Well, rumors last night that the Yankees were going to acquire a starting pitcher via trade kept me up until about 2 AM, hoping news would be broken. I woke up at 7 and still there was no news. After hours of watching the worst possible TV in the history of the world (Regis & Kelly and The Stepford Wives), it was finally reported that the Yankees had acquired Javy Vazquez.
SERIOUSLY? After all that waiting the Yankees acquired a guy they traded 5 years ago? This was a big let down. But then, as everyone should do when there is a trade, I actually sat down and thought about it, instead of simply thinking of game 7 of the 2004 ALCS and you know what, this is a very good deal.
In the official deal, the Yankees acquire Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan and the Braves get Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino.
First off, lets talk about what they gave up. Melky, Dunn and a 19 year old. Vizcaino projects to be something good, but at 19 years old, anything can happen. Dunn also projects to be something decent, but he is a converted position player and people within the Yankees organization believe his control problems are something he may never conquer. As for Melky, well, long-time readers of this blog know how I feel about him, he will not be missed.
As for Javier Vazquez, he was the Yankees #1 starter in 2004 and had a very strong 3.56 ERA in the first half. While it wasn't widely reported at the time, he dealt with a sore shoulder in the second half which led to a ERA in the 2nd half of 6.92.
Vazquez had the best year of his career in 2009, going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA, finished 4th in CY Young Voting and 2nd in the league in strikeouts with 238. While I don't expect him to perform this well, especially with a 4.19 career ERA, Vazquez, whether you have bad memories of him or not, is a very strong #3 or #4 starter. Name me one #3 or 4 who is better than him? There aren't many. On top of this, Vazquez provides lots of durability. Every year since 2000 Vazquez has thrown at least 198 innings and made at least 32 starts. He is only 3 games over .500 for his career, but that has a lot to do with spending the first six seasons of his career with the Montreal Expos, not to mention some time with the Diamondbacks and White Sox.
Adding to the long list of positives for Vazquez, this makes a battle for the #5 spot between Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. No matter who gets the 5th spot (I think Joba will be the 5th starter), this gives the Yankees a very strong set-up man, thus improving the bullpen. Finally, Vazquez is making $11.5 mil this year, but he only has one year left on his contract, giving the Yankees financial flexibility. Obviously there is a year to go, but he projects as a Type A free agent and is sure to net the Yankees two draft picks.
Boone Logan was in the deal also, and yes, he held lefties to a .226 BA last year, but I doubt he gets much playing time, but bullpen depth is always nice. This makes Brett Gardner our starting LF, but I would bet you anything the Yankees acquire someone. They have about $5-6 mil left to work with (which just so happens to be Mark Derosa's asking price, hmm....) and that would push Gardner to our 4th outfield spot, and he would be a great late game defensive replacement for DeRosa. Also, on days Jeter and A-Rod need a rest, DeRosa can move there and the offensive loss wont be huge. Add the fact that he is ANOTHER great clubhouse guy and has recently said he wants to play for the Yankees and this seems like a great fit. He is not a great defender in the OF and is a bit overrated, but at $4-6 mil on a one or two year deal, he will be another potentially solid addition to the team.
So overall the Yankees acquire a guy who can was a #1 for his team last year, is a #2 on most teams but will only have to be their #3. They get him for only one year at a relatively affordable price and may also get two draft picks out of it, all while giving up a few guys who at this point, you probably only remember two of their names, possibly only one. Melky wont be missed. Dunn wont be missed and neither will that other guy. Another great move for Brian Cashman to show us all that he is truly running the show right now (it was 100% Randy Levine who traded Vazquez after 2004, Vazquez and Cashman both wanted him to stay), and I wouldn't want it any other way
So tell me what you guys think. Do you like the deal? I know Uncle Johnny doesnt! How come you guys dont like it? If you do, what do you like about it? Also, will Gardner be the opening day LF or will be it a guy like DeRosa, Jermaine Dye or even Erik Hinske? As always, let me know what you guys think
Update:
According to Joel Sherman, now that the Yankees have Vazquez, they will look to trade either Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin. Mitre will earn about $1.5 mil next year and has no trade value while Gaudin will be making about $3 mil, but could net a decent B prospest in return. Who should they trade? Should they simply dump Mitre's salary and save some money and keep the good pitcher around, or should they trade Gaudin, free up more money and get a prospect, but lose some pitching depth in the process?
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Recap of Offseason Thus Far
Well, as always it's been a while, but finals will do that to you. The Yankees have made plenty of moves so far in the off season, so lets take a look at what they have done so far, analyze it all and find out what we think!Lets do this in chronological order:
Yankees trade RP Brian Bruney to the Nationals for a PTBNL:
Brian Bruney was traded to the Nationals on the first day of the Winter Meetings, for a Player to be Named Later. That player ended up being the Nationals #1 pick in the Rule 5 draft. Bruney was a solid reliever for the Yankees, posting ERA's of 0.87, 4.68, 1.83 and 3.92, but with the Yankees trying to use their money more efficiently, a reliever of his caliber who is good, but walks too many people considering a 6.2 BB/9 and was due a raise through arbitration of about $3 million, that money could be used better, and any old reliever could put up similar numbers for $2.5 mil less. Mark Melancon anybody?
Overall consider this a win for the Yankees. Bruney can be replaced by any 'ol reliever and the Yanks also save some money in the deal as well.
Yankees trade OF Austin Jackson, SP Ian Kennedy and RP Phil Coke in a 3-team deal to acquire CF Curtis Granderson
First, lets talk about what the Yankees gave up in this trade. Austin Jackson was probably the Yankees number one offensive prospect (slightly ahead of Jesus Montero, simply for the fact that Jackson was older and had a full year at AAA under his belt). Jackson played well at AAA, winning the International Leagues Rookie of the Year award, but unfortunately for him, he struck out too much and his power simply did not develop the way the Yankees had hoped. Without power, Jackson is simply a good prospect, not great. If he develops power, he will be missed, but Granderson is still young (will be 29 on Opening Day), so it isn't the worst thing in the world to trade a guy who can be good, for a young guy who we already know is good. Jackson will be the opening day CF for the Tigers, so we will learn very soon what he will become.
Ian Kennedy was another guy who I was a big fan of, but he simply was never going to contribute to the New York Yankees. In the NL, he has the ability to be a #3, but in the AL East, he simply was not going to do anything special. Concerns about his attitude were also raised and while he may be good for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the best thing he could ever do for the Yankees is be a key part of a trade.
Phil Coke also got traded. Who cares? I like Coke, I was a fan of his, despite his ability to give up home runs to left handed hitters in the most important situations, but he can be replaced easily. Damaso Marte showed us in the playoffs what he could do, and the Yankees think very highly of Mike Dunn as well, who was originally a part of this deal. He will be 27 next year, but this was a just an extra piece of the trade. I liked him, but he won't be missed.
Now, onto what we did receive. Our new Center Fielder, Curtis Granderson. Granderson will bat at the bottom of the order, probably around the six spot, and be sure to drive in runs. He hit 30 home runs last year, 10 of which came in a home ballpark that is not hitter-friendly. He has the potential to hit 40 home runs in the new Yankee Stadium according to some, and the fact that he led the league in triples in 2007 and 2008 and had 20 steals last year surely doesn't hurt anything. Granderson is also a fantastic fielder, posting a 5.2 UZR/150 for his career, and although I do not think Melky Cabrera will, or should be the opening day LF, as of right now he is, and his defense is much better suited for left, so Granderson makes the entire OF better. Granderson is also a great clubhouse guy, great to the media and charitable in the community. He was the Detroit Tigers winner of the Roberto Clemente award and is known as one of the nicest guys in baseball.
Granderson does have flaws, he strikes out too much, can't hit lefties and last year his BA dropped to .249. With that said, he had an abnormally high fly ball rate last year, an abnormally low BABIP and an abnormally low infield hit rate last year as well. These are the reasons we have a hitting coach. According to Ken Davidoff via Twitter, Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said he would be able to fix Granderson against lefties in 10 seconds. Add that to the assumed bounce back year for his BABIP, some of those fly balls turning into Home Runs in the new Yankee Stadium and a potential bat off the bench who can face some tough lefties and this is a fantastic addition for the Yankees. Somewhere down the road Austin Jackson may turn into something good, but he does not project to be anything better than Granderson, so nobody will take any notice.
By the way, Granderson is owed a very affordable $25.75 mil over the next three years with a $13 mil option when it is all said and done.
Yankees sign Andy Pettitte to a one year $11.75 mil deal
Did the Yankees overpay for Pettitte? Yes. Does it matter? Not really. I thought Pettitte was going to get a one year deal around $9 mil or so, but whats an extra couple of million for a guy like Pettitte? You know what you're going to get from him and there aren't going to be any surprises. He has won at least 14 games over the past five years, never with an ERA over 4.54 (his 2nd worst ERA over the past five years was 4.20), made at least 32 starts and was a veteran presence. Even though we overpaid, considering how the market has been this year, the Yankees are getting a bit of a discount technically. If Randy Wolf can secure a 3 year deal worth almost $30 mil, Pettitte would be able to get at least $40 mil on the open market if he wanted a long-term deal and was willing to talk to any team other than the Yankees. Locking up Pettitte quickly was important, adds a strong #3 with no surprises and there is no need for negotiations to linger into January like they did last year.
Yankees get OF Jamie Hoffman to complete Brian Bruney deal
Jamie Hoffman is an OF who can play all three OF positions well, and he can hit lefties. That will be his role on this team, to face lefties. Considering he was taken in the rule 5 draft, you can't expect much, if anything out of him. If he hits lefties well enough to stay on the team, great! If not, he was a Rule 5 pick, so it's not like anything was expected out of him. Good pick-up because it can potentially fill a need the Yankees have, but this won't affect too much this year.
Pending a physical, Yankees sign 1B/DH Nick Johnson to a 1 year $5.5 mil deal
Nick Johnson, who came up through the Yankees system is back, this time in an almost full-time DH role. He will get about 5-6 starts at 1B this year, but that is it. Johnson and his fantastic .402 career OB% will fit very nicely in the number two hole and although he has had a career of injuries about as bad as Carl Pavano, keeping him off the field and getting normal rest will only help him stay healthy. The Yankees kept Hideki Matsui healthy last year, and he wasn't human from the knees down, they should be able to keep Nick the Stick healthy as well. He has faced injuries such as a broken leg, a broken cheek bone and most recently, a fractured wrist, but last year he was able to mostly stay healthy and play in 133 games, missing only two weeks in the middle of the season. Ever since the Yankees traded him away after 2003, he has been eager to play for a winner, and that is why he was willing to turn down a larger offer he received from the San Francisco Giants, always good in my book. He was one of my favorites when I was younger and now he is turning down extra money to play in NY making me only like this guy more. I will miss Hideki Matsui very much and I look forward to the Yankees home opener so I can stand and applaud him, but Nick Johnson will be a wonderful fit in NY.
Oh, by the way, Johnson's .426 OB% last year was the third best in the majors. He was only beaten by Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer, whoever those guys are....
So overall, the Yankees traded Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, Phil Coke and Brian Bruney, lost Hideki Matsui to the Angels, and probably lost Johnny Damon as well because his asking prices were positively demonic, all while gaining a great young CF in Curtin Granderson, a new DH in Nick Johnson, a potential lefty killer in Jamie Hoffman and re-signed Andy Pettitte. So far, this has been a productive off season for the Yanks. Oh yea, the Yankees also non-tendered Chien-Ming Wang and then he turned down a split contract to stay with the Yankees. So long Chien-Ming!
So what should the Yankees do next? Do they need another starter? Are you OK with Melky being the opening day LF? Well, the answer's are clear, yes they need another starter and no, Melky should not be in the field on opening day. Brian Cahsman has said himself that they are not done yet. The Yankees need a left fielder and with Johnny Damon's demands being out of this world, they will have to look at all their options. Is Mark DeRosa a nice fit considering he can play left, right and all the infield positions? If Matt Holliday's best offer is truly 5 years and around $80 mil, can the Yankees simply let him go if they can get him so cheap? Will they get in on Jason Bay? What trades are possible? Or will they simply let Melky be the starter? As for pitchers, the Yankees have been seriously linked to Ben Sheets, and linked to Justin Duchscherer as well. I believe one of them will surely end up in the Bronx. they won't cost too much and could be a very nice piece of the rotation, all while giving the Yankees plenty of starting pitching depth.
So what do you guys think? Do you like Granderson and Nicky J.? Did we overpay Pettitte? Are you going to miss Damon and Matsui? And what should we do from here? Is Melky OK or should be bring in a new LF via trade or free agency? Also, who do you like more, Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer or sticking with Gaudin/Mitre/Aceves? Tell me what you guys think!
Friday, December 4, 2009
He has finally arrived
He is the shortstop the Red Sox have needed for quite a while and his name is Marco Scutaro. Now before I give you my opinion about this interesting man, lets go straight to the facts.A 34 year old player who came up in 2002, but played his first full season in 2004. This past season was his best ever where he hit .282, an OBP of .379, had 12 HR, 60 RBI, 14 SB, and scored 100 Runs. All of which were career bests for him. He has played the last two seasons with Toronto and four with Oakland before that. If you put a player who gets these stats in Fenway Park with the line-up that Boston can provide, those numbers should only go up. One last interesting thing to note about his hitting is that at home this year he hit .242 with a .353 OBP, away he hit .322 and had a .405 OBP. The same follows in 2008 as well. So get him out of Toronto and life should become much better.
Now I don't know how much better he can get at age 34, but I am one who believes anything is possible and never say never.
People were thinking that that he was going to get a nice long term deal from some team and get overpaid as well. Luckily, that was not the case when it came to signing with the Red Sox. Essentially they got him for two years of $12.5 million. With a 3rd year as a mutual option.
If you really want to know how the deal breaks down go here:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/12/marco-scutaro-rumors-thursday.html
For the deal that the Red Sox acquired him, I am in favor of it. He fills a big void the Red Sox had in getting a shortstop, he didn't cost too much and in my opinion is worth the amount he got, and to get him for only two guaranteed years, I am more than happy. Originally I was not in favor of the Red Sox signing him at the price tag of rumors floating around, but for the price and what he can provide, I like it.
They have had some big shoes to fill at shortstop since the 2004 season after winning the World Series. That year they acquired Orlando Cabrera when they traded away long time shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, but kept him til the end of that season. Which is probably for the best because I only want people on my team who are physically strong enough to break a bat. Then in 2005, they go out and get Edgar Renteria who gets a four year $40 million deal. He makes only 30 errors in 2005 and gets traded away. To bring some defense to the table they go and get Alex Gonzalez, but he barely provides any offense. In 2007, they get Julio Lugo for 4 years at $36 million. Things did not go well for him because of injury and they bring up farm raised Jed Lowrie during the second half of the 2008 season. He gets injured as well and last year they bring back Alex Gonzalez who filled in nicely. Now they have Scutaro though and let Alex Gonzalez go. In fact they both switched teams.
As far as where he will hit in the Red Sox line-up, I imagine it would be near the bottom because the batting order is pretty solid as is.
Only two other big issues to address left, getting a starting pitcher and figuring out who's going to play left field next season.
-As always this is, Corey Sobel, with a special report
Monday, November 9, 2009
2010 rotation
Hey guys, this isnt really a blog update, more of a question. With the Yankees 3-man rotation woes very clear in the postseason, the offseason talk for a starter has already begun. What route do you guys prefer; letting Joba and/or Hughes try to work out their kinks in the rotation, signing a low-risk, high reward guy such as ben Sheets or to a lesser-extent, Rich Harden, signing a middle of the rotation guy such as an Andy Pettitte, Randy Wolf or a Jon Garland, or throwing out another big contract John Lackey, who already has rumors circulating around him that a $100,000,000 payday will be in store (I expect it to be closer to the AJ Burnett, something like 5 years and $85,000,000)
Let me know what you guys think as we head into the off season. It's tough to get a grasp on things now considering we don't know how things will play out with the Yankees own free agents and obviously how these guys deal with their own teams as well. Teams cant even begin talking to other team's free agents until Nov. 20th, so obviously the free agent outlook now will be very different in a few weeks.
So, stay internal? Mid-rotation cheaper guy? Low-risk High-reward? Or yet another big contract? Lets start the off season off with a little audience participation and let me know what you guys think!
Let me know what you guys think as we head into the off season. It's tough to get a grasp on things now considering we don't know how things will play out with the Yankees own free agents and obviously how these guys deal with their own teams as well. Teams cant even begin talking to other team's free agents until Nov. 20th, so obviously the free agent outlook now will be very different in a few weeks.
So, stay internal? Mid-rotation cheaper guy? Low-risk High-reward? Or yet another big contract? Lets start the off season off with a little audience participation and let me know what you guys think!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
A visit from your favorite Uncle!
Hey ladies and gentlemen! We got our first non-live blog guest blog and it's from Uncle Johnny! Lets see what he has to say:I am absolutely sick of all of these pitiful fans and Yankee haters constantly complaining about how bad their respective teams are and how the evil empire bought another title. To all of those sorrow pusses out there, let's look at the facts. Last year, the lowly pirates brought in $40 million dollars in luxury taxes and revenue sharing. Additionally, they received another $35 million from the MLB central fund. This money was in the pirates owners pockets before they sold (or didn't sell) one ticket. Most of this money came from the two most hated franchises in sports, the yanks and the Sox. So instead of despising us, how about thanking us for even having a chance to field a team. What's so crazy is that is only one team. If you include all of the losing teams that can't fit their own bill, teams like the Yankees, Sox, cubs, and cards should be barely surviving themselves. So how do these winning teams keep winning? They spend money and are not cheap. They enjoy winning and want to please and excite their loyal followers. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of that. So here's some advice to the pirates, the royals, and the mariners...start spending our money. Stop hating and start thanking... Maybe you will be having a parade one day as well... And I'm not talking about the Macys thanksgiving day parade.
-Johnny Vegas
Friday, November 6, 2009
Why wait? Yankee free agent predictions!
Well, this isn't going to be a large post covering all of the free agents throughout baseball that the Yankees will or wont be interested in; it won't be about who they should sign, or what player they're talking to that they should simply walk away from, lets simply talk about the 7 Yankees who just got a WS ring and a key to the city, and discuss whether they should be on the team when the Yankees go for #28. As for the rest of the league, we will get to that later on in the off season.
First off, who are the Yankee free agents you ask. Well, luckily we here have the answer: Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Andy Pettitte, Xavier Nady, Jerry Hairston Jr., Jose Molina and Erik Hinske
Ok, lets take 'em one by one their 2009 salary will be in ( )
Johnny Damon ($13 mil) Damon has a solid year as a Yankee hitting .282 with 24 hrs 82 RBI and a .365 OB%. With that said, it wasn't all good. He had only 12 SB, his lowest as a Yankee and his defense was not good to say the least. Only 7 of his home runs came on the road, which shows how much the new Yankee Stadium helped him, he hit .247 in Sept/ the first 3 days of October, and although he had a good postseason, that does include a .083 BA in the Division Series. He will be a Type A free agent, so offering him arbitration could be a decent idea considering he has said he wants a multi-year deal, but I think playing in NY is more important to him than a long-term deal so I wouldn't take the risk of having to possibly pay him $15 mil or more. Having Austin Jackson at AAA is a bit of insurance in this situation as well.
Official Offer- 1 year $8 mil with a $8 mil team option for 2011. No arbitration offer.
Hideki Matsui ($13 mil) We all know how well Matsui played in the playoffs, specifically the WS, but his 2009 season was very good as well. Yes, he only hit .274, but with 28 homers 90 RBI and a .367 OB%. People such as Mike Francesa will tell you there is no room for him considering they want to share the DH spot with guys like Jeter, A-Rod, Posada and Damon if he is resigned. Although the "goal" is to give the 15 DH spots each, even though I don't think that will happen, even if it does, that still leaves 102 games without a DH. Who DH's then? When it comes down to it, Matsui proved he can still stay healthy for an entire year and more importantly, proved he can still hit. Give this man a contract! If any of you saw Letterman last night, Jeter wants him back to and what the Captain wants, the Captain gets. A Type B free agent, Matsui, like Damon isn't worth the risk of potentially having to pay $15 mil
Official Offer- 2 years $14 mil. No arbitration offer.
Andy Pettitte ($5.5 mil base salary, potential of $12 mil with incentives, Pettitte earned $10 mil overall) Pettitte, who was upset with his contract last year, went 14-8 this year, won all three clinching games in the postseason and did what we all have come to expect since he first pitched in 1995. Pettitte has shown before he would be willing to walk if he doesn't get what he thinks he deserves, he may actually be worth offering arbitration to. He is a Type B free agent, but when the final rankings come out, he may be a Type A, so he could potentially get paid about $12 mil since arbitration is based off of money earned, not base salary. While again, I wouldn't off arbitration, I don't know if my potential idea of 1 year $ 8 mil with incentives would be enough for him. With that said, I seem to be the only one, but part of me thinks Pettitte is going to retire.
Official Offer- 1 year $9 mil with incentives to potentially reach $12 mil. No arbitration offer.
Xavier Nady ($6.55 mil) Nady has an upsetting year considering he only played in 7 games. With that said, he is a Type B free agent and represented by Scott Boras. I think arbitration is the right way to go with Nady. Right now, we don't know who our left fielder will be, our RF is very good, but could use rest every now and again and our CF combo is okay at best. We could use another potential OF with some pop, especially against lefties who can play any outfield position. With that said, since Scott Boras is his agent and he will be looking for a multi year deal in a weak free agent market, odds are he will decline arbitration and the Yankees will receive a draft pick. If not, its not the worst case scenario considering he would only make about $7 mil. Its a win-win situation.
Official Offer- Offer arbitration. No contract offer
Jerry Hairston Jr. ($2 mil) While Hairston came over and played decently, he is not necessary to the team considering we have Ramiro Pena. He currently projects as a Type B free agent, but when the final rankings come out, he may drop out of the rankings entirely. That is what is going to determine it all. If he is a Type B, an arbitration offer is an okay idea because he wont get too much of a raise, but if he isn't, Pena will get the job done.
Official Offer- Arbitration if Type B free agent. No offer if not ranked
Erik Hinske ($1.5 mil) Hinske is a good bench player, but there are many like him. He could help, but if he walks it won't be hard to find a replacement, especially if we offer Nady arbitration and he accepts.
Official Offer- 1 year $1 mil
Jose Molina ($2 mil) Nice knowing you! Don't let the door hit you on the way out!
Official Offer- NOTHING
Well, that's it for now. Obviously, these signing may affect each other. They Yankees may not want to bring back both Matsui and Damon, or Hinske and Nady, so it will be interesting to see how things work out. There are many other decisions to be made regarding the team such as should they pick up Sergio Mitre's option (i cant find anywhere how much it is worth, but either way, it doesn't matter, don't pick it up), should they non-tender Chien-Ming Wang (yes!) and resign him to a minor league deal (yes again!), and obviously lots of trade talks as well will take place. It's going to be an interesting off season as always, but we first gotta start off by taking care of what is right in front of us. What do you guys think about our free agents? Am I being too cheap? Are they getting too much? Let me know what you think?
Update: 11/9/09
The official rankings are out. Somehow, Hideki Matsui isn't even ranked, yet Xavier Nady is. That one seems to be confusing everyone. But more importantly, Jerry Hairston Jr. went from being a Type B, to not being ranked so I believe it is time to cut ties with him.
First off, who are the Yankee free agents you ask. Well, luckily we here have the answer: Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Andy Pettitte, Xavier Nady, Jerry Hairston Jr., Jose Molina and Erik Hinske
Ok, lets take 'em one by one their 2009 salary will be in ( )
Johnny Damon ($13 mil) Damon has a solid year as a Yankee hitting .282 with 24 hrs 82 RBI and a .365 OB%. With that said, it wasn't all good. He had only 12 SB, his lowest as a Yankee and his defense was not good to say the least. Only 7 of his home runs came on the road, which shows how much the new Yankee Stadium helped him, he hit .247 in Sept/ the first 3 days of October, and although he had a good postseason, that does include a .083 BA in the Division Series. He will be a Type A free agent, so offering him arbitration could be a decent idea considering he has said he wants a multi-year deal, but I think playing in NY is more important to him than a long-term deal so I wouldn't take the risk of having to possibly pay him $15 mil or more. Having Austin Jackson at AAA is a bit of insurance in this situation as well.
Official Offer- 1 year $8 mil with a $8 mil team option for 2011. No arbitration offer.
Hideki Matsui ($13 mil) We all know how well Matsui played in the playoffs, specifically the WS, but his 2009 season was very good as well. Yes, he only hit .274, but with 28 homers 90 RBI and a .367 OB%. People such as Mike Francesa will tell you there is no room for him considering they want to share the DH spot with guys like Jeter, A-Rod, Posada and Damon if he is resigned. Although the "goal" is to give the 15 DH spots each, even though I don't think that will happen, even if it does, that still leaves 102 games without a DH. Who DH's then? When it comes down to it, Matsui proved he can still stay healthy for an entire year and more importantly, proved he can still hit. Give this man a contract! If any of you saw Letterman last night, Jeter wants him back to and what the Captain wants, the Captain gets. A Type B free agent, Matsui, like Damon isn't worth the risk of potentially having to pay $15 mil
Official Offer- 2 years $14 mil. No arbitration offer.
Andy Pettitte ($5.5 mil base salary, potential of $12 mil with incentives, Pettitte earned $10 mil overall) Pettitte, who was upset with his contract last year, went 14-8 this year, won all three clinching games in the postseason and did what we all have come to expect since he first pitched in 1995. Pettitte has shown before he would be willing to walk if he doesn't get what he thinks he deserves, he may actually be worth offering arbitration to. He is a Type B free agent, but when the final rankings come out, he may be a Type A, so he could potentially get paid about $12 mil since arbitration is based off of money earned, not base salary. While again, I wouldn't off arbitration, I don't know if my potential idea of 1 year $ 8 mil with incentives would be enough for him. With that said, I seem to be the only one, but part of me thinks Pettitte is going to retire.
Official Offer- 1 year $9 mil with incentives to potentially reach $12 mil. No arbitration offer.
Xavier Nady ($6.55 mil) Nady has an upsetting year considering he only played in 7 games. With that said, he is a Type B free agent and represented by Scott Boras. I think arbitration is the right way to go with Nady. Right now, we don't know who our left fielder will be, our RF is very good, but could use rest every now and again and our CF combo is okay at best. We could use another potential OF with some pop, especially against lefties who can play any outfield position. With that said, since Scott Boras is his agent and he will be looking for a multi year deal in a weak free agent market, odds are he will decline arbitration and the Yankees will receive a draft pick. If not, its not the worst case scenario considering he would only make about $7 mil. Its a win-win situation.
Official Offer- Offer arbitration. No contract offer
Jerry Hairston Jr. ($2 mil) While Hairston came over and played decently, he is not necessary to the team considering we have Ramiro Pena. He currently projects as a Type B free agent, but when the final rankings come out, he may drop out of the rankings entirely. That is what is going to determine it all. If he is a Type B, an arbitration offer is an okay idea because he wont get too much of a raise, but if he isn't, Pena will get the job done.
Official Offer- Arbitration if Type B free agent. No offer if not ranked
Erik Hinske ($1.5 mil) Hinske is a good bench player, but there are many like him. He could help, but if he walks it won't be hard to find a replacement, especially if we offer Nady arbitration and he accepts.
Official Offer- 1 year $1 mil
Jose Molina ($2 mil) Nice knowing you! Don't let the door hit you on the way out!
Official Offer- NOTHING
Well, that's it for now. Obviously, these signing may affect each other. They Yankees may not want to bring back both Matsui and Damon, or Hinske and Nady, so it will be interesting to see how things work out. There are many other decisions to be made regarding the team such as should they pick up Sergio Mitre's option (i cant find anywhere how much it is worth, but either way, it doesn't matter, don't pick it up), should they non-tender Chien-Ming Wang (yes!) and resign him to a minor league deal (yes again!), and obviously lots of trade talks as well will take place. It's going to be an interesting off season as always, but we first gotta start off by taking care of what is right in front of us. What do you guys think about our free agents? Am I being too cheap? Are they getting too much? Let me know what you think?
Update: 11/9/09
The official rankings are out. Somehow, Hideki Matsui isn't even ranked, yet Xavier Nady is. That one seems to be confusing everyone. But more importantly, Jerry Hairston Jr. went from being a Type B, to not being ranked so I believe it is time to cut ties with him.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Yankee Report Cards
Hey everybody, remember me? Sorry it's been so long but with school starting up, the Yankees essentially having the division locked up in early September and the AdSense account getting deleted due to someones (cough* Corey *cough) actions, the blog hasn't been at the front of my mind. But, with it being playoff time, I though it would be fun to review this past season and hand out grades for each player. Obviously, about 40 people played for the Yankees this year and that is far too many to do in this blog today, so what I am going to do is grade the 25 men who made the ALDS roster. Although the ALCS roster will be different, I am gonna stick to the ALDS and grade the 25 men currently playing for the New York Yankees. Remember, this team won 103 games, so there will probably be a lot of A's given out.
Lets start with the Catchers
(1)Jorge Posada: B+
At age 37, Jorge Posada had one of his top five years as a major league player. He hit a very solid .285 (8 points above his career average), with 22 home runs, 81 RBI and he also only played in 111 games due to an injury early in the season. For a catcher who is 37, coming off of a year where he only played in 51 games, you could not have asked for more. Add to that his 17th career stolen base and you have one heck of a year. On the negative side though, two injuries in two years does make you concerned about his future considering he has two years left on his contract, and his disagreements with AJ Burnett have drastically hurt our offensive potential in the playoffs, but those are just two small concerns in an otherwise great year.
(2)Jose Molina: D+
I know all of you think I am a panda hater, but it is not without good reason. Granted, Molina is a fantastic defensive catcher, that's why he got this good of a grade, but his defense in the 55 games he caught is not going to save anything. His .292 OB% is embarrassing and his .217 BA is somehow more embarrassing. He only had 30 hits all year and had twice as many strikeouts as walks. With that said, he did set a new career high in walks, WITH 14! Congrats Jose Molina on your 14 walks, a new career high! Without those walks, who knows, maybe you would have only scored 10 times instead of your very impressive total of 15 this year!
(3)Francisco Cervelli: C+
The man loved by all (including me), but overrated by many, hopefully our 2010 back-up catcher, Francisco Cervelli came out of nowhere to play with the heart and passion that New Yorkers love. He played with fire, and his teammates all loved the spark he brought to the team. With that said, he is not the future catcher of the team. Sorry. Like I said in April, remember the names Jesus Montero and Austin Romine (who just so happened to be named the #2 and #10 best prospects in the Florida State League, not to mention the only two catchers on the list). Cervelli's .292 BA is impressive for a guy who was hitting .190 at AA before he was called up, but his .309 OB% to go along with it is quite terrible. While he is sure to be loved by everyone and will def. see some playing time in the big leagues, don't get too excited about this kid.
Now for the infielders....
(4)Mark Teixeira: A
What more could anybody want out of this guy? His first year in NY he hit .292, tied for the league lead with 39 home runs, led the league with 122 RBI and 344 total bases, had a .383 OB% and although his UZR/150 (ultimate zone rating or how much ground someone covers) is at -0.7, he has the potential to win his third career gold glove this year. With 2 outs and runners in scoring position Tex hit .355 and also hit 9 homeruns while the game was tied, including one very big homer against the Red Sox in August. While he did have a very slow April, that was not unexpected and his first year in pinstripes could not have gone better. If it wasn't for a man named Joe Mauer, Teixeira may have been the MVP this year.
(5)Robinson Cano: A-
Robinson Cano bounced back from a very disappointing 2008 to have his best overall year in the majors in my opinion. Playing in 161 games, Cano hit .320, developed his power to hit 25 homers, got 85 RBI, tied a career high with 5 SB, set a career high with 204 hits and played solid defense. He recorded two walk off hits and hit very well in the clutch considering his 9th inning BA was .382 and his extra inning BA was .444. His .352 OB% is decent, but considering how his his BA is, it should be higher. Take a few more walks, and next year this will be a solid A.
(6)Derek Jeter: A
What can you say about Derek Jeter this year? Coming off a disapointing season for him, he faced many critics (including myself), and basically proved every single one of them wrong. Moving into the leadoff spot, Jeter hit a fantastic .334 with 18 homers and 66 RBI. He recorded another 200 hit year, finishing with 212 and had 30 SB, the first time he has reached that plateau since 2006. Always Mr. Clutch he hit .366 in Late and Close situations and even had one of his best defensive years ever with a 6.4 UZR/150. Like Tex, if it wasnt for Joe Mauer, Jeter too would have a very strong chance to win the MVP this year. Although I am still not ready to give Jeter $100 million after next year, I will be the first to admit I was very wrong on my predictions for Jeter coming into the season.
(7)Alex Rodriguez: A
Coming into the 2009 season, Alex Rodriguez was not anybodies favorite players. Between the steroid news, his 9 different and odd confessions about the steroids, off season hip surgery that should have happened last year, dating Madonna, Torre's book, the allegations about him tipping pitches to opponents and his well known "All about Me" attitude, the love for A-Rod was not where he wanted it to be. Then, a season came where he proved a lot to all of us, especially me. Rodriguez did something he had not done at all in a while, especially during his time in NY; he played baseball. He seemed to enjoy the game and forget all the rest. He wanted his team to win, not just himself, and in the process, he gained one big fan in me, the same guy who refused to cheer for him when he first came back. Not to mention, he did all of this while coming off of very bad hip surgery which clearly affected his play (aided by the fact that Joe Girardi didn't even think to give him a rest every now and again for his first month and a half back). A-Rod went on to hit .286 with 30 HR and 100 RBI in only 124 games, imagine what they would be if he played another 30 games or so? He stole 14 bases, had an OB% over .400. His -8.2 UZR/150 is not pretty, but I believe that is mainly from him playing hurt when he first came back because lately, he has looked very good at third base. Although we still have him for 8 more years, which is too long to guarantee anybody, A-Rod had one of his best seasons in my opinion. Not only for his stats, but for the way he went about getting those stats.
(8)Jerry Hairston Jr.: C
Hairston came over from the Reds in the Yankees sole trade deadline deal. He played well at first, but then began to perform poorly. Overall as a Yankee he hit .237 with 2 homers and 12 RBI. The fact that he was able to give almost everybody a day off is where is true value comes in and his .352 OB% is pretty good for a guy off the bench. Overall, he was a solid bench player but this will probably be his only time in pinstripes.
(9)Erik Hinske: C
Erik "Paul Blart" Hinske came over to the Yankees in a deal with Pittsburgh (there have to be at least 8 or 9 guys in the Pittsburgh organization that were formerly in the Yankees organization) as soon as the Yankees found out Xavier Nady (remember him?) was done for the year. Again, Hinske's value came from the fact that someone was finally able to give Nick Swisher some rest, as well as Johnny Damon and towards the end of the season, A-Rod. His .226 BA is pretty ugly, but as a left handed power bat off the bench, 7 home runs is pretty strong. The Yankees were interested in him during last off season and if the Yankees make the WS, this will be Hinske's 3rd straight year there after TB in 2008 and BOS in 2007, so it will be interesting to see if the Yankees keep him around.
Now its time for the Outfielders and Hideki Matsui
(10)Hideki Matsui: A-
Matsui has played in less than 100 games in two out of the previous three years coming into 2009. He has two surgically repaired knees and is pretty much a robot from the knees down. Nobody knew what to expect from him and everybody assumed this would be his farewell tour in pinstripes. Well, obviously we don't know the Yankees off season plans, but I for one would not be surprised if he was a Yankee next year. In 142 games, Matsui hit a decent .274 with 28 homers and 90 RBI. Statistically, he was the best DH in baseball. His .367 OB% is very strong, but whats even stronger and more rare is the way he hits left handers. While most left handed hitters struggle against lefty pitchers, Matsui hit .282 vs. lefties with 13 homers and 46 RBI in only 131 AB. He also only got stronger as the year went on hitting .284 in the 2nd half compared to .265 in the first. Finally, always a clutch hitter, he hit .310 in Late and Close situations and .319 in high leverage situations. I don't know about you guys, but I can't think of many people I want up with the game on the line over Hideki Matsui.
(11)Johnny Damon: B-
Damon, more than anybody, has to be loving the new Yankee Stadium. He tied his career high with 24 home runs, and 17 of those were at home. He hit .282 which is good and his .365 OB% is solid, but as good as Damon's season seems on the surface, there were many negatives. He never went on the DL yet only played in 143 games because he had to be rested so often. He only got 12 SB, the first time as a Yankee he didnt record at least 20. He struck out a career high 98 times and also grounded into 9 double plays, the second most of his career. On top of it all, he played terrible defense with his -11.8 UZR/150 and hit .247 in September. It will be very interesting to see if Damon, like Matsui, will be brought back in 2010, especially with guys such as Matt Holliday and Jason Bay available on the free agent market.
(12)Nick Swisher: B+
I am not going to say I told you so, but I did. While so many people were rooting for the X-man to get the starting job in right field, you all know I always wanted Swisher. He went onto hit .249 (4 points above his career average!), with 29 home runs and 82 RBI. In case any of you care, Xavier Nady's career high for home runs is 25. Swisher also revitalized the clubhouse and brought an intensity and insanity the likes of which have never been seen before. An instant fan favorite, Swish also posted a strong .371 OB% while seeing the 2nd most pitches-per-plate appearance in the major leagues. Swisher did struggle at times, especially in the 1st half when nobody was there to give him any rest, but he got through it to have a great year. Not to mention, as bad as he looks out in right, he is actually a slightly above average right fielder with a UZR/150 of 1.3
(13)Melky Cabrera: C
I would have given him a C-, but I feel like you guys would think that's a little too rough. Melky, to put it simply, is annoying. He hit .321 in May, but .225 in June. .289 in July, but .223 in August. Who is the real Melky Cabrera? We have been asking ourselves this for years due to the fact that he is either extremely good, or extremely bad. Although he did have a great year in the clutch, we all know that, it seems as though Melky is just going to be a very streaky, frustrating player. His 1.5 UZR/150 is OK, nothing special, and his 13 home runs were a career high, but I am just not very impressed by his play. He sometimes seems lost in center and also seems to have a hard time listening to the CF (Usually Gardner), if Melky is placed in left or right. He would be a good 4th outfielder, but as long as the Yankees keep thinking he is a starter, all he gets is a C.
(14)Brett Gardner: B-
Gardner is a player who many people said at the beginning of the year if he hit .250, they would be happy. Well, in 248 AB Brett Gardner hit .270 with 3 homers including a very exciting inside-the-park homer. He takes many pitches which lead to a few too many strikeouts, but this was his first full year in the league so that will come with time. He played a game with a broken pinkie and still managed to get a triple and is easily the fastest player on the team, swiping 26 bases this year. In his career, Gardner has 39 stolen bases while only getting thrown out 6 times. Gardner's 2009 UZR/150 was a fantastic 13.3 and he also had only 10 more strikeouts in 2009 than in 2008, despite over 120 more at bats, a clear sign of him developing as a batter. While we know what Melky is as a player, Gardner has still only played 150 games in the big leagues, not even 1 full season. He can still develop into something while Melky is Melky, not to mention, Gardner's speed alone makes any ground ball an exciting and potential single.
Now for the starters, we will begin with the three men who will be the startes in the ALDS
(15)C.C. Sabathia: A
The big man, the $161 million man, Carsten Charles Sabathia. Coming over to NY with the biggest expectations and the biggest uniform in years, Sabathia had a fantastic first year in New York. He was great clubhouse presence, uniting all of the pitchers instantly as well as hosting events at Cleveland Cavaliers games and hosting dinners for all of the players. Sabathia led the AL and tied for the lead in the majors with 19 wins and had an ERA of 3.37. He did have some trouble early in the year but he did not let that affect him. He was a true ace giving up only 197 hits in 230 innings while striking out 197, he gave up less than 1 HR per 9 and only walked 2.6 batters per 9 innings as well. He also pitched two complete games including one shutout. He made all of his 34 starts and was an absolute horse, routinely throwing 120-130 pitches per game. Although this is a review of the regular season, I can't help but mention his pitching performance in game one of the ALDS.
(16) AJ Burnett: B-
Possibly the streakiest of all the Yankee pitchers, Burnett had an interesting first year in pinstripes. Burnett went 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA, .20 higher than his career ERA. Burnett, like Melky, was simply too streaky to completely get on board with, although when he was on, Burnett was one of the best pitchers in the game. Burnett's 5.40 ERA in March and April was followed by a 4.18 ERA in May. Then he had an ERA of 2.10 in June and 2.43 in July. In August he resorted back to the way he pitched in the beginning of the year with an ERA of 6.03, but calmed down in September posting a 3.83 ERA. Burnett also tied for the league lead in hit batters and led the league in wild pitches. All in all it was a successful year for Burnett though, considering he stayed healthy, pitched 207 innings, struck out 195 and was surprisingly an amazing clubhouse guy, but considering he is making $16.5 million for the next four years, he should focus a little bit more on pitching, and a little bit less on pies.
(17)Andy Pettitte: B
After struggling in the 2nd half in 2008, Andy Pettitte had a solid bounce back year in 2009. He managed to win 14 games at age 37, while also lowering his 2008 ERA of 4.54 to 4.16 in 2009. He pitched 194 2/3 innings including 87 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.31 in the 2nd half. Overall, as a #3 starter, even though he went into the year as the #4 starter (remember Chien-Ming Wang?), Pettitte won double digit games, was a veteran presence in the clubhouse and stayed healthy all year, only missing one start; a very solid year for Pettitte and again, it will be interesting to see if he returns in 2010.
Now, we will move onto the pitchers who are in the bullpen for the ALDS, even though Joba was a starter during the regular season and Chad Gaudin pitched both out of the bullpen as well as a starter.
(18)Chad Gaudin: B
Acquired from the San Diego Padres for a bag of balls and not much else, Chad Gaudin came to NY and pitched to an ERA of 3.43 in 42 innings including 6 games started and 5 appearances out of the bullpen. While he may not be the go-to guy in any situation, he has been a solid addition and is still under contract in 2010.
(19) Joba Chamberlain: C
I am sorry, but this year was mess for Joba Chamberlain. Some of it is not his fault though, whether it be the Joba Rules, version 3.0 or the non-stop clammoring for him to be put back in the bullpen. Joba made 32 appearances this year, 31 of them were starts and finished the year at 9-6 with an ERA of 4.75. His ERA is the 5th WORST in Yankee history for any pitcher who made at least 30 starts, that is not a place you want to be. Joba tied Burnett for the league lead with 12 hit batters. Joba walked 4 batters per nine innings and also averaged more than one homerun allowed per game. With that said, it wasn't all bad. Joba made all of his starts and surpassed his 150 innings limit by pitching 157 1/3, also, in his first three starts after the all-star break, Joba gave up only 2 earned runs in 21 2/3 innings proving he can make it as a starter. He also stayed healthy, something many people were worried about. As someone who used to be on the "Joba to the bullpen" bandwagon, I then pulled a John Kerry and flip flopped to the "Joba as a starter" guy. Joba's one appearance out of the bullpen this year was a scoreless inning that only took 7 pitches; I have to admit that Joba looks like a completely different pitcher when pitching out of the bullpen. With that said, I am still in support of Joba being a starting pitcher, especially considering what we had to go through this year with the Joba rules so he could be let go next year, but I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't thinking about getting back on the bullpen side of the argument. Only time will tell.
(20) Alfredo Aceves: B+
After making four starts for the Yankees down the stretch last year, Aceves was placed in the bullpen this year as the long man. The 26 year old led all relievers with 10 wins, while only recording one loss and an ERA of 3.54. It's interesting that in 114 career innings, this guy has a 3.24 career ERA. He appeared in 43 games, walked less than 2 batters per nine innings, and if you exclude his one start where he gave up 4 runs in 3 1/3 innings, was solid all year long. As a reliever this year, Aceves' ERA was 3.35 and it will be a solid core member of the bullpen in the years to come
(21) Phil Coke: B-
I know a B- is a pretty strong grade for a guy with a 4.50 ERA, but if you take out Coke's performance on August 1st where he gave up 6 runs in 1/3 of an inning, his ERA drops down to 4.13. Coke had 21 holds and a WHIP slightly above one at 1.07. He held lefty batters to a .195 BA and in the bandbox that he Yankee Stadium, he held ooposing hitters to an average of .183 with a 2.97 ERA. We all know this guy is prone to giving up the home run, but if he can cut down on that, this 26 year old will be another member of the bullpen for a long time coming.
(22) Damaso Marte: C-
I know you all think im crazy for giving Marte anything above a D, but bear with me. Marte, out for most of the year, pitched only 13 1/3 innings this year to an ERA of 9.45. He pitched to an ERA of 15.19 before he went on the DL, but he was pitching hurt from an injury in the WBC. After coming off the DL, he pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up 5 runs, but this is why ERA's are almost pointless while dealing with relievers; 4 of those runs were given up in one appearance. Marte made 14 appearances after coming off of the DL and only gave up runs in two of them. As a lefty specialist who doesn't throw many innings, one bad outing kills his ERA. If there was any other reliever who didnt allow runs in 12 of 14 appearances, you would all be satisfied so don't give Marte a hard time just because he has an ugly ERA. Not to mention, since he is just a left specialist who will not see a right hander in the post season, he held lefties to a batting average of .120 this year. Last year he was considered the best left-handed reliever in baseball and although his contract wasn't a good idea and he is 34, lets give this guy a chance.
(23) David Robertson: B+
Robertson, a 24 year old power righty had a very successful 2nd year in the majors after pitching to an ERA over 5 in just 30 innings in 2008. Robertson pitched 43 2/3 innings in 45 appearances with 63 strikeouts and pitched to an ERA of 3.30. He walks a few too many batters with a 4.7 BB/9 ratio, but his top three K/9 ratio of 13 makes up for his walks. If he could cut down on his walks while maintaining his astonishing strikeout rate, Robertson can be one of the best relievers in baseball. At 24, adding Robertson to the already strong duo of Aceves and Coke gives the Yankees a very strong bullpen for a long time coming.
(24) Phil Hughes: A-
Phil Hughes the starter gets a grade of a C+, but Phil Hughes the reliever gets an easy A. Considering he made 7 starts, but 44 appearances out of the bullpen, that averages out to an A-. Outside of Hughes' 8 scoreless innings in a start against Texas, his year as a starter was pretty boring. As a reliever though, Hughes pitched 51 1/3 innings in 44 appearances to the tune of a 1.40 ERA. He, like Joba when he was a reliever, seems like a different pitcher in the bullpen and has clearly found an all new confidence. Being able to go multiple innings or come in to get a big strikeout, Hughes did everything and more as a reliever and was one of the best, if not the best, set-up man in baseball this year. It is obviously an extremely small sample, but including yesterdays appearance, Hughes also has a 1.42 career post-season ERA.It will be interesting to see if Hughes is a starter of reliever next year, but either way, this year seemed to be a big step in the right direction for the 23 year old Phil Hughes.
(25) Mariano Rivera: A
At this point, what can be said about Mo that hasnt been said a million times? The 39 year old pitched 66 1/3 innings, getting 44 saves including setting a career high by getting 36 consecutive saves. He had his 10th all-star appearance, struck out more than a batter per inning, recorded his 500th career save, pitched to an ERA of 1.76 and even managed to get his first career RBI in a bases loaded walk against Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets. We all know this can't last forever, but Mo has had another amazing year. In my opinion, he will and should finish in the top 10 in MVP voting, making it three Yankees in the top ten, and will continue to perform great in the post-season where he has a career ERA of 0.76. Now that I am thinking about it, can this go on forever?
Well, there ya have it. Did you guys make it? Did you read all of it? Either way, the Yankees got a very special team this year and hopefully they can keep it going in the playoffs. They have some of the best players in the game including the best reliever of all time and one of the best infields to ever play the game together. Game 1 of the ALDS was a sign of the way they can play, hopefully they can keep it going. Thanks for reading and hopefully I don't take two months off again before my next post.
Lets start with the Catchers
(1)Jorge Posada: B+
At age 37, Jorge Posada had one of his top five years as a major league player. He hit a very solid .285 (8 points above his career average), with 22 home runs, 81 RBI and he also only played in 111 games due to an injury early in the season. For a catcher who is 37, coming off of a year where he only played in 51 games, you could not have asked for more. Add to that his 17th career stolen base and you have one heck of a year. On the negative side though, two injuries in two years does make you concerned about his future considering he has two years left on his contract, and his disagreements with AJ Burnett have drastically hurt our offensive potential in the playoffs, but those are just two small concerns in an otherwise great year.
(2)Jose Molina: D+
I know all of you think I am a panda hater, but it is not without good reason. Granted, Molina is a fantastic defensive catcher, that's why he got this good of a grade, but his defense in the 55 games he caught is not going to save anything. His .292 OB% is embarrassing and his .217 BA is somehow more embarrassing. He only had 30 hits all year and had twice as many strikeouts as walks. With that said, he did set a new career high in walks, WITH 14! Congrats Jose Molina on your 14 walks, a new career high! Without those walks, who knows, maybe you would have only scored 10 times instead of your very impressive total of 15 this year!
(3)Francisco Cervelli: C+
The man loved by all (including me), but overrated by many, hopefully our 2010 back-up catcher, Francisco Cervelli came out of nowhere to play with the heart and passion that New Yorkers love. He played with fire, and his teammates all loved the spark he brought to the team. With that said, he is not the future catcher of the team. Sorry. Like I said in April, remember the names Jesus Montero and Austin Romine (who just so happened to be named the #2 and #10 best prospects in the Florida State League, not to mention the only two catchers on the list). Cervelli's .292 BA is impressive for a guy who was hitting .190 at AA before he was called up, but his .309 OB% to go along with it is quite terrible. While he is sure to be loved by everyone and will def. see some playing time in the big leagues, don't get too excited about this kid.
Now for the infielders....
(4)Mark Teixeira: A
What more could anybody want out of this guy? His first year in NY he hit .292, tied for the league lead with 39 home runs, led the league with 122 RBI and 344 total bases, had a .383 OB% and although his UZR/150 (ultimate zone rating or how much ground someone covers) is at -0.7, he has the potential to win his third career gold glove this year. With 2 outs and runners in scoring position Tex hit .355 and also hit 9 homeruns while the game was tied, including one very big homer against the Red Sox in August. While he did have a very slow April, that was not unexpected and his first year in pinstripes could not have gone better. If it wasn't for a man named Joe Mauer, Teixeira may have been the MVP this year.
(5)Robinson Cano: A-
Robinson Cano bounced back from a very disappointing 2008 to have his best overall year in the majors in my opinion. Playing in 161 games, Cano hit .320, developed his power to hit 25 homers, got 85 RBI, tied a career high with 5 SB, set a career high with 204 hits and played solid defense. He recorded two walk off hits and hit very well in the clutch considering his 9th inning BA was .382 and his extra inning BA was .444. His .352 OB% is decent, but considering how his his BA is, it should be higher. Take a few more walks, and next year this will be a solid A.
(6)Derek Jeter: A
What can you say about Derek Jeter this year? Coming off a disapointing season for him, he faced many critics (including myself), and basically proved every single one of them wrong. Moving into the leadoff spot, Jeter hit a fantastic .334 with 18 homers and 66 RBI. He recorded another 200 hit year, finishing with 212 and had 30 SB, the first time he has reached that plateau since 2006. Always Mr. Clutch he hit .366 in Late and Close situations and even had one of his best defensive years ever with a 6.4 UZR/150. Like Tex, if it wasnt for Joe Mauer, Jeter too would have a very strong chance to win the MVP this year. Although I am still not ready to give Jeter $100 million after next year, I will be the first to admit I was very wrong on my predictions for Jeter coming into the season.
(7)Alex Rodriguez: A
Coming into the 2009 season, Alex Rodriguez was not anybodies favorite players. Between the steroid news, his 9 different and odd confessions about the steroids, off season hip surgery that should have happened last year, dating Madonna, Torre's book, the allegations about him tipping pitches to opponents and his well known "All about Me" attitude, the love for A-Rod was not where he wanted it to be. Then, a season came where he proved a lot to all of us, especially me. Rodriguez did something he had not done at all in a while, especially during his time in NY; he played baseball. He seemed to enjoy the game and forget all the rest. He wanted his team to win, not just himself, and in the process, he gained one big fan in me, the same guy who refused to cheer for him when he first came back. Not to mention, he did all of this while coming off of very bad hip surgery which clearly affected his play (aided by the fact that Joe Girardi didn't even think to give him a rest every now and again for his first month and a half back). A-Rod went on to hit .286 with 30 HR and 100 RBI in only 124 games, imagine what they would be if he played another 30 games or so? He stole 14 bases, had an OB% over .400. His -8.2 UZR/150 is not pretty, but I believe that is mainly from him playing hurt when he first came back because lately, he has looked very good at third base. Although we still have him for 8 more years, which is too long to guarantee anybody, A-Rod had one of his best seasons in my opinion. Not only for his stats, but for the way he went about getting those stats.
(8)Jerry Hairston Jr.: C
Hairston came over from the Reds in the Yankees sole trade deadline deal. He played well at first, but then began to perform poorly. Overall as a Yankee he hit .237 with 2 homers and 12 RBI. The fact that he was able to give almost everybody a day off is where is true value comes in and his .352 OB% is pretty good for a guy off the bench. Overall, he was a solid bench player but this will probably be his only time in pinstripes.
(9)Erik Hinske: C
Erik "Paul Blart" Hinske came over to the Yankees in a deal with Pittsburgh (there have to be at least 8 or 9 guys in the Pittsburgh organization that were formerly in the Yankees organization) as soon as the Yankees found out Xavier Nady (remember him?) was done for the year. Again, Hinske's value came from the fact that someone was finally able to give Nick Swisher some rest, as well as Johnny Damon and towards the end of the season, A-Rod. His .226 BA is pretty ugly, but as a left handed power bat off the bench, 7 home runs is pretty strong. The Yankees were interested in him during last off season and if the Yankees make the WS, this will be Hinske's 3rd straight year there after TB in 2008 and BOS in 2007, so it will be interesting to see if the Yankees keep him around.
Now its time for the Outfielders and Hideki Matsui
(10)Hideki Matsui: A-
Matsui has played in less than 100 games in two out of the previous three years coming into 2009. He has two surgically repaired knees and is pretty much a robot from the knees down. Nobody knew what to expect from him and everybody assumed this would be his farewell tour in pinstripes. Well, obviously we don't know the Yankees off season plans, but I for one would not be surprised if he was a Yankee next year. In 142 games, Matsui hit a decent .274 with 28 homers and 90 RBI. Statistically, he was the best DH in baseball. His .367 OB% is very strong, but whats even stronger and more rare is the way he hits left handers. While most left handed hitters struggle against lefty pitchers, Matsui hit .282 vs. lefties with 13 homers and 46 RBI in only 131 AB. He also only got stronger as the year went on hitting .284 in the 2nd half compared to .265 in the first. Finally, always a clutch hitter, he hit .310 in Late and Close situations and .319 in high leverage situations. I don't know about you guys, but I can't think of many people I want up with the game on the line over Hideki Matsui.
(11)Johnny Damon: B-
Damon, more than anybody, has to be loving the new Yankee Stadium. He tied his career high with 24 home runs, and 17 of those were at home. He hit .282 which is good and his .365 OB% is solid, but as good as Damon's season seems on the surface, there were many negatives. He never went on the DL yet only played in 143 games because he had to be rested so often. He only got 12 SB, the first time as a Yankee he didnt record at least 20. He struck out a career high 98 times and also grounded into 9 double plays, the second most of his career. On top of it all, he played terrible defense with his -11.8 UZR/150 and hit .247 in September. It will be very interesting to see if Damon, like Matsui, will be brought back in 2010, especially with guys such as Matt Holliday and Jason Bay available on the free agent market.
(12)Nick Swisher: B+
I am not going to say I told you so, but I did. While so many people were rooting for the X-man to get the starting job in right field, you all know I always wanted Swisher. He went onto hit .249 (4 points above his career average!), with 29 home runs and 82 RBI. In case any of you care, Xavier Nady's career high for home runs is 25. Swisher also revitalized the clubhouse and brought an intensity and insanity the likes of which have never been seen before. An instant fan favorite, Swish also posted a strong .371 OB% while seeing the 2nd most pitches-per-plate appearance in the major leagues. Swisher did struggle at times, especially in the 1st half when nobody was there to give him any rest, but he got through it to have a great year. Not to mention, as bad as he looks out in right, he is actually a slightly above average right fielder with a UZR/150 of 1.3
(13)Melky Cabrera: C
I would have given him a C-, but I feel like you guys would think that's a little too rough. Melky, to put it simply, is annoying. He hit .321 in May, but .225 in June. .289 in July, but .223 in August. Who is the real Melky Cabrera? We have been asking ourselves this for years due to the fact that he is either extremely good, or extremely bad. Although he did have a great year in the clutch, we all know that, it seems as though Melky is just going to be a very streaky, frustrating player. His 1.5 UZR/150 is OK, nothing special, and his 13 home runs were a career high, but I am just not very impressed by his play. He sometimes seems lost in center and also seems to have a hard time listening to the CF (Usually Gardner), if Melky is placed in left or right. He would be a good 4th outfielder, but as long as the Yankees keep thinking he is a starter, all he gets is a C.
(14)Brett Gardner: B-
Gardner is a player who many people said at the beginning of the year if he hit .250, they would be happy. Well, in 248 AB Brett Gardner hit .270 with 3 homers including a very exciting inside-the-park homer. He takes many pitches which lead to a few too many strikeouts, but this was his first full year in the league so that will come with time. He played a game with a broken pinkie and still managed to get a triple and is easily the fastest player on the team, swiping 26 bases this year. In his career, Gardner has 39 stolen bases while only getting thrown out 6 times. Gardner's 2009 UZR/150 was a fantastic 13.3 and he also had only 10 more strikeouts in 2009 than in 2008, despite over 120 more at bats, a clear sign of him developing as a batter. While we know what Melky is as a player, Gardner has still only played 150 games in the big leagues, not even 1 full season. He can still develop into something while Melky is Melky, not to mention, Gardner's speed alone makes any ground ball an exciting and potential single.
Now for the starters, we will begin with the three men who will be the startes in the ALDS
(15)C.C. Sabathia: A
The big man, the $161 million man, Carsten Charles Sabathia. Coming over to NY with the biggest expectations and the biggest uniform in years, Sabathia had a fantastic first year in New York. He was great clubhouse presence, uniting all of the pitchers instantly as well as hosting events at Cleveland Cavaliers games and hosting dinners for all of the players. Sabathia led the AL and tied for the lead in the majors with 19 wins and had an ERA of 3.37. He did have some trouble early in the year but he did not let that affect him. He was a true ace giving up only 197 hits in 230 innings while striking out 197, he gave up less than 1 HR per 9 and only walked 2.6 batters per 9 innings as well. He also pitched two complete games including one shutout. He made all of his 34 starts and was an absolute horse, routinely throwing 120-130 pitches per game. Although this is a review of the regular season, I can't help but mention his pitching performance in game one of the ALDS.
(16) AJ Burnett: B-
Possibly the streakiest of all the Yankee pitchers, Burnett had an interesting first year in pinstripes. Burnett went 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA, .20 higher than his career ERA. Burnett, like Melky, was simply too streaky to completely get on board with, although when he was on, Burnett was one of the best pitchers in the game. Burnett's 5.40 ERA in March and April was followed by a 4.18 ERA in May. Then he had an ERA of 2.10 in June and 2.43 in July. In August he resorted back to the way he pitched in the beginning of the year with an ERA of 6.03, but calmed down in September posting a 3.83 ERA. Burnett also tied for the league lead in hit batters and led the league in wild pitches. All in all it was a successful year for Burnett though, considering he stayed healthy, pitched 207 innings, struck out 195 and was surprisingly an amazing clubhouse guy, but considering he is making $16.5 million for the next four years, he should focus a little bit more on pitching, and a little bit less on pies.
(17)Andy Pettitte: B
After struggling in the 2nd half in 2008, Andy Pettitte had a solid bounce back year in 2009. He managed to win 14 games at age 37, while also lowering his 2008 ERA of 4.54 to 4.16 in 2009. He pitched 194 2/3 innings including 87 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.31 in the 2nd half. Overall, as a #3 starter, even though he went into the year as the #4 starter (remember Chien-Ming Wang?), Pettitte won double digit games, was a veteran presence in the clubhouse and stayed healthy all year, only missing one start; a very solid year for Pettitte and again, it will be interesting to see if he returns in 2010.
Now, we will move onto the pitchers who are in the bullpen for the ALDS, even though Joba was a starter during the regular season and Chad Gaudin pitched both out of the bullpen as well as a starter.
(18)Chad Gaudin: B
Acquired from the San Diego Padres for a bag of balls and not much else, Chad Gaudin came to NY and pitched to an ERA of 3.43 in 42 innings including 6 games started and 5 appearances out of the bullpen. While he may not be the go-to guy in any situation, he has been a solid addition and is still under contract in 2010.
(19) Joba Chamberlain: C
I am sorry, but this year was mess for Joba Chamberlain. Some of it is not his fault though, whether it be the Joba Rules, version 3.0 or the non-stop clammoring for him to be put back in the bullpen. Joba made 32 appearances this year, 31 of them were starts and finished the year at 9-6 with an ERA of 4.75. His ERA is the 5th WORST in Yankee history for any pitcher who made at least 30 starts, that is not a place you want to be. Joba tied Burnett for the league lead with 12 hit batters. Joba walked 4 batters per nine innings and also averaged more than one homerun allowed per game. With that said, it wasn't all bad. Joba made all of his starts and surpassed his 150 innings limit by pitching 157 1/3, also, in his first three starts after the all-star break, Joba gave up only 2 earned runs in 21 2/3 innings proving he can make it as a starter. He also stayed healthy, something many people were worried about. As someone who used to be on the "Joba to the bullpen" bandwagon, I then pulled a John Kerry and flip flopped to the "Joba as a starter" guy. Joba's one appearance out of the bullpen this year was a scoreless inning that only took 7 pitches; I have to admit that Joba looks like a completely different pitcher when pitching out of the bullpen. With that said, I am still in support of Joba being a starting pitcher, especially considering what we had to go through this year with the Joba rules so he could be let go next year, but I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't thinking about getting back on the bullpen side of the argument. Only time will tell.
(20) Alfredo Aceves: B+
After making four starts for the Yankees down the stretch last year, Aceves was placed in the bullpen this year as the long man. The 26 year old led all relievers with 10 wins, while only recording one loss and an ERA of 3.54. It's interesting that in 114 career innings, this guy has a 3.24 career ERA. He appeared in 43 games, walked less than 2 batters per nine innings, and if you exclude his one start where he gave up 4 runs in 3 1/3 innings, was solid all year long. As a reliever this year, Aceves' ERA was 3.35 and it will be a solid core member of the bullpen in the years to come
(21) Phil Coke: B-
I know a B- is a pretty strong grade for a guy with a 4.50 ERA, but if you take out Coke's performance on August 1st where he gave up 6 runs in 1/3 of an inning, his ERA drops down to 4.13. Coke had 21 holds and a WHIP slightly above one at 1.07. He held lefty batters to a .195 BA and in the bandbox that he Yankee Stadium, he held ooposing hitters to an average of .183 with a 2.97 ERA. We all know this guy is prone to giving up the home run, but if he can cut down on that, this 26 year old will be another member of the bullpen for a long time coming.
(22) Damaso Marte: C-
I know you all think im crazy for giving Marte anything above a D, but bear with me. Marte, out for most of the year, pitched only 13 1/3 innings this year to an ERA of 9.45. He pitched to an ERA of 15.19 before he went on the DL, but he was pitching hurt from an injury in the WBC. After coming off the DL, he pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up 5 runs, but this is why ERA's are almost pointless while dealing with relievers; 4 of those runs were given up in one appearance. Marte made 14 appearances after coming off of the DL and only gave up runs in two of them. As a lefty specialist who doesn't throw many innings, one bad outing kills his ERA. If there was any other reliever who didnt allow runs in 12 of 14 appearances, you would all be satisfied so don't give Marte a hard time just because he has an ugly ERA. Not to mention, since he is just a left specialist who will not see a right hander in the post season, he held lefties to a batting average of .120 this year. Last year he was considered the best left-handed reliever in baseball and although his contract wasn't a good idea and he is 34, lets give this guy a chance.
(23) David Robertson: B+
Robertson, a 24 year old power righty had a very successful 2nd year in the majors after pitching to an ERA over 5 in just 30 innings in 2008. Robertson pitched 43 2/3 innings in 45 appearances with 63 strikeouts and pitched to an ERA of 3.30. He walks a few too many batters with a 4.7 BB/9 ratio, but his top three K/9 ratio of 13 makes up for his walks. If he could cut down on his walks while maintaining his astonishing strikeout rate, Robertson can be one of the best relievers in baseball. At 24, adding Robertson to the already strong duo of Aceves and Coke gives the Yankees a very strong bullpen for a long time coming.
(24) Phil Hughes: A-
Phil Hughes the starter gets a grade of a C+, but Phil Hughes the reliever gets an easy A. Considering he made 7 starts, but 44 appearances out of the bullpen, that averages out to an A-. Outside of Hughes' 8 scoreless innings in a start against Texas, his year as a starter was pretty boring. As a reliever though, Hughes pitched 51 1/3 innings in 44 appearances to the tune of a 1.40 ERA. He, like Joba when he was a reliever, seems like a different pitcher in the bullpen and has clearly found an all new confidence. Being able to go multiple innings or come in to get a big strikeout, Hughes did everything and more as a reliever and was one of the best, if not the best, set-up man in baseball this year. It is obviously an extremely small sample, but including yesterdays appearance, Hughes also has a 1.42 career post-season ERA.It will be interesting to see if Hughes is a starter of reliever next year, but either way, this year seemed to be a big step in the right direction for the 23 year old Phil Hughes.
(25) Mariano Rivera: A
At this point, what can be said about Mo that hasnt been said a million times? The 39 year old pitched 66 1/3 innings, getting 44 saves including setting a career high by getting 36 consecutive saves. He had his 10th all-star appearance, struck out more than a batter per inning, recorded his 500th career save, pitched to an ERA of 1.76 and even managed to get his first career RBI in a bases loaded walk against Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets. We all know this can't last forever, but Mo has had another amazing year. In my opinion, he will and should finish in the top 10 in MVP voting, making it three Yankees in the top ten, and will continue to perform great in the post-season where he has a career ERA of 0.76. Now that I am thinking about it, can this go on forever?
Well, there ya have it. Did you guys make it? Did you read all of it? Either way, the Yankees got a very special team this year and hopefully they can keep it going in the playoffs. They have some of the best players in the game including the best reliever of all time and one of the best infields to ever play the game together. Game 1 of the ALDS was a sign of the way they can play, hopefully they can keep it going. Thanks for reading and hopefully I don't take two months off again before my next post.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The Dodgers get a whole lot stronger while the White Sox get dumped
On the deadline day before the 40 man rosters could be used throughout Major League Baseball for the last month of Regular Season play, the Dodgers locked up the West in a major way by Acquiring Slugger, 1st Baseman Jim Thome from the Chicago White Sox and former White Sox Starter and now former Arizona Diamondback Starter, John Garland. Already with a 6 game lead over both the Rockies & Giants, the Dodgers move to acquire the Veteran 1st baseman to me is a Head scratcher considering that LA already has a young and defensively stout James Loney at first.... Loney on the year was hitting .274 with 9 homers and 75 RBI's. On the other hand Thome (Largely considered to be nothing more than an American League DH) is hitting .243 with 23 Homers and one less RBI than Loney. I can't consider the Dodgers acquiring the slugger to add more pop to the lineup to have him sit which begs the question of Why?
Why would the Dodgers feel the need to acquire such a hitter of Thome's strength. It just doesn't make much sense after you consider the week and stretch that the Giants and Rockies had of beating each other up. After taking 2 out of 3 from the Rockies last week, the Dodgers have this division mostly locked up.
On the other hand, I think the acquisition of getting a guy like John Garland to bolster a Starting Rotation that has holes after Kershaw and Billingsly was smart for Ned Colleti and the Dodgers franchise. You look up and down that Dodgers rotation now is pretty stacked with the addition of Padilla last week after picking him up from the Texas Rangers. Garland is a Southern California native and I think will really gel with the rest of his now Dodger brethren. A move for Garland who has struggled in Arizona this year that has had no shot of making the post season after just 2 years ago when they met the Rockies in the NLCS, Garland is just 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA. A move for Garland to a team that will be in the playoffs will bolster his confidence and get him into the right mindset where he could be pretty dangerous. I would have loved to see him in a Yankees uniform and be a Yankees fifth starter but beggers can't be choosers.
Thinking about it now with Jose Contreras going to the Colorado Rockies, The White Sox really are taking themselves out of the race for the playoffs which is tough after they brought in Alex Rios and Jake Peavy. It's sad considering that they also put Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko and Octavio Dotel on waivers waiting to be picked up but the road stretch where they spent 9 days on the road and lost 8 have really fallen out of it including tonight's 4-1 loss to the Twins in Minnesota which is sad considering I had them winning the AL Central but this AL Central looks to be now a 2 team race between the Tigers and the Twins. Those Twins are still fighting tough just sitting 3 and a half games back behind Detroit. I think that even with today's loss and with the way the Tigers have performed with the big three of Verlander, Porcello and Edwin Jackson that since Pitching wins you important games down the stretch, Tigers will hold on.
To close out August and head towards September with baseball post-season day just around the corner, the races are really coming to form with teams fading (Like Chicago) or chasing (Like San Francisco) the Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, Cards, Angels all seem to be in cruise control at this point. Good luck to those teams chasing others because this is where every game counts for those that think they still have a shot of making it to October Baseball.
Till Next Time,
I'm Nick Malone
Why would the Dodgers feel the need to acquire such a hitter of Thome's strength. It just doesn't make much sense after you consider the week and stretch that the Giants and Rockies had of beating each other up. After taking 2 out of 3 from the Rockies last week, the Dodgers have this division mostly locked up.
On the other hand, I think the acquisition of getting a guy like John Garland to bolster a Starting Rotation that has holes after Kershaw and Billingsly was smart for Ned Colleti and the Dodgers franchise. You look up and down that Dodgers rotation now is pretty stacked with the addition of Padilla last week after picking him up from the Texas Rangers. Garland is a Southern California native and I think will really gel with the rest of his now Dodger brethren. A move for Garland who has struggled in Arizona this year that has had no shot of making the post season after just 2 years ago when they met the Rockies in the NLCS, Garland is just 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA. A move for Garland to a team that will be in the playoffs will bolster his confidence and get him into the right mindset where he could be pretty dangerous. I would have loved to see him in a Yankees uniform and be a Yankees fifth starter but beggers can't be choosers.
Thinking about it now with Jose Contreras going to the Colorado Rockies, The White Sox really are taking themselves out of the race for the playoffs which is tough after they brought in Alex Rios and Jake Peavy. It's sad considering that they also put Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko and Octavio Dotel on waivers waiting to be picked up but the road stretch where they spent 9 days on the road and lost 8 have really fallen out of it including tonight's 4-1 loss to the Twins in Minnesota which is sad considering I had them winning the AL Central but this AL Central looks to be now a 2 team race between the Tigers and the Twins. Those Twins are still fighting tough just sitting 3 and a half games back behind Detroit. I think that even with today's loss and with the way the Tigers have performed with the big three of Verlander, Porcello and Edwin Jackson that since Pitching wins you important games down the stretch, Tigers will hold on.
To close out August and head towards September with baseball post-season day just around the corner, the races are really coming to form with teams fading (Like Chicago) or chasing (Like San Francisco) the Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, Cards, Angels all seem to be in cruise control at this point. Good luck to those teams chasing others because this is where every game counts for those that think they still have a shot of making it to October Baseball.
Till Next Time,
I'm Nick Malone
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Did Wagner make a mistake?
EDITORS NOTE: I apologize it took so long for this to be published, it is my fault and has nothing to do with the writer, Corey Sobel. My apologies to all the readers and to Corey as well.
There is a month left in the regular season and Billy Wagner made the right choice. Finally realizing that going to the Boston Red Sox was the smart move after continually changing his mind. But before we get into what happened, let me tell you a little bit about this man and his career.
Wagner is a 38 year old closer in his 15th MLB season. He is only 15 saves away from 400. He can pass John Franco, another great closer in saves and become the all time saves leaders among left handed pitchers. John Franco has 424 compared to the 385 Wagner has, which also puts Wagner at 6th place all time. In two full seasons he probaly could accomplish that feat if he gets back to the dominant pitcher once was.
August 20th 2009 was the first game he pitched in since August 2, 2008 because he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Wagner was with the New York Mets for the past four seasons and was put on waivers in the past week. If you don't know what that means, here's how you break it down. Any player under contract can be put on waivers by his team at any time. The player that is now on waivers can be picked up by any team. If a team claims a player off waivers, his current team may choose to do one of the following options:
- arrange a trade with the claiming team for that player within two business days of the claim
- keep the player on its major league roster, canceling the waiver
- or do nothing and allow the claiming team to (1) assume the player's existing contract, (2) pay the waiving team a waiver fee, and (3) place the player on its active major league roster
If no team claims the player from waivers in three business days, the player has cleared waivers and may be assigned to a minor league team, traded, or released.
Back to my point though, my favorite team, the Boston Red Sox went on and claimed Mr. Wagner. Which I think makes a great addition to the Red Sox bullpen. The other night watching the MLB Network though, according to Ken Rosenthal, he thought otherwise. “Wagner will be staying with the New York Mets” said Rosenthal. Then the very next day it is reported that Wagner has decided to allow the trade to proceed.
I’m sorry, but this really annoys me as I’m sure it does anyone else. If you are a respected writer and you are on national television, do your job and do it right! My problem is how he said “Wagner will be staying with the New York Mets.” If it is not 100% that he is staying, then he should say something like “it is very likely that Billy Wager will be staying with the New York Mets” or something of that nature. I think it should be his responsibility to do your job to the best of your ability and to report false information in my opinion you are doing your job poorly.
After a lot of thought, Billy Wagner has decided to go to the Red Sox. It almost didn’t happen though and here's the reason why;
If a player has a no trade clause like Billy Wagner does then he may decide to decline going to any team, which is what almost has happened here. Now you may be asking yourself why Wagner would not want to leave a team like the AAA Mets to go play for the wild card leading Boston Red Sox right? Yeah I'm wondering the same thing, but here's why as far as we know. Wagner wants to be a closer for a team next year and not an 8th inning setup man. Which is what might happen if he stayed with Boston after the next year, since the Red Sox have one of the best closers in baseball with Jonathan Papelbon. Wagner has a club option for $8 million next year or the team can use their buyout for $1 million. He is still owed about $3 million for the rest of the season.
The team can then offer him arbitration.
His concern was that Boston would try to keep him as a setup man in 2010 which is not what he desires. The main issue is if he's offered and declines arbitration, it will be hard for him to receive a new contract that he thinks he deserves because he will be considered a type A free agent. This means that if a new team acquires him next year, they will now have to give up two draft picks in the next seasons draft. Something teams obviously don't like to do.
This trade works well for both teams in my opinion. The Mets save themselves about $3 million by letting go of a player they didn’t need this year. They also acquire two players from the Red Sox minor league system and the Red Sox get a player who can possibly be the setup man they desperately need right now.
So to answer the question if Billy Wagner made the right choice, YES I would definitely say that he did. Leaving a team like the Mets and knowing how they will finish the season at best 4th place is one reason. I think he can acquire more interest from other teams next year going to a team like the Red Sox and possibly pitching in the post season showing off how good he really can be. Plus I figure this way they can use Papelbon as much as they want and rest him more often for the playoffs. Also then when they need a closer they have Wagner as a back-up. Looking at that situation, I bet in Boston he will have had a much better chance to close a game then with the NY Mets this year at least.
The downside of him heading to Boston could turn out to be like the John Smoltz experiment. Smoltz had pitched in the National League his whole career until this season. He came to the American League Boston Red Sox and did awful. He went 2-5 as a starter with an 8.33 ERA. Now Smoltz is back in the NL with the Cardinals though and in his debut he allowed 3 hits in 5 IP, 0 walks, 0 ER and on top of that had 9 SO. Now if Smoltz was a reliever with the Red Sox maybe things would have turned out differently for the future Hall of Famer. As his statistics indicated when he went through the batting order:
First time through: .250/.342/.313
Second time through: .388/.397/.657
Third time through: .400/.429/.900
Also Wagner heading to the AL East and pitching at Fenway can only hurt his statistics instead of helping him since he’ll be leaving the friendly confines of Citi Field. It's a tough choice for anybody to make especially if he has to move his family which is another factor entirely. Something we often forget when talking about players moving to a new city and playing for a new team.
The other problem with this scenario is that Papelbon, whether he is really threatened or not about his job, is opening his mouth like always and letting everyone know he does not think this is a good idea. So bringing another closer to the Red Sox could possibly hurt some chemistry between the team. Not a huge concern of mine, but maybe it could be a bigger deal then I realize.
In Wagner’s first few games he has pitched well just so everyone knows. In his 5 innings of work he has given up 1 hit, 2 walks, gotten 11 strikeouts, and has not given up a run yet.
As always this has been, Corey Sobel, with a special report.
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