As it tends to do every year, the Yankee bullpen came up big in 2012. As it's never had to do in any year, it came up big without it's best pitcher. The 'pen situation got thrown into a bit of a tailspin last May when Mo went down with his season-ending knee injury, but was quickly righted by some great work from Sour Puss and D-Rob. As usual, a rotating cast of under-appreciated middle relievers chipped in and did their thing, and from that group who stepped up last year will come the bulk of this year's bullpen, with the King of all Relievers rightfully re-assuming his place at the throne. Add a few injury returnees to full-time duty, and the 'pen is looking fully stocked again in 2013.
While the AB4AR jinx worked to perfection on Tuesday and pretty much every guy I name dropped in my bullpen post pitched like crap, the one positive bullpen appearance was that of Boone Logan. It was his first game action of the spring and he looked pretty damn good, pitching a scoreless frame and striking out two of the four lefties he faced. On the field he looked money, but his response to questions about how his left elbow felt after the game didn't fill me with the same confidence:
“It feels good, period. It really does. I promise."
It's been a while since I've had to use the "I promise" line on people, probably because I'm still single and haven't had to lie to a girlfriend in years. But I can tell you from experience that when you're throwing out "I promise" as support that what you're saying is true, that's usually not a good thing. We've got no choice but to take Logan at his word right now, but he sounds like a guy that would cave under cross-examination to me.
When two of the defining storylines of your team's Spring Training are "lack of power" and "injuries" and Travis Hafner is on your team, it's more than reasonable to expect that he's going to factor heavily into those stories. After all, his calling card at the plate is power and you can pretty much set your watch to him pulling, tearing, or spraining something. That hasn't really been the case for the Yankees so far this month, as Hafner hasn't been a presence in the lineup so much as a name on the lineup card. To be honest, I kind of forgot he was even in camp with the team, what with the lack of power and the fact that he's still walking around without limping.
Believe it or not, Hafner is in camp and has actually been playing in games. He just hasn't done much in those games. Hafner is just 4-29 this spring, with a single solitary home run and an even dozen strikeouts. He's still somewhat of a presence in the lineup with four walks, but after Teix and C-Grand went down he became a much more critical part of that lineup. As of this morning he hasn't given much of an indication that he's ready to be that critical part of the lineup and that's a tad unsettling.
(One of these guys is not a starter. Guess which one. Courtesy of the AP)
For the first time in years, the Yankees won't enter the season with a bunch of questions to answer about their rotation. They know who their starters are going to be and they've got a pretty good idea about what they can expect from those starters. The big questions this year are whether or not the back end of the rotation can take a step up in performance and whether or not the top of the rotation is primed to regress. Regardless of the answers to those questions, the rotation should be the greatest strength of this year's team and will be looked to to help keep the team competitive while they struggle to put their lineup back together.
The good news is that the X-rays came back negative and the MRI showed only mild inflammation, so there's nothing structurally wrong with Derek Jeter's surgically-repaired ankle. The bad news is that it didn't take long at all for the ankle to start bothering him once he returned to game action. After just five games, only a couple of them at shortstop, Jeter felt stiffness in the ankle during BP yesterday and was scratched from the lineup. Joe initially described the ankle as "cranky," but there was enough concern for the Yankees to send Jeter to the doctor to have the ankle evaluated and based on that evaluation they are officially calling him day-to-day.
With over a week before the start of the regular season, the most important thing right now is making sure Jeter is alright and the priority should be giving him the time he needs to relieve the inflammation. Looking big picture, though, this could set a tough precedent for how Jeter has to be handled this season and how Joe will have to juggle the lineup to ensure he gives Jeter enough time to rest. Five games with a day of rest in between each wasn't enough to keep the ankle from acting up and there aren't any regular season stretches with that much rest time built in.
The more Jeter has to be held out of the lineup to rest the ankle, the more Eduardo Nunez has to play shortstop and that's just not a good thing. The Yanks are also light on right-handed DH options right now and I'm sure Joe was planning to use that spot as a way to get Jeter some quasi-off days. Having to be held out because of ankle issues this early in the year not only brings Jeter's already uncertain production capability into further question, it also raises greater concerns about his ability to even stay on the field once the regular season starts.
** UPDATE 12:06 PM- Cash confirmed earlier that Jeter received a cortisone shot in the ankle today and said it's possible Jeter could start the season on the DL. Not surprising, but definitely disappointing. Let Nunez Watch 2013 begin. **
The Yankee outfield to start the 2013 is going to look a lot different from the one we've been used to seeing. Their center fielder is on the shelf for at least the first month of the regular season, their left fielder is making a return to everyday duty after playing in just 16 games last season, and their new starting right fielder is a far cry from the type of productive two-way player their old one was, whether people want to admit it or not. There's definitely speed here, and there are definitely the tools to be part of a productive offense, but the degree to which each player will be able to utilize those tools to be productive remains a mystery and all of them come with their own areas of concern. Looking past the early-season replacement for Curtis, let's take a look at what we know and don't know about the 2013 Yankee outfield.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and nowhere has that been more true than with the Yankees' injury situations this spring. Every time something good happens for a player, there seems to be something bad happening to another one to balance things out. Derek Jeter gets back on the field at shortstop, Mark Teixeira's injury gets a more serious diagnosis. Phil Hughes throws a sim game yesterday and comes away with no back problems, Clay Rapada remains on the sidelines with bursitis in his pitching shoulder. Boone Logan throws a bullpen session without pain in his left elbow, but still acknowledges that there's "something" going on there.
The Jeter and Teix situations are pretty set right now, but both Rapada and Logan remain up in the air as it relates to their availability and readiness for Opening Day. Logan is scheduled to pitch in his first spring game sometime this week while there is no timetable set for Rapada's return, and there could eventually be at least one spot open in the bullpen come April 1st. As I mentioned yesterday, Cody Eppley isn't lighting the world on fire right now and with the way a few other guys are pitching in camp he's far from a sure thing to get Logan or Rapada's spot if they become available. Who else could sneak in and steal a spot on the Opening Day roster? Glad you asked.
(Cultivating that much mass will put stress on anybody's back)
While the latest on Mark Teixeira's injury wasn't good, Phil Hughes took a step forward towards his comeback from a bulging disk yesterday by throwing a 2-inning simulated game at the team's MiL complex. Hughes threw roughly 40 pitches and came away from the session saying both his back and his arm felt good. The next step is an actual game appearance, which could come in a MiL game on Saturday.
The Yankees will need a fifth starter on April 7th, so that's obviously what Hughes and Larry Rothschild are working towards right now. If he can get a couple of games under his belt and not have any more problems with the back he should be in line to make that start on April 7th, albeit with what will certainly be a strict pitch count. If it's determined he isn't ready, the Yankees already have a backup plan available in David Phelps and both Rothschild and Joe have said they aren't interested in sending Hughes out there if he's not 100%. Better to sacrifice one start if it gives him a better chance of making 30.
("Hey, old guys!" Courtesy of J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday)
The Yankee infield has been the nerve center of the team for the last 4-5 years now. Whether you were talking money, production, or name recognition, it was hard to argue that any group of players on the roster carried more weight than the Teixeira-Cano-Jeter-Rodriguez foursome. In 2011 that started to change, as A-Rod really started to break down, Jeter continued to battle his age-related decline, and Teix had his third straight year of regressed offensive performance. Things got worse last year when Teix and A-Rod both had more problems with injuries and further decline, and the positive of Jeter rebounding was negated to some degree by the season-ending broken ankle that many believe will hinder him in 2013.
This group carries most of its weight in the salary and name recognition categories only these days, and that could pose a serious problem to the Yankees' contention and payroll plans for the near future. So as we're left to wonder what A-Rod has left in the tank and how much Teix's power will suffer as a result of his wrist injury, let's dive in and start figuring out what we do and don't know about this group.
It's been two weeks sincemy initial "Winners & Losers" post and a lot has changed since then. Every starting pitcher slated to be in the rotation or in competition for a rotation spot has pitched at least one spring outing, every position player physically able to plat right now has gotten into at least a few games, and there are a few new faces in the locker room to make up for the guys who've been reassigned. It's not exactly the true midpoint of spring camp, that would have been last week, but with just two weeks left before the games start to count and a much smaller pool of players to evaluate, this seems like the perfect time to see whose stock is rising and whose is falling.
Mark Teixeira returned to camp yesterday morning and plans to remain with the team through the rest of Spring Training. He is wearing a brace on his injured wrist and has still yet to be cleared to begin one-handed swinging exercises, but that's not the big news that came from yesterday's appearance.
The big news is that the diagnosis of his injury has changed. What was first called a strained ECU tendon in his right wrist is now being called a tear of the tendon sheath. When meeting with the media yesterday, Teix reiterated that the tendon itself is fine and not the problem, but the source of the injury now shifting to the tendon sheath could end up being worse news for him and the Yankees. This is the exact same injury that Jose Bautista suffered last year and ended up with him having season-ending surgery when his attempts to come back quickly resulted in re-aggravation of the injury.
Teix and the Yankees have stated that there are no plans to rush Teix back and they are still planning on going the no-surgery recovery route. That typically results in a 70% chance of full recovery, but the key is making sure that enough time is allowed for that full recovery to take place. Teix is still on an 8-10 week timetable and May is being looked at as the earliest he could return, with early June now looking more likely. Bad news for Teix and the team in the short term, but if it ends in a full recovery it will be worth it.
I've done some predictions for roster spot contenders, but nothing on the actual 25-man roster yet. Good thing too because all of them would have been rendered meaningless after the injuries to C-Grand and Teix. But with it being just two weeks from Opening Day and the ST roster getting cut down more and more every couple days, the outline of the real roster spot contenders is starting to become more clear. We know who's not going to be ready (C-Grand, Teix, A-Rod), we know who is after this week of in-game appearances from Jeter, Mo, Andy, and CC, and there's one guy who's still not a guarantee one way or the other in Phil Hughes. That's enough for me to make a pretty good educated guess, so here's the first attempt at predicting the 25-man roster we'll see on Opening Day.
Week 1 of the 2013 AB4AR Season Preview is in the books, and I thought it was a pretty good one. I mean, at least nobody else got hurt, right? If you missed any of the "2013 Storylines" series and are too lazy to just scroll down the page, and seeing as it's the weekend I wouldn't blame you if you were, I was kind enough to put the entire series right here in one convenient post. Catch up at your leisure.
Tomorrow, we move into phase 2 of the season preview with the third year of the "Knowns/Unknowns" series. Every day I'll take a look at a specific part of the roster (infield, outfield, rotation, bullpen, bench) and look at what we know about that group of players heading into the season and what we don't. It's a good way to gauge where the team is right now and what could change once the season begins. Knowns/Unknowns starts tomorrow afternoon with the 2013 infield.
While Hal breaks traditional Yankee business rules to start contract negotiations with Robinson Cano, it bears reminding that there is another key piece of the puzzle entering this season in the final year of his current contract- manager Joe Girardi. This season will be Joe's sixth at the helm of the Bronx Bombers and other thanthe one post I wrote on the subject a while back, there doesn't seem to be much discussion anywhere about his future with the organization and where the front office should put re-signing him on the priority list.
I don't get this move. I really don't. Brennan Boeschdoesn't profile as the type of hitter that fits the Yankee system in any way, and he's not a run saver on defense. I know the outfield competition in camp wasn't full of blue chippers, but there isn't anything that Boesch does better than anybody who was already on the Yankee ST roster. He was released by Detroit for a reason and the Yankees chose to not only sign him, but to sign him to a guaranteed Major League deal worth $1.5 million plus incentives that will require them to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
St. Patty's Day being on a Sunday this year is a huge bummer. Mega huge. I can't even get excited about going out for it this year because it's on a Sunday. Two years ago I wouldn't have given a crap. I woulda been up at the crack of dawn, drinking in the shower at 5, and happily skipping through the streets in shorts and sandals despite the fact that it's probably only going to be 25 degrees in Milwaukee. Now that I'm 27 and finally becoming (unwillingly) an adult, all I can think about is how I don't want to be a hungover mess at work on Monday. Mondays suck balls as it is. A post-St. Patty's hangover Monday would be enough to put me on suicide watch. Taking a half-day would be an option, give me a few more hours to sleep and get my shit together, but then who wants to go into work at noon? And I'm definitely not wasting a whole vacation day just to avoid being hungover at work. What kind of American would that make me? St. Patty's should be like Thanksgiving. No set date, just the last Thursday of every March. That would be sweet. Now onto the links!
- Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily picked Austin Aune as his MiL breakout candidate for 2013.
- Sgt. Al Powell (best moniker on the site) of NoMaas put a new face on Lady Liberty and gave her a new meaning in light of the Yankees' early-week attempts to find some corner IF depth.
- On Tuesday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits took a really interesting look at how the minimal value of the Stewart-Cervelli catching tandemcould be maximized. Kudos to Chris for thinking of something I never could have and for perfect usage of the phrase "slightly less terrible."
- El duque of It Is High... wondered if Yankee fans have been overlooking Thomas Neal as a viable outfield option. Neal has flown way under the radar, but has definitely performed well.
- On Thursday, Mike Axisa of RAB discussed the importance of saving runs in the early part of the season, and suggested a trade option the Yankees could pursue to help improve their infield defense.
- SG of RLYW continued his stellar season projection series with Brett Gardner. I have to say that I would be psyched to get a 3-WAR season from Gardner this year. What does that say about this team?
- On Friday, EJ Fagan of IIATMS/TYA asked if there is a systematic flaw in the way we're evaluating Yankee pitching and hitting prospects.
- Kate Conroy of Lady Loves Pinstripes offered up her predictions for the 2013 season. I can't say I'm thrilled with her prediction for the Yankees, but I also can't totally disagree with it.
For this week's jam, we're going old school with "Young Lust" by Pink Floyd. I'm definitely going to need a dirty woman to brighten my spirits on Sunday, and on St. Patty's Day in downtown Milwaukee, they shouldn't be too hard to find.
Enjoy your weekends, everybody. Stay safe if you're going out partying.
While themain focal point of this season will and rightfully should be Robinson Cano, and as the front office decides how much they want to pay to usher in the Robinson Cano Era of the Yankees, there is another era that will be ending after this season. It started with the retirement of Jorge Posada, but the un-retirement of Andy Pettitte kept the Core Four flame burning. Now with Mo set to retire after this year, Andy following him out the door, and Derek Jeter entering the twilight of his career, the final chapters of the Core Four Era will be written and the book will be closed.
Bone spurs, schmone spurs. He's dropped some ell-bees, he says his elbow is feeling good, and he's back on the hill today. Parachute pitching pants FTW.
This didn't work out so well the last time I made a season about one player, or the last timeI singled one player out as the one who needed to step up this season, but there's no way to deny that the New York Yankees' 2013 season begins and ends with Robinson Cano. And it has nothing to do with the recent rash of injuries. Well it does, but that's not the only reason. This has been brewing for a few years now, a bunch of different factors all working towards this eventual endgame. The collection of big contracts, the age-related decline, the self-imposed payroll cap plans, all of it has been building to this point, when the fate of the Yankees would be placed on the shoulders of Robbie Cano.
George King of The NY Post kickstarted the rumor mill yesterday with this storyabout the Texas Rangers sending scouts to watch Joba Chamberlain in his latest ST appearance. The Rangers are woefully thin on bullpen arms right now and the Yankees actually have a bit of a surplus, so it makes sense from Texas' standpoint. There are more than a few intriguing trade pieces on their side, names like Jurickson Profar and Mike Olt, but I wouldn't read too deeply into this situation.
For starters, Texas isn't trading either of those guys for Joba straight up, and I don't see either team wanting to add players to the deal to turn this into something bigger than Texas looking to fill a need. Despite his statements to the contrary, Joba is a middle reliever coming off two major surgeries in the final year of team control before hitting free agency. The Yankees aren't in much of a position to ask for something of real value in return for a trade piece like that, and there isn't much to be gained by trading away a useful piece of their bullpen for a player that doesn't help fill one of their needs.
If the Rangers are willing to talk multi-player deals and include Profar and/or Olt in the talks, then the Yankees should be all ears. But I'd say this is more Texas just doing their due diligence for the trade deadline.
The remaining three of the Core Four were all back in action yesterday, so that game clearly merits recap coverage. While trimming their roster and waiting for Robinson Cano to return from the WBC, the Yankees have started playing better baseball lately and now have a nice little four-game winning streak going. The pitching has been very good in the last week, with Andy Pettitte continuing that trend yesterday in his season debut.
Game Notes:
- Pettitte wasn't nearly as sharp as he is on his best days, but he was still pretty good for a first start. 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. He threw about 60 pitches, so definitely room for improvement in the command area, but that should come in the next few weeks.
- Derek Jeter looked good in his first game back at shortstop since last October, even if he only had one ball hit his way. At the plate he was 0-2 with a walk.
- Cody Eppley relieved Andy in the 4th and finally had a good outing, and then it was on to Mo. As he did in his first ST appearance, Mo sat the Phils down in order in the 5th.
- The Yankee starters smacked Cliff Lee around early and often. They tagged him for 2 runs in the 1st, another in the 2nd, and 2 more in the 3rd before Lee hit the showers. Only 2 of the 5 runs were earned, but Lee also gave up 6 hits and 2 BB, so it's not like he was just the victim of bad luck.
- Newest Yankee Ben Francisco contributed in his first game, doubling and driving in 2 runs. With Zoilo Almonte getting sent to MiL camp, Francisco should jump right near the top of the mix for the open outfield spots.
- 2 hits apiece for Juan Rivera and Ichiro, who are both quietly swinging the bat very well this spring. The Yanks need something from both of them, in April especially, so here's hoping they don't use up all their good swings in March.
- Props to Shawn Kelley, who threw another scoreless inning with 2 K. He's another guy quietly getting the job done and impressing the coaching staff.
A byproduct of being an old team is the higher tendency for players to get injured. The Yankees have walked a fine line in that department in the last two seasons as they've aged, and their ability to adapt and overcome those injuries has been what's kept them at the top of the AL East while they've battled Father Time. This season, that battle is going to rage on like it never has before. The Yankees would be wise to load up on the Raid, Icy Hot, and batteries for the MRI machine (they run on batteries, right?), because the injury bug is going to be a fixture in the clubhouse in 2013.
The Tigers released outfielder Brennan Boesch this morning, and in their never-ending quest to add every replacement level outfielder available the Yankees have already been connected to him. Boesch is a good fit on paper- 27 years old, lefty swinger with power, can play both outfield corners- but a more detailed look into his statistical breakdown raises some red flags, three to be exact.
A ticket stub from a Spring Training game usually doesn't mean much, especially with the types of lineups the Yankees have been putting on the field lately. Those with tickets today's game, however, might be wise to hang onto them and tell their kids and grandkids about the time they got to see three of the best in Yankee history play.
The scheduled starter for today's ST game against the Phillies is Andy Pettitte, making his 2013 debut. Also scheduled to pitch today is Mariano Rivera, making his second spring appearance as he continues his comeback from last year's ACL injury. And scheduled to start at shortstop, for the first time this spring and for the first time since breaking his ankle in the ALCS, is Derek Jeter. The three remaining pieces of the Core Four, 15 World Series rings between them, the last links to the late 90s Yankee dynasty, and they'll all be on the field today.
These three are easily the greatest Yankees of the last 35 years, and the number of times that we're likely to see all three of them play in the same game has to be down in the single digits. With Mo already set to retire after this season, Andy probably heading down the same path, and all three guys being injury risks in their own way, it's hard to predict exactly how many more times this will occur. Today it's practically a guarantee that all three of them will be in the same game, though, and that's a cool little footnote in Yankee history. It doesn't matter who wins or loses today's game, but there's definitely a little more meaning to it with these three scheduled to play together.
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