In a little less than 24 hours from now, Jorge Posada will retire from baseball, the Yankees said today.
We knew this day would come. Seeing Posada in a Florida uniform would have been too awkward. He spent 17 seasons in pinstripes, and that's how his career will end. It is awkward, however, to use the past tense
for the first time when describing Posada's baseball career.
January 23, 2012
January 19, 2012
Poll results: Posada more valuable than Pettitte
Last week I asked fans which of the Core Four was more valuable: Jorge Posada or Andy Pettitte. The fans have spoken, with most saying that Posada was more valuable. A good portion of voters thought the two were equally valuable to the Yankees.
It's easy to give the nod to Posada just because he's an everyday player. He was also a very productive catcher, making him stand out from the crowd. But I'm sure those who voted that the two were equal remembered that Posada wasn't the best defensive catcher.
January 14, 2012
A.J. Burnett should fire his agent, or get lost
Either he should fire his agent or he should find another team that will take his attitude.
I just caught wind of what Darek Braunecker, A.J. Burnett's agent, told the Daily News (h/t BBD) and felt obligated to share it with you.
“I haven’t spoken to A.J. since (Friday) night, but it’s safe to say everyone assumed the Yankees would make moves to improve their rotation,” Braunecker told the Daily News. “How and if it affects A.J. is yet to be seen. I know he has worked as hard this offseason as any, even more so, to make sure he’s healthy and capable to pitch as well as he can.
“He fully expects to be in the rotation.”
That first part is fine, but those last eight words may not have been the wisest way for Burnett's camp to respond to the Yankees' two big pitching acquisitions yesterday.
January 13, 2012
Yankees sign Hiroki Kuroda for a year at $10 million
It seemed that the Yankees were going to go quietly this offseason despite NOT winning the World Series in 2011. What were we thinking?
Minutes after reports surfaced of the Yankees trading Jesus Montero for right-hander Michael Pineda, Jack Curry reported the Yankees have signed Hiroki Kuroda for a one-year deal worth $10-11 million. Buster Olney confirmed it will be $10 million.
Kuroda had a strong season with the Dodgers last year, posting a 3.07 ERA in 202 innings pitched, striking out 161 with a 1.21 WHIP. At first glance, Kuroda likely becomes the No. 3 starter between Pineda and Ivan Nova.
BREAKING: Yankees trade Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda
The Yankees traded their most beloved and touted prospect in recent memory, for an unproven 22-year-old starter (he turns 23 in five days.
That's right. Jesus Montero, who is also 22 and made an impact on the Yankees last September and earned a spot on the playoff roster, was traded to the Mariners for Michael Pineda, according to Jon Heyman. Heyman adds that more players are involved and the Yankees initially inquired about Felix Hernandez but were denied.
UPDATE: The Yankees also gave up Hector Noeisi and the Mariners gave up Jose Campos.
UPDATE: The Yankees also gave up Hector Noeisi and the Mariners gave up Jose Campos.
January 12, 2012
Gammons: Yankees might try to sign Edwin Jackson
If Yankees ownership isn't satisfied with the team's starting pitching, they might seek free-agent starter Edwin Jackson, according to Peter Gammons.
Jackson played with the White Sox and Cardinals last season, finishing with a 3.79 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 199.2 innings pitched. Jackson would provide some stability to the Yankees' rotation, as he's pitched at least 183 innings each season since 2008.
As a reminder, right now they have (via official depth chart):
1. CC Sabathia
2. Ivan Nova
3. Phil Hughes
4. A.J. Burnett
5. Freddy Garcia
6. Hector Noeisi
Bernie Williams should join Kirby Puckett in the Hall of Fame?
If two players are similar enough, they should be honored similarly, too.
Williams received 9.6 percent of the vote, as announced in Monday's Hall of Fame balloting results, and frankly that appalls me. Puckett and Williams are very comparable players, but 72.5 percent of the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America disagree. How can this be?
YES Network's Steven Goldman made insightful comparisons of the two center fielders in this post, and I wish every voter would give it a read for the sake of the Hall of Fame. Not including Williams in Cooperstown would be a shame.
Stat: Brett Gardner and Albert Pujols had equal value in 2011
I'm not sure if Brett Gardner and Albert Pujols have ever been mentioned in the same breath by anyone until now. And I've determined that they still shouldn't unless one hits the ball to the other (very possible in 2012).
According to WAR (wins above replacement), the leading advanced metric to determine a player's value, Gardner and Pujols were worth the same last season.
Long pause
You heard me (to all the non-believers, click here). The 5-foot-10, 185-pound nine-hitter and the man known as The Machine both had a 5.1 WAR last season. So, how on earth is this possible?
January 11, 2012
Poll results: Yankees fans split on team's offseason grade
Some fans say the Yankees needed to do more this offseason. Others said they will be just fine. The results were split.
It's pretty clear to us at this point that Brian Cashman didn't like what was available this offseason and is waiting for next year's stacked free agent class, including Giants ace Matt Cain. It's either that or he has a lot of trust in his farm system and top four prospects Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances and Gary Sanchez.
It's pretty clear to us at this point that Brian Cashman didn't like what was available this offseason and is waiting for next year's stacked free agent class, including Giants ace Matt Cain. It's either that or he has a lot of trust in his farm system and top four prospects Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances and Gary Sanchez.
January 10, 2012
On this day, this blog turns 3
Phew, I almost missed my own party. Three years ago to the day, I created this blog.
Thank you all so much for reading.
As always, it's time to start counting the days until the day pitchers and catchers report: 41 days. It may not be the same without another member of the Core Four absent, but it of course will still be exciting.
January 3, 2012
New poll: Should the Yankees have done more?
I'd say it's about time for a new poll.
Should the Yankees have done more this offseason?
Even though I wasn't blogging for most of it, I didn't miss any big moves by Brian Cashman – because there haven't been any.
The Yankees re-signed Freddy Garcia, and more recently they brought back Andruw Jones. Those are Cashman's two biggest moves this offseason, making it pretty evident that Cashman either was not very fond of this year's free agent market, or that he is confident in his current team.
Should the Yankees have done more this offseason?
Even though I wasn't blogging for most of it, I didn't miss any big moves by Brian Cashman – because there haven't been any.
The Yankees re-signed Freddy Garcia, and more recently they brought back Andruw Jones. Those are Cashman's two biggest moves this offseason, making it pretty evident that Cashman either was not very fond of this year's free agent market, or that he is confident in his current team.
January 1, 2012
Start 2012 off right with an old Yogi commercial
This might just be my favorite commercial of all-time. Yogi Berra + Aflac duck + barber shop = classic. Enjoy, especially if you haven't seen it before.
(Let's not forget this is also in honor of Yogi being named "Wisest Fool of the Past 50 Years" by The Economist magazine in January 2005.)
(Let's not forget this is also in honor of Yogi being named "Wisest Fool of the Past 50 Years" by The Economist magazine in January 2005.)
December 30, 2011
Yankees re-sign Andrew Junes
The Yankees don't have a lot on their wish list this offseason, but one thing many fans have clamored for is to see Andruw Jones back in pinstripes.
Now he is, reports Jon Heyman, for one year and $2 million plus incentives.
And it's hard to find fans upset with this deal.
December 28, 2011
Red Sox add Andrew Bailey, GM is #winning
New closers keep coming to Boston while the Yankees haven't had to change in 16 years.
After losing six-year closer Jonathan Papelbon to free agency (Phillies, $50 million, 4 years with vesting option), the Red Sox weren't quite set on plugging in flamethrower Daniel Bard as the full-time closer. So they added Mark Melancon, as noted earlier today, saying he would be in the mix for the job after a strong 2011 with Houston. Just minutes ago, the Red Sox acquired Andrew Bailey, the Athletics' All-Star closer.
Hideki Okajima, Yankees agree to minor league deal
The Red Sox signed an ex-Yankee earlier this offseason in Mark Melancon, now the Yankees have agreed to a deal with a former Red Sox player, tweets David Waldstein.
Hideki Okajima had a 3.11 career ERA in five seasons with the Red Sox, but spent most of last year in Triple-A with Pawtucket, where he had a 2.29 ERA in 51 innings. Okajima was shaky with the Red Sox in 2010, and his general upward trend in ERA indicates that he's lost his deceptiveness with major league hitters.
December 27, 2011
100,000 hits ... and counting
While I was slaving away last semester at Quinnipiac not blogging about the Yankees, some faithful readers still kept coming back here. (And I'll be honest, some random Googlers showed up, too.)
Faithful reader or not, this blog you are reading has been visited more than 100,000 times before it reached 3 years old. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This means a great deal to me.
Unlike most journalists, I happen to like math. With some quick arithmetic I can tell you that six-digit number breaks down to about 100 visits per day for 1,000 days. Or four visitors per hour, or one visitor every 15 minutes.
American Legion baseball lost a great man in Bill Broughton
I'm sorry to tell you that an important person in my life passed away recently, but I would be remiss not to mention him here.
Bill Broughton, the founder of American Legion baseball Post 22 and my coach for two summers, was an inspiration and a motivator to me and so many other kids who played baseball in New Hampshire over the last two decades.
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| Bill Broughton is in the back row on the far right, and I'm standing behind No. 11 in the center. This season we made the playoffs for the first time in Post 22's history. (Click to enlarge.) |
Make no mistake, if I didn't love baseball, this blog wouldn't exist. I didn't know a thing about blogging when I first started playing for him, and he wasn't the one who turned me on to this (he probably never knew the word "blog" existed). But he did strengthen my love for the game.
Below is a letter of appreciation that ran on the sports front of my hometown newspaper, the Valley News, this morning. Even if Bill Broughton is just a name to you, he was a man worth meeting and certainly worth writing and reading about.
December 22, 2011
Yankee Stadium right now: Uprights and hash marks
Rutgers plays Iowa State in the Pinstripe Bowl Dec. 30. I can't say I've ever made it out to the stadium for a non-Yankees game, but I bet it would be an interesting experience.
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| Photo via @ISUCy |
Anyone ever been to a bowl game at Yankee Stadium? If yes, I'd love to hear what it's like. If not, do you like the idea?
The stadium is only a few years old and it already has hosted an array of non-baseball events. The first occasion was actually a prayer service, held by pastor Joel Osteen.
Here's a look at the first boxing match in the Bronx since 1976: Miguel Cotto vs. Yuri Foreman on June 5, 2010.
The stadium is only a few years old and it already has hosted an array of non-baseball events. The first occasion was actually a prayer service, held by pastor Joel Osteen.
Here's a look at the first boxing match in the Bronx since 1976: Miguel Cotto vs. Yuri Foreman on June 5, 2010.
Opponents Boston loved to hate in 2011 [Globe]
I am back, faithful readers.
And I’m damn glad.
It’s been two and a half months since my last post — by far the longest hiatus this blog has ever gone through — but I have every intention to resume daily blogging activities from this day forth. I’m a little ashamed to say my first post back isn’t an original lenNYsYankees.com work, but I figured it would be a good start.
I’m still working for Boston.com (remotely from Quinnipiac, my home in New Hampshire and even once from Florida), and my latest work is a feature on opponents who Boston fans loved to hate in 2011. So yes, some Yankees made the list. One of them was even voted the most hated opponent of all (including basketball, football and hockey opponents).
Can you guess the three players on the list? Check it out here, and let me know in the comments if there’s someone I forgot, or if there’s someone you feel doesn’t belong.
And I’m damn glad.
It’s been two and a half months since my last post — by far the longest hiatus this blog has ever gone through — but I have every intention to resume daily blogging activities from this day forth. I’m a little ashamed to say my first post back isn’t an original lenNYsYankees.com work, but I figured it would be a good start.
I’m still working for Boston.com (remotely from Quinnipiac, my home in New Hampshire and even once from Florida), and my latest work is a feature on opponents who Boston fans loved to hate in 2011. So yes, some Yankees made the list. One of them was even voted the most hated opponent of all (including basketball, football and hockey opponents).
Can you guess the three players on the list? Check it out here, and let me know in the comments if there’s someone I forgot, or if there’s someone you feel doesn’t belong.
October 7, 2011
Ivan Nova test results provide silver lining after tough loss
Nobody’s happy after last night’s loss, but at least there’s some good news on Ivan Nova’s arm.
Nova underwent an MRI on his throwing arm today after leaving last night’s start early. The results were good; he has a Grade 1 Flexor Strain, which is “expected to heal without complications this winter,” according to the Yankees announcement.
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