Would be really nice for the future if the Yankees get can something out of Pineda and Banuelos that even comes close to their potentials Pretty scarey thinking next years Rotation could be CC, Nova, Phelps ? ? !
I think if they go slow Pineda and not screw with him like they did Joba, he has a good shot of turning out....Obviously CC is legit, I really think they should signed Hughes this offseason as well..... Lastly I love Phelps I hope they buy out his arbitration years, the way the Sox did Pedoria.....Plus they have a few pieces on the farm that are developing....Pitching actually will be okay, much better outlook than their position players.... Betances has been pitching well this ST, I wonder if now is as good as time as any to bring him up and try him in the pen....Listen you either have it or you don't, don't get me wrong you can develop situational pitching but going on 25, the door is closing.... Sometimes you have to be thrown into the lions den is see...
I think Pineda is a real question mark and mystery. He had a pretty serious shoulder injury (I heard it was a bit unique as it wasn't a normal tear). Obviously any injury to a shoulder is serious and there's really not a long history of success rate, like there is of TJ surgery, with the type of surgery he had. I believe only Gil Meche had a surgery similiar to Pineda that ended up being fine in the end. Again not saying Pineda will be bad or good, kind of a wait and see type thing. But yes the Yankees should and probably will take it extremely slow with Pineda. I wouldn't be shocked or surprised if he doesn't or barely pitches in the majors this year. As for Banuelous, he should be fine as again TJ surgery has a high success rate nowadays the only negative with him is that he's never had a full season where he stayed healthy and will have missed almost two full years of pitching due to this injury. He's still young enough however I think lowering expectations of him at the moment would be smart. Regarding Betances, he was truly awful last year so I can't see how a few games in ST would or could erase that, he's actually better off starting the year in the minors in low pressure situations and working his way up. Otherwise you risk ruining him for good.
Tex is cooked for the year, not officially but the writing is on the wall.... Translation is he will give it the ole college try end of May, it will still be hurt and they will have to get season ending surgery.... He should just get it now to have more time to rehab but you know don't want to panic Yankee Nation or anything..... I would advise Yankee fans to just enjoy Rivera this year, whether he pitches good or bad because the last home game is probably going to be the last home game of his career...
Wow pretty big shocker if he's out for the year. Imagine someone just hitting off a tee in March and then being out for the year. It's fair to now question his already questionable long term future too with that wrist injury and his 4 straight years of declining stats.
I was already 2 years ago....he will always play good defense so that helps but as far as money and years go absolutely bad contract....hopefully they learn from it...
Yes him playing good defense is absolutely a plus but as you know him playing good defense doesn't justify him getting 22.5M a year for the next 4 years. I do think now is the time to officially be worried about Teixeira. I'm not saying the guy is done by any means but possible wrist surgery for a guy who has seen his numbers drop in each year since 2007 doesn't give much hope. And frankly I'm pretty surprised at Teixeira's decline. Obviously I'm getting way ahead of myself but the 2014 Yankees possibly without Cano and Granderson and with Arod and Teixeira as the major forces in the line up would scare the stuffing out of me if I were a Yankee fan. But again getting way ahead of myself. Maybe the Yankees should have offered Teixeira and Sabathia to the Dodgers after all.... (I'm kidding of course).
Mattingly retired because of his wrist....and very serious injury indeed.....you know my feeling on Tex, I think he used roids (nothing to back it up) but the sharp decline in numbers followed by his body breaking down the way it did/does only reminds me of Gimabi and well you know how he ended up..... I said it last year Fink, that I believed this was going to be the last year (2013) where they would be ok and compete and could see them drop off for a few years going forward IF they plan on sticking to this 189 model and below.... Honestly I enjoy it though, the current state of the Yanks is so boring to me to watch, the same retreads failing on the grand stage because they are old and washed up....it would be nice to watch some young hungry kids for once whether they win or lose...It would be nice to keep the picks and have full drafts instead of signing free agents....building for the sustainable future is better than this that they got going now.....that is after all how they actually became a dynasty in the 90's...not free agents...
Anything to get Nunez more playing time in the infield is fine with me. I see zero negatives in giving the starting SS job to Nunez for the year.
Not sure how true this is but I've heard there are close to 90 names of major and minor league players wth ties to Biogenesis. This could be the Mitchell Report Part 2.
There is still an obvious problem with roids in baseball.....it hasnt gone away and everybody ESPECIALLY MLB looks so foolish.... Braun they want because they had and they just screwed up and he threw it in baseballs face, but A-Rod...he lied and that shouldn't be tolerated....
Well the MLB is starting blood testing soon, that should help a little bit until the doctors figure out how to beat those tests. But you're right PEDs are still being used in the MLB but I do believe the testing is legit, unlike the NBA for example. It's just that the doctors are and will always be one step ahead of the testers.
right I believe they are legit no question, but nobody really cares about the punishment...so they got to make it harsher I guess....how else would they deter it.... Also lol at Han-Ram out for 2 months DIVING in the WBC and injuring his wrist....wtf?!?! the guy doesn't even dive for his MLB team, nevermind some useless "tournament"
I wouldn't say no one cares about the punishment. They just take stuff that doesn't show up in tests. And bad timing with Arod being hurt, because with Hanley being out the Yankees might have had a shot at trading Arod to the Dodgers. I'm semi kidding/semi serious.
I'm telling you if this was 2005 I'd be scared as hell of this Yankee roster, now it's just kind of puzzling and a bit funny. I mean I don't care if you can get Vernon Wells for free, my question is why? EDIT: Now reports are saying the Yankees will be paying anywhere between 10 to 14 million for Wells.
$6.5M/yr on the books for Vernon...just silly. Agree about on paper and how this Free approach would still make one scratch their head, but maybe somehow magically all the planets and stars align and wonderment ensues...but I just dont see this year as being a fun one to watch and experience. There just isnt that much magic in the air.....just cant be with this offense. The Arms (Starting - Relief - Closer) should all produce and be relatively fine just like they were in the playoffs....but this offense....how much magic and gelling do they foresee to expect this to pay off??
Yeah the Yankees just seem like a team with no real plan or approach. I mean I get they want to get under the luxury tax stuff so their offseason was a bit of a mess (kind of like the Red Sox last year where they signed a bunch of guys to really cheap 1 year deals like Ross, Padilla, Aaron Cook etc). But I really don't get the Vernon Wells move, I mean he hasn't really been good since 2008 and it's not like he's being picked up for his defense as that's slipped as he's gotten older. I know his career splits vs. LHPs are good but if you look at the last few years they have been bad. It's just such a weird move, I simply don't get it. A Melky Mesa or Ben Francisco at a fraction of the cost couldn't put up the same numbers Wells has in the last few seasons? It just seems like the team is just snake bitten this year, between the random freak injuries to older guys starting to feel their age. I mean again it's March 25th so it's way too early to write the team off but things don't look great right now. Like I said before there's not 1 team in the AL East that I would bet on or against right now. He says he's fine but who knows. And no Vernon Wells is not better than Ellsbury right now. Not even a hurt Ellsbury.
This is what I am ultimately pissed about....try some kids out!! Now is the time with all the injuries to just plug some kids in there and have a go, regardless of the outcome....him, Chris Dickerson, whomever I would rather see than Vernon Wells...
Yeah especially when the Yankees want to decrease their payroll. I get that the Angels are paying most of the salary but according to reports the Yankees will be paying anywhere from 10M to 14M for Wells, that price is just unreal. I mean honestly if I were a Yankee fan I'd be screaming about some of the moves/non moves they made this offseason. Just doesn't seem like there's a real direction or plan.
The moves they made though don't concern me, thus my expectation for them is low for the next few years as long as they do the right thing ie continue to build their farm system, and don't hand out huge contracts to people besides Cano (although I am lukewarm on him).... The Wells move I don't like and it does suck I agree but next year it really isn't going to matter because they will be under that 189 mark and he is gone after that.... They are scraping the bottom of the barrel, they don't want to get into long term contracts, I get that.....make no mistake the transition from the old guard to the new is starting this year...there is nothing out there that I would want them to do as far as free agent moves is concerned this past off-season....honestly a bunch of trash got overpaid is all that happened and I am glad they stayed away from it....it is what it is.... people keep harping about for the money they would rather have Swisher....come on yes me too, but Swisher wasn't signing a 2 year deal, he wanted 5 and got 4.....if the Yanks offered 3 at the same price he was still walking....it is easy to say I would rather have this or that, but also it is the free agent too... By the end of next year (2014) this team will be distractedly different, now if they can just find a buyer for A-Rod I think the fans need to pipe it down as far as World Series or bust, they AREN'T that team anymore, they need a make over.....if it takes a few years to get the house in order and not make the playoffs I would rather see that then, going into October with what they had the past few years which is a deathly flawed team offensively...
It gets worse Sweeny Murti is reporting there MIGHT be prospects now too..... How do you go from the Yankees having all the leverage to now they give up prospects AND pay 13M .......mindblogging, makes me wonder if Cashman has lost his marbles....
I think the bigger concern is why let Russell Martin go and then trade for Vernon Wells? I get that Martin isn't anything special but he does play a premium position and he might bat around .220ish but because of the position he plays he still brings some value and is clearly better than the Frankie Stewart platoon. So instead of having an everyday catcher you have a back up 4th OFer? That doesn't make sure. I think Yankee fans will miss Swisher though. Yeah he's not a superstar and he has his brain fart moments on the bases and in the field but he was a switch hitter that took pitches and hit HRs, something the Yankees don't have much of anymore. Yeah I get he didn't hit in October (no one did) but he was valuable to the team. I'm not saying the Yankees should have given him the contract that he got with Cleveland, all I'm saying is he will be missed.
When did the Dodgers start making moves for the Yankees? Seriously though I say let's wait and see who is being dealt first. It's probably no one of any value.
Swisher would have wanted more than he got in Cleveland....so it is pretty much a dead issue, guess they have to find another Swisher...... Martin samething I think if they could have got him for 5-6M for 2 years they would have done that but the guy wanted 8M per.....but to go more than 2 years on him was dangerous....
Thank goodness WBC insurance program works... http://mlbbuzz.yardbarker.com/blog/mlbbuzz/article/how_wbc_insurance_works/13224415?new_post=true will save Yanks somewhere in the $7M-9M mark for Tex. also..while its only money.... Vernon Wells, despite his hefty contract, could actually help Yankees get under luxury tax threshold The Yankees will pay Wells $13 million over the next two years, but some fancy accounting could actually make it so the outfielder doesn't count against the team's luxury tax payroll figure at all in 2014 — or even better, earn them a credit. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...t-crush-yanks-article-1.1298453#ixzz2Oau5alen
BDH Buster Onley was saying on Twitter that the WBC pays the players not the team.....so isnt Tex double dipping??? Hold on I will try to find the tweet...
a nice 29-30 million dollar payday for ole Marky this year.... Man I wish the MLB system was like the NFL system....
No Teixeira isn't getting paid twice. Instead of the Yankees paying him, because he got hurt while "playing in" the WBC, the WBC is now paying his contract until he returns from the disabled list.
Also the Red Sox just released Lyle Overbay. It wouldn't shock me if the Yankees made a run at signing him as a defensive 1B. He's looked pretty bad in ST this year so far so I'm not sure how much is left in his tank but worth a shot I guess.
