Around the Empire: New York Yankees News - 3/1/13

Around the Blogosphere:

Joba the Giant Baby - New York Post

Joel Sherman argues that the Yankees are tired of Joba Chamberlain's "look at me" antics and are ready to let him go as a free agent. He won't be a starter and he won't be a closer, at least not with the Yankees, so the best thing is to let him walk and let him be someone else's problem. He compares Joba to Nick Swisher (not the same thing) before him and David Wells before him, whether the comparisons are fair or not.

Mustelier to the Outfield - NoMaas

NoMaas argues that the Yankees should use Ronnier Mustelier to replace the injured Curtis Granderson before they use Zoilo Almonte. Even though Mustelier is not really a prospect at 28, he's the more consistent hitter right now. Almonte, having only just reached Double-A, is still a very impatient hitter and is still very raw, while Mustelier is much more refined. He's the perfect asset for just such a situation.

Does Outfield Alignment Matter? - Fangraphs

To determine how effective the Curtis Granderson-Brett Gardner swap would be, Fangraph's Dave Cameron broke down the distribution of balls hit to the outfield and determined that center fielders see more balls in play. However, he also argues that the benefit of one man over another in center is small, since not many players will be in every game in every inning and not every ball is catchable, therefore the advantage of one player in a certain position is limited.

Replacing Granderson - Fangraphs

Jeff Sullivan throws his hat in on the whole replacing Granderson story and believes that the Yankees can survive without him, since they also survived when Mark Teixeira was out and Mariano Rivera missed most of the season. He also believes that individual injuries don't completely change a team's makeup in baseball; the Yankees will still be good. The Yankees might miss out on about 1 Win Above Replacement due to the injury and can certainly make up for that in the short term, however, in a tight division, one win might be important.

Girardi Talks About the Team - It's About the Money

It's About the Money has the highlights from Joe Girardi's interview on the Mike Francesa Show. Of note, Girardi said the left field job includes about 5 or 6 candidates (Juan Rivera, Matt Diaz, Zoilo Almonte, Ronnier Mustelier, Melky Mesa, Adonis Garcia) and might even use a platoon if necessary. Eduardo Nunez will be at shortstop and DH, which kind of implies that he's making the team.

Catching Up with Drew Henson - CBS New York

Sweeny Murti catches up with ex-Yankee prospect, Drew Henson, now the hitting coach for one of the organization's two Gulf Coast League teams. He spoke about being a two sport athlete and the mental strain that came with feeling like he was always trying to play catch up. He struggled at putting his football career aside to pursue baseball full-time, but don't worry, he still got a cool $17M from the Yankees before he decided to go back to football.