Cano slimming down, getting ready

From Kat O’Brien (Newsday):

Just came from Bernie Williams’ Hillside Food Outreach Dinner at the Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle. Robinson Cano was a special guest, or rather is a special guest, since we talked to the two guys before the dinner actually began.

Cano looked very trim for all of you concerned about him after a poor 2008. He said he’s at about 208 pounds right now after playing last year at 213. He may have wound up at 213 last year but I would guess he began a good bit heavier. Anyway, he looks slim and said he’s been working hard. Playing winter ball helped him, as did having Kevin Long down for a week to work on his hitting stance. He’s also excited about playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

An in-shape Cano is a good Cano. He’s obviously aware of his first half struggles as well. Hopefully by playing through the winter he’ll be able to find his swing a bit faster once the season begins.

Did the Yankees up Andy’s offer?

The other day Pete Caldera said that the Yankees and Andy Pettitte were still talking. However he also said that the Yankees weren’t convinced Andy would accept an offer of $10.5 million. In my post on the subject, I questioned Caldera’s figure, simply because I have never heard of a $500,000 increase in the original offer. Suddenly, without explanation, the $10 million had gone to $10.5 million.

Now, the often inaccurate Frank Russo is reporting that the Yankees have actually offered a new deal worth $10.5 million, which was Caldera’s figure. He also says that the deal could include some performance incentives, which would work for both parties.

So that’s 2 reports about a $10.5 million offer. Could this be the new and standing offer for Pettitte? It’s a minimal increase of half a mill, but it’s an increase nonetheless. In light of the market, the Yankees could have easily withdrawn their $10 million and offered something considerably smaller. Pettitte should be happy and accept this deal if it really is on the table, especially if his “other” suitors are dwindling.

Should Adam Dunn wait for 2010?

From Bill Madden (Daily News):

As one of only three players to have 100 RBI in each of the last six seasons, Abreu reportedly started out seeking three years at $15 million per. Clearly, Brian Cashman read this market much better than Abreu did. Between his age and the rap on his defense, he’ll probably wind up with one year and $8 million.

“I always felt the top 5-6 guys would get their money and the Yankees pretty much took care of that,” said one baseball executive. “But I can tell you, teams are scared to death about how the economy is going to affect all their in-ballpark revenues, above and beyond just ticket sales. Things like advertising, corporate sponsorship and merchandising.”

The same executive predicted that most of the over-30 free agents left on the market will wind up having to settle for one-year deals “because, with all the uncertainty about the next couple of years, clubs just don’t want to commit risky money on older players or players with injury histories.”

Next year, the Yankees will probably feature an OF of Nick Swisher and… uh, no one else (Austin Jackson may need to develop more). Of course this depends on what happens with Gardner and Melky but I doubt we’ll see an OF of Swish, Melky and Gardner anytime soon. With that said, and with the 2010 FA market a year away (from now and from the “economic crisis”), if you’re someone like Adam Dunn or dare I say Bobby Abreu, why not take your chances with a 1-year deal and hope for a better FA market next season?

The Yankees will need a CF and a corner OF and probably a DH (contingent upon Jorge Posada’s status). That alone could spark a better financial outcome for certain players. I know Dunn would get a long look for the DH role. The Yanks could use a player like him and if he signed with a team now, for about $8 million (a steal), he could get a better deal in 2010 from Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner boys. For him it makes particular sense. For someone like Pat Burrell, it would have made sense too, but he took what he could get with the Rays.

(props to MLBTR)

Yanks help Boys & Girls Clubs

Typical stuff from the Yankees. They’ll be at the Tampa Convention Center (March 24) and tickets can be found here.

Always classy.

I foresee a bidding war…

From the lovable Peter Gammons (ESPN):

Memo to Twins CEO Jim Pohlad: Get Joe Mauer’s contract extension completed, because he will be the next great Yankees-Red Sox war if he hits the free-agent market in November 2010.

The Twins can’t let Mauer go, can they? He’ll cost a pretty penny, that’s for sure and if he hits the free agent market, then you better believe that both Boston and New York will go all out for him. Then again, the bidding war may not get very far if Jesus Montero can still serve as a catcher in 2010 (he could outgrow his position).

Should Tex bat 3rd or 4th (or 5th)?

From Joe DelGrippo (Dugout Central, FOX Sports):

After the trade to the Braves, Tex hit BEHIND Chipper Jones and also hit behind Jones in 2008. After the trade to the Angels, Tex hit BEFORE Guerrero.

With Teixeira hitting fourth in Atlanta, Chipper Jones mostly had minimal changes in either batting average (BA) or on base percentage (OBP). Jones’ BA was .340 before and .333 after the trade, while his OBP was .424 before and .417 after. In 2008, Jones hit .369 with Tex and .352 after Tex with OBP’s near similar at .482 with and .484 without that protection. With Tex hitting behind him for a longer period of time, Jones’ overall numbers were considerably better in 2008, with Jones hitting 17 points higher before Tex was traded to Anaheim.

But, what really stood out was Jones’ power numbers, or slugging percentage, were far superior with Teixeira hitting behind Jones. Before Tex came aboard in 2007, Jones slugged .587, but then slugged .631 after Tex arrived. Also, in the first several months of 2008, Jones slugged .596 but dropped to .525 after Tex was traded to the Angels.

It is readily apparent the Mark Teixeira hitting behind Chipper Jones allowed Jones to get better pitches to hit, for which Jones responded with better power numbers, plus the higher average in 2008. Even Garrett Anderson of the Angels benefited from Tex’s presence after the trade to L.A., hitting .322 with twi homers and nine RBIs when batting in front of Teixeira.

Alex Rodriguez had what can be considered an off year in 2008, with his numbers being down across the board in almost every offensive category. He also continued his interesting trend during his five-year Yankees tenure of alternating MVP seasons with down years.

And the way to bring Alex back to MVP form is to hit A-Rod third and Mark Teixeira fourth in the new Yankees lineup. A-Rod had his way with pitchers during 2007 when he hit cleanup spot and produced a .314 BA/.422 OBP/.645 SLG with an OPS+ of 177 — the highest of his career. He scored a career-high 143 runs, hit 54 homers and drove in a career-high 156 runs. But, Alex also had a very hot hitter hitting behind him the entire season. Not one particular guy, but a terrifically concocted Joe Torre combination of Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui.

Giambi started the 2007 season hitting behind A-Rod and was extremely hot in April, hitting .322 while slugging .517. He hit five doubles, four homers and drove in 17 runs in April, providing great protection for Alex. I used only batting average and slugging percentage because OBP doesn’t factor in the thoughts of opposing managers in regards to lineup protection. The fact that Giambi walks a lot doesn’t matter as much as his being hot at the time, a good combination of a high average and strong power production threat.

When Giambi started to slump, becoming the real Giambi we know, Jorge Posada started to make everyone notice his hot hitting from the beginning of the season. After a strong .311 average in April, Posada hit .394 in May while slugging .606 with hitting 11 doubles and three homers. He hit behind A-Rod from May 19 to July 3. Even though Posada “slumped” to .294 and .457 in June, his reputation was already cemented as having a career season and was honored accordingly, and as a result A-Rod benefited.

NOTE: Posada was amazingly consistent during his 2007 season, hitting exactly three homers with 15 RBIs in each of the first four months. In August and September he hit four homers while averaging 15 RBIs per month. When he started a 15-game hitting streak on May 3, his average went below .325 only for one game the balance of the season.

Matsui started to get hot in July and on owner George Steinbrenner’s July 4 birthday, Torre inserted Matsui into the fifth spot of the order, hitting behind A-Rod until mid-September. Matsui proceeded to hit .343 with 13 homers and 28 RBIs in July, and then batted.333 in august. Matsui then alternated with Posada hitting fifth the rest of the season, providing A-Rod the necessary protection he needed … and A-Rod responded with a monster September.

But, 2008 was a different story. Injuries cost Posada and Matsui most of 2008 and Giambi was too inconsistent. As a result, A-Rod didn’t have the proper protection and didn’t see enough quality pitches to hit. His frustration at being pitched around led him to repeatedly swing at bad pitches, not just pitches outside the strike zone, but also good pitchers pitches within the strike zone. He began to get himself out, and his lack of patience is shown in his 65 walks — his lowest total in 10 years.

Alex has shown impatience at the plate and at this point of his career, he needs proper lineup support. Teixeira has shown that he provides that support, helping Chipper Jones during their time in Atlanta, especially with his power numbers. And Teixeira has shown that he can hit without protection.

Teixeira will get A-Rod better pitches to hit. And with Teixeira still in his prime and A-Rod getting a little past it, A-Rod is going to need that lineup support more than ever.

Alex Rodriguez should hit third and Mark Teixeira should hit cleanup. That “perfect three-hitter” the Yankees just acquired should be “downgraded” to cleanup.

This is a pretty nifty analysis by Joe. Ultimately, no matter what the numbers indicate, it seems as though Tex will be the number 3 hitter with A-Rod batting 4th. I like the idea of having Tex “protect” Alex (some of you disagree and don’t believe in batting protection, which is fine), with Nick Swisher in the 3-hole, but I also think that a truly healthy Hideki Matsui will be a great 5-hole hitter (and Nick Swisher’s status is in limbo). He’s a professional player that knows how to drive in runs in any given situation.

Hopefully Girardi will be adept at switching around the lineup and providing A-Rod with good support, as Joe Torre apparently did it very well (in 2007).

Joba’s DUI court date PPD

Newsday has the story…