Yankee News For Yankee Fans

[mee]

2 hours ago, sabugo said:

They should be ashamed of convicting a man before due process.

If he is guilty, I'm all for all kinds of cruel and unusual punishment. But that is after he is proven guilty.

I don't believe he's completely innocent, but a lynch mob isn't going to solve anything.

You don't know any facts. Neither does this "women's rights group". Wait until they convict/acquit him. Why shouldn't you and I believe him? I haven't seen any evidence neither did you.

[sabugo]

That's right, I don't.

I was only stating my opinion that something, whatever it was, probably happened. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here.
 

[sabugo]

Who Wore It Best? The Top Yankees by Uniform Number

http://bronx.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/01/07/who-wore-it-best-the-top-yankees-by-uniform-number/


Some interesting choices there.

[Yankee4Life]

1 hour ago, sabugo said:

Who Wore It Best? The Top Yankees by Uniform Number

http://bronx.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/01/07/who-wore-it-best-the-top-yankees-by-uniform-number/


Some interesting choices there.

Sure was. It makes me wonder why they didn't have Catfish Hunter in the top spot for uniform number 29.

[sabugo]

And Damon over Larsen is kind of baffling as well.

[Yankee4Life]

You can say what you want about A-Rod but this guy takes more than his share of crap from the New York media. Here they are making a big deal out of him checking out the Los Angeles Laker Girls from his courtside seats the other night. If I had courtside seats I'd be doing the same thing. How dare him look at hot young girls in tight shorts! What the hell is he supposed to do, look at the players? If it were Jeter they'd be wondering which of those girls was going to be his next girlfriend if he wasn't already engaged but with Rodriguez they make him look like he is doing something wrong checking them out.

 

SEE IT: Alex Rodriguez caught checking out the Laker Girls as he took in a game during Kobe Bryant’s NBA farewell 

Don’t tell Alex Rodriguez the Lakers have lost their star power.

The Yankee slugger had trouble keeping his eyes off the Laker Girls Friday night as he sat courtside for the Thunder-L.A. game at the Staples Center.

The relaxed-looking A-Rod was caught on camera checking out the biggest stars to wear the Purple and Gold these days in Los Angeles (apologies to the retiring Kobe Bryant).

His eyes and smile say it all.

Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez enjoys the view form the courtside seats Friday night.

The Lakers in Kobe’s final season are just 8-30 after losing to Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and the powerhouse Thunder 117-113.

Bryant, who announced in November via a poem on The Players’ Tribune website that this would be his last season in the NBA, scored 19 points in the losing effort.

Rodriguez, 40, still has a good month and a half to enjoy his offseason as the Yankee position players aren’t scheduled to report to Spring Training until Feb. 24.

A-Rod is caught checking out the Laker Girls as they leave the court following a routine.

The steroid-tainted slugger surprised the baseball world with his strong return to the sport last season after sitting out the 2014 campaign as he served a one-year ban for his role in the Biogenesis scandal.

A-Rod hit 33 home runs for the Bombers last season as the Yankees reached the AL Wild Card game.

“So glad to be in LA for @KobeBryant’s final season,” A-Rod tweeted. “Amazing career. Respect. #Legend.”

Surprisingly, A-Rod shared no pics of the Laker Girls he seemed to enjoy so much.

Rodriguez also took time to speak to a class of business students at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management during his visit to L.A.

[sabugo]

I don't like A-Rod but even I have trouble finding any wrongdoing here.

It's not like they dress in those shorts so that nobody looks at them. Besides, what's good is meant to be appreciated, and those ladies sure are good looking. And I hear they also dance.

[Yankee4Life]

2 hours ago, sabugo said:

I don't like A-Rod but even I have trouble finding any wrongdoing here.

It's not like they dress in those shorts so that nobody looks at them. Besides, what's good is meant to be appreciated, and those ladies sure are good looking. And I hear they also dance.

That's what I am trying to get at. They wear those shorts to be noticed and looked at. It's not like they are surprised when a man is looking at them. Sometimes these newspapers just have to stir something up just for the hell of it.

[sabugo]

Doesn't this happen every year?

WATCH: Yankees' CC Sabathia throws 1st bullpen of year
http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2016/01/watch_cc_sabathia_throws_1st_bullpen_of_year.html#incart_river_index

[Yankee4Life]

3 hours ago, sabugo said:

Doesn't this happen every year?

WATCH: Yankees' CC Sabathia throws 1st bullpen of year
http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2016/01/watch_cc_sabathia_throws_1st_bullpen_of_year.html#incart_river_index

You got that right. Every year this happens and every year he says the same thing. He feels great, he can't wait to get going, etc, etc. And then like clockwork he falls apart again.

[sabugo]

Ever since they decided to make him lose weight. I'm not saying these injuries woudln't have happened, but they sure seemed to accelerate the process.

[Yankee4Life]

26 minutes ago, sabugo said:

Ever since they decided to make him lose weight. I'm not saying these injuries woudln't have happened, but they sure seemed to accelerate the process.

I'd like to accelerate the process by getting him the hell out of the Bronx.

[sabugo]

Dellin Betances' all 131 strikeouts in 2015

I may or may not have seen this a bunch of times already...

[Yankee4Life]

I think these are five very fair questions. And I have no faith at all in that SOB Teixeira.

 

Yankees spring training preview: Can Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira find fountain of youth again?

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira exceed expectations in 2015, but can they do it again this season?

The Yankees returned to the postseason last fall for the first time since 2012, though their stay proved to be brief as the Astros sent them home in the wild card game.

As Joe Girardi and his team prepare to gather in Tampa later this week, it marks the first time in years there is no individual dominating the conversation. Last year, it was Alex Rodriguez's return from suspension, while the retirements of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera made headlines the previous two springs.

That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of questions heading into camp. Here's a look at five of the most important issues that will help determine the Yankees' success this season.

1. Can Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira do it again?

For all of the talk about pitching, it's Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira who once again figure to be the two biggest keys to the Yankees' title hopes in 2016.

Both sluggers rebounded in a big way last season, combining for 64 home runs despite Teixeira missing the final six weeks with a fractured leg.

Last spring, A-Rod was out to prove he had something left in the tank after serving a one-year suspension. He certainly did that after being turned into a full-time DH, but now he's out to show that he can continue to be productive into his 40s — and keep the outside noise to a minimum for another year.

Teixeira turns 36 in April, and while nobody doubts his ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark when healthy, the first baseman has to figure out a way to stay on the field for a full season for the first time since 2011. The loss of Greg Bird for the season makes Teixeira's health even more critical to the Bombers' lineup.

Aroldis Chapman bolsters the Yankees' already powerful bullpen, but will his domestic violence dispute delay him from joining the team?

2. Will Aroldis Chapman break camp with the team?

The addition of four-time All-Star closer Chapman this winter gives the Yankees arguably the strongest 1-2-3 relief punch since the Nasty Boys were slamming the door for the 1990 Reds en route to a World Series crown.

Dellin Betances, Chapman and Andrew Miller ranked 1-2-3 in strikeouts per nine innings among all major-league relievers last year, all finishing in the top-7 for lowest opponents batting average.

The big question is whether Major League Baseball decides to suspend Chapman for his alleged domestic violence incident in October. Although Florida prosecutors decided not to press charges, Commissioner Rob Manfred could still discipline Chapman under the league's new domestic violence policy. The issue should be resolved before the end of Spring Training.

3. Will CC Sabathia's knee brace be the difference?

After returning from the disabled list last September, Sabathia pitched well during the final month (2.17 ERA over five starts) thanks to a knee brace that gave him the confidence to land on his surgically repaired right knee.

But will the brace have the same effect over a six-month stretch?

CC Sabathia hopes his knee brace keep him healthy and effective in 2016.

Sabathia believes it will. The big lefty — who turns 36 in July — was able to spend the offseason working on both his upper and lower body, something he hadn't been able to do the past couple winters thanks to a variety of health issues. He insists he's healthier than he's been since 2012, and having addressed his alcohol problem with an October stint in rehab, Sabathia appears to be in a better place mentally than he's been in a while, too.

Sabathia no longer has to be the Yankees' ace, but having a healthy and effective pitcher at the back end of the rotation will take some pressure off the other four starters.

4. Will Masahiro Tanaka, Nate Eovaldi and Michael Pineda combine for at least 90 starts?

Speaking of those other starters, three of the four enter the spring looking to show they can remain healthy and effective for the whole season.

That wasn't the case last year, as Tanaka, Eovaldi and Pineda made 78 starts between them thanks to a multitude of injuries.

Tanaka underwent surgery in October to remove a bone spur from his famous right elbow, though the partially torn ligament remains a potential time bomb.

Eovaldi missed the final month of the season with elbow inflammation, though he was ready to come back had the Yankees advanced past the wild card game. Pineda sat out most of August with a right flexor forearm muscle strain, adding yet another injury to the lengthy list on his résumé.

The Yankees need Jacoby Ellsbury to be a spark at the top of the lineup like he was through the first six weeks last season.

Considering the questions surrounding Sabathia — who actually led the team with 29 starts last year — and the fact that second-year phenom Luis Severino blew past his career-high with 161.2 innings in 2015, the trio of starters must stay healthy in order for the Yankees' rotation to thrive.

Staying healthy in spring training will be a good start.

5. Will Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner be the table-setters the Yankees need?

Ellsbury was having an All-Star season through the first six weeks when a knee injury derailed him last May. Gardner posted a superb first half and was selected to his first All-Star Game, only to battle a wrist injury and fall apart after the break.

As important as A-Rod and Teixeira will be, the Yankees need the two speedsters at the top of the lineup to get on base and force pitchers to throw strikes to the sluggers. Newcomer Aaron Hicks will play against lefties, giving Girardi an opportunity to keep his veteran outfielders fresh with an occasional day off.

 

[Yankee4Life]

I don't know how good of an idea this is. The best thing to do is for him to rest it and not play. All Andrew Miller has to do is catch or field a hard line drive and it could make the pain in his right wrist get even worse.

This is not the first time the Yankees have allowed a pitcher with an injured hand to go out there. Back in 2004 Kevin Brown broke his left hand when he punched a wall after a bad outing. The wall won without breaking a sweat.

 

Yankees reliever Andrew Miller cleared to pitch with chip fracture 

Yankees relief pitcher Andrew Miller will pitch through any pain.

MIAMI — Yankee reliever Andrew Miller was cleared to pitch with a chip fracture in the heel of his non-pitching hand after visiting a hand specialist, the team said.

Miller saw Dr. Patrick Owens in Miami Friday and the doctor determined that Miller doesn’t need surgery on his right hand. He can pitch as long as he can tolerate any discomfort and the Yankees are expecting him to be their closer when the regular season opens Monday. Owens’ name might be familiar — he reportedly examined the Giants’ Jason Pierre-Paul after his fireworks accident.

“The doctor said everything we hoped to hear, that it’s a break but it’s a bone that’s not important,” Miller said. “It’ll take a little time to heal and fill up with scar tissue. Don’t think we’re at risk making it worse. It might be a little bit of a nuisance for a little while, but all things considered, not too bad.”

Miller will wear a splint when he’s not pitching. He and the Yankees have reached out to Major League Baseball to figure out what Miller would be allowed to wear under his glove to provide comfort. Tape, for instance, is not allowed under Rule 6.02 (c) (7).

“Worst case scenario, he’ll go bare hand in glove,” GM Brian Cashman said. “Best case scenario, he’ll be able to help support it, if possible.”

Miller played catch Friday after speaking to reporters and it went “fine,” according to GM Brian Cashman.

Miller could pitch in Saturday’s spring finale against the Marlins to gauge his comfort level.

In a light moment attached to the injury, former Yankee Jim Abbott, who pitched in the majors despite being born without a right hand, tweeted the following: “Have been called in to teach @a_miller48 and @Yankees the “glove switch”. He should be good to go!”

Miller seemed to get a kick out of it. “I heard Jim Abbott speak this off-season at the Thurman Munson Awards,” Miller said. “He’s a pretty incredible guy. I hope I’m not trying to learn what he can do, because I don’t think anybody else can do that. We’re a long ways from there and certainly no comparisons. He’s a pretty incredible guy. It’s funny, but not something we’re worried about.”

ADAMS BOMB
The Yankees beat the Marlins, 3-2, thanks to a two-run homer by Triple-A outfielder Lane Adams in the ninth inning. Nathan Eovaldi allowed one run and seven hits in 5.1 innings, striking out three and walking four.

“He had to battle,” Girardi said of the righty. “He did a good job limiting damage.” Reliever Chasen Shreve, who had not given up a hit in nine innings of spring work, allowed an infield single and also walked his first batter of the spring. Brett Gardner hit a solo homer into the second deck in right field at Marlins Park off Miami ace Jose Fernandez. Chase Headley was in the original starting lineup but did not play because of illness.

PENNING IN YATES?
The Yankees are waiting until the last moment to decide on their final bullpen spot. Kirby Yates, who hasn’t allowed a run in seven spring appearances, appears to be a candidate, but the club is also waiting to see what pitchers may be pared from other rosters. “Different things shake out at the end of camp, so we’re just kind of holding off,” Girardi said. 

CHAPMAN PLAN
The Yanks decided that Aroldis Chapman, who will start serving a 30-game suspension when the season begins, will not accompany the team to New York after the two-game series in Miami is over.

“We decided that flying him there, then having to fly him back (to Tampa) and the hassle of him having to be out of the Stadium before the gates are open, it’s just easier to leave him and let him do his work,” Girardi said. Chapman will spend a day or two in Miami and then work at the Yanks’ complex in Tampa during the ban. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild has a schedule mapped out for Chapman that includes pitching in extended spring games... Hideki Matsui will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the opener Monday. 

[sabugo]

I'm not sure how good of an idea that is. Just let the man heal.

[Yankee4Life]

9 minutes ago, sabugo said:

I'm not sure how good of an idea that is. Just let the man heal.

Of all the things going into the season this worries me the most.

[sabugo]

They don't seem to learn, do they?!

[Yankee4Life]

Yankees win in Sabathia's return, 8-4 over Tigers.mp4

Well I'll be. This program really works. This is a video file from today's Yankee game at Detroit.

[Yankee4Life]

Ja-Ja-Ja-Ja_Jacoby!

Ellsbury pops it up for an RBI single.mp4

(This is another video file. Just click to view it.)

[sabugo]

Meanwhile, Gregorious and Castro have been nicknamed 'Starsky and Dutch'.

[Yankee4Life]

Masahiro Tanaka, Alex Rodriguez help snap Yankees’ losing streak in 4-3 win over Mariners

Masahiro Tanaka’s importance to the Yankees seems to grow each day given the shoddy state of their rotation early this season. Their $155-million pitcher needs to be the ace they expected when he signed before the 2014 season, and he was that man on Sunday.

In the first MLB meeting between two Japanese starters who were teammates in Japan, Tanaka out-dueled Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma to play the role of stopper and Alex Rodriguez broke out of his slump with a second-inning homer in a 4-3 Yankees win over the Mariners before a crowd of 43,856 in the Bronx. The Yankees (5-6) snapped a four-game losing streak.

“I think that’s always important that somebody has the ability to stop a losing streak,” Joe Girardi said. “You don’t want to lose another game and then you have to think about it over your off day and it becomes five. So I think that’s always important.”

Tanaka (1-0) became the first Yankees starter to complete seven innings this season, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits, no walks and six strikeouts while throwing 93 pitches. The outing easily could’ve been better for Tanaka, who was the victim of soft-contact hits getting through defensive shifts in the first, a 24-pitch frame during which he gave up three hits and a run; a Mark Teixeira error in the fourth; and a poor dive by Jacoby Ellsbury in the fifth causing a Norichika Aoki triple. Aoki scored on a Seth Smith single up the middle with the infield in to tie the game 3-3.

“Certainly there was some unluckiness there,” Tanaka said through an interpreter of the first inning. “But if I get my head down because of that, then I felt like I would get more unlucky."

Masahiro Tanaka is the first Yankees starter this season to complete seven innings.

 

The 27-year-old, who joked the warmer weather helped him have his best start of the year, topped out at 94 mph in the sixth and seventh innings, both of which were perfect frames.

“I think (Tanaka’s) arm’s feeling better,” said Brian McCann said, who scored on Rodriguez’s home run after being hit by a pitch. “He’s got his mechanics down. He kind of eased into this, I think. Any time you see 92, 94 out of him, everything else plays up.”

Brett Gardner, who went 3-for-4 and had his third straight multi-hit game, scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth on a wild pitch from Iwakuma, who gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks in seven innings. Tanaka and Iwakuma were teammates on the Rakuten Golden Eagles from 2007-2011.

“Extremely satisfied being able to get that win,” Tanaka said. “Obviously facing against a former (teammate), that was one thing, but another thing was that I was able to help stop the four-game skid. In that sense, I think today was a good day.”

Alex Rodriguez, batting sixth, broke an 0-for-19 slump with a two-run home run in the second inning.

The Yanks finally came through with a runner in scoring position, Gardner’s ground-rule double in the third inning which drove Ellsbury in from third base breaking an 0-for-30 stretch with RISP, though the Yanks finished the game 1-for-11 in those situations. Yankees batters are 4 for their last 57 with RISP.

Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller each struck out the side in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to finish the game. A-Rod, who was dropped to sixth in the order, broke an 0-for-19 slump with a first-pitch, two-run homer to left in the second to put the Yanks up 2-1. He finished 1-for-4.

Tanaka is the only Yankees starter whose ERA is under 5.00 so far this season. He has a 3.06 ERA over 17 2/3 innings through three starts. The other four Yankees starters, who have each made two starts, have a combined 6.14 ERA over 44 innings.

Suffice to say, more outings like Sunday’s from Tanaka are imperative.

“I think it’s important, but it’s important that every guy does his job and (be) who they’re capable of being,” Girardi said. “But he’s a guy that can shut down a lineup and hopefully get deep into games for us.” 

[raidersbball20]

Y4L Mylanta, Tums, or Maalox?

[sabugo]

Why the Yankees' 5-8 start unquestionably means that they are doomed

It's over. Just look to the recent past.

Nothing is going right for the Yankees right now. They're making mistakes in the field, baserunning blunders, and stranding approximately 69,420 runners in scoring position. They have yet to win more than one series in 2016 and having already lost another to the lowly Athletics, they need to win tonight to avoid an even more humiliating sweep at Yankee Stadium.

So now the Yankees find themselves 5-8, dead last in the AL East. To quote a great philosopher, it's not what you want. It may be far worse than the Yankees feared. This is their worst start in over a decade, and if the past couple times they went 5-8 mean anything, then they are surely doomed to an awful season.

 

2005

Fresh off the disappointment of the '04 season, the Yankees made a big trade to bring Randy Johnson aboard and further reinforced their pitching by signing free agent starters Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright. They won 101 games in each of the past two years, and with these additions, it seemed like 2005 would be another romp, even with the powerhouse Red Sox in the same division. Sure enough, the Yankees won the opening series against Boston, but they quickly took a nosedive, losing eight of their next games. They needed a 19-8 blowout victory over the Devil Rays to simply move up to 5-8.

Yet that's where they were. Some players were hitting, but Jorge Posada looked terrible with a .227/.306/.250 triple slash and Bernie Williams didn't seem too much better. The starting pitching was a mess, and another embarrassing loss the next to Hideo Nomo (somehow still pitching in 2005) made them even worse: 5-9. They turned out to be so bad that they were 11-19 after play ended on May 6th. Pathetic.

Then they went 84-48 for the rest of the year to reach 95 victories, winning the AL East for the eighth consecutive season. They scored 886 runs, belted 229 homers, and Alex Rodriguez won the AL MVP with a 48-dinger, 9.4 WAR campaign. Pathetic.

1997

Expectations were very high on the '97 Yankees after the euphoria of the World Series-winning '96 season. Even though they have lost Jimmy Key and John Wetteland in free agency, they signed the durable David Wells and promoted setup man Mariano Rivera to closer. They had every reason to expect good things from '97. The regular season began and they not only went 5-8 to start the year; they went 5-10.

They lost series to middling-to-crappy teams, like the Angels, Athletics, and Brewers. To twist the knife, the loss that pushed them to 5-10 was miserable, as they blew a 4-1 lead to Milwaukee and lost it on a walk-off walk issued by David Weathers. Rivera looked like a disaster at closer, blowing three of his first six save chances with a 4.00 ERA and 14 hits allowed over nine innings. Wade Boggs and Cecil Fielder both looked appeared to both be suddenly washed up.

 

The '97 team went 91-56 from that point onward, winning 96 games (four more than they had won in the '96 season the year). They finished two games behind the wire-to-wire Orioles for the AL East, but they still captured the Wild Card and their 96 victories were the third-most in baseball anyway. Pathetic.

***

So now here stand the 2016 Yankees with a 5-8 record. The season is a long, long way from over, and slow starts do not spell doom. Put down the torches and pitchforks. Give them time. The 2005 team did make some changes that helped them turn it around (like calling up Robinson Cano), but those did not even happen until May, when the Yankees were further under .500. It's okay to be shaky in April. That doesn't automatically ruin teams.

Who knows? Maybe they'll be as lousy as another Yankees team that started 5-8 and finished the year celebrating a World Series championship on the back of Reggie Jackson.

[raidersbball20]

Y4L did you write this?

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/everything-the-yankees-are-doing-is-awful-170311903.html