THE YANKEES WALK DOWN BAKER STREET. SIGN SCOTT BAKER

When I was a kid, there was a song that always comforted me. The song was Baker Street, and everytime I hear it, even to this day, it brings me back to my childhood. When I hear it... life is good.



Now truth be told, while I am a big fan of Baker Street... I am not so much a fan of Scott Baker.  Not now at least.  Was I ever? Hell yeah. Baker had a nice run with the Twins and he was always a solid pitcher.

Here's the deal. The Yankees signed Scott Baker to a minor league deal today.  That news comes from Matt Eddy:

#Yankees become latest team to try to reclaim value from veteran RHP Scott Baker, signing him to minor league deal, like #Rangers last year.
— Matt Eddy (@MattEddyBA) January 30, 2015

Now look, if it was 2009, I'd love Baker on the New York Yankees.  Back them, he was 15-9 and just a very good pitcher.

These days though, he's recovering from Tommy John surgery and he's bounced around. He was on the Cubs and his last team was the Texas Rangers in 2014 where he went 3-4 with a 5.47 ERA.  Is that great? Not really.  But here's my take on Baker signing with the Yankees;

It's a "stock-piling of arms" situation.  Much like the Jeff Francis, signing Banker simply does this; it let's the Yankees get a look and see if he can offer anything.  If he can, that's great! Trust me, there is nothing better than watching players fight their way back to the Bigs. I love watching that! 

Remember what Scott Kazmir did? It was a long road, but he did it and those types of stories are great; Great for the fans and great for the players that push themselves.    And look... if it doesn't work out for Scott Baker, it's not a big deal for a team like the Yankees... they just move on.

So... If you're asking me my opinion of the Yankees going after Baker, I really don't have one. I just hope the guy personally bounces back and if he helps the club in the process... it's a good thing.  But that's it...

Welcome Scott... good luck to ya pal. Go get'em!

Now, if you'd excuse me... I'm going to go listen to Baker Street on my iPod now... and back to 1978 we go...

 

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYaneeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!

THE YANKEES PART WITH JEFF FRANCIS

It was fun... for a moment, but I guess the experiment is over.

 The Yankees have officially released lefty Jeff Francis.  You can read about it HERE.

Of course, the reason why he was released was because the Yankees purchased the contract of Rich Hill from Scranton, all after they flipped Matt Thornton to the Nationals, because he was picked up off waivers from them.

OK... a lot to digest... did you get that?

In other words, they gave up a lefty to bring up another lefty and then get rid of another lefty.

As MLB Trade Rumors writes of Francis: "The veteran southpaw had been designated for assignment by the Bombers last week, with outfielder Zoilo Almonte taking his roster spot."

The Yankees are bettering themselves... you see the moves, you see the improvement... now let's see the wins!

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook! 

YANKEES WASTE CAPUANO'S QUALITY START

Another day, another chance to play the Blue Jays, and another chance to gain some ground in the American League East. It was also a chance for the Yankees to put their latest starter acquisition on the mound and put him to the test.

Chris Capuano took the hill today in his first start as a Yankee, having joined the team just this past Thursday. The Red Sox, who used him as a middle reliever, released him earlier this month. The Colorado Rockies decided he was not worth a look, and sold his contract to the Yankees. You have to wonder why a team would use a career starter as a reliever, but that is their call. Either way, the Yankees may end up looking like geniuses, because Capuano had a very good start against the Toronto Blue Jays.

He gave up only two runs over 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, walking 4, and striking out 4. He kept batters off balance, throwing off-speed breaking balls in the mid 80's and a fastball topping out at 89 mph. The most impressive thing to me was how well he got out of trouble. He loaded the bases in the first and put men in scoring position in the second and sixth innings, but he got out without surrendering a run. He kept the run scoring limited to one inning. It was a quality start, and one the Yankees should have won.

Honorable mentions go to Derek Jeter for reaching base 3 times in 5 plate appearances, and to Chase Headley for bunting to an unmanned third base, to counter the shift, and getting a single in the process. (The picture above was taken from my seat, at the game, to show you how easy it was to do this). I noticed that the third baseman was covering his normal position the next time Headley came to the plate. I hope the Yankees noticed that too

Matt Thornton let the third run score on a bloop single that the infield should have caught. Nevertheless, the Yankees still kept it to a 1-run lead until the ninth. Dan Johnson, who had not hit a home run all season, hit a 3-run home run to give the Jays a 4-run lead. Being in the ballpark, I can tell you that the place became electric when Carlos Beltran hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. However, talking to the others there, all we could think was that it would have been a walk-off had Chase Whitley and Jeff Francis kept the top of the ninth scoreless. When you are in a pennant race as we are, trying to make up ground, losing when your pitcher gives you a quality start comes at a high price.


Final: Blue Jays 6 - Yankees 4

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row



You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  

DR. CASHMANSTEIN'S MONSTER

 BEWARE!! Dr. Cashmanstein is out late at night robbing graves in order to use the bodies for spare parts…

Yes, that is just flat out creepy and the thought of it is just unsettling. But in a way that’s kind of what Cashman is doing. The trade market is not too attractive at the moment, and unless you want to sell the farm for a broken down lemon like Cliff Lee…well, you’ll have to be creative.

I will give it to the fairly unpopular Yankee General Manager he is trying. Over the past week or so he has brought in Chase Headley, Brandon McCarthy and other spare parts like Chris Capuano, Jeff Francis and Hill.

(In Photo: Jeff Francis)
Yes, they aren’t names that will make you drop what you are doing and hop the 4 train to the Bronx, but they are low impact moves that may have a big upside. Both Headley and McCarthy have been pretty great since arriving from the NL West holes they were dwelling in. The chance to be in a pennant race and playing on Baseball’s Biggest Stage can be just the thing to restart a player’s engine. Both of these new Yankees have the potential to end up looking like a steal. They have both had success in the past and may thrive in New York…we’ll see.

Hey, can’t be worse than Nuno going every 5 days, and although we all loved Solarte, Headley is an ABSOLUTE defensive stud at the hot corner. With Chase and Ryan (No, I’m not retiring Jeet early, just making a point) at 3rd and Short the Yanks have the equivalent of three top notch NHL goalies on the left side of the infield.

But back to my point about what Cash is doing. I would love to see him land Matt Kemp at no real cost and have Kemp agree to play Right field, but that’s a long shot. And with Tampa still lurking you can FORGET ABOUT DAVID PRICE in pinstripes. But the moves Brian has made look like he is at least thinking like a GM. If he can construct this monster with a gaggle of “We signed who” and “He was great in 2010” type players, I will be happy to congratulate him and admit that my jabs and vote of ZERO confidence in him were premature…but if he fails I say we storm the castle, take him from his laboratory and banish him from the land for evermore!!

Good luck, Dr. Cashmanstein. We’ll be hoping to hear you cry out, “IT’S ALIVE!! IT’S ALIVE!!”

** It was a creepy post, so here’s a creepy song…by a GREAT band! **





--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21    
"Paulie was always my favorite player."
 


You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!

THE YANKS SNAG ANOTHER LEFTY...

And the winner this time is... Chris Capuano. Woo Hoo. Yay!  Wait... what????

According to several sources, and we'll use Hardball Talk on this one:

"The Yankees announced this evening that they have acquired veteran left-hander Chris Capuano from the Rockies for cash considerations.

This is just the latest move by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who has added the likes of Brandon McCarthy, Jeff Francis, and David Huff as the club attempts to get by after a number of injuries in their starting rotation."

Before the Rockies, Capuano was with the Red Sox. Oh, and by the way... DJ Short of Hardball Talk forgot to mention Rich Hill... but you get the idea. The Yankees are clearly stockpiling arms at this point.

Rumor has it I am also being considered. After all, I am a lefty, and I haven't pitched since High School... that's why I'm perfect.

Anyway, just wanted to keep you in the loop... carry on.

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!

HEYMAN CONTRADICTS HIS OWN RUMOR ABOUT DANKS TO YANKS

God Bless him.

According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, the Yankees are in the "early stages" of talks to acquire John Danks from the Chicago White Sox.

Heyman writes: "The Yankees, to no one's surprise, have checked in on White Sox lefty John Danks."

You're all excited right? Then he wrote this in his piece:

"There is no evidence the sides are close to a deal and may be in only the early stages of talks. The White Sox are looking for young players and prospects as they continue their rebuild."

Oh... so there's not evidence. And wait, they "may" be in talks? So, what's going on?  I wonder what Jerry Orbach would say about that.

Look, this is what's happening now. The Yankees no doubt are looking for a reliable lefty now that CC Sabathia is out. Jeff Francis was a nice idea but he's not the guy the Yankees really want there. Someone like Danks makes sense, but Jon's just throwing it out there. There's "no evidence" that Heyman knows anything either.

That's why we heard about the Yankees "closely monitoring" Cliff Lee earlier in the week.  They want to see the guy pitch, they want to make sure his arm doesn't fall off, and maybe they make the Phillies a deal.  Not sure if that will happen though... Lee just gave up 6 runs, read HERE.

There are alot of irons in the fire.  Maybe the Yanks are looking at Danks, maybe not, but there is no question they want a reliable lefty pitcher and they are definitely searching for one.

Keep an eye out on this rumor. It is interesting.

 You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!

YANKEE TARGETS ARE LEE, PRICE, HAMELS... NOT REALLY

It's all very murky...but I guess anything's possible.

“I have to reinforce our pitching, in my opinion. I have things that I feel I have to try to do, that I’m trying to do, but it is easier said than done.” 

--Brian Cashman

The Yankees picked up Brandon McCarthy, Rich Hill, Jeff Francis... but apparently they aren't done. 

Oh yeah, and Brian Cashman spoke! He spoke about pitching, something the Yankees really need, especially with 4 out of the 5 rotation guys on the shelf.  It's disturbing actually... it's just bad luck. 

Yankeeland has been complaining for weeks that we needed pitchers, BYB included.  But finally, after weeks of picking up guys that "might be able to help" and all the while watching our team not be consistent, Cashman finally found a microphone and assured Yankeeland... he will fix it.  

"We have to try to improve, reinforce and upgrade, certainly. We certainly we would love to have some significant upgrades but when you lose four out of five starters, it is hard to re-materialize the same type of abilities with the guys you lost. It is whether you incrementally upgrade.”

Now for the average fan, it's easy... we just spout off a name, a top level guy and just expect Yankeeland to get them.  We don't think about contracts, about what type of personnel we'd move to get him, trade restrictions and whatever other types of stipulations are attached.  For the GM, there are a million things to think about, and then, if they all check out, that's when you make a deal... maybe.

Now I am of the belief that someone like David Phelps made significant strides recently.  He's become a starter in front of our eyes; Dominant, confident and it has a lot to do with a consistent routine.  I think that helps a starter.  If I'm the Yankees, he's automatic.

Someone like Brandon McCarthy I believe will be a big part of the puzzle as well. McCarthy is an innings eater, and he will get the wins. He's got good stuff, and I'm excited for him.  But what else? Who else is out there?

I'm making a prediction and it's a prediction we've made here at BYB for a while.  While it may not be popular, it makes sense, considering what the Yankees are dealing with... Cliff Lee may find his way to the Bronx.  Why you ask? Because while he didn't ever want to come to New York, allegedly, every player gives in, especially if there's a shot at winning a championship.  The Phillies are out of it, the Yankees are not.  But for me personally, that's the only obvious move the Yankees can make, unless you follow the theory that there's a blockbuster trade ready to happen between the Yankees and Phillies, read HERE.  I love the idea, but  I can't be behind it, yet. Ask me in a week.

And how about this... there's plenty of chatter about David Price. But truth be told, I don't see it and either do many of you.  Tampa Bay may want to be sellers, but why would they dump Price off to a division rival? It's my feeling they wouldn't... It makes no sense.  

I love Cole Hamels.  Coincidentally, he's in Philadelphia with Lee. Now Hamels has been a guy the Yankees love from afar, and we here at BYB like him too.  In fact, there was a time a while back where we wrote about him coming to New York.  In 2012, we wrote HAMELS IS A "NO GO" FOR YANKEES... OR IS HE? writing:  

"...The Phillies have put feelers out on Cole Hamels, Read HERE, one of the most coveted pitchers in baseball right now, the question is, will the Yankees go hot and heavy to try and snag him? Yankeeland loves this idea...  the Yankees are not stupid, they won't give away every promising prospect they have to get this guy. There is a balance between the home grown talent they have and "buying" guys as we've been criticized for..."

The idea of Cole Hamels in New York would be glorious, but now we're talking about 2 pitchers in from Philadelphia.  Cole is signed with the Phillies through 2018, that's a lot of money tied up there.  Could the Yankees even pull that off? And do the Phillies even want to trade him? And what about this? A recent report about Cole eventually being the backup plan for the Red Sox if Jon Lester makes a dash, HERE... 

"The Red Sox had their chance in spring training to make a solid offer to Jon Lester and his representatives on a long-term deal.  Instead, they reportedly began the negotiation with a laughable four-year, $70 million offer...  In a recent article in the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo suggests Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels “makes perfect sense” for the Red Sox, because “his contract is precisely the contract the Sox want for a no. 1 pitcher. It has four years remaining at about $90 million.”

So what do the Yankees do? Do we jump in before the Sox? Do they try and snatch all these pitchers up, give away potential young talent and hope and pray it all works out, all the while spending millions more on old players?  What's my point of this post? To tell you, the whole thing is ridiculous!  Listen, we can't get ahead of ourselves as fans... baby steps.

Look... I am a firm believer that the Yankees should go after 1 lefty pitcher. ONE.  Why? Because Chase Whitley, David Phelps, Shane Greene are doing a good, solid job.  They deserve the spot they earned.

Throw in Brandon McCarthy, Hiroki Kuroda, and on occasion a lefty in Jeff Francis... and there's an improvement.

And then what? We go after 1 pitcher and it's gotta be a stud lefty. For 1, it's all you really can do, unless you want to give away all of our talent, of course. Plus, it also doesn't tie your hands later with money and contracts.  Bottom line, we have good talent on the farm, despite what people will tell you.  We also went over budget in the off-season buying up big time Free Agents. Bottom line, the Yankees are strapped, and we need to power on with what we have.

What will happen? Who the hell knows, I do know this; Cashman was right to speak out to us fans. We want improvements, but with a huge off-season splash... we have the talent, we just need to gel. As far as pitching...Yup, we could use an upgrade... but I just don't know what we can do, do you?

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!

ANDY PETTITTE IS BACK!

Sort of. Maybe not in real life but he was in my dream last night. He rode in like he was a superhero, ready to be the knight in shining armor for the Yankees. Hey, sometimes dreams aren't realistic or make a ton of sense....all I know is he was ready to save the day. We need someone like that right?

I really don't remember a lot of the missing puzzle pieces here, I just remember seeing Brian Cashman sitting in his big tricked out office. He had his elbows on his desk and his face just fell right into his raised hands. He looked stressed out....he was running out of options and the phone was not ringing. What's a GM to do?

After losing Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel he was scrambling to try and find someone to help anchor the Yankee rotation. The stress was causing him to instantly age about 10 years and started to break out in a cold sweat. He stared at the phone like a teenage girl does on a Friday night waiting for her crush to call. The anticipation for the next big break was wearing on him and suddenly....it happened.

The phone rings! He jumps up a little in his seat and lets it ring once before answering, he didn't want to seem too desperate after all, right? He plays it off very coyly with a casual "This is Brian" and crosses his fingers. It's the White Sox calling! Finally! But his excitement quickly turns into disappointment when he hears the "No, we are not interested in moving Jose Quintana." It would've been nice to have him in the rotation and give the Yankees some stability but the White Sox made a 5 year / $21million contract extension to him in Spring Training. It was a long shot, right? He puts the phone down and starts pacing.

After a few minutes the phone rings again! This time he hustles back to the end of the room and answers..."Hello?! This is Brian...." and then the voice of Dr. Ahmad sent chills up his spine. It's usually not good to hear from Dr. Ahmad and anymore bad news could really put him over the edge. Unfortunately, after treating Masahiro Tanaka's UCL injury with the recommended injection he recommended a longer than anticipated rehab time. Not the news he wanted to hear.

So now what is he to do? Jeff Francis is already a Yankee, but this is now a red alert.

The phone rings again! This time, Cashman is in no hurry to get to the phone. In fact, he lets it ring 4 times before answering and when he does he sounds very uninterested, "This is Brian" he says cautiously. The voice on the other end sent a charge through him....

Andy: "Hey Cash! How are you holding up?"
Brian: "Andy Pettitte....I'm doing fine my friend. Long time no talk. You bored with retirement yet? Laura kick you out of the house?"
Andy: "Sort of."
Brian: "I will take that as a yes..."
Andy: "Basically. Hey look....I know this is very spur of the moment but, I want to come back and pitch. I want to help."
Brian: "You really think you are up for this? I mean, this is the second half. It's going to take you weeks to be ready but we could use your presence here."
Andy: "I'm ready to be on a mound now."

Crazy, right? But just like that.....a knight in shining armor. Maybe it is my nostalgic side kicking in. I am subconsciously battling with the reality here as I try to accept that the end of the Cour Four is here. After this year, there will be no more....and right now the Yankees need all the help they can get. So Andy if you are reading this know that you may have retired, but my inner psyche refuses to let you.

A girl can always dream, right?




 --Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ


 
 
You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook! 

I WISH WE COULD DO A REWRITE

"I've been working on a rewrite. Gonna change the ending..."

 -Paul Simon: Rewrite

Emotionally, I'm spent.  No one tells you just how hard it is to be a fan, and then, when you're in it and your team can't win, it literally tears the guts out of you.  

As a writer, it's easy to see a vision and put it on paper... and if you don't like it, there's something called a rewrite.  In that rewrite, you change it around and make it perfect.  As a blogger, I'd love to give you the positive spin about our mighty Yankees every night and make it all sunshine and rainbows.  But there is nothing mighty about our Yankees and I can't.  It's now official... the rhythm, the momentum and the confidence is not there. We have lost steam because we've lost valuable players and drive.  We have injuries, we have age, and we look sluggish.  

Now, I applaud the ones that have contributed. They are playing their hearts out and I applaud them, but damn... this is hard.  I feel like we get a few wins only to lose more.  Running to stand still.  Running in quick sand... I could go on an on, but you get the point.

This is no way to honor Derek Jeter.  It's sad. It's disappointing and I often think about what Yankee brass is thinking these days.  Are the Steinbrenners ready to put their finger on the red button to dump Cash like Dr. Evil did to Mustafa?

Something needs to be done, but I have a strange suspicion that because the Yanks spent an absolute fortune this off season, their hands are now tied.  Making little deals, like Brandon McCarthy and Jeff Francis may be all they can do right now.  And I'm not saying those deals are bad... I'm saying that I'm afraid that big deal of David Price just may be impossible to pull off.

Anyway, there was a game tonight, and for the Yankees, who started out strong, we needed this one.  We have to beat the Orioles whenever we see them.  Any loss to them right now is devastating.  We just don't appear to have the talent to win... but we MUST beat division teams... that's a must.

The Yankees scored 2 early. Brian Roberts hit a solo shot, and so did Kelly Johnson.

1 problem; The Orioles scored 3 in 10.  A walk-off in Baltimore off of Adam Warren... who got the loss.

Hiroki Kuroda went 7 innings.  He only gave up 2 runs on 3 hits. 

Dellin Betances looked good, but then Warren came in, and got the loss. You have to ask yourself, what's Joe Girardi thinking? We have plenty of good options in the pen, including leaving Betances in.  Why did this loss happen exactly?

So yeah, if I could rewrite this one, I would, because it's clear, the Yankees just don't have it in them.  I'm sad a lot, and I'm focusing on other things these days.  If this club keeps losing, could I lose interest? You know, I'd like to think that I wouldn't. I've been a fan since I've been tiny and I know the team inside and out.  But nobody likes a loser... and Yankee brass needs to think real hard about our future right now.  As a fan, seeing the pinstripes is a beautiful thing... but the fans need to believe too, and I'm not so sure we are right now.  

I'm blabbing, sorry. I'm just speechless...

Final: Orioles 3 - Yankees 2

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!