A Die Hard Yankees Fan

Happy Thanks Giving Yankees Fans!

2009-11-26T20:14:00.006-05:00

I'm thankful for the GREAT season the Yankees put together and the whole organization included for helping out. Winning the World Series is something I can't put into words. Us Yankees fans got to thank ourselves too because without us, our team wouldn't go anywhere without our support. Go Yanks!!

Thanks to all the readers out there. I created this site especially for you guys. Hopefully you and your family are having a good time this holiday.

Bob Sheppard Officially Retires

2009-11-26T20:13:00.001-05:00

Bob Sheppard has officially called it a career. The 99-year-old "Voice of Yankee Stadium" had this to say to Bryan Hoch:

"I have no plans of coming back," Sheppard said on Wednesday in a telephone interview. "Time has passed me by, I think. I had a good run for it. I enjoyed doing what I did. I don't think, at my age, I'm going to suddenly regain the stamina that is really needed if you do the job and do it well."

"I haven't been well," Sheppard said. "I had problems breathing for a while, and then I had a loss of weight. Now I'm trying to build myself back up again to get back to the stamina that I had when I played football at St. John's [University] many, many, many years ago, and life-guarding in the summer. I was at one time, about two years ago, down to 103 pounds.

"The doctor said that when I get to be about 145 pounds, he will give me clearance again. I have now reached about 137 and I'm not too far from what he wanted me to be. I have to keep building, and I'll be back at my best weight."

...

Sheppard said that he doubts "very, very much" that he will be able to perform the public address duties for even one Yankees game in 2010.

Sheppard did has nice things to say about his replacement, Paul Olden, who he speaks with often.
Sheppard said Olden was a "dignified and professional fellow," and when he's listening to him on TV "he sounds clear. He sounds dignified. I think he sounds professional. That's what the Yankees were looking for."

The end of an era has come.

Rosenthal: Halladay Deal Won't Go Down Soon

2009-11-26T10:31:00.005-05:00

Ken Rosenthal explains on Fox Sports today why he thinks that any talks to acquire Toronto's Roy Halladay will likely take longer than what Boston is hoping for. He starts out the article by saying that discussions for the right-hander could mirror the Johan Sanatana talks if Halladay would only waive his if he got a contract extension, which is most likely.

He goes on to discuss how the Jays interest in Boston prospect Casey Kelly, and Boston's reluctance to deal him, will likely keep the talks between Boston and Toronto going for some time.

He also explains why Toronto has no need to rush into things:

The Jays, on the other hand, need not accept an inferior package for Halladay. They can keep him next season, offer him salary arbitration after he becomes a free agent and receive two high picks in return. Halladay's trade value is at least the talent equivalent of the two high picks.

Boston's reasons for trying to push for a quick deal:

The Red Sox would be wise to push hard for a rapid resolution on Halladay at a time when the Yankees have yet to set their budget for next season. Santana, though, was not traded until Feb. 2 in the 2007-08 offseason. The Twins' Bill Smith was a new G.M., just like the Jays' Alex Anthopoulos is now.

Makes sense. If Anthopoulos is smart he'll wait until the Yankees get into the bidding. At the very least it will drive up the price for the Red Sox.

Rosenthal concludes by stating that while Toronto is motivated to move Halladay that these "will be complex, tricky, multi-layered negotiations." And it would be "an upset" if they ended quickly. Same here.

Wednesday's Links

2009-11-26T10:31:00.002-05:00

Big League Stew came out with their list of the top 10 home runs of the 2000's. There were a couple Yankees on the list; Aaron Boone's shot off Wakefield in game 7 of the '03 ALCS came in at number two, and Derek Jeter becoming Mr. November was sixth.

Homers from Matsui, Teixeira, and A-Rod from this year's playoffs, Brosius's shot off Kim in '01, and Soriano's walk-off agianst the Mariners in the '01 ALCS made the just missed list.

The top homer of the decade went to Barry Bonds, and his 756th home run. Check out the whole list here.

Minor Move Made By Yanks

2009-11-26T10:27:00.001-05:00

It was reported today by Ken Davidoff that the Yankees have signed outfielder Jon Weber to a minor league contract with an invitation to major-league spring training.

This winter he's been playing for Venados de Mazatlan of the Mexican Winter League. In 15 games he's hitting .455/.471/.682 with 3 HR and 19 RBI. In 117 games for the triple-A Durham Bulls this season the 31-year-old hit .302/.382/.497 with 14 HR and 69 RBI.

He hasn't made a MLB appearance and has spent the last decade in the minors.

Goodbye Shelley-Dunk-That

2009-11-26T10:24:00.002-05:00

After being outrighted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, Shelley Duncan has elected to become a free agent and is now available for any team to sign.

In two stints this season with the Yankees, hit just .200 (3-for-15) with one RBI n 11 games. but was named International League MVP after a great year in Scranton.

Good luck Duncan hopefully he can be useful to another team.

Damon Wants To "Stay"

2009-11-26T10:23:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Johnny Damon was back in the city for an event on top of the Empire State Building, where he and four-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson to flip the switch and light up the top of the building in Johnson's No. 48 team's blue, white and yellow.

During the event he was asked by the media about Johnson and his four straight championships and a possible return to the Yankees.

"Hopefully, if I'm part of the Yankees, we can say four's going to happen."

Asked if that means that he is looking for a three-year deal to stay in pinstripes, Damon delivered a message to Yankees GM Brian Cashman.

"I know what's here in New York - you have the new Stadium, you have the great coaches, you have the great players," Damon said. "You guys just have to tell Cash to get things going with me. I'm up for it."

Damon also said that he has value if he returns in recruiting players like he did with Sabathia and Burnett last offseason.

No matter what he says he's still going to sign with whatever team gives him the best deal.

Red Sox "Putting On A Full-Court Press" To Acquire Halladay

2009-11-25T11:52:00.002-05:00

From Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden:

The Red Sox are "putting on a full-court press" to acquire Roy Halladay, according to a source, and are hoping to add the former Cy Young winner to the top of their rotation to go with Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

"They would love to get it wrapped up before the winter meetings (beginning Dec. 7)," the source said of the Red Sox, who made a big push to deal for Halladay last summer.

The article goes on to speculate that Boston would probably have to give up Clay Buchholz along with minor leaguer pitcher/shortstop, Casey Kelley.

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is said to be smitten with Kelly, which could be a sticking point in talks with Toronto if Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos insists on the 20-year-old being included in a deal.

If The Red Sox go on to acquire Halladay, not only will they have the best top four starters in baseball but it'll force the Yanks to make a run at John Lackey. Or maybe they'll make a push for Halladay as well?

AFL Pitcher's Velocity Breakdown

2009-11-25T11:49:00.001-05:00

Baseball America (hat-tip to Chad Jennings) posted their velocity information for the now completed Arizona Fall League.

Here's the info they have on the Yankees pitchers who took part in the AFL:

Fastball Max velocity and average velocity

Ian Kennedy – 93.4 max, 90.66 ave.
Zach Kroenke — 93.1 max, 90.62 ave.
Mike Dunn — 96.6 max, 93.85 ave.
Grant Duff — 96.3 max, 93.39 ave.

And a bonus: Steven Strasburg's veleocity as well: Steven Strasburg: 100.5 max, 96.78 ave.

Tuesday's Link

2009-11-25T11:42:00.001-05:00

Baseball America is reporting that the Yankees have signed Dominican center fielder Eladio Moronta, and the deal was confirmed by a team official.

MLB had suspended Moronta for one year earlier this year for misrepresenting his age, then lifted the suspension on September 28 after Moronta admitted he was 20 years old, not 17.

Moronta, who turns 21 on December 16, is a 6-foot-1, 183-pound righthanded hitter with plus-plus speed, a strong arm and projectable power.

According to the NY Post, "a Yankees official said there was nothing to the talk that the club had a serious interest in free agent outfielder/DH Jermaine Dye". Some fans have mentioned his name as a candidate for DH or even left if Damon and/or Matsui don't come back.

Johnny Damon's wife, Michelle, told Newsday that three teams have already called Johnny to discuss his services for the 2010 season. The left fielder also is looking for something long-term, which the Yankees aren't going to do.

The Yankees and Red Sox will not meet this year during spring training.

Mark Feinsand has some images of the new 2009 Yankees display at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Check it out.

Pujols Named NL MVP

2009-11-24T17:59:00.000-05:00

The NL MVP comes as no surprise. Albert Pujols received all of the possible 32 first-place votes and finished off his third MVP season batting .327/.443/.658 with 47 home runs and 135 RBI. Florida's Hanley Ramirez finished second, with Ryan Howard coming in third. The rest of the voting results can be found here. No Met received any votes.

Olney: Yanks Looking To Land Two Relievers

2009-11-24T17:57:00.001-05:00

ESPN's Buster Olney says that besides their outfield needs their main focus will be their bullpen and in all likelihood will look to land two relievers. Olney also said that "it's unclear whether New York GM Brian Cashman is going to be willing to give up his first-round pick in the draft for a set-up man."

Names Olney mentions as possible targets were Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Jose Valverde and Brandon Lyon.

To me getting the starting rotation in order should be the main priority, with the bullpen being issue number 3 behind the rotation and the outfield. Joe Girardi said yesterday that their main focus would be the starting rotation so I guess you can take this Olney article with a grain of salt. Especially when you consider their pen was a strength last year and they have a lot of good arms in their farm system.

Putting Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain in next year's rotation would changes things a lot, and the pen would then definitely need an addition or two, but that all depends on how much Cashman trusts Joba and Hughes. Peter Gammons wrote today that that is in fact their plan, at least as of now.

The Yankees are planning to go to spring training with Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain being programmed to start. "They can always go from starting to the bullpen, but it's tough going the other way," says Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

Cashman feels David Robertson and Damaso Marte can pitch the seventh and eighth innings in front of Mariano Rivera, but a Yankee run at Lackey, Ben Sheets or another starter hasn't been ruled out. The feeling inside the Yankees' offices is that there will be some payroll cutback, but how much is not known.

You just can't have too enough arms so I say go for it.

No Yankee Players Attend World Series DVD Premiere

2009-11-24T17:14:00.002-05:00

Last night was the premiere of the 2009 World Series DVD. The main event, complete with red carpet, took place at Manhattan's Ziegfeld Theater. Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi, along with the team's announcers were on hand, but no players decided to show up for the event.

Maybe they were on vacation but the Giants at least attended to theirs and a couple of players.

According to Amazon.com the DVD should be out today.

Borden: Replace Popo With Current MVP

2009-11-24T10:21:00.001-05:00

American League MVP, Joe Mauer, is set to be a free agent at this time next year, and Sam Borden thinks it would be a good idea for the Yanks to make a run at him. I believe so too.

Next Week Yanks Brass Will Meet

2009-11-24T10:18:00.002-05:00

From Ken Davidoff:

Brian Cashman will meet with the Steinbrenners next week in Tampa - likely Thursday, Dec. 3 - to fully discuss the Yankees' offseason budget and plans, Newsday has learned.

"Once I get some firm numbers, then I can go ahead and start putting together some ideas," Cashman said.

Brian Cashman, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, team president Randy Levine and COO Lonn Trost are all expected to be at the meetings. I would assume Joe Girardi will be there too, but I'm not positive about that.

Both Hal and Cashman are set at remaining a championship team while simultaneously lowering payroll.

"I think the big picture is to be real efficient with how we allocate our resources," Cashman said. "Obviously, last year showed examples of, depending who it is, we can step up in a big way. I think we're going to try to be careful. Careful doesn't mean slow. We're trying to spend it wisely, make the right commitments to use for the present and the future.''

Cashman also told Chad Jennings that while the Yankees want to also get younger, "but being younger only with the idea of getting better.”

Joe Girardi and Cashman also told Jennings that the rotation would be the first thing they have to address.

Looks like the team is heading in the right direction and aren't clueless.

Final Out Of The World Series From WCBS880 Broadcast Booth

2009-11-24T10:08:00.001-05:00

A video of the final out of the World Series from the WCBS880 broadcast booth. (Sterling shake included).

The Headlines

2009-11-24T10:06:00.001-05:00

This from over at NYY Fans dot com and worth sharing. A desktop wallpaper that shows Godzilla destroying Citizens Bank Park.

( Click for full size version)

The Yanks were named as 2009 honorees at the 11th annual National Sportsmanship Awards on for their work with during HOPE Week.

Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett and Jason Zillo, the club's director of media relations and publicity, were on hand to accept the award from the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance and the St. Louis Sports Commission.

"It was one of the most inspirational nights of my career," Zillo said. "HOPE Week was a great idea, but we could not have done it without the support of players like A.J. who really believed in what we were trying to do. The team and the organization and the players made it what it was."

Brian Cashman told Marc Carig that the Yankees will deal with their own free agents before really hitting the market:

"I'll talk to our guys first. And after I have my conversation with our guys, I'll be full blown into the marketplace."

Yanks Giving Back To The Bronx For Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T10:05:00.000-05:00

Bryan Hoch just tweeted this:

Yankees to distribute free turkey vouchers to Bronx residents Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m., Yankee Stadium Gate 2.

You give and you get blessed. Nice to see the Yanks doing such nice things.

Marchand: Lackey Would Be Lucky To Get Burnett Type Contract

2009-11-24T10:04:00.000-05:00

ESPN Radio's Andrew Marchand wrote today that he was told by an MLB executive that John Lackey would be lucky to get a deal like the five-year $82.5 million that A.J. Burnett got from the Yankees last winter.

The executive also said that won't be that many buyers this winter, and Lackey could come down to a bidding war between the Yankees and Mets.

Mauer Wins MVP, Tex Finishes Behind Him Along With Jeter 3rd

2009-11-24T10:02:00.001-05:00

As expected, Joe Mauer was named AL MVP today. Mauer clearly had the best year out of anyone in the the league, finishing the year hitting .365/.444/.587 with 28 HR and 96 RBI. He nearly won a unanimous vote, taking 27 of 28 first-place votes and finishing with 387 point. The only other player to receive a first place vote was Miguel Cabrera, who finished fourth in the voting.

Mark Teixeira finished second in the voting with 225 point, Derek Jeter finished third with 193 points, Four other Yankees made the top 21; Alex Rodriguez finished 10th, Mariano finished 14th, Robinson Cano finished 18th, and CC finished 21st. The complete results can be seen here.

Yanks Cause Global World Series Ratings Way Up

2009-11-23T10:39:00.001-05:00

Chad Jennings has the numbers:

Japan: up 101% on NHK BS
Panama: up 101% on RPC and 40% on TV Max.
Korea: up 73% on OBS.
Dominican Republic: up 46% on CDN.
Canada: up 65% on Rogers Sportsnet.
Mexico: up 22% on Televisa.

Not surprised.

Damon Could Be Looking For Abreu Type Deal

2009-11-23T10:37:00.001-05:00

Ken Rosenthal wrote today that he believes that Scott Boras will use Bobby Abreu's two-year, $19 million contract as a baseline for a potential deal with Damon.

Earlier this offseason, Jon Heyman said that before the playoffs "the Yankees were believed willing to go for two years and $16 million for Damon", so they'd probably go for another $3 million for the same length. I'd still much rather see Damon brought back on a one-year deal, but since Abreu got two years and Scott Boras is his agent, that's not going to happen.

I'd probably make the deal.

2010 Projections

2009-11-22T20:06:00.001-05:00

2010 projections are being released from various sources, so here are three sets along with some highlights for you to check out:

Baseball Projections has the 2010 CHONE hitter projections.

Cano: .304/.341/.489, 19 HR, 83 RBI
Tex: 34 HR, 112 RBI
A-Rod: 34 HR, 106 RBI
Jeter: .295/.367/.425

Fangraphs has Bill James's 2010 projections on each players' individual page. For example here's Jeter's page.

Jeter: 200 hits
A-Rod: .950 OPS
CC: 18-9, 3.40 ERA, 3.44 FIP
Joba: 11-8, 3.94 ERA
Burnett: 15-7, 3.75 ERA
Damon: .278/.355/.430, 17 HR, 70 RBI, 99 R

Baseball Think Factory recently posted the Yankees 2010 ZiPS projections, which can be found at this link.

A-Rod: 141 OPS+
Matsui: 111 games, .277/.360/.454, 17 HR, 64 RBI, 119 OPS+
Jeter: .303/.372/.424
Tex: 112 RBI
Mariano Rivera: 3.18 ERA
Joba Chamberlain ERA+: 107 | A.J. Burnett ERA+: 102
Pettitte's ERA+: 101
Damon: .272/.350/.436, 16 HR, 61 RBI, 18 SB, 87 R

Here's some projections from some of the big name free agents:

Jason Bay (ZiPS): .268/.368/.507, 32 HR, 110 RBI, 126 OPS+
Roy Halladay (Bill James): 17-10, 3.23 ERA, 3.25 FIP
Matt Holliday (Bill James): .318/.387/.545, 27 HR, 105 RBI
Matt Holliday (CHONE): .299/.376/.510, 26 HR, 98 RBI
John Lackey (Bill James): 13-10, 3.81 ERA, 3.84 FIP

Cafardo Breaks On Sox Offseason Plans

2009-11-22T20:00:00.003-05:00

From Nick Cafardo:

John Lackey could be a key figure in both teams’ plans. If the Sox acquire him, it would allow them to package Clay Buchholz in a deal for Adrian Gonzalez or Miguel Cabrera, if he becomes available. Buchholz is the chip most teams want in a megadeal.

Then the Sox would try to acquire another decent starter or a rehab guy like Ben Sheets as protection.

“The Red Sox could be the major player this offseason if certain things fall together for them,’’ said an American League general manager. “They still have enough chips in their farm system to make something big happen.

“They also have two other guys who could be valuable to other teams as major pieces in Casey Kotchman and Jed Lowrie. I know a lot of people were wondering why they got Kotchman because there was no real need for another first baseman. But this might be the reason.’’

The Yankees could easily get into the Roy Halladay hunt if they’re willing to part with Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, which they apparently are. The one player they’d love to hold on to is Austin Jackson, their future center fielder who could keep their outfield costs low.

Cafardo also said that the Yanks could offer Lackey a deal like the one they gave A.J. Burnett last offseason. If the Sox improve, the Yankees will have to improve with them.

If the Sox make a big move this off-season that could force the Yanks to make an even bigger one. I guess we'll just have to see how much Cashman trusts Hughes and Chamberlain or he signs another arm. IMO, he should sign at least another because both Phil and Joba haven't pitched that many innings.

Pauly On Seinfield

2009-11-21T22:50:00.001-05:00

Check out this clip of Paul O'Neill in Seinfeld: