So what did you do today?

Not the same view Cashman had as he was plummeting to Earth earlier

Brian Cashman jumped out of a plane, twice. After the first jump went off without a hitch, the Yankees’ General Manager thought, “Hey, why not? I’ll jump again!”

Well, the second jump didn’t go quite so swimmingly and Cashman landed awkwardly. He ended up fracturing his fibula and dislocating his right ankle.

While on the way to the hospital, Cashman sent a text to the Yankee beat writers telling them about what happened and said, “It was awesome.” I’m pretty sure he meant the jumping out of the plane part, not the fracture and dislocation.

Cashman had surgery this evening and it looks he may need to borrow Derek Jeter’s scooter for the foreseeable future.

Oops.

At least it was for a good cause, the Wounded Warrior Project.

“The Golden Knights are first class. While I certainly didn’t intend to raise awareness in exactly this fashion, I’m extremely happy that the Wounded Warrior Project is getting the well-deserved additional attention.”

No word yet on how long Cashman will be on the DL but I’m assuming it will be a while.

(The “Crashman” moniker is courtesy of Twitter friend @LadyBlueICU)

Happy New Year, everyone.

We’re getting closer and closer to the start of Spring Training which means there should be more news emerging in the coming weeks. At least I hope so, for my sake because this offseason has been pretty boring.

Anyway, today’s news is about Austin Romine.

Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News published a story overnight in which GM Brian Cashman revealed that Austin Romine would be more than likely starting the season in Triple A Scranton which means Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart will be vying for the starting catching job.

“I expect Romine to go to Triple-A,” Cashman said. “He missed all of last year, almost . . . I don’t expect him to be our everyday catcher out of the gate. He always has the possibility of taking it, but realistically, if I were in prediction mode, I’d say Triple-A. But he has a chance to alter that.”

Of course, this makes sense. As Cashman said, Romine spent most of last year injured but hopefully the kid will impress everyone in Spring Training and have a chance to start in the Majors.

I’m not too confident with the other choices for starting catcher. We’ve seen what both Cervelli and Stewart can do which isn’t much.

Cashman also spoke about the importance of acquiring a right handed outfielder. Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Ichiro Suzuki all bat left handed.

“Obviously, we need a right-hander because we have all these outfielders who are lefthanded,” Cashman said. “You can get them through trades and free agency, but it’s a limited market and it might not define itself anytime soon.”

The Yankees signed outfielder Matt Diaz just before the New Year but are looking to add more. Scott Hairston and Delmon Young remain available but there were reports last night that the Yankees had no interest in Young.

Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano

In the last several weeks, I have gone through the harrowing experiences of first upending my life and moving, followed immediately by, like all other Tri-Staters, weathering a pair of historic storms in the Northeast. Catastrophic events really have a way of putting things into perspective. For the last 12 days I have done little other than prepare for the worst, check in on relatives and friends, and find different ways to offer my services to those suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. While recovery is far from over, it is nice to return to social media and the warming baseball hot stove as a means of coping with the tragedy that my beloved city has endured. I am thankful for the fact that the members of my household (in Brooklyn) and my parents’ household (in Staten Island) made it through without issue. My thoughts are with those who suffered loss, and I will continue to be committed to aiding relief efforts in any way I can, including providing reading material as a distraction.

I apologize for my long absence, and aim to continue to accomplish my goal of forecasting the Yanks’ offseason moves.

- Mike

Young Robinson: A Star is Born

If you are anything like me, you pay a lot of attention to what is happening in the lower levels of the Yanks’ system. Not all of us, however, are lucky enough to have spent a few years living in the bucolic borough of Staten Island with the ability to check out the Baby Bombers at the underrated Richmond County Ballpark. That was when I first laid eyes on that sweet swing. Sure, he’s put a bit of muscle on since 2001, but the mechanics are almost identical. If you’ve never been to a NY Penn League game, well, you aren’t necessarily missing all that much. Often the young’ns can appear nervous, or even awkward, and the play tends to be a bit sloppy. The rosters are comprised mostly of raw international free agents and mid-to-late round amateur draft selections. You can probably probably figure out why I found Robbie to be memorable. The same smoothness and quiet confidence that stands out at the major league level put him in a league of his own in the NYPL. After seeing him stroke two doubles and make a diving stab in the field on an August night in 2001, I made it a point to remember that somewhat unique name: Robinson Cano

If Robbie wasn’t seen as a prospect by the Front Office at age 18, he definitely elevated himself to that status at age 19. He split the season between the Staten Island Yankees and the Greensboro Bats of the South Atlantic League, flashing impressive power for his age and slugging 15 HRs in 599 ABs. After another impressive showing in his age 20 season (split between High-A Tampa and AA Trenton), Cano found himself on the list of the Top 10 2B prospects in the game. As a result, that wasn’t the only list Robinson would find himself on after the 2003 season – he was also on the list of prospects the Yankees offered to the Texas Rangers in the Alex Rodriguez deal. Texas would opt for 2012′s most famous defensive replacement, Joaquin Arias, instead.

We all know the rest. To sum up: With the A-Rod trade, Alfonso Soriano was out as the Yankees 2B for the foreseeable future. After stopgaps such as Enrique Wilson and Tony Womack sputtered in 2004-2005, Robbie made his major league debut on May 3, 2005. After an inauspicious beginning in the basement of the Yankees’ development system and several failed trade attempts, Robinson Cano was here to stay.

Fast Forward

On October 30, 2012, the Yankees shocked no one by choosing to exercise Robbie’s $15 million option for the 2013 season, ensuring that we are unlikely to know the future of Cano in pinstripes until, at the earliest, sometime next December. If we can expect a season similar to Robbie’s last 4, then the Yankees will probably consider that figure a bargain. From 2009-2012, here is Cano’s average offensive output:

Games: ~160
AB: ~628
AVG: .314
HR: ~29
2B: ~46
OPS: .899
bWAR: ~6.4

In that time, he has made 3 All-Star teams, earned two Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards, and is coming off a season where he set career highs in HR, OPS, OPS+, BB, and runs scored. At age 30, he is without a doubt in the heart of his prime, and the best offensive player in a lineup laden with firepower (even if the gunpowder is getting a little stale, if you catch my drift). The Yankees paid Cano $39 million for a cumulative bWAR of 25.3 from 2009-2012. Let’s assume they will get somewhere between 6.5-7 bWAR out of Robbie for $15 million in 2013. Using a league average cost per win of about $2.5 million, it’s safe to say that newly retained superagent Scott Boras will want the Yankees to compensate Robbie for the perceived $25-$30 million they “owe” Cano for the discounted production they’ve received over that extension. Oh, and he’ll want that in years and dollars. What will the Yankees do? And how does this fit with the looming $189 million plan for 2014?

Playing Hardball

This past week, we began to hear some rumblings about what a potential contract negotiation between Robbie (and Scott Boras) and the Yankees would actually look like, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be pretty. Long gone are the days of the free spending Boss, willing to override the GM and endorse mammoth checks for marquee players. This is the era of what can be called “Cashball” – a much richer cousin of Moneyball but with the same approach and eye for a bargain. Alex Rodriguez had to negotiate his bloated contract directly with the Steinbrenner family. Rafael Soriano got his cushy deal from blowhard Randy Levine. But even those types of negotiations are likely over. Remember when Cash played the villain in the Jeter negotiations? Yeah. I have a feeling we are going to see that guy again.

Now that Brian Cashman is clearly in control of the Steinbrenner purse strings, Yankees fans should prepare themselves for the reality that the majority of other teams’ supporters must face every year – sometimes star players are allowed to walk. For now, the point is moot. We are guaranteed one more year of our homegrown star, and there isn’t any reason to think that it will not be a MVP-caliber one. We should, however, ready ourselves for that inevitable moment next December when Cashman may tell Robbie and Scott to “test the waters” the same way he did with Derek Jeter. Robinson will turn 31 in October of 2013, and is rumored to be looking for a deal in the range of 7-10 years, with an average annual value comparable to what Prince Fielder received from the Tigers. While Prince signed at age 28, his poor defense, non-premium position, and body type may have tempered any advantage his age may have given him over Robbie. In Boras’s eyes, the two players may be monetarily equivalent. There’s also a strong possibility that, despite being older, Robbie may be worth even more.

So how would, let’s say, a 7 yr/$175M deal fit into the Yankees’ plan to get under – and stay under – the luxury tax starting in 2014? You don’t have to be a mathlete to realize almost immediately that it doesn’t, especially not with A-Rod, Tex, and CC on the books at a high AAV for a few more years. The Yankees don’t want to overpay for what may turn out to be an unproductive twilight for Robbie at a non-2B position, and Robbie feels like he already gave the Yankees their hometown discount in his last deal. Neither side looks prepared to give in at this point. Will this be a tragic ballad for Yankee fans, or a power ballad that caps a Hall of Fame career to the raised lighters of the NY faithful? Luckily, this is one decision that need not be made this offseason.

The Yankees made this one easy for me by picking up the option (we knew they would), but for continuity purposes:

2013 Status: STAYS

Next Up: What does one do with a Swisher?

The Needle And The Damage Done

Is it bad that I don’t have an opinion about Roger Clemens being cleared of all of the charges that were brought up against him by the government? I’m just so sick of hearing and reading about steroids in baseball.

Guys did them. Lots of them – both steroids and lots of guys were doing them.

So what? It’s over and done with. Plus, baseball turned a blind eye to them for so long that the faux outrage in recent years is completely laughable. And the Mitchell Report was a farce. Yes, let’s have someone who sat on the Red Sox board of directors conduct an investigation that didn’t investigate anyone other than ex-Yankees because as we know, the Red Sox and every other team in baseball was clean. It’s just the evil Yankees who injected stuff into their bodies.

Oh wait, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez…

But Manny was only caught recently and it didn’t happen when he was Boston. Excuse me.

There, that was an opinion, sort of.

Here are some links to stories written by people who have bigger opinions about the trial, the outcome and of Clemens’s Hall of Fame chances now that everything is over:

• Roger Clemens, Steroids and the Hall of Fame – The Seattle Times
• Roger Clemens Verdict Won’t Erase The Shadow of Some Doubts – The Washington Post
• Roger Clemens, Lance Armstrong, And Guilt In The Court Of Public Opinion – Forbes
• Clemens Acquittal Latest Blow For Sports Cases – ABC

And here are a couple of links from my fellow Yankees bloggers:

• My Thoughts On The Clemens Trial – Tamar from It’s About the Money, Stupid
• Still Want To Tell Me It’s Not a Witch Hunt – Brien from It’s About the Money, Stupid

The Yankees also reacted to the news. Derek Jeter had this to say about his former teammate:

“I’m happy for Rocket,” Jeter said. “I’m happy it is over with. I think that it is good for baseball that it is over with. We can stop talking about it for a little bit. I’m happy that everything turned out well for him.”

Manager Joe Girardi added:

“It is good for the game of baseball,” Joe Girardi said. “We are trying to move on from all of the stuff that we have went through the last 10 years with the PEDs. We can focus on the game at hand. There is a lot of focus on this trial.”

Randy Levine and Brian Cashman declined comment and Andy Pettitte who testified during the trial said:

“I don’t even care to talk about that.”

Even Chipper Jones, who is in town with Atlanta to take on the Yankees had this to say about Clemens:

“Roger was a great player during our era,” the future Hall of Fame third baseman said. “Regardless of steroid use or no steroid use, whatever, I think he was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and I don’t have a problem with Roger Clemens being in the Hall of Fame regardless.”

Happy Tuesday.

Good news!

Joba Chamberlain will be released from the hospital today. GM Brian Cashman got the news from Joba’s doctor while addressing reporters a little while ago in Tampa.

Reports were floating around yesterday that it was a possibility but now that it’s definitely happening, it’s a very good sign for Joba.

Let’s hope we hear more good news today.

Happy Sunday!

It’s Friday February 3, 2012 and here are your Yankees links on blackmail and extortion, etc.

What?

Yesterday started off with a story from Deadspin about Brian Cashman’s mistress being angry with him. Turns out she was a stalking him and trying to extort money from him. Louise Neathway was arrested yesterday evening and arraigned in a Manhattan courthouse last night.

Yeah…

Alex Rodriguez made it into the news but not because of anything he actually did. Madonna was being interviewed at the site of the Super Bowl – she’s the halftime performer – and naturally a radio guy from Boston asked her about A-Rod and his rumored centaur portrait because she hung out with him in 2009 and because it’s totally relevant to what’s happening now in 2012.

Speaking of that centaur portrait, Rebecca Glass imagines other notable Yankee players and personnel as different mythical creatures in a piece called “Derek Jeter Is a Unicorn” over at Pinstriped Bible. Release the Kraken!

Matt Imbrogno of The Yankee Analysts writes about the 2013 Yankees outfield and whether Nick Swisher could (or even should) be on the team.

Have you seen what the new Marlins Stadium looks like? More specifically, have you seen their new home run indicator thingy? What are those things even called? I’m too tired to figure it out right now. Anyway, Ben Kabak of River Avenue Blues tells you all about it, complete with pictures and a link to a video that shows you just what it will do. And boy oh boy is it, um, unbelievable…

And finally William Tasker of It’s About the Money, Stupid writes about the guys you may not remember who pitched junk innings last year for the Yankees. Guys like Amaury Sanit and Steve Garrison.

Happy Friday Yankee fans! May you not be extorted or stalked today!

Flickr Image by barockschloss

Happy Groundhog Day! It’s Thursday February 2, 2012 and it’s the early so you know what that means. It’s news time!

Brian Cashman stands behind A.J. Burnett. Hey, I wrote about that yesterday! Curt Schilling felt the need to open his big mouth to declare that the Yankees are the favorites in the American League East. Oh and that he thinks the Yankees did an unbelievable job trading for Michael Pineda – Can this guy just go away already? Oh, wait, he won’t go away. It’s almost time for him to be up for the Hall of Fame vote, isn’t it?

We will never be rid of Curt Schilling.

In case you missed it, Joe Pawlikowski of River Avenue Blues wrote a piece featuring the suggestions of RAB readers regarding some future free agent signings the Yankees should make. It’s pretty amusing.

Over at Pinstriped Bible, Steven Goldman reminisces about Shane Spencer and if you missed it yesterday, my girl Rebecca Glass introduces Yankee fans to Jim Hendry, the organization’s newest hire.

Michael Eder of The Yankee Analysts took a look at Michael Pineda’s rookie season and compared his numbers to some big names in the game. Conclusion: His rookie year was – as Larry David would say, pretty, pretty, pretty good.

With all the talk about Mark Teixeira and the shift yesterday, Brien Jackson of It’s About the Money, Stupid wonders if it’s even relevant.

William Juliano from the Captain’s Blog goes in depth on Teixeira’s numbers and wonders if Tex would be sacrificing too much by going the way. He looks at Teixeira’s numbers from the left side and right side.

And finally at Pinstripe Alley, Jedi Master A-Rod, writes about the Curious Case of David Adams. It’s a pretty interesting read about how Adams’ ankle played a specific role in the Yankees’ dealings with Seattle in 2010 and what effect it had in 2012. Considering the fact that David Adams has never set foot onto Yankee Stadium grass makes it even more entertaining.

Smoking from the objective pipe...

Oh dear, cue the “Why?” and “What is wrong with him?” comments.

Well, here’s the thing. The team’s GM can’t exactly come out and say, “My player sucks and I don’t support him.” Maybe some do but that’s not really Brian Cashman’s style.

Also, there are 33 million reasons why Cashman needs to stand by his man.

At an event in Connecticut on Tuesday, Cashman was asked a question about Burnett and said, “He’s extremely talented and has been inconsistent, but I can tell you I’m comfortable with the effort he’s giving; I’m comfortable with everything that he does, the accountability that comes with him.”

Cashman went on to say, “Obviously, we signed him to have more success than he’s having, but it’s a competitive industry and as long as he’s not going to give up on himself, then I’m going to have his back the entire way.”

Notice Cashman how mentioned Burnett’s accountability?

In a piece on ESPNNY written just yesterday, Andrew Marchand listed reasons an unnamed MLB GM gave him as to why the Yankees can’t trade A.J. Burnett.

The number one reason in the list?

He is viewed as an erratic, back of the rotation type guy, who has a reputation for accountability-issues

Hmm.

Is A.J. Burnett erratic?

Oh yes. Watching a full season of Burnett’s pitching is like being stuck on the world’s longest and scariest roller coaster ride. It has hills and drops and inversions that will make you want to scream and then puke your guts up.

But accountability issues? As I recall Burnett will usually come out and say he pitched terribly. He doesn’t shy away from that. Though he does have a tendency to look on the bright side a little too much even after what most would consider a bad start, so maybe that’s what the unnamed GM is alluding to?

Anyway, Cashman went on to commend Burnett for his performance in the playoffs last year saying, “He won one of our playoff games against Detroit and we only won two, we were trying to win three. He stepped up big in Game 4 and pushed us back to New York to give us Game 5. It’s in there and the ability is there, and he does care, so I’m going to stay with him.”

Hopefully for Cashman his man, A.J. Burnett will rebound from his previous two lackluster seasons.

And for Yankee fans who doubt his ability, hopefully Burnett can build on his last few starts of 2011, have a good season and help lead their Yankees to title number 28.

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.

It seems Alex Rodriguez – with permission from both the Yankees and Major League Baseball – traveled to Dusseldorf Germany to undergo an experimental treatment called Orthokine on his right knee and left shoulder. Wait, his shoulder? What happened to his shoulder?

GM Brian Cashman said the Yankees researched the therapy before allowing Rodriguez to go through with it.

“The more our doctor [Chris Ahmad] researched on it, the more impressed he was with the reputation” of Peter Wehling, the doctor who administered the therapy, Cashman said in a conference call. “Alex is our biggest investment. We allowed him to go the extra mile.”

Cashman told reporters on a conference call that Kobe Bryant is the one who recommended the treatment to A-Rod. A-Rod was in Dusseldorf, Germany, from Dec. 5 through Dec. 9 for the therapy. PGA stars Fred Couples and Vijay Singh have both undergone Orthokine therapy.

According to the Dr. Wehling’s website a protective protein is produced from the patient’s own blood by a special technique, and injected it into the affected joint.

Rodriguez is expected to be at full strength when Spring Training starts in February.