Have a little faith.

To keep it short; 2014 was a mess. There's no question about it, but at least there were some bright spots. And now with the 2015 baseball season on the horizon, how optimistic are you about it, if at all? Even with the current roster as it stands now, it is tough to see any huge, notable changes being made unless the Yankees want to spend big once again.The front office is banking on a lot of players bouncing back from below-average seasons, but these are the same players who will be another year older, and they will also be looking to return from injuries (Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, etc). It's possible that these three have a huge rebound season, but it's more likely that they don't. That doesn't exactly make us feel too fuzzy about 2015.

Next year is, of course, the return of Alex Rodriguez/A-Rod/The Centaur, and he will,  without a doubt, get the majority of the media's attention. Don't look for this to be a distraction because this team is filled with veterans who have been through it all before. While a lot of people have their opinions, no one honestly has a clue what A-Rod will bring, if anything at all. A-Rod could be a liability with the glove and the bat and be a useless player clogging up a roster spot, or he could surprise us with a really solid season and not break apart. No one will know until he takes the field. Regardless, A-Rod will once again be a fascinating topic of discussion in 2015 which is reason enough to at least tune in.

Aside from a few moves that the Yankees will be sure to make this offseason, the 2015 ball club will mainly be the same faces and names so that might not be something to get too excited over. Of course, when the calendar turns to April it brings hope to every Major League team that anything is possible. I mean, look at what the Royals have accomplished. A lot of people have said that 2015 might be just as bad as 2014, or even worst, but I would advise Yankee fans to at least see the bright side of things and perhaps try to latch on to something more positive. A few weeks ago, Hal Steinbrenner did hint that the Yankees need to continue to improve player development, and he believes that players like Jacob Lindgren, Luis Severino, and Rob Refsnyder will be able to contribute next season. So at least a little bit of a youth movement is something to look forward to.

Even with massive injuries to their pitching staff and an awful offense, the Yankees did manage to stay in the thick of things until the last week of the season, so there is no reason to believe this team can't contend next year. The rest of the division will obviously aim to improve, but with such a long season, we should always be hopeful. We can also hope that perhaps this team is starting to stray away from big-time, risky contracts, and perhaps feel more confident in looking within their own system to fill some roles. Maybe we will see a Jose Pirela or a Tyler Austin playing a part on this team in 2015.

I've read multiple comments on plenty of sports websites that state "if the Yankees do this or don't do that, I am done being a Yankee fan." Real fans should support their team no matter what the Yankees do next season and we should always be excited and hopeful that things will go well.

What are your thoughts on the 2015 season? Are you optimistic about it? Not feeling great about it?

We now know that new Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman will be introduced on Friday at 11 a.m. PT at Dodger Stadium, and perhaps by then we will have a better idea of his plans. But until I hear otherwise, I will assume Friedman will hire a general manager to work with him.

We already looked at former Nationals' assistant general manager Bryan Minniti, now a free agent who "could surface soon in a prominent role," per Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, who mentions the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Rockies as possible landing spots.

Another potential candidate might by Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler.

Eppler has been with the Yankees for 10 years, including three as assistant general manager. In addition to helping general manager Brian Cashman with just about everything, Eppler oversees the Yankees pro scouting department both domestically and abroad.

Cashman just signed a three-year extension with the Yankees, and Eppler has interviewed elsewhere before. He was in the mix for the Angels' general manager job in 2011 and interviewed for the Padres' job in 2014. He was a candidate for the Diamondbacks' GM job this year, too, but declined to interview in September.

Eppler is just 38, one year older than Friedman, and is highly thought of throughout baseball. When the Padres hired A.J. Preller as GM, an executive told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, "The whole industry is shocked" that Eppler didn't get the job.

"Oddly, I’m not upset," Eppler told Feinsand. "Maybe if I did something and had a misstep, I would be disappointed in myself. I think the baseball gods didn’t feel like it was my time to leave the Yankees."

In a 2012 interview with CNN Money, Eppler described the evolution of scouting:

Nowadays, there’s so much information, it’s more about managing that information. It’s really never one person making the call; it’s always a mixture of opinions.

We look at it similar to different methods of evaluating equity in a company. The quantitative analysis in baseball might be more in line with the technical analysis that’s used on Wall Street. It focuses on the actual performance of the player. But you also need to know how to use some of the more subjective aspects like body, speed, strength, and age. Both areas are extremely valuable for developing the overall picture.

Eppler went to high school in San Diego and was a pitcher at the University of Connecticut. He worked in the scouting department with the Rockies for five years before joining the Yankees.

Cashman described Eppler's strengths to Feinsand:

"He checks all the boxes," Cashman said. "He’s got the analytics side checked off, he’s got the administrative side checked off and he’s got the scouting side checked off. He’s got the leadership side checked off because he’s a great communicator.

"They’re all equal. Very few people possess all those strengths and all those qualities. He does, in my opinion. He’s built a great reputation that he’s earned and we’re lucky to have him. He’s an important piece of my pyramid."

Judge impresses, Bosch set to plead guilty, Chili Davis will be interviewed, Yankees send a message to the Bengals' Devon Stills.

New York Daily News | Jaime Uribarri: The Yankees' ticket staff honored Cincinnati Bengals' DT Devon Stills and his daughter, who is currently battling stage-four pediatric cancer.

MLB.com Pipeline Perspectives | Jim Callis: In comparing Aaron Judge and Steven Moya of the Tigers with Jonathan Mayo, Callis prefers Judge over Mayo. Even though Moya had a better season, Callis believes Judge to have both a higher ceiling and floor.

CBS Sports  | Jon Heyman: The Oakland Athletics granted permission for the Yankees to interview Chili Davis, and the organization is reportedly interested in Dante Bichette, Marcus Thames, and James Rowson for the open hitting coach position.

Sports Illustrated | SI Wire: After surrendering in August to the authorities, Anthony Bosch is set to plead guilty to selling performance-enhancing drugs to high school students in the Miami area. A judge ordered last week that he be jailed immediately after testing positive twice for cocaine use.

David Phelps seemed poised to finally define his role as a Yankee in 2014, but this season provided no such clarity.

Grade: C-

2014 Statistics: 32 G, 17 GS, 113 IP, 4.38 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 7.3 K/9, 3.7 BB/9

2015 Contract Status: Arbitration Eligible

In spring training this year, David Phelps was part of a four-way battle with Adam Warren, Michael Pineda and Vidal Nuno for the fifth spot in the Yankees' starting rotation. While Phelps pitched like a man worthy of that spot, so did the other three. Pineda got the nod when camp broke at least in part because the others had experience working out of a bullpen, and with that Phelps had the opportunity to assert himself in a setup role.

He didn't exactly take the bull by the horns as he surrendered three home runs in his first two outings, both Yankee losses. However he quickly found his groove and recorded five holds and a save over his next seven appearances. By the beginning of May, Pineda was put on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, and it opened the door for Phelps to enter the starting rotation again. At this point, Ivan Nova was already done for the year and CC Sabathia's knee was beginning to act up, so all he needed to do to stay in the rotation was stay healthy and keep his ERA out of the stratosphere.

Doing so would prove to be tougher than expected. After an up-and-down May while getting stretched out to starter length, Phelps was smacked around in June to the tune of a 5.25 ERA and .805 OPS against. Phelps did mix in his best start of the year that month as his lone bright spot: 6 2/3 innings of two-hit shutout ball against the red-hot Oakland Athletics. July also turned out much better as he settled down with a 2.97 ERA and 1.187 WHIP in five starts. Unfortunately, those starts would be the last highlights of Phelps' season. The Red Sox crushed him in an August 3rd start at Fenway Park, and he left after allowing five runs in just two innings on 53 pitches. It turned out that Phelps was suffering from elbow inflammation, and that landed him on the 15-day DL. He wouldn't pitch again until September 12th, and by then, the Yankees felt that it was best to limit him to short relief for the rest of the season.

Phelps' 2014 campaign did not offer much new information on his future. He was again a back-of-the-rotation quality starter with an ERA and FIP over 10% worse than league average (112 ERA-, 113 FIP-), and he battled injuries at times yet again after working through a forearm strain last year. The 28-year-old Phelps probably still has a job on the major league team as a poor man's Ramiro Mendoza swinging between starting and relief, but at this point, one could make a case that the younger Shane Greene and Bryan Mitchell might represent more intriguing options in the rotation. Phelps certainly didn't do too much to help his case in 2014.

The Royals are the story of the playoffs for obvious reasons, but where would they be without their trademark glove work? The answer may surprise you.

There are quite a few reasons for the sabermetrically inclined not to love the Royals' run to the World Series. They are winning despite suspect in-game "small-ball" tactics; they are inspiring ludicrous proclamations about the future of the game, and perhaps worst of all, they make Jon Heyman look smart.

With these things in mind, it is also important to recognize that something pretty special is going on. Due to the new Wild Card format, the Royals are the first team to win eight straight on the way to the World Series, and it's something we likely won't see for a long time. It's been a wildly unlikely ride, but it's been a fun one.

Ultimately sports is about entertainment, and seeing exceedingly improbable events play out before our very eyes is undoubtedly entertaining.

A multitude of ink has been spilled regarding what makes this team so special. Although it is unpopular to say so, some of it is good old-fashioned luck. However, the team also deserves credit for building an unbelievable bullpen and having excellent defenders up and down the lineup.

It is this top-notch defense that has probably been touched on the most by observers around the game—and for good reason. The team's 61.1 UZR ranked best in the league, ahead of the Orioles by 6.3 runs. If you compare the Royals to their closest division rival, the Detroit Tigers, in theory they are 109.2 runs better than them defensively!

But what would the Royals look like if you stripped their precious defence away from them? Apparently a lot like the New York Yankees.

This statement is surprising as any comparison between a team nicknamed "The Bronx Bombers" and a team that hit an MLB-worst 95 home runs seems nonsensical. This is the 2014 Yankees we are talking about, though, a squad that hardly lived up to its moniker, and the teams are surprising similar.

Batting

Despite the fact Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer have somehow provided more power than the Hoover Dam during this postseason, the reality is that the Royals aren't a great hitting team, much like the Yankees.

As one might expect the Yankees hit a few more home runs, but that was likely a function of their ballpark. The Royals put the ball in play like no one else but the Yankees weren't too far off.

Starting Pitching

Although the Royals have been praised for their "Big Game James"-led rotation, the Yankees actually got better results from a rotation largely composed of no-names, at least by WAR.

Although tons of credit needs to be given to the Yankees for what their rotation accomplished, the Royals starters just aren't that special without the unbelievable gloves that support them.

Bullpen

Both these teams put together special relief units. The Yankees were flashier with their flurry of strikeouts, but the Royals were equally effective.

It is kind of shocking on the surface to see so many similarities between the Yankees and a Royals team that has cut through the powerhouses of the American League like a chainsaw through hot butter. After all, the Yankees were one of the most forgettable clubs in the league this season, even with the traveling Derek Jeter circus.

On the other hand, the Royals won only five more games than the Bombers over the course of the season, a number that makes perfect sense given the 57.4 runs that separate them on defense, according to UZR.

The Royals have played like a different team in the playoffs so far, one with power for instance, so perhaps it's unfair to simply judge them by their regular season statistics. It's also unreasonable to assume they have morphed into a completely different outfit in an eight-game span.

Much to Billy Beane's chagrin, playoffs results are all based on small sample sizes like said eight games, and teams can't do any more than the Royals have done so far. In a word, they've been incredible.

And what's the difference between getting the opportunity to be so special in the postseason and missing out on October baseball entirely? For the Royals, the narrative rings true: it's their defense.

The Strikeout Factory certainly lived up to his name as he dominated the Minor Leagues

Grade: A

2014 Season Stats: 25 IP, 12 hits, 2.16 ERA, 4.7 BB/9, 17.3 K/9

2014 Level/Roster Status: Double-A/Non 40-man

When the Yankees used their first pick of the 2014 MLB Draft on a reliever there was a lot of criticism from the fan base.  As shocking as it may seem to some, it turns out that the Yankees had a really good idea of what they were doing when they selected Jacob Lindgren. At the time of the draft, Lindgren was praised for an electric low to mid 90’s fastball and a devastating slider that allowed him to rack up an insane K/9 of 16.3 in over 55.1 college innings.

Due to the impressive quality of his stuff as well as his status as purely a relief prospect, Lindgren was expected to move quickly through the system. The scouting reports were not exaggerating as the ‘Strikeout Factory’ proved that his dominance at the collegiate level translated perfectly to professional ball. Rookie ball, Charleston, even High-A and Double-A Trenton  proved little challenge for the Yankees draft pick as he put up insane strikeout rates of 18, 19.8, 20.86, and 13.9 at each respective level. Unfortunately, Lindgren reached his innings limit and was shut down before he could be promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but it is expected that he will start next season at that level before being promoted to the Yankees' bullpen. It is also extremely possible that Lindgren may force the Yankees hand and push himself onto the Yankees 25-man roster depending on his performance in spring training.

The only hole in Lindgren’s game is that he will occasionally struggle with his command, which can be seen in both his collegiate rate of 3.74 BB/9 as well as his 4.7 BB/9 in professional ball. In spite of that one gripe, Lindgren’s first season in pinstripes was nothing short of a success.  With his devastating slider, Jacob Lindgren figures to be an outstanding reliever at the major league level.

Will the Yankees adjust to the present and the future, or will they fall further behind?

In the past, the Yankees were able to buy whatever player they wanted, whenever they wanted to do it. Times have changed and so have their available outlets in which to spend that money without repercussion. With changing times, you either move forward quickly or get left behind to play catch up. There have been multiple changes throughout the game that have impacted the Yankee’s competitive advantage.

Free Agency

For many years, the Yankees flexed their financial muscle at will when they wanted players. Whether it was Babe Ruth, Dave Winfield, or CC Sabathia, they would blow other teams out of the water. The team’s modus operandi was to wait for an opposing team’s best player to become too expensive and hit free agency, where they then could sign them to a contract worth the most money. However, the market has shifted and now teams like the Tampa Bay Rays are signing their younger players to long-term deals, buying out their arbitration and prime years of free agency. The other side of the coin is the Yankees' handling of their own players under the archaic policy of not extending them before their contracts are up. If only they would have negotiated with Robinson Cano or David Robertson, maybe neither would have reached free agency during their prime. Moving ahead, they must take chances like they did with Brett Gardner and not let core players get to free agency.

International Free Agency

The team has approached the international free agent market similar to how they have approached regular free agency. They find a player that they like and either wait for them to be posted (overseas) or become international free agents where they just outspend everyone else. In recent years, the Yankees have had competition in this arena from the Cubs, Rangers and Red Sox. This season the front office took a page out of the their playbook and spent $12 million on the first day of the international free agency period and signed Masahiro Tanaka to a seven-year, $155 million dollar deal in the offseason. However, the game is about to change as the Yankees now face spending restrictions for the next two seasons and rumors are swirling of an international free agency draft coming within the next couple of seasons as well.  Solid scouting and finding "diamonds in the rough," will be the key to future of the international market.

TV Contracts

In 2002, the Yankees launched their own regional sports network, known as the YES Network. In 2012, the team sold 49 percent of its stake in the network to News Corp, parent company of Fox Sports, for a whopping $1.5 billion dollars. Upon finishing the sale, the Yankees also signed a 30-year television contract with YES which will be worth $367 million per year by 2042. Unfortunately, this advantage has begun to disappear as well due to other networks including Fox Sports signing agreements with other MLB teams.

Revenue Sharing

Since its inception in 2003, the Yankees have paid the luxury tax every year. This season was no different as the team will be taxed at a rate of 50 percent for every dollar spent on contracts over the $189 million payroll threshold. With this money now being distributed to smaller market clubs, it has allowed other teams to not only resign their talent but to sign other players as well. Unfortunately, Bud Selig has allowed revenue sharing become a source of profit and subsidization for teams like the Rays, Astros and Marlins.

What’s Left

The last areas available for the team to exploit are in player development, coaching and scouting. Hal Steinbrenner and the front office should leave no stone unturned in identifying and signing the best people to grow the organization. Bringing in someone such as Omar Minaya would be a huge step in the right direction for the franchise. It shouldn’t stop there, however, as teams continue to make improvements at a rapid pace.

The Yankees will always be financial powerhouse as long as a Steinbrenner is at the helm, because it's part of the team's DNA. I remain hopeful that they will leverage their financial strengths in a much more efficient manner.  It appears that ownership recognizes their weaknesses and is finally starting to address them. We can all agree that they should’ve recognized it sooner, but change is still better late than never. Now we get to sit back and watch and see if these changes will lead to a return to playoff glory or further disappointment.

The Nationals are expected to cut ties with their former closer.

The Washington Nationals appear to be ready to cut ties with former closer Rafael Soriano, as the Washington Post's James Wagner reports that the club is expected to decline the 34-year-old's option for 2015. Soriano has served as Washington's closer over the past two seasons prior to losing the job to Drew Storen this September. Storen is expected to take over the ninth inning gig full-time for the Nationals with the departure of Soriano.

Before a late season collapse, Soriano had began the season on a tear, posting a 0.97 ERA in the first half. He ultimately finished with a 3.19 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 8.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 32 saves in 62 innings pitched.

The former Mariners, Rays, Braves, and Yankees pitcher signed with the Nationals prior to the 2013 season on a rather expensive two-year, $28 million deal that included a $14 million option for 2015 that would vest if he were to finish 120 games over the course of 2013 and 2014. He finished 106.

Overall, Soriano had a productive two years with the Nationals. In 128.2 total innings, he posted a 3.15 ERA, 121 ERA+, 3.38 FIP, 3.06 K/BB, and 1.7 WAR.

Hitting coach search nearing end, Mark Teixeira losing desire?

NY Post| George A. King III: The Yankees are nearing the end in their search for a hitting coach.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: An early estimate of the Yankees' 2015 payroll.

ESPN NY | Wallace Matthews: Mark Teixeira's numbers and desire seem to have dipped. Will he ever be a big time player again?

Huffington Post | Thomas McKenna: For the Yankees, #RE2PECT is gone and fans will be asked to forg1v3.

Sacramento Bee | Dale Kasler: Firm owned by Yankees, Cowboys will run food service at new Kings arena.

LoHud Yankees Blog | Chad Jennings: Do the Yankees have enough bullpen depth in place?

The return of Big Mike.

Grade: B+

2014 Statistics: 13 GS, 76 1/3 IP, 1.89 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 7.0 K/9, 0.8 BB/9

2015 Contract Status: Arbitration Eligible

No one really knew quite what to expect from 25-year-old Michael Pineda this year. Healthy for the first time since the Yankees made the big move to acquire him in exchange for slugging catching prospect Jesus Montero in January 2012, he flashed brilliance from the get-go in spring training, winning a starting rotation spot. The major shoulder surgery he underwent in 2012 threw his career into jeopardy, as the list of pitchers to return to form after a torn labrum is not lengthy. Nonetheless, Pineda pitched well in the long-awaited first three starts of his Yankees career, dazzling opposing hitters with a sharp-breaking slider that limited teams to just two runs combined through 18 innings.

Disaster struck in start number four at Fenway Park. He allowed four hits and two runs through just an inning and 2/3, and he made the regrettable decision to slather some pine tar on his neck to get a better grip. While there is a tacit understanding that pitchers can use pine tar on cold nights like those to ensure that their pitches are less likely to drill hitters, it was far too obvious what Pineda was doing. Boston manager John Farrell had him checked, the home plate umpire ejected him, and Pineda did not return to a major league mound until August. He was suspended 15 games, but the crushing blow came when he suffered a right shoulder strain during a simulated game that was supposed to keep him fresh. He suffered setback after setback until at last he was activated for a start on August 13th against the Orioles.

The 6'7" righty went right back to dominating AL lineups upon his return, pitching to a 1.91 ERA and a .483 OPS against from mid-August onward. He reached his apex on September 22nd, when he dominated the O's for 7 1/3 innings of one-hit shutout ball with eight strikeouts. "Big Mike" also struck out a season-high 10 Red Sox in his 2014 finale on September 28th. The message was clear: When Pineda is healthy and has his good stuff working, there are few pitchers in baseball with a more impressive repertoire.

PIneda walked an incredible total of just seven men all season in 76 1/3 innings, and the movement of his pitches made him hard to hit as well, as evinced by his 0.825 WHIP. He was also undaunted by hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, surrendering just five homers on the season (0.6 HR/9). His ERA- and FIP- totals were awesome, too, as his 48 ERA- and 70 FIP- were all far better than league average. The question for Pineda at this point is just if he can stay healthy or not. The shoulder is still a wild card, and it will always be a threat every off-season. Pineda gets near-top marks for outstanding numbers, but  he will have to prove that he can stay healthy for a full season before he can meet his elite potential.

After avoiding the sweep in Game 4, all I cared about was sending the series back to New York. At least make it a respectable run before being eliminated.

Please, just win this game. I was only 13-years-old during the 2004 season, but negativity was already pumping through my veins as a sports fan. I grew up around people who had seen little besides failure in their lives, and lived through some of that myself in 2003. Because of this, I had already come to grips with the fact that the Red Sox were going to lose this series. There was no way they could come back from a 3-0 deficit, and I wasn't about to get my hopes up believing otherwise. Still, they needed to win this game and make it a respectable series. They'd already avoided the sweep, and now they had to avoid the gentleman's sweep. Just win this game, send it back to New York and lose there. Losing a series in six games is much more bearable than losing in four or five. I was watching the game with my brother and my parents like every other game, and that was all I could think. Just please don't lose this one.

It's easy to forget now, but at the time there was a good chance we were about the see Pedro Martinez wearing a Red Sox uniform for the final time. He was about to become a free agent, and the odds of the team going far enough to give him another start were slim at best. Luckily, he got off to a vintage start, striking out Derek Jeter on three pitches. It was actually an all-around good first inning for the hometown team, a startling change of pace in the series. After showing no signs of early life in the first four games - they were outscored 6-0 in the first inning in games one through four - they shot off to a 2-0 lead in the first frame, forcing Mike Mussina to throw 34 pitches before getting his first breather.

It served as a nice reminder that happiness for the Red Sox to that point was futile and constantly slipping away. We just weren't allowed to be happy for too long at a time, and Bernie Williams let us know when he hit the first pitch of the second inning into the seats, cutting the lead in half with one swing. Things would stay this way for the next few innings, with each team putting up minor threats, but nothing coming of it. That is, until the sixth.

This was the inning where I truly lost my mind. I'm not sure I was ever so sure the Red Sox would never win a World Series as I was during this inning. Pedro managed to get to this point without too much struggle, but at this stage of his career, he was approaching the time when the team had to be careful with him, especially in an elimination game. The inning started with an infield single from Jorge Posada. Seriously, an infield single from JORGE POSADA. This shit could only happen to the Red Sox. After giving up a base hit to Ruben Sierra and hitting Miguel Cairo, it was clear that Martinez was losing it quickly, and yet Boston's bullpen was less active than god damn sloth. Derek Jeter came up to the plate, and I think we all knew what was about to happen.

Just like that, the Yankees took a 4-2 lead, and the end was coming. Not only was the season about to come to a crashing halt, not only were they going to miss another chance to play in the World Series, but it was because of Derek Jeter, who at that time I refused to respect (re2pect?) even a little. And that wasn't even the end of my frustration. The bullpen was still eerily quiet. It took another hit batsmen and a walk to finally get some real action going there, but Pedro was still allowed to face Hideki Matsui with two runners on and two outs. Luckily for us, and Terry Francona*, Nixon made a diving catch on a falling liner and the inning mercifully ended. Pedro walked off the mound, and to my negativity-filled pea brain, it was probably the last time I'd see my favorite player walk off Fenway's mound as a hometown player. It was as sad as I've been watching a baseball game.

*Seriously, if Matsui hits a double or a home run, the Red Sox would probably lose that game. What does Francona's legacy in Boston look like if that happens? Especially considering we were one year removed from the same situation with Grady Little.

We fast-forward to the eighth with the score still at 4-2 and David Ortiz stepping up to the plate trying to inject some life into the team for the second night in a row. He did just that by blasting a Tom Gordon fastball straight into the Volvo sign in left field, cutting the deficit to one. Then, we relived Game 4 just 24 hours after it happened. Kevin Millar walked, and Dave Roberts came in to pinch run. While he didn't steal second this time, he did get to third on a hit-and-run (after getting in Gordon's head in a way I've never seen), and Mariano Rivera came in trying to avenge the previous night's blown save. Instead, he gave up a sac fly to Jason Varitek, and blew his second straight save.

This is when I started believing in the magic just a little bit. I mean, Rivera didn't blow saves in the playoffs, never mind two in a row. There's no way the Red Sox could do that on their own, without some sort of supernatural assistance. The juju only got stronger in the top half of the ninth. After Sierra drew a two-out walk, Tony Clark smashed a ball towards the Pesky Pole that looked like it was heading out. Instead, it fell just a foot or two short of the seats and bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double. So, not only was it not a home run, but Sierra would be forced to stop at third on a ball that he surely would have scored on had it bounced off the wall instead of over it. For once, things were going the Red Sox's way, and it was freaking me the hell out.

Now, we move all the way to the 14th. The extra innings had some mildly tense moments, most notably when Varitek allowed three passed balls on Tim Wakefield knuckleballs, but the score remained 4-4. Esteban Loaiza was still in the game after already locking down two and two-thirds innings, and started the frame with a pair of walks and a pair of strike outs, setting Ortiz up for yet another dramatic moment. Never able to do something without some flash, Papi put together an epic at bat, facing ten pitches and fouling off five of them with two strikes. In fact, midway through the at bat, the game became the longest in postseason history (using time, not innings). As if he had known the game had just broken the record, he was ready to end it with another walk off.

They did it. All I wanted was for them to get back to New York, and they actually did it. Of course, after that marathon game that took just under six hours, so much had changed. Don't get me wrong, I was still sure they were going to lose. Every rational bone in my body knew that. Still, so many little things went right for them that I had to give in to the magic a little bit. At least they gave themselves a chance. And hey, even if they couldn't pull it off, at least they made it a respectable series.

It's Saturday and there's no baseball on. After the World Series, this will be the norm for a while. For a fun exercise, we invite you to name your three favorite Yankees of 2015.

Before we begin the main focus of today's COTD thread, let's get yesterday's info out of the way. First of all, there's only one COTD award to give out. There will be no GIF of the Day or Honorable Mod Mention awards today. Nor will there be any fun questions, except the main question of this thread.

Comments of the Day

Our lone COTD award from yesterday goes to Jcp718 for his description of George Steinbrenner's actions, which is pretty much a spot on response to the classic "If the Boss were here..." statements.

• In order, tell us who your top three favorite Yankees of this year were. Please give a brief description as to why they were your favorites. These can include minor leaguers as well as major leaguers.

As always, link us your song of the day!

The World Series between the Royals and the Giants does not start until Tuesday. These next few days serve as a sad reminder of what having no baseball is like. Soon we'll be in the offseason and we'll see what the Yankees do to prepare for the 2015 season. Until then, I guess we have each other.

PSA Group Hug?!?

Jaron Long had a great surprise season for the Yankees and there could be more to come

Grade: A+

2014 Statistics: 2.18 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 7.6 K/9, 1.4 BB/9, 1.93 GO/AO, 144.1 IP between Low-A, High-A, Double-A

2014 Level/Roster Status: Double-A/Non-40

What a perfect time to be talking about the season Jaron Long just had. He's the son of Kevin Long and as an undrafted free agent, his father likely got him a chance, but boy has he made the most of it. No matter what he showed the Yankees before they decided to give him a try. Everyone involved had to know just how unlikely anything would come out of this, but the right-hander is really proving himself to be someone to look out for in the near future.

He got his feet wet in 2013, seeming to be bullpen filler after an assignment to High-A Tampa, but 2014 was different. He started out in Low-A Charleston where he proved useful with a 1.64 ERA and 2.27 FIP. After throwing nearly 50 innings he was bumped back up to Tampa where he continued to impress with a 2.77 ERA and 3.08 FIP. After another 26 innings, this non-prospect already had a lot going for him, but instead of letting him continue what he was doing, the Yankees decided to take a chance and bump him all the way up to Double-A Trenton and let him start on a full-time basis. He rewarded them with another solid performance of 2.35 ERA and 2.80 FIP over 69 innings and 10 starts to close out the year. Overall, Long put up a 2.18 ERA, 2.71 FIP-season with a decent 7.6 K/9, but an excellent 1.4 BB/9 over three different levels to prove that he could be considered a starter at the upper levels.

What Jaron Long lacks in pure stuff, he makes up for with an ability to generate ground balls and keep hitters off-balance. His cutter and sinker, two pitches well known for keeping the ball on the infield grass, allowed him to pitch to a fantastic 1.93 GO/AO ratio in 2014. As he displayed in his interview with us back in June, his father has also imbued him with a vast knowledge of the game. He knows exactly what kind of pitcher he is and how he can use that to his advantage:

I am a command pitcher that works for groundballs. Since I am not overpowering I focus on working down in the zone and throwing a steady mix.

...

My greatest strength as a pitcher is my ability to command the strike zone with multiple pitches. I have good movement on my pitches so that enables me to keep hitters off balance.

Many pitchers his age are simply throwers instead of pitchers, but at 23 he already has a great handle on the game and how exactly he fits into it. Hopefully his craftiness and command will help him make up for his lack of velocity and make him a legitimate prospect at some point.

Now that Kevin Long is no longer a member of the Yankees organization, Jaron no longer has the protection of his father keeping him safe in the system. It would be a shame if they gave up on him now because of some silly internal politics when he just showed so much potential. Expect him to keep his rotation spot in Trenton next year and maybe he can continue to pull himself up to Triple-A. One scout said he could see him up in the majors in 2014, but that seemed a bit crazy. However, if Long does in 2015 what he did in 2014, we could be seeing him before we know it, even if it's in the bullpen. Regardless of how unlikely it is that he will succeed, he's getting results and that's always worth a shot. That's probably why it was so exciting to follow him this year; he's such an underdog and that's always fun.

It's been ten years; let's try to painlessly wipe the dust off of these memories. Nope, it didn't work.

We all remember where we were during Game Seven of the 2003 American League Championship Series. I was only ten years old, so I couldn't stay up the whole game. My parents ushered me to bed as Pedro Martinez set down batter-after-batter--we all thought it was over. I was unable to fall asleep, and my parents rushed into my bedroom, shook me, and said, "You'll never believe it! They came all the way back and Posada tied the game!" I came out to watch the end of nine innings, and once again I went off to sleep. We all know how long Yankees-Red Sox games took back then, and there was no reason to stay up for two more hours on a school night. But, of course, I couldn't fall asleep. I went into my parents' room to check the score, and as I opened the door I saw Aaron Boone's home run sailing into left field. I was so exhausted yet elated that I said a quick good night and there was no problem falling asleep at that point.

In 2004, there was no chance I would miss a moment like that again. My parents finally got me my first television for my bedroom so I could watch baseball games as much as I wanted to, and I no longer had to worry about who was using the main television. For an eleven year old kid who loved baseball, this was the dream. But unfortunately, the only thought I have of that television is one moment: watching Johnny Damon hit a grand-slam in Game Seven of the 2004 ALCS.

I think most Yankees fans, even the rational ones you may find here, pretty much ignore that 2004 even existed. We talk about the dynasty years, Aaron Boone, the silliness of the dinger-happy and horrible pitching staffs of the mid-2000's, the 2009 Championship team, and the mediocrity of the past two years. Heck, we even talk about the 2001 World Series; we talk about how great of a series it was despite the loss. Yet still, 2004 remains a black-hole in our psyche, even ten years later.

Fandom is a strange phenomenon. There's an allegiance to laundry, as Jerry Seinfeld would say, for arbitrary reasons such as familial ties, location, nostalgia, or whatever it may be. And for better or worse, we put a heck of a lot of stock in the outcome of these random events that happen to totally random strangers for our arbitrary team. But for an eleven year old, this wasn't so gray. This was Yankees vs. Red Sox, Good vs. Evil, and Light vs. Dark. The Yankees were the clean-cut Derek Jeter's, Jorge Posada's, and Alex Rodriguez's. The Red Sox were just a bunch of bearded goons who clipped their toenails in the dugout. How could they be better than the mighty Yankees?

It took some time to realize a few facts: Yankees exceptional-ism is not real, and the only thing to blame for these unfortunate events is randomness, really. I had grown up believing and seeing that the Yankees were far superior to any organization, and this series ran counter to that fact. And when I tried to come up with why this had happened to such a good team, I thought it was because of some fundamental flaw in the team's structure. Assuming teams are equal, there is about a 0.78% chance that a seven game series will have this exact result. It's a surprise that this hadn't happened before, but it had to be somebody. Accepting this randomness can allow us not to accept unfortunate events as some indictment against us, and that we're merely victims of chance. This is not to take away from the greatness of that Red Sox team, but I wouldn't say that the Yankees were slackers, either.

I also learned another valuable lesson: even in the worst moments, life moves on. After that series, I didn't think baseball could ever happen. I felt like baseball had been cancelled and it would never be enjoyable again. But what it is great about being a fan is the cyclical nature of it all. Seasons, for good and bad, come and go. Once Spring Training begins, the only thing that exists is the present.

This is a bit of senseless rambling, but I think my point is that accepting the low points of our baseball fandom is akin to accepting the low points of our actual lives. We can't avoid them forever (Is Fever Pitch on television, again?) and we eventually have to look them in the eye and accept them for what they are (I eventually watched Fever Pitch, by the way). They are experiences to learn from and grow from--as fans and as people--and I think we're all better for that.  It all may sound overly dramatic and a false equivalence, but it didn't seem that way for an eleven-year old version of myself. I had maybe seven years of conscious thought under my belt, and for me this was devastating. I can honestly say that that series was my worst time as a Yankees fan, but all bad things eventually come to an end.

And now that this topic has been adequately examined, it can now go back to its rightful place alongside my old television that I watched the series on: deep into my dusty garage and covered in manure and rusty nails.

Roberts retires, hitting is hard, Jose Fernandez defects, changes from the '09 title, and Baby Bombers & Mets bonding in the AFL.

Baltimore Sun | Dan Connolly: Former Yankee and longtime Oriole Brian Roberts is calling it a career after fourteen seasons.

Grantland | Ben Lindbergh: Situational hitting is really hard.  With the ever increasing use of the shift, the ability to "hit it where they ain't" is proving to be a difficult skill for this era's players to grasp.

Hardball Talk | Craig Calcaterra: As first rumored a few days ago, Jon Morosi confirmed this earlier report regarding Cuban second baseman Jose Fernandez's defection. Baseball America's Ben Badler said that Fernandez "is a polished, finished product with excellent plate discipline and on-base skills, though not much power."

Bleeding Yankee Blue | Mike O'Hara: BYB looks back at how much the Yankees have changed from the 2009 World Series Championship and expresses hope that the newest generation of Yankee prospects are studying the Dynasty years and not just the "Core Four."

Tim Rohan | New York Times: Yankees and Mets prospects like Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, and Brandon Nimmo have been bonding in the Arizona Fall League.

Acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline, Martin Prado was very good in his brief time in pinstripes.

Grade: B+

2014 Statistics: (NYY): 37 G, .316/.336/.541, 146 wRC+, 1.4 fWAR
(overall): 143 G, 282/.321/.412, 103 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR

2015 Contract Status: Signed for $11 million per year through 2016

The ever-versatile Martin Prado posted a solid .282/.333/.417 (104 wRC+) showing with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013, but saw his line dip to .270/.317/.370 in 106 games in Arizona this year. Prado's across-the-board decline was largely due to his strikeout rate jumping from 8% to 13%, along with his previously modest power's mysterious disappearance. In spite of these newly-formed warts, the Yankees brought Prado aboard at the trade deadline, hoping to upgrade a lineup that relied far too heavily on the likes of Brian Roberts, Ichiro Suzuki, and Zelous Wheeler.

Prado didn't disappoint. The 30-year-old played mostly second base, but also spent time at third base and the corner outfield spots for the Bombers. And despite only logging 37 games with the team, he was worth over 1 WAR. Prado played sound defense all around the diamond, all while hitting at a .316/.336/.541 clip. Prado got off to something of a slow start, hitting just .163/.217/.256 in his first 13 games as Yankee, but then preceded to go on a tear. Despite dealing with a nagging hamstring injury, Prado was easily the best hitter on the team -- and possibly all of baseball -- from mid-August to mid-September, before a bout of appendicitis ended his season on September 15th.

Prado was great for the Yankees down the stretch, but his performance actually looks a little concerning when analyzed with a finer-tooth comb. His 146 wRC+ was fueled by his power output (.226 ISO) and luck on balls in play (.340 BABIP). Both of these things tend to be fluky in small samples, and they were uncharacteristically high for Prado. Meanwhile, Prado's plate discipline seemed to take a turn for the worse upon arriving in the Big Apple. He swung at way more pitches out of the zone than ever before, which lead to disappointing strikeout (17% K%) and walk (2% BB%) numbers. This approach seemed to work for Prado over this small sample, but it'll be something to keep an eye on going forward.

Prado's under contract for the next two seasons, and will surely be an integral part of the Yankees lineup in 2015, but it's not clear what position he'll play. That'll likely depend on how the Yankees address their third base situation this offseason, and also on the development of second base prospect Rob Refsnyder. However things shake out defensively, Prado should be good for about a league-average offensive season. His full-season 2014 stat line of .282/.321/.412 (including his games with Arizona and New York) is probably a decent predictor.

The Red Sox had fought their way back to New York, and we hoped for a miracle. We got weird slaps and a bloody sock (and also a miracle).

The path to Game Six began on October 16, 2003 as Todd Walker, Nomar Garciaparra, and Johnny Damon desperately converged upon a soft bloop hit by Jorge Posada. None would come close to reaching it before it found the grass, and so two men in pinstripes would cross the plate, tying the game. I, like much of Boston, sat in stunned awe at the managerial incompetence involved, and the knowledge that once again the Yankees would be breaking our hearts. My father, not much of a baseball fan, told me the next day that he'd gone to bed as soon as New York tied it, since "the Red Sox don't win that game. Up three, sure, but tied in the late innings? No way."

The first change was obvious: Boston needed a manager willing to play the percentages, or at the very least listen when told directly that a certain gambit wouldn't work. But behind Little's error lay two legitimate problems with the team: its ace wasn't a nine-inning horse, and it lacked a truly reliable option to secure the ninth inning of a crucial game. These loomed as the major items to solve before making the next run at the World Series. With a trade for Curt Schilling, Boston acquired a workhorse ace with a strong playoff pedigree, and they followed this by putting their money on Keith Foulke as the lockdown closer they had always lacked.

Game Six would be the test of both these moves, and the game that cemented each player's legacy in Boston.

The fanbase was absolutely flummoxed heading into Game Six. After escaping elimination in glorious fashion on Sunday night, the Red Sox bludgeoned and clawed their way to a victory in a torturous six-hour, fourteen-inning ordeal the following evening. Thousands of groggy, anxious New Englanders stumbled into work on Tuesday morning, useless to anyone and counting down the hours until the first pitch would be thrown at Yankee Stadium. I recall my political science professor telling us sardonically (really, he said everything sardonically) that the playoffs were not an excuse to sleep in class or miss our homework. It didn't matter. The situation was entirely too absurd for the normal rules to apply.

Most absurd of all, the man who should have been the rotation's workhorse was injured. Curt Schilling had been nursing a minor ankle injury since June, and that injury became major when he slipped fielding a grounder against Anaheim in the Division Series. Unable to plant properly, his pitches in Game One of the ALCS had been flat and lifeless, easy targets for the Yankee offense. Rumors swirled of an experimental ankle surgery that might give the ace the strength he needed, but none of us knew for sure. To have fought back through 26 innings of madness, and hand the ball to the man acquired for this very purpose, only to be thwarted by an ankle tendon... It was perfectly Boston in its potential cruelty.

Schilling came to the mound in the bottom of the first, and there it was: a closeup of the questionable ankle, blood seeping through the sock. Even at the time, the symbolism was so over-the-top as to be weirdly relaxing. The series had so addled the universe that it had given up on subtlety. He's actually wearing a RED SOCK, get it? My favorite thing about the bloody sock, though, was the inevitable shouting later on that it was faked or staged, Schilling being such a well-known publicity hound. There are still Yankee fans who are pissed off about this, and it's wonderful. The sock aside, Schilling did his job. He wasn't overpowering, but he made his pitches and kept the Yankees off-balance all night. The only damage was a Bernie Williams home run, and when that's the only damage in a Yankee playoff game, you've done damn well.

As for the rest of the game, three moments stick out even a decade later as huge, not only within the context of the game, but as moments that made it clear that the full comeback was possible:

Jon Lieber, who had somehow out-pitched Pedro in Game Two, was trading zeroes with Schilling until the fourth, when Jason Varitek drove in Kevin Millar to put Boston up 1-0. Two batters later, the wondrously scruffy Mark Bellhorn hit a deep drive to left, which bounced back onto the field. Was it a double? A home run? The initial call was that Bellhorn would have to stay at second, but replays showed the ball hitting a fan behind the wall and coming back. The umpires consulted, and all of Boston prepared to add another bitter memory. I was sitting on my couch, and actually shouted "Wait, what?" as the umps reversed the call. The umps got it right. The universe isn't out to screw the Red Sox. Maybe we have a chance here.

Then, of course, there was this:

Ah, the slap. The play that will almost certainly remain the signature playoff moment of Alex Rodriguez's career. Unfairly, but baseball is an incredibly cruel sport. It was so pathetic, so utterly Little League. There's a scene toward the end of Stephen King's sprawling apocalypse The Stand in which one of the main characters is brought face to face with the Big Bad, and begins laughing aloud: "You're nothing! ...we were all so frightened...we made such a business out of you..." As soon as Rodriguez slapped at Bronson Arroyo's glove, the terrifying Yankee Mystique evaporated, and it left behind a goof in pinstripes. That's what we've been afraid of all these years? Let's win this damn thing.

Schilling had given Terry Francona seven innings, Arroyo one, and now the stage was set for Keith Foulke. Foulke had locked down the Yankees for almost three innings in Sunday's comeback, and pitched a four-out hold on Monday. Now he was on for the third time in as many nights, to hold a two-run lead and send the series to a deciding game. He walked Matsui, struck out Williams, got Posada on a popup, then walked Ruben Sierra, of all people, to bring the winning run to the plate. And this, this was the moment of the entire series when I was most scared. Game Four was stressful, Game Five was a six-hour anxiety nightmare, but this was the one moment that terrified me. Tony Clark was coming to the plate. Tony Clark, who two years prior looked utterly washed up with Boston, hitting three home runs and batting .207/.265/.291. And now this former Red Sox bench player could crush Boston's dreams with one swing of the bat. If you listened carefully, you could hear a thousand hot takes being sharpened. And then:

The Red Sox were still alive, and one game away from the impossible.

Mitchell had a solid, albeit brief showing in the big leagues in 2014. What does his future hold?

Grade: C

2014 Statistics: (AA): 14 G, 61.1 IP, 4.84 ERA, 4.09 FIP
(AAA):9 G, 41.2 IP, 3.67 ERA, 4.44 FIP
(MLB):3 G, 11.0 IP, 2.45 ERA, 3.22 FIP

2015 Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration

It's probably not terribly frequent that a pitcher with a FIP over four at two minor league levels gets a promotion to the big leagues, but that was the case with Bryan Mitchell in 2014. We find in baseball that necessity often trumps worthiness, and with the Yankees pitching staff having all manner of pianos and safes dropped on it Mitchell made his MLB debut in 2014. Mitchell had middling performances at both Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton after posting an ERA over five in his time at High-A Tampa in 2013. It seems that the Yankees have no qualms about pushing Mitchell along in spite of uninspiring minor league performances, and it likely has to do with what Mitchell brings to the table. He has a fastball that tops out in the mid-nineties and a nasty breaking pitch, so it's not surprising that the Yankees seem enamored with the 23 year-old.

Mitchell got the call to pitch for the Yankees in August and responded by tossing two scoreless innings against the Cleveland Indians. His only start at the major league level was a trial by fire to be sure: a September 12th start against the division champion Baltimore Orioles. He slogged through a five-inning, six-hit, two-walk affair allowing just two runs. Not too shabby for the rookie, all things considered. He made one more appearance for the team in relief against the Red Sox.

Mitchell's main concerning attribute has been his control, and this season was really no different. He had a 4.2 BB/9 at Double-A and 3.4 at Triple-A. He doesn't have a great strikeout rate, so he's going to have to work on keeping the walks down to be successful. There are some parallels between Mitchell and fellow rookie Shane Greene, who also possesses what would be considered plus stuff and had less than inspiring minor league peripheral stats. Whether or not Mitchell has similar success obviously remains to be seen.

Mitchell's 2015 will likely be similar to how Greene's was: spot starter and possible long man out of the bullpen. The bullpen may be where Mitchell's future lies since reports are that he doesn't really have a changeup or third offering of note, but for now he's slotted as a starter. If the Yankees rotation actually doesn't resemble a M.A.S.H. unit this season, Mitchell could likely spend much of the year back in Scranton. Since we know better than to expect that, you can count on seeing Mitchell toe the rubber as a starter for the 2015 Yankees at some point down the line.

Are you moderately prepared for the sport of football? If so, please join us in today's open thread. Also, still no baseball on.

Comments of the Day

I'm not sure what got ElCruz the COTD award, the top three Yankees of 2014 post or the picture of the cat. Actually, never mind. Pretty sure it was the cat!

Matt F was a big Rich Hill fan. Who knew?

Andrew & I have listened to LTL for a long time. I believe we accurately portrayed LTL as the Secretary of Defense!

GIF of the Day

Nope. No GIFs again. Such a shame.

Honorable Mod Mention

The HMM goes to both Harlan and myself for our timely comments on the 2004 ALCS, also known as that weird time in baseball where nothing happened.

• What do you do to keep yourself busy during the offseason?
• Favorite preparation of chicken?

As always, link us your song of the day!

There's still no baseball on. However, football is currently on. Yay? Nay? In any case, feel free to use this as your open thread for the day!

Come back soon, baseball.

The Yankees continue their hitting coach search, a profile on Asdrubal Cabrera, and reflections on both 2012 and Jeter's farewell.

MLB Trade Rumors | Zach Links: Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is one of the primary candidates to replace Derek Jeter at shortstop for the Yankees, so check out MLBTR's breakdown of him and the contract projection.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Just two years after the Yankees' last playoff game, the names from that night look quite different than the group now, though they weren't exactly pretty, either.

NJ.com | Brandon Kuty: Athletics hitting coach and former Yankee Chili Davis will not be joining the Bronx Bombers as their new hitting coach; the Red Sox have hired him.

New York Post | George King III and John DeMarzo: With Davis out of the mix, Dave Magadan might have the inside edge on the hitting coach job.

MLB.com Video: Check out this 15-minute exclusive on the final days of Derek Jeter's career.