News reports today have the Yankees negotiating to re-sign Johnny Damon.
Damon turned 36 years old on Nov. 5. For the past three seasons, he has had problems with his legs and feet.
Once a fearsome threat to steal bases, Damon had only 12 thefts in 2009.
Once a centerfielder with range as good as all but three or four players in the majors, Damon now is a shadow of himself on defense.
He cannot cover the ground he once did and his throwing arm is virtually non-existent. Beginning in 2008, teams realized they could ...
Since it remains to be seen whether the Curtis Granderson deal will work out for the Yankees, this writer will withhold criticism on that deal, although there is still a chance it may be a bust.
So in considering the worst mistake Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman has made in the past two years, focus will be on the one he let get away.
Bobby Abreu was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies and at the end of the 2008 season he became a free agent.
In 2008 he had slugged 30 home runs ...
The Rule 5 Draft has come and gone, with the Yankees adding Jamie Hoffmann and losing two relievers in the process.
The first pitcher taken was Zach Kroenke by the Diamondbacks, a left-handed reliever who spent the entire 2009 season in Triple-A and pitched well there. He was actually taken by the Marlins in last season's Rule 5 draft as well.
Kroenke has gotten good results in the upper minors over the past few seasons despite his fringy stuff.
He is especially tough against lefties and profiles as more of a LOOGY than ...
Believe it or not, Curtis Granderson isn’t the only player involved in the three-way pact capable of making an instantaneous impact.
You’ve already seen my assessment of the move from the Yankees’ perspective , so below is a more thorough analysis of the packages received by both Detroit and Arizona:
Detroit Tigers : SP Max Scherzer, OF Austin Jackson, LHP Dan Schlereth and LHP Phil Coke
The Tigers, in an obvious payroll slashing mode, prioritized moving both Granderson and Edwin Jackson this offseason. Little did they know they would land a stud starter ...
With the first pick in the 2009 Rule Five Draft that the Yankees received in return for Brian Bruney, they selected Jamie Hoffmann, an outfielder in the Dodgers' system.
Hoffmann will be 25 years old for the 2009 season, stands 6'3", and weighs 220. Interestingly enough, he was undrafted and found by a scout who convinced him to sign with the Dodgers, even though he had primarily been playing hockey (he was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes).
He has made a solid impression since starting his career, and was ranked in the ...
First things first, I don’t hate the New York Yankees. My best friend loves them, so I must dignify everything I say about them.
The latest acquisition , center fielder Curtis Granderson , late of the Detroit Tigers, is the most recent arrow in the quiver of Yankee haters everywhere. Easily one of the better center fielders in the game, Curtis becomes yet another power hitting left-handed batter for the Bronx Bombers.
If someone looked at a graph of the 29-year old Granderson career they would easily become disillusioned and think the ...
The Yankees hope Granderson can do more than just field, steal bases, and hit homers in New York.
The New York Yankees won the World Series this past season with the best offense in baseball. They hit .283 as a team, socked 244 home runs, and had an incredible .362 on-base percentage. Seven of their regulars hit 20 or more home runs. Derek Jeter, their captain who was in the MVP conversation, missed out with 18 long balls. Their center fielder, Melky Cabrera had the least amount of homers ...
The Yankees are showing why they are an elite team once again. Say what you want, like “They buy all their championships.” Maybe, maybe not. I say, “If you don’t reinvest in your product, it becomes stationary. It becomes average.” Merely weeks after celebrating another championship, they are still at work making some major moves this current off season.
New York City is not average; its sport franchises shouldn’t be either. I will state for the record, that the Knicks are struggling thanks largely in part to Isiah Thomas, Stephon Marbury, ...
This week, Andy Pettitte announced that he wanted to return to pitch in 2010 for the Yankees.
On Wednesday, the Yankees and Pettitte agreed on a one-year deal worth $11.75 million to bring the 37-year-old left hander back for at least one more season.
This is the third time Pettitte has put off retirement to pitch again for the Yankees. It's hard to blame him after a terrific 2009 season.
He went 14-8 in the regular season with a 4.16 ERA in 194.2 innings. He had 148 strikeouts in 32 start.
In the postseason, ...
“The pitch- swung on and hit in the air to deep right-center field, that ball is high, it is far, it is GONE! It’s a GRAND SLAM! Ballgame over! Yankees win! THE YANKEES WIN!
The unmistakable voice of the New York Yankees, John Sterling, is the source of this booming home run call. He made this call on May 17, 2002, when Jason Giambi hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 14th inning against the Minnesota Twins during a massive, hours-long downpour of rain.
As the play unfolded on ...