2016 Yankees Will Rock

2016 Yankees Will Rock

They limped home in 2015 and lost their meager playoff appearance without so much as a whimper. Without their best hitter and with holes in the lineup they were poised for a one and done- very un-Yankee like season end. The outlook in 2016 is much brighter.

They solved very little over the post season so far, of the five things that needed to be done, only two have been accomplished. They have set out on the right path and the end Is in sight. By the time the trading deadline passes in mid- season, they will be armed and ready for a playoff run. It took that long for Toronto last season, and it may take that long for the Yanks but it will be worthwhile to see a real Yankee team rolling in September—it has been a long while.

Castro and Hicks Add Dimensions

They have added someone to fill the 2B spot in Starling Castro. I think the Cubs sold short on him going for reliable over upstart talent- Zobrist will do well in Chicago but Castro should thrive in NY and playing 2B will be part of the solution.  If he can hit for his career averages he will be a star in the Bronx.

Aaron Hicks was a critical move because the Yanks play three part time outfielders. Gartner and Ellsbury are part time players. Gartner has had full seasons but injuries rob him of his essentials, a wrist action swing and footspeed. Ellsbury is a part time player. For him, a pulled leg muscle is a season ending injury. At his age, he cannot go through a season without a minor injury, for him minor injuries are major. Hicks solves those problems and if recent years are a gauge, he will play full time. He will be in the lineup for 130-140 games. The result will be stronger defense, more production from the three outfield spots. There will be room in the outfield for Aaron Judge too.  Beltran needs to be in prime condition late in the year, resting him or letting him heal in mid-season will help a lot, and Judge has potential like Greg Bird last year, to come in a do some damage.

The other three things that need be done are in the starting staff and bullpen. They need a reliable, durable right-hand pitcher in the pen. Brian Mitchell could be ideal so could some newly healed minor leaguers like Johnny Barbato or Domingo German. A trade or free agent signing might be the way. This is a critical task for the front office. They have left-handed relievers who can grow into roles starting with Shreve who was excellent at times last season and Jacob Lindgren who has the makeup to be an effective middle reliever.  There are about five minor league options for the two left hand slots, but the right hand side of the cupboard is spare.

Starting depth is a problem if they trade Nova, it is an urgent problem. They could still trade for a #3 starter using Nova or Gartner to start the deal. I think the answer is in the system with drafted players like Kaprielian and two young starters coming off injury from last year- Ian Clarkin and Ty Hensley .

What do they have Going for Them

The Yanks have a balanced lineup, some speed, good defense, solid starting five, and a killer late inning bullpen. The everyday lineup should hit. Castro and Gregoroius will be an athletic defense combo but also solid in offense. They could average .270 and give 300 hits.  Headley had a bad year last season on defense and offense. He wore down and this season they will rest him more.  Either ARod or Castro will get some reps there, I hope it is ARod- playing 20 games at 3B would add a lot to the season. Teixera and McCann will provide clutch rbi and power. Beltran can be quite good if rested often enough. The heart of the order could be 110 HR/340 rbi. More important, with Greg Bird  1B and Gary Sanchez as backup catcher, there are two powerful bats in reserve and part-time roles. Both can change games with their bats.

Castro, Gartner, ARod, Teixera, Beltran, McCann, Hicks, Headley, Gregorious

The starting staff led by CC with his newly rediscovered approach- looks as strong as any in the league

Sabbathia, Tanaka, Pineda, Severino, and Eovaldi—backed up by Miller and Betances

This team is as strong as any in the division and is the favorite at this point- on paper and ratings, with Boston and Toronto close behind.  Every team is still making moves, and as the season moves ahead- it will once again be the last minute moves that tell the tale.

a seaon of building

Once the Yankees lost their key offense contributot and best defender, the seaon drifter slowol y and sureky away. The Wild Card was a por substitute for a meaningful post-season run.  That it ended in one meek offensive showing was a snapshot of this season- their best pitching  worn down fro over reliance and the anemic offense failing to produce runs.
The season will be remembered like the years that brought Bernie William, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter.  This crop has Severino who can be an Ace, Greg bird who can be a thumper, and Refsnyder wh may wind up being a .300 hitterat 2B for a decade.
The loss of a chmpionship run was disappointing because the team had enough talent to do well in the post season and regiukar season.  They must come to grips with a few realities: Ells bury is a part-time player, Beltran wil not likelu provide more than 120 games, and Teixera has become brittle.
Depth is the key and the Yanksnow have some excellent talent in reserve roles that will build into full time roles over the next two seasons.
The Yanks have a young pitching corp with Tanaka, Severino, Eovaldi, and Warren. The relief can be special led by Betances and Miller, and with Shreve and Lindgren as the second tier. hey have a grat collection of power arms in the mionors that are ready to vome to the bigs.
One wonders if the baseball powers will allow a team that features A Rod to become the face of the game, after all MLB has incredibly invested its goodwill in the idea that steroids produce baseball performance when there is essentially nothing to support that idea. True,  players try to cheat but the 100 mph fastball finds the truth.
For the Yanks, this season was  a lost year.However,  it  became the year they found the next generation of Yankee success.

Yankees at the halfway Mark

 This is one of the more intersting Yankee teams in recent memory. It has Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabbathia as the Golden Oldies- milking the ends of great careers, it had Mark Teixera on the comeback trail  showing he is still one of the best in the game.  It has homegrown talent in Mike Gartner and Dellin Betances both destined to be mewmorable Yankees and likely Champions at some point. The offense needs to grow another dimension by using its speed to produce runs and cause defenses to make mistakes. The basic mix is excellent- late inning power and shut down bullpen.

The team is still a work in progress but one must notice a few things. First, they are in first place and have shown resilience and power.  They can dominate at home with left handed power from all along the lineup  Even Steven Drew who is batting in the .190 range has 12  homers and could reach 20 for the season.  Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran have not been  able to sustain over a long period due to injury, if they are back for 2nd half the yanks can be an elite offense.

Second, there have been few trades and signings. The yankees know they have a lot of talent and have not had to beat the bushes this season. They have a solid starting rotation with two rising stars in Tanaka and Michael Pineda.  Eovaldi throws in the upper 90's, certain days show he can be a dominant guy too- he is learning to pitch.  If so, the yanks will have three dominant arms that will be hard to match in post-season. The bullpen is a strength and will be a major reason if they win this year. Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Chasen Shreve,  Justin Wilson and Warren offer a scenario where most teams can only get one or two runs- at most- over the last four innings of a game.

Third, the minor leagues send people who have talent and can contribute.  Mason Williams, Ramon Flores, and Cole Figueroa demonstrate that the minors have capable players. Next season they Yankees will have a lot of decisions forced on them by players ready to play in the bigs: Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Jacob Lindgren, and righthander Luis Severino will play their way onto the roster in the Spring.
I think this team has the grit factor- they can lose without losing faith, and this is needed this year with so many good but flawed teams in the mix.  The Yanks are not as good as Baltimore but so far have shown a much greater will to win. Tanaka and Pineda give them better pitching talent when added to Betances and Miller- they can shut down a team as talented as Baltimore in a short series.

 Prediction:  Yanks and Orioles in a memorable pennant race.

a Season of Lites

If it were a beer, it would be Tanaka-Lite; the post injury version of the Yankee's world-class pitching star is efective but in a less powerful way.  He can dp this mentallyu- devise ways to win the individual battles with slower pitches.  He has never depended on ve;locity as a MLB performer- movment was the thing that made him spcil, and still does.

For the Yankees season however, they must plan on not having Tanaka; one cannot predict the durability of his injuired right arm because the adjustments he must make weaken other areas of th arm and shoulder.  The long term risk of pitching with an injury is also that other injuroies may occur. The underestimated Yankee farm system has provided reasonable solutons in the past few years- Shane Greene was a great find, and there are others not yet prominent that can come up and play a role. Jacob Lindgren was ready for the Bigs but instead went to Triple-A and along with Andrew Bailye give the Yanks depth in an area of short supply league- wide- effective short releief.

Ivan Nova can be a key to their season. He can give quality innings and add another power arm to the Pineda-Eovaldi right hand side of the rotation  Healthy now and working in games, Nova has the ability to pitch at a high level. He never found the right combination for using his arsenal over a long stretch. But if can get on a roll for a month late in the season, it could make the season when August heat separates the leaders from the pack. He needs to develop Nova-lite, a way to mix off-speed and control into a steady mid-90's fastball.

In the mean time the Yanks can enjoy the fact that they can compete with the AL East with a superior bullpen, some very good starting pitching, and just enough offense to keep the burden on the bullpen manageable. This season the Yankees will need to discover some offense in their farm system- Jose Pirela has a chance to contribute, and maybe this is the season to see if Gary Sanchez can channel his enormous talent into a place in the Yankee offense. In the meantime, Tanaka-lite may become the new favorite in the Bronx.

2015 Yanks Built To Win not Impress

This edition of the NY Yankees promises to be entertaining and have that special Yankee quality- they spur the imagination for what they might achieve. It is a team that has a make-up that should please long-time fans bith young and old.  For this squad, a Championship season would be a delightful surprise and failing to getinto the playoffs would be another deeply felt disappointment.

Potentials that Intrigue-

There are young players still making a mark and defining themselves at the major league level. The athletic shortstop Gregorious is a great example. He can use many  of his excellent tools to add a spark. On defense he can stop a big inning with exceptional range and determination. On offense he will likely become a extra bas machine, delivering well placed line drives into the gaps. The other shortstop is Stephen Drew who is also a phenomenal athlete. He is a technique hitter and a guess hitter too. He seems to be regaining his form and may produce a 15 hr/60 rbi season this year; the key for Drew is clutch hitting. He may only be a .260 hitter, but he is a better hitter with the game on the line.

Veterans on the Rise

Usually veterans are on the decline, but for the yanks this season, Teixera, McCann and Beltran are ascendant figures. They have already begun to punish mistakes and that suggests this trio can produce 100 home runs and 240 RBI or more. They will be the heart of a very productive run scoring arsenal.

The A-Rodney Factor

Yes, he has become a more civil character more of a Rodney than an A-Rod. Some cal it mellowing, but i think he us saving his combat for the playing field rather than with the Yankee brass and the press. This man had a high level in his prime and although he has declined , he has more to offer than any other Yankee hitter. He can hit 30 homers and that will be phenomenal. Like hank Aaron before him only a few is age have done that. More important he can be a guy who drives the ball deep into the gaps and drives in runs. That was always the greatness of Rodriguez, not a slugger but a rub producer-- you can look it up, he ranks all-time.  Steroids- well the press is on steroids- I think you can pop pills until you glow in the dark, God either gave you the ability to hit a 95 mph fastball or She didn't.

Speed Kills

The Yanks have speed and base running skills that make them a run producing machine. They can slug a little and run a little, that makes them versatile and harder to beat. The bullpen is their best asset when Tanaka is not pitching, and the combination of Carpenter, Wilson, Betances and Miller will shorten games by two innings. When they add Jacob Lindgren and Andrew Bailey they will close the door after six innings on most days, it is a deep and phenomenal group.

Correcting 2014 in 2015

There is a Democrat in the White House and the economy is on the mend, it is a teaditional year for the Yanlees to go to the World Series and win. It has been a dreary century since they last won-- Yankee years are like dog years, time warps in on itself from the weight of deprivation!

Last season the Yankees put on an early dash that showed promise and that a coherent plan had a chance to succeed. It was thrown off by some events which may be correctable for this comong season. 

The first was Carlos Beltran and the wall in Tampa. I won't talk about poor sportsmanship, but to officially make a policy they we do not warn players of a hazardous low wall is absurd. A full speed head over heels flip can result in a catastrophic injury. Would they really feel that the opportunity to win a game is worth crippling someone?  In Tampa the answer is yes, if the league wont fix that wall then the players need to figure out a way.

The second was the injury to Masahiro Tanaka, that took the wind out of the sails for the season. That injury cost the Yankees ten victories.  They found worthy substitutes in McCormack and Shane Greene was a young Phenom. This year we will have Tanaka and he will have to find a way like some others to pitch with a damaged elbow.  The Yankees have built some protection for starting pitching in the form of a strong bullpen that will invite a 6th inning pitching change.

The third was the bullpen's week links last year.  They relied on people who could not hold up to the pressure and difficulty. Thornton was the high velocity guy that Betances turned out to be instead. Others like Kelly  began throwing hard but could not sustain it. A power pitcher can't make it in the AL East in the upper 80's-- flamethrowers need flame. The Yankees have added the flames- Esmail Rogers, Justin Upton, Andrew Miller, and Carpenter  all throw at 95 mph and above.  They will challenge hitters at the level of their best reflexes and win a lot of battles if they throw strikes.
The lineup of Wilson, Carpenter, Miller and Betances will shorten  the opponents'  game to six innings. 
The offense needs more punch and this can come from speed and opportunistic hitting. L:ast seaspon they gave away far too many at bats from guys who had no clue how to win. McCann took on too much pressure and struggled because Teixera was gone or ineffective.  Beltran got hurt and never recovered and this was the heart of the offense- rbi's from McCann and Beltran and Teixera.  This year they have added Headley and Stephen Drew. Headley can be a steady 80 rbi guy. Drew ccan do the same, get big hits and rbi's with a low average.  They need to have decent production from 8 spots in the order in order to benefit from the defensive excellence of their new, weak-hitting shortstop.

The starting pitching needs to be above average and consistent.  From the group of Tanaka, Pineda, CC and the new guy Eovaldi  they need consistent pitching. Six strong inniings wiht rare flame-outs.  This is enough with a super bullpen and timely hitting.  The wildcard is A Rod  if he is a shadow of his fprmer self that can be enough. He can put them over the top with 25 homers and 80 rbi.
I think A Rod wil have a good year on offense and play enouigh 1b and 3b to hold those spots together too.  By the end of the season I predict something else, even the press wil forget about the one-year suspension-- which by now everyone must see-- baseball punished the wrong man-- the drug pusher is the bad guy, the user is just criminally stupid.

Yankees on a Shoestring

The 2015 Yankees have been shaped with a view towards competoing in a low offense era by reliance on good startig pitching and great late relief work. This is the economy model for success since it relies upon ;low cost commodities- guys who can command a fastball for an inning.
The current era in baseball features high velocity relief pitching- it turns pitchers into short-lived hard throwers, guys who can beat the reflexes of the best hitters.

Kansas City was the recent edition of this, and Baltimore had it too. Two years back,  Boston used it to win. The Yankees have had this too, remember Goose Gossage- the original late inning scary guy?  But in this era the most expensive commodity is the hitter who can drive 95 mph fastballs over the centerfield wall.  Guys like Mike Stanton in Miami and Aaron Judge in the Yankees near future. They do it with great strength  and some of the Cubans have this too-- Abreu in Chicago  is that guy.
In 2015 the Yankees will offer an opportunistic offense built around clutch rbi's and Carlos Beltran. But with Alex Rodriguez back , he can take over the offense and probably force  Chase Headley into the outfield for much of the season. A 30/100 homer and rbi line would do just that. He and teixera have a good 60 hr/200 rbi year in them and of the do it thos seaso the yanks will win the AL.  They yankees have buikt a solid nine- a lineupo that can click and produce 5 runs per game.  They have a late inning relief nightmare i the making with Betances, Miller nad Carpenter formog a forewall around any late inning lead.

The key to the season is winning close games on the road. The Yankees will have a home-filed advantage on offense with lefty power from Beltran, Teixera, Headley, McCann, and newly added Garrett Jones.  They will have left-handed pitching from Sabbathia, Wilson., Miller and a group of young arms featuring Jacob Lindgren.

The keys to the season are: ARod to come back with a fury; Lefty Bullpen power from Miller, Wilson. and Lindgren; and Teixera to go for his baseball card- 30/100 power and rbi stats.  One can assume that Tanaka will not make it through the year but that Nova will comeback better than when he left. One can hope CC can be above average.  Eovaldi is a stud who pitched like a Dud in Miami; he must learn to win the battles and he definitely has the ability to do it. He is a #2 level starter if he can do two things- learn to throw the AL strike zone, and trust his defense to take away two hits per game.

he yanlkes are on a shoestring because the ownership ra;lizes that with the punitive yankee tax they are handcuffed.  Now that the corrupt Bud Selig is gone, it is time to repeal the ridiculous Yanlee tax and let everyone spend as the wish, not just the cheapskates.  Amen!!!!

Yankees 2015- first glance

After giving a glorious farewell to Derek Jeter, the 2015 season lacks a theme. This is a good thing because it does not need one. The Yankees ave been out of the championship season for three consecutive seasons.  This is an eternity in Yankee fan years- which are shorter than dog years but far more agonizing without a championship.

The model for success seems to change with each season, and last year the KC Royals upheld their end of the bargain in reviving a great rivalry from the past. The George Brett -Ha;ll McCrae Royals battled the Yankees in some classic duels. Now KC has a great pitching staff to go with exceptional defense and they won the American League before falling to the Giants in the Series. KC showed that good pitching and dominant relief work is a formula for success despite low run production.

In 2015, the Yankees have assembled a balanced team. The strongest part may be the 7th, 8th , and 9th inning relief staff.  Betances. Miller, and Carpenter offer 95 mph plus power arms and devastating breaking pitches to put hitters away.  Like KC, the new look bullpen is a major weapon. it can shorten the opponents game to six innings of scoring opportunities and a lot of downcast trips back to the bench in the late innings.

There will be marvels at ARod as he crashes fences with line drives like it was 1999  but this will not be a surprise to those who have seen his career; the man has talent and I don't think it left because Bud Selig favors drug dealers over drug buyers-- a terrible mistake that was-- and the Yankees offense will be better from healing and new additions.

 Team defense may be better with a solid infield and a return to clutch hitting and cashing in on rbi opportunities at a much improved rate. The tricky part will be holding the starting pitching together; the Yankees have finally discovered a knack for picking up solid pitching to fill the gaps caused by injury. This will likely be the case this year too.