The Genius Maker 4-20-12

Nova was excellent.  I still don’t know why he doesn’t get the respect of other pitchers.  I have been on his band wagon from the beginning and was ticked when he was sent down last year (makes me wonder if Girardi has a clue).  Nova has good stuff.  93-95 MPH fastball, a good curve and he threw his slider a lot too.  When he was struggling in Spring Training people talked about him being a possible send down…I don’t get it.  With the wind blowing out, getting Ibanez fail to catch a ball for a double and Swisher lose a ball in the sun for a double; Nova didn’t walk anyone and pitched great.

Back on Girardi.  He said that he felt they needed another arm instead of another fielder.  I think he is foolish if he really feels that way.  We have plenty of arms but when Ibanez or Andrew Jones are playing in the 9^th inning of a game you are winning, then you could use a defensive replacement.  Ibanez was up in the 8^th inning against a lefty that was brought in.  I would have brought in Nunez to pinch hit and then let him play LF (of course I would not have had Ibanez on my team, I would have let a young guy try and develop, but with Ibanez on the team I would have reached down in the minors anyway).  Truth to be told, Ibanez actually got a single (on a changeup) so he did come through and has been respectable, but then made a terrible base running play getting caught in a run down trying to get an extra base on a wild pitch with 1^st and 3^rd and one out.

Then Girardi continued his idiocy by going to Cody Eppley in the 9^th inning of a 6-2 game with the wind blowing out???  Are you kidding me?  Just go to Rivera and end the game, don’t mess around.  I called my brother (I was on delay) and said what the heck is Girardi doing with Cody Eppley?  Well at least after Eppley allowed the first guy on he took him right out, but that is just stupid.

Great game by Chavez with 2 dingers and Swisher added a good game himself along with ARod.  Martin hit a bomb and got robbed of a double on an outstanding catch by Jason Repko, the Red Sox CF’r.  The ball was behind him and it was simply great.

Swisher has 14 RBI, I think that leads the AL

Rivera looked good again and Robertson did his job along with Cory Wade.

Baltimore is losing as I right this which would put us in a tie with them.

Yanks win 6-2!

The Genius Maker 4-19-12

I know there were some great things to see in this game and clearly the 3 HR’s by Granderson (along with 5 hits) was a highlight of many.  However, I was very pleased to see the Genius Maker come into a 1 run game and face the 2-4 hitters and mow them down with the best cutter I have seen from him in a long time. The first pitch to Carroll was pretty straight, but then he threw a good one to get him out.  The one to Mauer moved like a sweeping slider and then he threw excellent ones to Willingham to close it out.

Back to the game…Hughes was very frustrating!  Yes, he got a bad break where Nunez continued his awful fielding as he threw a routine play away, but throw first pitch strikes for crying out loud!  Through the first 4 innings he faced 19 batters and 14 of them he threw a 1^st pitch ball.   He was settling down a little going into the 6^th inning and with a 7-4 lead I understood leaving him in there, but when he walked Morneau I was concerned.  After falling behind 1-0 he came in Doumit powered one out to close the game to 7-6.

Overall, Hughes did not pitch well falling behind, but he did use all of his pitches and showed that his slider and curve can both be used effectively.  He allowed some big hits on his changeup which needs to drop more rather than hang though.  His fastball has enough life, but his control of it is simply poor.  He rarely hit his targets.

Logan, Soriano, Robertson and Rivera shut it down though for the victory!

A few other points:

1. Jeter had a game tying hit in the 2^nd inning after getting a real bad call on a pitch that was on the other batters box; great job overcoming it!
2. Tex getting his 1^st homer was good to see; we need him to be the player he has been (or at least close)
3. Cano had a very rough game at the plate, but I still don’t understand not playing him in the field.  I understand resting guys, but IMO I let the guys play or take the full day off; all the way off!  No warming up…full rest.  Plus, when you have a terrible LF’r in Ibanez, having Nunez playing for Cano is a big drop off in defense
4. Speaking of this, I have no idea why the Yankees don’t bring up a good fielding OF’r rather than a pitcher you simply don’t need?  Having Ibanez in LF with a one run lead is just stupid; in fact, I would have brought Cano in to play 2^nd base and lost the DH while moving Nunez to LF.  This is a good reason why I wanted the young player on the team
5. Granderson was phenomenal, but up by 1 and a 2-2 count on ARod in the 8^th inning you don’t run until the count is full.  If the count was 0-2, I could see it, but you don’t take the bat out of ARod’s hand there.
6. The Yankees employed a rare "Tex" shift and Doumit beat them with it (It was a nice piece of "Jeter type" hitting an inside pitch to SS - for a lefty)

The Genius Maker 4-19

I want to say that I didn’t like Girardi’s lineup from the beginning.  The bad news is Gardner had to be put on the DL; his sliding catch appears to have also hurt his throwing arm slightly (although another source said his right arm).  This is hurts the team even more because Ibanez is a poor OF’r and now not keeping a Maxwell type of player hurts.  Ibanez had very little action (we were lucky) and a ball that hit on the warning track could have been caught by a better RF’r.  Not sure if Swisher would have made the play or not, it would have been close.  But Jones (who played left) was not able to get to a few plays that I think Gardner would have.  Knowing Gardner was not in the lineup giving ARod the day off was silly, especially when the announcers said he felt great in batting practice and was hitting bombs.

Now this is what I felt at the start of the game and in hindsight, Chavez was 1-2 so maybe not a huge deal, but Girardi did choose to pinch hit ARod in the 9^th inning but he grounded out.

If someone looked at the box score they would conclude Kuroda pitched like garbage.  I think he was very unlucky in the first inning (where he allowed 4 runs).  He actually made a lot of good pitches and they blooped and broken batted themselves to 4 hits.  He did make one mistake on a first pitch strike to Morneau that he homered on.  But he was throwing fine; his sinker wasn't sharp, but he wasn't as bad as the box score.  In contrast, the Yankees offense should have been embarrassed that they didn’t score more off of Marquis.  He was throwing mistake after mistake and we took advantage of some in the 1^st inning as we scored 3, but got unlucky as Chavez ripped a one hop line drive DP with the bases loaded and one out.  With the score 4-3 I felt we would win this game as Marquis had nothing and wasn’t hitting spots and I felt Kuroda would not be as unfortunate.

Neither team scored in the 2^nd (Marquis made more bad pitches) but in the 3^rd Morneau singled and moved to 3^rd after the double to RF I felt a better RF might have caught.  After a soft single to left on a good pitch scored another run it was 5-3.  Kuroda did not pitch as well in this inning, but it wasn’t very bad either.

The Yanks countered when Cano homered off another bad pitch by Marquis (there was at least one an AB).

Granderson had some good chances but was not able to come through; he was kind of the goat on offense, but many guys missed hittable pitches.  He also didn’t get to a ball I think he could have earlier in the game.

The Minnesota lineup had a ton of lefties so this was a prime situation to use our two lefties correctly.  After Kuroda struck out Willingham to start the 5^th, I said to myself this is where Girardi decides to let Kuroda throw to 100 pitches because he felt he was throwing well enough or just say it was one of those tough break games and bring in the lefty with Morneau up.  When he stuck with Kuroda I understood he was going to let him pitch, unless he allowed 3 hits in a row or something.  Anyway, after falling behind 2-0, he tried to back door a slider (2^nd failed time Martin called for this pitch) and he leaked it out over the plate and unlike the Yankees Morneau crushed it for a 6-4 lead.  This was a bad pitch and to Morneau’s credit he crushed it, but Girardi then pulled Kuroda.  I think he should have pulled him prior to Morneau who had his number.  Rapada and Logan kept us in the game as the lefties got us through 3 and 2/3 innings with no runs.

Unfortunately, the Yanks offense did not hit well as they did not take advantage of the opportunities given them.  We did get a tough break when Cano was called out on a DP that he was clearly safe on, but what bothered me was Cano did not run right away and if he did the ump couldn’t have blown the call; it was still a bad call though.

For some reason, Girardi brought in Nunez to bat and play 3^rd for Chavez when a lefty came in for Marquis.  With a man on and 1 out I would have brought in ARod to try and tie the game.  Nunez popped out

The Yanks got another run in the 9^th when Jeter homered (he has been swinging great), but lost the game 6-5.  The offense should have had at least 8 runs this game, but don’t get too down on Kuroda, with some average luck, he would have allowed 3 runs instead of 6.

One last comment, Cano made a terrible tag on a SB attempt by doing what I usually say Jeter does poorly and that is take the throw in front of 2^nd base.  Basically, Cano was falling a little toward home and couldn’t snap the tag and reach the back of the bag and the runner avoided the tag when the throw beat the runner by a lot.  This was a bad play by Cano and combined with him not running right away on the DP wins Cano the Lazy Award for the game (no this is not some official award program I will be starting up).

The Genius Maker 4-17

I have been watching the games, but have not been able to post much, but should be able to get back in a groove like last year.

First, I will discuss last nights win and then give some general comments about past games

CC was not sharp all game and while he ended up shutting down Minnesota after a bad start, he was a little lucky more than good.  He did make an adjustment getting a little more on top of fastball and this enabled him to spot his fastball better, but when CC is averaging 91-92 MPH it changes a lot of his game.  His change was not very good location wise and when you add the differential not being as great because of the fastball it didn’t work well.  I have no idea why all the Yankees can’t throw as hard as expected?

Gardner hit a ground rule double that left 2^nd and 3^rd with nobody out (and one run in).  After Chris Stewart dribbled out on a play Nunez should have run home, Jeter was thrown 6 straight balls, but struck out on the 6^th pitch.  This was a frustrating AB too watch as he should have just kept the bat on his shoulder.  After Swisher walked, Cano, failed to get around on a very hittable pitch and grounded out.  He is not snapping the barrel out like he normally does, but I have no doubt he will get it together.

Gardner made a great catch where he bent his wrist back.  He seemed OK as he ripped a double later in the game, but something to watch for.  Gardner’s defense is so outstanding I think people underrate him because of his slap type of hitting.  Speaking of defense, Granderson made a bunch of nice running catches in CF over the beginning of this year.  I think if Granderson hits like last year he is great, but in general he is an average defensive CF’r.

On to some observations from the start of the year

Jeter has come out hitting really well and this is great that he continued his 2^nd half hitting.  He has as many extra base hits already as he had in his first 40 games last year.

Garcia had nothing the other night.  No location and little movement. 

When Hughes pitched McCarver was praising how well the ball was coming out of his hand and how good he looked after a scoreless first inning.   I was saying to my family that McCarver is done because I have no idea what he was watching?  McCarver had one of the best calls of all time when he said bringing the infield in during the 9^th inning of the WS in game 7 against Arizona with Luis Gonzalez at the plate was a risk with Rivera on the mound.  He talked about a broken bat bloop being an issue.  I can’t blame Torre for bringing the infield in though with the score tied, but you have to tip your cap to an amazingly prophetic call.  But, his time has come in my opinion.  Hughes had a little more velocity than last year, but was missing spots by a lot and he ended up getting predictably crushed.

Robertson has looked good (with a little reduced velocity as well) and has had good control.

I didn’t like the way Girardi decided to let Garcia pitch to the Twins lefties rather than using Rapada, but it will be interesting to see whether Girardi learns anything from his past mistakes…opening day was not encouraging though.

ARod has a weak .674 OPS this year, but he has hit a lot of line drives right at guys.  I expect him to get it together, but it is concerning that the balls that are line drive outs used to be homers or doubles. 

Russell Martin has not hit but he does have 9 walks and a .417 OBP. 

Chris Stewart gives us another excellent defender and while he hit well last night is not a good hitter.  I am better with him than Cervelli though.

The Ibanez watch is going better than I thought.  While his OPS is a non impressive .748, he does have an OPS of .838 against righties.  While that is decent (and better than I thought) it is not very good and I expect it to drop.  I give this update because I hope I am wrong.

Non Yankee news…Congratulations to the 49 year old Jamie Moyer who became the oldest player to record a win.  As an ex player it amazes me that these guys can still throw let alone comb their hair using the arm that much.  I am due for another shoulder surgery later this year as my arm hurts just to hold above my head.  His ERA is 2.55 right now.  I am rooting for him as I remember playing strat-o-matic baseball with his card (which probably is why I know platooning is a good strategy) back in the late 80’s. 

Lester got crushed by Texas yesterday.  Texas and Anaheim are very solid teams along with Detroit.  Boston and TB are a not below in my estimation and Baltimore while on the right path is not there yet.  We will win our division.

The Genius Maker - Opening Day!

Might be hard to lose a game in the 1^st inning and some may say the Yanks came back to take the lead so it didn’t matter, but Girardi allowing the big inning by an idiotic move was the play of the game.  2^nd and 3^rd with 2 outs Girardi decided to intentionally walk to get a favorable matchup.  At the time I was saying how dumb this was and you should not walk him…here is why:

1. It is the 1^st inning; it is a long game and you don’t intentionally walk a guy. 
2. The only time you might consider walking a guy is the guy up is great and the guy on deck stinks and it is a good matchup…again might consider as it is the first inning
3. The guy was Scott Rodriguez; this is a player with a .674 OPS and a .680 last year; so he actually is not a good hitter
4. CC was not sharp with anything at this point in time and he could easily make a mistake to a guy who has a lot of power on deck. 
5. CC now has to make sure he is throwing strikes because the bases are loaded and you can’t walk the batter (this ties into #4).  Of course, this likely scenario played out and CC grooved it for a HR.

Anytime Rivera blows a game it is hard to take, but his location wasn’t very good, and some spotty location/calls put him under.  It started on the 1-2 pitch to Jennings.  Mariano threw a high strike that Jennings took a strike and looked bad on higher fastball, but then they cam right back with another outside fastball that he extended on and hit it up the middle.  I thought the pitch should have been inside so he couldn’t extend.  Then once on, if you notice (and it was pointed out by Cone), Rivera slide stepped and made a pretty poor pitch to Zobrist who found a great spot.  Once in the jam and the game tied, I thought walking the bases was a good move.  Rivera got the big K and now was facing Pena, the pitch selection seemed odd to me.  Instead of using the cutter inside on Pena, he didn’t even come inside at all.  I was ok with the first fastball away strike.  I was also ok with the next two away pitches which made the count 1-2.  But the next pitch had to be inside and use his best pitch.  When I saw Martin outside, I said no this pitch should be inside (and I had already called the pitch to be inside before he setup).  Very frustrating as he made Pena’s job easy.

Other points:

When Gardner was on 1^st base with two outs in the 3^rd inning, I said that Jeter must take the first pitch unless it is a hit and run.  After about 3-4 throws to 1^st, Shields was struggling and Jeter swings at the first pitch.  Just not smart baseball when pitcher is on the ropes and throwing a lot of pitches and even some to first base.  Make him throw more and give Gardner a chance to steal the base.  Kind of selfish baseball if you ask me.

Maddon did a masterful job of matching up his pitchers against the Yankees and didn’t allow a hit after the 5^th inning.  Maddon did ask Molina to bunt with 2 strikes on him on a squeeze which was questionable, but outside of that he outcoached Girardi.

BTW, I need to point out that I was very critical of the Ibanez signing and he smacked a 3 run homer that gave us the lead; please make me wrong – I still don’t think I will be, but I hope I am.

ARod had an excellent game both in the field and at the plate; that is a good sign.

The ump really blew a 2-1 pitch to Pena that changed the AB dramatically and on a 3-1 pitch Pena drilled a single setting up 1^st and 3^rd with nobody out, but Robertson pitched out of it.

Girardi was bad last postseason and a lot of the season and he starts out with a rookie mistake; very disappointing, he simply isn’t very good.  He has a great team and they may bail him out, but intentionally walking a week hitter is dumb in the 1^st inning (even if it did work it would have been dumb).

I won’t post for until later next week.

Enjoy the holiday!

The Genius Maker - Opening Day!

WE GET STARTED TOMORROW!

Below is our 25 man roster

Rotation
CC Sabathia
Hiroki Kuroda
Phil Hughes
Ivan Nova
Freddy Garcia

Bullpen
Mariano Rivera
Dave Robertson
Rafael Soriano
Boone Logan
Cory Wade
Clay Rapada
David Phelps

Lineup
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez DH
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF

Bench
Andruw Jones OF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Eric Chavez 3B
Chris Stewart C

The last name of the list was a trade we made sending Kontos to SF for this backup catcher who is a bad hitter but an excellent defender with a great arm.  Cervelli was sent down for Stewart (which was more of a gain depth move) and many Yankee fans felt it was tough to do to Cervelli.  Cervelli has had two years in a row where he threw out only 14% of the base runners attempting to steal.  That is awful, even when you take the poor job the Yankee pitchers do of holding runners on. Martin is over average (30%) as perspective and he throws really well.  It isn't a big deal, but I was OK with the move.

As many of you have read over the years, I am a huge believer that you need two lefties out of the pen; having only one lefty gives the opposing manager a lot less to worry about and you lose matchups at key points.  We had two lefties that were looking good before one got injured (not including Logan) and I was a little happy Logan got a sore back because it forced the Yankees hand to carry a 2nd lefty.  Rapada seems like the LOOGY (lefty one out guy) as he has a track record.  So I am happy we have him, I hope he pitches well (gets lefties out at a good rate).

I was disappointed in the Yankees giving money to Ibanez (not too much) and I would have rathered give the opportunity to a Maxwell or even a Chris Dickerson, but the Yanks are sticking with Ibanez; I hope he earns his money, but I have my doubts and I would not have counted him in as the DH against righties.  BTW, while taking credit for a low level signing working out is not something to hang your hat on, but Hall was given his release and I had him in the same category as Ibanez.  I did want to see what Branyan could do compared to Ibanez, but he is been out with a bad back so nothing happened there.  Here's to Ibanez proving me wrong.

I am obviously disappointed that Pineda didn't throw hard and is now on the DL with a sore shoulder.  This seems VERY minor, but when you make a big trade like this, you want to at least get what you thought you had and it is disturbing he came down with a Hughes type of loss of velocity.  I am still bullish on Pineda, but coming into camp overweight and learning the change-up I believe led to the sore shoulder...we shall see.

Overall, I think our team is in very good shape and we have two good starters in extended Spring Training  (Pettitte and Pineda).

This is probably the Genius Maker's last year.  I get the feeling 42 is the right number (in many ways) and regardless of how he performs he will hang it up...but nothing would surprise me with athletes who can still perform at a high level.  It would be hard to hang it up if you are still one of the best relievers in the game (which he clearly and amazingly still has been over the last few years)

I will post after game one and then take a few days off before getting back to action.

Boston 0-1!

3-31-12

I don’t get too caught up in spring training, but I do look for injuries and someone young or old doing something unexpected.  Pettitte coming back was unexpected and the Yanks did the only thing they could…sign him and let him get ready.  I am not sure we need him, but he definitely learned how to pitch differently after he was in Houston and if his arm is healthy and his body can stay healthy, he will be helpful.

I didn’t like any of the signings for the DH spot and as I said before I would rather have one of the younger and good defensive OF’rs play once in awhile and DH Swisher and then use the DH for the other players than use the Randy Winn’s, err, I mean Ibanez, Bill Hall types.  I did think that as a cheap signing Branyan would be a better option than Ibanez, but Branyan has had a hurt back and I am not sure is he has even played yet.  Still, let one of the younger guys like (not necessarily him) Chris Dickerson play IMO as we get better defense and probably better production…not sure why they are in love with Ibanez, but I hope he proves me wrong.

Back to the pitching, I am very disappointed in the spring training showing of Pineda.  Now he is on the 15 day DL with a sore shoulder; couldn’t have been much worse, especially with the guy I wanted them to go after, Yu Darvish, throwing in the mid 90’s and looking very good.  Not sure how a guy who was one of the top 5-10 hardest throwers in the game last year looks more like Phil Hughes?  Very odd.  Also, Bartolo, pitched 8 innings in Japan for a game that counted already…good for Colon!

I will write after opening day (Friday) and then take a few days off before resuming.  I hope everyone is doing great and looking forward to a fun season for the Yanks.  If I have time I will get my thoughts on the players out before the season starts (I usually do), but if I am a week late, so be it.  Once the season has hot stride, I should post 4-5 days a week.

Take care

Steve

The Genius Maker 2-8-12

Now that the NY Giants have gotten us as close as possible to the reporting of pitchers and catchers, and did so with an exciting World Championship, let’s turn our attention to the Yankees!

The DH signings – Bill Hall and Russell Branyan.  Hall has a little value as a mediocre defensive guy that can play every where, but I am not sold on him being very helpful.  As I have said numerous times, the Yankees are much better off getting a guy with a .700 overall OPS (assuming a low level signing) who gets all of that from one side of the plate (meaning his OPS is over 800 from one side of the plate and 500 on the other as an example) rather than being mediocre or worse from both sides.  The Yankees were also linked to Ibanez, but at 39, I don’t think he has as much upside as the 36 year old Branyan…who didn’t play well last year, but usually hits righties well (OPS of .854 over the last 3 years).  He also has hit well in Yankee stadium, even if a small sample.  I think he would be OK to be a DH against some or even most right handed pitching.  I don’t remember how his bat speed was when we watched him, but they could match him up against slower throwers and let him hit some moon shots.

So, while both the Hall and Branyan signings are cheap, I think the Branyan signing will be the only helpful one and I think it was a good signing as there is nobody else that interests me that is a free agent.  Damon doesn’t interest me at all.

The Genius Maker - The Yanks make some huge moves!

Ok, all you Montero lovers may not like this, but the Yanks have agreed (pending physicals) to trade Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi for about to be 23 year old Michael Pineda and 19 year old Jose Campos! The Yankees also signed Hiroki Kuroda (36/37) for 10 mil in a one year deal.

So, outside of the fact we now have more starters than positions, what do I think about the trade and signing?

Montero - I have written about him and I like the bat speed and I really like the raw power, which is something you just can't teach. But, I did not like what I saw defensively and while he may be as good as Victor Martinez, you better hit with an OPS of .850 plus to even consider getting behind the plate and you probably need to be above .900 to be a positive. The real questions were whether he would be a fantastic hitter and whether he could improve defensively. He had a very odd swing, but he clearly has power with a quick bat. I would not expect such a high average from him, but the power will be there and he did seem to walk a decent amount. He has a huge ceiling and could become great, but should be a very good hitter, but I do not think he will ever be even an average defensive catcher so I understand moving him...if you got the right price. Felix Hernandez was the right price, is Pineda? Pineda will turn 23 next week and has excellent stuff. He has a legitimate mid 90's fastball. I saw him pitch once or twice (He faced the Yanks once last year) and he threw 98 but mostly was about 95-96. He has a legitimate heater with nice movement as well. His off speed stuff is average, but with the heater it is hidden well in his big body so it is more effective than if someone else threw it. I have NOT scouted him heavily so I look forward to watching him. He is an excellent young arm. The concerns are only that he faded the 2nd half after an amazing first half. At such a young age, I am not that concerned though. His OPS last year in his 28 starts was only .621 (.584 1st half and .688 in the 2nd half); that is outstanding. BTW, Pineda is listed at 6'7" and 260. Perspective - CC has an OPS against of about .660 in his years with us.

Montero straight up for Pineda is a good trade for the Yanks; it is a trade that is probably good for both teams, but at the end of the day, a good DH is not worth as much as a good starter and they should both be at least good. Plus with the Yanks needing a spot for their older starters, that is a good thing. I also like that the Yanks didn't trade Montero for a 30+ year old good starter.

Everyone knows I talked about how much I liked Nova before he did much and I did say that I felt Noesi had a lot of potential also. I like Noesi's stuff, but he did make too many bad pitches. I don’t like giving him up in the deal, but the word is that the 19 year old Campo was a top 5 prospect in the Seattle organization. He started 18 games for Seattle's A team and had a 2.32 ERA with a 66 hits and only 13 walks in 81 innings while striking out 85. Those are excellent numbers, but he is only in single A so he has a few years before we will see him. I would rather Noesi than Campo so it was obvious we had to give more than just Montero for Pineda...overall, I think it was a fair trade that gives Seattle needed offense and the Yanks needed pitching.

I like the trade!

Yanks sign the 36 year old Kuroda. I wish I could say I have seen him pitch, but I know nothing about him other than he throws strikes and has good command of his pitches. He has been pretty durable averaging 29 starts in his 4 years with the Dodgers. His last year, he had his best ERA (3.07) and had a 3.45 ERA for his 4 years with the Dodgers. His OPS against does not agree with the ERA though, (not unusual and would indicate he was a little lucky last year) last year it was .716 and his overall for the four years was .673). Kuroda received roughly 12 mil the prior year so a one year deal for 10 mil seemed in line and is good for the Yanks as they don’t tie up long term money. From what I see, Kuroda should be a guy we can feel comfortable with and with our offense we should win a lot of games he starts.
I like these moves and think the Yanks still need a lefty and I would like to see them trade Burnett for a lefty specialist and we can throw in half him money. Further, while we have an abundance of capable righties in the pen, I would like to see us bring Colon back for 2-3 million as a reliever and occasional spot starter if needed. I know he ran out of gas last year, but he still had good peripherals in his stats and he still threw ok; I think he just got tired. The Yanks should have a lot of chips to move if they play their cards right. Remember, we still have Joba who hopefully will pan out better than he has so far. Imagine if Hughes could keep his velocity up at 94? I feel good about Nova, although it seems like I am the only one as others have suggested he stay in the minors until needed (I don't have a clue what those writers are seeing).
Our rotation is very solid now and we haven’t given up any future in the process; great job Cashman! Pitchers and catchers...get ready!

The Genius Maker - Off Season

Next year is supposed to be a very strong year for free agent year compared to this year.  I do not want the Yankees to spend big money on above average pitchers and that is all I see this year.  The Yankees need to wait and get the studs as I have said over and over.  Yu Darvish will be posted today, and again, while I have never seen him pitch, the word is that he is better than above average and is still young (25).  The Yankees should make a strong play if their scouts feel he is as good as advertised - people think he is.   The Red Sox posted 51.1 million for Matsuzaka and while that seemed outrageous to me at the time, they then signed him for only 8.5 mil a year which made it more reasonable, but, still the total was about 16 mil a year (in the AJ range).  I would expect Darvish to be in the same area.  What I like about Darvish is that he is a mature 25 in that he has a lot of experience in tough spots and also he is 6'5" and the height is a positive in my eyes.  

The Yankees did win negotiating rights to shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima from Japan (Lions) on Wednesday. The posting fee for the 29-year-old was $2.5 million.  His batting numbers should translate into a 800 OPS type of middle infielder (hard to gauge though) but what iI didn't like was Girardi seemed to indicate he wasn't a great defensive SS.  Overall, this is a small signing that gives some more depth.  It also shows that Pena is probably done in the Yanks eyes.

I would not be spenders for this MLB free agent group though and I am glad the Yanks are letting the "Mark Buhrle's" go to other teams... Wait until next year and get the better players.