Giants Giant, But Still Secure the #2 Pick!

Okay, the Giants just won a game they should have strategically lost, but they still secured the second pick in the draft, because the Colts won. The Giants used the 11th iteration of their OL, to pound the Skins for over 200 yards.  They got a 75 yard rumble from Orleans Darkwa on their first running play of the game, and Gallman was also darn good as the game went on, though he contributed one of the 7 drops the targets failed to come up with.  Eli was fine. So let's hope it's not his last game as a Giant. I'm not in love with any of this year's big QB prospects, and would prefer to stick with Webb as the developmental guy, then use 2 to take Barkley or trade down.  Big week coming up.

Forgot to mention that Gettleman says he will run both Free Agency and the Draft this year, rather than moving someone into Ross's evacuated post. Reese did that during his first year as GM.

Gettleman Comes Out Kicking Ass

I went out on my morning constitutional, just after my last post, and was about a mile away when all hell broke loose at Giants Central. So Gett fired Marc Ross and cuts Bobby Hart. And that's a very nice start.  Ross talked a good game but his default setting outside of the first round, where I think Jerry was making most of the picks, was power 5 conference average players. In other words, he was never going to find an Osi, or any of the other small school gems that Jerry used to find when he was running the drafts. This is an important move because it shows that Gettleman isn't just taking the chair, but he's really digging in and addressing the rest of the problems.  Not sure who'll run the rest of the draft prep, but Gett probably knows all the scouts, and they'll figure it out.

Bobby Hart was a kid who couln't afford a bad attitude, yet he had one and it also compromised Flowers.  Hart is gone, and that's a start on the all new OL thay must be put together.  Bisnowaty has been activated from the PSquad for tomorrow's game. Hilarious that he will see action before Webb.

This Week on the Blog

It was a surprising week as the Giants scrapped their plans for a long and exhaustive GM search and hired Dave Gettleman. He says he's here to kick ass, and we'll have to see about that.  Levine spoke and said the Yanks aren't done - which we are all a little worried about.  The Knicks kepy losing close games on the road, and the Rangers keep getting points, though Chris Kreider has a scary injury. Let's take a look at this coming week.

Giants: New Year's Day will coincide with Black Monday in the NFL.  The day when lots of coaches and coaching staffs annually get canned.  The Giants will be able to start interviewing those guys and also the coaches from teams who have a first round bye, like the Pats and the stinking Eagles.  This will be a huge decision for the GMen, and they can't afford a Reeves type retread just to restore adequacy after their Handley type mistake with McAdoo.

Yankees: We'll find out if that Gerrit Cole rumor is true or false in pretty short order.  If not, let's hope the Yanks have come up with a better plan over the holidays.

Knicks:  The Knicks are hard to judge, because their best players are young and still experiencing growing pains, they don't know how to win yet, and their coach might not have figured out their most beneficial rotations yet.  Lance Thomas and Jarret Jack are playing too often and it's hurting.  They have had some moments of clarity and because they play hard, they're not as hard to watch as some of the Melo or Startbury teams were.

Rangers: The Rangers lost a shootout last night after winning one earlier this week. At least they're getting points.  They called up Lettieri but I was watching football and missed his debut last night. Still think the Rangers sould look to sell, as their best talent seems to be in the World Juniors and KHL, and not their veterans in the NHL. We'll see if they have the same sagacity the Yanks showed when they finally bit the bullet and sold at the 2016 deadline. The Rangers could change courses and fates as quickly as they Yanks did with the right moves.  Also, the outdoor game Monday should be a blast.

So there it is, a coaching hunt, Yankee truth, Knick foibles and an outdoor hockey game.  Have a great week and the happiest and most joyful of New Years.

Uh Oh?

Here's another Gettleman post.  Earlier today, he was inteerviewed by Bob Papa, who asked him if he'd prefer to hire a defensively oriented HC or an offensively oriented HC.  He made the point that defensive HC's have been more successful and seemed more likely to succeed. This was utter bullshit.  What about Brown, Lombardi, Walsh, Gibbs, Coughlin (whom he worked with) and Shannahan (whom he also worked with).  Who are these big defensive legends?  Bill and Bill. Tom Landry? It doesn't pass the sniff test, and it better not be linking us up for Schwartz, Foxx or Smith.  I have no objection of the DC from Carolina, but he better not be setting us for some retread, especially Schwartz who had to beg his players to carry him off the field when he was the losing HC in Detroit.

Giants Introduce Gettleman

So they are introducing Dave Gettleman right now and he is saying everything we want to hear about building up the OL and DL. Says he's been hired to win and will do everything in his power to lead this team back to where it belongs.  He's been charming and funny.

Cole Already a Yankee?

Okay, I'd normally add this rumor as a comment under the Cole Watch post, but with all the Giants stuff happening, I thought it deserved a mention at the top of the page. One of the BWAA writers, Chuck Johnson, is saying that Cole has been traded to the Yanks but they won't announce it because of a holiday moritrium.  He said he didn't know what was sent to the Pirtates or if anything else is coming from the Pirates.  He's a good source, so let's see if anything has happened.

The Giants BIG GAMBLE

What seems like the most perfunctory move the Giants could have made is really a huge gamble.  And it is one they have lost at before.  I give you both Ray Handley and Ben McAdoo.  Each was asked to take over the head position of a well established coaching staff and each time they failed horrifically.  Of course, when Jerry Reese was promoted to take over Ernie's old front office staff, which included Gettleman, the short term returns were phenomenal.  So once again it looks like they're bringing in someone to take over a seat at the head of the executive sweet, but if they believe that that's the only seat that needs changing, they are sorely mistaken.  Let's see if he changes anyone in the offices around him.

UPDATE: Ralph V is already reporting that Gettleman is expected to keep acting GM Kevin Abrams onboard in his old Assistant GM job.  This is looking more and more like a one man front office switch, though the entire FO was guilty.

Giants Will Be Giants

The Giants did what most of us thought they would do and brought back Dave Gettleman to be their new GM.  He's the 67 year old former Panthers GM, who was the Pro Player guy under  Accorsi then Jerry, till he left for the Panthers.  He'll know where the bathrooms are, but bring nothing new.  I'm sure the owners, such as they are, felt they were reaching back for their glory days like they did when they finally hired Tom Coughlin in 2004.  This is sickening. Gettleman got dumped in Carolina because he didn't get along with the players. I'm sure he likes Eli, but our best player is Odell and I'm not confident in how that will work out at all. It also means most of the rest of the executive crew will be kept and so the drafts won't improve.  And he'll probably pick a coach from the Carolina staff, instead of some better staffs around the league. This is predictable and self-destruvtive of the Giants.

Now they need a Coach, and it will probable be that DC from Carolina.

Yanks Add More IFA's

So the Yanks have apparently added OF's Marco Naranjo and Bryan Arreche as well as INF Oscar Sanabria recently.  Naranjo is 16, the other two are from VZ and I don't know how old they are.  That brings to a total of 5 IFA's signed since the Yanks were eliminated from the Ohtani Sweepstakes.  So the 3.5M they had pooled for Ohtani may well be gone, or it's possible that these latest three were lower dollar signings. Hard to tell. Still wether the money is gone or these were lower dollar guys, they have been crushing down there lately.

Rangers Re-call Vinni Lettieri

Due to Chris Kreider's "upper body injury" the Rangers have re-called Vinni Lettieri from the AHL where he was leading the team with 12 goals. Lettieri, who starred for the University of Minnesota, and is another one of those college stars the Rangers signed to try to make up for all of those traded picks. They couldn't re-call Chytil because he's off leading his team in the World Juniors.  And Lias Andersson is off doing the same - and both of them are crushing it.  Let's hope Lettieri hits the the ice scoring, and gives the Rangers a glimpse of their possible future.  Even after their big win last night, they should be sellers at the deadline.

UPDATE: Chris Kreider has been diagnosed with a blood clot in his arm and will be out indefinitely. This is terrible news for Chris and we can only wish him our best. I wish they had given us a better clue than "upper body injury" which is often code for a concussion last night. This is scary biz.

Giants Will Pick No Lower than #3

The Giants will probable pick second in the 2018 NFL Draft - unless they beat the Redskins next week, which could complicate things.  In any event, they will pick no later than #3 after today's embarassment.  13 is now their all-time franchise record for losses in a season and with any luck it will only last a week.

Last time the Giants had the #2 overall pick, they took Lawrence Taylor.  They have to find that kind of impact again and their resistance to playing rookie QB Davis Webb at all this lost season has clouded the waters of what should be a clean grab for a franchise pick or the best non-QB in the draft.    Look at the 49ers, who were suffering a similarly bad season when they traded for Jimmy Garappolo and PLAYED HIM!  They now don't have to spend a first rounder on a quarterback for several years. The Giants played it the other way, and will now have no information about the strong armed kid they have, and will thus spend a ton of time stacking this year's crop of potential first round QB's. Stupid.

Meanwhile, the Giants should be very attractive to new GM's and coaches: they'll have no less than the 3rd pick in all of the rounds of the coming draft, and next year they will be getting Odell back, as well as a several other decent players. They're in no particular cap trouble and the owners.  We have to hope that whomever they hire is a lot smarter than the people who've been making the bad Davis decisions.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, it's been a slow week news wise for our teams, and an up and down one for the teams with games, the Knicks and Rangers are still not winning all the games they should, and while the Knick are young and fun, the Rangers are mostly veteran and should be able to qualify for playoffs in their sleep. I wonder if they'd consider selling at the deadline.  Let's take a look.

Yankees:  The Yanks finally spent some or all of the Ohtani superfund on CF Raimfer Salinaas and C Antonion Caballo.  They both have impressive tape over on youtube, so, very well done, again.  They've been crushing IFA with both their big signings and small over the past severall years now.  Meanwhile, the stalemate with the Bucko's and lord know what ever potetntial trade partners continued.  Ellsbury is still on the team, and if the Yanks decide to go for a FA P,  Ellsbury's no-trade might make force them to move Gardy, and that would be cosmically unjust.  We'll see what happens, but must applaud them for another big IFA haul where they got 5 of BA's top 20.

UPDATE:  We have a little more info.  The Yanks have made trade offers to the Rays for Chris Archer and Tigers for Michael Fulmer. Those two or probably preferable to, and thus more expensive than Cole, or than Cole should be.

Giants:  The Giants have begun interviewing GM's, and it's been all of the usual suspects with the exception of TV commentator Louis Riddick.  Riddick is bright, and has scouted but would be a better prospect if he had a coach attached.  We'll see what happens and if the Giants are waiting on a GM/Coach parcel from the Pats.

Knicks: My family's in town from England and last night, my nephews and I almost watched the Knicks complete and thrilling comeback victory in Detroit.  But Courtney Lee went full Melo at crunch time and Horny had Frank off the court in the last few minutes.  KP was back to his usual self and had 29 and 9.  There's still another level or two he can reach with his game and as he gets stronger.

Rangers:  They were lucky to get a point against the Devils the other night, as it was yet another game where they didn't really show up.  I'm really starting to think it's time for a deadline sell off, like the Yanks had when they finally realized their returns had diminished enough with an aging lineup.  We'll see.

Alright, so there it is.  Yanks could make a trade at any time, nothing seems imminent with the Giants, the Knicks need to learn to finish, and the Rangers need to start showing up or get traded.

Have the Merriest of Christmases.

Cole Watch 2017

The buzz is becoming resounding and that usually means thing are on.  So, 9 years after screwing over the Yanks in the 2008 draft (pictured above), Gerrit Cole, he of the average spin rates, will probably become a Yankee in the next day or so.  I really hope they have some analytics that show he can be the 2015 version of himself again.  Because as things stand he is an innings eater but sort of a Tim Leary type.  Looks the part but doesn't really play the part.  I guess it is possible that he and Sonny Gray could help each other in yanking their heads out of their asses out there, but I am more confident in synergy that will come from the Stanton/Judge Dynamic.   Of course, the biggest issue is cost, and the latest tweets seem to indicate that the Pirates know they aren't getting Gleyber, and earlier it was mentioned that Florial was also a non-starter.  Just the same, brace yourselves.

Todd Frazier Next?

So now Jim Leyritz says the Yanks are moving towoard a new deal with Todd Frazier.  This is interesting because it would mean they're not making the Corbin/Drury deal.  And since Todd is really only a 3b or maybe a 1B or DH, it probably would mean that the Yanks are content with their in-house options for 2B, which is good because they have a bunch of them. Of course, things could change, but if the Yanks are going forward with Frazier it is a step in a definite direction.  Leyritz was the first to have Stanton, and his timeline actually was accurate and not premature as we found out later.  So we should probably give this one a lot of credence.

This Week on the Blog

Altight, this week seemed to end with the Yanks ameliorating their need for a 6th starter, as the guy who would fit that role, CC Sabathia, has signed to be the 5th starter.  We'll see if they've learned anything.  The Knicks have been fun, the Rangers still haven't reached cruising altitude and the Giants have just three games left of this undexpected season in Hell.  Let's take a look.

Yankees: The Yankees still have all sorts of dry power.  CC's 10M deal doesn't even eat up Chase Headley's traded away slot. Plus they have their full farm, 3.5M to add new IFA's to it, and the ability to shed more salaries if needs be. They are sitting pretty, let's see if they can show some restraint, and only leap at great opportunities.

Giants: Three games left.  Everyone who is anyone is on IR. Still looking for a GM and a new coaching staff.

Knicks: KP is day to day with a sore left knee, which is fine.  THjr is more problematic.  It's been two weeks and he's still not close. Meanwhile, Melo is coming back tonight.  I don't care, but one thing that is very observable is that Knick players are willing to play defense, when they don't have a bad example showing them how not to.  Even without KP and THjr, they are infinitely more fun to watchn than the Rangers.

Rangers: Buch still isn't playing enough, but remains the sparkplug.  Nash, Hayes and Zucc seem to be coming around as they showed last night against the Kings. They still stumble at times, but it is getting closer.  The early goals given up thing, is brutal and must be cleaned up.  Lindy Ruff has not distinguished himself with the defense.  They play the Bruins later.

So there it is.  Yanks sitting pretty, Knicks entertaining, Rangers rounding into form - or not, and the Giants? Whatever happened to them?

Have a great one, peeps!

Yanks Sign CC

This is just breaking, but the Yanks have agreed with CC Sabathia on a one year 10M deal - pending a physical, which could undo it, but probably won't.  I'd think this means no trade for a pitcher, because they'd have to she more salary to make the necessary room with the raises and benefits they have to still supply. So this means the prospects are probably safe and the Yanks are back to having all the leverage.

Yankee Pitching

The Yanks went into the post Stanton Upgrade looking to trade for a young controllable pitcher.  Of course very few things are more expensive than such animals as we saw last summer when the Yanks traded for Sunny Gray.  And paying a lot for one of these guys does not guarantee results, as we saw when the Yanks traded for Sonny Gray. Also, when they traded for Jeff Weaver, and Javier Vaszquez 2X.  It hasn't been successful formula for us in this era, and Gray is a very fresh sample.

What is also true is that the Yanks are now more stacked with power armed pitchers than they have ever been on the minor league level.  So all they'd really be doing by packaging prospects for Cole, or Corbin or Fulmer is buying a little time.  And that would be much easier to achieve by just bringing back CC. Not many people expected Jordan Montgomery to do what he did last year, and the system is not out of candidates for a repeat.  So let them compete for 6th starter, and don't throw good prospects after costly but volatile contollable pitching.

Knicks Win a Road Game

Albeit it was in Brooklyn which is still home for many Knicks fans.  But it was on the road. The tough point is that KP had to leave the game early in the third quarter due to a sore left knee.  I'm hoping the Knicks were just over cauthious as I would hope they would be and he just needs some ice.  Frank once again showed that they are a better team with him on the coutrt than off.  He also made some beautiful feeds. Sure, he will have some turnovers, but he also creates them the other way, and at some point some of those turnovers will be seen as fouls.  KOQ was back to being his good self, after a few weeks of his not as good self.  Courtney Lee had a game high with KP out, but he should be traded as soon as anyone offers a 1, and is not part of the future.  Lance Thomas is playing too much and I'm not sure we have the right coach given the clear issue of veteraness.

The Machado Question

Michael Kay is apparently saying that Cash is going hard for Machado.  While I find this hard to believe at this juncture, when Cash goes sub rosa things often happening on the other side of it.  Everyone says the White Sox have the best offer, while others are saying the White Sox are part of a three team trade with the Yankees, so Peter Angelos doesn't have to deal directly with the Yanks.  If the Yanks are going to do this, I hope they are getting Manny to play SS not 3B and that Didi is a part of the package not Andujar, because an eventual infield of Bird, Torres, Machado, Andujar and Sanchez could be really special.

Also, troubling in all of this is that Manny will soon need a mega deal.  I'd rather only give out those big deals to our homegrowns like Judge and El Gary. In fact, I want to give those two big deals before they get anywhere near free agency.  We blew that chance with Jeter, and blew it another way with Cano.  We need to extend them to age 35 after next season, hopefully. So I don't want to complicate that with having a superbig deal for Manny on the books as well as Stanton.

UPDATE: Bob Nigthengale is now saying the White Sox have the strongest offer, but Baltimore is worried that they will turnaround and send him to the Yankees.

Post Winter Meetings State of the Yanks

The Yanks are a little undressed. Yes, they really improved their offense by acquiring Stanton, but they've also lost players and personnel that they have yet to replace.  Furthermore they have yet to address pitching whether through trade or re-signing CC.

Let's look at the player side first.  They traded their starting 2B and 3B and though they have prospects that could fit both positions, they are unlikely to go into the season without training wheels or temp starters for those spots.  They also haven't upgraded backup catcher which is a BIG NEED.

Beyond that, on the personnel side, they're filling out the big league coaching staff, but have lost some minor league coaches migration or in the cases of Reggie Willits and Carlon Mendoza, promotion to the big leagues.  So they have to be replaces as we as Josh Paul and their AAA manager.  They also need to replace Kevin Reese in the NYC pro scouting deptartment, and still need another brain or two in the minor league player development department.

So there's a lot of vetting, hiring, scouting, trading and signing yet to be done. But we got Stanton and are still way ahead of the game.

Yanks on Day 3

Slow day 3, and Cash is cypher mode.  They're still focused on pitching with names like Fulmer, Cole, Archer and others on the trade front and CC and maybe others on the FA front.  Some of the deals might include infield insurance, but if they don't the Yanks have also been connected with Nunez Redux or maybe a shocking run at Manny Machado. Who knows?

Cash did say they won't be picking anyone in the Rule 5 draft tomorrow, where the Yanks will get decimated.  The Rule 5 draft is sort of the bastard child of a letter Tommy Henrich wrote to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis back in the 1930's.  Back then, teams were really starting to take over and make subserviet minor league franchises, and the Indians and Cardinals were sort of leading the way, and controlling hundreds and hundreds of players.  Henrich was mired in the Indians mega-system and getting older. As a result of the letter, Landis declared Henrich a free agent - who immediately signed with his favorite team - the Yanks.  The spirit of the decision was that teams should not control so many players that careers are lost or compromised.  Now, if tomorrow, all those kids became FA's with a chance to get bonused or something it might not be so disgusting.  Instead, bad teams will pilfer from the better teams.

Btw, had it not been for WW2, both Tommy Henrich and Charlie King Kong Keller would have made the Hall of Fame.  Henrich was a career 132 OPS+  and Keller was a career 152 OPS+.  Tommy lost his age 30, 31 and 32 seasons and Charlie lost his age 27 season.  And they both had big seasons after the war.   So when you look at those old DiMaggio teams, that kept kicking holy ass after Lou got sick, look no further than that regular outfield featuring three BEASTS.

Anyway, this Rule 5 horseshit is more welfare for the wealthy and it makes me sick.

The KP and Frank Show

What an exhilirating game!  When I was a little kid, Knicks/Lakers was the game. Not so much since then, but tonight, both teams lead by their young stars like Kristaps and Frank, put on an overtime show at the Garden that the Knicks ended up winning. Both teams probably made more mistakes than they will once they mature, but the energy was electric.  By the way, the only guy who can slow KP down without fouling him is Hornacek.  KP might have scored 50, instead of 35 tonight, if Hornacek didn't take him out when he was hot and let him sit till he was not.  Just the same, Frank came off the bench and added 13 of his own, and really pushed the ball for the team.  When he and KP play together, they are hard to beat, so it's odd that Frank is not starting.  Even with his uneven playing time, Frank is back on the upswing and hit some really big shots in the 4th.  But another fun night at the Garden, against an ancient foe. Good times ahead.

Yanks Trade Headley and Mitchell for Jabari Blash

The Yanks just created some salary and prospect space by trading Chase Headley and Bryan Mitchell to the Padres for Jabari Blash who at 6'5" is the Yankees third tallest right fielder.  Blash is 28 or will turn 28 this year.  He'll probably be used in another trade or released.  Nevertheless, I love getting rid of Headley, though he was a good guy and a good Yankee.  Abreu time!

Yanks Complete Day 1 at the Meetings

On Official Day One of the 2017 Winter Meetings, the Yanks officially introduced their new their latest in a long line of history sluggers, Giancarlo Stanton. He follows Homerun Baker, Ruth, Mize, Maris, Reggie, Winfield, Tartabull, Giambi, Matsui, Sheffield, Arod and Teixeira as mashers from outside.  And most of them have portended great things. Stanton will join them, becoming the new big brother to Judge, Sanchez and Bird. It's going to be amazing.

The Yanks also substantially established the new coaching staff. Not sure if they've named them all yet, but they've named an interesting bunch.

Finally, it seems like we're back to the era of the Boss. In those Hot Stove periods, more often than not, the Yanks made 2 big moves. Matsui and Contrera, Sheffield and ARod, Teixeira and Sabathia (and AJ Burnett!) And I think we're all expectinf another one now, though, I don't think Garret Cole fits the above category, and would not pay nearly as much as the Yanks ended up paying for Sonny Gray.

So lets see if they widen their nets on Day 2. They are loaded to the gills, but they can't become impecunious with talent.  That's cost them before and it has to stop costing.  Cole isn't worth Frazier plus. In fact, if Frazier is involved it must be Cole plus.

Josh Bard to be Yankee Bench Coach

Josh Bard, the onetime journeyman Catcher, and 2005 Aaron Boone teammate in Cleveland will be his first Bench Coach. Bard's been working for the Dodgers since his retirement, and was recently their bullpen coach.  It wasn widely expected that an old manager would be the bench coach, but Bard hasn't managed. Rothchild has, as both Cash and Boone pointed out, and it seems like he wil be relied on to provide some mentoring.  That could actually make sense, since the tricky part is switching pitchers and Rothchild can handle that.

Not only was he a teammate of Aaron Boone, but was also CC Sabathia's Cleveland Catcher. Who knows if that will mean anything. I'm now thinking Boone, who is only 44, might be looking for guys his age or younger for his staff.  Bard is 39.

Update:  And Phil Nevin will be the 3rd Base Coach.

Further Update: and Mike Harkey will be back as Bullpen coach.  This concerns me because both Chapman and Betances went through terrible periods last year and we're not changing the pitching coach or the bullpen coach.  I think if we don't win, we can trace it to this.

Giants Stuff

The Giants just got blown out in the 4th quarter of their Interim Head Coach's first game.  They did play hard, but super conservatively for 3 quarters, that included Darius Powe constantly making the wrong reads, and some ball security issues all around.  In other words, they are going to have a rare high pick come April, and before they can even think about making it, they have to get the right coach and GM in place.

They really can't blow this.  After Parcells jumped ship, the Giants went through 3 coaching regimes before finally finding one that could do what Parcells did. Right now they are through their Handley period, and they cannot afford another Reeves or Fassel era.  They have to find their next Parcells/Coughlin Head Coach, and the next young George Young to be their new GM.  They, really, really cannot have another 13 year free jazz exploration. This is completely on ownership...

Yanks to Introduce Stanton Monday

The Yanks just circulated the information that they will introduce Giancarlo Stanton to kick off the Winter Meetings tomorrow in Orlando. I assume they'll have their logo and other announcement package down there.  Wonder if the Marlins will have any part of it.  I seem to remember all the teams talking when the Yanks made the Granderson Deal at the WM's several years ago. By the way, he prefers that his name steart with the french Jean alteranate J sound, rather than the hard John J sound. I remember when he was in the famous ND HS program out here and then when he was outhomering Montero in the Sally League. Only guy doing it. Big day.

Yanks at the Winter Meetings

The Yanks head to the winter tomorrow in a rare position: they are literally loaded in every possibly way for big game.  Sure, they hit the meetings with plenty of dough when player deals have expired, like in 2008 when they grabbed CC and AJ Burnett as well as beginning the romance of Tex, which ended after the meetings.  The only limits they'll have are those they impose on themselves because they have a great chance to stay under the tax zone this year.  And they should be able to do that because they do have some salaried veterans they can market for more room.

That said, they head in with a few needs.  First, a coaching staff.  We haven't heard anyone's for sure other than Rothschild, so they need that. They're also in need of another minor league development personnel guy. On roster side, they could use a serious upgrade at back up Catcher, where the only thing of he has is Stanton's number 27 he can sell if he's still with the team.  They also want another pitcher which could be CC, or it could be another free agent or a trade acquisition.

Other than that, they can listen to all ideas from other teams, since they have trade gold. Either at or just after the GM Meetings the Orioles approached the Yanks about Manny Machado.  They got the sense that the Yanks would rather sign him as a free agent next year, rather than spending good prospects on him this year.  The Orioles see a small trade market for Machado and will try to engage the Yanks again.

Another name they were looking at as a trade target at the deadline was Toronto's Marcus Strohman.  And while I would prefer not to trade for another Sonny Gray type with so many pitchers who might be even better on the way, Strohman is a great kid, as well as a very good pitcher, and I'd far prefer him to another go round with Garret Cole.

And I'd be just as happy if we went into ST with the kind of rotational competition that Jordan Montgomery WON last year.  We have higher upside guys than Jordan who might just be ready -- and not just Christian Parker types. Justus Sheffield looked deeply awesome in the AFL and could be ready.

In any event, it should be a really interesting few days until we get to Painful Thursday, where the evil Rule V draft takes place. We will once again lose the maximum and will need to make more room if we want to pick anyone.

The action should start Monday, but everyone gets there Sunday and more deals start in the lobby and the bar than they do at any meetings.

Let's see what opportunites arise.

Yanks Get Stanton

Okay, finally, the Yanks have acquired NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton for  Starlin Castro, and prospects SP Jorge Giuzman (ouch) and Rafael Devers, who is Rafael Devers cousin and supposed to be similarly talents. The Yanks will also receive 30M if Stanton does not opt out of his deal at age 31.  That's weird.  But the Yanks have added another superstar from a distressed franchise, see Ruth, Babe and Rodriguez, Alex. This has been a wonderful formula. Many times I've noted on this blog, how I like my teams to become overwhelming in key dimensions. And I loung mourned the homers that left after Damon and Matsui split. Stanton solves this and by joining Aaron Judge in the lineup absolutely corners the market in power hitting corner OF's.

Also, it solves the problem of Starlin Castro at 2b and also his lack of plate disc.  Because only two major leaguers were involved, the Yanks are still jammed up on the 40.  But they could make more deals once they hit Orlando.  Or any time now.  They have surely done their diligence and this could be exciting.

And amazingly, Cash and Aaron Boone are siting together at the Kentucky/Monmouth college hoops game right now!

This is awesome.  Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkaah! And a kicking Kwanza to those who partake.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, while we wait for the details of the Stanton deal, let's take a look at this week, which started with the Giants firing their Coach and GM, and finished with the Yanks acquiring the NL MVP.  Nuts.  Here we go:

Yankees:  I'm sure we'll do another post once the deal is finalized.  Thus far it's supposed to be Starlin Castro, who had no plate disc, and was unreliable on the DP's.  Rosenthal now says the Yanks are taking the majority of Stanton's deal, perhaps up to 260 or 273 of the 295. He's also of the opinion that Stanton has already waived his NTC.  So now we're just waiting to see which prospects are in the deal, they're supposed to be coming from A ball or below.

Meanwhile, the Winter Meetings start tomorrow in Orlando, and because they are only using Castro in this Stanton deal, and no seemingly superfluous upper level prospect, it suddenly might make sense to trade for a young starter.  Marcus Strohman was supposedly on the market at one point.  We'll see what happens.  The Yanks will have a lot of dry powder when the show up for the Meetings.

Now Heyman says the Yanks are getting Stanton plus 30M for Castro and prospects.  Devil is still in the details.

Knicks: Tim Hardaway Jr. is still out and is expected to miss at least 2 weeks.  KP is back and they won easily the other night with just Courtney Lee and KP doing heavy lifting.  They should trade Courtney while his value is soaring and they are still in need of picks.  They go against the Bulls later today, and it would serve them to pound the Bulls and one of the picks they do have is the Bulls second rounder for the coming draft.

Rangers: The Rangers have pluck but no luck.  They still haven't reached cruising altitude and Hank is still letting up early goals. They need a new coach, and one does not seem to be on the way. They do have a suprising amount of young talent in the minors, juniors, college, and overseas. It should be an attractive spot for any coach.  Also, they really need to start trading guys like Nash and a few of the other vets and collect more young talent.  Time to turn the page.

Giants: The Giants are turning the page after last weeks meltdown.  They have to find the exact right guys this time and they better not consider trading a generational talent like OBJ.

That is all.  Still waiting on those prospect names and it should be a very exciting week with the Winnter Meetings upon us tomorrow.

Stanton Watch 2017

Starting almost an hour ago, Jim Leyritz, or someone using his twitter account said Stanton to the Yanks was a "done deal."  Since then, every 15 minutes or so, someone or other has called it close.  So, I'm staying in tonight, as I've seen this as a possibility since the July Deadline.  Of course, what's given up will determine the merit of the trade, but adding Stanton to Judge, El Gary and Bird is intriguing to say the least.

UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal is now saying #Yankees in play for Stanton, sources tell The Athletic.

UPDATE 2: Passan's sources indicates momentum for Stanton to the Yanks is significant.

Yanks Completing Brian Cashman's New Deal

In what is no surprise, the Yanks and their GM Brian Cashman are closing in on a new 5 year deal.  I don't care about the money, but I'm hoping he has consolidated his power through the negotiation.  I haven't enjoyed the reports of gardners and labor attorneys weighing in on baseball decisions.  And I will forever be impressed by the way Cash undid the mistake of 2014, when Cano bolted and they traded 3 rarer first round picks by signing, Beltran, Ellsbury and McCann.  Ellsbury remains a problem, but in trading Beltran and McCann, they more than recouped three first round values.  What's more with the bullpen trades, he added even more value to the system.  He and his team are doing a great job, and it's important to maintain as much continuity as they can during the coming dynasty.

Yanks Make Boone Official

So they finally acknowledged Boone as their pick on a 3 year deal with the club option for year 4.  They also lost AAA Manager Al Pedrique to the A's.  Have to think Al was either offended not to be interviewed for the Big Job or saw no place for himself on Boone's staff, which we have to assume is coming together.  They'll introduce him Wednesday.

Giants Clean House

Several weeks too late, the Giants today have fired GM Jerry Reese and Head Coach Ben McAdoo. This has been a totally ham handed operation, that needlessly hurt Eli Manning and basically the United States.  Cowboy and Eagle fans didn't think it was "right." Anyway, I'd be pretty surprised if  Dave Gettleman isn't the new GM,  Kevin Abrams has been named the interim GM. This is a tough day for Reese, who has 2 Lombardis, but was a better scout than executive.  McAdoo was a total misfire, and that was hard to predict.

Ohtani Eliminates Yanks

The Yanks have been informed that Shohei Ohtani will not sign with them.  Gutless.  Anyway, while that is disappointing in the short term, it does leave the Yanks with extra dough to sign some of this year's remaining IFA's instead of trying to jam them and anyone else under next year's number.  It also probably means CC will be back. And, finding out now, instead of in 19 more days does allow the Yanks to prepare for the Winter Meetings knowing they have a spot to fill, and perhaps onto their "Plan B" for a an offseason centerpiece, being that they are "big game hunters" and also, very close to launching another dynasty. I kind of like the young homegrown pitchers taking the next few spots that open in the rotation.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, well, the Yanks finally have a new manager, the Rangers and Knicks are still interesting and the Giants performed a heel turn.  Even without a supportable football team, this should be a pretty interesting week.

Yankees:  The Yanks hired Boone, and now they need to surround him with talented coaches and an experienced Bench Coach.  Unfortunately, the Yanks lost their perfectly suited bench coach yesterday when Rob Thomson took the same job with the Phillies. This is a bigger loss than one might think, since Rob organized all of Spring Training and took joy in his Yankeeness and Logistics.  Don't know who's gonna run ST this year or which desperately needed all- world Bench Coach will be hired.

In other Yankee news, Ohtani was posted yesterday, and Cash says the Yanks will be aggressive.  There probably won't be much else going on beyond the coach hunt and Ohtani pursuit till the Winter Meetings, which begin December 10.  It's important that the Yanks not hire another DH while Ohtani is team shopping.

Knicks:  Enes Kanter returned the other night, and the Knicks got back to their winning ways even with just two minutes from KP, and a sick day for Frank. Kanter has an opt out after the season, but it seems like he's developing a love affair with the fans, and might just pull a Tanaka.  For years in this space and all around the digital universe, I have maintained that basketball D is all about effort and not about talent.  Earlier this this year Horny was Cleon Jonesing Kanter every time he dogged it on D, and guess what?  Now the effort is there.  He'll never be Bill Russell on D, but if he keeps trying it will get easier and he'll be even more valuable.

Rangers:  Rangers have been giving up early goals lately. Both the D and Hank have to be better than that.  They were last night as they gave up an early one then came back with 5 unanswered including a Hat Trick from Grabner. Annoyingly, AV is only playing Buch for 16 minutes again.  Which is basically stalling his breakout. This is bad for the team, and he needs to be replaced.  Chytil is ready, btw, but AV probably isn't.  

Giants: Classless.

So, that's about it, I take it the Yanks will introduce Boone at some point this week, but other than that it's just Knicks and Rangers.  Have a great week!

Aaron Boone It Is

Looks like it's going to be a Three Aaaron Dugout for the Yanks this coming year as everyone seems to be realizing that Aaron Boone is the new Yankee manager.   I was sort of hoping for Bam Bam Muelens who is a polyglot with a ton of coaching experience, where Boone is coming straight from the ESPN booth.  Give his status as a tyro, both the bench coach and the rest of the coaching must be outstanding. He wasn't my first choice, but he's already done two great things for the Yanks, first, the homer against Boston, and second breaking his ankle which got us ARod.  Now it's time for his to do a third.  I wish him lots of titles as he manages this latest Yankee Dynasty.

Cashman Will Choose From the 6

Brian Cashman has told reporters that he will make his managerial recommendation to ownership based on the six interviews they have already conducted.  That he hasn't already done it suggests to me that perhaps he's interested in pulling more than one guy from the group for bench coach or other jobs in the organzation. Maybe we'll hear something today.