Have We Found Our First Baseman?

The Yankees have signed Billy Crystal, yes, the 60-year old comedian, to a one day contract. Crystal is a huge Yankees fan and the contract is an official minor league deal that will allow him to work out with the Yankees on Wednesday. On Thursday, he’ll actually get a chance to play in an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Crystal been a loyal fan for years and he’ll be rewarded with #60 in order to celebrate his 60th birthday.

“I’ve been waiting 50 years for this call,” Crystal said in a statement released by the team. “I’m overwhelmed by the generosity of the Yankees and commissioner Selig. I know this’ll be tougher than the Broadway Softball League, but I’m looking forward to helping the younger players, which by the way is all of them. Oops, I have to go, Scott Boras is on the phone.”

I thought it was a joke when I first read it, but it’s true. My girlfriend asked me what game he’d play in and when I told her he’d play against the Pirates she said, “Oh, well that’s safe.” Sorry Pittsburgh fans but that’s rough. Maybe Crystal will like Pittsburgh. Then we can trade him for Damaso Marte.

A-Rod Could’ve Been Playing in Detroit?

SI’s Jon Heyman has an interesting read on Alex Rodriguez and his epic winter. Heyman outlines a couple of the key players in the A-Rod Sweepstakes (which died fairly quickly) and states that Mike Ilitch, the owner of the Detroit Tigers, “bolstered by new casino riches, looked like a major threat to outbid anyone…”. A-Rod does his typical A-Rod shtick, saying that he always wanted to play in NY anyway, and the opt-out issue was an agent-driven ordeal.

Lefty Redux

From Nick Cafardo:

The Yankees are looking far and wide for a lefthanded reliever. According to scouts, they have their eyes on Pittsburgh’s Damaso Marte and Colorado’s Brian Fuentes.

I really don’t know how much stock I put into this claim, as the Yankees seem fine with letting Traber, Henn, Heath Phillips and whoever else has a pulse battle for the left-handed reliever role in ST. That’s the cheap and easy way to find a lefty, although it may not be the most effective in the long run.

In the offseason, Marte was a strong bet to be traded. He’s the cheaper option than Fuentes, but I’ve always been a fan of Fuentes for his deceptive sidearm delivery and his effectiveness against lefties and righties. In fact, I questioned why the Yanks didn’t inquire about his services in Decemeber. Marte is owed around $2 million this year while Fuentes will receive $5.05.

So, what do you think? Should the Yanks pursue one of these guys and dish out a young arm in order to get them? Or, should the Yanks just stick to their open tryout philosophy and allow the lefties in camp to win their spots?

(Props to MLBTR & RAB).

Monday Morning Bits: Rangers to Close Out Stadium, Red Sox and Bartolo Colon, Rays VS. Yanks Continues

How about some beautiful bits to start off your day?

• First up, it looks like the NY Rangers will, in fact, end up playing their final game at Yankee Stadium. Nothing is finalized as of yet, however the process seems to be moving along rather effectively. I for one disagree with this idea since its merely a move that benefits the NHL and not necessarily the Yankees, but it’s not my decision. Actually, I’m surprised no one has made a petition against the concept.
• Next up, the Red Sox are actually going to let Bartolo Colon start a game. He’ll pitch 2 innings (maximum) against the Rays on Thursday. A lot of teams checked out Colon during the offseason, hoping that he would be a viable, cheap and productive member of their rotations. But, when scouts saw him throw, the market quickly dried up on him (probably because he’s still overweight, unhealthy and ineffective). Granted, if he can return to his Cy Young form, he’d be a nice pickup.
• And, finally, the saga continues between Tampa Bay and New York. After Elliot Johnson injured catcher Francisco Cervelli, injuring Cervelli and costing him 8-10 weeks, the great Don Zimmer is jawing a bit about his protege Joe Girardi. Joe Maddon, the manager of the Rays, had the following to say when asked about the play:
  • “And if we have a chance to take down their catcher, we should, and if they have a chance to take down our catcher, they should,” Maddon said. “That’s the way the game is played.”
• What Maddon fails to mention here is context. Yes, you play to win, but when you’re playing meaningless games to get guys ready for a season, you don’t have them go all out during the initial stages of the spring. Maddon sounds like a fool, and the Rays should wonder about letting someone with this sort of mentality lead their ballclub. Baseball is a business and the season is a marathon. You don’t run your investments into the ground before the race has even begun. It literally makes no sense at all. I bet the next game against the Rays will feature Shelley Duncan, who sounds very willing to teach Maddon and his kids a lesson.
• Some people like John Harper (Daily News) have sided with Joe Maddon and Don Zimmer, saying that Johnson had to do what he had to do (essentially) and that it would’ve been detrimental to his cause to downplay his aggressiveness when trying to prove himself to the club. Honestly, there are other ways to prove yourself to your team. Hit a single, drive in a run, make better baserunning decisions while you’re rounding the bags. There are 1,000 legitimate ways to demonstrate your level of play and I’m sorry but I don’t see how mowing down a catcher in a ST game could truly be an influential one.

My Sentiments Exactly

From Baseball Musings:

The latest rumor sends Coco Crisp to the Cubs for Jason Marquis and a low level prospect.

Marquis would provide depth in the rotation and be more of “sure thing” than Bartolo Colon. Given how easily a misstep can occur and cause an injury to a starting pitcher, pitching depth of any kind is invaluable. However outside of Major League experience and health, Marquis, who is currently fighting for a spot in the Cubs rotation, doesn’t have a whole lot going for him. Coming off a 2007 season where he was 12-9 with a 4.60 ERA in the National League, I wouldn’t expect too much more out of Marquis than the Red Sox got last year out of Julian Tavarez.

Watching the Red Sox pitching moves this spring, signing Colon, looking at Freddy Garcia, and now a rumor about Marquis, I get the feeling they were woefully unprepared for adversity in the starting rotation. The depth that was a great strength for them last season seems to have vanished. In all likelihood, they’ll be very good, but an injury to one of the projected top five starters and one of the rookies not working out and you suddenly have a team that’s very dependent on the offense.

The Yankees have pitching depth to spare, while the Red Sox are scouring the market for castoffs and ineffective clowns like Bartolo Colon. Funny how most people still project them to best the Yankees in the AL East, even if their rotation consists of an ace, a great number two, an old guy, and two young kids who are essentially injury prone for their own reasons.

An Abundance of Lefties

Here’s a good read from the Courier Press on Heath Phillips, a burly left hander who is competing for a spot in the Yankee bullpen (non-roster invitee). Phillips has a decent sinker that could definitely help him be a valuable reliever (he pitched for Chicago last season), although I don’t know much else about his repertoire of pitches (I believe he has a curve as well). His numbers against lefties have been good, yet with the emergence of Billy Traber and with Kei Igawa alive, Phillips’ chances to make the club are extremely thin.