Second Base

For several years, the Yankees second base situation has been one of strength. They have arguably the best second baseman in baseball. He is a smooth fielder, hits for average, and for a ton of power.

Robinson Cano has been the Yankees rock in otherwise disappointing years for the Bombers. Since 2010, the second baseman has hit .319 and .302, respectively. Cano has hit 57 home runs since the 2010 season, in addition to being one of the only Yankees that actually hits in the postseason. It also seems like every time the bases are loaded for Robbie, he hits a grand slam! It is difficult for me to say that Cano needs to make improvements. He hits lefties and righties, and his splits are even better against lefties. Cano is what you would call a model player.

If there is one place where he could get better in 2012, it would be his fielding. Many baseball people mistake Cano's nonchalant fielding for laziness. Cano has dispelled that myth in recent years. He had a breakout year defensively in 2010, committing only three errors in 776 chances for a .996 fielding percentage. In 2011, he took a step backwards, making ten errors in essentially the exact same number of chances for a less respectable .987 fielding percentage. Cano is a gold glove second baseman who makes difficult plays look like child's play. I would like him to return to his 2010 form. His ceiling for success is endless and I firmly believe that Cano will win a batting title and an MVP award in his career. That's how highly I think of Robinson Cano. Also, hitting third in the lineup will give him more protection and will make Robbie even better being behind Granderson and in front of a (hopefully) healthy Alex Rodriguez.

My 2012 predictions for Robinson: .325 BA, 32 HR, 104 RBI

Who's on First?

Alright, maybe that was a dumb question to ask, but it sounded fitting because of the mystery that awaits. Mark Teixeira will obviously the starting first baseman for the Yankees in 2012. He will not move to third base to let Swisher take over on first. (Prince Fielder joke...)

It is somewhat of a mystery however, regarding which Mark Teixeira we will see offensively. In 2011, Teixeira got off to a fast start. Everybody thought his April struggles would be over. Not quite the case. He started the season with a bang. He blasted 4 home runs in the first 4 games of the season. Although his power numbers were there for the remainder of the season, his batting average dipped significantly from the left side. The switch-hitter hit .248 overall with 39 home runs and 111 RBI for the season. The last two statistics are enticing, but the batting average looks terrible on the back of that baseball card. Going into the season, Teixeira was a career .286 hitter. He had a sub-par season in 2010 in the batting average department, but it was looked at as being an off-year for Teixeira. His average took an even further dive in 2011, leaving people to wonder if this is what they were going to get from Mark over the remainder of his contract.

Even with his terrible batting average, Teixeira killed lefties, batting right-handed. He hit a healthy .302 against righties. However, he hit a scary .224 as a lefty facing right-handed pitching. Teixeira knows that he had a down year in 2011. According to him, he is working hard in the off-season with hitting coach Kevin Long to tinker with his left-handed swing. Teixeira hit 24 home runs from the left side, but admits that he got a little pull-happy with the short porch at Yankee Stadium. Teixeira needs to be better consistently as a left-handed hitter. The shift is employed on Mark because teams have him figured out. They know that he will not hit anything to the opposite field from the left side, taking away groud ball hits that he would have otherwise gotten if he was not a dead pull hitter. I am confident that Teixeira will have a bounce back season in 2012.

My predictions for Teixeira in 2012: .270 BA, 34 HR, 108 RBI

Yankee Great Announces Retirement

Judging by the way the 2011 season went, it only made sense for Jorge to pack up his catching gear and explosive bat. However, Jorge still has the passion that many players in their prime do not have. Watching his press conference, it was evident that it was a difficult thing to do for Jorge. Relationships were formed in his 17 years playing for the greatest team in professional sports, and not only with his teammates.

Posada thanks the fans for sticking with him throughout the season. For a man with as much pride and passion for the game of baseball as Jorge had, it must have been difficult to turn in his catching gear before the start of the 2011 season.

Jorge leaves behind a legacy of determination and heart. He wore his heart on his sleeve until the very end. This press conference signifies Jorge's emotion while putting everything he had on the baseball field. He is a Yankee great and has been so clutch throughout his terrific career. From the double off of Pedro Martinez in the 2003 ALCS to his numerous late inning heroics, Jorge is a fighter and his passion is what inspired his fans.

It will be strange to not hear the chants of "HIP-HIP-JORGE" at the stadium anymore. Another member of the Core Four has decided to hang it up. It leaves a void in Yankees Universe. There is no doubt that nobody will ever be able to replace Jorge Posada as the heart of this team for much of seventeen seasons. I believe that Jorge will make a great major league manager one day. His passion and the fire that burns within him are ideal managerial characteristics that I hope will be exercised soon.

Trade becomes Official, other notes

• Michael Pineda is now a New York Yankee and Jesus Montero is a Seattle Mariner. The trade became official today. Pineda held a conference call and stressed that he was speechless and is totally looking forward to pitching with CC Sabathia and playing with the likes of Jeter and A-Rod.
• Montero said he was "shocked" about the trade because he thought the Yankees would have given him a legitimate chance to prove himself in the big leagues.
• Cashman stated that he doesn't see Hughes as a reliever. He is more comfortable with him being a starter.
• Also from Cashman, he says that free agent DH's are "secondary" in his search right now. He would prefer to trade an arm for a bat that can make a significant impact. 
• Brett Gardner avoided arbitration this weekend, settling on a one-year contract worth $2.8 million.

Associated Press Photo

With Scutaro out of AL, Mariano Breathes a Sigh of Relief

Marco Scutaro has been traded to the Colorado Rockies for a pitcher. Mariano Rivera now has breathing room when facing the Red Sox lineup. If you watch the Yankees/Red Sox games, they always come down to Mariano facing Scutaro and Scutaro usually wins the battle. Just last year, the Yankees were one out away from winning a tight game that was started by Freddy Garcia and Josh Beckett pitching for the Sox. Mariano has to face Scutaro. He hits a double off the Green Monster and the Red Sox eventually win the game when Hughes comes out of the bullpen to face Josh Reddick (who is also out of the Boston system).

Scutaro had great numbers vs. Mo. He had a slash line of .294/.400/.588 with a homer, two doubles and three RBI. To see those numbers against Rivera makes no sense, especially coming from a career .270 hitter. You can breathe now, Mo. Scutaro will no longer haunt you in your nightmares.

Assessing the Value of AJ Burnett

Burnett's reaction after giving up a home run to Bengie
Molina in the 2010 ALCS

AJ Burnett has always been a point of controversy in Yankee Land. Most fans are frustrated with his lack of consistency over the past two years and want to trade him or outright dump him and his salary. Let's face it, Burnett is a shell of his former self. He is a two-pitch pitcher who is all too inconsistent. In 2010, he saw a minor drop in velocity. One would think that if a pitcher loses 1-2 MPH off his fastball, it is no big deal. That's not the case with Burnett. Being a two-pitch pitcher makes it more difficult for him to adapt. Players know that they will get one of two pitches, and they can sense a fastball that contains less velocity when it is thrown. He is a very streaky starter. He has bad months that cause his ERA to inflate. Without certain months added to the ERA, he is a league-average pitcher. What entices you is his ability to throw a no-hitter every time he steps on the mound. He has, when right, a filthy curveball that looks appealing to hitters and usually ends up in the dirt and with the batter looking like a fool. Burnett also consistently eats innings for the Yankees year in and year out and makes all of his starts. He pitches 200 innings every year and gives the Yankees a chance to win in a rare occasion. He has stepped up when he was needed. The 2009 World Series comes to mind where he went 1-1, but the game he won was spectacular and gave the Yankees the edge in the remainder of the Series. Last year, with the Yankees being on the brink of elimination in game four of the ALDS against the Tigers, Burnett stepped up and delivered 5.2 innings of one-run ball. We know that Burnett is VERY inconsistent, but he shows us why we are all eager to watch his next start to possibly witness a no-hitter.

Moving forward, Burnett has $33 million remaining for two years on his Yankee contract. The Yankees have a boatload of front-line starters not named AJ Burnett. Is it a possibility that he gets traded before the start of the season? Very unlikely. Teams do not want to be responsible for his salary and the Yankees do not want to pay the majority of it for a different team. The Yankees would rather have him on the team, knowing that he is an innings-eater. That is perhaps the only value that Burnett has right now, and it only means something to the Yankees because they are paying him to eat those innings and to have a great start now and again.

Yankees Catching

I will dedicate a blog post to each position for the New York Yankees. In these posts, I will be discussing organizational strengths at each position and how they will be affected by minor leaguers coming up through the system. With my first post, I will hone in on the Yankees catching situation and what it will look like in the long term, post Russell Martin.

Austin Romine

The Yankees currently have Russell Martin at catcher. Martin has been great for the Yankees in his first season in 2011. He threw out 30% of potential base-stealers, something that Posada was not especially good at doing. He hit for power, mashing 17 home runs and provided stability behind the plate for over 120 games. There is no doubt that the arbitration-eligible catcher will be back in pinstripes in 2012, judging from comments made by Brian Cashman. However, if the Yankees do not lock Martin up to a long-term deal, which they won't, they need to have the stability at the catching position that they had when Jorge Posada was squatting behind the plate for most of 15 seasons. The organization is stacked with an embarrassment of catching prospects which include Austin Romine and even further down in the system, Gary Sanchez. After Martin becomes a free-agent, the Yankees need to look closely at making Romine their every day catcher. The AAA player had a taste of big-league time when he was called up in September, but needs to further develop his hitting skills. Before the Yankees commit to making Romine their every day catcher, they need to gradually set him into the role of back-up catcher. When Jorge Posada was coming up, Joe Girardi was the Yankees catcher and Girardi taught Posada the ropes of how to catch a big-league staff. Over the last three years, the Yankees back-up has been Francisco Cervelli, a terrible defensive catcher who is a singles hitter. If the Yankees want Austin Romine to be successful at the big-league level, catching the likes of CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda, they need to let him break camp with the Bombers to get a taste of life in the majors. Although Francisco Cervelli is a pro at fist-pumping, he needs to get traded for a similar player at a different position or as a complementary piece for a big-time pitcher. Cervelli, not Martin, is blocking Romine's future with the Yankees because the Yankees are opting to go with the guy with more big-league experience rather than with a new guy who needs to mature. For that to happen, I don't see any other option but parting ways with Cervelli. Sanchez still has a long way before he hits the majors which would give Romine plenty of opportunities to prove himself as a legitimate defensive catcher who can handle the bat and hit .280 consistently. What actually happens though, remains to be seen.