yankees228

Well, I'm not sure they could've played worse this series. CC and Nova were pretty awful. They hit very few balls hard ... in the majority of their 27 innings during this series they didn't hit a single ball hard. In the first two games the defense was shaky at best, and downright awful at times. But at least they got a game. The one positive I'd take from this series is that Brian Roberts looked very comfortable at the plate. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come, as a good season from him would be a huge boost.

Ellsbury Jeter Beltran McCann Teixeira Soriano Gardner Roberts Johnson Pretty much as expected, although I thought they might flip Gardner and Johnson. I do wonder what it would take for them to move Jeter down. An awful couple of weeks? A month? Nothing? I suspect we'll find out, as Derek shoots for that elusive 70% ground ball rate.

I like Kuroda a lot, but he's not a true number one, at least based on how I define it. When I talk about number ones I'm talking about guys like Kershaw, Verlander, Harvey, Lee, etc. There are, at most, 15 of them in the entire league. Kuroda doesn't belong in that category. But you can probably change the definition of a number one to include many others, so this is all just really semantics. My only point is that the Yankees should have a very strong rotation, albeit without an elite pitcher.

So Pineda is the 5th starter. This rotation has a lot of potential and could be the best they've had since 2003. There's no true number one on the staff, but there also might not be any fours or fives either.

Jim Bowden threw out Dan Haren as the best comp for Tanaka, which seems reasonable (although I acknowledge that he has question marks). If that's what Tanaka turns out to be, then he'll definitely be the top pitcher on the staff next year. Certainly not the number four.

I don't see how Ellsbury's injury history is, in any way, predictive of what will happen in the future. The 'injury prone' label is thrown around way too often.

I don't remember that, but either way, before signing with the Mets he contacted the Yankees and was willing to sign for a discounted rate. Quite clearly he wanted to be a Yankee.

What?

Well Beltran has been trying to sign with the Yankees each time he was a free agent. I guess he'll finally get his wish. Would've preferred him in 2005 (or even 2012), but oh well.

That's a whole lot of silliness packed into six sentences.

Very concerned about the starting rotation, obviously. They need to probably bring in two quality starting pitchers this offseason if they plan on being legitimate contenders. As for the bullpen, obviously losing Mo hurts, but it's always important to remember the volatile nature of bullpens -- and how difficult they are to plan out in the offseason. But they definitely need one quality, non-closer arm.

Catcher was the worst position on the entire roster last year. A move can be significant even if it doesn't immediately make them legitimate contenders. Other moves would need to follow, but McCann is a significant piece, if he produces like he is capable. And I didn't answer my own question at all lol.

I don't disagree that McCann doesn't come close to filling the void left by Cano, but how is the 6th highest wRC+ for a catcher not saying much? At a position where offensive production is scarce, McCann is one of the best in baseball. That is definitely significant.

The key is health, of course. Probably worth mentioning, though, that he had the sixth highest wRC+ of any catcher last year. And by most accounts his receiving skills are quite good. If he stays healthy -- and, admittedly, that's a significant 'if' -- that sort of offense from the catching position combined with those sort of receiving skills is pretty valuable.

Yeah, I mean, no one has any idea what sort of chemistry a team will have -- and pretending to have that sort of clairvoyance is an exercise in futility. Chemistry is important, but it's also difficult, if not impossible to predict on a year to year basis. Lets stick to predicting how a collection of players will perform on the field, rather than off it.

I don't disagree with anything you said, SFF, except the chemistry part. Why can't the Yankees have good clubhouse chemistry going forward?

Welcome back, buddy. They still have two losable games, even before Atlanta. LSU next week is always a challenge, even with their depleted defense. The talent is still there for them in the trenches, and Anthony Johnson will give the interior of the Alabama offensive line the toughest test they've faced to date. And if Alabama has two weaknesses it's cornerback (Deion Belue is banged up and boundary corner has been committee position all year) and ability to rush the passer with four men -- both things that could prove quite detrimental against Mettenberger and company. Landry and Beckham Jr are probably the best WR duo in the the entire country, and they're going to make life very difficult for Alabama's corners. Then there's Auburn -- Gus has them playing really, really well, and a spread to run offense stocked with talent is always a test even for the most discipline defenses. With that being said, Alabama is going to score points, and Nick Marshall is going to have to make more than a few plays if Auburn hopes to be in the game in the final ten minutes. And hey, maybe offensive genius Dan Mullen will finally show up later this month in Starkville!

Stay well, man. Stop back in every so often, if the opportunity presents itself.

Hope you're doing well, ORS.

I have little doubt that the best team in baseball is the last one standing. Congrats to the Red Sox, and I hope you all enjoy every moment of this.

Will do.

Awful way for a game to end. I really do feel for you guys.

In my opinion the replay doesn't show Craig doing that, at least not until after the tripped.

I agree. But I also don't fault Craig for not running around him. In the heat of the moment he might not have even been aware of where WMB was, and he wanted to take a straight line to home.

The other thing here is that intent doesn't matter, which I think is smart by MLB -- keeps as much subjectivity out of it as possible.