman can only do one thing at a time as evidenced by his methodical signings of Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte and Rivera. Or maybe it's because the Boy Wonder is too busy preparing for once again rappelling down a building.
Ken Davidoff's article (listed below) outlines that the Yankees will need to be creative to meet Steinbrenner's edict while carrying the contracts of ARod, Teixiera and Sabathia. How the Boy Wonder handles the catching position will be the first sign of whether he has the ability to be creative. My gut tells me that he doesn't.
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/bombers_badly_need_creativity_on_OC1Bt1Pn4q8KK0VG4F10JN
Yanks Begin Second Half In Good Position
Despite some key injuries and a heavy reliance on home runs, the New York Yankees lead the AL East with the best record in baseball and absent a total collapse should be headed to the playoffs. Winning the division is very important as the Yanks will not want to be involved in the wild card play-in game.
Before we begin planning the Canyon of Heroes parade route, this team is flawed. While Joe "The Binder" Girardi pooh-poohs the heavy reliance on home runs, the fact remains that homer reliance teams run into trouble in October. As I have mentioned in a previous post, no one is having a career year offensively. In fact, as was pointed out in a New York newspaper article, Alex Rodriguez and Russell Martin need to pick up their game at the plate. ARod is the bigger concern in my mind because of where he hits in the lineup. If he is able to put up solid numbers in the second half, the Yankee offense becomes even more difficult for opposing pitchers.
Tonight's series against the Angels will be a good test. If the Yankees continue to get solid pitching from Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes, Hiroki Kuroda and Freddy Garcia, they should win the division going away. But nothing is a given. Just ask last year's Boston Red Sox.
Got Melky??
In 2005, Melky Cabrera made his major league debut with the New York Yankees. As I recall, he had an inauspicious start that included misplaying a fly ball against the hated Red Sox. Melky came back the following year and played a part in the 2009 World Championship run. And by the way, entering spring training in 2009, he battled Brett Gardner and won the centerfield job. There was something about this kid that I liked.
Unfortunately, Brian Cashman decided to trade Cabrera for Javier Vazquez. There have been reports that Melky liked the nightlife and that was what made him expendable but Cashman denies that. However, Kevin Long has basically said that was the case. So my question is this, if the Yankees believed that this kid could be a starting outfielder why couldn't they have straightened this kid out?? The richest team in all of sports should have been able to hire someone to keep this kid on the straight and narrow. With all of the former Yankees around, they couldn't have one of them get to this kid. How about Bernie Williams or Reggie Jackson??
What Cashman won't admit is that he made a choice: Gardner over Cabrera and he came out on the short end of the stick. For a team that has not had a homegrown outfielder since Bernie, the Yankees should have done everything in their power to improve Melky's work habits. The kid has enthusiasm, a great arm and can hit. He is not going to be a premier power hitter, but he certainly could be possibly a 20-20 guy and drive in 80-100 RBI's depending on where he is hitting in the lineup. How would the Yankee lineup look with Melky in left, Curtis Granderson in center and Nick Swisher in right. With Swisher's contract up at the end of this season, the Yankees could be looking at holes in right and left field next season.
Oh well, I guess there is no sense crying over spilled Melk.
Yanks Split And Lose No Ground
The New York Yankees got a good pitching performance from Freddy Garcia in Game 1 of the split doubleheader but self-destructed in Game 2 and ended the night with a split of the twin-bill with the Red Sox. You would have thought the Yankees got swept based upon some Yankee fans after the 9-5 loss. Quite frankly, it's very difficult to win a doubleheader and you had to think that Boston was due to breakout. In fact, tonight will be a tough one as teams that usually break a losing streak win a few in a row.
With all the issues that the Yankees have had, it is impressive that they are in first place in the AL East and have the best record in baseball. All of this without their staff ace, their second best pitcher, the all-time best relief pitcher and no regular positional player having a career year. None of this means that a trip down the Canyon of Heroes is guaranteed. Plenty of things can happen between now and the end of October and regular season performances mean nothing in the playoffs. The key for the Yankees will be to win their division, have no more injuries and hopefully be firing on all cylinders heading into October. So until then, let's enjoy where the Yanks are sitting right now as we head into the All-Star break and take a chill pill if they happen not to win this evening. Remember, baseball is a marathon not a sprint.
Yankees Draw First Blood With 10-8 Win
The New York Yankees erupted for four runs in the seventh inning to defeat the Boston Red Sox 10-8 at Fenway Park. In a game that has become familiar when these two teams meet, especially at Fenway, the Yanks blew a 5-run lead and and fell behind 7-6 heading into the 7th. After Robinson Cano was called out on strikes, Mark Teixiera delivered with a long triple to center field which put the Yankees ahead 8-7. Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez added to the lead with RBI's and the team of David Robertson and Rafael Soriano held the fort to secure the victory.
The Yankee victory gives them an 8 1/2 game lead over Boston and a 5 1/2 game lead over second place Baltimore. As a fan, the length of Red Sox - Yankee games is borderline ridiculous. It makes it pretty difficult to watch. The hype build-up for these games is over the top and you really need to take a step back and realize that this is not a playoff series. The criticism of Hiroki Kuroda by some Yankee fans is not justified. Kuroda has pitched well up to last night and it was evident that he did not have his best stuff. However, he did give the Yankees nearly 6 innings which allowed Joe "The Binder" Girardi to conserve his bullpen with a doubleheader today.
A split today would be great ensuring that the Yanks could be in the same position as they were on Thursday, 7 1/2 games ahead of Boston. The key for the Yankees is to get ready for the second half of the season and not worry about their blood rivals. Freddy Garcia will start Game One and Phil Hughes will go in Game Two. Of course the late game is on FOX which means we will have to endure the authoritative duo of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.
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