Kuroda Returns, Granderson Goes Crosstown

The Yankees will have to look for a new hitter for the heart of the order with the departure of Robinson Cano, but they've added back a piece of the starting rotation. Hiroki Kuroda has decided to return for another season at a reported salary of $16MM.

Kuroda was the ace of the Yankees staff in 2013 until he wore out in the final month of the season. Prior to that he was a legitimate contender for the AL Cy Young Award. The right-hander will turn 39 during Spring Training next year and hopes to get more run support than he did this past season. The Yankees averaged 3.2 runs per game when Kuroda started, a major factor in his 11-13 record despite an ERA that was under 3.00 until his final three starts of the season.

Kuroda joins CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova as holdovers from last season's starting staff. The Yankees still hope to sign Kuroda's countryman Masahiro Tanaka as well as a 5th starter either from within the organization (Michael Pineda) or from outside. There's a chance that the Yankees could take a look at free agent Ubaldo Jimenez again, whom the Yankees had interest in early in the off-season.

Outfielder Curtis Granderson will be switching to orange and blue after he agreed to a four-year, $60MM deal with the New York Mets. Granderson was acquired from the Detroit Tigers prior to the 2010 season in a three team deal that sent Austin Jackson and Phil Coke from the Yankees to the Tigers.  The Yankees also sent pitcher Ian Kennedy to Arizona, who sent the AL 2013 Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth to Detroit. The Diamondbacks also received pitcher Edwin Jackson from the Tigers.

Towards the end of a non-productive 2010 campaign, Granderson made adjustments with the the help of hitting coach Kevin Long and it paid off the following year. Granderson reached career highs in OPS (.916) and home runs (43) and led the AL in runs scored (136) and RBI (119). He finished 4th in the AL MVP vote with former teammate Justin Verlander taking home the hardware.

Granderson hit 43 home runs and drove in 106 in 2012, but the rest of his numbers were down, except for strikeouts. The affable Chicago native was limited to 61 games in 2014 after pitches broke a finger and his forearm in two different incidences.

Curtis Granderson Crushes Pitcher's Souls

There are certain players whose abilities you truly don't appreciate until you get to see them on a regular basis. Yankees centerfielder Curtis Granderson is one such player. And that's not to say that he wasn't already a good/great player before he got to New York. He had a 30 home run season; he had become one of just a handful of players to have a season that included at least 20 home runs, stolen, bases, doubles, and triples, and he had been an All-Star. But there were still holes in his game.

Granderson couldn't hit left-handed pitching. It wasn't that he didn't try, he just didn't have success. (As opposed to say the way Wilt Chamberlain shot free throws.) His first year in New York in 2010 wasn't a very good one. There were signs of success- he would finish the year with 24 home runs and 67 RBI - but until he worked with Kevin Long during the dog days of Summer, Granderson was having a very pedestrian season. But boy have things changed since then.

The Yankees would be nowhere without him this season. On a team that has not hit consistently this season, Granderson has been the rock (though Freddy Garcia actually looks like "The Rock"). Last night, for example, he jump-started a laugher against the Oakland A's with a 2-run home run off of left-hander Brett Anderson. That's right, a left-hander, the hurler whose delivery baffled Granderson for several seasons.

Granderson used to release the bat with his bottom hand as he swung through. Long changed that so that Granderson continues to drive the bat through the ball as contact is made. He had him stay back on the ball longer. As Long has said, "This wasn't just about hitting left-handers."

The results have been remarkable. From August 31 until the end of last season, Granderson hit nearly half (10) of his 24 home runs. In his last 82 games, from that final day in August through Tuesday night, "the Grandyman" has hit 26 home runs and driven in 67 RBI in 83 games. Those are basically the same numbers he produced in 136 games last year. And today is only June 1. One more statistic to note- Granderson is hitting .323 against left-handers and .268 versus righties.

Once seemingly clueless against southpaws, you couldn't blame Granderson if he laughed in the face of those anti-righties today. Entering Tuesday night's play, Granderson was hitting .298/.355/.789...do the quick math...that's a 1.144 OPS! (His overall OPS is 190-200 points higher than each of the prior two seasons.) He now has more than half his home runs (9) against left-handed pitching. In addition to Anderson, he has homered off the likes of David Price, and Jon Lester.

Granderson can also thank manager Joe Girardi's lineup for a boost in production. His numbers were good when he batted lower in the order, but since he was moved to the number two spot in front of Mark Teixeira, Granderson has been on a tear. In 34 games he has amassed 12 home runs, 29 RBI, six doubles, three triples, and 40 hits overall.

On a team that has treated runners in scoring position like a disease, Granderson has hit .280 and with a man on third and less than two outs, he's hit an un-Godly .750. The centerfielder's game hasn't just been good in hitter's parks too, he's destroyed pitcher friendly Safeco in Seattle and Overstock.com in Oakland.

To further demonstrate just how good Granderson has been, consider Jose Bautista, the Blue Jays right fielder. Major League baseball media and fans have marveled at the home run display that has been put on north of the border in the last year plus. From August 14 to now, Bautista has hit 38 home runs...Curtis Granderson has hit 31. It's unusual for a player in a small market to get more attention than a player in baseball's biggest market, but that's what happens when you (Bautista) crack the 50 home run mark in a single season.

Granderson has yet to embrace his power stroke - "I've never been that kind of a guy" is his answer when queried about being tagged as a home run hitter. Bautista told the Washington Post he feels otherwise. “He’s a power hitter,” said Bautista, during a Blue Jays-Yankees series in the Bronx. “He might as well embrace it.”

While Granderson may not embrace his Ruthian status, the Yankees fans have certainly embraced him, though it took some time. Acquired in a three way deal that sent Phil Coke and Austin Jackson to Detroit, and Ian Kennedy to Arizona (the Tigers also received Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the Diamondbacks), Granderson slumped, was injured, and wasn't feeling the love from his new hometown fans. The attitude in the Bronx has done a complete 180 degree turn and it's not surprising.

Besides being a great athlete/baseball player, Granderson is one of the most thoughtful, well spoken players on the team. I had the chance to ask him a few questions in the Yankees' clubhouse prior to the September 1st game last year. He treated me as though I could have been from one of the major New York papers or national media outlets instead of the relative neophyte I am. His Grand Kids Foundation has done tremendous work with youth in both the Detroit and New York areas. He's the type of player that relishes being a role model and it shows.

Opposing pitchers just wish he were kinder to them.

Rookie of the Year Offical Voting

I mentioned in a prior post that Neftali Feliz and Buster Posey won the AL and NL Rookie of the Year Awards. Here is the official voting.

Fomer Yankees prospect Austin Jackson (98) finished second in the AL while another former prospect Jose Tabata garnered one vote in the NL.

Player	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
Neftali Feliz, TEX	20	7	1	122
Austin Jackson, DET	8	19	1	98
Danny Valencia, MIN		1	9	12
Wade Davis, TB			11	11
John Jaso, TB		1		3
Brennan Boesch, DET			3	3
Brian Matusz, BAL			3	3

Player	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
Buster Posey, SF	20	9	2	129
Jason Heyward, ATL	9	20	2	107
Jaime Garcia, STL	1	1	16	24
Gaby Sanchez, FLA	2	1	5	18
Neil Walker, PIT		1		3
Starlin Castro, CHC			3	3
Ike Davis, NYM			2	2
Jose Tabata, PIT			1	1
Jonny Venters, ATL			1	1

Javy Shines But Yankees Lose 3rd Straight

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Javier Vazquez made his first trip to the mound in 11 days and threw his best outing of the season. Unfortunately for him, the Yankees couldn't solve Tigers starter Rick Porcello or the Detroit bullpen, falling 2-0. It was the Yankees third straight loss and assured them of no better than a four game split with the Tigers.

Vazquez was good from the get-go, retiring the first seven men he faced and allowed just a single hit through five innings. He escaped a two out, two walk jam in the 5th, striking out Adam Everett to keep the game scoreless.

Vazquez gave up consecutive singles to Austin Jackson and Johnny Damon to start the 6thand Magglio Ordonez followed with a run producing ground out. Two more singles by Miguel Cabrera and rookie Brennan Boesch put Detroit on top 2-0 before Vazquez got Brandon Inge to bounce into an inning ending double play.

The Yankees managed just four hits and hit (or is it no-hit) into bad luck all day. That was most evident in the 7th inning when Nick Swisher lined a sure single up the middle only to see it bounce off Porcello to an awaiting Everett at shortstop for a ground out.

Porcello got himself out of a base loaded, two out jam in the 2nd, by inducing a pop up from Ramiro Pena. He then struck out the Yankees young third baseman (Alex Rodriguez got the call at DH) with two aboard in the 4th to escape another Yankees threat.

Notes

Jonathan Albaladejo was holed up in a Detroit hotel in case the Yankees needed to activate him. With Vazquez going seven innings in the opener of the day-night doubleheader, it is unlikely he'll be needed.

Greg Golson was recalled from Scranton before the game with Al Aceves going on the DL.

Baseball is Back Baby

Despite the horror of losing the opener up in Boston, baseball is back. A fantastic opening day that saw new kids on the block, Godzilla striking in a new city, An MVP making his early MVP statement, and plenty of injured pitchers returning to the hill.

The new guy and the "old" guy everyone is talking about today though are Jason Heyward and Albert Pujols. Heyward, the Atlanta Braves phenom outfielder, hit his first major league home run in his first major league at bat - at the expense of Carlos Zambrano. And it was no wind blown shot either.



Pujols, meanwhile, was Pujols. 2 home runs, 3 RBI 4 runs scored. Just another day at the office for a guy whose contract next year could exceed Alex Rodriguez's (did I really just say that?).

Hideki Matsui will be sorely missed by Yankees fans and he reminded all of us of that fact last night. Batting against the Minnesota Twins, Godzilla went deep for his first Angels home run. And if you go back to the finale of the World Series, that is 3 home runs in the last 2 games he's played.

Former Yankees prospect Austin Jackson, dealt for Curtis Granderson, made his Tigers debut with a bunch of firsts. Double, hit, RBI, and run scored.

It was an up and down night for hurlers who missed the '09 season. Shaun Marcum breezed through the Rangers lineup before giving up a game tying 3-run home run to Nelson Cruz in the 7th. He ended up with no decision.

Ben Sheets had a rocky start in his Oakland A's debut, allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, 4 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings. Sheets, who finished with 3 Ks, settled down after a shaky first couple of innings.

Johan Santana dominated Josh Josh Johnson and the Florida Marlins, 7-1. Santana allowed just 4 hits over 6 innings. Jake Westbrook would have liked those numbers, but the Indians pitcher got rocked for 5 runs, 5 hits, and issued 5 walks in just 4 innings of work. The Tribe fell to Mark Buerhle and the White Sox, 6-0.

The matchup of the day - which would be more interesting in mid-season, was the Tigers' Justin Verlander against reigning Cy Young Winner Zach Greinke of the Royals. Verlander (5 IP 4 ER) got no-decision and the Royals bullpen deprived Greinke (6 IP 1 ER) and the team of a win.

Granderson Talk Highlights Day 1

There may be nothing more to it than pure speculation or the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks may have actually had some meaningful discussions on a possible three team trade. No matter, the outcome was the same. No deal.

The Yankees have shown interest in Tigers' center fielder Curtis Granderson since Mark Teixeira recorded the final putout in the World Series. The Yankees would have had to part with plenty of talent though in order to land Granderson and that's why the deal made no sense.

Top prospect Austin Jackson and left-handers Phil Coke and Mike Dunn would have been shipped to Detroit, while right-hander Ian Kennedy was sent to Arizona. The Diamondbacks would have sent Max Scherzer to the Tigers, receiving fellow right-hander Edwin Jackson in return. But by the end of the evening, the talks had stalled, maybe permanently.

It's just as well that they did. There's no point in dealing Jackson for a fellow center fielder, even he's as good as Granderson. Notice I said (very) good, not great. Granderson has plenty going for his game, but that doesn't mean Jackson might not turn out to be better. If Jackson is to be dealt it should be for a higher rated position player or a top notch starter (i.e. Roy Halladay).

Brian Cashman told the Bergen Record's Pete Caldera that pitching is still the Yankees top priority this off-season. That includes looking to re-sign Andy Pettitte, reportedly for around $10 million.

Short time Yankee Ivan Rodriguez agreed to a 2-yr, $6 million deal with the Washington Nationals. The future Hall of Fame catcher didn't find a taker last season until the Astros scooped him up in mid-March.

The Cardinals inked righty Brad Penny to a 1-yr, $7 million contract. Penny, who spent this past season with the Red Sox and Giants, could earn an additional $2 million in incentives. By signing Penny, it's also thought the Cards will not bring back John Smoltz.

American Idle himself, Carl Pavano has agreed to arbitration and will stay with the Minnesota Twins. Pavano had a resurgence last year with the Indians before being dealt at the deadline to Minny.

The Tigers re-signed shortstop Adam Everett to a 1-yr, $1.5 mill deal.

No suprise in Houston where Astros' closer Jose Valverde turned down arbitration in search of a much bigger deal. The Braves were surprised though that Rafael Soriano took them up on arbitration. Meanwhile lefty Mike Gonzalez said no thanks.

Godzilla Outshines Ichiro

Didn't think we would be awake for all of last night's game, but in fact we were. It was a big night for Hideki Matsui (2 HR, 5 RBI) and CC Sabathia (8 IP 10 K) as the Yankees clobbered Ian Snell and the Seattle Mariners, 11-1, in the series opener.

Any time Matsui or Ichiro play, it's big ratings back in Japan, so when both are on the field at the same time you can really expect big numbers. And Matsui gave them plenty to talk about.

Godzilla put the Yankees up 5-0 in the 3rd with a 2-run shot, added an RBI single in the 3-run 7th, and put some icing on the cake with a 2-run shot in the 8th that barely got over the glove of a leaping Ichiro.


CC was dominant from the start. His 10 Ks were a season high and he allowed just 3 hits. In winning his last 2 starts Sabathia has allowed 1 earned run, 5 hits and has struck out 19 in 15.2 innings pitched. Overall, he's now 13-7, 3.64 in 25 starts) 170.2 innings pitched. Sabathia has had his ups and downs this year, but he's clearly the best free agent signing the Yankees have had in years.


Had a good debate on Twitter last night with some fellow Yankees fans concerning the 2010 prospects for Matsui and Johnny Damon. Almost everyone agrees that Matsui shouldn't be back next year. As much as I love Godzilla, I agree. It's not good to have one player, unless it's a really dominant player, be a full time DH. Matsui isn't as productive as he was, though as he is doing right now, he can still get hot in stretches. But he's become too injury prone and even more prone to ground out to 2nd.


Damon is having a resurgent season- a resurgent season in a contract year. While he's had decent numbers during his time in New York, he's be'll 36 in November and his body seems to be older. Though he's rarely been on the DL, he's been a constant source of bumps, bruises, and injuries. His play in left field has become a nightly adventure and his arm is weaker than my 10-month old nephew's. While the consensus seems to be to keep him, I think the Yankees should let him go.


It's too easy to fall in love with the players you like and root for. For example, Scott Brosius was tremendous for the Yankees in 1998, but signing him to a long term deal and trading Mike Lowell was, in hindsight, a mistake.

Austin Jackson may not be ready next season, but Brett Gardner should get a shot at center field every day. Melky Cabrera could play a corner, be a 4th outfielder, or be dealt. There are free agent options such as Jason Bay, and trade options like Jermaine Dye and Carl Crawford to fill the outfielder. The main is to get younger and better.

Down on the Farm - Scranton

Due to a hectic schedule, we haven't been able to give as much attention to the Yankees farm system as we had earlier this season. Hopefully, we can make up for that in the coming weeks.

Scranton

A big rehab start for Chien-Ming Wang last night. He threw 82 pitches against the Charlotte Knights in a six inning stint. Wang had his sinker working nicely as he limited the Knights to 3 hits, walked 3 and struck out 6.

"He's definitely heading in the right direction," (Brian) Cashman said. "He had great mound presence and showed some great tempo. I thought his slider was terrific. Obviously he did a great job."

Former teammate Andy Phillips almost ruined Wang's night when he hit him in the leg with a comebacker, but Wang was all right afterwards.

Hitters

Top prospect Austin Jackson continues to have a fine year. He hasn't shown home run power, but all other parts of his offensive game are clicking. His splitsof .361/.426/.444 have been helped by 5 doubles, 2 triples, and 11 walks. Jackson has also stolen 7 bases without being caught. Jackson will need to cut down on his strikeouts, as he has been rung up 29 times in 108 at-bats.

Juan Miranda has tailed off after his red hot start and is batting .283. But Miranda has shown significant improvement batting against left-handers (.278), which is his biggest roadblock to the majors. (Obviously Mark Teixeira is his biggest roadblock with the Yankees.)

Pitching

Ian Kennedy underwent successful surgery yesterday to correct the aneurysm that was discovered in his right shoulder. He won't begin throwing until a minimum 6-8 weeks.

Anthony Claggett didn't let a rough major league appearance affect his pitching for Scranton. The 24-yr old has allowed just one earned run in his last 9.2 innings.

George Kontos has had a couple of rough outings since his promotion from Trenton. Kontos has struck out 11 hitters in 10.2 innings, but has allowed six earned runs.

Scranton Goes 11 to Go 6-0

The Scranton Yankees are off to the fast start the New York Yankees would like to have. It took 11 innings today, but the Yankees Triple-A affiliate prevailed over the Mets top squad, 5-3.

The Yankees improved to 6-0 when Austin Jackson walked, stole his second base of the game, and scored on Angel Berroa's double. Kevin Russo's fourth hit of the game, also a double, provided an insurance run for winner Mark Melancon (1-0).

	April 14, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E Scranton/WB 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 12 1 Buffalo 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 11 1 W: M. Melancon (1-0, 0.00); L: C. Muniz (0-1, 4.50) HR: None.

Box Score

Robertson continues to open eyes

David Robertson impressed Joe Girardi during spring training by striking out 10 hitters in 6-plus inning. Girardi said he wouldn't be surprised to see Robertson recalled to the majors at some point this season. Robertson's performance in today's Scranton Yankees games will continue to keep his name on everyone's lips.

Robertson struck out seven batters in three shutout innings of relief in the Yankees 6-5 win over the Mets' top affiliate, the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

Robertson shut down the Bisons after starter Kei Igawa surrendered three home runs and couldn't hold 4-1 and 5-4 leads. Brett Tomko came on in the ninth to record his first save.

Justin Leone and Shelley Duncan homered for Scranton, but it was Kevin Russo's RBI single in the sixth inning that proved to be the difference.

Austin Jackson had three more hits in the game and is 11-22 (.500) on the season.

	April 13, 2009
	Game Over 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Scranton/WB 0 0 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 6 13 0 Buffalo 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 5 5 0 HR: SWB: S. Duncan (1), J. Leone (1). BUF: M. Abreu (1), B. Kielty (1), F. Martinez (1).

Scranton wins 2nd straight in 11

It took 11 innings, but the Scranton Yankees won their second straight game to start the season, 2-1 over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. John Rodriguez led off the eleventh with a double and two batters later scored on Shelley Duncan's single.

The Yankees tied the game in the seventh inning when Juan Miranda, who drove in 5 runs in the opener, doubled and later scored on an Angel Berroa single.

Brett Tomko picked up the win while J.B. Cox notched his first save. Ian Kennedy was outstanding in his first start of the season, allowing 1 run on 4 hits in six innings. He struck out 11 and didn't walk a batter. Tomko and David Robertson each struck 3 batters in 2 innings to give Yankees pitching 17 K's on the evening.

Prospect Watch
Austin Jackson was 2-5 with 3 K's.

Austin Jackson Slams his way out of Camp

Austin Jackson left a lasting impression for the future in last night's Yankees-Red Sox spring training game. The player the Yankees front office hopes is the face of center field in 2010 or 2011 and many years to follow, belted a game breaking grand slam in the Yankees 7-1 victory over the Red Sox last night in Tampa, Florida.

The Yankees had grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth and were looking for more when Jackson stepped up to face Manny DelCarmen. Moments later, Jackson was circling the bases with his third home run of the spring. Hewas rewarded after the game with a reassignment to the minor league camp. Of course, that was totally expected.

A.J. Burnett had another fine performance, limiting the Sox to one run over 5.2 innings. He left with the bases loaded and two outs, but Jonathan Albaladejo retired Rocco Baldelli to keep it a 1-0 game at that point.

Burnett allowed three hits, walked two and struck out four. He's pitched to a 1.20 ERA this spring. Edwar Ramirez picked up the victory with 1.1 innings of work. Mariano Rivera threw another 1-2-3 inning, recording a pair of strikeouts.

With a slight breeze assisting him, Tim Wakefield baffled the Yankees with his knuckleball. Wakefield, beginning his 15th season in Boston, allowed four hits, one run, a walk, and struck out five in 5.2 innings pitched.

Derek Jeter played his first game since the US was eliminated in the WBC. He went 1-2 with a walk. Jorge Posada threw out would be base stealer Jacoby Ellsbury with the help of a nice tag by Jeter.

Box Score