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No details yet, but CC Sabathia just tweeted that he will be back as a Yankee next year. He linked to an announcement, but not surprisingly, it is overloaded right now.

More as details appear

UPDATE 7:37pm The trio of Heyman, Olney and Heyman have tweeted some details. The Yankees added a guaranteed year in 2016 for $25 million to his original deal and there is a vesting option for another $25 million in 2017 with a $5 million buyout. So, CC gets $30 million more guaranteed than under his original deal and could earn another $25 million. I have to admit, as much as I didn't want to see the Yankees extend Sabathia further, this is a deal I can live with.

UPDATE 10:10pm Interesting language in the CC deal.

"The option becomes guaranteed if Sabathia does not end the 2016 season on the disabled list because of a left shoulder injury, does not spend more than 45 days of 2016 on the DL with a left shoulder injury or does not make six or more relief appearances in 2016 because of shoulder issues. He retains a hotel suite on trips, a no-trade provision and the right to buy tickets."

So, the Yankees essentially handed him a two-year extension for $50 million. Something tells me that no matter what happens to CC in the 2016, he won't go on the DL for a shoulder injury.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The NHL announced today that they have sold the naming rights to their All-Star Game. So, we will now be subjected to the "Tim Horton's NHL All-Star Game". I wish I was making this up.

The leagues have been maximizing revenue for years. We have that chase to thank for supposedly great innovations like "flexible scheduling" in the NFL and Sunday Night Baseball games. Great things, unless you have a ticket to a game that gets moved from 1pm to 8pm. Remember when the playoffs meant stadiums draped in bunting? Not any more, that would block the ads. All I can say is that I hope none of the other leagues follow suit on this, but you know they eventually will.

*****

On to bigger and better things. CC Sabathia has reportedly decided to opt out, but he hasn't actually done so yet. I can only hope the Yankees remember the mistake they made last time a player opted out. Losing Sabathia would be a blow and he could even end up with Boston, but the Yankees would be foolish to go beyond the four years they have remaining on his deal. I hope they do not.

One last note, MLBTR obtained the Elias free agent rankings which determine free agent compensation. It is worth noting that Freddy Garcia qualified as a Type B free agent and the Yankees should definitely offer him arbitration. He has a low base salary anyway, so there is very little downside and the Yankees could either bring him back or get a draft pick if he leaves.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 01:52 PM | Permalink

From the amazing final night of the regular season to playoffs that gave us 38-out of a possible-41 games, this has been a great year for baseball. Congrats to the Cards, and especially to the guy who won $250,000 tonight on them.

As we head into the offseason, here are my ten wishes:

1- MLB and the players union figure out a way to avoid the missteps of the NFL and the NBA and sign a new deal before the current one expires in December. Or at least before pitchers and catchers are due to report.

2- Albert Pujols takes a page from the "Book of Jeter" and realizes that he should be a Cardinal for life.

3- MLB realizes that as great as the Cardinals victory was, deciding homefield in the World Series based on the All-Star Game winner is unfair to everyone.

4- The Yankees don't negotiate against themselves with CC Sabathia and remember the mistake they made with A-Rod.

5- The Pirates have a great offseason that sets them up to finish well over .500 in 2012

6- I don't read another thing about Yu Darvish being a phenom until he actually faces some major league hitting.

7- Boston ownership stops cowering behind the press and either comes out and makes their accusations directly or puts a cork in it.

8- The Yankees remember all of those young pitchers they have been developing on the farm when they plan for 2012.

9- MLB either eliminates the wild card or creates a second one in each league and a wild card round of the playoffs, best-of-3, to make winning the division important again.

10- Interleague play is scaled way back and the Astros stay where they belong- in the NL.

Thanks for your support during another season. I'll be back later this weekend with some more about Sabathia and the opt out, which must be exercised by midnight Monday.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

If you are a baseball fan and you didn't witness Game 6 last night, you should feel shame. I have seen a lot of amazing things on the baseball diamond, but watching the Cardinals come back from two-run deficits in the 9th and 10th and then win it in the 11th has to be one of the greatest games ever.

And the amazing thing is that it looked like the game would be remembered for terrible baseball. The two teams made FIVE errors. Matt Holliday got picked off of third by Mike Napoli. (I'm still not sure how that happened.) But that was all erased by an amazing ending.

Someone once said, "The two greatest words in the English language are 'Game Seven'," and that's what we have tonight. Tomorrow's forecast in New York is for freezing temperatures and a chance of snow, but before that starts we get to enjoy one last day of summer- savor it.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 02:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

With Theo Epstein's formal resignation Saturday, the Boston Red Sox say goodbye to a very successful era. Terry Francona was the start of this change and more is sure to come, but the departure of Brookline native and lifelong Red Sox fan Epstein, really puts an exclamation point on the overhaul.

Epstein should have earned himself a free beer anywhere in New England with his performance, but there are those will say, and I have to confess, I have wondered it out loud myself, why would a Red Sox fan give up his dream job? Seriously, what real baseball fan out there hasn't wished the opportunity to be GM for a day, let alone 9 years?

Of course there are those pesky details, like 14-hour days, family life balance, stress, Boston media, players drinking during baseball games, the list goes on. It is being reported that Epstein is going to be President of the Cubs, which puts him in the Larry Lucchino role. Apparently Jed Hoyer will be GM and a bunch of former ex-Red Sox personnel will join them in Chicago. Funny, perhaps Lucchino is worried that Epstein is just years away from exclaiming, "The student has become the master."

Good luck to Epstein and the Cubs (except when they play the Red Sox), but on to more important things like who will run this team and who will manage this team?

It seems like a done deal that Ben Cherington will be named the next GM of the Red Sox. He has been here as long as Epstein and from all accounts, is ready to take on the job. He has his hands full after the disaster that was 2011.

As for the new manager, I would expect he'll be one who can crack that whip, but who incorporates sabremetrics (good-glavin!), and can handle the pressure cooker that is Boston. I have no clue who that person will be. I didn't think Francona was the right pick. I thought Joe Maddon was the right call. Shows you what I know.

Once the WS is over, Boston will get to making announcements and getting to work on 2012. The Red Sox have talent and money to spend, let's hope this overhaul yields something more than the 10-year. The Red Sox are a very fortunate organization, in that they have an A+ fan base and high revenues (courtesy of the aforementioned fan base). I sure hope ownership gets these next few weeks right.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Courtesy of Sportswatch, here are the Nielsen numbers for Game 2 of the World Series showing male viewers, broken down by age group ....12-17 (2.2), 18-24 (2.8), 25-34 (5.6), 35-49 (6.0), 50-64 (9.0), 65+ (14.3). In a separate tweet he notes that the median age of a viewer watching Game 1 was 52 while that of Game 1 of the NBA Finals was 40.

I've written about this issue a number of times. But as a baseball fan I can only hope that someone in the MLB offices realizes they are losing the youth of this country. Perhaps these numbers will be a wake up call.

What they mean is that 2.2% of 12-17 year-olds were watching Game 2 while 14.3% of the over-65 demographic were. The reason MLB might pay attention to these numbers is that advertisers really don't care about anyone over the age of 49. The 18-49 demographic is what advertisers desperately want to reach and if MLB can't deliver those viewers, advertisers won't pay premium money for ads during the World Series. Sadly, last Sunday's Vikings-Bears game drew 16 million viewers and a 6.0 share of the 18-49 audience. That means a regular season football game between two sub-.500 teams (at the time) had more viewers than baseball's biggest series of the year.

Will the lack of young eyeballs force baseball to make some changes? I hope so. Earlier World Series games would be a great start. It also seems to me that baseball could easily speed up the games if they actually enforced the strike zone and starting calling pitches above the belt, but below the armpits, as strikes. There are plenty of other innovations they could try, but they need to get serious soon. A generation has already grown up without a love of baseball. MLB cannot afford to let that pattern continue.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Apparently, CJ Wilson is not a good signing because he is an awful postseason pitcher. His 5.32 ERA shows that he shouldn't be trusted with a big contract. I love this line of thinking because it is just so silly. CJ Wilson's postseason ERA is ugly, but it is only 1/2-a run higher than CC Sabathia's and it is actually lower than Justin Verlander's. I guess those two guys shouldn't get a big contract either, right?

I'm not advocating the Yankees sign Wilson to a huge deal, but at the right price, I would certainly be interested. CJ Wilson at $12 million or so a year seems like a pretty solid signing to me. He may not be the best pitcher in the AL, but he is a pretty good one. And it is worth noting that he lowered his walks this past season while increasing his strikeouts. Throw in the fact that he is a lefty, and the Yankees definitely need to take a look at him, even if he gives up 14 runs in his next postseason start.

I get it, the story pool shrinks in October. There simply isn't enough for most the writers to fill their columns. But judging a guy's career on the basis of a handful of October starts is a bad idea.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

One thing that I hope the Yankees explore this offseason, is a contract extension for Robinson Cano. Cano will be 29 next season and since the Yankees have options on him for 2012 and 2013, he would be a free agent at 31.Assuming he keeps hitting, and I see no reason he won't, he is going to ask for a massive deal when he reaches that point. How about the Yankees head him off at the pass and tear up those option year in exchange for a six-year deal now?

A six-year extension would sign him through the age of 34, probably just about the right time for the Yankees to no longer want his services. It would lock up a guy who has played 159 games or more in five-straight years and done so while playing great defense at second. It would lock up the most dangerous bat in the lineup for the remainder of the peak of his career.

Now there are risks. Obviously, it will cost a lot of money. The Yankees are going to pay Cano $14 million next season and $15 million in 2013. I would expect him to want a deal of somewhere around $20 million per year to rip up those options. Anytime you sign a long-term deal, injury is a risk, but remember that Cano has been an iron man for most of his career.

To me the huge advantage for the Yankees is that they avoid a headache in two years. Let's say Cano puts up a 2012 and 2013 that are similar to his 2010 and 2011. How much do you think he would look for in that situation? Eight years at $20 million per would be my guess. Adding four years now, prevents you from paying him when he reaches his late 30's. That's a worthwhile move in my book.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In light of the recent David Ortiz interview when he said "There's too much drama. I have been thinking about a lot of things. I don't know if I want to be part of this drama for next year."

It reminded me of brave Sir Robin:

Ahh David, when the going gets tough, the tough...ask for a contract from the Yankees.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Why does it have to be this way? Why is my favorite team acting like a bunch of immature sore losers? Some of the stuff in Bob Hohler's article had to have come from ownership.

Take a read:

Gordon Edes - ESPN Boston

Curt Schilling - ESPN Boston

Dustin Pedroia - ESPN Boston

Eric Wilbur - Boston Globe

Keith Olberman - Baseball Nerd (a Blog)

Dave Shook - SB Nation (Rob Neyer's new home)

Nomar Garciaparra - ESPN Boston

The Nomar article is a bit lame seeing as he was a jerk at the end and no ownership spin was needed, but the rest of these articles basically stand to call out the Red Sox ownership. Why do they do this? People will not want to come here, players, coaches even fans, if they think the end of a relationship is always going to end ugly.

It's like the Seinfeld skit where Elaine breaks up with her boyfriend only to have him call her "big head." It's school yard immaturity. No wonder the clubhouse was a romper room, the players were just taking ownership's cue.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Everyone seems ready to get rid of Nick Swisher. The Yankees hold an option on his contract for this upcoming year and it seems like the fanbase would be thrilled to see the Yankees not pick that up and let Swish take his talents elsewhere. The reason of course if another poor postseason. Swisher hit .211 in the ALDS and when coupled with the 100 or so other postseason AB's he has had as a Yankee (not pretty), fans feel comfortable saying he can't perform in the playoffs.

It's a frustrating argument because while the numbers are awful, the sample size is way, way too small. Look at a sainted Yankee, Paul O'Neill. In his first World Series (as a Red) he hit .083. In the 96 Series .167. In the 98 Series .211. In the 99 Series .200. Add it all up and he was 10-for-67 in the World Series with 3 doubles, no homers and 5 RBI's. Clearly, a guy who couldn't handle the biggest stage in baseball, right? You see where this is going. In the 2000 World Series, O'Neill amazingly put up a line of .474/.545/.789 and in the 2001 World Series he was one of the very few Yankees to hit, putting up a line of .333/.412/.400.

And that to me is why not exercising Swisher's option is madness. For $10.25 million, the Yankees will get a player who is an above-average bat in right. Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the 8th-most productive rightfielder in baseball. He will be entering his walk year and looking for a big deal after the season, so expect him to show up to camp in the best shape of his life. When the season ends, the Yankees can offer him arbitration, which he will almost surely reject, and thereby receive two draft picks when he signs elsewhere. It's hard for me to see a downside for the Yankees in this move.

I'd love to see Swisher have a huge October next year. And if he puts up his usual .820+ OPS during the regular season, he will be a reason they got there.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Assuming the Yankees don't trade him, Jesus Montero has shown his bat belongs in the everyday lineup next year. The problem is, how do the Yankees accomplish that?

It's hard to believe that the Yankees feel comfortable catching him. They say they do, but their actions showed a very different story when they flew Austin Romine across the country and threw him behind the plate in the middle of a game. I suspect they will continue to say he can catch all winter, but this spring they need to make a commitment.

Russell Martin is arbitration eligible in 2012 and will be a free agent at the end of the season. He had a weird year with the bat, tearing the cover off the ball in April and August, but barely making contact the rest of the season. He was very good defensively and the Yankees should and I expect will, bring him back for 2012. That would setup a great way for Montero to learn on the job. He could DH most of the time and catch 1-2 times a week. When Martin becomes a free agent after the end of the season, Montero could slide into the starting catchers spot in the lineup. But, that assumes that the Yankees think he can be a catcher.

And making him the DH is a foolish decision for the team and for his career. He is 21, he should be able to field a position on the diamond and the Yankees have plenty of older players who they will need to DH from time-to-time. The obvious solution for the organization is to teach him to play right field. They have an option on Nick Swisher for 2012, but he is going to be a free agent after that and has hired Scott Boras as his agent. In 2012 the Yankees could have Montero DH, catch and play some outfield before moving out to right in 2013. Yogi Berra spent the later part of his career catching and playing the outfield, so it isn't as crazy a plan as it may sound.

Now, it wouldn't surprise me if the Yankees traded him. If the right pitcher became available, say Clayton Kershaw for example, I think the Yankees would definitely pull the trigger and put Montero in the package. But, if they don't trade him, I think we will hear that Montero is learning the outfield when pitchers and catchers report to camp. Until that point, there is no reason for the Yankees to stop saying he is a catcher. Let's just hope they have a plan in place in case they don't really believe it.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Amid swirling rumors that Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein is headed to the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Globe today ran the following article on the inner workings of the Red Sox as a whole in 2011. It isn't pretty.

Under this ownership group, there is a pattern of nasty rumors being floated once a player (or manager) has left town, a verbal kick out the door. And if you believe all you read in today's Globe piece, well, it seems more of the same with Terry Francona. Just who is leaking this information to the author? And if Theo does leave, will we see him get slammed? Marital problems and pain killer addiction? Sounds like a soap opera.

Regardless of what really happened, Theo's potential departure really marks the end of an era. Many wins and 2 World Series Championships. It really worries me that while the Red Sox haven't had much success since 2008, that at least there was a system in place, a discipline as to how to run a team. The last thing we need is some sort of gunslinger who shoots from the hip and signs Jack Clark, Matt Young and Danny Darwin all in one off-season.

If the Red Sox pick the wrong person to be GM, we could see this team slip back to permanent mediocrity, something we haven't see since the early '90s. I'm not in the mood for that. So while Theo has made his share of mistakes, I always feel that the decision he makes are done with good reason (the Lackey and Crawford deals notwithstanding) and thought.

Think about it, the Red Sox aren't the only big-market team. The Cubs and Mets are also big spending teams who have stunk. Just because you have money to spend, doesn't guarantee success. The Red Sox are at a crossroads here and can't afford to mess this up.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The biggest decision the Yankees have to make this offseason is what to do when CC Sabathia opts out. When the Yankees signed CC, I wrote the following:

According to multiple reports, the new deal with Sabathia includes an opt-out clause after three years. This could really work to the Yankees advantage if they are smart. If Sabathia pitches the way he should over the next three years there is a good chance he opts out. By then we will know if Chamberlain and Hughes are truly top starters and if players like Brackman were worth the risk. They could then let Sabathia walk, get a bigger deal elsewhere and therefore be off the hook for the downside of his deal.

Some will argue that the clause gives Sabathia all of the upside and the Yankees all of the downside, but what MLB contract doesn't give all the upside to the player? With this clause, the Yankees will be able to reassess their need for Sabathia after 2011 when they may not have the same need for him as they do now.

Unfortunately, we don't really know the answers to the questions I posed in 2008. Hughes has been erratic. Joba is recovering from surgery and Brackman was a disaster this year. In short, the Yankees haven't produced a replacement for Sabathia internally. Add in the fact that there isn't a replacement for CC on the free agent market and you can certainly see why the Yankees would do everything they could to retain him. But, that would be a big mistake. Yes, not having CC on the 2012 Yankees means they could miss the playoffs, but that is a risk they should take.

And CC is going to opt out. He is going to opt out because the Yankees offered Cliff Lee, a pitcher older than he is, an enormous deal last year. He is going to opt out because Brian Cashman said things like, "I can reaffirm that if Alex Rodriguez opts out of his contract, that we will not participate in his free agency," and then the Yankees signed him to the biggest deal in MLB history. CC Sabathia is going to opt out because he believes, and history is on his side, that he will get a huge pay day in free agency- probably from the Yankees.

CC has been great in a Yankee uniform and projecting the future is hard to do, but betting on pitchers is a bad idea. The Yankees signed CC when he was 28, right in his prime. He is now 31, and that is a significant difference. He has already had a knee procedure and for a pitcher in his potential walk year, it was surprising to see him pack on the pounds as the season progressed. The deal he signed in 2008 is a perfect mix or risk and reward from the Yankees' standpoint- four more years beyond 2011 at a rate of $24 million per. If I were to bet, at least one of those years will be a bad one, but that is a risk the Yankees are certainly able to take.

But any commitment beyond four years makes no sense and the Yankees need to think about the season they just finished. For under $5 million they got 300 innings and a sub-4 ERA from Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon. While I don't expect that to happen again with those guys, the Yankees have the financial resources to sign a bunch of guys who could replicate some of that performance and they also have a number of arms in the minors who could too.

There are also trade possibilities out there. Clayton Kershaw is going to enter arbitration this offseason as is Gio Gonzalez. It's always worth making a call to Seattle to check on Felix Hernandez and the Giants might be interested in trading Matt Cain. If I am the Yankees, I go to CC and tell him that we've loved having him as a Yankee and we hope he will decide to stay for the remaining four years of his contract. Make it clear that if he opts out, they won't pursue him with a better offer. He won't believe them, and based on their past history he shouldn't, but that's what I hope happens.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

The construction of the 2012 Yankees starts at the top because Brian Cashman's contract expires in three weeks. The Yankees could have some interesting choices to hire from Andy McPhail to Theo Epstein, but with all due respect to all of them, they are not Brian Cashman.

Sure, I get on Cashman for a number of thing. For years, I hated the fact that he didn't pay any attention to the bench and then had to scramble to put one together at the trading deadline. But, you can't argue with results, and the guy has won A LOT. And since he took over all baseball operations at the end of 2005, the Yankees have operated in a very different manner than they used to.

It's funny, and I am as guilty of this as anyone, but in baseball we cheer the hitters who succeed 30% of the time while holding the GM's to a much, much higher standard. It is illogical to expect every move a GM makes to work, but we tend to focus on the bad ones and ignore the good ones. Look at all of Cashman's moves and apart from an odd obsession with Sergio Mitre, I think you will agree that he has done very well.

So, I hope the Yankees bring him back and let him continue his efforts to bring a 28th ring to the Bronx. It won't be easy, the Yankees face a number of big decisions this winter and teams like Tampa and Toronto are getting better and better.

More on those decisions tomorrow.

And for those of you who want to see what I wrote the last time Cashman's contract was up for renewal, here it is. Sound familiar?

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

If you are a baseball fan, the makeup of the ALCS and NLDS have to excite you. The Brewers have advanced to their first ever NLCS (Actually kids, the Brewers used to be in the AL before Uncle Bud decided "his" team needed to avoid having to pay a DH and relocated them to the AL. But, I digress) Standing in the way of their first trip to the World Series in almost 30 years are the Cardinals, the team that beat them in the 1982 Series. St. Louis managed to defeat the Phillies, the team with unbeatable pitching, with a 1-0 victory in Game 5.

Over in the AL we have the Texas Rangers, a team that made their first World Series ever last year facing off against Detroit, a team that has plenty of history, but apart from a 2006 World Series appearance (against the Cardinals) not many positive moments in the last 25 years. Yup, there are plenty of storylines, but most of the U.S. will miss them because the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets and Phillies are not involved. At least that's what the conventional wisdom wants you to believe.

The thing is, baseball's TV ratings have been plumbing new depths for awhile, even with the big cities of the East Coast heavily involved. In 1991 the fifth game of the World Series drew 37 million viewers and a 23% share of televisions on in the U.S. market. That's almost more eyeballs than the first THREE games combined of the 2010 World Series. The 5th game last year drew 14.4 million fans and an 8.8% share of TV's Meanwhile the NFL's championship games easily earn over 30 million fans and over 50% of the TV's on.

There are a lot of reasons that the NFL has surpassed baseball as "America's Sport". A HUGE part of it is gambling. Laying 5 points in a football game makes a lot more sense than having a laying 160 to win 100. (These are purely hypothetical examples) But football also has the advantage of being consumable in small doses and convenient start times. The football playoffs are a total of 11 games. MLB Just completed 19 games to finish the divisional round, that won't change. But, I believe start times play an enormous part in what has happened over the years.

The Super Bowl kicks off around 6:20pm EST, which means fans on the East Coast can watch the game and be in bed before 10:30. Contrast that with the ALDS playoffs which had the Yankees starting games mostly at 8:37 and ending them long after midnight. Some will argue that it is different in the World Series and they are right. Despite two weekend games, the earliest MLB start time is 6:07pm.

My Father grew up in England and baseball was anathema to him. He called it "bore-ball" because it never resonated with him like his version of football (soccer). I understand that the game isn't for everyone. The pace can be frustratingly slow and that isn't going to change, no matter how many rules MLB installs to speed up the game. But, the powers that be have ignored the younger generation for far too long. The last truly daytime World Series game was 1984. That means that most fans under 30 never saw a complete World Series game while they were growing up. Can you blame them for not tuning in?

The ALCS and NLCS will be interesting to watch from a ratings standpoint. Sports fans have a chance at a number of "fresh" storylines. There are always complaints that MLB Is too much Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies. Those teams are home, now will the fans at home tune in?

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In the end, it wasn't the pitching that killed the 2011 Yankees, it was the hitting. An offense that scored runs by the bushel, couldn't get a hit when it mattered in Game 5 and now the Yankees are done for the year.

I had an uneasy feeling as I sat in my seat at the Stadium last night. The place was rocking and I think I saw only two Tiger hats the entire game. But, as I settled down in my seat I realized I was sitting, purely by chance, almost directly across the aisle from the seat where I had watched Opening Day six months ago. I wondered at that moment if I would see the start and end of the season from the same vantage point?

The crowd was great last night. Most of the time we were standing and yelling, trying to coax a big hit that never came. There were a number of moves that struck me as odd. Pulling Hughes to bring in Logan, virtually guaranteed CC would pitch and I don't know why the Yankees were so desperate to get him in there. If they had won Game 5, they would have wanted CC to start Saturday night and by bringing him in to relieve, they were asking him to do something he had never done before. Hughes threw 21 pitches, why not leave him in there for 50 or so?

And the late inning bullpen choices confused me. Start with Soriano. He looked great and needed only 16 pitches to get five outs, why pull him? Same thing with Robertson. By pulling Robertson after 13 pitches and going to Mo, Girardi left himself dangerously exposed if the Yankees had tied the game and sent it to extra innings. Sure, we would have seen Mo in the 10th, but Girardi managed the 7th-8th and 9th as if the Yankees had the lead or were tied, which they were not.

But ultimately, this falls on the lack of hitting. Personally, I would have hit Montero for Martin in the 8th. Martin looked absolutely lost at the plate and one of his swings in the 4th or 6th (I forget) was about the worst swing I have ever seen. I understand why Girardi didn't and it probably would not have made a difference, but wow.

The thing that I feel worst about is that Jorge Posada didn't have an "O'Neill" moment. Remember in Game 5 of the 2001 World Series when the fans kept chanting his name? When Posada grounded out in the 8th, some of us stood up to cheer him one last time, but I don't think anyone believed that the season would be over later that night, so the fact that that was probably his last Yankee at bat was missed by most of the crowd. I can't see anyway the Yankees bring him back, nor do I think they should, but it would have been nice for him to have one last moment.

The Yankees did do a good job honoring someone who is retiring. After the final out, the scoreboards around the stadium were lit up with a message of "Thank You Gino". It will be very strange next year to look in the dugout and not see Gene Monahan there.

And now the winter begins, a bit too early for all of us. I'll start looking at the upcoming decisions next week leading off with the GM choice and then the Sabathia choice. Thanks for joining me for another season and here's to a good offseason.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I used to listen to Mike and the Dog all the time, but once the dog left I found Francesca's ego too much to take. So, I have to admit to really enjoying the following clip it perfectly captures Francesca at his bombastic worst. As the link says, this has to be a joke, right?

Anyway, on to Game 5. Corey predicted in the comments yesterday that he thought it would be a high scoring affair and I agree with him. I am a little worried because Nova started to get hit the third time through the Tiger lineup Saturday and I am afraid that that may carry over to tonight. But, I also think the Yankees can get to Fister again so this game will probably be decided by the bullpens. That's where I think the Yankees have the advantage and i expect them to head to the ALCS. They better- I am going to the game and a loss would be very depressing to witness in person.

More tomorrow and some tweets from the stadium via @nysportsfanatic.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

As we got to the outs counting stage of last night's game I started to wonder how Joe Girardi would use the bullpen. After AJ gave up the homer to make it 2-1 I figured he would have a very short leash if he got into trouble in the 5th and probably would give way to a combo of Logan or Wade (depending on the batter) with Soriano, Robertson and Rivera pitching the 6th-9th. The Yankees made it all academic, but I wonder, could Mariano get 6 outs if they needed him to?

In 2011, Mariano pitched more than an inning only three times and only once was it for six outs. His highest pitch total was 33 and he only threw 20 or more pitches in a game 10 times. You can see a pattern in the way Girardi has used Mariano since he became manager in the number of multiple inning games he has thrown:

2008- 15
2009- 10
2010- 5
2011- 3

You can't fault Girardi. He knows he has to ease back on Mariano because as great as he is, he is also 41. But in the playoffs, all bets are off. Even so, I don't think we would see Girardi use Mo for six outs unless he had burned out his primary bullpen. Four outs maybe, but I have a feeling the days of Mo for the 8th and 9th are over.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Let's get this out of the way. The last time AJ Burnett allowed only one earned run or less in a start was June 13th. So, yeah this was a miracle and please don't expect it to happen again this postseason. That being said, thanks AJ.

There were a lot of positive things that happened tonight. From AJ's pitching to the offense finally awakening. The Yankees won a game they had to have and now they head home and face another do-or-die game. You have to feel good right now as a Yankees' fan, but there are plenty of pitfalls ahead. Can Nova pitch well in a pivotal game? Will the Yankees be able to hit Fister the second time around?

It's great we have to worry about all of this. Much more tomorrow and Thursday, enjoy this one!

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

You could make almost any prediction about AJ Burnett's start tonight and I would agree it could happen. Two-hitter? Yup, could happen. Ten runs allowed in the first? Yup, could happen. The fact is we don't know. All we know is Joe Girardi better have the bullpen warming up in the first and go from there.

The bigger picture question is how did the Yankees end up starting AJ in the biggest game of the year (so far)? Part of it is bad luck- ie rain on Friday. Part of it is poor planning- they did let AJ make 32 starts this year. Part of it is a lack of faith in some of the younger guys- Phelps and Warren, part of it is the wheels coming off for one of the older guys- Colon.

There are a lot of reasons for why we are here and a pretty clear path to avoid it in the future. The Yankees need to stop trying to import a pitching staff and start trying to grow one. For every CC Sabathia or David Cone we have seen a Carl Pavano or Jose Contreras. Sure, free agent signings are not going to stop in the Bronx, but they need to get closer to a model where they use them to supplement the team and not create it. That is the foundation you can build a dynasty on. Let's face it, if AJ made the same amount of money Kei Igawa did, he would have pitched in Scranton this year. The only reason he didn't is because the Yankees still owe him more than $30 million.

Teams around the league are getting better and better at developing and keeping young pitchers. The Rays will add Matt Moore to an already impressive rotation next year. The Mariners locked up Felix Hernandez and the Angels took Weaver off the market. The choices on the starters market are going to become worse and worse while the lack of inventory will only drive prices up. The Yankees can outbid anyone, but at what point does it become self-defeating?

The Yankees have done a great job of flooding the upper levels of their system with arms. Now they need to start using them. Ivan Nova went from afterthought to Game 2 starter. Next year, he is obviously a big part of the rotation. Guys like Phelps, Noesi and Warren need to get a look, not to mention Betances and Banuelos. Before the Yankees spend another dime on free agent starting pitchers, they need to think about all the arms they have in the system. Some of them will work out, some won't. But chasing the increasingly smaller fish in an even smaller pond is a path to defeat.

More faith in a guy like Noesi during the season may have allowed him to be an alternative at the end of it. We will never know if 2011 would have turned out differently and as of right now the Yankees are still alive. But win or lose tonight, they should take a long look this offseason at what they have done in the past and vow to change it in the future. Just because they have the money to spend doesn't mean they need to spend it.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 06:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Things did not go well today. Max Scherzer handcuffed the Yankees and Freddy Garcia sandwiched a bad start and bad ending around a very good middle. Detroit now holds several big advantages.

First, they have homefield advantage now with two home games coming up.

Next, they have Verlander going tomorrow.

Finally, the Yankees face the possibility of a Game 4 must-win start being made by AJ Burnett.

If I am Joe Girardi, I put Brett Gardner at the top of the lineup tomorrow. He's one of the most patient Yankees at the plate, the best guy at "creating" a run on the basepaths and he is 3-for-8 with 3 walks in his career against Verlander.

And while I don't bat him 8th, I take a long, long look at A-Rod and his place in the lineup. He looks pretty bad at the plate and it is worth noting that he 13-for-76 since coming back from surgery. Perhaps he simply isn't right, but this isn't the time to let him play his way out of it. If he is hurt, sit him.

The solace the Yankees can take in today's game is that they made the prime part of the Detroit bullpen work while keeping theirs well rested. That may prove to be a big advantage in the next two days.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 06:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Other than Mariano's brief, and I mean brief, appearance in Game 1 (part 2), everything went about as well as you could hope for it to go as a Yankees' fan. Ivan Nova almost completed the game. The offense, or Robinson Cano, went bonkers and Mariano was the only significant bullpen arm used, and only for three pitches. That means the Yankees will have Soriano, Robertson and Mo ready to go later today and Monday if needed. Add in the fact that Max Scherzer is now starting at Yankee Stadium and not at home (Home ERA 3.80 vs. Road ERA of 5.23) while Justin Verlander will only add his work in Game 3 to the 1 inning he pitched Friday.

Cano's performance is somewhat ironic to me because I can't stop thinking about how the Yankees almost gave him away. If you recall, he was the guy the Yankees tried to get Arizona to take at the 2004 trade deadline for Randy Johnson. They only gave him a shot in 2005 because that team was awful out of the gate. He's banged out over 1,200 hits since then and become the Yankees' most dangerous hitter. If the Yankees hadn't turned to Cano in May of 2005, where would he be now?

That's a question I was thinking a lot about Friday as I watched Matt Moore dominate the Rangers in the second start of his big league career. Here was a 22-year old kid blanking the Rangers over seven innings of two-run ball. It made me wonder why the Yankees, even with the successes of guys like Cano, are so reluctant to turn to rookies? Tampa had to and they were rewarded. It doesn't always work out that way, but I wonder if the Yankees had promoted Betances or Banuelos in August would they have had to worry about their playoff rotation?

That's a gripe we can worry about later. For now, the Yankees are where we want them to be. One win down, ten more to go.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We were one row away from a great seat at last night's game. One row further back and we would have been completely covered from the rain. But, we weren't and the rain came down and down and down. I don't know if they showed it on TV, but at one point during the rain delay the tarp was actually in the outfield and the ground crew was working on the infield. And then it rained and rained and rained some more.

It was a disappointing end to an exciting night. The Yankees had Mo throw out the first pitch and honored Posada at the same time by having him catch that pitch. They made a big deal about all of Posada's career and it gave the fans a chance to salute a player who won't be in pinstripes next year.

The rain also throws the series into chaos. Ivan Nova is going to "relieve" CC Sabathia tonight when the game picks up in the second inning. Freddy Garcia is going to pitch tomorrow's Game 2 and Sabathia will be back Monday for Game 3. Game 4, if needed, will probably be started by AJ Burnett. The Yankees and Tigers now have the potential to play four-straight days.

Obviously, Nova's performance tonight is going to be huge. If he can pitch the majority of the remaining game, it will spare the bullpen. If he can't the Yankees are going to have to hope Garcia picks up the slack because the alternative is a very tired bullpen.

We'll see how it all plays out.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 02:05 PM | Permalink