Tuesday Night Open Thread

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As scheduled, the four eligible Yankees filed for salary arbitration today. Either they have or they will have, I’m not sure. Filing for arbitration is nothing more than a formality. It’ll happen if it hasn’t already. The four players are Ivan Nova, David Carpenter, Nathan Eovaldi, and Michael Pineda. Friday is the deadline for the two sides to exchange salary figures and the Yankees have signed all of their players before that deadline in recent years. Expect those four guys to have 2015 contracts in place by the end of the week.

This is tonight’s open thread. The Rangers and Islanders are playing each other in pretty big game — big by “there’s still half a season to go” standards, anyway — plus there’s a bunch of college basketball on as well. Talk about those games or anything else right here.

Monday Night Open Thread

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Got some good news. On Instagram yesterday, Ty Hensley posted a video of himself throwing, just two weeks after he was viciously attacked during the holidays. It’s not much, but it shows Ty is no longer stuck in bed recovering. I have no idea if he will ready to start the season in time — his jaw is wired shut, which means he’s probably going to lose some weight the next few weeks and then need time to rebuild strength — but it’s good to see Hensley’s already back up on the horse and throwing. I’m rooting for him so much.

Here is your nightly open thread. Oregon and Ohio State are playing the college football national championship game (8:30pm ET on ESPN), plus the Nets are in action as well. That’s it for local spots. Use this thread to talk about anything on your mind, Yankees or otherwise.

Weekend Open Thread

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Six weeks from today, pitchers and catchers will officially report to Spring Training for the 2015 season. It seems so close and yet so far at the same time. Here are the weekend links:

  • My pal Carson Cistulli put together a post looking for the next Garrett Richards, meaning a prospect with big time velocity, very good control, and no changeup. This is actually a follow-up to Carson’s work in 2012 looking for the next Michael Pineda — another big velocity, very good control, no changeup guy — which cranked out Richards as the next Pineda. There are no Yankees prospects in his year’s results but it’s still a fun study.
  • In a two-part series (part one, part two), Noah Baron looked at ways to try to improve fWAR, specifically by using FIP-based park factors and what amount to division factors. His work shows fWAR is overvaluing AL pitchers and undervaluing NL pitchers, by as much as 5%.
  • Jeff Wiser wrote about players only elite skill is base-running, like Eric Young Jr. and Emilio Bonifacio. Those types of players tend to be overvalued and given more playing time than they deserve, but there is a place for them on some rosters.

Friday: This is your open thread for the night. The Devils, Islanders, and Nets are all playing, plus there’s the usual slate of college basketball as well. Talk about anything and everything right here.

Saturday: Use this as your open thread again. The NFL playoffs are in full swing — the Ravens and Patriots are playing right now (on NBC), and later tonight the Panthers and Seahawks play (8pm ET on FOX). The Knicks already lost but tonight the Nets, Rangers, and Islanders are all playing. Talk about those games or anything else right here.

Sunday: This is the open thread one last time. The Colts and Broncos are playing right now (on CBS) and there’s also some college basketball, but that’s it. Have at it.

Thursday Night Open Thread

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Here’s a really neat video. As part of their “we’re all in the Hall of Fame now” tour, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz stopped by the MLB Network studios and put together a demonstration showing how they threw their signature pitches, so Johnson’s slider, Pedro’s changeup, and Smoltz’s splitter. Turns out Smoltz learned his splitter from Nardi Contreras, the Yankees’ special pitching instructor and ex-minor league pitching coordinator. He was a coach with the Braves way back when. Neat. Check out the video. It’s pretty cool.

Here is your open thread for the evening. The Rangers, Devils, and Knicks are playing, and there’s college basketball on as well. You folks know how these thread work by now, so have at it.

Wednesday Night Open Thread

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Earlier today, the Hillsboro Hops named ex-Yankee Shelley Duncan their new manager. The Hops are the Diamondbacks’ affiliate in the short season Northwest League. Shelley came up in 2007, mashed the hell outta some taters in pinstripes, then went on to play in parts of six more seasons with the Yankees, Indians, and Rays. Now he’s managing at age 35. What a world.

Here is tonight’s open thread. The Knicks, Nets, and Rangers are all playing, plus there’s the usual slate of college basketball as well. Talk about whatever’s on your mind right here.

Tuesday Night Open Thread

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Earlier today, four new players were elected to the Hall of Fame, including longtime Yankees nemesis Pedro Martinez. Pedro was otherworldly at his peak, especially the 1999-2000 seasons, but this is a Yankees blog, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the final game of Martinez’s career was played at Yankee Stadium. Game Six of the 2009 World Series, to be specific. You all remember that one. I know you do. So long, Pedro. It was fun to watch you pitch and more fun to watch the Yankees beat you.

Here is tonight’s open thread. The Devils and Islanders are both playing, plus there’s college basketball on as well. Talk about those games, the Hall of Fame announcement, or anything else right here.

Monday Night Open Thread

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On this date in 1920, the Yankees officially completed their purchase of Babe Ruth from the Red Sox for $100,000 plus a $350,000 loan. He hit .349/.484/.711 (209 OPS+) with 659 home runs during his 15 years in pinstripes, 311 more dingers than any other player during that time (Lou Gehrig was second with 348). Ruth was quite good at this baseballing thing, I’d say.

This is your open thread for the night. Both the Knicks and Nets are playing, plus there’s some college basketball on as well. Talk about those games, the Ruth trade sale, or anything else right here. Have at it.