Results tagged ‘ mark ’
A Look Ahead: Infielders
Part 2 of “A Look Ahead.” Today we look at infielders:
The possible need(s): Utility Man
The options: Eric Hinske, Cody Ransom, Ramiro Pena, Mark DeRosa, Felipe Lopez, Bobby Crosby, Marco Scutaro, John McDonald.
As proven by recent teams that reached the World Series (Boston in ’07, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia in ’08), a good bench is a key to success. The Yankees have already improved their bench dramatically this year with the acquisition of Eric Hinske and could make it even better this offseason.
They could retain the services of Hinske and Ransom (they don’t have to worry about Pena) and then have the three of them duke it out in Spring Training with probably two of them making it to the big league club.
Another option would be to sign a free agent. The best looking name out there is that of Mark DeRosa. DeRosa is the definition of a utility man. He can play all four infield spots as well as the outfield. You combine that with a .300 BA and 20 HRs, you have yourself the best benchwarmer in the league. However, there are a couple of things going against DeRosa landing in the Bronx. In the past, he has expressed an interest in starting, something he was able to do in Cleveland. However, he would not be able to start in the Bronx (unless an outfield spot opened up. More about that later). A lot of other teams will be interested as well so the Yankees would have to out bid about 15 other teams, which they’ve managed to do plenty of times in the past.
They could also go after one of the other names out there. Lopez and Scutaro are certainly very attractive options. Or they could look at Bobby Crosby (remember his name was floated out there in trade rumors when A-Rod went down). Bottom line, Yanks have plenty of nice options when it comes to a utility man (or too).
Yanks Acquire Hinske
Some news out of NY, the Yankees have acquired infielder/outfielder/Mark DeRosa-like player Eric Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash and to minor league players.
Hinske, hit .255 with 18 runs, 9 doubles, 1 HR and 11 RBIs in 54 games (13 in right, 6 at first, 3 at third, and 29 pinch-hit appearances. He also played on the 2008 AL Champion Rays, the 2006 and (World Series-winning) 2007 Red Sox, and the 2002-2006 Blue Jays.
He will report to Yankee Stadium which means a roster move will be made for his return. I would think that either Ramiro Pena or Brett Tomko will be sent down or designated for assignment to clear up room.
The Yankees sent over RHP Casey Erickson and OF/C Eric Fryer to the Pirates along with cash for Hinske. The Yankees traded LHP Chase Wright for Fryer earlier this year.
3 Games; 3 Walk-Offs
You could not ask for a more exciting weekend. The Yankees have played three games of this four game series against the Twins and have had walk-off wins in each of them.
Friday: MIN 4-5 NYY
Hero(es): Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner
Things were looking bleak for the Yankees when Johnny Damon was tossed by HP Umpire Wally Bell. The strike zone was very frustrating for Yankees hitters and it reached its climax when in Johnny Damon’s 2 at-bats, he struck out twice looking, both on questionable calls. You could say that Minnesota’s loss was all Johnny Damon’s fault as his ejection gave way to Brett Gardner. Gardner, who earlier this year lost the starting CF job to Melky Cabrera (stay tuned), went on to go 3-for-3 in that game with his biggest hit being an inside-the-park-home run. Gardner blooped Twins’ starter Francisco Liriano’s pitch down the LF line and once Denard Span overran it, you knew Gardner would be racing around the bases.
Well that made the score 4-2 Twins, but it would be Gardner again who sparked the Yankees rally as he led off the 9th inning with a triple and then was driven in quickly by Mark Teixiera to make it a one run game. Well after the Twins got 2 more outs and the Yanks added a baserunner, Joe Nathan intentionally walked Robinson Cano to load the bases up for Melky Cabrera. Well the Melk-Man delivered and on the first pitch he saw, blooped a 2-run, walk-off single to end the game.
Saturday: MIN 4-6 NYY
Hero(es): Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixiera
Everywhere around baseball, writers are saying that the person who would benefit most from A-Rod returning to the Yankee lineup would be Mark Teixeira. Well that became very obvious on Saturday as Teixiera went 4-for-4, drove in the Yankees first 4 runs, and ended up a triple shy of the cycle. He raised his batting average over 30 points. In the end however, it would be the higher-paid star that would end the game. In the bottom of the 11th inning, after Mark Teixeira drew a lead-off walk, Alex Rodriguez belted a 2-run, walk-off home run to win the game for the Yankees. It was just A-Rod’s second game at the New Yankee Stadium.
Sunday: MIN 2-3 NYY
Hero(es): Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira
What started out as a pitchers dual, this game saw some great defense throughout. After A.J. Burnett loaded the bases with nobody out, the Yankees brought in RHP Jonathan Albaladejo to try to work out of the jam. Well facing Denard Span, he threw a fastball down and in and Span hit a sharp grounder to first. However, Mark Teixeira showcased his defensive abilities as he made a great diving stop, but then (as he was pretty much lying down) made a good through to catcher Kevin Cash to record the second out. The Yankees would get out of the jam and then would also get out of a similar one the following inning.
That meant that in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning when Nick Swisher lined a base hit, the Yankees would pinch-run Brett Gardner. After a Melky Cabrera sac-bunt (the 3rd one of the game after the Yanks had just 8 the rest of the season) Francisco Cervelli hit one back up the middle. But this is when the Twins’ great defense struck. The ball hit off of the Twins’ lefty as Gardner was approaching third. Well Mijares threw home to Joe Mauer who started running to first and faked a throw. Well that fake was a good one as it caused Gardner to start running home where Mauer made a great diving stop to get him.
That play kept the game tied until the bottom of the 10th when Johnny Damon could wait no longer. After he worked the count full against Jesse Crain (the same pitcher who served up A-Rod’s shot a day earlier) Damon got a pitch down and in and he didn’t miss it. Johnny cranked it into the second deck (tagged the Johnny zone by a Yankees’ broadcaster) to give the Yankees the 3-2 win. It was Damon’s second walk-off hit as a member of the Yankees.
Update: Players Hopping the Shuttle
Some call-up news; The Yankees have decided to call-up David Robertson and Angel Berroa. They are most likely replacing Chien-Ming Wang and Cody Ransom.
But an even more exciting call-up: apparently Mark Melancon is being sent to Fenway as well as he will either be replacing (hopefully) Steven Jackson or Brian Bruney.
You also have to count in who will be getting sent down when Phil Hughes gets called up.
I agree with RAB that Eric Duncan (who’s hitting .362 so far) should be called up instead of Berroa, who has played a total of .1 innings at third and didn’t touch the ball on that play.
Late Rally Too Late
Down 7-2 in the ninth inning with 2-outs, the Yankees staged a 3-run rally and even brought the tying run to the plate. However, the rally came too late as Hideki Matsui popped out to end the game. Nick Swisher drew a one-out walk but then was erased when Brett Gardner grounded into a force out. However, Jeter then followed up with a two-run blast to the opposite field making it 7-4. After Johnny Damon reached base via the base-on-balls, Mark Teixiera came threw in the clutch with his first hit as a Yankee: an RBI-double off of Oriole closer, George Sherril. However, Hideki Matsui popped out to Melvin Mora on a 2-1 pitch to end the game. It was an exciting finnish to a terrible game.
Two (Very) Rich Men, Two (Very) Sub-Par Debuts
When the Yankees signed CC Sabathia ($161mm) and Mark Teixiera ($180mm) to mega-deals this off-season, they marked one date on their calenders: April 6th. Well that day finally came today, but it wasn’t the Opening Day game they were expecting. Sabathia and Teixeira’s lines say it all:
Sabathia: IP: 4.1, H: 8, ER: 6, BB: 5, K: 0
Two very bad lines for two men with very fat wallets. Even though people expected a lot more out of the players than what the above, they had to have seen this coming. I mean think about it: each guy is really (maybe even overly) hyped. They both signed monster deals this off-season. They both have historically gotten off to bad starts. And they both said they would handle the New York media just fine; something that both of them will now have to do. It was a perfect storm.
That being said however, I would like to remind all of you that this is just Opening Day, it’s just one game out of 161 other ones. The only two reasons we care so much about these terrible performances are that Opening Day is way, way to focused upon; it’s just one game. The other reason is just because of how much coverage the two players are receiving and how bad their performances were. But the bottom line is this; one game isn’t going to kill you.
Bits and Pieces:
One of the things that made Teixeira’s performance stand out so much was the fact that Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon went a combined 5-8 in front of him and all he did was get one little walk; that’s a lot of runners being left on base…Nick Swisher pinch-hit in the 8th and lined a lead-off double right down the left field line in his first Yankee at-bat. Gardner (more about him later) bunted him over but then Jeter and, who else, Mark Teixeira failed to drive him in…..The Yankees escaped a huge fifth inning when Gardner turned a double-play when he caught the ball than threw the runner out at home to end the inning…..A-Rod should be back before Spring’s end.
One Heck of an Off-Season
After not making the post-season for the first time in what seems like a century, the Yankees set their sights on improving their ball club through the free-agent market. Well, that’s exactly what they did. By signing CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixiera, the Yankees have had, what I consider to be, the best off-season in team history. Never before have they spent so much money, to acquire such great talent. Now I’ve heard many people around baseball say that the Yankees are just going back to what they’ve always done. However, it’s not what they’ve always done. The Yankees used to be the club that signed the over-priced veteran to a contract that’s way to long. These players ranged from Kevin Brown to Randy Johnson, Ruben Sierra to Gary Sheffield, and of course, the infamous Carl Pavano. In fact, the only good signing the Yankees have had since the turn of the century, was when they signed Mike Mussina to an 8-year deal in 2000. But that’s just about it (unless you count Giambi who was probably one of the better 1-sided players around, but that’s not saying much).
So is that really the same as signing three of the best players in all of major league baseball? Are these signings really going to help the Yankees? Please leave your comments below.
Notes on Teixeira Announcement
Today Mark Teixeira was announced as the newest member of the New York Yankees (I’m sorry for not announcing this news earlier). At first he seemed a little tense, but after a couple minutes of being up there, he seemed to fit right in as he was beaming through the whole thing. And that’s pretty much how his basic season goes; he gets off to a bad start, but then comes through big at the end and produces good season numbers. Teixeira said it was mostly his wife’s decision for coming to the Yankees and he is glad to be here after idolizing them for so long as a kid. A few notes on Teixeira’s signing:
Final contract: 8 years, $180mm with a $5mm signing bonus
Teixeira will wear number 25, which is interesting because that not only used to be Joe Girardi’s number, but it was also worn by the man Tex will be replacing at first base, Jason Giambi.
In order to make room Teixeira on the Yankees 40-man roster, they designated Shelley Duncan for assignment.
Teixeira wanted #23 because he grew up idolizing former Yankees 1B, Don Mattingly. Who, interestingly enough, is the one that retired that number.
Teixeira Announcement Set For Tuesday
The Yankees have made plans to announce Mark Teixeira as the newest Yankee at a press conference on Tuesday. Mark is currently in town and will take a physical tomorrow. The Yankees reached an agreement with Mark Teixeira for an 8-year, $180mm contract.
Teams Avoiding Boras
With Mark Teixeira being the only exception, most baseball teams (including the Yankees) have been avoiding Scott Boras clients. In fact, Teixeira is really the only Scott Boras client to sign this winter. CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett had different agents, and both Manny Ramirez and Derek Lowe (Boras’ top free agents left) haven’t signed. The most likely reason behind this is the economy. Boras always advertises his clients to be worth more than they are. However, now teams don’t have the financial stability to go that high. Derek Lowe is a great example of that. Lowe is probably worth somewhere between $13mm-$15mm a year (Mets offer is 3-years, $36mm). However, Boras has been trying to get him between $16mm-$19mm a year, its just not happening. Boras needs to lower his demands, because he needs to realize that teams just aren’t going to pay that much.
He’s getting lucky with Manny Ramirez as now that the Giants are in it too, he can produce a bidding war between them and the Dodgers. The cool thing about that, is that which ever one gets him, pretty much gets the division.
mlblogsbronxrumors
Recent Comments