AB4AR Free Agent Profile: Yu Darvish*

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(*- Assumes Darvish will be posted by his Japanese league team)

Yesterday I kicked off the AB4AR FF Profile series by looking at C.J. Wilson.  Today let's break down the next biggest potential free agent pitching target, Yu Darvish of the Japanese Nippon Ham Fighters.

Pros-

- Darvish is just 25 years old, still presumably before his physical prime, and yet has plenty of experience to fall back on.  Granted it's all been in the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan, but Darvish has 7 seasons of baseball under his belt.  He's not a typical 25-year-old pitcher with little to no high-level pro experience.

- Despite the young age, Darvish has already been built up to handle heavy workloads.  He's thrown 200+ innings in 4 of his last 5 seasons, and has done it without suffering any significant arm injuries as a result.  Considering the Yankees' recent history with managing young pitchers' innings limits, this is a good thing to not have to worry about with Darvish.

- Darvish has serious swing-and-miss stuff.  He has a career 8.93 K/9 in the NPBL and that number has trended upwards over the last couple seasons.  His array of pitches is reported to include a 4-seam fastball that sits low-to-mid 90s and touches 97, a 2-seam fastball, a curveball, a change, a slider, and even a cutter and splitter.  He almost certainly won't be throwing all those pitches in the Majors, but he's certainly not at a loss for options.

- He pairs his stuff with great command and great mechanics.  His career BB/9 in the NPBL was just 2.36 and scouts familiar with him comment on how well he repeats his delivery and manages his own mechanical issues.  One scout in particular said, "His balance to home plate is impeccable and he repeats his motion extremely well because he knows his entire pitching motion like the back of his hand."  That's pretty high praise and a valuable skill to have at such a young age.  And when you look around the MLB and see how many pitchers struggle with repeating mechanics (see: Burnett, A.J.), that makes that report even more glowing.

- Because he's an international free agent, the Yankees wouldn't have to forfeit any draft picks to sign him.  Just pay the posting fee, which doesn't count towards the luxury tax or the overall payroll, and negotiate a deal.  And since he doesn't have the MLB track record to speak of, a Darvish deal will likely cost less than one for C.J. Wilson.

Cons-

- Darvish's flashy stats (1.99 career ERA, 2.60 FIP, 0.98 WHIP, 55 CG, the above K/9 and BB/9 values) have all come against NPBL competition and almost certainly aren't representative of how Darvish would fair against Major League hitters.  Logic would dictate that those numbers wouldn't be as flashy after a year pitching in the AL East.

- The heavy workload on such a young pitcher can be seen as a red flag by scouts and teams who are used to today's strict innings and pitch counts placed on pitchers who are Darvish's age.  The fact that he hasn't had a serious arm injury yet could just mean he's "due" for one.

- Darvish's ability to handle all the cultural changes that come with being a pitcher for a Major League team is a big unknown.  And there are some questions, albeit small ones, about the relationship between he and his wife.  How would that play out in front of the cutthroat NY media?

- Recent star Japanese exports (Irabu, Matsuzaka) have flopped in the Majors.  And while it would be unfair to use them to evaluate Darvish, it is something that teams are going to do.  Because of all the cultural differences and style differences between the American game and the Japanese game, and how others before him have failed to adjust to those differences, Darvish can be seen as a risky signing.

- Between the posting fee (likely somewhere between $40-50 million) and whatever his contract will be (likely $50-60 million), Darvish could end up being the most expensive free agent pitcher out there.  And when he's essentially being looked at as a AAAA-level prospect, that's a hefty price to pay.

Personally, I think Darvish is the pitcher the Yankees should be targeting the hardest.  He's by far the youngest free agent starter available and easily the one with the highest upside.  Pitchers this young aren't supposed to be as experienced and mature as he is.  They aren't supposed to have this firm a grasp on their mechanics or this advanced a combination of stuff and command.  By all accounts, Darvish is already a more polished pitcher than Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes, and by that comparison also more polished than top prospects like ManBan and Dellin Betances.

Based on their long history with high-profile Japanese free agents, both the good (Matsui) and the bad (Igawa), the Yankees are probably the team best-equipped to make Darvish's transition to Major League Baseball a successful one.  And to top it all off, the Yankees can add Darvish by giving up just money, the asset that they have the most of.  They've already scouted him multiple times over the last few seasons, so they have to have a plan for targeting Darvish if and when he's posted.  The Yankees were wise to not be as aggressive on Dice-K as the Fraud Sawx were.  I think they'd be equally wise to be that aggressive on Darvish this time.

P.S.- If you're looking for information on Darvish, the best source out there is probably this recent post on TYA by pro scout David P. It's a must-read for sure.

Can Curtis Granderson Repeat His 2011 Performance?

(The Grandy Man could in 2011.  Can he do it again next year?)

2011 was a helluva season for Curtis Granderson.  Less than 1 year after he had to miss 2 games in the middle of the season to completely rework his swing with Kevin Long, C-Grand used that new swing to put together a monster 2011 season... :

.262/.364/.552, 77 XBH, 41 HR, 136 R, 119 RBI, 85 BB, 25 SB, 146 wRC+, .394 wOBA, 7.0 WAR, ASG Starter, AL Silver Slugger Award winner for CF, AL Players' Choice Awards winner for AL Player of the Year, and possible AL MVP

... And re-establish himself as a premiere player in the American League.  Surprisingly, Granderson's 2011 campaign might not even be his career best.  In 2007 he went .302/.361/.552 with 84 XBH (including an insane 23 triples), 141 wRC+, a .395 wOBA, a 14.5 UZR/150, and a career best 7.8 WAR.  But for Yankee purposes, 2011 was a big year for Curtis as it confirmed that he could be the type of player he was in 2007 and 2008 and the type of player the Yankees thought they were getting when they traded for him in December of '09.  But after one year of so-so C-Grand and one year of great C-Grand, what should we be expecting for him in 2012?  Or more specifically, can his 2011 level of production be maintained going forward?

First, let's use some broad strokes to explain Curtis' big rebound in 2011.  When Long rebuilt Granderson's swing in 2010, his main focus was to cut all of the excess pre-swing movement out and create a more compact swing to better utilize Curtis' quick hands.  That compact swing produced a big power surge in the 2nd half of 2010 and it continued this past season as Granderson posted a .290 ISO, besting his previous career high (set in his '07 season) by 40 points.  Granderson also bounced back a bit on the batting average front thanks to a .295 BABIP, which was still not up above .300 like he was in his first 3 full MLB seasons with the Tigers, but much better than the .270s values he put up in 2009 and 2010.  His batting average, and production as a whole, took a bit of a hit because of a 24.5% K rate, his highest since 2006, but Curtis used a career high 12.3% BB rate to counter that and keep his OBP and wOBA values high.

A Quick Word On The AL ROY Voting

Hellickson- 102 points
Trumbo- 63 points
Hosmer-38 points
Nova- 30 points
Pineda- 11 points

Is that a joke?  Are the voters serious?  Who voted for the Rookie of the Year this year, a local Tampa Bay middle school class??  Fuckin' A, man.  That point total is TERRIBLE.

You want to tell me that Jeremy Hellickson was a slightly better pitcher than Ivan Nova this year?  OK, I'll buy that.  But you can't try to tell me he was THAT much better than Nova.  And there's no way you can convince me that he was better than Michael Pineda at all.  Or that Trumbo with his sub-.300 OBP and Hosmer with his shitty first base defense were better than Nova and Pineda.  JUST LOOK AT THE FUCKING NUMBERS!!!!

Whatever.  It's a joke.  20 bucks says Nova would have gotten more votes if he wasn't wearing a navy blue hat with an interlocking "NY" on it.  Although on the positive side, maybe the still lingering love obsession with HRs gives C-Grand a better shot at winning the MVP next week.

Phil Hughes Is Going To Get In Shape Now

Via Andrew Marchand at ESPNNY:

"Phil Hughes didn't show up to spring training grossly overweight last February, but he'd packed on enough pounds to end up in what the New York Yankees call "fat camp." It is for players who need to up their conditioning a bit to ready themselves for the season.

With 2012 spring training now less than 100 days away, Hughes is reverting to the workout program that preceded his All-Star 2010 season, which makes Yankees GM Brian Cashman think an uptick in Hughes' performance will follow.

"I think in 2012, you are going to see that again.  He is determined. He is going to Athletes' Performance out there in California, which is something he did two years ago to be in optimal shape."

Ohhhhhhh.  So THAT's why Phil Hughes was a piece of crap in 2011.  He was an out of shape fat fatty fat fat magoo because he didn't go to the training facility that he did before the 2010 season.  Maybe this would have been some good information to know back in the spring when everybody was wringing their hands and shaking their heads about where Hughes' velocity and command had gone and he was getting MRI'd and tested up the wazoo to find out what was wrong with him.

Obviously we can't establish complete causality between Hughes being out of shape and his poor 2011 performance, but that would certainly make sense, especially when combined with the major innings increase he took in in 2010.  More work on the shoulder than he's ever experienced + coming into 2011 camp out of shape could very well = crappy Phil Hughes.  It's a bit of surprise that the Yankees didn't mention this stuff earlier in the year.  Did they not want to shame Hughes publicly for being overweight and out of shape?  Did they honestly think that it had nothing to do with his performance?  Did he not even disclose to them that he hadn't attended Athletes' Performance before this past season?

Whatever the reasons are, shame on Hughes for taking his offseason workouts so lightly and coming into 2011 out of shape.  As Marchand mentions in his story, Hughes was expected to step up and take the reins as the #2 starter behind CC this past year and instead he wound up getting kicked to the back of the rotation and then the bullpen again come playoff time.  If Hughes would have taken things more seriously and been in better shape perhaps he could have turned in a better performance in 2011, perhaps he could have convinced the front office and Joe that he is capable of being a #2 starter, and perhaps the Yankees' offseason plans would be different right now.

But enough on the past.  What matters now is that Hughes is reportedly going back to that training facility to get in better shape for 2012.  And a Hughes in better shape makes it more likely that will see a better Hughes on the mound in 2012.  Let's do it to it, Lars.  Fucking PerkiSystem, baby!!



P.S.- I can just picture this Yankee Spring Training fat camp.  All of the out shape guys doing wind sprints and weigh-ins with Mike Harkey there going "Attention, players.  Lunch has been canceled today due to lack of hustle.  Deal with it."

AB4AR Free Agent Profile: C.J. Wilson

(Would you give $90 mil to this guy?  Courtesy of Getty Images)

CC Sabathia, the biggest potential fish in the free agent pitching pond, has been back in the fold for the Yankees for a couple weeks now.  And since the Yankees avoided any long, drawn out negotiations with him, Cash has been able to get the ball rolling on the process of courting other free agent targets.  The Yankees made no secret that their goal this offseason was to bolster their rotation, and while there aren't any other CCs or Cliff Lees out there, there are a few interesting possibilities.  This week at AB4AR, I'll take a look at some of the Yankees' biggest starting pitching targets, starting with everyone's favorite left-handed converted reliever, C.J. Wilson.

Pros-

- Workload increase going from reliever to starter hasn't been a problem for Wilson, who jumped from 73.2 IP in '09 to 204.1 in 2010 (plus 24.1 more in the postseason) and then to 252.1 total in the regular season and postseason in 2011 without any arm or stuff issues.  In fact, Wilson's average velocity velocity increased from 2010 to 2011.

- Wilson hasn't just been a workhorse the last 2 years, he's been a damn good pitcher too.  He's got an ERA in the low 3.00s over the past 2 seasons as a starter and a FIP just slightly higher.  His ERA/FIP/xFIP tripleslash in 2011 was 2.94/3.24/3.41, numbers certainly indicative of a #1-#2-type starter.  He's also accumulated 10.5 WAR as a starter over the last 2 seasons and is a beast on lefties.

- Wilson lowered his BB/9 from 4.10 in 2010 to just 2.98 this past year while increasing his K/9 from 7.50 in 2010 back up to 8.30 in 2011, much closer to the K rates he used to post as a reliever.  And between his 3 different fastballs and 3 offspeed offerings (slider, change, curve), Wilson has 6 legit pitches at his disposal, all of which he used well in 2011 to up his Swinging Strike percentage from 6.7% to 8.3%.

- Grounders, grounders, grounders.  Wilson has had a GB% of either 49.2 or 49.3% in 5 of the last 6 seasons, and the one season he didn't post that rate he put up an even better one of 55.4% in '09.  Keeping the ball on the ground more is always a bonus in homer happy Yankee Stadium.

- At 30 years old and with only 2 full seasons of starter work on his resume, Wilson is in the prime of his career and doesn't have nearly the wear and tear on his arm that other pitchers his age have.  This suggests the potential for him to at least continue this level of production over the next few years.

Cons-

- While he has been healthy the last 2 seasons, Wilson's career is littered with injury issues, including TJS in 2003, elbow and shoulder problems in 2008, and blisters in 2009.  Given that track record, these last 2 seasons of clean health bills could just mean he's due to get hurt again.

- While 2011 was a good year for him in terms of command, Wilson's previous lowest BB rate was 3.38 BB/9 in 2005, and he's had 2 seasons over 4.00 and one over 5.00.  So he's not exactly the most efficient cat on the block, and the Yankees already have plenty of inefficiency in their rotation with Burnett and Hughes.

- He's a Type-A free agent this year, and the Rangers would be stupid not to offer him arbitration, so the Yankees are looking at giving up another 1st-round pick if they sign him.

- His postseason track record is nothing to write home about, in fact it's downright bad.  Small sample size surely plays a part, but Wilson has thrown 52.1 playoff innings over the last 2 seasons and has given up 28 ER and 29 BB in those innings.  This past postseason was particularly brutal, as Wilson put up a 5.79 ERA and 6.31 FIP.  It's something that the media and fans will point to in an argument against him, so it's only fair to mention it here, small sample sizes be damned.

- While he's a "young" 30, Wilson still turns 31 this offseason and he'll likely command at least the 5 years/$82 million that A.J. Burnett and John Lackey got, if not more.  By signing him, and his injury history, the Yankees would be committing themselves long term to another pitcher who will end his contract in his mid-to-late-30s.

His numbers over the last 2 seasons make Wilson look like the ideal #2 starter for the Yankees, an innings machine who strikes guys out, keeps the ball on the ground and in the yard, and has a multitude of pitches with which to work.  But the lack of track record in terms of health, BB rate, and workload is a concern to me, and I see Wilson and his agent commanding more than the 5/$82 mil that A.J. got because his performance over the last 2 seasons is better than what A.J. did.  If the talks start moving towards 6 or 7 years and 90-100 million bucks, I think the Yankees would be wise to take a pass on Wilson.  And honestly, I'd be surprised if they did sign him.  This feels like another case of Cash getting involved to drive the price up for his competition.  I guess we'll see what happens.

Joe Torre Needs To Shut Up About Posada

I know this probably shouldn't bother me at all, but it does and so I have to say something about it.

I don't want to hear Joe Torre commenting on the Jorge Posada situation with the Yankees anymore.  I don't.  He commented on it on Tuesday, saying:

"It’s really tough when you play with one team and create the relationships that he has all these years. It's probably going to be tough to think about going somewhere else."

And then on Thursday at a function for his own charity organization, Torre had this to say about Jorge's HOF chances:

"I've noticed over the years when guys get voted in, whether it’s first ballot, second ballot -- if you play in postseason, people get a chance to see you in a different light and it may carry a little more weight. But as much postseason as he’s played in, I think consideration is certainly warranted."

Now I get that Torre managed Jorge for the majority of his Yankee career and the peak of that career that included Jorge's best seasons and 4 World Series championships for both.  I get that Torre probably shares a great bond with Jorge because of that and because of the fact that they are both former catchers.  But here's the thing, Torre isn't a part of the Yankee organization anymore.  For argument's sake, you could that Jorge isn't either, but Torre holds a job with Major League Baseball, a very prominent one too as Executive BP of Baseball Operations.  And something just doesn't sit right with me about a guy holding that position commenting on the goings on of a team with which he was formerly employed and with which he had a deep connection.

In the position he's currently in, Torre should always be objective and neutral in all his dealings and this string of comments this week about a former player on the former team he managed doesn't give off that vibe.  To me, this is the type of stuff Torre and the MLB shouldn't be involved in or commenting on- an individual team's dealing or lack thereof with a free agent- and to comment on it suggests a potential bias or vested interest that Torre, and by association MLB, has towards the situation.  The last thing that should be happening here is for teams' plans to be changed because of statements made by the MLB office, or for Hall of Fame voters to be swayed by something Torre, a league official, said.

If he were just a regular retired former manager or working in the media, it would be OK.  Former players and coaches can be good in those media roles because of all the behind-the-scenes history and insight they can provide on former teams and players.  But it's just not the same when you're representing the league, the governing body over all the teams and players, and I'd hate for any kind of talk of league interference in whatever happens with Posada to come up.  That wouldn't be good for the Yankees, it wouldn't be good for Posada, and it wouldn't be good for the league.

So Joe, I respect the fact that you have your feelings and opinions on the Yankee-Posada issue.  As someone who worked closely with Jorge for such a long time, you're entitled to have them.  But in the position you're in as a high-ranking MLB official, you need to realize that the days of being able to talk openly and candidly about everything Yankee-related are over.  The only people who should be commenting on this are Jorge, the Yankees, and any other team seriously interested in signing Jorge.  Keep your mouth shut about this and let the situation play out amongst the parties involved.

Goodbye, Sweet Prince

If this report by Jim Salisbury is true, then this is a sad day for AB4AR.  Jonathan Papelbon was one of my favorite Fraud Sawx whipping boys, maybe THE favorite.  And now my opportunities to bag on him for being overrated and a choker and a phony and an asshat will be much fewer and farther between.

But I'll always have the memories.  The C-Grand home run off Papelbon in the 10th inning on April 6th, 2010 that helped seal the series for the Yanks.  The Marcus Thames homer on May 17th.  The absolute meltdown of a blown save in Game 3 of the 2009 ALDS against the Angels.  This picture:

So many good times.  So many...

/tries not to cry

So adios, dickhead.  It's been fun.  Watch out for the batteries in Philly when you blow a save.  Can't imagine those fans will be quite as fahhgiving as the fans in FACKING BAHHHHHHHSTON!!!!

Spring Training Dates Released

- Pitchers & Catchers: February 19th, 2012

- Position Players: February 24th

- First Full-Team Workout: February 25th

Mark your calendars and book your flights if you're interested in going to Spring Training this year, people.  There are the key dates.  If you're lucky, maybe you'll get a picture of Soriano smiling during one of the workouts.

Is Jorge Posada Delusional?

(Courtesy of The AP)

It's been Jorge Posada Day over at LoHud today.  The one post that stood out to me was this one linking Posada and Bernie Williams and the similar paths their Yankee careers took at the end.  And within that post, I found this comment by Jorge to be particularly interesting when he was asked if seeing what happened to Bernie five years ago prepared him for this past season:

“If you asked me that question in February of this year, I would have said, no,” Posada said. “But now, I would say, yes. It went the same way, pretty much.”

Uhhh, Jorge?  Are you serious?  You really weren't prepared for your Yankee career to end after this year?  How could you not see the writing on the wall?  You were in the last year of your contract as a 40-year-old catcher with abominable defensive skills.  After years of letting that criticism slide, the team flat out told you well before Spring Training that you weren't going to catch anymore and to prepare to be a DH.  The picture was already being painted for you for this to be your final season before the season even started.  And as the season progressed, your role became increasingly smaller as your offensive skills eroded, and the Yankees focused on Russell Martin and Jesus Montero as their new catcher/DH tandem of the future.

If Jorge honestly didn't think that 2011 was going to be his final year in pinstripes, then I really don't know what to say.  On the one hand it makes the whole situation a little sadder, knowing that he played like shit all season and got relegated to platoon status after thinking he was going to be back in 2012.  On the other hand, I have to knock him for being a bit of a dope for not expecting this.  Just serves as a reminder that as hard as it is to watch our favorite players decline, it must be even harder for them to have to experience it.

Does Ivan Nova Have A Chance To Win AL Rookie Of The Year?

(** Author's Note- I completely botched this and forgot that Alexi Ogando is not eligible for the AL ROY this year because he spent more than 45 days on a Major League roster in 2010.  So disregard everything related to Ogando below and just focus on the other candidates. **)

The Yankees have already been heavily featured in the early portion of MLB Awards season, getting shafted out of at least 2 AL Gold Gloves and then having Robbie Cano and C-Grand deservedly win Silver Slugger Awards for their respective positions.  But the real meat and potatoes of award season starts this coming Monday with the announcement of the AL and NL Rookie of the Year Award winners.  And for the first time since Cano in '05 the Yankees have a horse in the race for the AL award in Ivan Nova.  But how good is Nova's chance of really contending for the award?  Let's make like D-Generation X and break it down.

The way I see it, there are five other "real" contenders for the AL award besides Nova, two position players and three pitchers.  The two position players are Mark Trumbo of the Angels and Eric Hosmer of the Royals.  While others may try to make an arguments for Desmond Jennings or Dustin Ackley, those guys don't have a full season's worth of plate appearances under their belts and so my belief is that their body of work can't be looked at the same as those of Trumbo and Hosmer.  So how do these two stack up?

Trumbo: 573 PA (1st among AL rookies), 137 H (2nd), 29 HR (1st), 87 RBI (1st), .768 OPS (7th), .327 wOBA (10th), 105 wRC+ (tied for 9th), 2.3 WAR (4th)

Trumbo's power numbers look good, which is something that old school voters always go for, but his OPS and wOBA suffers thanks to a low BA (.254) and low OBP (.291), both byproducts of Trumbo's low walk rate (4.4%).  However, Trumbo balances out those flaws at the plate by rating as an above average defensive first baseman and a decent baserunner.

Hosmer: 563 PA (2nd), 153 H (1st), 19 HR (3rd), 78 RBI (tied for 2nd), .799 OPS (3rd), .342 wOBA (3rd), 114 wRC+ (5th), 1.6 WAR (8th)

Hosmer beats Trumbo in most of the sabermetric categories thanks to a better walk rate (6.0%) and a much lower K rate (14.6%).  He was a better all around hitter than Trumbo in 2011 but takes a knock in the WAR department thanks to a subpar defensive rating.  Considering that both guys played the same position this season, that could hurt Hosmer.

Nice first seasons for both of those guys, no doubt.  But the real competition for the award, in my opinion, will come down to the four top rookie pitchers in the AL this season: Nova, Alexi Ogando of the Rangers, Michael Pineda of the Mariners, and Jeremy Hellickson of the Rays.  Through both the traditional and sabermetric statistical looking glasses, these guys were the cream of the AL rookie pitching crop in 2011, racking up the top 4 innings totals amongst all AL rookie hurlers and thus creating a bigger body of work to more accurately assess their numbers and weigh them against their rookie counterparts (sorry, Zach Britton).  For the purposes of this comparison, the rankings indicated in the parentheses represent where each pitcher ranks amongst themselves.

Mark Buehrle Is Blowing Up The Rumor Mill

And I really don't understand why.  Joel Sherman says this:

"These Yankees are more self-confident in their overall team and farm system and, therefore, not as overzealous in its pursuit of pitching.

That is why the Yankees probably will not end up with C.J. Wilson or Yu Darvish, though they left those October scouting meetings with that duo atop their free-agent board (non-CC division). Both are, for example, listed above Mark Buehrle; yet Buehrle stands a better chance of becoming a Yankee because he fits certain criteria, including less financial risk than Wilson or Darvish."

And Buster Olney says this:

"Yankees did due diligence today and talked to Mark Buehrle's agent, but it's still highly unlikely they take a serious run at him."

Boys, boys, boys.  Can you pump the brakes for a second?  Did you not listen to Cash last week?  It's a slow process.  He's still in the infant stages of said process, reaching out to everybody.  It's still WAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY to early to try to predict who the Yankees will and won't target.  And honestly, they're going to target everybody, or at least make it seem like they're targeting everybody.  It's what Cash does.  Just let him do his thing.  And certainly don't waste valuable Twitter space talking about Mark Buehrle.  He's like the rice pudding of the FA pitcher buffet.  Sure, you wouldn't mind having some and you'll probably enjoy it if it's on your plate, but you aren't making a beeline to it at Ponderosa.

P.S.- I don't know where I stand on Buehrle.  I feel like he should be ranked right above Freddy as a last resort.

Freddy The Forgotten

As Cash makes his rounds on the preliminary phone call circuit to the cream of this year's FA pitching crop (Wilson, Edwin Jackson, Buehrle, Oswalt, etc.), one guy who hasn't received a lot of "real" talk is Freddy Garcia.  There has been mention of both sides sharing a mutual interest in bringing Freddy back for 2012, but right now that option is probably more of a last resort for the Yankees much like it was last offseason.  So what should the Yankees' approach be with Freddy?

Garcia greatly outperformed any and all expectations this past season any way you cut it.  He was, at times, the Yankees' 2nd best starter, and over the course of the entire season you could make the argument that he WAS their 2nd best starter, 3rd at worst.  His 3.62/4.12/4.36 line over 146.2 IP was a blessing in disguise for a rotation that could have been crippled by Phil Hughes' problems and A.J.'s all around sucktitude, and it earned him a Type-B free agent status this offseason.

This  is where things get interesting with Garcia.  The Yankees could offer him arbitration, which would lead to a higher dollar amount than what they paid him last year, and if Garcia turns it down they get a draft pick.  And given the year he had last year, Garcia very likely could get more money than what the arbitration number would come out to in the open market.  But if Garcia did decide to accept the arbitration deal, the Yankees suddenly have 5 starting pitchers again and somebody would have to get the boot to the bullpen if they're serious about pursuing any of the crop of previously-mentioned pitchers or Yu Darvish.

So what to do?  If it were me, I would offer Garcia arbitration as I think there are teams out there who would pay Freddy more for a year of his services and he would be wise to pursue those opportunities.  Also, the Yankees could try to swing a gentleman's agreement like they had with Javy Vazquez to not accept the arbitration offer, leaving them free to pursue their other targets and gain a pick and leaving Freddy free to sign on with another team who wants him.  In any case, Freddy is a good insurance policy for the Yanks to have in their back pocket.  He just might not be there for the taking as long as he was last year.

Yankees Already In On Cespedes?

Via Joel Sherman:

"#Yankees have had 5 important voices (Billy Eppler Mark Newman Gary Denbo Donny Rowand Gordon Blakely) see Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes in DR"

It's not every day a team sends its pro scouting director, VP of baseball ops, a special assistant, and 2 top scouts to check out an international prospect, even one with a promotional video as sick as Yoenis Cespedes.  Are the Yankees this ahead of the game during Hot Stove Season again?  And did they manage to get ahead on this guy without Cash's involvement?

Stay tuned, Yankee fans...

The Yoenis Cespedes Video That Everybody's Talking About

I don't know how or why this video was made, and I don't care.  This is "Yoenis Cepedes: The Showcase," a video put together to demonstrate the talents possessed by the aforementioned Cepedes, the latest mystery Cuban defector who is blowing up the baseball world and blogosphere right now.  I don't know how long this video will stay up, but check it out if you have the time.



If this does get taken down, or you just don't have the time to spend the whole 20 minutes watching the thing, all you need to know is that it's the best promotional video in the history of promotion.  And here's why.  This 20-minute video features:

- A "Star Wars"-style intro with bottom-to-top scrolling word descriptions of Cespedes.

- A slow motion home run montage set to "Sailing" by Christopher Cross.

- A patented Barry Bonds "stand and walk down the line" home run trot by Cespedes.

- "Indiana Jones"-style red line map traveling showing his movements from Cuba to the DR to the US.

- A workout montage soundtrack that includes "Ignant Shit" by Drake, "Look At Me Now" by Chris Brown, "The Whistle Song" by Juelz Santana, and "On To The Next One" by Jay-Z.

- An impressive series of 45" standing box jumps complete with a Usain Bolt pose and multiple crosses and chest pounds.

- A behind-the-back catch on a pop fly hit to him in the outfield as a demonstration of defensive skill.

- Some kind of standing sit-up exercise designed to showcase "core power" that ends with Cespedes repeatedly shoving his junk in the dude holding his feet's face.

- Some of the worst weight lifting form I've seen since Frank tried to teach Sweet Dee how to dead lift on "Always Sunny."

- A shout out to his mom, a former Olympic softball pitcher, with canned cheering and applause added in.

- And a finale that shows Cespedes and some other dudes roasting a whole pig on a spit.

Now the video doesn't do much to showcase Cespedes' overall baseball skill set (unless the behind-the-back catches qualify as Gold Glove worthy), but I don't give a crap.  Here's what we know about this kid.  He's 26, he's an outfielder, he played for Cuba in the most recent World Baseball Classic, he set his Cuban league record with 33 HR in a season, he's looking for an Aroldis Champan-like contract, and he's got the coolest group of handlers and PR people in the history of the world.

Seriously, I need whoever put this video together to do something like that for me.  I'm talking slo-mo shots of me banging out emails at my desk while "Types 100 Words Per Minute" flashes across the screen with "Swagga Like Us" playing in the background, highlights of me holding office doors open for women with an arm full of papers, stats of how many cups of coffee I drink per day, and shots of me crushing beers on my couch while "No Core Strength... But Tremendous Alcohol Tolerance" scrolls the bottom of the screen.

I don't know if this kid is legit or not.  I don't know if the Yankees have any kind of serious plans to pursue him or not.  But I do know that this video is one of the most enjoyable 20 minutes I've spent watching YouTube in a long time.

(Box jump swag)

(There's a more detailed write-up on the video and Cespedes by Kevin Goldstein here at Baseball Prospectus)

**UPDATE- 12:44PM- According to Ben Badler, the Yankees held a private workout for Cespedes yesterday.  Interesting... **

Eric Chavez Is Deep, Man

(Walk it off, big guy.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

I mean real deep.  This time last month he was reportedly "leaning heavily" toward retirement after another season affected by injuries.  And then just a few days ago, there was talk from his agent that Eric Chavez was now not so sure about his retirement intentions and that he would "deeply consider" a return to the Yankees if they were interested.  While these statements from Chavez open up a possible line of discussions related to just how spiritual he is with all this deep thinking and which Tool album Chavez prefers, they also raise a more relevant one relating to whether or not the Yankees should consider bringing Chavez back in 2012 if he truly still wants to play.

After quickly becoming one of the best third baseman in the AL early in the 2000s and enjoying a string of success from '01-'06 that included 6 straight Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger Award in 2002, Chavez's health began to betray him in 2007 and he has never been the same player since.  He was basically a scrap heap addition by the Yankees before the 2011 season, following the "cheap diamond in the rough" approach they took to signing Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to help fill their roster needs.  There was some buzz generated when Chavez hit well in Spring Training and looked much smoother at the plate and in the field than he had in years thanks to his back finally being healthy.  But the injury bug hit him again in May when he went down with a broken bone in his foot that he suffered running the bases, and Chavez struggled through the rest of the season after missing 2+ months.

A quick glance at Chavez's stats from 2011 leaves little to be excited about.  He only played 58 games and only had 175 plate appearances in those games.  His .263/.320/.356 line shows that Chavez can still work a count and put some swings on the ball at age 33, but that he has very little power and speed left in his bat to do much damage.  Of his 42 hits on the year, only 10 went for extra bases and only 2 of those for home runs, good for a .094 ISO and a .294 wOBA.  Those values are among the lowest of Chavez's career, keeping up with the downward trend he's experienced over the past few seasons, and they speak to Chavez being nothing more than a bench-type player nowadays.

That being said, Chavez still managed to produce positive WAR, albeit just 0.6, in his limited action in 2011, thanks mainly to him still registering as an above-average defensive player and a solid baserunner (broken foot excluded).  And considering that Chavez being out of action led to more time at third base for Eduardo Nunez in 2011 after A-Rod got hurt, and exposed us all to the maddening experience that is watching Eduardo Nunez play the field, his solid defense should be a check in the "Pros" box for Eric.  The Yankees seem interested in teaching Nunez to play the outfield as a way to get him more playing time in 2012, which leaves the need for a backup at the hot corner intact.  Are we all sure that Brandon Laird can handle that responsibility or step in and contribute for extended periods of time if A-Rod goes down again?  And are we sure we want to leave the backup 1B role in the hands of Laird or (gulp) Jesus next year if something happens to Teixeira?

Between Nunez and Laird, the Yankees likely have their 2 backup IF spots covered for 2012.  The injuries and the lack of power make Chavez a very risky play with little potential for reward.  But, the injury Chavez suffered last year was not related to the back problems that ended his time as an above-average player, and if his foot injury didn't happen, perhaps Chavez could have produced better numbers as A-Rod's replacement last season.  If Chavez is serious about playing next year, takes enough time away from trolling the Radiohead fan message boards to talk about how introspective their new album is to stay in game shape, and is willing to accept another Minor League invite to camp in 2012, then I'd be open to bringing him back.

Anybody Got Robbie Cano In Their MLB-Taiwain Exhibition Fantasy League?

(Taiwanese HR swag.  Screen cap courtesy of MLB.com)

Because if you do, you're probably winning your league.  Dude crushes homers in the States, dude crushes homers in Canada, and now dude crushes homers in Asia.  No big deal.  I hope Teix has already started working on fixing his lefty swing, because right now it looks like the 3rd spot in next season's batting order is Cano's to lose.

(Check out the whole video here)

Cashman Dominating "The Process"

I know he said it's a "slow process" and that he's "reaching out to all agents," but Cash is running the show for C.J. Wilson right now and it's brilliant.

Here's the thing.  We don't really know if the Yankees are seriously interested in Wilson.  Nobody does.  And to be honest, it doesn't really matter if they are or not.  CC was their big prize and they locked him back up before he even had the chance to hit the market for other teams to bid.  But, one can safely assume that there were other teams out there prepping offers for CC in anticipation of him opting out, and now those teams are likely the ones, including others, who are going to be playing hard for Wilson as a backup plan.  And the more the Yankees seem like they're involved, the more stories that get out there where Cash is talking about him, the more these other teams are going to be forced to up their bids, in terms of years and money, to ensure they land Wilson.

The Yankees are really in the driver's seat here.  They can be as aggressive on Wilson as they want to be, even if it's just to drive up the price like they did with Carl Crawford last offseason, knowing that they've already secured CC, they have 3 returning starters, and that there are other pitchers available.  If they are a serious player for Wilson and they get him, that's just icing on the cake.  If they don't, they just move on to somebody else who fits what they're looking for.  It would seem likely that we'll see this same approach in regards to Yu Darvish as well once he officially becomes a free agent, and I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but it's brilliant work by Cash and the front office to get themselves at the forefront of the discussions surrounding these guys and really force where the market for their services goes.

Cash Probably Doing A Better Job Than Wilson's Agent Right Now

“I’d say it’s fair to say C.J. Wilson is probably the best pitcher on the marketplace right now since Sabathia’s been taken out and retained here.  I don’t think it’s a stretch to tell anybody that he’s the most attractive candidate.”

How much extra money did Cash just make Wilson on his new contract with that statement?  10 mil?  15?  Every other team that's seriously targeting Wilson is going to have to up their offers to more than they originally planned just on the off-chance that Cash and the Yankees are really in on Wilson.  Just Cash stirring the pot again, pulling the strings, and dominating the offseason.

(Quote via LoHud)

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza

Time for a quick lap around the Yankosphere.  On your mark, get set, GO!

- Chad Jennings at LoHud has some details on Russell Martin, specifically his offseason workout-related tweets and the Yankees' thoughts about bringing him back next year.  The comparisons to Munson make it almost impossible to think that Martin won't be a Yankee in 2012.  Comments like that aren't just handed out.

- Lisa at Subway Squawkers wasn't as happy as some of us were to hear the Cash re-up news.  Her beef mainly lies in the inconsistencies in the Yankee brass' rhetoric, which I can respect.  But that still doesn't mean it's a bad thing that Cash is back.

- William at The Captain's Blog dishes a dose of perspective on Cash, reminding everybody of the success the Yankees have had under his watch.  It's kinda hard to argue with those numbers.

- On Freddy Garcia, Andrew Marchand at ESPNNY tries to make a case based on the low risk associated with Freddy while Jane Heller of Confession of a She-Fan argues against Freddy based on his "lightning in a bottle" season this year.  I don't know what side everybody else takes here, but I would support Freddy coming back as a last resort.

- Joe Pawlikowski at RAB has a very well-written piece explaining why the Mariners aren't going to trade King Felix, if anybody out there still thinks that's an option the Yankees should pursue.

- Vizzini at NoMaas brings up a very interesting hypothetical with his suggestion that the Yankees trade Ivan Nova now while his value is high to bring in another top-line starter.  Interesting premise, but would Nova-Noesi be enough to get the guy Vizzini wants?

- Mike Silva at NY Baseball Digest also discussed an interesting hypothetical, that being the Yankees looking to trade for Tim Lincecum.  I don't see that idea going anywhere, but I'd be willing to put a prospect package together if the Giants were serious about it.

- And last but not least, new colleague Matt Imbrogno at TYA joins the hypothetical trade talk by breaking down a Swish-for-John Danks trade.  That would be a good trade for both sides, but I think I'd rather go the route that Matt suggests at the end of the post than dump Swish.

Enjoy the rest of your Fridays and your weekends, Yankee fans.  Make sure you stock up on beer for all the college football games tomorrow.  I know that's what my eyes will be glued to.

Hey, How Are The Mets Doing?

Anybody heard?  What are their big offseason plans?  Have they already made an offer to Jose Reyes to try to keep him around?  Do they have any big pitching targets?  What are they doing this offseason??

"After Citi Field produced the third-fewest homers in the National League last season, Mets officials decided to reduce the in-play surface area by 2 percent, general manager Sandy Alderson said. The playing surface beyond 300 feet from home plate is being reduced by 5 percent."

 (New dimensions shown in blue.  Courtesy of The Mets)

"[The] dramatic dimension changes to Citi Field ... should mean the home team belting more than 25 additional home runs in 2012."

25 extra home runs??? ZOMFG!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!1!!1  Factor that in the extra home runs the new dimensions will allow to opposing teams, and the Mets' shitty pitching, and those extra 25 dingers should get them another 2-3 wins in 2012.  We're talking creeping back up towards .500 here, people!  THIS IS HUUUUUUUUGE NEWS!!!!!

Good to see that nothing has changed over in Met Land even with Omar and Crazy Jerry gone.  They're still just as incompetent as ever.  The Yankees address their offseason needs by picking up the options on 2 of their more productive offensive players, one of them a Silver Slugger Award winner, re-signing their GM, and extending their ace who happens to be one of the best starting pitchers in baseball all in about a week.  The Mets address their needs by making their field dimensions a little closer to Little League standard to help their crummy batch of Quadruple-A-caliber players.  It's brilliant.

Another great day to be a Mets fan.

(Quotes courtesy of ESPNNY.  Read the whole article for a few more laughs if you have the time.)

Too Many Catchers, So Little Space

Now that Cano and Swish have had their options exercised, CC has been extended, Cash has been re-upped, and the rest of the impending Yankee free agents have been free agented, we can focus squarely on the main offseason goal of strengthening the 2012 rotation.  And while C.J. Wilson and Yu Darvish will dominate the discussion, a more cost effective solution could turn out to be the trade market.  Inspired by recent posts discussing who is and isn't trade bait and realistic offseason expectations, and the possibility of adding a #2 starter via a trade, I wanted to look at one of the Yankees' deepest positions in terms of potential trade chips- catcher- and see who might make the most sense to offer up.

Jesus Montero- .288/.348/.467, .365 wOBA in 463 PA at Triple-A (2011)

Jesus is obviously at the head of this class after another productive year in Triple-A and a big time Major League debut in September where he went HAM to the tune of a .328/.406/.590 line with 8 XBH in just 69 PA, good for a .421 wOBA.  He's currently the front runner to be the starting DH for the Yankees next year and most likely the backup catcher, but Montero can still be valuable as a trade chip as any team would be happy to add him to their lineup for the next 10 years.  The catch with Montero is that the Yankees should really only be willing to discuss him for the right guy (see: Hernandez, Felix).

Austin Romine- .286/.351/.378, .332 wOBA in 373 PA at Double-A

Romine had another solid if unspectacular year in 2011, mostly in Trenton before making a brief stop at SWB after the Jesus call up.  He improved his ability to make contact this year at the expense of a bit of power output, and increased his BB rate (8.6%) while decreasing his K rate (16.1%).  He'll begin 2012 as the likely starting catcher at Triple-A, and still most likely tops out as a high-level backup or low-level starter at the Major League level, but there are more good things that Romine brings to the table than bad, and there's value to be had in that.

J.R. Murphy- .293/.343/.457, .359 wOBA in 277 PA at Low-A Charleston

2011 was looking like a big coming out party for Murphy before he injured himself for the season with a freak foul ball off the leg.  He was hitting the snot out of the ball at Charleston and starting to figure things out at High-A Tampa before the injury.  Murphy was also drawing rave reviews from scouts for his much improved defense behind the plate and higher CS rates.  Murphy's success in his shortened season put him on a lot of people's radars and could make him a much more attractive trade chip.

Gary Sanchez- .256/.335/.485, .364 wOBA in 343 PA at Low-A Charleston

Sanchez has basically been "Mini Jesus" since the Yankees signed him, and he started mashing almost immediately in rookie ball last year.  The sky still appears to be the limit for this kid, as he's only 19 years old, but there are just as many question marks surrounding Sanchez as there were Jesus, if not more.  He's not smooth or disciplined behind the plate and often battles inconsistency.  And there was the little issue from earlier this season when he was sent down because of attitude problems.  But he can hit the lights out and could be a very valuable piece because of the Montero hitting comparisons.

Kyle Higashioka- .238/.300/.372, .308 wOBA in 180 PA at High-A Tampa

Don't laugh.  Higgy has some value.  He's only 21, has very solid defensive skills, and actually hit the ball better at High-A after getting the call up to replace Murphy than he was hitting at Low-A.  His offensive output is still nothing to write home about, but he's got a good eye at the plate and could develop into a serviceable backup with a few more years of seasoning in the Minors.  He wouldn't be the center piece of any deal, certainly not one to bring back a #2 starter, but Higashioka shouldn't be written off completely.

Isaias Tejada- .331/.404/.568, .443 OBA in 166 PA at Rookie GCL

I'll be honest, I didn't even know Tejada existed before this season, but he put up some serious numbers this year in the GCL, and just missed being on Baseball America's Top 20 GCL players last month.  He just turned 20 on October 28 and possesses a solid skill foundation both at and behind the plate.  He did have 12 errors this past season, but the scouting reviews I've read on him don't poke nearly the holes in his defensive game as they do Sanchez's.  He'll be a guy to keep an eye on next year at Charleston, and could become more prevalent as a potential trade chip if he keeps producing at the next level.

Obviously there's a lot of talent and lot of potential amongst the Yankees MiL crop of backstops, but there just isn't that much room for all of these guys.  They're going to keep advancing through the MiL system and eventually run into a road block at the higher levels, especially if the Yankees keep Russell Martin for the next few seasons.  If it were up to me to decide who stays and who goes, I would be looking at putting Romine and Sanchez up for auction.  Romine is good at everything but not really great at anything and so there's no sense in not making him available if another team is seriously interested in him, especially with Murphy possibly projecting as a better version of Romine in a few years.  And Sanchez to me is a much bigger wild card than Jesus ever was because of the defensive and attitude/focus questions, but he's so highly regarded as a hitting prospect that teams aren't going to turn him down.  If he turns out to be a questionable defensive catcher down the road, it's highly unlikely he would supplant Jesus from the lineup with just his bat, regardless of what position Jesus is playing.  Long term, he's likely more valuable to the Yankees as a trade piece than as another defensively-challenged catcher.

Now I would make any and every one of these guys available for the right deal.  But for all the potential deals that come up this offseason, Romine and Sanchez would be my first choices if the conversation turns towards catchers.  They're a perfect combination of high upside and low downside, and their absence would still leave the Yankees with a solid stockpile of young catchers for the future while helping to accomplish the goal of improving the rotation now.

On Andrew Brackman's Release

The biggest bit of real news to come out of Cash's press conference yesterday was the announcement that the Yankees would not be picking up Andrew Brackman's 2012 option, and that he would become a free agent.  I'm sure feelings were mixed across the board on this announcement.  I imagine some fans were surprised that the Yanks would basically give up on a recent 1st-round draft pick, and I imagine there are some fans saying "good riddance" to a guy who, quite frankly, didn't even come close to living up to his potential as a 1st-rounder or the money the Yankees paid him.  My personal opinion, it was a move that the Yankees didn't want to make, but probably had to.  Because honestly, there's really nowhere for Brackman to go next season.

The Yankees used him out of the 'pen a few times late this past season, but he didn't do anything to convince them that he's a realistic relief option for 2012.  Why would they take up a spot on the 25-man with Brackman when they already have Mo, D-Rob, Sour Puss, Logan, Wade, possibly Noesi, and at some point Joba?  And because they promoted ManBan and Betances to Triple-A last year, that rotation is now full with those 2, Mitchell, Warren, and Phelps.  Nobody would give Brack a chance to find himself as a starter again at one of those guys' expense.  And if you try to send Brackman further down the system to figure the kinks out, all you're succeeding in doing is taking away valuable experience and innings from younger prospects, guys like Stoneburner, Brett Marshall, Bryan Mitchell, Nik Turley, etc.  At this point, they are the ones that should be trying to hone their stuff and refine their command, not 26-year-old multi-millionaire Andrew Brackman.

It sucks that Brackman's career path has played out this way, but the Yankees can't afford to wait around for this guy anymore.  Dude posted a 5.77 FIP and 7.03 BB/9 in 2011 in Triple-A.  That's not just regressing from his 2010 numbers, that's straight up falling off the cliff.  And with the rest of their stockpile of pitching talent on the way up, there really isn't any room at the table for Brackman, and the Yankees shouldn't feel obligated to make room.  Not for the money they're paying him.  The last thing they need is another Kei Igawa situation.  If he decides he wants to suck it up, accept a MiL deal and try to rebuild himself, then fine.  But if he doesn't, I know I can live without him in the Yankees' future plans.

How Salty Should I Be About Brett Gardner Not Winning A Gold Glove?

(Helping the old UZR.  Courtesy of The Star Ledger) 

Brett Gardner- 1251.0 Inn, 202 TP, 322 PO, 7 A, 5 E, .985 FP, 25.8 UZR, 29.5 UZR/150

Alex Gordon- 1309.0 Inn, 239 TP, 312 PO, 20 A, 3 E, .991 FP, 10.5 UZR, 10.0 UZR/150

There's how Gardner and Gordon stack up, and I only put that up because I thought it was a foregone conclusion that Gardner was going to win his first Gold Glove last night.  When you look at these 2 guys, though, you can see why Gordon got the victory.  He made more plays and had fewer errors than Gardner in slightly more innings and also dominated with 20 outfield assists.  The slightly higher FP also doesn't hurt.

But Gardner dominates Gordon in the sabermetric defensive breakdown, torching him and pretty much every other AL outfielder in UZR and UZR/150 .  I also found it particularly interesting that Gardner's Revised Zone Rating (RZR) and OOZ (Plays Made Out Of Zone) numbers were much better than Gordon's, .944 RZR/120 OOZ to .923 RZR/74 OOZ respectively.  This is almost certainly due to Gardner's very high RngR (24.5), which was much higher than Gordon's (-2.1).

Basically this award played out in a complete "old school vs. new school" fashion, with Gordon winning the old school side and Gardner the new school.  Gardner covers more ground, gets to more balls, and makes more plays than he should, but Gordon does more with the balls hit right to him and uses his arm strength as a defensive weapon to cover for the extra ground he can't cover.  Gordon also had a much better year at the plate, and to a certain degree the Gold Glove is still looked at with offensive stats taken into consideration as well.  That was likely enough to tip the scales in Gordon's favor, which sucks for Brett and Yankee fans but is understandable.

Maybe if Brett started taking my advice and learned to hit with a little more power, he could drive up his offensive numbers in 2012 and finally win a Double-G.

Reading Cash's Presser Between The Lines

(HELLOOOOOOOOO!!)

As always, Brian Cashman was dynamite on the mic today during his press conference, touching on a multitude of topics and delivering more than his fair share of killer lines.  It is in between those lines, however, where the real meaning to what Cash is saying lies.  I'll translate.

What He Said: "I don't have any health concerns with Alex.  His is a timing issue." (on The Horse's health)

What He Meant: "I don't have any health concerns with Alex because I've accepted the fact that he's a rapidly-breaking down older player no longer on HGH when he needs it the most.  I have concerns about how all these constant trips to the DL affect his timing at the plate over the course of the season and leave him stuck in so many slumps where he looks terrible."

What He Said: "I would not look at him as a reliever.  If he's with us, without a doubt he's in the rotation." (in regards to A.J. Burnett)

What He Meant: "A.J. really sucks.  But we can't waste a bullpen spot on him.  If the Steinbrenners would let me, I would trade A.J. for a 12-pack of hot dogs and some glove oil just to make sure he's not in our 2012 rotation."

What He Said: “I think he can be catching for us or he can obviously be DHing for us or a lethal bat off the bench for us. All of the above.” (in regards to Jesus Montero's position next year)

What He Meant: "Look, we're going to bring back Russell Martin, so it really makes the most sense to utilize Jesus' greatest skill as much as possible at the DH position.   Unfortunately, there are going to be days where A-Rod or Jeter or Teix has to DH and we probably will let Jesus rot on the bench during those games because we don't fully trust him as a catcher."

What He Said: “I’m not opposed to any of those guys coming back, I just can’t tell you what’s going to happen.” (in regards to Chavez, Garcia, and Colon coming back in 2012)

What He Meant: "We are not actively pursuing bringing any of these guys back next year.  But if it comes to that, we wouldn't mind having them back next year."

What He Said: "I think like with anything else, you learn over time… I think we’re more prepared today (to evaluate Japanese talent) than we have been in the past." (on scouting Yu Darvish)

What He Meant: "We fired every scout who looked at Kei Igawa from the organization and brought in all new people to scout Japan.  We're pretty sure we can't fuck up any worse with Darvish than we did with Igawa."

What He Said: "He is full bore, ready to go as a catcher. There are no issues there." (on Francisco Cervelli)

What He Meant: "Cervelli is VERY available.  Someone make us an offer for the guy so we can dump him and not have to carry 3 catchers next year."

I'm already on record as loving any press conference where Cash talks, and this one was no different.  But I appreciate how he changed things up here, went with more subtlety and subtext than usual.  Dude is just the master, and that's why it's great that he's going to be back for 3 more years.

(All quotes via Chad Jennings at LoHud)

Yankees Make It Official With Cash

From the Yankees press release:

"The New York Yankees today announced that the club has re-signed Brian Cashman to a three-year contract to serve as the organization’s Senior Vice President and General Manager."

No details on the money, but we can safely assume it's a significant boost from his previous deal (3 years/$ 6 mil).  The Yankees are making great progress plowing through their offseason to-do list.  Makes me think they already have a plan in place for who they're going to target and wanted to be damn sure they got all their internal stuff tied up quickly