SOTO FEELING 22

Source: ESPN

Juan Soto is getting used to his new digs as the newest Bronx Bomber. Doning #22, Soto is excited about one thing: winning. Soto's mindset is just the kind the clubhouse needs this season; not to mention his hot bat from the left side. Soto is feeling 22 (which is Taylor Swift's code for feeling free and alive) and I am all about it.

“My priorities right now are just getting to know the guys, really,” Soto said. “I’ll try to get a good relationship and really stick together, get to know those guys and try to get to the same goal [from] Day 1. That’s what my main thing is right now," reported MLB.com. Soto dodged questions about contract extension talks, keeping his focus on being a Yankee and assimilating to the organization.

Source: Forbes

“We just gotta get to know the organization, get to know the team,” he said. “Right now I’m more than excited to get there and see those guys and see how big is Aaron Judge and [Giancarlo] Stanton. It’s going to be pretty cool. That’s what I’m looking for right now, is just to get comfortable on the team and watch how it’s going to be and how we’re going to grow,” reported The New York Post.

This is Soto's third ball club in his six years in the majors, starting with Washington, moving out west to San Diego and now to his new home in the Bronx. Soto will decide if the pinstripes suit him over the 2024 season, knowing that next year he will be a free agent and can go elsewhere.

 “We understand that he’s a free agent at the end of this term, and we understand that it’s a possible short-term situation,” Cashman said. “I know he’s just going to make our team significantly better," reported MLB.com. 

I think my favorite part of Soto's press conference on Tuesday was when he said this, “Whatever they need from me, I’m going to be there,” Soto said. “I’m going to be positive to do it. Whatever spot they need me, I’m going to be ready. Whatever spot in the lineup, whatever position they want me to play, I’m going to be right there,” reported MLB.com.

Soto is wearing 22, after a long line of bearers of the same number including Jimmy Key, Roger Clemens, Robinson Cano, Jacoby Ellsbury (yuck) and most recently Harrison Bader. And his youthful presence and mindset is just what the doctor order for the Yankees. Feeling 22 and ready to go, Soto is a Yankee. Now, who's next?  

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

HAL'S EXCITED ABOUT THE YOUNG PLAYERS. YOU SHOULD BE TOO.

Hal Steinbrenner is excited about the young players coming up from the Yankees farm system. He said so a few days ago in comments to reporters at this year’s MLB Owners’ Meetings. As well he should be. The experiment seems to be working, exactly as it should. Investing ion young players doesn’t usually pay immediate dividends. It takes time and patience, but can produce some really good runs with the right players. It also requires the right mix of youth and veterans.

If you look at the most recent dynasty, you might think it started in 1996, since that was the first World Series win. I believe it started in the off season prior to the 1993 season when Roberto Kelly was traded for Paul O'Neill. In what I believe to be the greatest trade for the Yankees in the last 35 years, they gave up a decent center fielder for an 8-year veteran right fielder in O’Neill at the time and made room for Bernie Williams to take over in center. Both outfielders have plaques in Monument Park – enough said. The point is, they knew that it wasn’t enough to just promote the rookies. They had to get veterans to build around, to mentor the younger players. So while rookies like Williams, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, and Andy Pettitte were huge for them, they also needed proven veterans like O’Neill, David Cone, Wade Boggs, and Jimmy Key to round them out.

They also needed patience. It took 3 years from the aforementioned trade to the World Series ring, including a very frustrating playoff elimination in 1995 to build the foundations of the dynasty. The Yankees have some really promising talent coming up. Luis Severino is by far the most promising young talent on the team, posting an ERA of 2.89 and 8 Quality Starts out of 11 (QS% of 73%). Nathan Eovaldi, at age 25, matured quite a bit last year as a pitcher and has tremendous potential. Michael Pineda and Masahiro Tanaka, both at age 26, can also become major factors if they stay healthy. Greg Bird surprised everyone with his clutch performance at the plate, hitting 9 of his 11 home runs when there was a run differential of 2 or less and 6 of 11 home runs in the 7th inning or later. Rob Refsnyder, age 24, hit over .300 and hit a pair of home runs in his 16 games. Gary Sanchez has been hitting the cover off the ball, and Aaron Judge is making waves on his way up the minor league levels. The Yankees have a lot of options here.

The thing is, you cannot expect to win big without a core group of veterans to build around. Alex Rodriguez has been an extraordinary resource for the younger players, spending time with some like Didi Gregorius and Aaron Judge to help them improve their game. Brian McCann shows some real leadership in the clubhouse and is expected to be part of the foundation. CC Sabathia has also been spending time with the younger players helping give guidance. Do they have enough? It’s not clear that they do, so a trade for some veteran talent in a key spot might be the right move for the team.

The Yankees’ recent history has looked like they were one or two players away from a championship team. They need more than that. They definitely need to invest in the kids, and Hal is right to be excited about their prospects. But let’s be honest. They need another strong, veteran presence with the credibility of a success story to add to the mix. Maybe it could be that pitcher Hal is determined to acquire.

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






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THE YANKEES: REBUILDING THE CORE

We are less than six weeks away from pitchers and catchers, and unless something dramatic happens, this will be the most unusual off season for the Yankees in some time. The Yankees have made no blockbuster, long-term, over-the-top deals for a big name. We have not seen a single flashy deal for an aging star, trying to catch lightning in a bottle. There is clearly a change in direction from previous years, and one that I believe to be a good one. It is one that I believe some of us will have to become accustomed to. After all, when is the last time you remember the Yankees in a rebuilding year?

Teams find themselves forced into rebuilding years when past stars age out and the team’s performance starts to decline. Usually it is when they realize that they cannot really fix them to with one or two additions to the roster. The Yankees are in that predicament now. Furthermore, they are responding exactly as they should. Instead of selling their future for the hope of a short-term win, they are resisting the temptation of overspending on risky players and focusing on acquiring young, perhaps under-developed talent, on which to rebuild. Essentially, they are rebuilding the core.

It is not unlike what they did in the early 90’s. For those of us old enough to remember, it was a brutal time for the Yankees. They began trading some of their talent for better, younger, and under-estimated talent, like Paul O'Neill. They acquired some veteran talent like Jimmy Key, David Cone, and Wade Boggs – players that were not only good on the field, but ones that could mentor some of the younger players coming up. They developed kids coming through the minors like Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and Andy Pettitte. By the mid-90’s, they were contending again.

Here’s the thing that most of us are going to find unsettling. It takes time to develop the talent and chemistry needed for a winning team. Often it takes more than a year. Sometimes things do not work the first time, and you need to adjust. Mariano Rivera did not succeed as a starter, so they moved him to the bullpen. Derek Jeter was sent back down to the minors in 1995. It is that kind of tinkering I expect to see in 2015.

The Yankees have placed some bets. Didi Gregorius is the shortstop of the future for the Yankees, and it is his position to lose. Andrew Miller figures to be a major component of the bullpen. Dellin Betances will have to continue and prove that was not a 1-year fluke. David Carpenter will be under scrutiny. Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela will fight for second base. Forcing youngsters to compete based on their ability, under game conditions – this allows the Yankees to see how they can do in real game situations, handling the pressure. This is the right approach for rebuilding.

Please do not get me wrong – I am not giving up on 2015. I actually believe we are going to have a good year. I am just adjusting my definition of success. For too long, we have trying to find those 2-3 magical players that would get us back into the World Series, and we have paid a heavy price. The Yankees will ride out the bad contracts, they will weed out the players that cannot deliver on their potential, and they will get better. Now we are investing in the younger talent, and we have enough veterans to be respectably competitive. If we have a winning team built around a core of young players that will be around for the next 3-5 years, and we know that they can only improve, we have a foundation for the future.

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






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HEY YANKEE FANS! HERE'S PROOF THAT THERE'S HOPE!

As of this writing, the New York Yankees are 7½ games behind the first place Baltimore Orioles and 3 games out of the second Wild card spot in the American League. They are six games over .500, and not the championship team we envisioned last winter after all the major signings. There is a lot of talk about whether or not there’s a chance left that this team will go anywhere. Let’s put this in historical perspective.

When the Yankees woke up on the morning of August 29, 1995, the Yankees were out of it. They had lost nine of their prior ten games, the most recent loss being a makeup game against the Kansas City Royals. They were five games under .500, 16 games behind the first place Red Sox, and tied with two other teams for 5th place in the Wild card race. That puts you in the group of teams that no one mentions when talking about the playoffs. Just eight weeks earlier, they lost their ace – Jimmy Key – for the season due to a torn rotator cuff. They had just acquired David Cone, who had a great pedigree but was the owner of an inauspicious 9-6 record at the time. Does all this sound familiar??

What happened from that point on is almost miraculous. In the last 31 games of the season, the Yankees went 25-6. In fact, the Yankees did not clinch a playoff spot until the final game of the season. For the purposes of this discussion, I will call the first 131 games of the season as the “first half” and the last 31 games as the “second half”. Really, they were two different teams before and after the morning of August 29.

I mentioned David Cone. After his 9-6 start of the season, he went 9-2 and fulfilled the role of ace of the staff. Andy Pettitte, who did not really gain stardom until the following season, had a 6-8 record and an ERA of 4.73 for the “first half”. The “second half”, he was a shining 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA. In fact, the entire pitching staff found a new gear in the “second half”. The Yankees, who were 9th in the American League in runs allowed in the “first half” went to second in the league for the remainder of the season. Is this happening now? Can you say Brandon McCarthy? If Michael Pineda can keep up his current pace, add his name to the list. Masahiro Tanaka will be back in a couple of weeks. There is hope!

The hitting was another major factor. The team went from 8th in the league in runs scored to 3rd between “halves”. Everyone, including Wade Boggs, Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill, and others carried the burden of supporting their pitchers with runs. Here is where the team really needs to get on their game. It is not like there is not the talent or potential. When the names on the lineup card read Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira, and Derek Jeter, you cannot help but think that these guys are capable. BYB has written much about the hitting and the coaching, and we are not looking to place blame on any single party. Nevertheless, they need to get it together. When the opposition has a one-run lead, the story needs to change from us worrying that scoring a run is insurmountable to  them worrying that a one-run lead is not enough.

Look, I am not making guarantees. This team could finish the season in first place, or at .500 wondering what the heck happened. My take on the team is that they are playing with a lot of momentum right now, and you have to credit Joe Girardi for his leadership in piecing together a team with more stars on the DL than on the field. Nevertheless, we are going into September with some uphill battles, and it is going to take an effort that goes beyond what happened in the first half of 2014. Can they do it? Yes they can!

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



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THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF A BITTERSWEET SEASON

It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the most recent Yankees dynasty began its incredible ride. The 1994 season was the first season for the Yankees in recent memory when they finished first in their division after a terrible stretch of years where they struggled even to be competitive.

Buck Showalter, in the third season of his tenure as the Yankees manager, was finally realizing success with his rebuilding efforts with the Yankees. Working with GM Gene Michael, they traded for talent like Paul O'Neill and Jim Abbott the year before. They acquired veteran talent like Jimmy Key, Wade Boggs, and Steve Howe through free agency. They also recognized the value in their farm system, developing rookies like Bernie Williams, Scott Kamieniecki, and Gerald Williams.

Jimmy Key was the outstanding ace of the pitching rotation. Through 113 games, he posted a record of 17-4 with a 3.27 ERA. He came in second in the Cy Young voting, and sixth in the A.L. MVP voting. He had 18 quality starts out of 25. He was the most significant contributor to the success of this team.

Paul O’Neill, at age 31, provided the most firepower from the lineup. He led the league with a .359 batting average. He led the team in home runs (21), RBI (83), and tied for the lead in runs scored with Danny Tartabull (68). The team had five everyday players hitting .300 or better, which included Paul O’Neill, Wade Boggs (.342), Don Mattingly (.304), Luis Polonia (.311), and Mike Stanley (.300). All this helped the team come in first in the league in OPS (.836) and second in the league in runs scored (670) and batting average (.290).

It is hard to appreciate, in retrospect, how much excitement this team generated for the fans. New York Yankees baseball had fallen into major disrepute, and the fans stopped coming to the games. Through the second week of August, Yankee Stadium attendance was just less than 1.7 million. To put that in context, this year Yankee Stadium attendance passed 1.7 million in attendance on July 2. Nevertheless, this was the first time that the Yankees would finish first in the division for the first time in 14 years. It was only the second time in those 14 years that they finished with a W/L percentage above .600.

There was also heartbreak that year. In spite of their success, the season tragically ended on August 11 due to the baseball players’ union strike. Compounding the tragedy was the fact that for the first time in a long time, the Yankees were legitimate contenders. They had a division lead of 6.5 games, and were a virtual lock for the playoffs. The AL West leading Texas Rangers were 10 games below .500. Hard to believe, but true. The expected wildcard would have been the Cleveland Indians, against whom the Yankees had swept all nine games. They were 2-4 against the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox, but they had only faced the Jimmy Key once (which the Yankees won) and they drew the bottom of the rotation in both series. A World Series was within their grasp.

As I said earlier, it is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the recent magic started. Despite the strike and the frustration, they proved to themselves and to the world that they had a strong team and they could win. They would eventually win it all in 2 years, and would start the storybook dynasty of the late 90’s. Good times.

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

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A YANKEE WINTER IN NEW YORK

This time of the year has always been a drag for me. As I walk the streets of Manhattan, passing the discarded Christmas trees and seeing the building striped of lights and wreaths to return to their business-like grey stone and steel. The charm of the Holiday Season fades and the doldrums of January and February take its grip on The Big Apple.

I am not one to count down the days until Pitchers and Catchers report. I miss baseball, but the Hot Stove can be a great distraction. Instead I enjoy College Hoops (Go Orange!), watch hockey and select my annual “All-Time Yankee Team”. You don’t do that too?

Every year since…well it’s been a long time…I select a team of Yankee players that I have been lucky enough to watch suit up for the Bronx Bombers.   It’s a game I play with other friends from the old neighborhood, and it’s a lot of fun to see who makes somebody else’s line up card. We go all in selecting rotation, bullpen, bench and starters…even the skipper and coaches get chosen. Almost immediately after the team is selected I think of somebody I left off, but that’s the fun of it. Here is my 2014 club, Imagine, if you will, hearing the late, great Bob Shepard announcing their names:

“Your attention pleases, ladies & gentleman. Here is the starting lineup for the New York Yankees...

Leading off, the shortstop, number 2, Derek Jeter, number 2. Batting second the first baseman, number 23, Don Mattingly, number 23. Batting third, the right fielder, number 21, Paul O’Neill, number 21. Batting fourth the center fielder, number 51, Bernie Williams, number 51. Batting fifth, the designated hitter, number 44, Reggie Jackson, number 44. Batting sixth, the left fielder, number 31, Dave Winfield, number 31. Batting seventh, the catcher, number 15, Thurman Munson, number 15. 

Batting eighth, the third baseman, number 9, Graig Nettles, number 9. And batting ninth, the second baseman, number 30, Willie Randolph, number 30.”

1. Jeter
2. Mattingly
3. O’Neill
4. Williams
5. Jackson
6. Winfield
7. Munson
8. Nettles
9. Randolph

So those are my starters. Robbie Cano would have been a lock over Willie, but…hey, it's a New Year. Let bygones be bygones…until Seattle comes to town.

I have gone back and forth with a few of my guys over the last couple years, but favorites like O’Neill, Jeter and Nettles always seem to get the nod. I think Big Dave makes it because I loved the way Shepard used to say, “Winfield”. I also used to do an impression of The Scooter’s WPIX homerun call, “You know what happens every time a Yankee hits a homerun! Dave Winfield, this Bud’s For You!”

And so it’s on to the starting staff. This is always a tricky one, but here’s the rotation:

Ron “The Gator” Guidry
David Cone
David “The Boomer” Wells
Andy Pettitte
Jimmy Key

You are probably saying Jimmy Key over CC?! Again, this is not a team that will actually play. These are guys I’ve always liked. Sure, CC Sabathia is an ace, but I’ve always been a Jimmy Key fan. Maybe #52 is on your team or maybe he’ll make the 2015 edition. Anyway here’s the pen.

Dave “Rags” Righetti

Joba Chamberlain
Jeff Nelson
Mike Stanton
Goose Gossage
Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez

Mariano Rivera

You’re 100% right! El Duque is not a reliever…but he’ll be my long man. As a kid I tried to mimic Righetti’s leg kick and I would act out the 1983 No-No against Boston in my backyard. Joba? Well, he is one of my favorites. I’ll miss him playing in the Bronx and the kid that burst on the scene in 2007 should have gotten a better run for the Yankees. Anyway, Chamberlain is on the team sans the “Joba Rules”.

The Bench is always a free for all. I usually select guys for an array of reasons. But here you go:

Brett Gardner
Bucky Dent

Pat Kelly
Hideki Matsui
Jorge Posada
Lou Piniella
Mickey Rivers
Robin Ventura

Yeah, there are plenty of names that didn’t pop up on my bench…a few years ago I put Shane Spencer on the team because I was at the game when he went 5 for 5 and had everybody thinking about Roy Hobbs.

I almost put Mike Pagliarulo on this year’s squad, but I love that Pat Kelly travels from “Down Undah” to play at Old Timers Day. And Ventura? Well, I just liked the way he played the game. Plus I felt bad for him when Nolan Ryan tuned him up.

And finally, we come to the skipper and coaches. If you grew up in the 80’s there is only one manager. The always “-colorful” Billy Martin will take the helm of this year’s Yankee club. Billy will need a voice of reason because…well, he’s Billy Martin…so Joe “Mr. T” Torre is the bench coach along with Don Zimmer. Hey, you can’t have Dean Martin without Jerry Lewis. You can’t have Starsky without Hutch. You can’t have Torre without Zim.

My hitting coach is Tino. I think the former Yankee first baseman caught a bad wrap in Miami and…well, it’s Tino. I think the man’s resume’ as a player gets him the job. GI Joe Girardi will handle the pen. Stott comes back as pitching coach and at the corners we’ll have Buck “Chuckles” Showalter and Larry “He’s a riot” Bowa. That’s my staff…probably too many cooks in the kitchen, but again this is pure fiction.

So this is one of the ways I try to cheer myself up during this often-depressing time of the year. And it usually gives my friends and I a few laughs…until St. Patrick’s Day anyway.

Who makes your All-Time Yankee team? Tell us.

And don't forget, BYB did an All-Time Yankee team when Casey started this blog.  Read MY ALL-TIME YANKEES TEAM from February 2011.  Very interesting.

 

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


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THE DAVID CONE POST YOU'LL LOVE TO READ

Sometimes you make decisions that make you cringe later. Decisions that leave you with deep regrets for the rest of your life. The second worst baseball decision I ever made was in July of 1999. My brother Steve and I were planning on going to a Yankee game with our wives, and it was a weird situation where the Yankees were playing two different teams on Saturday and Sunday. It went something like this – “Do you want to see the Yankees play the Braves or the Expos?” “The Expos? Who wants to see Expos?!? Let’s go to the Braves game”. It was a great game. I remember Pettitte pitched a gem, and we watched Bernie Williams and Chuck Knoblauch hit home runs in our general direction. The problem? On Sunday July 18, 1999, David Cone cemented his legendary status as a pitcher and as a Yankee, as he took the mound and threw a perfect game against the Montreal Expos.

You cannot see me now, but I am gritting my teeth and clenching my fists as I recall this. The worst decision, by the way, took place in September of 1993 when I changed my mind at the last minute about going to the game because of a heat warning. However, I will save that story for the Jim Abbott article. No, I’m not kidding.

The truth is that David Cone was already a legend with the team, having been a part of the run from 1995 to his perfect game and beyond to the 2000 postseason. He was the second piece of the starting rotation puzzle that the Yankees put together after a few dreadful years in the early 1990’s. The Yankees had signed Jimmy Key and they started to build around him. David Cone, who led the National League in strikeouts in 1990 and 1991, earned a World Series win in 1992 and a Cy Young Award in 1994, was a winner who would prove to be instrumental in the Yankees success in the late 1990’s. When Jimmy Key went down with an injury in 1995, David Cone inherited the ace role and was part of that late-season drive to an improbable playoff spot, having won eight of his last ten decisions and finishing the season at 18-8.

In 1996, tragedy struck as doctors found an aneurysm in his arm and he missed most of the season. As the Yankees started to falter in August, David rose to the occasion, coming back much sooner than expected. In his return game against the Oakland Athletics, he threw seven hitless innings for the win. In the process, he re-ignited the Yankees and got them to the playoffs. I will never forget Game 3 of that World Series.

 With the Yankees down two games to none, and with the Braves having loaded the bases and Javy Lopez ready to give them the lead in the bottom of the sixth, Joe Torre comes out of the dugout. Famously, Joe put up his hands and the dialog was short and to the point. “Can you get him out?” “Yes I can!” That is what you expect from your leaders, your heroes. He had derailed the Atlanta Braves locomotive, and the Yankees went on to win the Series in six games.


He stayed with the Yankees through the 2000 season, and the fans’ love of Coney never abated. He was able to do some TV commercials, and he was hysterical. His competition with Orlando Hernandez’ El Duque dance move on an Adidas commercial, where a patron caught him trying a move that looked like a pitcher’s windup, showcased his sense of humor. In one of the funniest commercials I have ever seen (again for Adidas), he was with the ANSKY guys (remember them?) where they helped Cone rest his arm by doing everything for him that required the use of his hand. The look on his face when he came out of the men’s room after one of the guys apparently had “helped him” so he wouldn’t have to use his hand was priceless! We looked everywhere on YouTube for it, we couldn't find it, but here are the ANKSY guys:



David Cone is one of those rare finds among players. He is a man who can play at the highest levels and succeed. He is a man who can call a great game and give deep analysis into what a pitcher is thinking during a game. He is a man who has a great personality and sense of humor, who can be trusted to represent the organization. Personally, I am glad we found him.


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

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