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Tag: Brian Cashman

Blogs • Monday Mentions • Yankees

Aug 17, 2015

Monday Mentions: Yankees Are Back on Track

The panic button was pushed with the Yankees getting beat up by the Blue Jays and Indians, but a road trip to Toronto momentarily paused the state of worry.

Luis Severino

The Yankees blew their seven-game lead in the AL East and might have been left playing for a wild-card spot over the final seven weeks of the season if not for their performance in Toronto. The Yankees were able to regain first place in the division, but they will have to hold off the Blue Jays the rest of the way to avoid going from the ALDS to a one-game playoff.

Here is another installment of “Monday Mentions” focused on questions and comments from Twitter about the Yankees after their near collapse in the AL East.

https://twitter.com/baker_fake/status/631530302234456064

When this tweet was written, yes, it was completely justified. I spent last Sunday after the Blue Jays swept the Yankees at Walmart stocking up on bottled water, flashlights, batteries, and non-perishable foods for when the Yankees blow the division and either end up in the wild-card game (for which I will buy a respirator) or out of the playoffs completely.

However, since then, the Yankees won the series finale in Cleveland and managed to win two out of three in Toronto to get back on top in the division. When the Yankees trailed 3-0 late in Toronto on Friday night I was in bad place, but with the biggest win of the season and the win on Saturday, I have stopped adding to my Blown Seven-Game Lead Emergency Survival Kit. For now, we’re safe. That could change with any sort of losing streak at this point in the season.

I have enjoyed all three of Luis Severino’s start and am still upset that the official scorer in Toronto gave Troy Tulowitzki a double on a ball that Carlos Beltran lost in the sun and deflected off his body. Severino should have finished the game with six innings and no earned runs, but instead he was charged with three earned runs. Even with that he has now pitched 17 innings, allowing six earned runs and if he had any sort of run support, he would be 3-0. Instead he is 0-2 with a no-decision, while Nathan Eovaldi keeps on racking up the wins with the most incredible run support ever. Severino has made me believe in the future when it comes to the rotation that includes an already-torn elbow in Masahiro Tanaka, the oft-injued Michael Pineda, the recently-retuned-from-surgery Ivan Nova, the frustrating and inconsistent Nathan Eovaldi and the Ghost of CC Sabathia.

I have never been a fan of Jacoby Ellsbury. I think that’s well documented. It would be hard to find a nice thing I have written about the $153 million man, who obviously would never live up to that deal in its entirety, but he won’t even live up to it for one season. If I’m Brett Gardner, I’m holding out for $101 million and three more years on my contract to be equal to Ellsbury, who is an inferior player to Gardner.

https://twitter.com/Mr_B_Roe/status/631632680795435008

Unfortunately, it’s going to take more than a few good weeks for an apology to ever come, and it will likely never come. Any player that is given infinite chances will eventually succeed. Look at Stephen Drew. He has hit 15 home runs this season because he’s had 345 plate appearances. Given his average and on-base percentage, he should have been designated for assignment or benched a long time ago. It shouldn’t be a surprise when he occasionally hits a home run and it shouldn’t be treated as if he might finally turn it around. He has sucked for just about two full seasons now for a reason: because he sucks.

https://twitter.com/kevinmurraysays/status/632361408475365376

I’m not sure if I will get over this. Maybe when the Yankees win the World Series again I will, but even then, I will always think about what could have been in 2010. If Brian Cashman includes Eduardo Nunez in the trade for Cliff Lee, the rotation is Lee, CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes. The Yankees lost Game 3 of the 2010 ALCS to Lee. If Lee’s on the team, that game doesn’t happen and A.J. Burnett never pitches Game 4 and loses. The Yankees at least get to the World Series, and once there, who know what could have happened?

After A.J. Burnett, I think the player I have written the second-most words about is Boone Logan though Stephen Drew is making his move up the all-time words list. It puts a smile on my face when Logan gives up a big hit or blows a game even now two years removed from him being on the Yankees. Unfortunately, the Yankees don’t play the Rockies this season, so we won’t get the chance to see him give back one of the games he cost them over four seasons.

Yes, the Yankees make the playoffs. As for the second part of this question, well, they better win the division.

I don’t care what people thought of them before the season or where people thought they would finish. None of that matters. What matters is this is a team with a $217 million payroll that is expected to contend every season. And once they got out to a seven-game lead, anything other than winning the East and going straight to the ALDS is unacceptable. If this team has to play in the wild-card game, I don’t even know how I will mentally, physically and emotionally handle it. I haven’t even really given it a lot of thought yet because I don’t want to and I hope I don’t have to.

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Podcasts • Yankees

Aug 3, 2015

Podcast: Bald Vinny

The face of the Bleacher Creatures joined me to talk about the hype around Luis Severino’s debut, the Yankees’ decision to hold on to their prospects at the trade deadline and believing in Didi Gregorius.

Luis Severino

After their 10-game road trip to Minnesota, Texas and Chicago, the Yankees won’t play another game outside the Eastern Time Zone this season. For a team with a 5 1/2-game lead as they return home to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, the Yankees are in a perfect position for the stretch run and to lock up a spot in the ALDS for the first time in three years.

Bald Vinny of the Right Field Bleacher Creatures and Bald Vinny’s House of Tees joined me to talk about talk about the Yankees’ recent 10-game road trip, the hype around Luis Severino’s debut on Wednesday, the Yankees’ decision to hold on to their prospects at the trade deadline, believing in Didi Gregorius and not believing in CC Sabathia, missing the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, the Yankees-Mets rivalry gaining steam for September, who the Yankees’ MVP is through four months and Tanyon Sturtze and Charlie Hayes’ visit to the bleachers this coming Friday.

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Blogs • Monday Mentions • Yankees

Aug 3, 2015

Monday Mentions: The Post-Trade Deadline

The trade deadline has come and gone and it was uneventful for the Yankees unless you like adding former highly-touted prospects that turned into busts and now can’t hit and have no position.

The trade deadline has come and gone and it was uneventful for the Yankees and Yankees fans unless you like adding former highly-touted prospects that turned into busts and now can’t hit and have no position. If you like players like that then you must like the Yankees’ trade for Dustin Ackley.

Here is another installment of “Monday Mentions” focused on questions and comments from Twitter about the Yankees now that the trade deadline is over.

The answer is three since that’s how many the Yankees have now.

I’m not sure why the trade for Ackley was made. Is it because he was the second overall pick in 2009 and the Yankees think he will now develop into that talent at age 27? Is it because he hit two home runs against Masahiro Tanaka after the All-Star break? Is it because he is a lifetime .296/.397/.481 hitter at Yankee Stadium?

The most puzzling part of the Ackley trade is that the Yankees don’t see him as a second baseman, but rather as a first baseman and outfielder. As long as Robinson Cano was sad when Ackley informed his teammates that he was being traded to the Yankees then I’m OK with the trade since I want Cano to feel the pain I have felt with him in Seattle and the Yankees starting Brian Roberts, Kelly Johnson, Stephen Drew, Gregorio Petit and Brendan Ryan at second base since he left.

Apparently, you’re not aware that Stephen Drew’s dad and Brian Cashman’s dad were roommates in college and Brendan Ryan is married to Brian Cashman’s cousin. That’s the only explanation I have for these two to still be on the team at the SAME TIME while everyone else around them gets designated for assignment. Here’s to hoping Stephen Drew never touches .200 this season.

The Yankees definitely had an odd trade deadline strategy. They weren’t willing to give up any of their top prospects, which is fine, but then they were targeting Craig Kimbrel rather than a starting pitcher. Unless their plan was to pitch Kimbrel, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller for three innings each every fifth day, I’m not sure how not going after a starting pitcher helped improve their shaky rotation.

If Kimbrel had been traded to the Yankees, it would have been intereting to see how the Yankees handled the ninth inning. Kimberl has always been a closer and has led the National League in saves the last four years, which were his first four full seasons in the league, but Miller has been a perfect 23-for-23 in save opportunities this season and dominant in the role. It’s an impossible decision and I’m happy it’s one that doesn’t need to be made now.

That’s a good way to make me cry. The Yankees could have had Johan Santana for three pitchers that are no longer with the organization.

Santana won 16 games in 2008 for the Mets with a 2.53 ERA. The Yankees went 89-73 and missed the playoffs by six games. Darrell Rasner made 20 starts for the Yankees, Sidney Ponson made 15, Joba Chamberlain made 12, Ian Kennedy made nine and Phil Hughes made eight. Those five pitchers won 12 games combined with Kennedy and Hughes winning none.

Santana gave the Mets three great years from 2008-2010 before missing 2011 and then making 21 starts in 2012, and he hasn’t pitched since. I would have gladly paid Santana to not pitch in 2011, 2013 and 2014 if it meant having him for 2008-2010.

On another trade note, remember when Brian Cashman wouldn’t include Eduardo Nunez in a deal for Cliff Lee in July 2010, so the Rangers got Cliff Lee, beat the Yankees in the ALCS and then Lee signed with the Phillies in December 2010? I don’t remember it either.

CC makes about $700,000 per start. That’s a seven followed by five zeroes. Here is what he has done in his last two starts:

5.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 HR

5.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3 HR

In years past, it would be an automatic loss with Sabathia facing the Red Sox at the Stadium like he is on Thursday, but it’s actually a blessing. The Yankees play the Blue Jays on Friday at the Stadium and the new-look Blue Jays missed out on facing Sabathia by one day. On Monday, the first four hitters for the Blue Jays were Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Incarnation. However, the Yankees and Blue Jays have 13 games left this season, so while the Yankees might be able to hide Sabthia from the Blue Jays this weekend and next weekend, it’s going to be hard to hide him forever against the Blue Jays unless they remove him from the rotation.

Mets fans are always so quick to go from a laughingstock to the most overconfident irrational fans in the world. I was at Citi Field on July 23 for Clayton Kershaw’s near perfect game against the Mets and the team was an embarrassment and the fans couldn’t have been more quiet and Citi Field couldn’t have been less full with the best pitcher in the world pitching. Fast forward to Sunday Night Baseball with the Mets looking to sweep the Nationals and the Citi Field crowd chanting “OVER-RATED” at Bryce Harper, who is hitting .330/.454/.667 with 29 home runs and 68 RBIs, which are as bad and ill-timed as the “Yankees suck” chants that will be coming at the end of the month at Fenway Park with the Red Sox a million games behind the Yankees.

I remember the good old days of “Reyes is better than Jeter” debates, which were equally as funny as the “Nomar is better than Jeter” debates I had to listen to growing up. Reyes is 32 years old, now playing for his fourth team in five years and is owed $22 million in 2016 and 2017 with a $22 million team option of $4 million buyout in 2018. There’s a 100 percent chance that option gets bought out when Reyes is 35. When Jeter was 35, he won his fifth World Series. Good debate.

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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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Podcasts • Yankees

Jul 21, 2015

Podcast: Bald Vinny

After winning three straight series to finish the first half with a 6-3 record in the “Necessary Nine“, the Yankees picked up right where they left off to start the second half with another series

CC Sabathia

After winning three straight series to finish the first half with a 6-3 record in the “Necessary Nine“, the Yankees picked up right where they left off to start the second half with another series win. The Yankees have increased their first-place lead in the AL East and now host their strongest competition for the division title with the Orioles coming to Bronx.

Bald Vinny of the Right Field Bleacher Creatures and Bald Vinny’s House of Tees joined me to talk about talk about the confidence of Yankees fans with the team in first place, the situation at second base, the good and bad of the first half and the state of Bald Vinny’s House of Tees.

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