Good morning.
First, a brief comment:
When evaluating the free-agent landscape for the Bronx Bombers, keep in mind that, for the first time since Brian Cashman assumed the role of general manager in 1996, the Yankees no longer have all that much to offer, other than a healthier Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Piñeda, an upgrade at shortstop (yeah, I said it . . . again), and at least modest improvements from Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann. Oh yeah, and A-Rod.
Once upon a time, the Yankees were able to lure top free agents by bundling offers of riches no team could match with promises of October baseball.
No longer.
Several other franchises appear to be making credible runs at either Jon Lester or Max Scherzer, this offseason’s marquee names.
So what’s the selling point today? If a premier free agent wants to play for a winner, the Tigers, Cardinals, Orioles, and Nationals expect to be the favorites in their respective divisions next season. If he wants to play for the green, the Red Sox and Dodgers have among the deepest pockets in the game. If he desires a little of both, I’m pretty sure Arte Moreno and the Angels can’t wait to meet him.
Before shouting in response, “It’s New York! It’s playing in the House That Ruth Matsui Built! It’s Madison Avenue!” keep in mind that being a part of a winning team is, first and foremost, what makes the Bronx a coveted place to play. (Come on, don’t tell me you fail to recall the good ol’ days when George Steinbrenner was making rather loud noises about moving the team to Jersey?)
To be clear, I’m not saying Cashman has no chance of signing either player. Only that it’s no longer a foregone conclusion.
And with that . . . here are several links from the past week that will make your Monday at the office a bit more bearable:
- Beyond the Boxscore’s Jordan Silverman maintains that Monday’s trade between the Cardinals and Braves, where defensive wizard Jason Heyward and reliever Jordan Walden were sent underneath the Arch in exchange for starter Shelby Miller and 22-year-old minor-league pitcher Tyrell Jenkins, indicates that St. Louis is going all-in for 2015.
- Elsewhere in the NL Central, Grant Brisbee of SB Nation recommends that the Reds not blow up their roster and similarly shoot for a division title.
- If you’re ever in need of a quick primer on the Reds and the club’s star players going back to its inception in 1881, check out “The Mount Rushmore of the Cincinnati Reds,” by Doug of High Heat Stats.
- This post from Fangraphs’ Drew Fairservice, who asks, “Is Nick Swisher done?” ought to get the attention of my Cleveland-native editor:
The single biggest hurdle between Swisher and productivity in 2015 is health. His season ended in August as both his knees gave him trouble all season long, a problem he first observed towards the end of Spring Training. In the end, he required “debridements” in both his knees, cleaning up all manner of mess and scar tissue. How much did Swisher’s physical issues contribute to the worst season of his career?
It’s easy to dismiss everything as a product of a weakened lower half, but a rough 2014 together with his 2013 season suggests a player in decline. just not as steep as he fell off last year. The uptick in strikeouts — and subsequent drop in walk rate — is the ledge upon which his entire bounce-back teeters.
Swisher’s increasing whiff rate as the year went on, coupled with the increase in breaking balls thrown his way, is a matter of perspective. A sympathetic soul might chalk all his struggles up to injury. A weakened base slowed his bat, causing him to cheat on the fastball and leaving him exposed to the larger doses of breaking balls. If he’s healthy and able to produce more rotation with his lower half, suddenly he has a quicker bat and voila! Swisher’s fixed! He did chase more in 2014, a fact the optimists among us happily brush under the injury rug.
On top of more strikeouts, fewer walks, and more chases, Swisher managed to hit more pop-ups and generally made worse contact as the year wore on and his knees wore down. Suddenly there is a mounting pile of evidence suggesting this hitter just isn’t that great anymore. Any expected regression gets held down by the weight of rapidly deteriorating
- Adam LaRoche signed a two-year, $25 million contract to play first base and designated hitter on the South Side, while Russell Martin inked a five-year, $85 million deal to crouch behind the plate north of the border. Nick Ashborune of Blue Jays Banter checks out what pitchers are likely to benefit the most from Martin’s superior pitch-framing skills.
- For a retired athlete, Curt Schilling has received more than his fair share of attention in recent days. Via Slate’s Elliot Hannon and Deadspin’s Kevin Draper: First, he got mired in a Twitter back-and-forth with ESPN colleague Keith Law in, of all things, an evolution-versus-creationism debate. Then, later, he had to apologize to TSA employees at Logan International Airport for the fake hand grenade discovered in his son’s backpack. Hey, imagine if a toy baby T-Rex had been found instead? Do you think TSA would have sent for Dr. Malcolm?
That’s it. Have a walk-off week!