This and That
Today’s Replace Kate With the Better Mouse Trap Battle is Candice Swanepoel..
Yesterday Kate retained her title defeating my choice Charlotte McKinney 1-0.. I don’t get to vote, I just get to scout the talent
If I’m not mistaken, Cashman mentioned in the Daily News Stephen Drew article that it’s not such a bad thing to have Refsynder and Pirela earn their stripes by beating out all comers to the 2nd base and utility gig
So why is Wally Matthews concerned by the Yanks trying to void the A-Rod merchandising contract?
On top of the public humiliation, denigration and marginalization the Yankees have already heaped on Alex Rodriguez this offseason, now they want to welsh on his home-run bonus deal, too.
Marginalize him?
Matthews and his pencil neck cohort Marchard would be the first 2 drama queens whining if Cashman didn’t back up the much maligned former Bomber slugger, especially after 2 hip surgeries, a PED bust, and a year layoff from the game. Let him come to Tampa and knock the cover off the ball, show some reaction time and a strong arm at 3rd base, pick up a first base mitt and take grounders, how about A-Rod re-earn earn his Stripes ?
This is the same fool who stormed out of Manfred’s office, went on the Mikey 221 show and vehemently denied ever doing anything wrong RE: the Biogenisus debacle, the same dolt who told Katie Couric he was clean, the same imbecile who has already apologized twice for messing up, now ESPN wants the Yanks to think more about winning then having a grudge against Rodriguez?
This is business not personal, the merchandising contract is a useless piece of paper, and it was Rodriguez’ own doing, so it makes sense for the accountants running the Yanks to try and squash the payment plan.
Rodriguez needs to concentrate on seeing the ball, hitting the ball, catching the ball, and throwing the ball, he’s got enough money coming to him over the next 3 seasons, another $6M isn’t moving the needle when it comes to the bigger picture
He’s not getting in the Hall of Fame, he’s never gonna be recognized as the HR king, no person on the planet will take him breaking Willie May’s 660 HR mark seriously, nor Ruth’s 714, Aaron’s 755 or Bonds’ 762
The paper I used to start my wood fire this morning has more value then that merchandising agreement, are you kidding me ESPN?
Yanks Spring Into Position Battles ?
Lohud published what the spring 25 man roster battles will look like, none of us have a crystal ball but these are the players and positions to watch
I’m not upset with the Drew signing, he’s a good barometer for Refsynder and Pirela, if they can’t beat Drew out, then either they’ve been overhyped or they need more time so @ $5M for 1 yr, Drew is a decent sparring partner
At DH Rodriguez’ biggest threat is Garrett Jones, another 1 yr $5M contract, another replacement level type player Rodriguez can use as a sparring partner. Beltran at his age, McCann needing half days off, Teixeira who has digressed every yr from 2009 and also needs days off, will all need to visit the DH spot, so it’s gonna get crowded. Glass half full, they have depth
Rodriguez can also find some playing time if he shows he still can man the hot corner, and can spell Headley
It makes no sense to platoon Gregorius with Ryan, who has worse splits vs LHP then Sir Diddy, and if Ryan is out hitting Gregorius then Cashman made a huge mistake trading away Shane Green.. Nobody expects Gregorius to replace Jeter, but he better be the starting SS, and with Drew’s declining offense Sir Diddy needs to live up to Pentland’s bravado Re: his potential or the Yanks will have an offensive black hole up the middle
The rotation might be the biggest question mark in all of baseball, Capuano is the point of discussion in this article. He’s gonna be yet another $5M sparring partner / depth roster spot. Cashman has enough LHP’s in the pen and with not much depth behind Tanaka, Pineda, Sabathia and Eovaldi Capuano unless he’s beaten out by Mitchell, or two very young prospects Clarkin or Severino, will be the #5 starter until Nova can prove he’s ready to go
If the first 3 in the rotation can’t go because of health related issues, Cashman and the accountants fucked up big time..
If all goes according to plan, and Nova comes back strong, Capuano could find himself battling Rogers for the mop gig out of the pen…
We don’t see any position battles in the out field, barring injuries. Gardner, Ellsbury and Beltran go everyday, Young and Jones are backups with Prado gone.. I don’t see Refsynder as a back up right fielder, he’ll need reps at triple A, and he’s not versatile enough to be a utility player
Murphy should win the back up catcher role, if not, then Cashman traded the wrong catcher, in fact Murphy should eventually take over the gig from McCann, who very well could be playing first base with Jones, if Teixeira goes down in 2015, and permanently once Teixeira comes off the books after 2016
The closer job should be Betances, especially if Cashman has channelled the Wettland / Mo scenario from back in the 90’s. I think Betances’ arrival terminated Robertson’s spot, plus the saved $12M overall by inking Miller.. On paper D-Bet and A-Mil should be a better tag team then D-Bet and D-Rob, if Warren stays in the pen the Yanks have a potential 3 headed monster, that leaves unknown’s Wilson, Carpenter, and Shreve keeping the spots warm for Lindgren and the posse of touted live arms Cashman has assembled
Another Touted Boston Suspect Bites The Dust
The Red Sox over the last two seasons have made it a point to tout their highly rated farm system, ad nauseam I might add. So far Bradley Jr has been a bust, Bogaerts put up a .297 OBP / .660 OPS / .85 OPS+, that’s Sir Diddy type metrics .290 OBP/ .653 OPS / 81 OPS+
Middlebrooks was shipped to San Diego for back up catcher Ryan Hannigan, Webster and De La Rosa jettisoned to Arizona for Wade Miley, and now one of their top 10 prospects pitcher Anthony Renaudo was traded to Texas for reliever Robbie Ross Jr who had a wonderful 2012 season, a slightly trending down 2013, and he crashed and burned in 2014.
Boston is gonna try to find an Andrew Miller replacement the same way the tried but failed so far replacing Ellsbury by using Bradley and low risk no reward Grady Sizemore… This off season they have rendered Betts, Swihart, Bogaerts, Rodriguez, Owens, and Johnson untouchables.
Those are the players mentioned in any Zimmermann, Cueto, or Hamels trade, that’s why all 3 top of the rotation pitchers haven’t landed in Boston.
No doubt Ranaudo started his big league career on a high note, he crashed and burned after that maiden voyage. Ranaudo’s dominance of the Bombers is more an indication what a putrid offense NY ran out there last season then how good this over hyped kid from Jersey was. Doesn’t mean he can’t find himself as he matures but if you would have bought their hype on him you’d think they were bringing up the next Roger Clemens
Right-handed pitcher — Anthony Ranaudo, Pawtucket (24 games), Boston (seven games): The Red Sox would have been happy with a repeat of 2013 (2.96 ERA, Eastern League Pitcher of the Year) for Ranaudo, and that’s essentially what they got. The 6-foot-7 New Jersey native was named International League Most Valuable Pitcher after leading the Triple-A circuit in wins (14) and ERA (2.61) while posting a 1.20 WHIP, .223 average against and 111 strikeouts over 138 innings.
Over Under on Texeira going on DL and Bubba playin 1st ?
Then maybe J. R. Comes up Big,,
also we need the young’ns to step up and boot those mediocre wannabees Cash likes,, and quickly, plz
i am sick of a boring zzzzz team,
I check my MLB site 10x a day looking for our NYY’s big BAT signing,,, i have better results with the Mega Lottery tickets i buy,, grrrrr 😠😠😠😠😠😠
bubbaband
January 29, 2015 at 10:06 am
hey Donny, almost certain there will be no big bat signing, first off there are none available, secondly the guys who were flipped like Cespedes, and Upton went for better packages.. 3rd Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez were too expensive for the accountants in free agency
The Yanks either don’t have the touted prospect teams want in a trade, or they don’t want to part with their biggest offensive prospect Aaron Judge, and they shouldn’t
Signing Cano and not Ellsbury would have helped, the 7 for $175M was equivalent to the 6 for $135M Boston gave Lester.. nice offers but obviously offers that were gonna be surpassed… NY may have gotten Cano interested in an 8 for $200M deal but they really tried that hard
right now the Yanks would be better off with Cano at 2nd and Gardner in CF, moving Refsynder back to original Right Field, but again Cashman doesn’t project Refsynder as a corner OFer because of his lack of power, but they franchise Gardner 4 for $52M who is far from a slugger
Sal
January 29, 2015 at 10:17 am
I think they told Warren to prepare for the spring as a starter,so they may be counting on him to take the place of our 1000 dollar car, Phelps.I never understood getting rid of Phelps while getting Eovaldi,at least he ate some innings. I don’t feel sorry for Arod,you can’t sue your employer and his physician then expect them to roll out the red carpet for you!! I saw that sux/Ranger trade,Ross was horrible last year,could not get anyone out,he was another good reliever they tried to turn into a starter which became a disaster.Garrett Jones is pretty decent player,can play 1b/rf and has power,he should get a lot of playing time if they are smart,especially at the stadium.I had him on my fantasy team every year-lol
dallasbomber7
January 29, 2015 at 11:00 am
Hey Big D, no tears for A-rod, these guys writing how tough the Yanks are on him are really stretching… Let him earn respect on the diamond
I believe they think Eovaldi is the better mouse trap, if he does throw with extensive heat as advertised, then he doesn’t have to be perfect, he can get away with mistakes that get too much plate..
that’s about all I can think of, I think they saw Phelp’s upside and it might have been more suited to the NL… We’ll soon find out.. I did like Phelps’ mentality though
and Jones does look like a good fit for the Stadium, he’ll get some playing time for sure
Sal
January 29, 2015 at 1:38 pm
http://www.gammonsdaily.com/on-the-theo-epsteinken-rosenthal-idea-of-making-relievers-face-more-than-one-batter/
Sal
January 29, 2015 at 2:51 pm