Keefe To The City

Jul 18, 2014

Yankees Need to Go on a Reds’ Run

The Reds’ season was spiraling out of control just three weeks, but now they are back in playoff contention. The Yankees need a similar run to save their own season.

Three weeks ago the Reds’ season was falling apart fast. They were 35-37 and 8.5 games back in the NL Central. But today as post-All-Star break baseball begins, the Reds are 1.5 games back in their division and 1 game back in the wild card. What am I getting at? Well, the Yankees are in a similar position to the one the Reds were in on June 20 and they will need a run of their own this summer if they don’t want to miss out on the postseason for the second straight year.

With the Reds in the Bronx to begin the “second half” and a 10-game homestand for the Yankees, Brandon Kraeling of Red Reporter joined me to talk about Todd Frazer’s emergence as an All-Star, what it’s like to watch and root for Aroldis Chapman and how Alfredo Simon has gone from AL East mop-up man to NL Central starting pitcher and somehow an All-Star.

Keefe: I remember the summer after sixth grade watching Toms River, N.J. run the table in the Little League World Series and pulling for them in the United States tournament because they were somewhat local as a Tri-state area team. Todd Frazier was the leader on that team and it’s still weird to see him now playing third base for the Reds.

As a former first-round pick, I wasn’t sure if Frazier would ever become a star in the league after hitting .249/.318/.446 in his first two-plus seasons and 318 games with the Reds. But this year, at age 28, Frazier put it together and has turned into a star and an All-Star and an underdog Home Run Derby runner-up. In 94 games this season, Frazier has already matched his career high in home runs (19), which he reached in both 2012 and 2013 and is hitting .290/.353/.500, well above his career average in all three categories

The picture of a 12-year-old Frazier standing with a 24-year-old Derek Jeter in 1998 became a storyline of this year’s All-Star Game with Frazier making the All-Star Game for the first time and Jeter playing in the Midsummer Classic for the last time and like Frazier playing for that Toms River team and now playing against the Yankees and Jeter, that picture is something I will never get used to.

Did you ever think Frazier would become the player he has turned into this season?

Kraeling: That old picture of Frazier and Jeter paired with the All-Star game this year is one of those things that makes baseball great.

I think the player we’ve seen Frazier become was always what we talked about as a best-case scenario for him. As we followed his ascent through the Reds minor league system, we’ve always kind of hoped he could become more of a super utility guy; a guy who can play a number of positions, hold his own in the middle of the lineup, and provide a little pop.

I can’t say we ever expected him to be among the top home run hitters in the NL midway through this season, especially after the “sophomore slump” he went through last year. That’s a huge credit to him, with the amount of injuries that the Reds have had, that Frazier has been able to step up and shoulder some of the offensive responsibility there. He’s carrying this lineup right now.

Keefe: Last Thursday before the All-Star break, the Reds got into it with the Cubs and the benches cleared as Aroldis Chapman and Anthony Rizzo were the focal points of the incident. I didn’t watch the game because I was busy watching Joe Girardi manage the Yankees’ bullpen to a loss with a three-run lead and nine outs to get. (They lost 9-3.) What exactly happened with the Reds and Cubs? Who was at fault?

Kraeling: I think that incident ended up being a little overblown. It isn’t uncommon for opposing players to take exception to Chapman’s wildness and claim that it’s intentional, and the Rizzo situation was one we’ve seen a couple of times already since Chapman’s been up. Chapman barely knows where the ball is going half the time, and it happened in a tie game so there’s no doubt in my mind he wasn’t trying to hit anybody.

Then again, I’m sure it depends on what side you’re on. The Cubs announcers were claiming that Chapman was looking for blood, and I never got one bit of that listening to the Reds broadcast.

That being said, Rizzo was out of line with how he reacted. He was going back and forth with the Reds all inning after his at bat, and angrily walked toward the Reds’ dugout after the inning was over, almost making it all the way to the rail before other players intervened. I’m surprised he didn’t get thrown out, and it’ll certainly provide another storyline the next time these teams play.

Keefe: Speaking of Chapman, here in New York we have Dellin Betances embarrassing nearly every hitter that steps in the box with 84 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings (206 batters faced) and a ridiculous 13.7 K/9. But what’s even more ridiculous is Chapman is striking out hitters more often than not with 60 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings with 111 batters faced. The only time I really watch Chapman is when the Reds are playing a national TV game, I’m bored and watching random games on MLB TV or I have thrown the Reds into a parlay and watch them because I have money on the line, but when I see numbers like that, I feel like I need to start watching Reds games when there’s a save opportunity on the line.

How fun is it to watch Chapman and to have him on your team?

Kraeling: It’s an absolute blast. We’ve had plenty of ups and downs with Chapman, but he’s one of those players where you drop whatever you’re doing whenever he comes into a ballgame (it reminds me of Mo Rivera on that front). One of the things I enjoy most as a Reds fan is getting to watch the reactions of opposing fans (and players, honestly) when he’s hitting 102 on the gun without much effort. Being at the stadium, he brings so much energy when he comes in, if only because we can see his superhuman arm in the flesh.

On the other hand, when he’s not on his game, he’s just as bad as he is dominant. Sometimes it seems like he can lose focus mentally in an instant, and it can really be a roller coaster ride when we see him in a game. Walking the bases loaded and then striking out the side isn’t out of the question for Chapman. It makes things exciting, that’s for sure.

Keefe: The Yankees need to not only start winning series, but they need to start sweeping series and winning games in bunches starting right away in the “second half.” The problem with that (along with the fact that 80 percent of their Opening Day rotation is on the disabled list) is that they will be facing a red-hot Reds team this weekend at the Stadium and Johnny Cueto is starting on Sunday. Cueto is 10-6 with a 2.13 and leads the league in complete games (3), innings pitched (143.2) and hits/9 (5.8). Not exactly what I want a Yankees team that has trouble scoring against No. 4 and 5 starters to be seeing three games into the stretch run while chasing five games in the East.

But also pitching this weekend against the Yankees is Alfredo Simon, who I miss dearly from his time in Baltimore because whenever he came into the game it meant a Yankees rally or comeback. It blew my mind that Simon was an All-Star this year, going 12-3 with a 2.70 ERA so far after being a reliever for nearly his entire career.

Are you surprised that Simon has not only become a reliable starter, but that he’s doing it at age 33?

Kraeling: Absolutely. I think the job that Simon is doing is one of the most surprising performances in all of MLB this year. You have a guy who Baltimore gave up on and the Reds got off of waivers, who was a productive member of the Reds’ bullpen the past few years but was never really spectacular. He prepared this spring as a starter with Mat Latos hurt, but wasn’t necessarily in the Reds’ plans for the rotation to start the year.

Oddly enough, if former Yankee Brett Marshall hadn’t hurt himself in his last start of spring training, he would have been the 5th starter for the Reds over Alfredo Simon. Funny to think about.

We’re fully aware that midnight is coming and that Simon could turn into a pumpkin any minute now, but we’re enjoying the ride right now.

Keefe: On June 20, the Reds were 35-37 and 8.5 games back in the NL Central and playing themselves out of playoff contention with the real halfway point of the season approaching. Since then they have gone 16-7 and are not only 1 game out of a wild-card spot, but they are now just 1.5 games out in the division. Over the last three weeks the Reds have essentially saved their season and it’s something the Yankees will need to do in the “second half” if they are to get back to the postseason.

In the last four years, the Reds have reached the playoffs three times, losing in the one-game playoff last year and in the NLDS in 2012 and 2010 and going 2-7 in their nine playoff games. I’m guessing you had postseason aspirations for this Reds team before the season started and still do now that they have repositioned themselves nicely for the last two-plus months of baseball.

What exactly were your expectations for the Reds entering the season and have they changed? Were you losing hope before they recently turned it around?

Kraeling: It’s been a really weird season for the Reds. I think we had similar expectations before the season as we have in the past few seasons, in that the Reds should compete for the division title. However, I think there was a little bit more pessimism with the Pirates, Cardinals, and Brewers making moves to improve in the offseason and Walt Jocketty standing pat with his Reds roster. The biggest offseason acquisitions for the Reds were Brayan Peña and Skip Schumaker. Seriously.

Blogs • MLB

Jul 14, 2014

The 2014 All-Animosity Team

With Major League Baseball ready for the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, It’s time to announce the 2014 All-Animosity Team.

The Midsummer Classic is this week and that means it’s time for the four longest days of summer: the four days without baseball. I mean real baseball and not the Home Run Derby or the All-Star Game because without real baseball to watch and talk about, the baseball world becomes talking heads spending Monday and Tuesday debating who should and who shouldn’t have made the All-Star Team and how the All-Star Game can be fixed. And then those same talking heads will spend Wednesday and Thursday spewing meaningless “second-half” predictions and giving us their “midseason” awards for Cy Young and MVP.

Instead of complaining about the Home Run Derby format or Chris Berman’s broadcasting techniques and instead of debating if the Home Run Derby messes up a hitter’s swing or if the All-Star Game should determine home-field advantage, I thought now would be the best time to announce the one midsummer roster that matters: the 2014 All-Animosity Team.

It’s the Fifth Annual All-Animosity Team and once again the team consists of one player at each position, along with a starting pitcher, a closer and a manager from around the league. The standards to be considered for the team are simple and only one of the following three requirements needs to be met.

1. The person is a Yankee killer.

2. The person plays for the Red Sox.

3. I don’t like the person. (When I say, “I don’t like the person” or if I say, “I hate someone” I mean I don’t like the person who wears a uniform and plays or manages for a Major League Baseball team and not the actual person away from the game. I’m sure some of the people on this list are nice people. I’m glad we got that out of the way since I can already see Player X’s fan base in an uproar about me hating someone who does so much for the community.)

So, here is the 2014 All-Animosity Team with the winners from the previous years also listed.

C – Mike Napoli
(2013 – Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 2012 – Matt Wieters, 2011 – Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 2010 – Jason Varitek)

Jason Varitek hasn’t played baseball in four years, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is in Miami and Matt Wieters had Tommy John surgery. Usually if I’m having trouble, I can always turn to the Red Sox, but A.J. Pierzynski just got cut and David Ross isn’t worth giving the time of the day to. With a limited number of unlikeable catchers, it was hard for me to not break my own rule of not putting any Yankees on the team and put Brian McCann in this spot. So while Napoli has never caught in any of the 214 games he has played for the Red Sox and hasn’t been a catcher since 2012, I’m penciling him in here.

Even with David Ortiz saving the Red Sox’ season against the Tigers in the ALCS and then hitting .688 in the World Series, Napoli was the face of the 2013 Red Sox. With his Duck Dynasty beard, he became the face of a team built on the notion of “We can win a championship if every single thing goes our way” and every single thing did go their way for the whole season as they got bounce-back seasons from their entire roster and overachieving seasons from several players who had become perennial underachievers.

After agreeing to a three-year, $39 million deal and then having that deal voided because of a failed physical, Napoli was almost not even part of the 2013 Red Sox. He signed a one-year, $5 million contract with $8 million of incentives and then went on to hit .259/.360/.482 with 23 home runs and 92 RBIs, which isn’t very impressive, but what is are his 2013 numbers against the Yankees: .375/.453/.804 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs. This year, Napoli has cooled off a little against the Yankees (.306/.405/.667), but he still has three home runs against them and one game-changing home run against them when he got a two-strike fastball from Masahiro Tanaka in the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium a few weeks back before calling Tanaka “an idiot.”

1B – Chris Davis
(2013 – Chris Davis, 2012 – Adrian Gonzalez, 2011 – Adrian Gonzalez, 2010 – Kevin Youkilis)

I wasn’t going to put Chris Davis here with a .199 average at the break, but after his two-run home run against the Yankees in the bottom of the fourth inning on Sunday Night Baseball gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead in an eventual 3-1, rain-shortened win, I had to. Eff you, Chris Davis. And eff you, rain-shortened losses in a huge division game that is the difference between being three games back or five.

2B – Dustin Pedroia
(2013 – Dustin Pedroia, 2012 – Dustin Pedroia, 2011 – Dustin Pedroia, 2010 – Dustin Pedroia)

For as long as I have an All-Animosity Team and for as long as Dustin Pedroia is the second baseman of the Red Sox, he will be in this spot. So as I have done the last few years, I will just put down what I have about Pedroia.

Pedroia is like Tom Brady for me. He has that winning instinct that you just don’t see all the time these days, he plays hard and he’s the type of guy you want on your team. But if I didn’t put him here again it would just be weird.

3B – David Wright
(2013 – David Wright, 2012 – Robert Andino, 2011 – Kevin Youkilis, 2010 – Chone Figgins)

David Wright is the face of the Mets. And for that alone, he gets this spot.

SS – Jose Reyes
(2013 – Jose Reyes, 2012 – Jose Reyes, 2011 – Jose Reyes, 2010 – Jose Reyes)

Sometimes I miss the days of the Jose Reyes being the Mets shortstop when Mets fans would try to engage me in fights about Reyes being better than Derek Jeter. And sometimes I miss the days when Mets fans would call WFAN and talk about how Reyes is “the most exciting player in baseball” as if there were any true way to measure a statement like that. But I always miss the days when Mets fans would call and say the team has to re-sign Reyes before he hit free agency after the 2011 season. Since Reyes left the Mets for free agency and signed a six-year, $106 million deal with the Marlins (and was then traded to the Blue Jays), he has played in 332 of a possible 420 games and has become a shell of his former self offensively, even playing for an offensive power like the Blue Jays.

I can only dream about the state the Mets would be in right now if they had Reyes playing shortstop a $16 million per year for an under-.500 team trying to rebuild and can only imagine the types of calls that would be flooding the sports radio phone lines with the trade deadline looming and Mets fans waiting on hold for hours to share their fantasy trades for Reyes. I miss the days of the Jeter-Reyes debates, even if they were one-sided and ended the same way as all the Jeter-Nomar debates, and I miss Reyes being a Met and giving that fan base years of false hope.

LF – Wil Myers
(2013 – Carl Crawford, 2012 – Delmon Young, 2011 – Manny Ramirez, 2010 – Manny Ramirez)

Here is what Wil Myers has done this season: .227/.313/.354 with five home runs and 25 RBIs.

Here is what Wil Myers has done against the Yankees this season: .375/.429/.813 with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

That means 12 of Myers’ 45 hits (27 percent), four of his five home runs (80 percent) and 14 of his 25 RBIs (56 percent) have come against the Yankees. Excuse me while I throw up.

I watched Myers round the bases on his inside-the-park home run from Section 203 at the Stadium on May 4 and watched him encourage all of 203 to continue to taunt him as he continued to beat the Yankees. Unfortunately, he is 23 years and will likely taunt me for years to come.

CF – Adam Jones
(2013 – Ben Zobrist, 2012 – Josh Hamilton, 2011 – B.J. Upton, 2010 – Vernon Wells)

I was shocked to realize Jones hadn’t been been part of the All-Animosity Team before, given his knack for killing the Yankees offensively and defensively. This year Jones is hitting .324/.359/.514 with two home runs against the Yankees and it’s usually Jones in the middle of any Orioles rally against the Yankees or the one killing a rally with a Web Gem. I miss the days of a young Adam Jones, who hadn’t realized his power yet and could easily be struck out in a big spot.

RF – Nick Swisher
(2013 – Nick Swisher, 2012 – Jose Bautista, 2011 – Magglio Ordonez, 2010 – Magglio Ordonez)

Before the Yankees started a four-game series in Cleveland last week, Nick Swisher was hitting .197/.287/.317 with five home runs and 39 RBIs in what was becoming a disastrous season for the Indians’ highest-paid player making $15 million this season. Swisher’s struggles this season brought a smile to my face the same way I was smiling when he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the one-game playoff last season.

But during the four-game series against the Yankees, Swisher went 5-for-18 with two home runs and five RBIs, including the two-strike home run against Tanaka in his last start before he hit the disabled list. And since the start of the Yankees series, Swisher is 9-for-10 with three home runs and seven RBIs. There’s nothing quite like the Yankees letting a sub-.200 hitter in July get hot and start to turn his season around againts them, especially when it’s the hated Nick Swisher. OK, maybe “hated” is the wrong word to use when talking about Swisher since he is extra sensitive.

SP – John Lackey
(2013 – Josh Beckett, 2012 – Josh Beckett, 2011 – Josh Beckett, 2010 – Josh Beckett)

I never thought any pitcher other than Josh Beckett would earn this spot, but Lackey had been knocking on the door for a few years and finally busted it open this season.

Let’s put aside his personal life issues and even his double-fisting beers in the clubhouse and even his belittling of the media, who do sometimes need to be belittled, and let’s talk about Lackey’s contract status.

Lackey signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Red Sox from 2010-2014 with a club option for 2015 at the league minimum is Lackey misses significant time with surgery between 2010-2014 for a pre-exisitng elbow injury. Lackey did miss time because of surgery and missed the entire 2012 season and is now saying he will never pitch for the league minimum ($500,000) and will retire before doing so.

John Lackey is pure scum on top of scum and I’m not sure how he has a single fan. He signed a five-year, $82.5 million A.J. Burnett deal before 2010 and in the first two years he went 26-23 with a 5.26 ERA. Then he missed the entire 2012 season. Last year he went 10-13 with a 3.52 ERA on a division-winning and World Series-winning team. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that he is upset that he would only make $500,000 next year, but it’s a little ironic that he didn’t think he should only be making $500,000 when he had a 1.619 WHIP in 2011 or when he threw zero pitches in 2012. Poor John Lackey.

CL – Fernando Rodney
(2013 – Fernando Rodney, 2012 – Jose Valverde, 2011 – Jonathan Papelbon, 2010 – Jonathan Papelbon)

It was actually hard to fill the closer role this season, but watching Rodney celebrate saves over the years and then turn in an ugly line (1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP) in two appearances against the Red Sox in the ALDS en route to their third championship in 10 years was enough to put him back on the team.

Manager – Mike Scioscia
(2013 – Mike Scioscia, 2012 – Bobby Valentine, 2011 – Mike Scioscia, 2010 – Joe Maddon)

I really wanted to put Mike Matheny here for his managerial decisions in the World Series, especially his decision to bring in Seth Maness and his awesome pitch-to-contact stuff to face Jonny Gomes in Game 4. Thanks, Mike! But I don’t care enough about Matheny or the Cardinals for this spot considering how many choices there are from the American League.

This spot has gone to Joe Maddon and Mike Scioscia and the legendary Bobby Valentine (whose Stamford, Conn. restaurant I ate at on Saturday and it was actually good) in the past and once again it goes to Scioscia, whose Angels are finally playing up to their payroll for the first time since 2009. And because the Angels are looking like a lock for either the West or the first wild card, that means we are going to have to hear about how great of a job Scioscia did in 2014 despite having Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols in his lineup. Don’t forget, no team goes first to third and plays fundamentally-sound baseball better than Mike Scioscia’s team!

Podcasts • Yankees

Jul 11, 2014

Podcast: Steve Melia

Steve Melia joins me to talk about his book “162 – The Almost Epic Journey of a Yankees Superfan” and his experience attending every Yankees regular-season and postseason game in 2011.

I always say if I win the Powerball I will get season tickets behind home plate at Yankee Stadium and go to every Yankees game, both home and away. But I found out you don’t need to win the Powerball to fulfill the dream of going to every Yankees game in a season. You might not sit behind home plate every game, but it can be done.

Steve Melia, author of 162 – The Almost Epic Journey of a Yankees Superfan, joined me to talk about his book and his experience realizing the dream by attending every Yankees regular-season and postseason game in 2011.

The book is available for purchase on 162YankeesGames.com as well as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Blogs • Yankees

Jul 9, 2014

The State of Brian Cashman

Brian Cashman gave his most recent State of the Yankees to Mike Francesa, so it’s time to look at the State of Brian Cashman with the “first half” of the season almost over.

We are almost at the “halfway point” of the season. But when the “first half” of the MLB season ends, the Yankees will only have 68 games or 42 percent of their season left. Time is ticking for the Yankees to start playing like the Yankees or at least start playing the way they were two weeks ago. Luckily, the AL East has become what the AL Central and NL West were for so long and even at 45-44, the Yankees are a strong finish in Cleveland and Baltimore this weekend from possibly being in first place.

Brian Cashman talked with Mike Francesa on WFAN and gave a sort of First Half State of the Yankees, so of course it’s time to give a State of Brian Cashman for the first time since Feb. 20. Back in February, Cashman crushed my confidence about the 2014 Yankees a full 40 days before the season started, but rightfully so apparently since they are one game over .500 after 89 games. However, it’s a little odd that the person responsible for building this team and this roster is the person who entered the season admitting that they weren’t going to be that good, and his feelings haven’t really changed.

On the big picture for the 2014 Yankees.

“Frustrating so far. We’ve had underperformance; we’ve had injuries, inconsistency. It’s been a frustrating first part and it’s obviously my job to find ways to improve on what we’ve got and to make some adjustments and we feel we have to do that. I feel I have to do that.”

I’m glad that Brian Cashman feels he has to make some adjustments to the one-game-over-.500 team he built coming off an win and postseason-less season. That’s very nice of him. What’s also nice is using the word “frustrating” to describe the 2014 Yankees. I would have gone a different route in my choice of word, but “frustrating” is a very nice way to put. It’s kind of like when the Yankees get seven hits in a game, all singles of course, and Joe Girardi claims they swung the bats “well.” So yes, the 2014 Yankees have been “frustrating.” How frustrating? Let’s look at the Yankees’ season by month.

April: 15-11
May: 14-14
June: 12-15
July: 4-4

The Yankees are one game over .500 right now. When they were six games over .500 at 39-33 two weeks ago, Suzyn Waldman was telling John Sterling how Joe Torre used to like to say you need to move above .500 in increments of five and how the Yankees’ next stop was 10 games over .500. Since then, the Yankees have gone 6-12, so about that 10 games over .500 …

On why he chose to designate Alfonso Soriano for assignment.

He struggled poorly against left handed and right handed pitching. We got him because we were struggling so badly last year against left-handed pitchers and that’s something he’s always been good at .. this year the defense hasn’t been there clearly, the offense against righties and lefties hasn’t been there and this is a bad defensive club already … We’re at the halfway point. I can’t keep waiting. I have to all of a sudden make some changes if we feel there might be some better options and so the play kind of played the way off the club I guess.”

We’re not at the halfway point. We’re at the “halfway point.” The halfway point was last week when the Yankees were busy losing 4-3 in 12 innings at home to the Rays, which was the third loss in a five-game HOME losing streak. Two nights before that during Game 79 of the season, Cashman was (to steal a line from Tim Wattley in The Campaign) “playing hee-haw with the eff-around gang” in a private booth, canoodling with Kenny Chesney while his half-billion offseason dollars went a combined 2-for-12 with four strikeouts and made one terrible pitch to Mike Napoli. (That was the most I will ever get on Masahiro Tanaka and I felt bad even typing that sentence, but it went with the whole half-billion dollars thing, so I had to bring Tanaka into it. Sorry, Masahiro. Please don’t let your MRI come back with bad news.)

I said everything I had to say about Alfonso Soriano on Wednesday and Cashman only helped my argument by saying that Soriano believed he needed to be a full-time player to get on track, which he clearly did need. And Soriano was supposed to be an everyday player on Opening Day when he was going to be the full-time DH for the 2014 Yankees before Mr. The Knees Beltran needed to become a DH and Soriano became an outfield platoon with Ichiro.

On CC Sabathia.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty.”

CC Sabathia needs to see Dr. James Andrews, but according to Cashman, Andrews is at a convention in Seattle with every other big-time surgeon where I imagine they are all getting absolutely hammered and watching the ticker on ESPN hoping to see news about athletes that were injured and will need to undergo season-ending surgery. “Bronson Arroyo needs Tommy John! Next round’s on Jim!”

There are rumors that Sabathia might never pitch again because of the possibility of microfracture surgery, but until then, I can only hope that Sabathia does come back this year to bolster the back of the rotation. (That’s right, I said back of the rotation for the $700,000-per-start “ace.” No big deal.)

On the trade between the A’s and Cubs.

“We had a lot of conversations clearly with the Cubs about Samardzija as well as Hammel as well as both at the same time and I think that the Cubs liked a lot of the pieces that we had. I think we were certainly in the arena. The fact that Theo was engaging me as much as he was, I know he likes our players. I know that there were packages that had interest to him for one or both combined that could have worked.”

I had to really hold back the tears when I heard this because what Cashman basically said was,” Hey Yankees fans, I was right there to completely fix the rotation, get us two frontend starters and make us the favorite in the division, but I didn’t! But I was close! I was really close!”

I’m not sure what the Yankees would have had to give up to get the duo, considering what the A’s gave up to get them, but if the Yankees had gotten both of them, this would have been their rotation:

Masahiro Tanaka
Jeff Samardzija
Jason Hammel
Hiroki Kuroda
Brandon McCarthy

Instead it’s:

Masahiro Tanaka
Hiroki Kuroda
Brandon McCarthy
David Phelps
Shane Greene

I’m guessing if Cashman was looking to get both then that’s not good news for hoping that Michael Pineda will be back soon or in 2014, but now with the starting pitching market as thin as it is and the Top 2 starting pitchers on the market both gone, Pineda has to come back in August and be as good as he was in April.

I would have rather had Cashman tell Francesa he didn’t even know Samardzija and Hammel were available or that Theo Epstein recently got a new cell number and he only had his old number. But hearing him say the Yankees “were in the arena” makes me feel the way I did when Cliff Lee was about to become a Yankee before the Phillies ruined everything. (Cue the Cliff Lee Sad Songs Playlist.) I’m just going to pretend that Theo was stringing him along with his buddy Jed Hoyer and they were sitting in a room talking to Cashman on speaker phone all seven times, pressing the “mute” button anytime Cashman was talking and screaming with laughter like Larry David and Jeff Garlin looking at the “Freak Book” at Ted Danson’s birthday party making Cashman think he really had a chance to land either or both of the starters.

On Carlos Beltran.

“I think Beltran looks like he’s starting to come through it a little bit on the elbow. I think his swings definitely look healthier, but obviously we have to deal with the knees too that he’s had now for a number of years … We have to deal with protecting Carlos.”

I love that Cashman says Beltran has been dealing with “the knees” (not one knee, but both) for a number of years now. There’s nothing like signing a 37-year-old outfielder to a three-year deal (he currently can’t actually play in the outfield) when you know he’s been dealing with “the knees” for a number of years and then needing to “protect him” in the first one-sixth of his deal.

Beltran is hitting .216/.271/.401 and the whole idea of getting Beltran was because of his postseason success (51 games, 16 home runs, 40 RBIs, .333/.445/.683), but you have to get to the postseason to get Postseason Beltran. So far his regular season has been more Postseason Nick Swisher and his health and ability to play through injury has been Regular-Season Mark Teixeira. So far the Yankees have been like Beltran: an underachieving disappointment.

Podcasts • Rangers

Jul 9, 2014

Podcast: Brian Monzo

Brian Monzo joined me to talk about the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since it ended and the departure of Benoit Pouliot, Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle.

The Rangers’ last game was 28 days ago and therefore we have been without hockey for 28 days. But the best part about having your team reach the Stanley Cup Final, other than playing for the Cup, is extending the season so long that next season doesn’t feel that far away. And with the Rangers playing until mid-June, we got the NHL Awards, the NHL Draft and the start of free agency all immediately following the devastating Game 5 loss.

WFAN Mike’s On: Francesa on the FAN producer Brian Monzo joined me to talk about the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since it ended, the ridiculous contract Benoit Pouliot received from the Oilers and whether it matters that Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle signed with the Lightning.