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Does Brett Tomko make the team?

Posted by Steve S. at 7:16 pm 7 Responses »
Mar 202009

The battle for the last spot in the bullpen figures to be between Alfredo Aceves, Dan Giese and Brett Tomko. Here’s their numbers so far:

Aceves WL 1-0 ERA 5.40 IP 10.0 H 10 R 6 ER 6

Geise WL 0-1 ERA 5.84 IP 12.1 H 15 R 8 ER 8

Tomko WL 0-1 ERA 1.59 IP 11.1 H 8 R 2 ER 2

So far, its clearly Tomko in a landslide. However, many MLB players are slowly filtering back from the WBC so the final 2 weeks of spring training could be decisive.

Tomko has always been a league average pitcher at best. His stuff is good, he has a fastball and sinker that both run in the low-90′s and an underrated change-up plus a good curve. But his mental toughness has always been questioned, which is especially troubling coming to New York. He tends to be erratic and can lose the strike zone completely at times. I’m also not sure that he’ll fare any better as a reliever, his 07/08 splits show that he tends to get better as the game goes on, though those numbers could be skewed from nights where he simply didn’t have it. But looking at his Inning, Leverage and Role splits I see nothing to lead me to believe he’ll be any more effective as a reliever than he was as a starter. If he does make the team, I suspect his leash will be short, as will his stay here if he doesn’t perform.

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Jorge's Arm Strength "Wows" Girardi

Posted by Tom Gaffney at 5:30 pm 3 Responses »
Mar 202009

Mark Feinsand had a great story in the Daily News today about Posada’s arm.  In what could be the biggest Yankee news of the Spring (maybe even bigger than A-Rod’s injury, if you think about it), manager Joe Girardi said that Jorge’s arm strength, “nearly resembled regular-season form Thursday night.”

Girardi went on to gush that, “When he threw it, I went, ‘wow.’ That’s the expression I used when I looked at Tony (Pena). He said he felt great, and that was really positive.”  He concluded by saying that everything with the valuable catcher’s recovery is exactly on schedule and there are no shoulder issues whatsoever.  I don’t know about you, but that kind of news psyches me up.  Getting the real Jorge Posada back behind the plate is incredibly important.

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The Beltran Haunting

Posted by Chris H. at 4:11 pm 13 Responses »
Mar 202009

Eric Seidman at FanGraphs has a great read up in which he assesses Carlos Beltran’s underlying value to the Mets. In the end, the findings are very clear — offensively and defensively, Carlos Beltran is a terrific baseball player. In fact, from a contractual standpoint, even though he was awarded a 7-year deal worth $119 million following his 2004 season, he’s actually being underpaid (average annual value) in relation to his win value.

Now, in 2004, Scott Boras actually called the Yankees and offered Beltran to them at a discounted price (so, less than the $119 million). However, wary of the luxury tax implications, the team decided to upgrade their pitching staff instead, as they acquired Randy Johnson.

In 2005, Johnson had a good year with the Yankees while Beltran barely produced for the Mets. I’m sure fans would have been disappointed in the Beltran over Johnson decision, if it had occurred (at least in that year). Nonetheless, Beltran would have been the better long-term investment, since he has produced ever since the first year of his mega-contract.

Right now, I think the decision haunts the team. Currently, Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera are both vying for CF. Imagine what the team would have looked like if they had avoided the Johnson move and signed Beltran (and at a discount)? They’d be in a much better place today (offensively and defensively). Hindsight — it’s a killer.

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Burnett a bad influence?

Posted by Chris H. at 2:00 pm 13 Responses »
Mar 202009

From Bryan Hoch (MLB):

Chien-Ming Wang may not share A.J. Burnett’s fervor for tattoos, saying that his mother would kill him if he were ever caught inking up his body.

But the Yankees teammates have found plenty of other subjects to discuss this spring.

One of the points that Burnett has stressed to Wang since arriving in camp has been the urgency of developing his other pitches, playing off a bowling-ball sinker that has been regarded as one of the league’s best.

The suggestion is not a new one for Wang, who was tinkering with his offspeed pitches leading up to a season-ending injury last season. But hearing it from a power pitcher like Burnett may ratchet up the intensity of the message.

“A.J. told me a lot about changing speeds,” Wang said. “More changeups, more sliders.”

Although Wang has attempted to “evolve” as a pitcher and supplement his sinker by incorporating his secondary pitches — a move that has lead to an increase in his strikeout rate — you have to wonder whether this is wise, especially since he has seemingly sacrificed some control in order to do so. Again, if it’s not broke, why fix it? The sinker has been Wonder Wang’s bread and butter and, while I’m fine with mixing it up, especially against lefties, you shouldn’t venture too far from what made you successful, right? Who cares if its somewhat unconventional — it works.

Therefore, you have to question A.J.’s advice. Sure, he means well, but it’s different strokes for different folks and all pitchers have varying styles. In his most recent outing, Wang “grounded” the Astros, inducing 10 groundouts with his boring ol’ sinker. It’s not the sexiest pitch in the AL, however, you can’t argue with its overall effectiveness. Obviously, it’s fine if Wang is making subtle pitching style alterations in order to keep hitters honest, though he shouldn’t alter his style in a drastic (and detrimental) fashion (where the slider becomes as prominent as the sinker).

This brings me the following post from Pete Abraham (LoHud):

Wang said he has talked more to Burnett this spring as their lockers are closer together.“What does A.J. tell you?” I asked.

“Bad things,” Wang said as everybody laughed.

Might Wang get a few tattoos like his new buddy?

“No,” he said, eyes wide. “My Mom would kill me.”

“Bad things,” huh? Maybe Wang wasn’t referring to tattoos. Maybe he was referring to A.J.’s pitching advice?

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Should Melky Make The Team?

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 11:57 am No Responses »
Mar 202009

Yesterday, Joe Girardi suggested that Brett Gardner has not yet won the center field job, and went out of his way to praise the work that Melky Cabrera has done thus far in camp. Mark Feinsand had the following to say:

“I’m happy with the way Melky is playing; he’s really started to swing the bat,” Girardi said. “They’ve both played at a very high level. Gardy started a little quicker, but to me, they’re both playing at a very high level right now. It’s been a fun competition to watch.”
Gardner’s numbers (.382, three homers, six RBI, .447 on-base percentage) give him an edge over Cabrera, who is batting .242 with three extra-base hits, five RBI and a .342 on-base average. But Cabrera – who is out of minor-league options – appears to have done enough to make him the Yankees’ fourth outfielder, sharing backup duties with Nick Swisher.

Firstly, I do not know where Feinsand got the idea that Swisher has already been relegated to the bench, being that I have not seen anything from Yankee management to suggest that the competition in right field was over. Furthermore, there is no circumstance under which Melky Cabrera will be good enough to share anything with Nick Swisher. More to the point, Feinsand seems to believe that Melky’s solid spring, combined with the fact that he is out of options, makes him a good bet to make the team. The obvious question is, does Melky have a role on this team?

A fifth outfielder needs to be either exceptional at one thing or solid at everything, and Melky satisfies neither of those things. He is a solid fielder, but he is not that fast and adds nothing at the plate. Basically, he is not a legitimate pinch hitter or pinch runner, and I foresee no circumstance under which he would replace Gardner for defensive purposes. His sole role on the team would be to play center field when Gardner is pinch hit for by either Nady or Swisher.

While the Yankees do not have any obviously better options on the current roster, there is one free agent who can be had cheaply and who would be a great fit. I think the Yankees should sign Jim Edmonds to fill that final roster spot. He would be excellent in a part time role, as he is still a very good hitter and is adequate at all outfield positions. He certainly brings a lot more to the table than Melky Cabrera.

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No trades for Milwaukee

Posted by Chris H. at 11:54 am No Responses »
Mar 202009

Yesterday, Tom Hardicourt spoke with Brewers GM, Doug Melvin (props to MLBTR), and asked him about the reemergence of the Mike Cameron-Yankees rumor that we heard from Jayson Stark. According to Melvin, the Brew Crew isn’t discussing trades with anyone and Cameron’s name hasn’t come up.

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Mo and Edwar Looking Ready, Bruney Struggles

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 10:06 am No Responses »
Mar 202009

Yesterday’s spring training game against the Blue Jays was filled with a bunch on interesting performances by players that will make the big league roster.

1) Mariano Rivera is not like the rest of us. Another perfect inning from Rivera, this one forcing him to use just five pitches, confirms that assessment. Mo is ready for Opening Day, and there is no reason to believe that he will not have a typical Rivera season.

2) Edwar Ramirez has yet to allow a run this spring training. Barring a total collapse or re-aggravation of his injury, he will make the club.

3) Brian Bruney continued a rough spring, as he walked 4 batters in 1.1 innings. He claims that he has used this time to work on pitches due to his being all but guaranteed a roster spot. I hope that he is telling the truth, because his failures will only embolden the cries for Joba to go to the bullpen.

4) AJ Burnett struggled with his stuff for the first time, and still only allowed 1 run in 3.1 innings. He is going to be spectacular this season. He really seems motivated to show that he has matured as a pitcher.

5) The Nady-Swisher battle for right field is heating up. Both players have their batting averages in the .280′s, although Swisher is reaching base a lot more often while Nady has shown significantly more pop. I would guess that the Yankees will choose Swisher’s patient approach and better defense for the every day job, while keeping Nady’s pop in reserve on the bench. But at this point, Joe Girardi has not really given any clues as to his plans, and I would not be shocked at all if Nady won the job.

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