Odds and Ends.

Some odds and ends.

I saw an article that stated that according to insiders, Manager Joe Girardi did broach the subject of dropping Derek Jeter down in the batting order last season. Jeter hit just .256-4-50, OPS+ just 75 in his final season. The idea was shot down by upper management, and apparently Jeter wouldn’t go for moving him out of the #2 slot in the order either. Girardi knew that to do so would open a can of worms, so before it even hit the media, he apparently went through upper management and possibly Jeter himself. Would dropping Jeter have benefitted the Yanks? Possibly. Enough to make the playoffs? Possibly not. Enough to make the playoffs and soothe Jeter’s ego? Possibly not. But it’s interesting to note that the idea of dropping Derek (where to? 8? 9?) was considered.

Jason Giambi retired. He was with the Yanks from 2002-2008, hitting 209 of his 440 HR as a Yankee. Giambi, 44, hit 440 HR in his career, hit .277 with an excellent OPS+ of 139, won an MVP award with the A’s in 2000, was runner-up in 2001, and is one of five Yankees with back-to-back 40 HR seasons (2002 and 2003). He hit two homers off of Pedro Martinez in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. He won’t make the HOF however, because of his admitted PED usage and BALCO connection. It’s said he is a great teammate, and Terry Francona, manager of the Indians (Giambi’s most recent team) states that Giambi is a “manager in waiting.” His 162 g. average was .277-32-103, OPS+ 139, with 98 walks.

Alex Rodriguez issued a written “apology.” Really, I don’t want to hear it. Who believes anything he says or does anymore? He’s exhausted all credibility. Really, A-Rod, shut up and play. Show us you have something, if anything, left. It’s noted that he was suspended for all of 2014. What’s forgotten is that he played in only 44 games in 2013 and even then looked on the downside.

The Yanks signed Jared Burton to a minor league deal. The righty reliever is 33 and went 3-5, 4.36, ERA+ 91 in 2014 for the Twins with three saves. For his career he is 18-19, 3.44, 10 saves, ERA+ 123.  A depth move. He was 3-2 with a superb 2.18 ERA (ERA+ 189) and five saves for the Twins in 2012.

When I get time (I’ve been doing my taxes, need to do other family members taxes, working (of course) and …. well, shoveling snow and freezing my ass off…) I want to look at the future. I expect the Yanks to tread water for a while, but to me, the 2020 team could be interesting. Players (top prospects) would be in their primes (providing they prove MLB caliber players and aren’t traded away), old guys like CC, Teix, Beltran and A-Rod gone (maybe McCann as well)….it could be interesting to look at what could be the Yankee future. Stay tuned. Hopefully when Yoan Moncada signs (before the end of this month) I can include him on that 2020 future team I want to write about. Will the Yanks fork over the $$$$ to land Moncada?

Yankees fighting A-Rod incentives, Bill Monbouquette dies at 78.

A-Rod is supposed to get $6MM when he ties Willie Mays mark of 660 HR. A-Rod is 6 HR short right now. As I wrote earlier, if A-Rod does it while I am there May 24th, I won’t be applauding #660* or #661*.

The Yanks apparently won’t be applauding either. They apparently are seeking to negate that clause in the contract where they would pay A-Rod his incentive $$, claiming it was done under false pretenses (the steroids). I have to side with the Yankees, here.

Bill Monbouquette, an early 1960s Red Sox ace who played with the Yanks for a short time, died at the age of 78. “Monbo”, as he was known by, pitched for Boston from 1958-1965, and was integral in the Red Sox accepting Pumpsie Green onto the team. The Red Sox were the last of the original 16 teams to integrate, and Green was the first black player on Boston—-in 1959, 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Monbouquette had a lifetime record of 114-112, ERA 3.68, ERA+ 104. Slightly better than average. He was a 3x All-Star who was a 20-game winner in 1963. He led the AL in losses in 1965 when he went 10-18, 3.70. He spent 1966 and part of 1967 with the Tigers, and was a Yankee for 1967 and 1968. In 1967 he was 6-5, 2.36 with the Yanks as a spot starter and long reliever. Overall that year he was 6-5, 2.33, ERA+ 134. In 1968, his final season, he was 5-7, 4.43 for the Yanks, then was 0-1, 3.75 for the Giants. Overall, 5-8, 4.35, ERA+ 67. He pitched a no-no in 1962.

Nats land Scherzer. Super Bowl set.

Max Scherzer goes to the Nats, $210MM over 7 years, with 1/2 deferred. So $15MM over 14 years. I don’t know about paying someone $15MM between the ages of 37-44, esp. when they are a) washed up b) declining severely and/or c) injured. Not to mention d) retired.

The Yanks said they were not in for Scherzer or Shields, and some but not all, believed them. Maybe with Scherzer off the market, it can be believed now (Shields is still available). It seems last year’s big splash took them out of the market for any big splash (just little splashes–see Headley, Drew….) this year.

That said, there are a lot of free agent pitchers available next year. See this post

http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2015/01/top-9-pitchers-yankees-can-sign-in-2016/

from our friends at Bronx Baseball Daily to see who may fit the Yanks needs in next year’s free agent draft. The problem is, who comes off the books? McCann has four years left on his deal, A-Rod three, Teix, CC and Beltran a couple. Then you have in-their-prime players like Ellsbury and Tanaka signed to multi-year deals. Even Headley has a four-year deal. Hal doesn’t want to increase the payroll, and there is little flexibility as long as those multi-year deals, especially the ones for aging, fading players, are on the books.

The Yanks did look at Johan Santana, a low-risk, high-reward option. I doubt anything will come out of it. I hope not.  Santana was pitching in the Venezuelan league in hoping for a comeback. Reports have it he was at 86-89 and pitching more on guile than anything else. Santana has missed all of 2011, 2013 and 2014. In his only season since 2010, Johan was 6-9, 4.85 in 2012 (with a tainted no-hitter, the only one in Mets’ history). ERA+ 79. He’s had two shoulder surgeries and turns 36 in March. Minor league deal with incentives? Maybe. But I wouldn’t expect much out of it. Santana had a nice career, not HOF, and it’s a shame his career came to an end basically at the age of 31. 2 CYA, 6x consideration, and 2x in the top 10 for the MVP award. 139-78, 3.20, ERA+ 136. Once great. Now?

I am heading up to the Stadium on May 24th. Hmmmm….. that’s about 1/3 of the way through the season, and A-Rod is 6 HR away from tying Willie Mays at 660. You can do the math. At 18-21 HR/yr. (how much does he have left, if anything?) that could be about the time A-Rod ties or passes Willie. If he does it in front of me, #660* or #661*, I won’t be applauding.

Not much else in Yankeeland right now. That, and busy at work, have me writing less.

The Super Bowl is set. The defending champion Seattle Seahawks vs. the New England Patriots. Interesting games yesterday on Championship Sunday. The Seahawks were outplayed by the Green Bay Packers for 57 1/2 minutes, and the Pack had a 19-7 lead with three minutes to go. TD Seattle with 2:09 left to make it 19-14. Recovery of an onside kick. TD. 2-point conversion to put Seattle up 22-19. Green Bay comes back to tie it on a last-second 48-yd. FG. 22-22. Seattle gets the opening kickoff of OT and scores to win 28-22. What a finish. What a choke by the Pack.

It was the fourth OT NFC title game in the last eight years.

In the AFC, no contest. New England wins 45-7 over the Colts. It’ll be SB #6 for the Belichick/Brady duo. Now the authors of “spygate,” Belichick and the Patriots, are being investigated for deflated footballs. Whatever. They still dominated and will be hard to stop.

It’s a pick ‘em right now after the line opened at Seattle by 2 1/2.

So does Seattle repeat for the first time since New England did it a decade ago, or do the Patriots add to their legacy?

 

Yankee prospect assaulted

I’ll get into the NFL a bit later. As for baseball, things have been a bit quiet, so I haven’t written much lately (plus, I’ve been busy). James Shields and Max Scherzer are still free agents and there are no indications yet where either may go.

Yankees prospect Ty Hensley was beaten up during the holiday season. Apparently he was at a bar and a mutual acquaintance introduced him to someone else from his hometown who also was a good athlete and could have gone pro as well. The other athlete was a linebacker from a different high school who later went to Weber St. and then who got cut from an NFL team (Carolina). An argument ensued over signing bonuses and the linebacker (Anthony Morales) beat up Hensley, kicking Hensley in the face repeatedly, and breaking Hensley’s jaw and also breaking some teeth.

Hensley, 21, a RHP, was 1-2, 3.00 in 4 starts and one relief appearance in 2012. He missed all of 2013 with an injury, and was 0-0, 2.93 in 10 starts and one relief appearance (30 2/3 IP) in 2014 between rookie league and short season (Staten Island).

The Yanks announced their AA and AAA coaching staffs for 2015. They are still looking for a hitting and 1B/Infield coach for the big league team. Apparently they had talks with Willie Randolph. It’d be good to have Willie back, but nothing official yet. Marcus Thames will be the hitting coach at SWB (AAA), replacing Butch Wynegar.

Ex-Cowboy DT Jethro Pugh, who played for Dallas from 1965-1978 died recently at the age of 70. Pugh played in the Ice Bowl game (and was the victim of the block by Jerry Kramer that sprung Bart Starr for the game-winning last-minute TD). He was a 2x Super Bowl Champion (VI and XII). Besides the two Super Bowl titles, he played in the NFL Title Games that Dallas lost in 1966 and 1967 (Ice Bowl), and losing Super Bowls V, X and XIII. He also was on teams that lost NFC title games in 1972 and 1973.

As I’m watching the divisional round of NFL playoff games, a quick recap. Carolina beat Arizona last weekend, but then lost to Seattle in the divisional game. In the other NFC game last weekend, Dallas got a supposed gift from the refs for a come-from-behind last-minute win over Detroit. Seattle stopped Carolina to advance to the NFC title game next week. Green Bay is playing Dallas (in the first Dallas at Green Bay postseason game since the Ice Bowl 12/31/1967) as I write this. Seattle, the defending SB champ, will host the winner.

In the AFC, Baltimore beat out my Steelers but then lost yesterday to New England. The Patriots were down twice by two touchdowns to the Ravens, but came back. Indianapolis beat the Bengals, as Cincy did their one-and-done routine again. Their coach is 0-6 in the playoffs, and Andy Dalton is still looking for his first playoff win. The Colts take on Denver at Denver later today, with the winner going to New England to play for the AFC title. It’ll be New England’s fourth straight AFC title game appearance. For Brady and Belichick, their 9th in 14 years.

UPDATE: FROM BRONX BASEBALL DAILY

Ladies and gentlemen, the Yankees finally have a hitting coach.

According to Jack Curry of the YES Network, the Yankees are slated to hire Jeff Pentland as their hitting coach and for the first time in team history, will have an assistant hitting coach. The Yankees have hired Alan Cockrell as the assistant coach.

Pentland worked as the hitting coach for the Marlins when Joe Girardi was the manager, was the hitting coach of the Royals when Tony Pena was the manager and when Carlos Beltran was a player; and was the hitting coach for the Mariners and the Dodgers. Cockrell was the hitting coach for the 2007 Colorado Rockies and the Mariners. The 2007 Rockies advanced to the World Series that season.

 

Update 2:

According to Jack Curry of the YES Network, the Yankees announced Joe Espada is going to be the new infield coach, replacing Mick Kelleher who was fired in October along with ex-hitting coach Kevin Long. Espada was a scout for the Yankees last season but has coaching experience; he was the third base coach for the Miami Marlins. Espada joins Jeff Pentland and Alan Cockrell as the new pieces of the Yankees coaching staff.

Yankees re-sign Headley

The Yanks re-signed Chase Headley today to a 4-yr. deal worth $52MM. With the signing, the infield should be set with Teixeira at 1B, Prado at 2B, Gregorious (with Ryan) at SS and Headley at 3B. A-Rod appears to be the DH.

One thing is apparent. The infield defense should be better than last year. Last year, the Yanks had Solarte at 3b for half the year, a 36 year old Brian Roberts at 2B for most of the year, and the 40 year old Jeter at SS.

It appears as if Rob Refsnyder or Jose Pirela will either be on the bench or at AAA for depth in case of injury.

Headley, 30, is a switch-hitter who hit just .229-7-32, OPS+ 90 for SD for most of 2014 (77 games) but then did better with the Yanks, .262-6-17 in 58 games (OPS+ 119) to finish at .243-13-49, OPS+ 102. He had a dream year in 2012 for SD, .286-31-115 (led NL in RBI), OPS+ 145, GG, SS and 5th in MVP balloting.

His 162 g. average is .265-16-70, OPS+ 113. If he gives the Yanks that, fans should be happy.

The starting 9 appears set. C McCann, 1B Teixeira, 2b Prado, SS Gregorious (Ryan vs. lefty pitchers), 3B Headley, LF Gardner, CF Ellsbury and RF Beltran with DH A-Rod. Headley, Teix and Beltran are switch-hitters.

There are a couple of lineup scenarios. Here are three:

Ellsbury/Gardner/Beltran/Teixeira/McCann/A-Rod/Headley/Prado and Gregorious.

Ellsbury/Prado/Beltran/Teixeira/McCann/A-Rod/Headley/Gardner and Gregorious.

Gardner/Prado/Ellsbury/Teixeira/Beltran/McCann/A-Rod/Headley and Gregorious.

Just a couple of examples.

In other news, a couple of former Yanks may be suing to get back $$$$ they were bilked out of by their financial advisers. Jorge Posada apparently lost $11MM and Jose Contreras $2.4MM to these “advisers.”

Yanks trade Cervelli; CYA winners announced

The Yanks traded backup C Francisco Cervelli to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for LH reliever Justin Wilson. Wilson, 27, was 3-4, 4.20 for the Pirates in 2014. He has a 2.99 career ERA.

Cervelli, 28, hit .301-2-13 with the Yanks in 2014, OPS+ 126 in 49 games. He is a .278 career hitter, OPS+ 97 for his career. His 162 g. average is .278-6-60. You wonder if, after the Biogenesis suspension, the Yanks were looking for just the right deal to dump him.

As for A-Rod, no dumping him. Too much $$$$. Not so with Cervelli.

The funny thing is that Pirates starting catcher, Russell Martin, is a free agent and now the Pirates have Chris Stewart and Cervelli, all three going from the Bronx to the “Burgh.”

This clears up a bit of a logjam that the Yanks had at catcher. Brian McCann remains the starter, but it appears as if John Ryan Murphy and Austin Romine will compete for the backup job, with the loser of the competition going to AAA to play there along with prospect Gary Sanchez.

The Yanks also signed a minor league lefty, 26 yr. old Jose De Paula, yesterday. De Paula is 33-27, 3.86 in his minor league career.

MLB announced the CYA winners yesterday. The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw won the NL CYA unanimously. It’s his second straight Cy Young award and third in four years. He finished second in 2012. The AL CYA winner was Corey Kluber of Cleveland.

 

A-Rod ‘fesses up, a tragedy, and Gardner gets surgery.

No surprise to anyone, but A-Rod ‘fessed up to the DEA in January that he was taking PED’s supplied by Biogenesis, with his cousin as the procurer. Then why all the denials, money paid to lawyers, lies, etc. What a waste. Imagine all the money he could have saved, not to mention his reputation, if he had just never done the stuff in the first place.

…and the Yanks have three more years of this guy. Their best bet is that he just retire, but that won’t happen, and the Yanks won’t just release him and eat $61MM. Alex can achieve three major milestones* this year: catching Willie Mays on the all-time HR list, RBI #2000 and hit #3000 but will anyone care? Maybe for all these achievements* they can give him a standing boo.

Sad news. Brad “Admiral” Halsey, who pitched for the Yanks in 2004 and was later included in a deal to net Randy Johnson for the Yanks, died in a recreational climibing accident. He was just 33.

Brett Gardner had surgery to repair a core muscle near his ribcage which hampered him at the end of the season.