Monday Night Open Thread: Yanks Recognized For HOPE Week

Saw this over at NYY Fans dot com and thought I'd share it with you. It's a desktop wallpaper that shows Godzilla destroying Citizens Bank Park.

(here's the full size version)

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

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

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

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

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

- And here's a video of the final out of the World Series from the WCBS880 broadcast booth. You even get to see the Sterling shake.

Other than that, things are obviously slow in the baseball news world. Enjoy Monday Night Football or whatever else you're doing tonight.

Yanks Giving Back To The Bronx For Thanksgiving

Bryan Hoch just tweeted this:

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

I love seeing the Yankees doing things like this. Plus, with the Bronx still missing a park, the least those residents deserve is a few free turkeys.

Marchand: Lackey Would Be Lucky To Get A Deal Like Burnett's

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

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

Mauer Wins MVP, Tex and Jeter Finish 2nd and 3rd

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

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

Global World Series Ratings Way Up... Thanks To The Yankees

Chad Jennings has the numbers:

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

Not really surprising considering last year's series.

Damon Looking For Abreu Money

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

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

Would you give Damon a two-year, $19 million contract?

Pay No Attention to That Team Up North

Its a trend that's been going on for some time now. I'm not sure when exactly it started, maybe it began with the Jose Contreras bidding, or maybe its part of the post 2004 paranoia that should have been banished last October. Regardless, I will never understand the fixation that most Yankees fans seem to have on the Boston Red Sox.

Whenever we're discussing a potential move for the Yankees, the debate usually starts out pretty reasonable. Arguments are pretty logical and, generally speaking, both paths have merit. Eventually though, you will come across somebody that says, "Don't sign him unless he's going to Boston," or something to that effect.

Shockingly, the Yankees and Red Sox all seem to be on the same players year after year and this year is no exception. Whether it be Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, John Lackey, or even Roy Halladay, rumors are floating around connecting them all to the two AL East rivals. Generally, their seems to be somewhat of a consensus that the Yankees don't really need any of these guys. At least, most people seem to prefer looking at in-house options rather than mortgaging the future with another huge contract or blockbuster trade. As soon as we hear that Boston is looking at them though, suddenly we need everybody.

I know I've kind of beaten this to death but I'm going to ask you to remember this one more time. Go back to August 1st and the panic after the trade deadline. Remember the uproar after Cashman stood quietly by and watched the Red Sox trade for Victor Martinez? People were calling for his firing and claiming that the GM was focusing to much on the long-term rather than the 2009 season.

Well, the 2009 season ended up pretty good for the Yankees, didn't it? They managed to keep all their prospects and still won the World Series. On the other hand, Boston gave up some significant prospects for two months of Victor Martinez that, ultimately, didn't end up making any sort of difference either way. They do have another year of Martinez and the trade may still end up looking goo, but the point is that you can't always be so worried about what your rivals are doing.

If a potential move is a good idea, it should be made irregardless of what the competition is doing and if a potential move is a bad idea it should just not be done.

Sunday Night Open Thread: 2010 Projections

It's that time of year when 2010 projections are being released from various sources, so here are three sets along with some highlights for you to take a look at:

- Baseball Projections has the 2010 CHONE hitter projections.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Besides that enjoy the football game, Family Guy, or whatever else you're doing tonight.

Cafardo On Boston's Offseason Plans

From Nick Cafardo:

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

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

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

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

If the Sox were able to pull something like that off -- let's say they sign Lackey and trade Buchholz for Gonzalez -- they'd put themselves in a great position heading into the 2010 season. Something like this would probably force the Yankees into the Halladay sweepstakes (if they're not already), which Cafardo talks about below:

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

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

How much their main competition improves themselves will have a lot to do with the Yankees decision making this offseason. Their trust in Chamberlain and Hughes will also be a big factor. If Cashman trusts them enough to start the Yanks may just stick with what they've got. But trusting them already burned him in 2008, so he might be more hesitant this time around.

11/22 Winter Ball Report - Weekly Recap

Here's our weekly Winter Ball recap from Big Guy:

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE:

The AFL ended this week. The Yankees had 7 players playing for the Surprise Rafters who finished with a 16-16 record, 2 games out of 1st.

Ian Kennedy--RHP---Kennedy finished strong at the AFL this week in his last start going 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 hits. The most important thing for Kennedy at the AFL was to get some regular work coming off surgery. He made 7 starts going 2-1 with a 4.25 ERA. He threw 29.2 innings which led the league. 14 earned runs, 30 hits. He had 28 strikeouts with 5 walks. 3 of those 5 walks came in one game.

Zach Kroenke---LHRP---Kroenke made 11 relief appearances at the AFL. He ended up 1-0 with 2 saves. 15.1 IP, 9 earned runs, 15 hits, 15 strikeouts--4 walks. In 2009 Kroenke had an impressive season at AAA SWB going 7-1 with a 1.59 ERA out of the bullpen.

Mike Dunn--LHRP--Dunn made 10 relief appearances at the AFL with a 1-2 record and 1 save. He threw 10-1 IP, 5 ER, 11 hits. He had 20 strikeouts, but he also issued 10 walks. BAA .268, with a 2.04 Whip. His fastball was 94-96. Dunn split time in 2009 between Trenton and SWB going 4-3, 3.31 ERA. He had an impressive 99 strikeouts in 73 innings, but he also issued 46 walks.

Grant Duff---RHRP-----Duff had a solid AFL, appearing in 10 games. He had 2 saves, with a 2.89 ERA. 9.1 IP, 3 earned runs, 7 hits, 1.29 WHIP, BAA .212. All 3 runs he gave up came in his only bad game. His fastball was in the 94-95 area. In 09 between Tampa and Trenton, 71.2 IP, 38ER, 65 hits, 63 K--27 BB, BAA.236.

Brandon Laird--INF----Laird had a very good AFL hitting .333 in 22 games (30-90). He showed good power with 6 homers which tied him for 2nd in the AFL. He added 9 doubles, 24 rbi, and scored 20 runs to go with a 4.06 OBP and .633 SLG. In 2009 Laird hit. 266, with 13 HR, 75 rbi at A-Tampa.

Colin Curtis--OF---Curtis had an outstanding AFL hitting .397 in 20 games, (31-78). He showed good power with 5 homers, 7 doubles, 2 triples. He had 18 rbi, 19 runs, and 3 stolen bases, with a .472 OBP. Curtis split time in 2009 between AA Trenton and SWB hitting .250, 24 doubles, 7 HR, 48 rbi, 57 runs.

Austin Romine--C--Romine was hitting .400 (6-15) in 4 games at the AFL with 2 rbi before injuring a finger. Romine hit .276 at A-Tampa in 2009 with 13 HR, 72 rbi, 28 doubles, 61 runs.

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE:

Francisco Cervelli--C--Lara--- Cervelli just began play this week going 3-9 with a double, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. In 2009 he hit .298 (28-94) in 42 games for NY.

Romulo Sanchez--RHP--Lara----Sanchez was just added to the 40 man roster. He made 3 relief appearances this week for 2.2 IP, 5 ER, 5 hits. VWL totals: 15 IP, 11 ER, 15 hits, 19 K's--8 walks. His 2009 AAA totals: 64.2 IP, 29 ER, 66 Hits, 64 K's--34 walks.

Reegie Corona--INF--Maganelles--Corona was just added to the 40 man roster. He's having an outstanding winter league. This week he went 5-11 with a home run, 2 doubles, 2 rbis, and 4 runs. VWL totals: .353 (18-51), HR, 7 doubles, 8 rbis, 14runs. In 2009 he split time between Trenton and SWB, .257, 69 runs, 40 rbi.

Josh Schmidt--RHP-- Zulia----Schmidt made his 7th start Thursday going 5.0 IP, 1 earned run on 7 hits, 4 K's--1 walk. VWL totals: 33.1 IP, 16 ER, 35 hits, 28 K's--11walks, 4.32 ERA, BAA .271. Schmidt had a very good year in 09 at Trenton going 8-4, 1.61 ERA. 83.2 IP, 15 ER, 57 hits, 96 K's---38 walks

Eric Wordekemper--RHP--Zulia---Wordekemper has struggled so far in winter ball. He made 1 relief appearance this week 1.0 IP, 1 run, 2 hits. VWL totals: 5.1 IP, 9 ER, 11 hits, 1 K--4 walks. In 2009 he split time between AA and AAA, 58.2 IP, 3.38 ERA, 22 ER, 50 hits, 44 K's--15 walks.

Luis Nunez--INF--Zulia--Nunez has seen limited action. This week he was 1-4 with a run and strikeout. VWL totals: .250, 6 rbi, 1 run. He hit .276 in 09 between Tampa and SWB.

MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Jorge Vasquez--1B--Culiacan--Vasquez went 6-14 for the week, with a home run, 3 rbi,and 3 runs. MWL totals: .290 (9-31), 2 HR, 7 rbi, 4 runs. In 09 at AA Trenton he hit .329, 56 rbi, 13 HR and 15 doubles in 225 at bats.

Walter Ibarra--INF--Hermosillo--Ibarra saw limited action this week going 1-5 with a run scored. MWL totals: .293 (12-41), 4 rbi, 8 runs. In 2009 at A-Tampa Ibarra hit .265, 38 runs, 16 rbi.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Ivan Nova---RHP---Escogido----Nova was just added to the 40 man roster and had an outstanding winter league. DWL totals: 4 starts, 25.2 IP, ERA 1.05, BAA .187, 3 ER, 17 hits, 17 K's--4 walks. He finished 09 in the SWB rotation with 2 strong playoff games.

Juan Miranda--1B---Licey----Miranda just started winter ball 2 weeks ago and is off to a great start. This week he went 6-11, with his 2nd homer and 4 rbi. DWL totals: .536 (15-28), 2 HR, 10 rbi, 7 runs. In 2009 at AAA SWB he hit .290 with 82 rbi, and 19 homers.

Wilkins Arias--Aguilas--RHP---Arias made 3 relief appearances this week, 2.2 IP, 0 runs, 3 hits, 4 K's--1 walk. DWL totals: 12.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 hits, 12 K's--4 walks. 2009 at AA Trenton, he went 5-4 with a 3.65 ERA., 61.2 IP, 53 hits, 25 runs, 66 K's---22 walks.

Eduardo Nunez--INF--Toros---Nunez was just added to the 40 man roster. He began winter ball last week and has seen only limited action. In 2 games he's 1-4, with a walk and run scored. In 09 at AA Trenton he hit .322, 55 rbi, 70 runs, 9 HR, 26 doubles, 19 stolen bases.

Abraham Almonte--OF--Escogido--Almonte has seen limited action mostly as a pinch hitter-pinch runner. This week he went 2-6 with 3 walks and 3 runs. DWL totals: .273 (3-11), 2 rbi, 6 runs, 4 walks. 2009 at A-Charleston he hit .280, 56 rbi, 36 SB.

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE:

Amaury Sanit---RHP---Mayaguez--Sanit made 2 relief appearances this week 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 hits. PRWL totals: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 hits. Sanit pitched at 3 minor league levels in 2009. At AAA SWB, 4.13 ERA, 11 ER, 27 hits, 13 K's---7 BB.