Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News ran a piece today in which he graded the Yankees. I’m going to tell you which ones I agree and disagree with.
Let’s just get the ones I agree with out of the way. I agree with Mo’s, Andy’s, Gardner’s, CC’s, Marte’s, Rodriguez’s, Thames’s, Vazquez’s, Burnett’s, Tex’s, Robertson’s, and Joba’s. I agree with the first four because they’re having great seasons. With Gardner, he’s exceeding expectations. Marte’s doing his job, as is Thames; A-Rod is doing okay considering his possibly health scenario, but he could be better, the same goes for Tex even with a recent hot streak. Burnett and Javy have been up and down, as have Robertson and Joba. Lastly, I agree with Derek Jeter. I was going to knock him down a bit ’cause of his lack of hitting–it’d be nice to see more patience and power–but his fielding has stayed hot. Anyway, onto the fun part: the disagreements.
I disagree with Phil Hughes’ ranking of an A-. He started off hot, but has cooled off a bit. Plus, his general lack of mixing pitches knocks him down to a B in my eyes. He’s doing well, but we need to recognize his flaws, too.
Cano and Swisher should both get A’s. Cano hit out of his mind for most of the first half and Nick Swisher’s commitment to improving himself as a batter should get him kudos. There’s chance for both of them to drop back down a bit in the second half, but they’re both talented enough to compensate.
I’m bumping Jorge up to a B. He’s hit quite well, but he has had injuries. Maybe I should keep him at a B-. But, it’s worth noting that among catchers with at least 100 PA in the AL, Posada’s .369 wOBA ranks second in the league to uber-rookie Carlos Santana’s .428 mark.
I include Nick Johnson, Sergio Mitre, and Alfredo Aceves in the “incomplete” category. Moving on…
I think Francisco Cervelli should be busted down to a C+. I’ll give him credit for his hot streak and for playing more than he’d been expected to, but he hasn’t hit for almost two months and his defense hasn’t been as great as it was last year.
Ramiro Pena is a C at best. His fielding has been okay, but his hitting is just non existent.
Curtis Granderson’s C- is harsh, so I’ll give him a C. The results haven’t been what I’d wanted, but I think that injury really tripped him up. I’ll be an easy grader for this one.
Chad Gaudin needs a D. He’s done barely anything useful this season.
And, wrapping it up, Chan Ho Park should be the lone “F” on the team. He’s really been a sunken cost this year.
With the addition of Colin Curtis to the bench yesterday, four fifths of the Yankee bench is completely homegrown and developed by the organization. This strategy of a homegrown bench speaks well about the Yankees’ development of talent.
While it’s true that the Yankees haven’t had much high-end talent in terms of position players lately, they’ve done a decent job of making sure that what talent they do have is utilized in some way at the Major League level.
Because the Yankees tend to use their minor leaguers as bench pieces–at least until they prove they can’t be used–they are able to keep their bench costs down. And because they do this, they use guys who can be sent back down to the minors if they don’t perform.
It’s basically the same way they construct the bullpen (non-Mo division) and it allows them to have great flexibility. Both the bench and the bullpen are incredibly volatile parts of a Major League roster so the fact that the Yankees generally avoid sinking costs in those spots by using cheap, easily replaceable players is definitely to their benefit.
Before any of you think I’m hitting the panic button due to Alex Rodriguez leaving last night’s game, don’t worry, I’m not. This is merely a reaction to the very slow start Ramiro Pena has had as the utility infielder.
No one’s expecting him to hit much as his .699 OPS last year with the big club was his highest at any level, but after going 0-2 last night, his OPS is .479, and even as a back up, that’s unacceptable. It’s time to consider sending him back to AAA to get some more PT to try and get him into a groove.
So, who could replace him? Like I mentioned yesterday in the OF version of this post, there’s an internal solution. Kevin Russo could be made the UTI and an outfielder could be called up, but that’s unlikely. The Yankees likely don’t think Russo can play short, and that’s pretty necessary for a utility guy. We should also note that there’s a case to be made for sending Russo down. Putting aside whom they could possibly send down, let’s look at whom could be called up:
The first name that comes to mind is Eduardo Nunez. Despite a .380 slugging going into play last night, he’s leading the SWB Yankees with 71 hits and has a .301 average and a respectable .341 OBP. His fielding is iffy, but he’s a shortstop and he’s on the 40-Man roster. He also has the exact same birthday as I do, so you know he’s a winner.
After that, there’s Reegie Corona, who’s having a very down year in the International League. He’s got a .622 OPS and has only played eight games at short this year. He can, however, play second and third.
Neither one of these guys represents a significant upgrade over Russo or Pena, but if the two of them continue to slump, it’s worth considering giving them a shot. If A-Rod has to miss time, which is unlikely because he says he feels no pain, though, the Yankees IF depth will be tested and I’m not too confident in it.
Photo courtesy of the NY Daily News
On the heels of yesterday’s win with Ramiro Pena, Joba Chamberlain and Francisco Cervelli making key contributions, it’s timely to note just how well Yankee farm products have been performing both here and elsewhere. In his latest Hardball blog piece, Joel Sherman does just that. He writes:
Consider, for example, that three of the top six hitters in the AL – 1. Robisnon Cano, .376; 2. Austin Jackson, .376; 6. Brett Gardner, .346 – are all twentysomethings developed in the Yankee system. Another twentysomething, Phil Hughes, is second in the AL In ERA (1.44).
The defensively adept Cervelli, in place of Posada, continued to show a blossoming offensive game in gong 3-for-3 with a sacrifice to raise his average to .387. He is, at the least, establishing himself as one of the sport’s best backup catchers with his receiving skills and enthusiasm. And more and more you could imagine him being a starting catcher some day.
Meanwhile, for the second straight game, Chamberlain replaced Rivera and registered the save. And beyond the obvious stuff to like – notably a fastball that overwhelmed at 94-96 mph – was the absence of something: Drama. It seemed that Chamberlain’s entire career has been awash in theatrics. He has had an A-Rod-esque flair for creating, at the least, conversation around himself and, at the most, controversy.
But the past two days, Chamberlain was a businessman on the mound, full of purpose and dominance. He threw strikes and looked like a guy who expected to thrive. He looked – long gulp here – more mature and like someone ready to accept being the heir to Rivera.
The homegrown impact is not exclusively the domain of the Core Four: Posada, Rivera, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte. Nick Johnson and Marcus Thames have come home, and Ramiro Pena, Alfredo Aceves and David Robertson have become important supplementary pieces.
In addition, the Yanks have completed trades in recent years for Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, Javier Vazquez, and Damaso Marte/Xavier Nady by using items from their system.
Yes, the Yankees’ money matters in all areas, including the procurement of amateur talent. Still, the farm used to be a place that the Yanks did not prioritize, but a renewed emphasis is definitely providing rewards.
Nicely done by Joel. For anyone who wants to claim that any monkey could do Brian Cashman’s job because of all the resources he has, refer them to this column. It’s been proven many times in Baseball that you can spend the most money in your league and still wind up in last place. You can also be a bottom dweller in terms of payroll and win the World Series. It’s certainly an advantage to have the highest payroll, but it determines nothing, especially if you have bad management utilizing those resources. The most exciting thing to me about the direction Cashman set in 2005 was the two-pronged approach of both targeting elite free agents AND developing a farm system that can fill the needs of the roster for injuries, trades and everyday players. It’s something he referred to at the WFAN Breakfast as “operating like the Twins with a Yankee budget”. No more headache for headache deals, no more locking in to long term deals to unathletic players who don’t figure to age well. The Yankee financial edge should allow them to deal from a position of strength, and it’s good to see the Yanks have an ownership and management team that maximizes that position.
There’s a term on Wall Street called ‘best practices’ where you analyze who outperforms in their industry and how they do it. The Yanks have long been the industry standard from a financial standpoint, and they are developing a similar reputation on the player development side as well.
Opening Night is finally here. Since the end of Game Six, we’ve waited for this moment. Our desire to see real baseball has only grown during the offseason in light of new arrivals. Now, every player will once again look to prove just how good he is and try to carry his team to a championship. Whether or not it’s true, every team gets to think “This is our year!” at some point in the next day or two. While we may know better, it’s nice to be un-jaded for a second and truly believe that each team has a shot to contend this year.
All throughout the year, we’ll be watching our favorite team and our favorite players and looking for them to dazzle us with their talents and efforts. Each player brings something different to the field and contributes in some different way.
Using the 25 man roster, I’m going to write–as I did for the other 29 teams–what to watch from from certain players.
Jorge Posada: Can he keep it up? He’s been one of the best hitting catchers in the league, but he is getting old. In the second to last year of his contract, can Jorge maintain productivity and stay healthy for the entire season?
Francisco Cervelli: Let’s see if he can maintain the backup catcher’s role for a whole season. I see no reason why he won’t be able to. All he has to do is hit and field like he did in ‘09 and the job is his.
Mark Teixeira: Another April, another slow start? Tex got off to a slow start in 2009, and has traditionally been a slow starter. Will this continue in 2010? I’m sure it will, just because that’s how Tex seems to be, but maybe the fact that A-Rod is behind him for April 2010 helps him start a little faster.
Robinson Cano: Batting fifth. The Yankees are showing a good deal of faith by putting Cano behind Alex Rodriguez to start the year, and I think it’s going to work out quite well. Cano’s a fantastic hitter and with guys like Nick Johnson, Tex, and Rodriguez on base in front of him, Cano could drive in 100 runs. If the move doesn’t work, someone else–Posada, Swisher, Granderson–would be able to easily slide in to the fifth spot and the team likely wouldn’t miss a beat.
Alex Rodriguez: In a word: milestones. Rodriguez is coming up on 600 homers, 1,800 RBI, 100 WAR, and hopefully, a 14th season of at least 30 homers and 100 RBI. Since he’ll be playing a whole season, I fully expect him to hit all of these marks in 2010.
Derek Jeter: We know the Captain can hit, he rebounded nicely in 2009 after a “meh” 2008, but now it appears he can field. His defense has been getting better each year so we’ll have to see if that trend continues. Just using the “eye test” in 2009, it seemed that Jeets’ movement to his left was much improved but going to his right was still a bit of an issue. Jeter is never satisfied with being “good enough”, though, and I’m sure he expects even more improvement out of himself.
Nick Johnson: Johnson’s return to the Yankees–and the two hole in the lineup–is something I’m quite excited for. His on base ability in front of Tex and A-Rod should lead to tons of RBI for the both of them. Of course, we’ll have to see if Nick can stay healthy. Like Hideki Matsui in 2009, maybe staying off the field is the best thing for him. No matter what, though, I’m glad to have Nick’s patience in the 2010 lineup. His power should return, too, considering his ultra-low HR/FB rate last season and his return to a lefty-friendly ballpark.
Brett Gardner: Gardner can definitely field but I’m not sure if his bat will be able to stick in the lineup for an entire year. As in 2009, Gardner’s getting a starting job out of the gate. Last year, he gave it up to Melky Cabrera rather quickly. Let’s see if he can hold down the fort in 2010. If he can, his plus defense in left could make him 2010’s Nyjer Morgan.
Curtis Granderson: There are two things to look out for with Curtis: how he handles lefties and how he’ll hit in his new home. With the former, even if Granderson improves just a little bit against the southpaws, his value will rise. He’s looked okay in Spring Training when there’s been a lefty on the hill, but let’s see him do it against the real thing first. As for the latter, Granderson should definitely see an improvement once starting to play in YSIII. He could definitely add a few homers that were lost in spacious Comerica Park this season.
Nick Swisher: Like C-Grand (100 Grand, perhaps?), we’ll have to pay attention to how Nick does at home in 2010. The raw numbers there weren’t great–.226/.384/.394/.776–but the peripherals were all there: .158 IsoD, .168 IsoP. Hopefully, the raw numbers catch up to the peripherals for Nick in 2010. If they do, he could hit 30+ homers.
Randy Winn: As the fourth outfield, all I’m looking for Winn to do is adequately replace Melky Cabrera. I’m pretty certain he can do that. What Winn must do is be league average with the bat and play steady defense on the corners while not embarrassing himself in center field. Winn isn’t likely to get much playing time, but a solid fourth outfielder is never a bad thing to have.
Marcus Thames: He made the team on a minor league deal, now let’s see how long he can stay on it. Being 100% honest, I don’t expect Thames to stick with the Yankees for all of 2010. But, if he does his job–hit lefties off of the bench–he could surprise us all. I won’t hold my breath, though.
Ramiro Pena: Like Thames, I don’t expect Pena to stick with the team for all of 2010. There’s no doubting the kid can pick it in the infield, but last year (.699 OPS) was a career year for him at the plate that he’s unlikely to repeat. I’m not saying he’s going to crash and burn, but I think the team will want to look at Kevin Russo at some point.
This is running quite long, so I’m going to do the pitchers in “bulk.”
CC: Just be CC
A.J./Andy: Stay healthy and repeat 2010.
Javy: Show us the real Javy.
Phil: Stay healthy and show us the fruits of your potential.
Mo: Just be Mo.
Joba: Make the best of a bad situation and hope you get a chance to start again.
Robertson: Keep up the k’s, kid. Chicks dig the curveball.
Marte: Stay healthy and be the real Marte.
Aceves: Repeat 2009; it was perfect for you.
Park: Can he adjust to the AL (B)East?
Mitre: Prove me wrong about you.
Happy Wednesday afternoon, TYU readers. I’ve got some ideas that I’d like to briefly touch on, and of course I’d like your input as well.
–Will Andy Pettitte’s lack of meaningful Spring Training innings hurt him in the regular season? I’m not quite sure of this one, but I’d lean towards it hurting him a bit. I don’t think he’ll be awful or horribly ineffective, but I have a good feeling it will affect his stamina, at least for the first start or two.
–Can Sergio Mitre be effective a a long reliever? My first reaction is no, but I’m not a big Mitre fan to begin with. He’s looked pretty good in Spring Training, but that can be very deceptive. I would’ve preferred it if the Yankees kept Chad Gaudin, but that obviously didn’t happen. Anyway, Mitre’s lack of missing-bats-ability will likely hurt him as a reliever. His good control is helpful, but he does give up hard contact. Hopefully, he can carry his ST success with him to the regular season, but I’m not about to hold my breath. Trading him is an option, too, but the returns would be meager. Perhaps it’s better to just hold on to him and hope for the best.
–Does Marcus Thames really deserve his roster spot? I don’t think so, but sending Jamie Hoffmann back to the Dodgers pretty much seals that deal. I have to wonder if the Yankees would be better served taking Jon Weber with them to NY, even if he is left handed. Thames’ playing time will be very limited and he’ll give back almost all of his offensive value with probable poor defensive play.
–Will Ramiro Pena hit enough to keep his job? We all know Ramiro Pena can field like a pro, but I don’t think any of us are confident that he can even repeat last year with the bat. A related question is if we’ll see Kevin Russo in the utility role at some point. I think the answer to that question is yes. Eventually, Pena will have a bad stretch and he and Russo will swap places.
–Will the Yankees’ announcing cops. at least be respectable this year? Meh. I’m not holding my breath on this one, right guys? Sterling and Waldman are nails on a chalkboard, Kay is as full of self-importance as ever, John Flaherty is painfully boring, and David Cone is gone. The only acceptable voices on YES are Bob Lorenz–who’s sadly stuck in studio–and Ken Singleton, who has bouts with inconsistency. I dream of the day when the mute button is not an option.
With yesterday’s acquisition of Randy Winn, the Yankees’ bench seems to be set. Let’s examine the implications this could have for the 2010 team.
First off, the fact that Johnny Damon is not returning should give current left fielder Brett Gardner a big confidence boost. By not re-signing Damon, instead opting for a cheaper player who isn’t likely to take a starting job from the “incumbent” Gardner, the Yankees are telling the young outfielder that they believe he can hold the position competently. I don’t have much faith in Gardner getting much better than he was in 2009, but there is still room to grow. With plus defense, a decent OBP (.340-.350?), and his speed, Gardner could be a net positive in left field for the Yankees.
Next we come to the “order of operations,” if you will (excuse me, I’m interning at a middle school and doing a little bit of work in math classes) for the outfield. Barring anything unforeseen between now and the beginning of the season, the regular OF alignment will be Gardner–Granderson–Swisher. Defensively, this outfield is pretty solid. Offensively, two-thirds of it is above average. The first man off the bench will obviously be Winn. As I discussed last night, he’s a good option at each of the outfield positions and can at least handle himself at the plate. Signing another bench outfielder will likely have a double-edged-sword type of effect on Rule V pick Jamie Hoffmann.
On the one hand, it will allow Hoffmann to develop at a slower pace. He will no longer be the first option off the bench, nor will he be an injury away from being a full time starter. On the other hand, though, it does mean fewer at bats for Hoffmann and the only way to grow as a major leaguer is with consistent trips the plate.
Frankie Cervelli will assume the back-up catcher’s duties and I don’t think we should expect anything from him that we didn’t expect frohttp://www.theyankeeu.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpm Jose Molina. Cervelli will likely bring a relatively weak bat to the plate, but should play above average defense behind the plate. I wonder, though, if he’ll be paired with any one pitcher. Perhaps Joe Girardi will pair Cervelli with A.J. Burnett as he did with the latter and Jose Molina in 2009. Another route that could be taken is pairing Joba Chamberlain with Cervelli. It seems as though Posada and Chamberlain never really got themselves on the same page, so maybe Joba would work better with Cervelli.
The last spot is the utility infielder’s spot which will most likely be either Ramiro Pena or Kevin Russo. If it’s Pena, I’ll expect the same thing as Cervelli: good defense with an almost anemic bat. If it’s Russo, I’d expect a little more of the bat with a little less defense.
So, as of now, I’m willing to bet that the Yankee bench will be made up of outfielders Randy Winn and Jamie Hoffmann, with Francisco Cervelli doing the back up catching, and one of Ramiro Pena or Kevin Russo playing all over the infield; let’s also not forget that Nick Johnson and/or Nick Swisher could play first base in a pinch. This bench may not have a ton of power, but it’s versatile and the parts are more or less replaceable if they do not perform.
Heading into 2009, we were treated to multiple “battles” at Spring Training. The above pictured Ramiro Pena won a mini-battle, a skirmish if you will, to become the bench infielder/utility man when the Yankees broke camp. The two major battles were in the outfield. In center field, Brett Gardner won the starting center field job over Melky Cabrera, though he eventually lost that job after underperforming early in the season.
In right field, Nick Swisher lost out to Xavier Nady, but when Nady went down with an injury, Swisher filled in more than admirably and had a fantastic year, belting 29 home runs and posting a career high 129 OPS+.
This season, there are a few battles we should keep an eye on. Two of them, though one of them is pretty small, are on the pitching side and one of them is on the bench, and it involves Ramiro Pena once again.
Let’s start off by looking at the small-potatoes battle in the bullpen. Disclaimer: I’m assuming the loser of the fifth starter battle is placed in SWB as the sixth starter, therefore the set-up spot is open. While it is likely that they will be rather “interchangeable”–that is, either option would be fine–it’s still possible that one of Damaso Marte or David Robertson will be the primary set-up man, regardless of where the batter stands. If either pitcher can show the ability to balance his splits, he could be used more frequently. However, I’d still expect Marte to face lefties the vast majority of the time and that this “battle” will not yield much of consequence. Both are fine set-up options and I’d be more than comfortable with either one of them pitching in front of Mariano Rivera.
The Yankees’ rotation spots one through four are set: Sabathia, Burnett, Vazquez, Pettitte. The fifth spot is still, apparently, up for grabs. The two contenders are youngsters Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. Both of them have had incredible success in the bullpen, but developing them as starters is the Yankees’ plan (as it should be) so one of them will definitely have to start full time this year.
As starters, both have been nothing if not inconsistent. Regardless, they’ve both shown incredible flashes of brilliance in the rotation. If I had to predict how this battle would go right now, I’d say that it’s almost a sure thing that Joba Chamberlain will get the nod as the fifth starter. While Hughes got over 100 innings last year, Chamberlain made 30 starts and pitched a full season innings wise. Frankly stated, he’s much more prepared to start in the Majors than Hughes is. I like them both, a lot, but the truth is that unless there’s an injury, only one of them can start full time for all of 2010. The two of them still need to put some work in before they reach their potential as top-of-the-rotation-starters, but, as I said only one of them can put that work in full time. The real question is whether or not the Yankees will use the loser of the battle as the sixth starter at AAA or as a set-up option in the bullpen. For my thoughts on that, see this post.
The last battle is essentially a skirmish as well. The winner of this “fight” is not likely to have a major impact on the Yankees and if he is counted on to do so, the 2010 season is probably in a great, great deal of trouble. The only other open spot I can see–as of right now–is the utility infielder position. Last year, Ramiro Pena won the job over Angel Berroa and he performed pretty well. He OPS’d .699 and played solid defense at short and third. All in all, he did a good job as the utility guy. Why, then, would his spot be in jeopardy? Mostly because his .699 OPS is the outlier in his career. His minor league OPS is .635 and while his .287 BA in ‘09 at the ML level was nice, it was largely due to a .340 BABIP. Despite his great defense, Pena’s lack of a bat could be his downfall in 2010. His in-organization combination will likely be Kevin Russo, who offers similar position flexibility, but a slightly better bat. While Russo hasn’t flashed much power in the minors, .403 SLG, his .360 OBP is nice and shows good maturity at the plate. At the plate, it’s not likely that Russo represents much of an upgrade over Pena, and Pena is the better fielder; he also has experience on his side, and I’d expect Pena to win. Despite that, I’m sure we’ll see Kevin Russo at some point in 2010.
Due to Melky Cabrera’s hamstring injury, Brett Gardner will be in center for the Yankees in Game 5. Melky is not expected to return for the rest of the series, therefore, the Yankees will replace his roster spot with Ramiro Pena (the MLB has approved of the change).
The Yanks have recently kicked around the idea of carrying 10 pitchers for the ALDS. Just to see what that would look like, I’ll make up a 25 man postseason roster. 10 pitchers, 15 position players.
Pitchers:
CC Sabathia
AJ Burnett
Andy Pettitte
Mariano Rivera
Phil Hughes
Alfredo Aceves
Damaso Marte
Phil Coke
David Robertson
Joba Chamberlain/Chad Gaudin/Alby/Bruney
Position Players:
Jorge Posada
Jose Molina
Mark Tiexiera
Robinson Cano
Derek Jeter
Alex Rodriguez
Johnny Damon
Nick Swisher
Gritt Gardner
Melky Cabrera
Hideki Matsui
Eric Hinske
Jerry Hairston
Ramiro Pena
Freddy Guzman
I don’t know about you, but I’d drop Freddy Guzman and take an extra pitcher, myself. Rather have Gaudin+Joba than Guzman. Its not like Ramiro Pena or Jerry Hairston can’t pinch run for you. I understand that Guzman is crazy fast, 80 on a scouts 20-80 scale. But is the marginal speed difference between him and Pena or Hairston worth carrying one less pitcher? I don’t think so.
I think Joba likely gets taken over Chad Gaudin, since we know Joba has the ability to utterly dominate out of the bullpen. But Gaudin could eat up 3 innings somewhere in a game where the starter gets knocked out early and save Ace/D-Rob from having to do so, leaving them strong to perform in a win rather than waste them doing mop-up work in a game which will likely end in a loss. We need a long man, and Gaudin would be perfect. He could hold down the fort and even give you a chance to win that game. I just don’t want Ace or D-Rob wasting their arms (and being unavailable/less effective the next game) what in all likelihood will be a losing cause.
Another thing to consider is that there is some overlap as to where these guys play. Pena plays 2B/SS/3B, Guzman plays LF/CF/RF and Hairston plays just about everywhere. If they drop Pena and go Hairston as the backup infielder, Guzman as the 5th outfielder and an 11th pitcher, I’m on board.
But this decision may wind up being made for them. LoHud reported yesterday that Hairston’s wrist injury could be serious, and if that’s the case that would finish him for the season.
