Hello Everyone my name is Stephen Crociata and I am the newest contributer to The Pinstriper. I am 19 years old and I'm currently attending Iona College for my degree in Sports Management. I hope to someday work for a MLB franchise and experience what is like to run things behind the scenes. I am a die hard NY Yankee, NY Giant, and Colorado Avalanche fan; I also spend most of my free time on Yahoo! Sports just so I know exactly what is happening. i only sleep about 7 hours a day at max so you can be assured I read up on exactly what is happening in the sports world as much as humanly possible. Enough about me though I have an issue I would like to get to.
Drew Henson, Eric Duncan, and Bronson Sardinha three names most Yankee fans know very well. They were all "up and comers" who were going to be the future of the Yankees. Only Duncan is still with the Yankees, but he is more and more looking like a career minor leaguer. These are notables but they are not alone the Yankees have dealt with this for a while and luckily of late with guys like Cano, Cabrera, and Gardner fortunes may be changing. The major difference is that the recent success of Yankee farm hand is actually more of a pleasant surprise, but the expected future hasnt materialized. Now welcome Austin "AJAX" Jackson the name that has been piped into the brains of all Yankee fans since 2005. The 2010 season is approaching and many may be asking "Are we there yet?" is this the time of Jackson, and it may be a surprise but I say still not yet. I have a lot of confidence in Austin, as do I with the other big Yankee prospects such as Romine and Montero, but I believe its just not his time. Almost a SO a game this season in AAA for AJAX and it was not because of a surplus of power, 4 HR in 504 AB. Jackson is still young, 21, and there are benefits for the team and him if he sticks with Wilkes-Barre for a little longer. In my opinion the Yankees can use a few "bridges" to their prospects.
This offseason may be very impactful on the future success of the NY Yankees. If a guy like Mike Cameron is brought in to solidify the CF job for a season or two he becomes the "bridge" to Austin Jackson. The same can be done for Jesus Montero, who has not shown to be a great catcher, if he is moved to RF fan favorite Nick Swisher becomes his so called bridge, and another could include Posada handing off his place behind the plate to Austin Romine. This all will be essential to keeping the Yankees young and establishing Cashman's initial goal which was to entirely build the Yankees from the inside (obvious with some outside additions).
I noticed that we at the Pinstriper were mentioned over at MLBTradeRumors.com today.
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Curtis Granderson would eliminate the Yankees need to re-sign Johnny Damon, or Hideki Matsui, and he would add pop to the lineup AND speed. Granderson, who hit .249 with 30 HR and 71 RBI, is only 28 years old. Granderson was signed to a five-year, $30.25 million deal with a club option for 2013 with the Tigers in February 2008. The Yankees could easily pay that contract.
Edwin Jackson was an all-star in 2009. He went 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA. The Yankees could use Jackson as their 3rd starter, which would eliminate the need to sign a John Lackey, or Jason Marquis type of pitcher. Jackson is being paid about $2 Million a year.
So the question remains: What would it take to get BOTH in a trade?
Here is my offer:
CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter for Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson.
Kidding.
Here is my REAL offer:
Melky Cabrera, Reegie Corona, Josh Schmidt, and Austin Romine for Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson.
Is that too much? Too little? Good trade? Bad trade? Explain in the comments!
UPDATE: 2:01 PM: Apparently I don't know enough about prospects, as it seems like it will take either one of the Yankees big prospects (Hughes, Joba) and an additional prospect/OR a bunch of major prospects such as Zach McAllister, Ian Kennedy, etc.
With Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira winning gold gloves, as well as Jeter winning the Roberto Clemente Award and Hank Aaron Award for being the best hitter in the American League, the recognition of the brilliance of the 2009 World Champion New York Yankees has rightfully continued (Yahoo Sports). This team was a truly masterful collection of great defense, even better hitting, and very good pitching. But, the Yankee defense has been largely overlooked throughout the course of the season despite being one of the best in the league. These awards have acknowledged that defense remains very important in the run to a championship.
The Yankees do not have a flashy defense but rely more on sound defensive play with the occasional top ten plays candidate. Jeter, who has been constantly assaulted for his poor defense in recent years, made a career-low 8 errors and had an astounding .986 fielding percentage. Even with a great first basemen it is clear that Jeter remains a top fielder as there is no way that Teixeira’s play was the sole cause for Jeter’s great defense during the 2009 season. Many people have accused Jeter of being one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league based on new statistical analysis. It speaks volumes, however, about his defense that he won an award that was voted on by the opposing teams who would not give him the award simply because he was Derek Jeter.
Teixeira’s defense during the postseason saved him from a great deal of attacks on his fortitude and ability to perform under pressure. Anyone who watched any Yankee game this year probably saw at least one play that Teixeira made that saved an error, a run, or stopped a base runner from advancing. He was a much needed improvement over past first basemen whose defensive skills were desperately lacking. He made the entire infield better by taking pressure off of Robinson Cano, Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez and just allowed them to concentrate on making the play rather than worry about throwing a strike to first.
Defense in many other sports is often the key to winning a championship. In baseball pitching is essentially the primary defense that any team has. For the Yankees their pitching and hitting led them to the World Series title but the defense certainly helped them get there so it is great to see the defense be rewarded with the Gold Glove Awards for Jeter and Teixeira.
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As Yankee fans continue to celebrate their club’s 27th Championship, it’s back to business for GM Brian Cashman and all other MLB teams. No rest for the weary, I guess, so here is the baseball calendar for the remainder of this year:
Through Nov. 19—Free agent filing period.
Nov. 9-11—General managers meetings, Chicago.
Nov. 18-19—Owners meeting, Chicago.
Nov. 30-Dec. 4—Major League Baseball Players Association executive board meeting, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Dec. 1—Last day for teams to offer salary arbitration to their former players who became free agents.
Dec. 7—Last day for free agents offered salary arbitration to accept the offers.
Dec. 7-10—Winter meetings, Indianapolis.
Dec. 12—Last day for teams to offer 2010 contracts to unsigned players.
Not a lot of surprises coming out of the 1st day of the General Managers’ meeting in Chicago today:
The Red Sox have picked up the 2010 option for Victor Martinez who played in 56 games for Boston after being traded from the Indians. He hit .336 with 8 HRs and 41 RBI. Boston also declined options on catcher Jason Varitek (who has 5 days to exercise a $3 million player option) and SS Alex Gonzalez, and resigned knuckleballer Tim Wakefield after they came to an agreement on a 2 year contract worth $5 million.
The Tampa Bay Rays picked up the $10 million option on outfielder Carl Crawford for the 2010 season.
Carl Pavano is expected to meet with the Twins on tuesday whom, along with the Indians, have expressed interest in the free agent right hander.
And in the realm of unlikely possibilities, Mariners’ GM Jack Zduriencik said that he would “have to listen” to discussions regarding their ace Felix Hernandez in a possible trade. This is the same man who said back in August that Hernandez would be in a Mariners uniform in 2010 unless they get “Koufax or Maricahl”. File this report under “Fat Chance”.
If you are following the free-agency market at home, here is a link to all 2009-2010 MLB free-agents by team.
Heres my updated 2010 Roster Preview: (/=more than one choice bold=my choice)
C- Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli/Jose Molina 1B- Mark Teixeira, Juan Miranda/Shelley Duncan 2B- Robinson Cano 3B- Alex Rodriguez, SS- Derek Jeter, Ramiro Pena/Jerry Hairston Jr. LF- Jason Bay CF- Brett Gardner RF- Nick Swisher DH- Johnny Damon
SP- CC Sabathia SP- A.J. Burnett SP- Zach Duke SP- Andy Pettite/Jarrod Washburn/Jason Marquis SP- Phil Hughes
Long Relief- Alfredo Aceves, Chad Gaudin Middle Relief- Dave Robertson, Mark Melancon Lefty Relief- Phil Coke, Damaso Marte Set-Up- Joba Chamberlain Closer- Mariano Rivera
CHANGES:
-Jason Bay instead of Melky Cabrera in the Outfield. Bay would be taken away from the Redsox, who choose Matt Holliday over him, after Bay negotiates with the Yankees and other teams.
-Melky Cabrera and an additional prospect traded to the Pirates for Zach Duke. The Pirates can use a 3rd/4th OF and the Yankees can use pitching. It is well documented that the Pirates and Yankees are very amiable trading partners. The Pirates also have former Yankees prospect Daniel McCutchen waiting in the wing to take over a spot in the rotation.
-Johnny Damon over Hideki Matsui at DH. Damon can play the Outfield and has better speed and is less of an injury scare.
-Andy Pettite re-signed, OR Jarrod Washburn signed, OR Jason Marquis signed. If Pettite chooses not to retire it is a definite that it will be with the Yankees. If he doesn't they will look to either an older player like Washburn or Randy Wolf. I think Wolf goes to the Astros though AND Washburn goes to the Brewers. That leaves me with Jason Marquis. Innings-eater that the Yankees can benefit from.
-Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain switch roles. Simple move to me. Bring any arguments over to the comments.
CONTRACTS:
Jason Bay- 5 Years, $75 Million
Andy Pettite/Jarrod Washburn- 1 Year, $8.5 Million OR Jason Marquis- 4 Years, $40 Million
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Bring em over to the comments!
*Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
UPDATE: 2:10 PM: Once again excuse me for my bad judgement of prospects. Apparently a Pirates fan feels that the Pirates have enough OF prospects to deal with the 3rd outfield situation. If so, maybe a Reegie Corona or Eduardo Nunez will do.
It has been a couple days since the Yankees won the World Series. I have gathered myself enough so that I feel comfortable writing about it, though I still find myself smiling and whooping from time to time. If I had written even two days after the Yankees won, the comments would have been pretty inane, mostly just Woooooooooooo!!! and other celebratory phrases. Don’t get me wrong I still bust out a celebration every now and then but now I have enough self-control not to write them down. The reason every New York Yankees fan feels so strongly about this win, I think, is just how much has changed over the past decade.
In 2000, everything was going great. The Yankees had just come off their third straight World Series win and looked to be the team that would dominate the first decade of the new millennium. The baseball season was going great in 2001 until September 11th happened. The world changed and so did New York baseball. Anyone who watches the video of President Bush throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium barely weeks after 9/11 cannot help but feel an indescribable swell of emotion. Baseball helped distract Americans from the terrible events that had occurred. The Yankees made it to the World Series and fought for their city and made New York proud by reaching the World Series, serving a higher purpose simply by winning baseball games. Then a bloop hit ended the series but I did not think the coming years would go the way it did even after a crushing World Series loss. The Yankee’s decade went downhill from there.
Dominated in 2003 essentially just by Josh Beckett, the Yankees looked poised to return to form until the 2004 postseason and the historic collapse that I shudder to discuss any further. After 2004 things just didn’t feel right. The Yankees, always big spenders during the Steinbrenner era, spent gobs of money on free agents who never seemed to help the team in the ways that really matter. Postseason struggles continued until 2008 when the Yankees did not even make the playoffs during the final year at the old Yankee Stadium. Having all the Yankees on the field saying their goodbye’s to the old Yankee stadium and welcoming in the new ballpark before October ball had even started was painful, all the more so because of the discouraging years that came before 2008.
There is a reason this team got a ticker-tape parade. Too much has been made about Yankees fans complaining about not winning a title in 9 years, which is like a lifetime for other clubs. It is not about the length of time, it is about what happened during that period. The Yankees entered the decade as a dynasty and then, much like everyone else in New York, had their legs cut out from under them in 2001. After plodding around for 8 years of over-priced aging talent, epic postseason failures, petty clubhouse squabbles, tabloid reports, Joe Torre’s dysfunctional termination, the Boss’s declining health, the first missed postseason in 14 years coming in Joe Girardi’s first year, and being everyone’s favorite punching bag throughout the decade, the Yankees needed to win to close out the decade.
Throughout other teams' championship droughts or even postseason droughts, I doubt that their failures were as highly criticized or over-publicized as the Yankees were. The stress of growing up being a Yankee’s fan in this era has been great. Not only is the team losing, but they are still paying the most money and everyone continues to love to hate the Yankees. Being a Yankee fan when the Yankees are not winning, or even when they are, is difficult because you constantly are being forced to defend them from any number of worn-out attacks. Other teams are able to be bad quietly without much attention, the Yankees aren’t.
That is why it has been a long decade. But, now that the Yankees have won I can enjoy this victory with my friends and more importantly my family. I can enjoy this victory because of all the problems it washes away and how one season is able to change my outlook on an entire decade and because winning just feels great. It will be a memory that I will treasure for a long time. Some people say that the Yankees have won so many championships that the fans aren’t able to appreciate them as much as they should. I disagree.
When my wife and I got married, we’d only known each other for two and a half months. There were many skeptics. When I told my father the news, he said something that has stayed with me to this day: “these things,” he said “are not measured by how they begin, they are measure by how they end”. I think this is an appropriate criteria for the 2009 New York Yankees. To say that we had an inauspicious beginning is an understatement, I’m not much for hyperbole but consider the following:
Before the first pitch of spring training The Yankees had to deal with Alex Rodriguez’ steroid circus, the accusation, the mea culpa press conference, and concerns over A-Rod’s mental fortitude to deal with it all.
Then it seems that the universe was piling it on to A-Rod, books by Selena Roberts and Joe Torre painted an even dimer view of Rodriguez in and out of the locker room. He pulls out of the World Baseball Classic with a hip injury, has surgery, and misses the first few weeks of the year.
CC Sabathia labored during his first few outings
Teixeira had his infamous slow start in April
Going 0-for-8 against the Red Sox to start the season, were criticism of Girardi’s over-managing gained momentum
Chien-Ming Wang goes 1-for-6 with a 9.64 ERA, hurts his shoulder, then his foot
The Yankees were 8 back of the Red Sox before getting it together in June and turning their season around in a hurry to get to their 27th Championship. Everything came together for this team, the pitching solidified, the offense became more consistent, the defense was sharp, all things that can be attributed to talent and execution. But then we began to notice other aspects of their game develop, the kinds of things that make a team special or at least poised for something great.
Things that we notice which excite us a fans and makes us wonder aloud: this could be the year. Two-out rallies, numerous comeback wins, consistent contributions from the bottom of the lineup, scoring almost 1/2 of their runs after the 6th inning, poise at the plate, working the count, no desperation when loosing by a few runs, bullpen contributions. These characteristics are the result of more than talent and execution, they are the tangible result of team character and chemistry.
Even after winning 103 games, the most in the league, there were questions about the way that Girardi was setting up the pitching rotation, the Joba experiment, would A-Rod finally come through in the postseason, can Sabathia improve his postseason record specially when asked to pitch with 3 days rest, how can the Yankees loose Posada’s bat in order to accommodate AJ Burnett with Molina behind the plate, which Burnett would show up...but this team embraced a blue collar approach and was determined to work through any obstacles to be victorious at the end.
The Yankees did not hesitate in their approach to the job at hand, they did not shy away from challenges, they didn’t get too high or too low, and they did not allow for doubt to permeate their thoughts. They were clear in their purpose and continued to do what was necessary to become World Champions. No one in sports is under more pressure to finish the job than the New York Yankees, to whom much is given much is expected, and finish the job they did. This is how things end, not with a whimper, but with the bang of fireworks and the loud proclamation that the 2009 New York Yankees are World Champions.
Overrated. That's all I have to say. I respect the Phillies. I like the Phillies. I do not respect or like this man. He should not be even called a man. (In case you didn't know that is Jimmy Rollins, who stated that if they were lucky the Yankees would win one game this series)
Not much else to say. It is a great day for any Yankee fan. The Yankees have played great this postseason and got the win. They won it for the boss, for themselves, for the fans, and for everyone who supported them.
The Yankees won the World Series. That is really really nice to say. It is especially nice to say because it quiets so many people! Now that they are all quiet we can unite as fans and enjoy this moment.
The Yankees defeated the Phillies tonight 7-3, and won the World Series in six games. With tonights victory the Yankees have 27 World Series victories and 40 pennants.
Random Notes:
-Clutchest Pitcher in baseball history=Mariano Rivera
-Only the Yankees fans would go crazy over not winning a World Series in 10 years. In a place like Kansas City, making the playoffs twice in 10 years is an amazing feat.
-I was in Philadelphia earlier today and I was booed heavily (I wore a Yankees jersey)
-I was cursed at by two 80-year-old ladies and challenged to a fight by a teenage girl
-Philadelphia has great food, so they at least have that going for them
-Damaso Marte just skyrocketed his status with the Yankees fans. What a postseason for him.
-This could have been Andy Pettite's last career game.
-What a postseason for Hideki Matsui. It will be very tough not to bring him back next year....don't be surprised if the White Sox sign Damon and the Yankees sign Matsui/Bay/Holliday.
-Cano needs to step it up in the clutch.
-The Yankees won the World Series.
-Spike Lee is one impressive fan.
-Alex Rodriguez finally won a World Series.
-The Yankees won the World Series
-Tough loss for the Phillies, even tougher for dirt-bag Jimmy Rollins. (I don't mind any other player on the team)
Tonight the Yankees come back home to New York after a fairly successful stretch in Philadelphia. I am curious as to why the mood has swung in the Phillies favor. The Yankees took two out of three as visitors to Citizens Bank Park and did so with one dramatic victory in game 4 and a sound victory in game 3. They lost game 5 but only because AJ Burnett imploded in the early innings. The Yankees fought back, scored 5 runs off of Cliff Lee who has been the most dominant pitcher this postseason and were in a position to win the game. Not only does this show that the Yankees have regained some offensive prowess that was lacking in the first two games but it also shows that the bullpen was able to hold things together and give the Yankees a chance to win. With Andy Pettitte working on short rest in game 6 the show of strength from the bullpen has got to count for something because it puts less pressure on Pettitte to get directly to Mariano Rivera. So my question is, why all of a sudden does every Yankee fan, anti-Yankee fan, Philly fan, or sports pundit all of a sudden think that the Phillies have the momentum in the series?
The only thing that really should make the Phillies confident is that Chase Utley has been a man among boys and that some, but not all, of the Phillies bats are starting to wake up. But has their pitching, both starting and in the bullpen, been any better? Has Ryan Howard stopped slumping? Did they demolish the Yankees at home and take a lead in the series? All of these questions are answered simply by saying no. Brad Lidge was given a mental health day in game 5. And how confident should the Phillies be if they win game 6? Are they going to start Cole Hamels who apparently doesn’t even want to be playing baseball anymore or are they going to mix and match Joe Blanton and JA Happ? Howard seems to be doing his best to tie the World Series strikeout record. Oh, and by the way, the Yankees lead the series 3-2! For all the questions being raised about the Yankees, shouldn’t there be more about the Phillies? The Phillies have a much tougher task than the Yankees do.
Certainly I would have liked the Yankees to win game 5 and end the series. But for seemingly the entire sports world to suddenly believe that the Yankees should hit the panic button after game 5 is fairly ridiculous. All we need to do, as fans, is have faith in the Yankee’s ability to win the series. And that is pretty easy to do considering the winningest pitcher in postseason history is taking the mound for the Yankees tonight.
AJ Burnett gets rocked early, Yankees unable to complete the comeback late
FINAL SCORE: YANKEES 6 PHILLIES 8 (F9th)
SCORING PLAYS
Top of the 1st: Johnny Damon singles to center field. Alex Rodriguez doubles to right field, Damon scores (NYY 1, PHI 0)
Bottom of the 1st: Jimmy Rollins singles to center field. Shane Victorino hit by pitch. Chase Utley homers to right field. Rollins, Victorino, & Utley scores (NYY 1, PHI 3)
Bottom of the 3rd: Chase Utley walks. Ryan Howard walks. Jayson Werth singles to center field. Utley scores, Howard to 2nd base (NYY 1, PHI 4)
Bottom of the 3rd: Raul Ibanez singles to right field. Howard scores, Werth to 3rd (NYY 1, PHI 5)
Bottom of the 3rd: Carlos Ruiz grounds into a force out, Werth scores (NYY 1, PHI 6)
Top of the 5th: Eric Hinske draws a 1-out walk. Derek Jeter singles to right field, Hinske to 3rd. Johnny Damon gounds out softly to first base, Hinske scores (NYY 2, PHI 6)
Bottom of the 7th: Chase Utley homers to right field (NYY 2, PHI 7)
Bottom of the 7th: Raul Ibanez homers to right field (NYY 2, PHI 8)
Top of the 8th: Johnny Damon gets an infield hit. Mark Teixeira doubles to left field, Damon to 3rd. Alex Rodriguez doubles to left field, Damon & Teixeira scores (NYY 4, PHI 8)
Top of the 8th: Nick Swisher moves the runner (ARod) to 3rd on a ground out to 1st. Robinson Cano out on a sacrifice out, Rodriguez scores (NYY 5, PHI 8)
Top of the 9th: Jorge Posada doubles. Hideki Matsui singles to left field, Posada to 3rd. Derek Jeter hits into a double play, Posada scores (NYY 6, PHI 8)
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