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Notes from Joe Girardi's "State of the Yankees" spring training address

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The Yankees' skipper met with the media on the day pitchers and catchers reported to spring training. What did he have to say?

Every year, Joe Girardi has a meeting with the press on the first day of spring training. Today was the day that Yankees pitchers and catchers at last reported. One off-season countdown down, one more to go. Understandably, a fair amount of what Girardi said was fluff or cliches, like "I like our team," "This rotation will be great if they're healthy," and "I miss Nixy." However, he did offer some thoughts on other topics:

On the pitching staff

There's been a rumor going around that the Yankees are considering using six starters over the first couple months of the season, and it's really not a bad one since their top three starters are injury risks and they play something like 30 games in 31 days. Girardi is right to establish that a full-season six-man rotation won't happen though. Expect the first two months to be many of those "few points in the schedule" where they might give Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, and CC Sabathia an extra day off.

Awesome news. We can only hope that this is a harbinger of things to come for Tanaka. We're in almost uncharted waters with his PRP therapy seemingly working, so cross your fingers that his elbow continues to be fine.

The Andrew Miller vs. Dellin Betances closer decision will be one of the storylines in spring training. Using both of them would be far from a bad option though. Maybe Girardi tells one of them each day "You will be the closer today," and that would help them have their roles defined since relievers like to know when in the game they will likely pitch. Flexibility with the back of the bullpen never hurts; being too rigid about it leads to 2003 World Series Jeff Weaver nightmares.

On A-Rod

Girardi hits the nail on the head here. How many times in the history of baseball has a near-40-year-old returned to the game after two major hip surgeries and only two active months in the previous two years? (Not to mention that lil' old PED suspension.) Guessing A-Rod's production at this point is a fool's errand, and A-Rod should have to prove that he's worth starting. I imagine he will be the regular DH regardless if he's healthy, but proceed with caution.

That's about how I expected Girardi to react to A-Rod's apology. Members of the team have already said that they're over it, and Girardi seems no different. It's in the past.

The idea of A-Rod as a backup first baseman was floated prior to the Yankees acquiring Garrett Jones to provide Mark Teixeira insurance. It's still certainly a good idea to get A-Rod some reps there since I have no faith in him playing a more challenging defensive position at this point in his career. He should really only be playing third in emergencies. Again, flexibility never hurts either.

On Didi Gregorius

James Smyth nailed my reaction on Twitter:

Didi doesn't have to be prime Derek Jeter. Few shortstops have ever been that good. As long as he plays solid defense and hits about league average for a shortstop, I'll be more than satisfied.

On deities

Big, if true.


Should the Yankees use a sixth starter in the rotation?

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The Yankees are considering adding a sixth starter during a long stretch of games in April and May.

As of today, Yankee pitchers (and catchers) have officially reported to spring training. After last year's rotation disaster, it appears that the Yankees spent part of the offseason brainstorming ideas to keep the team healthy. They opted not to pursue any of the top free agent starters, but they are throwing around the idea of having a sixth starter in the rotation in the early part of the season.

Pitching coach Larry Rothschild said that the Yankees are considering using a sixth starter in spot-start situations, such as during the long stretches of play with no off days in April and May where they play 30 games in 31 days. It wouldn't be a six-man rotation, though. In terms of preventing injuries, this is probably the Yankees best bet. CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka both spent several months rehabbing injuries last season. Even though they are said to be healthy now, both would benefit from an extra rest day, which a sixth starter could provide. The same can be said for Michael Pineda, who hasn't made it through a full season in years. Adding a sixth starter and providing the rotation with extra rest could even prevent new injuries from developing since this would take place at the beginning of the season when the pitchers aren't necessarily stretched out all the way.

It seems like the pros of adding a sixth starter outweigh the cons in this case. One argument against could be that an extra day of rest might throw everyone off balance, but it could be easier to deal with if they transition from spring training to the regular season with that schedule. The only problem with adding a sixth starter is that the neither the roster nor the rotation are exactly stacked with good pitchers to choose from. Adding a sixth starter would probably just increase the mediocrity of the rotation, but if that allows everyone else to stay healthy, I'm all for it.

Who would be the fifth and sixth starters then? Right now it seems like they would be Adam Warren and Chris Capuano. Although he pitched in relief out of the bullpen very successfully last year, Warren was told to prepare for spring training by getting stretched out. Esmil Rogers was told to do the same. It's not a Yankee spring training if there aren't a few pitchers battling for a spot in the rotation, so the three of them will be in the mix, possibly along with Chase Whitley and Bryan Mitchell. If the Yankees do use a sixth starter for a trial period, they might even decide to go ahead with a six-man rotation for the season. Time will tell, but it does sound like a good strategy to reduce injuries and it's refreshing to hear that the team is actively trying to avoid what happened last season.

Do you think the Yankees should use a sixth starter? Would you like to see them go so far as to have a six-man rotation all season?

Yankees spring training Day One: Tanaka's elbow, Moncada workouts, Pace-of-Play changes

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Yankees pitchers and catchers officially reported to spring training today, which truly kicks off the beginning of baseball's return after an exceptionally long winter. Here are a few of the highlights to come out of camp from today, including updates on Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova, Yoan Moncada, and new rule changes.

1. Joe Girardi's "State of the Yankees" address - Andrew recapped this for you already, which you can read by clicking right here if you missed it.

2. The Yankees held a third private workout for Yoan Moncada yesterday at their minor league complex. Hank Steinbrenner was among those in attendance, and it is expected that it will be the last private workout held before Moncada signs with a team. Ben Badler of Baseball America says Moncada is expected to sign at some point next week.

Even though George King of the New York Post claims that the Yankees are only interested if the price on Moncada comes down to a more reasonable level, their actions certainly say otherwise. Dragging Hank out of hiding to have him watch a workout and having Moncada work out at their facilities two days in a row doesn't seem anything like casual interest, or only keeping interest in case the landscape changes. They seem all in to me.

3. MLB's pace of play rule changes will be in effect for the 2015 season. Among the changes, batters will have to keep one foot in the batter's box unless an exception occurs, a pitcher will need to be ready to deliver a pitch once the game returns from commercial break, and managers will have to challenge calls while remaining in the dugout. Managers will also be able to retain their challenge after every call that is overturned instead of only after the first overturned call.

The penalty for violation of these new rules will come in the form of fines instead of game penalties, like a ball or strike being issued. A strict pitch clock that has been experimented with in the Arizona Fall League and will be implemented in some MiLB stadiums this season is not among the changes that will be happening at the big league level this season, but it seems like that's the direction this is headed.

4. Good news about the status of Ivan Nova's recovery:

Spring training number mania!

#pray4theUCL

Around the Empire: Yankees News - 2/21/15

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Pitchers and catchers have reported; Yoan Moncada gets another evaluation; MLB takes measures to speed up games.

NJ.com | Ryan Hatch: Spring training is under way in Tampa, and Joe Girardi held his first press conference of the year. He addressed an array of topics, from leadership to his elevated expectations from the middle part of the lineup.

NY Post | George A. King III: The Yankees have held a third workout for Cuban free agent Yoan Moncada, this time in front of Hank Steinbrenner. Moncada is expected to make a decision on a team within the next week or so.

Yahoo! Sports | Steve Ginsburg: Major League Baseball has taken measures to increase the pace of games, including requiring batters to keep at least one foot inside the batter's box in between pitches, as well as new restrictions to speed up the instant replay procedure.

Lohud Yankees Blog | Chad Jennings: Jersey numbers have been assigned to the Yankees participating in spring training. As was discussed on the most recent Pinstripe Alley Podcast, the cool thing about all the lower-digit numbers being retired is the potential of a new wave of Yankees with unconventional numbers. Rob Refsnyder has #98, and he should totally keep it if he makes the 25-man squad.

Weekend Digest: Hamels wants a trade; Giambi retires; Profar needs surgery

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MLB news from the past week.

Cole Hamels wishes to be traded

The fact that Hamels was on the block was not a big surprise to anyone; what may have turned a few heads, though, is that Hamels explicitly stated his desire to be traded to a contender.

I just want to win, that's all. That's all any competitor wants, and I know it's not going to happen here. This isn't what I expected. It's not what the Phillies expected, either, but it's reality.

The Padres, Dodgers, and Red Sox have all inquired about Hamels, who has 20 teams on his no-trade list, but are reluctant to part with their top prospects. The Cardinals have also asked, but are unwilling to include Carlos Martinez in any package.

Jason Giambi announces retirement

The 20-year veteran steps away from the game with 440 home runs and 1,441 RBI, spending the last five years primarily as a pinch-hitter and DH. Despite his accomplishments, he'll always have the cloud of BALCO following him wherever he goes even after his admission to steroid use.

Jurickson Profar to have shoulder surgery

Profar hasn't appeared in a regular season game since 2013; he tore his right shoulder in Spring Training of 2014 and during rehab tore it again, forcing him to miss the entire season. He is set to have surgery on Monday. He has been considered one of the Rangers' top prospects; fortunately for him, he's only 22 (his birthday was Friday), so he still has time to realize his potential.

Yankees to retire numbers for Pettitte, Williams, Posada

The Yankees will honor Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte during the 2015 season; Williams will be honored in May, while Posada and Pettitte will be honored on consecutive days in August. In Pettitte's case, his quick admission to HGH use after being named in the Mitchell Report helped soften the criticism, but that hasn't stopped Chuck Knoblauch. The ex-Yankee took a shot at his former teammate via Twiiter.

Stay classy, Chuck.

Dan Haren commits to pitch in Miami

Haren had publicly stated he wanted to pitch in southern California or retire, so when the Dodgers traded him to the Marlins in December, there was a distinct possibility Haren would follow through and retire. Come Friday, he was in camp ready to play.

I wanted to make sure I was going to be 100 percent committed. I didn't want to give a halfhearted effort. Once I was committed in the offseason to putting in the work, I was ready to go for the year...I'm here, I'm happy to be here. I'm ready to get going.

Haren could provide some stability in the rotation until Jose Fernandez returns from TJ surgery.

Does Bernie Williams deserve to have his number retired?

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Bernie Williams was a great Yankee who spent 16 years in pinstripes and helped the team win four World Series, but does he deserve to have his number retired?

The Yankees announced earlier this week that Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams, three players who were key cogs to the Yankees dynasty in the late 1990s (and 2000) will all have their numbers retired in pre-game ceremonies this season. When I first heard this news, I was kind of taken aback by the fact that Bernie was included. Don't get me wrong, I love Bernie. Always did. But does he really deserve to have his number retired?

For one thing, nobody really seems to group him in with the other key guys in that dynasty. All we ever hear about is the Core Four™ of Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada. For some reason, Bernie just isn't included in that group. Is it because he didn't come up in 1995 like the other four guys? Is it because he retired a couple of years before they started dropping like flies? Whatever it is, it's kind of ridiculous, because Bernie deserves to be recognized for the incredible career he had in pinstripes, and not just because he can shred on guitar. Let's take a retrospective look at the Bernie years.

The Yankees signed Bernie as an international free agent out of Puerto Rico on his 17th birthday in 1985, and sent him stateside to the Gulf Coast Yankees for the 1986 season. He climbed slowly up the prospects rankings, as well as through the minors, until he was finally called up on July 7, 1991 against the Orioles. He went 1-for-3 with two RBI in that game, and stuck around for the rest of the season. The Yankees already had a pretty OK center fielder in Roberto Kelly, but they shifted the veteran to left field and eventually traded him to the Reds for Paul O'Neill just before the 1993 season. Bernie took over the regular center field job in 1993, but wouldn't truly break out until a couple of years later.

Williams had his first big year in 1995, when he hit .307/.392/.487 and began to harness his power a little more with 18 home runs. The next year, he began an era of true dominance. From 1996 to 2002, Bernie was one of the better hitters in team history. During that time, he slashed .323/.408/.538 averaging 25 homers (career high of 30 in 2000), 104 RBI (high of 115 in 1999), and a 144 OPS+. He also topped 100 runs scored in each of those years and won the batting title in 1998 (I was at the game in which he clinched that). Although modern defensive metrics aren't as favorable to him, Bernie used using his long legs and athleticism to make numerous highlight-reel plays in center, and was rewarded for that with four straight Gold Gloves (1997-2000).

I think a lot of my doubts about Bernie have to do with whether or not he stacks up against the other Yankees greats that have their numbers retired in Monument Park. I never really think of Bernie as being up there with the Mickey Mantles and Joe DiMaggios of the world, but I am definitely reconsidering after taking a deeper look at his stats. Bernie's .297 career average is 15th all-time for the team. He's sixth all-time in runs scored with 1,366, third all-time in doubles with 449, seventh all-time in home runs with 287, seventh all-time in runs batted in with 1,257 and fifth all-time in hits with 2,336. Nobody can deny the legitimacy of those numbers. For him to be a top ten guy in so many categories for the greatest franchise in the history of the sport is pretty damn impressive.

We haven't even talked about his post-season numbers yet. Bernie is third all-time in post season games played with 121, which has helped him put up some pretty gaudy numbers. He's second in runs scored with 83, second in hits with 128, second in total bases with 223, second in doubles with 29, second in home runs with 22 and first in runs batted in with 80. He's basically behind only Jeter in all of these (except for homers, in which he trails Manny Ramirez's 29), which is pretty good company to be keeping. You can argue that he played in the post season every year, and so he had more chances to succeed, but you still have to hit the ball. Plenty of guys wilt in the playoffs, but not Bernie. He always rose to the occasion, including his walk-off winners in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS against the Orioles (below), and Game 1 of the 1999 ALCS against the Red Sox. That's why the Yankees won four World Series with him in center field.

Bernie's career didn't have the best ending, which I think has tarnished his legacy a bit. Like most other ballplayers, his skills declined as he aged, and he and the Yankees parted ways after the 2006 season. There was a bit of controversy because the Yankees didn't want to guarantee him a roster spot for 2007, and Bernie simply walked away at the age of 37. He had a decent last season with the team, slashing .281/.332/.428 with 12 home runs, but it was clear that it was his time to go. I think he could have found some place else to play for a year or two, but I'm glad he didn't. Number 51 belonged in pinstripes, and now it belongs only to Bernie. Congratulations, old friend.

What do you guys think about Bernie having his number retired? Answer in the comments below, or just share your favorite memories of Bernie Williams.

Poll
Are the Yankees right to retire Bernie Williams' number?

  329 votes |Results

PSA Comments of the Day 2/21/15: The Preparation

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Joe Girardi had his first press conference of the year yesterday. A lot of things were discussed, from the rotation to A-Rod to Jeter. We finally have baseball things to discuss.

The first official press conference of the 2015 Yankees Season was held yesterday. Joe Girardi, still our manager for those who were not aware, answered the media's many questions. The topics dealt with Masahiro Tanaka's elbow, Derek Jeter's absence from the team, Alex Rodriguez having to prove himself and much more. http://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-spring-training-prospects-roster/2015/2/20/8077031/joe-girardi-2015-yankees-expectations-press-spring-training Needless to say, baseball is back!

Comments of the Day

Judging by the answers to the first questions, I reckon that long time listener roots for the New York Yankees.

Sources confirm, every time Girardi wants to have a conversation it's "sorry" this and "forgive me" that and "I'm not worthy!"

River Ave U has a point. Unless LTL thinks A-Rod is a frog and just loves him some flies.

BGFC has a bold gutty factual conclusion based on how stubborn baseball players like Jeter and Tanaka seem to be. Others agreed with BGFC's BGFC!

GIF of the Day

The Black Knight always triumphs.

Honorable Mod Mention

Matt Providence has delivered the truth to us! There is no more honorable feat than this.

Fun Questions
  • Out of everything Joe Girardi talked about yesterday, which points did you agree and disagree with, if any?
  • If you had to choose one to lose for only a day, would you choose to lose your vision or your hearing?
Song of the Day

The Dark World from The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD

I've decided to end Zelda week with my favorite track from any Zelda game. The original theme from The Dark World in A Link To The Past is one of my favorite songs in all of gaming. It's powerful and adventurous, much like baseball. For those that listened and enjoyed, thank you for sharing the music I grew up with. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, please link us your Song of the Day.

Feel free to use this as your open thread for the day. Now that Zelda Week is over with, do we have any suggestion for next week's theme? Don't be shy, just shout em out loud in the comments. Also, the Yankees held a third, private workout with Yoan Moncada. Excited? Scared. Let us know. Baseball is back!

"What are you gonna do? Bleed on me?"

The Braves are poaching former Yankees prospects

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Former Yankees scout Gordon Blakely departed for the Braves this winter, and brought a bunch of Yankees prospects with him. Might there be something to this?

Back in October, longtime Yankees scout Gordon Blakely -- the scout who signed Robinson Cano -- left the organization to take a job with the Atlanta Braves as a special assistant to their general manager. Understandably, the move didn't receive much press. Front office personnel bounce from team to team all the time. Plus, the Yankees were facing a few more pressing personnel decisions at the time, following the firings of hitting coach Kevin Long and first base coach Mick Kelleher.

But a funny thing started happening when Blakely took his talents to Atlanta: The Braves began hoarding former Yankees prospects. Over the course of the winter, Manny BanuelosZoilo Almonte, Corban Joseph, Francisco Rondon, Jairo Heredia, and Eury Perez have all wound up in the Braves organization in one way or another. Veteran arms Chien-Ming Wang and Jose Veras are also in camp this spring as non-roster invitees.

To be clear, none of these players are anything special. Wang and Veras are about as washed up as they come, and none of the prospects are anything close to elite. In fact, most of them are barely even prospects at all. Other than Banuelos, nary a one even sniffed a Top 100 list this year, and some are dangerously close to falling out of organized baseball altogether. Each of these failed prospects had some sort of prospect pedigree, but they're all at least two or three years removed from the days when their values were highest.

Banuelos is easily the most talented of the bunch. Baseball America deemed the lefty to be Yankees' 29th best prospect in baseball in 2011, and ranked him among the Yankees' Top 15 prospects every year from 2008-2013. However, most of that prospect luster has since worn off after he missed the better part of two years with elbow injuries.

The next most intriguing player is probably either Zoilo Almonte or Eury Perez, who are both fourth outfielders at best. (Perez only spent a handful of games in the Yankees' organization, so he's just barely a former Yankee.) The rest of the crew has done very little to suggest that they'll ever have a meaningful major league impact.

We've seen this type of thing happen before. When Jim Bowden left the Reds for the Nationals, he traded for just about every former Reds player he could get his hands on: Adam Dunn, Wily Mo Pena, Felipe Lopez, Ryan Wagner, Austin Kearnsand the list goes on. There's also the case of Jed Hoyer, who bounced from the Red Sox to the Padres to the Cubs, and brought Anthony Rizzo with him every step of the way. Rizzo certainly went through some rough patches, but ultimately turned into one of the best hitters in the game. Coincidence? It's hard to say for sure, but it takes some cajones to trade Andrew Cashner -- whose stuff was lights out -- for a first baseman coming off of a 59 wRC+ season. Hoyer clearly never lost faith in his guy.

Of course, this all could be nothing more than nepotism. Maybe Blakely doesn't actually know anything unique, but is instead simply putting in a good word for these players because he's familiar with them. Even so, being familiar with them means that he's watched them play more than most; more importantly, he's had access to more scouting reports and coaches' opinions than possibly anyone else on the planet. If one of these players did have some redeeming quality -- such as a tremendous work ethic or an uncanny ability to make adjustments -- Blakely would know about it.

Other than Banuelos, who seems like a good bet to carve out a role as a back end starter or power lefty reliever, none of these Yankees-turned-Braves are likely to amount to much. They're basically nondescript, minor league fodder -- the type of guys who are likely to be filling out some Indy Ball team's roster come 2017. But there's always the chance that one or two of them could turn into useful role players. Maybe Perez will improve his plate discipline enough to be a passable hitter. Maybe Rondon will learn enough command to be a usable bullpen piece. Maybe Joseph or Heredia will take a step forward now that they're healthy for the first time in years. By no means do these outcomes represent the most likely scenarios, or even a likely one, but stranger things have happened. And Gordon Blakely -- a man who theoretically knows these players better than most -- seems to think these players have a little bit of upside left.


Major league regulars were not always top prospects

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Just because Rob Refsnyder isn't in the Baseball America Top 100 prospect list, for example, doesn't mean he can't become a useful contributor for the Yankees. Though you probably already knew that.

Earlier this week Baseball Americareleased their annual Top 100 Prospects list, and two Yankees made the cut; Luis Severino at #35 and Aaron Judge at #53. It's always interesting to see how many of the top prospects actually do pan out of course, and there is significant research on this subject. Depending on your definition of 'bust' you could easily argue that over two-thirds of players on these Top 100 lists don't end up panning out.

A couple of interesting pieces from Jeff Sullivan over the last couple of days considered the flip side to failure rate of ranked players. Looking at a breakdown of useful regular players who weren't ranked in the Top 100 might provide a bit of perspective to how we can view prospect rankings. Of course, as Yankee fans we've seen firsthand how first Robinson Cano then Brett Gardner rose from outside the Top 100 to become incredibly valuable contributors, and in the case of Cano, possibly a Hall of Fame trajectory. More recently, Shane Greene showed how it is possible for a pitcher to outperform prospect projections, to a sufficient degree where Brian Cashman could trade him for a young, cost-controlled shortstop in Didi Gregorius.

These are of course isolated cases, and may not be all that useful in terms of setting expectations for any future breakouts within the Yankee system. Which is where we we head back to Sullivan's piece, where he's broken down, by highest Baseball America prospect ranking, players who post 'quality' seasons (3+ WAR). This tended to be 110-135 players in a given year. The piece is certainly worth a read, especially because the key information is pretty much completely conveyed through three simple pie charts. What we end up seeing though, is that half the players with 3+ WAR had a peak prospect rating in the top-50. However, a third of those quality players were never ranked. Last season, the proportion of players from outside the top-100 to post quality years was nearly 40%.

What I personally found surprising was when Sullivan followed this up on Just a Bit Outside by expanding the sample size and comparing hitters and pitcher prospects. Again, it's worth checking out the article, as it's all neatly summed up in pie chart form, this time only two needed. As it turns out, very little difference between the two groups, about 40% of both hitting and pitching regulars at the MLB level between 2012 and 2014 were never ranked in Baseball America's Top 100.

There are a couple of things worth noting, one of which is that this data has been benchmarked against a single ranking source. There are other sources for prospect ratings of course, including Sullivan's colleague at Fangraphs, Kiley McDaniel, whose own excellent Top 200 list was also released this week. It featured Severino again as the top Yankee prospect, higher up at #26, Judge as the second Yankee prospect a few spots lower at #58, and Jacob Lindgren as the only other Yankee placing in the top 100 - Lindgren was right at #100. Baseball America is a particularly good reference for tracking the prospect status of current major league players though, because their 25-year track record as a leader in the field of prospect ratings makes the organization a unique historical reference for the prospect status of all current major league players. Sullivan alluded to this in the comments of his article, and this was the same reason first Victor Wang then Creagh/DiMicelli used Baseball America to guide their calculations of surplus values for prospects.

As mentioned earlier, this is based off peak ranking. For Top 10 Yankee prospects like Jorge Mateo and perhaps Greg Bird, should they continue on their present development path, they might break the overall Top 100 rankings by this time next year. (Bird did, in fact, crack Keith Law's Top 100 at ESPN.) Where I find it interesting is in considering someone comfortably outside the Top 100, yet close to the big leagues, like Rob Refsnyder. This isn't to suggest that being unranked is ever a preferable alternative to being a highly rated prospect. When prospect experts, who regularly speak to scouts and insider evaluators, rate a player's ceiling, they certainly carry a lot of weight. This is the best possible assessment of a prospect we have at this point, a representation of the current expected value he might provide. Additionally, there is always a good chance that a prospects never deliver on their potential, uncertainty for which I think fans are getting very good at mentally adjusting.

Sometimes though it might be worth remembering that a minor league player's uncertainty doesn't just involve the low floor, even if admittedly prospect-heartbreak is far more common than overachievement.  I'm rooting for Refsnyder to have dislodged Stephen Drew by the end of this season as the starting second baseman, on his way to an All-Star performance in 2016 in beyond. Prospects exceeding expectations does happen, and now that we're at the start of spring training, with the 2015 baseball season about to begin, it is as good a time as any for a little, or perhaps a lot of optimism.

Around the Empire: Yankees news 2/22/15

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ESPN | Andrew Marchand: While Joe Girardi and Alex Rodriguez have talked about taking reps at first base this spring training, Girardi wants to see A-Rod in person before really committing to the plan.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: A-Rod might take some extra ABs with the minor leaguers to help him get up to speed coming back from his year suspension. I assume he won't be on any of the long bus trips.

NYPost | George A. King III: Have the Yankees blyoan Moncada away with an offer? Is he the yoanly Cuban they're after? After working out in Tampa the last few days, wouldn't he want to sign with the Yankees and stay at Steinbrenner Field, or might he have flyoan away? The pressure has gryoan so much in the last few days, that I hope the deal gets syoan up in the next few hours.

NYTimes | Tyler Kepner: Former Yankee Francisco Cervelli is following in the footsteps of former Yankee Russell Martin as the Pirates catcher; while Cervelli has not been announced as the starter yet, he's the strong favorite.

Fangraphs | Paul Swydan: Former Yankee Jason Giambi has retired. Though his involvement with BALCO is likely to keep him out of the Hall of Fame, Giambi had one of the brightest peaks of any hitter in the history of baseball, and his second career as a part time player was replete with memorable moments.

Jacoby Ellsbury should hit second in the Yankees lineup

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At first glance, it looks like Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury are both great candidates for the leadoff spot, but further analysis shows that Gardner should lead off, and it's not that close.

Several Yankees were victimized by bad luck in 2014. Despite Jacoby Ellsbury's relatively clean bill of health, he was definitely one of them. Prolonged injuries to Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira caused him to hit third in the Yankees lineup on 93 occasions after only doing so 11 times during his Red Sox career. While intuition says Ellsbury is a natural leadoff hitter, Brett Gardner is another great option to lead off. Looking at Ellsbury's second half stats, the choice is actually pretty clear.

The main reason why the Yankees would consider leading off with Ellsbury is because of his ability to steal bases. Over the past two seasons he has stolen 91 bases in 100 attempts. Gardner is obviously a weapon on the base paths too, though he doesn't hold a candle to Ellsbury's blazing agility. What he brings instead is a better ability to draw walks as he has maintained a 10 BB% over his career compared to Ellsbury's 7% Both players are good at making contact, but a closer look at each of their first and second half stats prove that Ellsbury is better suited to hit second:

PlayerAVGOBPSLGISOO-Swing%Contact%
Brett Gardner (First Half).279.353.424.14521.9%86.2%
Jacoby Ellsbury (First Half).282.346.400.11825.5%85.8%


Starting with their first half stats, Gardner had a bit of an edge, due in part to a higher BABIP and a bit more power, but his passive approach at the plate caused him to strike out a lot, making him ill suited for hitting with runners on base. While Gardner is an elite contact hitter, Ellsbury is in a league of his own, as shown by their second half stats:

PlayerAVGOBPSLGISOO-Swing%Contact
Brett Gardner (Second Half).218.286.417.19922.6%86.9%
Jacoby Ellsbury (Second Half).255.298.450.19535.6%87.5%


In the second half, the alarms for both hitters probably went off as they realized that the New York Yankees were not a very good offensive team. Ellsbury's sudden spike in O-Swing% might have been a result of him trying to compensate for the rest of the team's failures. But Ellsbury's incredible ability to make contact on pitches out of the zone 79.4% of the time provided interesting insight on where he should hit in the lineup.

When hitting behind a habitual base stealer, hitters have to be ready to flail at a pitch if they see the runner get a poor jump. Ellsbury's plate discipline splits show that he can hit pretty much anything, whereas Gardner has to rely more on a good eye and the ability to do damage on pitches inside the strike zone. In addition, Ellsbury's versatility as a hitter makes him a prime candidate to be the 2009 Johnny Damon to Gardner's 2009 Derek Jeter. Despite clear efforts to hit for more power in the second half, Ellsbury's contact rate actually improved noticeably, even while swinging at worse pitches. If his plate discipline had not disappeared in the second half he actually could have been one of the more valuable players in all of baseball. His ability to add power at will without becoming a huge strikeout risk suggests that he should get as many at-bats as he can with runners on base, which would be accomplished if he hit second.

The notion that stacking two similar lefties back-to-back in the lineup would be detrimental is also probably wrong. For his career, Ellsbury's lefty/righty splits are not very drastic at all, minimizing the risk of opposing managers using lefty specialists out of the bullpen to neutralize the top of the Yankees' order.

In the end, the batting order could come down to clubhouse politics. Jacoby Ellsbury is on a superstar contract, while Brett Gardner is on a team-friendly extension. But from a marketing perspective, Gardner has the added benefit of being a homegrown player with a fiery nature that brings back memories of the late 90's Yankees. In addition, Ellsbury seems like a very amicable guy who was more than willing to hit third when the situation called for it. Either way, Joe Girardi is going to have a pretty busy schedule trying to put a lineup together. Hopefully this makes his job a bit easier.

PSA Comments of the Day 2/22/15: The Workouts

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Pitchers and catchers had their first workout yesterday. The Yankees, along with the Red Sox and Dodgers, are seen to be the favorites to land Yoan Moncada. The Yankees have seen him workout three times. That is promising.

"Workouts" was the word of the day yesterday for the Yankees. Pitchers and catchers had their first official workout. CC Sabathia was beginning to look like his old self again. Looks wise I mean, not pitching wise. Hopefully he looks good pitching wise as well. Brian McCann had some promising words about new Yankee stater Nathan Eovaldi. Finally, the Yankees held a third private workout for Yoan Moncada. The interest is most certainly there. Whether or not they decide to go all in and outbid the Red Sox or Dodgers is anyone's guess. Here's hoping that they've had a chance to convince him to wear the pinstripes during these private workouts. They're very slimming, after all.

Comments of the Day

b-rar brings up a great point about why Bernie Williams is sometimes overlooked when it comes to the Dynasty Era, as well as a great point about Donnie Baseball. For the record, Pat Kelly is probably still on the DL.

I agree with Harlan. Bernie is totally the most deserving out of the three. Of course, I am slightly biased.

Jeter, Posada and Bernie were never the best on defense and they seemingly did alright.

Remember kids. Reading is fun-damental!

GIF of the Day

Nope. No GIFs. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Honorable Mod Mention

No honor as well. Sorry folks.

Fun Questions
  • It's been a long and busy day of work or school. You need to relax. What are you drinking?
  • Play-by-Play announcer, color commentator, or on-field/sideline reporter. Which of these do you think you'd be the best at?
Song of the Day

Hungry Like The World by Duran Duran

It's Animal Week here on Pinstripe Alley. For this week, every song will mention an animal in some way. Exciting stuff. As always, please link us your Song of the Day.

Feel free to use this as your open thread for the day. Position players report on the 25th. That should be a treat.

Mouth is alive all running inside.

Yankees batting title history

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A look back at the eight Yankees who have won the American League batting crown.

It's probably a safe bet that no Yankee will win the American League batting title in 2015. That should be no surprise as only eight players in Yankee history have ever won it and only three of them have done so over the last 60 years. The ever-shrinking dimensions of Yankee Stadium in its various forms have no doubt contributed to this so it may be a while before a Yankee takes home the crown again. In the meantime, here's a look back at those who've done it.

Babe Ruth hits .378 in 1924

Since joining the Yankees in 1919, Ruth had perennially been in the top five before running away with the prize for the first and only time of his career in 1924. As he was prone to do, he also led the majors in on-base and slugging percentage and fell just five RBIs shy of winning a Triple Crown in the process. While Ruth's batting average was impressive it was dwarfed by Rogers Hornsby's National League-leading .424 mark, the highest ever recorded in the live-ball era.

Lou Gehrig hits .363 in 1934

Ten years after Ruth's Triple Crown bid, Lou Gehrig made his own run at history. He paced not only the AL but the entire MLB in all three Triple Crown categories as well as on-base and slugging. What's most amazing about Gehrig's season is that his .363 average represents only the fourth highest of his career. In fact, of the Triple Crown and slash stats he put up in 1934, only his home run total was a career high, and he would match that number again two years later.

Joe DiMaggio hits .381 in 1939 and .352 in 1940

The only Yankee to win multiple batting titles did so in consecutive years. At just 24 years old DiMaggio took full advantage of his speed and the vast real estate in Yankee Stadium's left field to lead the majors in batting by a comfortable margin in 1939. He also won the AL MVP by a landslide and led the Yankees to their fourth consecutive World Series championship. Despite his batting average dropping by nearly 30 points in 1940, he edged out Luke Appling to earn himself another batting crown. He may have added a third had he not lost three years of his prime to World War II.

Snuffy Stirnweiss hits .309 in 1945

DiMaggio wasn't the only big-name major leaguer to miss playing time due to military service during World War II. With superstars like Ted Williams and Bob Feller also out of the picture it allowed otherwise mediocre players to shine in the mid 1940's. Snuffy Stirnweiss is a prime example of this. In 1945 he took advantage of a diluted American League to win the batting title and lead the league in slugging on the strength of his 22 triples which also led the league. His .309 average is the second lowest to win a batting title in the live-ball era, ahead of only Carl Yastrzemski's .301 in 1968.

Mickey Mantle hits .353 in 1956

In what was probably the greatest season of his brilliant career, Mantle did his best Lou Gehrig impression in 1956. Like Gehrig 22 years earlier, a batting title was just one small part of his overall dominance. The Mick earned the major league Triple Crown and the first of three career MVP awards. More importantly for the Yankees, he was the catalyst for a team that won its sixth World Series over a span of eight years. Although Mantle would hit 12 points better the following season, Ted Williams would surpass him by a comfortable margin.

Don Mattingly hits .343 in 1984

Nearly 30 years after Mantle's Triple Crown, the Yankees boasted the top two hitters in the American League. In his first year as an everyday player, Don Mattingly edged out Dave Winfield over the last few days of the season to take the title. Mattingly would remain an elite player over the next five years, making the all-star team each year and winning the AL MVP in 1985. He may have even earned another batting title or two had his peak not coincided with that of Wade Boggs who topped the AL in batting every year from 1985 through 1988.

Paul O'Neill hits .359 in 1994

Most Yankee fans were upset when they traded all-star speedster Roberto Kelly to the Reds for Paul O'Neill prior to the 1993 season. O'Neill won them over with solid production and a fiery attitude that year and by 1994 they forgot who Roberto Kelly ever was in the first place. He racked up clutch hit after clutch hit in what was by far the best offensive season of his career. His .359 batting average just barely eclipsed sluggers Albert Belle and eventual MVP Frank Thomas for the league lead. Instead of the bum they thought they were getting, Yankee fans had a new fan favorite, but of course that damn strike got in the way and ruined everything.

Bernie Williams hits .339 in 1998

It's easy to understand why this one may have flown under the radar. The 1998 Yankees were quite simply one of the greatest teams in Major League history, and because of that it's difficult to recall the great performance of any one individual. However, you can make the case that Bernie Williams was the single most important player of dynasty years in the late 1990's. This was just one season among about eight consecutive that he put up all-star caliber numbers while patrolling center field for a highly successful team. The recognition that the Yankees are finally giving him this year is way overdue.

Yankees to retire "all the numbers."

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Now batting, number 133...

The Yankees announced earlier this week that they'll be adding 20, 46 and 51 - in honor of Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Bernie Williams - to their encyclopedic list of retired numbers this season. We're now learning that the team does not intend to stop there. In addition to the three members of the "core four and one more", they'll also retire the numbers of every member of their 1990's dynasty clubs. That includes - but is far from limited to - Paul O'Neill, number 21, Tino Martinez, number 24, Jeff Nelson, number 43 and Luis Sojo, numbers 14, 19 and 27 (hey, he wore them all).

"We realize that our current roster is not exactly what fans have come to expect from the New York Yankees," team president Randy Levine told reporters. "We think that by bringing back players from our glory days, we can trick the ticket-buying public into believing they're still watching those teams. We've made it our goal to retire a number before each of our 81 home games this year, and we think we've got what it takes to make it there."

The number 42 already appears twice in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park, for Jackie Robinson and Mariano Rivera, but the Yankees will now retire it for a third and fourth time, in honor of former prospect Domingo Jean and manager Stump Merrill, who wore it as a coach in the 80's.

"We figure, why not?" Levine said. "It's not like anyone else can wear that one anyway. Domingo's one Major League victory was the difference between 87 and 88 wins in '93 - that was huge. And Stump? What can you say about Stump? How many guys in the Yankees' great history have an entire era named after them?"

The Yankees' number retiring free-for-all will not end with actual numbers. They'll also take out of circulation the letters "BB" in homage to legendary ball boy Skippy.

"Skippy was to ball boys what Mo was to closers," Levine recalled. "That kid could really pick it down the third base line. He was here when we had Sheffield hitting those screaming line drives right at him night after night. He laughed in the face of danger."

When asked if the Yankees would reduce the size of the Mohegan Sun sports bar in center field to clear acreage for an expanded Monument Park, Levine chuckled.

"That sports bar is sponsored," he said. "We plan to make room underneath the existing Monument Park space, and in doing that we'll keep the same dungeon feel that fans have come to enjoy. Visitors will descend a secret stairway hidden behind Steinbrenner face into a dark chamber illuminated only by torchlight. To show how committed we are to honoring our history, we're considering moving one or two of the crocodiles from the moat that surrounds the Legends seats. Separate admission will be required, of course."

The increasing shortage of available numbers has left many wondering if the Yankees will soon be wearing triple digits.

"Triple digits, sure," Levine said. "Fractions, square roots...there's no reason why we should be confined to integers. Asterisks, ampersands, Greek letters, Egyptian hieroglyphics...we feel these are completely underutilized characters in sports. And we'll have 13 opening up in a few years. Nobody's retiring that one."

Around the Empire: Yankees News - 2/23/15

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Sabathia, Eovaldi, Moncada, and pace of play

NYPost | George A. King III: CC Sabathia has put back on about ten of the forty pounds he lost after the 2012 season. "Now I feel good where I am at. I feel a little stronger, I feel my legs under me.’’

It's About the Money | Scott Moss: Moss uses a Beyond the Boxscore analysis from a couple years ago to get to the real reason that making Yoan Moncada the first ever nine-figure minor league free agent isn't an overpay:

a #1-2 draft pick is worth about $82-$100 million. Marginal wins also are worth more to big-market teams, so a #1-#2 pick is worth more than that $82-$100m to the Yankees and Dodgers– reportedly the two top Moncada contenders.

Fangraphs | David Laurila: The two must read sections of this long post are the first segment in which Laurila chats with official MLB historian John Thorn about possibly pace of play solutions, and the third section where Laurila gets some reactions from inside the game on his recent column about minor league coaching salaries.

ESPN | Wallace Matthews: Nathan Eovaldi looked good but not great in his first bullpen outing.

In his first session before the crush of New York media -- there must have been 30 reporters crowded in front of his locker to discuss a batting practice session -- Eovaldi handled himself well while rarely venturing out of the cliché zone.


Yankees Prospect Profile: Branden Pinder

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Branden Pinder reestablished himself in 2014 after a disappointing 2013 and now that he's on the 40-man roster he could find himself in the majors before too long.

Background

Drafted in the 16th round of the 2011 MLB Draft, Branden Pinder was a college reliever who was never very coveted as a prospect. He was at least an effective reliever through the first two seasons in the Yankees system. He maintained a 1.16 ERA in short season Staten Island after being drafted and managed to skip Low-A Charleston on his way to High-A Tampa where he maintained a 2.79 ERA with a cup of coffee in Double-A Trenton to finish out the 2012 season. He was poised to make the leap onto prospect lists, even if it was just as a reliever, but 2013 proved to be his undoing. In his first real taste of Double-A, he got knocked around to a 6.29 ERA that led to a demotion back to Tampa after 19 games. At that point, at 24 years old, it seemed like it was time to give up on him. He figured things out again over the rest of the season, but the damage was already done and it looked like he'd soon be forgotten.

2014 Results

If one season could turn things around, it was his 2014 season where he only surrendered one run in 16 innings in his second chance at Trenton. He pitched to a 3.86 ERA over another 16 innings for Triple-A Scranton even as he spent time rehabbing an injury in the middle of the season. He also managed to drop his walk rate to 2.1 BB/9 in 2014, over a full batter as compared to his last two seasons. Such a turnaround put him back on the team's radar and likely not wanting another Tommy Kahnle, they decided to add him to the 40-man roster in the offseason in order to keep him around indefinitely.

2015 Outlook

He's now 26, and while he's likely to start the season out in Triple-A, he'll get a chance at some point during the long and winding 2015 season. Someone will get hurt or prove ineffective and he, along with fellow Rule 5er Danny Burawa will be among the first to get the call. He might not be as highly regarded as any of the system's top relief prospects, but at this point he's a finished product and easy-to-use fodder if they feel that Jacob Lindgren, Nick Rumbelow, and Tyler Webb aren't quite ready to make their rushed MLB debuts. An arm like Pinder might amount to what Preston Claiborne was–a useful arm at one point, but ultimately very disposable–however he'll hold a spot until the prospects are ready and that might not be all that bad in the end.

Red Sox sign Yoan Moncada for $31.5 million

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The Red Sox have bolstered their farm system by signing the top Cuban talent of the offseason.

Yoan Moncada's agent had said his client was expected to sign shortly after spring training opened, and he was telling the truth. The 19-year-old Cuban infielder has reportedly agreed to a deal in the $30 million range with the Red Sox, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.

It won't just cost the Red Sox $30 million, as they need to pay a lump sum penalty for Moncada's entire salary as his bonus is restricted by international spending limits. Boston had already overshot their 2014-2015 international signing budget, however, so going for Moncada was an easy decision since they were already set to face the stiffest penalties for their spending. Now, the Red Sox can't sign an international player to a bonus of more than $300,000 until July 2 of 2017, but they have Moncada, who is considered talented enough that he would be the first pick in the 2015 MLB Draft were he eligible, as well as a pair of the top international pitching prospects on the market already in hand.

Moncada has experience at second and third base, and could also have a future in the outfield. The Red Sox are currently set at all of those places thanks to Dustin Pedroia, Pablo Sandoval, and an outfield that already has too many options, but this isn't a problem for a couple of reasons. For one, Moncada is still a prospect, so he's going to begin his career in the minors. Secondly, if Moncada turns out to be as good as it's believed he could be, the Sox will find room for him somewhere in a year or two: they can always make a trade, and having Moncada makes doing so that much easier for them.

Moncada is considered one of the top-15 or so prospects in baseball according to Jim Callis of MLB.com and Baseball America's Ben Badler. Fangrahps' Kiley McDaniel believes he's even better than that, stating Moncada is maybe even the fifth-best prospect in the game. It's a huge get for an already strong Red Sox farm system.

The Yankees and Padres were also considered favorites for Moncada, and could have arguably used him more, but were beaten out by the Sox for one reason or another. The Dodgers were considered the hands down favorites before Moncada was a free agent, but their new front office might have decided they'd rather avoid the penalties the Red Sox have willingly submitted to.

Yoan Moncada signs with the Red Sox for $30 million

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Well the long wait has finally ended and things didn't work out so well for Yankees fans. Top Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada has signed a $30 million with the Red Sox, leaving the Yankees with nothing to show after so many months of speculating. The timing of his signing should allow him to make it to spring training on time.

While many reported that the Yankees weren't going to go crazy for the 19-year-old, it seemed like they were serious about the shortstop when they worked him out on three different days, two being back-to-back as part of spring training camp with even Hank Steinbrenner showing up to see him play. Judging by their apparent interest, it seemed the Yankees were the favorite to sign him heading into this week since they have a pretty wide open farm system for him to fit into. The odd thing about this signing is that Moncada is blocked with the Red Sox, with Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, and Pablo Sandoval all playing the possible positions he might end up at in the majors. That's not to say they couldn't make room for him when the time comes, but it's surprising that Moncada would agree to that kind of situation when his goal was to sign with the team that allowed him the fastest chance to reach the majors. At that point the money must have been very different for him to sign with Boston.

While the Steinbrenners decided a more conservative approach to the offseason was for the best, bringing in Moncada would have reassured fans and the baseball world that the Yankees were still committed to spending big, at least when it made sense for them. Now that they showed a lack of willingness to spend, you have to start questioning their commitment to winning. Despite the defensive questions surrounding him, Moncada could have easily become the organization's No. 1 prospect upon signing. Sure, the $30 million would have turned into $60 million because of the tax penalties they had already accrued, but if he's not what you spend money on, I don't know what is.

On the flip side, prepare for Moncada to be the next overrated, future Hall of Fame Boston prospect that we'll never hear the end of. Oh well, better luck next time I guess. One of these days the Yankees will actually commit to one of these Cuban prospects, one of these days.

UPDATE:

So the Yankees lost out on Moncada over $5 million ($10 million with the penalties). I'd like to know what they plan to do with these savings.

Red Sox sign Yoan Moncada to $31.5 million bonus

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The infield prospect will receive a $30 million signing bonus from Boston.

Yoan Moncada was declared a free agent at the beginning of February, and his agent was confident it would only take a number of days until the Cuban infielder agreed to terms with a team. According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com and Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Moncada has agreed to join the Red Sox, receiving a bonus worth $31.5 million.

Because of international signing penalties, Boston will have to pay an 100% tax on the deal, meaning their commitment to Moncada will cost them $63 million for six years of major-league service time.

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported Moncada's agent, David Hastings, was hoping to have a deal completed by February 23, and Hastings was successful in getting a deal done. Before the deal was completed, Hastings noted Moncada would like to report to a team's spring training camp as soon as possible. With full club workouts underway this week, Moncada will likely report to Fort Myers in the next few days.

MLB Trade Rumors initially suggested the signing bonus could be worth between $30 million and $40 million. The Dodgers were very interested, with the Yankees and Padres also being linked to Moncada.

While the American League East was already expected to be competitive, the division likely will now be even tougher. Boston has been notably serious in their pursuit of Moncada, having Luis Tiant attempt to persuade Moncada to sign with the Red Sox. The Dodgers do not want to be restricted on the free agent market over the next few years, while the Yankees and Red Sox havingThe infield prospect will receive a $30 million signing bonus from Boston.  already exceeded the international signing limits.

If he is signed to a major league deal, the Red Sox will have to make a roster move to create a spot on the 40-man roster for him. Moncada is expected to be a second baseman, although the Red Sox are not in need of one. Moncada is likely athletic enough to switch positions, and according to the Boston Globe, many evaluators feel he would benefit from time in the minor leagues to further develop.

Boston was already expected to compete in 2015, and adding Moncada should prove to only help their cause.

Since they don't have to worry about Yoan Moncada, how will the Steinbrenners spend $30 million?

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Now that they don't have to pay Yoan Moncada any money, what will Hal and Hank get instead?

As we all know, the Red Sox signed Yoan Moncada for a record bonus of $30 million dollars this morning. We were all hoping he'd go to the Yankees, but it's clear now that that money is meant for other things. So, while we all grab our blankets and ice cream and prepare for a day of burning Yankees memorabilia through the tears of our discontent, what will Hal and Hank Steinbrenner spend their $30 million on instead?

1. Tandem bicycles that run on the broken bits of soul being harvested from Yankees fans right now.

2. More "craft" beers for Yankees stadium, that Guinness American Lager is close enough, right?

3. A-Rod's buyout (snort)

4. Finally going to send the grounds crew to some classes so they can learn a new routine. YMCA is played out.

5. Food for CC Sabathia, so he can maintain his new hefty figure.

6. I hear Dayan Viciedo's still a free agent.. and he's Cuban! Ah?

7. That Jeffrey Maier glove isn't gonna pay for itself!

8. More restraints for Hank. He broke out this time, and they almost spent $30 million on a 19-year old kid!

9. Digitally removing the scenes featuring the caricature of their dad from those ghastly episodes of Seinfeld.

10. Some kind of reverse polarity machine to physically restrain George's body from spinning in its grave.

I'm obviously a little too annoyed, and even too confused, to really analyze this failure to sign Moncada. Here's hoping that, whatever the Steinbrenners decide to do with their $30 million, we as fans see some kind of benefit from it.

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