Yanks Stuff
Elsewhere, Severino was dominant in his first start, and Greg Bird hit his first homerun of the season. Trenton lost, but we're looking for development. Judge had a terrible night at the plate, K'ing 4 times. I think a few of them were loooking and low and away. He's got to learn to protect that low and away quadrant. Btw, Brady Lail did get sent back to the FSL.
Katoh drove in Mateo for a walk off win last night. Let's hope they both get going. Pitching's been a little bumpy throughout the system in the early going.
posted by Kalel9 @ 8:21 AM
38 Comments:
They'll probably play within a 3-5 game range above and below .500 all season.
The best thing that can happen to them is for declining veterans to get hurt. It's not like I'm wishing anything bad on them, they still get paid, but they are part of the problem and will remain so as long as they are under contract.
Of course, the bigger problem is that they will probably spend more money poorly in two years (the next time they have real money coming off the books) unless Hal sells and new ownership hires a GM that doesn't suck.
Billy, here's my response to your post in the other thread:
Firstly, in regard to homegrown players not being shown patience, I probably should have clarified that to say that they're either not shown patience, or not given a shot at all. Jose Ramirez was sent back down following a rough outing last season, with no consideration to the fact that Girardi had not used him for like a week. Pirela is being kept in AAA in favor of Brendan Ryan. LINJ mentioned Murphy as an example of another player who hasn't been given a real shot. Bryan Mitchell was kept in the minors in favor of Chris Capuano. The only reason Warren is getting a look as a starter is because Capuano is hurt and Esmil Rodgers (still trying to figure out why he was signed) stunk in spring training.
Betances, the one developmental success last year, only got a shot because he was out of options. Luckily for us, he succeeded right away. (Luckily for the team, too, as it allowed them to let Robertson walk for the pick.)
As for Didi, if he could hit around what he did in the minors career-wise, combined with plus defense, that would work out well for the Yankees until Mateo or someone else who's better was ready to fill the slot. That said, his career major-league numbers in 753 plate appearances: .239/.309/.358/.667. While that is not big enough of a sample size to say definitively that he will never get better, it is enough of a sample size when, combined with his unimpressive career minor-league numbers, the odds don't -appear- favor him being even an average hitter eventually. Is it possible I'm wrong? Sure, anything's possible, but in my eyes, it doesn't look likely.
I have no problem trading Greene in and of itself, as there were other big-league options like Warren and Mitchell to go along with Nova's eventual return. When it became known that Stephen Drew would have been an option for SS all along, though, that's when I began to wonder why the asset was used for that.
Who was the last homegrown position player who was shown patience?
It's Gardner. Look no further to understand the mess they are in.
I would never want this GM to make a trade with Dombrowski.
The irony is that Cashman used to resent Torre, and rightly so, but he has become Torre in that he thinks he is great because, like Torre, he was lucky enough to inherit perhaps the greatest situation a GM has ever stumbled into.
Then add in what was once a humongous payroll advantage, and you have baseball nirvana.
Yet despite that, he has allowed this team to become a mediocre collection of has-beens.
And the owner and Harpo Marx publicly say he is doing a great job.
Serenity now.
I just saw this. This is the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO194704150.shtml
It's hard to imagine that there are still people alive (although not me!) who can remember baseball without African-American players.
Mike,
I agree that Pirela should have been up last year and Roberts cut after 15 games. Betances was so inconsistent in the minors that it was maddening. Jose has never been healthy and he was sent down because he wasn't pitching and they didn't want him to just sit around.
We can all clamor for certain players to be called up and debate why such request has not been done. A factor that we failt to realize on here is that development is not an exact science.I don't always agree with some of the paths the team has put players on but for Mitchell, I fully believe that he was not ready for that spot last season. He just started experiencing his first stint of success in pro-ball and advanced to AAA. You bring him up for an extended period when he's not ready and you totally destroy his confidence.
Some can relate but for those that can't, pitching is 70% mental and 30% physical. It's about conviction, thinking in the present, adjusting your mechanics and believing in yourself. The latter being one of the most critical pieces and I felt Mitchell was handled accordingly. He got his feet wet and went into the off-season with confidence knowing he can succeed at MLB level but just needs to improve in some small areas.
I believe Greene was expandable solely due to Mitchell sitting on the doorstep.
As far as Murphy is concerned, what are the projections for him? Do people on here believe he is an above average regular or is he more destined to be a backup catcher? I had higher hopes for McCann but I was opposed to his signing at first solely due to Murphy and Sanchez being on the cusp. I will tap my hat to the kid as he's turned into an above average defensive catcher, so maybe he is blocked.
Unfortunately for us, we don't have a get out of bad contract free card that the redsox got when they traded some terrible deals to the Dodgers. I'm hopeful the teams ways will change but I'm more of an optimist on here than some. I fully believe DiDi has the ability to be the good version of Elvis Andrus.
Whatever you want to call development they suck at it
And they suck at it for at least two reasons, one, they refuse to give position players an extended chance or they mess up their development along the way in the minor leagues. And two, the GM is a terrible manager
So the Davis AB is Eovaldi in a n nutshell. He makes him look foolish on a breaking ball and then lays in fat fastball
The development is getting much better as you could tell from the AB's of the minor leaguers in the presason games. Every last one of them was GRINDING, like the kids who came up in the `90s did.
Also, Eovaldi is a project, like McCarthy was last year, but younger and with higher upside. Let's see how the season plays out for this 25 year old. Our PC has has shown a knack for helping.
I will believe the development is much better when there is actually results at the major-league level
As for the comparison earlier regard to Refs and Didi's respective offense, just look at the approach at the plate The comparison ends.
As I said during the off-season, Eovaldi was the one and only move I liked. I'm really pointing out that you can see why his stuff has not translated
Remember, it takes some time for the catchers to know which pitches to call with the new guys, too, to go along with what th pitcher and PC have to address.
Okay
Alex was the best player on the team the day he became a Yankee and he still is
He crushed that.
Petit has no place on a ML roster.
Stop fucking around and bring up Lindgren et al
Billy,
The problem with Mitchell is the team was futilely trying to win a playoff spot instead of accepting that it wasn't happening and giving him a chance to pitch in the majors. They should have just cut Capuano and told Mitchell, "Listen, don't worry about results. You're just here to get your feet wet so the learning curve isn't as steep next year." This would have given us an extended look, but no, Capuano needed his innings for some reason.
As for Murphy, it's not so much about projection as it is about not saddling yourself with McCann's contract. I would have had no problem letting Murphy and Romine hold things down just to see what they have, if anything, and to see if Sanchez can ever get his act together.
I sincerely hope you're right about Didi. We'll see.
General statement: A-Rod needs to be nothing but a DH 90% of the time he plays.
I don't trust anything this abomination of a GM does:
BALTIMORE — The Yankees have let the Braves know they have an interest in Atlanta’s second-base prospect Jose Peraza who is currently playing at Triple-A.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation the Yankees made contact with the Braves and sent scout Dennis Twombley to Gwinnett, Ga. recently to watch Peraza, who turns 22 on April 30.
Baseball America ranked the 6-foot, 165-pound native of Venezuela as the 54th best prospect in the minor leagues and MLB had him 39th.
In 349 minor league games Peraza started Wednesday night’s action batting .303 with an on-base percentage of .349. He had 178 steals and was caught 42 times.
The Yankees’ interest in Peraza could be a strong sign they don’t believe Rob Refsnyder or Jose Pirela are long-term solutions at second base. Refsnyder’s defensive struggles in spring training have carried over to the Triple-A season where he has made three errors in six games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Pirela is still on the road back from a spring-training concussion.
While the Yankees aren’t likely to surrender top pitching prospect Luis Severino, they could put together a two-player package that might include catcher Gary Sanchez who has been passed in the organization’s pecking order by John Ryan Murphy.
Maybe they can flip Refsnyder in the deal for Peraza
Mike-
I don't agree with Mitchell at all. He wasn't ready and was just experiencing his FIRST taste of success. It's great and all to say "hey man, don't worry about the results" but we're talking about fierce competitors here. He had and still has stuff he needs to work on and bringing him up would have hindered that development. In the minors, pitchers are given certain allotments for pitch types that they need to throw a game. In the majors, that's not the case. Capuano was simply an innings eater and was not blocking Mitchell.
He was given a taste of ML hitters at the end of the season, so he can get an idea of what he still needs to improve on in order to succeed.
I disagree with a lot of the development choices the Yanks have made but Mitchell is probably the first time in a while where a player was handled accordingly.
And yes, Petit is pure garbage -- seeing him come in to PH in the 9th was so sad. I think Lindgren comes up once they push back his service clock, just like Kris Bryant.
Maybe they can flip Cashman for a bag of shit.
I suppose you can do a better job
If the Yankees trade for Peraza, it will show the team is wanting to have the best of both worlds: compete now with a guy whom they deem "ready" while simultaneously getting younger/cheaper. The more honorable thing to do would be to give one of their own a shot, but as we all know, players who came up through other organizations > homegrown players in this team's mind.
That said, I imagine scouting potential trade targets is pretty common around MLB, and with the Braves in full rebuild mode, I don't see them letting Peraza go so easily.
That has to be the most ridiculous possible retort.
All one has to do to understand what a terrible job Cashman has done post 2005 or so is to examine his own words from then and now:
From 2005 when he received the power he long sought:
“We have the most money – there’s no secret about that – and if we combine that with the best decision-making process on a consistent basis, then God help the rest of baseball.”
From just this offseason:
"Everything with the Yankees is a short-term process," Cashman said on ESPN radio today. "Building the perfect beast over time, as you see with the Cubs or the Astros, that's not going to happen here."
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What we have seen over the last 10 years is the decline of a once great franchise.
Short-term "fixes" featuring successive long-term contracts to a series of declining veterans have created one of the worst rosters, dollar for dollar, in sports history.
(And who can forget the offseason that featured such stellar additions like Vernon Wells, Kevin Youkilis, and Travis Hafner.)
So Cashman has failed according to the standard he himself set.
The owner has allowed him do it, repeatedly saying that he is doing "a great job."
But Hal is only considered to be smart because he is a billionaire's son and he sounds smarter than Hank.
He bears the ultimate responsibility, but that doesn't absolve Cashman.
All they have to do is admit the faliure of their current mindset of win-now (which means never win) "plans" and the absurdity of "pitching holds the keys to the kingdom" (the Bronx Bombers thing worked, you know?) and just let kids play.
Offense wins. Sure, pitching is great, but there are so few that aren't fragile, and it's unknowable who they will be.
Defense is a largely function of pitching, and it's the least important part of baseball.
You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks the Yankees possess the "best decision-making process on a consistent basis," even from those who might defend Cashman's job overall.
The man's admittance that there's no real long-term plan shows just how much of a mess things have become.
Are we seriously quoting a statement made 10 years ago? WOW.
I guess owners didn't change, a new cba wasn't implemented among a lot of other changes that have impacted baseball during that time frame.
I defend Cashman because even though he is the GM, he is not the guy always pulling the strings. People like to assign blame without any idea as to who it should be aimed at. Just their own assumptions. So sad.
Um, yeah, because he understand what it took to build a team correctly then but has completely abandoned it since.
You can't see that????
WOW!
Oh, and btw, the successive CBA have made his original blueprint even more tenable than when he first enunciated it because in 2005, they could spend their way out of their poor development.
But in recent years that is no longer the case, but they still spend as if it is.
As for his hands being tied, do you really think that Hal cared if he signed Drew for SS and kept Greene?
Do you really think Hal cares of they are hitting- or pitching-centric?
Really?
It reminds me of the Torre defenders when he no longer had a perfect pen.
Hey, life isn't always perfect.
But smart people either adjust or they move on.
He has done neither.
So Cashman told Wallace Matthew that he is at loss...over the poor play overall and the defense, particularly his prize, Didi.
Probably what he tells Hal whenever he gets off the yacht.
(I really just wanted to stop typing after the ellipsis.)
In a nice piece that Jennings has on Murphy, there is this excerpt:
Before the Yankees chose Murphy over Austin Romine to be their backup catcher out of spring training, Joe Girardi stressed that defense would be a key part of their decision. Several years ago, that would have been bad news for Murphy, who came into the Yankees’ system as a hitter who’d caught in high school. The bat was his calling card, and he was no sure thing he’d stay behind the plate. The Yankees even dabbled with him at third base in the low minors.
__
I don't it takes a leap of logic reasoning to surmise that Posada may not have gotten a chance here if Girardi's way of thinking was controlling.
Think about that. A near HoF catcher who was integral to much of the best Yankees' run that many of us well ever see, and he may not have been good enough defensively to satisfy someone who, as a player, added so much less value than Posada that if their respective career value was plotted on graph, you wouldn't even know that Girardi played.
Who hired him again?
You just know that Sanchez has no shot here, but to trade him for anything less than a young bat with significant power would be really stupid.
This obsession with defense is borderline insane. I don't know if this is simply Cashman acquiescing to Girardi or if Cashman truly believes defense is some magical thing that will put his mediocre product over the top "if everyone stays healthy," in his own words. It may explain why Gregorius will be shown patience (which he absolutely should be, given they gave up an asset to acquire him to start) while Refsnyder seemingly won't get an opportunity in the near future.
And yeah, Sanchez pretty much has no shot. Part of me wants to see him and Refsnyder packaged for a bat just so they can get a fair chance elsewhere, because it apparently isn't going to happen here.
Billy, I absolutely hold Cashman accountable to his words from 10 years ago. He promised the "best decision-making process on a consistent basis." If newer ownership is so meddlesome that we can't have that, fine, but at least do the best you can. His unhealthy obsession with pitching and defense at the expense of hitting, his poor roster construction tendencies and his lack of allowing homegrown talent a shot while imports and has-beens are given way too long a leash has worn thin with me. I don't think he's a buffoon; far from it, but his unbridled arrogance, as evidenced from his interviews, has made him believe he is a genius for signing Drew to play at second and we're all just stupid fans for disagreeing.
Everyone with a half brain knows that Cashman doesn't have full control over this team.
He didnt want Soriano, wanted Guerrero over Sheffield and didn't want to give Beltran the 3rd year.
I agree with you Mike - Cashman has made mistakes, although that can be said for most GMs. I thoroughly enjoy debating with you as you bring validity to the points you make and actually are not so absurdly closed minded.
The Yanks have the tools at their disposal to make the best decisions. The IT infrastructure they have built is filled data none of us have access to. His quote specifically says "if" they combine their money with the best decision making, then watch out. I'm not one to speculate WHO is making the decisions, I prefer to evaluate everything in a big picture. So many variables here are overlooked and not taken into account, specifically options and service time.
There are times when I hated moves and others that I loved. We are all never going to agree on everything but I enjoy the dialogue that is productive and allows us to actually step back and reevaluate our own opinion.
Anyone with half a brain would realize that he's a bad GM
Anon, where did you hear he wanted Beltran for 2 and not 3? That move always struck me as a Randy Levine "marketable name player" special rather than a Cashman move. Sheff over Vlad came courtesy of George's Tampa cronies who has way too much sway before they insisted on Tony Womack only to see that backfire.
Billy, I'll give you a response when I'm not typing on my phone in a little while.
If we hold him to your standard, guy, he didn't want Moncada because he made an excuse for not signing him.
Yes in 2004 he wanted Beltran and not Randy Johnson and he was right. He seemed to get it back then. Since then, however, he lost his way.
As far as R. Soriano, he rightly didn't want him, but then he bragged about making the playoffs as his accomplishment, but he neglected to say that without him, they wouldn't have made the playoffs, because Rivera went down.
The new Cashman in a nutshell
It's kind of comical, that Levine and Hal repeatedly expressed their man love for him, but according to his defenders he's just their boy toy, and like a child, seen and not heard.
Hey, I think the guy is a clown, but there is no rational basis for thinking that the powers that be don't take his advice
OK.
Billy, I have no doubt the team has a top-notch statistical analysis department, as one thing I always felt Cashman understood was the value of such analysis. I also credit him for seemingly realizing the developmental deficiencies and working to correct them, based on posts Phil has made. I'm beginning to wonder if his pitching/defense obsession is a result of thinking he's going to Moneyball the game because he thinks pitching and defense are undervalued in the game right now. That said, I fall under Lawyer's line of thinking, in that the team is nicknamed the Bronx Bombers, and thus, a strong lineup should be the No. 1 priority (though the other two things are important, too).
One point I'd like to bring up is one Phil has made in regard to Refsnyder — why hasn't Willie Randolph been hired to help with his defense? This is the richest franchise in sports, and IMO, no expense should be spared in order to give prospects the best possible chance to succeed. I'd feel a lot better about him being in the minors if Willie was there to take Refs under his wing. These are your prospects, Brian — invest in them!
I guess what I want is the best possible man in charge running things the best possible way it can be run. I don't think Cashman is bad, per se, but I don't see him as a top-tier GM in the game, which is what I think a team like the Yankees ought to have.
Honestly, at this point, I'm probably going to just retire from my overall criticism of Cashman/Hal/Levine because I want them all gone, which is never going to happen. Cashman is the only one I'd genuinely wish well, as for all his flaws, I do think he possesses baseball knowledge and wants to win. The other two are all about the money, so they can just go away. But since I can't get what I want, I'm just going to have to sit here and take it.
I really don't have high hopes for this team, both short- and long-term, which stinks, because I do love rooting for the Yankees. My first visit to the new stadium last summer was an incredibly special experience for me, I just wish the special memories didn't depend on a trip to mecca, but on winning teams and exciting players. :-(
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