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Blogfather Peter Abraham Leaves LoHud

Posted by Steve S. at 7:50 pm 11 Responses »
Sep 172009

Big news for all of us Yankee fans, Journal News Yankee beat reporter and author of the wildly popular LoHud Yankees blog just posted that he will be leaving for the Boston Globe. Turns out the rumors of his exit were true. Here’s his post:

So here it is: I’m leaving The Journal News after nearly 10 years and going to work for The Boston Globe.

I’ll be covering baseball — yes, the Red Sox — and blogging for Boston.com. The Globe approached me in August, right around the time my newspaper was going through some painful restructuring that you all heard about.

(snip)

Now I get a chance to move up again and live closer to my family. I’m the oldest child in my family and my mom and dad are retired. It means a lot to me to be around them and other members of my family. For years, they’ve been imploring me to come home and now seems like a good time.

I for one, will miss him. Pete’s a good guy, he was always great with answering e-mails about the team and added a link for our site the day I requested him to. People may quibble about his analysis (most of which was his opinion, like anyone else) but his news reporting was first rate and LoHud was the go-to blog for all breaking Yankee news. We take him for granted, but most beat writers aren’t half as dedicated as him, you don’t see the local newspaper’s Yankee beat reporters putting up posts at 2AM when some Yankee news breaks. But he did, and we as Yankee fans benefited from his diligence and dedication. We can only hope that his replacement does half the posting he did, and our loss is Boston’s gain. They will be getting the unfiltered, real time info we have come to take for granted.

Thanks Pete for the past 3 years, you did a great job and you will be missed.

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You Gotta Love Swish

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 4:19 pm 17 Responses »
Sep 172009

To be entirely honest, I waffled quite a bit on the whole Nick Swisher – Xavier Nady question in spring training. While Swisher had better career numbers and was more likely to be a fit in the Yankee lineup, He was coming off a career worst season. Conversely, Nady was coming off his best year, and was seemingly just hitting his stride. Joe Girardi picked Nady, and I found it difficult to quibble with the decision, as Girardi assured us that both players would see plenty of time. However, Nady got injured in the first week, and the rest is history. Swisher started out red hot, and excepting one prolonged slump in May, has put forth an excellent season. However, as the Anthony McCarron’s article from this morning’s Daily News displays, his impact in the clubhouse has been just as important:

“Nick’s got a different personality, I would say, than we’ve seen on this club,” Andy Pettitte says. “Nick loves to talk, that’s for sure. He’s been fun to be around and very respectful, still. It’s just been a good situation.”

“He’s had an impact on the clubhouse,” adds Johnny Damon, whose locker is next to Swisher’s. “When I came over, I mean, this place was kinda dead, you know? I almost had to watch everything I said. I didn’t want to upset anyone. But having characters in here has helped everyone. It’s kind of like how Kevin Millar helped me in Boston – we changed the way things were in Boston, but it took another guy to put it full throttle.

“It’s completely different in here now. It’s great, we’re in this new stadium and there’s a lot of room to have fun.”
[snip]
Swisher is regularly the most-fined player at the Yankees’ new Kangaroo Court, an every-so-often player meeting that metes out “justice” for infractions for such things as not wearing a shirt for television interviews. Swisher relishes his outlaw status – in a recent series in Baltimore, a shirtless Swisher asked reporters to wait a moment before starting an interview and turned to do a set of push-ups against his locker to “pump up” for the occasion.
[snip]
Swisher draws praise from the Yankees for his charity involvement – some in the organization say he is by far the most active player in good-will missions. He has his own foundation and regularly entertains kids from the Make-A-Wish Foundation who visit the Yankee dugout during batting practice.

He went without a haircut for 11 months in 2007 so he could donate his hair to a charity that makes wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments. His grandmother who raised him, Betty Swisher, a woman the Yankee calls the love of his life and inspiration, died of brain cancer in 2005.

Swisher treasures a picture that hangs in his locker of him sitting with Polly Tompkins, a 38-year-old first-grade teacher with melanoma who was the Yankees’ honorary bat girl during a charity drive this year. “She’s an inspiration,” Swisher says.

“Through life, the big man upstairs has given me so many things,” Swisher adds. “Whatever I can do to give people an opportunity or put a smile on their face, I really enjoy that.”

I strongly recommend that you read the entire article. It is a great profile of Swisher, and really shows how well he has fit into the clubhouse and changed the culture on a team that he become a bit too businesslike. As I said in the title, after reading this article, you gotta love Swish.

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Accountability Fail

Posted by Chris H. at 2:21 pm 12 Responses »
Sep 172009

From Bryan Hoch (MLB):

A.J. Burnett, who gets the ball Friday, has been more unreliable than expected in recent starts. While Burnett — 1-5 with a 6.14 ERA since the start of August — has maintained that he is “not concerned” and vows the Yankees will “be all right,” there are clearly crucial adjustments that he must make, avoiding the type of six-run innings that he served up to the Orioles in his last start.

“I’m throwing the ball where I want to for the most part,” Burnett said. “You eliminate a couple of mistakes and everything’s great.”

Over the past 30 days (5 starts), A.J. Burnett has given up 25 ER over 29 1/3 innings pitched, leading to a 1-3 record. During that time, he has a 7.67 ERA and a 5.68 FIP. Is it just me or is Burnett’s statement, that “[y]ou eliminate a couple of mistakes and everything’s great,” seem particularly weak? While his lack of focus is often frustrating, his lack of accountability (i.e., “I need to do more, I need to pitch a better ballgame”) is astounding.

A.J. does a lot of things well and he brings a lot to the team, however, I’m sure most of us would like to see his skills translate into some form of success as the season comes to a close. He’ll have three more starts—one tomorrow against King Felix—to try and figure it out before postseason play. Let’s hope that he “eliminates a couple of mistakes” and that “everything’s great.”

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Bullpen, rotation, or Scranton...

Posted by Chris H. at 11:33 am 35 Responses »
Sep 172009

From Joel Sherman (NY Post):

Chien-Ming Wang was lost for the year. Ian Kennedy is only now returning from aneurysm surgery. In the last year, Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke and Phil Hughes all have been moved from the rotation to the bullpen.This is essentially the equivalent of having a whole rotation taken out of play and is a major reason why the Yankees did not send Joba Chamberlain to the minors in August when his struggles and the Yanks’ desire to shorten his outings converged. Yankee officials tell me there was really no option but to have Joba continue to do his work in the majors because the club already was dealing with a fifth starter spot combo of Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin.

But it is worthwhile to remember heading into next year that Chamberlain does not have the divine right to a major league job. The Marlins sent down Ricky Nolasco this year and the Brewers sent down Manny Parra. Chamberlain still has options, which means he is going to get the first opportunity to start and some rope to keep a job. And it is important to remember that the Yanks believe Chamberlain is on the way to the top of a rotation. However, he will not have endless rope in 2010 when theoretically both Hughes and Kennedy will both be rotation options again.

I would not be surprised to see the Yankees begin 2010 with Joba Chamberlain in the Scranton rotation, rather than pitching at the big league level, in any capacity (bullpen or rotation). His future will ultimately depend on a number of elements, including whether or not they can bring Andy Pettitte back and whether or not Hughes will be a starter, as well. In addition, the Yankees could choose to strengthen their rotation through a free agent signing (e.g., John Lackey), adding a stabilizing force which would also influence Joba’s role next season.

Clearly, Joba Chamberlain’s future in 2010 will be contingent upon a variety of factors and nothing is guaranteed (or, at least, nothing should be guaranteed). His status, like the rotation, is in flux and that’s the way it should be, especially when you consider his turbulent 2009 season.

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Predicting free agent contracts, pt. 1

Posted by Chris H. at 9:15 am 31 Responses »
Sep 172009

Jon Heyman, along with an unnamed agent and general manager, offered a few contract predictions regarding the top 24 free agents for 2010. In the following mini-series, I’ve highlighted some of the more interesting names, including players that the Yankees will likely be interested in, and Yankees that will be granted free agency at the season’s end. The series begins with the top free agents available for 2010: 1) Matt Holiday, 2) Jason Bay, and 3) John Lackey.

Here are the contract predictions, via Jon Heyman, scout, and GM, juxtaposed with my own analysis.

1. Matt Holliday, Cardinals OF. St. Louis is going to try to keep Holliday, one of four big summer pickups who helped the Cardinals run away with the NL Central. The Cardinals are going to hope that he loves being in their baseball-crazed city to the point where he would forego bigger dollars elsewhere (Boston and both New York teams are likely interested). With franchise man Albert Pujols‘s contract up in two years and Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter in a year, the Cardinals don’t figure to be the high bidder. The agent said he believes that Holliday and Bay should each get $2 to $3 million a year less than Teixeira. But the GM said, “Teixeira’s a plus defender, a switch-hitter and slightly younger” than Holliday.

Agent: $147 million, 7 years.

GM: $80 million, 5 years.

Me: $120 million, 7 years.

Holliday is the crown jewel of the upcoming free agent class. Although he had a rough start to his season in the AL, he rebounded while with the A’s and ultimately hit .286/.378/.454 over 93 games. With the Cardinals, he’s sprinting towards the finish-line, as he has hit .363/.415/.659 since his NL return (he has 12 homers with them, too, 1 more then he had with the A’s while playing nearly 50 more games with Oakland). Holliday can hit, he can field, and he has surprising speed (14 SB on the year).

The Yankees will certainly look at him as a left field option in 2010, although with Hal Steinbrenner at the ship’s helm, I wonder if they would be willing to commit the years or dollars predicted by Heyman or the agent. I could see them paying $17 per over 6 years, but 7 might be a deal breaker. Conversely, I think the GM is undervaluing Holliday. If he were available at that price ($16 per over 5), then the Yankees would most definitely ink him to a deal.

2. Jason Bay, Red Sox OF. The Red Sox tried earlier, and Bay has said he loves playing in Boston, a stark change from Pittsburgh.

Agent: $147 million, 7 years.

GM: $60 million, 4 years.

Me: $80 million, 5 years.

I think Jason Bay is being tremendously overrated by the agent. While his offense is a plus, he’ll be 31 at the end of this season, whereas Matt Holliday will be 29 (no one is going to give him 7 years). I think the GM and Heyman have better predictions given Bay’s streaky offensive year. Bay has also been awful, defensively—a trend which began in 2007, after some leg problems—which significantly undermines his offensive value. I think the Yankees may look at him as a secondary option if they do decide to chase Matt Holliday, however, I don’t think they’ll pay top dollar for his poor defense. Heyman probably has the best prediction at $16 million per (he’ll be overpaid if he doesn’t figure out his fielding problems).

3. John Lackey, Angels pitcher. The Angels tried last winter at close to $60 million over four years, but Lackey said he signed a team-friendly deal last time and won’t do it again.

Agent: $75 million, 5 years.

GM: $60 million, 4 years.

Me: $85 million, 5 years.

Holliday, Bay and Lackey will be the biggest names available and, with the Yankees, they’re always in on the bigger names, so I had to discuss Lackey. Now, I don’t see the Yankees going after him—not after they gave a lot of money to CC Sabathia (deserving) and A.J. Burnett (undeserving). Still, Lackey is one of the better pitchers in baseball—he’s totally underrated—and could always become a legitimate option if Andy Pettitte chooses to retire (unlikely) or if the Yankees plan on starting the season with Joba or Hughes in the minors, so that they may continue to build up their innings, etc. (also unlikely). Also, if the Yankees choose to bring back Johnny Damon for left field and opt for the rotating DH idea, they could have money to burn on pitching.

Lackey should command the same $82.5 million that the Yankees gave to Burnett, which is a lot of money, obviously. Frankly, Lackey is a better pitcher than A.J. is, too, and will likely get a few more dollars because of it (Heyman’s $85 million prediction sounds about right). I do think that he’ll wind up on the Red Sox, though, which means you’ll inevitably read a number of reports about Yankee interest over the winter to drive up his price (reports concocted by Lackey’s agent and the Yankees).

These three players—Holliday, Bay and Lackey—stand as the cream of the 2010 free agent crop. You’ll probably hear that the Yankees are interested in all three during the course of the offseason, although one, in particular, seems like a really good fit (i.e., Matt Holliday) given the team’s needs and goals. Tomorrow, I’ll have more on some of the other free agents discussed in Heyman’s piece that could potentially play a part in the Yankees’ 2010 plans. So, stay tuned…

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