THE EXPECTATION FOR A SON

When Mariano Rivera III was drafted to the New York Yankees, the Yankees fan base rejoiced. The son of our beloved Sandman, Mariano Rivera, would wear pinstripes. It is inevitable that his son would one day lead us the way his father did. Comments like "I hope the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," and "Mo will return," were thrown out. But are our expectations of Junior realistic? Are they really fair?

Every scouting report I have read on Junior says the same thing. He has pitching control issues. He has a fastball in the low 90's, but no cutter. He's 5'11" and 155lbs at 20 years old, so his physical frame isn't ideal for a pitchers either. Still, Mo was only 6'2", and Junior still has some growing to do. I wouldn't hold that against him too much. But what can we expect of Junior? Will he follow in his fathers foot steps?

According to the Daily News, Mo is "wary" of the expectation for his son. Here's the quote:

"Rivera said his son must create his own name. "The thing is he has to," Rivera said. "If everything goes well and we agree to the terms, he has to be his own. It's going to be unfair to try to compare him with me or try to expect he will do something I did. They have to know what he has and the ability he has and go from there because if you're going to compare him to me that's going to be unfair."

I get it. We are all very excited about Junior being drafted. It's awesome for the Rivera family, for the organization, and for Yankees fans. But Mo is being careful about his child's well being. He is letting it be known now that his son is just that. His SON. Not a carbon copy of him. Junior probably won't go out and break the same records as dad, and won't pitch the same way either. He is an entirely different individual, and to expect him to be Mo is to cut him down before he even starts. It's unfair.

(In photo: Ryan Ripken)
I'm sure that other draft picks are experiencing the same thing right now. Ryan Ripken, drafted by the Washington Nationals, is son of Cal Ripken Jr. Nick Gordon, drafted by the Minnesota Twins, is son of Tom Gordon. But maybe, it's just too much pressure for the kids. They have huge shoes to fill, and if they continue attempting to live up to the expectations of their fathers, they will end up living in their shadows instead.

Bottom line, let them play. Cheer them on, and hope for the best. They have got to create their own names, and their own legacies. The comparisons are unfair to the players they will become. If we constantly expect Junior to be our Sandman, we'll miss all the great things he will do.

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 
Twitter: @e_morales1804

 
 

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WHAT I MIGHT DO AS THE YANKEES GM

On June 25th the Yankees defeated the Indians 7-1, Hiroki Kuroda got an impressive win throwing 7+ innings of 1 run ball with 7 strikeouts, propelling the Yankees to their 13th win in their past 16 games, and their 8th straight. Sure, it happened 2 weeks ago, but it was significant, it was the beginning of something good for the Yankees, a gelling if you will. The bombers were really clicking on all cylinders and the whole city knew it.

 Then, on June 27th a couple of hours before game time the Yankees announced that CC would be put on the 15 day DL for a groin strain, read HERE. At that point, I was still optimistic for the Yanks because they still had another left hander in the rotation, old reliable Andy Pettitte.  But that changed when Andy went down with a come backer off the bat of Casey Kotchman, busting his ankle, read HERE. It's devastating, but this isn't a cause for complete, "abandon ship" type of concern... we should however look further than who we have to fill the holes, my opinion of course. Why? Because since those injuries, some of the moving parts just aren't working and there is need for improvement....outside the organization.

 Let's break it down. Cory Wade has been good, but not recently.  That was why he was sent down and it's my opinion that he shouldn't have even been in last night's game against the Red Sox, read WADE HAPPENS. They Yankees picked up Chad Qualls and while I'm not exactly sure how effective he really is yet, I'm not exactly pleased with Wade's recent performance and I'm not too confident in Qualls ability.

I'm thinking another solid reliever in that bullpen could really do wonders. If I were assigned the Yankees GM role for the day, I would work very closely with the Houston Astros to make a trade for Brett Myers & Wandy Rodriguez a rental starter and reliever that could really help our club.

• Brett Myers is a former starter turned closer who really can do either.  Throughout his career he has been a starting pitcher on the Phillies (2002-2009) and the Astros. Sure, there were 2 seasons in 2007 when he was with the Phillies and became a closer for a good portion of the season after former Yankee Flash Gordon went down for some time. Bottom line, Myers did such a good job that when Gordon came back, Myers stayed as the closer for the rest of the season recording 21 saves. 

This year Myers was appointed closer when Mark Melancon was traded to the Red Sox. This season Myers has 18 saves already with a 3.54 ERA. He is a solid option to shore up the Yankees bullpen and in my opinion, a better option than Chad Qualls or Cory Wade.

• Wandy Rodriguez is the other piece to this potential deal.  He is the ace of the Astros pitching staff and is a proven left handed pitcher.  Rodriguez has posted an ERA under 4 every season since 2008.  He could be the piece that can fill the void as a lefty with 2 lefties out. Plus, the Astros are a team in serious rebuilding mode. They easily traded Houston fan favorite Lance Berkman to the Yankees in the summer of 2010 for just 2 mid level prospects. 

If Brian Cashman could work the Astros again and get a trade going again, give up a few low level prospects and get the Astros to eat some salary on Myers and Rodriguez, I'd be all over this.

Sure, there are other pitchers out there, but we all know Cole Hamels is just too expensive for the Yankees, Read HERE. How about Huston Street who's a good target (read HERE), and Matt Garza whom the Yankees really like and has already proven himself in the AL East, read HERE, but I tell you what, it's my opinion Myers and Rodriguez could be the best option by the deadline, a reliever and starter, both rentals, both reliable and both for low level prospects. If I'm the Yankees GM for a day, that's what I'd do, what about you? Comment.



--Will Cohen, BYB Contributor




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