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Yankees injury update: Masahiro Tanaka pitches in instructional league game

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Try not to judge too harshly just yet

Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka took one step closer to rejoining the major league team before the end of the season when he pitched in an instructional league game at the Yankees minor league complex in Tampa. He threw five innings to Yankees minor league players, allowing six hits and collecting four strikeouts on 65 pitches. Despite giving up no runs, he didn't really have anything close to his best stuff against 18-year-old players.

Tanaka talked to the media and said that he felt perfectly healthy, but the problem was that he felt rusty. It still might be some time before we see him in a major league game again:

The biggest concern for me is that he topped out at 92 mph, which is far from his in-season 95 mph mark. Of course, this might all just be rust since Tanaka hasn't pitched regularly in months. From being handled with care, and then feeling sore in his arm, the Yankees haven't allowed the right-hander to pitch all that much. Anyone expecting him to go out there and throw a perfect game must be very disappointing, but the real takeaway is that he physically made it through the day without destroying his arm. We can't judge any of this, even the velocity, until he throws again. From here the next step would be for the Yankees to see how he feels tomorrow and where exactly he will pitch next time around.


Angels International Week Features Giveaway Swag

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Keeping truly international you know that all the junk they give away this week is made in China!

This week might be considered "clinching week" by those of us who follow what the Angels do on the field. But to the barhopping millenials of Orange County, this week is being advertised as "International Week".  On four consecutive days this week, beginning tomorrow night, the Angels will be giving away choice swag while supplies last.

Let's take a look at the swag at hand that is yours for the price of admission:

Tuesday - Angels Sombrero

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This looks like a fun giveaway and is certain to be spotted on fan heads at the park for seasons to come. Only problem is - where the hell else can you wear this thing? I have tried to incorporate the Halo Cowboy hat giveaway from June into my daily routine and the looks I get tell me it ain't working, fashion-wise.

But the stadium is where one goes to be a goofball partisan so why not add a red sombrero. If you are Mexican you can wear it with double pride and if you are a dorky white folk type you can wear your sombrero with irony at the stadium and be inspired to lurk Tinder.com for some south of the border experience.

To top off the celebration, Arte has hired Mariachis and Folklorico dancers to remind you that Mexico was once a colony of the French and even though the Frogs got their asses kicked they left a little tasteful musique for the Western Hemisphere to appropriate and enjoy.

Wednesday - Irish Clover Hat

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The celebration will be called "Half Way to Saint Paddy's Day" as September 17 is six months from St. Patrick's Day (also Robb Quinlan's birthday). If you don't have an Angels baseball cap, this is your chance to get one and if you do, this is your chance to get one with a discrete four-leaf Irish clover on the left temple.

This cap looks to be a keeper. It is your all-purpose Red Angels cap and it has a little "good luck charm" on it as well. Rub that clover during the postseason, folks, please!

Making sure the Irish theme is beaten into the ground, there will be an Irish dance troupe outside the stadium, under the hats. The traditional "Riverdance" of my people involves fancy footwork and no use of the hands. No it is not soccer, it is River Dancing. Frankly, the crap you see now is about as Irish as Frosted Lucky Charms, but hey, if it is a choice between complicated dancing and gun-running for the IRA, world peace demands that we river dance.

Thursday - Angels Rally Drum

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They gave something like this out in like 2003 or 2004 and I can say with certainty that this is the lamest giveaway in history - it is a child's toy that is just too complicated for children to get really going. On top of this, it is not loud (like a thunderstick) nor is it "Rally-Inducing" in any way. The sound it produces is weak and does not amplify when dozens or hundreds of them are played simultaneously. It is, however, sickeningly annoying. They should have this giveaway when the Angels host the Dodgers, Red Sox or Yankees, then we could all have a reason to break out our Rally Drums and annoy the people in the seats around us - because that is about all this tinkertot bangbox is good for.

Pregame, outside the stadium there will be a demonstration of Daion Taiko drumming. This is from a bygone era in Japan but it has weathered history to make into cultural studies conversation because HareKare ends with such a mess. The Rally Drum is being given to Japan for international week because if they equate drumming with other parts of the world they will get called racist.

Friday - Oktoberfest Stein

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It looks like it may be glass but it is probably clear plastic. There is an Angels Logo and wheat (symbolizing beer) and the word OKTOBER which to a baseball fan should signify the World Series but to a drinker means "Not Just Budweiser On tap This Month".

This is a great giveaway that all Halo fans can have a cold one from year-round. A real keeper. The only thing Germnay is identified with besides Beer is Suspenders and Nazis so this was probably the best choice although I'd make it out to the park for an Angels Lederhosen giveaway.

TO CONCLUDE...

So there you have it. International Week at Angel Stadium. Let's hope the team clinches the West with one of these giveaways in your hand!

Yankees 0, Rays 1: Offense dormant and causes suffering; finds way to lose before extras

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Can it just be over already?

This team loves getting shut out. This team loves to make all of you suffer for nearly four hours while they fail to scratch out even a single run. This team loves drinking your tears. If you want to find a positive in tonight's game, maybe you point to the fact that it's another mark off the calendar as we approach the offseason. Watching these guys flail helplessly night after night is barely even disappointing anymore. It has numbed us.

Chris Capuano pitched well in his first game since only recording one out in his last start, lasting six innings and giving up only two hits. The Rays' offense proved to be nearly as inept as the Yankees', but the difference was that Shawn Kelley pitched like Shawn Kelley frequently has in 2014 in the bottom of the ninth that allowed Tampa Bay to break the scoreless tie before subjecting us all to extra innings. Adam Warren bounced back from his latest shaky outing to throw two innings without allowing a hit. Martin Prado was the least terrible on the offensive side, picking up two hits on the night. Ichiro Suzuki was the only Yankee to pick up a hit for extra bases with a double.

In further "that's so 2014 Yankees news", Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury collided in the outfield while trying to haul in a fly ball. Gardner was given an error on the play, and we are probably just fortunate that neither of them needed to be carted off the field. Chase Headley was ejected in the middle of an at-bat after taking exception to a Marty Foster strike call. It seemed like Foster escalated the situation much more than Headley, but we all know that that's just the way a lot of these umpires roll. Maybe Headley was just as sick of the game as the rest of us and wanted to hit the showers early.

Tomorrow night's game will feature Michael Pineda squaring off with Jake Odorizzi at 7:10 pm. It's unclear why you might still be devoting your time to this team at this point, but I guess you can enjoy that Pineda is one of the few bright spots left in what will go down as an extremely disappointing season. Yay, I guess.

Around the Empire: New York Yankees News - 9/16/14

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The New York Times | David Waldstein: Here's an attempt to figure out how many swings Derek Jeter has taken in his career.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty:Masahiro Tanaka is still unsure whether or not he is ready to return to the majors.

Newsday | David Lennon: As Derek Jeter nears the end, Buck Showalter is reminded of his time with the Yankees when he watched over Don Mattingly's final season.

The Wall Street Journal | Daniel Barbarisi: Ex-Yankee Kelly Johnson gives us a tour of the entire AL East.

MLB Daily Dish | Sung-Min Kim: A look at what Brandon McCarthy offers teams this offseason as a free agent.

Newsday | Neil Best: John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman don't appear to be going anywhere this year or in the future.

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: Derek Jeter says the Yankees have been playing well, but that's just not true because they've been terrible.

New York Post | Kevin Kernan: With the Yankees season in ruin, Shane Greene could end up being the lone bright spot.

Rotographs | Scott Strandberg:Martin Prado is a very good example of a player that just needs a fresh start to get this going in the right direction again.

The Rays Tank: Walk Off Win

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Oh, and we eliminated the Yankees from winning the AL East.

This is still fun:

This is still frustrating:

Tweet of the Day:

Links:

- The only serious aspect of today's Tank: in a ridiculously smart move considering the shitshow the NFL has been the past few weeks, the MLB has scheduled a meeting with the players' union to reach a policy regarding domestic abuse, in order to establish a formal discipline for any future domestic abuse cases. Considering the MLB's track record with domestic violence, smart move by Bud.

Hot dogs> foul balls.

- Filthy pitching from Jacob deGrom, who began last night's game against the Marlins with eight straight strikeouts, tying the modern MLB record:

- Adam Jones destroyed a robocam:

- Entirely not baseball related, but HEY DUDE:

Yankees prospects 2014 season recap: Staten Island Yankees

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Recapping the 2014 season by the Staten Island Yankees.

Following Andrew's thorough recap of the Gulf Coast LeagueYankees' teams yesterday, today we move up a level to review the high points and players to watch that spent their season with the Staten Island Yankees. As with the GCL teams, Short Season-A players only played an abbreviated season. It's not always easy to get a great grasp of how a player will do once they are playing a full season based on the results from the lowest levels of the minors, but we will work with what we have here.

First base prospect Connor Spencer had, by far, the best results of anyone who put on a uniform for Staten Island in 2014. Drafted in the eighth round of the 2014 draft, Spencer wasted no time in putting his name on the prospect map with a .364/.389/.444 batting line in 51 games. Even though he didn't manage to hit a home run in his first taste of professional baseball, his 14 doubles were among the Staten Island leaders. Left fielder Chris Breen led all Staten Island Yankees with eight home runs in 63 games. He also notched 16 doubles and five triples, but struck out 71 times.

After struggling with Low-A Charleston before being sidelined with an injury, Luis Torrens returned a level lower with Staten Island to put up an impressive .270/.327/.405 batting line in 48 games. The young catcher is only 18 years old, so he's still three years younger than the average Short Season level player. Second baseman Ty McFarland also had himself a nice professional debut after being drafted in June with a .278/.345/.430 batting line and 17 doubles in 62 games. With 19 errors, however, it's reasonable to say that he'll need to work on his defense a bit.

Big right-hander David Palladino led the Staten Island Yankees in innings pitched with 67.2 and a 3.72 ERA. The 2013 5th round pick was repeating the level and pitched to nearly identical results except ERA in slightly more innings. On the good side, Palladino struck out more batters and lowered his batting average against from .270 to .236 while walking a few more batters than in the previous year. Ethan Carnes and Matt Wotherspoon pitched extremely well out of the SI Yanks' bullpen, each with ERAs a few ticks under 2. Carnes allowed seven earned runs in 32.1 innings while closing out nine games and striking out 35 batters. Wotherspoon was another 2014 draftee that made an immediate impression with a 1.97 ERA in 32 innings while striking out 29 batters.

The Yankees' 18th round pick from 2014, Justin Kamplain, split his time between Staten Island and Charleston in his first season of professional baseball. The left-hander absolutely dominated the New York-Penn League with a 0.73 ERA in 21 innings before being promoted to Low-A. Kamplain struck out 25 and allowed only one earned run with Staten Island while holding opposing batters to a .129 average against him. Jordan Cote, who the Yankees selected in the third round of the 2011 draft, struggled for the first time as a professional after putting up two good seasons in the Gulf Coast League. His 6.49 ERA in 51.1 innings for Staten Island left a lot to be desired, but hopefully he will find a way to regain numbers that more closely resemble what he was able to do against Rookie Ball batters.

Even though players who have made it to Staten Island are a bit more advanced than those who are simply in Rookie Ball, it's still a bit difficult to get a grasp of what kind of prospects they may be after only half a season worth of sample size. Luis Torrens seems to be the biggest name of this bunch, but Justin Kamplain's results shouldn't be ignored even if they did come over so few innings. Most of these guys will be bumped up to Charleston next season where they will get a chance to show what they have over the course of a full season for the first time.

Alex Rodriguez unlikely to be charged in Biogenesis case

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He's not entirely out of the woods yet, but it sounds as if A-Rod will avoid further trouble relating to Biogenesis.

It has been mostly quiet on the Alex Rodriguez front on 2014, as the Yankees' third baseman has quietly served his suspension for his involvement with the anti-aging clinic, Biogenesis. That quiet seems as if it will continue in the near future, as the attorney for A-Rod's cousin -- who is one of the seven defendants in the U.S. government's case against Biogenesis -- does not believe Rodriguez will be charged with any wrongdoing, according to the New York Daily News.

"I think the government made a decision that they're not going to go after any of the players or recipients," Edward O'Donnell IV, the attorney for Biogenesis defendant Yuri Sucart, told the Daily News Monday. "I can't officially tell you that. But I think (Rodriguez) is home free. It's my opinion that the government is not going to go after Alex."

That means it's still up in the air, as the government could change course and decided Rodriguez is a priority. It's unlikely, though, as they're seemingly more concerned with punishing those who were the source of the performance-enhancing drugs in the first place. That would, presumably, leave Rodriguez open to rejoining the Yankees in 2015 as expected, where he will likely be the club's third baseman once more, and receive the full value of his contract once again.

More on Marcus Stroman 'slipped pitch'

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It seems fitting that the day we wrote about a Jays/Yankees brawl from 5 years ago, the Jays get in another brawl. There was an important difference. Talking about the game 5 years ago I said:

In the bottom of the inning Jesse Carlson throws behind Posada. Behind him. The ball's about thigh level, not head level, not rib cage level, not even shin high. Right at the level you throw to make a point, without the worry of injuring someone.

If that is what Marcus Stroman had done, I'd be all for it, standing up for you teammates is not a bad thing. You send a message and there is no real chance of injuring someone that. And I'd imagine that the Orioles would have been alright with that too, or if not, who cares.

Unfortunately, Marcus Stroman threw behind Caleb Joseph's head. That I can't support. It's bad baseball. It's bad everything. Getting hit in the head is not pleasant. Many players have had their careers ruined from stuff like that. No one wants to see someone laying on the ground bleeding. Watching Giancarlo Stanton should be enough to make anyone upset at the idea of throwing at a head (not that it was on purpose in that case).

Every time something like this happens, you hear that this is the way they played in the good old days. And yeah Don Drysdale wasn't against going for someone's head, back in the 50's and 60's. Of course, back in those days it was also ok to beat your child with a stick. Thankfully, we are smarter now. Accidents happen, but now we know that trying to hit someone in the head is wrong. We are a little more grown up these days.

It isn't right to throw at a head. It isn't right to throw behind a head. I'm sure Marcus has been talked to. If he did what Jesse Carlson did, I'd be on his side, make a point but don't try to end a career.

Marcus said:

"It kind of just slipped out of my hand," Stroman said. "It was late in the game, I got two big strikeouts, I'm a little excited, trying to get out of the inning."

Which, is what you have to say, saying anything else is asking for a suspension. I'm glad the umpire quickly warned both benches.I hope that last night was the end of it, I'd hate to see someone throw at the head of one of our players.

I do understand the Jays being in a bad mood, it's been a frustrating season.  And I can understand Jose Reyes being pissed off about his hand being stepped on, not that I think it was really intentional, but it would hurt and it would bug me too. I understand sticking up for your teammate. If Marcus had throw at his thigh, all would be good.

Here's last night's leader board. 714 comments. Kraemer led the way, good job sir.

#Commenter# Comments
1Kraemer_1784
2MjwW65
3jmarples54
4Lutherie50
5Tom Dakers43
6carpe.nocti40
7erik.t38
8Spor38
9MartsB30
10Gerse26
11radivel24
12REMO23
13Diamond_D8623
14Belisarius22
15NFLDjaysfan19
16madrush17
17stressed16
18hansdampf15
19Torgen13
20ABsteve12
21fishedin11
Poll
Will Marcus be suspended?

  230 votes |Results


PSA Comments of the Day 9/16/14: At least we can watch Pineda

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The Yankees, while not mathematically eliminated, are done with 2014. Michael Pineda gets the start tonight, which is definitely a reason to watch.

Comment of the Game

NoMahbles earns himself a COTG award for suggesting the destruction of Tropicana Field. As I've said before on this site, I will personally fly down there to watch that stadium explore or implode or however they decide to destroy it. Still hoping for a solar launch.

Best GIF of the Recap

Our BGOTR award goes to cookiedabookie. It pretty much puts the last stamp on this season in classic Simpsons form.

Honorable Mod Mention

Shaun McNeill easily wins the HMM award. I shouldn't have to explain why he did.

Best Comments of the Day

Not much going on in the comments yesterday, so there shall be no COTD award for anyone. Step it up, PSAers.

Fun Questions
  • Do you think anyone from the Yankees is going to get fired this year?
  • Finish this line: Eggs go great with _________
Song of the Day

Closing Time by Semisonic

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. As always link us you song of the day!

So yeah, Michael Pineda is pitching tonight against the Rays. Pineda is important to the Yankees' 2015 plans. Michael Pineda is exciting to watch. Let's all watch Michael Pineda pitch and share stories of happier times.

go pineda go memories

Yankees call up Jose Pirela to replace Martin Prado

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Jose Pirela, Major League Baseball player.

As if this season couldn't get any worse, Martin Pradounderwent an emergency appendectomy last night and his season is officially over. But out of the worst things, sometimes good things happen. The Yankees placed Prado on the 60-day disabled list and have replaced him with minor league infielder Jose Pirela. The 24-year-old will finally get a chance in the majors, even if there are only two weeks left in the season.

Pirela hit .305/.351/.441 with 10 home runs and 15 stole bases in his first full season at Triple-A this year and regardless of what he will provide going forward, definitely deserved a call up. While Rob Refsnyder got all the hype, Pirela put together his own All-Star season, and given his contract status, bringing him up now makes sense. The Yankees are not only giving him a chance to perform in the majors, but by adding him to the 40, they can now keep him in the organization instead of allowing him to become a minor league free agent.

Jose Pirela might not end up providing that much value this year or over the rest of his career, but since the Yankees didn't bring up any interesting prospects in September, this is the closest we will get to an exciting young player. Sure Bryan Mitchell and John Ryan Murphy are up here, but neither had the season Pirela had and neither had a demand quite like he did. He's not really much of a prospect, but given his age and recent showing of talent, he's the best we have to look at for now. I hope he gets a fair amount of playing time because he's definitely earned it and maybe he proves to everyone that he at least deserves a chance.

The Yankees are forced to face their fate

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After a season of disappointment the end of all things comes for the 2014 Yankees.

September 15th, 2014: The New York Yankees are winding down in the damp, dank caverns of Tropicana Field. They have just been shut out for approximately the 500th time in the season and manager Joe Girardi is about to address the team.

Joe Girardi: Now I know I seem to say this every other night, but I feel I must not have been stressing it enough since it keeps happening. We need to actually score runs to win baseball games. If we keep the other team scoreless for thirty innings, the best we'll get is the league stepping in and awarding us a tie. That's really not good enough, guys.

Michael Pineda: Can I just hit for myself from now on?

Girardi: Maybe against a lefty. Now, in order to...

The lights in the room flicker as a cold air fills the players' lungs. A tall, shrouded figure seemingly fades into the room and towers over the team menacingly.

Death: It is time: the specter of Death has come to claim you.

Derek Jeter: Oh come on, I'm just retiring! Look, I'm in perfect health and..

Death: No, decrepit shortstop. There is plenty of time before I come for you. I have arrived to claim your season.

Girardi: That's weird, I don't remember these theatrics last season.

Death: Your 2013 was doomed from the beginning. This year you were clinging to the foolishness of hope and renewal. Which seems preposterous considering the second basemen you trotted out this year.

Stephen Drew: Geez, now everybody's ragging on me.

Girardi: Hey, I'll have know we aren't even eliminated yet! This seems awfully premature.

Death cackles at the notion

Death: That is technically true. But neither are the New York Mets, yet I took this!

The reaper produces the detached head of Mr. Met

Jacoby Ellsbury: Good God, why is a mascot head dripping blood like that!?

Death: Ha, you thought he was just a man in a suit?Just accept your fate. Your season has long since since been over.

Mark Teixeira: Not if I can help it! Take this!

Teixeira takes his bat and swings three times at the apparition, missing badly each time.

Teixeira: Aw, raspberries.

Chris Young: What if I were to play you in chess? Would you be willing to spare the team if I were to defeat you in a test of wits?

Girardi: No, Chris. You've done enough to try and resuscitate this team. He's right: the season is finished. What do you need from us?

Death: I must take one of you back with me. A symbol of your failings.

The majority of the clubhouse looks over at third base coach Rob Thomson

Rob Thomson: You're not really going to kill me, are you?

Death: I don't know. I suppose it depends on how well you coach my rec softball league!

Death cackles once more before disappearing into the ether with Thomson.

Brett Gardner: Wow. That all seems a little extreme for just missing the playoffs.

Girardi: Well, you had to figure Bud Selig made a deal with somebody to have been able to stick around for this long.


An appreciation of should-be Hall of Famer Tim Raines's Yankees years on his 55th birthday

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The longtime Expos great won two World Series rings with the Yankees in the '90s, and he was pretty darn awesome.

Today, seven-time All-Star Tim Raines turns 55 years old. "Rock" was one of the best players in baseball in the '80s, stole a phenomenal 808 bases (fifth-best all-time), and reached base via a hit or walk an incredible 3,935 times (a higher total than Tony Gwynn) during his 23-year career, accumulating 69.1 rWAR. He belongs in the Hall of Fame. It's a sham that he's not yet. If you're unsure about it, please read Jay Jaffe, Keith Law, or Jonah Keri. Dude was awesome.

While Raines rose to prominence with the dearly departed Montreal Expos and will rightfully enter Cooperstown one day with that stylish "M" on his hat, he spent three years of his career later on with the New York Yankees, where he was a valued member and team leader of a group that won two World Series titles during his tenure. He had played 17 years in the majors before at last winning a championship in '96, and it was a thrill for him to finally reach the top. Manager Joe Torre figured out just the right spots to put Raines in, and he did pretty damn well for a guy entering his late 30s. When one thinks of the critical role players who simply fit on those teams, Raines is justifiably one of the first to come to mind.

Some people might forget that Raines didn't come straight to the Yankees from Montreal. After a brilliant decade in Montreal, the Expos traded him to the White Sox prior to the '91 season, where he was still quite productive with a .283/.375/.407 triple slash, 143 steals, and a 113 OPS+ for some very good teams. The '93 squad won the AL West and brought Raines back to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, where he hit .444, though they fell in six games to the eventual champion Blue Jays in the ALCS. Chicago was also leading the newly-created AL Central at the time of the 1994 Player's Strike; the Expos weren't the only beloved member of the Montreal family to get screwed.

In December 1995, the Yankees acquired the veteran outfielder from the Pale Hose in exchange for a player to be named later who never actually made even a minor league appearance for Chicago (Blaise Kozeniewski). It was a bit of a salary dump, and the Yankees were happy to add Raines to an outfield that already including the talented Paul O'Neill and rising star Bernie Williams. He didn't get off to the best start though, at least in terms of health. His missed the first week and a half due to injury, then after hitting .286/.390/.405 through 41 games, another blow took him out of the lineup for three months.

Fortunately, the Yankees were able to fill the void with a left field corps that eventually included fellow '80s star Darryl Strawberry, and when Raines returned in mid-August, he didn't miss a beat. He slugged .513 the rest of the way to bring his '96 numbers up to .284/.383/.468 with a 118 wRC+ in 59 games. Raines had a seven-game hitting streak in the '96 playoffs as the Yankees stunned the baseball world by beating the defending champion Braves in the Fall Classic, including a thrilling a six-run rally in Game 4, concluded in extra innings when Raines humorously fell while catching the final out. "Rock" finally had his World Series ring.

In '97, Raines missed two and a half months due to a hamstring strain, but he still managed to be productive yet again. He hit .321/.403/.454 with 20 doubles and a 130 wRC+, his best mark in four years. The Yankees won four more games than they did in '96, though an even better Orioles squad forced them to settle for the AL Wild Card. In Game 1 of the ALDS against the Indians, Raines was part of an incredible turn of events. Cleveland pummeled David Cone and took a 5-0 lead, but the Yankees battled back and in the seventh inning, Raines belted a two-run homer to tie the score, sending the crowd into a frenzy. It was quite the shock, as Raines only hit 24 more homers in 449 career games after his 35th birthday. Improbably, Derek Jeter and Paul O'Neill followed consecutively with homers of their own, the first time in playoff history that a team went back-to-back-to-back. That would be the only thrill of the '97 playoffs for the Yankees though, as they went on to lose the series in five games.

The Yankees returned with a vengeance in '98 with perhaps the greatest season in the history of baseball. They famously won 114 games, then added 11 more in the playoffs for 125 total and their 24th World Series title. Raines had been re-signed prior to the season, and he responded with his healthiest season in pinstripes. He played in 109 games, batting .290/.395/.383 with a 113 wRC+. He also reached a personal milestone in--where else?--Montreal, when in an interleague game he stole the 800th base of his career. The Olympic Stadium crowd erupted and gave Raines a huge ovation:

Raines always cracked up his teammates in the clubhouse and became close friends with a young shortstop named Derek Jeter, whose early success quickly found him fame. Jeter always felt Raines was one of his closest mentors, and Jeter's professionalism throughout his career was an unsurprising result of this kinship. (Raines later returned for Derek Jeter Day in 2014 when the eventual Yankees captain was honored.) When Raines departed the Yankees after the season for the A's and was diagnosed with lupus in the middle of the 1999 season, his teammates were devastated. Upon his return while inactive to Yankee Stadium with the A's, his teammates came out on the field and hugged him.

Overall, Raines hit .299/.395/.429 with 43 doubles, 18 homers, and a 115 OPS+ in 242 games as a Yankee, exhibiting the same astute plate discipline that made him such a good hitters in years past. Of course, his impact went beyond numbers. Raines wasn't just another nice guy to have off the bench during his Yankees years--he was extremely popular in the clubhouse. Fans recognized that the Yankees were lucky to have such an accomplished yet still quite helpful veteran available to their team.

Here's to you, Rock, and here's hoping the Hall of Fame welcomes you with open arms very soon.

The Yankees need to stop pretending and just call it a season

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The Yankees need to start thinking about 2015

It's over. Ok, it's not technically over, but last night the Yankees were eliminated from winning division and are now six games back in the wild card, making it highly unlikely there will be any sort of late-season run. While there was something to be said about going for it back in July when positive regression and a few new pieces could have turned this team into a contender, it's time to stop wasting time pretending and start being productive by looking toward 2015.

The Yankees never really had any tradable pieces, but now with only two weeks to go, they should be shutting things down and letting go of the idea of contention. As I argued yesterday, they shouldn't be overworking David Robertson, but instead resting him. All players who have struggled with injury in the last month, like Mark Teixeira and Brett Gardner, should be resting too. There's no point trying to get them to play through their various injuries because they'll be needed next year and the last thing anyone wants is for one of them to get seriously injured and cause a problem over the offseason. They should also stop using Chase Whitley as he's well beyond his innings total from 2013. He was a great surprise this year, but there's no reason to push him any more than they already have. Just shut him down and hope that he can be effective next year with a rested arm.

While they might not need to shut down Dellin Betances immediately, they shouldn't put too much stress on the team's breakout star. Right now he's tied with Mariano Rivera for the most strikeouts in a single season for a Yankees reliever. I normally don't like the idea of managing around a personal record, but Dellin has held up well all season long. I would at least let him get a chance to break the record and then shut him down for the year. Regardless of whether they bring back Robertson, the team is going to need Betances to be effective and healthy; thankfully we've gotten both in 2014, but there's no reason to take the chance.

Masahiro Tanaka needs to pitch. This season might be a lost cause, but the status of Tanaka will change everything about how they approach the offseason. He just threw a few uninspiring innings yesterday, but right now it's about health rather than effectiveness. If they can bring him up to the majors and get the sense that he can still get major league hitters out without destroying his arm, it will make the team's offseason much easier. Even if he ends up hurting his arm again, at least they'll know now that he'll need Tommy John surgery instead of finding out in spring training. Whether it works out or not, it has to happen.

Carlos Beltran claims that even by waiting until the end of the season to get elbow surgery, it won't affect his status for 2015. That might be true, but I think I'd be much more confident in the whole thing going forward if he just got it out of the way now. The team isn't making the playoffs and he's not going to score any points or fix his season in the next two weeks, so there's no reason to play in meaningless games when you have an injury that needs surgery. Even if it won't hurt his offseason routine, he has a chance to avoid doing anything differently at all. If it were up to me, he should have had the surgery the last time he was shut down with elbow pain. It just sounds better to get it out of the way sooner, rather than needlessly waiting around for it to happen later.

Most teams out of contention will take this time to let their prospects play in order to evaluate what they have and give them valuable MLB experience. The Yankees decided against that idea and instead mostly brought up Triple-A fodder as September call-ups, however the small amount of young players they did bring up should have their time in the sun. I would let Bryan Mitchell start for the remainder of the year, even if that only ends up being a start or two. Swap him with Chris Capuano, who doesn't seem likely to fit into the team's future plans, and try to get a sense of what he can offer next year. The only other guy they have is John Ryan Murphy, who should get a real opportunity to make up for his disappointing season. Allow him to at least split time with Brian McCann going forward and give him regular playing time. We know he has the ability to catch, but let's see how his bat plays with regular at-bats and try to end his season on a positive note.

Now is the time for the Zelous Wheelers, Antoan Richardsons, Brendan Ryans, and Stephen Drews of the world to get their playing time in. Now is the time to watch Derek Jeter play out the last days of his career. Anyone who is important to the team's future needs to be protected from harm because the last thing this season needs is a catastrophe that could have been avoided.

Phil Hughes: Major league number one?

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Phil Hughes' resurgence came out of nowhere. How did he go from being a below average pitcher to one of the best in the game?

Before the 2014 season, Phil Hughes' career was filled with inconsistency. In 2007, Hughes was rated as the Yankees' number one prospect and the fourth prospect in all of baseball. Expectations were high to say the least. From 2007-2009, Hughes jumped between the rotation and the bullpen and had difficulty with various injuries.

2010 was the first season when he pitched a full season, and the results were essentially average across the board. His ERA- and FIP- were 98 and 99 respectively. He struck out batters 20% of the time, which was a tick above league average, and walked a league average 8% of batters. The next three seasons were filled with injuries and much worse results. It didn't appear as if Hughes would live up to the hype at all.

Then Hughes became a free agent and signed a three year, $24 million dollar deal with the Twins. He's been a completely different pitcher ever since. He's posting career highs in strikeout percentage, as well as walk percentage. His home run per fly ball rate is also the lowest in his career.

NameK%BB%HR/FBGB%BABIPLOB%ERA-FIP-WAR
Clayton Kershaw31.6%4%7%52.9%0.26682%48526.7
Corey Kluber26.8%5.4%8.1%48.7%0.30777.5%66696
Felix Hernandez26.6%4.9%9.8%55.4%0.25978.9%57705.8
Jon Lester24.8%5.5%7.4%43.2%0.29776.8%63735.7
Phil Hughes22.2%2%6.4%36.9%0.32869.9%92695.6
David Price27.2%3.6%10.5%41.5%0.30573.2%88785.4
Chris Sale30.3%5.4%6.9%40.9%0.27181.6%50625.3
Max Scherzer28.3%6.9%7.9%36.8%0.31477.1%81735.1
Jose Quintana21.4%6.8%4.4%44.5%0.31169.2%83715.1
Jordan Zimmermann22.4%3.7%6.8%40.6%0.31376.1%77754.5

Right off the bat we can see that Hughes is ranked with some of the best pitchers in the game. As of this post, his fWAR is better than Chris Sale and former AL Cy Young Winner Max Scherzer. Currently Hughes has the third best FIP- in all of baseball with only Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw ahead of him. He also has the lowest BB% among everyone in this group. Only Michael Pineda, who's thrown only 57 innings, has a lower BB%. Now that we've seen that Hughes is one of the best starters in 2014, let's see just how he got there.

During the offseason, Hughes announced that he would be getting rid of his slider and he would be replacing it with a cutter. Bringing back the cutter has played an important role in his success throughout the year. After his four seam fastball, his cutter is his most used pitch. He throws it just over 20%, as you can see on the graph below. Batters are not faring well when he uses it either. Hitters are connecting for only a .223 batting average and a .113 ISO. Hughes is also generating whiffs over 25 with his cutter, which is always a big help.

Brooksbaseball-chart

Hughes has also found some new success with his fastball. He's seen fewer fly balls when he's thrown it this year, and his ISO against has also dropped to a career low. The line drives and ground balls have remained fairly similar; regardless, it has not hindered his success in 2014.

Not only is Hughes' success story huge for him, but it's also something that the Twins desperately need. During the off-season, they took fairly decent size gambles on both Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes, and while the Nolasco one has been pretty bad, it's been great to see Hughes finally figure it out. Even with his breakout year, the Twins have still been miserable, but that's a story for another day.

It'll be interesting to see how Hughes does next season when he begins his second year at Target Field. He's only 28 years old, and while it's possible that he starts right where he left off, I wouldn't count on it. For many pitchers, this is about as good of an individual season as you'd want, so regression seems imminent.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and Brooks Baseball

Alex Kienholz is a writer at Beyond the Box Score. You can follow him on Twitter:

Masahiro Tanaka to start on Sunday vs. Blue Jays; Mark Teixeira out of lineup with wrist soreness

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Yay/boo

Masahiro Tanaka will return from a partially torn UCL on Sunday in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees announced Tuesday afternoon. Joe Girardi said Tanaka would be limited to about 75 pitches in his first start since tearing around 10% of his UCL months ago and undergoing a platelet-rich plasma injection to go along with rest and rehab to try and heal the tendon. After pitching in a game against minor leaguers on Monday, Tanaka's arm felt good enough that the team thinks it's time to see what he can do in a big league game. Further, the team would likely feel more comfortable knowing whether or not they will have to send their ace pitcher to Dr. Andrews for Tommy John surgery once he tries to throw a game worth of pitches. There is still a chance that Tanaka will need the procedure before all is said and done, but it is good that he will get in a start before the offseason for further evaluation. Tanaka says he feels like one big league start would be enough to give him an idea of how his arm is, as well as give him confidence heading into the offseason.

On the other side of the injury coin, Mark Teixeira is out of the lineup indefinitely with soreness in his surgically repaired wrist. There is no timetable for his return as of now, and he is supposed to let the team know when he feels like he is able to play again. Unfortunately, this is just more of the same for Teixeira, who has missed time throughout the season with bumps and bruises here and there. Maybe the wrist hurting has been the cause of his abysmal play, but if that's the case then it has certainly been hurting a majority of the season. If Teixeira cannot stay on the field, the rest of his contract is going to look even more ugly than it already does.

Martin Prado's appendix was removed before it could burst, according to Joe Girardi. That sounds like at least a small bullet was dodged there. Unfortunately, the Yankees will have to conclude the season without one of their hottest hitters as of late. Francisco Cervelli returns to the lineup tonight after missing time with migraine headaches. He is catching tonight while, in the absence of Teixeira, Brian McCann moves over to first base.


Masahiro Tanaka scheduled to return to Yankees on Sunday

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The 25-year-old Japanese phenom is scheduled to return to the major leagues for the first time in over two months.

After two months of see-sawing medical reports, the Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka has finally been cleared to return to the majors, as manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Tuesday that the right-hander will start for New York on Sunday, in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Considering the wariness surrounding his condition, the Yankees will exercise caution, and Tanaka will likely be limited to 70-75 pitches.

Tanaka burst onto the scene in his first season stateside after agreeing to a massive seven-year, $155 million deal in January. In his first 18 starts, Tanaka posted a 2.51 ERA, 153 ERA+, 3.05 FIP, 9.4 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, and 3.7 WAR, earning an All-Star nod and emerging as one of the brightest young pitchers in the game. Unfortunately, Tanaka partially tore his UCL on July 8th, and has spent the past two months rehabilitating the injury in an attempt to avoid Tommy John surgery.

Though he will be returning to the majors, Tanaka isn't out of the woods just yet, as a flareup would almost certainly send him under the knife. Nonetheless, Tanaka should have a couple of starts to prove that he is healthy enough to avoid surgery and return fully operational for 2015.

Yankees 1, Rays 6: A predictable game highlighted by a benches-clearing argument

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Blame this one on the offense (of course) and some sloppy infield defense. Everything you've come to expect from the Yankees was on full display tonight. Great starting pitching, zero run support, and a lot of stupidity in the field. The only difference this time around was that the Yankees were actually able to score early. The unfortunate part was that it was just once, because of course.

In the top of the second, our hero Chris Young doubled and Ichiro Suzuki then knocked him in with a hit of his own to make it 1–0. The Yankees would challenge a few times over the course of the game, but they never got the offensive ball rolling. Were you surprised? In the third, the Yankees had two on and no outs when Brendan Ryan walked and Jacoby Ellsbury singled, but that went nowhere. They did the same in the fifth when Francisco Cervelli and Brendan Ryan collected back-to-back hits, but still nothing. Cervelli singled again in the seventh and was replaced by Antoan Richardson, who proceeded to steal second, but they managed to strand him there.

Michael Pineda put in another good effort on the mound. He allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk over 5.1 innings and still got the loss, since the Yankees couldn't do anything else right. In the fifth inning, Kevin Kiermaier reached on a Brendan Ryan error before Pineda surrendered his first walk since forever. It was starting to look like they could get out of the inning, but a ball hit to first baseman Brian McCann ended poorly. He flipped the ball to Pineda as the pitcher tried to cover the bag, but the ball got away and Kiermaier went all the way around to tie the game.

This team's terrible luck continued in the next inning when Nick Franklin doubled and moved over to third on a ground ball. Yunel Escobar laid down a dribbling bunt in front of home plate and Franklin went for home. For some reason, Cervelli decided to go after the ball, but the problem was that by the time he got to it, there was no chance to get back and stop the run from scoring or to even get any out at all. Thankfully, the Yankees got out of the inning after a weird accidental bunt by Kiermaier resulted in a very clutch double play.

If this wasn't going poorly enough for the Yankees, the bullpen then assisted in blowing it all up. Esmil Rogers could only get one out in the seventh before allowing a walk and two singles to add to the Rays' lead. Rich Hill then came in and surrendered a single to James Loney when a total of five Yankee fielders could not catch a shallow fly ball. With the bases loaded, Hill allowed a single to Franklin to make it a 4–1 game. David Phelps came into the game and proceeded to give up a long fly ball to center that Ellsbury managed to make a tremendous diving catch on. Unfortunately, it didn't do much good as the Rays had plenty of time to score two runs on the play.

Things managed to get a little more interesting when Derek Jeter was hit in the hand in the eighth inning, causing the umpires to warn both benches. Joe Girardi didn't take too kindly to this and went into one of his tirades before getting tossed. Then it escalated in the next half-inning when Phelps threw at Kiermaier and was immediately ejected. At that point, both benches cleared and members from both teams were seen yelling at the other. Notably, Sean Rodriguez and Cervelli needing to be held back by their teammates. Since both benches were warned when Phelps got ejected, the acting manager at this point, Tony Pena, was also ejected, so Rob Thomson ended up managing this game. Yes, for real. I'm not making this up.

Things almost happened in the ninth when Chase Headley singled and John Ryan Murphy took a walk, but with two outs already made, the Yankees didn't put up much of a fight. So the Yankees managed just four base runners after the fifth inning and it turns out that you can't win ballgames like that. I'm bummed for Michael Pineda, but then again I'm bummed about the entire Yankees team at this point. Oh well, at least Jeter got a kayak.

Around the Empire: New York Yankees News - 9/17/14

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New York Daily News | Christian Red:Alex Rodriguez is unlikely to face charges in the wake of the Biogenesis investigation.

Pinstriped Prospects | Jed Weisberger: Jose Pirela has the opportunity to make an impression with the Yankees.

MLB.com | Bryn Hoch: Since tying Mariano Rivera, Dellin Betances is honored just to be mentioned in the same sentence with the Yankee legend.

The Record | Bob Klapisch: Masahiro Tanaka's elbow is a ticking time bomb, so the Yankees better hope that rehab was the right choice to make.

Capital | Gloria Pazmino: The Yankees, owners of the New York City Football Club, are looking to build a soccer stadium near the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: Despite the risk, the Yankees need to see if Masahiro Tanaka is healthy.

LoHud | Chad Jennings:Carlos Beltran talks about playing through his elbow injury and his impending surgery.

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: Brett Gardner admits this team isn't very good and that it's frustrating not to find a way to succeed and that's refreshing to hear.

CBS Sports | Matt Snyder: CC Sabathia is the Yankees' nominee for the 2014 Roberto Clemente Award.

Yankees prospects 2014 season recap: Charleston RiverDogs

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Charleston: The land of beer shakes, the pitcher-friendly Joe, and "Director of Fun" Bill Murray.

Down south in Charleston, the Yankees' Low-A affiliate has been fortunate enough to see their share of nice prospects pass through over the past couple years. The 2014 campaign was no different as some talented players made a stop in Charleston, most notably a pair of first round picks from the 2013 MLB Draft who made terrific impression on the organization: outfielder Aaron Judge and lefty starter Ian Clarkin.

The dauntingly tall Judge did not play for the Yankees at all last year after the draft due to a quad issue, so there was understandably an air of mystery surrounding him as he began the season. He quickly put those concerns to bed by getting off to an incredible start to his professional career in Charleston, slugging .333/.428/.530 with a 167 wRC+ in 278 plate appearances. Judge wasn't hitting for much power at first, but as the season progressed, he found his stroke and the South Atlantic League pitchers paid the price. On the road away from the spacious Joseph Riley Park ("the Joe"), he was even more incredible: .407/.481/.637 with five homers in 30 games. Judge was named to the SAL All-Star Team, and shortly after playing in the mid-June game, he was promoted to High-A Tampa, certainly a well-deserved honor. He was... the law.

Clarkin spent pretty much the whole year at Charleston, and the 19-year-old dazzled in his first full professional season. (He only made a few GCL appearances last year.) He pitched to a 3.21 ERA, 3.74 FIP, and struck out 9.2 batters per nine innings, a nice complement to his solid 2.8 BB/9. Clarkin demonstrated poise beyond his years on the mound, speaking volumes about his professionalism and maturity. The Yankees even let him make a spot-start for Tampa at the end of the year, foreshadowing where he is likely to advance in 2015. Keep an eye on this southpaw as he makes his way through the minors.

Another pitcher to watch who began the Charleston probably ended up as the Yankees' top prospect for 2014: righty Luis Severino. A year older than Clarkin, Severino did not take long to demonstrate that he was well-suited for a caliber of play beyond the Sally League, where he made 14 starts with a 2.79 ERA and 2.70 FIP, striking out 9.3 batters per nine and yielding only two walks per nine. He wasn't the tallest pitcher out there, but it hardly mattered. His repertoire amazed prospect watchers, and he was named to the SAL All-Star team. Like Judge, he was promoted to Tampa shortly afterward, ending the year in Double-A Trenton. Now that's an impressive ascent. The Yankees' top selection in the 2014 MLB Draft, lefty reliever Jacob Lindgren, also made that rise from Low-A to High-A to Double-A, beginning his professional career in Charleston. It did not take him long to earn a promotion--five innings with no walks, one hit, one run, and 11 strikeouts. "The Strikeout Factory" was not long for Charleston, that's for sure.

Two other pitchers who were not quite as heralded but opened some eyes in 2014 anyway were righty Jaron Long and lefty Caleb Smith. The son of hitting coach Kevin Long, Jaron was an undrafted free agent in 2013, and he was initially assigned to Charleston after six starts across a couple levels last year. He was terrific in the Sally League, pitching to 1.64 ERA and 2.27 FIP in 11 games (four starts), fanning 8.4 batters per nine innings with impeccable control: a 1.5 BB/9. Long did not stay in Charleston for very long, and he moved up to Tampa around the same time as Judge. (Like Severino, Long also jumped up to Trenton late in the year.) Smith also eventually found his way to Tampa after setting a club record for strikeouts in a single game and notching a 3.10 ERA and 3.62 FIP in nine starts with the RiverDogs, as well as a 9.2 K/9 despite a bit of an unsightly 4.0 walks per nine. Nonetheless, he earned his promotion, as did righty Brady Lail, who pitched well in Charleston with a 3.79 ERA and 2.99 FIP in 18 starts. Pitchers frequently tend to do well in Charleston due to the the Joe's pitcher-friendly dimensions, and 2014 was no exception.

Judge was not the only position player to make an impact in Charleston. The top-ranked Yankees position player of the 2014 MLB Draft was eighth round pick Mark Payton. He was a nice prospect, but not too much expected of him in his first professional season. The diminutive outfielder is actually a couple inches shorter than Brett Gardner, though his quality of play made people forget this fact. He tore up the Sally League with a .357/.443/.500 triple slash and a 167 wRC+, making only 97 plate appearances before receiving a well-deserved promotion to Tampa. Another position player to eventually earn a promotion to Tampa was first baseman Mike Ford. Like Long, Ford was an undrafted free agent, and he spent last year in Staten Island. With Charleston in 2014, he took off, batting .283/.381/.443 with a 133 wRC+ and 11 homers. Four of those homers came on one memorable night in May, a stunning four-dinger night. He didn't get his promotion to Tampa until August, but after Greg Bird was bumped up to Trenton, Ford certainly was worthy of the jump.

Michael O'Neill, a third round pick last year and Paul O'Neill's nephew, had a very nice year in Charleston, too. He hit .256/.333/.384 with a 103 wRC+ but made his greatest achievements on the bases, where he stole an organization-high 42 bases in 51 attempts. The 22-year-old was very fleet of foot, and that is sure to be his calling card going forward. Fellow outfielder Dustin Fowler posted a similar season at the plate, hitting .257/.292/.459 with a 104 wRC+ in 272 plate appearances. He did not walk nearly as much as the keen-eyed O'Neill, but he notched 28 extra-base hits, including nine homers in 66 games, no easy feat at the Joe. Shortstop Tyler Wade was also fine during his first full professional season after being drafted last year, and he hit .272/.350/.347 with a wRC+ of exactly 100. He did make 20 errors in 94 games though, so that wasn't great to watch, but oh well.

2013 second-round pick Gosuke Katoh had a surprisingly strong year in the GCL after getting drafted, but after starting this year in Charleston, he produced more of a mixed bag. Katoh was awful in the first couple months and as a result only ended up with a .222/.345/.326 triple slash, a 96 wRC+. Obviously that is some admirable plate discipline (15.3 BB%), but the second baseman also struck out in 30.5% of plate appearances, and he has to hit at least a little better than .222 (BABIP wasn't the answer either, as it was a steady .339). Perhaps it was a bit of an adjustment level for a kid who was finishing high school in California just last year.

It was still a better than the ones incurred by Miguel Andujar and Abiatal Avelino, two infield prospects who were of intrigue entering the year. Andujar was only okay with a .267/.318/.397 batting line and a 99 wRC+, but he was an absolute nightmare in the field at third base, where he made 26 errors in 120 games. Although his hitting was okay, the 19-year-old will definitely need to make improvements at the hot corner if he hopes to stay there. Avelino, another 19-year-old, was more effective at shortstop, but injuries limited him to 53 games, during which he hit a meager .232/.296/.323 with a 76 wRC+. It will be back to the batting cages for Avelino this off-season as like Katoh, he will seek to recapture the form that produced quite well in the Rookie League.

Charleston seems to always have interesting storylines, and 2014 was no exception. They were a very watchable group with several players to keep a close eye on going forward.

Jon Lester free agency preview

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If the Red Sox play their cards right, the deal that brought over outfielder Yoenis Cespedes at the non-waiver deadline might become the biggest steal of the year.

In the trade, the Sox sent left-hander Jon Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes to the A's in exchange for Cespedes and a 2015 competitive balance Round B pick. But if Lester re-signs with Boston this winter, the team will have essentially traded Cespedes and that pick for Gomes (who has a .664 OPS this season), minus half a season of Lester on the Sox' last-place squad.

But will Lester really return to Boston? Is he worth the risk of a huge long-term contract that will take him into his late-30s? Do the Red Sox have other options? Probably, maybe and yes. Here, we'll take a closer look at the (longer) answers to those questions, and more.

Where he's been

Lester is nearing the end of his ninth year (seventh full) in the majors, and his career numbers show that he's consistent, durable and experienced in the postseason—with plenty of success there.

The Red Sox drafted Lester in 2002, and it took him awhile to make it out of the minors. He spent three full seasons there, moved to the majors for part of 2006, then found himself back in the minors at the start of 2007 before finally hitting the big leagues for good in 2008.

Since that permanent promotion, Lester hasn't looked back. His most recent start made 2014 his seventh straight season with 30 or more starts, and he's eclipsed 200 innings in all but one of those years. That durability adds a considerable amount of value, especially in an age in which lengthy contracts to pitchers are being viewed as more and more risky.

In fact, Lester just might be the safest investment of the three big-name pitchers (Max Scherzer and James Shields being the other two) who will become free agents this offseason. Part of that stems from Lester's consistency; his ERA and FIP have remained well under four in all but one of his seven full seasons.

The flip side of that, however, is that Lester's 157 ERA+ this season is uncharacteristic, to say the least. It's a 47-point increase from last season and nearly twice his 87 ERA+ from 2012, though that latter total is quite a deviation from the other ones Lester has posted throughout his career.

Even so, during the three seasons following Lester's fourth-place finish on the 2010 Cy Young award ballot, he posted a combined ERA of 4.03. His performance this season has pretty much squashed any concerns, but it's worth noting that Lester hasn't been quite this good during the few seasons leading up to 2014.

But Lester has also spent his entire career in Boston (outside of nine starts with the A's), perhaps the toughest pitching environment in baseball over the last several years outside of New York and Colorado. One could argue, combining park factors and strength of opposition, that the Red Sox are the most difficult team to pitch for in the majors, and that's an important point that National League teams would do well to consider.

Where he is now

Lester is having the best season of his career, and he picked the right time to do it. He never had an ERA below 3.21 before his 2.45 total this season, and he's striking out a batter per inning—his best rate since he led the league with a 9.7 K/9 total in 2010. On top of that, Lester is also allowing homers at his lowest rate since 2010, and his 2.0 BB/9 is a career best.

Not only is Lester having his best season at a good time, he's also having the best stretch of his best season at the best time. He has a 1.91 ERA dating back to August 23, a five-start span, and all of his nine starts with the A's have been "quality starts." In fact, his last non-quality start came on June 7. He's made 17 starts since then.

Somewhat paradoxically, Lester has been at his very best for an A's squad that started to free fall once he came over at the trade deadline. He earned Player of the Week honors last week, and his 2.30 ERA in 62.2 innings with Oakland, despite a 3.27 FIP, has Lester set up for a big paycheck this offseason.

Where he's going

It seemed preordained at one point that Lester would return to the Red Sox this offseason, and in many ways, that's still a likely scenario.

But reports also indicate the Cubs' interest, and President Theo Epstein has noted that his team will have money to spend this winter.

"Because we have so many young players who are going to be cost-controlled over the next several seasons, we have tremendous flexibility built into our roster as it is," Epstein said via CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney. "We’re going to field a pretty good nucleus with a very low payroll associated with that."

Epstein went on to note that the payroll freedom will allow the Cubs to be "very aggressive should the right player or players present themselves."

Lester just might be the "right player."

Of course, the left-hander spent several seasons in Boston with Epstein, and that familiarity could prompt the Cubs to pursue Lester. The team also needs to find a starter to build its rotation around, and there's no tellling if the top starters with expiring contracts next offseason (David Price, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, etc.) will re-sign with their current clubs. For a team that projects to contend in a year or two, now might be the time to act.

The Red Sox might feel the same way, given the pressure stemming from (most likely) finishing in last place in the AL East for the second time in three seasons. As noted in Max Scherzer's free agency preview, Sox chairman Tom Werner said the team has "a lot of money to spend," and with the rotation loosely resembling that of a Triple-A squad, it would be an understatement to say pitching is at the top of the Sox' wish list.

The Yankees might also take a look at Lester this offseason, with a rotation that's far from a sure thing. As we learned this season, the Yanks don't have a backup plan for when Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia go down. Lester would give the rotation some stability, and his track record means the Yankees wouldn't have to worry about his health—unlike their other top starters.

The limiting factor, of course, is the Yankees' budget, and they'll likely be approaching a $200 million payroll by the time Lester hits the market, with all their potential re-signings and whatnot. But if the Yankees are willing to shell out some additional cash, Lester might be looking at a huge offer from a team that's no stranger to, well, huge offers.

Plus, the Yankees mean business when it comes to the playoffs, and Lester's 2.11 ERA in 11 postseason starts (13 total appearances) gives him a sizeable advantage over fellow free agents Scherzer and Shields.

Other big-spending teams will likely enter the conversation, but for now, the Red Sox, Yankees and Cubs all seem like the most likely destinations for Lester, and it's not really close. At the end of the day, it's where Lester and his family want to go, and with a great baseball city, a foundation for future success and a management team that Lester respects, Chicago appears to be a mighty appealing destination.

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