IMPORTANT BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT

PLEASE CHANGE YOUR BOOKMARKS AND FEEDS TO THE NEW URL, YANKEEANALYSTS.COM. TYU IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH THE NEW YORK YANKEES OR YANKEES UNIVERSE.

A-Rod Is "One Class Act"

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 4:00 pm 5 Responses »
May 302010

Because I know that this story will soon disappear into the ether and A-Rod will quickly go back to being a villain for daring to trod near a pitcher, I wanted to highlight it here. First, we hear from Chad Jennings:

When today’s game ended, Alex Rodriguez left Yankee Stadium and began making his way to New York-Presbyterian Hospital to check on David Huff. Before Rodriguez could get there, Huff was released from the hospital and was back with his teammates in time to catch the bus to the Indians hotel.

Rodriguez asked for Huff’s phone number so that he could call him this evening.

And then, from Huff’s Facebook page:

I’d like to thank the Yankees team doctors and our training for making sure i was ok. I’d also like to thank the NY Yankees security staff for taking care of my family, they were amazing. finally, to A Rod for contacting me on his way to the hospital, one class act. Everything is good. It was a little scary but I’m out of the hospital now and with my family. Thank you all for you concern and support.

Thankfully, Huff seems to be alright, which is shocking considering the ball ricocheted off his head into right field for a double. It was gentlemanly of Alex to jump in his car immediately after the game to track down Huff, and then to call him once he found out that the injured pitcher was already back at the Stadium. Alex does plenty of stupid things, but he does a lot of positive, likable things as well, such as his reaction this incident and his pulling a child out of the way of a truck in Boston a few years ago. The positive things simply do not get the sort of attention that the negative controversies do, and Alex comes off to most outside of New York as the source of all things evil. Hopefully, people around the game begin to recognize that Alex is not all that bad.

Tagged with: , ,

Sherman: Yankees To Pursue Lee In Offseason

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 1:00 pm 2 Responses »
May 302010

From Joel Sherman:

One AL executive went so far as to say last week, “I have no doubt that the Yankees will sign Cliff Lee.”

The assumption is logical. Javier Vazquez ($11.5 million) will come off the payroll, and Andy Pettitte ($11.75 million) contemplates retirement annually. Their combined salaries are roughly what it is going to take on an annual basis to secure Lee.

There is no doubt the Yankees front office is enamored of Lee. The Yankees can imagine going forward with Lee and his former Indians teammate, Sabathia, heading the rotation followed by A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes, and if he wanted to come back again, Pettitte. If not Pettitte, then the presence of horses such as Lee and Sabathia would more comfortably allow the Yankees to break in someone such as Ivan Nova as a low-cost No. 5 starter.

It has long been the contention of the writers here at TYU that the Yankees will focus their available money and resources for the 2010 offseason on Cliff Lee. It simply makes more sense than investing that money in a corner outfielder, particularly with Brett Gardner emerging as an adequate option in the outfield. Building an incredibly deep and talented rotation should be the priority for Brian Cashman this winter, and Sherman’s piece suggests that the Yankees have already begun scouting Lee in advance of their pursuit.

Sherman goes on to note that the Yankees are unlikely to acquire Lee during the 2010 season, a contention that I have to agree with. Starting pitching is unlikely to be a major issue for this club, as they should have at least 4 solid starters to depend on. Their in-season resources will likely be focused on building more depth for the lineup and the bullpen, and rightfully so. He suggests that a package would start with Jesus Montero and Joba Chamberlain, although I am uncertain as to what sort of value Joba has at this point. I would be loathe to trade Montero for a rental player, particularly one that seems determined to reach free agency under all circumstances.

Finally, speaking of Montero, Sherman has a brief blurb on him that, if accurate, further cements his status as practically untouchable:

Montero has endured a tepid offensive start this season. But the Yankees have come to strongly believe that his defense has improved and he will catch in the majors. A veteran scout backed up that thinking, saying, “His body looks better, leaner, and he is moving better and quicker behind the plate. He also is throwing much better. He has shown indications he can catch.”

I would take quotes from unnamed scouts with a grain of salt, but Sherman seems to be echoing the comments of some other evaluators who have found that the team itself believes Montero will defend well enough to catch in the majors. That sort of belief should make him untouchable, particularly in a deal for someone like Lee. For that reason, Lee is unlikely to be a Yankee in 2010. 2011, however, may very well see him pitching in pinstripes.

Tagged with: , , , , ,

What's the next move with Joba?

Posted by Steve S. at 10:18 am 23 Responses »
May 302010

Photo courtesy of the NY Daily News

The level of disgust in Yanklee land directed at Joba Chamberlain is palpable these days. Bill Madden referred to yesterday’s outing as “Comic relief”. The NY Post has a new nickname for Joba, calling him ‘Chamber-Lame’. Even his (always measured with the media) manager Joe Girardi effectively laid down the gauntlet in yesterday’s post game, and the frustration in his voice was evident. He said this:

“We had the game where we wanted, we had our eighth-inning guy in, we needed four outs from him … and he left pitches in the middle of the plate. He just didn’t make the pitches when he had to. Players aren’t going to be bulletproof, but he’s had some bad outings. He’s our eighth-inning guy and he’s got to get it done for us.”

Yesterday may have been the nadir of Joba’s 2010 campaign, but it wasn’t just one bad outing in isolation. He’s given up a whopping 10 ER in his last 5 IP. He’s currently sporting a 5.82 ERA and has allowed 3 runs or more in 3 of his past 5 outings. Some questioned the move by Girardi, but if you don’t bring him in there you never will. The next three batters were all right handed, and there were two outs in the inning. If he’s supposed to be the ‘Bridge to Mariano’ then he has to be able to preserve a 4 run lead with 2 men on base.

Mike Axisa of RAB has long hinted at sending him back to the minors as a much needed wake up call, and while I understand his rationale I’m not quite there yet. My take is to go in phases, burying him in the bullpen first and letting him earn his demotion step by step. He’s potentially too valuable to just give up on, and all relievers (non-Mariano division) struggle from time to time. One of the top candidates to replace Joba would be David Robertson, who’s just getting past his own early season struggles from April of this year. But that being said, I know where Mike A is coming from. Anyone who has observed Joba’s jiggling midsection as he jogs from the bullpen knows he’s not taking things as seriously as he needs to. There have long been questions about his conditioning and that was likely a big factor in why Joba lost out on the starting role to Phil Hughes this past spring. Success came very quickly and far too easily for Joba, and now he needs to learn the type of commitment it takes to maintain success at this level. If not, then he’ll just be another guy with a great arm who was a flash in the pan in the bigs.

What do you think? What’s your next move with Joba?

Tagged with:
© 2011 TYU Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha