On the eve of free agency, Godzilla makes his mark
By · Comments
For seven seasons, Hideki Matsui has just always been there. He arrived in New York in 2003 at the age of 29 and was set to be a solution to the Yanks’ inability to find a steady left fielder, and now with a World Series MVP unders his belt, Matsui has been every bit as good a hitter as advertised.
In ten seasons in Japan, Matsui was a beast. He made his NPB debut at age 19 and amassed a career line of .304/.413/.582 with 245 home runs in 1268 games. In the states, he has played in 916 games and has hit .292/.370/.482 with 140 home runs. As age sapped him of the strength in his knees, his power has declined a bit, but by the end of a healthy 2009, Matsui had reemerged as one of the go-to clutch hitters in the Yankees’ lineup.
This week, Matsui has been the man about town. He appeared on David Letterman last night, carrying in the World Series trophy, and Japanese restaurant import Go! Go! Curry on West 38th St. has been celebrating their fellow countryman this week as well.
My two favorite stories about Matsui this week came from The Times. Jack Curry talked about Hideki’s World Series legacy. Matsui came to the Bronx to win a World Series, reached the Classic in his first year in pinstripes and did not make it back until potentially his last season with the Yanks. Curry notes the symmetry:
For Matsui, the game bookended his performance against Martinez in his first season in the 2003 American League Championship Series. Matsui belted a run-scoring double off Martinez as the Yankees rallied to beat the Red Sox, 6-5, on Aaron Boone’s homer.
After Martinez walked Alex Rodriguez on four pitches to begin the second, his pace slowed against Matsui. After Matsui fouled off a 3-2 changeup, Martinez tossed a fastball. It was an 89-mile-per-hour pitch, which is about as robust a fastball as Martinez can muster these days, and Matsui drilled into the second deck in right field for a two-run homer.
Matsui said he loved New York and hoped that he gets to stay. In Matsui’s first season, he proved that he was comfortable on baseball’s biggest stage. In what might have been Matsui’s final game with the Yankees, he showed that he can still perform professionally and exceptionally.
And then there is Hiroko Tabuchi’s report from Japan where the country has been celebrating Godzilla all week. Newspapers throughout the island nation proclaimed it the year of Matsui, and Japanese baseball fans understand the impact of Hideki’s heroics.
“For this baseball-loving nation,” wrote Tabuchi, “Matsui’s performance at the World Series on Wednesday — hitting a home run, tying a World Series record with six runs batted in and being named the most valuable player — sent a clear message. It put a Japanese player and the Japanese game on the American baseball map more firmly than any compatriot’s performance did.”
Today, Patrick Newman reported that Matsui will not be returning to Japan as had been previously rumored. Instead, the left-handed slugger will look to stay in the states, and if the Yankees want him for another year, I will welcome Number 55 back with open arms.
(image via tsjc)
How the Abreu contract affects the Yanks
By · CommentsYesterday afternoon, word got out that Bobby Abreu had agreed to a contract extension with the Angels, signing on for two more years in Anaheim. After having to wait until damn near Spring Training to find a job last year, Abreu jumped all over the $19M the Halos offered him. The deal even includes a vesting option for 2012 worth $9M, when Abreu will be 38. I mentioned this yesterday, but in two years I’m sure we’ll be hearing about ways the Angels can prevent that option from vesting.
Anyway, the entire reason I brought this up is because it indirectly affects the Yankees. Now we have a blueprint for what a new contract for Johnny Damon might look like, something we didn’t have before. The similarities between the two players are obvious: both will be 36 on Opening Day 2010 yet have proven to be extremely durable, both are former All Stars with a strong pedigree within the game, and both are defensively challenged corner outfielders. Their offensive styles are different – Abreu is more of an on-base guy with gap power, Damon offers more over-the-fence power – but in the end they’re both ~.850 OPS and ~2.8 WAR players.
Bobby’s deal will pay him $9M annually, which is about as good of a deal as he could have expected. Despite all the talk about how he “transformed the Angels lineup,” Abreu simply was not going to pull in eight figures annually on the free agent market, and the same holds true for Johnny. It’s almost inconceivable that the Yankees would offer Damon arbitration even though he qualifies as a Type-A free agent, because the risk of him accepting a getting a raise over his current $13M salary is just too great, even if it’s just one year.
It’s no secret that the New Yankee Stadium somewhat helped resurrect Damon’s career in 2009. He set a new career high with a .207 IsoP, tied his career high with 24 homers, and posted the second best slugging percentage (.489) of his career. On the road he was Jorge Cantu (.284-.349-.446), but at home he was Jason Bay (.279-.382-.533). All that makes him more valuable to the Yankees than anyone else.
Timing certainly plays a huge part of it. A few weeks ago, the thought of even re-signing Damon seemed like madness because he was slumping so badly. Now, after some late inning World Series heroics, we wonder how the team could survive without him. But two guaranteed years? I can’t see how you can lock yourself into that kind of commitment. One year plus an option? Absolutely. But you’re asking for trouble, and reducing your flexibility for next year, by bringing him back for two.
As for the money, obviously $9M a year is nothing for the Yankees. It’s overpaying, but not by an absurd amount. If you could talk him down to $7M with some incentives, you’d obviously prefer that. The bottom line is that it would behoove the Yankees not to lock themselves a commitment with Damon as long as the Angels did with Abreu. Just don’t underestimate the power of Scott Boras.
Poll: What was your favorite moment of the playoffs?
By · CommentsOkay, I guess everyone’s favorite moment of the playoffs was the weak grounder to second that clinched the Yanks’ 27th World Championship. What about your favorite moment after that?
We already took a poll for the first half and second half, so surely you know how this works. Here’s some notable postseason moments:
ALDS Game Two: A-Rod’s game tying two run homer off Joe Nathan (video)
Twins starter Nick Blackburn kept the Yankees off balance all night, long enough for his teammates to push two runs across against Phil Hughes in the 8th. With a two run lead in the 9th, Rod Gardenhire turned to All Star closer Joe Nathan, who promptly gave up a single to lead off the inning. Alex Rodriguez, still dogged by his playoff choker reputation, took three straight pitches out of the zone before Nathan came in for strike one. A-Rod teed off on his next fastball, sending it deep into the Yankees’ bullpen to tie the game. The Yanks rallied to win the game in extras, but none of that would have been possible if not for A-Rod’s heroics against Nathan.
ALCS Game Two: A-Rod’s game tying homer off Brian Fuentes (video)
Nine innings wasn’t enough, as the the Yanks and Angels went into extras tied at two. The Halos pushed a run across off Al Aceves in the 11th, and turned to Brian Fuentes, another All Star closer. Alex Rodriguez, the first batter in the bottom of the 11th, took two straight fastballs over the plate for a quick 0-2 count, but turned Fuentes’ third heater around and parked it in the right field seats to tie the game. Much like Game Two of the ALDS, the Yanks went on to win, but it wouldn’t have been possible without A-Rod’s shot off Fuentes.
World Series Game Two: AJ Burnett dominates Phillies to tie series at one (video)
In their most important game of the year, enigmatic AJ Burnett went out and shut the Phillies down to tie the World Series at one game apiece. He pounded the zone and was dropping curves in at the knees for strikes when he wasn’t blowing his heat by batters. The uncertainty of middle relief was never a factor in the game, as Burnett handed the ball right off to Mariano Rivera. The Yanks carried the momentum into Philadelphia, where they won the next two games.
World Series Game Five: Johnny Damon singles and steals two bases on one pitch to ignite game winning rally (video)
After pulling ahead in the 5th inning before losing the lead thanks to a Pedro Feliz homer in the bottom of the 8th, Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter went down with ease against Phillies’ closer Brad Lidge in the 9th. Damon fouled off five pitches as part of a nine pitch at-bat, eventually dunking a single into shallow left. On the very next pitch, Damon took off for second, and not only did he make it safely, he headed down to third because no one bothered to cover the bag. The go-ahead run was on third, and before you knew it the Yanks pushed some runs across to win the game.
Those are just some of the highlights in the playoffs. Vote on your favorite below, but if you think another moment was the best of the playoffs – maybe Mariano Rivera getting out of a bases loaded, none out jam in Anaheim, or Hideki Matsui’s homer in Game Six of the World Series, or CC Sabathia’s start on short rest against the Angels – use the “Add an Answer” button to write in your own favorite moment. Don’t add any bad words like the jerk who did during our first favorite moment poll, we’ll just delete it and ban you from ever even accessing the site, let alone commenting. Yes, we can do that.
Everyone knows that everyone’s favorite moment this postseason was winning the World Series, so keep it out of the poll so we can have a little diversity. Consider this a “what’s your second favorite moment” poll. Thanks.
A nice day for parade
By · Comments
It’s a beautiful November day in New York City. The skies are clear blue, and the temperatures are hovering in the upper 40s. You couldn’t ask for a nicer day for a parade. So let’s have one.
In honor of your 2009 World Series Champions, the City of New York is hosting a ticker tape parade through the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan. The march toward City Hall starts at 11 a.m. and ends at around 12:30 p.m. when the Mayor will present the Yanks with keys to the city. While an estimated 500,000-1 million fans will turn out for the celebration downtown, many of us have to go to school or work. Fear not though for the parade is being broadcast live for free online via MLB.com. The YES Network and MLB Network will be carrying it live, and the city’s local news stations should be as well.
So for those of you watching at home, those of you furtively catching glimpses of the parade will in your cubicle, those of you in class, this thread’s for you. Toast the team; cheer the World Series victory; and bask in the glow of winning after a nine-year wait. For us Yankee fans, it seemed to be an eternity.
The most important game of the year
By · Comments
Fans are quick to throw around the “must win” or “huge game” or (ahem) “playoff preview” moniker these days. If a team loses two games in a row with a division rival set to come into town over the weekend, then it’s called a big game. No matter what fans call it, you can always tell which games are the most important by how the team treats them. When Ian Kennedy is brought into the eighth inning with a one-run lead in Anaheim for his first action of the season, then yeah, it’s not all that important.
Most of the time for a playoff club, the most important game of the season is a Game Seven, or an elimination game where the season was on the line. Those are the true “must-wins,” not those dumb games in June that seem important just because the offense is in a little bit of a funk.
For the 2009 Yankees, the most important game of the year seems pretty clear to me: Game Two of the World Series.
Think about the circumstances coming into the game. Cliff Lee had just manhandled the Yankees the night before. He crushed them, grabbing liners behind his back and shagging pop-ups nonchalantly when he wasn’t striking guys out. For a team that had dominated the competition during the regular season and made good clubs like the Twins and Angels look like Little League teams with all the mistakes they forced, Game One of the World Series was a humbling experience.
Not only did the Yankees come into Game Two already down one-love in the series, they were going on the road to Philadelphia for the next three games. Heading down the turnpike down two games to none was something the Bombers wanted to avoid at all costs. So they gave the ball to AJ Burnett, the most unpredictable starter in their playoff rotation.
And AJ delivered.
He pounded the zone early all night, throwing first pitch strikes to 22 of the 26 batters he faced. He threw his fastball and curve at almost a 1:1 ratio (53 fastballs, 45 curves), and allowed the first four batters in Philly’s’ lineup to reach base just twice, and one of those instances was an intentional walk to Chase Utley. Burnett sat down the last eight batters he faced, and the only run he gave up came on a ball that ricocheted off Alex Rodriguez’s glove.
It was a masterful performance, and the game was more important to the outcome of the Yankees’ season than either of his Game Five starts (ALCS or World Series). Opposing starter Pedro Martinez held the Yankees’ offense down, meaning there was little margin for error. Anytime a start can hand the ball off to Mariano Rivera in a playoff, then you know he’s done his job and then some.
Let’s give AJ some props. He’s frustrating as hell, but the dude was money in the team’s most important game of their championship season.
Photo Credit: David J. Phillip, AP
The October (and November) of A-Rod
By · CommentsOne of the more obvious stories this October involved the redemption of Alex Rodriguez. Unfairly labeled a choker during the Yanks’ futile playoff runs over the last five seasons, A-Rod responded with an October for the ages. He hit .365/.500/.808 over 68 plate appearances with six home runs and 18 RBIs. He was probably the overall MVP of the playoffs, and the coverage has examined A-Rod’s complex relationship with, well, everyone.
In The Times, William Rhoden penned an excellent column on the redemption of A-Rod. After some shocking steroid revelations and Spring Training hip surgery, A-Rod was the black sheep of New York. But, as the narrative goes, he put that past behind him, toned down his Me-First approach to baseball and emerged a true team player.
Rhoden though questions those assumptions and that narrative. He points fingers at his fellow writers and reporters and wonders who exactly is responsible for the rehab of A-Rod.
Some speculated that it was the finality of his divorce, others that it was the tearful February news conference in Tampa with teammates looking on. Still others said the author of Rodriguez’s renaissance was Kate Hudson.
But A-Rod is not the one who has changed. He is the same guy. The Yankees’ lineup has changed. The addition of Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher have made A-Rod more effective. The addition of the no-nonsense pitcher C. C. Sabathia and the effective A. J. Burnett has made the Yankees a tougher team over all.
The new view of Rodriguez is, on one level, a media-driven fan transformation that reached a peak heading into the postseason, when he suddenly began succeeding where he previously had failed.
Everyone loves redemption stories, but this transformation is more about fans’ desire to have a winning team than one man’s sea change. What’s troubling about the transformation story is that the root of it is winning. For all of our new, exciting ways of delivering games, one thing has remained constant: performance trumps just about everything. When it leads to profits, performance trumps everything.
Says Rhoden, “His clutch performances and now a championship have changed minds and attitudes.” He ends with quite the kicker as he wonders if A-Rod — formerly A-Fraud — was the phony or if the fans were or if the reporters were. It’s a question with no real answer, but I believe Rhoden speaks to the reporters and the talk radio hosts who kept pursuing the A-Fraud story and the fans who would boo him.
Today, Tyler Hissey at MVN’s Around the Majors began to answer Rhoden’s question. He eviscerated a Bill Madden column from February. The Daily News scribe alleged that for the Yanks to “remain true” to the organization’s “relentless pursuit of championships and the fierce protection of their brand,” in the wake of his steroid revelations, “they have no choice but to sever ties with Rodriguez.”
From an economics point of view, it never made sense to doubt A-Rod, and from a practical point of view, the Yankees weren’t going to cut ties with him. That doesn’t stop people such as Madden or Mike Francesa from blowing smoke. That doesn’t stop fans from booing him on an 0-for-4 day and toasting him after a six-home run effort en route to a World Series title.
Once upon a time, the narrative ruled A-Rod too expensive, too self-centered, too into his stats to win a World Series. Now that he has, A-Rod will just work toward his legacy. He has his ring; he has his championship; he has his great clutch October; and he has his fans. The Yankees have him now and for eight more seasons. For that, I will cheer him in redemption as I cheered him all year and since 2004.
Laird goes deep twice in the desert
By · CommentsShelley Duncan and Austin Romine were named the Topps Minor League Players of the Year for the Triple-A International League and the High-A Florida State League, respectively.
Tom Krasovic has a cool little piece on Damon Oppenheimer, so make sure you check it out. It’s pretty amazing to see how many former Padres’ scouts are holding down major front office jobs around the game, D-Opp included.
AzFL Surprise (10-5 win over Scottsdale on Wednesday)
Brandon Laird: 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Mike Dunn: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 Balk – 11 of 16 pitches were strikes (68.8%) … PitchFX had him at 94.01-94.6 with the fastball, so talk about consistency
AzFL Surprise (8-7 loss to Scottsdale on Thursday)
Brandon Laird: 3 for 4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K – 7 for his last 12 (.583) with two doubles and two jacks
Ian Kennedy: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 6-7 GB/FB – 46 of 76 pitches were strikes (60.5%)
ByJust a heads up, I’m going to be on The Sports Show Live with Joey Hayward tonight to talk about the Yanks. I’m calling in at 9:30, and you can listen here. Do it fool! · (3) ·
RAB’s parade meet-up details
By · Comments
You see that little star? That’s where we’re going to meet-up for the parade tomorrow. Specifically, it’s the northwest corner of the Beekman and Nassau Street intersection. Here’s the map so you can zoom in and stuff. Joe and I are shooting to get there around 8:30-9 a.m., but you’re welcome to come whenever.
The parade comes right up Broadway, so we’ll have to finagle our way over to get a good luck. I’m not 100% certain, but I believe they’ll set up a big screen in City Hall Park to show all the speeches and stuff. After the parade and stuff, we’re probably going to go grab a bite to eat somewhere, and everyone’s more than welcome to come. Leave any suggestions or anything in the comments.
If you want to come and hang out and watch the parade, email Joe or me, and we’ll exchange cell numbers to coordinate. If you do that tomorrow, e-mail Joe because he has the BlackBerry.
Also, if anyone has a better spot, let us know via e-mail and we’ll update plans.
Open Thread: Careful what you say
By · CommentsAs promised yesterday, today’s Open Thread is dedicated to ribbing people who made some poor comments about the Yankees this season. I’ll try to leave out the trollish comments, since that’s to be expected of a troll. That is, unless it’s too good to pass up.
To start we’ll venture off this blog and over to LoHud, where Pete Abraham was in charge. On March 25, he had this to say.
I would suggest that if the Yankees did not have Alex, they would be far more likely to win over the long term. His 24 + 1 mentality is not conducive to championship play. I realize it’s spring training, but the Yankees have looked terrific. They’re a much better team when they aren’t sitting around waiting for him to hit a home run.
I’m surely not the last one who has pointed this out. Pete’s definitely hearing it from all ends today about this.
(And don’t forget the since-removed Ian O’Connor article on why the Yankees are better off with Cody Ransom than A-Rod.)
How would the Yankees have fared this postseason without Hideki Matsui? I’m glad I don’t have to ponder that too long. But if pc69 had any say in the matter, the Yankees would have DFA’d Matsui in June.
“I know I will catch all kinds of shit for this but Matsui is done and is liability to this team. Just DFA him and pay him his money.”
Sorry, pc69, but as Matt ACTY/BDD said, that’s just monumentally stupid.
From the same thread, Andrew said, “Even if this team makes the playoffs, they are going nowhere.” Oops.
Later that month, when talking about the Yankees performance with runners in scoring position, YankeeScribe said: “The offense lacks balance. I blame Brian Cashman…” It’s chic to blame Cashman, I guess. Sorry, YankeeScribe, but this was a pretty well-balanced offensive attack.
Garry, after the Yanks lost their second game to the Nats, said, “This is not a championship team. End of story.” Glad you’re not the one writing it, bro.
The fire Kevin Long comments always make me chuckle.
Ace, you are so wrong it’s painful. “The Red Sox are a flat-out better team than the Yankees in every facet of the game.” It does get better. On June 29th, he said, “I’d rather give Shelly, who is having a monster power year in AAA, a shot at DHing than have Matsui taking up a roster spot to fail at the only job he is physically able to perform.” He also asked us to come back at the end of August and “we’ll see how your precious Matsui is faring then.” Pretty damn well, Ace. Pretty damn well.
We’ll end this with a comment from yesterday. Yes, at 11:16 a.m. on the day that the Yankees would eventually win their 27th World Series title, Virginia Yankee said, “girardi has recreated 2004.” For the commenters, this gets the biggest oaktag of the season. I still need to ban this guy, I guess, as per my promise.
This took way too long, and there are surely lots more poor comments lingering in older threads. If you want to add to this, use the search function to the right and post what you find in the comments (with links, which are the time stamp).
