Yankees 2015 (33-25) - 2.5 Game Lead Topic

tecwrg
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Nice win for the Yankees last night in the road opening against the Birds.

Big moment of the night was Stephen Drew, pinch hitting for an injured Brett Gardner, driving a big fat pitch into the stands for a go-ahead grand slam in the 7th.

Chris Drew also goes yard for the second time this season.  He's supplanted ARod as the best player on the team so far.  small sample size so far, but I'd keep the hot bat in the lineup for now.  Tex also hits his third of the season.

Pineda was shaky.  He pitched into the 7th, which is think is the deepest outing for a Yankee starting pitcher so far this season, but he gave up 9 hits, 4 of them for extra bases.  Andrew Miller contributes a 1.2 IP save.

ARod makes his first appearance at third.  Goes 0-4 with 2 K's.  It's also pointed out that he has virtually no range at 3B anymore, so we shouldn't expect to see too much of him there throughout the season.

CC on the mound tonight for the second game of the series.

4/14/2015 8:30 AM
tecwrg
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Posted by cwillis802 on 4/14/2015 8:23:00 AM (view original):
The Yanks need a new GM. Years ago they should have tried a rebuilding process. I don't think Cashman knows what he's doing. There is no plan. The Yanks need to learn from other teams--big money only helps if your team is solid. They should have never signed Ellsbury and McCann. They could have tried using young players and if they were in contention at the all star break and the young player was failing the. Pick up a veteran in a trade. They should also have tried to dump high salary has beens. Supposedly the Dodgers wanted Tex when they traded the Red Sox for Gonzalez....where was Cashman on this?? The current team doesn't look good nor does the next 4-5 years.

The Yanks need a new GM...a visionary with an eye for young talent.
The Yankees weren't going to go into full rebuild mode for the final seasons of Rivera and Jeter.  They tried to load up for one last shot at glory for each one.

I'm not saying that's right, but I'm guessing that's what the thought process was behind the Ellsbury and McCann signings.  It obviously didn't work out too well for them.

They have nobody on the roster now who's the future "face of the franchise", no "beloved icons" of the team, so I wouldn't expect any more big dumb moves going forward.  They'll play out the remainder of the Teixiera, ARod and Sabathia contracts, and then start to move forward and retool for 2018 and beyond. I'm fully expecting three down seasons while they plan for a couple of seasons out.

4/14/2015 8:39 AM
MikeT23
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The fact of the matter is they were doomed when the big contracts of ARod, Texiera and Jeter were near the end.   None of those three were going to provide on field value that would match their paychecks over the last 2-4 years of those deals.    The farm system was/is obviously bare as Betances/Bettancourt were supposed to be future aces, Montero was to be a beastly at C/DH, Sanchez was the catcher de jour when they realized Montero would never catch, Tyler Austin rings a bell for some reason and I have no idea if he's still in the system, big things were expected of Ty Hensley, etc, etc.  I could go on but it's pointless.  They have managed to cultivate nothing in the minors.   The Yankees are not going to run a 67m payroll out there with 9 min wage guys while winning 73.   That will never happen.   Now they may win 73 but they will have a "big-name" or three on the roster. 
4/14/2015 9:22 AM
cwillis802
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Points well taken Mike and Tec. Not arguing that at all. But I don't think Cashman is the right guy going forward. Come mid-season, if the Yanks do not appear to be contenders, I'd like to see a fire sale. Trade Ellsbury, McCann, Sabathia, Texiera, Miller...anyone you can get prospects for. The Phillies are finally doing it...the Yankees need to do it more than practically any other team.

I don't think Cashman will do it. He has made a lot of questionable moves. He wasn't responsible for putting all those good teams together that won titles. That was the work of Bob Watson and Gene Michael. Cashman came inherited the role and made a few decent moves but mostly bad moves and bad contracts. Perhaps the worst GM in baseball.
4/14/2015 11:42 AM
tecwrg
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It may not be fair to call Cashman "the worst GM in baseball".  He still had to answer to George for a number of years, and even when George stepped aside and turned the reins over to Hank and Hal, there was srtill a feel of "this is what dad would want us to do".  Then after George died, there was the Rivera and Jeter factor that I already mentioned.  I don't think that Cashman has ever had complete freedom to act as GM as other GM's for other teams have been able to do.

That said, perhaps Cashman may not be a "rebuilding GM".  He's been operating in the mode he's been forced to act in for the past 17 years.  He may not know any other way to do the job.  Maybe fresh blood in the front office might be what's best for the Yankees going forward.

4/14/2015 11:54 AM
bad_luck
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Posted by cwillis802 on 4/14/2015 11:42:00 AM (view original):
Points well taken Mike and Tec. Not arguing that at all. But I don't think Cashman is the right guy going forward. Come mid-season, if the Yanks do not appear to be contenders, I'd like to see a fire sale. Trade Ellsbury, McCann, Sabathia, Texiera, Miller...anyone you can get prospects for. The Phillies are finally doing it...the Yankees need to do it more than practically any other team.

I don't think Cashman will do it. He has made a lot of questionable moves. He wasn't responsible for putting all those good teams together that won titles. That was the work of Bob Watson and Gene Michael. Cashman came inherited the role and made a few decent moves but mostly bad moves and bad contracts. Perhaps the worst GM in baseball.
I don't see Sabathia and Teixeira as having much value. Teixeira has a full no trade clause and is owed 22.5 million this year and next. Sabathia will probably vest his 2017 option and have almost $75 million owed to him from this year to 2017.


4/14/2015 12:12 PM
MikeT23
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I don't think the Yankees will do a fire sale because they're the Yankees.   I'm not old enough to remember how irrelevant they were before George but the Mets were the toast of the town and Yankee Stadium was empty.   George turned that around in a couple of seasons.   Even when they weren't winning in the 80s/early 90s, they were making headlines.   I just can't see them becoming Houston, losing 100 games a year and talking about all the prospects they have in the system for 2019 arrival.   Doesn't seem "Yankee-ish".   
4/14/2015 12:51 PM
tecwrg
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No fire sale, and no series of 62-65 win seasons. 

But If they're smart, they'll settle for three seasons of 75-80 wins with a roster of average players, let the ARod, Tex and CC contracts play out and come off the books, and not do any "big contract, try to win NOW" deals like they did with Ellsbury and McCann.  Though I'd be OK with a big contract if they see that person as part of a core they can build around for 2018 and a couple of seasons beyond.
4/14/2015 1:01 PM
MikeT23
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With the extra wild card, it's hard for .500 teams to not say "You know what?   If we add one more piece, we're in the hunt."    If the Yanks see themselves as an 80 win team, they almost certainly feel they're a player or two away from being in the playoffs.    I'd much rather see them sign a big contract than trade away what little value they have in the minors in order to get that player who they feel is the missing link.

4/14/2015 1:08 PM
tecwrg
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Did you like the Ellsbury signing last season?

I hated it.

4/14/2015 1:10 PM
MikeT23
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I didn't hate it.   I thought the Yanks might have had one last playoff season in them.   They obviously did not. 

As I mentioned in the "offense" thread, they could compete this season if a lot of things happen.   I don't expect they will but, rather than starting the season with "Bah, ****.  When does football start", I'll have hope at least until July or so. 
4/14/2015 1:15 PM
bad_luck
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Posted by tecwrg on 4/14/2015 1:01:00 PM (view original):
No fire sale, and no series of 62-65 win seasons. 

But If they're smart, they'll settle for three seasons of 75-80 wins with a roster of average players, let the ARod, Tex and CC contracts play out and come off the books, and not do any "big contract, try to win NOW" deals like they did with Ellsbury and McCann.  Though I'd be OK with a big contract if they see that person as part of a core they can build around for 2018 and a couple of seasons beyond.

Gregorious is a nice player, Headley will be solid for a couple more years, and Pineda/Eovaldi could take a couple steps forward but other than that...???

If they don't load up next offseason (I think they will), they are likely going to be very, very bad for the foreseeable future.

I think they make a run at a couple of the pitchers like Price/Cueto/Zimm/Greinke and try to also land a big outfielder (Upton/Heyward) and maybe a second baseman (Kendrick/Zobrist/Murphy).

They'd have to spend a ton but the Yankees are a team that can do that without a problem.

Assuming they land two of the pitchers, that gives them a rotation of:

FA Pitcher A
FA Pitcher B
Sabathia
Tanaka
PIneda/Eovaldi

and a lineup made out of:

Headley 3B
Gregorious SS
Teixeira 1B
McCann C
Arod DH
Ellsbury CF
Gardner LF
FA  RF
FA 2B

If one of the FA pitchers is Price and the OF is Upton, that's a team that wins 90+ games in 2016.


4/14/2015 3:53 PM (edited)
MikeT23
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People act like the Yanks were 72-90 last season.  They won 84 and the WC2 won 88.   They were in it until the last week.    A break here or there and they're playing at least 1 playoff game.  
4/14/2015 1:23 PM
bad_luck
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Posted by MikeT23 on 4/14/2015 1:23:00 PM (view original):
People act like the Yanks were 72-90 last season.  They won 84 and the WC2 won 88.   They were in it until the last week.    A break here or there and they're playing at least 1 playoff game.  
The thing is, the Yankees got a break here and there in 2014. That;s why they were in the race despite their negative run differential. The team was actually worse than it looked.

They need to load up next offseason.
4/14/2015 1:25 PM
tecwrg
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Yanks drop to 3-5 in a 4-3 loss to the O's.  CC pitches efficiently, 91 pitches over 7 innings, but takes the loss.  No real highlights or low points in this game other than continued cold hitting by many Yankee hitters.

Eight games into the season, no Yankee has started every game.

Refreshing stat of the night: the time of the game was 2:29.  It moved at a crisp pace.

4/15/2015 7:44 AM
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