The Yankees were impressed enough with Aaron Boone’s first season at the helm to bring back his entire staff for 2019, tweets George A. King III of the New York Post. Boone made a number of changes to the staff after the 2017 season, promoting Marcus Thames to hitting coach and installing bench coach Josh Bard, third-base coach Phil Nevin and first-base coach Reggie Willits, among others. The 2018 coaching crew will get a chance to run it back after an impressive 100-win season and a second straight playoff appearance.
Here’s a couple other notes from around the MLB…
- The Diamondbacks are replacing their natural playing surface with artificial turf in advance of the 2019 season. Arizona’s baseball operations staff conducted in-depth research, finding their new dual-fiber surface provides performance and health benefits previously unavailable. The retractable roof at Chase Field made it increasingly difficult to maintain consistent growing conditions for their natural surface. Arizona will join Tampa Bay and Toronto as the only franchises to utilize an artificial turf, though the Rangers are reportedly considering a similar surface for their new stadium. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that Texas has yet to make a decision on the playing surface for the stadium set to open in 2020, but decision-makers within the organization will be closely monitoring the situation in Arizona.
- Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun writes that there’s symbolic value to the Orioles’ attempts to woo top Cuban prospect Victor Victor Mesa, even if they can’t close the deal. Considering the Marlins’ recent push to collect international spending pool money and their cultural ties to Cuba, Miami is now widely considered the favorites to sign Victor Victor Mesa, though Mesa’s intentions are as of now unclear.
- In a separate tweet, Meoli suggests that the Orioles summer trade of starting pitcher Kevin Gausman to the Braves was motivated by financial considerations. Though not initially presented as a primary concern, the trade cleared Gausman and Darren O’Day’s contracts from the Baltimore ledger in 2019 and beyond. Gausman has two more seasons of arbitration eligibility remaining after making $5.6MM in 2018. Darren O’Day has yet to pitch for the Braves, though he’ll likely have a role in their bullpen next season as he’s under contract for $9MM in 2019.
Oh yeah he was real impressive.
Retaining the entire staff? The Yankees broke the records for home runs, but they still failed to hit with RISP when it mattered and let’s face it, Larry Rothschild to too old to get through to a relatively young pitching staff, which also under performed all year. Especially CC, Lynn and an inconsistent Severino. Those home runs and a strong pen were the only reasons for the 100 wins. Both have been on-going issues for years, which need to be addressed if the team is going to win future championships.
Let’s face it, the way this team is constructed they’re not “going to win future championships”.
They will if Cash acts like a better GM. He buys low on players to act as a stop gap, hoping for production, as well as rotates prospects from the minors, who aren’t quite ready. The latest one, Sheffield, got a ugly introduction to the show. That’s small market mentality. Look at what the Red Sox, Astros, Dodgers and Brewers did to reach the playoffs. They went all in on big names, who can actually help them.
Firstly the dodgers and Yankees both had to get under the Lux tax this year. Going all in is the dumbest idea for any franchise. Hardly ever works unless your definition of all in is wrong which is likely.
It worked for the Dodgers with Machado, who they can still sign to an extension. Worked for the Red Sox and J.D. Martinez, who basically carried them all year. Except for Stanton, our rivals have done more to improve their teams for the last several years.
Yes, if the Yankees hit HR’s they win.
They don’t know how to play winning baseball.
Boone never managed people in his life. He has no clue about managing a baseball team, let alone one in the major leagues.
Rothschild was simply awful this year. He did not bring along one young pitcher of the 8-10 he had to work with. At best he got standard results out of some of the veteran pitchers.
I don’t blame Cashman for attempting to stabilize the coaching staff. But even with the Yankees spending money this offseason, I see the Rays finishing ahead of them in 2019. Cash so outmanaged Boone it was almost comical to watch. As Cash got some decent players during the season, the Rays finished 10-6 vs. the Yankees the last 16 games.
Rothschild has nothing to do with the minor leaguers, he deals with the major league players. I’m not saying he did a good job.
He has to deal with the prospects who come up as temporary replacements, whether it’s in the pen or in the rotation, dependent on how long they stay.
“Rothschild has nothing to do with the minor leaguers, he deals with the major league players. I’m not saying he did a good job”
He had Chance Adams, Luis Cessa, Domingo German, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Justus Sheffield this year. Couldn’t do a thing to get a one to be consistent. Sonny Gray is worse then the day he came over from the A’s.
Sonny Gray is the only valid point you made, yet he isn’t a minor leaguer. Cessa and German suck and no one can fix that. Adams and Sheffield were up for about 10 minutes. Sheffield was reportedly struggling with fastball command before he qas brought up. Adams was about what was expected. Loaisiga pitched well until injured. And it doesn’t matter who the pitching coach is, he isn’t there to develop pitchers, he’s there to fix problems that come up.
Joe;
You have less of a clue as to what ML pitching coaches are responsible for, then Boone does about managing pitchers and utilizing his 25 man roster.
You see the Rays finishing ahead of the Yankees in 2019? That’s quite the day dream. New York signs two of Corbin, Machado,Harper, Kershaw, (Most likely Corbin Machado) Add that to the team they have, several good pitching prospects that are close, and a possible trade for another starter and you see the Rays ahead of the Yankees, Not gonna happen. That’s laughable…..
Machado to Yankees is a curious move at best. However you’re probably right on the money.
“….. several good pitching prospects that are close…..”
Joe just wrote above that all those prospects stink.
You kids have to get your stories straight.
And sure – the Yankees are going to add $60-75mm onto their payroll for 2 players….in addition to raises for current players.
Rothschild is terrible. Wow they are bringing him back?
You read my mind.
I was surprised to learn that Marcus Thames was the Yankees hitting coach. I remember him from his playing days in Detroit. Excellent power but no on base skills and mucho K’s. So I looked at his career splits: the dude KILLED IT as a pinch hitter (over 100 PA) and in extra innings. And even when he had bad AVG and OBP, he always showed power. Maybe Thames is not there to help the stars but all the other guys.
Have the D-Backs never heard of LED stadium turf growing lights that are commonplace in European football stadiums for almost a decade now?
i.postimg.cc/rswxgbmK/ppc.jpg
Solar-powered, the operating costs for such an installation should be very affordable.
“Astroturf” is making a comeback? Gawd, I remember when that surface got so freaking hot at some stadiums (the late and not lamented Riverfront in Cincinnati comes to mind) that it would melt the shoes of the outfielders. Has to be a better solution to the covered parks than playing baseball on plastic.
100 wins and “fans” will still cry & kick their feet!
100 wins means nothing in October, when they were eliminated again. The goal of organizations throughout all of sports is to win championships. Not fail consecutively.
Why don’t you try being an Orioles fan and have some real problems?
Good one, though they certainly played the Yanks tough this year.
lol That’s true. But the only problem with the Orioles is the ownership and upper executive management.. Angelos is toxic to the team. Time will tell if his sons will be demonstrate more leadership. He repeated the same mistake as Cashman by viewing the team through a small market mentality. The O’s have never been able to do much with a restrictive budget and conflicts with the on field management.
But they should not have a restrictive budget. They make megabucks from the Orioles and Nationals cable deals (although rightfully so since that was the adreed upon deal for the Nats to move there).
You’re absolutely right. They shouldn’t, Especially since Baltimore is not a small market. But Angelos has never been willing to excessively spend. Even with a depleted farm system. The prospects from the Machado and Schoop deals will help to start to build it up, but not for some time. Meanwhile, the team needs veterans, who can produce and be leaders for the young players, now that it’s basically become a rebuild.
“Angelos has never been willing to excessively spend.” The Orioles had the highest payroll in baseball in the mid-90’s going head to head with the Yankees.
That was a time when the O’s had quality players under control, who helped them to stay competitive in the division. Ripken Jr. Brady Anderson, Segui, Hulett, Finley, Deveraux, Schilling, Olson, McDonald, Moose, Flanagan. Just to name some. Since then, the team has been in decline, with the exception of the AL East title in 2014.
I’m not gonna go with the whole 100 wins means nothing angle, because of course it does. This team seems to be more behind the one that finished 2017 with cohesion, maybe it’s Boone or maybe it isn’t. I don’t think trading for Stanton was needed, and please people don’t say he fell into their lap, because it’s not true. Stanton doesn’t seem to fit into NY, and it seems like the other players kinda see it, he’s the highest paid DH in history at the end of the day. Theres a lot to do with this team, and just maybe Cashman isn’t the “Ninja” I’ve seen Yankees fans think he is.
As one person stated, Boone’s lack of management experience is part of the problem. Poor use of the pitching staff. He leaves guys in the game, who get hammered, but still expects them to get right. When that’s the opposite of what happens. Then he uses analytics to determine how the pen is used. With the Red Sox, he brought in power arms to face power hitters, who knew what to expect. They jumped on Severino and Lynn, because the dugout called out the fastballs. That was stupidity. As for Cash, he’s only a ninja because of his unpredictability. He makes moves that are either the rare big ones or last minute deals on players that no other teams take.
So what does 100 wins mean? It means wild card. Big deal. The idea is to win the world series. To do so you need to be able to play baseball not just hit homers.
Hitting homers only can get you 100 wins. Enjoy that while you watch real baseball teams play in October
Wait, hitting home runs suddenly becomes a bad thing in October?
The AL is stacked, great teams are going to lose. Trying to blame it on home runs is as stupid as it is backward.
Odds are you’re the same guy who would argue that three run homers are bad because they kill rallies.
Homers are typical, but not practical to always rely on. When players are try hards to hit homers, they kill the small ball game and the odds of scoring faster. That’s why the Yankees often have late rallies. It’s not just because of pitchers who give up runs or bad defense. It’s because they fail to get on base early, take advantage of risp.and get enough insurance runs to win.
I agree MetsYanksSox. Bottom line they won 100 games with Monty going down early, Sonny Bust and Judge being lost for a month and a half. Not bad.
The wound is still healing because the Sox eliminated them. I’ve been on the receiving end many times in the past. It isn’t pleasant.
Make Boone manager of NY for life.
-Every Red Sox Fan
Keep commenting.
-So everyone else can look like geniuses
Cereal….. LOL
I do what I can.
I’m just thinking back to when josh bard blocked Matt holiday from touching home in game 163, 2007. Then the ump blew the call.
Girardi missed the playoffs in 2008, his first season as NYY manager. Unlike his father, Hal believes in continuity, so he kept Girardi for 2009, and the rest is history.
My prediction? Aaron Boone is kept for 2019, and gets fired. Nice guy… Keeps repeating the same mistake. Leaves starters in way too long, and refused to call upon that historic bullpen
I haven’t lost faith in Boone yet but I wish the Yankees would have hired a guy with at least some managerial experience.
Yeah. Sometimes the player/coaches approach works. But more often it doesn’t. Just because they can relate to players doesn’t mean that they can manage.
LF, 1B, Starters, BP, got some work to do this winter. Let’s all write Stanton and remind him how beautiful Southern California is.
Cereal.. Voit at first. He earned the opportunity. No big spending on LF. Next year Goldschmidt is a FA if Voit doesn’t work out. If the Yankees sign Harper then there is no way to spend big elsewhere. Like it or not Stanton is a Yankee as well as Ellsbury. If Ells is healthy he will be given the chance to play.
Pretty sure once Boone makes a mistake, he will get the hook midway in the season.
There is a athletic story that Cashman admits the coach has to follow their philosophy and if they veer off they are spoken too. Cashman is the real manager boone is a puppet.
Good take Xab……
The game did seem to speed up on him at times. I blame it on a lack of experience.
This has nothing to do with any other comments, but how amazing is it that Reggie Willits batted 1000 times in the majors and never hit a home run? That’s pretty cool
Bartolo Colon batted 326 times and hit one.
The Yankees haven’t learned that they can’t use Gary Sanchez as catcher, perhaps as DH but not at catcher. I felt his poor catching contributed in the loss of the 2017 ALCS and again in the 2018 ALDS, especially in game 1.
Sanchez’s bat doesn’t even offset his terrible defense and framing. He’s labeled as one of the worst pitch framers in the league.. Yet Cash still keeps him for his bat. He chokes with RISP and k’s just as much as Stanton.
After watching the ALDS, the Sanchez D argument is valid. Sanchez was not good, and his bat wasn’t Piazza’esque to forget the liabilities behind the plate. Boston also made plays in the OF the Yankees OF could not make. Add Andujar and you have a Yankees team that need to address the team D for 2019. That will help the entire pitching staff.
I get lots WS or bust BUT BUT 100 wins are nothing to scoff at.
Well you play the Orioles 19 times per year you can win 100 games
They don’t have good numbers against the Os.
As an O’s fan all I can say is at least you Yankees fans have something to look forward to. Machado will look good in pinstripes.
Cash won’t overbuy on Machado. Same with Bryce Harper. Both of them would either cost the entire farm system or be so expensive, that the luxury threshold penalty will be ridiculous. Maybe the new GM for the O’s will be smart and bring him back there.
How does signing any free agent cost thr entire farm system?
Cash can either sign them as free agents or follow his usual pattern and wait for the market to play out, then pursue them during the regular season. In which case, they would cost prospects.
Boone is a joke. I wasn’t behind the hiring to begin with and that sentiment hasn’t changed. He is terrible at managing starting pitchers and the bullpen. He cannot set a staring lineup. Every day was a strange mix. these were problems all season long and they were magnified in the post season (especially the pitching moves). This team shouldn’t be wasting the championship window with Boone at the helm. He looks lost. Yes, they won 100 games but I believe it was in-spite of Boone. Garbage player, garbage analyst, garbage analyst. I really hope he proves me wrong
He does. It’s no surprise that analytics is starting to be the determining factor in the game and the Yankees have developed the top department. The problem is that the fundamentals will be lost in the process. Rather than build teams based on match ups, they need to be set based on players who can produce wins. It reminds me of the first time I watched Moneyball. One of the scenes will always be true:
“Your goal shouldn’t be to buy players. Your goal should be to buy wins, and in order to buy wins, you need to buy runs.”
I get it Yanks fans you have high expectations and with your market and history I don’t blame you to a certain extent. But it can’t be WS or fire everyone every year can it? I think Cashman has had a few good years of building a very talented young core and adding a piece or two to that. Now that they’ve reset the Luxury tax I’m sure they’ll go hard at addressing needs. Everyone is talking Harper and Machado but I think they have to find picking help. If they can do that they have as good of a chance as any maybe better they can mash.