The Yankees offense needs to adapt

The hunters have become the hunted.
It took just three games for the Yankees to get pushed back on their collective heels by the red-hot Blue Jays. Fresh off trade deadline acquisitions of former Cy Young winner David Price and former All Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the Blue Jays now look like the favorites to win the AL East.
Poor managerial decisions from Joe Girardi and three stellar pitching performances, along with timely home runs gave Toronto a three-game sweep in the Bronx to cut New York’s once seven-game lead down to 1 ½ games.
The two teams meet 10 more times over the season’s final 50-plus games. The Yankees are in the drivers seat with a weak remaining schedule outside of the games against Toronto, but the once sturdy foundation surrounding The House That George Built is beginning to show some cracks.
The Yankees’ offense managed just one run over 28 innings, and was shutout on back-to-back days for the first time since May 1999. If you take this a step further, since the 13-run outburst against Boston on August 3, the explosive Yankee offense has scored just four runs over the last 46 innings.
Good teams have bad weeks, so there’s no reason to panic just yet. There are, however, some concerning signs bubbling to the surface. Since coming off the DL last month, leadoff hitter and $142 million man Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting just .191 (21-for-110). Ellsbury has managed just three doubles, a triple, four home runs and 17 RBIs with a putrid .579 OPS in that span.
The Yankees, of course, have downplayed the bad stretch, but more than 100 at-bats is more than just your run of the mill slump. Ellsbury did have the go-ahead home run in Thursday’s 2-1 win over Boston, so he hasn’t been without some success during this stretch.
Entering the season, conventional wisdom pointed to Ellsbury and Brett Gardner as the two guys who would have to jumpstart the offense by getting on base and stealing some bases, but that hasn’t been the case. The resurgence of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann in the middle of the lineup has covered up the fact that the two speedy outfielders have stopped running altogether.
Gardner has stolen 15 bags on 18 attempts, which looks nice on paper, but he hasn’t attempted a stolen base since a June 12 game at Baltimore. Ellsbury has stolen 14 bases on 20 attempts, but has attempted just one steal – which was unsuccessful – in 27 games since coming off the disabled list July 8. Those numbers should worry every Yankee fan, as the offense has once again become too reliant on the long ball.
Sure, it’s exciting to sit around and wait for the three-run homer, but we've seen that style of play doesn't work in the postseason.
This team has 52 games left in the regular season to figure out how to put more pressure on its opposing defenses or this year’s playoff run will be a short one.

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Yankees Need To Player Smarter, Not harder, To Win The AL East

The New York Yankees are in a fight for a division title, but if they continue to make the wrong decisions, the Toronto Blue Jays will fly right past them.

Friday night’s loss 2-1 loss was a result of failure at the plate in key spots and manager Joe Girardi once again trying to be too smart.

With the game tied at 1 in the top of the ninth inning, All Star closer Andrew Miller retired the Blue Jays on just six pitches, but instead of sending him out for the 10th inning, Girardi brought in Branden Pinder, a 26-year-old right-hander who threw twice as many innings in the minors (31.2) than with the Yankees (15.2) this season.

Really, Joe? 

"You look at the success that part of the order has had against left-handers, I felt I had to go to the right-hander there," Girardi told the assembled NY media.

This is exactly the problem with Girardi at times. He lets the numbers in his precious binder dictate what should be a simple decision. Miller had thrown just six pitches, and he’s an All Star for a reason.

If you don’t trust him to get through the meat of the order in this situation, then how can you trust him for high leverage innings in October?

Miller is the best reliever in New York’s excellent bullpen for a reason. Pinder has had a nice season, but he had no business facing Jose Bautista in the top of the 10th inning. The result was predictable – a home run clear over the left field fence.

Girardi’s logic makes some sense that Dellin Betances had just thrown for the third time in four days, and he didn’t want to burn out his bullpen on Friday night.

The problem with this strategy is Toronto has David Price going this afternoon, so the Yankee bullpen might not even have a chance to close out a victory.

But, it’s not like Price has dominated the Yankees throughout his career. The power lefty has a career 4.41 ERA with a 10-7 record against New York. In his lone outing this year against the Yankees -- when he was a member of the Detroit Tigers -- Price allowed eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, back in April at Comerica Park.

Nobody knows if the Yankees would have won the game, and maybe Miller doesn’t do any better than Pinder, but what is the point of having a lock down closer if you don’t use him in that situation?
New York blew a game that saw Nathan Eovaldi give an excellent performance, allowing just one run over 6 1/3 innings.

Unfortunately, the Yankees’ bats were non-existent outside of a Mark Teixeira solo home run in the second inning, thanks to knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

A Yankee win would have increased their lead to 5 ½ games, but now it’s just 3 ½ with Price on the mound against Ivan Nova. Toronto has been on fire since trading for Troy Tulowitzki and Price at the deadline, and Girardi gifted them a highly important game. There is simply no excuse.

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Yankees place Dustin Ackley on 15-day disabled list

Well that was fast.

Just two games into his tenure in the Bronx, the Yankees announced on Tuesday that utility man Dustin Ackley has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with that the team is calling a right lumbar strain.

Ackley was acquired by the Yankees from the Seattle Mariners just before the trading deadline last week, as the club's biggest deadline move while the team, for the most part, stood pat.

The 27-year-old was expected to help the Yankees at second base as well as the corner outfield, where he'd be able to spell the aging Carlos Beltran occasionally down the stretch.

For now, however, the club will have to wait for his chance to make an impact.

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Yankees' Opening Day payroll jumps up nine percent over 2014

The Yankees opened the 2015 Major League Baseball season with the second highest payroll in the league for the second consecutive year, using $219,282,196 to fill out it's roster this season, according to the Associated Press' latest calculations.

That number is up from the Bombers' 2014 opening day payroll of $203,812,506 -- a nine percent increase.

After a 2013 offseason that saw the Bombers spent close to half a billion dollars on the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Masahiro Tanaka, and Carlos Beltran, Brian Cashman and his staff were much quieter this winter making smaller moves, which included the signing of Chase Headley and Stephen Drew, grabbing free-agent reliever Andrew Miller while letting David Robertson walk, and trading for younger players like Didi Gregorius and Nathan Eovaldi.

The Yankees also regained Alex Rodriguez's contract this season, with the slugger coming back from his one-year Biogenesis suspension.

Here’s the full list of all 30 club’s Opening Day payrolls, as calculated by the AP:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers         $272,789,040
2. New York Yankees           $219,282,196
3. Boston Red Sox                  $187,407,202
4. Detroit Tigers                      $173,813,750
5. San Francisco Giants          $172,672,111
6. Washington Nationals        $163,264,559
7. Los Angeles Angels           $150,933,083
8. Texas Rangers                   $142,140,873
9. Philadelphia Phillies           $135,827,500
10. Toronto Blue Jays            $122,506,600
11. St. Louis Cardinals          $120,869,458
12. Seattle Mariners               $119,798,060
13. Chicago Cubs                  $119,006,885
14. Cincinnati Reds               $117,197,072
15. Chicago White Sox         $115,238,678
16. Kansas City Royals         $113,618,650
17. Baltimore Orioles            $110,146,097
18. Minnesota Twins            $108,945,000
19. Milwaukee Brewers        $105,002,536
20. Colorado Rockies           $102,006,130
21. New York Mets              $101,409,244
22. San Diego Padres           $100,675,896
23. Atlanta Braves                $97,578,565
24. Arizona D-Backs           $91,518,833
25. Pittsburgh Pirates            $88,278,500
26. Cleveland Indians          $86,091,175
27. Oakland Athletics          $86,086,667
28. Tampa Bay Rays            $76,061,707
29. Houston Astros              $70,910,100
30. Miami Marlins                $68,479,000

And as for the Yankees' salaries on the books this season:

1B Mark Teixeira: $23,125,000
SP CC Sabathia: $23,000,000
3B Alex Rodriguez: $22,000,000
SP Masahiro Tanaka: $22,000,000
CF Jacoby Ellsbury: $21,142,857
C Brian McCann: $17,000,000
RF Carlos Beltran: $15,000,000
3B Chase Headley: $13,000,000
LF Brett Gardner: $12,500,000
RP Andrew Miller: $9,000,000
2B Stephen Drew: $5,000,000
1B Garrett Jones: $5,000,000
SP Nathan Eovaldi: $3,300,000
CF Chris Young: $2,500,000
SP Michael Pineda: $2,100,000
RP Esmil Rogers: $1,480,000
RP David Carpenter: $1,275,000
SP Adam Warren: $572,600
RP Justin Wilson: $556,000
SS Didi Gregorius: $553,900
C John Ryan Murphy: $518,700
RP Chris Martin: $511,025
RP Chasen Shreve: $510,275
IF Gregorio Petit: $510,000
RP Dellin Betances: $507,500

Players on the DL:

SP Chris Capuano: $5,000,000
SP Ivan Nova: $3,300,000
SS Brendan Ryan: $2,000,000
2B Jose Pirela: $510,000

The Yankees are also responsible for $3,000,000 of Martin Prado's salary in Miami.

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Game 1: Alex Rodriguez makes his long-awaited return on Tanaka Day

No surprises in the Yankees' first starting lineup of the season, as the Bombers host the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for around 1:15 pm ET. 

The starting lineup

CF Jacoby Ellsbury

LF Brett Gardner

RF Carlos Beltran

1B Mark Teixeira

C Brian McCann

3B Chase Headley

DH Alex Rodriguez

2B Stephen Drew

SS Didi Gregorius

SP Masahiro Tanaka

Three things to be watching for

1. Of course, everybody will be watching as Alex Rodriguez steps on the Yankee Stadiun field today for the first time since 2013. A-Rod put together a good spring training down in Florida, but struggled in his last couple of exhibition matchups, going 0-for-8 with six strikeouts to finish the spring. 

2. Aside from A-Rod, #VeloWatch will be on everyone's radar. Masahiro Tanaka is coming off of a 2014 season that included a couple of elbow injuries that forced him to toy around with the idea of Tommy John surgery. He opted against that and is hoping to stay healthy this season. What about his velo? Don't expect much, says the Japanese right hander. 

3. Should the Yankees go into the 9th inning with small lead, who will we see attempt to close out the game? How Girardi has gone on record saying the Yankees will go into the season with co-closers, using both Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller. Girardi says he and Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild will determind each day's closer based on the numbers and matchups.

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First Pitch: Welcome back, Yanks Beat Blog!

We're back!

Yeah, I know, it's been a while since we've delivered you the daily Yankees news and content that some of you actually enjoy reading, but don't worry, we're back.

The Yankees open up the 2015 season today at home against the Blue Jays. And with the new year, comes a regenerated Yanks Beat Blog. Enjoy

Yankees News and Stories for 4/6/15:

Andrew Marchand | ESPN New York: Like a lot of teams, the Yankees have plenty of questions to answer heading into the 2015. Here are 10 big things to lookout for first the first pitch taking place this afternoon.

Ken Davidoff | NY Post: Even if the Yankees have a bad season and miss the playoffs for a third consecutive year, it could still be a winning season as long as their younger core of players takes the next step.

Joel Sherman | NY Post: As much as the Yankees would hate to admit it, Alex Rodriguez is their biggest attraction for the fans this season.

George A. King III | NY Post: Pondering some of the highs and lows that could come about from the Yankees' 2015 season.

Mark Feinsand | NY Daily News: The Yankees will have former manager Joe Torre throwing out the first pitch this afternoon, but the recently retired Derek Jeter won't be there at the game.

Anthony McCarron | NY Daily News: With the Yankees sloping downwards, and the Mets kinda-sorta-maybe heading up, CC Sabathia's says the Yankees are not ready to turn NYC over to Matt Harvey and the Mets.

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Hand-written letters won't fix anything; A-Rod just needs to go out and play

Alex Rodriguez is sorry. Again. We think.

After a year away from the game due to a 162-game PED suspension for his role in the Biogenesis scandal, Rodriguez is set to return to the Yankees this spring in what is sure to be one of the craziest media circuses in recent memory.

In a hand-written letter to the fans on Tuesday, A-Rod apologized for everything and also opted to forego his mea culpa press conference at Yankee Stadium.

"I take full responsibility for the mistakes that led to my suspension for the 2014 season," Rodriguez said in the letter. "I regret that my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be. To Major League Baseball, the Yankees, the Steinbrenner family, the Players Association and you, the fans, I can only say I'm sorry.

"I accept the fact that many of you will not believe my apology or anything that I say at this point. I understand why and that's on me. It was gracious of the Yankees to offer me the use of Yankee Stadium for this apology but I decided the next time I am in Yankee Stadium, I should be in pinstripes doing my job."

And that's the way it should be.

The Yankees weren't forcing A-Rod to hold his own in front of the media -- that's why they didn't plan anything for him when he arrives at the team's complex in Tampa, and instead give him the opportunity to do it in New York, on his say.

T truth is the press conference wouldn't have solved anything. As he said in the letter, nothing he says will fix things in the minds of Yankees fans. He could stand at a podium, say things about his past and that he's never going to do it again, and that won't matter to most.

Wherever he goes the questions will come up. His teammates will still be asked about it. The coaches will still be asked about it.

At this point, the only thing that A-Rod can do it take the field and earn his roster spot like the 60-some other guys that will be out there at the Yankees' spring training complex over the next month and a half. For Yankees fans, the only way for A-Rod to apologize is to come back, drug free, and just play -- play well, of course.

Hand-written letters won't make this go away -- his legacy is already tarnished, and this will never go away. But he has a golden opportunity to put it all behind him this spring.

The challenge facing him is big. Bigger than anyone could dream to be in. At 39-years-old, with two-hip surgeries on his record, and having been away from the game for an entire year, Rodriguez is attempting to play baseball at the highest level on a team that wants nothing more than to win a championship this season.

Rodriguez, whose historic postseason helped the Bombers capture their last title in 2009, might be up the task, but that doesn't make things easier.

A-Rod can write all of the letters he wants. He can hold all of the press conferences he wants. But only one thing will make people forget: just go out an play, Alex. The rest will take care of itself.


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Two weeks to camp: Top five storylines to watch in Yankees spring training

The Yankees pitchers and catchers report exactly two weeks from tomorrow, as the countdown to spring training inches closer to an end. The Yankees, on paper, don't look like a team threatening to win a championship this season, but that doesn't make them worth watching with camp around the corner.

Here are my top five storylines to watch when the Yankees roll up to Steinbrenner Field on Feb. 20:

1. The Alex Rodriguez circus returns to town

Arguably the biggest story in baseball this spring is A-Rod's return to the Yankees after serving his year-long suspension in 2014. The last time we saw the embattled third baseman on the field he was coming off of his second hip surgery, playing 44 games for the Bombers in 2013 while appealing his 211 game ban handed down by then MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.

A-Rod came back that year to hit .244 with seven homeruns and 19 RBIs in those 44 games that season, as the Yankees would eventually miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008, effectively beginning the months of battle between Rodriguez, Major League Baseball, and the MLB Players' Union.

Who knows what kind of shape A-Rod will arrive at camp in. Who knows if he's still even capable of playing at the major league level after a full year of watching from home. No story will be bigger than this, at least from the Yankees' perspective, and the baseball world is going to be watching very closely at the events happening in Tampa over the next month and a half.

2. Who's going to win the closer job?

The Yankees made a pretty bold decision this winter in letting David Robertson walk after just one year as their closer with Mariano Rivera now in retirement. Instead, the Yankees are going with Dellin Betances, who took the league by storm last season by striking out just about everybody he faced, and Andrew Miller, who the Yanks signed to a four-year, $36 million contract before Robertson eventually signed with the White Sox.

I still to this day, until the two candidates can prove they're more valuable, that the Yankees should have kept Robertson around on a two-three year deal, giving Betances another couple of years at the big league level before throwing him into the closer role with very little experience.

I'm not doubting his abilities as a pitcher -- the man struck out 135 batters in 90 innings while posting a 1.40 ERA for crying out loud -- but I need more.

At the very least, Miller keeps the Yankees having two power arms that the backend of the 'pen, and will probably end being the 8th inning guy come Opening Day.

3. How will Didi Gregorius adjust as Derek Jeter's replacement?

It was almost a year ago that Jeter announced 2014 would be his final season. He's gone now, and Didi Gregorius is the man tasked with replacing a legend. Expectations for the soon-to-be 25-year-old shortstop will be high this season, and for the wrong reason. Nobody can replace Derek Jeter. The only way to recover from his loss is to send somebody else out there and move on.

A career .242 hitter in 190 big league games with the Reds and D-Backs, the Yankees will be counting on Gregorius to be much more valuable in the field than at the plate. Looking back on Jeter's range and ability to play shortstop everyday in his final years, Gregorius will be an immediate upgrade for the Bombers are one of the most important positions on the field.

4. This rotation is very scary

I wrote about it the other day, the Yankees are going into spring training that raises much more questions than answers right now. CC Sabathia coming off of knee surgery and has been in steady decline the past few seasons. We don't know how much you can trust him. Masahiro Tanaka dealt with some elbow issues that could come back to haunt him -- knock on wood that doesn't happen. And you never know how many innings Michael Pineda has left before his next injury.

Brandon McCarthy's gone. Hiroki Kuroda's gone. David Phelps's gone. And Ivan Nova won't be back until at least June because of Tommy John surgery.

The Yankees didn't splash the cash for one of the big free-agent starting pitchers this winter -- though Nathan Eovaldi was a nice pickup -- and will go into the season with a rotation that will really have to overachieve to succeed.

5. Can Jacob Lindgren impress enough to win a bullpen job?

The Yankees' top overall pick from last summer's draft was invited to camp on Thursday, and will get a chance to prove himself in major league camp after dominating hitters across Low and High-A ball, and Double-A ball last season.

Andrew Miller already gives the Yankees one dangerous lefty in their bullpen, and it wouldn't hurt to have a second.

The "Strikeout Factory" hasn't been a pro very long, and could already be a Rookie of the Year caliber pitcher this season.

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Yankees enter 2015 with a completely different outlook

It's nearly a complete 180 from where we were starting a year ago.

The Yankees were heading into Spring Training with a starting rotation that, on paper, was fit enough to compete with the best of the best in Major League Baseball. Fresh off of signing the prized free-agent Masahiro Tanaka, with Michael Pineda finally ready to return to the big leagues, the Bombers looked like a real playoff contender.

They had their question marks, of course. CC Sabathia had been declining at a 90 degree angle, Pineda hadn't pitched in the big leagues since 2012, no one knew what Tanaka was going to bring, and Hiroki Kuroda completely fell off the final month and a half of 2013.

The talent was there, it was all a matter of it coming through.

Then the season got here, and things got ugly. Sabathia, who finished out the spring strong, delivered a dub on Opening Day, eventually hurting his knee in May, which led to season-ending, and possibly career-threatening, micro-fracture surgery in July. Pineda got suspended in two weeks into the season for hiding (not very well, I might add) pine tar on his neck. Shockingly enough, he got hurt while throwing during his suspension, and we didn't see him again until later in the season. Ivan Nova: he got hurt in May, needed Tommy John surgery, and we'll be welcoming him back at some point this summer.

Just before the All-Star Break, Tanaka got hurt and even though Tommy John wasn't needed, it was on the table and will be something worth watching this season as he takes his second lap around the MLB circuit.

13 different people started games for the Yankees last season, and many of them aren't here anymore. Kuroda, David Phelps, Shane Greene, Brandon McCarthy: gone (to Japan), gone, gone, and gone.

That brings us to where we are today. Derek Jeter is gone, Alex Rodriguez is coming back, and yet the biggest problem facing the Yankees might be the prospect of another year in which they're leaning on the bullpen to do the heavy lifting, with a lineup that, based on 2014 numbers, still doesn't pose a challenge to opposing starters.

That leaves me to believe the Yankees can't possibly be content on where they are now as a baseball team. Nathan Eovaldi was a nice get for the club -- a 24-year-old with a great fastball and plenty of upside; we haven't seen many of those come through the system lately. But after that, you can't count on anyone but Tanaka.

It looks like Sabathia will be ready by opening day, but at this point there aren't many people out there will to bet on a bounce-back season by the big lefty. It's just not likely. Nobody knows how any games Pineda will start this season, and Nova will be a wild card, like he always is, when he returns (not doubting his potential, though).

The battle for the fifth spot in any rotation isn't like to include No. 1 potential starters -- unless you're the Nationals, of course. Playing that game for the Yanks this year will be Chris Capuano, Adam Warren, and Chase Whitley. The latter two more likely served for the bullpen.

Does that mean get James Shields on the phone? Well, the best available starter is likely looking at a much lowering price now than he was three months ago. At this point, he's either going to get paid by a team desperate for an arm, or he's going to have to settle with the best offer on the table. $100 million is not in the Yankees' price range, but something around the four-year, $55 million that Ervin Santana got and Big Game James could be Bronx-bound and back in the familiar AL East.

Shields wouldn't solve all of the Yankees' problems, but he would help beef up the starting rotation by a four or five extra wins, which could make or break their entire season.

February 3, 2015. Nine days before Jeter announced his retirement, the Yankees were going into the season with a real hope of getting back into the playoffs after missing out in 2013. Oh, how simple those times were.

Is it too late to go back?

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