The Yankees won 97 regular season games and two more in the playoffs, but their quest for a 28th World Championship fell short in the Bronx last night, as the Tigers beat them 3-2. Here are some links as the Yankees look ahead to another offseason…
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times says retaining C.C. Sabathia is the most pressing task of the Yankees' offseason. If they let him slip away, the Red Sox could have interest, as Kepner points out.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com points out that the Yankees' biggest offseason need is once again starting pitching and runs through a number of other issues facing the Bronx Bombers this winter.
- Sabathia can opt out of the four years remaining on his seven-year, $161MM contract after the season and the left-hander says he can't wrap his head around the decision yet, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. However, Sabathia repeated that he loves it in New York.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suspects that the Yankees will wait, instead of extending Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson this offseason. Both players are eligible for free agency after 2013 (assuming New York exercises Cano's two options).
- Alex Rodriguez told Sherman that the Yankees' season was a "major failure" though they finished with the best record in the American League. Rodriguez says he has a lot to prove and is looking forward to the challenge of "coming back with a vengeance."
- As Mike Vorkunov of the Star-Ledger explains, Jorge Posada may have played his final game in Yankee pinstripes and the catcher turned DH is emotional about the possibility.
- Brian Cashman reiterated that he wants to return to the Yankees, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. The GM's contract expires after the season, but the Yankees want him back, so a new deal appears likely.
Congratulations to the Detroit Tigers! They earned that win last night and there was nothing cheap about it. This was not a major failure by the Yankees. In the end it wasn’t the pitching that got the better of them, it was just not coming through with the clutch hit in the moment last night. The Yankees simply got beat, the same way they got beat in 2010. They just lost to the better team and fairly, and there is nothing wrong with that.
The Yankees gave us fans a spectacular season full of HOF moments, record breaking, and watching players old and new, such as Garcia, Colon, Montero and Nova come up big throughout the season. Regarding Jesus Montero; I’m sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what will happen with him in the next two months. In my mind, there is virtually no chance he with the Yankees next season and beyond. Every bit of him looks like the next Ramirez or Cabrera, he just doesn’t fit on the Yankee roster anyway you draw it up and it would be a horrible waste for Cashman to have someone that special have limited DH time. The Yankees are stacked at catcher for years. Next year it will be Martin, Romine and Cervelli. Year after 2013 and more likely 2014 we will see Sanchez.
So we begin; what top shelf pitcher does Montero get traded for?
I’m all for a Tigers and Brewers WS. I just hope the ratings are decent. …
and yeah, definitely bring Cashman back.
I don’t know. I think Posada had a few special moments at the end of the regular season. Virtually every night, every AB on that last homestand Posada received huge cheers from the fans. I don’t think there was much else that could have been done last night. The Tigers executed and took the fans out of it early..
uh, oh! aroid wants to come back with vengeance! that only means on thing; more “chit”!
Oh and I thought he meant he was going to give the money back so they could get rid of his sorry ass and replace him with someone who wasn’t a cheater.
The Yankees can’t extend Cano and Grandy yet. They have no clue what CC is going to cost them next year and with a few albatross contracts, and the rising value of both grandy and cano, it’s entirely possible that they won’t have the money to sign both, or atleast be willing to offer what each player is going to seek
“it’s entirely possible that they won’t have the money to sign both”
Seriously? This is the Yankees.
Pawsdeep, congrats on the win and something very cool for your city right now, especially with the Lions. Might have your own rivalry brewing with the Brewers.
That said, you do realize this is the Yankees? Just to put this in perspective. The Yankees could alone, absorb the Athletics and Rays organization and make them Triple A teams, their baseball equivalent to contraction. Not saying that in a pretentious way, but the Yankees could field a $400mm team if they so desired. People like to criticize the Yankees for spending too much, but I think a few fail to realize that they don’t “fully” take advantage of their available assets. They do use a lot of discretion not to overspend by too much compared to the league and Cashman is very good at allocating those assets and being thrifty elsewhere.
I recently relocated to south Florida and the place I’m renting doesn’t have TBS or TNT of all things. I can watch HBO, Encore and every single reality show but I couldn’t watch a single playoff game. Instead I had to follow it on line or from my phone. Sucks.
Very disappointed at the loss and frustrated because of all the things we do best, hit, we failed to do in close games. We either bash you in and score 10 or we struggle to piece together 3 or 4 runs. Our pitching was pretty good the whole series though.
No one expected us to go this far and in whole we learned a lot about some of our younger players and what they are capable of. Certainly some good story lines to build off of and the Yanks should be in a good position to make some moves if they deem them neccesary. What I hope we DON’T do is panic.
Let’s bring back Cashman who has done a very good job this year. I would bring Colon back as well as I think his 2nd half faltered a little to fatigue from pitching Winter Ball and then 150 IP this year. I would not trade Nova, Montero or Nunez but certainly their stock has risen.
Overall, any season that doesn’t end in a WS title is a disappointing one but I am proud to call myself a Yankee fan and proud that this team didn’t listen to the media and bow down to the Red Sox this season.
Congrats to Jeter for showing he had something left in the tank. Congrats to Grandy for having a comeback player of the year type MVP season. Congrats to Swish for battling thru a tough 1st half. Congrats to David Robertson for a breakout season. Congrats to Mo for fighting back Father Time. Congrats to Posada on a fine career which I hope gets you to Cooperstown.
Wow. If CC opts out after what he did in this series and these last two months i will hate this guy forever. i just feel like he owes the team, the fans and the city of NY ! where’s the damn dignity and owning up to your actions, don’t ask for money you don’t deserve dude ! but anyway, Of course he’s opting out !
Yeah shame on guys wanting to make more money. I’m sure you’d go in and ask for a massive pay cut right?
Sabathia has been nothing but great. What does he owe? 3 months ago there were arguements for CC for Cy Young. He had 1 mediocre start which he battled through. Its not like this opt-out snuck up on the yankees, they agreed to the contract too.
What did CC say that makes you think for a second that he wasn’t accountable?
One WS title and 3 great seasons makes me think he’s earned his pay.
Impressive season considering we started with no pitching after CC. It’s all good, just wasn’t our year. Next year is looking the same as this one. 2013 though, watch out!
You sound like a lot of Sox fans I knew 10 years ago. Just sayin’.
He sounds like the Sox fan I am sitting next to right now with the bottle of Jack D at 11:00AM.
Just saying…
Ha, fair enough
haha I mean, I’m an optimistic-realist. It’s delusional to think that you can actually win it every year. We just didn’t have the best team this year, and free agency is not going to help that much for next year’s team. Whether we get him or not, I just don’t see CJ Wilson being an impact pitcher – he’s capitalizing on a weak market. Let’s call it the Jason Bay syndrome. I really really hope we pass.
By 2013, hopefully the farm matures that Betances, Banuelos are in the rotation to complement CC, Nova and some top free agent pitcher we sign in the 2012-2013 off season (Greinke, Cain, or Hamels… barring any of them sign extensions before that – I’m really hating that trend lately)
Of course none of this matters if the world ends in 2012. Thanks Mayans. #lame
Oh God, don’t even get me started on the Mayan calendar crap.
Of course CC is a great pitcher. i did not say he wasn’t . also CC is not getting a paycut, he will still receive 20 Million + for what the next 4 years ? idk. guys, don’t make this a bigger deal than it already is. This is just a fan releasing the anger the best way i can.
Thanks,
Can the Yankees please get Kate Hudson on the payroll? We were rolling pretty good when that chick was with Arod….
The Yankees were prepared to give Cliff Lee 7 years, they should be prepared to give Sabathia the same. All of the sudden weight is an issue?
I wouldn’t be comfortable with giving 7 years to Lee, and I wouldn’t be comfortable giving 7 years to Sabathia (and yes, I’d say even more so because of his weight).
Call me crazy, but I seriously wonder if the Yankees wouldn’t be better served to let CC walk and go after 2-3 other guys, like maybe CJ, Darvish, and Buehrle/Jackson/trade for someone.
Your right if they were comfortable with it this opt-out wouldn’t be an issue. I think Darvish is a huge risk as well. For the yankees, you can count on Nova and Hughes for next year. Adding Wilson and another solid guy wouldnt be the worst thing in the world.
I’m not certain that they can count on Hughes at this point honestly, he may end up in the ‘pen.
Darvish is a risk, I agree, but one that the Yankees can afford to take, and while it’s a different kind of risk it really isn’t much more of a risk than CC for 7 more years.
Hughes is definitely not a guarantee but his velocity seems to be back. And now he has a full offseason to make a recovery. Have to like him more than Burnett next year. I have never seen Darvish pitch so im not going to make a judgement on him but i think paying big money for him and expecting him to be a FOR pitcher his first season in MLB, and especially NY, is a bit of a stretch. Not unrealistic though.
No, I wouldn’t expect him to be a front of the rotation guy his first year, or even ever necessarily, but (in this hypothetical situation) if he is a good #2, along with CJ, Buehrle/Jackson, Burnett, and Nova, I think the Yankees would have a really solid rotation 1-5, which would be better than CC, Nova, Burnett, ??, ??. That’s not to say that they couldn’t bring CC back and still get CJ (and heck, Darvish too) I mean, it is the Yankees, but I don’t think that that is very likely.
I’ve seen Darvish pitch, in the World Baseball Classic, and in Japan for the Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters. Dude is SICK! I’m not a scout or anything, but I can see Darvish adjusting to the mlb talent. I honestly can’t see him in the Dice-Kei category .
(see what I did there?)
well done i appreciated it
Dice-K was supposed to be beastly, it turns out it wasn’t his stuff that couldn’t hold up it was his arm. I truly believe that Dice-K can be quality pitcher in the majors he just has to be able to pitch every five days for season’s length
I just heard a caller on WFAN suggest Clayton Kershaw to the Yankees. I just shook my head in disgust.
The problem with most Yankees fans is that they think the baseball world revolves around their team, so other teams should do their part by helping restock the Yanks every season. Other teams should be honored that we will accept your best player(s).
Not just Yankee fans but news too. Not once did ESPN give ANY credit to the Tigers for winning. It was just all about the Yankees losing and what they are going to do in November. Not how Verlander is going against CJ Wilson in game 1
Regardless of what you all think about “typical Yankee fans” and their insistence on trading for the best players… At this point in time they have one of the best farm systems in baseball and could land any prospect/pitcher/hitter they want…
I’m not saying the Yanks should do this but any team in MLB would take this trade for anyone on their team…
Montero (regarded as the next Victor Martinez)
Banuelos (#1-2 starter in a year or so)
Nova (immediate rotation help)
Nunez
“The problem with most Yankees fans…” that may apply to MOST 20 something year old Yankees fans, but not all. These fans have had the good fortune to have a winning legacy and don’t know REAL failure and DO believe that baseball revolves around their team. When you make a statement like that, it perpetuates that myth, even as you try to dispel it.Keep in mind that MOST Yankees fans are past their 20’s.
You’re right. I should have said SOME, not MOST.
I am pretty sure that any real fan of a team focuses slightly on what is going on around the league and focus themselves around their actual team….I mean that is why their called fans isn’t it.
Why? They’re getting him and Felix because the fans think they should. It’s practically a done deal.
Anyone else think the Yankees should trade Grandy? I know it’s unrealistic but it makes sense, plenty of teams would be interested and he would extract some pitching.
Such as?
Pitching such as Jurrjens, Gonzalez (A’s), and Danks.
Perhaps the Giants are interested in some offense.
It’d be difficult to see any of them do a deal like that unless the Yankees pay a big chunk of his salary. Plus it would take a big chunk out of their offense and create holes in the outfield that would need to be filled.
Guy’s expensive and only under contract for two more years. The only team in the MLB that would trade pitching for him is the Yankees. Plus, if they trade him, they’re outfield takes a huge offensive dip.
Brett Gardner, on the other hand, could provide a much better return. Younger, cost controlled and under contract for a long time.
Alex Rodriguez told Sherman that the Yankees’ season was a “major failure” though
they finished with the best record in the American League. Rodriguez
says he has a lot to prove and is looking forward to the challenge of “coming back with a vengeance.”
Is “Vengeance” a new untraceable form of PED?
Under HIS own admission he said he felt the pressure of his contract to start taking PED’s….this was in the “No Pressure Texas”…..he has to be pulling his hair out trying to figure out how to not show his age and fulfill the expectations of his HUGE MAJOR Pressure in NY contract…..
CC re-signed
Montero, Banuelos etc for the King
A-Rod to DH
Nunez/Chavez at 3rd
Don’t put Jeter at leadoff
“Montero, Banuelos etc for the King”
When does it stop?
2015
Once upon a time the Dodgers played in Brooklyn and would face the Yankees regularly and lose in the WS. The Yankees fans would taunt the Dodger fans and the Dodgers fans would always come back with a vow to change the results next time. “Wait til next year!” was the saying.It became a running joke to Yankees fans. “Coming back with a vengeance” is the 21st century’s version of “wait til next year”. We’ll see.
As far as A-Rod feeling pressure over the contract, that’s not true anymore. He’s lived with the contract long enough and has learned that it’s a no win situation. When he produces, it’s expected and he receives no credit, when he fails, he gets crushed for not living up to the contract.
His team mates get huge money also, so he really doesn’t stand out anymore. The feeling he may be feeling is the pressure of expectations to carry out the so-called “Yankees legacy”. The Yankees mantra is the WS or bust, so when they don’t win it all, it’s a failed season. He’s been a Yankee long enough time, so it may be weighing on him, especially after this poor post season.
My feelings about the yankees are as follows. Let me start out by saying that my expectations for this yankee team was to win 88 games at the absolute maximum, with Phil Hughes pitching as well as he did at the beginning of 2010, throughout the whole season. If someone told me this team would win 97 games, the division and homefield throughout the playoffs, but lose in game 5 of the ALDS, I would have gladly taken that. This was considered by most yankee fans to be a bridge year, and then the team would be set for next season (2012) by trading for an ace.
Considering there was no Hughes and Arod basically throughout, and Jeter was terrible the first half, I wouldn’t have expected any more than 80 wins. Forgetting the fact that AJ, Jorge, Martin, Gardner, and Teix all had disappointing seasons, this team was an absolute surprise. Considering our staff was CC, Nova, Garcia, Colon, Hughes, Aj this team more then overachieved.
Going into next year, I would like to see them retain Swisher, CC, and Jorge. Maybe non tender or trade Martin, and let Montero catch next season. 2012 in my mind will be the bridge year, where the yankees don’t make the playoffs. The real goal should be to find some sort of consistent pitcher mid season. If not, go all in after 2012 and get Kemp and hamels/danks.
Montero – C
Teix – 1b
Cano – 2b
Arod – 3b
Jeter – SS
Granderson – LF
Gardner – CF
Swisher (2012) Kemp (2013) – RF
CC
Nova
Hughes
AJ
B’s/Noesi
Edit: Cut girardi too, he’s benefited from a good team the past 4 seasons, its time for the Francona era now.
Arod was the best 3rd baseman in baseball for the entire first half…
I would go crazy if the Sox were able to land Sabathia, but I’m 99.99% sure it will not happen.