SB Nation User Blog: SenorSwanky

Projecting the Pen

SenorSwanky — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:22:05 -0000

Based on spring numbers so far (reported in the following table), as well as past performance and what we know about what Girardi and Cashman want in the bullpen, I think we should see the following seven men break camp with the Yanks:

Player	G	IP	H	HR	BB	HBP	ER	ERA	WHIP	SO	K/9	K:BB
Mariano Rivera	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Damaso Marte	2	2.0	3	2	0	0	2	9.00	1.50	2	9.00	n/a
Brian Bruney	4	4.0	2	2	1	0	3	6.75	0.75	5	11.25	5.00
Phil Coke	3	5.0	6	1	0	0	1	1.89	1.20	4	7.20	n/a
Jose Veras	4	4.0	1	0	3	1	1	2.25	1.25	8	18.00	2.00
David Robertson	4	4.0	2	0	1	0	1	2.25	0.75	6	13.50	6.00
Kei Igawa	3	5.0	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.40	4	7.20	n/a

Rivera, Marte, and Bruney are locks, and Coke is a near-lock to serve as what Girardi calls a "medium-long" man. Veras performed ably last year and has been a strikeout machine this spring, so he's pretty likely to go north next month.

The other two are somewhat surprising. Conventional wisdom has Al Aceves, Dan Giese, and Brett Tomko competing for the long man spot, but Igawa has performed much better than any of them so far this spring, and dominated AAA lineups last season. Plus, if he continues to pitch well against major-league lineups during the regular season, it would up his currently almost nonexistent trade value. And he would be a third lefty in the pen on top of the two in the rotation. Tomko would not likely accept an assignment to Scranton's rotation, so the team may look at his years of experience as a starter and his decent spring performance, second in effectiveness to Igawa's among the four candidates for long man, and give him a shot so they don't lose him. But I would think they would place greater importance on getting some use out of Igawa's contract. And they may want to give at least Aceves, who is more of a prospect than Igawa, who was signed to pitch in the majors, more time in AAA to get regular innings.

CW also has Edwar Ramirez taking what I have as Robertson's spot based on his solid performances in 2007 and 2008, but he's rehabbing from shoulder bursitis and has yet to pitch this spring. Mark Melancon is the other contender for that spot, but I would give him more time in AAA to make sure his limited-sample spring and minor-league dominance is not a fluke, and then move him up if Robertson replicates his 5.34 ERA from 30.1 innings in the majors last season, or if any of the other relievers struggles, or if we find ourselves not needing a full long man. I would rule out Jon Albaladejo and Steven Jackson, and while Anthony Claggett has looked great so far, he has only 6 IP at the AAA level over two seasons to Robertson's 35 and Melancon's 20 last season, and Jackson's 117.1 and Albaladejo's 31 over two seasons.

Here's a table with the spring stats for the other contenders for Robertson's and Igawa's spots:

Player	G	IP	H	HR	BB	HBP	ER	ERA	WHIP	SO	K/9	K:BB
Edwar Ramirez	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Mark Melancon	5	5.0	3	0	2	0	0	0.00	1.00	4	7.20	2.00
Anthony Claggett	4	6.0	3	1	1	0	1	1.50	0.67	4	6.00	4.00
Jonathan Albaladejo	3	3.2	5	0	1	0	1	2.45	1.64	3	7.36	3.00
Steven Jackson	5	4.2	5	0	1	1	2	3.86	1.50	4	7.71	2.00
Alfredo Aceves	3	7.0	6	3	3	1	5	6.43	1.43	3	3.86	0.75
Dan Giese	4	8.1	9	2	2	0	6	6.48	1.32	6	6.48	3.00
Brett Tomko	3	7.0	5	1	1	0	2	2.57	0.86	5	6.43	5.00

What do you all think?

Replacing A-Rod

SenorSwanky — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:53:07 -0000

In seeking to fill the hole which A-Rod may soon leave in the lineup and on the diamond, I would go the following course in order, moving to the next plan if the previous doesn’t work. But I wouldn’t do anything as drastic as trading for a star 3B or someone who would want permanent, everyday playing time there now or into the future. If we acquire someone, it should be a stopgap who has defensive flexibility so we can keep using the replacement at other positions after A-Rod returns.

1.) Play Tex at 3B, Swisher at 1B, and Nady in RF every day. Tex started out as a 3B but switched to 1B when he was blocked by Hank Blalock in Texas. Maybe he could still play that position, given his defensive skills on the other corner. Thankfully, we have time now, with a month left until the season, to experiment with this.

2.) Try Cody Ransom every day. He has impressed as a Yankee. He’s athletic and plays hard, like Brett Gardner. We could also try Cano at 3B, where he played in the minors, and Ransom at 2B.

3.) Trade for Martin Prado or Chone Figgins. They don’t hit for much power but get on base and hit for average, and Figgins is a base-stealing wizard. Both can play multiple IF and OF positions and would be outstanding bench players should A-Rod return. In either case, don’t give up a prospect too promising, like Hughes, Brackman, McAllister, Melancon, Betances, Montero, Romine, Jackson, et al.

Players I would not acquire:

Mark Grudzielanek--turns 39 in June; hasn't played at 3B since 1995; career average OBP/SLG .332/.395

Brandon Inge--last two seasons were below his dismal .237/.304/.392 career average

Hank Blalock--no longer strong defensively at 3B

Scott Rolen--deteriorating bat, would want permanent playing time

Melvin Mora--age 37

Garrett Atkins--would want permanent playing time

Adrian Beltre--would want permanent playing time, especially in his walk year, and has been playing at or below his career-average .327 OBP since he came to the AL in 2005

Mark Teahen--career-average .332 OBP, only .313 last year

Chad Tracy--non-existent bat, terrible defensively at 3B

Aaron Boone--almost nothing beats his infamous blast to left, but he no longer can hit very well and has been a journeyman since leaving the Yanks

Vote in the poll below on which of my options you would prefer.

Poll

Which course should the Yanks take in filling the hole at 3B and in the lineup with A-Rod's likely absence?

Trade for Martin Prado

1 votes

Trade for Chone Figgins

6 votes

Play Tex at 3B, Swisher at 1B, and Nady in RF every day

11 votes

Play Ransom every day at 3B

12 votes

Play Ransom every day at 2B and move Cano to 3B

0 votes

Other

2 votes

32 votes | Poll has closed

Yanks vs. Sox Fantasy League Needs Players

SenorSwanky — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:03:42 -0000

I've started a custom roto league on Yahoo! that drafts on Friday afternoon (though that can change). Right now, it's just my dad, brother, and I, and I'd like to have more competition to dominate. All three of us are, naturally, Yanks fans, and more are certainly welcome, but if you know of any Red Sox fans or general baseball fans who'd like to join, particularly if you're stuck in the South or somewhere else outside the NY or Boston markets, point them our way. Max teams is currently set at 7 but can grow if there is interest, which I hope there will be.

Marlon Byrd for CF?

SenorSwanky — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:52:58 -0000

Not a bad suggestion from MLB Trade Rumors (in a post on the subject of the Rangers' own overstacked OF). But what would the Rangers want for Byrd, who has been a valuable utility OF for them? Likely a MLB-ready SP because their rotation sucks and will especially suck if they don't add Sheets (who won't pitch for anyone until at least halfway through the year anyway). That would probably mean Ian Kennedy. Kennedy for one year of Byrd? No thanks. But could we put together a lesser package? The Rangers also have a weak bullpen, and we have plenty of those sorts of arms. Or what about a megatrade involving either 2B/SS Joaquin Arias, either Taylor Teagarden or Max Ramirez, and Byrd? Impossible but one can fantasize.

Hardball

SenorSwanky — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:06:43 -0000

Hardball

So, let me get this straight: Jones was offered a minor-league contract with the Yankees that reportedly would have paid him a full million if he made the major-league roster, and with the Yankees he'd have a legitimate shot at time in center field, his usual position, because he'd be competing against the offensively middling Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner, not Texas' Josh Hamilton. But instead Jones signs a contract with the Rangers, who already have three solid outfielders, a star center fielder, and a couple good prospects on the rise, to MAYBE get time in LF or RF (or possibly CF if Hamilton agrees to move to RF) for half what he would have made with the Yanks had he gotten major league time? What a bum. He must really not want to play.

Baseball Prospectus | Let Freedom Ring

SenorSwanky — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 06:51:18 -0000

Baseball Prospectus | Let Freedom Ring

An excellent argument against a salary cap in baseball and for MLB's current luxury tax and revenue sharing system. Baseball better helps small-market teams by socialistically penalizing extravagance and spreading the wealth around than by limiting every team's payroll.

Buster Olney Blog - ESPN

SenorSwanky — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:18:58 -0000

Buster Olney Blog - ESPN

Good idea from Olney. The Yanks could sign a Type A free agent on another team's terms, trade the player to that team, and get prospects in return for the loss of the 4th-round draft pick. Brilliant!

Poor Pavano

SenorSwanky — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 09:47:58 -0000

I'm surprised no one has posted his comments to MLB.com's Indians reporter Anthony Castrovince yet.

"When you're down, you expect your organization to pick you up, not kick you when you're down," Pavano said. "I've had to pick myself up quite a few times the last four years."

We treated him so terribly. Every time he got ready to pitch for us, we injured him with our words and expectations. We're sorry. We shouldn't have expected you to actually perform and earn your millions. Maybe if we had fellated him more in public, he would have become a Yankee star.

What a douche.

Baseball Musings: Is That a Twisted Sister Pin on Your Uniform?

SenorSwanky — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:57:26 -0000

Baseball Musings: Is That a Twisted Sister Pin on Your Uniform?

I find this story too good to be true, but so awesome, as lame as Twisted Sister is (now, if Cash had come bearing a song set to appeal to Tex's KISS fanaticism, that would be much cooler). From his presser, Tex seems like an awesome guy.

Two Cuban Stars Defect

SenorSwanky — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:11:00 -0000

Two Cuban Stars Defect

Ripe for the Yanks' picking?