On the Yankees beat

"That's all from the Stadium."

Shouldn't it be THE Stadium Kat?
Kinda sad to walk out for the last time?
I know it was hard for me to pass through the turnstile.

So....what did you steal?

Kyle Lohse just agreed to a four year deal with the Cards. This comes a year after, on advice from Scott Boras, he rejected a similar deal from the Phillies in search of a 7 year contract. When no one gave him that, Lohse had to settle for a 1 year 4.5 mil deal from St. Louis. He then went on to post his best year (statistically).

Why am I telling you this? Simple. It is further evidence that bad American League pitchers find new life in the National League. Kyle Lohse, Ted Lilly, Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver - the list is endless. Far shorter than the number of pitchers who have gone from the National League to go on to have productive careers in the American League.

Something to consider when it comes to signing/trading for pitchers this winter.

Kat,
Let me know what you took from the stadium and I'll pay you for it and it will be our secret!

On a serious note, if you get any tipoffs as to when they will begin selling items like seats can you drop me an email or let me know through the blog? I have a, according to my friends, "Yankees Shrine" in my basement and a couple of seats would be a very nice addition.
My wife doesn't really agree that they will be such a nice addition but what does she know about good taste? I mean she married me after all :)

Kat:

I want to say thanks for your efforts to keeping us informed on our guys in Pinstripes. Now, the Hot Stove League is very important especially this winter for the Yanks. Hopefully, you have gather some informats who'll have the coveted insider info and you will be the first to break out the news to your audience on this blog.

So rest up for the next month and be back and ready to go because Yankee baseball is 363 days a year. We give breaks for Christmas and New Years Day.

The Yanks would be foolish to leave Mussina behind. He reinvented himself this year and had 20 wins to show for it. How do you replace the consistant results he gave us this year? I would rather see Mike back as say the #4 starter than Mr. Pettitte. Mussina was consistant most of the year and could(with a bit of luck) won 25 games. Sure we want to get younger but how do you not appreciate the "change of pace" that he brings to the line-up ?

If Moose retires, the Yanks will have no choice to accept it.

They wouldn't be leaving him behind.

Evidently the person who wrote the article that gives the Yanks and Mets advice for the winter does not want to see the Yanks winning any time soon. The advice is for the Yanks to avoid free agents such as CC, AJ, Tex etc. I just plain disagree with that as this free agent class is just different than any other time that I can remember for the Yanks. Most of us agree that the Yanks biggest holes are at the top of the rotation, a LH starter if Andy retires; 1B and probably an OF if Abreu leaves.
This year will see the premier LH starting pitcher in the game become a free agent in his prime years, someone who is an absolute horse and would fit so perfectly at the top of the Yanks rotation it almost doesn't seem real.
Then you have a switch hitting, good fielding 1B, also in his prime years available.
Also on the market will be a solid, if not spectacular at times RHP who wants to come to NY and play on the big stage, who is just cocky enough to give the Yanks a little swagger that seems to have been missing over the past several years.

OF's are always around, especially if the Yanks will trade young arms for one so I'm not worried at all about that.

I know the Yanks won't get all the FA's that they want (need if you ask me) but they have to give it a try if they want to win in 2009.

So whatever happened to Dru, HYD, PTRS, Ruse, etc. come back guys and girls, it appears the nutjob troll is gone.

HAHA...Jim, this was my 1st time back on the site in weeks, something told me to check back in! Never cared about the Trolls, just been busy with the new job and kicking HYD's arshe in fantasy baseball...lol

So, 89 wins, not so bad considering the injuries to Wang and Jorge, they may have been good for another 5 W's I think. Oh well, what's done is done. Now its time to look to the future!!!!!

I hope everyone was rooting for the Mets to win? Ill tell you why, the Brewers are KILLING CC!! Three turns on three day's rest? Complete games when the guy is up by 7 runs? I mean, he's an ANIMAL and is showing tons of guts, but the innings he's thrown over the past 2 years are really scaring the crap out of me if he wants a 7 year deal. You know that Hankenstein is going after him, its basically a done deal.

As far as Moose, Id sign him for 2 more years. He had his adjustment season last year and really showed me something this year. I think he can still get it done and be a solid 5th starter for the next two years, maybe even getting 30 more wins. You know he'll sign on the cheap and be a great mentor for the young guys. Id also bring Andy back for one more year, giving us.

Wang
Andy
Moose
Joba
Phil

That would give guys like Marquez, Coke, Ian and Aceves more time to develop. Im still not giving up on Ian, I think he will be in the bronx starting in the next 2 years. He's got the goods, he just has to learn from guys like Moose about mixing up location and speed. He has plus command ( in the minors ) and 3 above average pitches.

Now if/when the Yanks sign CC, I think Andy may be the odd man out. Moose could do what Moyers and Maddux have done over the past couple years, and give us close to 400 innings over the next two years. Im not sure Andy can handle that. However, Andy is still a god in NY, so if he wants to come back, he will. Then it would be....

Wang
CC
Andy
Moose
Phil/Joba

This would put Joba back in the same situation as this year with the bullpen in April, then rotation. As for our pen, its rock solid, we are in great shape there in the short and long term.

As far as the OF, I think we're set. The minor league stats indicate that it usually takes Gardner 200 AB's to get his feet under him at the next level, he was pretty solid down the stretch this year. Im willing to have him go head to head with Melk and Jackson for the CF job. Nady is our RF, and Damon is our LF with Matsui DHing.

As for the infield, Im gonna assume Jorge comes back full strength. If he's not, sit him until he is. Im good with having Cervelli and Molina behind the dish to start the 09 season. If we only get a half year out of Jorge, let it be the 2nd half when we need him most. The rest of the INF is set ( Cano got his act together hitting 400 after being benched, lets hope Long works with him more about plate discipline in DR ). The only other spot we need is 1B, thats the tricky part.

I love Teix, love him long time. He have Bookooo bat! Im just not sure we get both. I have to admit, I felt getting Mark was the Yanks #1 priority a couple months ago, I feel like getting CC may be a more pressing need. We still need a 1B though and the available talent isnt that great. The only other option I like would be to sign on Hank Blalock and hope he can stay healthy with Miranda backing him up. I still think we can get both and have our payroll at 200M

Best case.....

Damon
Jeter
Teix
Arod
Matsui
Posada
Nady
Cano
Gardner

Wang
CC
Joba
Andy
Moose

That's my dream team, 2 players away!

Welcome back Dru, I hope the new job is going well. I agree, the Yanks are really two players away from being a force to be reckoned with.

I found this article in the USA Today this morning and I figured it was sure to ignite one of our favorite discussions about "clutch" hitting: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-09-29-clutch_N.htm

It is, thanks for asking Jim. Funny article about being clutch. You know, I believe there are certain player who come up big in critical spots, hence people calling them clutch. On the flip side, I think clutch is in the eye of the beholder.. Take my old man for example. He's a huge Jeter fan and a huge A-rod basher, as most NY fans are. What was with the fans booing Arod on the last home stand anyway? The moronic fans kill me. Lets look at what he did this year =

2nd on our team in BA @ .302
1st in HR with 35
1st in RBI with 103
1st in Runs scored with 104
3rd on our team with 18 SB's
324 AVG at home with an OPS of 1.046
.271 with RISP

Jeter
3rd on our team in BA @ .300
7th on our team with 11 HR
6th on our team with 69 RBI
4th on our team with 88 Runs ( 80 more AB's than Arod )
5th on our team with 11 SB's ( Gardner had 13 in 127 AB's )
309 AVG at home with an OPS of .764
.317 with RISP

The thing that stands out is the RISP, 46 points is huge! However, Arod hit 333 in that spot last year while Jeter hit 354 in that spot. Our entire team couldnt get the job done with RISP. On top of that Jeter GIDP 24 times, good for top 7 in the league. Never heard a single boo.

Im not here to bash Jeter, I love the guy, but to the fans, Jeter is the Teflon Don while Arod is the red headed step child of the team. I guess that wont change until Arod brings home a ring or two...or so my dad says.

If the news about Joba's shoulder is true, we probably won't be seeing him in the starting rotation.

Dru,
I'm right there with you on Jeter and A-Rod, I love 'em both, they are Yankees after all. I think the article pointed out some things that have been myths all along such as the great example cited about the 2001 World Series when Jeter hit "the" home run...yet he batted .148 in that series when offense was at a premium. One could argue that every at bat was of major importance and his one swing has masked a lot of failure in that series.

Now, another thing they touched on that I've believed for a long time: I don't believe many players are "clutch" so to speak as I believe other players are mentally weaker than others and they might wilt in a pressure situation. I love A-Rod but he's got marbles in his head sometimes and I think he gets himself out before he steps in the batter's box in some situations where someone like Jeter is a little less jittery, thus is more consistent with his career numbers in pressure situations.

Diane, if that's you: What news about Joba's shoulder?

I really hope it's just mild soreness. I really want this kid at the front of the rotation. Seeing him pitch the way he did at Fenway was amazing. Instead of bouncing him back and forth from the rotation in Spring Training, to the bullpen in April/May, to half starter/pen for a month then back to the rotation....why not shut him down and have him start a month later than everyone else? That way he'll be up to speed by May 1st and can pitch on normal rest for the entire year. Im not sure this back and forth from pen to starter back to pen is really great for his health, I believe it may have something to do with his shoulder. If we sign on Moose, Andy and CC, there is no need to rush Joba since our pen is pretty solid. The other benefit is giving him ample time to heal from whatever is bothering him now.

So my idea is that Joba continue to rest until 4-5 weeks after pitchers and catchers report. That would put him at mid-March with an eye on starting by May 1st, that would allow us to keep him under 150 innings this year without the Yo-Yo treatment.

BTW - CC led all of baseball in pitches thrown this year, also he's racked up 253 innings after throwing 246 last year, both tops in the majors...oh, and he aint done yet, you better all be rooting against the Brew Crew.

Jim, he was complaining about soreness in his shoulder again. The team doesnt think its a big deal, but Im sure that's just coach speak for 'OH SH*T I HOPE TO GOD ITS NOTHING!!!'.

I guess we'll see over the next couple months if its serious.

Hey, our boy Andres Brackman finally took the mound in the Hawaiian league. He got lit up like a X-Mas tree, but the good news is that he actually threw some pitches in a game. He was hitting 96 in a pen session prior to that. Lets see if he can stay healthy.

Yes, Jim A., it's me.

George King (I know, I know) in the Post has published the fullest report. Claims to have several sources reporting that Joba's shoulder was bothering him when he pitched at Fenway, another (a scout) who thinks this may be behind his recent loss of velocity. I have no idea how accurate all this is, that's why I started off my post with "If the news about Joba's shoulder is true..."

RANT ALERT RANT ALERT RANT ALERT RANT ALERT RANT ALERT

The target of today's rant: Organizational pitching guru Nardi Contreras.

If, as reported by The Post, Joba's shoulder is sore I think that has less to do with starting vs. relieving than it does with the team trying to have him do both.

They're treating the best arm in the system like a yo-yo. He's a starter, no he's a reliever, no he's a starter but we're going to use him as a reliever. And making the decisions is Nardi Contreras, a man who the Yankees fired as their pitching coach after the 1995 season (and was subsiquently fired by the Mariners and White Sox).

This is my biggest beef with the organization. It's not like they are entrusting the development of their young arms in an established pitching coach like Leo Mazzone, Don Cooper, Gil Patterson, Rags, Joe Kerrigan, or even Rick Peterson. They are entrusting Joba, Brackman, Hughes, Kennedy, Melancon, Betances, McAllister, Heredia and all the others, to a guy who three organizations decided wasn't a good enough pitching coach to work with established veterans let alone young kids who need even more supervision.

Say what you want about Billy Conners, he meddled with the big club from his office in Tampa, he undermined Cash and Torre in their handling of Jose Contreras, whatever - but he was still vastly superior in this role of organizational pitching guru than Contreras has proven to be. Yesterday some of you harped on Bobby Meacham as the coach who most needed replacing. Ladies and gents...I give you Nardi Contreras.

Cashman relies heavily on Nardi's advice when it comes to pitchers. It was on that advice that Cashman signed Jaret Wright, LaTroy Hawkins and Kyle Farnsworth. It was Contreras who devised the "Joba Rules" which have, in my opinion, severely retarded his progress. It was Nardi who advised Cashman that Jeff Marquez would be a star pitcher and should be ranked in a top 5 of pitching prospects with Hughes, Joba, Kennedy, and Al Horne - thus dubbing a trade of Hughes, Melky and Marquez for Johan "too expensive." This year Nardi was also a voice advocating against dealing Ohlendorf and McCutchen for Nady and Marte.

I believe, I truly believe, that the best thing that could happen this winter for the Yankees - put it right on par with getting Sabathia and Tex and Burnett - would be offering Dave Duncan (a free agent in his own right) the position of Organizational Pitching Coordinator. Make him an offer he can't refuse. Money that he could never dream of. Oversight of the entire organization's pitching program and a team of scouts and coaches at his disposal.

Rant ends.

I like Chip's suggestion of going after Duncan [even if Nardi Contreras may not be Satan himself ... ;-) ]

In fact I think Duncan would be a great hire as pitching coach for the big club. Since we've been talking about the coaching staff ...

Not calling him Satan Diane - at least Satan is qualified for his job.

LOL, Chip

Chip,

You convinced me.

Meacham's the "best" 3rd base coach in baseball.

I love the guy.

What was I thinking when i blamed him for Wang's injury?

Fool that I am.

Let's boil Nardi in oil!!!!

On another note, here's a link to John harper's column in today's other fish wrap that publishes in NYC:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/09/29/2008-09-29_yankees_gm_brian_cashman_should_return_t.html

He's holding Cashman's feet to the fire.

Chip,

I was just trying to be funny with my rant. On a serious note, you have a real good point on Contraras and I completely agree with you on it.

Im on board !!!! If half of that about Nardy is true he has got to go. Boiling him in hot oil ????????????? Well alrright. :)