MELKY TO THE PIRATES

Small story, but since we love reporting on former Yankees, we had to mention Melky Cabrera here. He's going to Pittsburgh. He's latched onto the Pirates.

ESPN reports this:

"The Pittsburgh Pirates and veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera have agreed to a minor league contract, according to ESPN and multiple reports. The agreement was first reported Sunday by The Athletic. Cabrera can make up to $2 million in performance bonuses, according to ESPN and reports."

Melky kind of fell off after he was accused and suspended for using PEDs a while back. Since then he's bounced from team to team really not doing much.  Too bad.

But look, I don't hate, I just report.  Melky is still trying to play on baseball's highest level and you gotta give him that.  He's with the Pirates now. Let's see if he can make it back to the Bigs.

Stay tuned...

THAT MONSTER THAT IS ANDUJAR

Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

Great story in NJ.com about Miguel Andujar and after yesterday's 4-4 game for him, and a Yankee win in which Miguel was a huge part of, we needed to share some of it...

"What Miguel Andujar is doing now is just about what Yankees international scouts envisioned when they first zeroed in on the Dominican Republic native when he was 15 years old.

"He had bad intentions when he stepped in the batters box," Yankees international scouting director Donny Rowland said recently in a phone interview. "He wanted to hurt something."

Photo: Getty Images

After a rough start taking over for the injured Brandon Drury (severe migraines) at third base, Andujar has helped carry the Yankees' offense the last two weeks.

With his 4-for-4 (two doubles) showcase in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, Andujar (23 years, 51 days old) became the youngest Yankee to have four or more hits in a game since Melkey Cabrera (21 years, 292 days old) in 2006."

It's Melky, not Melkey, but all good, we get it.

Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America

I love to see when these young players start to get a rhythm.  Sometimes that energy rubs off.  With Gleyber Torres up yesterday, there will be a lot of learning in that infield, but with guys like Didi Gregoirus to help out, there is no question the hits will start coming.

Yankee fans, we are in a very important time in our lives with this team.  A well rounded, solid group of young men all finally given an opportunity to shine. Sure, kinks will needed to be worked out, but let it happen.  It's a good place to be.

Good piece by Kuty of NJ.com here and I wish this team the best of luck. It's about to get real fun.

TALKING CHISOX VS. YANKEES WITH A CHICAGO GUY

I thought this was cool and so we posted it for your enjoyment. This is my friend Paul Chivari from Chicago.  He's the guy that came up with this terrific BYB jingle:


We wrote about it in  THE BYB JINGLE YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD. Anyway, he wanted to share a preview for the Yankees - White Sox Weekend.  I hope you enjoy it.  Be nice, he's a good dude.  -Casey

The last time the New York Yankees visited Chicago it was for back-to-back series against the Cubs and the White Sox in May of last year.  That was when I reached out to Robert Casey to have him appear on my radio show and gain the New York perspective on what that road trip would mean for the Yankees. At that time I had no idea that I was in store for one of my most treasured friendships that I’ve gained in the world of sports. After all of our interactions and contributions to each others projects it feels like more time than just fourteen months have passed.

Now that the Yankees are back in Chicago I felt that it would only be right if I gave my Chicago perspective on what the forthcoming White Sox-Yankees series means to me.  So I present to you, BYB nation….

The White Sox are finally playing their best offensive baseball all season. In their last eight games they outscored their opponents 56-17 while winning seven of those contests. All of those games were on the road, but they were against weaker American League squads in Cleveland and Boston. Ace right hander Jeff Samardzija, who is in a contract year, started the road trip as a big trade piece for a team towards the bottom of the league standings. Now, with the trade deadline falling just hours before this series kicks off Samardzija is in a position where he may stay with the team for the remainder of the season. Only 3.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot, the White Sox front office feels that they are contenders and choose to remain buyers rather than the sellers many expected them to be at the deadline. With both teams looking to add help to their respective rosters in the hopes of a run to a title, anything can happen to either the White Sox or the Yankees at the deadline. Both teams may stand pat, though both have been linked to big names.

Trade rumors?

The Yankees did acquire outfielder Dustin Ackley but they desperately need some starting pitching. This was a known fact before right hander Michael Pineda was scratched from his Thursday start in Texas then placed on the 15-day DL. Despite this setback to the rotation, the Yanks were linked to San Diego Padres closer Craig Kimbrel.

The school of thought is that by adding Kimbrel the Yankees will have a formidable back of the bullpen with Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances.  That never happened. The biggest names of the starters that were connected to the Yankees were David Price and Cole Hamels.  They're both gone now.  James Shields is still available, but with three years remaining on his deal, the cost may be too rich for even the Yankees.  Who knows….maybe Jeff Samardzija could switch locker rooms this weekend.

The White Sox trade hopes aren’t as bright. With the Detroit Tigers in demolition mode the only viable option for the White Sox would have been Yoenis Cespedes, but he's a Met apparently.  The Sox did land Justin Sellers for infield depth, but probably won’t be the boost their offense could use.  

What to expect

The White Sox recent success shouldn’t scare anybody right now. A home stand against the Yankees and Rays followed by a three game series in Kansas City will more than likely bring them back to where they were a week ago - at the bottom portion of the American League standings. This weekend will be a big series and they may have run out of momentum after Thursday’s loss at Boston. Their 24-22 home record needs to improve and their starting pitching has been good all year, but if the Yankees are anything like the team that posted an average of nearly nine runs a game in Texas this week the White Sox pitching staff could be in for some long games. The Yankees will face two left handers in Rodon and Danks and are 18-11 against lefties this season.

While the White Sox may be hot, they have yet to prove themselves against any major contenders at US Cellular Field. Melky Cabrera has been on fire and Jose Abreu brings a ten game hitting streak into Friday’s contest. Rookie lefty starter Carlos Rodon may struggle against the veteran Yankee sluggers unless his slider is dominant. John Danks has been better recently but is 2-3 lifetime against the Yankees and has had trouble against Mark Teixeira and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Jeff Samardzija is the only real x-factor the White Sox have to combat the Yankee power bats only allowing five home runs in nine starts this season at home.

Prediction: Yankees take two out of three

--Paul Chivari, White Sox fan
    & Friend of Robert Casey
    Twitter: @PaulChivari



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FURTHER EVIDENCE MAKING AROD "THE EXAMPLE" DID NOTHING

Baseball and PEDs is like a hamster on a wheel sometimes... it keeps going and never stops and never changes.

Bleeding Yankee Blue said it and we've been saying it for years. Bud Selig wasn't about cleaning up baseball at all. He was about making Alex Rodriguez the example because he just didn't like him.  Guess what?  It didn't work, and now, with recent news about Jenrry Mejia and now 3 Yankees minor leagues being busted for drug use... let's call Selig what he is... a jack ass.

According to Hardball Talk:

"New York Yankees Minor League right-handed pitchers Anderson Acevedo, Anthoniris Santana and Carlos Santana have each received a 72-game suspension after testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, which is basically old fashioned anabolic steroids."

OK, so let's review.  Stiffer drug penalties don't work in baseball. Why? Because getting suspended for PEDs is like pushing the reset button. 

Players get busted, they go away and will come back and all will be fine and forgotten.  Melky Cabrera.  Manny Ramirez...twice. Ervin Santana. Ryan Braun. Bartolo Colon. Alex Rodriguez...and trust me, Jenrry Mejia and Santana, Santana and Acevedo too.

What happened to cleaning up baseball? Bug Selig was about smoke and mirrors.  Bud Selig was hell bent on being the Commissioner that "cleaned up baseball", but it seems to have gotten worse, hasn't it?

Right... right... Bud can't hear me.

Look, I'm not naive.  I know what goes on in sports and it's been going on forever, but it was crystal clear to me that the strike in 1994 nearly ended baseball, and then, when players started hitting home runs and got bigger, the fans came back.  Bud saw the money rolling into MLB. His thinking was "Why complain now?"

Everyone loves a home run, right? And so baseball was back and bigger than ever. Home run records were broken and "Wow... isn't this great for baseball?"  Well, under Bud Selig's own definition... no it wasn't, but why say anything then?  Crook.

When people started noticing, Selig began to pretend there was concern.  He went through the dog and pony show, Congress, "stricter drug penalties", but as players went away to serve their fines and new players returned, all it showed me was MLB was still selling violators jerseys in their stores, and baseball and those punished players stats would stay intact and continue to play.  In essence... nothing happened. 

Nothing until Bud Selig decided to treat ARod as the example, "So this kind of thing wouldn't happen again."  Selig netted and punished the biggest villain in baseball, who also happened to use PEDs.

With Alex Rodriguez down and out... it was over and Bug could ride into the sunset. He accomplished his goal.

One problem... Alex came back better than ever this season, and hey Bud, steroids in baseball is still here.

Message to Bud Selig; You destroyed the sport and you wasted everyone's time doing it.  This ones on you.  If I was Manfred, I'd find away to fine you!

The commissioner who cleaned up baseball... right... not buying it.

Here's that hamster...

 




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CELEBRATING IS GREAT FOR BASEBALL. TAUNTS ARE NOT

There’s been a ton of chatter recently about good and bad sportsmanship in this great game of baseball. For several months, we've heard of different antics. You remember the Melky Cabrera crotch chop toward the Atlanta crowd when he was a San Francisco Giant and about Carlos Gomez when he flipped his bat last season?

That resulted in a brawl and a shiner on Travis Snider’s face and a lot of suspensions and Russell Martin wanting to fight the world.  Why did it really have to get that bad? We’re animals, aren’t we?

The latest comes from Junior Lake of the Cubs just the other day.  He hit a monster home run for the Cubs, down 6-0 against the Marlins. But then he watched it, and then he flipped his bat, and then, as he was rounding third, he looked in the Marlins dugout and told them to "shhhhh". That didn't go over too well. Here's the video:




A taunt. Kind of classless, and the bench clearing that followed... well, it's kind of expected with that behavior, isn't it?

Look, I love the celebration, but here’s what I hate; I hate when players crank one and are standing in the batter’s box just watching it sail away. To me, as your opponent, that's a showboat and I will go high and tight on you.  I hated when Melky Cabrera crotch chopped in Atlanta. It showed his immaturity. Hell, this isn't even a "celebration" but to this day, I still think that throwing Don Zimmer to the ground, no matter how crazy that old man seemed in that moment, was totally out of line. When you are in the moment, you really need to NOT let your emotions get the best of you. Be a ballplayer, show respect, show class.  Know the line when having your celebration, you know what I mean?

Celebrating in baseball has been going on for decades, and there is nothing better than true excitement sometimes. Seeing Joe Carter jumping up and down when the Blue Jays won is legit, justified, genuine and amazing for this great game.

I can even fall in love with the Rafael Soriano “Untuck”.  It’s the “Game over, we won  and I’m going home” razzing that I can get on board with. That's because these examples have essentially "ended" the competition.  If we didn’t have that type of celebrating, how much fun would baseball be? How much fun would any sport be for that matter?

Look at Ali and boxing for example. Muhammad Ali was a trash talker, but he put his money where his mouth was.  He intimidated his opponent. He taunted them, but he backed it up and yes, he was the greatest.  Fernando Rodney’s arrow in the air after a win and a save? Hey, I don’t personally like it, but it should be allowed... it's in the "Untuck" category.

You want to dance in the end zone after a big touchdown, I say go for it. But if you're pointing at your opponent, maybe giving him the “I’m gonna slit your throat” symbol, well, that’s gangsta shit.  Don’t do that. You will get your ass kicked.  Junior Lake and his "shhhhh" goes into that category... it's the same thing.

Celebrating in sports, in baseball… well, there’s a fine line. If you’re not threatening anyone, be it a fan, opposing team, go for it.  The moment you’re in someone’s face telling them you’re “gonna kick their ass" or taunting... it's just bad sportsmanship. It's JV.

That's why you  gotta love Jeet.  He was all class. I’m a fan of the fist pump. It's classic.  Derek Jeter did it a lot. It’s contained, meaning, it’s the feeling of celebration without shoving it in the face of the opponent. It’s a team achievement, maybe a personal one.  It's a stepping stone… one game at a time.  By the time the championship is over, go nuts. But if you're crotch chopping toward the other dugout, "shhhing" the other team to make an empty point, well... you’re an idiot.  In a championship, many times there are sad faces in the loser’s dugout. Some refuse to watch the celebration. Others will stare at it, sad, annoyed and wondering what went wrong.  But those guys know, that’s the game, especially after it's over.

We are baseball fans. We are savages, but we understand the game of baseball and what competition is.  We love our characters, but we also respect the game.  What started out as a bat flip from Carlos Gomez last year turned into a mess. It didn’t have to be.  Next time Junior Lake homers... let's hope he remembers to respect the game and respect the opponent, or I'm pretty sure he'll get one between the numbers.

Celebration is fine. It's the arrogance, the taunt that I just don't get.

I don't know... I just needed to get that off my chest I guess.

 


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WHERE WILL YOU BE WHEN AROD HITS 3000?

Is Alex Rodriguez forgiven? Have you allowed him to play and contribute to the Yankees this year and actually rooted the guy on? OR... are you still pissed... still holding a grudge because he's done what many of the others have done... cheated and lied. Ryan Braun is back in Milwaukee and it's like nothing happened.

Nelson Cruz is back to hitting homers, and it's like he just went on a short vacation.  Bartolo Colon was suspended. Melky Cabrera was and everyone is back now, and it's business as usual.

Guess what... I'm over it.  I've done my job as a parent. I've explained why it's wrong to cheat to my now 12 year old who loves baseball more than anything. I think I've made it clear that it's wrong and he understands that these players, while they are back, did something "illegal".  If I'm asked why they still get to play, I explain that I'm not on those meetings and then follow it up with, "Let me be very clear with you... it's not about them, it's about you.  Keep clean, keep your head down and work hard.  If you do that, you will be a success and everyone around you, you cannot control. You can only control you." That's it, end of story.

There is a milestone coming up though and it involves Alex Rodriguez.  And I ask you... where will you be when Alex hits his 3000th hit?  It's a big deal, whether he dabbled in PEDs or not and I'll tell you why;  PEDs makes you stronger, maybe you hit the ball further, but it can't make you hit the ball, and if you want to argue that that record is tainted too... I'll just shrug and suggest, I give up.

Call ARod a creep, a dick, a douche or a PEDs taking "ARoid".... pick the name... it makes no difference... 3000 hits is big. With 2987 right now, it's coming this season, and like him or hate him, you need to respect the achievement.  So I ask you... will you buy a ticket? Will you stand and applaud from where you are? Will you turn your back on the guy that looks like he's doing his job and then going home every night, trying to stay our of trouble?

No one is perfect, you're not either.  ARod is a role model that turned bad.  I won't allow my kids to admire this man for his wrongdoings, it was disappointing, but hitting a baseball is hard as hell, and 3000 is kind of a big deal.  You don't have to like him... but I would hope you at least tip your cap.

Remember, I'm not an ARod fan. I'm a baseball fan and I respect the game very much.  As a fan, I have my moments of frustration and happiness, but in the end, I just like great baseball.  3000 hits is great baseball, and on the night it happens, I'll smile witnessing that achievement. That's because it's big.

I'll be there.  Where will you be?

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BYB HOT STOVE: VOLUME VI

Win some, lose some at the Winter Meetings for all MLB teams.  Some teams did better others, but at least we re-signed Chase Headley.  And he said he wants to be here- that's some fire and fervor in our every day third baseman.  Sit down ARod.  Just saying... anyway onto this week's Hot Stove Volume VI.

Cole Hamels is still hanging out there and another two teams have expressed interest.  According to Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo, the Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants have expressed interest in the Phillies franchise pitcher.  They join the likes of the Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres and Rangers.  Much like the decision to roll out Jimmy Rollins who traded in his Phillie Red for Dodger Blue, the Phillies are also shopping Ryan Howard and there is some interest.  The Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles have DH needs and the Phils are willing to eat most of the rest of his contract, so we may see Howard in the AL East.  Hopefully, the Yankees will sit this one out.

By now you all heard that Melky Cabrera is headed to the White Sox who are stacking their team with pickups Jeff Samardzija, David Robertson, Adam LaRoche and Zach Duke.  But their National League counter part, the Cubs, have been up to their heels in trades and rumors.  After picking up stud pitcher Jon Lester, now the Cubs have their eyes set on corner outfielder Colby Rasmus.  CBS Sports Reporter Jon Heyman says that Rasmus has a two-year deal in him.  This is a deal that could happen very soon.

After being posted on Monday, Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang will be accepting offers ending this Friday at 5:00 p.m. according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.  The 27-year-old short stop hit 39 home runs and batted .354 in the Korea Baseball Organization.  Some critics are saying that these stats don't translate cleanly to Major League Baseball because of the hitter-friendly atmosphere of KBL, but never-the-less the Mets, Giants and Athletics all have an interest in Kang says Ken Rosenthal.  With the signing of Didi Gregorius, the Yankees will probably steer clear of Kang.

Lastly, Justin Upton remains in the news with the Seattle Mariners showing interest for either him or another right field bat.  There is also talk that Upton would make a great San Francisco Giant.  But another force in the NL West vying for Upton too.  Despite signing Matt Kemp, the San Diego Padres "are all over" Upton according to Mark Bowman from MLB.com.  I bet the Pads sign him. Just a hunch.

That's all for Hot Stove this week.  Hoping for more than a Chris Capuano and Chase Headley signing for the Yankees next week.  Stay tuned!

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @suzieprof






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BYB HOT STOVE: VOLUME III

What has sparked my interest, as far as the Yankees go, is the idea of a deal with Washington Nationals' starter Gio Gonzalez.  The left-handed starter has one year left on his contract and with an ERA below 4 for 2014, he could be of interest to teams this year.  "Lefties are essential at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees would love CC Sabathia to bounce back and Manny Banuelos to show his potential. But if they don’t, the Yankees aren’t winning without quality left-handed pitching. Not in that ballpark," stated Sweeny Murti who also said that the Nationals would consider anyone on their team if the deal was right.  I like him and I think his youthfulness is an asset for us. You may recall that Gonzalez had an opportunity to work with Jorge Posada in the off season last year.

"Gonzalez called training with Posada a “childhood dream” and an “inspiration.” The 29-year-old is alright with me.  Let's make a deal.

I guess we can't talk starting pitching without bringing up the Jon Lester conversation again. Interestingly enough, teams are anxious about what the Yankees and Brian Cashman are thinking. According to the Boston Globe on Sunday, "You don’t think the Red Sox are fretting about the Yankees being the team that swoops in and takes Jon Lester, for all the talk about the Cubs being the competition? Of course everyone is worried about what the Yankees might do."  It could happen or the Bombers could wait it out for Max Scherzer.

We are getting a big name pitcher or we are going to be left out of the playoffs again in 2015.  Scherzer or Lester?  Time will tell, but frankly, the Lester clock is just about up.  "With free agency moving quickly this year, the Yankees probably have to start making decisions on Lester in particular, since he’s already visited Boston, Chicago, and Atlanta, and possibly Toronto in the near future. It appears Lester doesn’t want this process to drag on," according to the Globe.  Peter Gammons also reported that Lester wants a deal before the winter meetings, which are scheduled to start on December 7th.  Lester is also set to meet with the St. Louis Cardinals next week.

According to MASN's Roch Kubatko, the Baltimore Orioles have a real interest in Melky Cabrera if they can't sign Nick Markakis.  "What's the appeal with Cabrera? He's a 30-year-old switch-hitter with a career .339 on-base percentage." I say they have to sign Markakis, but the Orioles feel the outfielder's "power numbers are in decline." The Blue Jays may not want to re-sign Cabrera after signing Russell Martin last week.  He may in fact head to the White Sox who are also reportedly interested in the Melk Man according to CBS Sports.

Finally, according to Ken Rosenthal, the Red Sox and Cubs are both interested in Phillies' ace Cole Hamels.  I say don't count the Yankees out of that conversation as Cashman has a reputation of not revealing his hand and doing a lot of bluffing along the way.  It will certainly be a domino effect once Lester gets signed.  Teams will begin scrambling after that.  The sands in the free-agency hour glass are moving briskly now as far as starting pitching.

That's it for BYB Hot Stove for this week.  Happy Thanksgiving...hoping to have a Yankee deal on the table before next week.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @suzieprof






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