2015 Baseball season/Off Season Discussion

[pilferk]

That's the main problem at the Stadium. They've priced the average fan out. Even in previous years when the Yankees have been better, those seats have been empty for a good number of games, relatively speaking. Who's going to spend a couple grand to go see a baseball game? I got good seats in that area at the old Stadium years ago. There's no way I could get those, or afford them these days.

100% agree.  This is a long standing argument that many Yanks fans have with the stadium and the ownership.  That pricing was dreamed up when the economy was healthy, and there was a LOT of corporate interest in those seats from the financial sector.  That interest evaporated before the stadium was even finished...and the Yanks never adjusted.  Someday, maybe.....

As for the action on the field. The Yanks looked pretty awful up until last night. Last night they looked great. So it's still too early to say how good or bad any team is going to be. Their pitching is going to be good and that should be enough to keep them competitive. But their defense and offense looks suspect. I do think they'll improve in those areas a bit. A-Rod actually looks pretty good early on.

Yeah, instead of awful, they merely looked mediocre....some of the bats just woke up for a couple minutes.  Really..for one inning.  Defense was still terrible, pitching was merely serviceable.  You just forgive a lot of that when you somehow manage to score 14 runs...and then you realize the Sox had played their A game/team on Saturday, after the 19 inning game (the Yanks largely didn't) and you chalk the Sox Sunday failing almost entirely up to a used up bull pen and exhaustion.

I actually thought they looked slightly better LAST night, though the defense continues to give up extra outs (no errors, but, for example, a terrible tag at 2nd that resulted in a stolen base by the O's...this one was reviewed...and a TERRIBLE throw to Tex that should have been an easy finish to a double play).  If Drew actually remembers how to hit, now (and the last 2 games aren't just anomalies) that might help them a bit.

On the Red Sox, they looked real good the first 5 through the rotation. And last night, Buchholz was terrible. It was a long weekend in NY, with the 19 inning game Friday night and quick turnaround day game Saturday. Then the late game yesterday and home opener this afternoon. Not the easiest schedule for a baseball team. But that's how it goes. I hope that's why they looked so listless last night. Koji comes back today and they need him badly because their bullpen is very weak without him. They've faced 2 offensively challenged clubs so far, so I'm not going to get too excited about them yet. Joe Kelly looked promising, albeit against a team that played till 3 in the morning the night before. I still don't expect great things from the Sox this year, but absolutely anything can happen in the AL East.

They looked pretty freaking good against the Nats yesterday.  I know this was posted before first pitch, but....they seem to have regained all their energy yesterday.  And gave the pen a much needed break.

[JAEBALL]

It's painful to watch Yankee games on TV as a fan and see all of those seats empty sprinkled in with a few rich people who are just there to be seen or to host a client.

It is brutal...but obviously it is still profitable to do it that way...otherwise... they would change it.

The old stadium used to shake... now they would be lucky to sell out a wild card game if this team was ever so fortunate enough to play in such a thing. (which barring Beltran, Teixeira, Sabathia and Mccan all turning back the clock does not have a prayer)

[faldor]

Red Sox did bounce back nicely yesterday, which I expected for the home opener. But the Nats looked awful. I thought the Yankees had defensive deficiencies, the Nats took that to the next level. They handed the Sox about 4 runs yesterday with errors, misjudging balls, letting balls fall in due to lack of communication, losing balls in the sun. I know it's early and they have GREAT pitching and a few key guys on the DL. But if they don't shore up that defense, they might have a tough time winning it all like most of the experts predicted. I still expect them to be one of the best teams in the league, but that defense is a definite concern. Ian Desmond has 5 errors already. That's quite the pace.

I was all for trading Mookie Betts and Blake Swihart for Cole Hamels back in the winter, but Mookie has changed everyone's minds on that I think. The kid looks legit. He's been a CF for less than a year and he looks like a natural out there. He's got speed, some pop, a good bat overall. He had a rough series in NY, and he still needs to adjust to pitchers pitching him breaking stuff away, but he's got all the tools. The Red Sox seemed to have positioned themselves nicely for the future. But it remains to be seen if their philosophy on pitching works out. Overpaying for pitchers entering their prime years, instead of overpaying more proven commodities into their mid to late 30's. It sounds like a sound philosophy, but both come with risks.

[pilferk]

It's painful to watch Yankee games on TV as a fan and see all of those seats empty sprinkled in with a few rich people who are just there to be seen or to host a client.

It is brutal...but obviously it is still profitable to do it that way...otherwise... they would change it.

The old stadium used to shake... now they would be lucky to sell out a wild card game if this team was ever so fortunate enough to play in such a thing. (which barring Beltran, Teixeira, Sabathia and Mccan all turning back the clock does not have a prayer)

They'll sell out a bunch of games this year...just not nearly every game.  Yanks say they sell at least 60%+ of the legends seats every game...but lots of thise folks are in the legends cafe or restaurant for most of the game (free eats and drinks). Idk if i buy that....but its what they say. The visual is terrible, either way.

I've been for playoff gamrs, and meaningful games, in both new and old stadium. The new stadium gets loud, but not nearly as loud, for sure.

And agree..this lineup, and this defense, aint sniffing the playoffs. Sabathia is fine as a #3/#4 ( if nova comes back strong). But the fact beltran, tex, mccan, gregorius, and drew cant hit will sink them. The fact drew, headly, gregorius and mccann routinely give the other team extra outs will, too.

[pilferk]

Red Sox did bounce back nicely yesterday, which I expected for the home opener. But the Nats looked awful. I thought the Yankees had defensive deficiencies, the Nats took that to the next level. They handed the Sox about 4 runs yesterday with errors, misjudging balls, letting balls fall in due to lack of communication, losing balls in the sun. I know it's early and they have GREAT pitching and a few key guys on the DL. But if they don't shore up that defense, they might have a tough time winning it all like most of the experts predicted. I still expect them to be one of the best teams in the league, but that defense is a definite concern. Ian Desmond has 5 errors already. That's quite the pace.

I was all for trading Mookie Betts and Blake Swihart for Cole Hamels back in the winter, but Mookie has changed everyone's minds on that I think. The kid looks legit. He's been a CF for less than a year and he looks like a natural out there. He's got speed, some pop, a good bat overall. He had a rough series in NY, and he still needs to adjust to pitchers pitching him breaking stuff away, but he's got all the tools. The Red Sox seemed to have positioned themselves nicely for the future. But it remains to be seen if their philosophy on pitching works out. Overpaying for pitchers entering their prime years, instead of overpaying more proven commodities into their mid to late 30's. It sounds like a sound philosophy, but both come with risks.

Right now, the sox biggest concern should be Hanley in LF. I'm reminded of Manny at his worst. If that ends up being their biggest concern all year, they are in good shape.  Until all the rotation injuries, the jays were my pick to win the al east. Now the sox are (much as it pains me), with the o's in close second.

[TheBaconman]

Russ Martin really needs to get his bat started with the jays

I am also not a fan of the new turf we have in the stadium.  The ball is travelling very slow. 

[faldor]

Red Sox did bounce back nicely yesterday, which I expected for the home opener. But the Nats looked awful. I thought the Yankees had defensive deficiencies, the Nats took that to the next level. They handed the Sox about 4 runs yesterday with errors, misjudging balls, letting balls fall in due to lack of communication, losing balls in the sun. I know it's early and they have GREAT pitching and a few key guys on the DL. But if they don't shore up that defense, they might have a tough time winning it all like most of the experts predicted. I still expect them to be one of the best teams in the league, but that defense is a definite concern. Ian Desmond has 5 errors already. That's quite the pace.

I was all for trading Mookie Betts and Blake Swihart for Cole Hamels back in the winter, but Mookie has changed everyone's minds on that I think. The kid looks legit. He's been a CF for less than a year and he looks like a natural out there. He's got speed, some pop, a good bat overall. He had a rough series in NY, and he still needs to adjust to pitchers pitching him breaking stuff away, but he's got all the tools. The Red Sox seemed to have positioned themselves nicely for the future. But it remains to be seen if their philosophy on pitching works out. Overpaying for pitchers entering their prime years, instead of overpaying more proven commodities into their mid to late 30's. It sounds like a sound philosophy, but both come with risks.

Right now, the sox biggest concern should be Hanley in LF. I'm reminded of Manny at his worst. If that ends up being their biggest concern all year, they are in good shape.  Until all the rotation injuries, the jays were my pick to win the al east. Now the sox are (much as it pains me), with the o's in close second.

Hanley makes Manny look like a gold glover in LF actually. At least early on. They have to hope his bat outweighs his poor defense. In their "defense", Hanley wasn't a very good 3B or SS either. He's a good hitter, but defense anywhere on the field doesn't seem to be his strength.

Speaking of defense, the Nats were at it again last night. Desmond started the 7th inning with his 6th error of the season. And the Sox scored 3 runs in the inning to take the lead with ZERO hits. The winning run scored on a grounder to Desmond with the infield in and Allen Craig going on contact from 3rd. He wasn't even halfway to home but Desmond couldn't get a great grip on the ball, hesitated, and threw to 1st instead. Errors, bad decisions, story of the season so far for Washington.

I still like Baltimore in the AL East, I think. I agree, the loss of Stroman may be too much for the Jays. Their pitching is inexperienced and they face a tall task. They do have a good offense to back them up though. The Rays pitching is good, as always, and their offense has been better than expected. I still think they'll be towards the bottom with the Yanks. At this point I'd go Baltimore, Boston, Toronto, NY, Tampa. The Sox offense does look legit though. Aaron Harang was the only starter to shut them down so far, and they've faced some good pitching. They look to be built for the regular season, not for October.

[pilferk]

Red Sox did bounce back nicely yesterday, which I expected for the home opener. But the Nats looked awful. I thought the Yankees had defensive deficiencies, the Nats took that to the next level. They handed the Sox about 4 runs yesterday with errors, misjudging balls, letting balls fall in due to lack of communication, losing balls in the sun. I know it's early and they have GREAT pitching and a few key guys on the DL. But if they don't shore up that defense, they might have a tough time winning it all like most of the experts predicted. I still expect them to be one of the best teams in the league, but that defense is a definite concern. Ian Desmond has 5 errors already. That's quite the pace.

I was all for trading Mookie Betts and Blake Swihart for Cole Hamels back in the winter, but Mookie has changed everyone's minds on that I think. The kid looks legit. He's been a CF for less than a year and he looks like a natural out there. He's got speed, some pop, a good bat overall. He had a rough series in NY, and he still needs to adjust to pitchers pitching him breaking stuff away, but he's got all the tools. The Red Sox seemed to have positioned themselves nicely for the future. But it remains to be seen if their philosophy on pitching works out. Overpaying for pitchers entering their prime years, instead of overpaying more proven commodities into their mid to late 30's. It sounds like a sound philosophy, but both come with risks.

Right now, the sox biggest concern should be Hanley in LF. I'm reminded of Manny at his worst. If that ends up being their biggest concern all year, they are in good shape.  Until all the rotation injuries, the jays were my pick to win the al east. Now the sox are (much as it pains me), with the o's in close second.

Hanley makes Manny look like a gold glover in LF actually. At least early on. They have to hope his bat outweighs his poor defense. In their "defense", Hanley wasn't a very good 3B or SS either. He's a good hitter, but defense anywhere on the field doesn't seem to be his strength.

Speaking of defense, the Nats were at it again last night. Desmond started the 7th inning with his 6th error of the season. And the Sox scored 3 runs in the inning to take the lead with ZERO hits. The winning run scored on a grounder to Desmond with the infield in and Allen Craig going on contact from 3rd. He wasn't even halfway to home but Desmond couldn't get a great grip on the ball, hesitated, and threw to 1st instead. Errors, bad decisions, story of the season so far for Washington.

I still like Baltimore in the AL East, I think. I agree, the loss of Stroman may be too much for the Jays. Their pitching is inexperienced and they face a tall task. They do have a good offense to back them up though. The Rays pitching is good, as always, and their offense has been better than expected. I still think they'll be towards the bottom with the Yanks. At this point I'd go Baltimore, Boston, Toronto, NY, Tampa. The Sox offense does look legit though. Aaron Harang was the only starter to shut them down so far, and they've faced some good pitching. They look to be built for the regular season, not for October.

Yeah, Nats defense needs some help.  They're doing the EXACT same thing the Yanks are, on defense.  I didn't get a chance to watch the whole Yanks game last night...but the pieces I watched...I saw them give the O's 5 extra outs (2 of them were squarely on CC, too). And that's just the few innings I got to watch.  You can't beat people if they're playing a game of 27 outs, and you're playing a game of 32+.

Heh..I think you're giving the Yanks too much credit.  If they actually manage to stay out of last place, I will annoint Girardi as manager of the year.  They are that kinda bad.

[TheBaconman]

Pillar may have had the catch of the year last night for the Jays.  His new name is Superman

[faldor]

Red Sox did bounce back nicely yesterday, which I expected for the home opener. But the Nats looked awful. I thought the Yankees had defensive deficiencies, the Nats took that to the next level. They handed the Sox about 4 runs yesterday with errors, misjudging balls, letting balls fall in due to lack of communication, losing balls in the sun. I know it's early and they have GREAT pitching and a few key guys on the DL. But if they don't shore up that defense, they might have a tough time winning it all like most of the experts predicted. I still expect them to be one of the best teams in the league, but that defense is a definite concern. Ian Desmond has 5 errors already. That's quite the pace.

I was all for trading Mookie Betts and Blake Swihart for Cole Hamels back in the winter, but Mookie has changed everyone's minds on that I think. The kid looks legit. He's been a CF for less than a year and he looks like a natural out there. He's got speed, some pop, a good bat overall. He had a rough series in NY, and he still needs to adjust to pitchers pitching him breaking stuff away, but he's got all the tools. The Red Sox seemed to have positioned themselves nicely for the future. But it remains to be seen if their philosophy on pitching works out. Overpaying for pitchers entering their prime years, instead of overpaying more proven commodities into their mid to late 30's. It sounds like a sound philosophy, but both come with risks.

Right now, the sox biggest concern should be Hanley in LF. I'm reminded of Manny at his worst. If that ends up being their biggest concern all year, they are in good shape.  Until all the rotation injuries, the jays were my pick to win the al east. Now the sox are (much as it pains me), with the o's in close second.

Hanley makes Manny look like a gold glover in LF actually. At least early on. They have to hope his bat outweighs his poor defense. In their "defense", Hanley wasn't a very good 3B or SS either. He's a good hitter, but defense anywhere on the field doesn't seem to be his strength.

Speaking of defense, the Nats were at it again last night. Desmond started the 7th inning with his 6th error of the season. And the Sox scored 3 runs in the inning to take the lead with ZERO hits. The winning run scored on a grounder to Desmond with the infield in and Allen Craig going on contact from 3rd. He wasn't even halfway to home but Desmond couldn't get a great grip on the ball, hesitated, and threw to 1st instead. Errors, bad decisions, story of the season so far for Washington.

I still like Baltimore in the AL East, I think. I agree, the loss of Stroman may be too much for the Jays. Their pitching is inexperienced and they face a tall task. They do have a good offense to back them up though. The Rays pitching is good, as always, and their offense has been better than expected. I still think they'll be towards the bottom with the Yanks. At this point I'd go Baltimore, Boston, Toronto, NY, Tampa. The Sox offense does look legit though. Aaron Harang was the only starter to shut them down so far, and they've faced some good pitching. They look to be built for the regular season, not for October.

Yeah, Nats defense needs some help.  They're doing the EXACT same thing the Yanks are, on defense.  I didn't get a chance to watch the whole Yanks game last night...but the pieces I watched...I saw them give the O's 5 extra outs (2 of them were squarely on CC, too). And that's just the few innings I got to watch.  You can't beat people if they're playing a game of 27 outs, and you're playing a game of 32+.

Heh..I think you're giving the Yanks too much credit.  If they actually manage to stay out of last place, I will annoint Girardi as manager of the year.  They are that kinda bad.

I know I asked about this before, but seeing as how this doesn't look like it's going to be a banner year for the Yanks, wouldn't it make the most sense to have Tanaka get the inevitable TJ surgery now? It's his arm, so I guess it's up to him, but the Yanks are also paying him quite well. Could that become a sticky situation? Do the Yankees as a proud and storied franchise, not want to wave the white flag this early in the season? Do you think that a decision will be made during the season or are they really going to wait until they're forced to make the decision?

[tim_m]

Just saw an article on my team stream that Cashman is "shocked" the Yankees are so bad defensively. WTF is he smoking? How is this a surprise only to him?

[pilferk]

]I know I asked about this before, but seeing as how this doesn't look like it's going to be a banner year for the Yanks, wouldn't it make the most sense to have Tanaka get the inevitable TJ surgery now? It's his arm, so I guess it's up to him, but the Yanks are also paying him quite well. Could that become a sticky situation? Do the Yankees as a proud and storied franchise, not want to wave the white flag this early in the season? Do you think that a decision will be made during the season or are they really going to wait until they're forced to make the decision?

I agree.  I agreed going into the season, more or less, given their roster.

BUT, on the flip side, there have been guys who pitched for 4 or 5 years with the kind of injury/tear he has, and been completely effective.

Having said that, though, it's pretty clear the elbow...or the PROTECTION of the elbow...is having an effect on his pitching.  We've seen that given ST and his first couple starts.  I'd give it one, maybe two more starts..and if he continues to pitch the way he is..off to the surgeon.  Especially if, after those 2 starts, the Yanks are like 5 and 10.

[pilferk]

Just saw an article on my team stream that Cashman is "shocked" the Yankees are so bad defensively. WTF is he smoking? How is this a surprise only to him?

I don't know. Seriously, everyone on the outside looking in said the same thing: They can't hit, and their infield defense isn't very good (other than Tex). EVERYONE.

Except, apparently, Cashman.

Honestly, this is just more evidence it's time for him to move on.  I know he's saddled with some terrible contracts, and a new found sense of fiscal responsibility from the organization/ownership...but that's the point of being/having a GM.  And his decisions, in this new era, prove to me that he just doesn't have it.

[JAEBALL]

Just saw an article on my team stream that Cashman is "shocked" the Yankees are so bad defensively. WTF is he smoking? How is this a surprise only to him?

I don't know. Seriously, everyone on the outside looking in said the same thing: They can't hit, and their infield defense isn't very good (other than Tex). EVERYONE.

Except, apparently, Cashman.

Honestly, this is just more evidence it's time for him to move on.  I know he's saddled with some terrible contracts, and a new found sense of fiscal responsibility from the organization/ownership...but that's the point of being/having a GM.  And his decisions, in this new era, prove to me that he just doesn't have it.

All he said was that he was shocked with the DEFENSE

Drew, Didi, Teixeira, Ellsbury, Headley and gardner are all considered PLUS defenders... so he didn't say anything outrageous.. he didn't say he's shocked the lineup is bad

with that said they have an average team at best and even tho they cant and wont admit it... they need to wait two more years till these contracts dry up before they can contend again

Reyes headed tot he DL...shocker there......

[pilferk]

Just saw an article on my team stream that Cashman is "shocked" the Yankees are so bad defensively. WTF is he smoking? How is this a surprise only to him?

I don't know. Seriously, everyone on the outside looking in said the same thing: They can't hit, and their infield defense isn't very good (other than Tex). EVERYONE.

Except, apparently, Cashman.

Honestly, this is just more evidence it's time for him to move on.  I know he's saddled with some terrible contracts, and a new found sense of fiscal responsibility from the organization/ownership...but that's the point of being/having a GM.  And his decisions, in this new era, prove to me that he just doesn't have it.

All he said was that he was shocked with the DEFENSE

Drew, Didi, Teixeira, Ellsbury, Headley and gardner are all considered PLUS defenders... so he didn't say anything outrageous.. he didn't say he's shocked the lineup is bad

with that said they have an average team at best and even tho they cant and wont admit it... they need to wait two more years till these contracts dry up before they can contend again

Reyes headed tot he DL...shocker there......

From the eyeball test, i dont think everyone considered, or considers, Drew, Headley, or DiDi plus defenders. Headley and didi had good def years last year. Drew was about average at ss, in limited play.

Drew is playing out of position, and has been mearly average, to slightly sbove,  over the past 4 or 5 seasons, at SS.

Headley had a good 2014....but 2010-2013, he was average or a bit below.

Didi has one good season on defense...2014.  The best you can say about him is he's inconsistent, and might have potential to be a good defender. This year...he has been pretty sure handed, but the mental mistakes are killer.

Tex, by the eyeball test, is a plus defender, though sabermetrics hates him. Thats one guy in your infield, and he has been good this year.

Ellsbury and Gardner are also plus defenders..and they have played solid defense this year. But its not outfield def that has cost them runs...its the infield. And not just errors....missing playable balls to the left and center, too.

That was the breakdown i heard going into ST, and again going into the season. Its what my eyes told me, too...and what i posted here. Cash seems to be one of the few who disagreed...but i dont know how you can be shocked when you were in the minority in the first place.

Their infield defense isnt good enough, on paper, to be shocked by how bad it is this year.....you hoped, going in, these guys would repeat 2014, which (in 2 cases) were pretty much career defensive years. And you hoped the part time, average+, ss could change positions and play 2nd.

Thats a lot of "hoping" to then be surprised....

[tim_m]

It's only one game but wow A-Rod is having a monster night.

[tim_m]

Tanaka really looked good tonight.

[TheBaconman]

Jays have really found themselves against a lot of good pitchers recently.   I feel bad for some of the future teams they meet when the bats decide to unload

[JAEBALL]

Jays have really found themselves against a lot of good pitchers recently.   I feel bad for some of the future teams they meet when the bats decide to unload

We have been hearing it for 4 years now... wake me up when Toronto actually does something.....

I really like the Martin and Donaldssn moves but they still have no pitching...

[JAEBALL]

Tanaka really looked good tonight.

VERY encouraging.