ANDREW MILLER IS ON THE VERGE

Andrew Miller is on the verge of becoming one of the highest-paid (and probably over-paid) pitchers in baseball thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Yankees.

Miller, who finished the 2014 season with the Orioles and a 2.02 ERA—is reportedly looking at a four-year deal in the neighborhood of $40 million.

CBSSports.com has the scoop:  

"Miller is all but assured of a four-year deal that's expected to pay him close to $40 million following a brilliant season for both Boston and Baltimore, and the Dodgers and Yankees are just the sort of teams that may be able to afford a set-up man with close to a $10 million annual salary. 

It appears he will have a deal within a day or two."

The Dodgers are in dire need of a competent setup man after seeing their bullpen rank #22 in the MLB in ERA. Paying Miller $10 million a year to get to closer Kenley Jansen seems like a bargain in comparison to recent deals the team has made to Brandon League ($7.5 million per season) who had a mediocre 2014 season and to Brian Wilson ($10 million per season) who is all but dead weight on the Dodgers bench. If new GM Andrew Friedman lands Miller, it would be a promising sign to beleaguered Dodger fans. 

The Yankees on the other hand look to enter 2015 with a strong bullpen. They’ve resigned Esmil Rogers and have returning all-star Dellin Betances returning to the lineup. If the Yanks can keep David Robertson and add Miller to the pen, they would have a formidable late-inning pitching trio that could carry them far into the post-season. 

While Miller’s decision is still up in the air, the fact that two well-funded franchises are going after him will certainly assure the lefty a giant contract.

--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist
Twitter:  @heylexyg






 








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BASEBALL AT IT'S BEST: DONNIE BASEBALL & A NO-HITTER

Don Mattingly was always one of my favorite Yankees. I marveled at his subtle greatness. His crouched batting stance and his amazing play at 1^st Base. I wanted to be a 1^st baseman because of Donnie Baseball. I was saddened that he never got a ring as a player and is still the greatest Yankee to never have played in a World Series. I also lamented about Donnie not getting the manager job. Nothing against Girardi but Donnie is a Yankee icon and he was mentored well by Joe Torre but no regrets. Joe got us our 27^th so life is good all around here in Yankeeland.
 

 As for Donnie Baseball these days, as we know he landed in Los Angeles with the Dodgers as bench coach for Joe Torre and eventually succeeding him as manager. I gotta tell you. It is really hard to see Donnie in Dodger Blue. I have never liked the Dodgers. They were my mom's favorite team dating back when they were still in Brooklyn. But, since her death in 03, my loathing of LA has subsided somewhat, but not altogether.

So, fast forward to last Friday night, June 8^th. Living in Seattle now, I cheer for the Mariners, (when they don’t play my Yanks of course) and I was really looking forward to seeing Donnie Baseball again for the first time since he left the Yankees. However, I had no idea it would be on a historic occasion.

I tried to get a good pic of Donnie, but unlike Bobby Valentine who is despised by his players, the Dodgers love Donnie and he is usually surrounded by coaches and players, and with everyone wearing blue sweatshirts, it was hard to make him out. The Dodgers have a great pitching staff but without Matt Kemp, their lineup is not that formidable.

The Mariners are not that great either but Kevin Millwood who started, has been on a resurgence this season. The game sped along without much action and when I glanced up at the scoreboard in the 4^th inning, I noticed that the Dodgers were hitless and then again in the 5^th and 6^th and I started getting a feeling that something special was gonna happen this night. I had never seen a no hitter in the hundreds of games I have been to in my life so far so I was getting excited. But, that changed when Millwood was pulled due to a groin injury, I thought, there goes the No-Hitter but was I wrong. 5 M’s relievers combined to preserve what Millwood started including Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen. For an intense 1-0 Mariners win. This was the 10^th combined no-hitter in baseball history. And anchoring the Mariners that night was none other than former Yankee phenom, Jesus Montero.

I was very happy for Jesus to have played such a pivotal part in this historic moment. Looks like his catching isn’t so bad after all. Still, I’m not looking back on letting Jesus go, I keep looking forward. Everything happens for a reason I believe and it was Jesus’s time to not be with the Yankees any longer. Can’t dwell on it.

The bottom line, it was great to see Donnie Baseball again at a ballpark, it brought back many memories of seeing him many times in Yankee Stadium. But it made it even more special was getting to see him on such a historic night. 

--Thomas Brophy, BYB Guest Writer





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WHY WORRY? MY YANKEES RELIEVER SOLUTION

The Yankees are definitely in need of another middle reliever to go along with the fabulous DRob, the unknown RaSo, and the GOAT...Mariano Rivera. Joba Chamberlain would have been mentioned along with these 3 except for the fact that he is out for the season, and the Bombers need a replacement for him. Here are a few possible candidates to fill his void.

• Adam Warren: Warren has pitched well this year in AAA, posting a 6-3 record with a respectable 3.29 ERA. He is a strikeout pitcher that has a career high 15 strikeouts in one game on August 17, 2010. Could he become the next Joba story, with a better ending? Let's find out. Read about Warren HERE.

• JC Romero: Romero is a former proven big time pitcher with the Phillies. The Yankees signed him last week to a minor league contract, and maybe this lefty could resurrect his career. Read it HERE.

• Brandon League: His name has been coming up as the Mariners are once again sellers at the trade deadline. Read about League HERE. Too bad it seems they won't be selling King Felix. Maybe League could convince his buddy Felix to ask for a trade to the Yankees.
  

These are my reliever ideas. What do you think? Is there anyone I left off of this list? Let me know, and also be sure to add Bleeding Yankee Blue on Blackberry Messenger!



--Will Cohen, BYB Staff Writer

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.