Yankees 365

Yanks don't pick up options on Giambi, Pavano

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:10:07 -0500

Instead of receiving a combined salary of $35 million in 2009, the Yankees did not pick up the options on Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano. Instead, they will buy out Giambi for $5 million and Pavano for $1.95 million.

"Given the circumstances and the money involved, I don't think they were surprises to anybody," general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday.

Jason Giambi hit .247 and 32 HRs while driving in 96 runs in 2008. Giambi only hit over .300 in his first season in NY (2002). In the past 5 years, he drove in 100+ runs only once (2006).

In his four seasons with the Yankees, Carl Pavano pitched a total of 145 2/3 innings with a 9-8 record.

Jorge Posada weighs in on Joba's role

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:21:22 -0500

When it comes to Joba Chamberlain, Jorge Posada and I don't see eye-to-eye. I think Joba should be a starter. Jorge thinks Joba should be a reliever.

"I think if you start him and he pitches 200 innings in one year, you're going to lose him. He's going to get hurt. I don't see him as a starter," Posada said Monday during a session of "CenterStage," scheduled to air on the team's YES Network starting Sept. 28.

Of course, it's not a decision that either Jorge or I will make. It's a decision that Steinbrenner, Girardi and Chamberlain will make. Here's how they responded:

"We'll discuss whether Chamberlain will be a starter or a reliever, along with everything else, during the winter," co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said.

"He's been around the game and that's his opinion. I'm not going to fault the guy for having an opinion. We all have opinions," Chamberlain said. "We have to sit down. It's going to be what's best for the team in the long run. It's your career and you have to be a part of it. You do what's best for yourself, also, but the end goal is to win a championship. Whether that's in the bullpen or as a starter, time will tell."

"For right now, we still envision him as a starter. We just didn't have a chance to build him up," Girardi said.

My viewpoint is that Joba will perform well in either role. However, he's more valuable if he pitches 200 IP as a starter than if he pitches 65 IP as a reliever. Roughly 3 times more valuable.

Sabathia: Opening Day Starter in 2009?

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:00:01 -0500

In general, I believe the Yankees should focus on building their team with young players through their farm system and not overpay stars. But the Yankees desperately need starting pitching and while I would have liked them to have seriously gone after Johan Santana, they exercised caution.

Now, Hank Steinbrenner wants the Yankees to go after C.C. Sabathia, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, with full force.

He wants the Yanks to now make CC Sabathia the highest-paid pitcher ever - an idea, by the way, that gestated elsewhere in the organization, but for which Hank will take credit.

Sabathia fills a major Yankee need: He is a true, workhorse ace whose fringe benefit is that he is lefty. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who remains close to Sabathia after once being his manager in Cleveland, told me at Shea recently that all things being equal, Sabathia would prefer to play in his home state of California and in the NL where he could hit. But the Yanks probably will not make all things equal. They have roughly $88 million coming off the books and plan to redirect enough into an offer Sabathia can't refuse.

But Sabathia and Santana are the kind of players for whom I don't mind overpaying. Young(er) players (even better, lefty starters) that are entering or still in their prime as to guys like Johnny Damon and Randy Johnson, who were given way too much or Carla Pavano, unproven and cashing in on one big season.

And the great thing about going after a free agent like Sabathia, the Yankees don't have to mortgage the future by giving away top prospects so they can have the best of both worlds by adding Sabathia.

Even if he'd prefer to pitch in CA for an NL team, the Yankees should make him an offer he can't refuse.

Manny Ramirez to the Yankees?

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:35:24 -0500

Manny Ramirez is tearing it up in LA (.464 BA, 4 HRs, 9 RBI in 7 games). Most don’t question his ability to hit a baseball, but rather his motivation. Apparently, his motivation now is to play for the Yankees to get back the Red Sox:

“He wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox,” a close friend of Ramirez’s told The Post.

Of course, every free agent says he wants to play for the Yankees. They pay well, will always have a chance to make the postseason, and when they show an interest in a free agent, the price from other clubs skyrockets.

Considering Ramirez is represented by Scott Boras, every imaginable angle will be played when the 36-year-old, a product of George Washington High School in Washington Heights, will become a free agent following the World Series.

The Yankees should stay away. They’ve stuck to a plan of trying to groom younger players and to not go after big time players like Johan Santana.

Offense isn’t the team’s problem. And even though he’s still one of baseball’s best hitters, he’s beginning the downward slope anyways.

For a franchise that views success and lack thereof in terms of World Series rings, how much success has signing vets past their prime brought to the Yankees? So, why should the Yankees pursue a 36-y.o. headcase? They shouldn’t.

Thoughts on Game 4 of the Yankees/Red Sox

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:46:08 -0500

Thought I’d start a running diary of this the fourth, of about 100 games between the Yankees and Sox this season. Who did the scheduling? They both arrived in New York sometime around 3am for the third time in a week, will play two games and not see each other again until July 3^rd.

I was at the gym when the first pitch was thrown. I tell my class I don’t feel well and need to cut out early; this was mostly true. I was pissed off because the microphone did not work in my first class so I’ve had enough for tonight.

I get in the car. ESPN radio. I hear, “John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman here from Yankee Stadium. Yankees have a 3-1 lead on back to back homers by Abreau and Arod". John opines that Arod’s should count for 1and ½ runs he hit it so far. Ugg. Believe me, I think Arod is a fine specimen of a man and baseball player, but John needs to get a grip. Suzyn chuckles. They go on to say that if the pitcher puts the ball in the wrong spot it’s going to get hit. Really. I never would have picked up on that.

I arrive home. Did I mention I am married to a member of Red Sox nation? I come into the sounds of NESN and the Rem Dawg. Great bases are now loaded. Wang does not look good. Ball gets hit and Arod makes the sure out at first, but wait, Varitek gets caught in a rundown. Arod tags him somewhat gingerly. I guess he wants to avoid a brawl.

I go to take my post workout shower and the radio in the bathroom is on the Red Sox channel. Trupiano is talking about Giambi who promptly hits into the shift. Jerry exclaims that Giambi is such a slow runner that clearly even David Ortiz would beat him in a foot race. I’m not so sure about that. Push comes to shove my money is on Giambi.

Bottom of that inning, Big David is still not hitting. Manny comes up and gets the count full. I close my eyes. He walks…no wait, he’s out. McClellan made the call as Manny was halfway up the baseline. He wouldn’t have been that far up if he thought he hit a home run. Manny argues but avoids getting tossed from the game. Too bad.

Moving to the top of the fourth Matsui makes a beautiful backbend catch. He smiles. He’s still a newlywed. The mysterious Hideki. Then a series of hits and a bad throw by Melky. Score gets tied. As we move to the bottom of the inning, the Yankees come back. Hit after hit. Oh wait, let’s flash to Al Leiter in the booth…huh, Al’s back, thought he might have gotten canned with Justice. He shows us the change up grip. Perfect hair and his mouth keeps running. Clay stays in to face Jeter who comes up to the bases loaded. Let’s hear how Jeter has only hit one grand slam in his illustrious career. Bam, a single for two runs. Who cares about the granny. Julian Tavarez comes in (yeah). He passes a ball. Melky scores. 7-3 as we go to the fifth.

The fifth begins at 8:55 EST. I don’t know why I wrote that down except to learn that the fifth would end 50 painful minutes later. Papi manges to come to life and get a hit, Euk bloops, Drew hits. According to Michael Kay the Tawainese economy rests on the shoulders of Chien Ming Wang. He wins, it’s up, he loses, not so good. Once Wang is pulled from the game and sits by himself on the bench to watch all of his earned runs come in, I start to believe Michael. Chien has disappointed a nation. As the Red Sox take their slim 9-7 lead into the bottom of the inning, we all know it’s not over yet. Tavarez gets banged around. My husband starts yelling at the tv, “Take him out b****!” I stifle my laughter because who knows what will happen next inning.

As we round 10 pm and Latroy Hawkins prances out, I start to get irritated. Who signed this guy? So far he sucks. Yuk takes a hard foul off his toe and goes down. Looks painful. Flash to Manny at first. He looks bored. I wonder how many inches his hair has grown in the last three seasons. I don’t think my hair grows that fast. Or maybe those are extensions? We get out of the top half.

At some point I fall asleep. Can’t blame me. This game has been on forever. I wake to the weight of my dog at my side and hear something about a Giambi double. I doze again and then see a flash of Mo in the bullpen…was this before or after the Giambi double? It’s not a save situation anymore and he’s pitched the last three days. I’m down again and wake around midnight to the postgame with Lorenz and Cone. They sound chirpy so we must have pulled it out.

I go to bed and get ready to do this again tomorrow.

Yankee Baseball is Back!

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:34:01 -0500

It's Monday night and I'm settling into my baseball season routine - rush home from teaching a class at the gym, listen to the pre-game show with Sterling and Suzyn as I drive home, and then flip on YES and hope to catch the first pitch. Not sure who we have on YES tonight - Kay and Singleton, Flaherty, Kay, Singleton, maybe Al Leiter (or is he back?). In any event, nothing better to do when you're tired on a Monday night but lie around and watch the game. Moose is up tonight. Speaking of Moose, I had the opportunity to see him pitch in spring training against the Marlins. I'd have to say the highlight of that game was actually standing about ten feet away watching him throw his warm-up tosses in the bullpen and taking some photos though he REFUSED to turn around and look at me. Now, I should know better. He is the pitcher who my sister and I refer to as "The Thinker" so I don't think there was any way he was about to interrupt his routine to smile for my camera though I do wonder if I had mentioned I loved him in "Wordplay" if he would have looked. Unfortunately, he looked his best in the pen and not on the field, but I hope he can shake that tonight.

As far as the rest of the team, I agree with the rest of the sports world and believe that the Yankees (and for that matter the rest of the league) will start hitting again when it gets a bit warmer out. I think Joba looks phenomenal (though he still hasn't pitched many innings yet) and Mo is looking better than ever. Still a little funny seeing Joe Girardi in place of "Mr Torre" (I wonder who holds Derek's bat between innings now?), but I definitely think we're in for a good season. And of course, we get to let Fox and the delightful team of Buck and McCarver get us all fired up for the first series of the year between the "rivarly" this upcoming weekend. Feels good to just sit down and settle into a game.

What are your thoughts on the season thus far?

The Santana Race Is Over

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:19:22 -0500

Somewhere out in Yankee land, a deep sigh of relief is heard rustling through the still icy air. Relief that the Yankees were not going to pony up millions, or trade away Kennedy, Jaba, or Melky. Relief that the Red Sox did not win the battle and end up with a rotation of Beckett, Dice-K, Schilling AND Santana. Though some Yankee fans will remain a little annoyed that our neighbors in Queens will steal the back-page headlines for a few days now, and during the press conference when he first puts on that Mets jersey with Willie shaking his hand, and possibly during inter-league play, overall, most would agree that this could be the best-case scenario.

Now with the Santana possibility out of the picture, there is the rotation to consider. Will Wang, with his post-season failure, still be a number one starter? Where will Petite, with the off-season steroid headlines fit in? Is Moose a number 5? What about Jaba - grooming for Mo's job or starter? How will the pitchers adjust to the new pitching coach? The press often noted the good relationship Guidry had with Wang; breaking through the language barrier he often was able to make Wang smile and take himself a little less seriously. Joe Torre also added that calm vibe. What will Joe Girardi bring to the mound?

Much to consider and just about two short months away from opening day...

Greetings, Fellow Yankee Fans!

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:32:48 -0500

Hello, and welcome to my first blog posting here on yankees365.com. Actually, this is my first blog posting anywhere, so I hope you’re not scratching your head and going, “huh?” after reading this. With so many topics to talk about, and with die-hard New York Yankees fans making up the majority of those reading this, I’ll start with a little about myself and an experience at The Stadium to lead into today’s topic.

I was actually born into a Red Sox Nation family. My parents and grandparents were more than proud to buy me all kinds of Sox propaganda, oops, I mean memorabilia. One day around the age of 6, my best friend, who happened to be a Yankees fan, and I decided to trade all of our stuff, including hats, t-shirts and baseball cards. Don’t ask me why, we just did it. Needless to say, our respective families were not too happy. Oh well, I think I got the better of the deal!

Over the years I’ve been to The Stadium a bunch of times, and have seen a lot of great games and great moments. This season I was there when Roger Clemens appeared on the big screen to announce the 19^th comeback of his career. But one night in 1995, I was there for only the 2^nd playoff game at Yankee Stadium since 1981. It was the first year of the new wildcard format, and the Bombers were up 1 game to none on the Seattle Mariners. I was finally going to experience October baseball!! It was a great back and forth game, that went all the way into the 15^th inning. In the bottom of the 15^th, with even my Red Sox fan dad hoping the Yanks would win just so we could go home, Jim Leyritz stepped to the plate and knocked one over the fence to give the Yanks the victory!

On December 28^th, 2007, that same post-season hero went through a red light at an intersection in Florida, crashing into a 30 year old woman and taking her life. His blood-alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit, and he now faces several DUI manslaughter and property damage charges, which could land him in prison for up to 15 years. Reports have surfaced of excessive womanizing, drinking and gambling over the years, causing his assets to shrink from upwards of $10 million to around $600k. Recently, Leyritz was working for ESPN Radio, covering the Yankees, and for MLB.com as an analyst. This is certainly a tragic turn of events, turning the New York Yankees cult hero who turned around the 1996 World Series, into a pariah of society. But because he was a professional athlete, and was still involved with baseball at the time of the accident, should he be treated any differently? Driving drunk is a stupid mistake a lot of people make, and sometimes it causes a lot more damage than a bad hangover. But should Jim Leyritz be treated more harshly than the average Joe down the street?

One message board post I recently saw on DailyNews.com, the website for a New York newspaper, claimed that once people see “ex-Yankee hero” or “ex-ballplayer” attached to someone’s name, it automatically opens them up to more scrutiny or ridicule than average people. Everyone makes mistakes, and he should be punished. But hopefully the courts will see him as a human being that made a mistake, who will own up to it and get help, and not a famous athlete who needs to be made an example of.

Welcome to Yankees 365

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:23:51 -0500

I could start our first conversation in a very obvious place, but considering the fact that the discussion around Roger Clemens will continue to brew for the next few weeks and even months, and with more television coverage including a congressional hearing, I thought it could wait. I will point out that it was kind of funny how the day the Mitchell Report was released we had a mega snowstorm in CT, one that forced many employers to let their employees out early and thus we were all safely home in time to see the live Mitchell coverage, but none of us seemed too surprised at the findings.

Instead I thought I'd start out by sharing a little information about myself. The third child of parents who were both born and raised right outside of Boston, I became a Yankee fan somewhere near the age of seven. Maybe if New Haven county carried Channel 38, I might have caught a few Sox games and been swayed, but I doubt it. I had the Scooter on Channel 11, and I had that Bucky Dent poster. I don't know if the poster came out before or after "the" home run, but it hung proudly on my wall. Now, I see some of you guys rolling your eyes (the same ones who had that Farrah Fawcett poster I am sure). Let me confirm, that I am not just some girl who likes the Yankees because Dent was good looking and A-Rod is hot. I know the game. I can give you stats, lineup suggestions; I know what defensive indifference is. I can tell you that Jeter hit his first grand slam on a sunny July Saturday in a Fox game of the week in 2006, and that Varitek hit his first approximately 2 weeks later. I've seen switch-hitting Posada hit a home run from both the right and left side in the same game. I know it was a Tuesday night in June 2005 when Randy Johnson got clobbered in the first few innings of the game and Yankees came back with 13 runs in the 8th. I remember when Reggie hit those three spectacular home runs in 1977, and I remember many a game when Scooter took off early to get home to his bride, Cora. Of the 162 games that are played in a season, I watch all or at least part of approximately 140. I can get in my car to go home and know by the commercials that are being played whether or not we are in the middle of a rain delay. I am a true baseball fan.

So as a fan, I want to hear from you. How did you become a Yankee fan, and what do you see for us in the upcoming season?