No CC for a couple of weeks.
No Andy for a couple of months.
Yanks are rolling along though, 19-5 in June.
Eff Youk in this weekend.
How did he fix his slider in the off-season?
I guess I should drop his middle name.
No CC for a couple of weeks.
No Andy for a couple of months.
Yanks are rolling along though, 19-5 in June.
Eff Youk in this weekend.
Given how well Granderson has played, and given too what we knew about Austin Jackson at the time, it is hard to fault the Yankees for making the trade a few years back. But has anyone noticed how great year Austin Jackson is having? .332 BA .408 OBP and .953 OPS. Melky too.
Granderson and Swisher's contracts expire at the end of 2012 and 2013 respectively. Given that the Yanks will likely push to resign Cano (at least $20 mil per), the exisiting obligations to Sabathia,A-Rod and Tex,it it going to be very difficult to resign either Swisher or Granderson in 2014 much less both. The Yanks are not real deep in minor league outfield depth either. Hindsight it a bitch and all, but it may have been nice to have Melky and Jackson around to fill in the void.
Other way around. Yankees have an option on Granderson; Swisher will be free agent, and I doubt will be resigned.
Soriano's contract expires after next year. Yankees could let him go, take $14 million off the table, and have no trouble resigning Granderson.
If by keeping Jackson around you mean in he minors, his value had been deteriorating. Sometimes that's a sign that a player wants to move up, and is frustrated by his status.
If nothing else, the Yankees understand their market. They're expected to make the post season every year, and doing that is expensive.
I forgot. Yanks still have Brett Gardner for three years.
It is true, Jackson's value WAS deteriorating.... but it is not now. He is having a terrific year. It is also true that they have an option for 1 year on Granderson, but I think it will be hard to resign him in 2014 and still stay under $189MM, Soriano's contract not withstanding (by 2014 they will probably need to sign or replace him too as Rivera's status is not all that solid)>
Even if the Yankees don't get under the $189 million threshold, just reducing payroll has its advantages. If they get down to, let's say $195 million, they would pay a 50% penalty, but it's on the amount over $189 million. $3 million isn't going to stop the Yankees from signing an everyday player.
What will change for the Yankees is increasing payroll to a point where the 50% becomes significant. So I think big pitcher contracts are out in the near term. The incentive for getting under the threshold is that the penalty rate resets to zero. So they would have the flexibility beyond 2014 to go over the threshold and only pay 17%.
After 2013, either Mariano will retire or Soriano will go, maybe both. I said earlier in this thread that Soriano's problems at the beginning of the year might be more psychological than physical. He has a closer mentality, so I doubt he would stay as a set-up man.
So $14, $15, or $29 million off the payroll.
I see Swisher as the odd man out. He can more easily be replaced than Granderson, who is perhaps the most unique #2 hitter in baseball.
Should the Yankees make any moves before the trade deadline, or stand pat?
^^ two posts up. I agree Swisher is likely gone, although I think he us underrated offensively. His OPS since joining the Yanks is .869, .870, .822, and .813 respectively, not bad numbers certainly better than what you would guess looking at is BA. He walks a lot.
Granderson at .792, .916 and .853 is also impressive. Of the two, Swisher is the more expendable.
^ one post up
I would be comfortable to see them sit pat. They could look for starting pitching, but I would not trade the brightest minor league prospects to rent anyone for the rest of the year. That would mean picking up a middle of the road type starter but they already have Garcia for that. Ordinarily I might say pick up a role pitcher like did with Kerry Woods two years ago, but the bullpen has been so solid, I just don't see the need.
I have again been away from computers and have only seen scores occasionally, so I am a little out of touch, but it's hard to know what a first place team with the best record in baseball might need, especially with CC on the way back soon, Gardner sooner or later, and Chamberlain perhaps coming back late in the season. Will Pettite pitch again by late August/early September? I didn't seen his injury, but read that the fracture is relatively minor. A bone injury like that can be less debilitating in the long run that soft tissue problems, especially for a pitcher. So the pitching looks good.
What about someone to spell the middle infield? Is Nix backing up Jeter? How is that going?
Nix has backed up at SS, 2nd, and 3rd. Played in 3 of the 4 Boston games. HR and double. No drama in the field.
I'm more concerned with backup in the outfield. Gardner won't be back until the end of July, so there's no time to evaluate the situation before making a decision. If he has to be shut down for the season, it'll be a problem for the Yankees.
Maybe that's why they just signed Fukudome --
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/2012071334878062/
Great game today. Kuroda looked fine even with one ba inning.
After the AS break, Yanks have a tough schedule.
Of the remaining 77 games, only 9 are against teams under .500 (Mariners and Twins).
They have 44 games within the division. That's good news; since all five teams are alive for a playoff spot, they'll be beating up on each other, and there may not be too much movement in the standings. Good for the Yanks with a big lead.
All five teams have to make a six game west coast swing. Yanks get it out of the way starting this weekend. They are done for the season with the Angels, and no trip to Texas. Their tough out-of-division road series are with the White Sox and Tigers.
The only tough out-of-division team coming into the Stadium is the Rangers, but that's a big one. Four game series in the middle of August. Hopefully by then, a playoff preview.
Yanks have not played well particularly weill against Eastern Divsion opponents this year. Their 15-13 record does not compare favorably to their record against teams in other divisions.
Playing .535 against a division where all teams are .500 or over isn't bad. If the Yankees go 23-21 against the AL East the rest of the season, they are going to win the division.
Also, most of the division games played so far were before June 1, when the Yankees were 27-23 overall (.540). During that time, they were 9-9 against the division.
The Yankees are 27-11 since June 1 (.710), and 6-4 in the division.
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