WALKING THE GIANCARLO STANTON TIGHTROPE

Oh Stanton, how we love to write about you here at BYB….and how I love to daydream about placing you in right field. How glorious it would be to be the envy of the other 28 teams in all of baseball land. But alas, as great as you could be for our beloved Yankees, you could also hurt us in the long run.  It’s a fine line I find myself balancing on lately.

Despite the huge fire sale that the Marlins had in November, the Marlins claim that Giancarlo Stanton is “off limits.” I can see why they would say that to a point. If they get rid of him, what reason would fans have to go to their games? Honestly….there really wouldn’t be. It’s just frustrating for me as a Yankee fan to constantly see articles like this one HERE:  saying his is available and then 2 minutes later I see this post from Jon Heyman HERE saying otherwise. I get it, this is baseball politics in action. Seriously, this is like dangling a carrot in front of a hungry horse’s mouth…it’s just cruel! I’m already salivating and chomping at the bit here as it is.

I like the idea of Stanton in right field, many do and we continue to talk about it, read that HERE. The Marlins aren’t going to be a force to reckon with this season. The signings of Placido Polanco, John Maine, and Juan Pierre are not going to be enough to make them compete so why not start from scratch, Marlins? There’s no doubt that a young talent like Stanton would be a HUGE pick up for our team. He is exactly what we are looking for right now. 

• We want to get younger: Check! 
• We want to trim down payroll. Check again!
• We also want youngsters on our team that we can keep on the books long term. Another Check! 

He sounds perfect….time to get that dialing finger warmed up!

The Marlins made a hasty move in my opinion, but there loss could be our gain. They aren’t so crazy that they are going to sell Stanton off for peanuts and a beer. He will cost us, but not in dollars….talent. The Marlins want to rebuild and right now the Yankees don’t have enough “major league ready” talent in the upper divisions. We have good prospects, but they are down in the ranks. Any trade talks are likely to start with any or all of the following names:

• Slade Heathcott: OF. If they give up Stanton, they will want someone else to groom into that position. He also offers a powerful bat, and he has speed. If he gets on base he causes headaches. I watched him during the Arizona Fall League and was pretty impressed. Jack Curry of YES Tweeted that Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees scouting director believes that Heathcott could be playing in the bigs in 2013.  Where? That remains to be seen.

•  Mason Williams: OF. Another outfield candidate. He can hit for average, he gets on base and can steal. He is everything the Yankees could want to spark some extra offense….so why wouldn’t the Marlins?

•  Tyler Austin: TBD. The Yankees have moved Austin around quite a bit. Originally drafted as a catcher, then moved to third base and then moved to right field even faster. The Yankees can’t seem to make up their mind about him. With Alex Rodriguez out of play for a while they have toyed with the idea of moving him back to third. Austin has a powerful bat that could be promising to the Marlins that could become more lethal if given a permanent position to play in regularly.

•  Gary Sanchez: Catcher. He could be the next great homegrown Yankee catcher. His defense has impressed many at a young age. He can control the game, he just needs the experience. Catchers are hard to come by, you can never have too many….right? I think we have all realized that recently so he would be attractive to the Marlins too.

If I'm Jeffrey Loria and I have Brian Cashman on the phone I am pulling out all of these names. Some may be saying, “so what? With a talent like Stanton you pull the trigger.” Normally, I might agree. I am even inclined to do it! However, looking at the bigger picture here none of these guys have had significant time at or above the AA level…and if we give up these guys we might be taking a step backwards. If we lose these guys for one big name we are hurting our farm system for years to come. Right now we need to be adding young guys, not subtracting. Then again, I know how special he is and I want Stanton in the outfield! 

I’m still pounding that Giancarlo drum….but you have to wonder, how much is too much? I don’t know. I leave that up to Brian Cashman. At the end of the day I am just a girl who loves to watch baseball and talk about the Yankees....I don't get paid the big bucks to figure out all of these complex issues. Now I get to sit here and anxiously watch how all of this plays out!

Stay tuned on this one...

--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Writer and Editor

Twitter: @NyPrincessJ


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MARLINS TAKE A CHANCE ON JOHN MAINE

(In Photo: John Maine with Scranton Wilkes-Barre)
It's being reported that John Maine has signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins.  You can read that from MLB.com HERE.

The Yankees had Maine in their minor league system last year... they were checking to see if they could strike lightening in a bottle. They didn't, but that doesn't stop other teams from taking a shot.  With the Yankees, Maine had a 4.97 ERA, 66 Ks, 31 BB in 79.2 innings pitched. 

Good luck to Maine. I'd like to see him get back to baseball.  He hasn't played in the majors since he pitched for the Mets in 2010.

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DAVID ROBERTSON LOOKS GOOD IN ONE INNING OF REHAB TODAY

 

 

 

Some great news to report out of Yankeeland today on the injury front.  David Robertson made his second rehab appearance for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this afternoon, and it appears that he may be back in pinstripes this weekend as hoped.  DRob started the game throwing 9 of his 14 pitches for strikes and recording one K in a 1-2-3 first inning. Thursday marks exactly one month since Robertson went on the disabled list with a rib cage strain, and he will likely return to his eighth-inning set-up role when he is activated. 

 

Joe Girardi said said yesterday that Robertson could “quite possibly” return to the team for this weekend’s series in Washington. "We just need to make sure that his arm’s back in shape," Girardi said. "He only threw 11 pitches (Sunday). I think he threw a few more in the bullpen. I hear no complaints today so that’s a good thing.''

(pictured:  John Maine with the Mets.  The Yankees signed Maineto minor league deal 2 1/2 weeks ago)

In other news...

In addition to Robertson’s second rehab outing, today's game marked the Triple-A debut of right-hander John Maine, who was signed to a Minor League deal on May 25. Maine followed Robertson on the mound and gave up three runs in three innings of work to earn the victory. Scranton won the game 9-7.

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com
Twitter: @MikeyBlu23


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WHY JOHN MAINE? INSURANCE

It appears according that the Yankees have signed former Mets pitcher John Maine to a minor league deal. You can read this Tweet HERE. Clearly this is just a move to stock pile arms. Apparently he's been working out for the Yankees and good for him, but this move is nothing more than just a look-see, meaning, let's see what this 31 year old still has and maybe he can help us out...and maybe not. Don't panic Yankee fans. 

Maine last pitched in the majors in 2010.  His record then was 1-3 with a 6.13 ERA. After that, he needed shoulder surgery.  In 2011 he was with Colorado in their minor league system and went 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA. 3 days ago the Red Sox released him from their minor league deal.  Read about that HERE.  Now it appears the Yankees may have him and believe me, they're just seeing if this guy has anything left to offer.

The Yanks do that once in a while and they have for years, a cheap alternative and an opportunity to watch these guys work...just in case.  Don't forget, a few weeks ago it was reported that the Yankees were looking at Armando Galarraga at their facility in Tampa. Read HERE.  Galarraga ended up signing a minor league deal with the Astros shortly after that report. Read HERE.

Whatever the case, teams do this, they get a look-see at pitchers and stock pile arms if they think these pitchers have something to offer in the minors. Then, if they dig them, they bring them up to the Bigs.  Maybe Maine does, maybe Maine doesn't.  We will see.

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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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