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Tag: Derek Jeter

Podcasts • Yankees

Mar 31, 2016

Podcast: Homer Bush

The former Yankee joined me to talk about being part of the 1998 team, getting traded for Hideki Irabu and his time in the majors.

Homer Bush

In recent years, Yankees fans have seen how hard it is for former everyday players to join the team as a bench player and struggle to continue performing. But in the late-90s, when the Yankees were in the middle of their dynastic run, they had a middle infielder, who could not only play second, short and third, but who could also hit over .300 and steal bases seemingly at will.

Former Yankee and 1998 World Series champion Homer Bush and author of Hitting Low in the Zone: A New Baseball Paradigm joined me to talk about choosing a baseball career over football, getting traded from the Padres to the Yankees for Hideki Irabu, mastering the role of a bench player, being part of the 1998 Yankees and the celebrations after the World Series, getting traded to the Blue Jays, making his own return to the Yankees, being part of Old Timers’ Day, writing his book on hitting and his career now as Director of Youth Programs for the Texas Rangers.

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Blogs • Yankees

Aug 18, 2015

A Yankees Facebook Conversation

Somehow Stephen Drew is still a Yankee. To recognize his improbable roster spot, here’s a conversation on Facebook.

Today is August 18 and Stephen Drew is still a Yankee. I’m not sure why and I’m not sure how, but he is.

I decided to make a fake Facebook conversation with Drew announcing to his teammates that he could be designated for assignment any day now in hopes that he actually will be. (I have been waiting for him to be DFA’d since the day Brian Cashman inexplicably signed him to a one-year, $5 million deal.) Here it is.

 

Screen Shot 2015-08-18 at 8.08.09 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-18 at 8.10.19 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-18 at 8.11.20 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-18 at 8.11.58 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-18 at 8.13.30 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-18 at 8.14.04 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-18 at 8.14.29 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-18 at 8.17.06 PMScreen Shot 2015-08-18 at 8.15.37 PM

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Podcasts • Yankees

Aug 10, 2015

Podcast: Shelley Duncan

The former Yankee joined me to talk about the 2007 ALDS, the midges in Cleveland, playing under Joe Torre and Joe Girardi and the differences in playing at the old and new Yankee Stadium.

Shelley Duncan

For a long time, no matter who the Yankees called up or signed it would work out. In the summer of 2007, needing some additional right-handed power to add to a lineup that was trying to overcome a double-digit game deficit in the standings to reach the postseason for the 13th straight year, the Yankees dipped into Triple-A for a 6-foot-5 version of Shane Spencer.

Former Yankee Shelley Duncan joined me to talk about hitting home runs for the Yankees, the 2007 ALDS against the Indians, the midges in Cleveland, playing under Joe Torre and Joe Girardi, the differences in playing at the old and new Yankee Stadium, his patented forearm bump and brawls in baseball.

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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 • Yankees

Jun 22, 2015

Yankees-Phillies Puts Focus on Cole Hamels’ Future

The last time the Yankees and Phillies met in the regular season it meant something, but now it just means watching Cole Hamels audition.

Philadelphia Phillies v New York Mets

The last time the Yankees played the Phillies was June 2010. Back then, it was a rematch of the 2009 World Series, the Phillies had added Roy Halladay to their starting rotation and CC Sabathia faced him in the first game of a three-game series at the Stadium. A lot has changed for both teams since they were on top of their respective leagues and the rivalry that was created in October 2009 has faded.

With the Yankees and Phillies meeting for the first time in five years, John Stolnis of The Good Phight joined me to talk about what’s happened to the Phillies in the last four years, how Ruben Amaro, Jr. still has a job and what the Phillies will do with Cole Hamels.

Keefe: In December 2010, the Phillies signed Cliff Lee, the Yankees didn’t and I was sure my 2011 baseball season was ruined. The Yankees and Phillies both went on to reach the playoffs and both had early exits in a year the Phillies were expected to win the World Series with their vaunted pitching staff. Since then, the Phillies have missed the playoffs the last three years and are on their way to being the worst team in the majors this season.

When you look back to October 2011, did you think not even four years later the Phillies would be in such a bad place?

Stolnis: Well, this email has started off well, reminding me of when my team died it’s slow, agonizing death and then asking me to painstakingly relive it so that I might reintroduce the trauma and night terrors it created. Sure, let’s chat about it!

No, I didn’t think things were going to be THIS bad, but I think after the 2012 season we all knew it was time for a change, that veteran players needed to be traded and that it was time to start a rebuilding process. But because they waited so long to do it, two years too long in my opinion, the rebuilding is beginning with very few Major League ready chips in place. And the veterans, Chase Utley especially, have degraded faster than I thought they would.

There are three good players on this team: Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon and Maikel Franco. Maybe Ken Giles, too. So no, I didn’t see us becoming the laughingstock of baseball after the 2011 season, but it certainly did seem like the window was closing.

Keefe: That bad place has been a product of Ruben Amaro, Jr.’s general managerial skills, which have included bad contracts and an unwillingness to unload his tradable veterans. And on top of that Amaro called out the fans earlier this season, which I’m sure went over well in Philadelphia.

Does Amaro have any supporters left? How does he still have his job?

Stolnis: In terms of the general public, Ruben Amaro is about as popular as gang green. He made a lot of mistakes over the last few years, but to be honest, I think most of those mistakes were at the direction of former team president David Montgomery, who forced the team to hold off onto the rebuilding effort. I truly believe it was Monty who drove the Ryan Howard extension and the Chase Utley extension, although I do believe it was Amaro who made the Papelbon deal (which hasn’t been awful as it turns out, seeing as how he’s been so good), and other smaller, stupid deals (Michael Young, Delmon Young, Ty Wigginton, etc.).

I actually think Amaro and new team president Pat Gillick have done OK over the last year, but it may be too little too late. There’s not much confidence in Amaro, and when the team hires a new president to succeed Gillick (likely at the end of the season), I’m pretty sure he’s going to want to hire his own guy. So, I do believe the clock is ticking.

Keefe: Amaro had his chance to trade Cliff Lee several times and I’m sure the Yankees would have willingly traded for him after missing out on him in July 2010 and December 2010. Now Lee’s career could be over and all the Phillies got for him was the chance to continue to pay him an exorbitant amount of money to not pitch. The Phillies are faced with a similar situation this season with Cole Hamels and the never-ending trade rumors that surround him.

What will happen with Hamels? Are we looking at another missed opportunity for the Phillies to fix things?

Stolnis: Hamels is a completely different situation than Lee. First, he’s younger. Second, Hamels has no injury history whatsoever, and is extraordinarily cautious about his body when he feels something wrong. He informed team medical personnel right away last week when he felt the slightest twinge in his hamstring, which is incredibly smart. So while I do think the Phils should be actively looking to trade Hamels, it has to be for the right deal.

The national media seem to want Amaro to trade Hamels simply for the sake of trading him. But Amaro and the Phillies need to get the Cole trade right. They need at least on blue chip piece in return, and they shouldn’t move him until they get it. Even if Hamels hurts himself this year, he’s still under team control for three years, in order to try and get the trade done. Hamels is elite, and he shouldn’t be sold as something other than elite, just to meet some time frame the national media thinks is there.

Keefe: When it comes to homegrown players and players that helped you win and enjoy baseball for so many seasons, I never have a problem with overpaying for them and letting them wear out their welcome. The Yankees did it with Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada and I didn’t have an issue with it any time. There needs to be some form of loyalty and if it means letting guys, who won you multiple championships, hang around a little too long then so be it. The Phillies have done a similar thing with Howard and Utley.

Were you against the extensions for both or part of the group that remains loyal to the old guard for the good years when the Phillies were winning?

Stolnis: I wasn’t against Howard when it happened, but I quickly realized how wrong I was. I didn’t think the Utley extension was a good idea, I thought they should have traded him. That being said, I would have been more OK with it if the team had drafted better over the last decade, then the veteran deals wouldn’t have hurt so much.

But the Phils have gotten a negative WAR out of their-first round picks over the last 10 years, the only team in MLB to do that. You can keep those old guys around as long as there are young guys to supplement it. The Phils don’t have them (other than Franco right now), which makes the veteran deals look even worse.

Keefe: This year will be the fourth straight year with postseason baseball for the Phillies and really without a competitive team. They are seven years removed from their World Series win and six years removed from their World Series loss.

When can we expect the Phillies to return to being the team to beat in the NL East?

Stolnis: You’re already counting out the Phils from postseason baseball? That’s bulletin board material! YOU HEAR THAT BOYS, THEY THINK YOU SUCK! KILL ‘EM!

It’s going to be at least three to four years before the Phils are contenders for the division. The Mets have assembled a ridiculously talented pitching staff. The Nationals are going to be good for a while. The Marlins have Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton, and I think will be good next year. The Braves, well, they’ve got a rebuild going too.

The Phils have some good talent in the low minors, but it’s going to be a while. The good news is, once they get a couple young guys with promise up to the majors, they have the financial ability to spend, spend, spend, just like the Yankees. So, they just need a little infrastructure in place, but it’s probably going to be a couple more years before that happens.

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