Following former Yankees in 2016

[jon abbey]

I can't be the only Yankee fan/observer to find it amusing that someone's advice to help improve a 98 win team (the Pirates) is to try to get both Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart into the lineup at the same time:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/a-strategy-for-deploying-baseballs-best-backup-catcher/

 

[jon abbey]

John Ryan Murphy is 2 for 28 this spring and hanging on as a backup, even though they brought him in to be the starter.

 

[terrynever]

John Ryan Murphy is 2 for 28 this spring and hanging on as a backup, even though they brought him in to be the starter.

Lot of pressure on Murphy, too. Still, if a franchise makes a decision to trade for a starting catcher, spring training stats should not enter into the conversation. Maybe in late April but not late March.

 

[mauidano]

Atlanta Braves have released Nick Swisher.

 

[jon abbey]

Dunno how much it means, but Justin Wilson has sucked this spring for the Tigers, a 9.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP in seven games/seven innings.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Jesus Montero put on waivers by Seattle, claimed by the Blue Jays.

Remember when he was a big part of the Yankees Future? They sure sold high on him.

 

[Plympton91]

Jesus Montero put on waivers by Seattle, claimed by the Blue Jays.

Remember when he was a big part of the Yankees Future? They sure sold high on him.

Are there still people who argue with a straight face that steroids don't improve performance?

 

[jon abbey]

Cano just hit his 4th HR in 3 games, he is going to have a monster year.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Cano just hit his 4th HR in 3 games, he is going to have a monster year.

I agree, but those 4 home runs are his only hits thus far ... so it's an unusual start

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Robinson Deer Cano?

 

[terrynever]

I will take 4 solo HRs from A-Rod every 3 games this season. That would be, like, 216 HRs and 216 RBI for the season. And a drug suspension on top!

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Cano just hit his 4th HR in 3 games, he is going to have a monster year.

At least 2 were on the first pitch, so the walk rate ought to go down, too.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

Cano has cooled off. I hope he hits .212 this season.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

In the 10th today, down by a run, he came up with a man on 2nd and nobody out. He failed to get the runner to 3rd, and the next batter hit a (meaningless) deep fly ball. The next batter whiffed on 3 pitches, and the M's lost 2-1.

 

[jon abbey]

Cano 0-3 tonight, and he just seemed to short-arm a one-hopper just to his side with the bases loaded, and the ball kicked into RF. A DP there keeps them at 4-1 down but instead the inning ended 7-1.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Lollygagger!

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Cano hit a grand slam last night.

His current slash line is .238/.315/.538, but I've heard you don't walk off the island.

 

[jon abbey]

The Yankees haven't done much well in recent years, but they sure are good at the whole bullpen thing. Check out the stats of four recent guys they either developed and let go once they got pricy (Robertson) or traded to try to to fill in holes elsewhere (Phelps, Wilson, Warren), all four have been fantastic so far:

David Robertson 12.1 6 1 1 4 15
David Phelps 16 6 2 2 7 19
Adam Warren 9 2 1 0 4 10
Justin Wilson 11 8 0 0 2 15

That's a collective ERA of 0.56 and a K/9 of 11.

 

[jon abbey]

Nice to see old friend Eduardo Nunez finally maybe putting it together at 28. Still not a great defender but 9th in the league in OPS right now at .914, just ahead of Miggy and Cano.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/league/al/sort/OPS/order/true

 

[jon abbey]

Cano continues to crush, 2 more solo HRs tonight, 18 for the season and a .947 OPS.

 

[NYCSox]

So thrilled that they wasted their money on Ellsbury instead.

 

[jon abbey]

The best move was neither, but Ellsbury has been playing well lately also.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Joba DFA'd by the Indians. His numbers aren't bad.

The 30-year-old Chamberlain was signed in the offseason and had no record with a 2.25 ERA in 20 appearances.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Robinson Cano is only Mariner selected for All-Star Game

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/robinson-cano-will-represent-the-mariners-in-the-2016-major-league-baseball-all-star-game/

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Since the All Star Break, Cano has had 63 Plate Appearances (55 AB), 1 double, 2 HR, (but 3 HBP). BA of .200, OBP .286, SLG.327, OPS .613

 

[terrynever]

Eduardo Nunez went 4-for-5 with two triples for the Giants on Saturday. Bochy says Nuney is his third baseman, despite a couple errors in the field during the series with Philly. Risky business for a World Series contender.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Manny Banuelos dfa'd by Atlanta

 

[jon abbey]

Ivan Nova with a complete game win against HOU, 8 shutout innings before a meaningless run in the 9th. Ray Searage is a genius, some big market team should offer him a big raise and see if they can get him to jump.

 

[jon abbey]

Only two players in baseball have more HRs currently than Khris Davis (33), but you will rarely if ever see a ML batter look this bad, let alone on a pitch to end the game:

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2016/08/23/197157388/andrew-miller-is-unfair-and-made-khris-davis-look-silly-on-game-ending-strikeout

 

[jon abbey]

Carlos Beltran is 0 for his last 32, the worst slump of his career. He has under a .600 OPS for TEX.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

The Mariners called up Ben Gamel and are starting him in right field tonight.

 

[jon abbey]

Good for him, I hope he does well. I think his issue is limited power in a corner outfield spot, but he was a line drive machine the last couple of months in Scranton.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Carlos Beltran is 0 for his last 32, the worst slump of his career. He has under a .600 OPS for TEX.

It's what happens when you get traded to a team that has actual MLB dimensions in its stadium

 

[jon abbey]

The Mariners called up Ben Gamel and are starting him in right field tonight.

And hitting leadoff! Go, Ben.

 

[Sampo Gida]

Beltran suffered an injury on a play at the plate that likely contributed to a short slump. On a nice 8 for 17 run the last 4 games, and you know he rises to the occasion in September/October. Takes some players awhile to transition to a new team. Look at what Bruce has done for the Mets.

Looking at some of the other guys traded. Nova, 4-0 with a 2.87 ERA in 5 starts. Miller 1.23 ERA in 12 games. Chapman 1.62 ERA in 19 games with 12 saves. So while the Yankees got a decent haul, none of these teams is unhappy at this point.

Other guys moved. Shane Greene (3.25 FIP) and Justin Wilson (2.75 FIP) both giving the Tigers some help out of the pen. Both have inflated ERA's, which could be due to their bequeathed runners being allowed to score (but I have not checked)

Of course, we have Peter O'Brien witha 500 OPS (4 HR in 57 AB) and JR Murphy with a 219 OPS (bats come alive in AAA this August with a 809 OPS).

Chris Young allowed to leave for Hicks has a 834 OPS. Hicks looks done for the stretch run while Young missed a long stretch mid season and is healthy now.

David Pehlps, 2.52 ERA out of the pen for the Marlins. Prado 801 OPS. Ichiro 726 OPS

For the Nats. Stephen Drew 882 OPS but on the DL with concussion (that might be it for him, he has had a few). Shawn Kelly with a 3.21 ERA out of the pen.

For the Mariners, we have Videl Nuno with a 4.74 FIP out of the pen, no loss there. And Robbie Cano with 30 HR and a 879 OPS. Ben Gamel making his first start in MLB tonight.

With the D-Backs Capos has a 3.18 ERA in 5 2/3 IP

And Nunez with the Giants. After a rough start, has lifted his OPS to 702 (last 15 games 776 OPS). It can take awhile for players to settle into a new team.

With the Padres we have Solarte with a 797 OPS. Pirates have Cervelli with a 677 OPS, a down year likely due to his DL stint.

D-Rob with the White Sox with a 3.79 ERA. This is a bit skewed to 3 horrendous appearances where he gave up 13 of his 23 ER. In save situations he has a 2.75 ERA.

 

[jon abbey]

Ivan Nova now has a full month of pitching very well for PIT under his belt, a 2.89 ERA in six starts and a WHIP just under 1. If he can keep it going another month, he is going to make good money this winter, he turns 30 in January.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/novaiv01.shtml

 

[Tokyo Sox]

Your old friend Hiroki Kuroda has just taken the hill in Sapporo, starting Game 3 of the Japan Series for Hiroshima in what could be the last start of his career. His Carp team is up in the Series 2-0 over Nippon Ham.

 

[ThePrideofShiner]

Nick Swisher just retired: http://www.theplayerstribune.com/nick-swisher-retirement-the-dream-is-over-baby/

Edit: That was a pretty fun read. I forgot when he pitched that inning in Tampa and struck out Gabe Kapler. Hilarious. Then he tipped his cap when he walked off the mound. A total character.