Kuri stated earlier today that the Yankees do not need a DH. In theory, he's right. Signing one dimensional players is a bit of a waste and the Yankees need the DH to be somewhat of a revolving door. Alex Rodriguez will need DH days, as will Derek Jeter. But we know this.

However, A-Rod has discussed playing a lot of third base this season and is looking forward to a great year on the field. Meanwhile, how many times are we expecting Jeter to be used as a DH? Occasionally, sure, but despite his age and diminishing range, the Yankees need Jeter at shortstop. Last season, Jeter and A-Rod were used as the DH a combined 20 times. That's only around 80-85 at bats, leaving a few hundred at bats for an unknown player as of right now.

Additionally, in his article, Kuri made an entirely valid point:

Signing a one-dimensional player like Hideki Matsui, or a fielder-in-name-only like Johnny Damon might fill the remaining DH at-bats, but these types of players do you little good throughout the injuries, day-night double headers, and extra-innings games that inevitably dot the regular season.

This is true. However, I think he has ignored one essential aspect in his analysis. The main problem here is that current in-house options do not fare well against right handed pitchers. The remaining free agent options might not do a good job of playing the field, but they'll do a good job of keeping inferior hitters against right handed pitching on the bench. The Yankees have one half of their platoon DH filled in the form of Andruw Jones, but the majority of DH at bats will come against right handed pitchers.

Follow the jump for the statistical breakdown of current in-house candidates against right handed pitching and who I would sign to platoon with Andruw Jones.

Continue reading this post »

It's almost February, the Yankees have finally resolved their starting pitching woes, and we've all grown tired of complaining about Alex Rodriguez and A.J. Burnett, so our attention has turned to perhaps the only remaining question mark for the 2012 season - the DH position.

We've heard preposterous trade propositions (Jason Bay?? Seriously???), and the Yankees have been linked to just about every remaining free agent hitter over the age of 35, though most of them are hitters in name only these days. Personally, I'd prefer to see Brian Cashman stand pat, because at this point, with these options, there's really no sense in worrying that much about the 23rd or 24th spot on the roster, not in February or October.

When you think of the DH position, it's a pretty safe bet that the names of at least one of a handful of players will pop into your head - Edgar Martinez, David Ortiz, Frank Thomas, Paul Moliter. Hitters such as these have become synonymous with the position, but when you dig a little deeper, you realize that they're the exception to the rule, and it's actually quite rare for a team to carry an established, regular DH.

Continue reading this post »

More proof that it's better to be lucky than smart when it comes to prospects

According to a story by long-time Mariners beat writer Bob Finnigan in the Seattle Times on Dec. 4, 1995, the Mariners nixed a trade that would have sent pitcher Sterling Hitchcock and (Jorge) Posada to the Mariners for (Tino) Martinez and a reliever, either Jeff Nelson, Bill Risley, or, wait for it, Bobby Ayala...Why did the Mariners turn down the trade? Because the Yankees pulled minor-league third baseman Russ Davis -- Seattle's main target -- out of the deal.

Yikes. This reminds me of how Robinson Cano was one of the prospects-to-be-named later that the Rangers passed on while completing the Alex Rodriguez/Alfonso Soriano trade.

Yankees minor league system still strong

MLB Network has released it's top prospects list, and Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances both rank in the top 50, while Gary Sanchez and Mason Williams both rank in the top 100.

Get used to hearing "heir to Mariano Rivera" like a borken record over the next 12 months

This LoHud piece cites David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, and Rafael Soriano as the most logical potential successors to Rivera. Um, duh.... The "heir to Mariano" is like the heir to Michael Jordan or the heir to Jerry Rice - this person doesn't exist. The New York media hasn't had a good ol' fashioned closer controversy to write about in more than 15 years so I'm sure they'll be chomping at the bit after the first blown save of the 2013 season.

Some guy named Fielder signs for a lot of money

Everybody knows this contract is already an albatross, so there's no reason to rehash points that people have already made. However, putting his (gargantuan) weight issues aside, Prince Fielder is, statistically speaking, the worst player to ever sign a $150+ million contract. Enjoy it Detroit.

If you have a son under the age of 15, teach him to throw lefthanded

Otherwise known as, "Yankees and Boone Logan agree to 1 year, $1.875 million contract".

My feelings on A.J. Burnett have been well documented here. I have spoken about how I expect him continue to regress and there's no hiding from that. However, just roll with me on this one. I'm not sure what made me reconsider my feelings on him, but for whatever reason, I decided to take a further, more objective look. Anyway...

Can A.J. Burnett have success in 2012?

The answer to the question in short is, quite frankly, anything is possible. A.J. Burnett has had plenty of success in his career, and rightfully so. He throws hard and his curveball is outstanding. His command has always been his Achilles' Heel, and it will continue to be as he enters his age-35 season. There's no denying that.

At 35, he's a long way away from the days of his dominance during his age-25 season when he led the National League in shutouts (and wild pitches, of course) while tossing over 200 innings.

With the new rotation beginning to take shape, and assuming there are no further personnel changes, it seems like A.J. Burnett will battle Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia for the fifth spot in the rotation.

But does he deserve the spot outright?

Continue reading this post »

Good morning, Pinstripe Alley readers. Here's your usual morning news for January 26th, 2012.

• MLB.com released its annual Top 100 Prospects list, and the top Yankee on the list was left hander Manny Banuelos, checking in at number 12, one spot ahead of former top prospect Jesus Montero. Other Yankees on the list included Dellin Betances at number 41, Gary Sanchez at number 53, and Mason Williams at number 73. Though they are both very far away from the Bronx, I will be paying close attention to Sanchez and Williams, particularly because they have above average bats at premium positions.
• It flew under the radar yesterday, but the Andruw Jones re-signing became official yesterday. Jones will provide decent defense and great pop off the bench against left handed pitchers. He crushed lefties to the tune of a .400 wOBA and a 151 wRC+ last season. A bat like his against right handed pitchers would make for an interesting platoon.
• Over at River Ave. Blues, Mike Axisa examines potential moves for Domonic Brown or Jason Heyward in his mailbag.
• Joe Girardi announced that CC Sabathia will be the opening day starter this year. The real question, though, is why was this even a question?
• Michael Eder of The Yankee Analysts compared A.J. Burnett's 2011 season to a mystery starter that turned out to be Tim Lincecum. Looking at the numbers didn't seem right, as I thought there was something missing. There was - and it turned out to be FIP. A.J. had a 4.77 FIP while Lincecum had a 3.17 FIP.

The saying is that you can never have too much pitching, but it seems as though the Yankees are testing that theory with their surplus of starting pitchers with no clear and easy decision. After a few off season acquisitions, a rotation that didn't look so strong on paper before got a makeover and looks better now. CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda, Hiroki Kuroda, and Ivan Nova SHOULD be locks for the rotation, while Freddy Garcia, A.J. Burnett, and Phil Hughes battle it out for the last remaining spot. Knowing baseball as most of us do, it rarely works out that neatly. Last season, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon had a competition in name only during spring training. Colon outperformed Garcia, but Garcia was given the spot in the rotation due to concerns about how quickly he could warm up, which would still be a concern if he were to be left to pitch out of the bullpen this season. Here is an in depth look at the options, a few scenarios, and a poll.

Continue reading this post »