Happy Pitchers and Catchers

The New York Yankees pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday February 14^th.  The first official workout was today and the position players will be reporting in five days with the first full squad workout in six days.  There really isn’t much news to report on the first couple of days but I will write some stuff and then as we move along to the first spring game which will be on February 24^th we will have more. 

Masahiro Tanaka was named the Opening day starter already which isn’t a surprise it is just surprising how

early the manager Joe Girardi named it.  Last year he did the same thing but didn’t announce it until March

31^st.  There will be the World Baseball Classic this spring which will bring more opportunity to see the young

guys which a lot of them will already be in camp but they will get to play more with some of the veteran guys

leaving for the WBC.  Dellin Betances didn’t report as he has an arbitration hearing on Friday and the Yankees

approved of it.  He is working out alone in Tampa and then will report after the hearing is over.  The Yankees submitted a number of 3 million and he is seeking 5 million. 

The Yankees will have both Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher in camp as instructors to go along with Goose Gossage, Willie Randolph, Hideki Matsui, Ron Guidry etc.  Arod will still be receiving 21 million from the Yankees this year and has a job as a consultant with the team especially working with the minor leaguers.

The Yankees will have an interesting camp as so many young guys are around.  There are some position

battles like first base between Greg Bird, Tyler Austin and Chris Carter.  Right field between Aaron Judge and

Aaron Hicks.  Gary Sanchez has already earned being the starting catcher, they trust him so much they traded

away Brian McCann and have Austin Romine as the backup.  There are of course rotation battles for the last

two spots.  It would appear that Chad Green, Luis Cessa, Luis Severino, Adam Warren

are all battling for those last two spots but are their others.  Could Chance Adams be a factor, how about other guys in the organization.  If not at first what about at some point this season. 

On the first day of official workouts which was today we heard from owner Hal Steinbrenner who is pretty confident in his team and says the expectations are the same.  He says the kids have a good chance and now need to prove that they are good and ready for the opportunity. 

CC Sabathia threw today and so did Aroldis Chapman, nothing exciting just getting early work in.  Steinbrenner talked about Arod possibly having an expanded role with the organization.  It sounds like they are very happy with his work with the younger players and want him to stick around with the organization.  That was an interesting development, he also said he loves Joe Girardi and the job he has done but won’t talk extension until the end of the season. 

The New York Yankees make a couple of big trades

The New York Yankees have been quiet in the free agent market this offseason but that doesn't mean they have been quiet.  They have made a couple of big offseason trades.  The first one was to get their second baseman, they traded Adam Warren and a PTBNL that became Brendan Ryan for Starlin Castro.  Castro was expendable to the Cubs because of the younger prospects they had coming up Addison Russell who took his SS job and by signing Ben Zobrist to play second.  Castro has been in the majors for six years and been a 3X all star.  He is only 26 years old and fits the mold of what the Yankees want, young athletic players.  He has a contract but it is reasonable. 

He is a guy who struggled a lot of last year but really took off when he was moved to second base.  He should stabalize the position for sure and allow Dustin Ackley and Rob Refsnyder to be more of  platoon players and backups in case of injury.  It will be very fun to watch Castro and Gregorius team up for years to come as the double play combo for the New York Yankees.  Castro also in being a Yankee won't have to be the main guy like he was counted on for so long in Chicago and I think that will help him.  I could see him hitting 28-290 with some more power then he has shown in the past and solid defense at second base.  He has the potential to be an all star 2B and the Yankees will be thrilled if that does happen. 

The Yankees made an even bigger deal before the holidays in landing all star closer Aroldis Chapman.  They traded away four minor leaguers to get him.  Rookie Davis and Eric Jagielo and then Tony Renda and Caleb Cotham.  This was a really good deal for the Yankees and the price dropped considerably because of the domestic abuse investigation Chapman is going through.  It is expected that he will serve some type of suspension to start next season but probably not a really long one.  If he does serve more than 42 days the Yankees would get him an extra year as he is currently able to become a free agent after this season.  If the Yankees hold on to Andrew Miller this will form arguably the best bullpen in the history of baseball.  The Yankees have Miller, Chapman and Dellin Betances who were the only three relievers in all of MLB last season to record 100+ strikeouts.  They also are the three leading K/9 inning guys in all of baseball.  The starters go six innings and the game is pretty much over, maybe even 5+ in some cases.  It should be a real treat to see the back end of this bullpen close out games for now and maybe a few years to come. 

The Yankees also made a minor trade, sending Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for a couple of minor league pitchers who will add depth to AAA and possibly be in line to spot start this season if any injuries occur.  We will wait and see on that but at least it adds depth and now with Chapman in the mix the Yankees definitely didn't hurt their bullpen.  It will also allow guys like James Pazos and Jacob Lindgren two young homegrown relievers to have a shot in the bullpen this upcoming season. 

A quiet day turned not so quiet in New York Yankees camp

It started out as a normal Monday morning during pitchers and catchers.  There wasn't too much going on, the biggest thing was going to be Luis Severino facing hitters.  Then the news broke this morning that the Boston Red Sox signed Yoan Moncada.  Then if that wasn't enough around 11:00AM who showed up but none other than Alex Rodriguez to take his physical and then to head over to the minor league complex to have a workout.  It was a crazy day for sure in Tampa. 

The Yankees did make a 25 million dollar offer to Moncada but they really didn't want to budge off of that.  They said they would go to 27 million if he would sign and from the reports it sounded like Brian Cashman the GM was pushing for him but the owner Hal Steinbrenner said no.  The Red Sox ultimately bid 31.5 or around there and got him.  The thing about him is he is so young and will be in the minors for a couple of years most likely.  He also costs double do to the tax most teams would have to pay on him.  Moncada liked the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres equally and it was going to come down to who bid the highest and everyone started at 25 million of those teams.  I think he would of been a good fit on the Yankees and don't see a really good fit for Boston but they ended up getting him and we will see in the future how that works out. 

Alex Rodriguez was of course the main story of the day.  He showed up took his physical and then had an hour workout at the minor league complex.  He started out throwing around a medicine ball, he took some grounders at third base and took 70 swings and hit six homeruns if you care about that stuff.  Yes there were people keeping track.  He then posed for pictures and signed autographs with all the fans and spoke to the media for around eight minutes.  Here is some of what he had to say. 

Arod said he is still training to play 3B even with the presence of Chase Headley.  He said "I think Chase is an excellent addition to our team,"  Rodriguez said.  "We had a nice conversation a little bit ago.  Talked about winning, talked about how great it is to play in New York, in front of the greatest fans.  Talked about the Stadium.  I'm looking forward to being his teammate." 

He didn't take any groundballs on the right side of the infield but did say he was open to playing 1B if he was asked.  He said whatever Joe wants him to do he will do.  He said he felt very welcomed and that he has strong relationships in the locker room.  As for any lingering bad feelings he said. " I created a big headache for a lot of people."  He said he still thinks he can play third base.  He said he will still be productive as long as he is healthy and said flatly that he isn't currently taking any illegal substance. 

He said, "No mistake that I made has a good answer, or no justification, and that's on me.  I've dug a big hole for myself and paid a price.  I'm fortunate for a lot of people, especially the commissioner's office, the players union, the Yankees, to give me an opportunity to play the game that I love."

I would say it went pretty well for him arriving and having the media storm.  I think it was a good idea for him to arrive early.  There will probably be a large crowd tomorrow and every day for a while but he got the questions out of the way and the shock of him showing up out of the way and now he can just go to work.  If he keeps his mouth shut and stays clean eventually all the talk will be about his play on the field and that is what everyone wants at this point.  You can't go back in time, the damage has been done but he can write another chapter and make it a good one.  Stay tuned to see what tomorrow brings. 

New York Yankees and New York Mets news and rumors

The New York Yankees have been busy settling their coaching staffs for their major league team and all of their minor league teams.  The Yankees Hal Steinbrenner was quoted on Wednesday at the owners meetings in Arizona.  He basically said what they have been saying all along that they have a high payroll and he would like to cut it even more but never say never.  He left the door open just slightly for Max Scherzer or James Shields for those that are dreaming but I still wouldn't expect it.  I would expect some lesser pitchers like Johan Santana on a minor league contract or maybe a trade.  The Mets have been involved in rumors for Ian Desmond of the Washington Nationals.  The first report the other day said that they balked at giving up Noah Syndergard and now it is coming back up again today with Dan Duquette making some comments about it.  I am not sure if it was close or still close but it does sound like they had substantial talks so we will see what happens there.  If I was the Mets I would trade Syndergard because you have to give up something to get something and having a really good SS could put them over the top. 

The New York Yankees avoided arbitration with pitcher Ivan Nova on Wednesday agreeing to a one year 3.3 million dollar deal that is non guaranteed.  The only other Yankees stuff that is going on is what is not going on.  Alex Rodriguez had posted some pictures of him fielding and hitting the ball to instagram but other than that he remains quiet.  He is still a big mystery and I honestly have no idea what to expect.  There are those that think he will just hang it up in spring training collect his money and the Yankees can collect there money through insurance and then there are some who think he will hit really well and don't count him out and some that think he will play but may not be very good.  It all remains to be seen but in a little over a month the circus will be in town in Tampa, Florida. 

As for the Mets they really haven't done much of anything this offseason.  They did sign Michael Cuddyer but that was pretty much it.  They are now involved in rumors of Dillon Gee being traded but that hasn't happened yet and also for a SS with the focus now on Ian Desmond.  I think they should go out and get him if they can.  I don't buy into Wilmer Flores being an option at SS right now.  I think the Mets are close enough that they need to go for it by acquiring a legit SS.  They have a good young pitching staff with plenty of guys other then Syndergard as well.  I personally would trade him knowing you already have Harvey, Wheeler and DeGrom with Niese, Gee, Colon etc.  We will see what happens but I think if they really want to contend this year go get a SS. 

There are still big names out there on the free agent market such as Scherzer and Shields but ultimately I

don't see either NY team getting involved and getting them.  I would say it is more likely for the Yankees of

course but I really don't see them getting involved either

Will the New York Yankees spend more due to Boston winning?

Will the New York Yankees spend more due to Boston winning?


The topic of 189 million has been going on for months now. To be honest it probably has been going on for years now. The 2 014 season is one that has been marked for the New York Yankees to get under 189 million. The reasons are simple; the luxury tax savings are immense for them. There is great incentive to being under that number. What are the reasons not to be under it, well that can be simple also? Lets take a look at both sides of the argument and if the Boston Red Sox winning will change anything.

I think it is possible to be under 189 million and field a championship team; there are certain factors that can affect it though. I also believe that you are going to have to spend money for guys like Robinson Cano to resign, for a catcher and pitching. The New York Yankees biggest problem could be the money they have locked up in Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees may get luck and get out of that for at least this year, which is the big year. If he is suspended and they save that approximately 30 million then they are in great shape.

The real question though is will the Yankees act differently now that their archrival the Boston Red Sox won the World Series. I would say yes for sure, I couldn’t imagine anyone in the Yankees hierarchy not being upset about the Red Sox winning. I think the fans are more upset and will make it harder for them to not go the extra mile. The Yankees really have to look at everything because their attendance was down last year and their TV ratings were down. A big reason for this was because of all the injuries and lack of star power. The Yankees can act however they want but they will always be the Yankees and they have to keep that in mind.

It is very hard for a team in New York and a team called the Yankees to act frugal. Is it possible to have the best of both worlds?? It may be but it is definitely not going to be easy for them. They have a lot of holes to fill but at the same time has a lot of money coming off the books.

Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte retired; they are going to be rid of Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. Curtis Granderson was just given a qualifying offer of 1 yr and 14.1 million. If he accepts it is less then he got last year and if he doesn’t he is a free agent. The Yankees have Alfonso Soriano and Vernon Wells for next year but other teams are mainly paying them. Mark Teixeira is under contract and Derek Jeter is also. The Yankees need a catcher most likely, or at least an upgrade of what they had. They potentially will lose Hiroki Kuroda to free agency or retirement. If this is the case they need two starting pitchers, free agent pitchers cost a lot of money.

It will be very interesting to see what they do as they have already been linked to some big names. Tanaka is a pitcher out of Japan that they are expected to bid highly on, remember the bidding doesn’t count against the 189. They are expected to sign a catcher such as Brian McCann or Jarrod Saltalamacchia. They need possibly a DH and another starting pitcher. I think they can accomplish all of this and still be at 189 or below.

I don’t have the exact numbers those for those under contract and the arbitration eligible players but it looks promising to me.

This may be the most interesting Yankees off-season in a couple of decades though anyway you look at it. The bottom line is I do expect the Yankees to be more aggressive because of the Red Sox winning. It is hard for them not to be angry and more competitive because they are right in their face.

Yankees spring training notes on a quiet day

Wally Matthews quoted a source today who said Hal Steinbrenner may be beginning to break from his payroll cutting mandate. Are we surprised, I though eventually you might hear something about this. They are saying he may want to spend significantly in the off-season. He has said in the last couple of days they have reached out to Scott Boras and stated the desire to keep Robinson Cano and pay him a huge amount. 
David Price said that he wouldn’t be a Yankee long term because of their facial hair policy. Derek Jeter had a great quote about that basically saying do you think any player wouldn’t come because of that?? He is right basically saying it is about the money and if that is right a player won’t turn that down.

The Yankees went through pop up drills today. Joe Girardi said Jeter looked ok, he didn’t want him running all over the place so they still took it easy with him but he did some work and came out ok.

Girardi said he is impressed by the young power arms he is seeing. He said it isn’t just one or two either. The Yankees to seem to have a lot of quality pitching in their minor leagues and this is good for them if they want to keep that payroll down. It is always important to develop your own pitchers, if you can do that then you are in really good shape.

Curtis Granderson was in center and Brett Gardner in left during drills today. Girardi said don’t read into that though. Phil Hughes should be out about two weeks. The Yankees aren’t too concerned about him right now but it is a bulging disk in his back and he needs rest, they will have to worry a little bit until he comes back and is past the issue. Eduardo Nunez almost got hit by Joba Chamberlain in batting practice today and Kelvin Perez was hit in his non pitching elbow by a come backer.

It is about time for some games and more to talk about, it is pretty tedious right now and not much really going on. There isn’t much to say at this point and really nothing to analyze. That will all change soon though as the games begin on Saturday.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball and the Yankees react

Hideki Matsui announced his retirement from professional baseball today. Matsui played in the United States for ten years after coming over from Japan where he played for ten years. Matsui was nicknamed Godzilla, he played with the New York Yankees from 2003-2009 after playing for the Tokyo Giants which is Japans version of the Yankees. He was a very good player, very clutch and also very classy.. He batted 292 with the Yankees, scoring 536 runs, hitting 196 doubles, 140 homeruns and driving in 597 runs. He became the first player in Yankees franchise history to hit a grand slam in his Yankee Stadium debut. He accomplished that feat against the Minnesota Twins on April 8, 2003. He was a two time all star who didn’t miss a game in his first three years, 518 consecutive games which is a record still today for longest streak to start a career. Matsui always had a flair for the dramatic and in his final game as a Yankee he went 3-4 and drove in six runs to clinch World Series Game 6 on November 4, 2009 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was loved by everyone and that came out today upon the news of his retirement. Here are some of the Yankees reacting to the news. 
Hal Steinbrenner: “Hideki Matsui in many ways , embodied what this organization stands for. He was dedicated to his craft, embraced his responsibilities to his team and fans, and elevated his play when he was needed the most. He did all these things with a humility that was distinctly his own, which is why he was such a big part of our success and why he will always be a cherished member of the Yankees family.”

Brian Cashman: “Hideki is proof that baseball is an international attraction that brings people from all over the world together in their passion for the game. He was the type of player and person you want young fans of this game to emulate. He played with pride, discipline and of course talent, and flourished when the lights were at their brightest. People naturally gravitated towards him, and that’s a direct reflection of his character. He was a true professional in every sense of the word and it feels good knowing he was able to raise the championship trophy as a member of the Yankees.”

Derek Jeter: “I’ve said numerous times over the years, but it’s worth repeating now. I’ve had a lot of teammates over the years with the Yankees, but I will always consider Hideki one of my favorites. The way he went about his business day in and day out was impressive. Despite being overshadowed by a large group of reporters, having the pressures of performing for both his fans both in New York and Japan and becoming acclimated to the bright lights of New York City, he always remained focused and committed to his job and to those of us he shared the clubhouse with. I have a lot of respect for Hideki. He was someone we counted on a great deal and he’s a big reason why we became World Champions in 2009.”

I was at that first game in 2003 and he became an instant fan favorite. He always had a flair for the dramatic and was so clutch and that is why he was loved in New York. The Yankees today don’t really have guys like that and that is why they have struggled in the postseason. I like what they have done this off-season because I feel like they are going back to what made them successful, not so much guys that just hit homeruns but guys who can do a lot and be clutch players. I wish Hideki all the best and I am sure his fans and the Yankees look forward to seeing him at future Old Timers day celebrations.

Yankees at Big Point of season

The New York Yankees have a off day today before starting a 3 game series in Atlanta tomorrow night and then the weekend subway series at Citi Field. The New York Yankees are at a point where they need to get this turned around or risk letting this season get away from them. They stand 4 games out of first place behind the Boston Red Sox who they are already 0-8 against, good thing they have 10 more against them and 7 at home. They now are tied for the wildcard with the Anaheim Angels and two games ahead of the Blue Jays in the loss column and 3 ahead of the Rays. A couple of weeks ago the Yankees were 1 game up in the division and way ahead in the wildcard and since they have been dreadful going 4-8, should be 3-9 if Luis Castillo didn't drop a popup. The Yankees pitching has been pretty good, bullpen also but they haven't been able to hit at all fo the most part against inferior teams. The Yankees had no business going 2-4 against the Nationals and Marlins, at worst they should of gone 4-2. Joe Girardi is the manager and will soon start to take the blame, I don't blame him but he better get hold of this team right now and get them back to playing good clean baseball. I would like to see a change in hitting coach and maybe even pitching coach but that doesn't seem like it will happen. I wonder how much longer this can go on without hearing anything from Brian Cashman, Hank or Hal Steinbrenner, it would be wise of the Yankees to not let anyone hear from them as they start winning starting tomorrow and get themselves back into the playoff picture ahead of the pack.

New York Yankees vs Detroit Tigers

The lineup for tonights game is Gardner(cf) Damon(lf) Swisher(1b) Posada(dh) Duncan(rf) Ransom(3b) Molina(c) Berroa(2b) Pena(ss) CC Sabathia is scheduled to throw 35 pitches or about 2 innings. He will followed by Alfredo Aceves, Jose Veras, Steven Jackson, David Robertson and Anthony Claggett. Hal Steinbrenner, Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman had a meeting earlier today. Hal said of course everybody is concerned. He said several times there is no new information. The reason Gardner is leading off and not Damon is because Joe G said that is what he will be doing in the season either him or Melky batting ninth. The Yankees seem to have changed their stance a little since yesterday regarding Alex, they said Arod needs to make a decision and basically its up to him and his doctors. He did hit in a cage and was throwing in Colorado today, the sense that Peter Abraham of the Journal News and http://yankees.lhblogs.com is that Alex is going to have the surgery maybe as early as next week, that the Yankees are fearful of him playing and then he hurts it more and has to come out of the lineup and have the surgery. I am guessing we may know by Monday for sure, if he does have surgery they have the month of March which is free basically and maybe he will recover quickly and be back by June but who knows, or maybe he has a high threshold for pain and can make it through the season. I am sure we will be talking about this more in the coming days, I am planning on having an all Arod post maybe as early as tomorrow, since I have a lot of thoughts and I want to get them out there. Meanwhile to tonights game CC is the focus, we will see how Posada does of course and Swish getting some time at first will be good. Cody Ransom will probably be playing third base everyday now and lets see how he does. Shelly Duncan is always fun to keep an eye on as he trys to get back on the 40 man roster.