YANKEE PRIDE?

The New York Yankees could be in danger of missing the playoffs for the third straight year. The first time this would happen since 1995.  The signature franchise of MLB, often likened to an "empire" is not in a good place.  Lackluster performance on the field and a lukewarm front office doesn't fit the "Yankee Tradition" of winning and exhibiting strong star power.

New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman  (cbslocal.com)

The Yankees don't look crisp and are a little slow and out of step. With an aging core of injury prone star players like Alex Rodriguez (39), Carlos Beltran (38), Mark Teixeira (35), CC Sabathia (34), the 2015 season doesn't look good.  They might as well be walking on eggshells. Declining skills coupled with persistent injuries take a toll on performance.  The only player under 30 in the regular lineup is SS Didi Gregorius at 25.  This is Didi's 3rd team in 4 years so I don't think he'll be a fixture in NY.  A middle of the order lineup of Rodriguez, Beltran and Teixeira is not a good thing, especially versus good pitching.

Mark Teixeira NY Yankees first baseman  (nbcsports.com)

New York's projected 2015 payroll is 216.5 million, second in MLB only behind the Monopoly-like money the Los Angeles Dodgers are spending with 279.0 M.  Besides this payroll they will pay a luxury tax (any payroll above 189.0 M must pay a tax to try to constrain the richer teams from outspending lower revenue teams) which is calculated with a complicated formula.  The Dodgers get to the postseason, the Yankees get no bang for their buck. At the Major League level the resources haven't been well allocated.  The Mets might be the best team in town this year.

Jacoby Ellsbury NY centerfielder  (planetminecraft.com)

The best Yankee players are Jacoby Ellsbury (31) with a 2014, 3.9 WAR and Brett Gardner (31) with 3.3.  Gardner is barely known outside his place of residence.  One of the Yankee advantages at the Stadium is they can field a team with 8 left handed hitters to take advantage of the short RF porch.  They can be the "Bronx Bombers" at home.  Away from Yankee Stadium it will be difficult. The Yankee bullpen features two of the best relievers in baseball in hard-throwing RHP Delin Betances and LHP Andrew Miller.  The braintrust hasn't figured out who will be the closer and if Masahiro Tanaka will be throwing less four seamers this year to protect his elbow.

Emblematic Yankees Logo   (screensavers.com)

The organization has a very good farm system. If they develop local talent and sign young impact free agents they can get good in a hurry.  With the second highest average ticket price per game in MLB ( over $50) only behind the Red Sox, the Yankee faithful will continue grumbling this year. Some fans commented they didn't like the 2.3 billion New Yankee Stadium that opened in 2009.  I wouldn't either if my team wasn't winning and the year ahead looked bleak.  George Steinbrenner was abrasive at times but he understood the "Yankee mystique".

Firebaling Matt Harvey in 2013  (wordpress.com

During the New York Mets 2015 spring training, Zack Wheeler (24), a fastballing RHP with a lot of upside and Josh Edgin (28) a left handed bullpen specialist, underwent Tommy John surgery.  At the same time, Matt Harvey, the 25 yr old ace of the staff and 30 year old Bobby Parnell, the staff closer, were coming back from TJ surgery from the year before.  Four key pieces of a 12 man staff in about 14 months is alarming and is part of the recent epidemic of TJ surgeries touching starters, relievers, young pitchers, veteran pitchers across the board.  

A baseball seams tattoo over a TJ surgery scar  courtesy of Kyle Blanks

The American Sports Medicine Institute founded by orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, in Alabama is at the forefront of the research on TJ. The Institute along with other stakeholders like MLB, trainers,pitchers and executives are trying to find the root causes of the problem.  ASMI performs a lot of the surgeries and track recovery time and effectiveness.  Success rate now is above 80% and recovery time is about 14-16 months.  Some early research suggests a lot of the problems start during the early years and carry over to college and the pros.  Pitch Smart is a guideline by MLB outlining risk factors, TJ questions and guidance for parents, players and coaches at the youth level to protect against overuse injuries during the development years.

MLB NEWS

Opening Night in MLB is Sunday, April 5th, with the Saint Louis Cardinals visiting the Chicago Cubs. With players and fans getting antsy for the 2015 season to begin, the long awaited "play ball" will continue on Monday, April 6th, with a full slate of games.  
There was a time when the traditional "Opening Day" game was played on Mondays in Cincinnati with the ceremonial first pitch of the season thrown there and then around the rest of the league. Cincinnati is recognized as the first pro baseball team and opening day in the "Queen City" was and is a real baseball holiday with parades and other ceremonies. I remember skipping school on some opening days, without my parents consent, just to listen to Reds' radio broadcasts of the start of a new season.  Huge TV contracts, one of the cash cows and most important revenue streams for MLB, have changed the old format and now the Sunday Night Opening Game is the "new normal".                                                            

Opening Day in Cincy at Great American Ballpark  (mlb.com)

There's been a few Tommy John surgeries performed this Spring Training, but not as many as last year.  Yu Darvish, Zach Wheeler, Josh Edgin and Tim Collins are the most notable. Cliff Lee, chose rehab as a TJ procedure would almost certainly be career ending for the 36 year old southpaw.  A prime candidate for TJ surgery is Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees.  With some time taken off last year because of elbow and UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) problems and diminished performance after returning, all eyes are on Tanaka. There is a lot of mileage on that arm. Pitching in Japan for 7 seasons (1315 innings) since he was 18 and never logging less than 155 innings in any season plus the postseason is a heavy workload. The 26 year old Tanaka, managed only 136 IP with the Yankess in 2014. Throwing split-finger fastballs (25%) and sliders (22.2%) almost half of the time doesn't bode well for a delicate elbow.  The demands of a Major League pitching ace are great and if there is a real problem it will show up sooner than later.

Masahiro Tanaka and the split finger fastball. March 2014  (zimbio.com)

The free-spending Los Angeles Dodgers are without Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp this year, two of their best power hitters. 24 year old Yasiel Puig showed a modicum of maturity last year and will need to step up and fill some of that vacuum.  The much talked about Puig, be it good or bad, will have to continue to polish his considerable tools and become a bona fide star player to fulfill expectations.  Puig hit .274/.366/.414 after the 2014 All Star game with 4 HR's and 17 RBI's in 215 at bats, hardly numbers consistent with elite production.  With only Adrian "The Titan" Gonzalez left over from last year's power hitting group, Puig will have to hit and hit with more power.  He has to grow up and prove he's the "real deal". 


The 2014 World Series champion, San Franciso Giants, have been known to exceed expectations and confound experts predictions to win 3 championships in the last 5 years (2010-2012-2014)  This is very, very hard to do.  They've played a lot of close games and have a knack for winning the big game, especially in the post season.  This year's pitching staff, aside from Madison Bumgarner, the World Series ace, has a chance to be the worst starting pitching the Giants have had in years.  Jake Peavy (34), Tim Hudson (39), Ryan Vogelsong (37), Tim Lincecum (31), and Matt Cain (30) are not a group that inspires confidence for a postseason push.  Peavy has been very inconsistent and injury prone, Hudson is old and the once powerful sinker is not as effective, Vogelsong is aging and very inconsistent, Lincecum, is not "The Freak" anymore and has been so bad he might go to the bullpen.  Washed up at 31? He's lost about 5-6 miles off his fastball.  Cain, once the workhorse, is now throwing 91-92 when he threw 95 consistently with a killer slider. Still young, can he salvage his career? With these enormous question marks the Giants bullpen might be in for a long year. AT&T Park favors pitchers but with this group it will be difficult to "read the tea leaves" in San Francisco.  Bruce Bochy is known for his deft handling of pitching staffs, but I think this will be one of those head scratching years.

Head scratching year for Bruce Bochy  (zimbio.com)

NAME	AGE	HOME		AWAY
Tim Hudson	39	89	3.94	100	3.23
Ryan Vogelsong	37	100	3.06	85	5.10
Jake Peavy	34	101	2.85	101	4.60
Tim Lincecum	31	94	3.91	61	6.02
Matt Cain	30	47	3.64	43	4.78
The Home and Away columns feature IP and ERA

Tim Hudson was better on the road, but the others were awful away from AT&T Park last year.  With the aging factor, injuries and inconsistency, 2015 might be even worse.