2017 Was A Hoot!

  2017 will likely be remembered by me and millions of fans as the year that the new dynasty was born. But i say, it was worth remembering just for the thrills. The 2017 team was more talented than we realized at the start and by the end- we felt they both overachieved and fell short of a reachable goal.  It was that kind of year.

Yankee Fans-- Admit it we're completely Spoiled

Yankee fans have had the remarkable experience over a long period to have team management that Constantly added talent. The talents have sometimes disappointed, but they were usually young athletes with jaw-dropping potential.

Home Grown Talent

The last few decades brought Derek Jeter, Alfonso Soriano,  Robbie Cano, Don Mattingly, Thurman Munson, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and a few dozen other homegrown, big-time talents. 

The latest edition offers Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Luis Severino, Greg Bird and promises to add Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres. This group already has three all-stars and the rest seem on the same path.
Next Season- Building More
 Next year we can look forward to some delightful images:
Sanchez, Bird  and Judge authoring season of 100 homers, 300 runs, and 320 rbi;
Starting Pitching -Severino, Montgomery, and Gray winning 45 games
Bullpen dominance - Chapman, Green, Kahne, and Robertson.

The Yanks will have to rebuild their rotation after letting CC go, Tanaka opt out, and refusing to pay the ransom asked for a top of the line free agent. The Yanks will have to trust the farm system and hope that they can get some meaningful innings from Justus Sheffield, Dillon Tate, Guzman, and Chance Adams.  The Yanks have shown they can wheel and deal on the minor league level to find some gems.

If You Could Trade these Guys
They have assets they would like to trade- Aaron Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Chase Headley would be great chips along with Dellin Betances. The Yankees made a big mistake in letting their executives go at Betances during the arbitration; they lost him- and now need to trade the best reliever in the game.

The Yankees don’t make blunders often, but when they do  they can be big-time at messing things up too.

On the Verge of something Greater

2017 has been a great season for the Yankees, even by their lofty standards, whne you come from nowhere to get within one game of the AL Pennant, it is an achievement. Thye have accomplished a NYC rebuild- which means you must keep an interesting and competitive product on the field while you break in a bunch of rookies and retreads.

The Yankees have drafted with luck and precision in recent years; Bird, Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, and Gary Sanchez form the bedrock of  talent that can carry the team for the foreseeable three-five years-- a baseball eternity. They have more on the way with Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres on offense, and Justus Sheffield on the starting rotation future's list.
They have patched together a solid all-around team with Todd Frazier, Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorious.

The problem remains the poor choices they made when giving long term deals to Chase Headley, Jacoby Ellsbury, CC CSabathia, and Masohiro Tanaka.  But in their year of redemption, all of these players have performed well.

Sabathia has been spectacular- providing what they used to get from Andy Pettitte- savvy Lefty, big-game nerves of steel. If they are smart they will keep CC for as long as he wants to play on his painful knees.

Win or lose in this ALCS, they have given the Yankee fans a great thrill, and reason to pay for tickets next year. They have had a great year, and on the verge of something even greater, after all these are Yankees and Yankee fans, the adore the hardware-- 40 AL championships- simply wet the appetite for number 41.

2017- A Great Rehearsal

As a kid growing up in the Greater NYC Area, we got to go to the Old Met once or twice a year to see dress rehearsals of the new operas for the season. I still remember some of them :  Gianni Schicchi, Cavaleira Rusticana, La Boheme-- it was  great, and it was free,  Ahh NYC!

This year the Yankees brought that idea back to me. Watching the understudies play the leading roles and knowing someday they too would be big stars like the people they stood-in for  or even bigger.

2017 WAS A GREAT DRESS REHEARSAL FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

The season will  likely end early because the Yanks do not seem able to maintain their balance of pitching and offense in the stretch. They can only seem o get close to the AL East lead.  They still have a chance at a WILD CARD SPOT  and once you get in the playoffs anything can happen.

If I were Cleveland or Boston, I would not rest easy facing the Yankees in the post season. If one or two of their hitters get hot, they can be a load to handle. They still have the ability to shut down an offense with a deep bullpen, and with Severino , Gray, and CC they will have a chance to win each game-- Tanaka is the big ticket arm and the big mystery this year,  I think it is physical and the arm needs the repair he has avoided for three years-- on the other hand, he has thrown some of the best games of his career this season.

They added pitching depth - the lefty Montgomery, Chad Green emerged as a star, and Severino is a top pitcher in the AL. They added speed and athleticism Gleyber Torres is ready, Clint Frazier is here. The infield is defensively sound and productive on offense- Castro, Didi, and T Frazier give you 70 homers and good defense. Sanchez and Judge will be the two-man anchor for this team and it could run for a decade-- let's hope!

Anyway, the season has been a thrill for Yankee fans- reasons to hope, new things to enjoy, talented young stars being on the big stage-- dress rehearsal in the Big Apple.

Yankees and the Great Middle Class

The Yankees must remember that they like America have their real strength in its middle class. The Yankees have bright stars on their horizon. The collection of Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge has NY fans buzzing and dreaming on a new Murderer's Row. They have shown the potential to be a foundation for an amazing future of winning and championship contention.

 

Muscle in the Middle

 The strength is in the Middle Class- Matt Holliday, Brett Gardner, Chase Headley, Aaron Hicks, Chris Carter, and Jacoby Ellsbury. Add to this the key reserves like Ronad Torreyes and Austin Romine and you have a balanced roster with no obvious weaknesses. The Middle calss group has the ability to rise to star contributions. They have great defenders( Ellsbury and Garder) and power hitters ( Carter and Holiday). They have skill and baseball savvy ( Headley,Torreyes and Romine). Each f these players is replaceable by bigger talents in the Yankee system or in the looming free agent market. Yet each has a solid home with NY and will likely stay unless the Siren call of young pitching captures the Yankee management. Ellsbury is paid like a star but has ever performed up to his past levels. This season, he has turned a new leaf. Injuries seem to follow him, but this year he has a higher rev- the motor seems to by in high-gear. He can still change a game on offense and defense.

Stars and more Stars

 Didi Gregorious, and Starlin Castro can yet grow into the star strata. Castro was there once and based on his efforts so far in 2017, he can get there again. He can hit, he can do everything needed on defense. He has shown more power than in his early Chicago days- a product of effort and physical growth. he ig changes for him in 2017 are in being in condition, and accepting the burden of leadership. Expectations can stifle or boost most baseball players. This season, the expectations on Castro have dropped but they seem to boost him rather than block him. He is on his way to a spectacular year. Didi Gregorious has the power arm that makes other MLB shortstops wish. He added a home run stroke last season and one can look forward to a defensively-able shortstop that adds 20 honers and some clutch rbi.

Strong Core

The three young stars , Castro and Gregorious provide a five man core that is as strong as any team in the Majors. They have power and hitting ability. One or two can carry a team in a tough match-up game, two or three can launch the team to a week of winning. They will be a hard team to shut down, they press the defense and opposing pitching for the full 27 outs.

2017 Yanks Have Something Special

Friday, Cinco de Mayo in Chicago, the old Wrigley Field still holds the thrill of the Championship that ended a long, long drought.  Yankee fans have not tasted victory since 2009, 100 years for a Cubs Fan is far less wear and tear than eight winless years for a Yankee Fan.  The expectation are so much higher and the experience so much more compelling. Having won 27 Championships creates a dire thirst for number 28.

2017 Has Hot Prospects

The 2017 Yankees have a chance at that type of season. They have by luck, skill, and adventure chanced into some outstanding talents. The talent level is higher than in most recent years, perhaps the best since the late 90'swhen the last Yankee dynasty flowered. They have some indomitable spirits on this roster. Both new and old, they play with a belief that they can win.  That belief, a sort of unstated confidence, put the Yankee franchise apart form the rest.  It is like the old Celtics with Bill Russell, the Bulls with Jordan, or the Canadiens when they ruled hockey. Some  franchises establish this trait of winning with or against the odds. The 2017 Yankee have a chance to join the line of heroes.

 Core Four Legacy

When the Yankees had Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte  as headliners, they also had side players like El Duque, Paul O'Neil, Chili Davis, and Darryl Strawberry. These were great talents but they had a sense of playing as a unit. One might fail only to sit and cheer the next person in the order on to success. Sharing success and failure, every man owned the team's accomplishments. They had big stars but no one was bigger than the team, no one more important than winning.

2017 has the Spark

The 2017 Yankees have that trait, the Yankees DNA. Playing hard, playing as a team, and picking up the next man's failure and moving forward.  They are the young phenoms like Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. The team has promising young players from their own system for a change like Greg Bird, Luis Severino, Chad Green, and great signings of young veterans like Ronald (Mighty Mouse) Torreyes, the smallest Yankee with maybe the biggest drive to win.

The veterans have caught the fire too and have responded like youngsters with energy and enthusiasm. Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, and Chase Headley have dragged the Yankees down the past two seasons with lackluster performance and injury. This season they are leaders on the field.

You're as good as your Pitching

CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka have guile and talent. They can dominate games, but so can Severino and Michael Pineda.  The rotation has Chad Green in waiting and Montgomery as the surprise from Training camp. The bullpen lost the best reliever in the game last season in Andrew Miller but still has Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman firing 100 mph fastballs and slow curves.

Hitting, Power, and Speed

This team has timely hitting, power and speed. They run the bases and hit the gaps for extra bases. They do not live by the Home Run but they thrive on them. The season is early and the hot days of summer will enliven the ball and the stadiums. This team has lit the spark, it will be a fascinating experience to see how far and how fast they can grow and achieve. The hard part is done, they have assembled a team with the potential for a remarkable season.

and they're off!!

2016 begins in frigid conditions but the competition is already warm and interesting. The American League wonders if it has a super team- Toronto and ts vaunted offense- or a group of closely matched competitors that will be decided by team balance and fortitude.  I think it is the latter- and the most balanced teams are the Yankees and the KC Royals.

The NL will be a pitcher's league this year as the off season was an arms race. Starters and relievers in combination will help a few teams stand out as their offense will perform well enough to win with great pitchig. San Fran ad the LA Dodgers are in the vanguard but so is Arizona. The Mets have the best balance and they should begin and end at the top.

More than predictions, this ought to be a year of great performances and great expectations. The Cubs will try again to break their hex but I wonder if the ChiSox won't be the big surprise this season.  Great matches in the offing include Toronto and Detroit, Boston and the Yankees, and the Baltimore Orioles- my official sleeper team for 2016.

2016 Forecast- the Pitching Outlook

Starting Pitching and Relief

The Yankees have a talented group of pitchers. With effective management, they can lead the team to a championship in 2016. Depth is a concern because injuries come to the young and old in this part of the game. The Yanks have some work to do to develop another starter and some right-hand relief pitchers.

~~Starting Pitching~~

Sabbathia will show the Yankees fans he still is an Ace. He found a knee brace at the end of the seaso that had him working well with a 2.89 era in his last five starts. With fine tuning of the control an approach, he is poised to get back to the top pf the rotation. The bullpen needs better management so that he won’t have to try to complete games unless they are Yankee blowouts.

Tanaka had some minor arm problems last season related to a bone spur. Now removed, he should be more effective than last season’s 3.54 era. He has remarkable control and poise. With better health, his velocity will rise and the home runs allowed will go down. He can throw his splitter less and remain effective; he is an Ace.

Pineda is stl the guy with the most unhittable assortment as he showed with a 16 strikeout game  against Baltimore last  Mother’s Day.  He has developed tools to get by in days his big slider is not so big, he can be precise and use exceptional control and command to win battles. He must figure out how to grip the ball better in cool weather and gain confidence in a cool weather approach. That is all that is blocking his path to being one of the best in the AL.

Eovaldi added a split to his high 90’s fastball and it is devastating. It looks like the fastball but doesn’t rise, and that is the opposite action that pitcher’s need, two pitches that look similar and end up in opposite places. With an improved slider command he can win 20. Last season 14-3 was a breakout as talent and results began to equalize.

Severino was the best pitcher at the end of the season with a sub 3.00 era and winning five of 11 starts. With a full season to use his high-90’s fastball and improved change-up he can carve up those big swinging AL hitters. Severino has potential to be the number 1 starter for the Yanks.

Nova will be the valuable number 6 starter and the Yanks wil have some months where they wil use  six starters. Nov will let the Yanks rest tanaka and the others for a start here and there and this can save the staff from fliing into tired arm and tired arm habits the cause injury. Niva is valuable.

Number 7 starter is the next project in this unfinished team, Kaprellian is the next in line if he continues to develop at AAA. The Yanks traded for Luis Cessa and he has some potential.  A free agent signing or trade can do the job; the Yanks have an abundance of outfielders in the minors that are major league ready.

~~The Bullpen~~

Aroldis Chapman will likely serve a suspension of some length because baseball needs to prove it is tough on domestic violence.  Here’s to hoping he deserves to be punished rather than needs treatment. Once that is resolved, he may become the yanks most important reliever and finally replace Mariano Rivera as a lock-down ninth inning guy. The one who tells the opposition they will be lucky and rare to score a ninth inning run.

Dellin Betances is the best guy to shut down a rally and build a scoreless bridge to the ninth. He can overpower batters with 98-100 mph heat, he can finesses with a knuckle-curve. He has learned to handle bad calls and close no-calls better. His strikeout rate is the best in baseball.

Andrew Miller saved 36 games last season and had a terrific start before wearing down from overuse. Chapman’s presence and experience as the go to giuy will help. Miller wiol close some and set-up some. He wil have less stress and overuse.

Chasen Shreve and Jacob Lindgren are the younger lefties that can make the relief corps special. Lindgren has a great breaking ball and Shreve at times last year was unhittable. They mix slower speeds than the big three which is also refreshing. They have some other big lefty arms like Pazos and Tyler Webb.

The right handed relief is the missing link. So far, there are a lot of big armed candidates like Pinder, Rumbelow and Brian Mitchell who have mid-90’s fastballs and enough secondary pitches to be excellent. The Yanks have young right handed talent that is untried like Barbato and Domingo German- guys with great minor league records and stats; they are ready for trial in the spring. They need to find two and then find two more to cultivate for later in the season.