CRAZY IN SEATTLE

If you would have told me that Jeremy Bonderman would have shut down the Yankees in 2013, I would have told you that you were taking crazy pills. But that is what had happened.  The Yankees were only able to score 1 run in Seattle last night, and Hiroki Kuroda lost some control in 4th.

That was where he gave up the 4 Seattle runs.  On paper, the match up was in the Yankees favor... but they lost last night... that's baseball I guess.

The Yankees scored in the first. Travis Hafner knocked in Brett Gardner. Then, like I said, the 4th is where the Mariner attack happened.  As Chris Stewart said HERE, "That inning, nothing worked... We tried everything. It didn't seem like he could figure anything out at that point. It's tough; he should have only given up two runs." 

Kuroda went 6.1 innings, allowed 8 hits and 4 runs, struck out 6 and walked 3.  Bonderman went 6 and only gave up 3 hits and 1 run.  In total, the Yankees only had 4 hits all night.  Not too great.

Final: Mariners 4 - Yankees 1

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YANKEES WIN & A STRUT IN MY STEP

Today I woke up knowing the Yankees won and everything is right despite the pouring rain in New York City.  My iPod knows I’m happy and delivers me Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones.  I walk the streets with authority.  I am a stud, I feel it. That’s what happens when the Yankees win, my iPod knows it and puts on songs that make me feel bad ass, invincible, etc. When they lose, my iPod angers me and puts on songs that I never knew were on there… that’s my life… music and baseball.

Last night it was Hughes and homers. Phil Hughes confuses me more than that high school girl who said she liked you,  but then you see her kissing another kid at the school dance. No, he’s not a whore... he’s too inconsistent. That being said, last night, he did good. He went 7 innings, he gave up 3 hits and only gave up 1 run. He also struck out 7 and didn't give up a home run.

All of the Yankees runs came in the 3rd. Robinson Cano hit a 3 run home run.  That was followed by Mark Teixeira's solo shot immediately after. Then, Vernon Wells singled and knocked in Travis Hafner.  Immediately after that, Ichiro Suzuki singled and drove in Kevin Youkilis.  Nice, I'll take that all day long.

Final Score: Yankees 6 – Mariners 1

Now Hiroki Kuroda goes against Jeremy Bonderman who has made his way all the way back from injury and almost retiring. Good for him. Normally I root for the underdog, but not today… Go Yanks!

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BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE PLAYER TRACKER #1

BYB will try and keep you up to date with a variety of these pieces over the winter, so make sure you continue to look at BYB for big names involved in the free agent process, as well as possible trades.

Kevin Youkilis: The Red Sox are looking at bringing back Youk, but now that Terry Francona is with the Cleveland Indians as their manager, there are reports that the Indians would like to possibly bring in Youk on board. Read HERE.  The Phillies have asked about Youkilis as well.

Anibal Sanchez:  Apparently Sanchez wants a 6 year, $90 million contract, you can read about that HERE.  Good luck with that.

Russell Martin: The Boston Red Sox have reportedly shown interest in Martin.  To be honest, this is nothing more than them seeing if he'd be interested but I believe there's some loyalty and a genuine love for playing for the Yankees and a deal will be made with he and the Yanks soon. You can read about the Boston story, HERE.

Billy Butler: The Baltimore Orioles have asked the Kansas City Royals about Butler, and the Royals are in need of pitching. That's the extent of this connection. I don't see this going anywhere though... Butler is Kansas City's Golden Boy and he'll stay. Read about it HERE.

Jeremy Bonderman: Bonderman is receiving a contract from the Detroit Tigers after expressing an interest to try and make a comeback.  Good for him. Read about it HERE.

 Josh Hamilton: The report is that the Phillies are "quietly" checking in on Hamilton.  But look, Hamilton wants a huge contract, and I wouldn't give the guy more than 4 years.  Anything more just doesn't make sense. Anyway, you can read about it HERE.

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HERE COMES MR. FIX IT

"I'll get it fixed." - - Brian Cashman

Andy isn't even off the plane back to Texas yet and Cashman's already trying to make the pain go away. Good, let him earn his money now.

ESPNDEPORTES.com is reporting that the Yankees and Ronnie Belliard have agreed to a minor league deal. Belliard will make $825,ooo plus incentives if he comes up to the Bronx. I suspect he will and he will also be a good bench player. Not a bad choice. One problem, he'll need to cut his hair.

Sweeny Mirti is reporting that the Yanks are bringing infielder Eric Chavez in a minor league deal as well. Hmm. Interesting. Chavez is a career .267 hitter with 230 home runs and 787 RBIs in 1,320 games over 13 seasons in Oakland. He's also buds with Swish. I think I like this.

And of course, on the pitching front, there are many many names being thrown around. Ken Rosenthal had tweeted that the Yankees are also looking at Scott Kazmir, Joe Saunders and even Gio Gonzalez. What did I tell you. The floodgates are opening. Money is burning in Cashman's pocket. Moves need to be made. Patience is out the window.

There is also still plenty of talk and rumor about Cashman continuing to have conversations with starters like Kevin Millwood or Jeremy Bonderman but I suspect something bigger is in the works. Something that no one expects. A February Surprise. I wrote about it in WHY THERE ARE 21 DAYS LEFT and I believe it. Now that Pettitte's retiring is officially confirmed, whatever moves Cash was getting in place are now IN place. I suspect that that whiff about Joba being on the trading block a month ago is actually true, and Cashman's leak to the media about being willing to trade him was just setting it up. Now, he could move forward. I just have no idea who the other player would be and what Yankee prospects Cashman would need to include with Joba to get the deal done. That being said, I think it's going to happen. Why do I feel that way? Because I just don't understand why the Yankees would go after someone like Jeremy Bonderman. It doesn't make sense to me. And here's a good rumor. Carlos Zambrano. There was talk about this crazy dude last year and it disappeared. But now, the Morris Daily Herald took a nugget from the Chicago Sun Times and are suggesting that Carlos Zambrano is on the Yankees radar again. What? Do we really want to do that? We all know Carlos is a gamer and yes, maybe a change of scenery would be good for this guy, but let's face it, this guy is a ticking time bomb and the Bronx will eat him alive in his first bad outing. But hey, these are desperate times, who would you want, Zambrano or Mitre. (It all goes back to Mitre. Poor, poor Mitre.)

What's my point? The Yanks are about to go into high gear, they got the signal and have some extra cash now and my God... here we come. Get ready.

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THE MORE THE MERRIER

"My preference is to be with the New York Yankees, and it's not unreasonable to have that in mind, because I've demonstrated that I can be useful. A team like New York would be ideal for my age, [as would] playing in a successful, media-heavy, demanding division. Without doubt it would be an inspiration."
-- Freddy Garcia


I've always liked Freddy Garcia and he's saying all the right things. The question is, does he still got it. If I had to line up Colon and Garcia up and had to choose 1, it would in fact be Freddy. At this point though, there is a lot going on and I am not sure he's in the cards. Then again, who really thought they would sign Colon? Here's what's going down:

• The Yankees have made a formal offer to Andy Pettitte for 1 year, 12 million. Andy's working out. Things may be coming to an end in the Andy Saga very soon. Reports are the Yankees are "optimistic" about a return.


• The Yankees are confident and pleased enough with their gang of minor league arms that having them all compete for a rotation spot may in fact be in the cards. Andrew Brackman,Hector Noesi, David Phelps and others all have what it takes, the question is, can they impress enough to get the call.


• Bartolo Colon, Sergio Mitre and Ivan Nova will most likely also compete for a rotation spot, or at least, that's what was discussed yesterday.


• Justin Duchscherer and Jeremy Bonderman are both still on the Yankees radar. If I had to pick, I'd pick "The Duke", this decision would be based on age and his wanting and willing to start for the New York Yankees. He recently said this: “For me it’s black and white. I want to start, that’s the whole mindset I have... I find it funny that people say I can’t pitch in that environment, but I’ve pitched in New York before..." Like Garcia, Justin's actively whoring himself out for a job opportunity and to tell you the truth, I have no problem with it. The squeaky wheel gets the oil and if you can put your money where your mouth is and prove to everyone you truly are back, I say confidence is half the battle. As far as Bonderman is concerned, I don't care for him strictly because this guy talked about retiring last summer. If I'm the Yankees, I don't want a guy whose head's not in the game. You know?


• Bronx Baseball Daily also had this nugget from Buster Olney about the Yanks continually going back to look at Fausto Carmona. Interesting to check out. Read it HERE.

A lot of names, good problems though. Wow, this is the first time all winter I've felt decent about the Yankees pitching options. Are things turning around in the Bronx? Let's hope so. Day 89 Andy... Where are you?

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WHY WE NEED TO RECAP

Starters like Doug Davis, Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Bonderman, Freddy Garcia, Rodrigo Lopez, and Brian Moehler are all out there for the Yanks to snag off the free agent market if they want a quick fix at the back half of the rotation.

Bartolo Colon is pitching in a Dominican Winter League and there are mixed reviews about how he's doing. Colon clearly wants to make it back, the question is, will the Yankees take a chance on him or will it be a team like the Royals.

Then you look at pitchers like Pedro Martinez or Jarrod Washburn and these guys haven't pitched in the majors in a while. Over a year.

You then have guys like, John Maine, like Justin Duchscherer and 90 year old Jamie Moyer (who just keeps on ticking). The problem with these guys are they're all coming off injury. The only name the Yankees have been connected to is Justin Duchscherer, but who knows if he's still on the radar.

Andy Pettitte is by far the Yankees top choice. Reliable, durable and comfortable, but there's one issue of concern... It's January 25th. Ladies and Gentleman, Don't panic. I have a good feeling about this guy, I feel like he's coming back. I've said it before in IF YOU BUILD IT, HE WILL COME (BACK), Andy waited until January 26th before and this may seem like a long time, but it's actually not. Tomorrow's the 26th. After that, well, then you have to start to worry. My gut says Andy's coming back, that being said, it is very possible he's "getting pitcher ready" to see how his body responds to the daily workouts. It's possible that he's seeing how he feels day in and day out to see if he can handle a full season. It's reality. So, while I feel good about Andy, keep that in the back of your mind. Be patient... We'll know soon.

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PITCHING POTPOURRI

So, more rumors than normal these past few days with the New York Yankees attached to them. I like that. That’s the kind of winter I like in Yankeeland, the Yanks spreading a wide net in the hopes to snag someone. Obviously the issue this year is the Free Agent market is lame.
L-A-M-E.

PETTITTE: The Andy Pettitte Saga continues. Still no word on if he’s coming back. I don’t think he is for sure, but hey, Pettitte’s done this before. You never know. There’s a lot of talk about Pettitte being spooked by Roger Clemens which is a possible reason for him maybe retiring. Some say he’s afraid to have to deal with Clemens and his trial. I say this, Pettitte’s not afraid of anyone. Pettitte did the right thing a few years ago, he came clean, you can’t say that about Clemens. Turn the page. As far as the Yankee and their starting pitching, well we all know it’s gonna get ugly if Andy doesn’t come back.

BONDERMAN: The YES Network’s Jack Curry tweeted that the Yanks are no longer in on Bonderman. Earlier this month in WHY BONDERMAN ISN’T THE ANSWER , I stated my concerns on this guy. Injury problems and lack of recent pitching should have crossed im off the list a while ago. I liked him in 2006, enough said.

DUCHSCHERER: Reports today are that the Yankees have “stepped up” their interest in Justin Duchscherer. This coming from Jerry Crasnick from ESPN.com. Duchschereer is a righthander and a starter, but the report is he could either be used as a starter or reliever. That just give you an idea of what the Free Agent market is like right now. You have High priced free agents that no one wants to touch, you have broken down pitchers looking for comebacks and you have no names with no quality of work to show for their career. Horrendous year. As far as Duchscherer is concerned? Another injury riddled pitcher who had hip and elbow problems.

SORIANO: The Yanks were “out” on Soriano. Then Soriano said he would “set-up” for the Yankees, so the Yankees were reportedly “in” on Soriano. Then Cashman quickly dismissed that and said they would not giev up a number 1 pick for Soriano, only Cliff Lee. So technically, everyone assumed the Yankees were “out” on Soriano again. Then it was reported the the Yankees were not “out” on Soriano, but “in” on Soriano. Then, Buster Olney tweeted this “The question of what role Rafael Soriano will play for his next team is very much secondary to what his salary will be. In other words, if some club was willing to pay him to be it’s bullpen catcher for $45 million over the next three years, Soriano would consider it.” So does that mean the Yankees are “out” again? Maybe their “in”? I’m confused.

CHAMBERLAIN: Yes it’s true, Many many Yankee fans like the fact that Joba was a starter and would like to see him Start again. Sliding into home made a good argument for Joba being a starter for 2011. I prefer Joba in the bullpen, but I understand and respect the starter argument. I just don’t want to jerk the guy around, he’s been through enough. Maybe, just maybe, he is a 4^th or 5^th starter for the Yankees next year. My point is, if you’re going to do it, then do it and don’t keep moving him around, it’s not fair. Bottom line, I take Joba over Mitre, maybe even Nova.

Finally, if all else fails this winter, don't fret, have you ever heard of Hector Noesi, Andrew Brackman, David Phelips? You did? Good, they are some minor leaguers who Bronx Baseball Daily did a profile on, including a few more guys who the Yankees could call up if in fact, they don't sign any free agents. check it out, it's good.

My prediction, something's about to go down, stay tuned.

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WHY BONDERMAN ISN'T THE ANSWER

I know, I know, I've been blabbing about pitching help for months. Then MLB Trade Rumors comes out with a report that suggests the Yanks is looking at Jeremy Bonderman.

First I thought "OK, they are actually looking around. Good."

Then, before bed I thought "He could be a good piece to the rotation puzzle. I think."

Then I woke up and realized it wasn't 2006. Jeremy Bonderman is a terrible idea.

Back when the Yanks and Tigers duked it out in the playoffs, I liked what I saw from Bonderman. In fact from 2004 to 2006, Jeremy Bonderman was a dominant pitcher. But he hasn't pitched well the last few years. After the 2006 season he had some elbow problems and a major surgery and he's never been the same pitcher. Then I thought about something else, wasn't Jeremy Bonderman the guy who in July started telling people he was thinking about retiring? Yes, Retiring. HERE IT IS... Read it. OK, So let me get this straight, Cashman's looking at low risk pitchers. Okay, I'm following you so far Cash. But so far all of which have had past injuries, past surgeries and Bonderman has both and tack on retirement talk? Wow. And we want him?

Yes, Bonderman's only 28, and yes, pitchers can become dominant again. True. But this guy doesn't fit the Yankee mold unless Cash know something we don't. I think I'd rather see Bartolo Colon in the 4th spot of the rotation. That's right, you heard me. And I'm liking Freddy Garcia a whole lot more now.

I know the Yanks will be making a few moves before pitchers and catchers to better our ball club, and I'm happy about that. Yes, I know a pitcher is coming, otherwise, we wouldn't be seeing all this rumor talk, but the question is, who fits that Yankee mold? Stay tuned.

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