THE NATS HAVE THE BALLS TO MAKE THE MOVES THE YANKEES WON'T

I'm not gonna lie, the baseball fan in me is shocked and a little jealous about the moves the Washington Nationals just made. In case you missed it, the Washington Nationals just fired General Manager Mike Rizzo AND Manager Dave Martinez, read more HERE.

The Nationals have been struggling. The Yankees have been struggling for almost a month now. You can't compare the Yankees and Nats but, at the end of the day this is all about winning and the Nationals are 37-53 and in last place in the NL East, so they aren't winning. The Yankees are 49-41 and three games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East now. That series was a punch to the stomach, and after being swept they have no one to blame but themselves.

The Yankees have high expectations. The expectations and the results just don't match. The same is true for the Nationals, and I didn't expect them to be at the bottom of the NL East. The difference between these two franchises is the Nationals were smart enough (and brave enough) to make the move. If it isn't working, you gotta make the move.

The Yankees and the Nationals have something else in common. They both have really struggled to develop their own talent. Seriously, the Nationals haven't developed their own talent. When I think of their homegrown talent, I think of Stephen Strasburg and Juan Soto....that's it. The Yankees developed the Core Four back in the day. Aside from that, Aaron Judge is the next prominent name many years later. That's it.

It's interesting to see how two different teams, have some of the same challenges. But this is where the Nationals prove they are willing to make tough choices in hopes to move forward. The Yankees practice a business model of insanity, doing the same things over and over again hoping for a magical change in their underachieving ways. It's what I call "wash, rinse and repeat." It's ended the same way since 2009. The Nationals on the other hand, made the uncomfortable choice of parting with both their GM and manager to rebuild with new leadership. 

I'm just tired of the free pass that Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone have. The Yankees had one hell of a freefall from the AL East standings. That is a result of poor leadership. It comes from Cashman not knowing how to build a championship caliber team, and it comes from Boone coddling his team, and being soft. This is not how you win.

The Nationals are smart enough to realize that, but the Yankees aren't....and it will continue to cost them. I only hope the Yankees come to their senses and do the same thing. I'm not gonna hold my breath though....

Robert Casey has a piece coming out at noon today that you need to read! Enough is Enough.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

YANKEES TALK ABOUT INNINGS LIMITS WITH NASTY NESTOR & I'M GONNA LOSE MY MIND!

There's a fine line between "protecting" a player and coddling him....and I don't think the Yankees know the difference. Even if they do know the difference, I worry that they will still screw it up.

And that's a real possibility when it comes to Nestor Cortes, read more HERE. We are heading into June, and there are already headlines about innings limits. The Yankees are going to come up with some crazy science experiment to make sure Cortes still pitches enough to help the team get to the playoffs without overworking him before they get there.

That's where Matt Blake comes in....and some more Yankees analytics. Because we all know how much the Yankees love to throw analytics into everything, and Blake is already babbling about it.

"The historical way to do it was just to look at innings totals and go up 20 or 30 percent," pitching coach Matt Blake said. "That’s not fair to guys because all innings come in different ways with pitch counts and stress. You can look at their body, performance in the weight room and training numbers and then track that as the year goes on," Blake said. "You add subjective and qualitative feedback from the players, who can tell us how they’re feeling physically and mentally and see if there are any trends positive or negative."

The historical way has been used for a long time. Teams have analyzed strengths and weaknesses throughout spring training and made adjustments throughout the regular season as needed. But what about when you have a short spring training and a pitcher that hasn't pitched more than 119 professional innings?

It's the perfect storm for a lot of shenanigans yet to come. I'm calling it now. Cortes is the real deal, we can see it. Is he going to pitch 200+ innings? Probably not due to a bunch of factors....but I don't like the idea of Blake and Aaron Boone already talking about this. We've seen the Yankees experiments go wrong already. Deivi Garcia is the most recent experiment....and what about Joba Chamberlain back in the day?

Do we want Cortes to pitch to the point of dead arm? Of course not, but the Yankees have proven they don't know how to identify or prevent that either. Just let him pitch! The league will eventually get more intel and make some adjustments to try and be more successful against him. It's a natural part of the game. He wants to pitch and help his team, let him do it! He's not a flame thrower, the 100+ mph fastball isn't in the equation here. There's a difference between playing smart and conditioning properly and a science experiment.....but the Yankees can't identify this.

The Yankees better think long and hard about shutting Cortes down early....it didn't help Stephen Strasburg or the Nationals back in 2012. There's no reason to think it will help us either. Stop the coddling or knee jerk reactions and let the man pitch using logic!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

GERRIT COLE'S SURPRISE RANKING BY MLB NETWORK HAS US ALL TALKING!

MLB Network has an offseason tradition that some prople really like. On Saturday, the top ten starting pitchers were revealed and Gerrit Cole was on the list, but some Yankee fans may not like where he was ranked.

Our new ace was unranked last season which is crazy to think about. The Yankees have been in love with Cole for a long time because baseball fans everywhere consider him to be one of the best (if not THE best) in the game. The Yankees have been trying to get Cole for years, so how could he have been unranked until now? So I guess finally getting on this list is recognition he deserves, but should he be ranked third best?

That's where MLB Networks "The Shredder" has ranked him. If you are unfamiliar with "The Shredder" it is a tool that factors Statcast data with a mix of analytics and traditional statistics. So those of you who like to talk about WAR, it is factored into the rankings. It is also important
to know that the rating formula used focuses on player performances from the past two seasons and a variety of offensive and defensive numbers and no human bias is incorporated into the ranking process.

Even though there is no human bias in the rankings I still find the lists to be debatable. I've never been a huge fan of MLB Network's "The Shredder" specials that list the top 10 "right now" as they call it but my husband loves them. Here is the rankings that came out this weekend.

Are there any names missing on this list but are included on yours? I have a big one that isn't included. How did World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg not make the cut? He dominated during the playoffs and then got a big fat payday during the offseason but doesn't get a ranking. It doesn't make sense. And if these rankings are based on two years of stats I would think Chris Sale should also land somewhere on this list (as much as I hate to admit it).

And how is Hyun-jin Ryu number five in the rankings above Zack Greinke? And Mike Clevinger and Jack Flaherty are on this list? They are absolutely good pitchers. They are difference makers for sure, but top 10? I think that is a stretch. They would not crack the top in my rankings.

As we said before, human bias plays no part in these rankings but it makes me sick to my stomach that a disgrace to the game of baseball is ranked number two right now. Justin Verlander complained about cheating when he was a Detroit Tiger but two months later when he was traded to the Houston ASSTROS he became a hypocrite and participated in a massive cheating scandal that proves he has no integrity and compromised the game. He should not get recognition for being a top ten pitcher in baseball for that especially after VERLANDER POKES FUN ABOUT THE ASTROS CHEATING & FAILS.  He's a disgrace to the game we all love.

At any rate, here is a complete list of "The Shredder" top ten right now for every position. Even if we had no bias about Cole, would you still rank Cole as number three? Tell us what you think.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj 

EARLY 2020 RANKINGS LIST YANKEES AS "SECOND BEST"

Okay, I don't mind being the underdog.

Like many of you, I was pretty busy preparing for the holiday this past week. I got behind on rumors  so while my Christmas cheesecake was baking in the oven I decided to catch up on some baseball news and found an interesting perspective from ESPN HERE. A subscription to ESPN+ is needed to read the full article BUT I can give you the breakdown if you don't have access.

In a nutshell, the Yankees addition of Gerrit Cole is HUGE for the team and a massive upgrade to the rotation, but they are still ranked as second best to one team's starting rotation, the Washington Nationals. Now that Stephen Strasburg has re-signed he is stacked up with three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin for a strong starting trio.

That's definitely a scary rotation, but nothing we didn't already know. We saw how effective their rotation was in the World Series. We also know that the Nationals have a good fourth starter in Anibal Sanchez...but what about the Yankees?

Cole is the anchor for a Yankee rotation that also features James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino. The Yankees also have J.A. Happ (for now) but his name has been a constant in the rumor mill and the Yankees would move him if they could find the right deal. They also have Domingo German, but until the outcome of his domestic violence investigation we won't know if or how he fits into the Yankees future plans. Even if the Yankees trade away Happ and German does not pitch they have other options in house including Jordan Montgomery and Jonathan Loaisiga. I like those back end of the rotation options.

The Yankees may be projected to be "second best" in baseball for now, but at least we are ahead of that other New York team who is ranked as third led by two-time Cy Young winner Jacob DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman.

So early on the Yankees are favored with the best AL pitching staff and the Nationals are the best NL pitching staff. Fine, and ESPN can even call us "second best" if they want but we aren't done forming this team yet. Oh and, we have some nice bats to go with that starting rotation. I like our odds going into 2020 and even if ESPN doesn't think we have the best rotation I'm sure other teams out there know not to underestimate us.

Just something for you to chew on as you enjoy the holiday with your friends and family. Whatever you are celebrating....Christmas, Hanukkah or maybe Kwanzaa starting tomorrow we wish you all a peaceful and happy holiday season.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @NYPrincessj

WILL THE GERRIT COLE CHRISTMAS GIFT CRIPPLE THE YANKEES?

Christmas has come early this year! The Yankees have wanted Gerrit Cole for YEARS. Fans have been drooling for an ace for years and we finally got one. The Yankees got their "white whale" as Brian Cashman called him. Yet some people still aren't happy. Maybe not everyone, but some.

This is a nice Christmas gift though! It just goes to show you that some people are not happy no matter what you get them. Buy someone a Fitbit, but they want an Apple watch instead...that sort of idea. The Yankees just paid for an elite pitcher and gave us all the best Christmas present and well....not everyone is excited.

Personally, I think Mike Francesa complains a lot but I can understand his initial reaction. Forget about the Stanton deal. That's done and over with. Unnecessary? Okay, but we can't change it. As for Cole, I am not THRILLED with the contract structure BUT it may not be as bad as Francesa seems to think it will be. 

The Yankees signed CC Sabathia to a $161 million, seven-year deal before the 2009 season and he was also 29 years old. He stayed with us for 11 years, not all of those years was he an ace-level pitcher but it worked out well for us. We got a championship in his first season and a veteran leader for years after. He's a beloved Yankee likely bound for Cooperstown.

Several other pitchers before Cole have signed big contracts. The Nationals just re-signed Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander all signed big deals. None of those deals were busts or crippled their franchise. You could call the David Price deal close to a bust. The Red Sox would be happy to trade him if they can find an interested team but they would never give back the championship he helped them win in 2018.

The money and years are not ideal, I'm sure we all would've liked this deal even more with less years and more money. Problem is that wasn't going to happen. The Strasburg deal reset the market and that was the new market value. We all need to remind ourselves that this contract is all about this first three to five years. The Yankees have all of the pieces to win another championship....or more than one. If the Yankees win the World Series earlier into this contract then they won't mind a couple of less productive years at the end of the contract. Cole will be 37 years old when the contract ends unless he chooses to opt out after five years for whatever reason. It's not the end of the world.

It will be interesting to see how this effects the Yankees willingness to spend money on guys like Gleyber Torres, Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge when their time comes. I don't worry as much for guys like Judge, the Yankees can and should pay him.....but what about guys like Sanchez? This would be my concern more so then the money and years we just committed to Cole.

So can Yankee fans ever truly be happy? There's always something to complain about. It's either too many years and too much money or it's frustration that we let a guy walk. It's time to realize what just happened and accept it. We smashed the piggy bank and paid big bucks for Cole. We finally got our ace, we got an upgrade we needed.

Be thankful for your Christmas gift!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @NYPrincessj

ANDY PETTITTE COULD BE A GREAT MENTOR TO GERRIT COLE

Source: New York Post

The pursuit of Gerrit Cole continues for the Yankees. The relentless chase for Cole brought in the heavy hitters. Among them was Yankee three-time All-Star and five-time World Series Champion Andy Pettitte. Earlier this week, the Yankees flew across the country to meet with stud pitchers Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg in their hometown of Orange County, CA.  And in the arsenal of conversationalists, among Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman and new pitching coach Matt Blake was Pettitte, potentially the game-changer for Cole's potential cross country relocation to the Bronx this spring.

"With his experience in the Bronx, at the top of the rotation, Pettitte surely was able to provide Cole and Strasburg with an accurate depiction of what pitching in pinstripes is like, and why the two righties would be up for the task should they sign this winter," reported Sports Illustrated.

Source: New York Times

With Strasburg rumored to be re-signed by his former team, the World Series Champion Washington Nationals, Cole is set to be the centerpiece of this year's Winter Meetings in San Diego, which opens today.  Mentoring is essential for young players, particularly those who will play for a team like the Yankees, far from their home. It might just be the tipping point and unique value proposition for the Bombers to close the deal this time around.

"The Yankees seem to recognize this urgency in their courtship of Cole, 29, the free-agent right-hander who went 24-6 with a 2.39 earned run average and 373 strikeouts last year, postseason included. This is their third pursuit of him, in three different forums, and the setting in which they probably have the most control and the best chance of success," reported The New York Times.

Source: SNY.com

"Beyond talking baseball and what it's like to play in the Bronx in October, Pettitte can be a tremendous resource for Cole especially from a geographical standpoint," reported SI.  Recall that "Pettitte chose to play in New York -- far from his native Deer Park, Texas -- on two separate occasions. Cole is currently in the midst of a decision to play with the Angels or Dodgers -- close to his hometown of Newport Beach -- or travel cross-country take his talents to New York." 

Source: ESPN

Cole has said through his agent, Scott Boras, that he wants to play for a team that will consistently win, so perhaps location is not as much as a factor as originally mentioned.  Pettitte was always grounded, always articulate and always consistent in his role with the Yankees.  "The five-time World Series champion won 19 games in the playoffs, the most postseason wins in baseball history. Pettitte also holds the all-time record for most starts (44) and innings pitched in the playoffs (276.2)," reported SI.

If Cole comes to New York, Pettitte would be a great mentor to him, as a small-town boy who found fame in the bright lights of the big city.  His coaching and support from Spring Training to October could make all the difference for Cole.  Let's hope that the scale tips towards the Yankees this time and the third attempt to sign Cole is the one that sticks.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor 
Twitter: @suzieprof

A FOUR HOUR LONG MEETING WITH GERRIT COLE MEANS SOMETHING

Game changer, folks!

The Yankees met with Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg yesterday, and suddenly the rumor mill has changed. Remember that whole "Cole is probably going to a west coast team" speculation? Well, not so fast....

The Yankees got on a plane and flew 6,000 miles round trip with their new pitching coach Matt Blake who I think could be intriguing to a free agent. If you don't think that is a big deal....IT IS. The Yankees aren't going to fly to California to waste their time. They went because they are serious about Cole, they wouldn't spend time traveling across country if they weren't ready to "play ball" with Cole. You also don't make that trip just to try and jack the price up for any other team in hopes that they pay a premium. Oh and one other thing to consider here.....last year was all about Patrick Corbin and Manny Machado, right? Well both of those meetings the players went to New York. The Yankees didn't travel AND the meeting with Machado lasted minutes compared to the FOUR HOUR meeting yesterday according to Jon Heyman.

Cole says he has "no West Coast bias" but that doesn't excite me. Even if he did, I doubt he would say otherwise because that would lessen his bargaining position with west coast teams. That wouldn't make sense and Scott Boras wouldn't encourage that. After all, Boras is a baseball business man and he wants the strongest bidders to stick around, right? In the end it all comes down to money. The Dodgers will have an offer, the Angels are of course interested but they just spent a ton of money so can they actually outbid the Yankees?

The Yankees have been here before and they have overcome geography concerns. Once upon a time Mike Mussina was hesitant to go from small-town Pennsylvania to the big lights in the Bronx, but it happened! CC Sabathia "preferred" the West Coast before the Yankees were able to entice him to come to New York. Did the money help? I'm sure....but I am also sure that both pitchers are glad they decided to play for the Yankees.

Money will always be a factor. Cole wants his payday, he is no different then any other player. They all want the most money they can get. We all know the Yankees HAVE the money it's just a matter if they want to spend it and ignore that luxury tax concern they have and maybe Hal Steinbrenner is willing to spend it after all, read more HERE.

I'm not getting my hopes up, but the Yankees just traveled a long distance to meet with Cole and that hasn't happened in a while. Hal just told the world that "All options are open."  I think the Yankees feel MUCH better about their chances of signing Cole. Two weeks ago they weren't favorites and now they are contenders.

This was an important meeting....and hopefully a meeting that leads to a deal. Cross your fingers everyone, this was a good sign.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @NYPrincessj

PHILLIES SIGN ZACK WHEELER FOR A STUPID PRICE

What a dumb deal. 5 years? Zack Wheeler ain't Cy Young. He's not even Sonny Gray.

Zack Wheeler's your fifth starter with the hope that you don't need to pitch him every 5 days because to be honest, you don't really know what you're gonna get.

ESPN writes:

"Right-hander Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a five-year, $118 million contract, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan. Wheeler turned down a larger offer from the Chicago White Sox that was in excess of $120 million, sources told Passan. 

Wheeler, 29, was considered the prize of the free-agency class for teams in search of starting pitching that didn't want to compete in stratospheric bidding for Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg."

The prize?  Are we living in Bizarro World? Have you seen this guys numbers over the fast few years?

Zack Wheeler has never won 18 games. Zack Wheeler didn't pitch for 2 years. What's the prize, that's he's 29 and still has time? Is being "just OK" the next "Great" when it comes to baseball?

The Phillies can have Wheeler. Have him for the next decade. I am THRILLED the Yankees didn't get in on this.

Buh Bye.

YANKEES CALI TRIP FOR COLE & STRASBURG IS OBVIOUS. CALM DOWN.

Don't get all excited. Nothing's happened yet.  The only the thing the Yankees are doing is meeting with Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg.  Nothing more... for now at least.  Everyone is celebrating like we just signed these guys... we have not.  Do I hope something comes out of this trip? Of course I do, but I'll wait on the excitement. For now... this is just a business meeting... that's it.  Everybody calm down.

The Athletic writes... brought to us by Newsweek:

"According to The Athletic, the Yankees will sit down with Houston Astros ace Gerrit Cole and Washington Nationals starting pitcher and 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg in the coming days, ahead of the Major League Baseball winter meetings beginning in San Diego, California, on Monday...

Both Cole and Strasburg are represented by Scott Boras and are considered the best starters of the 2019 free-agent class. 

There has been speculation either player could land a deal worth over $250 million, which would exceed the third level of the luxury tax, currently set at $248 million. 

Yankees co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner admitted the organization would prefer not to take such a hefty financial hit, but acknowledged starting pitchers were an almost priceless luxury in today's game."

It's a good trip and the conversation no doubt will be very open and honest. Will a deal be made for at least 1 of these guys? God I hope so, but here's the deal; You can't get excited yet.  This is about a plane ride to the west coast... not a deal... not yet at least and maybe not at all.

Stay tuned.

THE YANKEES HAVE THEIR EYE ON AN INTERESTING TRADE TARGET

This free agent market is star studded with elite starting pitchers like Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg and Madison Bumgarner but the Yankees may be more focused on the trade market.

The Yankees are always connected to many names until they suddenly aren't, so it should never be a surprise when this happens but, shouldn't the Yankees be more focused on starting pitching? I guess acquiring bullpen arms is what gets Brian Cashman excited lately. I get excited about strengthening up that starting rotation and I hope Cashman is too.

So here we are, according to Ken Rosenthal the Yankees are interesting in Blake Treinen of the Oakland A's.

So who is he? Another bullpen guy. The Yankees have had an elite bullpen and it still hasn't brought them a World Series win. The Nationals proved to us this season that you an have a weaker bullpen and still win as long as you have the right starting pitchers and offense. Why does Brian Cashman like to double down on relievers? The Yankees need to realize that a good bullpen is important BUT it doesn't guarantee a Championship. Nothing guarantees a championship but a good offense with guys driving in runs and a rotation that is reliable and can hold a lead can get them the Championship they want.

Now if this is a sign that Dellin Betances may not be back, I guess I can understand the interest. The A's are rumored to want to cut payroll despite making the postseason as a wild card the past two seasons. He would be an interesting gamble. He was one of the best relievers in 2018 but 2019 was a major step back.

2018:  80.1 Innings pitched, 100 strikeouts, 7 earned runs and 0.78 ERA
2019:  58.2 Innings pitched, 59 strikeouts, 32 earned runs and 4.91 ERA

If the Yankees are really interested they are counting on Treinen to return to 2018 form. He would be cheaper than Betances for a year, how much who knows at this point but I believe that you get what you pay for. The savings does nothing for me. I feel more confident sticking with the homegrown talent who has proven he can pitch in Yankee stadium. 

In the end, I don't believe Treinen or any other bullpen arm is the missing piece the Yankees need to be champions again. He wouldn't hurt the Yankees as long as he is effective, but is he worth it? I'm skeptical.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @NYPrincessj