Recent Yankee News

As this is one of my final posts (at least in terms of this class), I would like to thank everyone for commenting and reading my blog! Maybe I will keep this up as the semester comes to an end, and over Winter. Check back to see!

To respond to some comments, I agree with Adam Meyer that Bubba Crosby should get the start in center field for next season. As they have taken a chance on Robinson Cano, Crosby could prove to be vital to them as Cano did. Also, they resigned Matsui, so that is good news, as everyone wanted that to happen! To Matt Fox, I really do not know if their outfield is in trouble or not. With Matsui and Sheffield in left and right and the center field spot still open, who knows where the Yankees will run with that. That brings me to my first topic, Bernie Williams. Everyone knows that he is getting older and he has not been producing for the Yankees as he usually did. Derek Jeter and Joe Torre have backed Bernie, saying they would like to see him stay. Joe Torre is quoted as saying, "I certainly have a closeness with him and I've talked to him a couple of times, but he understands that it's probably going to be a decision that's made later on."(www.yankees.com) So as of now, it is unsure of Bernie's status. He may be downgraded to a back up outfielder, which will be good that he is still a Yankee, but almost disrespectful after all the years and good things he has done for that team.
In terms of some of you agreeing/disagreeing with A-Rod being MVP, I would like to think that although his performance in the post-season was below average, throughout the whole season (which the award covers), he was a dominant force for the Yankees, and that is why he won the award. Also, the team as a whole did not play well in the post-season, and its hard to place the blame on one player. All us fans can do is have faith that next season will be just as successful, if not hopefully more successful, than this past one.
Did anyone else know that Tino Martinez's $3 million option for 2006 was declined by the Yankees? That is disappointing, he is getting old and was not too valuable to the organization this past year, but I have always been a fan of him, even when he was playing with other teams. He has said on the Yankees website that a few teams have contacted him about playing, but he is very interested in working in the front office of the Yankees ( aren't we all!!!) or coaching.
In terms of new players for the Yanks, many minor leaguers have been added to the 40 man roster, including Trenton Thunder alums ( I know you are tired of me talking about the Trenton Thunder by now) Matt DeSalvo, 25, was 9-5 with a 3.02 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) for Double-A Trenton in 2005, earning a spot in the Eastern League All-Star Game, Jeff Karstens 23, ranked second in the Eastern League with 12 wins in 2005, posting a 12-11 record and a 4.15 ERA in 28 games (27 starts) for Double-A Trenton, and Kevin Thompson, 25, led all Yankees Minor Leaguers with 43 combined stolen bases at Double-A and Triple-A in 2005. He began the season with Trenton and was selected to participate in the Eastern League All-Star Game after batting .329 with 12 homers and 43 RBIs in 81 games. In terms of center fielders, Brian Giles has been contacted by the Yankees, with no big news as of yet, but it seems to be the Yanks are pretty interested in him. Pitcher Scott Eyre has also been contacted, but recently signed with the Chicago Cubs. Let us hope that the Yankees pitching problems will finally be behind them next season and they will contend for the World Series in 2006.
To end this post, I wanted to leave you guys with this, I thought it was cool. How many things can you do with your cell phone nowadays? You can text the word "YANKEES" to 65246 and receive automatic Yankee updates and some breaking news. ...only for $3.99 a month. I guess big enough fans would definetly go for that! And even if you are not a Yankees fan, I am sure the same can be done with your favorite team!

Thanks for reading my blog...and on a closing note...GO NEW YORK YANKEES!

New York Yankees update

For the biggest Yankee news, Alex Rodriguez has been named MVP for the American League. This is great news for A-Rod and for Yankee fans, as he beat out his rival David Ortiz, of the hated Red Sox, for the award. There he is on the left! Ortiz finished second in the voting. Complete awards coverage, including each League's MVP, Cy Young winners, and managers of the year for all of you Baseball fans out there can be found by clicking on that link! This is Rodriguez's second AL MVP of his career. This year, he had a .321 batting average, 130 Runs Batted In, and 48 home runs. His stellar play at third base is what most likely put him over Ortiz to win the award, as he is a Designated Hitter, and does not play the field much, if at all. Votes were cast before the postseason, which was good news for both A-Rod and Big Papi. Rodriguez went 2-for-15 in the Yankees' ALDS loss to the Angels, while Ortiz had just one RBI as the Red Sox were swept out of the playoffs by the White Sox in the opening round. Also, the Yankees beating the Sox in the divisional series helped Rodriguez tremendously, as he went 4-5 that day in Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox's home field. It is time to boast some more Yankees greatness: this is the 19th time a member of the team won the MVP award, more than any other team in history. The last Yankee to win the award came in 1985 with Don Mattingly taking it home. In other related news, Torre finished third in voting for Manager of the Year (really though, how could he have won when the White Sox won the World Series for the first time in 85 some odd years?)
In terms of the Yankee's future, talks with Hidecki Matsui are still continuing. His contract with the Yanks is expired. Last week, Brian Cashman met with his agent Arn Tellem, but no proposals were exchanged. The Bronx Bombers have until tomorrow to make an offer. As of right now, I have not heard anything of an offer made to him. If they do not resign him, this will not fare well with fans or teammates. Matsui is a solid player and would like to stay with the Yankees, but as many other big name players, would like more money.
Also in terms of the future, members of the Yankees farm team have been doing very well in the Arizona fall league. Eric Duncan, although he was not very solid when I watched him play this past summer, and their first choice in the 2003 draft (by the way he is from New Jersey.!!) is hitting close to .400 out in the west coast, definetly up from this past summer. Eric Duncan can be seen next to A-Rod up top!Chien Ming Wang has also fared well this past season with 17 stars and went 8-5. Trenton Thunder pitchers Matt DeSalvo and Jeff Karstens pitched well this past season, 3.02 and 4.15 ERA, respectively, and will most likely make the move to Colombus (the Yankees AAA team) soon....and scouts say, New York closely to follow, pending on their success in Ohio. This is important for New York because they usually get rid of young players for more experienced, high price/high profile players. This is telling them that if they keep Wang and allow him to develop, they may not need to go out and spend twenty million dollars on a pitcher.

New Coaches

To answer your comments, it seems like everyone assures me that Larry Bowa will be a good addition to the Yankees staff. Alright, I believe you guys. I do not know for how long he signed for. I am glad Kyle agrees with me that Derek Jeter is the best shortstop the Yankees had, and they did not replace A-Rod with him, although he is a quality player, and shortstop. I think you have to give Jeter credit for being the team captain for however many years and excelling at that position, there was no need to rid him of it. I am glad everyone enjoys my new blog! I must send a HUGE thank you to one Jackie Dapolito for helping me make my blog as amazing as it is! Thanks! Eric, I would not be surprised if Griffey joined the team, as you are correct in the fact that the orgainization usually goes after big name guys like him. It would not hurt to get another power hitter on the team as well, since during the playoffs the Yankees shot themselves in the foot with regards to hitting and offense. I think there are a lot of years left in Jeter though, and he will most likely make it to the Hall of Fame one day. It would be hard for him to break Don Mattingly's record though, as a record like that probably stands the test of time. Matt, you are correct in saying that Ron Guirdy, who did indeed pitch for the Yankees, is the new pitching coach. They do like to bring back former players to help coach. This is probably because the Yankees culture is one that is unlike any other team in baseball, and only people who have lived through it can really understand and appreciate it. The "Gator" is still in the Yanks' top 10 pitchers for winning percentage, wins, games pitched, innings pitched, strikeouts and shut outs. This announcement was made Friday , along with the new bullpen coach Joe Kerrigan. He joined the Yanks last season as a special advisor to Brian Cashman, doing in-house advance scouting for them. Also, (whew), Tony Pena was named first base coach. He was a manager for the Kansas City Royals from May 2002-May 2005. He won the AL manager of the year award in 2003. Lastly, Lee Mazzilli, who managed the O's for a year and a half, will be the bench coach. He will also be the catching coach, a position held by Girardi last season, and help Cano in his sophomore season. By the way, in case anyone was worried that Cano was leaving the Yanks, this is definetly FALSE. The Yanks have said they are holding onto Cano and Chien-Ming Wang for next year. This is something different for the Yanks, as they usually let go of young players, ie Alfonso Soriano. My last piece of news for the week is that Robinson Cano definetly got shafted for the Rookie of the Year Award, to answer your question Matt. He finished second behind Oakland close Huston Street. He earned 57 points to Street's 97 points. I totally agree wtih Dom Amore, a writer from the Hartford Courant, who explalins why he voted for Cano, "Although Street's numbers were incredibly impressive," Amore said. "I felt that everyday players have to weigh a little heavier." Tampa Bays' Jonny Gomes finished behind Cano. Maybe I am biased because I am a Yankee fan, but Oakland did not do any better than the Yanks in the playoffs, and did you know that Cano lead ALL AL hitters on the road with a .335 batting average on the road? What do you guys think about Cano being second?The only recent Yankee to win the ROY award is my favorite Derek Jeter, who won in 1996. Matsui was second in 2003 behind Angel Berroa (who is he anyway).

Check out my new and improved blog

Since the World Series is over, I decided it was time for a new poll to be introduced. Sorry to say, but no one got the poll correct! It is ok, because I did not even put up that the White Sox would win the series as an option! But now this should be an interesting poll, so definetly check it out and vote! I also put in links to www.majorjleaguebaseball.com and foxsports.com on my links side, so go look at it and check out whats going on in baseball around the country and what is happening in other sports!
Two major things happened in the Yankees orgainization since I just posted yesterday! It is confirmed that Larry Bowa will be the third base coach of the Yankees, and my favorite player Derek Jeter won his second straight Gold Glove! Last year, he was the first Yankee to win it at short stop, giving the Bombers a gold glove at every position in their history. Impressive, huh?! The Gold Glove award is given to the best fielders at each position. Here, you can read the full article. Just one more comment about the Gold Glove is that my other favorite Yankee, Don Mattingly, is the leader for the Yanks with Gold Gloves with an impressive 10 at first base!

Additional Information

Here is a picture of the past/present/future Yankees GM Brian Cashman at his press conference on Thursday announcing his three year extension.


Also, in terms of my web poll, no one was correct! I supposse that is my fault though, because I did not even put the White Sox as an option. I guess that is how unpredictable the World Series, and sports for that matter, cand be! Look for a new poll soon to vote on!

Some new changes

Hello everyone! My first piece of news is about the future of the Yankees' center fielder, Bernie Williams. He has been in their outfield for the past 15 years, but in the upcoming 2006 season, he will be a free agent, and New York has made it no secret that they are looking for a replacement. Some big names that have been thrown around are Johnny Damon of the Red Sox and Ken Griffey Jr of the Reds, two quality outfielders. However, I do not feel Damon will join the "dark" New York side, (although Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs did), but Griffey could definetly spark some interest of the Yanks, especially because they could afford his eight figure salary. I think they should keep it in house and give Hideki Matsui or Bubba Crosby a chance. What do you guys think?
As Theo Epstein stepped down from the Red Sox as their GM today, last Thursday Yankees GM Brian Cashman announced he will return for his ninth season at the helm in the Bronx. He agreed to a three-year contract extension. I am excited to learn that he was once a Minor League intern and worked his way up to be the GM. Hmm, maybe all of those days of me being a Minor League intern could pay off after all! This contract extension will take the team until they move into their new staidum in 2009. Interestingly enough, the forever talked about item of the New York Yankees, their $200+ million dollar payroll, is something Cashman wants to reduce. I think this is a good idea, because although I am a fan, I think their payroll is a bit ridiculous and maybe not having high end players at each position will help them. Obviously, the best players will be paid the most, but to find a mix of players who will play like a team and not individuals is a huge task that not many teams/managers can do.
To wrap up the week's activities, the Yanks will probably look to keep Matsui on so they can concentrate on a center fielder, and will look at other pitching prospects to offset injuries like Carl Pavano, although he is assuming to be healthy to play by next April when the season starts.
To answer my fan mail, (or just my blog comments) as pinstripes mentioned, I am also a little wary of Larry Bowa joining the coaching staff. He is only the third base coach, but I know Phillies fans did not like him and he was ousted quickly. I am glad Matt posted about the All-Latino team that Alex Rodriguez made, although I thought he was born in New York? Can anyone clarify that for me?
On a last side note, Gary Sheffield and A-Rod were awarded Silver Slugger awards, which are awarded by managers and coaches who voted on the best offensive players for each position. A-Rod, who had won it before in 1996 and 1998-2003, won it for third base, and Sheff won the award for having the best offensive production in right field. A-Rod is also up for the AL MVP and a gold glove. Other Silver Slugger winners in the AL were Texas' Mark Teixeira and Alfonso Soriano, Baltimore's Miguel Tejada, Los Angeles' Vladimir Guerrero, and Boston's Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz and Jason Varitek.

Yankees Update

I will admit that in the beginning of the semester, I thought the Yanks would still be playing now and I would be able to write about the World Series. Or even the American League Divisional Series. Now for the next 5 or 6 weeks or so, I pray that enough interesting things happen within the Yankees orgainization that I can continue posting! Well, it turns out that the Yanks did not hire Leo Mazzone as their new pitching coach. Instead, he will be working with the Baltimore O's right down 95 from us. Turns out that he and Baltimore's manager, Sam Perlozzo, are best friends. Coincidence? I think not! Here to the right is Leo Mazzone himself. According to www.yankees.com, The club has some in-house candidates, including bullpen coach Neil Allen, former Yankees left-hander and current spring instructor Ron Guidry and Triple-A Columbus pitching coach Gil Patterson. They are also looking outside of the team with Dave Righetti, who pitched for them from 1979-90, or White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper. Cooper may be a good choice for them, as the White Sox are in the race to win the World Series as of now! The other in-house news is that the Yanks are also looking for a new bench coach (why are they even important anyway, can someone explain that to me, other than if the manager gets thrown out) , as Joe Girardi accepted the Marlins job. Rumor was Don Mattingly would be up for the position, one of the greatest (in my opinion) Yankee players, especially at first base, but Torre seems to feel he is more valuable as the hitting coach, which he is!
This will be interesting news to all the Phillies fans out there, that former manager Larry Bowa was offered the Yankees' third base coaching job. There is no word yet on if he would take it or not. Presently he is a baseball commentator for ESPN and XM radio. His picture is up on the left. You can read more about Larry Bowa and the pending decsion here.
Some other good news is that Joe Torre, Yankees manager, would return for his 11th season. He is one of the best managers in baseball, and the Yankees need someone like him around to hopefully bring them closer to the World Series next season. Also, Brian Cashman's contract runs out next week, and there is no word yet if he will stay with the Yanks or not. I will definetly update when that decision is made.
In response to Jackie's comment, I never acutally listened to the Bernie Williams CD. It is funny that you acutally have it, is there any reason that you bought it? I am surprised it is even decent, as most athletes who try to make it in the music business do not do well. Can anyone remember when Shaq came out with his song?! But I do agree with Kyle that he should bow out gracefully, while he is on top.

New Pitching Coach?

Since Jackie enjoys my colors so much, I think I will keep changing them! Or at least until I get sick from them. Not much to report now. To answer Joann Pavone, I will mostly be updating my fellow Yankee fans on what is taking place during the off-season. I planned on talking about the Yankees American League Divisional win and the eventual World Series win, but I guess I'll have to wait until next year.
Ok I have a question for you, is anyone actually watching the playoffs now? I feel if the Yankees or Red Sox are not in the playoffs, it's not worth watching. But I did notice that the Chicago White Sox won the American League, almost sweeping Los Angeles. Do you think the Yankees could have beaten the White Sox? As for the National League, I know that Houston was leading the series 3 games to 1, but I believe St. Louis may win tonight, making the series tighter. I am still rooting for Houston. Who is everyone else rooting for?
The most interesting Yankee news to date is that Mel Stottlemyre, 11 year pitching coach for the Yanks, will be stepping down and the Yankees would like to hire Atlanta Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone to replace him. I agree with pinstripes that George Steinbrenner had something to do with his leaving. I think there will be plenty more changes to come as well in the near future. Brian Cashman, GM of the Yanks, has his contract up on Halloween of this year, and is rumored that he will leave as well. Along with Cashman, Joanne is correct in saying that Bernie Williams, long time center fielder for the Yanks, may be out of the door. I personally think he should retire, as he would end his career on a high note, and he is getting older and inevitably weaker and slower. That does not take away from his career of a great player though!
As pinstripes stated, many ex Yankee pitchers are still in the playoff hunt. I think many players cannot handle the pressure that playing in New York has on a person. The Yankees are known as one of the greatest teams in the world, and they are expected to win every season (especially with the payroll that they have) I still think Contreras was not that impressive, but El Duque could have probably stuck around and performed for a while. Clemens was not supposed to be playing again, but he wanted to be back home in Houston.
I will leave with a cheer for Houston!