More Injury News! Sweet!

... he said sarcastically.  It really just doesn't stop this spring and it's getting pretty damn boring and depressing to write about.

It started on Thursday, when the Yankees announced that Derek Jeter would not play in any more Major League ST games this month and would only play in MiL games.  This would only be done so the team could back date a season-opening DL stint.  Jeter himself told reporters this morning that he's no longer going to talk about how his body is feeling, and to be honest I think between that statement and the MiL games-only plan, it seems like there's more going on here than the Yankees want to let on and Jeter's ankle is probably in bad shape.

The news didn't get any better yesterday, when Bryan Hoch tweeted that it "seems likely" Phil Hughes will start on the DL as well due to his rehab starts taking place in MiL games.  And the rotten cherry on top of the shit-flavored injury sundae came when Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger reported that Clay Rapada's shoulder injury will force him to start the season on the DL.

If you're keeping score at home, that's now 6 of the projected 25 Opening Day roster players expected to start the season on the diabled list.  75% of the starting infield, the teams' 2-time leading HR hitter, a part of its starting rotation, and a pretty good bullpen piece.  And the injuries ain't cheap, folks.

Yanks Sign Wang

As first reported by Jon Heyman, the Yankees have agreed to sign former starter Chien-Ming Wang to what is believed to be a MiL deal.  Wang is expected to join the Triple-A rotation to start the season.

As I've been saying for a while now, this is exactly the type of signing the Yankees usually make to fill out their Triple-A rotation and it's the signing they had yet to make this year so the timing couldn't have been better.  I don't expect Wang to contribute much, if any, at the Major League level and if it gets to the point when he is starting in the Major League rotation then something went horribly wrong.  But it is always fun to see familiar faces return to the organization, and via the new CBA Wang can opt out in June if he hasn't been called up.  If nothing else, he can use the first few months in the Minors as an audition for a Major League job elsewhere.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 3/22/13

By the time you, dear readers, start perusing this week's Linkapalooza, I'll hopefully be well on my way to a fantastic time drinking as many beers as possible and watching the second day of opening round NCAA tournament action.  I found out on Wednesday that the boss was going to be out of the office on Friday and decided right then and there that I was going to pull the old "bail out of work without telling anybody to go watch the tournament" trick.  I've never done it before and it's something that, as a diehard fan of pretty much every sport, I felt like I owed it to myself to do.  As far as I'm concerned, the opening round Thursday-Friday of the tourney should be a national holiday, similar to the Monday after the Super Bowl.  If you're still stuck in your office or cube reading this, I feel for you, I really do.  I'll make sure to have an extra order of wings for you.  Now onto the links!

- On Tuesday, Bleeding Yankee Blue scored an interview with recent former Yankee outfielder Chris Dickerson.  Kinda wish that guy was still around.

- Derek Albin of Pinstripe Pundits did some research on the history of Mark Teixeira's injury to see just how worried we should be about the change in diagnosis.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog compiled all of the Yankees' current injury concerns into one easy-to-use (and easy to drink to) graphic.

- Josh Norris of Minor Matters had a little profile piece on Rob Segedin and the changes he's made physically and positionally to get ready for the 2013 season.

- On Wednesday, Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes made his 25-man roster prediction.  It's not much different than my last version, with his Nix to my Mustelier for UTIF.

- Abe Froman of NoMaas attended the Yanks-Phils ST game in Clearwater and offered up some observations and visuals from the experience.

- EJ Fagan of IIATMS/TYA debunked the myth that the introduction of the amateur draft hurt baseball in Puerto Rico, an apropos topic considering the rumors of MLB wanting to expand to an international draft.

- On Thursday, Mike Axisa of RAB discussed the major problem the loss or lingering injured-ness of Derek Jeter will cause for a lineup already woefully short on good right-handed hitters.

- Fishjam25 of Yankees Fans Unite asked if the leadership Robinson Cano displayed in the WBC will translate over to the Yankees.  Certainly wouldn't hurt his case for a new contract if it did.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud had some details on the work Eduardo Nunez has put in to improve his defense.  Still waiting for that to show up on the field...

- Hunter Farman of Yanks Go Yard took a look at some MiL guys who don't appear to have anywhere to go in the Yankee organization.

- On Friday, el duque of It Is High... penned an open letter to Hal Steinbrenner comparing him and his team building efforts to that of Isiah Thomas.  That's about the worst insult you can give to somebody in the New York professional sports team management field, and it's not completely inaccurate.

This week's Friday Jam is "These Days" by Alien Ant Farm.  Good tune to kick off a relaxing basketball-filled weekend.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

2013 Season Preview: What We Know & What We Don't Know (The Bench)

(Incoming!!  Courtesy of J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday)

The bench has become an increasingly more important part of the Yankee roster in the last 3-5 years as the core of their lineup has aged.  Part of what's helped them maintain top contender status has been the bench's ability to step up and contribute in minor and major roles when the situation called for it and at no time was that more apparent than last season.  Raul Ibanez, Andruw Jones, Eric Chavez.  They all contributed more than their expected share of ABs and it's a fair bet to say the Yankees wouldn't have won the division without them.  This year, things aren't shaping up to be so rosy on the bench, as the Yankees have taken their "build the bench on the cheap" method to a whole new level, a lower level.  The consistency and overall usefulness of this group in general is questionable across the board, which is not a good thing considering all the issues the Bombers have in their starting lineup.

Why A Wang Return Would Be Helpful

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The biggest non-Jeter's ankle story of yesterday was the return of Chien-Ming Wang to the Yankees.  It wasn't as an official team member, as Wang is still searching for a job offer after a brutal 2012 with the Nationals, but he was there to pitch for team scouts and coaches and hopefully do enough to get himself a contract offer.  The Yankees were connected to Wang recently and scouted him at the WBC, where he was reportedly throwing his sinker high 80s-low 90s and didn't allow a run in 12 IP.  After the dreaded baserunning foot injury of '08 and the awful follow-up performance in '09, a return to the Yankee organization would be a nice little deal for Wang.

It also wouldn't be bad for the Yankees, who are always in the market for pitching depth.  While Wang is certainly not a contender for a Major League rotation spot at this point in his career, or even a 40-man roster spot for that matter, he does represent the type of veteran arm the Yankees have liked to keep stashed in their Triple-A rotation for the last few years.  They find themselves without that arm right now and adding Wang to the mix could be the final piece needed to solidify the top levels of their organizational rotation depth.

Ironing Out The (Admittedly Minor) Outfield Overcrowding Problem

Before Spring Training started, I wrote this post on the potentially problematic position the Yankees found themselves in with respect to their outfield depth.  The combination of returning Major Leaguers, free agent signings, and prospect promotions had left them with too many able-bodied outfielders and not enough playing time for each.  Too much depth at any one position is always a better problem to have than not enough, and the Yankees owed it to themselves to investigate every possible outfield candidate to strengthen their platoon-heavy bench this season.  They also owed it to themselves to make sure that their best OF prospects were getting regular playing time at the appropriate level, and this is where the problem could have started.

2013 Season Preview: What We Know & What We Don't Know (The Bullpen)

(Sleep with one eye open... Courtesy of the AP)

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.

I'm Still Not Sold On Logan's Elbow

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.

Oh Hey, Travis Hafner! Didn't See You Over There. What's Going On, Buddy?

(Courtesy of Reuters)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

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.

2013 Season Preview: What We Know & What We Don't Know (The Rotation)

(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.

Jeter's Ankle Acting Up Already

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. **

Chamberlain, So Hot Right Now. Chamberlain

(Courtesy of the AP)

Guy.  That's awesome.  Re-sign this man now!

/stands and applauds

2013 Season Preview: What We Know & What We Don't Know (The Outfield)

(Courtesy of the AP)

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.

Possible Spot Opening Up In The Bullpen?

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

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.

Hughes Throws Sim Game, Getting Closer To Returning

(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.

2013 Season Preview: What We Know & What We Don't Know (The Infield)

("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.

Spring Training Midpoint Winners And Losers

(Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It's been two weeks since my 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.

Teix's Wrist Injury Could Keep Him Out Longer

(Courtesy of the AP)

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.

Opening Day 25-Man Roster Prediction

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.

2013 Storylines Recap, Knowns/Unknowns Preview

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.

- Contending On A Budget

- Shoring Up The 2014 Rotation

- Walking Wounded Alert

- All About Robbie Cano

- End Of An Era

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.

Lame Duck Joe

(Angry Joe pictures never get old.  Courtesy of Rick Osentoski/US Presswire)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

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 than the 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.

Yanks Sign Brennan Boesch

I don't get this move.  I really don't.  Brennan Boesch doesn'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.

More thoughts after the jump.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 3/15/13

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!

- On Monday, Chad Jennings of LoHud had a little piece on Larry Rothschild's rehab scheduling plan for Phil Hughes and the secrecy with which he's executing it.

- 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 tandem could 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 Wednesday, Matthew B of Yankees Fans Unite weighed in on the Nova-Phelps 5th starter competition.

- Alex Pugliese of Yanks Go Yard reflected on Mariano Rivera's career and undeniable one-of-a-kind nature with which he carried himself.

- 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.

- Steven Goldman of Pinstriped Bible had a pretty sobering take on the Ben Francisco acquisition.  Sobering, but true (sigh).

/daydreams about Nick Swisher

- Erica Morales of Bleeding Yankee Blue cast her vote for who she wants to see at third base.  Spoiler alert- it's Ronnier Mustelier.

- 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.

2013 Storylines: End Of An Era

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

While the main 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.

CC Makes His 2013 Debut Today

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.

Now somebody hit the fuckin' music!!