Author Archive
New York Yankees Should Go with a More Versatile »
So much of the spring has revolved around the New York Yankees pitching staff that it's easy to lose sight of the fact that these are the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees are built for the long ball. Six players hit 16 home runs or more in 2011, and that doesn't count the 14 homers hit by Jorge Posada and 13 by Andruw Jones as a part-time [...]
Can Andy Pettitte Still Be a Yankee Postseason Hero? »
Major League Baseball added another wild-card team to the postseason this year, and the Yankees then added one of their own. Andy Pettitte is back in pinstripes after a year in retirement with the expectation that life begins at 40 for savvy left-handers with borderline Hall of Fame numbers. Pettitte turns 40 on June 15th, by which time the [...]
Yankee Fans Shouldn’t Panic If Michael Pineda Is »
It doesn't matter how often fans are told that trades really can't be evaluated for several years. If Michael Pineda begins the 2012 season in the bullpen (please, not that) or down on the farm, fans and media will proclaim that the Seattle Mariners knew something when they traded the best young pitcher this side of Clayton Kershaw to [...]
New York Yankees Should Keep Phil Hughes and Sign an »
Has any New York Yankee been mentioned more in trade rumors since he came to the majors than Phil Hughes? Sometimes it seems that the Yankees can hardly wait to get rid of him. Hughes is considered a trading chip this spring because the Yankees are potentially deep in front-line pitching and could use a young hitter to help immediately or [...]
Using Common Sense Apparently Not One of the »
Remember Brien Taylor, the high school senior that the Yankees made the No. 1 overall pick in the 1991 amateur baseball draft?Taylor was destined for stardom, a strapping 6-3, 220-pounder who would follow in the Yankees great tradition of homegrown left-handed pitchers, a list that includes Lefty Gomez, Whitey Ford, Ron Guidry and Andy [...]
Is Andy Pettitte’s Return a Desperation Move by »
We've read the accounts and chronology of how Andy Pettitte reconsidered retirement and signed a one-year minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the New York Yankees. General manager Brian Cashman is said to have wanted Pettitte to return since the end of the 2010 season, but that Pettitte felt it was time to retire. [...]
New York Yankees Roster Battles: The Most Intriguing »
Job openings don't occur often with the Yankees. Consider, for example, that Derek Jeter has been a fixture at shortstop and Mariano Rivera has been a bastion of the bullpen since the end of Bill Clinton's first term as president. Similarly, Alex Rodriguez has been the third baseman since 2004 and Robinson Cano has held down second since 2005. By [...]
Why Do the Yankees Struggle to Develop Young Pitchers? »
What do Lefty Gomez and Whitey Ford have in common besides being left-handed pitchers? They are the only pitchers originally signed by the Yankees who are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. As difficult as it might be to believe given that the franchise has 27 World Series titles, more than double the 11 won by the second-place St. Louis [...]
Alex Rodriguez: Why He Should Be a Hall of Famer, »
If his career ended today, Alex Rodriguez has earned the right to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. And he should be elected in his first year of eligibility. I never thought I would say or write that about A-Rod or any of the other players who padded their career statistics during baseball's steroids era. Didn't we [...]
From Ruth to Rivera, Those Yankees Spikes Hard to Fill »
Ever since he arrived in Tampa for spring training, Mariano Rivera has dropped hints that 2012 may be the year of Exit Sandman. In 17 seasons with the Yankees, Rivera has saved a major league record 603 games and added another 42 in postseason play. He is the best closer in history, and the Yankees won't be replacing him as much as looking [...]