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Podcasts • Yankees

Jul 31, 2015

Podcast: White Sox Dave

The Barstool Sports White Sox blogger joined me to talk about the division of baseball fans in Chicago, the 2005 World Series, David Robertson, the perception of Hawk Harrelson and which team should be the “Sox”.

David Robertson

For the first time in forever the Yankees catch a break when it comes to facing an opposing team’s ace and one of the best pitchers in baseball. The Yankees will miss Chris Sale by a day this weekend (though that nearly wasn’t the case with rain in Boston on Thursday night) and have a chance to get back on track after back-to-back losses in Texas against the weakest part of the White Sox’ rotation.

White Sox Dave of Barstool Sports Chicago joined me to talk about the White Sox’ big plans from their offseason, the division of baseball fans in Chicago, the 2005 World Series, David Robertson closing for his new team, the differences between Ozzie Guillen and Robin Ventura, the perception of Hawk Harrelson and which MLB team should be called the “Sox”.

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Podcasts

Jul 30, 2015

Podcast: Dan Overlock

“Two-a-Days” from The Dan Patrick Show joined me to talk about working for Dan Patrick, the behind-the-scenes stuff from the show, the incredible man cave and the best guests and interviews on the show.

I have always been a fan of Dan Patrick going back to his time with ESPN and then with his radio program The Dan Patrick Show. It’s a show that has a little bit of everything and always seems to have the biggest guests in the sports world and those guests tend to open up a little more on the show than on other shows and in other settings.

Dan Overlock, who is part of The Dan Patrick Show and who is known as “Two-a-Days” on the show, joined me to talk about working for Dan Patrick, the behind-the-scenes stuff from the show, the incredible man cave in Milford, Conn. and the best guests and interviews on the show.

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Blogs • Monday Mentions • Yankees

Jul 27, 2015

Monday Mentions: The Trade Deadline

Here is the first installment of a weekly series focused on questions and comments about the Yankees with the trade deadline this Friday.

Brian Cashman

Sometimes on Twitter I get asked a question that 140 characters won’t do justice to so, I decided I might as well use the space on Keefe To The City to answer some of the questions more in depth.

Here is the first installment of “Monday Mentions” focused on questions and comments about the Yankees with the trade deadline this Friday.

I want either David Price or James Shields on the Yankees for the same reason I want rent in the Upper East Side to go down instead of up and for my dog to be able to walk himself in the winter and for the 4 train to Yankee Stadium to be express all the way to the Stadium: because it would make my life better.

Right now the Yankees’ postseason rotation is Masahiro Tanaka or Michael Pineda in Game 1, Masahiro Tanaka or Michael Pineda in Game 2 and then either Ivan Nova, CC Sabathia or Nathan Eovaldi in Game 3. I would go Tanaka then Pineda then Nova, but who knows what the Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi are thinking? As long as CC is healthy and on the team he is going to get consideration for a postseason start and my nerves going into a potential CC Sabathia postseason start in 2015 will be way worse than they ever were for any A.J. Burnett postseason start.

But let’s say the entire Yankees rotation makes it through this week healthy leading up the trade deadline. If the Yankees trade for a front-end starter then someone has to go to the bullpen between Nova, Sabathia or Eovaldi or either Nova or Eovaldi has to be traded. It would be ridiculous to go to a six-man rotation for the rest of the season, but ridiculous is how Cashman and Girardi like to do things, so it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise.

The Yankees don’t need to trade for a starting pitcher. Their rotation is good enough to hold off the rest of the AL East during the regular season and win in the postseason. Here are the playoff rotations for the last five World Series since the Yankees won in 2009:

2014: Madison Bumgarner, Jake Peavy, Tim Hudson, Ryan Vogelsong
2013: Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jake Peavy, Clay Buchholz
2012: Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong, Matt Cain
2011: Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse, Edwin Jackson,
2010: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner

A combination of Tanaka, Pineda, Nova, Sabathia and Eovaldi is just as good as all of those and probably even better than all of them.

https://twitter.com/JD944/status/625681043635445760

Road trip? I’m willing to ride a bicycle, scooter or skateboard there. I would walk there and carry Price back if needed. According to Google Maps, it’s 618 miles from Yankee Stadium to Comerica Park and by car it would nine hours and 31 minutes to get there. It’s only a 588-mile walk there, but it would 194 hours, which is a little over eight days. However, for me to do any of those things, Dave Dombrowski and the Tigers would have to agree to not ask for any of the Yankees’ top prospects.

I’m against the Yankees trading Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Jorge Mateo and even Rob Refsnyder. At some point the organization needs to develop a young core again and they are close to doing that now. The 2015 Yankees are currently hitting the massive parlay they didn’t in 2013 and 2014 to stay relatively healthy and have older player produce. Unfortunately, this carriage could turn back into a pumpkin next season the way the Red Sox have since winning in 2013 and it would be devastating if this season didn’t end with a World Series and the Yankees sacrificed their future for Price, Shields Cole Hamels or another high-priced starter.

Yes, I wrote “Nathan Eovaldi Is Far From ‘Nasty‘” on June 17 and said that trading for him is a mistake. And yes, he pitched eight innings on Sunday, allowing two earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and one walk to improve to 10-2 on the season.

The idea that Eovaldi is as good as his 10-2 record suggests is comical. He has a 4.27 ERA and 1.478 WHIP. He has made 20 starts and failed to pitch six innings in 11 of them. He only has 80 strikeouts in 111 2/3 innings despite having a fastball between 97 and 100 mph and he has allowed the sixth most hits in the majors. Eovaldi’s record is solely the product of his run support, which is 5.31 runs per game on average.

Since we’re talking trade deadline, when it comes to Eovaldi, it’s a complicated situation. He’s still young at 25, but he’s also with his third team in the majors at just age 25 despite possessing that can’t-teach fastball. He’s under team control through 2017 and it’s obvious Cashman and the Yankees are high on his ability and potential and wouldn’t think about putting him in the bullpen. But if the Yankees are to trade for another starter and a better starter, someone has to get bumped from the rotation, or traded and that leaves either Eovaldi or Nova.

If Eovaldi can pitch to the low-4 ERA he has in 20 starts for the rest of the way, he is valuable at the back of the rotation. I wouldn’t give him a postseason start and wouldn’t trust him in a postseason game, but I guess I can deal with him every fifth day for the rest of the regular season.

I wanted the Yankees to re-sign David Robertson and also sign Andrew Miller. I thought if they didn’t then they were making a mistake even though they had traded for relievers in Justin Wilson, David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve. Fortunately, Shreve turned out to be the best of the bunch, which made up for Carpenter being awful and eventually DFA’d, or the bullpen would be Betances and Miller and multiple trips to the liquor cabinet every night.

Here is what I said about the Yankees’ decision to not sign Robertson after the Winter Meetings in December:

The idea of having Robertson and Betances and Miller to lock up games after the sixth and asking a rotation that aside from Masahiro Tanaka has trouble going past the sixth inning anyway is such a beautiful idea that it makes me physically sick to think that it could have happened and now it won’t. And it could have easily happened. The White Sox gave Robertson four years and $46 million. The Yankees gave Andrew Miller four years and $36 million. So for $46 million, the Yankees could have had the best on-paper bullpen in the entire league and arguably their best bullpen since … well, ever. If you think $46 million is a lot of money to give to someone to pitch about 65 innings, just remember that last year, the Yankees gave a five-year, $85 million deal to Brian McCann with catcher being the deepest position in their farm system, three years and $45 million to a then-36-year-old Carlos Beltran and oddly enough he broke down, couldn’t throw a baseball and played in only 109 games and seven years, $153 million to Jacoby Ellsbury, which was money that could have been used to re-sign Robinson Cano. The Yankees could have re-signed Robertson, they just didn’t want to, and I’m not sure why.

The Yankees have a dominant bullpen with Betances, Miller, Shreve and Wilson right now and if Robertson were part of it, or if they make a move for Craig Kimbrel, it will be stupid. Stupid in a good way.

It was only 17 days ago that the Yankees started a three-game series at Fenway Park and Red Sox fans thought their team had a chance of getting back into the race. “If the Red Sox sweep the Yankees, they will be three games back in the loss column with the whole second half to play,” was what I kept hearing from my friends and enemies in Boston. The Yankees won two of three to extend their lead over the Red Sox and before Monday night’s games, the Yankees’ lead over the Red Sox had grown to 12 games (13 in the loss column).

Boston fans shouldn’t wonder how the Yankees are winning because their team did it two years ago. The 2013 Red Sox championship is the most amazing championship in the history of sports. All sports at any level ever. Everything they needed to go right went right, no one got hurt and they got timely hit after timely hit in the postseason, winning with a rag-tag rotation.

The 2015 Yankees haven’t even been close to as fortunate as the 2013 Red Sox. The Yankees’ arguably best starter (Masahiro Tanaka), position player (Jacoby Ellsbury) and reliever (Andrew Miller) weren’t all healthy at the same time from April 24 to July 7, yet the team somehow managed to get to first place. Chase Headley has been bad, Stephen Drew has been the worst, CC Sabathia has been horrible, Nathan Eovaldi has been frustrating and Carlos Beltran has been inconsistent. If not for the resurgence of A-Rod and Mark Teixeira, the rebound of Brian McCann, the revival of Chris Young and the always streaky Brett Gardner having an extended hot streak, the Yankees would be in a bad place right now. But for the first time in three years, things are going their way and it feels great.

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Blogs • Email Exchanges

Jul 27, 2015

Shin-Soo Choo Contract Could Have Been Yankees’ Concern

The Yankees couldn’t be any hotter heading to Arlington where it’s going to be 99 degrees on Monday, 101 on Tuesday, 102 on Wednesday and 103 on Thursday.


The Yankees couldn’t be any hotter heading to Arlington where it’s going to be 99 degrees on Monday, 101 on Tuesday, 102 on Wednesday and 103 on Thursday. After winning two of three in Minnesota, the Yankees have now won six straight series and are 14-5 in June and beginning to run away with the AL East.

With the Yankees and Rangers meeting for in Texas for a four-game series, Adam J. Morris of Lone Star Ball joined me to talk about the return of Josh Hamilton, the horrible Shin-Soo Choo contract, the end of the Ron Washington era and the beginning of the Jeff Banister era.

Keefe: Some players should never leave a team or city and Josh Hamilton never should have left the Rangers. But Hamilton chased the big money from the Angels, instantly declined as a player and is now back with the Rangers with the Angels paying nearly all of his salary to play for a division rival.

At the time, it seemed like Hamilton would be a Ranger for life given his success there both on the field and off the field with his personal problems. It seemed like a perfect match for the veteran outfielder to play the remainder of his career and when he signed with the Angels, it seemed like a mistake for both the player and the team.

Now that Hamilton is back with the Rangers (and it sort of feels like he never left), what are your feelings on him? If anything, it worked out well for the Rangers because they eventually got him back for much less than it would have cost them in free agency anyway.

Morris: I never had any bad feelings about Josh Hamilton. He got offered a ton of money by the Angels, and I don’t begrudge him taking it. He was an integral part of the best teams in Rangers history, and so I will always appreciate him.

That being said, I don’t know that he’s got much left in the tank. He’s had issues staying healthy and isn’t hitting much so far. It’s nice that he came back, but from a baseball standpoint, I don’t know that it ends up making much difference.

Keefe: After signing Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153 million deal after 2013, the Yankees offered Shin-Soo Choo seven years and $140 million that same offseason. The deal wasn’t worked, the Yankees signed Carlos Beltran (three years, $45 million) instead and Choo signed with the Rangers for seven years and $130 million.

Choo hasn’t even been close to the production he had with the Indians and Reds from 2008-2013 and I’m sure Brian Cashman is thankful every day that Scott Boras ruined what was nearly a terrible financial mistake for the Yankees. I know I am.

From an outside perspective, Choo has been a disaster for the first 20 percent of his contract with the Rangers. What has happened to Choo in Texas?

Morris: I wasn’t thrilled with the Choo contract, but I thought we’d at least get a few years of really good production out of him before it went bad. Instead, its been a disaster from day one.

The biggest issue appears to be his health, as he’s struggled to play through injuries, and has a back problem which apparently is limiting him. It sounds likely the Rangers will look to move him this offseason, even if it means paying a big chunk of what he’s still owed.

Keefe: After eight seasons, including two World Series appearances, Ron Washington resigned as Rangers manager last September. Washington’s time in Texas was full of ups and down between the team’s success and failure along with his own personal issues.

I was always under the impression that from 2010-2013, Washington was just the manager of very talented team and he wasn’t necessarily doing anything different or better than anyone else would have done as manager of the Rangers. But that idea is probably far different than how Rangers fans, who watch and follow the team for 162 games viewed his abilities as a manager.

Looking back, how did you feel when Ron Washington left?

Morris: I love Ron Washington. Like Hamilton, he was a key part of the best teams in history, and listening to Wash, you can’t help but like the guy. I disagreed with him a lot strategically, but I never wanted him fired. His resignation was a sad day for Rangers fans.

Keefe: Jeff Banister was named the new manager of Rangers over interim manager Tim Bogar and pitching coach Mike Maddux. Now in his first year, Banister has the team playing better than most would have expected after a disastrous season last year.

At the time, it seemed like either Bogar or Maddux would get the job and it came a surprise when it was Banister.

Who was your pick to be Rangers manager?

Morris: I didn’t have a real strong preference as to who the Rangers should have hired as manager, simply because there’s so little information available to us relating to how these guys do their jobs — particularly when you are talking about guys who are going to be first-time managers. he finalists were Tim Bogar, Kevin Cash and Banister, and I would have been happy with any of the three.

Bogar had a strong reputation and did a good job as interim manager, Cash was someone who was credited with helping Martin Perez develop when Cash was a veteran in Triple-A and Perez was there learning the ropes, and Banister was well regarded in Pittsburgh. My feeling was that, if they went outside the organization instead of keeping Bogar, Cash would have been my pick, but I think all three were strong choices.

Keefe: The Rangers lost in the World Series in 2010 and 2011. They lost in the wild-card game in 2012. They lost a one-game playoff to go to the wild-card game in 2013. Last year, they lost 95 games. After what seems like a year-by-year decline that started with the back-to-back World Series losses, the 95-loss season in 2014 came as a shock as everyone thought the Rangers would be back in the postseason picture once again.

The Rangers have played much better in 2015 than in their down year of 2014, but entering this series, they are 47-50 and 7 1/2 games out of the AL West and 4 1/2 games out of the second wild card.

What were you expectations for the Rangers this season and how have they changed after nearly four months of baseball?

Morris: Prior to the Yu Darvish injury, I saw this as a team that was a mid-80 wins caliber team that could sneak into the playoffs with some good luck. fter Darvish went down in spring training, I predicted an 82-80 finish. The season has been a roller coaster, but at this point, I think the 82-80 prediction looks pretty close.

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Blogs • Yankees

Jul 27, 2015

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Pre-2013

When things are going well for the Yankees, I tend to look at the standings a lot. During 2013 and 2014, I tried my best to avoid the standings, especially in August and September after each season-crushing loss.

Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez

When things are going well for the Yankees, I tend to look at the standings a lot. From when I was eight years old during the 1995 season through when I was 25 years old during the 2012 season, I looked at the standings A LOT (with the exception of 2008). During 2013 and 2014, I tried my best to avoid the standings each day, especially in August and September after each season-crushing loss.

But ever since the Yankees went to Fenway Park for the last three games of the first half, I have spent an exorbitant amount of time looking at studying the standings as if it were pre-2013 once again. And after the Yankees’ sixth straight series win on Sunday to improve to 14-5 in July, here is how the AL East standings look:

AL East Standings

A 6 1/2-game lead in the division with the Orioles being the closest in the loss column at seven back has the Yankees sitting incredibly well for the final 67 of the season. Let’s say the Yankees went 34-33 in the final 67 games, playing .507 baseball for the rest of the season. They would finish 89-73. Here is what the rest of the AL East would have to do just to tie them.

Toronto, 39-23 (.629)
Baltimore, 41-24 (.631)
Tampa Bay, 40-22 (.645)
Boston, 45-18 (.714)

But the Yankees aren’t going to play just .507 baseball the rest of the way and those four teams, none of which are above .500, aren’t going to play as well as those numbers say they need to, which would have only tied them with the Yankees choking away the season. The Yankees are on their way to where they haven’t been in three years and it’s all because everything that went wrong in 2013 and 2014 is going right in 2015.

After two years of everything and I mean everything going wrong for the Yankees, everything is going right for them in 2015. Well, maybe not everything since Stephen Drew is still playing second base and Brendan Ryan is still on the team, but even those two examples prove how fortunate the Yankees have been this season. If it were 2013 or 2014, not only would Drew be starting, but so would Ryan, in the same infield every day and likely hitting in the middle of the order the way that Ichiro, Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells were asked to nearly every day in 2013. Instead, the Yankees have managed to have the second-best record in the AL as of today with their everyday second baseman hitting .188.

The team was able to overcome an embarrassing 3-6 start to the season and a frustrating 1-10 stretch in May, which is when the 2013 and 2014 Yankees fell apart and never recovered. They have won games started by Jacob deGrom, David Price, Max Scherzer, Chris Archer, Scott Kazmir and two games started by Felix Hernandez. They have kept on winning even with Joe Girardi constantly giving unnecessary days off to his best players like how he sat Brett Gardner against a lefty on Saturday or how he sat A-Rod on Sunday after he hit three home runs on Saturday (fortunately the Yankees won both games). And they have overcome having two reliable starting pitchers (both of which are frequently given extra rest between starts), having two starters (CC Sabathia and Nathan Eovaldi) who are coin flips every five days and having their most consistent first-half starter put in the bullpen because of money (Sabathia) and “stuff” (Eovaldi) instead of results. The Yankees have overcome injuries, underachieving, questionable signings and irresponsible roster and lineup decisions to get to where they are.

To think that the Yankees could be where they are right now with arguably their best three players in the rotation, field and bullpen in Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury and Andrew Miller not having all been healthy at the same time from April 24 to July 7 isn’t remarkable or impressive, it’s flat-out ridiculous. And they are where they are even with those three extended absences because Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira have turned back the clock to 2009-2011 when it was Teixeira who would hit third and A-Rod who would hit fourth as the most feared 3-4 combination in the majors; and because Brett Gardner went on the hottest of his patented hot streaks imaginable; and because Dellin Betances, Chasen Shreve and Justin Wilson got everyone out. The performances of A-Rod and Teixeira and Gardner and the bullpen overshadowed Chase Headley’s abyssmal first full season with the Yankees, Didi Gregorius’ New York growing pains, Carlos Beltran’s inability to produce and stay healthy and the constant struggle for Sabathia and Eovaldi to pitch six innings.

Now there are 10 weeks left in the season and the Yankees are as healthy as they can be without any regular position player, starter or reliever on the DL (knock on all of the wood around you) and they are another stretch like they have had the last two weeks from running away and hiding with the AL East.

Some Yankees fans just wanted a return to the postseason in any form in 2015 and that meant accepting a spot in the wild-card game. Me? I wanted the Yankees to win the AL East when the season began the same way I do every season. I wanted to know that the Yankees would be playing past Game 162 and Opening Day wouldn’t be the only day with bunting draped over the second and upper decks at the Stadium. I wanted everything to be the way it used to be and now it looks like it will be.

It feels good to have the Yankees back where they’re supposed to be. It feels good to have the baseball world right again.

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