Yankees Talk D-Rob, Headley, Likely Say Sayonora to Kuroda

The postseason is over with the San Francisco Giants sleeping at night with visions of Madison Bumgarner dancing in their heads. It means it's time to get back to the business of baseball or more precisely, getting ready for next year.

First  on the docket is deciding whether to extend a qualifying offer to your team's eligible free agents. The Yankees most certainly will extend an offer to David Robertson, aka "D-Rob", who did a very good job in his first season as a full-time closer. Those who think the Yankees should let him go and immediately install Dellin Betances as closer are either bananas or haven't paid much attention to the games they watched.

Robertson will turn down the offer, which is set this year at $15.3MM, up from $14.1MM from last season. This is Robertson first chance at a multi-year, multimillion dollar deal and there will be plenty of calls to his agents. He would be a fool to accept a one year deal to keep his high socks in the Big Apple.

No player accepted the 2014 qualifying offer last season and that's a pattern that's likely to repeat this season. The exception, though, could be Hiroki Kuroda. Which is wjy the Yankees should NOT extend him a qualifying offer. After a fabulous 2013 season, Kuroda was very erratic this past season, though the team's lack of defense and run production hurt his record and adversely affected the outcome of many of the games he started. He would probably jump on the offer, if he intends to play another season and wants to stay a Yankee. There's no way the Yankees would (should) give him an amount close to that. The Yankees need to reserve their money for younger, talent-rich players. (And no, that doesn't mean an All-Star at every position.)

Though the only starting pitcher, at the moment, the Yankees have under contract and is (somewhat) healthy is Michael Pineda. Since CC Sabathia hasn't thrown a pitch in a Major League game since May 10, he's not yet in the equation. Ivan Nova is coming off Tommy John surgery. Masahiro Tanaka's seven innings in September, after two months off, doesn't inspire confidence, and Brandon McCarthy is also a free agent. David Phelps, Chase Whitley, and Shane Greene are all question marks for consistency, among other things.

In addition to not retaining Kuroda, the Yankees should also not pursue Max Scherzer, who turned down a six-year, $144MM offer from the Detroit Tigers earlier this year, or lefty Jon Lester, who figures to earn a boatload of money as a free agent. While either would be fine acquisitions, their cost is too high, especially for a team with so much money owed to underachieving players.

The Yankees should try to bring back McCarthy, who adapted to well to Yankee Stadium, and James Shields. While Shields does not always live up to that "Big Game" moniker, he'll give you a solid regular season and 200+ innings, and will make less than Scherzer or Lester. Jeff Samardzija is also likely to demand too many greenbacks.

The Yankees liked what they saw in third baseman Chase Headley, though he has not come close to his 2012 offensive production. (31 HR-115 RBI-.875 OPS) Headley was spectacular manning the hot corner and occassionally filled in at first base. Several media outlets reported today the Yankees are already in negotiations for a new contract with the 30-year old Colorado native. It may not be easy though, as Headley is preferred by a number of team to free agent Pablo Sandoval and his expected wish for a big money contract.

Headley had a .768 OPS in 58 games in pinstripes with 6 HR and 17 RBI. While far from spectacular, it was difficult for anyone  on the team to drive in runs when no one was getting on base on a regular basis. The plan would be for Headley to regular man third base with Alex Rodriguez becoming the primary DH.

UPDATE -  The Yankees indeed made an offer to Robertson and bypassed Kuroda.

Steinbrenners to Introduce GeorgeCare

A view you may not see again this year.

Yankees' Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner announced earlier today that the team is rolling out new healthcare legislation, "GeorgeCare", due to the rash of injuries the team has suffered this season. The new legislation will allow the Yankees to carry a 50-man active roster and fans will receive rebates every time Matt Thornton pitches or Kelly Johnson bobbles a ball at first base.

All kidding aside, the Yankees are a physical mess right now and there is no hope in sight for a healthy turnaround.

The death knell to the season may have come when it was discovered that Masahiro Tanaka had a slight tear of his Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL). Tanaka will be out a minimum of six weeks, and Tommy John surgery has not been ruled out of his future.

The injury leaves Hiroki Kuroda as the only starting pitcher left from the five man rotation the Yankees hoped to trot out to the pitcher's mound.  CC Sabathia has been out since mid-May due to a degenerative knee injury; Michael Pineda was DL'ed on May 6, when he felt pain in the area below his right shoulder, and Ivan Nova, who looked to have returned to his 2011 form in the second half of last season, went down early to Tommy John surgery. And then the big blow to the season came with the loss of Tanaka, who was among the league leaders in all positive pitching categories.

Unless a decision is made prior to that, if Tanaka needs surgery and doesn't have the operation until August or September, there goes the entire 2015 season and probably part of 2016.  For now David Phelps, Shane Greene, and Brandon McCarthy are in the rotation, along with Kuroda. But who will be joining them?

Chase Whitley started out fantastically, but crashed back to Earth in his last three starts (17 earned runs in 10.1 innings pitched). He did pick up the win in relief on Wednesday when the Yankees topped the Indians 4-2 in 14 innings.

Left-hander David Huff has pitched fairly effectively out of the bullpen and is a former starter, though he has only started six games since 2011.  (Two with the Yankees last year and four with the Indians in 2012.)

The Yankees added another left-hander to the mix Friday when they acquired Jeff Francis from the Oakland A's for a player to be named later. Francis had been designated for assignment on July 3 after he had allowed nine earned runs in 13.1 innings pitched. Francis pitched through shoulder pain for the Colorado Rockies in 2008 and missed the entire 2009 season after he underwent shou7lder surgery. He's never regained the effectiveness he had in 2006-2007, when he averaged 15 wins and a 4.19 ERA, with his home games played in hitter-friendly Coors Field.

The Yankees lineup is suffering too. Carlos Beltran has been a walking disaster area. He missed time due to a bone spur in his elbow and a strained hamstring.  Then during batting practice on Wednesday, Beltran fouled a ball into the cage. It ricocheted back into his face, causing two small facial fractures. He was placed on the 7-day disabled list to check for a concussion as well. So far, the three-year deal given to Beltran is a complete bust.

The trade deadline (July 31) will be coming up before you know it. The Yankees always go for the gold, but do they sell instead this year? If their still floundering in three weeks, it might be for the best to try to deal some players. David Robertson will be a free agent after this season. He can always come back, so why not trade him to a team willing to pay a heavy price for one of the better relievers in baseball.

Though his hitting hasn't been tremendous, Brian Roberts has stayed healthy and could be traded for a minor prospect or two. See if Hiroki Kuroda is willing to waive his no-trade clause. Perhaps a reunion with the Los Angeles Dodgers could be in the offing.

Who should build/rebuild this team?

You never know when injuries will strike, but there's a greater chance with older players. Combined with the lack of top prospects at the top tier of the farm system, and you can see why it maybe time for Brian Cashman and the scouting department to be under more scrutiny. Cashman has been creative, at times, in building a team, but the putrid play the last two seasons have shown that maybe it's time someone else was the team's foreman.

Yankees Get Their Man: Tanaka, 7 Years, $155MM

MLB.com photo of Tanaka visit to Yankee Stadium in 2006 in which he met Hideki Matsui

The YES Network reported yesterday that Masahiro Tanaka had narrowed his decision to two  teams- the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs. According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal the Yankees are that team.

Tanaka and the Yankees have reportedly agreed to a seven-year, $155MM deal, the fifth highest amount for a starting pitcher.

Tanaka joins CC Sabathia, fellow countryman Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, and a pitcher to be determined in the Yankees starting rotation. After a miserable 2013 season and uncertainty of the effectiveness of the starting staff, the Yankees were determined to get Tanaka at any cost.

The Yankees beat out the Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and a surprise entry, the Houston Astros.

The Yankees were determined to get back to the playoffs after missing out two of the last six years. After the missed the post-season in 2008, the Yankees went out and signed Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, and dealt for Nick Swisher. All key ingredients to the Yankees winning their 27th World Championship in 2009.

As Jack Curry pointed out in the tweet below, the Yankees spent plenty this off-season to try to recapture that 2009 excitement.

Jack Curry @ JackCurryYES1m

Yanks determined 2 return 2 playoffs. Deals w Tanaka, Ellsbury, McCann, Beltran, Kuroda, Jeter, Thornton, Roberts, Johnson, Ryan cost $ 503M.

ようこそ、ニューヨーク・ヤンキースに = Welcome to the New York Yankees (I tweeted this to him this morning. Thanks freetranslation.com)

Tanaka Gets the Green Light

After weeks of the Japanese media reporting that Masahiro Tanaka would or wouldn't be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles, the right-hander got the go ahead to play baseball in the U.S. Now the crazy begins.

The Yankees are expected to back up the Brinks' truck to land Tanaka and make him a long term fixture in their rotation. They'll have plenty of competition from the Red Sox, Cubs, Angels, and whoever else wants to throw their hat in the ring, but the Yankees are expected to blow away the competition with the numbers preceding six zeroes.

The Steinbrenners and GM Brian Cashman have been counting on the 25-year old Tanaka playing in the Major Leagues to shove the team back in the right direction after a disastrous 2013 campaign and get younger in the process as well.

If the Yankees win out, Tanaka would join CC Sabathia (33), Hiroki Kuroda (39), and Ivan Nova (27 next month) in the rotation. The fifth and final spot would likely come down to a competition between Michael Pineda, David Phelps, Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno and anyone else who wants to throw their fastball into the ring.

Tanaka's contract is expected to leave Yu Darvish's six-year, $56MM deal with Texas in the dust. The Yankees could work some side deals as well to for Tanaka's wife, Mai Satoda, who is a Japanese pop singer. "Hey, would you like to play Madison Garden or the Barclays Center?" They should also use Kuroda and Hideki Matsui to recruit the native of  Itami, Hyōgo Prefecture.

Tanaka played for Rakuten in the Nippon Professional Baseball league for seven seasons, compiling a 99-35 mark in 175 career games.  (All but three of which were starts.) Tanaka's performance this past season was phenomenal - he went 24-0 in 27 starts plus a relief appearance. Known as "Makun" or "Ma" by his teammates, the 6'2" righty allowed 30 earned runs (1.27 ERA), 168 hits, walked 30 and struck out 183 in 212 innings pitched. And it wasn't only the second best season of his career.

Two years ago he posted the same ERA in 226.1 innings with 241 strikeouts, 27 walks and 171 hits. His 0.875 WHIP topped the 0.943 from this past season. It sounds like Tanaka has the right mental toughness for the Big Apple. He threw 160 pitches in a complete game loss in the sixth game of the Japanese Championship Series, then came back to save Game 7 the next day with a 15-pitch performance. Tanaka normally throws a fastball that tops out at 96 mph. He was still throwing 92-94 mph in the series finale.

Understandably, after watching a pitcher like Daisuke Matsuzaka wear down in the Major Leagues you have to be concerned about those 160 pitch games. One Major League scout said as much to the NY Times' David Waldstein back in November. Coming to the US in his mid-20's, Tanaka may actually have a much longer career than had he stayed in Japan, since warning bells and whistles (figuratively) go off when a pitcher throws his 100th delivery in a Major League game.

A team like the Yankees should also take special care after watching CC Sabathia's deterioration after many years of high pitch counts and 200+ innings pitched. But that's all for another day. While some slept last night with visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads, Cashman and other GMs dreamt of a Japanese pitcher dancing on the mound in the seventh game of the World Series.

Merry Christmas to all and to all good luck. Masahiro Tanaka certainly doesn't need it right now!

Yankees Need A Year Without A-Rod To Re-Boot

Whether you support, condemn, or are indifferent about Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees would be better off without the controversial slugger and the millions he is owed for 2014. Because of the Steinbrenner's initiative to get the 2014 salary below the new $189MM luxury tax max, the Yankees won't have a lot of wiggle room to construct next year's squad with or without A-Rod.

With Derek Jeter's recent one-year, $12MM deal, the Yankees have about $80MM (You have to include approximately $11MM for insurance and other associated costs - costs) to fill out the remainder of the roster for next season. That's not much money to bolster the starting pitching, get an upgrade at catcher, get a starting outfielder, and strengthen the bench. Imagine how much easier it will be to accomplish that feat if A-Rod's luxury tax impact was reduced to $2.5MM from its current $27.5MM.

Below are the seven Yankees under contract with their current adjusted salaries based on the amount used to calculate the luxury tax. Even though Vernon Wells is owed approximately $2.4MM by the Yankees, nothing goes towards the luxury tax since the Angels are picking up over $18MM of his 2014 salary. Which should also make it easier to move the one-time All-Star somewhere else. 

The luxury tax impact of the seven signed players is $97.71MM.

Derek Jeter $12.81MM
Alex Rodriguez $27.5MM
Mark Teixeira $22.5MM
Alfonso Soriano $4MM
Vernon Wells $0
Ichiro Suzuki $6.5MM
CC Sabathia $24.4MM

I'll now construct the rest of the team with the assumption that A-Rod will not be part of the 2014 squad. That means that I have about $107.5MM to work with.

The other elephant in the room besides A-Rod is Robinson Cano, the topper in this year's free agent class. The front office is reportedly interested in free agent second baseman Omar Infante as a possible substitute should they lose their best player and it's also been reported that they have initially "kicked the tires" on Reds' second baseman Brandon Phillips. (When a rumor spread about two weeks ago that Phillips might be on the trading block, I knew it was just a matter of time before we would all hear the Yankees might be interested.)

The Yankees have to do their due diligence in case they do lose Cano to another team, but they are also trying to send out a little scare to the Dominican native that they might go elsewhere if the free agent's asking price is too high.

10 years and $300MM is what Cano is supposed to want; he won't get it from the Yankees or any other team. 7 years? That's a possibility, but it's still unlikely to be at $30MM annually.  That being said, it is not likely that another team signs Cano, so I'll go with the notion that his 2014 paychecks will add up to $27.5MM and will be paid for by the bank of Steinbrenner.

Just like that, I am back to the $80MM figure and seven players on the 25 man roster. Time to add some players, so I'll hand out new one year deals to the following players (Amounts are guesstimated):

Brett Gardner $3.5MM (arb eligible - made $2.85MM in 2013)
Ivan Nova $625K (pre-arb eligible - made $575.6K in 2013)
David Robertson $5MM (arb eligible - made $3.1MM in 2013)
Shawn Kelley $2MM (arb eligible - made $935K in 2013)

That leaves about $68.875MM in the company's vaults. With A-Rod out of the picture, I sign Mark Reynolds to a one-year, $5MM (2nd year option for $7.5MM with a $2MM buyout) to play third base and to back up Mark Teixeira at first base. $63.875 left in payroll and I haven't addressed the starting rotation or catcher spot yet. (The Yankees are also considering the possibility of bringing back Eric Chavez, who spent last season with the Diamondbacks.)

Austin Romine looked good in the second half of the season and will hopefully be fully recovered from the concussion he suffered in September.  He's my backup catcher and will make the league minimum of $500K. That's a $10K increase from 2013 as laid out in the collective bargaining agreement and 13 players on the 25-man roster.

As for the starting catcher position, I’m cutting ties with Francisco Cervelli. Youngsters John Murphy, Gary Sanchez, etc. aren't ready for the big leagues yet, so the Yankees need a veteran catcher. There are three primary free agent catchers that will garner the most attention. Atlanta's Brian McCann, Chicago White Sox' A.J. Pierzynski, and the Boston Red Sox Jarrod Saltalamacchia. None of the three are necessarily the answer to the Yankees' needs.

McCann and Saltalamacchia will be looking for long term deals, while the soon-to-be 37-year old Pierzynski would be more of a stop gap measure. McCann is by far the best hitter of the trio. He has 20 or more home runs for six straight seasons and averaged 21 over the last eight years. McCann has an .823 lifetime OPS, but was under .700 two years ago and a tad under .800 this past season. 

He had surgery in October, 2012 for a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder that impacted the 2012 season and didn't return until early May this year. Having made $12MM last year, McCann will most certainly looking for a 3-5-year deal that averages out to that amount or higher. The Yankees shouldn't commit to that.

Saltalamacchia had a career best .804 OPS in 2013 for the World Champion Red Sox, but prior to that was a below average hitter with some power (25 HR in '12). He's a decent game caller, but base runners go wild on him - opponents stole 89 bases in 110 tries when Salty was catching last season. His bat is too unreliable to give him multiple years.

The Yankees reportedly have concerns about Pierzynski's overall defense and a player who has thrown out 25% of runners for his career isn't going to get better as he approaches 40-years of age. Pierzynski's timing was perfect in 2012 when he had one of the best offensive seasons of his career (tops in HR, OPS, and RBI), but nonetheless he had to settle for a one-year deal. His OPS nosedived more than 100 points in his first season with Texas this past season, most of it due to a precipitous drop in slugging pct.

I would also avoid another free agent, Carlos Ruiz. The Phillies catcher had the best year of his career offensively in 2012, but then was suspended 25 games to start the 2013 season for amphetamine use. He'll be 35 when the season starts and will be looking for an increase over the $5MM he made in '13.

So if the Yankees don't go with one of the main three, where do they turn? The Yankees should look short term/stop gap and they can look at someone who formerly donned the Pinstripes, Dioner Navarro. The Venezuela native will turn 30 shortly before Spring Training and is coming off one of the best offensive seasons of his career (13 HR, .300/.365.492 split). The free agent made $1.75MM last year with the Cubs, and could be had for $2.5MM - $3M annually. Navarro is average at throwing out base runners, but at that price, go for it. He'll come a lot cheaper than Pierzynski, though I'll keep the veteran on the back burner as "Plan B".

With the $3MM I am generously giving to Navarro that leaves $60.375MM as I turn my attention to the starting rotation.

Where does the rest of the starting rotation come from? A lot will depend on whether or not Hiroki Kuroda decides to return. He made $15MM last year and was the ace of the staff, save for the month of September when he ran out of gas. Kuroda already turned down the Yankees qualifying offer of $14.1MM and general manager Brian Cashman has stated he has had no indication whether Kuroda wants to play in the Major Leagues in 2014.

With the qualifier turned down, Kuroda will be looking for more than the $15MM he earned last season. The Yankees are reportedly willing to give a minimal increase, so I'll sign Kuroda for $16.5MM for 2014. (I would rather let him walk at that price, but I see the Yankees getting that type of deal done.)

All right, that leaves $43.875MM in the coffers and two rotation spots yet to fill. There have been several reports that the Yankees are going to go all out to get Japanese native Masahiro Tanaka. First, MLB and the Japanese Baseball League have to work out some things with the posting system. According to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan, MLB is trying to lower the amount of money sent to Japan. As you would expect, the new strategy has been met with much resistance.

Whenever an agreement is reached, the bid on Tanaka is supposed to be higher than that of current star Yu Darvish and former Red Sox World Series champion Daisuke Matsuzaka. The good news is that whatever system they came up with, the posting bid will NOT count against the luxury tax. So let's say the Yankees win the bid to negotiate a contract with the 25-year old. Darvish's deal with Texas paid him $5.5MM in 2012, $9.5MM in 2013, $10MM for the next three years and $11MM in the final year of the six year deal.

I'll say the Yankees create a similar deal that will pay Tanaka $7.5MM in 2014, $10.5 in 2015, etc. We really don't care about the (likely) three years to follow that.  That's four pitchers in the rotation and $36.375MM with one starter still needed.

The Yankees could go with Michael Pineda for the final spot, with competition from David Phelps and Adam Warren.  Manny Banuelos could provide competition at some point, though it's not likely he'll be guns blazing in Spring Training after having gone through Tommy John surgery in October, 2012. I am going to assume that it's all systems go with Pineda and give him $550,000 to lower what's left to $35.825.

Should the Yankees not bring back Kuroda and/or lose out on Tanaka, they are rumored to be interested in free agent Ubaldo Jimenez, who had a 1.82 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 84 second half innings in 2013.

Before I go anything further, since there's no luxury tax impact, I am going to get rid of Vernon Wells while I can. His tank keeps getting lower and lower to the point that the needle is just about completely on "E".

Okay back the bullpen, which currently has Robertson and Kelley, Phelps, Warren, and lefty Cesar Cabral gives the team five decent to very good pitchers. The combined salary for the latter trio is $1.525MM

What to do with Eduardo Nunez? The average bat, great speed, can't-keep-his-helmet-on, stone-handed fielder suddenly looked like an All-Star when he manned third base for 13 games in September. He had his best month at the plate with an .808 OPS and committed two errors in 120 innings. However, he still was under .700 for total season OPS. He turns 27 in the middle of next season, but he should be wearing a different uniform at the time.

So who does back up the infield? Brendan Ryan, that's who. Until you see a guy every day you just can't appreciate how well they can or cannot play. In Ryan's case, his fielding was even better than advertised when the Yankees picked him up last season. He has tremendous range, great footwork, and a hell of an arm. The drawback, of course, is that he cannot hit. I mean he really can't hit. His lifetime .619 OPS looks like a mistake, but in this case, you think it would be lower. But the Yankees don't need him to hit; they need him to get every baseball to his left or right or right at him and throw a runner out. A two year deal at $2.5MM per year should do it. (He made over $3MM in 2013, but that ain't happening while I am GM....)

I'm down to $40.59MM and need two outfielders. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reported earlier today that the Yankees have their radar aimed squarely on Carlos Beltran. The 36-year old has been a post-season phenomenon and hasn't been too bad during the regular season either. Beltran made $13MM each of the last two seasons. If the Yankees land him, it will take (IMHO) $15MM per year for two guaranteed years. The biggest question will be if Beltran wants to return to the city that he had his ups and downs across town?

The Yankees also have an interest in Shin-Soo Choo, but different sources have his agent, Scott Boras, seeking to top Hunter Pence's 5-year, $90MM deal or Jayson Werth's 7-year, $126MM contract. The latter is absurd, as was Werth's deal, so I wouldn't count on seeing Choo in a Yankees uniform.

Therefore, Carlos Beltran, I give you this check for $15MM and lower my checkbook balance to $25.5M. We got our starting infield - Teixeira, Cano, Jeter, Reynolds; our starting outfield - Soriano, Gardner, Beltran; a veteran catcher, five starting pitchers, five relievers, and a bench of Ryan, Ichiro, and Romine.

I'm going to add Zoilo Almonte to the outfield mix at the Major League minimum, and that leaves three spots open. D-Rob is a great reliever, an even better person, but I don't have the faith in his durability to make him the closer. His arm doesn't respond well to back to back outings, so I am going after another free agent to close. The closer I have in mind is Joe Nathan, who turned down the Texas Rangers option to become a free agent. I highly prefer him over another free agent, Fernando Rodney, despite the latter's success the last two years.

Nathan made $7MM annually the last two seasons with Texas. I am going to hand him a 2-year, $20MM deal, possibly containing an optional third year/buyout.  Plan 'B' would be to try to reacquire Rafael Soriano from the Washington Nationals.

I've got about $17MM to fill the last two spots on the team - another guy for the bullpen and another player for the bench.

There you have it. In my fantasy baseball payroll I even get to go home with extra money.

Yankees Extend Qualifing Offers to Trio

Curtis Granderson has some thinking to do.

Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and Hiroki Kuroda have big decisions to make this off-season. The three are free agents, but each is looking for something very different than the other two. With that in mind, the Yankees extended a $14.1MM one-year qualifying offer to each player.

By extending the offer, the Yankees would receive draft pick(s) if any of the players signed with another Major League team.

There's absolutely no chance that Cano accepts the offer, but Granderson and Kuroda will probably at least consider it. Granderson played in just 61 games in 2013 due to a broken forearm and broken finger that occurred when bone met baseball.  His production- a career worst .723 OPS and .407 slugging pct. - was not conducive to landing a big money, long term free agent deal this off-season.

It's possible that Granderson could accept the qualifying offer in the hopes that he has a very productive season as he did in 2011 (.916 OPS, 41 HR, 119 RBI, 136 runs scored) and then could land a big money deal next off-season. The Yankees would certainly welcome him back on a one year, $14.1MM contract, which would be a slight pay cut for Granderson from last year's $15MM salary.

Rumors say that the White Sox and/or Cubs are preparing big offers for the Chicago native, but until that actually happens, they will remain just rumors.

Kuroda was the Yankees ace in 2013 until the 38-year old wore down during the last month of the season. He turned down the $13.1MM qualifying offer the Yankees tendered in 2013 and signed a one-year deal for $15MM. Should Kuroda decide not to retire and not return to Japan, he's likely to turn down the qualifying offer again.

Should that be the case, the Yankees have to decide whether Kuroda is worth pursuing on another one year deal that would likely cost them a minimum of $15 - 16MM. As good as Kuroda was for the majority of the season, the Yankees front office should be thinking "take it or leave it" this time around.

The Yankees did not extend offers to pitchers Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan, infielder Brendan Ryan, corner infielders Kevin Youkilis and Mark Reynolds, DH Travis Hafner, and first baseman Lyle Overbay. Reynolds and Ryan are likely the only two of the group that the Yankees have any interest in bringing back.

In the meantime, Cano is probably out shopping for a very large vault.

Sabathia's Season Comes To A Strainful End

It came as no surprise earlier Monday when the Yankees announced that CC Sabathia's season came to an end due to an injury. Derek Jeter, Austin Romine, Mark Teixeira, Brett Gardner, Kevin Youkilis...the list goes on and on with season ending injuries and now Sabathia is part of it.

The Yankees ace, who had a very un-ace like season, suffered a Grade-2 strain of his hamstring in this past Friday's win against the San Francisco Giants. It will take a minimum of eight weeks to recover so the big man's season is done.

Diminished velocity and a lack of command contributed to Sabathia turning from a top 10 Major League pitcher into a run of the mill starter. He ended up with a 14-13 record and the lowest winning percentage (.519) of his career, and put up a career worst ERA (4.78), WHIP (1.370) and WAR (0.2) figures.

With three more guaranteed years on his contract worth $71MM the Yankees are hopeful that Sabathia can make the necessary adjustments during the off-season to recapture some of his past glory.

Salty Slams Yankees to the Mat

One might think the game was over Friday night after the Red Sox scored four runs in the 1st inning off of Hiroki Kuroda. But just as they had last week in New York, the Yankees rallied to tie the game at four apiece. Unfortunately, just like three of last week's games with Boston, the Yankees lost anyway.

The Red Sox have hit eight grand slams on the year, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia being the latest batter to go deep with the bases loaded. The catcher's slam came off of Preston Claiborne and turned the aforementioned 4-4 tie into an 8-4 Red Sox lead. That turned out to be the final score as the Red Sox won their 90th game and the Yankees fell two games behind Tampa Bay for the number two wild card spot.

Kuroda has been the Yankees ace since last year, but he's been extremely fatigued of late. Since he tossed eight innings of shutout ball against the Los Angeles Angels on August 12, Kuroda has not gone past 6.1 innings in any start. In fact, he recorded an out in the 7th inning only once and hasn't won since the game against the Angels. (In fairness, he was the pitcher of record in last Sunday's game against Boston, but Mariano Rivera blew the lead. The Yankees won in the bototom of the 9th on a wild pitch.)

Kuroda got into immediate trouble Friday night with a 33 pitch 1st inning. He gave up a lead off single to Dustin Pedroia, a 1-out double to David Ortiz, and an RBI ground out to Mike Carp that gave Boston a 1-0 lead. Given the opportunity to escape with a single run allowed, Kuroda got touched up for three more runs on a Daniel Nava single and a 2-run double by Stephen Drew.

The Yankees slowly chipped away against Sox starter John Lackey with an unexpected solo home run from Brendan Ryan in the 3rd inning. Lyle Overbay cut the lead in half in the 6th with a sacrifice fly as Kuroda hung tough and shut down the Red Sox red hot lineup.

The Yankees pulled even in the 7th with Ryan and Chris Stewart reaching on back-to-back singles to start the rally. With Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano due up, John Farrell sent for left-hander Craig Breslow. Breslow K'ed Granderson, but walked A-Rod to load the bases for Cano. The second baseman came through with a game tying 2-run double. Alfonso Soriano had a chance to put the Bombers ahead, but Brandon Workman induced an inning ending ground out.

The good times didn't last long- Joe Girardi sent Kuroda back out to start the 7th, but he gave up a single to Shane Victorino and departed. Lefty Cesar Cabral came on, but hit Ortiz. Claiborne, this year's Cody Eppley, wore down quicker than his predecessor after a surprisingly effective first half of the season. He was next to enter the fray Friday night and walked pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes to load the bases.

Claiborne struck out Nava, but Saltalamacchia deposited grand slam number eight over the right field fence to essentially end the Yankees night.

Pitching Matchups Set For Boston Series

Kuroda needs to get the Yankees off on the right foot with his right arm

From the Star Ledger:

FRIDAY: Hiroki Kuroda (11-10, 2.99 ERA) v. John Lackey (9-12, 3.48 ERA).

SATURDAY: CC Sabathia (13-12, 4.82 ERA) v. Jon Lester (13-8, 3.86 ERA).

SUNDAY: Ivan Nova (8-4, 3.17 ERA) v. Clay Buchholz (10-0, 1.61 ERA).

You get to suffer through a FOX telecast on Saturday and an ESPN telecast on Sunday night. I recommend the mute button.

Yankees Top Tina Fey and Paul Rudd and the White Sox

"Make another error and next time it'll be hot coffee."

Tuesday night's Yankees-White Sox game had all the makings of a disaster. Hiroki Kuroda was attempting to right his ship after three poor outings in a row and struck out the side in the first inning. The only problem was Alfonso Soriano had played a potential fly out into a double and Eduardo Nunez added to his error total at shortstop. Kuroda worked out of the jam with just one run allowed, but the Yankees already trailed after a half inning. More poor play by Soriano in left field and domination by White Sox starter Chris Sale put the Yankees in a 4-1 hole.

By that time the five human and one furry occupants of our household were watching Admission with Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. A cute movie that was no blockbuster, but enjoyable nonetheless. I had already lambasted Nunez repeatedly in debating his value with my brother. "His bat is not good enough to put up with his defense in the field."  A little later Nunez tried to prove me wrong.

After the credits rolled on the movie, I glanced at Yahoo baseball and was shocked to see Yankees 6 White Sox 4.  The Yankees get all the credit in the world for coming from behind to win another must win game. Robin Ventura should be sent a thank you card for his role in it - he pulled Sale after the star in the making threw 114 pitches. (The people that knocked Ventura need their heads examined - 114 pitches in this day and age is a huge amount.)

Derek Jeter got the ball rolling with a one-out single in the bottom of the 8th and Robinson Cano followed with a double. Ventura ended Sales' night and brought in Nate Jones to face Soriano. The second time around in pinstripes has been fruitful for Soriano, whose bat does make up for his defensive deficiencies. He laced a single back up the middle to cut the White Sox lead to 4-3 and moved to third when Alex Rodriguez followed with a single of his own.

Lefty Donnie Veal replaced Jones to face pinch-hitter Curtis Granderson, but the Grandyman lined a game tying single to center field. Veal struck out Mark Reynolds, but Nunez lined a double to left off right-hander Matt Lindstrom to put the Yankees on top for the first time, 6-4.  Mariano Rivera made quick work of the White Sox with a 12-pitch, 9th inning for his 40th save.

It was a tremendous win, but also a reminder that Nunez cannot, should not, be in the field with such huge importance on every game. With Jayson Nix out, the Yankees should have picked up a Miguel Cairo-type player to spell Jeter in the field and kept Nunez on the bench.

Notes

The time finally arrived - Phil Hughes has been plucked from the rotation and put in the bullpen. David Huff, who has a similar career path to Hughes will take his turn in the rotation against Boston on Saturday. Hughes was tremendous out of the pen for the Yankees in 2009 and the move could mean that Joba Chamberlain gets crazy glued to the bullpen bench in close games.

Girardi told the media that he will use the off-season to try to get Rivera to return next year. The odds are slim to none.  Rivera is a man of his word and the "retirement tour" that has taken place would seem disingenuous.

The Yankees first run came on a double steal. A hit and a pair of Chicago errors put Vernon Wells on third and Nunez on first. Nunez broke for second on Sales' delivery and catcher Josh Phegley fired towards second. Wells broke for home and scored when second baseman Gordon Beckham cut the ball off in front of the bag, but made a throw to the wrong side of home plate.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Nunez became the first non-Jeter shortstop since Randy Velarde (1995) to drive in the game winning run in the 8th inning or later.

Kuroda Throws His Cap Into the Cy Young Ring

If you look at the won/lost record of Detroit Tigers starter Max Scherzer, it's difficult not to imagine that he's the shoe-in for the American League Cy Young Award. It's difficult not to think that way when you see a gaudy 17-1 record.

Times have changed however, and there is a new way of looking at numbers in addition to a pitcher's won/lost record. Felix Hernandez won the award three years ago with a very ordinary 13-12 mark. He also led the league in ERA (2.27), games started, least hits per nine innings pitched, and struck out more than 200 hitters.

It takes nothing away to say that Hernandez had the benefit of pitching in a "pitcher's ballpark". He limited hitters to a .533 OPS at Safeco Field. Then again the Mariners inept offense hurt him as much as the home field advantage helped him. Seattle score two or less runs in 15 of Hernandez's 34 starts and 3-5 runs in 13 starts. Hernandez lost 10 of his 12 games when the M's scored two runs or less.

It also takes nothing away from Scherzer, but he also pitches in a "pitcher's ballpark". The difference between his season and Hernandez's is that, led by Miguel Cabrera, he has a devastating offense behind him as well. The Tigers have scored 3-5 runs in 10 of Scherzer's starts and 6 or more in 11 of them. Detroit has scored two or less runs in just two of Scherzer's start- a loss and a no decision.

To his credit Scherzer's been even better on the road (.500 OPS vs. .622 at home), but that was the wind up. Here comes the pitch.

Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda does his home pitching in a field made for left-handed hitters. Batters routinely deposit baseballs over the fence from right-center field over to the right field foul pole. Powerful right-handed hitters have no problem poking a long ball the opposite way either.

Kuroda is also in the AL East, a league chock full of big time hitting teams. That would normally include his team, the New York Yankees, but not this year. Due to injuries, age, and ineffectiveness, the Yankees look like a combination of the Bad News Bears (think of Rudi Stein in the original movie with Walter Matthau) and coach-pitch Little League.

It's led to an 11-7 record for Kuroda despite a 2.33 ERA and a league best 174 ERA+ (100 * (league ERA / ERA)). The Yankees have scored two or less runs in 11 of Kuroda's 24 starts (3-5 W/L) and 3-5 runs in 10 of them. (5-2 W/L). Just three times the Yankees went  wild and scored six or more runs with Kuroda on the mound. He's won all three of those starts.

The native of Osaka, Japan has pitched into the 7th inning or later 17 times. He's gone less than five innings just twice and once was because he tried to snare a Shane Victorino comebacker with his bare hand.

Quality starts is a nonsense statistic - 3 runs allowed in 6 innings is not anything of quality - but Kuroda has thrown 16 games where has allowed two runs or less and allowed three runs in a seven inning start to boot. He's 9-2 in those 17 starts with six no decisions . He's also pitched into the 7th inning or greater 18 times and left with the lead three times only to see the Yankees bullpen blow it. (The Yankees are 14-10 when Kuroda starts.)

Since Mother Nature cranked up the heat, Kuroda has been phenomenal. In five starts since the calendar turned to July 1, the 38-year old has allowed five earned runs in 48 innings pitched. (He's 4-1 with three no decisions.) That calculates out to a 0.94 ERA, which also matches his WHIP during that period. He’s walked just eight hitters and struck out 35, and has not allowed a home run.

Kuroda is not only the Yankees ace, he's their MVP as well. Without him, there is no way the Yankees could even see the AL wild card on the horizon. So, if he continues to pitch this way through the end of the regular season, will he have a legitimate shot at the AL Cy Young Award? That remains to be seen, because no matter how good Kuroda's year is, Scherzer's won/loss record could still distract voters like the neon lights along the Las Vegas strip pulls in gamblers.

Yankees All-Star Break Report Card: Starting Rotation

Hiroki Kuroda has plenty to smile about this season.

It's that dreaded time of year- no, not the mosquitos, humidity, or next to last place...okay, some of that is it. No, it's time for All-Star break Yankees report card. And oh has it been an ugly marking period. Let's start right off with the pitching since that is what has been keeping the Yankees afloat all year.

Starters

CC Sabathia - It appears that all those innings and all those pitches thrown have finally caught up to the big guy. Lost velocity, lost pinpoint control, lost games. Everyone hoped that Sabathia's off-season elbow surgery would strengthen the ace's game even more in 2013, but the opposite has occurred. (No, I'm not blaming the surgery.)

Sabathia is no longer the ace of the staff and has been throwing like a middle of the rotation guy. He's given up four or more runs in 10 of his 20 starts this season. Sabathia has allowed 21 home runs already, one less than the career high he gave up last year. Here's hoping he finds a magic (legal) elixir during the break.

Grade: C

Hiroki Kuroda - The Yankees have to be thanking their lucky stars every day that the 38-year old native of Japan decided to stay in New York instead of returning to the LA Dodgers or his home country. Kuroda's 2.65 ERA is second best among American League starters and he has a 1.74 ERA at home. A remarkable stat for a right-handed pitcher in left-handed hitter friendly Yankees Stadium.  Kuroda's 8-6 record would be a lot better if he didn't have some of the worst run support in the Major Leagues. He definitely should have been selected for the AL All-Star team.


The Yankees have scored two runs or less in four of Kuroda's six losses. He's 7-2 when the team scores three or more runs. I'm not a believer in quality starts, but for those of you who are, 12 of Kuroda's 19 starts fall into that category. He also won his last start in which he tossed five shutout innings in a start shortened by
a 73 minute rain delay in between.

Grade: A

Andy Pettitte - The Texan will one day have his number 46 retired and has or will break many of the Yankees pitching records. In what is likely his last season, he'sbeen anything but the Andy Pettitte we are all used to seeing. Every start seems to be a scuffle. He won his last two outings despite giving up runs early.

Pettitte's season didn't start out this way. In April he looked as dominant as he did in his outstanding 2012 season that was interrupted by a broken ankle. The last two months have been the worst for the 41-year old; he's allowed 27 earned runs in 49 innings pitched.

Grade: C

Phil Hughes - Jekyll & Hyde have been more consistent than Phil Hughes the last few years. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweeted last week that the Yankees are "aggressively pushing" to move Hughes to another team. Hughes is a free agent next year and the Yankees would be better off with getting some talent in return rather than draft picks.

Grade: C-

David Phelps - The Notre Dame product showed a lot of potential last year and made a nice transition from the pen to the rotation when injuries opened up a spot this season. He had a four game stretch in May where he allowed eight runs in 27.1 innings over four starts. He bounced back nicely after the Mets knocked him out in the first inning to pitch six inning games in which he allowed one earned run and four hits, and struck out 13.

His last two starts were poor and fair respectively and then he was placed on the disabled list with a strained right forearm. It's possible he won't have a spot to return to when he is ready due to the recent starts by Ivan Nova.

Grade: B-

Ivan Nova - The Yankees have been waiting for Nova to return to his 2011 form when he won 16 games and was a model of consistency. Perhaps that time has finally come. After a shoddy April, Nova went on the DL with inflammation in his bicep. He made a pair of solid relief appearances in May, but was demoted to Triple-A.

Nova came back with a vengeance in June with a good start and a long relief appearance that saved the bullpen. So far in July, he's thrown one complete game win and threw eight innings in another victory. In 17 innings he allowed eight hits, walked three, and struck out 17. It would only make sense that his spot in the rotation is now his to lose.

Grade: C+/B- tough one to call