SPRINTS, MARATHONS, AND GUT-CHECK TIME

We are now less than a week away from Opening Day, and the final decisions are being made. The critical ones revolve around the starting rotation, specifically about who will start on Opening Day and who will be the 5th starter. It's made for a sports radio host's bonanza, with everyone sounding off on their opinion. Personally, I think it's making mountains out of molehills, and a month from now it will all be settled anyway. But it's interesting to me how the personalities are coming out.

Over the course of a 162-game baseball season, the success of a baseball player looks more like a marathon than a sprint. So I don't make too much of the stats in the four weeks of practice leading up to the start of the season. I do pay attention to the mindset of the players, and see how they react to adversity. I look at a guy like Ivan Nova, who is still trying to regain the form he had before surgery. He had a great start to spring training until his last two starts. That last one especially hurt, giving up 3 home runs in a game where he knew the 5th slot was on the line. A sullen "I didn't help myself today" was his reaction to that latest start. I respect the fact that he understands what the impact is to his chances and to his team's success this season, and that he's not making excuses.

CC Sabathia, on the other hand, entered spring training with a question mark over his head for the first time in his Yankee career. He has gone from being the ace to now fighting for the #5 slot. This cannot be fun for him. Yet I see his reaction to his shaky starts against Philadelphia and Baltimore, and I am not sure how ready he is. He points out that he has never been a good spring training pitcher. I think that statement might carry more weight if he had been able to demonstrate the kind of success he was having earlier in his career, and then there might be nothing to worry about. The fact is, we haven't seen Sabathia's brilliance in the last couple of years, except for a few 2-3 week stretches here and there. If his spring performance is good enough for a #5 slot, he may not be able to hold on to that slot far into the regular season.

I don't envy Joe Girardi. This is a Catch-22 if I've ever seen one. If he gives the #5 to CC and he tanks, he'll be slammed for putting a pitcher out there that he knows hasn't performed well in a long time. If he puts Nova out there and he tanks, he'll be slammed for benching a former ace in Sabathia, and all kinds of questions about his judgment will be the popular line on the back page of all New York papers. For Joe to avoid the flames of public opinion, Mr. #5 has to look great at least until mid-May. That may be a tall order for either pitcher.

I have to give Girardi credit for his handling of the Opening Day starter. I don't believe in pushing athletes past common-sense physical limitations. Still, the handling of Masahiro Tanaka and his fragile pitching arm is starting to get a little ridiculous. I was very happy to see Joe pushing him. "We need to see something." I agree. "We have enough people who could pitch [Opening Day]". There's no veil on that threat, and I love it. I always believe that the best pitchers should be on the mound, not the ones who are the highest paid. So if the  #1 and #2 from 2014 are now the 2016 "maybe extended spring training" and "maybe in the bullpen", so be it. It's gut-check time.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon







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BLOOD CLOT IN THE BLADDER IS A GOOD ENOUGH REASON

Just an update on Matt Harvey.  No, we're not a Mets blog, but I am not going to slam a guy like I did in DeGROM'S AN ACE. HARVEY'S A PRINCESS, then get a news update on the status of Harvey and just ignore it.  That's irresponsible, and BYB is not that.

According to the Mets, and Harvey, and we'll use ESPN to tell the story here:

"Matt Harvey is a go for Opening Day on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals after a scare regarding his urinary tract.

'It started with a bladder infection and it created a blood clot in the bladder,' Harvey said Tuesday morning after returning to camp. 'I passed it yesterday. It wasn't a great first day [after] my 27th birthday. But we cleared that. And then we had a little procedure done this morning just to go in and check the bladder and everything was clear.'"

And so there you have it.  What bothered me the most was that the Mets said it was "minor", but may not start on Opening Day.  That was weird and that's why I called Harvey a "Princess."  Don't get me wrong... the guy is still a Prima Donna and ego maniac... but at least he's a healthy one.

I don't wish ill on anyone... I will take a shot if I see fit.  That's what I did yesterday evening.  Now that we have some clarity... let's play ball.

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YANKS WANT TO SEE TANAKA "DIAL IT UP"

And you know what? It makes sense. Tanaka has not been great after all.

Quick and important note.  The Yankees just want to see how Masahiro Tanaka does in his next start, tomorrow, to determine if he's the Opening Day starter.  Yahoo Sports writes:

"Masahiro Tanaka's final spring training start Tuesday against Philadelphia will likely determine whether he will be the New York Yankees' opening-day starter.

Tanaka has a 7.36 ERA in four starts and gave up seven runs in four innings against Washington on Wednesday.

'We want to make sure that we feel that he's ready and that he feels good about where he's at before we really talk about who's going to be our opening-day starter,' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before Monday night's game against Detroit. 'We want to see him dial it up a little bit. I think it's important that we see something.'''

As many of you know, Tanaka has been pretty inconsistent all Spring.

Anyway.  We'll keep an eye on this for you here at BYB.  I think ultimately Tanaka will get the ball opening day no matter what.  I think this is just the Yankees making sure everyone knows that no one is a God here.  They need to work for it.



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DeGROM'S AN ACE. HARVEY'S A PRINCESS

Not sure what to make of this story in the New York Post, but it pretty much confirms what I've stated all along.  Matt Harvey is a princess who believes his own hype, rides the wave of "I'm hot shit" and "The team needs me".  Mets have a prima donna on their hands. Maybe they should cut bait now.  According to the Post, "Harvey took a personal day on Monday for an unspecified medical issue, and an ominous mood has descended over the final days of the Mets’ spring.

The ace right-hander was excused from the Mets’ game against the Cardinals — a required road trip in this final week of the exhibition season — to make a doctor’s visit of a non-orthopedic nature, according to a team spokesman.

Harvey later was scratched from his scheduled start against the Marlins on Tuesday. His status for Opening Day against the Royals is suddenly in doubt."

Now the reason why I'm hammering the guy is because if you read further, this "medical issue" is "'not major,' meaning it won’t necessitate a long layoff."

And so, what is it? Is he getting a mole removed? The point is, you don't take deal with a "minor" situation and NOT go to Opening day and that appears the be the concern. When you get to the majors, and you're tapped for Opening Day... don't you make sure you're there for your team?  Isn't that the goal, TO LEAD?

Mets needs to wake up.  Jacob DeGrom's the guy that needs to lead the Mets.  He's an ace, he's got incredible work ethic... and he shows up no matter what.  Who needs that Harvey guy who believes the hype surrounding him.

It seems ridiculous.

 


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REFSNYDER SENT DOWN & WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Look, Rob Refsnyder had a few bad days.  Doesn't matter.  He will improve. He's still a youth member trying to get up to the Majors and when the Yankees decided that Starlin Castro was the  2nd baseman,  it was pretty clear that they had no future plans for Ref at 2nd, and so, they tried him as a backup third baseman.

Nothing wrong with that. Refsnyder's such a gamer, he would have washed jock straps if it meant he could be on the big team.  And so, he took grounders at 3rd and made it his priority.  When you're a kid, you do whatever the team wants of you.  But you know what? It didn't work out... not now at least.  Rob Refsnyder was sent to Triple A.  He'll keep working, he'll keep pushing himself and I will bet we see him sometime this year.  Nothing wrong with this... he wasn't ready.

According to several sources, but we'll go with the New York Post with this:

"The Yankees took a look at Refsnyder, a second baseman, at third when camp opened because Dustin Ackley, the other backup infielder, plays only first and second.

Jace Peterson, Gordon Beckham and Andres Blanco are infielders with short and third experience who could be had if the Yankees don’t believe Pete Kozma or Ronald Torreyes, who are in camp, can handle the job.

'The utility guys we have in camp, it will come down to one of those guys,' Joe Girardi said.

But there is a chance the player will arrive by trade.

'That’s always a possibility,' Girardi said. 'My thought is that it will come out of this camp, but it’s a possibility. You never know what is going to happen at the end of camp.'”

Now I'm a big Beckham fan, but I just don't see them going outside of the team to snag a 3rd baseman.  Who knows, maybe they will, but much like when Dean Anna and Yangervis Solarte were with the team a few years ago... sometimes the Yanks just stick with what they have, and guys like Torreyes and Kozma will most likely be those guys.

Whatever the case, Ref is down now.  And we need to move on.  Opening Day is almost here folks... I can't wait.

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THE BUST

Remember when Jesus Montero was the next big thing for the New York Yankees? Then he was traded for Michael Pineda.  Then Montero did a few little things here and there for the Seattle Mariners, including getting alittle chubby.

Well... he was just placed on waivers:

jesus montero has been placed on waivers by the mariners

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 28, 2016

The Olympian writes:

"Montero was battling (Dae-Ho) Lee and Stefen Romero for duty as a right-handed-hitting complement to first baseman Adam Lind, a left-handed hitter. While Romero has an option remaining, Montero does not. Club officials remained non-committal on Montero, but his locker in the clubhouse was empty, and he did not participate in Sunday’s workout...

That suggests that Montero is currently on waivers, and the Mariners are waiting to see whether another club claims him. If he clears waivers, he can be sent to the minors, presumably Triple-A Tacoma, on an outright assignment."

Just wanted to keep you in the loop on this guy.  He used to be the Yankees future.  Now it looks like he just needs more time in the Seattle minors, but perhaps a team will snatch him up before he's sent down.  Who knows. I wish the guy well.  I never really give up on players, and I'm not about to give up on Montero, but you gotta wonder if Cashman saw the future on this one.

Anyway... Enjoy your Monday.

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KEEPING AN EYE ON THE FUTURE: PREMIERE

Bleeding Yankee Blue is pleased to announce a brand new series entitled KEEPING AN EYE ON THE FUTURE.

This series focuses on college baseball players who, based on their performance and excitement, we need to keep close tabs on as they fight their way up through the Major League Baseball trajectory.  Each piece will spotlight players who are doing something unique for their team and are fast tracking themselves to college to the minor leagues and up to the Show.

This week we zoom in on the annual Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American and All-Region Teams, which recognizes the top senior high school baseball athletes in the U.S. This is an opportunity to highlight next-level players nationwide. The organization honors the top 150 players from the All-Region pool, where each player named is on one of three, 50-man roster national teams. We also highlight a catcher from New Jersey who played in the New Jersey Top Prospect Tournament last summer and rising senior, who is already committed to a Division I university in Florida.

This week we showcase: Outfielder Blake Rutherford, Catcher Kyle Ebert and First Baseman Alejandro Toral.  According to a press release on PerfectGame (PG) “To receive the Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American or All-Region Award is a tremendous achievement for these high school student-athletes,” said Jerry Ford, president of Cedar Rapids, IA-based Perfect Game. “We are proud to recognize their talent as they prepare for their careers playing collegiate or professional baseball.”

UCLA-bound Blake Rutherford is a 6'2" 190 pound high school senior from Simi Valley, CA who has committed to UCLA this fall. According to scouts reviewing his performance at last year's Perfect Game All American tournament, Rutherford "showed crazy power at PG AA. Runs very well. Superstar potential." According to his high school coach, Frank Mutz, Rutherford is a very disciplined, and mature player for his age. "His baseball IQ is very high, and he understand the game. He’s a team player. It’s not about him, it’s not about his stats. It’s about what’s he going to do this at-bat to help the ballclub win."

Rutherford has a long clean stroke, which can be further developed by the coaching staff at UCLA. After playing 64-games including one game this spring and previously three full seasons of varsity baseball Rutherford is batting .374 with an OBP .486 and 65 hit and 26 RBIs. Rutherford plays for Chaminade College Preparatory High School and summer travel team EvoShield Canes. He is ranked 2nd in 2016 high school prospects highlighted by Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-Americans.  According to Baseball America, although Rutherford has football in his bloodlines, as his father, Roy, played football at Eastern Michigan, baseball was always his first love.  “I grew up around baseball a lot and I just took a real loving to it, and it’s something I get really passionate about,” Rutherford said, “where football was more of a thing that I just liked to play for fun, and I was told I was somewhat good at it, but baseball is just something I love to do and love to work at, and ultimately what I want to be is a baseball player.” 

Catcher Kyle Ebert is a senior ball player from Hewitt, New Jersey.  He attends Don Bosco Preparatory School in Ramsey, NJ, which ranks fifth of New Jersey's Fab Five baseball teams. He is a 5'9" 185 pound senior who has committed to Franklin and Marshall in Pennsylvania.  He played in the New Jersey Top Prospect Tournament last July.  According to Prep Baseball Report, which covers high school baseball prospects, Ebert is "one of the state's powerhouses."

"Athletically I am different from other recruits in the sense that I am willing to use my free time to work that extra hour to better myself and the program to work harder than my competition," states Ebert on his NSCA recruiting page. 

First Baseman Alejandro Toral is a 6'2" 220 pound infielder from Davie, FL, who is already committed to the University of Miami despite his anticipated high school graduation in 2017.  According to Perfect Game, scouts describe Toral as a, "big power bat. He can hit the ball a long ways. Always hits." Nice stats already for a high school junior who technically has two-years of high school baseball at Archbishop Edward Mccarthy in Florida.  He tops the Prep Baseball Report top 20 rankings list for class of 2017 headliners.  

Stay tuned for more spotlighted players as we roll out this series throughout the 2016-2017 season.

As we posted earlier this week, YOU JUST DON'T EVER GIVE UP.  These guys are surely a testament to that mantra.

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






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SANCHEZ IN TRIPLE-A WILL BE A-OK

Gary Sanchez, was seen as a likely candidate following his breakout 2015 season to make it to the Bigs as a back up catcher to Yankee backstop Brian McCann.  But if you read BYB's GARY SANCHEZ IS TAKING A WALK, he was sent down to AAA this week.  

 

I'm not gonna like, I’m happy with that, and I’ll tell you why;

 

 

First off, let’s discuss why Austin Romine has earned the backup job in my opinion. He has without a doubt outperformed Sanchez at the plate, batting .273 with four doubles over 13 games.  But there's more to it. Romine is also out of options and if he is not on the Opening Day big league roster, he could opt for free agency and likely sign elsewhere. That would be a loss to the organization who has invested many years into this guy, although he didn’t quite develop as we hoped he would. But enough on Romine…

 

 

 Gary Sanchez finally came around in 2015 where he compiled a .274/.485/.815 slash line with 18 home runs and 62 RBI between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He also performed very well in the Arizona Fall League and was named the AFL’s Fall Stars Game MVP.

 

 

Coming into camp this season, he seemed like the favorite to win the backup role, but something happened.  He's struggled this Spring, compiling just one hit in 21 at-bats heading into Thursday. Joe Girardi seemed to think he may be pressing, and he sure might have been. But batting about a fifth of your weight just isn’t going to win you many jobs in professional baseball. That's the bottom line.

 

Unlike many other fans however, I’m actually rather happy he's gone to AAA. In Scranton Wilkes/Barre, Sanchez gets to play every day and continue to develop.  As I wrote in December in my piece, EITHER WAY, SANCHEZ MUST PLAY, the most important thing for Sanchez is to develop.

 

 

By being the starter in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he will have the opportunity for regular at-bats and that will allow him to keep moving forward. A concern of mine for him in the Bigs would have been for him to play just 2 days a week behind McCann.... giving him just 200 at bats or so. For a young top prospect, he needs to play and play often. And so, Scranton works.

 

 

We all know McCann isn’t getting any younger and over the next few seasons will see more and more time at DH (especially as this Yankees roster turns over) and perhaps make a transition to first base where he could also see occasional time. As of now though, the Yankees have half a roster of DH candidates, and by keeping Sanchez on the Major League roster, it would force one of their better bats in McCann to sit more often than he likely should.

 

Look, keep in mind.... Sanchez is just 23 years-young. Another season, or half a season for that matter, in the minors where he can play and improve, will only help the Yankees organization and himself over the long run.

So yeah... when it comes to Sanchez in AAA to start the season? Yup it's A-OK to me!

 

 

 --Dan Lucia
BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @DManLucia




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WE STAY FOR ALL NINE!

If I had a penny for every time someone told me that the bullpen would be the most exciting part of the Yankees team this year I would have a small fortune. I could take a nice vacation, put a dent in my car payment and maybe payoff my small balance left on my student loan. I'm dreaming here I know.....but still, why don't people have faith in this team?

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to start an Internet feud with  Wally Matthews, we like him here at BYB, but sometimes I just don't agree. That's the beautiful thing about this blog and sports journalism in general. It is OK to have a different opinion. We happen to have a good relationship with Wally. He's a smart and honest writer. In this case, I just happen to disagree. Shocking, I know.

So on Tuesday Wally Matthews came out with THIS article. I understand why people are scrutinizing the state of the Yankees rotation and offense. Even I have concerns, but the last thing I am going to do is count this team out. Our bullpen is going to be impressive. That is something any baseball enthusiast will agree with. However, don't discredit the rest of this team. Sure, the back end of the bullpen is going to be exciting to watch but the Yankees have other things going for them.

Wally mentions the best chance to even get to see Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, or Aroldis Chapman is if Masahiro Tanaka is the starting pitcher. Not to knock on Tanaka, but I think we are still waiting to see more from him.

We want to see more than 25 starts a season and we want to see him be effective and pitch deep into the game without giving up a bunch of runs. Right now, I would say he has underachieved.

I am still anxious to see if Luis Severino can pick up where he left off and if Nathan Eovaldi can bounce back from his injury. He was such an important piece of the rotation last year and when he went down he was noticeably missed.

I think Wally underestimates the offense here too. Last season the Yankees were second in the AL in runs scored. They have proven that they can score the runs and if Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran can stay healthy this season they could put up big numbers. This team is not reliant on the pitching. We were also fourth in attendance last year with over three million seats sold only behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, St Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants so people are still coming to watch the Yankees no matter how much attention people want to try and bring to the empty seats.

So I do not understand this "no need to rush" to the stadium concept. This team has a lot of potential and the draw of the game shouldn't be to watch the game from the sixth inning and on. We don't spend our hard earned money for three short innings of relief appearances and the Yankees are finally getting young again! I can't wait to see how this team gels together. I just have a feeling that there is going to be some amazing team chemistry that is going to lead to an impressive season.

Big things are coming this year, and you can quote me on it. So grab your tickets while you can (just remember not to print them out!) and break out the old score cards. There will be plenty to watch from first pitch all the way to that last pitch from Chapman......I can feel it.



   
--Jeana Bellezza, 
BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 
 





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