Clint Frazier’s Patience Pays Off For the Yankees

As you can see, Frazier spread his hits around the field. Though his pull percentage through Wednesday (42.0%) is close to his career mark (40.3%), he’s doing a better job of taking advantage of Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch than ever. Three of this year’s seven homers have come that way, though all of them had estimated distances of at least 374 feet. He’s as likely if not more so to go deep to his pull side; three of this year’s homers have gone to left or left center in the Bronx, and from among his 23 career homers, the balance is 12 to the pull side and seven to the opposite side.

And lest you worry too much that Frazier is merely loading up in garbage time — as was admittedly the case on Tuesday given the double-digit margins visible in those clips — it’s worth noting that through Wednesday he ranked fourth on the team in WPA (0.65, behind Giovanny Urshela’s 1.63, Judge’s 0.90, and LeMahieu’s 0.78) while being tied for seventh in plate appearances (121) and hitting .303/.422/.596 for a 174 wRC+. He was 31 PA short of qualifying for the official leaderboards, but among AL players with at least 120 PA, his on-base percentage ranked second, his wRC+ fourth, and his slugging percentage eighth.

That’s been a huge boon to the Yankees in a season where Judge has served two stints on the injured list — separated by a one-game return — due to a right calf strain, and Stanton spent 37 days on the IL due to a left hamstring strain

Subscriber Exclusive Somerset Patriots in, Trenton Thunder out? Yankees considering Class AA affiliation change

...the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League could become a Yankees farm club.  If that occurs, the Thunder could be squeezed out, too.  Minor-league officials spoke to NJ Advance Media about the possible changes, and requested anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the plans. 
“The Yankees aren’t going to have two minor-league teams in New Jersey,” a Thunder official told NJ Advance Media…

Unpacking the Yankees’ Three Week Nosedive

The Yankees are in a terrible stretch of baseball, and having such a stretch in a season that’s only 60 games long has probably cost them the division. It probably won’t keep costing them in terms of a playoff berth, but this bad stretch has been a total team effort. Their ace isn’t pitching like one. The team’s three best hitters are missing from the lineup, while others have struggled to step up. The best arms in their bullpen aren’t getting results commensurate with their talent or careers to date. All of that has come together for a very bad three weeks. The team can’t afford to have another three weeks like their last three, but we can probably expect the performance to tick up, particularly in the lineup and the bullpen. The Yankees only have to go .500 the rest of the way to make the playoffs, and then hope they’re healthy once they’re there.

Rays-Yanks rivalry boils over: ‘It’s a tired act’

Following the game, Cash and the Rays players said they were unsure of the intent behind Chapman’s pitch, but that didn’t stop Cash from delivering some strong comments.

“It’s poor judgement, poor coaching, it’s just poor teaching what they’re doing and what they’re allowing to do,” Cash said. “The chirping from the dugout. Somebody needs to tell me, go pull up the numbers, who has hit who more, but I can assure you that other than three years ago, there hasn’t been one pitch thrown with intent from any of our guys. Period. Somebody has to be held accountable. And the last thing I’ll say on it, is that I have a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 mph. Period.”

Yankees’ Aaron Boone argues with umpires about air horn being blown outside Phillies’ ballpark

Following the top half of the third inning, Boone came out to home plate to speak with the umpires and pointed out that a group of fans were blowing an air horn outside of the Citizens Bank Park gate. It appeared that Boone was pointing out that the fans were blowing the air horn when Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin delivered a pitch to home plate.

I can’t wait until the next time the Yankees come to Philly.

Tipster leaks evidence alleging Yankees used camera to steal signs in 2018 playoffs

In the midst of a shortened season in a pandemic, the Yankees could be facing similar allegations to that of the Houston Astros from the 2017 postseason. Per an anonymous tip, the Yankees had an ‘eye in the sky’, if you will, in the stands to steal signs.

Take with that video what you will, but should any of said allegations against the Yankees prove to be true, it would expose an astounding level of hypocrisy in the Bronx. New York had been one of the more outspoken ball-clubs against the illegal actions committed by the Astros in their 2017 World Series-winning season.

Apparently, this video is of a member of the Yankees staff, filming the opposing catcher to steal signs from the outfield. Focus on what's on the viewfinder and the billboards to establish location.

The source told me the information above and that it's from the 2018 playoffs. pic.twitter.com/J7SfEUPyUX

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) July 27, 2020

Statcast said a Yankees player hit a 680-foot home run on Monday

Here’s a bold prediction for the 2020 Major League Baseball season: no one will hit a ball farther than Mike Ford did on Monday night. At least by Statcast estimates.

Ford, the Yankees first baseman, clubbed a massive home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

There was no doubt it was going to clear the fence at Yankee Stadium.

There is some doubt, however, that the baseball traveled an estimated 680 feet.

Domingo German’s Yankees future in doubt: ‘I left baseball’

Domingo German’s future with the Yankees is in doubt after the right-hander posted a note in Spanish on Instagram Friday night that translated to: “I left baseball. Thanks my people.’’

German has 63 games left on a suspension he’s serving after violating MLB’s domestic violence policy last year. Even though only 60 games are scheduled this season, the league had said he would be eligible to play at the beginning of 2021 because he also sat out last year’s playoffs.

General manager Brian Cashman did not respond to a request for comment on German’s post. Earlier, German wrote in Spanish on Twitter: “Everybody writes their own story with two sides. I believe I wrote mine at Yankee Stadium. If I choose not to come back I will be proud of my hard work in 11 years of my career.”

Bernie Williams Deserves More Credit For Making The Yankees A Dynasty

Throughout that entire [World Series] run, the Core Four clearly played massive roles in New York’s dominance. But Williams outshone almost all of them. According to WAR, only Jeter (25.9) provided the Yankees with more regular-season value than Williams (24.5) during the span of those World Series-winning seasons. Likewise, only Jeter (48.9) generated more weighted runs created (wRC) in the postseason for the Yankees over that span than Williams (38.6) did.4 By any measure, Williams was (at worst) the second-best position player on a team that ranks among the greatest dynasties in baseball history. ...

Phillies’ Andrew McCutchen disses Yankees’ hair policy

Andrew McCutchen thinks the Yankees should cut their hair policy.

“I definitely do think it takes away from our individualism as players and as people,” McCutchen told Jensen Karp on “The Sports Bubble” podcast. “We express ourselves in different ways.”....

“I feel like maybe there should be some change there in the future — who knows when — but it’s just one of the many things in this game that I feel that there just needs ... it needs to be talked about, and to be addressed,” said McCutchen, who took a three-year, $50-million deal from Philadelphia following his stint with the Yankees.

Of course, McCutchen’s stay with the Yankees wasn’t all bad. In fact, he called the organization “great.” He said he felt a little more “powerful” wearing the pinstripes.

Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka hit in head by Giancarlo Stanton line drive

Just minutes after the Yankees opened spring training 2.0 Saturday in The Bronx, Masahiro Tanaka suffered a frightening injury when he took a line drive to the right side of his head off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton.

Tanaka immediately fell on the mound and action stopped as trainers rushed to check on him. He stayed down for approximately five minutes before sitting up. He was helped to his feet and walked off the field with the assistance of two trainers.

The Yankees later announced that Tanaka was “alert, responsive and walking under his own power.” He is being sent to NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation and testing.

63 Years Later, a Confession in a Legendary Yankees Scandal

Joey Silvestri didn’t see all those Yankees file into the Copacabana that night. There were six of them, including Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Hank Bauer, plus their wives, all out celebrating Billy Martin’s 29th birthday. It was their third stop of the evening, and they were already well on their way to sloshed. ...

Judge unseals letter from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to Yankees regarding sign-stealing, per report

Major League Baseball and the Players Association may be continuing their back-and-forth regarding a potentially modified season in light of the spread of the novel coronavirus, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing else interesting going on in the sport. For instance, consider that on Friday U.S. District Court judge Jed S. Rakoff ordered that a letter sent from commissioner Rob Manfred to the New York Yankees concerning a 2017 investigation into sign-stealing be unsealed, according to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.

Rakoff has given the Yankees and MLB until Monday at noon to submit a version of the letter that is “minimally redacted” to protect “privacy interests” of the individuals involved. The Yankees, predictably, are not pleased with the ruling. “There is no justification for public disclosure of the letter,” team attorney Jonathan Schiller said as part of a statement. The Yankees requested a delay so they could submit an appeal.

Judge Rakoff unsealed the letter as part of a class action case brought against the league, the Houston Astros, and the Boston Red Sox by DraftKings players.

Remembering Bob Watson as an Astros legend

Former Astros great Bob Watson died Thursday at the age of 74 after a long battle with kidney disease.

Watson, who made his big league debut in Houston at 20 years old in 1966, played 14 of his 19 big league seasons with the Astros. His best seasons in Houston came in 1973 and 1975 when he hit .312 with 16 home runs and .324 with 18 home runs, respectively.

Watson, who was known as “Bull” for his 6-foot, 201-pound frame, went on to become the Astros general manager from 1993 to 1995 before leaving to take the same job with the New York Yankees where he became the first African-American general manager to win a World Series title.

Fauci, Leading Fight Against Coronavirus, Misses Baseball, Too

Today in Baseball History: Yankees trade for Hideki Irabu

Before George Steinbrenner would, cruelly, give him a different nickname which we’ll get to in a minute, Hideki Irabu was known as “the Japanese Nolan Ryan.” He sort of looked like the Japanese Roger Clemens, actually. He was 6’4″ and 250 pounds and pitched at a time when most Japanese pitchers were slighter guys whose games were more about finesse than power. That wasn’t Irabu’s game. He was a hard-thrower, leading NPB’s Pacific League in wins in 1994, in ERA in 1995 and 1996, and in strikeouts in 1994 and 1995. He was a pretty damn big deal.

And he wanted to a big deal in America. Which, at the time was not exactly an easy thing to do for a Japanese player.

While we’re all basically familiar with the posting system which controls how Japanese players come to the American big leagues, but such a process didn’t yet exist in 1997. In its absence existed two options: (a) playing ten years in Japan and becoming a true free agent, like Hideo Nomo had done; or (b) having your team make a side deal with a U.S. team and basically selling your rights to them. In Irabu’s case, the San Diego Padres entered into a an agreement with Irabu’s team in Japan, the Chiba Lotte Marines, guaranteeing the Padres exclusive rights to the ace. This angered a number of major league teams that wanted to bid for him and that anger eventually led to the posting system, but for Irabu it was the Padres or nothing.

Or maybe not.

The story of a player and a team- not a particularly uplifting one, I must admit…..

Could George Costanza have made it in the big leagues?

I know what you’re thinking. Nick, are you really so starved for content that you’re plumbing these depths? And yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve had a lot to write about. But on some level, this is a matter that’s been burning at the edges of your psyche for years now. Don’t deny it. No, don’t walk away. Come back. I’m not going to hurt you.

Look, it’s okay. You’re among friends. You can admit it. You have, in fact, watched the Seinfeld clip of George Costanza teaching Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams how to hit and wondered if the small Jason Alexander-shaped man could consistently hit in a big league lineup.

Some context may be necessary here. One of the running gags of this episode is that George has become a genius as a result of abstaining from sex. It’s that sudden brain power that enables George to both understand the physics of hitting and do that mental calculation in his head as the pitch is being delivered. Any theoretical competitive success George would have depends on him remaining abstinent.

With that in mind, let’s consider George the baseball player. Despite the fact that he can suddenly hit, Costanza is still Costanza. He’s a small barrel-shaped man. Jason Alexander comes in at 5’5″, or an inch shorter than Jose Altuve‘s listed height. George has no known athletic abilities prior to his brain-blast. Being smarter might help him track balls off the bat, but they’re not going to help his range or throwing arm. That means George would strictly be a designated hitter. And as he says, hitting is not about muscle.

A consideration of a sitcom character and his brief mastery over hitting.

Hank Steinbrenner, Yankees co-owner, dead at 63

Condolences to the Steinbrenner family.

Today in Baseball History: The Yankees become The Yankees

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how the Cubs became the Cubs. In the course of that post I talked about how fluid and casual team nicknaming was in the early 20th century. Sometimes the press named a team, informally, and it stuck. Sometimes the team’s owner switched the name back and forth multiple times. It was sort of all over the place.

That was true, too, of baseball’s most storied and, let’s be honest, stuffy organization, the New York Yankees. Rather than proclaim, from on high, what their name — what their brand — would be, they got their name through the same haphazard way so many other teams did. But, on this date in 1913, they became the Yankees for good. Let’s talk about how they finally got there.

They didn’t start in New York, actually. They started in Baltimore, as the Orioles. But they weren’t even the original Baltimore Orioles. That ream was a National League club — led by John McGraw — that the National League contracted along with the Cleveland Spiders following the 1899 season. McGraw cooled his heels in St. Louis In 1900 but then, the following year, the upstart Western League, led by Ban Johnson, upgraded itself to self-proclaimed major league status and reformed as the American League. They put a team in Baltimore, called itself the Orioles and brought John McGraw back via the offering of an ownership stake.

Ban Johnson and McGraw didn’t get along too well and they were in pretty constant dispute. Johnson also didn’t think too much of Baltimore as an AL city and wanted to move the team to New York — Manhattan, specifically — to compete head-to-head with the New York Giants. McGraw, seeing the writing on the wall, but not wanting to let Johnson tell him where to go, left the Orioles in the middle of the 1902 season and joined the New York Giants as their manager and part-owner. Ever the pain-in-the butt, he gave his ownership interest in the Orioles to the Giants, which was a problem given that they were a member of the rival league which wanted to see the AL crushed and eliminated. Add that to the list of many AL-NL disagreements bubbling up at the time.

The story of how the Evil Empire came to be- albeit with elements that I’ve seen contested elsewhere…..

Yankees, NYCFC organize $1.4M relief fund

TAMPA, Fla.—The Yankees and the New York City Football Club announced on Thursday that they have created the New York Yankees COVID-19 Disaster Relief Program, a $1.4 million distress fund for Yankee Stadium employees impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The needs-based grant initiative has been created to provide assistance for eligible full-time and part-time game day staff, including those working for the Yankees, Legends Hospitality and the New York City Football Club (NYCFC). The grants are intended to ease the burden caused by the pandemic associated with essential expenses such as food, medical care, shelter and other basic needs.

Jim Kaat: Will we finally get The Real Deal?

Kaat Said: Orientalism.

A couple of short stories about Asian pitchers and Irabu: I was announcing Yankee games in the mid-90s when I said over the air, “I wonder if we’ll ever see an Oriental position player in the Major Leagues?” Dion James was playing for the Yankees at the time, and told me about an exciting 19-year old named Ichiro Suzuki who had a chance to be the first. We all know that story. Big fan of Bernie Williams from watching Yankee games in Japan. Wears number 51 because of that.

So, I get a letter about a week later from an Asian baseball fan. Not a malicious letter but scolding me gently for referring to Asian players as “Oriental.” He said, “Noodles and rugs are Oriental, not people. We are Asians.” Fortunately for me, he put his phone number in the letter, so I called him.

We had a pleasant conversation and I told him I certainly didn’t intentionally say “Oriental’ as a slur or condescending remark. It was said innocently out of ignorance. He understood. I asked him if he would be watching the next game we televised. He said he would. He was a huge baseball fan and was complimentary of our telecasts on the MSG Network. I asked if he would please watch and listen in the top of the 4th inning. He said he would.  I took the opportunity to clear up the Oriental/Asian situation.

...So, I’lll be keeping a close eye on Yu Darvish and see if he is finally the one to be able to challenge and dominate our bigger, more powerful big league hitters. For his and the Rangers’ sake, I hope he does. It will be good for the game and the Rangers profit and loss statement!

Bronx Banter: DeRosa: Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli.

Oh, my good goodness gracious! Of all the dramatic things I’ve ever seen. Clemenza standing right in…the way of a Montero/Pineda thought!

So when I heard Jesus Montero was traded for Michael Pineda, I felt like we were trading a neck for a necktie. Sure, the tie is important, but without the neck, what’s the point?

Even without the catching, I’ll take Montero’s simple, solid bat over the complex musculature of Pineda’s throwing arm. You can watch Montero hit every game, all season long. There’s no better way to interface with a team than through a star hitter, especially for a young fan, because he’s always in the lineup.

I understand that having Pineda in the rotation probably makes the 2012 Yankees a better team than they would have been with Montero as the DH. But in 2013? And 2014?

Arod and Teixeira are already fractions of what they once were and they will be declining in the lineup for years to come. The Yankees have one big hitter in his prime, Cano, who is fierce but not flawless. You don’t have to squint too hard to see a Yankee team desperate for hitting.

The more I think about the trade, the more comfortable I am with Cashman’s logic and his vision. But I am firmly on the Montero side of the debate. It boils down to this: if they both become stars, I’d want Montero to be a Yankee.

IIATMS: Jim Callis of Baseball America Talks Yankees Prospects

(checks fine print for Calvin Riggar update)

CB:  Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances are two of the brightest and most highly sought after pitching prospects in the Yankee system.  While they each miss a lot of bats and generate big strikeout numbers; both have exhibited difficulties in limiting walks.  After watching each struggle with their command in 2011, are you still projecting both pitchers to be top of the rotation starters?

JC:  I don’t think I’ve ever projected Betances as a frontline starter. That may be his ceiling, but given his slow development path and still less-than-stellar command, I’ve suspected for a while that he’s going to end up as a reliever. I still see Banuelos as a starter, however, but again, I don’t think I’ve ever called him a No. 1 starter. He’s a No. 2 or 3 if everything comes together.

CB:  After being listed as Baseball America ’s 108th best prospect prior to the 2011 amateur draft, the Yankees selected Dante Bichette, Jr. with the 51st pick.  He signed quickly and promptly set the Gulf Coast League afire hitting .342/.446/.505 and winning league MVP honors.  Looking back, do you think your initial evaluation was accurate?  If not, what has changed?

JC:  Our initial evaluation was based in part about suspicions that he’ll eventually wind up in the outfield. If he can stay at third base, and the Yankees think he can, then he’ll have more value. Bichette has boosted his stock since the draft with his strong debut and his initial play at third base.

Megdal: Yankees dont need much else thats on the market except maybe a Wilson Betemit

Wilson is the true American icon in the world of Yankees equipment!

By contrast, it is hard to see exactly how Damon fits into the Yankee roster at all. While he is left-handed, and already-signed backup outfielder Andruw Jones is right-handed, Damon has never had much of a platoon advantage against righties. In fact, in 2011, his OPS was nearly 100 points lower against righties than lefties. So even in the positions he does play, Damon doesn’t help very much.

As for Matsui, it has been quite some time since he could be relied upon to play any defensive position at all. His OPS+ dropped to just 92 last year in Oakland. He’ll be 38 in June, and the smart money is on Matsui’s best days being behind him.

Then there’s Jorge Vazquez, an in-house option, who hit 32 home runs for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre in 2011. The Yankees probably know he’s not the answer here. He’ll be 30 in March, so his development is almost certainly over. Even in his breakout 2011, he struck out 166 times in just 500 plate appearances, a poor enough rate that he’d almost certainly crack 200 strikeouts over a full M.L.B. season. He walked just 30 times, so the offensive value he’d provide beyond the occasional home run would likely be nil. And he’s a first baseman at this point, a right-handed one, who’d do little to complement Teixeira and nothing to help keep the offense strong on days Jeter or Rodriguez needed time off.

Just as they did in augmenting pitching staff, it seems probable that the Yankees will bide their time, then make the intelligent acquisition. Kuroda and Pineda were sure signs that New York has no intention of punting the 2012 season (as if they ever would). Making a move for someone like Betemit would show the same kind of purpose.

RLYW: Salvaging a Sunken cost

Burnett projects to have an RA of 5.03 in CAIRO.  The following possible starting pitchers project better than that.

CC Sabathia (3.57)
Michael Pineda (4.37)
Freddy Garcia (4.55)
Brad Meyers (4.56)
Hiroki Kuroda (4.57)
Phil Hughes (4.63)
Ivan Nova (4.93)
...

If that’s true, then every start that goes to Burnett is a start that should be going to one of the above.

...

Unfortunately, since Burnett is owed $33 million over the next two years, the Yankees probably feel obligated to try and get some value out of him.

I don’t think they can do that by pitching him…. trading Burnett’s bad contract to another team for their bad contract might be a way to recoup some of that value.