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

Spare The Rod

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.

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