Fan Confidence Poll: August 5th, 2013

August 5, 2013 by Mike Axisa 39 Comments

Record Last Week: 2-3 (13 RS, 16 RA)
Season Record: 57-53 (420 RS, 431 RA, 54-56 pythag. record), 9.5 GB ALE/4.5 GB WC
Opponents This Week: @ White Sox (three games, Mon. to Weds.), Thurs. OFF, vs. Tigers (three games, Fri. to Sun.)

Top stories from last week:

The week started with an off-day, then the Yankees suffered a walk-off loss in their series opener against the Dodgers. Hiroki Kuroda salvaged the two-game series by beating Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday.
Following another off-day, the Bombers headed to San Diego for a three-game weekend set. CC Sabathia got hammered in the opening loss, then Curtis Granderson and Ivan Nova teamed up to give the team a win in the middle game. Phil Hughes got smacked around in yesterday’s loss.
Injury Updates: Alex Rodriguez (quad) played in two minor league rehab games and is ready to be activated. Derek Jeter (calf) is day-to-day with a Grade I strain. David Phelps (elbow) is out with soreness and is heading for tests. Michael Pineda (shoulder) is headed for tests after leaving a Triple-A start with stiffness. Frankie Cervelli (hand, elbow) is likely done for the year with lingering pain. David Robertson (arm) was unavailable for a few days due to fatigue but has since returned.
The Yankees did not make a single move prior to Wednesday’s trade deadline, but they did make a run at both Michael Young and Carlos Ruiz. They also had their eye on Alberto Callaspo. Two offers were made for Phil Hughes.
MLB will officially suspend A-Rod for the rest of this season and all of next season today. He reportedly reached out to the Yankees to discuss a possible buyout after suggesting the team and the league were conspiring to keep him off the field. Cervelli is “leaning strongly” towards accepting a plea deal.
Melky Mesa was sent down to Triple-A Scranton to clear a roster spot for Granderson, who was activated on Friday. David Adams went down for Jayson Nix, who was activated Tuesday.
The Yankees signed Dominican outfielder Leonardo Molina for $1.4M.

Please take a second to answer the poll below and give us an idea of how confident you are in the team. You can view the interactive Fan Confidence Graph anytime via the nav bar above, or by clicking here. Thanks in advance for voting.

trr

I’m at the shakiest “4” you could imagine.
The team has slowly but steadily fallen out of contention this year. Statistically, we still in it.
Realistically, not so much. Even the staunchest fans (In whose vanguard I proudly stand) can see the
handwriting on the wall. The injured veterans returning will not be enough, especially with issues
the starting pitching is experiencing. This team simply can’t overcome multi-run deficits.
DOTF, there’s still inconsistency and uncertainty, but at least there’s still hope there….
- lightSABR
  
  You’ve nailed it. The rotation falling apart–especially Sabathia sucking–has really been the nail in this season’s coffin. If it weren’t for that, we’d still be in this, even with the awful offense.
  - I’m One
    
    For this season, I agree. While they’re statistically in it, I find it hard to believe they can come back and make the playoffs. Going forward, I’m still reasonably confident the organization can put a consistently winning product on the field. This becomes even more true if A-Rod is suspended. That additional salary space will go a long way.
- dalelama
  
  Still a 4. Everything I predicted is coming true and my .500 prediction is on track. I predicted CC mediocrity also. Little from Arod and Tex, no farm help. 3 or 4 years of suckage on the horizon.
Joey Jo-Jo Junior Shabadoo

At a 5 where I’ve been for a while. Feels like we’re still in it, though that’s more and more unrealistic with each passing day (loss).

Gonna be an interesting week. I know we don’t know what it is yet, but the Pineda injury was a downer for me.
Vern Sneaker

Been at 4 for quite a while. Once Tex and Granderson went down, we never had much of a chance and many allowed themselves (like good hopeful fans) to deny that the inevitable regression to the mean (or worse) and injuries would hit Wells, Hafner, and Youkilis. Given the questionable winter moves and the pre-Tex/Granderson injuries, our only hope coming out of spring training was to get high-quality, consistent starting pitching all season.That didn’t happen. And the mid-range future worries me: our prospects are not close (if they happen at all) and management doesn’t seem to have a clear rebuilding strategy. In fact, they seem divided.
Frank

This is an old team with a lot of dead weight that needs to go. The minors don’t offer any immediate help. No starting pitching, no position players worth a damn who can help now or next year or probably the year after. As the for the rest of this season, just play the likes of Romine, Melky Mesa, Adams and see what they can do.
Jacob the OG

I have been voting six mostly this season but I have dipped to a 5, with Hughes and CC both getting rocked by the PADRES? Gotta do more to give me confidence.
Mike HC

The team is still one win streak away from making some noise but it is tough to be very confident right now. CC completely imploding is pretty worrisome for not only this year but the future.
- Mike HC
  
  Also, gotta admit that I’m very interested in the ARod return. In a very mediocre, low entertainment value year, the ARod return with all the controversy at least spices things up a bit.
  - I’m One
    
    I’m hoping he returns for the remainder of the season and makes a big splash. Then, hope he’s suspended for all of ’14 and reaches a deal with the Yankees to buy out the remainder of his contract.
Hassey

Yanks to finish 12 gb of 2nd wildcard #shitshow
Reggie C.

6.

Lets see how the payroll and luxury tax savings situation plays out over the next few days as the looming Arod suspension gets handed down today (hopefully).

Does Arod’s likely 1.5 season long minimum suspension make it easier to accept ownership’s possible decision to sign Cano to a 6 year/150-160 million dollar offer sheet?
- David Brown
  
  I actually think Rodriguez has a decent chance of getting only 50 Games or less (based on History and how Selig caved in to him and the Union), and it is up to the Yankees to decide if it is worth simply taking their medicine and releasing him. If I was them, it would be worth not turning this into a Circus (even if the price is not seeing Cano). I have simply lost interest in the team, and I will not watch them until Rodriguez is gone from the team.
  - Manny’s BanWagon
    
    I do think it’s kind of disgraceful having him in pinstripes back with the team but the Yanks are really at the mercy of Selig and the suspension process.
    
    I can never root for the guy again. Sad to say but though I always want the team to win, I’d I wouldn’t mind seeing him suck and his life made miserable by the fans.
  - The Other Sam
    
    I have to say I agree. The team has become lackluster. No excitement, no pride in what they put on the field just which players are cheap or foolishly spent on.
    
    And to me, there’s something not right about Alex wearing pinstripes again. I really hope they don’t go on incessantly about him tonight.
steves

So much bad to talk about but worst aspect of weekend for me was Girardi throwing up the white flag. He didn’t budge from the dugout (except one half-hearted attempt) to argue the horrendous calls going against the Yanks Friday night. He gave Overbay the green light on 3-0 and Overbay swung at ball 4 before striking out yesterday in the second inning (would have been 1st and 2nd no outs). His refusal to get in Cano’s lazy face now has migrated to Nunez. What a mess!
pat

I’d feel a lot better if we’d just play Nunez, Adams, and Romine for the rest of the year.
http://cornellatbat.tumblr.com Matthew Provenzano

I’m at a 4–optimistically. I think we all have to cede the fact that we have a long few years ahead of us. We’re going to have years like this, and some years much worse. I don’t expect this team to be a serious contender for another 4-5 years. If you look around the roster, the holes that already exist will only get bigger:

1B:Tex is getting older and more vulnerable to injury, and there is still a large chunk left on his contract.
2B:I’m hoping Cano sticks around; he’ll be a bright spot.
SS: Realistically, Jeter may only have one year left in him.
3B: Who even knows. At this point I’m ready to jump on the Jagielo 2015 wagon.
C: Gary Sanchez 2015 bandwagon?
OF: Gardner will be extremely good, and God I hope they resign Granderson. There’s a still a hole at one corner.
Pitchers: CC is getting much worse day by day, Pettite is horrible and will be gone (luckily), Kuroda will be gone most likely after this year, Hughes is a sack of horse manure, and then Nova, Phelps, and Pineda are question marks for the long-term. The bullpen, though, I think will still be pretty solid, even without Mo next year.

So, honestly, if the Yankees resign Cano and Granderson, you’re really only looking at 3 competent hitters in the lineup with a rotation of CC, Nova, Phelps, Hughes, and Pineda.

Yeah, we need at least 5 years to purge.
Manny’s BanWagon

3.
Not making the playoffs this year.
Next year likely will be worse without Mo, Grandy, likely Pettitte and Kuroda though losing Joba and Hughes might be addition by subtraction.
Ichiro, Jeter, Wells, Soriano, Teixiera all a year further away from their primes.
None of the top prospects look anywhere close to being ready for the majors.
Free agent market isn’t anything great and it’s sounding like $189 is still the plan.
CC may very well now be a #3 level starter and he’s owed huge money
CS Yankee

Typically an 8 or 9…started the season at a 8 and have now reached an all-time low (of this poll) to a 4.

Trade market never panned out, Vets are looking like war Vets, the circus is coming to Chi-town, CC turned into Hughes, Hughes turned into Hughes part 2, Jeet needs bubble wrap, Pronk…well, everyone gets the sad little picture of this season of horrors.

The bright stars (Kuroda, Mo, etc), mixed with the development of players (Nova,Claiborne…hmmm?), and the hope that others (Romine, Adams, etc) will figure it out almost is enough to put up with the “has-beens” (Wells, Hafner, etc) and “never-quite-were’s” (Overbay, etc).

Sorry, Mo.
Joe

Starting pitching was NOT the biggest issue this year, it was an issue but not the biggest. One of the worst things a team can do is waste a good outing from a starter especially in this era when scoring runs is tougher. If a team loses 2-0 that’s a lot difficult to recover from the next day than losing 7-0, because multiple things affect a 7-0 score than a 2-0 score. This team couldn’t recover well if it had a bad offensive game and in many cases it snowballs into weeks. Not saying the starters shouldn’t of done better, but how many more games are the Yankees going to lose this year where they give up 3 or less runs. Lately the pitching has been God awful, but you wonder if Sabathia being bad this year is a byproduct of him just being bad or having to pitch differently with each start knowing the Yanks aren’t going to score many runs. There’s always going to be some kind of tole taken on your record if you don’t score many runs, even title teams like the Giants that had great pitching had some tole taken on their team record.
nycsportzfan

Is Football here yet?
OldYanksFan

“Given the team’s current roster construction, farm system, management, etc., how confident are you in the Yankees’ overall future?

I’m not sure how an injury plagued 2013 effects our future.
1) The $189m cap effects our future. It tells me we will have at least 1 non-PS year, but that between the money saved and resetting the tax clock, our future will be better than it would have been otherwise.
2) Our farm usually rates around 10th out of 30. Considering we have literally had (on average) the worst picks for 17 straight years, this is a pretty good standing.
3) ARod’s suspension will save us over $34m, and between a future buyout, trade or retirement, probably another $10m+.

Because of the CC/Teix/ARod contracts, we KNEW we would have to pay the piper somewhere down the line. So these next 2 years might be our dues. And obviously, the CBA continues to make it as hard as possible on big money teams. However, I am fully confident that by 2015 or 2016, we will have a contending team again.

It’s possible going forward, that NO team will every again have the type of success the Yankees have had from ’96 to ’12. It’s like expecting the economy to be like it was from ’96 to ’00. These were not typical times…. even if you got used to them and wanted them to last forever.

Well Dorothy… nothing lasts forever.
But the Yankees should continue to be THE NEW YORK YANKEES, and I have faith they will continue to be the dominant team in MLB.
- Manny’s BanWagon
  
  Hope you’re right and we aren’t in for extended stretches of shitty baseball like the late 60s-mid 70s or the mid 80s to mid 90s.
- I’m One
  
  That pretty much sums up my feelings. I’m still (barely) voting a 7.
- iced coffee
  
  Great points. The only downside is that management has not displayed the aptitude for properly running this organization as would be expected. Injuries happen but they are now the obvious crutch to explain the lack of effort by management to put the best possible product on the field. The interference by Bros Stein, much like that of Levine with Soriano, will continue to be a thorn and a hindrance to future success because the decisions are made without thought or logic – see signing A. Soriano as a power bat.
  
  The direction of the team needs to change, the philosophy towards younger players and farm system needs to change, if this team is going to avoid those rough years of the 80’s.
  
  I am not confident that those running things get it or really care. They seem to be stubborn to change and confident that they can continue to buy and trade, using the rest of baseball as their farm system.
  
  Bob Dylan said, “These times, they are a changing”. Like Ron Burgundy, I am not sure the Yankees hierarchy have heard that song.
mt

Have been 7 but now at 6 – not a lot of great stuff going on in high minors while our competitor Red Sox flips Iglesias for a top pitcher like Peavy and still has Xander Boagerts (spelling?) to either flip or use – what is our minor league system producing at highest levels in comparison; Hughes looking worse for any possible QO (so either we are going to have to overpay him greatly at a $14 million QO or let him walk for absolutely nothing).

But biggest issue has got to be CC. Yes, even with this offense we would have a (long) shot if we had Kuroda and CC plus one more (and Nova has stepped up as Pettite and Hughes fall back) but CC has disappointed greatly – I thought with weather getting warmer he would get better or adjust more to his limited velocity but he has gotten even worse than what was seen as his shaky beginning of year.

I know it gets dismissed every time we bring up Cano’s streakiness but he really can be very hot or very cold. I do not know sabermetrics very well but wonder 1)is there any way he does get penalized at all if his production is shoehorned into fewer team games or all production during a particular time period created equally (i.e, if Cano has 1 HR for each of 10 games (10 total HRs) treated the same as if he hit 3 HRs for 3 games and then 1 HR during the other six (the same total of 10 HRs) and 2) is he really more “streaky” than the top players in game (Cabrera, Votto, etc.) – is it just confirmation bias because we see him every day or is he really more streaky than other top players? If he is streakly (his production is really shoehorned more into fewer games) is he really that valuable (you can only win a team game once whether you win 5-1 or 10-1 but if he is streaky you can lose a lot of 4-3 games where he could have made a difference.)
mt

Also I see people looking at Arod potential suspension salary savings in 2014 as a way to meet the $189 million goal. But don’t they really only get the maximum savings if they are below $189 million in both 2014 and 2015?

So in other words resigning Cano and still getting godd FAs like McCann and Choo, for example, may all work as far as $189 milion in 2014 if Arod suspended in 2014 but when he returns (or gets bought out) in 2015 we will be way over the $189 million. So I conclude it only helps if we sign folks for one year contracts but then free agent market is mediocre enough as it stands and one year contracts may be the way we would still get the damaged goods Youkilises of the world (i.e, FA folks not in their prime.) No way a healthy McCann or Choo accepst just oen year contract.

Also I failed to mention Pineda possible re-injury as another reason to go from 7 to 6 above – he is really critical to anything going forward.
- OldYanksFan
  
  No… hitting $189 for only one year is still a great benefit, as it resets to Tax clock. So, instead of paying a Tax of 50% for 2014 (if they go over $189m), 2015 and 2016, they pay 0% (on the $189m), 17% and 30% for 2014-2016.
  
  And there are some other savings, but this is the bigger piece of the pie.
  
  And yes, if they hit $189 in 2015, it pushes back the clock (that 1 year) and saves on salary and revenue sharing. But 2014 in the biggie.
  
  This is about the TAX savings:
  http://www.captainsblog.info/2012/11/28/are-yankees-headed-for-fiscal-cliff-a-closer-look-at-teams-plan-to-cut-payroll/18407/
  
  This is about REVENUE SHARING savings:
  http://www.captainsblog.info/2013/01/23/flaw-in-the-yankees-budget-plan-breaking-down-mlbs-revenue-sharing-system/18956/
gargoyle

There is no excuse for the state of this OF and that’s on Cashman.

Even with a completely healthy Granderson (and I was saying this in SP)this OF is atrocious.
LarryM Fl

5. Is a vote that spells mediocrity. I do not believe the Yankees can make the playoffs. The starting rotation is billed on a foundation of cracks. CC,Andy,Hughes have under performed. NOva and Kuroda are our best chance for a win if the offense can find 3 or 4 runs, pathetic.

The Arod situation will be horrible for the team. The distractions are huge. Players being questioned about Arod their teammate while trying to search for the proper words. He is a $hitstorm of trouble. He comes with the idea of helping this team win but its all about him and getting his money, limiting his suspension time. I hope he is suspended until 2015 and the Yankees make a deal for a reasonable buyout. Unless he gets hurt prior to the arbitration hearing and becomes unable to play forever.

I hope the Girardi and the front office will come to the conclusion that Romine, Adams and Nunez should get a ton of playing time. This will help to evaluate their help in 2014. If Arod gets suspended and Jeter is healthy. I would hope he accepts a move to third. I would hunt high and low for a shortstop even one that is developing in the minors. We have a chip or two in the minors to trade.

Their is no pitching help for the rotation in aaa. I might consider Warren to stretch out with Hughes as his caddy until season’s end.

Its a mess but as a long time fan I can live with a slight rebuild but the FO has to see what the AAA kids can do.

I would not sign Cano because the roster may not compliment his abilities. Why pay 150 over 6 years for a part that does not fit. He can not carry a team. So we should not expect it. Personally, he does not hustle unless he determines its necessary. Not for 150 million dollars.
- OldYanksFan
  
  If ARod is able to play thru his appeal, this whole thing will be over in a week.
  
  He’s suspended. He appeals. After all that has been written, there simply won’t be much new to write about. Things will normalize by the weekend.
kingslayer

Anyone voting a 2 or higher is dilusional!
- A-Rod’s Fancy-Pants Sham
  
  Or diluted!!!
  dilated!!!
  dimensional!!!
  diverse!!!
  didactic!!!
fat jeter

Started the season at a 5. consistently been at 3 since the all star break. some people are glass half full, some people are glass half empty — when it comes to the yanks this year, i am a glass is half empty and it is full of piss kind of person.
Fin

I don’t think we will know anything about the long term future of this team until after the 2014 season. The Yankees main goal seems to be to get under 189, not winning or starting a rebuild. They have Soriano, Wells and Ichiro through 2014, to help get under the 189. With those 3 guys alone the 2014 team is almost doomed from the start. We will have to see if the Yankees go back to their free spending ways after 2014 but I doubt it, Hal has said being under the penalty threshold is the directive he has given the team. IF that continues to be the case, it could take a very long time for the Yankees to rebuild. They will have to wait out Tex, Arod and cc’s contracts. Hopefully, the rapidly declining YES ratings and an empty stadium forces Hal to readjust his plan. For all of these reasons and uncertainty, I am at a 3 (not to mention almost no one to be overly excited about in the minors this year).
The Other Sam

I remain a 4 as I have been since pretty much the start of the season. I knew this was coming.

1. The offense wasn’t improved in the offseason.
2. The pitching was showing enough signs last season to know not to depend so heavily on it this season.
3. Ownership meddling to foolishly enforce a foolish plan.
4. The farm is nothing to write home about. Inflated hopes there.

The Yankees used to take pride in putting the best out on the field. Ownership wanted to win and always found a way to do it. Where’s the will to win, where’s the pride? Now it’s just ‘we’ll hang on to and dig up any old/young junk to stick out there. Yuck.
Hardy

The best position player, the best starting pitcher and the best relief pitcher – all are in the final year of their contract.

The shortstop with multiple injuries, the rapidly declining ace, the 3B with the biggest contract of all the time and the 1B with a wrist injury – all are signed for big contracts in the next year(s).

#NotA10