Heyman: Could Jeter ask for six years?

From Jon Heyman (hat-tip to RAB):

Speculation around the game is that Derek Jeter will get a nice contract extension from the Yankees at season's end for three or four years for between $20 million and $25 million per. However, two executives from competing teams now say they believe Jeter could ask for a six-year deal.

...

The Yankees generally have treated their own big stars very well. But six years for a shortstop who's 35 now is seen as a stretch, even by the execs who say they expect that to be the asking price. "Casey Close is a good agent. You don't get if you don't ask,'' one executive said. Close declined comment.

Six years may seem extreme. But there is logic to it. Jeter saw his famous frenemy Alex Rodriguez get a 10-year, $275-million deal from the Yankees two winters ago that will take him to age 42. Jeter will be 36 by the end of the year, so six more years would take him to 42, same as A-Rod.

After seeing A-Rod get a contract taking him until he's 42, why wouldn't Jeter want the same? A case could be made that Rodriguez is a more natural fit as the DH, so playing into his 40s might be easier. But both are hard workers, extremely fit and without injury history. And Jeter's the one who's a Yankees legend.

I didn't like when the Yankees handed A-Rod a deal that would keep him in pinstripes until he was 42, and I wouldn't like it if they don't do the same with Jeter. They're only a year apart, so it leaves the Yankees with two 40+ year-old former superstars who probably won't be able to play the field anymore. I'm not saying I'd rather them only have A-Rod at that point, but they kind of forced that by signing him to a deal for that many years.

That said, he'll probably get whatever he wants. He's Derek Jeter, he's is the Yankees, and they will most likely accommodate him.

At the same time, I'm not sure Jeter will ask for that type of deal. Sure, he wants to play forever, but in the back of his mind he knows he can't. And while he'll never admit it publicly, I think the last thing Jeter wants is to become a burden on the team. That would be too embarrassing for a man that has as much pride as Jeter does.

Most people believe he will ask for and receive a four-year deal worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million, and regardless of this report from Heyman, I still think that's what he's going to get.

Hughes Tweaks His Changeup

Earlier this spring it was reported that the Yankees were looking to have Phil Hughes improve his changeup and start throwing it again, especially if he ends up in the starting rotation. This weekend we learned from George A. King III (hat-tip to TYU) that the Hughes has tweaked the pitch. Here's more from King:

"I tweaked it a little bit," Hughes said of the grip on the change. "I am back to the circle change and getting a feel for it."

...

Though Girardi said Hughes' change-up has looked good in bullpen sessions, the manager will reserve judgment until he sees how hitters react to it when they take their bats off the shoulders.

"You want to see the deception it has when hitters are swinging in a game," Girardi said. "But I like the progress he has made and we need to keep on him and tell him to continue to use it."

Having a pitcher add and/or improve their changeup seems to be a trend in Yankees camp this spring. We saw yesterday--with Javy Vazquez and his curve--what adding a pitch can do for a pitcher, so, I think this is a smart move by the Yanks.

It's worth noting that King also said that Joba Chamberlain was working on the changeup during his bullpen session.

Spring Training Game 1: Yankees vs. Pirates

People, real baseball, albeit real spring training baseball, is finally here! The Yankees open up their spring training schedule today when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates down in Tampa. It's actually kind of exciting writing up the first game thread of the year. Enjoy the three innings of regulars!...

ST Game 1

Yankees vs. Pirates
George M. Steinbrenner Field - Tampa, FL
Game Time: 1:05 p.m.
TV/Radio: YES, MLBN, WCBS

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES
Derek Jeter, SS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Marcus Thames, DH
Jamie Hoffmann, RF
Brett Gardner, LF
Francisco Cervelli, C
Ramiro Pena, 2B

RHP Chad Gaudin (2-0, 3.43 ERA with Yanks in '09)

PIRATES
Andrew McCutchen CF
Akinori Iwamura 2B
Garrett Jones RF
Ryan Doumit C
Ryan Church DH
Lastings Milledge LF
Jeff Clement 1B
Andy LaRoche 3B
Ronny Cedeno SS

LHP Paul Maholm (8-9, 4.44 ERA in '09)

News & Notes

- Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves are supposed to pitch for the Yanks today.

- Former Yankee Ross Ohlendorf will pitch in relief for Pittsburgh.

- It's CC Sabathia mini bobble head day at the ballpark today.

- Joba Chamberlain is feeling better and threw his bullpen earlier today.

- If you're in the office and can't watch the game, follow along on MLB.com's live box score (no game cast yet) or watch on MLB.TV.

Stick around and discuss the game

as it happens in the comments section.

Feinsand Chats With Swish

This morning, Mark Feinsand wrote an article about Nick Swisher pitching debut in Tampa last year and his adjustment to pinstripes. For the article he sat down with Swisher to ask him a few questions and he answered more than was needed for the article. So, Feinsand decided to post the rest on his blog. Here are some of those questions:

Daily News: What kind of impact do you think you had on the Yankees clubhouse last year?

Swisher: “It’s nice to be recognized for that stuff in the clubhouse, but I want to be recognized for what I do on the field as well. I feel like I had a monster year last year compared to the year before, and it was a great stepping stone to get me going in the right direction.”

...

Daily News: Could you have imagined landing in a better situation?

Swisher: “I wake up every morning and feel amazing. I play for the greatest franchise in sports, my family is amazing and I have a beautiful girlfriend - I love my life. I don’t want to sound cocky in any sense of the word, but I feel that my life is perfect. There is nothing else I’d rather be doing, and I know how many people out there would give their left arm to change spots with me. Every time I come to the ballpark, this is my getaway and I want to have as much fun as I can.”

...

Daily News: Is playing in New York different than you thought it would be?

Swisher: “There’s so many things that come along with it. You always think you might not be ready, and I’m not talking about on the playing field. There are a lot of things that come with being a Yankee that don’t come with a lot of other teams. The way you represent yourself on and off the field is a major factor, and I take a lot of pride in that. To be in here with our Core Four, to learn from them, to rub elbows with them in here every day, what’s better than that?”

...

Daily News: Do you like having the “class clown” image?

Swisher: “I’m going to be me. I think there are times when I’m a little too hyper, but I’m getting older. After bouncing around from team to team the past couple years, coming back here to a family atmosphere is amazing.”

...

Daily News: Are the Yankees the favorites in 2010?

Swisher: “I’m sure in some people’s minds, we’re the favorites, but we know we have to go out and prove it.”

Swish seems pretty happy about life right now, wouldn't you say? Good for him.

He also spoke about losing weight and adjusting his swing in the offseason to raise the level of his play, his spot in the Yankees order, his time in Chicago and more on life as a Yankee. You can check out the full Q&A by clicking here, or the article here.

Yanks Have To Return Some Of Their World Series Shares

From Darren Rovell:

Sources told CNBC that Yankees players recently received a letter from the Major League Baseball Players Association that informed them that there was mistake in the calculation of the World Series championship share.

By virtue of winning, the Yankees divided up $21.2 million. Originally, the Yankees awarded 46 players and coaches full shares, making the full share a record $365,052 (12.25 partial shares were also awarded.)

But the letter told those who had full shares that three people (two trainers and a player) were not allocated their proper share. The result? Those who received full shares are now being asked to pay back approximately $10,000 each.

Here's a quote from the head of the players union:

"There was a mistake with respect to shares, and the mistake wasn't discovered until the money was actually distributed," union head Michael Weiner said. "The union and the commissioner's office negotiated a mechanism whereby it could be corrected. It does require players who received full shares to contribute to a pool that then will be used to reimburse the affected individuals."

Since this is Major League Baseball's fault, maybe they should pay for the mistake. That would be nice, right? But I guess when you're talking about $365K--around $185K after taxes-- having to give back ten (SI is reporting it's actually $15,023) isn't too big a deal.

And The Winners Are.... (Updated With Quotes From Granderson)

The Yankees played three tournaments during their team bonding trip to the arcade; skeeball, pop-a-shot basketball, and an Indy car racing game. Here are the winners:

Indy car: 1st - A.J. Burnett; 2nd - Dana Cavalea
Skeeball: 1st - Andrew Brackman; 2nd - Eduardo Nunez
Pop-a-shot: 1st - Royce Ring; 2nd Mark Melancon

Here are some quotes from Mark Teixeira via Mark Feinsand:

“The highlights were A.J. Burnett just smoking the field in the video game racing, and Royce Ring being probably the best Pop-A-Shot basketball player I’ve ever seen,” Teixeira said. “Those two were hands-down the best at those two events.”

“I don’t think [Mo] did as well, but I don’t want to throw him under the bus,” Teixeira said. “At pool, he was definitely head and shoulders above the rest, but these arcade games leveled the playing field a little. I won’t throw anybody else under the bus, but I’ll admit the race car game was a little difficult and I finished last in my heat.”

“It was a great day,” Teixeira said. “The fact that we get three or four hours not to have to worry about baseball and not have to compete on the baseball field, it was fun. Playing video games, we felt like kids again. It promotes a light-hearted atmosphere.

“The great thing about this kind of atmosphere is that there’s no veterans or rookies, starters or role players, Triple-A or Single-A; everyone is on the same playing field. We’re all having fun, really kind of letting our hair down and getting to know each other without competing on the field.”

Here's what Curtis Granderson had to say via Chad Jennings:

“The highlight had to be watching Igawa race on the Indy Car,” Granderson said. “He kept racing up against the wall and damaging his tires. He wouldn’t move off of it. He had his left hand on the wheel and he was just cruising like nothing was wrong. He was doing that for a good three minutes. Everyone was shouting, ‘Turn left! Turn left!’”

...

“I thought it was a great idea to get a bunch of guys coming from different sides, whether it’s their first big-league camp, guys that were acquired through trade or free agency and guys that had been there,” Granderson said. “For everybody to get a chance to meet up and see everyone outside of the intense training baseball mode, we can see that everybody does laugh and have fun. We’re all big kids.”

How did Granderson do?

“I struggled in my first round of Pop-a-Shot when it counted on the bracket,” he said. “When we came back for a side competition, that’s when I dominated… Skee ball was difficult. I used to be good at Skee ball, but I was really disappointed at myself for my performance. I’ll need to go back and figure out this Skee ball machine compared to the ones I used to play.”

And here are some pictures from the AP:


If there are any more pictures or quotes from today I will post them here in another update.

2010 Team Bonding Activity: Arcade Tourney

Today is Joe Girardi's annual team bonding day will be spent at the arcade. According to Chad Jennings, the Yanks are headed to an arcade today for a game tournament. They will be playing skee ball, pop-a-shot basketball and a racing game. He's also reporting that one Yankee, Joba Chamberlain, will miss the tournament due to flu-like symptoms.

Here's two quotes via Ben Shpigel:

“I always knew the importance of the team concept and the relationship, but learning how to develop them was something that as a manager you learn how to do,” Girardi said. “When you’re a player, it’s different because you get involved with the players and you know what you have to do individually. But when you’re in charge of a group, you have to figure out how to do that collectively.”

..

“I think it’s the key for every rookie player or new guy who comes from another team because we don’t know anything,” the backup catcher Francisco Cervelli said. “You’re just a rookie, and we feel sometimes a little scared to do things. So when they do events like a pool party, it helps you to talk to the other guys.”

I will have more later, including results from the tournaments, more quotes from the players, and pictures.

Vazquez's Curve Led To Big Things '09

We've seen this spring that Marc Carig has been following A.J. Burnett's work on his changeup. It's a pitch he wants to use more so that he can become a more well-rounded pitcher and not have to rely on just two pitches.

Today, Carig writes about another Yankees starter who reintroduced a pitch to his arsenal that led to big things last season. That pitcher is Javy Vazquez, and the pitch was his curve.

Prior to the '09 season Vazquez's father told him he needed to use his curve more. It was a good pitch and his father didn't understand why he stayed away from it. So, Vazquez took his fathers advice and ended up having his best season as a pro.

Here's more from Carig:

Vazquez arrived in camp last year determined to throw more curveballs. And by the end of the regular season, he had thrown more hooks than he had since 2003. The result was arguably the best season in Vazquez's big league career.

"I just think that throughout the years, I've counted on it less," said Vazquez, who went 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA. "And last year I counted it on it more. I trusted it more than I did in the past, I guess. It just worked for me."

...

FanGraphs, through the use of pitch f/x data provided by Major League Baseball, attempts to measure the effectiveness of certain pitches. According to their data, Vazquez saw an across-the-board jump in the value of all four of his pitches (fastball, curveball, slider, changeup). Clearly, the use of his curveball was only one part of Vazquez's improvement in 2009.

Yet, no pitch in Vazquez's arsenal saw as much of a drastic bump in value as his curve, which according to FanGraphs ranked as one of the game's nastiest.

Vazquez's curveball saved a career-high 17.2 runs above average last season, putting him behind only the Astros' Wandy Rodriguez (23.9) and the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright (23.3).

... In fact, it even ranked slightly ahead of new Yankees teammate A.J. Burnett, who finished fourth in baseball at 15.4 runs above average...

Carig goes on to explain how during his first stint with the Yankees he was mostly a fastball/changeup guy, but since his time here he's relied more on his slider and now his curve.

"I used to use my changeup more than my curveball," Vazquez said. "And in a tough situation I threw my changeup more than my curveball. Now I'm trusting more of my other pitches instead of just the changeup."

The main reason I bring this story up is because it shows what one extra pitch can do for a pitcher. My main concern with Burnett using his changeup more is that it could take away from his other pitches. But as we can see from Vazquez's performance last year, throwing more curves didn't hurt his other pitches, it helped them. When a batter must keep another pitch in the back of their mind, for example Burnett's changeup, it will make it harder to adjust to his fastball and curve. Vazquez's curve took his game to a new level, hopefully the changeup can do the same for Burnett.