NICK SWISHER HITS THE HALL OF FAME BALLOT!

The Bronx Elvis did it! The question is, did he really have what it took during his playing days to make it to Cooperstown?

I for one loved when Swisher was in New York. He brought a new energy there and it was needed in such a corporate atmosphere.  But the reality is, I just don't see how this guy can be voted in. Not now for sure... but probably ever. If a guy like Jorge Posada lost his chance after just one time, there's no way Swish gets in. It's just my opinion of course.

Anyway, the Associated Press writes:

"Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are the leading candidates returning to baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot in a year without any favorites among the new names....Newcomers also include Dan Haren, LaTroy Hawkins, Aramis Ramirez, Michael Cuddyer, Nick Swisher and Shane Victorino."

And New5 Cleveland writes:

"Swisher has found himself on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Swisher played for the Tribe from 2013 to 2015. During his 12 year career Swisher also played for the New York Yankees, Oakland A’s, Atlanta Braves and the Chicago White Sox. Although he didn’t see much success in Cleveland, Swisher was named to the American All-Star Game in 2010 and was a member of the 2009 World Series Champion Yankees. He appeared in 12 postseason series over seven seasons hitting .165 with four homers, eight RBI and 16 runs scored in 47 games. 

While it is unlikely Swisher has a large number of votes, he can stay on the ballot for 10 years providing he is not elected and he’s named on at least 5% of all ballots cast each year, which is also unlikely to happen."

And that's the key for Swish... try to stay on the ballot, because it's all about timing and maybe that's where he'll have a shot.

I personally don't think he has any shot, but damn I loved him in pinstripes!

Congrats to all the new entries. It's always fun to see who gets voted in.

BYB HOT STOVE:VOLUME XIX

Our focus this week is on the spring training highs and lows of Big Apple teams, namely our New York Yankees and the New York Mets. We are another week closer to the start of the 2015 season and the Yankees are being cautious about naming their closer.  According to MLB.com's Adam Berry, "Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Saturday morning he doesn't expect to decide on the Yankees' late-inning bullpen order until near the end of Spring Training, so the "Betances or Miller?" debate will continue."

"I think it's affected by possibly losing someone out of your bullpen to a starting role. That changes things. So we've got to figure that out first, then we put the rest of it together," Girardi said. "I won't make that decision until really late, because to me, that's not one of my pressing decisions." So we don't know about a closer, but what we do know is that Adam Warren is taking one more step toward becoming our rotation's fifth starter.

According to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch "Warren's outing last week against the Red Sox's starting lineup in Fort Myers, Fla., looked solid, and he may be able to take advantage of a landscape that has changed following Chris Capuano's injury. There will be innings to go around before Ivan Nova's expected return in June, especially if the Yankees use a sixth starter at times in April and May." Speculation around starters heats up as Nathan Eovaldi continues to pitch well this spring.

According to Berry, "Eovaldi was dominant once again Sunday afternoon in the Yankees' 3-2 win over the Phillies, striking out three and giving up only two hits. In four innings of work at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Eovaldi threw only seven balls. Thirty-eight of his 45 pitches were strikes, and he was in command of all his pitches."

"You can't expect much more," Girardi said. "We're really excited to have him in camp with us as one of our starters. We think he can do a really good job for us." A lot of positive insights around pitching given all of the negative banter about Alex Rodriguez and other holes in our infield.

Meanwhile, over at Mets camp, there is discussion around what is being called Sandy Alderson's stockpile of arms and what that means when one arm goes down.  Joel Sherman writes, "But in this era, there is a better chance Kanye and Kim will stay together than a rotation will stay intact. Elbows are stemware in an earthquake, more likely to shatter than not. The Mets might never have the whole band operating in harmony for any sustained period. Matt Harvey back, Zack Wheeler gone — a menace of one step forward, one step back." With Wheeler facing season ending Tommy John surgery, there will be room for another in the rotation.  According to Sherman, "the Mets need the majors’ oldest starter, Bartolo Colon, 41, to hold together, Jonathon Niese and his temperamental shoulder to make 30 starts, Harvey and deGrom to be about low ERAs, not high MRI visits, and at least one from among Matz, Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero to grow up fast." There is also talk about Dillon Gee stepping in from the bullpen to fill in for Wheeler.  

Finally, there is a spark of leadership in our neighboring New York team coming from their newly signed 35-year-old veteran right fielder Michael Cuddyer.  With the scramble to figure out how to re-distribute the pitching after both Wheeler and closer prospect Josh Edgin are out with pending surgeries, Cuddyer lifted the team with a little bit of positivity. “We’re going to have to keep playing,” Michael Cuddyer said. “The season’s going to start on April 6 regardless. We’re going to have guys step up.” That's the kind of mindset our teams need to be competitive despite setbacks.  

That's it for this weeks' Hot Stove.  We are keeping a watchful eye on shifts and changes in pitching - oh and by the way Cole Hamels had a bad start this week as Cliff Lee announced his trip to the disabled list.  No movement here for the Yankees, but right now, it seems like we have all we need. 

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
BYB Hot Stove Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof



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BYB HOT STOVE: VOLUME 1

We are beginning a new feature here at BYB called BYB HOT STOVE. Every Wednesday from now until the start of the season, we will focus on hot news items and rumors in and around the MLB with a focus, of course, on the Yankees.

Anxious to find a shortstop to fill the void on the left side of the field vacated by Derek Jeter, the Yankees could go after Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus.  According to Sporting News, "Andrus has been an outstanding defensive shortstop (though his 2014 defensive metrics slipped a bit), he’s solid at the plate for the position (career .272 average, .335 on-base percentage, average of 32 stolen bases a year) and he’ll be just 26 heading into next season. Plus, he’s already locked into a long-term deal. He’s not cheap — the eight-year, $120 million extension he signed in April 2013 kicks in for the 2015 season — but the deal would provide position certainty for a long time." Not loving the longterm deal prospect but I am loving his youthfulness and the speed he could bring to the team.

There is also some buzz around the possibility of Troy Tulowitzki checking out of Colorado for some New York baseball.  But, in order to secure someone like Tulowitzki it's going to cost us some pitching prospects. According to NBC Hardball, the shortstop is talking to the other New York team about joining their club. After scoring Michael Cuddyer on Monday, the Mets are looking at Tulowitzki.  He has a big contract with the Rockies through 2020.  Frankly, I would pass.  He hasn't been healthy for several years and we can't afford no longevity and quick fixes at shortstop.

Both New York teams have shown an interest in Phillies' shortstop Jimmy Rollins.  The Mets were on the horn with Philadelphia just yesterday according to ESPNNewYork.com.  "Rollins, as a longtime Phillie, has full no-trade protection. He will earn $11 million next season, then is eligible for free agency," states the report.  According to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, "If it is ever the right time, I will have the conversation, but Jimmy will be the one who decides where he is going.” 36-years-old, bad attitude and work ethic issue are not what we need here in the Bronx.  The Mets can have him. The Phillies do have the biggest for sale sign up this off season, so look for movement of veteran players as the team rebuilds.

How about some Pablo Sandoval?  Will the Red Sox jump on the possibility of picking up the third baseman?  According to CBS Sports, "As expected, third baseman Pablo Sandoval rejected a qualifying offer from the San Francisco Giants worth $15.3 million, according to the Associated Press. Sandoval -- now a free agent -- is seeking a six-year contract, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. He batted .279/.324/.415 over 588 at-bats last season."  Six years is a long time but reportedly, he will be meeting with the Red Sox next week.

That's this week's BYB Hot Stove.  Got a rumor, tweet us @BleednYankeeBlu.

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @suzieprof




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HOME RUN DERBY 2013: CESPEDES & THE ROOSTER BOY

Homers. Dingers. Rockets. Lasers. Blasts. Goners. Upper Deckers. Jacks. Shots. Whambleblams. Oppo Tacos. Yes, that last one is a thing. Take it up with the Angels.

There is just something special about home runs. We all love to watch them. The whole point of the Derby is to give fans a show of awesomeness that no other sport can duplicate. We look forward to this every year.

Pitbull opened up with a song that sounded to me like every other Pitbull song except it sampled “Take On Me" by A-Ha. Is it me or is the guy looking more and more like Yul Brynner in “The Magnificent Seven?"

That’s not a bad thing.

Presentation was spiffy. Nice montage of New York hitters knocking dingers, including Piazza’s emotional knock after 9/11. They finished with that, rightly enough, but the Yankees were represented well too.

Prince Fielder killed the second and third pitches he saw for absolute monster shots, the latter going a projected 548 feet. He launched another tower of a shot that bounced off the roof of an impromptu TV studio for 424 feet. He finished with 5 long bombs. Not enough for him to be Three Time Derby Champion. This year, at least.

Michael Cuddyer got two fast shots as well, just missing one of the two trucks in center. It seemed like he was running out of gas when he decided to tack on 5 more shots to left and finish with 7, getting him to the second round.

Yoenis Cespedes, in his first Derby appearance, promptly began littering the upper deck with baseballs, and knocked one off of the scoreboard for good measure. The Cuban native brought fans to their feet time and time again, ringing up tater after moonshot. David Ortiz put in a word about how incredible it was to watch Cespedes take BP.

Big Papi brought Cespedes a drink at the 12-Homer mark, and the 27 year old told Ortiz he would take it easy from there on in. His idea of “taking it easy" was to swat 5 more runs, finishing with 17. Incredibly, 12 of those were over 400 feet! Needless to say, Yoenis was in the driver’s seat.

Pedro Alvarez went next, the first hitter for the NL. He had a tough act to follow, and television coverage was divided between his swings and interviewing Cespedes. Alvarez still put on a respectable display, getting 6 Big Pokes, one going for 461 feet.

Chris Davis is having a career year and he showed why with some very high, very long home runs. An early favorite to win it all, Davis finished with 8 Taters, getting him to the second round.

Bryce Harper and his ridiculous haircut came next. His father Ron pitched him a steady diet of cut fastballs, and Harper logged 8 Big Flies. Impressive, considering he swung at cutters. Even more impressive considering he looked like Rooster Boy from that old Kids in the Hall skit.

I am surprised his father didn’t bean him for looking like such a punk, and yes, you can get off my lawn now. Anyway, “Rooster Boy" made it to the next round.

Next up was our man, Robinson Cano. After posting a goose egg in last year’s Derby, it was nice to see Robbie quickly ring up 3 in short order. It was also nice to see Mariano Rivera get interviewed during Robbie’s cuts. It wasn’t nice to see Robbie only add one more for a total of 4 runs. He did better than last year, but his first run established that. Sigh.

David Wright finished Round One. He surpassed Cano’s run total, but only by one. The NL Captain finished his night at 5.

Mike Piazza showed up at the media booth to watch Michael Cuddyer just miss the truck again while notching 8 more runs for a total of 15. Chris Davis followed with 4 long bombs, but wasn’t getting near the mark set by Cespedes. He was done for the night with a total of 12. Next came “Rooster Boy" Bryce Harper, passing Cuddyer’s total with 16 runs to advance to the final round.

Yoenis Cespedes stepped back to the plate and continued to shower outfield fans with baseballs. He won a truck, hit the restaurant window, smacked a $23,000 gold ball, and added 6 runs for a total of 23. He would face Rooster Boy in the finals, both of them starting from scratch.

Harper started off the final round. Why nobody from the AL tried to distract him with chicken feed is beyond me. Rooster Boy knocked 8 runs, exactly the same number he got in the previous two rounds. Rooster Boy may look silly, but he’s consistent and talented. And he set a high bar for Yoenis.

No problem for Cespedes. He continued to casually smack the dickens out of Mr. Rawlings, easily reaching 400+ feet, into the upper deck, and wherever he felt like putting the ball. He tied Rooster Boy with a jaw dropper that the restaurant got in the way of, with only 5 of his outs used. He won it with a 455 shot to center.

Great Home Run Derby this year. Lots of terrific towers and humbling homers. Yoenis Cespedes handily won the Derby, cruising to victory despite an impressive challenge from Bryce Harper.

Which is good, because I didn’t want the guy winning the Derby be the guy resembling loud-mouthed poultry.

Your 2013 Home Run Derby Winner, Yoenis Cespedes with 32 total home runs.


Chad R. MacDonald
BYB Writer
Facebook: New York Yankees the Home of Champions
My Blog: ChadRants



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COULD DAN REALLY BE THE MAN?

(In Photo: Dan Johnson)
Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record brings up the name everyone has been wondering about ever since Mark Teixeira was put on the shelf for 8 to 10 weeks. Could Dan Johnson really be the guy we want to fill in a first base until Tex comes back? You can read about Johnson HERE from Caldera, but he writes:

"... with Mark Teixeira sidelined until May because of a strained right wrist, the lefty-hitting Johnson suddenly has the odds in his favor to play a good chunk of time at first base. He’d arrived at camp as a non-roster player attempting to fill Eric Chavez’s role as a backup corner infielder.

'There were a lot more safer jobs, but I feel like the upside is so much greater here,' Johnson said of turning down better opportunities on weaker teams. 'I’m willing to take the risk to come here and prove myself...'"

(In Photo: Aaron Small)
So in other words, or at least the way I'm understanding it, coming to the Yankees was a big deal, and probably is for many players looking to play. The pinstripes do something to players. We've seen players either get traded or called up and the magic happens. We've seen it happen dozens of times in our past history.  Scott Brosius, Shane Spencer, Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon.  Yeah, true, it's a Motley Crue I chose, but the reality is, those names remind me alot of Dan Johnson... never a superstar, but had flashes of success in the Bronx.  Johnson could in fact do the same.

Look, I understand we're gonna miss Tex, but the bottom line is, we either go out and get a guy like Michael Cuddyer, read HERE, or we stick with what we have in Dan Johnson and hope he catches on nicely.

Johnson told Caldera, "It’s just the lure overall of being a Yankee...". That it is Dan, we just hope you do your best and make us proud in Mark's absence.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. 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.

WILL THE YANKEES PURSUE MICHAEL CUDDYER?

Leave it to Buster Olney of ESPN to suggest that if the Yankees have any real urge to fill the void of an injured Mark Texieira, then they should try to somehow fill it with a guy like Michael Cuddyer.  The same Michael Cuddyer that is owed nearly $21 million by the Colorado Rockies for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.  With what the Yankees are dealing with in their world of "$189 million by 2014",  I'm not sure I see that, but hey, Olney brings up a decent point.  Cuddyer plays first base, DH and has played the outfield as well. Plus, he's in his early 30's and has decent pop with his bat. 

The funniest part though? It's this... Olney, who's a baseball insider Tweets (HERE) a "Speculation" tweet.  I just find that ironic... that's all.  Baseball insider, yet he's "got an idea".

Good idea though. If there's a smart way to work it out, I'm in.

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