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Guest Post: Memorable Blunders: Kazmir for Zambrano

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 2:55 pm 2 Responses »
Feb 132011

This is a guest post from John W., who won our Super Bowl Sunday Trivia contest.

One of the best baseball books I have recently been reading is Rob Neyer’s The Big Book of Baseball Blunders. It discusses the stories behind some of baseball’s most famous blunders, real (Washington leaving Walter Johnson in to lose the 1925 World Series) and imagined (Pete Gray costing St. Louis the 1945 pennant, which did not happen). In the book, a blunder is not simply a decision that turned out badly; it also has to have been very questionable from the moment it happened.

The Yankees losing Game 4 of the 2003 World Series on an Alex Gonzalez walkoff home run was not a blunder by itself. The blunder was Joe Torre refusing to use Mariano because it wasn’t a save situation, instead pitching Jeff Weaver. The Nolan Ryan and Jay Buhner trades were not blunders, while the Amos Otis and Fred McGriff deals were.

The aforementioned 2003 blunder is the last one covered in the book, which was published in 2006. The major omission at the time was Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, which was noted in a few chats. I can’t find the exact quote Neyer used in response, which kills me, but he noted that the trade would only be a major blunder if the Mets lost a division title by a game or two. How eerily prescient.

Let’s flash back to July 30, 2004. The Mets are currently 49-53, 7 games behind Atlanta in the NL East, and 7.5 games back of San Diego in the wild card standings. This is not a buying team by any means. While the team’s ERA+ is a respectable 105, their OPS+ is 87. Yet interim GM Jim Duquette makes two trades for Kris Benson and Zambrano.

(On an historical note, the Mets gave up Jose Bautista in the Benson deal. But Bautista was on his 5th team that season, and had just been acquired that day from Kansas City for Justin Huber. And Pittsburgh had actually lost him to Baltimore in the Rule 5 deal. It took 5 more seasons for him to break out. Not a blunder.

The Benson deal was essentially a wash for both teams; while Benson and Jeff Keppinger only posted a 0.1 WAR combined for the Mets, Bautista and Ty Wigginton managed -1.7 WAR combined for Pittsburgh. The third player the Mets traded, Matt Peterson, is still active in the Florida organization, but has yet to make the majors.

Two other pitchers were also involved in the Zambrano deal. But the other pitcher the Mets received, Bartolome Fortunato, would only pitch 21.2 innings for the team, and Jose Diaz, the other Met pitcher traded, would surface in the ML with Kansas City in 2006. Both are now pitching in the Mexican leagues.)

There was no reason for the Mets to make the Zambrano deal. Yes, to the traditionalists Zambrano wasn’t a bad pitcher; it was thought that he was the ace of a bad team that would thrive with a contender. (Pitching coach Rick Peterson claimed that he could fix everything wrong with Zambrano in 10 minutes, and that Kazmir was at least 3 years away from being major league ready.) His ERA of 4.47, while not great, could be explained as pitching in the toughest division in the AL, and his SO/9 of 7.0 was above average.

But using better stats would disprove this. His walk rate per 9 was 5.4, over 2 higher than league average. Only Nolan Ryan could get away with walking so many batters, and he’s laughably overrated anyway. Zambrano didn’t strike out nearly enough guys to compensate, as exhibited by his 1.29 SO/BB rate. His WHIP was 1.49, also below average. And even using traditional stats, in 2004 he led the AL in walks, hit batsmen, and wild pitches. And remember that he only played 4 out of 6 months in the AL.

Bottom line – not a pitcher worth a highly-touted prospect. Even given TINSTAPP. Another question asked of Neyer was why he did not include Detroit’s 1987 trade of John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander. By every conceivable stat, the Tigers lost that deal. But without Alexander, the team would not have made the playoffs in 1987. Fans forget how good Alexander was, even at age 36; in the five prior seasons he posted a 118 ERA+ and a 1.22 WHIP. And Smoltz, while only 20 and in AA, had a 1.63 WHIP and walked close to 6 batters a game. It was only the next year in AAA that he broke out.

A good GM, at the time, would make that deal in a heartbeat. But Zambrano wasn’t nearly as good as Alexander, and Kazmir wasn’t nearly as bad as Smoltz in the minors. Kazmir was also 20 and in AA, and in 4 starts had a sub-1 WHIP. Even discounting the small sample size, in A+ he had a 1.42 WHIP. While not great, he was striking out over 9 batters per 9, and his SO/BB was above 2 the whole season.

The trade would immediately backfire in a matter of weeks, as Kazmir would debut for Tampa Bay on August 23. (He pitched 5 scoreless innings and picked up the W.)  Zambrano would only start 3 games for the Mets that season as the team quickly folded to finish 71-91, 25 games behind Atlanta. Duquette was fired at season’s end, to be replaced by Omar Minaya.

In 2005 the Mets finished 6 games out of the wild card. Kazmir posted a 3.7 WAR to Zambrano’s 0.6. 3 games alone wouldn’t have made up the difference between them and Houston. But having Jose Reyes lead off nearly every game with a .300 OBP, playing Miguel Cairo (-0.3 WAR) more than Kaz Matsui (0.5), and giving Kaz Ishii 16 starts to the tune of a -0.9 WAR (Jae Seo had a 2.4 in fewer innings pitched) didn’t help either.

Where this gets serious is in 2006. Kazmir made the All-Star team and, in the AL East, had a 4.4 WAR. Zambrano tore a tendon in his elbow, but in 21.1 innings had a -0.4 WAR. The Mets made the NLCS, but lost to St. Louis in 7. A playoff series is a crapshoot, but if Kazmir were a Met they would have had a much better shot of winning.

Every Met fan will remember 2007’s Collapse and 2008’s Collapse II. Neither would have happened with Kazmir. (Zambrano would pitch for Toronto and Baltimore in 2007, and has not appeared in an ML game since.)

2007: Mike Pelfrey and Jorge Sosa make 28 starts and combine for a -0.3 WAR. Kazmir has his best season ever to the tune of a 5.8. Six extra wins, and the Mets clinch early in September instead of blowing a 7 game lead.

2008: Pedro Martinez only produces a 0.5 WAR in 20 starts, and spot starter Nelson Figueroa subtracts 0.1. Kazmir has a weaker season than the previous 3, but still gets a 3.5. Three more wins avert the second collapse.

Yes, right now Kazmir sucks hard. Over the last 2 seasons he has posted a combined -0.1 WAR for Tampa Bay and Anaheim. And he’s no longer cheap. Last year he made around $8 million, and he was worth $-3 million.

But for the four years he was both cheap and a (Devil) Ray, he was worth $59.5 million. And the Mets would have made a hell of a lot more real money in the playoffs with him. Their window of opportunity was only open for a few seasons, and with the current situation it’s unlikely the Mets will be contenders in the near future. When Rob Neyer updates his book, the first addition should be Kazmir-for-Zambrano.

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How Quickly Things Change

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 5:00 pm 2 Responses »
Feb 092011

As many of you know, I am a fan of the Green Bay Packers. In recent years, the General Manager of the Packers, Ted Thompson, has turned into a wildly controversial figure in the Packers fan community. There is a large segment of the fanbase that hates Thompson, with much of that sentiment stemming from the Brett Favre situation. Even putting the Favre situation aside, many feel that he is too conservative in his decision-making, as he generally eschews free agency and focuses on building through the draft. The last major free agent the Packers signed was Charles Woodson, who inked a 7 year deal in April of 2006. I really cannot stress enough how much this has annoyed some Packers fans over the last few seasons, who felt that the team was a free agent or two away from contending in a number of those seasons.

I have a friend who, like me, is a fan of the Packers and Yankees, but he differed from me in his opinion of Ted Thompson. I think Thompson is a solid GM with a good eye for talent, while my buddy was in the “fire Ted Thompson” camp. This morning, I received the following text from him:

Starting to really like Ted Thompson. The Blackhawks gave away their whole future just to get Hossa who is now breaking down. Draft and develop, and sign earlier rather than later for cheaper is the way to go for any franchise not named the Yankees.

Packers fans across the country have echoed this sentiment, issuing mea culpas in the aftermath of the Packers Super Bowl victory. It is a shocking turnaround considering the fact that 7 weeks ago, after a loss to the Lions, most of these people called for Thompson to be fired. Perception changes rapidly in sports, and one spurt of success can erase 5 years of bad blood.

Similarly, Brian Cashman is getting battered from all sides by fans and media alike for what is perceived to be a terrible offseason. He has been unwilling to trade his top prospects for a quick fix, and this strategy has left him with a large hole at the back of his rotation. It seems fairly certain that the Yankees will be seen as one of the losers of the offseason, and that Cashman will be glossing over these last few months on his resume.

Yet, if in 3 seasons, the Yankees win the World Series with Manny Banuelos and Phil Hughes in the rotation, Joba Chamberlain and Dellin Betances in the bullpen, and Jesus Montero mashing in the middle of the order, we might look back on this offseason in an entirely different light. Much like the failed pursuit of Johan Santana was bemoaned at the time but has subsequently come to be viewed as an unqualified positive for the organization, Cashman’s unwillingness to trade the farm for anything but elite talent may undergo a similar reevaluation in the future. Instead of looking upon this offseason as the one in which Cliff Lee got away, we might remember it as the year Cashman held on to the next wave of Yankee stars. It may strike you as unlikely, but if Packers fans can embrace Ted Thompson, anything can happen.

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Manuel: Montero Can Be Adequate Defensively

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 5:00 pm 7 Responses »
Feb 072011

John Manuel of Baseball America recently did an interview
with NoMaas, and made a number of interesting statements over the course of his remarks. The one I found most compelling was his opinion on Jesus Montero’s defense:

The consensus is (and frankly has been for the last two years) that Montero has improved, but will never be an average defender.
He’s got plus raw arm strength, but a slow, inconsistent release. He’s become more flexible and agile behind the plate, but is who he is — a behemoth for a catcher. He’s just big, in a better way now, but still big. I believe he can catch in the majors, but it would always be “adequate,” and he would be an asset for his offense, not his defense.
Comparing him to Mike Piazza, he has a better arm but is a lesser receiver. He’s never been held up as a guy who is great at handling pitchers, either.

Check out the remainder of the interview, as Manuel is very candid in his assessments and NoMaas asks some strong questions. As for Jesus, I recently suggested that the Yankees might be better off just sticking Montero at DH and forgetting about him for the next 10 seasons, but that contention was based upon the premise that Montero will be an awful defender. If he can be adequate or even moderately below average behind the plate, it is almost certain that he would provide more value to the club in both the short-term and long-term as a catcher. It seems like the Yankees believe that he can meet that standard, and I expect them to give him a chance to be the starting catcher on Opening Day 2012, and possibly sooner if Russell Martin does not work out.

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Andy Pettitte To Retire

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 3:00 pm 10 Responses »
Feb 032011

Capping off a tumultuous offseason in which the Yankees seemed to have been denied every player they really wanted, Andy Pettitte has decided to retire. While we can hold out hope that Andy changes his mind at some point and joins the club for the second half ala Roger Clemens, this leaves the Yankees with very little margin for error in their rotation. They need CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and AJ Burnett to pitch well, and have to get decent production from at least one of their young pitchers or reclamation projects. They still project to win about 90 games and to be better than the other wild card contenders, but the gap between them and their closest competitors is very slim, such that one injury to a top 3 starter could really hurt their chances of making the postseason. There is no way to spin this as anything other than a blow to the Yankees championship hopes.

As for Andy, he is a fan favorite here in New York, and rightfully so. For many of us, watching him blossom from a prospect into a rotation stalwart was an important element of the beginning of our Yankee fandom, as Ben Kabak eloquently notes:

I grew up with Andy Pettitte. I was 12 and he was 23 when he came up to pitch in the Majors. I saw him morph from a prospect to a team leader and a stalwart in the rotation. I’ll certainly miss his stare, his familiar leg kick, his pick-off move and the fact that he would pitch every five days and give it his all. We’re all growing up and getting older, and it just won’t be the same in the Bronx without him.

There will be a lot of eulogizing done over the next few days, both for Andy’s career and for the Yankees 2011 season. Discussions of Andy’s Hall of Fame worthiness are likely to dominate the former, while gratuitous shots at Brian Cashman and the Yankee front office are likely to characterize the latter. We will address these issues over the next few days. For now, let’s just tip our caps to a great Yankee. Andy Pettitte will be missed.

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Cash Preaches Patience With Prospects

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 5:00 pm 6 Responses »
Feb 022011

From Joel Sherman:

So who knows what happens when their two best pitching prospects, Manuel Banuelos and Dellin Betances, begin throwing in spring, particularly in light of the Yanks’ hunger for quality starting pitching.

However, for now, GM Brian Cashman is firm that Banuelos and Betances are not part of major league plans for 2011 either out of spring training or during the season.

“They shouldn’t be caught up in our major league problems,” Cashman told me. Translation: No matter how short the rotation might be, it is not up to two inexperienced pitchers to solve the mess caused by Cliff Lee’s rejection and Andy Pettitte continued defection. Banuelos and Betances have each made three career starts at Double-A, which is the highest level they have attained. Both had injuries last year that severely restricted their workload. So you can expect that the Yanks will institute an innings cap not much above 130 – if that high. With that the case, it would be hard to begin or end the year with either Banuelos or Betances in the rotation. In addition, Cashman stressed that Banuelos is just 19 (he turns 20 next month).

Neither pitcher is entirely ready for the majors, although Keith Law believes that Banuelos is very close. That said, I can already see how spring training will play out if either guy performs well. People will see the hotshot prospect throwing heaters next to Freddy Garcia’s soft-tossing and Bartolo Colon’s waistline and will suggest that the Yankees go with the young arm in the rotation. While that would be the more exciting and interesting decision, Cashman is right to be opposed to any such move.

Handing a major league job to a pitcher who has yet to see significant time in AA is a recipe for disaster. The Yankees would likely see marginal gain at best from starting the prospect over the veteran, and there is a distinct possibility that the prospect would be awful and actually cost the team more than Freddy Garcia might. Additionally, there is a nonzero chance that rushing the prospect into the rotation would stunt his development and cost the Yankees a valuable asset.

Showing patience with prospects is incredibly difficult, particularly when the alternatives are guys who were last effective 3 or 4 seasons ago. But building a farm system requires a deft hand, as pushing players too quickly or moving them along too slowly could upset the delicate balance of talent and health that goes into building a professional baseball player. When it comes to Banuelos and Betances, having them start the season in the majors would be a poor decision built upon desperation, and could very well hurt the franchise in the long run. Hopefully Brian Cashman remains steadfast in his opposition to rushing these pitchers, and they develop into excellent pitchers at their own pace.

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Should The Yankees DH Montero To Keep His Bat In The Lineup?

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 5:00 pm 25 Responses »
Jan 312011

Keith Law ranked Jesus Montero 4th among all prospects in his recent prospect rankings, and made a very interesting comment about Montero’s future that struck me as fodder for discussion:

There’s also a concern about the long-term effects that catching will have on Montero’s knees. He is listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, and only five players in MLB history have caught 200 games at or above those numbers, three of them (Joe Mauer, Chris Snyder, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia) have had knee and/or back problems.

With a bat this potentially strong, why risk injury or give up the 20-25 games a year when your catcher has to rest? Montero could solve the Yankees’ DH problem for the next 10 years if they commit to it, a move they are unlikely to ever regret.

Brian Cashman recently stated that the Yankees believe Montero is better defensively than some catchers currently starting in the majors, which is faint praise but does suggest that they believe he can handle the position. Assuming for a moment that this is true, Law’s premise that they might be better off just sticking him at DH depends on the answer to the following question: would the health benefits of sticking him at DH AND the defensive benefits of getting him out from behind the plate outweigh the fact that having his bat at catcher is a major positional advantage for the Yankees? There are other considerations, such as the fact that A-Rod may need to DH soon, but I am leaving such issues out of the analysis at this point and focusing solely upon Montero.

Let’s look at the numbers, while noting that Law’s point seemed to focus primarily on health, something that we are unable to quantify. When determining replacement levels, a catcher is credited with 12.5 runs while a DH is debited 17.5 runs (which addresses the fact that similar offensive performance at those positions have widely disparate value). The Fangraphs glossary item on positional adjustments (h/t @alskor) addresses this issue directly:

Essentially, the width of the spectrum of major league players being used at their best positions is about 30 runs – if you have a league average defensive catcher and you make him a full time DH, you’ve whacked about three wins off of his value.

Now, let’s assume for a moment that Montero is terrible defensively, but just competent enough to remain at the position (if he is not at all competent, then it is obvious that he must be moved). According to +/-, the worst defensive catcher in 2010 cost his team 10 runs with his glove. Being that moving an average defensive catcher to DH would cost the club 30 runs, doing so to an atrocious defender would slash 20 runs, or two wins, from the player’s value.

Playing time is another issue that needs to be factored into this analysis. As Law notes, everyday catchers need frequent rest, such that Montero’s bat would be removed from the lineup regularly were he to remain a catcher. The catcher who played the most innings last year was Yadier Molina, who started 130 games. As a DH, Montero would likely be able to start in most games, meaning he would lose 20-25 games as the starting catcher. Now, let’s make another assumption and believe that Montero would be a top DH (again, we assume this because if he is not a great bat, it is almost certain that it would make more sense to try him at catcher, because the club can go out and obtain a solid DH fairly easily). Judging by my Twitter poll of some sabermetric folks, the value of those 25 games is somewhere between .5 and 1 win. Being that we are assuming that Montero will be an excellent hitter, let us go with 1 win gained as a DH. This means that the switch from catcher is costing the Yankees two wins defensively but gaining one win due to extra playing time, for a net of one win lost per season.

One other factor that needs to be raised is the idea that Montero may hit better if he is not getting beaten up behind the plate on a daily basis. I do not have access to the research on this issue, and from what I have heard it is fairly murky. As such, I will simply note that intuition would tell you that it should be easier for a player to focus upon hitting without the physical and mental burden of running the game as the catcher weighing upon him.

Obviously, the numbers can be fiddled with by altering the assumptions that were made in the course of analysis. If you maintain the assumption that Jesus will be a great hitter but peg him as a -5 defensive player, the loss becomes 1.5 wins. Similarly, if you maintain the assumption about his defense but think we are being overly optimistic about his bat, you again end up with a loss of 1.5 wins. I think it is fair to say that statistically, moving Montero from catcher to DH would cost the Yankees somewhere between 1 and 1.5 wins of value on a yearly basis, possibly closer to 1.5 at the start of his career and then dropping closer to 1 as he ages.

Now that we can put an estimated number on the value side of the equation, we need to address the health issue. First, we need to make one last assumption: assuming that they want to, the Yankees can keep Montero for his entire career, such that we can conduct this analysis while considering the value he might provide at the end of his career. If catching costs Montero enough playing time over his career to outweigh 1-1.5 wins a year, it would make sense to move him off the position to save his bat. This is where we get into areas that are tough to quantify. Looking at the history of catchers in MLB, they seem to decline quicker than other players. If Montero’s size makes him a strong candidate for injury and early decline, the Yankees would be best-served by moving him off the position to preserve his bat. If the Yankees do not see him as a particularly high risk for injury, and believe that he unlikely to lose 15-20 wins of value over his career due to the physical strains of catching, they should keep him behind the plate for as long as they can.

The inability for us to evaluate the injury risk makes it impossible to reach a firm conclusion on this issue. I will say that when I first read Law’s comment, I thought that he was mistaken, and now I am not nearly as certain. Montero’s purportedly great bat and awful glove narrows the value gap between catching and DH’ing considerably, and the possibility of injury might close the gap entirely.

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Throw Enough At The Wall......

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 1:00 pm 5 Responses »
Jan 282011

The reaction among some Yankees fans to the Bartolo Colon signing was odd. A fairly sizable portion of the fanbase took issue with the signing, suggesting that bringing in retreads like Colon is embarrassing for the franchise and should be avoided. I’ve ranted about this on Twitter before, but one comment from @Heartbeatbronx struck me as particularly on-point on this subject:

Yankees should bring in Garcia and Duscherer to join Prior and Colon in spring training. Don’t understand why everyone is so upset. (Cont.)

(Cont.) I’m sure everyone was so excited about Shawn Chacon, Aaron Small, Dustin Moseley, Alfredo Aceves, and Jon Lieber too. This can work.

We all wish that Cliff Lee had signed with the Yankees and Andy Pettitte was returning for another season. However, being that Lee is in Philadelphia and Pettitte is still undecided, the Yankees have two rotation spots open and only one young pitcher (Ivan Nova) who is actually ready for MLB action. Furthermore, Nova is far from a sure thing, and the Yankees only veteran option, Sergio Mitre, is not the most palatable of rotation options.

Therefore, as @Heartbeatbronx noted, it behooves the Yankees to bring in as many veteran arms as they can on cheap contracts and non -roster invites to spring training. If you throw enough trash at the wall, eventually you may get lucky and something will stick. The Yankees should bring in plenty of arms that have any sort of slight upside, and hold open competitions for the two rotation spots. If Nova and Hector Noesi win the jobs out of Spring Training, you thank the veterans for their services and cut them loose, incurring little expense in the process. And if you get lucky with one of the “retreads,” you suddenly have a viable rotation option at a minuscule cost. These signings are the very definition of low-risk, high-reward, and anyone who has a serious issue with them due to perception may want to reexamine their priorities.

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Duchscherer: I Can Play In New York

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 5:00 pm 2 Responses »
Jan 262011

I have pushed for the Yankees to acquire Justin Duchscherer to solidify the back of their rotation on numerous occasions. A few weeks ago, Jerry Crasnick reported that the Yankees were pursuing Duchscherer, but nothing seemed to come of it. As I said at the time, Duch is likely the most talented of the pitchers currently on the market, but has some red flags surrounding him:

The problem with Duke is a variety of health issues that make it difficult to project his performance going forward. He missed time in 2007 due to a hip issue, had some nagging injuries hamper him in 2008, lost the entire 2009 due to an elbow problem, and missed a large chunk of 2010 due to a problem with his other hip. Additionally, he has struggled with depression issues, and he has Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which he feels is exacerbated by the uneven schedule that comes with being in the bullpen. Taken together, the case for Duchscherer reads much like the case for many of the low risk, high reward guys available at this time of the year. When he has pitched, he has been quite successful, but he has had trouble staying on the field.

The depression issues have led some to question his ability to handle New York, and Britt Ghiroli asked him about that issue yesterday. He said:

Free agent Justin Duchscherer, considered one of the best starting pitchers still on the market, said Tuesday evening that physically he feels “pretty much 100 percent” and shot down the notion that his previous depression issues would prevent him from playing in New York.

“I find it funny that people say I can’t pitch in that environment, but I’ve pitched in New York before,” he said. “As far as my mind, I have no problem being anywhere. Physically it’s a matter of what’s the best situation for me.”

He went on to discuss his health and contended that he is “pretty much 100 percent.” I recommend reading the rest of the article. Duch is very honest about his injuries, and rules out going back to the bullpen in 2011. If he signs in New York, he is going to want to start. Hopefully, the Yankees bring him in and give him a shot to seize the 4th or 5th starter slot, as he certainly passes the “better than Mitre” test.

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YES Censors Affiliated Blogs Over Rafael Soriano Criticism?

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 5:00 pm 48 Responses »
Jan 252011

When news of Rafael Soriano’s signing filtered onto Twitter on the evening of January 13th, many Yankees fans were aghast at the length of the deal and the fact that the club had sacrificed a draft pick to obtain an 8th inning man. A number of those fans used their platforms as bloggers to criticize the signing. In particular, Mike Axisa and Joe Pawlikowski expressed displeasure with the move over at River Avenue Blues (RAB), while Steve Goldman penned a critical column entitled, “What the Heck Are the Yankees Doing?” that ran at his Pinstriped Bible blog. What happened next reeks of censorship and raises questions about the degree of journalistic integrity required by a sports network that is owned by the team that it purports to cover.

Pinstriped Bible is directly affiliated with the YES Network, as the site is designed to look like the YES homepage and is frequently featured on the YES front page. A few hours after being posted, Steve Goldman’s post was suddenly pulled, only to reappear a number of hours later with a new title (Soriano Strengthens the Pen, But Do Dominoes Fall?) and a softened stance. A visit to the page shows the altered title and article, but the URL still contains the original title. I have the original article saved (available upon request), and the primary differences are a few sentences added in support of the deal, as well as the moving of a positive paragraph to the beginning of the article. When asked about the incident, Goldman declined to comment.

River Avenue Blues has a slightly weaker affiliation with YES, as they simply have a YES toolbar at the top of their page, but they too are featured on the YES website and in commercials that run on the YES network. After seeing what had happened to Goldman’s post, I kept an eye on RAB to try and see if something similar occurred. Sure enough, a few hours after their criticism of the signing, I noticed that the YES toolbar had disappeared. When I asked the guys at RAB about it, they declined to comment, and continue to do so. I am not sure when it returned, but I did notice that it was still missing at least 4 days after the signing. It is now back in place.

So what happened? Being that the guys at RAB and Steve Goldman both declined to comment, I can only take a rough stab at it, but I think the answer is obvious from the facts. Remember, Brian Cashman had nothing to do with this signing, as he has confirmed that ownership was the brains behind the deal. So one of two things took place:

1) Ownership asked YES to block the criticism from being affiliated with YES in any way, and YES complied,

OR

2) YES took preemptive action because they knew that ownership would be upset if they saw the criticism linked to from the YES website.

Regardless of which choice is true, the conclusion is equally disturbing. Because YES hosts Pinstriped Bible, they likely were able to directly censor Goldman, asking him to remove his post and edit it so as to mitigate the harshest points of criticism within it. As for RAB, because YES has limited control over the content of the site, their only choice was to pull their toolbar from the site until the displeasure over the deal settled a bit.

The question then becomes whether there is anything wrong with what YES did in this case. Some might argue that the team has no responsibility to provide a forum for criticism of the club and the moves that they choose to make. The problem with this argument is that YES has already chosen to provide that forum by affiliating with blogs in the first place. PB and RAB are critical of moves made by Brian Cashman all the time, yet no censorship of this sort has ever occurred before, to the best of my knowledge. It is unseemly to suddenly object to the content of the blogs now that they are critical of whomever in the organization was responsible for signing Soriano, particularly when similar criticism of other key members of the organization has gone uncensored in the past.

The Yankees like to tell us that the YES network provides unbiased, balanced coverage of the Yankees, pointing to the fact that they carry Mike Francesa’s show on their airwaves and allow their announcers to be critical of the club. Affiliating with blogs who do not wear Yankee-colored glasses is a laudable step in that direction, and suggests a true commitment to journalistic integrity. However, once a decision has been made to abide by journalistic standards rather than be a propaganda arm for the club, YES needs to stick to those standards rather than sacrificing their integrity so as to avoid upsetting the wrong people.

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Yankees Avoid Arbitration With Trio Of Pitchers

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 5:00 pm 3 Responses »
Jan 182011

Jon Heyman reports that the Yankees were able to come to an agreement with their trio of arbitration-eligible pitchers. Phil Hughes got 2.7 million, Joba Chamberlain received 1.4 million, and Boone Logan scored 1.2 million. Avoiding arbitration hearings tends to be a positive for both sides, as the hearing can often get acrimonious and may impact the relationship between the club and the player. looking at the deals themselves, they each seem fair, although Logan may have gotten a smidge too much for a LOOGY.

It is also interesting to note the gap between the deals given to Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. Joba being a reliever likely saved the Yankees between 1.0 and 1.3 million dollars or so. The conspiracy theorist in me believes that now that the Yankees are paying Joba on a reliever scale, they may be more likely to announce that he will be given a chance to earn a rotation slot in Spring Training. While the amount of money at stake here is a relative pittance for the Yankees, they had no reason to announce him as a possible starter before the settlement and possibly cost themselves that money. This is probably wishful thinking, and I am fairly certain Brian Cashman will dispel this notion once he emerges from hiding to discuss the Soriano deal. However, for the time being, I will just cross my fingers and hope that someone in the Yankees organization still believes in Joba the starter.

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