According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago, Jim Hendry has been hired as a special assistant to Yanks GM Brian Cashman.
Hendry, who was the Cubs GM from 2002 to 2011, was let go by chairman Tom Ricketts after two straight fifth-place finishes.
Hendry, 56, worked 17 years in the Cubs organization in numerous positions, including farm director, scouting director, assistant GM and GM.
Hendry agreed to a multiyear deal with the Yankees, according to the source.
Under Hendry’s direction the Cubs won three division titles (2003, 2007, 2008). The 2003 team was five outs away from the franchise’s first World Series appearance since 1945 before an eighth-inning implosion in Game 6 against the Marlins in the NLCS.
Hello there Yankee fans. It’s Tuesday January 31, 2012 and here are some links, quotes and other goodies to get you all caught up on your Yankees news.
We start off with football because naturally I’d talk about football on a baseball site. Wait, what? Today is Media Day in Indianapolis and the Super Bowl participants are answering inane questions about a game that is still four days away.
Tom Brady, proud Ugg wearer and quarterback of the New England Patriots spoke about our very own Derek Jeter. He said that Jeter was someone he respects. Say it with me now, “Awwwwww!”
“Derek’s a guy, from the time I first came here, that I definitely have paid a lot of attention to,” Manning said last week after a Giants practice. “He’s a great player, but he’s also a guy who really shows you what you have to do to succeed in a place like New York. The way he’s handled himself on the field, off the field. The way he’s dealt with all of the attention without letting it affect the way he does his job. He’s done that better than anybody.”
In other news, the Yankees are considering bringing in Bill Hall as a right handed utility guy. Not too bad of an option. They still could bring Eric Chavez back – pleeeeease – ahem.
Today Wally Matthews of ESPN NY asks “Is Tex Crazy? Or Just Stubborn?” You can come up with your own conclusions after reading that “piece.”
Over at The Yankee Analysts, Matt Imbrogno looks at the 2014 roster and payroll. I don’t even want to think about 2014. Derek Jeter will be turning 40 that year. Hey wait, so will I!
The Yankees added another former Boston Red Sox reliever to their list of signed players this offseason. This time it was Manny Delcarmen who inked a minor league deal with the Yanks. The deal includes a Spring Training invite. Delcarmen didn’t pitch in the bigs in 2011 and was 3-2 with a 5.59 ERA in 26 combined appearances for the Triple-A affiliates of the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
The Stadium at Twilight (Courtesy of mbell1975/Flickr)
It’s Monday January 30, 2012 and here are some links, quotes, and miscellaneous items to get you going today.
Honestly, I’m feeling like the Boomtown Rats and wanna shoo oo oo oo oo ooot, the whole day down and it’s only 9:00a.
Hiroki Kurodaopened up about why he left the Dodgers and signed with the Yankees. In a piece by Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times Kuroda said he received offers from five or six major-league teams. He was either going to sign with the Yankees or return to Japan and pitch for the Hiroshima Carp. He pitched for Hiroshima for 11 seasons.
He also said he had better financial offers from other teams but the Yankees’ tradition lured him in.
“They contend for the championship every year. I wanted to play for a team like that. When you get to my age, you don’t know how much longer you can pitch and I wanted to experience that before my career ended.”
More from Chad Jennings of Lohud: He puts the pieces of the current 40 man roster together by categories: via drafted, international market, trade, and free agents. The Yankees have more free agents in the bigs (9) but they also have the 13 drafted players sprinkled throughout the 40 man roster.
Hannah Erlich of River Avenue Blues want to know which countdown you go by when it comes to baseball returning. Do you count the days until Pitchers and Catchers report? (I do.) Or when the whole squad arrives and they all practice together? Or are you the type who thinks Opening Day is the be all end of countdowns? Hannah weighs the pros and cons.
Are you a fan of baseball? Do you like the New York Yankees? Do you enjoy writing about the New York Yankees? Or if you haven’t written about them, would you like to write about them? Do you have the ability to write about stats (WAR, WHIP, ERA+ etc.)? Are you a whiz at photoshop?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions – or all of them if you’re extremely brilliant, then boy oh boy have I got news for you!
Spreadin’ The News is looking for new contributors to write daily, weekly or biweekly columns for the 2012 season.
Please include 2-3 writing samples – they don’t necessarily have to be about baseball. We just want to see how you write.
We are also looking for help with graphics. To be honest, photoshop is the devil and I do not and probably will not ever understand it but if you do, let us know. We’d love your help.
Send us your best examples of your photoshop work. This is the kind of stuff we’d like to see:
If you are interested in helping us out in any of these areas, please email me at sgotsulias at gmail dot com.
Ideally, we’d like the newbies to join the team before Spring Training starts so you have just over three weeks to get your stuff to us.
The Stadium at Twilight (Courtesy of mbell1975/Flickr)
*Okay, so it’s not exactly ruminating, it’s more like babbling. I can’t help it.*
It’s a late January afternoon and as I sit here listeing to the cars and trucks on the main road just above my house, I am thinking about how much closer we are to baseball season. In fact, we’re just 36 days removed from the Yankees’ first Spring Training game!
This off-season has been a relatively quiet one by Yankee standards. The biggest splash came when the team traded away one of its best known prospects, Jesus Montero for Seattle’s righty phenom Michael Pineda.
Apparently, this is what happens when I’m struggling to come up with something to write.
I went into Photoshop because I was going to try and alter a picture that shows where my new seats are for this season at Yankee Stadium. I changed them for 2012 and now I’m directly behind home plate in the last row of the Upper Deck! I love sitting that high. Plus, I don’t have to worry about people behind me when I stand.
Anyway, I have no idea what the heck I am doing in Photoshop – and instead of altering an existing picture, I opened up a new file and I started fooling around with different tools.
I chose the pen tool and the color was already set in a dark blue. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing with it or what was going to happen but it took all of 48 seconds to make this thing. And wouldn’t you know it? I actually ended up liking it!
So I saved it and now here it is for everyone else to enjoy!
It’s my version of ‘abstract’ art – well sort of – New York Yankees style.
Well, look at what I just got in the, er, my e-mail inbox from the Yankees!
YANKEES SIGN PITCHER HIROKI KURODA
January 26, 2012 – The New York Yankees announced they have signed right-handed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year Major League contract, and re-signed five-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder Andruw Jones to a one-year Major League contract.
Kuroda, 36, went 13-16 with a 3.07 ERA (202.0 IP, 69 ER) in 32 starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2011, establishing career bests in wins, ERA, games started, innings pitched and strikeouts (161). With runners in scoring position, Kuroda held opponents to a .194 (30-for-155) batting average, the fifth-best mark in the National League. He was also fifth in the NL in road ERA, posting a 7-7 record and a 2.85 ERA (94.2 IP, 30 ER) in 15 starts away from Dodger Stadium.
A native of Osaka, Japan, Kuroda has gone 41-46 with a 3.45 ERA in 115 career appearances (114 starts) over four Major League seasons with the Dodgers from 2008-11. He has made at least 30 starts and tossed more than 180.0 innings in three of his Major League campaigns (all but his injury-shortened season in 2009).
So it’s also official that the Yankees now have too many starting pitchers. Spring training should be fun.
The Yankees and left-hander Boone Logan agreed on a one-year contract worth $1,875,000. Logan asked for $2.1M and the Yanks originally countered with $1.7M. Logan can earn a $25,000 bonus if appears in 55 games in 2012.
Logan earned $1.2M in 2011 and finished with a 5-3 record and a 3.46 ERA in 64 games.
Goooood Morning everyone! It’s Thursday January 26, 2012 and here’s what’s going on with your New York Yankees.
The Yankees signed 10-time All Star Andruw Jones to a one-year deal worth $2M. The deal which was agreed to last month and finalized this week, includes performance bonuses. Jones who was signed to be the fourth outfielder last season hit .247 with 13 home runs and 33 RBI with the Yanks. His stats picked up in the second half when he batted .291 overall and .344 off left handed pitching.
Over at the Yankee Analysts, Michael Eder wrote a “controversial” post on why A.J. Burnettshould be the fifth starter. He compares some of Burnett’s numbers with another major leaguer to prove his point. That other pitcher? Tim Lincecum.
And in a post close to my heart, Brien Jackson of It’s About the Money, suggests the Yankees should go after someone from the recent past to fill the DH role: Jason Giambi. He thinks it makes sense, well, kind of. I wholeheartedly agree! Bring Big G and the Golden Thong back!
