Granderson or Swisher? Who would you choose?

It is no secret the Yankees want to get their payroll under $189 million by 2014 in order to avoid the heavy luxury tax that baseball would put on them if their payroll is higher than $189 million. But in order to get to their payroll goals the Yankees are going to have to make some tough decisions as early as this upcoming off season. Nick Swisher is on the final year of his contract; so if Russell Martin. Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson have one more year left before they become free agents.

The Yankees are serious about bringing the payroll down, and realistically speaking they cannot afford to keep all four players. It is pretty obvious they will keep Cano, and they probably should try to extend his contract this off season. Russell Martin has had a horrible year offensively, although he has been hitting very well in the month of September. Still Martin is a very good defense catcher, he works well with the pitchers and calls a good game. The Yankees have some good young catchers in the minor leagues but they are not necessarily ready to take over yet. Austin Romine could be someone the Yankees take a look at to see if he could be the the everyday catcher, but he did get hurt this year and missed a significant amount of time with a back injury. Russell could come back on perhaps a cheap two-year deal, while the Yankees wait for Gary Sanchez who many think is the long-term catcher for the Yankees.

So that leaves Swisher and Granderson. You have to believe that long-term the Yankees can’t keep both. Maybe they resign Swisher… maybe they let him walk. They could keep Granderson until 2013 and then let him walk, or they could trade him, or even extend his contract. But thinking long-term which one is the better option?

A year ago Granderson was having a very good year, he came in fourth in the AL MVP voting. He hit a career high 41 HRs, he had 119 RBI, stole 25 bases, had 153 hits, scored 136 runs, his OPS was .916, his OBP .364, a SLG of .552, and a avg of .262.

This year though, Granderson’s numbers have gone down. Yes he has 40 home runs but look at everything else. His strikeouts are up, he had 169 last year and so far this year he has about 189, he could probably reach 200 strikeouts this year! He is batting an abysmal .227, he only has 9 stolen bases!! The stolen bases part really annoys me because he has speed and he doesn’t utilize it. I know he is striking out a lot but still, especially with the Yankees missing that speed element most of the year with Gardner out, I felt like Granderson was the one who need to help the Yankees out in that department and he didn’t. There is six games left in the regular season and Granderson doesn’t even have 100 RBI’s yet, he only has 97. No one on the Yankees has 100 RBI’s yet but still. His hits are down to 130 so far, he has scored fewer runs with 96. His walks are down as well; last year he had 85 walks, this year he has 72.

It seems like ever since Kevin Long did that mechanical adjustment with Granderson back in late 2010, Granderson has just changed as a player. Yes he always struck out a lot, but he is striking out too much. He is barely stealing any bases, his average is not good. And defensively Granderson certainly isn’t the best out there, you could actually possibly say he is slightly below average.

While Granderson does hit 30-40 home runs now with the Yankees, and he will give you 90-100 RBIs there are a lot of things to consider. Is this really a guy the Yankees want to give a 5 or 6 year deal too??

Then there is Swisher. Swisher’s numbers have been pretty consistent with the Yankees. You can usually expect 20-30 home runs, probably around 90 RBIs, average maybe around .260. Swisher hasn’t really hit in the postseason while with the Yankees so that is a concern, but hopefully he will change that this post season, if the Yankees get there and I think they will.

But the point is you know what you are getting from Swisher. Apart from that Swisher is a good defender, he has power, he can hit in different spots in the lineup making him very versatile. He can hit 2nd, he can hit 5th or 6th or 7th. Besides playing RF he can also play first base which has proven to be quite valuable for the Yankees these past few weeks with Teixeira out. Plus Swisher is a switch-hitter which is always nice to have in your lineup. Swisher also brings another element that I think is very important for the Yankees, his personality! In a clubhouse where a lot of the players are just so business-like, Swisher brings fun and energy to the clubhouse. He makes things interesting and pumps up the team. His love for the game shows every time he takes the field.

Now both players have become fan favorites, but with the new payroll situation, they can’t both stay. The Yankees have options. As said earlier they could keep Swisher and trade Granderson, or keep Granderson and let him walk in 2014. The OF free agent class this off season will probably be headlined by Josh Hamilton but I am sure the Yankees won’t be going after him. After Hamilton well there is not much exciting players. There have been reports that the Yankees could be interested in Cody Ross, and he wouldn’t be a bad signing on a short cheap deal. The Yankees also have Chris Dickerson who I think given the chance to play everyday can be a very good player for them. He has speed, he is a pretty good defender, he has a bit of power and a good bat. If need be the Yankees can move Gardner to CF and have Dickerson play LF and let Swisher play RF. Or they could keep Gardner at LF and Granderson at CF and Dickerson at RF, or get someone else, or keep Swisher.

The Yankees have some good OF prospects in the minor leagues, most notably Tyler Austin, but they are all still a couple of years away from coming up. In the meantime the Yankees need to make a decision, and it won’t be an easy one.

So here is the question. If you were the Yankees what would you do? Who would you keep?? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Phelps critical piece for present and future.

After having a very good Spring Training for the Yankees, he won the 2012 James P. Dawson Award which is given to 1 outstanding rookie each year at Spring Training, Phelps made the team as the long-man. So far this year in the majors Phelps has put up some very good numbers, both in relief and in the starting role. Phelps has a 1-3 record, with a pretty good 2.89 ERA. In 43.2 innings pitched, Phelps has given up 37 hits, 15 runs, 14 earned runs, he was walked 17 and struck out 46, with a WHIP of 1.24. Those are pretty good numbers.

Phelps has provided the Yankees not only with pitching depth but also with versatility. A starter in the minors, Phelps has pitched quite a few innings in relief for the Yankees this season. He is a guy that can give you some innings out of the bullpen if needed, but he is also a guy that can give you some starts. Earlier in the year Phelps got an opportunity to start as Freddy Garcia struggled as the number 5 starter. Before Andy Pettitte made his 2012 debut with the Yankees, Phelps made 2 starts and although he got the loss in one of them and a no decision in the other he still pitched well. First major league start against the Royals he gave up a couple of runs in 4 innings but his second start he went 5 innings and didn’t allow a run. Since Phelps had been working out of the bullpen before these starts he was not stretched out so he wasn’t able to go deeper into the games. But he did show the Yankees that he can indeed be Major league starter.

Now back with the team after getting sent down (Yankees wanted him to get some work in as a starter since he wasn’t really pitching out of the bullpen), Phelps is back with the team and hopefully he is here to stay. Yankees plan on using him out of the bullpen to give them some innings and “do the job Corey Wade used to do.” But don’t be surprised if Phelps is asked to start a few games until Pettitte returns from his injury, especially if Garcia continues to struggle.

Presently, Phelps gives the Yankees options. But he is also an important part for the Yankees going forward. The Yankees want to get their payroll down to $189 million by 2014, and in order to achieve that goal they need their youngsters in the Minors to produce in the Majors. So far Phelps has shown that he can be successful in the Majors. By next year, the Yankees should give him an opportunity in Spring Training to fight for a spot in the rotation. Just 25 years old, Phelps cost is relatively low and he is under team control for quite some time, and the Yankees need that in order to achieve their payroll goals. Along with Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda (once he is healthy), Phelps would be another young, relatively cheap pitcher in the rotation. With the veteran Ace CC Sabathia leading the way, the Yankees could have a pretty good rotation. Knowing the Yankees they would probably want another veteran in there, but Phelps only adds to the pitching depth the Yankees could have and he is someone that can really help out his team.

David Phelps is someone the Yankees need to keep on their team because he is showing that he is a very valuable player for this team.

Yankees Starting Pitching key to success

The New York Yankees finally seem to have everything working for them as they beat the Nationals today 5-3 after 14 long innings to extend their win streak to eight. The bullpen has been very, very good, despite losing Mariano Rivera for the year,and David Robertson for a little bit over a month, although Robertson returned last night as he pitched the 9th inning in the Yankees 7-2 win. But now with “Houdini” back, the Yankees bullpen will only be stronger, as Soriano continues to dominate as the closer, and Robertson will continue his dominance in the eighth. Boone Logan and Corey Wade (despite giving up the game-tying Home run to Ian Desmond today in the 8th inning) have also been very good, along with Cody Eppley and Clay Rapada. The Yankee offense, despite having troubles with RISP, keep cranking out those homeruns, and Teixeira did get a double in the 14 th inning today, allowing Jeter and Nix to score to give the Yankees the lead. Granderson also had a big double yesterday to give the Yankees a bit of a cushion, so perhaps that is changing. But perhaps the biggest key to the Yankees success so far has been their starting pitching.

The Yankee starters have been excellent. According to fangraph.com, the last two weeks the Yankee starters have gone 10-1 with an excellent 1.83 ERA. Surprisingly the pitcher who has done the worst of the bunch has been CC Sabathia, who hasn’t been as sharp as he usually is this year but is still able to go out there and win ballgames for the Yankees. Ivan Nova has continued his winning ways and has pitched pretty well as of late. After a lot of up and down outings, Kuroda seems to have found a good groove. After coming back from retirement, Andy Pettitte has been very good for the Yankees, as he has provided great pitching for the Yankees and also great advice for the younger guys in the rotation, such as Phil Hughes who has seem to have found himself as of late. Hughes has won his last three decisions, starting with that exceptional performance against the Tigers where he threw 9 innings, while giving up only 1 run and 4 hits. After getting off to a slow start, Hughes seems much more confident out on the mound, as he has taken an “aggressive” approach, and also seems to have had make a bit of a mechanical adjustment, hiding his pitches a bit better to be more deceptive.

At the beginning of the year, the only sure thing in this rotation was Sabathia. Everyone else was just a bunch of question marks with huge potential, particularly Hughes. But now in June, with a third of the season over with, and the Yankees currently in first place, the rotation seems to have reached its potential. As always there is still rumors running around that the Yankees might be interested in possibly pitching trades for Matt Garza or Ryan Dempster or anyone else who might be available. But quite frankly the Yankee rotation is proving that it can be good and as long as everyone stays healthy they should be fine. They do have Freddy Garcia if they need him, though that is not that reassuring. But they also have David Phelps back in the minors, where he will be getting stretched out and continue getting his work done as a starter. Yankees also have Adam Warren who has been pitching very well if they need some help. Don’t forget the Killer B’s, although they have been struggling a bit, and they also have DJ Mitchell. Basically the Yankees should be good in the pitching department.

Ivan Nova takes the mound tomorrow as the Yankees try to extend their winning streak to nine in a row.

Yankees 6 Rays 7 – The Good, the Bad, and Mo

After months of waiting, Opening Day for the Yankees finally arrived. With a pitching match up of C.C. Sabathia vs James Shields, you knew it was going to be a great game. And it was, despite the fact that the Yankees lost in extra innings. It was actually the first time that the Yankees lost a Opening Day game in extra innings since 1980. So here is a look at some of the good things and the bad things.

THE GOOD:

1. Raul Ibanez

After a very slow Spring Training, Raul Ibanez showed some signs of life as he hit a 3 run HR off of Shields, to give the Yankees a 6 – 4 lead at the time.

2. Alex Rodriguez

After having another good Spring Training, Alex continued to hit the ball as he ended the day with a walk, a single and a double, while also scoring a couple of runs.

3. David Robertson

David Robertson came in to pitch the 8th inning, and made his Yankees 2012 debut with his famous “Houdini act”. After walking Sean Rodriguez and allowing a single to Carlos Pena, with no outs and 2 men on 1st and 3rd, Robertson struck out the next 3 batters to get out of the inning with the lead. Molina and Joe Maddon did help out David a bit as Molina attempted a suicide squeeze with 2 strikes but ended up fouling off the ball.

THE BAD:

There was probably more bad then good in this game, and it is only the 1st game of the season but some of these things are something the Yankees need to watch out for.

1. C.C. Sabathia

Now C.C. did not pitch well today, and neither did James Shields so there is some consolation in that. But its not all bad because as C.C always does, he kept the Yankees in the game and gave them a chance to win. Yes aces should win games, not keep their team “in the game” but C.C. did not really have his fastball command today, he got hit hard. But he still found a way to give us 6 innings and maintain the Rays at 5 runs.

2. Curtis Granderson

Although the Rays had some sort of shift for a lot of the Yankee players, they had one for Curtis Granderson tonight, and it seemed to hurt him because Granderson went 0-5. Hopefully this shift won’t be something that all the teams start using, but if it is, Granderson needs to start working on beating it.

3. The offense with RISP

Once again, the Yankees had quite a few opportunities to get a bigger lead and actually win the game, but they didn’t. They had the bases loaded twice and really didn’t do anything. They ended up 2-11 with RISP and stranded 10 runners. They did this a lot last year, and already this year they are not getting off to a good start.

After months of waiting, Opening Day for the Yankees finally arrived. With a pitching match up of C.C. Sabathia vs James Shields, you knew it was going to be a great game. And it was, despite the fact that the Yankees lost in extra innings. It was actually the first time that the Yankees lost a Opening Day game in extra innings since 1980. So here is a look at some of the good things and the bad things.

THE GOOD:

1. Raul Ibanez

After a very slow Spring Training, Raul Ibanez showed some signs of life as he hit a 3 run HR off of Shields, to give the Yankees a 6 – 4 lead at the time.

2. Alex Rodriguez

After having another good Spring Training, Alex continued to hit the ball as he ended the day with a walk, a single and a double, while also scoring a couple of runs.

3. David Robertson

David Robertson came in to pitch the 8th inning, and made his Yankees 2012 debut with his famous “Houdini act”. After walking Sean Rodriguez and allowing a single to Carlos Pena, with no outs and 2 men on 1st and 3rd, Robertson struck out the next 3 batters to get out of the inning with the lead. Molina and Joe Maddon did help out David a bit as Molina attempted a suicide squeeze with 2 strikes but ended up fouling off the ball.

THE BAD:

There was probably more bad then good in this game, and it is only the 1st game of the season but some of these things are something the Yankees need to watch out for.

1. C.C. Sabathia

Now C.C. did not pitch well today, and neither did James Shields so there is some consolation in that. But its not all bad because as C.C always does, he kept the Yankees in the game and gave them a chance to win. Yes aces should win games, not keep their team “in the game” but C.C. did not really have his fastball command today, he got hit hard. But he still found a way to give us 6 innings and maintain the Rays at 5 runs.

2. Curtis Granderson

Although the Rays had some sort of shift for a lot of the Yankee players, they had one for Curtis Granderson tonight, and it seemed to hurt him because Granderson went 0-5. Hopefully this shift won’t be something that all the teams start using, but if it is, Granderson needs to start working on beating it.

3. The offense with RISP

Once again, the Yankees had quite a few opportunities to get a bigger lead and actually win the game, but they didn’t. They had the bases loaded twice and really didn’t do anything. They ended up 2-11 with RISP and stranded 10 runners. They did this a lot last year, and already this year they are not getting off to a good start. Again, it is only the 1st game of the season, but this is the same problem the Yankees had last year, and they won’t win the WS if they keep leaving RISP.

4. Joe Girardi

Yeah Joe Girardi is in the bad today. Joe usually is a very good manager, but sometimes he over manages. Sometimes he relies too much on his little binder instead of going with his gut. In the 1st inning C.C. got into some trouble. After walking Desmond Jennings, allowing a single to Evan Longoria, with two outs and two on, Joe decides to tell C.C. to intentionally walk Sean Rodriguez to get to Carlos Pena. Why? Because Sean Rodriguez has a higher career avg against C.C. then Carlos. But Carlos is clearly the more dangerous hitter. But instead, Joe went with the numbers and he payed for it, because Carlos ended up hitting a Grand Slam which temporarily gave the Rays a 4-0 lead.

Then there was the 9th inning. Mariano came up and you would expect the Yankees to win the game. But with a 1 run lead anything can happen. And it did. Mariano did not have good command and so he struggled. After a single by Desmond Jennings and then a triple by Ben Zobrist which ended up tying the game, Joe decided to make things more complicated. With no outs, he tells Mo to intentionally walk Evan Longoria AND Luke Scott. So now the bases are loaded and there are no outs. It basically felt like Joe wanted to lose the game. He then decided to take Swisher out of the game and bring in Eduardo Nunez. So now with 5 infielders and 2 outfielders, Mo does manage to strike out Sean Rodriguez, but once again here comes Carlos, and you could just tell the game was over for the Yankees. How could it not be? And of course, Carlos Pena gets the game winning hit, and the Rays win.

5. Mariano Rivera

Yes MO is also in the bad because he blew the save. But it happens.

So there we have it, the good and the bad. The best thing about this game though was that it was a nail bitter from beginning to end. It almost felt like a playoff game, and its only the 1st game of the season. No matter whats happens, baseball is back and we need to enjoy each and every game:)

Behind The Pinstripes

The Yankees starting rotation has no doubt gotten a lot better then what they had last year. With the additions of Hiroki Kuroda, Michael Pineda, and the return of Andy Pettitte, who is out of retirement, the Yankees have a lot of depth for their starting rotation. But with five spots and seven pitchers, someone is going to be disappointed.

1. C.C. Sabathia

C.C. Sabathia has been nothing short of an Ace since he came to New York back in 2009, so its obvious that he has a spot locked up before Spring Training even starts. Sabathia is a work horse and he is the leader of this staff.

2. Hiroki Kuroda

Kuroda is a veteran pitcher the Yankees got in the off season, giving him a 1 year, $10 million deal. Kuroda was said to have a rotation spot locked down early in the Spring, which makes sense. Although…

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Predicting the Yankees Starting Rotation

The Yankees starting rotation has no doubt gotten a lot better then what they had last year. With the additions of Hiroki Kuroda, Michael Pineda, and the return of Andy Pettitte, who is out of retirement, the Yankees have a lot of depth for their starting rotation. But with five spots and seven pitchers, someone is going to be disappointed.

1. C.C. Sabathia

C.C. Sabathia has been nothing short of an Ace since he came to New York back in 2009, so its obvious that he has a spot locked up before Spring Training even starts. Sabathia is a work horse and he is the leader of this staff.

2. Hiroki Kuroda

Kuroda is a veteran pitcher the Yankees got in the off season, giving him a 1 year, $10 million deal. Kuroda was said to have a rotation spot locked down early in the Spring, which makes sense. Although Kuroda is going to have to adjust to pitching in a hitter’s ball park as well as face some pretty good tough lineups not only in the AL East, but in the American League in general, he is still a veteran who knows how to pitch and adds experience and knowledge to this Yankees rotation.

3. Phil Hughes

After coming off a pretty bad season last year, Phil Hughes has looked very, very good this Spring Training. In fact, one could argue that out of all the Yankee starters Phil has pitched the best. Its good to see Hughes coming to camp in great shape and throwing the ball so well. Although the Yankees haven’t officially announced it, Hughes has a spot locked down. And judging by his spring starts, it looks like he is ready to have a big year.

4. Ivan Nova

Although Ivan hasn’t had a very good spring, in fact its been a very ugly spring for him, his last two starts have been better. But considering how good Nova was last year, it is hard to imagine him not making the rotation. After all it is only Spring Training and Nova is an important piece of this rotation, not only for this year, but for the future as well.

Now the last spot in the rotation is where things get tricky. Originally, even though Pineda has not had a good spring either, especially with all the concerns of him coming in over weight, not having his velocity, I still believed Pineda would be in the rotation, which would have sent Freddy Garcia to the bullpen.

However the Yankees did say that the loser of the rotation battle would not necessarily go to the bullpen, implying that either Nova or Pineda could have started the year in Triple A. Personally, I would have been fine with Pineda starting the year in Triple A. It would have given him a chance to really just work on his pitches and try to get his velocity back without the pressure of pitching in MLB games with the media constantly on him.

Unfortunately, Pineda said today that he felt some soreness on his right shoulder, which could account for why he gave up 6 runs in 2.2 innings in today’s 13-9 win over the Phillies. Pineda is scheduled to have an MRI tomorrow morning, and hopefully it doesn’t end up being anything serious. But if Pineda is indeed injured, then this opens the door for Garcia to grab that 5th starter role.

If that indeed is the case, then that opens another door for some of the Yankees pitching prospects and gives them a chance to make the team. D.J. Mitchell, David Phelps and Adam Warren have been said to be in the mix for that long man role in the bullpen if Garcia indeed does get a rotation spot.

Of course, once Andy Pettitte is ready to join the rotation, probably sometime in May, someone else is going to get booted out of the rotation. Whoever is pitching the worst is probably going to be the one who gets knocked out.

Another thought to keep in mind is that if Pineda is injured, he is going to come back eventually so then what happens to him? Does he get sent down to the minors? Does fight for a rotation spot?

Either way, too much pitching is a good problem to have, even though it means that Joe Girardi and the Yankees need to make some tough decisions. But the baseball season is a long one, and injuries are bound to happen, and usually these kinds of things figure out themselves. The important thing is that the Yankees are rich and deep in pitching, not just at the major league level but at the minor league level as well. So whatever happens during the season, they will be ready.

It might be best to forget about Hamels, Cain.

Cole Hamels and Matt Cain are expected to be Free Agents after the 2012 season. That is if their teams don’t give them an extension. Before the Yankees made the trade that sent Hector Noesi and Jesus Montero to Seattle for Micheal Pineda and Jose Campos, as well as the signing of Hiroki Kuroda, I really thought that the Yankees should go hard after these two, assuming they did get to Free Agency. But now, I think that the Yankees are in good shape in terms of pitching.

Now I do acknowledge the fact that it really doesn’t make sense for the Phillies and the Giants to just let these two become Free Agents. Good pitching is hard to get, especially good young pitchers. So if you’re a MLB team and you have good young pitching, you don’t let them walk away, unless of course you just can’t afford to keep them, and it happens. The Phillies are an aging team, and Hamels has proven to be a very good pitcher, and he is still young. It would be crazy for them not to lock him up. For the Giants not only do they have to worry about Cain but also Lincecum. I don’t know if the Giants can even afford to keep both of them, but I am sure they will try their hardest.

But let’s just hypothetically say that for some reason, these two became free agents. What then? If you were the Yankees would you go after them? Before these two acquisitions I would have said yes, but no I am saying no. Why?

Well for starters the Yankees recently acquired Micheal Pineda from the Mariners. This kid is only 23 years old. While he did kind of tail of in the second half of the season, it was his first year as a starter. There could be many reasons. Maybe he experienced fatigue from pitching so many innings. Either way this kid has good stuff.Now since he is only 23 he still has some developing to go through, and many people have said that he needs to develop a third pitch, specifically a change up. But we have Larry Rothschild and I am sure that once Pineda gets settled in they will work on that. But if he develops this change up, this kid could become a #1 or #2 pitcher.

The Yankees also got Jose Campos, a 19yr RH who is also said to be a very good pitcher. But the Yankees also have other young pitchers in the Minors with a lot of potential. They have the Killer B’s- Betances and Bannuelos, they have Adam Warren, David Phelps.

By adding Pineda and Kuroda, these kiddies now have more time in the minors to fully develop, especially the B’s.

Also, don’t forget the Yankees already have Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes, two young pitchers that have shown they can be really good. Phil has had some injury issues, but we are all expecting him to bounce back.

From what Cashman and the Yankees have done, I think that suddenly this rotation is going to be good not only this year, but for quite some time. Look at this way, once Freddy and Kuroda are gone, and AJ, the rotation is still going to be really good, because we have all these young pitchers.

We have CC for about 4 or 5 more years, we have Ivan Nova, now we have Pineda, we have Phil Hughes, and of course we have the Bs, Phelps and Warren when they come up. The Yankees have put themselves in a position were pretty soon they can have a really good young rotation. Plus most of these kids aren’t going to cost much for a while.

Now obviously besides CC, none of these kids are a SURE thing such as Hammels and Cain. But they are all still young and still developing and still need to prove themselves. But when you have a good young pitcher with a lot of potential, you need to take that risk, otherwise you could be giving up the next Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia, Tim Lincecum, etc. You could also be getting a not so good pitcher, but risks must be taken.

Even though Hamels and Cain probably won’t reach Free Agency, even if they did, the Yankees are in good shape.