WAIT. EXPERIENCE IS NOT NEEDED FOR A BENCH COACH?!

"“Experience is important, but it’s not the be all, end all. I want smart sitting next to me. I want confident sitting next to me.” -Aaron Boone

SAY WHAAAAAT?!

That is an interesting quote that has stuck with me after the Yankees officially announced Aaron Boone as their new manager. The Yankees are going through a lot of changes with the younger players and now a brand new manager and soon to be coaching staff. It's a lot all at once.

Photo: New York Yankees

So when Boone said that and said experience wasn't exactly necessary I had to go back and re-read the quote. I am still getting used to the idea of Boone as our next manager. I said previously that if the Yankees brought on an inexperienced manager that an experienced bench coach and coaching staff would be important and for more than one reason.

To succeed in New York you absolutely need the confidence factor, so that I completely agree with Boone on. However, if he wants "smart sitting next to me" I really think that is an experienced coach here. The idea of the blind leading the blind scares me a little. Boone has a lot of baseball knowledge but calling a game on ESPN and being the guy that makes the moves during the game are two very different things.

John Connolly/NorthJersey.com

The Yankees have a roster of young kids. Some of them got a full year under Joe Girardi and now Aaron Boone is going to introduce his own approach and way of doing things which I am guessing will be extremely different that how Joe did things. The Yankees clearly wanted that difference from the old regime, so much that some of it's key figure heads are gone.

Photo: Getty Images

Some people may not care, but I am going to miss Rob Thomson. I really think he is one of the best bench coaches in baseball. He's got a lot of pride, he cares about his guys and he was the mastermind and organization when it came to being ready for Spring Training. I really wish him luck in his new gig as the bench coach for the Phillies. I just wish he was still here in some capacity to help.

At least the Yankees will have the familiar face of Larry Rothschild still around now that the Yankees have officially announced his return but the Yankees will now need to turn their attention to hiring a bench coach, hitting coach, first-base coach, third-base coach and bullpen coach, and there are indications that Mike Harkey could return as bullpen coach according to the New York Post HERE.

Photo: Getty Images

But what about Tony Pena, Marcus Thames and Alan Cockrell? Who knows. It would be weird to not see Pena anymore but that could be a reality. Rumors are already swirling and so far Reggie Willits (Angels minor league coach), Carlos Mendoza and even Carlos Beltran are being considered for coaching staff positions. Mendoza has been with the Yankees since 2009 in a variety of minor league coaching and managerial roles and is well liked by executives in the front office. Could any of these guy be one of Boone's new managers?

I don't know. Brian Cashman said that choosing the rest of the coaching staff could take a couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see who he picks, and depending on who he does pick the explanations could be even more intriguing.

Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com

I just hope Boone rethinks his whole philosophy to the bench coach. He needs a strong staff around him and so will our young up and coming team. Just like many jobs out there.....the quote here should read "HELP WANTED, EXPERIENCE PREFERRED."

--Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj

BOONE IN HIS OWN WORDS

(Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Here are 2 highlights from the Yankees introduction of new manager, Aaron Boone today.  Check out some of the clips below.







Now we move forward! #GoYanks

COULD YANKEES SIGN KYLE SCHWARBER?

Source: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America

Here at BYB we love nuggets.  And this nugget is a good one to chew on for a mid-week snack.  According to The NY Daily News writer John Harper the Yankees should trade for Chicago Cubs position player Kyle Schwarber to take on the designated hitter role for the Bombers. I have to say, his argument is pretty convincing.

Source: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America

"I think Schwarber would be a lock to hit 40 home runs in the Bronx, while giving the Yankees the most fearsome lineup in baseball," said Harper of the 24-year-old Schwarber.  Harper also reports of Schwarber's natural ability, something he demonstrated during the 2016 post season where his clutch hitting offered significant advantage over the battling Cleveland Indian team.

 Source: Stacy Revere/Getty Images North America

Who would we give up?  The Cubs are in need of pitching, particularly if they lose out on attaining Shohei Ohtani, much like the Yankees have.  Harper suggests Dellin Betances and Chance Adams.  I agree with Betances but I am little protective of Adams who is still developing, still looking to have his break out year.  This could be his year in the Bronx much like Luis Severino had in 2017.

Source: Jim Young, USA TODAY Sports

Harper suggests that the Yankees could "afford to give up Betances and Adams."  I suggest that if we are going to give up Adams we'd need to pick up both Schwarber and Jake Arrieta who is testing the free agent market this off season.  The Dodgers have shown interest in Arrieta, but I think the Yankees need to strike first.

 Source: Stacy Revere/Getty Images North America

Kyle Schwarber would be an interesting pickup for the Yankees for the right price.  One of our Achilles heels this post season was most definitely the designated hitter slot.  We can't afford to have a this be the weak link so Schwarber or someone like him would be a great pick up.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

WHERE WILL GIANCARLO STANTON GO?

Not to the Yankees...that's been established.

(Lynne Sladky/AP)

Quick note here and honestly, looking around the Yankee Universe, the only real news coming out of the Bronx is that the Yankees have made it official with Aaron Boone, 3 years and a 4th year option, read HERE.  That's it. Yankeeland is in a tizzy about him being the new Yankee manager, but clearly Cashman wants someone moldable at the helm, and we'll just see what happens.

Photo: CBS Sports

And so we turn to Giancarlo Stanton who I have always been fascinated with.  The Yankees are not in the running, but they kicked the tires on him.  Here's the latest on him. Jon Morosi has this:

Sources: #Marlins have agreed to general framework of Giancarlo Stanton trades with both #STLCards and #SFGiants; the deals are on hold, while Marlins wait for Stanton to inform them whether he’d accept either trade. @MLB @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 3, 2017

Good nugget.  Now a general framework is nice. Of course it requires the Marlins getting what they want in return. 

Both the Giants and Cardinals have plenty of decent prospects and ready players and so... this works out nice. I can't wait to see which team it will be.

In the meantime... that's really the biggest story in MLB today... maybe other than Shohei Ohtani holding meetings with teams he'd be interested in playing for... but who cares at this point if you're a Yankee fan.

Have an excellent Tuesday.


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OUR YANKEE PROSPECTS ARE RIDONKULOUS!

Photo: New York Post

Gleyber Torres is something else.  So is Estevan Florial.  Baseball America ranked 10 Yankee prospects and Torres and Florial are 1 and 2.

Here's Baseball America:

Photo: CBS Sports

"1. Gleyber Torres, SS/3B
2. Estevan Florial, OF
3. Justus Sheffield, LHP
4. Chance Adams, RHP
5. Miguel Andujar, 3B

Photo of: Albert Abreu

6. Albert Abreu, RHP
7. Jorge Guzman, RHP
8. Luis Medina, RHP
9. Thairo Estrada, SS/2B
10. Domingo Acevedo, RHP"

SNY writes this about our boys:

"Torres, who was ranked Baseball America's No. 3 overall prospect in its midseason top-100 list, was limited to 55 games with Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery last spring.

A 20-year-old shortstop with 15 games at third base and 18 games at second base, Torres hit .287/.383/.480 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs last year. He entered last season having been ranked MLB.com's No. 3 prospect, Baseball America's No. 5 prospect and Baseball Prospectus' No. 15 prospect.

Photo: Brad Nettles/Post & Courier

Florial, 20, hit .298/.372/.479 with 13 home runs, 57 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 110 games for Low-A Charleston and High-A Tampa in 2017. Baseball America considers him to be the best athlete in the organization, as it says he is the fastest baserunner and has the best arm among outfielders."

I can't wait to see these kids up in the Bigs. I'm especially excited about Sheffield.

Anyway... there you go.


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OHTANI SAYS "NO THANKS" TO THE YANKS

Well, depending on your opinions on the Yankee news this weekend you either had a really crappy baseball weekend or just a somewhat crappy baseball weekend. No matter which way you lean you had some level of disappointment and no one likes to deal with disappointment....especially not Yankee fans.

First, we had to digest the idea of Aaron Boone being announced as our new skipper. Some people really don't mind the idea and some have some reservations.

Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images

But now the big blow landed late on Sunday when the world found out that Shohei Ohtani said "No thanks" to the Yanks. This is kind of poetic in a weird sort of way. Usually it's the smaller market teams that get pushed aside when it comes to landing big name players. This time, the player isn't as interested in the bigger markets and he has a strong preference for the west coast. I know my team just dismissed from the running here and some may think I should be bitter or whatever, but I'm not!

This kid has never been in it for the money, that's a fact. He could've stayed where he was in Japan with everything he knows and loves. He's a star back home. He could've played on his team and made big money back home with everyone that is important to him....but he didn't. Instead, he wants to come to another country and see how he competes again MLB's finest. He's a gamer. I can't dislike that.

I can only dislike the outcome here. If there is any upside to this it is that Ohtani also said "no" to the Mets and the Red Sox. In fact, there are many other teams that have already been dismissed from round two of the Ohtani sweepstakes, MLB Trade Rumors is keeping an updated timeline HERE.

So while many media outlets reported that the Yankees were heavy favorites to get Ohtani but Brian Cashman was not surprised that the Yankees were eliminated from consideration. According to NJ.com HERE the Yankees prepared an "impressive" presentation that Ohtani and his agent were both impressed with but he somehow had the feeling that the Yankees were out of the running and in fact, never really a contender.

Photo: Sporting News

It goes to show you just how much rumors and scouts can hype the Yankees as favorites, but in person Cashman had a completely different vibe on the situation. It sounds like Ohtani really wants a smaller market team and on the west coast.

It sucks to hear "no" but at least the Yankees were told early enough and now they can refocus their energy on moves that have potential. Now that Ohtani is off the Yankees radar they can revisit the rotation and think about if or how CC Sabathia and Chance Adams fits into the rotation. Or maybe another free agent pitcher. Who knows.

So I guess baseball fans everywhere wait and see what happens in round two of the Ohtani sweepstakes and what team is the winner. I said the Mariners were the sleepers in this and shouldn't be counted out. I think it comes down to the Giants or the Mariners....and right now Dipoto and the Mariners are throwing everything including the kitchen sink at this kid. It will be interesting to see what happens especially when we see Ohtani for the first time.

Not getting Ohtani sucks....but it's time for Plan B. Whatever that is but trust in Cashman. He got us this far, right?

--Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @NYPrincessJ

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NO EXPERIENCE, NO PROBLEM

Source: Allen Kee/ESPN Images

I have received tons of comments about the Aaron Boone appointment but the one that grabbed a hold of me the most is the one a school colleague in-boxed me last night.  "Experience needs to matter, and he has no managerial experience. That really irks me. It's the Yanks for goodness sake. In 2017 experience no longer matters is a societal problem." I couldn't agree more.  By the way, he is a Phillies fan.  And here's my take: Just because you analyzed baseball and you played baseball and you hit a notorious home run against the Yankees' arch enemy, doesn't mean you can manage a major league team.

Source:  CHARLES KRUPA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

"Everyone in the game respects Aaron Boone because of the way he played the game, and the way he goes about his life, being a great husband and father of four, including adopted brothers from Haiti, treating people right, and never putting himself above anyone else," penned Tim Kurkjian
ESPN Senior Writer.  I believe he is a great guy and even a self-less guy.  But does he have what it takes to manage the most decorated team in baseball history if he has never managed before?

Source: SI.com 

As the New York Daily News reported, "It is a gamble for Cashman and Co. as Boone has never taken on this type of endeavor before. Granted, during his teleconference with reporters following his interview, he said, “I would say in a way I’ve been preparing for this job for the last 44 years.”  I get that.  I think we all have lofty goals that have been part of our preparation for that "dream job."  But as my colleague said in the opening quote of this piece, "Experience needs to matter." To rebut that concept, the NY Post printed, "Boone had been using his role as an ESPN analyst as something akin to a Ph.D. program in modern baseball."  Ph.D. program in modern baseball? That's a bit of a stretch.

Source: Getty Images

If we go with the Ph.D program thing then riddle me this: Why not hire Boone as a bench coach and promote one of the current bench coaches to manager?  Why not Rob Thomson or Tony Pena?  Quite frankly, Yankees team executive and former Red Sox Tim Naehring played with Pena back in the early 90s.  I interviewed Pena during that time as well and thought very highly of him as a player.  What makes Boone more qualified than Pena or Thomson for that matter?

Source: YES Network

And what are we saying to society by hiring Boone?  You can get hired for a premiere job and impress management even if you don't have the experience needed to execute the key objectives of the job?  I hope I eat my words and Boone proves to be effective in his role as manager.  But right now, I'm stuck on the words "No Experience, No Problem." And for that matter, I do have a problem with the team's decision to hire Boone as the new manager for the 2018 Yankee team.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof




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MARLINS HELL: CUTTING THROUGH HATE. GIVING YOU FACTS.

Jeter lovers do 1 thing... love Jeter.

(AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

I have tremendous respect for Derek Jeter.  The media portrays him has a monster in Miami though.  Many of the stories are true.  This story by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports where he says that scout Marty Scott was fired while in a hospital bed with cancer and waiting for a kidney... IS TRUE.

Photo of: Marty Scott

When I wrote about it last night (THE GRINCH OF MIAMI)... it was still true.  GET OVER IT.  The hate I've seen the past 12 hours directed at me, directed at Passan or anyone else who reported it is disgusting.  Get a life... take a walk, rake leaves, hug your kids... do ANYTHING other than kissing your Jeter poster. 

This is journalism.  There isn't hate, there is no agenda... this is solid journalism sprinkled with opinion. That's first.

Now... with good journalism... perhaps pointed journalism come updates. A good rule of thumb is YOU MUST UPDATE THE READERS IF THERE'S A STORY THIS HOT. It's what responsible writers do. It's what BYB does.

Washington Post reports this:

Photo: Michael Hill / MLB.com

"A team spokesman told Passan that the move was a baseball-operations decision made by team president Michael Hill and that three other Marlins scouts also were fired.

Scott told Passan that he was able to secure health insurance through COBRA and hopes to schedule his kidney-transplant surgery for January. Still, he hopes that Jeter doesn’t continue this approach over the course of his ownership tenure. "

(AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

So let's cut through it.  Yes, Hill made the call, but Hill CANNOT just fire scouts. Hill MUST get approval from team owners Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman, and because everyone knows Derek Jeter... he's the connection to this story and how big it has become. Everyone in journalism knows how this works. Certain readers need to be smarter here.

Secondly, the guy's dying.  Marty Scott needed to secure COBRA insurance, apparently on his own.  I am baffled by why the Marlins didn't just cover it for him, considering his service with not only the Marlins but being a rep in baseball for nearly 40 years.  It's nuts to me, but in this regard, I guess business is business.  But you would HOPE that humanity takes a smart role in decisions like this.  Apparently not.

Anyway... to all the haters who think reporting this story is 'Fake News'... please decipher good journalism from bad.  This is good... this is accurate and now there is an update.

I leave you with this... this guy's got it all figured out. 

He's on Facebook, go have a field day with him.

By the way... I'm an independent.  Independent thinker. I thinks that's what the disconnect is with this guy... but whatever.... politics will never enter these pages.

We at BYB support Passan with this story, and I am positive more will come out.  Stay tuned.

THE GRINCH OF MIAMI

There's low... there's lower and then there's douche.  You decide after this post about Miami owner Derek Jeter.

Here's the New York Post with that story...

"The Marlins fired a longtime scout who needs a kidney transplant, Yahoo Sports reported. They did so while he was lying in a hospital bed recovering from colon cancer surgery. Marty Scott was let go Oct. 16, just before his contract was set to expire at the end of the month.

He was at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Fla. A few days before the bad news, Scott had a cancerous tumor and polyps removed from his colon. Doctors found the cancer while he was undergoing tests for a kidney transplant because he has diabetes.

Photo: Getty Images

'Derek Jeter doesn’t owe me anything,' Scott told Yahoo Sports. 'Probably in their hearts they did what they thought was right. I know based on certain aspects of the game, I probably was making too much money. But we all love the game. We’re all in it together. I just think 40 years was worth more than a spank on the butt and see you later...

I’m very hurt. Forty years in baseball, I let a lot of people go. I never, ever fired somebody 10 days, 15 days before their contract was up. If I knew I was going to fire somebody, I did it at the beginning of September.'”

It's all you need to know. Heartless. Disrespectful, and sure, you can call it business all you want.

Photo: New York Post

But Jeter's a Grinch. It's an outrageous story.  And before you come after BYB for being "disrespectful" to your Captain and Savior, think about and Google this story and recognize there are literally hundreds of publications tonight expressing disappointment in this man and his decisions as new owner of the Marlins.

For me though... this is lowest of the low.

Excellent reporting by Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports who did he original reporting on this. 

You know who's loving this story right now? Jeff Conine.

YANKEES TAP BOONE!

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

It's official.  Aaron Boone has been named manager of the New York Yankees.  The announcement was released first by the New York Daily News followed by a number of other media outlets including ESPN.  Boone has been a baseball analyst and familiar face on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball but has never managed a major league team.

Source: CBS New York

"Boone, 44, is best known for his Game 7-winning home run in the 2003 American League Championship Series that extended the Red Sox curse and sent the Yankees to the World Series," reports ESPN.  According to the New York Daily News, "Cashman wanted a replacement that was a strong communicator who could be open-minded to new ideas -- including analytics and performance-science.  And it was Cashman that recommended Boone to the front office, who ultimately offered him the job late Friday."

We will have more on this story and how this impacts our 2018 team in subsequent reports right here on #BYB.  I think I am still in shock, but at the same time, it closes a search that lasted over a month.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof




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IF ELLSBURY DOESN'T WANT TO GET TRADED, THEN START PRODUCING!

Photo: Presswire

I know for the fact that Jacoby Ellsbury is a great dude and a terrific teammate. He's also injury prone and sometimes dead weight... season by season, of course.  He also has a no-trade clause in his contract.

Photo: MassLive.com

So when word got out that the Yankees were dabbling in the "Stanton to the Yankees" rumors and BYB wrote ONE WAY THE YANKS CAN GET GIANCARLO STANTON,  it was clear... the world was gonna jump on that no-trade clause and make up stories suggesting that Ellsbury doesn't want to leave New York.  And you know what? They are all right.  He doesn't. That's why the clause is there.  He's also owed a crap load of money.

But here's the thing.  Ellsbury doesn't work in New York anymore.  Good guy, classy teammate aside, the man is an old timer now, crazy as that may sound. Plus, production is down... big time.  Batting .264 with 7 home runs in the 2017 season is just not the player the Yankees wanted when he signed that monster contract with them!  And so, any indication that the Yankees should or want to dump him makes a lot of sense.  The problem is it's gonna be pretty damn hard if he doesn't produce and is still owed of $63 million with a $5 million buyout.

But, can the Yankees unload him? Absolutely.  If they can find a team... pay for the majority of that salary and then basically make Ellsbury feel like he's not welcome, Jacoby will wave that no-trade clause.

Photo: New York Daily News

But let's be honest here... none of this discussion would be happening if THE GUY WOULD JUST PRODUCE! I mean think about this, the highest the guy's ever hit in New York is .271.  That was in 2014. That alone is good enough for me... find a deal Yanks.

Photo: New York Daily News

Look, on a personal level, I like Jacoby, but the Bronx is no longer the place for him.  No biggie, it's business, and ultimately, I'm sure it's about the contract alittle more than the team for him at this point.  He's an 11 year baseball veteran.  34 years old.  Stolen bases have dropped considerably since leaving Boston.  Maybe Miami is looking for an 8 hitter.  Ellsbury is a candidate, right?

If he's batting .331 with 18 home runs... no one's talking about this.  But there's a reason why we are... because he's not.