Couple things. First, I wrote a CBS post looking ahead to 2028, the year a lot could change in baseball. If you're tired of reading about the same ol' trade candidates and the Astros being cheaters, there's that. Second, 2020-01-31 15:13:38 +0000 UTC View Post
In case you missed the announcement last week, I will indeed put together my annual Top 30 Prospects List this year. It'll be released next Friday, Feb. 7th. The Friday before pitchers and catchers report, as always. Here are today's thoughts with Spring Training a mere 15 days away.
1. Cashman on Happ. During a YES Network appearance last week Brian Cashman said he expects a...
2020-01-28 14:51:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Spring's comin'. (Presswire)
In two weeks and five days Yankees pitchers and catchers will report to Tampa to open Spring Training. The marathon that is the 2020 baseball season starts in less than three weeks. Hooray for that. I'm ready for the offseason to be over.
At some point between now and then the Yankees will announce their non-roster invitees to Spring Training. Those are non-4...
2020-01-24 17:45:44 +0000 UTC View PostSome news: I've decided to put together my annual Top 30 Prospects post. I am certain it will take no more than 24 hours to regret this decision, but I figure once I announce it, I'm committed, so here's the announcement. Patreon's editor is limiting, so the post won't look as pretty as I usually try to make it, and we'll just have to live with that. My plan is to post it the Friday before pitchers and catchers report, as always, and then unlock it 10 days later and make it a free post so I c...
2020-01-24 14:07:35 +0000 UTC View PostOnly three weeks and one day until pitchers and catchers report to Tampa. Do the Yankees have another move up their sleeve before then? Or was the offseason plan really just sign Gerrit Cole, re-sign Brett Gardner, and do nothing else? I hope not. Well, whatever. Here are today's thoughts.
1. 2020 Hall of Fame class. Later today Derek Jeter will be announced as baseball's newest Hall of Famer. 2020-01-21 14:15:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Folks, the sign-stealing stuff is gonna get a whole lot dumber before we get any real answers (if we ever get any real answers), and yesterday was pretty dumb on the ol' internet. I hope you're ready for it. MLB accidentally turned into the NBA with all the offseason drama and I am pretty sure there's a way the league can turn all the added attention into a positive, but I'm also 100% certain they don't realize it and will screw it up. Anyway, here are today's thoughts.
1. Cora ...
2020-01-17 14:24:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Four weeks and one day until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. I'm in full countdown mode, if you can't tell. I'm ready for the offseason to be over and baseball to return. Here are today's thoughts.
1. Astros punished. MLB and commissioner Rob Manfred announced their punishment for the Astros stemming from the sign-stealing scandal yesterday. 2020-01-14 14:07:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Today's an important day on the offseason calendar. It is the deadline for teams and their arbitration-eligible players to submit salary figures for 2020. Most players will sign prior to the deadline. Only a handful will actually file. The Yankees have nine arbitration-eligible players on their roster and I'l...
2020-01-10 14:08:12 +0000 UTC View PostPitchers and catchers will report to Tampa five weeks from tomorrow. Spring Training is slowly drawing closer, and thank goodness for that. I'm starting to get sick of the offseason even with the increased hot stove activity. Anyway, here are today's thoughts.
1. Yankees hire Cressey. The Yankees dismissed strength and conditioning coach Matt Krause last month and it turns out t...
2020-01-07 13:35:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Happy New Year everyone. I hope your 2020 is going better than your 2019. Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in six short weeks. It's so close and yet so far at the same time. Anyway, here are today's thoughts as I realize left-handed Gerrit Cole looks like a shorter Randy Johnson.
1. German's suspension. Yesterday afternoon MLB announced Domingo German has been...
2020-01-03 13:24:16 +0000 UTC View PostWelcome to the final day of 2019 and the final day of the 2010s. Did you know Marty McFly traveled to 2015 in Back to the Future 2? My hoverboard is five years overdue! Anyway, with the 2020s less than 24 hours away, I figured I'd break from the norm and use today's post to look back at the last decade of Yankees baseball. I listed my most memorable games of the RAB era e...
2019-12-31 14:19:14 +0000 UTC View PostOnly a few days remain in 2019. Pretty crazy, isn't it? Feels like the whole Y2K freakout was only a few years ago. May the next 20 years be better than the last 20 years, for the Yankees and all of us personally. Here are today's thoughts.
1. Betances leaves. This is the best sad offseason ever. First CC Sabathia retired, then Didi Gregorius left to join Joe Girardi and the Philli...
2019-12-27 13:52:14 +0000 UTC View PostHappy holidays, folks. I have family obligations the next few days and I don't feel like waking up earlier than I need to tomorrow to publish the regularly scheduled Tuesday post, so here it is a day early. Santa has already left Cole in our stocking (I'm sorry, I'm so sorry) and I hope there's something cool waiting under the tree. On to the thoughts.
1. Lindor trade. Folks, I can't stop thinking about the Yankees trading for Francisco Lindor. Blame 2019-12-23 14:47:05 +0000 UTC View Post
The Yankees announced their key Spring Training dates yesterday. Pitchers and catchers will report on Wednesday, Feb. 12th, and position players on Monday, Feb. 17th. Here's the Grapefruit League schedule. The Yankees will play a pair of exhibition games against the Blue Jays at Olympic Stadium in Montreal on March 23rd and 24th. Really looking forward to that. Should be fun. Anyway, here are today's thoughts...
2019-12-20 13:40:27 +0000 UTC View PostAt some point soon, maybe even tomorrow, the Yankees will introduce Gerrit Cole with a press conference in Yankee Stadium. Cole is currently in New York -- "Unfortunately," he jokingly told Zach Braziller when asked whether he's planning to cut his hair and shave before the press conference -- so it'll happen soon. The Yankees still need to make a 40-man roster move to acc...
2019-12-17 14:43:53 +0000 UTC View Post(I accidentally hit publish while writing this post yesterday afternoon, so I hope you enjoyed the partial preview that hit your inbox before I took the post down.)
Happy Friday the 13th. Gerrit Cole's a Yankee. It's pretty cool. Now that Brett Gardner has re-signed (more on that in a second), I feel like the Yankees could do nothing the rest of the winter and be in great shape next seaso...
2019-12-13 14:49:59 +0000 UTC View Post
(Presswire)
Eleven years after being the team's first round pick, Gerrit Cole is finally a New York Yankee. Late Tuesday night Cole and the Yankees agreed to a nine-year contract worth $36M per year, or $324M total. Some quick contract details and nugg...
2019-12-12 02:13:01 +0000 UTC View Post
(Presswire)
The Sir Didi era is over. Gregorius has joined Joe Girardi's Phillies on a one-year contract worth $14M. I am sad and also kinda annoyed. The Yankees better sign Gerrit Cole now. Anyway, here are my thoughts on Didi'...
2019-12-11 01:56:14 +0000 UTC View PostIt's been a sneaky quiet two days at the Winter Meetings aside from the Stephen Strasburg deal. No trades yet and the only other Major League free agent signing is ... Joely Rodriguez? Joely Rodriguez. The Rangers gave the hard-throwing lefty reliever two years and $5.5M after he spent the last three years in Japan. Now that I've said all this out loud, expect the signings and trades to begin. Here are another round of thoughts.
1. Latest on Cole. According to 2019-12-10 21:50:11 +0000 UTC View Post
(UPDATE: I never received the email for this post when it went live, so I'm sending an update just to make sure the email goes out.)
I gotta say, this offseason is much more fun than the last two. It is (way) too early to say the market has corrected and the labor climate is better, but at least there are things happening now. This is better than wondering when everyone will sign. Anyway, let's get to my latest thoughts. No sense in holding this until Tuesday morning gi...
2019-12-09 22:06:29 +0000 UTC View PostSunday brought us significant hot stove news even though the Winter Meetings don't begin in earnest until Monday. According to Bob Klapisch, the Yankees have offered Gerrit Cole a seven-year contract worth $245M. Mark Feinsand, 2019-12-09 01:56:18 +0000 UTC View Post
It has been brought to my attention that embedded GIFs do not work in the Patreon email or in the mobile app. I had no idea and I'm sorry I didn't know about it sooner. That's a Patreon problem, not a me problem. The Patreon content management system doesn't even have a way to embed a YouTube video into a text post, which I hate. From now on I'll include a link to the GIF so you can view it that way. You'll have to click away from the post, which sucks, but it is the best (only) option until ...
2019-12-06 14:35:39 +0000 UTC View PostHope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving. Last week I said Didi Gregorius would be signed by time this post rolled around and lol at that. Shows what I know. If you're batting 1.000 in this game, you're not taking enough swings. Better luck next time. Here are today's thoughts as I hope for more crazy fun baseball things like 2019-12-03 15:13:27 +0000 UTC View Post
As a reminder, I am going to skip this Friday's regularly scheduled post because it is the day after Thanksgiving. I will of course cover any breaking news, otherwise I'm going to enjoy the long holiday weekend, and I hope you do the same. I will bet you five internet dollars that Didi Gregorius signs (not necessarily with the Yankees) before the next post. The best free agents at premium positions (i.e. Yasmani Grandal and Travis d'Arnaud) are signing quickly and Sir Didi is easily the best ...
2019-11-26 14:07:27 +0000 UTC View PostA wild free agent signing has appeared. The White Sox gave Yasmani Grandal a four-year contract worth $18M annually yesterday. Grandal reportedly discussed a four-year contract worth $60M with the Mets last offseason, instead took one year and $18.25M from the Brewers, and got an even bigger payday this winter. Grandal will make $91.25M from ages 30-34. The Yankees gave Brian McCann $85M for the same five-year chunk of his career. The one-year bet on himself paid off for Grandal. Good for him...
2019-11-22 14:16:11 +0000 UTC View Post
The Rule 5 Draft protection deadline came and went Wednesday night and the Yankees made a flurry of roster moves, as is the case every year. The Yankees added seven prospects to the 40-man roster and cleared three spots (they had four open 40-man spots going into the deadline). Here are the moves and my thoughts:
Just a heads up, I am planning to skip next Friday's regularly scheduled post since it is the day after Thanksgiving. If there's breaking news, I'll cover it, otherwise I'm going to enjoy the long holiday weekend after spending Thursday with the extended family. Thanks as always for the support. Now here are today's thoughts as 2019-11-19 14:37:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Rocco Baldelli beat out Aaron Boone for the Manager of the Year award earlier this week -- they received the same number of first place votes (13), but Baldelli had more second place votes (13 to 9) and Boone was left off four ballots entirely -- which is pretty much the only thing the Twins can beat the Yankees at nowadays. DJ LeMahieu finished fourth in the M...
2019-11-15 14:33:52 +0000 UTC View Post
The GM Meetings began yesterday and Brian Cashman confirmed the Yankees have interest in Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, among others. "Of course we're going to talk to Strasburg. We’ll talk to Cole. We’ll talk to the higher end guys, clearly. We’ll also talk about some surprise guys, I’m sure," Cashman told Mark Feinsand. As far as I'm concerned, having interest in Cole and Strasburg is...
2019-11-12 13:54:57 +0000 UTC View PostThe GM Meetings are next week and those usually bring some hot stove rumors and/or news. Four years ago the Yankees made the Aaron Hicks trade at the GM Meetings. Last year they re-signed CC Sabathia. The odds on favorite for this year's GM Meetings transaction is a new contract for Brett Gardner. We'll see. Here are today's thoughts as Craig Edwards picks up where RAB left off.