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!!

2013 Storylines: All About Robinson Cano

(Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

This didn't work out so well the last time I made a season about one player, or the last time I singled one player out as the one who needed to step up this season, but there's no way to deny that the New York Yankees' 2013 season begins and ends with Robinson Cano.  And it has nothing to do with the recent rash of injuries.  Well it does, but that's not the only reason.  This has been brewing for a few years now, a bunch of different factors all working towards this eventual endgame.  The collection of big contracts, the age-related decline, the self-imposed payroll cap plans, all of it has been building to this point, when the fate of the Yankees would be placed on the shoulders of Robbie Cano.

Not Much To These Joba-Texas Rumors

George King of The NY Post kickstarted the rumor mill yesterday with this story about the Texas Rangers sending scouts to watch Joba Chamberlain in his latest ST appearance.  The Rangers are woefully thin on bullpen arms right now and the Yankees actually have a bit of a surplus, so it makes sense from Texas' standpoint.  There are more than a few intriguing trade pieces on their side, names like Jurickson Profar and Mike Olt, but I wouldn't read too deeply into this situation.

For starters, Texas isn't trading either of those guys for Joba straight up, and I don't see either team wanting to add players to the deal to turn this into something bigger than Texas looking to fill a need.  Despite his statements to the contrary, Joba is a middle reliever coming off two major surgeries in the final year of team control before hitting free agency.  The Yankees aren't in much of a position to ask for something of real value in return for a trade piece like that, and there isn't much to be gained by trading away a useful piece of their bullpen for a player that doesn't help fill one of their needs.

If the Rangers are willing to talk multi-player deals and include Profar and/or Olt in the talks, then the Yankees should be all ears.  But I'd say this is more Texas just doing their due diligence for the trade deadline.

Spring Training Game 18 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 PHI 2

(Always a welcome sight.  Courtesy of Reuters)

The remaining three of the Core Four were all back in action yesterday, so that game clearly merits recap coverage.  While trimming their roster and waiting for Robinson Cano to return from the WBC, the Yankees have started playing better baseball lately and now have a nice little four-game winning streak going.  The pitching has been very good in the last week, with Andy Pettitte continuing that trend yesterday in his season debut.

Game Notes:

- Pettitte wasn't nearly as sharp as he is on his best days, but he was still pretty good for a first start.  3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.  He threw about 60 pitches, so definitely room for improvement in the command area, but that should come in the next few weeks.

- Derek Jeter looked good in his first game back at shortstop since last October, even if he only had one ball hit his way.  At the plate he was 0-2 with a walk.

- Cody Eppley relieved Andy in the 4th and finally had a good outing, and then it was on to Mo.  As he did in his first ST appearance, Mo sat the Phils down in order in the 5th.

- The Yankee starters smacked Cliff Lee around early and often.  They tagged him for 2 runs in the 1st, another in the 2nd, and 2 more in the 3rd before Lee hit the showers.  Only 2 of the 5 runs were earned, but Lee also gave up 6 hits and 2 BB, so it's not like he was just the victim of bad luck.

- Newest Yankee Ben Francisco contributed in his first game, doubling and driving in 2 runs.  With Zoilo Almonte getting sent to MiL camp, Francisco should jump right near the top of the mix for the open outfield spots.

- 2 hits apiece for Juan Rivera and Ichiro, who are both quietly swinging the bat very well this spring.  The Yanks need something from both of them, in April especially, so here's hoping they don't use up all their good swings in March.

- Props to Shawn Kelley, who threw another scoreless inning with 2 K.  He's another guy quietly getting the job done and impressing the coaching staff.

2013 Storylines: The Walking Wounded

(Ouch, bro.  Courtesy of the AP)

A byproduct of being an old team is the higher tendency for players to get injured.  The Yankees have walked a fine line in that department in the last two seasons as they've aged, and their ability to adapt and overcome those injuries has been what's kept them at the top of the AL East while they've battled Father Time.  This season, that battle is going to rage on like it never has before.  The Yankees would be wise to load up on the Raid, Icy Hot, and batteries for the MRI machine (they run on batteries, right?), because the injury bug is going to be a fixture in the clubhouse in 2013.

Three Reasons To Pass On Brennan Boesch

(Courtesy of Detroit News)

The Tigers released outfielder Brennan Boesch this morning, and in their never-ending quest to add every replacement level outfielder available the Yankees have already been connected to him.  Boesch is a good fit on paper- 27 years old, lefty swinger with power, can play both outfield corners- but a more detailed look into his statistical breakdown raises some red flags, three to be exact.

A Bit Of Significance To Today's Game

A ticket stub from a Spring Training game usually doesn't mean much, especially with the types of lineups the Yankees have been putting on the field lately.  Those with tickets today's game, however, might be wise to hang onto them and tell their kids and grandkids about the time they got to see three of the best in Yankee history play.

The scheduled starter for today's ST game against the Phillies is Andy Pettitte, making his 2013 debut.  Also scheduled to pitch today is Mariano Rivera, making his second spring appearance as he continues his comeback from last year's ACL injury.  And scheduled to start at shortstop, for the first time this spring and for the first time since breaking his ankle in the ALCS, is Derek Jeter.  The three remaining pieces of the Core Four, 15 World Series rings between them, the last links to the late 90s Yankee dynasty, and they'll all be on the field today.

These three are easily the greatest Yankees of the last 35 years, and the number of times that we're likely to see all three of them play in the same game has to be down in the single digits.  With Mo already set to retire after this season, Andy probably heading down the same path, and all three guys being injury risks in their own way, it's hard to predict exactly how many more times this will occur.  Today it's practically a guarantee that all three of them will be in the same game, though, and that's a cool little footnote in Yankee history.  It doesn't matter who wins or loses today's game, but there's definitely a little more meaning to it with these three scheduled to play together.

2013 Storylines: Shoring Up The 2014 Rotation

(Two important parts to this year's rotation.  But what about next year?  Courtesy of the AP)

To say the starting rotation is critically important for the Yankees in 2013 is an understatement.  The front office willingly took a step back offensively to make filling out the 2013 rotation the priority this past offseason, and so far in camp things are coming together nicely.  Ivan Nova has had two strong starts, Hiroki Kuroda looked outstanding yesterday striking out 6 over 4 scoreless IP, David Phelps has been steady and consistent as the 6th starter, and the rest of the projected starting five are scheduled to make their 2013 debuts in the very near future.

The rotation should be the biggest strength of this year's team, but on a parallel path of importance this season will be how this year's results influence the plans for next year's rotation.  The Yankees will have a lot more work to do building next year's rotation under the payroll crunch and will be using this season's performances to gauge how and if their current collection of young starters factor into next year's plans.

Ronnier Mustelier's Big Chance

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

I don't know if it's my newfound rooting interest in him or the Yankees calling up every recently retired corner infielder like a desperate dude who needs a date to his 10-year high school reunion that's influencing this, but it certainly seems to me like there's been a red carpet of opportunity rolled out for Ronnier Mustelier in the wake of Mark Teixeira's injury.  He's gotten a lot more playing time at the hot corner in the six days since Teix's strained tendon was diagnosed, and had Cash himself confirm that the Yankees were looking at him as a potential option at third.  If you're on the wrong side of the roster-making fringe as Mustelier was, hearing the GM say your name is like music to your ears.

Mustelier has played in every game since Teix's injury, something he couldn't say prior, and he's had a few starts at third base.  He hasn't dazzled in the six games he's played, going just 2-12 at the plate with one run scored and RBI apiece, but he has sprinkled in little dashes of what he brings to the table offensively with a triple, a BB, and a stolen base.  And while he hasn't had the chance to make a lot of plays at third base, he's looked competent and drawn some positive reviews from folks who've watched him.  With the situation the Yankees are facing to start the season, he's the perfect type of player to roll the dice on.

Here Comes Jose Ramirez

(Courtesy of the AP)

He got sent down to MiL camp after yesterday's game, but no prospect made a bigger or better impression on the Yankee higher-ups this spring than Jose Ramirez.  After a solid finish to his 2012 season in High-A, Ramirez got the invite to big league camp and didn't waste the opportunity.  He was among the first pitchers to get into a game, he made two starts, and allowed 0 runs and just one BB in his 9.0 IP over three appearances, by far the most innings thrown of any Yankee pitcher to not allow a run this spring.  He located his fastball down in the zone and flashed pretty good command of his changeup, something that isn't always said about young pitchers.

I left Ramirez off the AB4AR Top 30 for the second year in a row because of his spotty history with consistency and injuries, but also because the Yankees didn't seem sure how they wanted to use him.  After this spring audition, there's no doubt that Ramirez should be molded as a starting pitcher and a potentially top-flight one at that.  He's got great velocity, improving mechanics and command, and a really high upside if he continues to refine his changeup and makes his slider a useful third pitch.  Without a lot of high-end pitching talent in the upper levels of the system, he can really make a name for himself with a strong season in Double-A and I've already got him marked as one of my big breakout candidates for 2013.

Yanks Sign Ben Francisco To MiL Deal

It's not a head-turner, not unlike every other Yankee signing this offseason, but they did add another piece to their outfield competition puzzle today by signing free agent outfielder Ben Francisco to a MiL deal after he was released earlier in the day by the Indians.

I profiled Francisco back on December 1st as part of the list of non-tender guys I thought the Yanks might target, and the profile hasn't changed since then.  Francisco is still a field-first player whose offensive output has dwindled significantly in the last few years.  His career numbers still look good as a part-time option, but recently he's offered very little by way of power or on-base skills.  For what it's worth, Francisco was 8-20 with Cleveland so far this spring before being released with more walks than strikeouts.

2013 Storylines: Contending On A Budget

(Or not.)

The Yankees made some waves a week or so ago for going to court to protect their claim to the "Evil Empire" moniker that was bestowed on them by Larry Lucchino in 2002.  They've lived up to that nickname for the better part of the last 11 years, but in a strange bit of irony their battle to trademark the name was the biggest attempt made by the Yankees to live up to the motto this offseason.  After years of free spending, ballooning payrolls, record-setting contracts, and drawing the ire of fans, teams, and writers alike, the Yankees enter the 2013 season with a plan to ditch their traditional business model, for a few years at least, in an attempt to reset their luxury tax penalties and save some coin.  The key year is 2014 and the key payroll number is $189 million, but a lot of groundwork to get to those key points was done this past offseason and will continue to be done through the 2013 regular season.

Rotation Starting To Take Shape This Week

(Courtesy of the AP)

The bulk of the early ST focus has been on the lineup and its shrinking number of healthy, productive players, but the rotation hasn't exactly been running at full song so far either.  Ivan Nova and Hiroki Kuroda have each made a pair of starts, David Phelps has made four, and that's it as far as projected Major League starters are concerned.  In the last few days, however, the picture has cleared up considerably with the rest of the rotation.

Phil Hughes graduated to a mound over the weekend, and per Chad Jennings threw a 26-pitch bullpen session this morning with no reported back issues.  He's graduating to facing live hitters later this week and could end up on track to start the season.  The other big news to come out of the weekend was the upcoming rotation schedule, which has Andy Pettitte penciled in to make his spring debut on Wednesday and CC Sabathia on Friday.  Sabathia threw a 50-pitch sim game yesterday morning rather than face the Blue Jays, and this has been about as quiet a spring for Pettitte as I can remember.

The level of concern about those three was low, so it's not like this is huge unexpected news.  But it's always good to see your starting rotation all pitching.  The rotation is going to have to carry this team early, and they should take the first big step towards doing that this week.

The 2013 Season Preview Starts Today

I said yesterday that the transition from preseason to regular season was starting to take place, and that transition becomes official today at AB4AR with the announcement that the three-week season preview for the 2013 season starts this week.  I call it, "Season Preview Season."

As it was last year, the AB4AR season preview will be split up into three individual series of posts, starting with the high-level storylines that will define the 2013 season and drilling down to the previews of individual positions and players.  The "2013 Storylines" series kicks off this afternoon and runs through the week.

Opening Day is in three weeks, people.  It's time to start looking ahead.

What Kind Of Production Would You Take From Jeter This Year?

(Courtesy of J. Conrad Williams Jr./Newsday)

After watching player after player go down with injuries this spring, the Yankees finally got to see a few come back from injuries yesterday when Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter played in their first ST games.  Mo struck out two in a scoreless 5th inning and Jeter went 1-2 at the plate as the leadoff DH, and both used their performances to answer the question about whether they'll be ready in time for the start of the season.  For Mo, that question wasn't as big a deal.  He's been throwing bullpen sessions, going through everything he would in a normal spring, just not in an actual game setting.  For Jeter, the question has hung over him all spring as he's been limited to light fielding drills, light running drills, and batting cage sessions.  He still has to play a few games in the field, which sounds like it might happen this coming week, but if Jeter can at least hit three weeks before the start of the season, that's a pretty good sign that he'll be ready.

So now that Jeter has answered the first big question, we can move to asking the second one.  What kind of production can we reasonably expect from The Captain this year?  The offense has already taken a lot of damage in the past four months and change, and a 39-year-old shorstop coming off major ankle surgery isn't going to be the savior, but without any reliable backup options in sight the Yankees need something good from Jeter this year.

Transitioning From Trends To Storylines

We've been at this Spring Training thing for long enough now that it's time to start looking ahead towards the 2013 season.  Opening Day is three weeks from tomorrow, so as a way to begin the transition into the 2013 AB4AR Season Preview series (and also because I'm hanging like a bastard today) I wanted to bring back the 2012 Statistical Trends to give everyone an idea of what some of the key talking points will be during the next three weeks of season previews.

- Robinson Cano's 2012 Struggles Against LHP- Was it just a one-year fluke or the start of something more serious?

- Ivan Nova's XBH Allowed- I've linked to this one before.  It's all about fastball command for Nova.

- Joba's Return to the Mound- Once he got his slider going, things started to come together.

- Curtis Granderson's Strikeouts- Just imagine how many HR he could hit if he learned how to lay off sliders out of the zone.

- Derek Jeter's Bounce Back Season- Was it just BABIP luck or did Jeter really defy time and regression?

- Phil Hughes' HR Allowed- Just because it's a fastball count doesn't mean you have to throw one.

Study up, kids.  I'll give you a minute.

Marc Hulet Ranks His Top 15 Yankee Prospects

Marc Hulet has been plowing through his yearly organizational top 15 prospects post series over at FanGraphs, and somehow I missed him unveiling his top 15 for the Yankee system on Wednesday.  You can check out the list, with detailed scouting reports from Hulet on each player, right here.

It was the usual suspects in Hulet's top 5: Williams, Sanchez, Heathcott, Austin, Campos in that order.  Hulet is also high on Angelo Gumbs and Brett Marshall (6th and 7th respectively), had ManBan outside his top 10 (11th), and didn't have Rafael DePaula ranked in his top 15 at all.  Personally, I like that he had Austin Romine ranked as high as he did at 13.  Romine has missed a lot of time, but still has plus defensive skills and a great opportunity in front of him this season.  And a ceiling as a catcher hitting .270 with double digit HR in the Majors is nothing to be taken for granted, especially with what the Yanks are looking at this year from their other catchers.

P.S.- If you haven't already, now would be a great time to check out the 2012-2013 AB4AR Top 30.

Mariano Rivera To Retire After The 2013 Season

As expected, Mariano Rivera announced at this morning's press conference in Tampa that he will retire after this season.  And as we've come to expect, Mo handled it in the honest, thankful, and humble way that only he can.  In a testament just to what type of player, teammate, and person he's been in his 19 years as a Yankee, the entire Yankee team attended the press conference along with all the high-ups in the Yankee front office.  One thing that never gets old is how Mo comes across when talking to the media.  It's not a stretch to say he's the most professional professional athlete of all time.  Here are a few examples from things he said during the press conference:

"I would love to say that it has been a privilege and an honor to wear the pinstripes."

"I have to give everything and the tank is almost empty. The little gas that I have left is everything for this year. After this year I am empty."

"I'm a team player, if it wasn't for my teammates I wouldn't have had the opportunity. I want to be remembered for being a good teammates and helping others. That's the legacy I want to leave."

On playing with Pettitte and Jeter: "Again, I always mention the word 'blessed' because it's a blessing more to be able to play with men like Andy and Derek and many others."

So now we know, from the mouth of the man himself.  2013 will be Mo's final season and there will be many more times throughout the season that we'll get to revisit that fact and look back on all the great moments he's had in his career.

The Effects Of Phil Hughes Missing The Start Of The Season

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It's gotten overshadowed by the Mark Teixeira injury and yesterday's report of Mo's retirement announcement, but there's still a pretty important injury situation happening with Phil Hughes.  Last weekend Hughes ended his week-long battle with shrinkage in the pool and got back on the field to start throwing again after almost two weeks off to recover from the bulging disk in his back.  He's been on a flat ground throwing program this week, and yesterday actually threw pitches from a full windup on flat ground, but that still puts him a while away from pitching in a game.  The possibility of Hughes not being ready for the start of the season was mentioned almost as soon as the bulging disk was, and if he isn't back on the mound pitching in a game by this time next week he more than likely won't be ready.  It's not the biggest deal in the world, as long as his back is healthy, but there are a few things that will change as a result.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 3/8/13

Do people actually listen to voicemails anymore?  Anybody?  I honestly couldn't tell you how long it's been since I've actually listened to an entire voicemail start to finish.  It stems mainly from the hatred I have towards talking on the phone.  I abhor talking on the phone.  It's the worst.  I would love to never have to talk to anybody on the phone ever again.  Obviously that doesn't include you, Mom and Dad.  You guys are awesome and I love you very much.  Everybody else, however, can just pound sand when it comes to phone conversations or voicemails.  I'm a written word guy, not a spoken word guy.  Send me an email, send me a text, anything other than a 5-minute voicemail that really says nothing other than "call me back when you get this."

These days, if I get past the "Hi, Brad, this is... " part of any voicemail, I consider that a major accomplishment.  Somewhere along the line I've probably missed out on a Publisher's Clearing House check or something, but I don't care.  That's how much I hate voicemail.  They installed new VOIP phones in my office a few weeks back, and they have the ability to wipe out an entire voicemail box with the push of a button.  I let that baby fill up over the course of the week and then blow them all away on Friday afternoon.  Such power.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, George Szabo of Gutty Gritty Yankees looked at a historical breakdown of average team age and winning percentage from the last 15+ years to put a positive spin on the age of this year's Yankee team.

- Michael P. of Yankees Fans Unite pointed out potential problem areas in the Yankees' 2013 interleague schedule.

- On Tuesday, el duque of It Is High... expressed his unhappiness with Cash's decision to jump out of that plane this week.  It's been a rough offseason for the guy.

- On Wednesday, Jason Cohen of Pinstriped Bible took an even more detailed look at the Yankees' injury problems already this season than I did.  Because I'm too scared to admit that I'm the jinx because I started talking about batting orders too early, I'm going to point out that Jason wrote this on Wednesday morning, before the bad Teix news came down, so he's obviously the jinx.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog mused on the impact Teix's injury would have on the lineup and possible solution options the Yankees could pursue.

- Mike Eder of IIATMS/TYA has been gettin' GIF-y with it since the merger (see what I did there?) and noticed something new in Brett Gardner's swing mechanics this spring that could be the cause of his hot start.

- Alex Pugliese of Yanks Go Yard identified his X-factor for the Yankees this season, and while I don't share his feelings, I'll let you make that decision for yourselves.

- Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes made another pitch for pursuing Carlos Lee as a temporary replacement at first base.

- On Thursday, Jeana Bellezza of Bleeding Yankee Blue explained why she's excited about David Aardsma returning to game action this year and why Yankee fans should be too.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud had the highlights from Mark Teixeira's media session to explain his injury.

- Mike Axisa of RAB highlighted just how important Robinson Cano has become for the Yankees this season in the wake of the recent injuries that have weakened the lineup.

- Louis Winthorpe II of NoMaas had the best visual representation of the Yankees' spring injury problems that I've seen yet.  Not looking so good, Louis...

- On Friday, Marc Perez-Santalla, a new edition to Bronx Baseball Daily, wondered what the 2013 season might have in store for Joba Chamberlain.

- SG of RLYW put Kevin Youkilis under the projection microscope (not literally) to set some expectations for his 2013 production potential.  Considering how bad Youkilis was last year, I think I'd take those results.

This week's jam comes to us from a little duo known as Outkast.  I don't know why, but I always forget just how good Outkast was.  Somehow they make their way out of my rotation and it takes "Aquemini" or "Gasoline Dreams" coming across shuffle on my iPod for me to remember that I've got an entire collection of some of the best rap music produced in the 90s rotting away in there.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Triple-R Game 2013: Rebound

(If you don't like that picture, something is wrong with you.  Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

We weeded out the regressors on Wednesday, we identified the guys expected to remain where they are yesterday, so today it's time to look at the players who are going to rebound from their 2012 seasons and offer up improved production in 2013.  Obviously some guys coming back from injury factor in heavily here, as do players whose 2012 results were way down from their usual standards.  But there are also a few surprises included, a few guys who I just have a good feeling about.  After the jump, check out the players I'm predicting rebound years for this season.

#LOOGYProblems

Having one LOOGY out with injury problems is bad enough, but TWO??  That's just madness.  Unfortunately that madness is reality for the Yankees right now as their injury-plagued spring continues.  It was announced yesterday that Clay Rapada will be shut down for 7-10 days with shoulder bursitis, this after Boone Logan's elbow continued to bark.  That's now the top two lefty relievers in camp with problems to the two parts of the arm you never want to have problems with if you're a pitcher: the elbow and the shoulder.

Luckily, the Yankees aren't short on LOOGY options in camp.  Francisco Rondon has looked outstanding in his four appearances ( 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K) and has looked capable of facing right-handed batters if needed, and Juan Cedeno hasn't looked bad in his three outings either.  Cesar Cabral is still on the radar, and needs to spend time on the roster per the Rule 5 Draft rules, but he won't be a real option until May.

Hopefully Rapada's issue isn't as serious as Logan's appears to be and he's able to make it back in time to start the season.  If not, maybe the Yanks put in a call to someone well-versed in the dark arts and try to summon Loone Bogan for a few weeks.