When Brian Cashman looks at Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Joe Girardi, the Yankees’ GM paints his shortstop, closer and manager with the same brush.
And with spring training opening next week in Tampa, Cashman has no plans to stray from his plan of not negotiating with them. All three contracts are in the final year.
“I don’t think you can separate one from the other,” Cashman explained. “I am not saying they are the same, but the questions will come, ‘If you did one, why didn’t you do the other?’ If this was Kansas City, it would be different — but it’s not.”
Cashman doesn’t fear Girardi’s lame-duck status will become a distraction for the players when the annual slide surfaces and voices call for Girardi’s head even though he led the Yankees to a major-league best 103 wins and a World Series title last season.
I never really expected Cashman to get involved in negotiations this early, so it doesn’t matter to me. Plenty of money is going to be sent out, and we all know it. Not that Jeter or Rivera need anymore incentive to play well this season, a spectacular 2010 baseball season could definitely allow them to get whatever they want. This is the way to do it. There’s no need to make this a distraction during Spring Training or the regular season.
…Spring Training! What did you think I was going to say, Christmas? Pfft, that day is just a mere speed bump in baseball fan’s lives known as ‘Off season’. Either way, the Yankees released their non-roster invitee list and it looks something like this:
OF Marcus Thames, LHP Wilkins Arias, LHP Jeremy Bleich, OF Colin Curtis, RHP Grant Duff, OF Reid Gorecki, C Kyle Higashioka, RHP Jason Hirsh, LHP Kei Igawa, RHP Zach McAllister, C Jesus Montero, C PJ Pilittere, LHP Royce Ring, C Mike Rivera, C Austin Romine, RHP Amaury Sanit, RHP Zack Segovia, OF Jon Weber, RHP Kevin Whelan and OF David Winfree.
Tell me, are you as excited to see Kei Igawa pitch to Marcus Thames in intersquad games? You’re not? Then you must not be a true Yankees fan then. I kid, regardless, 9 days until Spring Training.
Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweeted earlier today that the Yankees have signed Marcus Thames. Joel Sherman reports that it is a minor league deal and if Thames makes the major league roster, he’ll make $900k. Thames was originally drafted by the Yankees in 1996 as the 899th pick in the 30th round and then was traded to the Texas Rangers in June 2003 for Ruben Sierra.
After being traded, Thames played primarily for the Detroit Tigers where he amassed a .245 BA, 99 HRs and 255 RBIs while playing left field and some first base.
Going into 2010, it is unlikely that Thames will be the starter, however, he will likely battle with Randy Winn, Jamie Hoffmann, and whomever the Yankees call up from AAA for the right to hit against left handed hitters this season. Career wise against left handed pitchers, Thames has hit .256, 40 HRs with a .516 SLG in 620 ABs.
According to Ok! Magazine, Alex Rodriguez and Cameron Diaz got cozy with each other over the past weekend. Ok! Magazine with the snippet:
“They were having a great time,” a partygoer tells OK! while Cameron was, “grinding on A-Rod.”
According to the partygoer, a tipsy Cameron was being very, “fun and flirty,” with the Yankee player sitting on the couch beside her as she, “was dancing by herself and then turning into [Alex] some.”
I don’t know if I have anything substantive to add to this wonderful story other than at least it’s not Madonna…
According to the beckettblog, Topps released a bunch of New York Yankees “pie cards” in the new 2010 Topps baseball card set. These insert cards are short-printed in the set.
And there’s another hidden SP in 2010 Topps Series 1. The company offered this hint: “Who would Abe Lincoln’s favorite team be?”
The “Pie Cards”:
No. 400 Alex Rodriguez- 5/16/09
No. 475 Johnny Damon- 5/17/09
No. 120 Jorge Posada- 7/4/09
No. 185 Hideki Matsui- 7/20/09
No. 400 Alex Rodriguez- 8/7/09
No. 370 Robinson Cano- 8/12/09
No. 370 Robinson Cano- 8/28/09
No. 65 Nick Swisher- 9/8/09
No. 422 Francisco Cervelli- 9/16/09
No. 579 Juan Miranda- 9/29/09
No. 250 Mark Teixeira- 10/9/09
No. 88 Jerry Hairston Jr.- 10/17/09
Offensively, 2009 was a good year for Jorge, in other ways, it could have been better. His game calling ability with certain pitchers leaves something to be desired and his lack of throwing runners out also leaves something to be desired. However, with 2010 around the corner and the big 40 a little over a year away for Jorge, it is about time for him to transition to something that would provide the team with the best solution behind the plate.
Looking ahead to 2010: 2010 should be another decent year for Jorge offensively, however, his time behind the plate will diminish as his defense is no longer at an acceptable level. This year, we should see Jorge behind the plate about 100 times with Francisco Cervelli, who hit .298 last year, behind the rest. The other 62 games or so, expect to see Jorge at the DH slot or catching his breath in the dugout. It might even be possible that we see Jorge mentoring Jesus Montero later in the season in some of those games as well.
Do you think you can handle it? I found one error on the quiz, so I will give away his name. Anthony Claggett’s name is spelled wrong (Clagget). I got 39/45 on my first try. There are definitely a lot of tricky ones in there.
The trophy moved on Thursday from Beijing Airport to Hong Kong, arriving on Delta Airlines at approximately 2 p.m. China Standard Time (13 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time). Upon arrival, fans greeted the trophy and the Yankees delegation.
On Friday, the trophy is scheduled to be displayed at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, where fans will be able to enjoy the trophy in its final public appearance in Asia. The Hyatt Regency hotel will then host a brief press conference featuring the Yankees delegation and introducing the trophy to fans.
Additionally, Afterman will attend the opening ceremonies for the Hong Kong International Women’s Baseball Tournament on Saturday morning, throwing out the event’s first pitch.
Alex Rodriguez’s 500th homerun ball recently sold for a cool $103,579 to an unknown online bidder. The Daily News has the info:
A-Rod’s 500th home run ball is going, going, gone!
The ball smashed by the Yankee slugger on Aug. 4, 2007, to reach the historic milestone fetched $103,579 in an online auction that ended Thursday night.
The sum, paid by an unknown bidder, is just a fraction of what was previously doled out for dingers hit before the rampant use of steroids by baseball players became widely known.
But the ball is the most important one to be auctioned off since Barry Bonds’ record-breaking 756th home run ball was sold for $752,467 in 2007, said David Kohler, owner of SCP Auctions, which carried out the sale.
“You can even see where the bat hit the ball,” Kohler said.
The highest price ever paid for a baseball was $3 million for Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball that broke the single-season record in 1998.
Roger Maris’ 61st home run ball from 1961 previously sold for $5,000.
I don’t think we’ll see $3 million for a homerun ball again for a long time…
In the part three of our Yankees vs Red Sox series we look at the pitching for both teams. While we may not be able to predict with 100% accuracy which slot everyone fits into the rotation, we feel the assessments are generally inline with past history with both teams. You can see part one here and part two here.
Starting Rotation
CC Sabathia vs Josh Beckett
Edge: Slight Edge to CC. When I say slight, I mean as small as a piece of hair. Both these pitchers are great front of the rotation aces that anyone would have on their team. Last year CC proved he could pitch in NY and on short rest in the playoffs which is great. The fact that CC is a lefty provides the slimmest of margins in their comparison.
AJ Burnett vs Jon Lester
Edge: Lester. The previous two years Lester has really come into his own going 31-14 with a sub 3.50 ERA and 377 K’s. While AJ’s line for the previous two years is comparable, 31-19 with a 4.06 ERA and 426 K’s, his propensity for wildness and being prone to injuries give Lester the edge here. Continue Reading »
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This blog post is a piece I wrote for the “Pinch Hitter Series” over at The LoHud Yankees Blog. I want to thank Yankees beat writer Chad Jennings for giving me the opportunity to participate. I have a great appreciation for the rich history of this great franchise, and I thought it would be great to pay tribute to one of it’s finest characters. Here is the uncut version of my entry:
“Hello there, everybody!” That’s one of the many catchphrases you might have heard by Melvin Allen Israelduring his Yankees broadcasts. He was born on February 14, 1913, in Birmingham, Alabama. His love for the game of baseball as a young boy would play a big role in his life.
The future sportscaster attended the University of Alabama where he was a member of Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity as an undergraduate. He served as the public address announcer at Alabama football games. In 1933, Birmingham’s WBRC was in need of a new play-by-play announcer and Alabama coach Frank Thomas suggested Israel to fill the position. It was his first job behind the microphone. Israel’s first broadcast was Alabama’s home opener that year, against Tulane. He went on to earn a law degree from Alabama, but that wasn’t a major priority in his life. His boyhood love for baseball led him to become first a sports columnist and then a radio announcer.
Soon after graduating from Alabama in 1937, Allen took a train to New York City for a vacation, and he never turned back. While on vacation, he auditioned for the CBS Radio Network as a staff announcer. They already knew about him, as the network’s top sportscaster, Ted Husing, had heard many of his Crimson Tide broadcasts. They hired him at $45 a week. In his first year at CBS, he announced the crash of the Hindenburg. CBS suggested that Mel go by a different on-air last name, so he chose Allen, his father’s middle name. He legally changed his last name to Allen in 1943. That week’s vacation became 60 years. He settled in New York and lived in the metro area for many years. Continue Reading »
Yesterday, Baltimore Ravens owner, Steve Bisciotti had this to say about the Yankees and their payroll.
“It certainly doesn’t show up in the standings,” Bisciotti said. “If I’m a Yankees fan, I’m upset we’re not winning 130 games with the roster that they have and the money that they pay out. I think it’s a disgrace they only beat the average team by 10 games in the standings with three times the money. I’d fire that GM. You don’t need a GM. All you have to do is buy the last Cy Young Award winner every year.”
So, he never once wanted to do anything about Kyle Boller being his quarterback? Not going to waste my time on this, however, if you have something to say, hit up our comments.
The New York Yankees continued their World Series Championship Trophy tour on Wednesday, as Randy Levine and Brian Cashman traveled to Beijing. They held another press conference similar to the one in Japan, and young fans crowded around the trophy to get a good look.
The manager of MLB in China, Xie Long, posed for photos with the trophy during the conference. It looks as if the Yankees organization is recruiting people to join Yankees Universe.
In part two of our Yankees vs Red Sox series we examine the outfield between both teams. You can see our infield comparison here. We will be judging each outfield starter on their defensive and offensive contributions this year.
Brett Gardner/Randy Winn vs. Jacoby Ellsbury
Offensive Edge: Ellsbury. Gardner in a small sample last year didn’t light the world on fire and Winn came off a bad season. With as much speed Ellsbury possesses, he doesn’t need to hit the ball far to create havoc. If Winn rounds back into pre-2009 form (.300 BA, 10-20 HR, 60-80 RBI) and Gardner continues to have success with his speed, the platoon of Winn/Gardner could be better than Ellsbury by himself.
Defensive Edge: Slight edge to Ellsbury. Ellsbury (minus taking weird routes to flyballs) was a good CF’er in 2009. With a smaller field to work with in 2010 he should have similar success in Boston’s 5 sq feet of left field. Winn is a serviceable outfielder however, he is getting older and we have seen the effects of age (see Damon) on older players. It is possible that Gardner could be just as good as Ellsbury and time will tell.
Curtis Granderson vs Mike Cameron
Offensive Edge: Granderson. Granderson has potential to be a .280, 30 HR, 100 RBI hitter with 30+ stolen bases while Cameron has never hit above .272 in his career. Cameron has 25+ HR power and ability to drive in runs in buckets, but that doesn’t over come his .250 lifetime batting average.
Defensive Edge: Slight edge to Cameron. What Cameron lacks in batting average, he makes for fielding ability. He is a three time Gold Glove winner. The only question is how long can his 37 year old legs allow him to defend well? Granderson is also a good fielder in his own right, however he had a down year in 2009 and looks to rebound in a smaller ballpark.
Nick Swisher vs J.D. Drew
Offensive Edge: Slight Edge to Drew. Drew and Swishalicious have comparable stats, however, Drew has a higher career average and consistently hits .270-.280.
Defensive Edge: Negligible. Another one that I had to go to the stats for. From what I can tell, these two won’t light the world on fire, but they will get the job done.
Overall Edge: This round goes to the Red Sox, unfortunately. However, I feel that the differences between the two outfields are so small, that any change or injury could swing the difference either way.
Apparently, Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA guesses scientific formulas have been tweaked a fourth time to give us the AL East standings again. This time the Yankees are in first place with 94 wins with Boston trailing right behind them. Fun to see the world right itself again. You can see more here if you so care to.
Apparently, Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA 
Kevin Rozell
Rob Bradley
8 more days until pitchers and catchers report
