2013 Season Review: What We Thought We Knew & What We Learned (The Bullpen)

(Courtesy of the AP)

If there was anything that could conceivably derail the Yankees' yearly tradition of having one of the best bullpens in baseball, it would be the loss of Mariano Rivera.  That's a reality they had to face for the first time in 2012 after he went down with a season-ending ACL tear, and it's a challenge they met head on thanks to an all-around "next man up" effort from the remaining healthy cast.  Rafael Soriano proved to be a valuable signing when he was there to take over the closer role last season, allowing everybody else to stay in their usual roles and not compromising the depth in the 'pen that has become a Yankee staple.

Soriano was out after last season, a compensatory draft pick taking his place, and Mo made his gallant return to his 9th inning throne.  Also returning from injury were Joba Chamberlain and David Aardsma, along with much of the same cast that did the job in 2012.  The Yankee bullpen was once again primed for a big year in 2013, with a few minor (and 1 major) details that needed to be ironed out.  The late-inning crew did their job, but it was those unresolved details in the middle relief department that really defined the 2013 bullpen's campaign.

Thinking About Possible Rule 5 Casualties

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

In a little less than 2 months, the MLB Winter Meetings will wrap up and hot stove season will be brought to a full boil.  At the end of the meetings, the 2013 Rule 5 Draft will be held and the Yankees could find themselves in a tricky spot for that draft this year.  It's no secret that the Yankees have a crowded 40-man roster on their hands right now.  It's something that seems to have been a growing problem for the past few years, a byproduct of an aging roster full of big contracts and an organizational desire to both protect its top prospects and keep the below-replacement level players blocking them around (see: Nix, Jayson or Stewart, Chris).  With an unknown number of roster spots opening up and a large group of Rule 5 eligible players worth protecting, the Yankees might be at risk of losing a useful prospect or 2.

2013 Season Review: What We Thought We Knew & What We Learned (The Rotation)

(Courtesy of the AP)

There was a time in the mid-aughts when it felt like the major talking point every offseason was "the Yankees need more starting pitching" and there were always new faces being brought in to achieve that goal.  It even carried over into and after the 2009 season when they won the World Series.  In the past few seasons, however, that talk has quieted and the Yankees have established some consistency with their starting rotation.  They entered 2013 with the same projected starting 5 they had in 2012, and even added a little more younger depth behind it than they'd had in years past.

That all looked like a good sign for a club that was going to need to lean on its pitching to be successful this season, although there were still a few questions that needed to be answered.  Those answers turned out to be the ones the Yankees didn't want to hear and 2013 ended up being a tougher year for the rotation than they hoped for.

There's Mutual Interest Between The Yanks And Beltran Because Of Course There Is

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

To say that yesterday's news of there being mutual interest between the Yankees and free agent to be Carlos Beltran was unsurprising would be a gross understatement. My reaction to Mark Feinsand's report was a pretty simple, "duh."  The Yanks and Beltran have been loosely linked for almost 10 years now, and Cash is still probably kicking himself for not getting a deal done with Beltran back when he was in his prime in 2005.  Now that Beltran is 36 going on 37, he's much more in line with the current Yankee business model.  He's a former All Star on the downside of his career looking for one last contract and the Yankees are the safest of havens for those types of players.  The only thing surprising about this story is that it came out this early while Beltran was still playing in the postseason.

10 Years Ago Today...

Do you remember where you were for this 10 years ago?  I sure as hell do.  In my family's living room, screaming my head off and jumping around the house to the point that it woke my old man up to come down downstairs and see what was going on.  Easily my favorite Yankee game I've ever watched and I watched every pitch of this one.  Aaron Effing Boone.  Classic.

P.S.- Joe Buck still sucks.

The A-Rod Hearing Is Really Getting Good

The hearing for Alex Rodriguez's suspension appeal is scheduled to resume today, and if there wasn't already enough anger and hatred on both sides of the table, this fun little story from ESPN NY yesterday about A-Rod's lawyer getting into it with Anthony Bosch's lawyer should add a little extra heat to the fire:

"Told that MLB might need several more days to question Bosch, Tacopina was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying, 'Well, I guess we have all of October, and by then Mr. Bosch will be in jail.'

'If he is, he is not going alone,' Ayala is alleged to have retorted, prompting Tacopina to 'bull rush' Ayala, according to the source. Tacopina was restrained before any blows could be exchanged."

FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!!!  Seriously, how can people not love this stuff?  There should be a new 24/7 ESPN channel dedicated to showing everything that's happening inside and outside that meeting room.  If I'm scoring the bout, I'm going to have to give the nod to Ayala (Bosch's lawyer).  The "not going alone" line is a pretty good comeback on the spot like that, and the fact that Tacopina responded by rushing him proves it got under his skin.  Rookie move by Tacopina too.  Everybody knows you don't escalate to physicality after the first insult, bro.  You should have come back with the "you bob for apples in the toilet, and you like it" line and seen where it went from there.  Amateur.

2013 Season Review: What We Thought We Knew & What We Learned (The Outfield)

(Never got enough of these 3 together.  Courtesy of Reuters)

After a few years of familiar faces and familiar expectations, the Yankees shook things up in their outfield for 2013.  Gone was Nick Swisher, the plus-offense, passable-defense right fielder from the previous 4 years and gone was Curtis Granderson, who missed a big chunk of time early in the year due to a broken forearm and a bigger chunk later due to a broken finger.  In their places were 2012 trade deadline acquisition Ichiro Suzuki, out to prove his strong SSS performance wasn't a mirage, and Vernon Wells, a former All Star who was past his expiration date and had pretty much been a piece of shit for 3 of the last 4 seasons before the Yanks traded for him in March.

Yeah, it was a new and not so improved group in 2013, one that inspired more concern than confidence when evaluating them before the start of the season.  The lessons we learned from them this season were hard, painful lessons, ones that any intelligent baseball fan didn't really need a refresher course on.  After the jump, re-live some of that pain again.

Let's Talk About Mark Teixeira

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

There are headlines aplenty going around the Yankee infield right now.  When you've got $50-60 million worth of players whose statuses for next year are all in some sort of doubt, that'll happen.  The one name that is absent from the conversation is that of Mark Teixeira, and that's probably just fine with him.  Never one to draw a lot of media attention with what he does on or off the field, Teix has slid almost into Kevin Youkilis "don't even both talking about him" territory after having season-ending wrist surgery in early July.  Considering his importance to next year's team, it's probably time to dust him off and get him back in the offseason discussion.

Early AZFL Update

The Arizona Fall League is still in its early days, but there are already some results worth talking about.

- Tyler Austin has gone 4-10 at the plate in 3 games with 1 3B and 3 RBI.  The plan was to get him work at both infield corners this fall, but I've yet to see any reports on what position he's played in the 3 games.

- It's been a bit slower going for Mason Williams (4-18, 2 2B in 4 games) and Peter O'Brien (1-8, 1 HR, 4 K in 3 games), although O'Brien did win the inaugural Bowman Hitting Challenge over the weekend.

- Mixed bag results for the pitchers as well.  Vidal Nuno struck out 5 in 2.2 IP in his first start, but also gave up 5 hits and 4 runs (2 ER).  Brett Gerritse has also gotten knocked around in his 2 relief appearances (4 ER in 2.2 IP), but the lefty tandem of Fred Lewis and James Pazos has combined for 8 K and 4 BB in 4 scoreless appearances.

2013 Season Review: What We Thought We Knew & What We Learned (The Infield)

(Courtesy of Reuters)

Once the biggest pillar of the team's offensive strength, the Yankee infield came into the 2013 season a crumbling, weather version of its former self and the first place to point to when making a case against handing out long-term contracts to players approaching their 30s.  The Yankee infield was old, injured, and regressing at the corners, older and more injured at shortstop, and heading for free agency while already on the wrong side of the age 30 threshold at second.  That was just in Spring Training too, and none of those descriptions changed for the better once the regular season started.

It was long and difficult year around the Yankee infield, one that I don't think anybody quite saw coming.  I know I didn't back in March when I first outlined what we knew and didn't know about this group.  Even in my attempt to stay grounded with my expectations, I was still way too optimistic about the prospects of 2013 being a good year for the infield.  Lesson learned there I guess, along with these others.

Prioritizing The Offseason To-Do List

(Courtesy of John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

While the best teams in baseball continue to put on a nightly show in the postseason, the Yankees are slowly moving forward with their offseason plans.  They re-signed manager Joe Girardi to a new 4-year deal last week and they are in the process of re-signing his coaching staff to return with him.  The word "stability" was used a lot when Joe's new deal was announced and it's something this organization needs to re-establish going forward, but there's still a lot that needs to be done to achieve that goal.

The coaching staff is just the first piece of the puzzle for the Yankees this offseason, and hardly the most important one at that.  There's a lot of work that needs to be done with the roster and a lot of big decisions that need to be made to determine the direction this franchise takes in 2014 and beyond.  A lot of those decisions probably won't be made until a decision is rendered in the Alex Rodriguez suspension appeal hearing, something the Yankees have no control over.  There's plenty they do control, however, and they'd be wise not to sit on their hands while the A-Rod case plays out.  If Cash is making a checklist of things he can control this offseason, here are the ones that should be the top priorities.

Cash Speaks On A-Rod

Brian Cashman was a guest on Ian O'Conner's radio show yesterday and he had a lot to say about Alex Rodriguez and the idea that the Yankees would rather have him suspended and his salary off the books than have him on the field next year.  Cash dismissed the idea that the Yankees would prefer A-Rod to be suspended, citing the lack of available and comparable talent to replace him at third base.  Here's the money quote:

"It's not like going down to a Home Depot and pulling something out that you need that's broke and you've got to fix it.  So ultimately from a baseball operations standpoint, taking out all the areas of controversy, having Alex Rodriguez man third base is obviously by far the best option for the Yankees than what the alternatives would be in theory."

You can decide for yourself how honest you think Cash is being when he makes that statement, but there's plenty of truth in the logic.  Yeah, it's easy to say that having that $27 million off the books is a huge help to the Yankees, but that line of thinking assumes they are going to be able to easily replace A-Rod's presence and production and that's just not the case.  He proved he can still play well when he's healthy in his limited time on the field this season.  Losing that production along with losing the salary commitment does work out to a net loss for the Yankees and it's a loss that's going to be more difficult to overcome than people realize.

2013 Season Review: "What We Thought We Knew & What We Learned" Primer

Week 1 of the 2013 AB4AR Season Review series is in the books and week 2 starts tomorrow afternoon.  Transitioning from the major season storylines, next week will be a look back at the things we thought we knew about the 2013 Yankees before the season started and what we ended up learning after the 162 games were up.  In preparation for that week-long series, here's a recap of March's "What We Know & What We Don't Know" preview posts.

- The Infield

- The Outfield

- The Rotation

- The Bullpen

- The Bench

A-Rod's Legal Schedule Starting To Fill Up

(A man of the people.  Courtesy of the AP)

Time to get some more candlelight vigil participants ready because Alex Rodriguez is going to be spending even more time in court rooms in the very near future.

After the first week of his appeal case against MLB and their 211-game suspension didn't lead to a ruling, that hearing was put on hold due to the arbitrator's schedule.  The hearing is set to resume this coming Wednesday, October 16th, and once again the Yankees will be hoping for a quick resolution so they can start to put their offseason plans together.  But that's not all, Ken Davidoff of The Post reported that the case for A-Rod's "witch hunt" lawsuit against MLB is set to begin in the U.S. District Court in New York on October 24th.  While technically not related to the appeal hearing, A-Rod's legal team does appear to be trying to use that lawsuit and alleged shady practices by MLB to influence the arbitrator's decision on his suspension.

Whatever happens, expect a lot more photo ops and a lot more mud slinging from Alex and MLB.  Hopefully something gets resolved in these next few weeks so the Yankees aren't twisting in the wind when free agency starts.

2013 Storylines Review Review

Week 1 of the 2013 AB4AR season review is officially in the books.  Week 2 doesn't start for a few days, so if you missed any of the "2013 Storylines" recaps this week, here's your chance to catch up before we move on.

Monday- Contending On A Budget

Tuesday- Shoring Up the 2014 Rotation

Wednesday- The Walking Wounded

Thursday- All About Robinson Cano

Friday- End of an Era

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 10/11/13

Heading to Chicago for the final Local H concert in history tonight.  Buddy of mine picked up some tickets for 5 bucks a pop, which gives you an idea of where this event ranks in the world of band breakups.  I'm hoping for at least a 2-hour set and some Old Style at the venue.  Love me some Old Style.  It's one of the sneaky best cheap beers out there and there isn't nearly enough of it around the greater Milwaukee area.  Totally sucks that Anheuser-Busch made the Cubs get rid of it at Wrigley starting next season.  That's downright un-American.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, el duque of It Is High... took a painful, albeit short, trip down Memory Lane to revisit the 5 worst losses of the season.

- On Tuesday, Mike Axisa of RAB examined the Yankees' performance in 1-run games in 2013, and how their record in those games once again greatly outperformed their statistical expectations.

- On Wednesday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog did what the MSM didn't do this week and questioned the validity of Hal Steinbrenner's statements about his team.

- SJK of NoMaas offered up his take on the Hal Steinbrenner media tour, pointing out that Steinbrenners comments don't make it seem like a major rebuild is in the cards.  That could be a bad thing if 189 is the goal.

- On Thursday, Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes laid out his plan to address the 2014 outfield.  It includes some familiar faces and a new one from my neck of the woods.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud looked at the first batch of big decisions Joe has to make about next year now that he's officially back.

- William Tasker of IIATMS/TYA mused on the inevitable end of Derek Jeter's career, if that might come after the 2014 season, and how that final season could play out if he can't get healthy.

- Michael Burke of Pinstriped Bible advocated for letting Robinson Cano walk this offseason.  I fully understand all the arguments for that course of action, I just don't see any way the Yankees actually do it.

- Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily profiled GCL third baseman Miguel Andujar, one of the farm systems most intriguing young international prospects.

This week's jam is "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel.  If I'm being honest with myself, I'm probably a Peter Gabriel fan.  If I'm not, I'm saying that I love this song and "Solsbury Hill" and living in a world of denial.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

2013 Storylines Review: End Of An Era

(Courtesy of Howard Simmons/NY Daily News)

The Giants have won a few championships recently, and the Cardinals are trying to get another one of their own this postseason.  But the last true baseball dynasty was the 1996-2001 New York Yankees.  Those Yankee teams, driven by an up-the-middle core of homegrown players and a ton of smart acquisitions that fit the team's yearly needs and clubhouse environment, played in 5 of 6 World Series in that span and won 4 of them.  Were it not for that fateful Luis Gonzalez bloop single, it could have been a clean 5-for-5.  Those days are long gone, and while the 2009 championship was fantastic, it's a footnote to the extended era of success the Yankees have had up until 2013, an era defined by those '96-'01 years and the key players involved.

The Core Four lost its first member when Jorge Posada retired after the 2011 season, and it stood to lose at least 1 more after 2013 when Mariano Rivera announced that this season would be his last.  Another connection to that era of dominance was leaving, and the Yankees were drawing closer and closer to the official end of that era.  Between the year-long celebration of Mo, Andy Pettitte's retirement announcement, and the health-related struggles of Derek Jeter, 2013 did indeed end up being the final chapter of the last great Yankee dynasty.

Report: Yanks Expected To Make Push For Tanaka

The anecdotal evidence has been adding up to the Yankees getting back into the international free agent market this offseason, and the latest report on their connections to Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka makes it sound like it won't just be a token effort.

In The Post yesterday, George King reported that multiple sources anticipate the Yankees being "serious players" in the bidding for Tanaka once the process starts.  He won't be eligible to be posted by his NPB team until November 1st at the earliest, but based on the amount of time they spent scouting him this season and the obvious need they have for rotation help, Tanaka would be a great fit.  King's report called the Yankees' interest in Tanaka a "priority" this offseason, something that hasn't been said about the last few big name international FAs.

Also of interest in the story was the high level of praise that Tanaka received from scouts.  Some called him a better prospect than Yu Darvish, something I hadn't read up until today, and said he could be the best pitcher to ever come out of Japan.  That kind of ceiling could drive his price up, and right now the early expectation is that his posting fee could match the $60 million Texas paid for Darvish while his contract could exceed Darvish's 6 years/$51.7 million.  Considering they paid Hiroki Kuroda $15 mil and Andy Pettitte 12 last season, the AAV of the contract shouldn't be a concern for the Yankees.

Friday Morning Food For Thought

(Courtesy of Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday)

Yankee Pitching Staff in the 3 Years Before Larry Rothschild:

2008: 4.28/3.96/4.08, 18.5% K rate, 7.9% BB rate
2009: 4.28/4.32/4.17, 20.2% K rate, 9.2% BB rate
2010: 4.06/4.34/4.15, 18.9% K rate, 8.9% BB rate

Yankee Pitching Staff in the 3 Years Since Larry Rothschild came on board:

2011: 3.73/3.87/3.84, 19.7% K rate, 8.2% BB rate
2012: 3.86/3.98/3.75, 21.7% K rate, 7.1% BB rate
2013: 3.94/3.89/3.76, 20.1% K rate, 7.1% BB rate

I'd say bringing Larry back is the right move.  Cash just needs to get him some pitchers to work with next year.

2013 Storylines Review: All About Robinson Cano

(Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

When you're a flashy, talented, good-looking middle infielder in his early 30s playing in New York, chances are you're going to be the man.  That's the makeup of Robinson Cano, and under a different set of circumstances he would probably be the king of New York.  Unfortunately for him, he's come up in the Yankee organization during the Core Four Era and he's always been somewhat overshadowed by those players and the other bigger names and bigger contracts that have been brought in.

All that started to change a few years ago when those bigger names started to hit their mid-30s decline and Cano started to be recognized for his true talent.  Over the past few seasons he's risen up to be recognized as the best second baseman in baseball and one of the best all-around players in the game, and that upward trend hit its peak this season as he entered the final year of his current contract.  Cano could be the key to the Yankees' future as they move away from the Core Four years, and as the top potential free agent on the market this coming offseason he finally forced his way into the spotlight.

More Winter Ball Pitching Decisions

We know that Vidal Nuno is going to pitch this offseason.  We know that Dellin Betances is not.  Via Chad Jennings, we now know the plans for a few more of the younger Yankee pitching prospects.  Unsurprisingly, the plans involve a lot of inactivity.

- Manny Banuelos will not be pitching this winter after throwing all season to work his arm back into shape after TJS.  The team wants him to rest this winter and be ready for spring camp.

- Michael Pineda will also not be pitching this winter.  I expect him to throw in some capacity to stay sharp and keep his arm strength up, but he won't be pitching in game action until next spring.

- Jose Ramirez, who turned some heads this year in ST, was pitching in an instructional league after an oblique strain ended his season in the Minors.  He's not expect to pitch in winter ball either.

- Ty Hensley was also pitching in an instructional league as he works his way back from 2 hip surgeries.  He won't do anything formal in the winter but he'll continue to throw and progress back from surgery to hopefully be ready for spring.

It's not a confidence booster to read about so many injured pitchers, but at least they're all healthy and working their way back.  Being ready for next season is the most important thing now.

2013 Storylines Review: The Walking Wounded

(Exhibit A.  Courtesy of The NY Daily News)

Injuries.  Nothing can kill a team's chances for success faster than injuries.  Every year you know going in what players are going to perform well, what ones aren't, and you can reasonably anticipate a handful of players having better seasons than usual and a handful having worse.  What no manager ever knows is how injuries are going to affect his team, when they're going to strike, and how long they're going to last.  The Yankees, to a certain extent, bucked that trend in 2013 by heading into the season with a well-known collection of injuries: Jeter's ankle, A-Rod's hip, CC's elbow, Mo's knee.  And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

In my "Walking Wounded" preview post in March, I pointed out that "the Yankees' main backup options for their injured regulars are injury risks in their own right" and said, "If the Yankees are going to be a player in the postseason race in 2013, they're going to have to find a way to overcome these injury hurdles."  They never did and more than anything that could be the reason they finally fell out of the postseason race in late September.

Yankees Re-Sign Joe Girardi To A 4-Year Deal (Updated)

Guess he wasn't as "torn" between New York and Chicago as it seemed.

As formally announced by the team just minutes ago, the Yankees and manager Joe Girardi have agreed to a new 4-year contract that will keep him at the helm through 2017.  No specifics of the deal or money has been announced, but there is a conference call scheduled for 4 PM and I expect those details will come out then.

Smart move by the Yankees.  Joe was and is the best man for the job.  More on this story as it becomes available.

** UPDATE 2:17 PM- Jon Heyman reporting that the deal is worth $16 million plus bonuses.  Pretty fair raise from Joe's last deal and not as steep as I expected. **

** UPDATE 3:33 PM- Via the conference call, Joe said he initiated the discussion about a 4th year, saying he liked the stability it brought. **

Thinking About C-Grand's New Contract

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

If you're the type to put weight in early October hot stove rumors, it appears there's already another potential suitor for Curtis Granderson this offseason.  A Chicago Sun-Times report this past weekend painted the White Sox as an interested party, citing the always anonymous source who said they were expected to make "a hard push" for Granderson.  Like the Yankees, the White Sox were a hot offensive mess this season.  They could use Granderson's power, local ties, and personality to help inject some life into their franchise and put a few more butts in the stadium seats.

The Yankees were expected to make C-Grand a qualifying offer once the offseason started, although their true motivations for doing so are a bit of an unknown.  After seeing what Ichiro and Vernon Wells were still capable of in full-time outfield roles (nothing), the Yanks could certainly use Granderson in one of the corners and in the middle of the lineup next year.  With the criticism of their inability to develop any impact talent through the farm system getting louder and the front office acknowledging that changes need to be made, another 1st round draft pick would be nice to add to the MiL rebuilding effort.  Oh yeah, there's also that pesky little "goal not a mandate" payroll crunch in play.

Betances Not Allowed To Play Winter Ball?

(Scene inside Mark Newman's office.  Phones rings)

"Hello, this is Mark."

"Mr. Newman, this is Dellin Betances."

"Dellin, how are you, son?  What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was hoping I could get your permission to pitch in the Dominican Winter League this offseason.  I know I made some strides on improving my command once you moved me to the bullpen and I'd like to continue working on refining my mechanics so I can win a spot on the Major League roster next spring.  I know it's my last chance."

"Refine your mechanics, eh?  That would be beneficial to both you and our team.  We're going to need arms in the bullpen and you'd be an ideal option as a cheap, homegrown player.  But I'm sorry, I just can't allow that.  Thanks for calling though.  Enjoy your offseason."

I'm sure it didn't go down quite that way, but I really don't understand the Yankees' decision to not let Betances pitch in winter ball.  He obviously still needs the work to be an effective Major League reliever, and it's not like he threw an overwhelming number of innings this year (89.0 total between Triple-A and the Majors).  I hope the team has something else in mind for him if they don't want him pitching in game situations.  Letting somebody with sloppy mechanics like his sit all winter is hardly a smart plan when he's one of the players being considered for a bullpen spot next year.