In 1998, Bernie Williams won the batting title, a Gold Glove and finished seventh in the MVP voting. That wasn't good enough for the "experts."Williams, they concluded, was about as popular as Joey Cora with respect to attracting television audiences. His statistics placed him in Bobby Murcer's, not Mickey Mantle or Joe DiMaggio's category. After six seasons, Williams had 1,096 hits, 126 homers, 566 RBIs and a .298 batting average in 938 games. Murcer had 1,012 hits, 140 home runs, 542 RBIs and a .282 batting average in 958 games). ...
The New York Yankees just about have their rotation set for next season with the not-so-minor question of whether Phil Hughes should start being one of the last issues.The Yankees rotation consists of CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, Hiroki Kuroda and either Hughes, A.J. Burnett or Freddy Garcia. Each of the last three have a case for and a case against them.Burnett has that salary (which is a case for and against him; do you really want a $16.5 million long reliever?) and Garcia pitched better than the other ...
Everybody keeps throwing out names like Hideki Matsui, Vladimir Guerrero and Johnny Damon when discussing who the New York Yankees' should acquire to help their offense in 2012.In the Michael Pineda press conference Brian Cashman said that the trade market will be their “first and foremost” way to find a bat and free agency will be a "secondary" option.We could pour over cheap, aging bats on the trade market but what's the fun in that? Why not go big? These are the Yankees and they have surprised us before.Begin Slideshow
When he learned that he had been traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for right fielder Paul O'Neill, Roberto Kelly wasn't surprised. He had his theory about the trade. "If you look at it, left field is open," said Kelly. "I think they're looking to build up the team and win right away. Left field is open and I think they can afford to buy Bonds. He's out there for them." Kelly wasn't alone. Many in the media held the same position. The Kelly for O'Neill trade occurred on ...
With the additions of Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda, the New York Yankees have a nice problem on their hands, and that is the fact that they have too many starting pitchers. For the fifth slot in their rotation, it comes down to A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia.General manager Brian Cashman has already stated he's looking to further tweak the roster, meaning the extra starting pitching he has won't last long. So who is most likely to be dealt?Garcia was just signed to a one-year deal this offseason ...
About one hour before the approach of the 1996 trading deadline, the New York Yankees acquired Cecil Fielder from the Detroit Tigers. In return, Ruben Sierra and minor league pitcher Matt Drews joined the Tigers. Fielder had been complaining that he wanted to play for a contending team. The Yankees were leading the second place Baltimore Orioles by 10 games entering August. "I'm just happy to have the opportunity to go somewhere with someone in contention and I'll try to help the New York Yankees win the pennant and the World ...
Like most other years, the Yankees will be among the top teams in the AL. With stars up and down the lineup, it should be an exciting year once again.The Yankees will look to add to their trophy case in the upcoming season, and with the recent offseason shake-ups, they should be in the mix as usual.In the following slides, I will predict the stats for each Yankees starter during the 2012 season.Begin Slideshow
It's always easy to get caught up in all the sentimental hoopla when a beloved player retires or moves on. There is no doubt that Jorge Posada is one of the most popular Yankees of our generation, and being one of the home-grown "core four" along with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte makes him even more special in the eyes of Yankees fans. But don't think with your heart instead of your head! Posada, an excellent player on the Yanks' championship run in the '90s, is NOT a ...
When it comes to the New York Yankees, people usually don't think twice about tossing around the phrase "World Series favorites" on any given year. Somehow, someway, the Yankees almost always seem to vault themselves into the playoffs by season's end, and 2012 will be no different.The Yankees seemed like a sure-fire second-place team in 2011, with the potential to fall to third place if the pesky Rays could manage to keep winning. Those Rays did in fact keep winning, against all odds, but the Yankees were not the team ...
George Steinbrenner was willing to trade Jorge Posada in an attempt to acquire either San Diego's Rickey Henderson or Boston's Mike Stanley. General manager Bob Watson refused to knuckle under to the Yankees owner that was once willing to trade a young Ron Guidry. On July 31, 1997 the New York Yankees had the majors third-best record and were leading the wild-card race. Watson wasn't convinced that there was a need for either Henderson or Stanley. The Boston Red Sox wanted 25-year-old Jorge Posada, 25-year-old Ramiro Mendoza and four highly ...