ANOTHER SOLID LEFTY RELIEVER IS GONE

I know you guys don't care about Paul Maholm's, but for me and my buddy Glenn Beyrouthy... we wanted to see Maholm on the Yankees.

@GlennBey Dodgers. Of course. He's a solid Lefty. We knew it would happen.
— Bleeding Yankee Blue (@BleednYankeeBlu) February 9, 2014

It official at this point. The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed a deal with Maholm for $1.5 million.  That comes from our pal Jim Bowden at ESPN who writes:

Dodgers sign Maholm 1-year 1.5m major league deal
— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) February 9, 2014

No surprises. The Dodgers now have the money to sign whomever they want, and Maholm is a good catch.

For me personally, I have always liked the idea of more than 1 lefty in the pen.  Currently the Yanks can toy with the idea of having Manny Banuelos or Cesar Cabral compete for a spot this spring, but they also have Vidal Nuno and the replacement lefty, Matt Thornton. We have options, but Maholm would have been a smart choice.

Whatever the case, what's done is done, and we can't go back. The Dodgers signed a nice lefty. We move on. Let's enjoy what we have. This week will be a big week... Spring Training is all but here.

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

FORGET MAHOLM. SIGN ERIC O'FLAHERTY!

I posted a story titled WHY HAVEN'T WE SIGNED PAUL MAHOLM? the other day about Paul Maholm, and leave it to one of our BYB readers to bring up a very interesting point...

"Forget Paul Maholm..Sign Eric O'Flaherty. Look at what this guy has done against lefties in his career, especially the last three years. For what it's worth, he's very good friends with Brian McCann."

Stevie B always knows how to bring a smile to my face...and you know what? He's right. Now, that last line about friends with McCann is merely a throwaway line. I mean, if everyone was "friends" with everyone, there would be mass chaos as teams would be trying to partner up pitching and catching batteries and rotation buddies... you remember the old "CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee are friends, therefore they should pitch on the Yankees together" scenario, right? That being said, friends helps, but the talent is more important.

But Stevie B brings up an excellent point here, one the Yankees really need to consider. Eric O'Flaherty had been great the past 3 years for the Braves. In 2013, he had a 2.50 ERA in 19 games. He had a 3-0 record as well. In 2012, he had a 1.74 ERA in 64 games.  In 2011, his ERA was down to 0.98 in 78 games with a 2-4 record.

O'Flaherty is 28 years old, he's a free agent, he's a lefty and most importantly, it's been reported that the Braves believe it's unlikely that he'll return, read HERE. In short, it's a great idea and one the Yankees need to get on board with!

Thanks for the idea Stevie B... love it!

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY HAVEN'T WE SIGNED PAUL MAHOLM?

I've been screaming about lefties in the Yankee pen for a while now.  Then, we finally let Boone Logan walk away, something I was definitely supported, but I was definitely disappointed when my favorite lefty, Clay Rapada asked for his release from the Yankees last season.  Clay eventually signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels, read WISH OUR BUDDY CLAY RAPADA WELL...

Hey, that sucked, but I thought the Yanks would have least have an alternate plan in all of this. After all, having a few lefties in the may not be a top priority, but it is essential in baseball.  Remember Mike Stanton? You know what I'm saying...

Right now the Yankees have Matt Thornton, a veteran lefty. That's a big upside as we turn the page past Logan. I like that, but we need more than just Thornton, trust me.  We do have Cesar Cabral and Vidal Nuno. 2 youngsters who could be a huge help.

But Vidal Nuno should be made strictly a srtarter.  Cabral on the other hand is a nice idea in the pen, I am not sold on him yet.  David Huff? Hmm. Sure, on that occassion that we need to call him up in case of an injury to one of our guys, then I'm on board.  Nothing against Huff, I just want to see someone else instead.

Paul Maholm.  Now look, this is just a fantasy at this point.  Maholm has been watched very closely by the Texas Rangers, and the Yankees should be in on that as well.  Why they aren't, I just don't know, unless they are just counting their money in a back room somewhere for Masahiro Tanaka... who knows.  But there is no question, while our rotation needs help, so does our bullpen.

Maholm is a 9 year veteran. He was 10-11 with a 4.41 ERA for the Braves last season and pitched 153 innings.  His career numbers give him more losses than wins, but depending on the team he was on, like the Pirates  for instance, maybe lack of offense, he may have not been given the right setting and support.  The Yankees lineup could be a boost for him, confidence wise, as well as performance.  All I'm saying is, I would love to give this guy a shot.

According to Jim Bowden of ESPN, the Rangers "checked in", according to Maholm.

Paul Maholm just told us that the @Rangers are one of the teams that have checked in on him #SXMSports
— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) January 15, 2014

So... why haven't the Yankees? Should they? Are we OK with the lefties we already have? What do you think? Tell us, comment.

And enjoy your Friday Ladies and Gentlemen...

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

IN THE FREE AGENT WORLD... WHO'S LEFT?

Charlie Wilmoth of MLBTradeRumors.com put together this list of some of the unsigned, relevant players still looking for homes this off season.  I see a few guys on that list, pitchers in particular that I’d love to take a chance on and would probably bolster our rotation in the back end. Check out his list:

“Unsigned:
5. Masahiro Tanaka
6. Ervin Santana
7. Matt Garza
9. AJ Burnett

11. Ubaldo Jimenez

14. Stephen Drew

17. Nelson Cruz

23. Bronson Arroyo

25. Grant Balfour

28. Kendrys Morales

32. Fernando Rodney
36. Suk-Min Yoon
43. Paul Maholm
46. Jesse Crain
48. Jason Hammel"

Hey look, Bronson Arroyo is still available.  Jimenez is too.  Would the Yankees have an AJ Burnett reunion? Probably not, but he’s out there.  And of course, there is Matt Garza.  One name that popped out at me was lefty reliever Paul Maholm. 

Now I have stated many, many times that I love having 2 lefty relievers in the Yankees pen.  It makes Joe Girardi’s job easier and when the Yankees had Boone Logan and Clay Rapada in the pen together, it was much more comforting to me than just having Logan there.  Options… I like options.

But again, the starters that are looking for deals are decent and still available.  Plus, don’t we have like a gazillion dollars after we didn’t re-sign Robinson Cano? Brian Cashman probably has stacks of money in his office.  Let’s spend it! 

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

YANKEES EYEING LEFTY MAHOLM AMONG OTHERS

According to George King III of the New York Post, the Yanks are eyeing lefty Paul Maholm among other players.  Read HERE.

King says "Among the free agents on the Yankees’ radar are Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, Reds outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, Braves left-hander Paul Maholm, Braves catcher Brian McCann and Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew.

Of that group, the Yankees have targeted Tanaka as a priority. The posting process can’t begin until after Nov. 1."

The Yankees need a lefty of 2 in their pen and while the starting rotation will be a priority, and Tanaka will be a big fish, it's important to try and collect 1 or at least 2 lefties.  Boone Logan wants to come back, although, I just don't think that's a smart move. I would go fresh, bring on Maholm is he's one of the few lefties around and have a reunion with Clay Rapada as well.   The Yanks need to start building... who's it gonna be?

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WHY YANKEE FANS WANTED GARZA...BEFORE THE SHOPPING SPREE

According to Bleeding Yankee Blue’s latest poll, ya’ll wanted to see Matt Garza in pinstripes, not free agent Edwin Jackson, this of course was before the Yankees signed Hiroki Kuroda and traded Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda...but humor me.

Not only that, many wanted neither of them. Anyway, here's it is:

The idea of trading for Matt Garza after we already have Kuroda and Pineda seems silly, but after all, you guys voted in our poll and I want to address it, I want to be fair to you. Now... where was I? OK, so people like Matt Garza. Out of 144 people that voted, 78 of you thought he’d be a nice addition to the Yankee rotation. I tend to agree with that. Edwin Jackson finished third with only 27 votes, and in voting for signing neither of them, there were 39 of you. Good poll!

So, who would you have given up for Matt Garza? The Cubs just picked up Paul Maholm off the free agent heap, a guy that I was interested in (Read 3 PITCHERS THE YANKEES SHOULD CONSIDER) because I figured we’d be able to get him cheap and we wouldn’t have to trade prospects for him. But with Matt Garza, we need to trade for him. Do you unload Austin Romine?

(In picture: Austin Romine, center)

I mean, we just lost Jesus Montero, a guy Cashman swore would get 500 at-bats with the New York Yankees in 2012, and now he's on his way to Seattle for Michael Pineda. Romine, if the Cubs are interested, would be the next logical choice, if they're looking for catching. Look, I love Romine’s heart, but we have a lot of catching talent already in Gary Sanchez and JR Murphy, Francisco Cervelli and of course our guy Russell Martin, I’d be willing to part with him. I'd also be willing to get rid of Gary Sanchez, especially after hearing that being with the Yankees has gone to his head, read HERE. Sanchez may need to be shaken up a bit, but that's just me.

I would have also parted with Dellin Betances. Sure, we’re taking a chance, Betances could be an 18 game winner one day, but guess what, in the right atmosphere, so could Matt Garza. If we really needed Garza, I’d hand over Austin Romine and Dellin Betances to the Cubs. Now, Theo is going to be a pain in the ass, he’s going to want Manny Banuelos. We need to say NO. We need to test him out and see how the kid does in pinstripes.

(In Photo: Adam Warren)

I have high hopes for Banuelos as does the Yankee brass, but how about giving Theo someone like Adam Warren, or, would the Cubs want someone like AJ Burnett? Burnett’s good, he just needs a change of scenery, this is clear. That would be doubtful that the Cubs would bite on Burnett I’m sure, but it's worth a shot, after all, the Yankees rotation just got better with Pineda and Kuroda.

Look, this may all be for naught anyway, the latest rumors have the Tigers and Cubs talking about a Garza deal, read HERE. If the Tigers were to get Garza, that would be an impressive rotation, but more importantly, the Yanks have upgraded their rotation right before our eyes.

And as far as the poll is concerned, no ones to keen on Edwin Jackson. The latest report had Hal Steinbrenner talking to Scott Boras about the “right deal” for Jackson. Read HERE. There is also a story that suggested the Yankees though Edwin was just too pricey. Read HERE. Plus, since we just picked up 2 guys, I strongly doubt the Yankees even bother with Edwin Jackson now. That's not only a slight at Jackson, that's a slight at Boras. Boras was way too cocky on Jackson... 5 years, $60 million. The Yankees passed and it was the right move, no doubt. If you don't believe me, read WHY BORAS WILL MESS THINGS UP FOR EDWIN JACKSON.

And wow, I’m impressed… 39 of you didn’t want either Jackson or Garza in our polling. You trusted your Yankees, you trusted Cashman and with the new signings of Kuroda and Pineda,,,you guys are geniuses... it paid off. I applaud you.

Whatever the Yankees decide, I support them, after all, Spring Training is right around the corner, and I just can’t wait. It’s going to be exciting, whomever we have out there, but in the end, they’re my New York Yankees, the greatest franchise in the world, and that ain’t bad.

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WHY THE YANKEES LET ANOTHER ONE GET AWAY

The Cubs and the former Pittsburgh Pirate lefty Paul Maholm are close to working out an agreement. That's coming from various reports but started with Ken Rosenthal from Fox Sports. As you know, because of the Yankees being in the “Year of Wait”, we here at Bleeding Yankee Blue had suggested 3 pitchers the Yankees could go after, perhaps at a reasonably low price and still be able to save a few bucks waiting for a big splash in a future Free Agent market in the years to come. Read 3 PITCHERS THE YANKEES SHOULD CONSIDER. Paul Maholm is one of those pitchers and now it seems like he and the Cubs are only hours away from making a deal... here is Ken Rosenthal's Tweet HERE.

Let me re-state, not only do I like what the Yankees are doing right now, I appreciate and understand it. If they don’t want to pursue ANY help in their starting pitching and just have the guys they have duke it out with the youngsters like Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances to fill spots, I have nothing bad to say about it. It makes sense, sure… but that 1 quote from Hal Steinbrenner from back in November still continues to echo in my head…

" I’m still a little concerned about our rotation.”

Why did he say that if he wasn’t going to do anything? If Cashman said that to the media and did nothing, he would later say “There wasn’t anything out there we were interested in.” For a Steinbrenner to say that, well, that’s just unusual. Steinbrenners mean what they say and say what they mean… except Uncle Hank… he just says anything.

My point is there is pitching out there to be had and it's NOT expensive pitching. I'm a believer of spicing things up, stockpiling arms and have the boys compete for spots, especially if you aren't going to spend big money...which it appears the Yankees aren't. Sure, guys like Maholm or Rich Harden may not be better than what we have already, and you know my standards are high, but there is pitching out there. Maholm could have been an interesting alternative to throw into the mix. But, it appears that he and the Cubs may be wrapping up a deal soon, if you believe Ken Rosenthal at least.

The Free Agent market’s getting leaner Ladies and Gentlemen… how many days until Spring Training again? 37? Damn I’m ready.

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3 PITCHERS THE YANKEES SHOULD CONSIDER

This off season is no question “unusual” for the New York Yankees, and while it’s clear Cashman and Co. are counting their money for next winter’s off-season free agent market consisting of guys like Matt Cain and Cole Hamels, there are 3 guys that Bleeding Yankee Blue feels could be useful starters at low cost… especially if we’re going that route anyway.

Paul Maholm: Don’t dismiss this. It’s clear to many that as hard as the Pittsburgh Pirates are trying to get Maholm back, he’s not biting, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review…Read HERE. Maholm is only 29 years old and posted a 3.66 ERA last year. No idea how moving from the NL to AL will translate for him, but he’s a beefy lefty and I would welcome him fighting for a rotation spot this spring. We wrote PAUL MAHOLM: A LEFTY TO THINK ABOUT before many thought about him. Hey, he may not be Yu Darvish, but he could be a pleasant surprise.

Bartolo Colon: It’s obvious, but let’s face facts, he was reliable, a surprise in 2011 and he, Russell Martin and Rothschild are familiar with each other. If we’re not going to spend big and not going to part with the kids, Bartolo Colon should come back to the Bronx. Last year Colon was 8-10 4.00 ERA, 164.1 innings and 135 strikeouts and had a very impressive summer, he did however break down like many predicted and has a stint on the DL. But, nothing wrong with going back to that well though, especially if that’s the new way the Yankees roll.

Rich Harden: We believe that Harden is a diamond in the rough here at Bleeding Yankee Blue and if you don’t believe me, read this extensive post titled WHY RICH HARDEN'S A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH. We like Harden. Ken Rosenthal says that Harden is now starting to get interest from different teams, read HERE. No doubt the Yankees are checking him out as well, but not sure how much they’d need to spend to lure him to New York. Last season Harden posted a 4-4 record and 5.12 ERA. He went 82.2 innings last year.

Look Ladies and Gentlemen, these guys may not the best scenerio for our New York Yankees, but it’s the best scenerio we've got right now. But, what do you think? Comment and let us know.

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PAUL MAHOLM: A LEFTY TO THINK ABOUT

You can check into Bleeding Yankee Blue and look at some of the names that we bring up from time to time. It may look like we’re being desperate, we’re not. We are now clear that Brian Cashman has a long term plan, in fact, we are more clear now about it than we’ve ever been. Don’t believe me? Read WHY CASHMAN HAS A LONG TERM PLAN and WHY CESPEDES IS AS DOUBTFUL AS DARVISH. We’ve made up our minds, nothing big is going to happen in Yankeeland right now. Paul Maholm may not be anything big either, but he could be…here’s why.

The big guy is 29 years old, he was stuck in dead-end Pittsburgh and he’s a lefty. The best part about Maholm is he’s improved his numbers over the last few years, plus, now he’s a free agent and the Pittsburgh Pirates, while they have Erik Bedard and Ross Ohlendorf, are not to sure they can get Maholm back to help their rotation. While he’s clearly a top rotation guy for the Pirates, he would most likely be a #4 guy in the Bronx. While it’s clear we’re not going to get any #2 rotation guys off the free agent market, or in a trade, this guy could come cheaper, compete for a high spot in the rotation and could easily be needle in the haystack of free agent dominance. Here are Maholm’s numbers in 2011:

3.66 ERA / 6-14 / 26 G / 162.1 IP / 97 SO / 50 BB

Ok, so clearly the record of 6-14 is a blemish, I wouldn’t worry about that. The important thing to know is his ERA dropped from 5.10 ERA in 2010 to 3.66 in 2011. He’s also dropped his home runs allowed down to 11. That’s important and could prove even more important in Yankee Stadium, especially having him, a lefty, face lefty batters. Sure, Maholm is no superstar, but at this point, if you aren’t going to make a move, or perhaps a cheaper one, Maholm could prove to be a creative and smart move for the Yankees. He offers stability, not all-star power and at this point, it’s not a bad idea at all. My opinion… what do you think?

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