A St. Louis Cardinals’ All Star is entering the final year of his contract and has given the team until the end of the spring to negotiate an extension. Talk about déjà vu all over again. Granted, Yadier Molina doesn’t come close to the stature of Albert Pujols, but during his seven years with the Cardinals, [...]
Archive for the ‘Yankees’ Category
Catch-22: Yadier Molina’s Bat Once Again Puts the Cardinals on the Defensive
Posted in Baseball, Hot Stove, Mets, MLB, Red Sox, Rumors, Spring Training, Yankees, tagged St. Louis Cardinals, Yadier Molina on February 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Breaking Down the Yankees’ Spring Training Roster…in 1986 (Video Included)
Posted in Baseball, Baseball History, MLB, Nostalgia, Spring Training, Video, Yankees, tagged Dave Righetti, Don Mattingly, Phil Rizzuto, WNYW, WPIX on February 22, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Over the next six weeks of Spring Training, there will be plenty of time to breakdown the Yankees’ roster and assess the team’s prospects for the 2012 season. Before looking ahead, however, I thought it might be fun to travel back 26 years and see how the Yankees looked heading into the 1986 season. Provided [...]
Price Is Right, but Raul Ibanez Signing Comes With Opportunity Cost
Posted in Baseball, MLB, Roster Analysis, Yankees, tagged Johnny Damon, Raul Ibanez on February 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The other shoe has dropped. As expected, the Yankees followed up the official announcement of the A.J. Burnett trade by signing Raul Ibanez to a one-year deal worth just over $1 million. Now matter how Brian Cashman tries to sugar coat the acquisition, the selection of Ibanez as the Yankees’ left handed DH was a [...]
It Happens Every Spring: A 111-Year Retrospective of Yankees Spring Training
Posted in Baseball, Baseball History, MLB, Spring Training, Yankee History, Yankees, tagged Spring Training on February 19, 2012 | 1 Comment »
(This post was originally published on February 16, 2011) For 16 years, Tampa has been the Yankees’ spring training home, but it still seems like just yesterday when the team’s camp was located down the coast in Ft. Lauderdale. I am sure most fans who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s still reflexively hearken [...]
End to the Riddle: A Postmortem on A.J. Burnett’s Yankee Career
Posted in Baseball, Hot Stove, MLB, Trades, Yankees, tagged A.J. Burnett on February 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
(The following was originally published at SB*Nation’s Pinstripe Alley) The Yankees had many reasons for trading A.J. Burnett, but the deal also came in the nick of time for the right hander, assuming he is sensitive about his legacy with the team. After a solid debut campaign in 2009, Burnett’s subsequent futility was of historic proportions, making him [...]
Goodbye to A.J. Burnett Means Hello to a New DH…but Which One?
Posted in Baseball, Hot Stove, MLB, Rumors, Trades, Yankees, tagged A.J. Burnett, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Pittsburgh Pirates, Raul Ibanez, Vladimir Guerrero on February 17, 2012 | 6 Comments »
After days of dickering over terms, the Yankees and Pirates have all but consummated the A.J. Burnett trade. Although the final details haven’t been revealed, make no mistake about it, the real prize for the Bronx Bombers is simply getting rid of Burnett, not only because it will remove a growing distraction, but also give Phil [...]
An Offensive Look at the Defensive Spectrum Through a Yankee Prism
Posted in Baseball, MLB, Statistical Analysis, Yankees, tagged Baseball Prospectus on February 15, 2012 | 2 Comments »
In a recent post, Baseball Prospectus’ Jay Jaffe shed some light on offensive contributions across the defensive spectrum, which, for those unfamiliar with the concept, is the sequential ordering of each position based on how difficult it is to play (from easiest to hardest: DH, 1B, LF, RF, 3B, CF, 2B, SS, C). In addition, [...]
