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The Yankees Youth Movement
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Follow @mlbreportsMonday, June 24/2013
The Yankees find themselves in the unfamiliar territory of having to rely on younger players to get the team back to the post-season. Hopefully, the youth movement in the Bronx can help keep the Yankees competitive. Almonte, Adams and Romine, who is exactly are these guys? 3 guys whom have seen regular duty in the lineup over the last few weeks. The Yankees managed to take the 1st 2 games of their weekend series with Tampa before losing the series finale on Sunday. At 41 – 34, they start play today at 2.5 Games Behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. A Division in which all teams are over .500.
By Nicholas Rossoletti (Yankees Correspondent/Trade Correspondent): Follow @nross56
As I sit here typing this, I feel a bit out of my element. My own life has been very much a roller coaster of late. I’m in the process of moving out of a place I’ve called home for the last four years. I’ve been traveling for most of the month, and generally, I feel about as out of touch with the Yankees as I have in quite a long time.
After preaching patience to Yankee fans everywhere over the last several months, its become abundantly clear that those All-Stars I’ve been waiting on to carry the team back to October may not show up. Mark Teixeira is back on the Disabled List with his bothersome wrist. Curtis Granderson just had pins removed from his hand and has yet to take a rehab swing.
Kevin Youkilis‘ back may end his career. Alex Rodriguez, well, is actually putting on a show in rehab, but god only knows if and when he will face the wrath of Major League Baseball for whatever role he played in this Biogenesis noise. 2013 was supposed to be the final ride of this Yankees group with the serious regrowing pains coming in 2014 and beyond.
In addition to the absolutely atrocious injuries, the glass slipper has shattered for the replacement Yankees, who carried the team through April. Vernon Wells, the most notable of the slumping replacements, has given the team little to no reason to continue to give him run.
After writing several pieces begging for patience and instructing fans to embrace Wells, I will admit to having a bit of mud on my face. Wells is what most people thought he was. An expensive piece with just enough left in his bat to give you a bit of hope. I was hoping for a 1-2 WAR player out of Wells. It is official. I am (and/or was) delusional.
ZOILO GOES DEEP:
Yankees Current State Of The Union + The Phil Hughes Question
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As the Yankees enter May, they do so in second place trailing their rivals, the Boston Red Sox. This is a surprise for many who thought that Boston and New York would struggle in 2013
By Nicholas Rossoletti (Yankees Correspondent/Trade Correspondent): Follow @nross56
As April came to a close and May began, the Yankees found themselves in an all so familiar place. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were atop the American League East. It seems like this struggle between century old rivals has dominated the AL East for the better part of the last 15 years.
This year was supposed to be different as New York and Boston were both expected to cede the division to the Baltimore O’s, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays, and perhaps that will still be the case, but after five weeks of the season, it certainly seems like the demise of the Yanks and Sox was greatly overstated.
Part of the reason that the Yankees have managed to prove their naysayers incorrect has been their stellar starting pitching. Each of the top four Yankee starters has pitched well to start the season, but as the title of the article suggests, there is one pitcher who has stood out especially in the last several weeks.
His performance leads to this question: Is Phil Hughes finally becoming the pitcher he was always touted to be? Is the 26-year old right hander finally blossoming into a strong 1/2 starter? The numbers, at least early on, scream YES.
The Phil Hughes Question:
NYY “Down on the Farm”- Week 4: Familiar Faces
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Wednesday May 1, 2013
By Nicholas Rossoletti (Yankees Correspondent/Trade Correspondent): Follow @nross56
This week DOWN ON THE FARM….
As stated my Major League article this week, Triple-A lost several assets this week to the Major League club. Austin Romine and Vidal Nuno were both called to the Majors to help ease some of the injury woes facing the Bronx Bombers.
While those new names will graces the scorecards in the Bronx, there are some familiar names still hanging around Scranton, who deserve a bit of attention this week.
Chien-Ming Wang has started two games since his return to the Yankee organization. Wang has managed to keep runners off base and has delivered 22 ground outs in 2 starts.
Obviously, every Yankee fan remembers the terrific seasons where Wang posted other-worldly Ground Ball Rates of above 60%. If his shoulder is healthy and his sinker is, well, sinking, Wang could be a very useful depth piece as the season rolls along for this organization. Read the rest of this entry
The Tampa Bay Rays: The Franchise 1998-2012: Part 1 Of A 5 Part Article Series
Thursday, December.20, 2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5. The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles section here.
The many Rays Logo’s over the years. Is the best of this franchise yet to come?
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
The Tampa Bay Rays Franchise can be summarized into two different categories: “The Devil Rays Days” and the “Rays Days.” The Devil Rays endured 10 straight losing seasons to start the club’s history. From 1998-2007, was a complete gong show (645-972) and last place finishes in a tough AL East every year, except for 2004, when they finished 4th, although they did stockpile several top Draft Picks based on their horrid regular seasons. In 2008, all of that changed when the ‘Devil’ was literally and figuratively knocked away from the Tampa Bay team. Their young stars finally saw their potential realized and they appeared in the 2008 World Series versus the Philadelphia Phillies. The Franchise would lose in 5 hard-fought, weather fulfilled games, however the team was now one of the model clubs in baseball. From 2008-2012, the club has gone 458-352.
The Rays have made the playoffs in 2010 and 2011 since, plus featured two other over .500 records in 2009 and 2012. The club has now had 5 winning seasons in a row. There is still a long way to go as they feature the worst winning percentage in MLB History, with a 1103-1327 Franchise Record (.454). The next worst team is the Padres at .463. The Arizona DiamondBacks were the NL Expansion cousins of the Rays and they feature a Win Percentage of (.498), which is second overall for the Expansion teams. The Arizona DiamondBacks also have made the playoffs 5 times and won the World Series in 2001. Still if you asked anyone right now, the Rays would gladly be the team everyone picked.
Franchise Series Links:
The Hitters: The Tampa Bay Rays: The Hitters 1998-2012: Part 2 Of A 5 Part Article Series
The Pitchers: The Tampa Bay Rays: The Pitchers 1998-2012: Part 3 Of A 5 Part Article Series
2013 Team Payroll: Tampa Bay Rays Payroll 2013 And Contracts Going Forward: Updated for Myers Trade Dec.11/2012
Tropicana Field Expert: An Interview with Tropicana Field Expert Kurt Smith
2012 AL and NL Cy Young Award Winners
Thursday November 15th, 2012
Bernie Olshansky: Both Cy Young awards were announced yesterday. R.A. Dickey won in the National League and David Price won in the American League. Dickey won by a large margin; he had 209 points by 27 first place votes and five second place votes. This race was not even close. Price on the other hand, won by four points. He received just one more first place vote than Justin Verlander, who finished second. Here’s my take on how the voting went down.
Josh Hamilton Ready to Return to the Tampa Bay Rays?
Thursday November 1st, 2012
Bernie Olshansky: What a great story it would be to see Josh Hamilton return to the team that drafted him. As a free agent this offseason, there is a possibility that this could be the case. Hamilton never played a Major League game with the “Devil Rays”. After he was drafted, he was the number one prospect in the Devil Rays’ organization. He had an extremely bright future, but unfortunately the money from the signing bonus combined with injuries sent Hamilton down the wrong path leading to his drug abuse and decline, eventually sending him out of baseball. Hamilton spent time on the restricted list and was suspended, and was eventually picked by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule 5 draft, subsequently being purchased by the Cincinnati Reds. Hamilton played part of a season with the Reds before being traded to the Rangers, where he was very successful, making the All Star team every year and winning the MVP in 2010.
The Rangers most likely will not pursue Hamilton, leaving him open for any other club. Hamilton would be great for the Rays. With B.J. Upton most likely leaving to free agency, the Rays will need to fill the center field position. Hamilton would bring a lot of excitement to Tampa Bay and would help bring the team back to the playoffs. A former MVP would tremendously improve the Rays’ potent lineup already including Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist, and Carlos Pena. Acquiring Hamilton would make a large statement to the rest of the AL East. With the Yankees as the only real threat, the Rays would be sending the message that they are ready to win. The Red Sox are rebuilding, so they probably will not be of worry to the Rays, and the Blue Jays are coming off a disappointing season in 2011. The Orioles could be playoff bound, but with Hamilton, the Rays would have an advantage. With the new Wild Card in play, the Rays will have a good shot of reaching the playoffs even if they do not sign Hamilton. But, signing Hamilton would make the Rays a powerhouse and could give the Yankees a run for their money. Read the rest of this entry
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