A look at the Yankees by position: Infield

As we near Spring Training I will be starting a five part series that breaks down the Yankees by each position and I will ask key questions about each player at that respective position. I will even talk about non-roster invitees that don’t have much of a shot to make the bigs. In this edition I will break down every Yankees infielder, excluding catchers, from superstars like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, to non-roster guys like Eric Chavez and Ronnie Belliard.




1B. Mark Teixeira: Big Tex had a down year last year batting just .256, struck out 122 times and brought in only 108 RBIs. He also sustained a hamstring injury in the ALCS to close out his 2010 campaign. Teixeira will need to have a bounce back year if the Yankees want to make the playoffs. The key question for Teixeira is can he get off to a better start so he doesn't have to dig out of a deep hole once May and June come around?




2B. Robinson Cano: Cano had a great season last year batting .319 while hitting a career high 29 HRs, and driving a career high 109 RBIs in his first year in the number five spot in the order. Cano also committed just three errors on defense, because of this Cano earned his second All-Star appearance while collecting a Gold Glove and his second Silver Slugger. He could have easily won the AL MVP, but he ended up finishing third in the voting. Cano was also great last year in the postseason; he batted .343, hit four homeruns while having an OPS of 1.132. The key question for Cano is can he keep up his MVP type caliber status? With players like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Jorge Posada all past their respective peak years Cano will have to be a consistent force in the lineup to keep the Yankees as an offensive power.




SS. Derek Jeter: Like Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter had a down year. The Yankee captain hit a career low .270 and hit just 10 HRs and did not produce clutch hits, especially with the bases loaded. With 20 at bats and with the bases loaded Jeter had only one, count 'em, one hit. He does have six RBIS in those situations with two of them coming on a walk, but the killer is Jeter struck out seven of the 20 times in these situations. That will have to improve. Another thing Jeter will have to improve on is his defense. Yes, Jeter won a Gold Glove while just making a small handful of errors, but his range has dropped dramatically. Not to mention he had all the drama in this off season with trying to work out a deal to stay a Yankee. He eventually signed a three year pact with a possibility for a fourth. The key question for Jeter is can he rebound? That may sound like a dumb and simple question, but it is true. He'll eventually turn 36 by the middle of the season, and the myth in baseball is once you turn 35 years old your career goes downhill quickly. That myth is looking more like a fact and Jeter could fall into that trap if he doesn't have a bounce back year.




3B. Alex Rodriguez: A-Rod, like Jeter, batted .270 on the season. But unlike the Yankee captain, Rodriguez missed nearly 30 games with an injury, yet he had 30 HRs and 125 RBIs, the most since his 2007 MVP season where he had a ridiculous 156 RBI’s that year. But in the 2010 campaign his average wasn't that high, thus he didn't get many hits. Yet when he did get those hits he made the most of them which is an important thing he'll have to continue. Let’s not kid ourselves Alex Rodriguez is going to be closer to the 2009 and 2010 Alex and not the 2005 and 2007 Alex where he won those MVP awards with the Yankees. The key question for A-Rod is how will he adjust? How will he adjust to getting older? He's now approaching 35 years of age. Like I said with Jeter, it’s the myth in baseball that players, especially elite players, fall down hard once they reach 35. Alex Rodriguez isn't the 45 homerun, 140 RBI guy with a .320 average anymore, instead he’s closer to a .275-.290 guy with 30, maybe 35 homeruns max, to go along with 125 RBI, tops. He has also struggled with injury problems over the years missing about two months’ worth of games those past two years. Is he pushing himself too much? We all know Alex is a very hard worker, probably the hardest working guy on the team. Will he have to tone it down a bit? It should be an interesting watch, and like always the spotlight will be on him.



Infield. Eduardo Nunuez: You can say what you want about Nunez having a very good glove, and about him having a pretty good bat, but what you can't say about Eduardo Nunez is that he'll have a spot in the lineup sooner rather than later. You're dead wrong if you even fathom that. Now this isn't a bash Eduardo Nunez post here. All I’m saying is there isn't a spot for him really if you think about it. Nunez was a starting infielder in the minor leagues. He has a tremendous glove and a very good bat. He should be a good young starting shortstop for a building team, but not for the Yankees. In Eduardo's limited time with the Yankees he had a solid .280 average in 30 games with 50 at bats where he belted one homerun and drove in seven. He also stole five bases in limited time, which is very good. On the defensive side he committed one error in 83 chances as a third baseman, and at short he didn’t commit an error in 39.1 innings of work. The question for Nunez is if he makes the big league roster can he handle being a backup? It’s very difficult to be a starter in the minor leagues but then once you hit the bigs you find yourself on the bench.



Infield. Ramiro Pena: Although he’s had a relatively short career it seems as though Pena has been around for a while. Pena is a lot like his team, a member of the 2009 World Series Champion Yankee team, batted .287 with 115 at bats. On defense he committed five errors at mostly shortstop and third base in over 200 innings of work. In 2010 he fell off when he batted .227 with 154 at bats. The question for Pena is the same, how will he do coming off the bench? He may be used to it more than Nunez because this will be his third season at it, if he makes the club. His bat is a glaring weakness, and with some of the roster moves by General Manager Brian Cashman there will be some competition this spring. Girardi isn't putting in Pena's name in pen on the 25 man roster, that you can count on.



Infield. Eric Chavez: Chavez has been plagued by injuries for most of his career; he hasn't played a full season since 2006. In fact in the last four seasons combined Chavez has played a grand total of 154 games. His injury issues have been a major concern, but when he is healthy he can produce. When Chavez was starting games for the A's in the early to mid 2000's he had at least 20 homeruns in each of those years to go along with at least 70 RBIs during the year 2000-2006. Also, Chavez earned six gold gloves for his outstanding efforts at the hot corner. If he makes the team he won't be a starter by any stretch, he'll be used all over the infield and maybe as a DH here and there but by no means will he see significant playing time, barring injury. There are two questions for Chavez, but the second question can only happen if the first question is a yes. The first questions is can he stay healthy? Like I said before Chavez has played just 154 games the past four seasons. He’s proven he can be a nice power bat off the bench with a very good glove, especially at third. The second question is like Nunez, Chavez has been a starter for a long time so how will he react to being a bench player if he makes the 25 man roster? Also, a bonus question, how will Chavez react to not getting a sure spot on the roster this time around? The Yankees signed Chavez to a non-roster invitee deal, thus getting an invitation to spring training. Will he be able to step up and stay healthy?



Infielder. Ronnie Belliard: Like Eric Chavez, Ronnie Belliard is a non-roster invitee. Last year with the Dodgers, he batted just .216 in 162 at bats and just a .295 OBP. But the year before in 2009, he joined the Dodgers midseason after being traded from the Washington Nationals. Belliard was on fire with his time in LA that season batting .351 with a .398 OBP in just 24 games with the Dodgers. He eventually took over second base previously filled by Orlando Hudson, aka the "O-Dog". If Belliard makes the Yankees Opening Day roster he'll be a bench player and he'll have to be a guy who can play all four spots on the infield. So the question for Belliard is, will he be able to play multiple positions in the infield and will he be able to do it effectively? The Yankees didn't get him for his .216 average last year. They're looking more for the 2009 Belliard, but more in a pinch.



There you have it. Those are the infielders the Yankees have who are competing for a shot at making the big leagues. In my next edition I'll be examining the Yankees outfield. Stay tuned!

Memo to Yankees... Sign Sori!

The Yankees are still waiting for Andy Pettitte to make his decision on weather to return or not. There have been reports that if Pettitte retires the Yankees will probably sign former Rays closer Rafael Soriano. But, if Pettitte comes back the Yankees will probably not sign Soriano. Here's an idea for Brian Cashman and the Yankees hiearchy: Sign Rafael Soriano no matter what.

The Yankees still probably have bullpen issues. After Kerry Wood signed a cheap one year deal with the Chicago Cubs the Yankees have a bit of a hole in the setup position. Yes the Yankees signed former New York Mets lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano, but he's a situational lefty. Feliciano isn't getting three key outs in the eighth inning. Right now that role will be filled by the eratic Joba Chamberlain and the streaky David Robertson, who imploded in last years postseason. Rafael Soriano would be a great fit. According to espnnewyork.com Scott Boras told the site that Soriano would be willing to take his talents to the Big Apple at the right price. Ok I made up him "taking his talents to the Big Apple" part but you get the idea.

Yes Rafael Soriano is 31 years old and yes he is pitching in the American League East if he joins the Yankees. But he has been very dominant as a setup man with the Atlanta Braves in the past. Also, if he joins the Yankees that means he won't have to face the Yankees, obviously. He won't have to face Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, and the rest of that lethal lineup. He'll still have to face Boston and Toronto, but not the Yankees with possibly five future hall of famers. Also, hes pitched in the East Coast for the last few years with Tampa Bay and Atlanta. So he's used to facing big time teams on the East Coast where baseball matters more. That will definatly help. And finally, the Yankees have the money. The Yankees lost out on the Cliff Lee sweepstakes so they have tons of money available for a setup man eventhough he'd be getting closer money.

This would be a great fit for the Yankees. They'd be filling a hole in the bullpen. Soriano would be a setup man until Mariano Rivera retires then he'll slide into that role as an elite proven pitcher. A must sign for the Yankees.

An off season checklist for Brian Cashman

One the eve of Thanksgiving it has been over a month since the then defending champion New York Yankees have been dethroned by the upstart Texas Rangers. And the main culprit was Texas Ranger starting pitcher Cliff Lee. Lee dominated the New York Yankees in the ALCS, earning the game three win by shutting down the Bronx Bombers, or bummers, to two hits and eight scoreless innings of work. And Yankee GM Brian Cashman has to be thinking, “if we can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em.”  With that I have set up a checklist of tasks Brian Cashman must accomplish to win number 28.

                Number One: Re-sign manager Joe Girardi: Yes Yankee fans, I can’t stand Girardi just as much as you do. But, he has led this team to a World Series Championship, two ALCS’, two postseason appearances, all in three years of work. He has also been able to manage the number of egos in the Yankee locker room. We won’t go down the laundry list of who we’re talking about, but I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now. Status: Check

                Number Two: Find a new pitching coach: Following the pitching debacle that was the Yankees in the 2010 ALCS, GM Brian Cashman cut ties with pitching coach Dave Eiland. Although Cashman denied that the 2010 ALCS pitching performance was the sole reason why Eiland is no longer a Yankee may be true. In the middle of the season Eiland left the team due to “personal reasons.” We never found out if those “personal reasons” were due to a conflict between Eiland and Joe Girardi, or someone else, or if they were really something that happened to his family. We’ll never know what exactly happened, but we know that the Yankees need another pitching coach. And recently they have found their guy. Former Chicago Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild was elected by Cashman. Now, one encouraging fact that Yankees fans can look up to is that Rothschild’s Cubs from the beginning of his tenure, 2002-2010, led the major leagues in team strikeouts by his pitchers. That’s a good sign to look forward to as he tries to straighten out pitchers A.J Burnett and Joba Chamberlain. Status: Check  

                Number Three: Re-sign shortstop Derek Jeter. I know this may be a sticky situation right now, but it should resolve. Recently Brian Cashman offered the Derek Jeter camp a three year- 45 million dollar deal. That is a far cry from his previous 10 year- 180 million dollar pact he signed following the 2000 season, in which Jeter won the All Star game MVP and the World Series MVP against the rival Mets. But that is the past, this is the present. Jeter, who is coming of a career worst season batting .270 and making the most outs in the major leagues, is slowing down dramatically. Even though Jeter received his fifth gold glove, his defense has dropped a lot. Jeter committed only six errors, by far the fewest in the American League and fewest in his career, but his range has fallen off a cliff. His UZR, a sabermetric statistic determining his range defensively, is the worst among shortstops. Later, Derek Jeter’s agent fired back calling the three year-45 million dollar deal “baffling.” Then Brian Cashman responded by telling Jeter’s agent that if he doesn’t like the offer he received he can test the open market for something else. Now, I don’t think Jeter will end up somewhere else. All I know is that this is a messy situation that has reached the hierarchy of the front office and may not get resolved until Spring Training. Status: Unchecked, for a while.

                Number Four: Re-sign closer Mariano Rivera: Ho-hum the greatest closer in the history of the game had another great season, and he’s in his 40’s. According to reports Mo wants a two year deal, but the Yankees are offering him a one year pact. I don’t think this really matters. This guy still gets big outs in the most crucial moments of the game. Expect Mariano to post a sub two ERA with a one year contract or two years. Although he is not signed don’t expect the negotiations to get sticky like Derek Jeter’s. Status: Unchecked, for now.   

                Number Five: Convince starting pitcher Andy Pettitte to pitch “one more year:” Yes we’ve gone through this a number of years in a row now, but like those years the Yankees need Andy Pettitte to win a world championship. Pettitte still has enough in the tank. He made the AL All Star team, but suffered a groin injury that kept him out of action until the middle of September. But he still pitched well in the postseason-getting a win in game two of the ALDS against the Twins, and losing game two to the Texas Rangers. In that game versus Texas in the ALCS, Pettitte was matched up against Cliff Lee and he earned the tough luck loss giving up two first inning runs in seven innings of work. It will be a one year deal, and it will probably be worth 10-15 million a year. Status: Unchecked

                Number Six: Sign Cliff Lee: This is another must for the Yankees. Lee has owned the Yankees for the past few years and has been his best against them in the biggest games. Lee pitched a complete game, one run win for the Phillies in the 2009 World Series. He also won game five of that series as well. And as mentioned before, he dominated the Yankees in the 2010 ALCS, pitching eight scoreless innings. He has also dominated the Yankees a number of times, in a number of different uniforms, in the regular season pitching with Cleveland, Seattle, and the Rangers. There have been some grumblings that the Yankees have offered him a six year -140 million dollar deal, but Lee reportedly wants a seven year deal. If the Yankees would sign Lee to a seven year deal it would carry until he is 40. I believe they should sign him to just a four year deal worth 25 million a year. I have a feeling this can turn into an A.J Burnett situation, four years too many, but the deal needs to get done to win number 28. Status: Unchecked

                Number Seven: Build a stable bridge to Mariano Rivera: Now what I mean by this is that the Yankees need to sign a setup man for Mo Rivera, because current Yankee relievers Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson have failed a number of times. They may be able to resign standout reliever Kerry Wood. Wood, who came over from Cleveland right on the July 31^st trade deadline, was like striking gold. Wood pitched to an under 1 ERA and built a stable bridge to Mo by getting a lot of key punch outs of the AL’s best bats. But, because of this, Wood may want to sign with someone else to become a closer. The Yankees are willing to pay him closer money and he would still love to setup Rivera for the right price, of course. If the Yankees can’t sign Wood they could sign former Tampa Bay Ray reliever Grant Balfour. Status: Unchecked

                Number Eight: Convince catcher Jorge Posada to be a full time DH: This may be pretty tough but this has to be done. Posada is on the final year of his contract, and probably the final year of his great career. But he has logged a lot of mileage behind the plate. At age 39 Posada’s defensive skills have dropped considerably of late, and there is younger competition in his rearview mirror. Most notably 20 year old Jesus Montero and Austin Romine. Montero is said to have a major league ready bat, but lacks some skills behind the dish, even though he has improved over the last year. Romine on the other hand, has great skills behind the plate, but like current backup catcher Francisco Cervelli, doesn’t have the major league ready bat. This may be tough to convince Posada to do but ego’s aside it must be done. It’s best for the team. Status: Maybe, maybe not...

                Number Nine: Sign a lefty reliever: Although this may not be a necessity this could be something that guides the Yankees to a World Series victory. Yes the Yankees have Boone Logan, but he showed us in the ALCS that he can crumble at any moment. Ask Josh Hamilton. And yes the Yankees also have Damaso Marte, but he has shown he can also implode. Also, Marte will be on the shelf up until after the All Star break and may even miss up to the entire season. I don’t think the Yankees should cross their fingers and hope he’ll comeback. Luckily, there is an abundance of lefty relief help. The list is headlined by Pedro Feliciano and Scott Downs, both Type A free agents. Instead of giving up two first round draft choices for a situational lefty they should just play it safe by signing former Yankee Randy Choate. Status: Unchecked.

                Number Ten: Improve the bench: Marcus Thames was a nice find last year. But he is free agent and nobody knows where he will end up. My gut feeling is he will end up with the Yankees on a one year deal. The Yankees should be fine at the backup infield spot with Eduardo Nunez and Ramiro Pena. Also they should be good at backup catcher with Cervelli or Montero/ Romine. But I think the Yankees should re-sign Melky Cabrera. I think he’s a good fourth outfielder with a clutch bat with a good glove and a rocket arm. Plus he’s a good clubhouse presence that would be reunited with his best friend Robinson Cano. Status: Unchecked   

                There you have it. If you are reading this Brian Cashman you now have a guide to getting through this offseason in one piece in just ten steps, some easy and some not, but all possible. And hopefully for Yankee fans like me, those moves will get done, and then the Yankees will be on their way to winning number 28.

Robbie Cano robbed of MVP honor

On Tuesday November 23rd, two days before thanksgiving, the American League MVP (Most Valuable Player) was announced to the public. And the winner, Josh Hamilton, has a lot to be thankful for.

As a Yankee fan you can say all you want about me being a homer, but I believe I have a legit case in this argument. New York Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano was in the lineup day in and day out. He only missed two games this year, both due to manager Joe Girardi giving him a breather. In spring training before the start of the 2010 campaign, Girardi rewarded the second sacker by moving up to the number five spot in the lineup. And Cano defiantly proved his skipper right. Cano hit more than 20 homers, 100 RBI, and a .320 average, earning his first silver slugger and gold glove award-and making his case that he, not Dustin Pedroia or Chase Utley, is the best second basemen in the sport.

I think the biggest reason why Robinson Cano deserves the most valuable player is because what everyone else did around him, esspecially in front of him. You will see that Cano didn’t have a lot to work with once he came up. You look at the leadoff hitter, Derek Jeter. Jeter had a nightmare of a season batting a career low .270, Jeter also made the most outs in the game. Next, you look at the number three spot in Mark Teixeira. Big Tex struggled mightily until late May, and he floundered in September and into October with a number of injuries. Next you look at Alex Rodriguez. A-rod, like Jeter, had a nightmare of a season missing significant time in the middle of the year-I'll elaborate on that in a bit. Rodriguez also struggled to get on base batting .270, a career low just like his partner on the left side of the diamond.

                In the middle of the season, mostly August, Alex Rodriguez missed three weeks due to injury. And when that injury occurred Girardi immediately moved Cano to the cleanup spot. Girardi could have very easily moved Mark Teixeira to the fourth spot and had moved center fielder Curtis Granderson to the two spot, and had right fielder Nick Swisher bat third-thus leaving Cano in the five spot. But he didn’t, because Joe Girardi knows Robinson's value. When Cano was filling in for Rodriguez he mashed the ball to all fields, even better then he was before. He hit clutch hit after clutch hit. And he continued to shine defensively earning his first of many gold gloves.

Yes Texas Ranger outfielder Josh Hamilton had great numbers. He won the batting title, and hit more then 30 homers and hit an even 100 RBI, but this isn’t the most outstanding award. It’s the most VALUBLE player award. Hamilton only played two games in the month of September. He missed the most important month of the year. Also, according to the Elias Sports Bureau there has not been an MVP award handed out to a player that has played less then 10 games in the month of September. That’s significant because baseball is full of traditionalists. Plus Hamilton had great hitters, who had great seasons hitting in front and behind him. That includes infielders Elvis Andrews and Michael Young, outfielder Nelson Cruz, and Designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero.

Not to mention, Robinson Cano didn’t come up in second, he finished third and he didn’t even receive one first place vote! The runner up for the award was Detroit Tiger’s first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Yes Cabrera had a great season with the bat, but he is a sub-par defensive first baseman. Also, the Tigers came nowhere near the playoffs. Thus Miguel Cabrera’s value isn’t that great at all. Thats the same with  fourth place finisher Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes Bautista clubbed more than 50 homeruns and played a very good right field, but his team finished fourth in the AL East. When you talk about MVP, in my opinion one of the most important categories is how your team did record wise, because essentially that shows how much value you have to your team.

For example, if you take Miguel Cabrera and Jose Bautista off their respective clubs those teams would still be way short of the postseason. If you were to take Hamilton off the Rangers and Robinson Cano off the Yankees, the Texas Rangers may have a shot at making the postseason. Texas plays in a weaker division. The Yankees, on the other hand, played in the brutal AL East. Tampa Bay, Boston, Toronto, who can hit really well as a club are pretty good teams. Even the Baltimore Orioles, who got hot once former Yankee manager Buck Showalter ran the show, can give the Yankees fits. Texas has to face the pathetic Seattle Mariners who have zero pitching after Felix Hernandez, and zero hitting after Ichiro. They also face the Oakland A’s who can’t hit their way out of a paper bag. And the Angels who have a weak starting rotation, and once Kendry Morales went down so did the rest of their lineup.

I personally believe that Robinson Cano, not Derek Jeter, not Alex Rodriguez, or Mark Teixeira, or pitchers CC Sabathia or Mariano Rivera, but Cano is the face of the New York Yankees. This guy has come a long way. He batted .270 in 2008. He also got benched for not playing at 100% effort. He even struggled in the 2009 postseason. But he has earned every award he has received. And he would have defiantly earned the MVP. It’s a shame that the so called "experts" whiffed on such an honorable award.