A month before Spring Training, the roster (whether we like it or not) is starting to come into focus. Also the questions that they'll take into ST are also starting to come into focus.
The obvious: Who plays 2B and who plays SS? Ideally for me, unless Tulowitzki flashes his 2015 form with the bat and/or with the leather, it's LeMahieu and Gleyber with Tulo in a backup role.
Secondary: What does the bullpen look like? Do they add or are they content with the personnel on the roster? My preference would be to hold what they've got, because perversely and counterintuitively it should keep the big arms fresher (because they won't have to handle garbage time)
Tertiary: What do they do with Adams, Acevedo and Abreu? Do they force the issue on starting vs. relieving because they're all 40 man guys?
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For all the hot air about Andujar, Machado, Bird and whoever else, their starting pitching may be shakier than last year. Severino is very good but he's not a true ace to the extent Sale is. After that every one is a question mark. Even Tanaka is a question mark. He has an awful lot of pitches on that arm, he doesn't have a great four seamer, and he's in such poor condition that he pulled both hamstrings running 90 feet. And then there's the elbow. When he starts to decline, it won't be gradual. He's going to fall off a cliff. After that we've got Happ who's good but probably not as good as what we saw last season, Paxton who's a question mark, and CC who's running on fumes. We'd better hope that Gray, Cessa or German can step it up. Montgomery will help when he comes back, but he's coming off TJ.
It's weird that you are concerned about Tanaka's health and consider him a question mark but say nothing about Sale's shoulder which wrecked his second half and is a massive concern for him going forward. And you are taking shots at Tanaka's "condition" cause of his baserunning? WTF? Happ was luckier with the Yankees. His peripherals between the Blue Jays and the Yankees were pretty similar and Happ has been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball for a while. He is not going to come back to earth cause he is what he is. A very solid #3 starter. And how exactly is a LHP in his prime with a career 3.13 FIP in Paxson a question mark? For reference Patrick Corbin has a career 3.65 FIP and is getting 6 years based on 1 great year.
You couldn't be more negative about the Yankees starting pitching if you were the most biased and brain dead Red Sox fan ever. Congrats.
Paxton gets injured a lot; I assume that's what he was referencing.
Then comes the question who plays short if and when Tulo gets hurt? I don't know.
I hope you're right robbie but my main reason for not liking this signing is that Gleyber seems to be the one that will be moved. DJ is a 3 time Gold Glove at 2B w/little time at other positions. They jerked Gleyber around in the minors at 3B,SS & 2B so realistically he has far more experience at SS & 3B & logically seems to be the easier move.Like you,I had hoped they'd give him a full year at 2B to acclimate himself but that,at least to me,seems very unlikely now!
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For all the hot air about Andujar, Machado, Bird and whoever else, their starting pitching may be shakier than last year. Severino is very good but he's not a true ace to the extent Sale is. After that every one is a question mark. Even Tanaka is a question mark. He has an awful lot of pitches on that arm, he doesn't have a great four seamer, and he's in such poor condition that he pulled both hamstrings running 90 feet. And then there's the elbow. When he starts to decline, it won't be gradual. He's going to fall off a cliff. After that we've got Happ who's good but probably not as good as what we saw last season, Paxton who's a question mark, and CC who's running on fumes. We'd better hope that Gray, Cessa or German can step it up. Montgomery will help when he comes back, but he's coming off TJ.
It's weird that you are concerned about Tanaka's health and consider him a question mark but say nothing about Sale's shoulder which wrecked his second half and is a massive concern for him going forward. And you are taking shots at Tanaka's "condition" cause of his baserunning? WTF? Happ was luckier with the Yankees. His peripherals between the Blue Jays and the Yankees were pretty similar and Happ has been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball for a while. He is not going to come back to earth cause he is what he is. A very solid #3 starter. And how exactly is a LHP in his prime with a career 3.13 FIP in Paxson a question mark? For reference Patrick Corbin has a career 3.65 FIP and is getting 6 years based on 1 great year.
You couldn't be more negative about the Yankees starting pitching if you were the most biased and brain dead Red Sox fan ever. Congrats.
After having a stent put in he needs to be on blood thinners for a period. If he's still on blood thinners, I don't see how he can pitch. If he has the slightest complication from his heart or his knee, he's done.
I don't expect him to look totally transformed less than 3 months after the season ended - but he's obviously working at it and we'll have to see if there's any improvement.
If he has to be moved, he has to be moved - but the options as far as where to move him aren't any easier. 1B is far from a guarantee - LF is not easy to play @ YS and if his first step is an issue, it's not going to be fixed out there. The only thing I see being an option would be if they feel that Stanton in a corner OF spot is less of a liability than Andujar @ 3B and they want to use Andujar as the DH more.
You can't rely on a guy who pulled hamstrings running 90 feet.
It has to go up there with posts about no wind at night, employing sumo wrestlers on the line, deploying the 2-9 formation and how simple it is to catch a punt.
We're worried about an AL pitcher's hamstring because he tweaked 'em last summer?
Pretty sure that's not going to be something we need to concern ourselves with.
You can't rely on a guy who pulled hamstrings running 90 feet.
It has to go up there with posts about no wind at night, employing sumo wrestlers on the line, deploying the 2-9 formation and how simple it is to catch a punt.
The no wind at night theory still destroys me. I'll never get over that one.
The Yankees love their depth and will let Spring Training play out where there are always injuries, surprises and etc.
I think they add another reliever in Ottavino if they are breaking the 226M tax barrier or Warren if they are scaling under 226M.
I am beginning to really think Gray is in Tampa for the start of ST. I never thought that was a possibility a few months ago.
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have read the post that takes the almighty cake!
You can't rely on a guy who pulled hamstrings running 90 feet.
It has to go up there with posts about no wind at night, employing sumo wrestlers on the line, deploying the 2-9 formation and how simple it is to catch a punt.
The no wind at night theory still destroys me. I'll never get over that one.
I'm not familiar with the "no wind at night" theory, someone please enlighten me (or en-dumb-en me)?
I still expect a reliever like Ottavino (or maybe to a lesser degree, Warren) - but I think it's safe to say Machado/Harper aren't happening. Which is fine.
I don't think it's a bad strategy to go into the year and get some games under our belts and then reevaluate where we need to improve mid-year. It's not like we're married to 1-40 the second the season starts.
There will be players available at the deadline and things we can do. There should still be a good bit of flexibility.
I think they need to replace D-Rob Dunedin. Kahnle is the lottery ticket if he is healthy again, but I want another solid proven guy back there. Make the strength dominant to counter the Sox and Stros strengths versus NYY.
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they need to leave some shuttle space available to handle short starts and doubleheaders, and there are plenty of 40-man guys who can shuttle, a handful of whom could be a lot better than up and down guys.
I think they need to replace D-Rob Dunedin. Kahnle is the lottery ticket if he is healthy again, but I want another solid proven guy back there. Make the strength dominant to counter the Sox and Stros strengths versus NYY.
What was the Britton signing?
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In comment 14264569 Dunedin81 said:
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they need to leave some shuttle space available to handle short starts and doubleheaders, and there are plenty of 40-man guys who can shuttle, a handful of whom could be a lot better than up and down guys.
I think they need to replace D-Rob Dunedin. Kahnle is the lottery ticket if he is healthy again, but I want another solid proven guy back there. Make the strength dominant to counter the Sox and Stros strengths versus NYY.
What was the Britton signing?
Britton replaced Britton... No?
The Yanks can easily over take the Red Sox this season depending on the health of the team. They get healthy seasons from the starting staff for the most part, they should see upticks in production from Bird, Stanton, Judge, and Sanchez, that is more then enough offense. This teams starting pitching is where they will win or lose this thing.
The Big maple may be ready to stay healthy, and Severino has once again been working with Pedro, and last time he did that he went from starting flop and bullpen arm to top 5 starter in the AL. I am looking for that to happen once again. When you have Haap and Tanaka as your 3 and 4 you are in good shape, the worries here are not talent, they are health.
I know CC can't seem to make it 6-7 innings anymore, but 5 innings of 3.7 ERA pitching is very solid from a 5th starter, especially in the ALE.
Sevy is as good an ace as you'll find outside of the top Cy Young candidates. Tanaka is a great 2. Happ is a solid 3. Paxton will be an awesome 4 with upside.
Obviously injury is always a concern. But, the point of going after a Kluber isn't because we have a weak rotation. It's because we could have the best rotation if we added another #1.
Maybe I'm just a homer. But, I'm not concerned about our starters winning games this year.
It's possible internal options emerge and make it less of a necessity - but I'd like us to have the same capacity we had last year, so I'd want to replace Robertson with another MLB quality reliever.
Bringing Britton back was great. I just think we should be adding one more. Cashman said the goal was to add 2 from the start anyway, so I think they're still looking at some.
Even if it's Warren coming back before he gets flipped again @ the deadline, that's fine.
I always kind of feel like you can never have a bullpen "too good"
I'd find it a bit odd if LeMahieu was just a utility guy. He was #2 amongst all MLB 2nd baseman in dwar last year, separated by .1. It would be silly to get that guy and not have him play D almost every day, even if it's at different spots.
To me this is the benchmark - we lost with most of this team to the Sox in 4 games and will likely play them again in a playoff series this year, regardless of which team wins the AL East.
Sox lost Kelly, but not much else. Kimbrel is still a pending FA and may land in again in Beantown...
The Sox were clearly the better team in the ALDS.
Rather, good enough against the Indians.
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3m3 minutes ago
Spoke to Aaron Boone today for an upcoming feature on YES. He recently spent 3 days in the Dominican Republic and visited with Severino, Andujar, Torres and Florial. Sounded optimistic about the defensive strides Andujar is making.
Ownership appear very much concerned with keeping their core together and the prospective cost in a few years of doing that. Is it better for the long-term success of this team to trade Andujar for Machado now and then not keep one of the soon-to-be properly paid homegrown stars?
I'd rather they spend 400mm per season because i'm a fan and i'm both selfish in wanting all the best players and don't care about how profitable the team is for the owners. I also can't fault ownership for managing their-team, their-way.
For me, bottom line, they need a new CBA where players can get fairly paid much earlier in their careers. Ownership had no issue with paying players until they were 40 years old when they were looking the other way on PEDs and the players are now really getting squeezed.
Subject to injury, the core of Severino, Tanaka, Paxton and Happ should be strong enough to win series' in the post-season. If they aren't, I don't think there are any additional offensive weapons that will make the difference.
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In comment 14264152 Ron from Ninerland said:
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For all the hot air about Andujar, Machado, Bird and whoever else, their starting pitching may be shakier than last year. Severino is very good but he's not a true ace to the extent Sale is. After that every one is a question mark. Even Tanaka is a question mark. He has an awful lot of pitches on that arm, he doesn't have a great four seamer, and he's in such poor condition that he pulled both hamstrings running 90 feet. And then there's the elbow. When he starts to decline, it won't be gradual. He's going to fall off a cliff. After that we've got Happ who's good but probably not as good as what we saw last season, Paxton who's a question mark, and CC who's running on fumes. We'd better hope that Gray, Cessa or German can step it up. Montgomery will help when he comes back, but he's coming off TJ.
It's weird that you are concerned about Tanaka's health and consider him a question mark but say nothing about Sale's shoulder which wrecked his second half and is a massive concern for him going forward. And you are taking shots at Tanaka's "condition" cause of his baserunning? WTF? Happ was luckier with the Yankees. His peripherals between the Blue Jays and the Yankees were pretty similar and Happ has been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball for a while. He is not going to come back to earth cause he is what he is. A very solid #3 starter. And how exactly is a LHP in his prime with a career 3.13 FIP in Paxson a question mark? For reference Patrick Corbin has a career 3.65 FIP and is getting 6 years based on 1 great year.
You couldn't be more negative about the Yankees starting pitching if you were the most biased and brain dead Red Sox fan ever. Congrats.
If you watched real baseball and lived in the real world rather than playing fantasy baseball you'd understand. While I'm optimistic that Paxton will work out in the long run, many pitchers have struggled when first coming to the Yankees. Even Clemens had his problems when he first came here. And yes, that base running injury of Tanaka's concerns me. The ability to run 90 feet is basic for any athlete and the fact that we are depending on a guy who can't is frightening. He's already shown inconsistency and he doesn't have a good enough fastball to bail him out if his sinker and breaking stuff aren't working. We'd better have a contingency plan in case Tanaka goes in the tank. As for CC I'll be amazed if we get much out of him all. Before the surgery the best hope was that he could hold the fort until Montgomery gets back.
After having a stent put in he needs to be on blood thinners for a period. If he's still on blood thinners, I don't see how he can pitch. If he has the slightest complication from his heart or his knee, he's done.
There's absolutely no reason why he couldn't pitch on blood thinners. Depending on which one he's on there may be some side effects like some shortness of breath but not everyone experiences side effects.
As for the thinners themselves, he'll most likely be on them for 6-12 months at most, depending on the type of stent. If he had a heart attack and then had the stent put in, he'd be on them for at least two years.
The only real major concern with being on thinners is a head injury. I don't think I'd want to play football on them becuase of this but pitching shouldn't be any sort of issue. As far as getting a normal cut, it just takes longer to stop the bleeding.
It's just a matter of being a little more cautious but they don't stop a person from doing what they normally do day to day.
Upshot: Given the overall lack of apparent competition, Phils are confident they will land either Harper or Machado.
They are not in a hurry to make something happen and a signing might not happen until February.
Phils have made it clear to Harper's and Manny's agents that in no event will they be signing both players.
Because the Athletic is behind a paywall, link is to article excerpt and discussion in a Philly rag.
Philly Voice - ( New Window )
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In comment 14264296 Deejboy said:
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In comment 14264152 Ron from Ninerland said:
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For all the hot air about Andujar, Machado, Bird and whoever else, their starting pitching may be shakier than last year. Severino is very good but he's not a true ace to the extent Sale is. After that every one is a question mark. Even Tanaka is a question mark. He has an awful lot of pitches on that arm, he doesn't have a great four seamer, and he's in such poor condition that he pulled both hamstrings running 90 feet. And then there's the elbow. When he starts to decline, it won't be gradual. He's going to fall off a cliff. After that we've got Happ who's good but probably not as good as what we saw last season, Paxton who's a question mark, and CC who's running on fumes. We'd better hope that Gray, Cessa or German can step it up. Montgomery will help when he comes back, but he's coming off TJ.
It's weird that you are concerned about Tanaka's health and consider him a question mark but say nothing about Sale's shoulder which wrecked his second half and is a massive concern for him going forward. And you are taking shots at Tanaka's "condition" cause of his baserunning? WTF? Happ was luckier with the Yankees. His peripherals between the Blue Jays and the Yankees were pretty similar and Happ has been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball for a while. He is not going to come back to earth cause he is what he is. A very solid #3 starter. And how exactly is a LHP in his prime with a career 3.13 FIP in Paxson a question mark? For reference Patrick Corbin has a career 3.65 FIP and is getting 6 years based on 1 great year.
You couldn't be more negative about the Yankees starting pitching if you were the most biased and brain dead Red Sox fan ever. Congrats.
If you watched real baseball and lived in the real world rather than playing fantasy baseball you'd understand. While I'm optimistic that Paxton will work out in the long run, many pitchers have struggled when first coming to the Yankees. Even Clemens had his problems when he first came here. And yes, that base running injury of Tanaka's concerns me. The ability to run 90 feet is basic for any athlete and the fact that we are depending on a guy who can't is frightening. He's already shown inconsistency and he doesn't have a good enough fastball to bail him out if his sinker and breaking stuff aren't working. We'd better have a contingency plan in case Tanaka goes in the tank. As for CC I'll be amazed if we get much out of him all. Before the surgery the best hope was that he could hold the fort until Montgomery gets back.
After having a stent put in he needs to be on blood thinners for a period. If he's still on blood thinners, I don't see how he can pitch. If he has the slightest complication from his heart or his knee, he's done.
There's absolutely no reason why he couldn't pitch on blood thinners. Depending on which one he's on there may be some side effects like some shortness of breath but not everyone experiences side effects.
As for the thinners themselves, he'll most likely be on them for 6-12 months at most, depending on the type of stent. If he had a heart attack and then had the stent put in, he'd be on them for at least two years.
The only real major concern with being on thinners is a head injury. I don't think I'd want to play football on them becuase of this but pitching shouldn't be any sort of issue. As far as getting a normal cut, it just takes longer to stop the bleeding.
It's just a matter of being a little more cautious but they don't stop a person from doing what they normally do day to day.
I've had some stents put in after a heart attack and have been on some strong ones for almost three years now. I'm not a pitcher obviously but I haven't noticed any problems with healing from work, exercise, swelling or anything strenuous.
I'm sure CC has the best Cardiologist available and they'll be advising him and keeping a close eye on him but from all I've experienced the main concern would be a head injury. Another would be some type of internal bleeding in the stomach lining, but there are signs for that and I'm sure if that was a problem he'd have experienced it by now.
I disagree. His range is not horrible. I watched probably 145 games last year. His throws to 1st base are the problem and they became worse later in the year. There comes a time that the eye test is necessary. I don't have a problem with range. But they cannot have the double clutches, skips, hops bounced throws and late throws.
I'm not going to debate it further because I have a different observation than you. If he made his throws competently, there would be no discussion of his range.
I'm in agreement he must be better defensively.
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I don't mean to single you out. Just making a point. Andujar's range is horrific. It's not poor it's historically bad. He's a good hitter. He's very good at covering the plate. I think he has a better chance of improving his OBP by being a little more selective than he does improving his fielding. I think he's as good as he's going to get at 3B. I don't think his trade value is very high because it's no secret he can't play defense at all. We'll see how it plays out.
I disagree. His range is not horrible. I watched probably 145 games last year. His throws to 1st base are the problem and they became worse later in the year. There comes a time that the eye test is necessary. I don't have a problem with range. But they cannot have the double clutches, skips, hops bounced throws and late throws.
I'm not going to debate it further because I have a different observation than you. If he made his throws competently, there would be no discussion of his range.
I'm in agreement he must be better defensively.
FWIW, I just read the article on Andujar in RAB. Mike pretty much says everything I just wrote.
Well that would suck
Oh man, if that were to happen the Hal backlash would be far crazier than it is even now.
Would you have put Sheffield in the exciting category and if so, did he fall out of it?
Where would you play Harper?
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We have a handful of arms who could be back-end types, like Mike King and German, and Johnny Lasagna probably has a mid-rotation ceiling. But the next wave of really exciting young arms (Deivi Garcia, Roansey Contreras, Clarke Schmidt) probably have realistic ETAs of mid-season 2020.
Would you have put Sheffield in the exciting category and if so, did he fall out of it?
Yeah Sheffield was exciting to me. We'll be fortunate if any of those three gets to that prospect stature and that trade value.
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are way under what people expected, I really wish we'd step in on one of them and get it done. I prefer Bryce but I'd be happy with either. We'd go from being on the same level as Sox and Stros (and to a lesser extent CLE) to favored over them.
Where would you play Harper?
Rotate him through the OF spots with Judge and Stanton and have him also play 1B. We could use some lefty pop and he has immense talent. But Macahdo is more of a "fit" for what we need defensively, I understand that.
Rotate him through the OF spots with Judge and Stanton and have him also play 1B. We could use some lefty pop and he has immense talent. But Macahdo is more of a "fit" for what we need defensively, I understand that.
I agree re lefty, which is why I'm still hoping for Bird, though I know some consider him a lost cause.