Off topic, but my first entry in a few days.  Like many of you I loved yesterday’s outcome, but still miffed by Saturday’s game.  Late in the game Corey Wade gets first two outs and Yanks had just struggled to get it to a 2-2 tie. Am I alone in thinking he should have walked Miggy semi-intentionally after his first two at bats were ropes or bombs. I’m thinking if I’m Girardi, I’m not letting this guy hit a go ahead homer, even though Fielder would follow. It just pissed me off that it played out that way.

Secondly, just how much direction to most manager’s give their catchers as to location and pitch selection.  Is it the catcher who decides when to crouch inside or outside, up or down.  I thought there was some questionable times when he set up inside to Cabrera.

Surprising that only 3 teams are projected to hit the 90 win mark. Since the strike there hasn’t been a year in which fewer than 6 teams won 90, so this would be pretty significant and maybe a sign of things to come as baseball adapts to Selig’s parity maneuvers.

Parity seems to be becoming more of a reality.  It’s only going to get more like this with the new CBA and draft/international free agent rules in place. 

The good news is that I’m sure that the lower outlay teams will pay for signing players will be passed on to the fans with lower ticket pricing, lower cost tv packages and lower concession prices.

[3] Absolutely.  And the new stadiums will not require public financing, either.

[3]  Don’t forget parking!

One of the first thing Magic’s group did was lower Dodger parking from 15 to 10, where it was last year.

[5] I remember thinking that if I owned the Yankees, I would institute some sort of ticket pricing scheme for the best seats where, if you were bringing your son or daughter, the seats were like $25. If you were a celebrity who was going to show up in the 3rd inning and leave in the 6th after talking on your cell phone the entire time, the tickets were $10,000 each.

Question: If international bonuses are going to be strictly limited going forward, would that not give the Yankees somewhat of an advantage for the top prospects? Seeing as how if you’re going to get the same money from every team, you might as well play for the Yankees and make it easier to make up the money on endorsements and stuff, right (and the Yankees will tend to reward you with big extensions early on, as well)?

[7] - I thought the same thing.  Like they would get the top pick every year.  Then again King Felix…

Speaking of, what about Jorge Soler as a signing to help out the Yankees OF situation (post Swisher, not this year) before the restrictions go in place July 2nd?

Seeing as how if you’re going to get the same money from every team, you might as well play for the Yankees and make it easier to make up the money on endorsements and stuff, right (and the Yankees will tend to reward you with big extensions early on, as well)?

Or you could sign with a a crappy organization that ensures you’ll be able to reach the majors sooner and thus become a free agent when you’re younger.  It’s the logic that Adeiny Hechavarria used for signing with Toronto over the Yankees (didn’t want to be blocked by Jeter) although it appears the Yankees dodged a bullet there.

Speaking of, what about Jorge Soler as a signing to help out the Yankees OF situation (post Swisher, not this year) before the restrictions go in place July 2nd?

The Yankees will no longer bid on Cuban players since Jose Contreras didn’t turn out to be what they thought he was.  Just like they passed on Darvish.

Seems like a no-brainer to me, they’ve pissed away all sorts of money on things over the years.  Why not take a flier on a young player who seems to have all the physical tools to be a good one?  I guess the question is if he’ll be looking for a major league contract, which could be an issue with the salary cap.

Hehe, I have a guest post up at the Huffington Post here. It is funny to see my author byline photo (they did a nice job cutting it out of my book).

Or you could sign with a a crappy organization that ensures you’ll be able to reach the majors sooner and thus become a free agent when you’re younger.  It’s the logic that Adeiny Hechavarria used for signing with Toronto over the Yankees (didn’t want to be blocked by Jeter) although it appears the Yankees dodged a bullet there.

True, that’s definitely a fair counter-argument.

Okay, I guess I should say the Yankees would have better odds on the prospects who fit needs in the Yankee organization (like they’ll always need pitching).

[9] If I were a pitcher I’m not sure I’d sign with the Yankees given even money. I’d go with a team with a better track record of pitcher development.

You know, a third of the way through the season, A-Rod has a punter’s chance at 30 homers again. He has more homers than Albert Pujols and the same amount as Prince Fielder. That’s something!

Speaking of, what about Jorge Soler as a signing to help out the Yankees OF situation

Hasn’t been much talk of Ronnier Mustelier around here (if there has then I’ve missed it), but he’s pretty much shot through the minors and is currently killing it in AAA. .321/.350/.518 in AAA this year, .344/.387/.544 across AA and AAA last 2 years. He’s 27, but he started pro-ball like 15 months ago.

I guess the question is if he’ll be looking for a major league contract, which could be an issue with the salary cap.

He’s also only like 19 (or 20), so it’s not like Cespedes who is 26/27 and likely ready to play in the MLB after some fine tuning. Chances are Soler is still a kid and won’t be physically mature enough to play for a few years.

[13] He has more homers than Albert Pujols and the same amount as Prince Fielder. That’s something!

How is that possible? All I’ve heard is that this team sucks and ARod has no power.

I tried to figure out Mustelier’s MLE a few weeks ago and it was pretty good.  Maybe I should do a post on him.  He probably doesn’t get a shot unless Eric Chavez gets hurt though, which is highly likely. 

I don’t think he can play SS which keeps Jayson Nix on the roster, and I’d assume that Gardner coming back takes DeWayne Wise’s roster spot.  So I don’t know how they get Mustelier on the 40 man/25 man rosters.  Maybe they should DFA Michael Pineda.

[15] It’d be nice if there were a stat or something that measures power or slugging ability and we didn’t have to rely on something as limited as a home run.  Lots of guys with little power run into meatballs occasionally.  Over A-Rod’s last two “hot” weeks, he’s got a .525 SLG (and an 8:1 K:BB).  The fact that that line is a little disappointing is just a testament to how talented ARod is as a hitter.  If Brandon Laird came up and put up ARod’s current line, we’d all be shitting reuben eggrolls.  But it’s not worth $27 million.  He needs to produce at an exceptional clip to help WOE.  Two groundouts, a strikeout, and a single or occasional HR won’t cut it.

As far as the team sucking, it looks like the entire league is a collection of mediocre teams with a few bad ones stinking up the non-east divisions.  That makes watching boneheaded losses that much harder to take.

[16] I’ve been watching Mustelier since late last season.  There’s some question regarding his defense, despite coming in as a 2B.  He’s been playing more in the OF, so I guess that’s probably where he ends up - maybe after Swisher, Ibanez, and Jones are let go.  Gardner/Granderson/Mustelier in 2013?  And he’s short. Real short.

But how is his vertical leap?

[17] Yeah, I was sort of kidding.

Isn’t he in his late 20’s too?

[20] 27, but like I said, he just started playing pro-ball. So, it takes away from his line, sure, but it’s not like he’s been lingering in the minors for 6 years and then all of a sudden decided to start hitting.

[20] Maybe?  Listed at 27, but hell, he could be 30.  I don’t know if he’s much more than a fill in for a few years - a 4th OFer (that might be a better IFer than NunE) who can hit enough to start in RF till something better comes along (Tyler Austin?*).

[19] My apologies.  Sometimes I spend too much time at RAB where everything always comes up pinstriped roses and whatever moves the front office makes are always the best possible.

*But we all know when Austin is in AAA and primed for a debut with the big club, he’ll be traded for Cliff Lee’s ghost and a steak sandwich.

I think Mustelier’s age limits his upside, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a useful utility player.  If he can handle the IF/OF corners and maybe 2B/CF in a pinch he could be a pretty nice piece to have on the bench.  I doubt he’s anything like a potential replacement for Swisher in 2013, but maybe he could be part of a platoon or something?

Here’s what I don’t get. On a multi-year basis, it is hard to replace Swisher for lesser money on the open market. But if you go year-to-year, isn’t it fairly easy to do?

Let’s say Swish is a 2 WAR player (splitting the baby a bit between his 3.5 2010 and his 1.5 2011 while leaning more towards 2011). Last year Damon was a 2.3 WAR player and he signed for basically nothing this season.

Josh Willingham was a 2.1 WAR player who signed for $7 million a year for three years.

So is it really that hard for the Yankees to replace Swisher with a decent player for less money next season?

So is it really that hard for the Yankees to replace Swisher with a decent player for less money next season?

It’s not inconceivable, but the problems in particular for the Yankees are:

1)The free agent OF next year are either too expensive/risky(Hamilton) or just not all that good. 

2) They don’t really have another hole where they could replace Swisher’s production at a different position, except maybe catcher, which is the hardest position to find value in.  If you replace Swisher with replacement level and add two wins somewhere else, you conceivably end up in the same spot, but the somewhere else is already occupied aside from catcher and DH and bench spots.

3) They can’t just worry about replacing Swisher.  They also need to replace the declining production as most of their other key players get older and worse.  So if you replace Swisher win for win but lose say two wins from the rest of the lineup, you’re worse off.

4) They have very limited valuable trade pieces.  No one is going to trade for their expensive veterans, and none of their prospects that are close to the majors are showing anything close to the type of performance that would bring back something of significant worth. 

Unless they get lucky with a bunch of their lower-level prospects all taking big steps forward, the talent level in this organization is looking like it’ll be pretty bleak in a few years.  At some point the people responsible for that need to be held accountable, don’t they?

Maybe Austin, Banuelos, Betances, Bichette, Sanchez and Williams will all pan out.  But I sure wouldn’t bet on it.

[24] Yeah, I agree. Without a guy like Swisher you can just dependably slot in there for four seasons, the FO will have to be more creative and more willing to accept some production uncertainty year-to-year, but I’d like to think it can be done.

[21] - Yeah, sorry.  I missed his age in your original post.  I just don’t see him as a reason not to take a run at Soler.

[25] Maybe Austin, Banuelos, Betances, Bichette, Sanchez and Williams will all pan out.  But I sure wouldn’t bet on it.

Well, to be fair, most of the Yankees touted and not-so-touted prospects from the last few years have turned out OK ... just not for the Yankees.  And they were all, more or less, traded away for spare parts and busts*.

*Granderson excluded.  Though, again to be fair, I don’t think the Yankees knew he was going to change his swing after 340 ABs and turn into an MVP candidate.  They wanted an ~.800 OPS guy with GG defense in CF immediately instead of waiting for Austin to develop into one.

Bottom line is that if you look at Cashman objectively, I don’t think he is very good.  Great trades? Swisher. Great signings? CC. I think there are a lot more bad ones than good ones.

And I think 2013 and 2014 are going to be ugly.  Aging untradeable players at SS, 3b, 1b…even CC will probably start declining (if he hasn’t already?). The young pitchers better be studs because run scoring is going to get a lot harder.

[10] My 1-10 would have been this.

[30] I see someone’s a Gone and Forgotten fan.

[31] I had actually never heard of that site before. More just a “shameful nerd” and “heroin enthusiast.”

[30] Is always having all the answers Green Arrow’s superpower?  I want that.  It would annoy some people no end.

[33] - Pfft. I can do that now and I don’t need all the answers or any other superpower.

catcher, which is the hardest position to find value in

They also need to replace the declining production as most of their other key players get older and worse. 

Le sigh.

I think there are a lot more bad ones than good ones.

Unless you can back up the implied assertion that there are GM’s who have a net positive ratio, this statement isn’t worth the beans it’s written on.

It’s like saying a batter who doesn’t have an AVG above .500 is a failure.

How does he compare with other GM’s success rates ? Would you rather have the guy who brought on Carl Crawford ? Which of the other GM’s that passed on Darvish would you prefer ? How do you think they view the Pujols deal at this point ? How about the guy who signed Jimmy Rollins and is paying $14M for a 63 OPS+ ?

Anyone know anything about this Hensley-y?”

6’5” 225.  He puts on about 45lbs and he’ll fit right in.

From Lohud: Ranked 23 by BA.  Fastball touches 97, better curve, usual hype.

Kevin Goldstein called it “highway robbery” at 30

Wonder if they’ve scheduled his appointment with Dr. Andrews yet

Wells or Smoltz was saying that Hughes could use his size to intimidate batters.

[39] - At this point it might make sense for the yankees to start buying these surgeries in bulk.

Walmart has an elbow/Tommy John department

And here in Bizarro World, the A’s hung a 10-spot on the Rangers, who are currently hitless through 7.

The Mariners really have to trade one of their catchers. They have three legit Major League catchers. How do they not trade either Olivo or Jaso?

Gotta love the Mets pushing Santana back two games so that he pitches in the Mets/Yankees series.

This time around, it looks like it is just bad luck and not the Mets actually trying to screw with the Yankees (as you would have to figure that the Mets would prefer to have Santana pitching against the AL East leading Nationals if they could).

Yeah, I think it is more because he had two CG in a row, including the no-no where he threw something like 137 pitches.

But seriously, if he never threw another pitch for the Mets again, what percentage of Mets fans would be happy with the decision to leave him in for the no-no?

i remember santana losing a 15-0 game to the Yankees 2-3 years ago..