Archive for Links
Link Dump: Backups, Cervelli, Media Jerks
Posted by: | CommentsLet’s start Friday off with a few random links from around the netweb…
Projecting the backup outfielders
Sean at Pending Pinstripes took a look at some projections for the Yankees’ reserve outfielders, which essentially includes everyone not named Curtis Granderson or Nick Swisher. Unsurprisingly, Brett Gardner projects to be the best player of the bunch in 2010 on the strength of his outstanding defense and slightly better than league average bat. What is surprising is that the second best projected performance comes from Reid Gorecki, a minor league free agent the Yanks signed back in January. Although his offense will be below average, his defense isn’t all that far off from Gardner’s.
Cervelli may go all Dark Helmet on us
After suffering a concussion last week when he took a pitch to the noggin, Frankie Cervelli might use one of those big Rawlings S100 batting helmets this year. It’s the same helmet David Wright comically wore a few times last year, when he did his best Rick Moranis in Spaceballs impression. Safety first, of course, but that doesn’t mean we can’t laugh on the inside.
Hopefully you remember this post from a few days ago, which disputed a claim from the Philly Inquirer’s Bill Conlin that the Phillies might have the best infield of the modern era. It’s pretty obvious he’s wrong, as they don’t even have the best infield of 2010. However, when a NoMaas reader by the name of Matt respectfully disagreed with Conlin, his emails were met with inflammatory responses. How could someone in Conlin’s position possibly be this disrespectful to his readers?
We joke about how the media in New York can be overly dramatic and stuff, but I’ll say this much, I’ve never felt disrespected by any of the guys who cover the Yankees, even when we were in disagreement. I feel bad for Phillies’ fans that have to put up with that.
Link Dump: Park, IPK, Jeter, BP Rankings
Posted by: | CommentsThese links have a lower Spring Training ERA than Jon Albaladejo … combined.
Doing his best Carl Pavano impression, Chan Ho Park suffered what was called a “sore glute” while getting his running in today. The Yankees canceled his planned live batting practice session this afternoon as a precaution, and he’ll throw tomorrow instead. Park, along with Mariano Rivera and Damaso Marte, should get into their first Spring Training game in a week or so.
Moving to the NL doesn’t guarantee Ian Kennedy success
When the Yankees sent Ian Kennedy to Arizona as part of the Curtis Granderson trade, the immediate thought was that the former first round pick would enjoy some immediate success in the senior circuit. Surely, the lack of a DH and the the three pitcher’s parks in the NL West would be kinder than the AL East, but as our own Joe P. mentions at FanGraphs, IPK’s fly ball tendencies don’t fit to well with Chase Field, where he’ll do the majority of his pitching in 2010 (presumably).
With Brandon Webb likely to start the season on the DL, the Diamondbacks currently have IPK penciled into their third starter’s spot. Yikes.
Could Derek Jeter become the greatest Yankee ever?
I’m inclined to say no, but Anthony McCarron of the Daily News makes a long and convincing case. For what it’s worth, Jeter is 60th all-time with 68.7 career WAR. Babe Ruth? Try 172.0 career WAR. I’d call that an uphill battle.
Baseball Prospectus’ Organization Rankings
As prospect season comes to a close, the last set of rankings we’ll see are BP’s rankings of the thirty farm systems (subs. req’d). The bottom half was posted today, and the Yankees came in at number 26 overall. While the presence of Jesus Montero gives the team a bonafide superstar prospect, the knock against them is that none of their upper level pitchers have high ceilings, and they don’t have any position players close to contributing (besides Montero). They do note, however, that the team has several prospects in the lower minors that could take a big step forward this season.
The Sunday Sports Section
Posted by: | CommentsEvery Sunday it seems like there are tons of Yankees links in my reader. They’re all worth a read, or at least a glance, kind of like the Sunday sports section. I’ll try to make this a regular thing. This way, you’ll also know about what time I wake up on Sundays.
- “Nobody in this organization is mad at Alex,” said Yankees president Randy Levine. Again, when camp is as quiet as the Yankees’, manufactured controversy is sometimes all we get. Also, check out a video of Andrew Brackman at the bottom of the article.
- Some Q&A with Curtis Granderson from Marc Carig. He explains how he keeps up with his heavy community activity schedule in addition to the questions about hitting lefties and his eyes.
- The umpires have already made changes for the 2010 season. It appears we will no longer get a chuckle when Randy Marsh calls balls and strikes. He’s retired and will become a supervisor, as has Charlie Reliford.
- Looking for profiles? John Harper does CC Sabathia, and Joe LaPointe does Kei Igawa. I guess it’s a lefty pitcher themed Sunday. For the geeks, a profile on DeAngelo Mack.
- Also for the geeks: sabermetric primers. Graham MacAree at Lookout Landing runs down his. You can also take a free online sabermetric course.
Linkage: Upton, Montero, Rivera
Posted by: | CommentsDon’t worry, these links won’t be sent to the minors to start the season…
Justin Upton close to a long-term deal
I was one of many Yankee fans patiently waiting for The Justin Upton to hit free agency, however just like Felix Hernandez and Seattle, Upton is signing long-term to stay in Arizona. The 22-year-old is set to receive a six year deal worth $50M, which will still allow him to hit free agency at age-28. After hitting .300-.366-.532 with 26 homers and 20 steals last season, Upton was probably going to build on those numbers in 2010 and set himself up for a pretty nice payday in his first year of arbitration eligibility. Too bad.
Could Austin Romine end up being more valuable than Jesus Montero?
Well of course he could. But for it to happen, Montero would need to become a full-time DH and produce like Paul Konerko (another big righty bat who was too big to stick at catcher), while Romine becomes a slightly better than league average backstop. Bryan Smith at FanGraphs ran through the numbers and the comparison, but the moral of the story is that even just faking it as a catcher will make Montero so much more valuable than he would be anywhere else. That’s why the Yankees won’t move him from behind the plate until it’s absolutely necessary.
Strawberry: Jenrry Mejia is the next Mariano Rivera
I love Darryl Strawberry, I really do. He was my favorite player as a kid in the 80’s, but come on dude. You can’t just look at the velocity and movement that Mets’ prospect Jenrry Mejia gets on his fastball and compare him to the greatest reliever of all time. The 19-year-old Mejia was ranked as the 56th best prospect in the game by Baseball America, but he’s walked 92 batters in 210 career minor league innings. Mo? Try 98 walks in 432.1 minor league innings. Command > movement > velocity, folks. Learn it, love it.
And finally, here’s a new site to check out called Sabometrics. Make sure you check it out, there’s some pretty interesting stuff in there.
Sunday stories: Spring training, Posada, Montero, Rivers
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s nothing new from us yet, but while you drink your morning cup of coffee check out these stories.
- Arizona ponying up for spring training. Florida has long been the favored site for spring training, but this year, for the first time, they will host the same number of teams as Arizona. The state has done a lot to accommodate teams, including subsidies for training facilities. Plus, I’m sure players enjoy training in the dryer weather. Give the Yankees fan base in Florida, I doubt they’ll ever make the move.
- Jorge not thinking about the end. Clearly, a ballplayer won’t admit weakness, especially to the press. So when Jorge says that “they are going to really have to rip [the uniform] off me” to get him out from behind the plate, we can just attribute that to his competitive nature. But at a time when many focus on Jorge’s shortcomings, it’s nice to read a laudatory article on him.
- Marc Carig has a Q&A with Jesus Montero that you’d probably have found anyway. My favorite quote: “I like to have fun when I’m hitting. I love to hit. If we don’t hit in baseball, it’s not baseball. This is the best thing in my life: hit home runs, have fun, hit batting practice. Hitting for me is the best thing in my life.”
- It sounds like Mickey Rivers wants a full-time gig with the Yanks. He usually appears as a special instructor in spring training, but wants to work as a minor league instructor.
Finally, I have a serious question for people who read on the weekdays:
Link Dump: Granderson, Hughes, DePaula
Posted by: | CommentsSome stuff worth mentioning, but not worth their own posts…
Curtis Granderson gets contacts
Despite having 20/30 vision, new centerfielder Curtis Granderson will be wearing contacts for the first time in his career this season. “They said, ‘Your vision is 20/30, so let’s see if we can improve it,’” said Granderson. “For most people, they’d let it go, but since we can possibly make me see better to hit, who knows. We’ll see.” They considered Lasik at one point, but I guess they didn’t see the need to go that far just yet. Neither side is using his eyesight as an excuse for Granderson’s struggles against lefties or pop ups or anything like that, they’re just looking to make an improvement wherever they can.
Phil Hughes is throwing changeups
About a week ago, we heard that the Phil Hughes was going to focus on developing his changeup this spring in an effort to boost his repertoire in anticipation of returning to the rotation. Of course, we’ve heard this before. During his bullpen session yesterday, Hughes threw about a dozen changeups (40 pitches total), and he’s going to continue doing so all through the exhibition season. Given his fastball-cutter-curveball trio, Hughes doesn’t need the change to be anything more than a show-me pitch to lefthanders, but if he can develop into something better than that, then great.
Yankees still in on Rafael DePaula
Even though he’s sitting on an offer from the Mariners, the Yankees are still trying to sign Dominican righty Rafael DePaula. The 17-year-old was suspended by MLB for a year because he apparently lied about his age, however his birthdate has since been confirmed and he’s free to sign with any team. DePaula stands 6′-3″ and has reportedly hit 97 in the past, which puts him in line for a seven figure payout. The largest bonus the Yanks have ever given to an amateur pitcher from Latin American is the $800,000 they gave Arodys Vizcaino back in 2007.
A look at the history of stadiums and stadium names
Wezen-Ball put together a great infographic showing each club’s stadium and it’s name, dating back to the 1800’s. I love stuff like this. So much I didn’t know…
Friday Night Linkage: Gardner, Draft, Ohlendorf
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s some link to check out if you’re stumbling in at 3am…
Could Gardner be the next Nyjer Morgan?
Over at FanGraphs, Matt Klaassen wonders if gritty, gutty Brett Gardner could develop into this year’s version of Nyjer Morgan. Morgan, who posted a measly .320 wOBA and 0.9 WAR in 2008, broke out last season by putting up a respectable .340 wOBA to go with spectacular defense that made him just about a five win player. It was until the Morgan was traded to the Nats at midseason (and moved to centerfield) that he really took off, so maybe the Yanks should just stick Gardner in center right from the get-go.
I’m not bullish on Brett’s offensive ability, but if his defense is as good as the small sample sized metric says it is, he could legitimately be a four win player out of the 9-hole next season. That would be some helluva boost.
It’s still super early, but that didn’t stop Keith Law from posting a list of his top 50 prospects for the 2010 Draft (sub. req’d). Bryce Harper predictably tops the list, and is followed by righties Anthony Ranaudo and Jameson Taillon of LSU and The Woodlands High School (Texas), respectively. KLaw ranked Lakeland High (Florida) third baseman Yordy Cabrera as the 32rd best draft prospect, which is where the Yanks are picking. At this stage of the game, these are nothing more than a very preliminary rankings, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with it.
As you probably know, one time great Yankee Ross Ohlendorf interned with the Agriculture Department this winter, and talked about his experience with Tyler Kepner. “If there are things that interest me, and I am interested in a lot of things, I try to make an effort to learn more about them,” Ohlendorf said Wednesday. “If I’m going to do something, I want to put in the time to do a good job with it.” Next winter, Rock ‘N Rohlendorf wants to work in the legislative branch, perhaps in a the congressional agricultural committee. If that doesn’t work out, he wants to go home to Texas to work for a private equity firm. I’m serious.
Well, excuse me if being a big leaguer isn’t intellectually stimulating enough for you, Ross. Some guys…
(I kid, I kid)
T-Dubs holds the World Series trophy
Longtime RAB reader T-Dubs got to chill with the 2009 World Series trophy at the State Capitol in Connecticut on Friday. The first link takes you to some photos of his little adventure, and I have to say I’m pretty jealous.
Link Dump: Cashman, Chan Ho, Milo
Posted by: | CommentsSome loose ends from around the netweb…
NoMaas interviews Brian Cashman
Surely you’ve seen this by now, but NoMaas sat down for a chat with Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman. The whole thing is well worth your time, though I found his comments about trading Austin Jackson for Curtis Granderson (“What Granderson is currently doing in the big leagues, we didn’t necessarily project for Austin Jackson.”) particularly interesting. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I take it as Cashman basically saying they sold high as Jackson, that they felt his value might never get any higher than it is right now.
Either way, make sure you check it out. The mustest of must reads.
Chan Ho parking himself in the Bronx?
DUCWIDT? Anyway, Jon Heyman said this morning that in addition to the Cubs and Rays, the Yankees might be a potential landing spot for free agent swingman Chan Ho Park. Park – who had a 1.84 ERA and a .543 OPS against after June 2nd last year – would surely make a fantastic addition to the bullpen if it wasn’t for two thing: a) the Yankees have at least three pitchers on their staff that do the swingman thing already, and b) there’s just no money for him.
Park made $2.5M last season, and will probably have to settle for a little less than that this late in the offseason, but the team’s recent bullpen construction suggests they’re adverse to paying big money for a reliever, unless they have a long track record of near-elite performance. Park’s a quality pitcher, but I’m not sure they really need him, or that they could even afford him if they wanted.
Milo dismissed from UVM hockey team
Yankees’ prospect Justin Milo was dismissed from the University of Vermont hockey team this week for unknown reasons. The Yanks’ 37th round pick in last year’s draft fell because he has legitimate NHL potential and wanted the opportunity to continue his hockey career at Vermont, something that will usually scare teams away. Whether or not Milo’s dismissal from the team pushes him toward baseball full-time remains to be seen.
The 22-year-old hit .256-.432-.389 last season, mostly with Short Season Staten Island. He’s a speedy lead off type, possessing strong contact skills and walking more than he struck out in his pro debut. If he focuses on baseball, Milo could develop into a useful player pretty quickly.
Update: Matt sent in some more info. He was dismissed essentially for a lack of effort, and the Yanks are making arrangements for him to get to Spring Training. He’ll then finish up classes so he can graduate before continuing his baseball career. Between him and Jamie Hoffmann, the Yanks’ have a mean top line.
Link Dump: Joba Rules, J.T. Snow, Damon
Posted by: | CommentsSnowpocalypse 2010 has hit, so ride it out with these links…
At long last, the Joba Rules are dead. “He’s not going to have any restrictions,” said pitching coach Dave Eiland, “so Joe (Girardi) and I are not going to have to go into the game thinking, ‘Oh, he’s got 85 pitches or six innings or whatever comes first.’ We don’t have to game plan it out. The kid gloves are off, and he’s just going to go out and pitch and he knows that and he’s going to come in and be all geared up to win that job, as are the other guys. Competition should bring out the best in everyone.” Of course, this won’t calm the conspiracy theorists who think Joba is going to return to the bullpen next year, because there was both a bullpen and rotation version of the rules. Either way, so long Joba Rules, and thanks for the shirt.
Big leaguers give bloggers a bad name
At his blog earlier this week, former big league catcher Brent Mayne told a story about how he once told a batter what pitch was coming. That batter was J.T. Snow, who was with the Yanks at the time and grew up playing with/against Mayne in Southern California. Long story short, he mumbled to the pinch hitting Snow that he was getting a fastball away, which Snow promptly ripped for a double and his first big league hit. Except, of course, that never happened.
Mayne said Snow was a September call-up with the Yanks, and they were playing in Kansas City. Snow went 0-for-5 in the only game he played against the Royals as a Bomber, and even though his first big league hit was in fact a pinch-hit double, it came off of Tom Henke of Toronto with Pat Borders behind the plate a week later. Here’s the easy to read game log. I expect it from the mother’s basement dwellers, Brent. But not from you.
Damon’s still looking for two years
Yeah, amazing, isn’t it? We’re basically a week from pitchers and catchers, Damon has received offers from just one team (that we know of), and yet he and Boras are still holding out for a two year deal. Matt at Fack Youk wonders if Johnny’s lost his mind, as do so many others. I can’t imagine Damon is happy with how Boras worked him over, or maybe he’s just naive and thinks someone will meet one day his demands.
Thames No. 1 on an all-time Tigers list
Marcus Thames doesn’t stand out as someone who would hold a franchise record, but according to Tom Gage of The Detroit News, he does. His 99 home runs in 1,463 at-bats is the franchise record for home run pace among players with 1,500 or more plate appearances as a Tiger. That also amounts to a home run every 16.28 times he stepped to the plate, which, considering his lack of bases on balls, is probably an even further record. Cecil Fielder, who ranks second on the AB/HR list, hit a home run once every 17.36 plate appearances.
Sunday Links: A-Rod, Farm System, Jack Z.
Posted by: | CommentsWe’re all just running out the clock until the Jets take the field in Indianapolis, so here’s some links to help you pass the time.
- Alex Rodriguez received the Babe Ruth Award at the BBWAA Awards Dinner last night, which is given to the player who performed the best in the World Series. “Postseason MVP. Wow,” said A-Rod. “What’s next, the good guy award?” I laughed.
- Sky Andrecheck at Baseball Analysts examines Baseball America’s prospect rankings through the years, and discovers that yeah, a team’s ranking is a good predictor of future success. Check it out, very interesting stuff.
- David Laurila at Baseball Prospectus interviewed Mariners’ GM Jack Zduriencik. It’s free to everyone, and it’s a great look at one of the brightest minds in the game. I highly recommend it.
