Results tagged ‘ Hideki Matsui ’
‘Super’ Nova Continues His Mastery Over Cold Rays
GAME 55
YANKEES 4, RAYS 1
Through the first third of the season the Yankees have not gotten much consistency from 25-year-old right-hander Ivan Nova, who entered Wednesday’s contest against the Rays with a 5.60 ERA.
Perhaps Nova finally found his groove or the Rays’ offense is in a severe deep freeze. Whatever the reason, Nova looked dominant and he had the Rays in control on the Yankee Stadium mound.
Nova pitched eight-plus innings and just missed pitching a complete-game shutout as New York downed Tampa Bay for the second night in a row and they now have won 10 of their last 13 games.
Nova (7-2) gave up a single to Desmond Jennings to start the game and he did not allow another hit until Sean Rodriguez stroked a one-out double in the eighth inning. In the ninth, Jennings and B.J. Upton hit back-to-back triples to spoil the shutout and end Nova’s evening.
It was the Rays’ first run of the series and their first score in their last 19 innings.
Nova gave up just the four hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out five to win his third straight start. He faced the minimum in five of his eight innings of work and at one point he retired 13 straight batters.
Rafael Soriano entered the game in the ninth with Upton on third and no outs and he retired Matt Joyce, Ben Zobrist and Hideki Matsui in order to collect his eighth save in eight opportunities.
Meanwhile, Nova received all the support he really needed on a pair of solo home runs.
With one out in the second inning, Mark Teixeira smacked a 0-1 hanging slider from right-hander Alex Cobb into the second deck in right-field for his 10th home run of the season and his fifth in his last 11 games.
Two innings later, Robinson Cano connected off Cobb (2-2) on 2-0 fastball and he lined a rope into the first row of seats over the auxiliary scoreboard in right-center for his ninth home run of the season. It was his fifth home run in his last 13 games.
Those two home runs were only two hits the Yankees managed off Cobb until the bottom of the eighth.
Raul Ibanez led off the inning with a single into right. With Dewayne Wise pinch-running for Ibanez at first, Nick Swisher laced a double down the right-field line that scored Wise easily. Eric Chavez followed with a double off the wall in left-center that scored Swisher to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead.
Cobb left having given up four runs on five hits and one walk and he struck out four in seven-plus innings.
With the victory, the Yankees pulled into second place in the American League East with a 31-24 record, a half-game behind the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays’ season record is 31-25 and they fell into third place in the division.
PINSTRIPE POSITIVES
- Nova was at his absolute best on Wednesday. He retired 13 of his 24 outs on ground balls and threw 69 of his 103 pitches for strikes (67 percent). Nova also has run his career record against the Rays to 4-0 and he is 2-0 against them this season. Nova’s effort lowered his season ERA to 5.09.
- Soriano came to the rescue in the ninth with one run in and a runner on third with nobody out. But he induced Joyce to pop out in foul territory, he fanned Zobrist on a pitch in the dirt and Matsui’s high fly ball to right died at the warning track. Soriano remains perfect in save situations and he lowered his ERA to 1.90. Soriano also has not been scored upon since the Rays scored a run off of him on May 10 at Yankee Stadium, a string of 10 consecutive scoreless outings.
- Teixeira’s return to driving the ball has led to a recent flurry in which he is 14-for-42 (.333) with five home runs and 12 RBIs over his last 11 games. In that span he has raised his season average from .226 to .249.
- Despite being hit on the left forearm in Tuesday’s game, Cano was able to play Wednesday and homered. Cano had been in tailspin that had dropped his season average to .286 but he now has a modest four-game hitting streak and he is 5-for-14 (.357) during that span.
NAGGING NEGATIVES
- The Yankees had a hard time mustering much offense against Cobb, a rookie right-hander. Part of the problem is that Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson were 0-for-7 against Cobb at the top of the lineup. They were 0-for-8 overall and they only managed to get one ball out of the infield.
- After showing signs of coming out of his season-long funk on Tuesday with a three hits, including a grand-slam home run, Russell Martin was 0-for-3 with a strikeout on Wednesday. That lowered his batting average back to .206.
- Alex Rodriguez committed a stupid base-running play in the fourth inning. He drew a walk from Cobb with one out and Cobb’s second pitch to Cano bounced under the glove of catcher Jose Molina. However, Molina was able to retrieve it with Rodriguez halfway between first and second base. Rodriguez tried to get back to first but Molina gunned him down easily. Cano homered on the next pitch and Rodriguez’s mistake cost the Yankees a run.
BOMBER BANTER
Closer Mariano Rivera learned the issue with a blood clot in his right calf has been resolved and he is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn meniscus in his right knee next Tuesday in New York. Rivera, 42, said he hopes to be able to pitch in 2013. . . . All-Star setup man David Robertson will throw a bullpen session on Thursday at Yankee Stadium and he could possibly pitch in a minor-league game on Sunday. Robertson has been on the 15-day disabled list since May 14 with a strained left oblique. . . . Brett Gardner will play for Class A Advanced Tampa on Thursday and he could be activated as soon as Sunday. Gardner has been on the disabled list since April 18 with a strained right elbow.
ON DECK
The Yankees will be looking for a clean sweep of their three-game home series against the Rays on Thursday.
They will call upon ace left-hander CC Sabathia (7-2, 3.68 ERA) to get that sweep. Sabathia gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks and fanned five batters in eight innings of work last Friday in a victory over the Tigers. Sabathia is 10-7 with a 3.11 ERA in his career against the Rays.
The Rays are countering with left-hander David Price (7-3, 2.44 ERA). Price struck five in 7 1/3 innings last Friday while giving up four hits and two walks in a victory over the Orioles. Price is 5-3 with 4.15 ERA in his career against the Yankees but one of those losses was this season and Sabathia outpitched him in that game.
Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.
Pettitte’s Masterpiece Renders Rays To Canvas
GAME 54
YANKEES 7, RAYS 0
Michelangelo is generally considered the greatest artist of all-time and the Sistine Chapel is living testimony to that greatness. But I truly doubt that Michelangelo could have painted the corners of the strike zone any better than Andy Pettitte did on Tuesday night.
Home plate at Yankee Stadium was Pettitte’s canvas as he craftily dotted a corner here and skillfully used some heavy brushstrokes there on the Rays in 7 1/3 innings of two-hit, no-run baseball and he struck out 10 batters as New York ended up hanging a masterpiece on Tampa Bay.
The 39-year-old left-hander was truly the “Grand Master” as he took command of the game from the opening pitch all the way to his strikeout of Luke Scott to open the eighth inning that ended his night. Pettitte (3-2) gave up only two singles and two walks and no base-runner got past second base as he thoroughly dominated the Rays with his arsenal of cutters, curves, sliders and fastballs.
Meanwhile, struggling catcher Russell Martin broke out of a season-long funk to collect three hits, including a one-out, grand-slam homer off Rays starter James Shields (6-4) in the fourth inning that gave the Yankees a 6-0 lead.
Shields was undone by a combination of sloppy Rays play and Martin’s well-timed home run.
The Yankees scored two unearned runs off Shields in the first inning aided by a wild pitch, a missed double play and a critical two-out error.
With one out Curtis Granderson singled to right and Shields tossed a wild pitch that advanced him to second. He then walked Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano slapped a one-hopper that bounced off Shields’ glove for a double-play ball that became a single.
In keeping with the Yankees’ 2012 tradition of bases-loaded futility, Mark Teixeira struck out looking and Raul Ibanez dribbled a routine ground ball to shortstop Elliot Johnson. However, Johnson short-armed the throw and the ball bounced off first baseman Carlos Pena’s glove and Granderson and Rodriguez scored.
Then in the fourth, Ibanez drew a one-out walk, Nick Swisher singled sharply to right and Eric Chavez was walked on four pitches.
Martin then stepped the plate after having singled in the second inning to bring his batting average to .200 for the first time since May 5. Down 0-2 in the count, Martin actually swung at a high and outside fastball and he drilled it to the opposite field into the right-field bleachers.
The Yankees added a run in the fifth inning on a one-out double off the right-field wall by Swisher to score Cano, who had led off with a double..
Shields, who has lost three of his last four starts and has an ERA of 5.92 in that span, gave up seven runs (five earned) on seven hits and four walks and struck out two in just five innings. In his three starts against the Yankees this season, Shields is 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA.
However, this chilly evening in the Bronx belonged to Pettitte. He threw 103 pitches and 70 were strikes for a percentage of 68 percent. He has won three of his four starts at Yankee Stadium this season and his effort tonight drew the Yankees to within a half-game of the Rays and Orioles, who are tied for first place in the American League East.
The Yankees boosted their season record to 30-24. The Rays fell to 31-24.
PINSTRIPE POSITIVES
- Pettitte’s 10 strikeouts were the most he has recorded in a game since 2003. But that really does not tell you just how dominant he was on Tuesday. In one stretch he struck out five Rays batters in a row. The only hits he gave up were a leadoff single to B.J. Upton in the fourth inning and a one-out single by Pena in the fifth. Pettitte lowered his ERA to 2.78, which is the best of all the Yankee starters. It was the 243rd victory of his career.
- Martin’s grand slam was his fifth home run of the season and it was his fourth career grand slam. Martin’s 3-for-4 night raised his batting average to .211 on the season. He has gotten at least one hit in six of his last seven games and he is 9-for-23 (.391) during that span. The Yankees hope his season-long slump is finally over.
- Cano was 2-for-3 with a single and a double. He entered the game in a 4-for-26 slump (.154).
NAGGING NEGATIVES
I am not going to dwell on any negatives in a night the Yankees needed to win to move up in the division. Pettitte was spectacular and the Yankees have very quietly won nine of their last 12 games. They are only one game off their pace from last season when they won 97 games.
BRONX BANTER
Hideki Matsui returned to Yankee Stadium wearing No. 35 for the Rays on Tuesday and he received a warm reception from the 40,537 fans in attendance when he stepped to the plate in the second inning. However, Matsui was 0-for-4 in the game and he is 1-for-9 in his career against his former teammate Pettitte. . . . Cano was hit by a pitch from Rays reliever Cesar Ramos in the seventh inning and he was removed from the game in the bottom of ninth inning in favor of Jayson Nix. It is unclear if Cano was injured or if he will miss any time as a result. . . . Yankee manager Joe Girardi made it clear that when David Robertson is activated from the disabled list he will be the setup man for Rafael Soriano. Robertson is recovering from a left oblique strain and he hopes to return in about two weeks. . . . Early balloting indicates that shortstop Derek Jeter and outfielder Granderson are leading at their positions for the 2012 All-Star Game. Cano and Teixeira are in second place at their respective positions. The balloting will end at midnight on June 28.
ON DECK
The Yankees will continue their three-game home series with the Rays on Wednesday.
The Yankees will start right-hander Ivan Nova (6-2, 5.60 ERA). Nova has won his last two starts despite giving up eight runs in 13 2/3 innings (5.27 ERA). The Yankees scored six runs for him in each of those starts. Nova is 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA in his career against the Rays.
The Rays will counter with right-hander Alex Cobb (2-1, 3.71 ERA). Cobb gave up four runs on nine hits and a walk and he hit two batters in five innings against the White Sox in his last start. He has no record with a 1.50 ERA in his one start against the Yankees.
Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by ESPN2 and locally by the YES Network.
Yankees Get 8 CCs Of Sabathia To Outgun Rangers
GAME 16
YANKEES 7, RANGERS 4
If you want to be the best team in the American League than you want to play the best team in the A.L. and beat their best with your best. New York did just that to Texas on Monday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, TX.
CC Sabathia pitched a solid eight innings and Alex Rodriguez homered and Derek Jeter contributed four hits as the Yankees defeated what was a red-hot Rangers team.
Sabathia (2-0) gave up four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out eight batters to win his second consecutive start. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth inning to record his fourth save of the season.
The Yankees’ offense, meanwhile, made life a living hell for Rangers starter Derek Holland (2-0). Holland gave up seven runs on nine hits and four walks and struck out one in six innings. He is now 0-5 in his career against the Yankees.
The Yankees struck early off Holland, loading the bases in the first inning and Curtis Granderson hit a looping two-out single to center give the Yankees an early 2-1 lead.
After the Rangers scored a run on a Josh Hamilton double-play grounder, the Yankees struck for four runs in the fifth inning, capped by Rodriguez’s 414-foot blast into the left-field seats for a three-run home run to give the Yankees a 6-1 lead.
They added a run in the sixth when backup catcher Chris Stewart hit a one-out double off the wall in left-center and Jeter scored him with a double off the wall in right-center.
Sabathia did surrender a solo home run to Hamilton in the sixth and a two-run double by Craig Gentry in the seventh. But he retired the last five batters he faced on routine grounders before giving way to Rivera.
Before the game, manager Joe Girardi was hoping Sabathia would pitch into the late innings to give a needed break to his overtaxed bullpen and Sabathia did just that, throwing 77 of his 109 pitches for strikes and keeping the Rangers’ power-laden offense at bay long enough for the Yankees to get to Holland.
With the victory, the Yankees improved their season record to 10-6 and they are now tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the A.L. East. The Rangers fell to 13-4.
PINSTRIPE POSITIVES
- Sabathia did give up four runs but this was, by far, his best performance of the season. Other than the scratch run he allowed in the first and Hamilton’s home run in the fifth, Sabathia pitched dominant baseball for the first six innings. He hurt himself with a leadoff walk to Nelson Cruz in the seventh and then he gave up one-out doubles to Brandon Snyder and Gentry, who were the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters in the lineup. He is now 11-3 in his career against the Rangers.
- Jeter’s amazing start to the season just keeps getting better by the day. He reached on a infield single in the first, singled to left-center in the second, rolled a single into left in the fifth and then stroked his RBI double in the sixth. His 4-for-5 night raised his season average over .400 to .411. He also has 13 RBIs from the leadoff spot.
- Rodriguez hit his third home run of the season off Holland on an 0-1 fastball that did not get in as far as Holland would have liked. Rodriguez, who was walked in his first two trips to the plate, was waiting for it and sent it into the bleachers in left-center. After a slow start at the plate, Rodriguez has homered twice in his last three games and has driven in five of his seven runs in that span.
- Granderson’s two-run single set the tone for the game because it came after Mark Teixeira had struck out for the second out of the inning with the bases loaded. Granderson hung in against the left-handed Holland to fist a 1-2 pitch into center to score two runs and give Sabathia an early cushion against the Rangers.
NAGGING NEGATIVES
- Teixeira entered the game having great success against Holland, who had given up three home runs to him in his young career. But Teixeira struck out with the bases loaded in the first, rolled into a double play in the the third and bounced out to short again the fifth against Holland. He was 0-for-4 in the game coming off his six RBIs against the Red Sox on Saturday.
- With Brett Gardner on the disabled list, Girardi elected to use Andruw Jones in left and insert Eduardo Nunez as the DH on Monday. They combined to go 0-for-8 and Nunez only managed to get one ball out of the infield.
- Jeter made a careless error in the second inning on a ground ball off the bat of Cruz. Jeter lobbed the ball to first and it short-hopped Teixeira and bounced away from him. Fortunately, the error did not hurt the Yankees. Sabathia retired the next two batters and Cruz was stranded at first.
BOMBER BANTER
The status of right-handed starter Michael Pineda will have to wait another day. A scheduling conflict will force Pineda to meet with the team physician on Tuesday and he also will undergo an MRI dye contrast test on his ailing right shoulder. The Yankees hope to have the results of the tests later that evening. Pineda, 23, had to halt a bullpen session in Tampa, FL., last week after 15 pitches due to weakness in his shoulder. . . . Freddy Garcia has received a reprieve from Girardi. Garcia will make a start in the weekend home series against the Detroit Tigers, despite an 0-3 record and a 9.75 ERA in his first three starts. Girardi said Garcia will pitch either Saturday or Sunday.
ON DECK
Since Hideki Matsui pretty much retired the nickname “Godzilla” then the second game of the Yankees-Rangers series between two former Japanese League stars should be titled “Rodan vs. Anguirus” if you are up on your 1950s Japanese movie monsters.
The Yankees will start 37-year-old right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (2-1, 5.00 ERA). Kuroda, who pitched 11 seasons for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, has been bad, good and then bad again in his first three starts. He gave up six runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Twins on Wednesday. He is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA against the Rangers.
Opposing him will be Yu Darvish (2-0, 3.57 ERA). The 25-year-old Darvish, who pitched seven seasons for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, gave up just two hits but walked and struck out five in 6 1/3 innings in a 10-3 victory over the Tigers. Darvish has never faced the Yankees.
Game-time will be 8:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.
Yankees Finally Part Ways With Good And Bad A.J.
When Gerald Ford assumed the presidency from a resigned Richard Nixon on Aug. 9, 1974 he told the American people in a nationally televised address that “our long national nightmare is over.”
Well, on Feb. 17, 2012 I am hear to tell Yankee Universe that our own “national nightmare” is indeed over.
The New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates have tentatively reached agreement on a deal that would send enigmatic 35-year-old right-hander A.J. Burnett to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for two minor leaguers and $13 million in cash.
The deal has not been officially announced and it still would require the approval of Commissioner Bud Selig because of the amount of cash involved. But the fact that the Pirates have released the names of the two players the Yankees are acquiring in the deal is proof that the negotiations are down to one last detail: The payment schedule on the $13 million the Pirates will pay the Yankees.
Burnett is in the fourth year of a five-year, $82 million contract he signed with the Yankees in 2009. The Yankees have insisted in their trade talks with the Pirates that they would have to assume some of the roughly $33 million still owed Burnett over the next two seasons.
In addition to the $13 million the Pirates have agreed to pay, the Yankees will receive 25-year-old right-handed reliever Diego Moreno and 20-year-old outfielder Exicardo Cayones. Both players are natives of Venezuela.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Moreno is entering his sixth season in the minors and was a combined 2-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 41 games with Class-A Bradenton in the Florida State League and Double-A Altoona in the Eastern League.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Cayones is entering his fourth minor-league season and hit a combined .228 with no home runs and 12 RBIs between the Pirates’ Class A Gulf League team and Class-A State College in the New York-Penn League.
Neither Moreno or Cayones are listed among the Pirates’ Top 20 prospects rated by MLB. com.
The main reason the Yankees are unloading Burnett without much in return is because he has been a disappointment during his three years in pinstripes and huge salary is a albatross around the Yankees’ necks. Burnett was a combined 34-35 with a 4.79 ERA in stint with the Yankees. His average of 3.98 walks per nine innings was second in the American League and fifth in the major leagues, according to STATS, LLC.
Burnett also became expendable when the Yankees traded catcher Jesus Montero and right-handed pitcher Hector Noesi to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for 23-year-old right-hander Michael Pineda and 19-year-old right-hander Jose Campos. The Yankees then added to their rotation by signing former Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year, $10 million contract.
That left Burnett, 25-year-old right-hander Phil Hughes and 35-year-old right-hander Freddy Garcia left to compete for the No. 5 spot in a Yankee rotation that already boasted ace left-hander CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova, who was 16-7 in his rookie season,
The Yankees were basically seeking some salary relief from the Pirates in order to sign a designated hitter and a backup infielder for the 2012 season.
The Yankees seem to be most interested in 39-year-old left-hand-hitting outfielder Raul Ibanez to pair with 34-year-old right-hand-hitting outfielder Andruw Jones in a platoon at designated hitter. Ibanez, a free agent, has told the Yankees he would willing to sign a contract for less money in order to play with a playoff contender.
Ibanez hit .245 with 20 home runs and 84 RBIs with the Phillies last season but he hit only .211 against left-handers. He hit .256 with 16 home runs and 60 RBIs against right-handers.
If the Yankees fail to sign Ibanez they have two left-handed-hitting options at DH in former Yankees Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, who are also free agents.
The Yankees also would like to re-sign 34-year-old backup corner infielder Eric Chavez, who hit .263 with two home runs and 26 RBIs in 58 games with the Yankees last season.
Once the deal for Burnett is complete and approved by the commissioner, the Yankees expect to act quickly to sign Chavez and one of the free agent DHs.
As for Burnett, the Yankee front office, teammates and fans alike will shake their heads on how a pitcher with such unhittable stuff could pitch so poorly for such a good offensive team like the Yankees.
When he was signed, Burnett was looked upon as the No. 2 starter behind fellow free agent Sabathia for the next five years. They both delivered a world championship in 2009 when Burnett was 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA.
But Burnett will be best remembered for rescuing the Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series against the Phillies after Cliff Lee had bested Sabathia in Game 1. Burnett threw a spectacular seven innings and evened the series the Yankees eventually won in six games.
Unfortunately is was mostly downhill from there. Burnett was 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA in 2010. In 2011, the Yankees hired pitching coach Larry Rothschild largely on the basis of his proposed fixes to help Burnett get back on track. However, Burnett was 11-11 with a 5.15 after Rothschild tinkered with his delivery.
Burnett also was embroiled in some odd incidents. He cut his finger on his pitching hand angrily trying to open a clubhouse door. He arrived for a start in 2010 sporting a black eye that he refused to explain. He also had an clubhouse run-in with Joe Girardi after he left a start in Minnesota last August.
Burnett also had to deal with a loss in velocity on his fastball, which had made him more hittable.
With the Pirates, Burnett likely will become a co-ace with free-agent left-hander Eric Bedard in a rotation that also includes Kevin Correia, James McDonald and former Yankee Jeff Karstens. The Pirates’ right-hander Charlie Morton is recovering from left hip surgery and he is not expected to be able to pitch when the season starts.
In Pittsburgh, Burnett will face less pressure to win and less expectations to succeed than he did with the Yankees.
Though the Yankees and their fans will forever miss “Good A.J.” and his post-game celebratory pies in the face in walk-off victories, those same people will not miss the inevitable unraveling of “Bad A.J.” on the mound.
Speaking for Yankee fans, thanks A.J. for 2009 and good luck in trying to get back on track in the National League.
Burnett Nixing Deal For Abreu Benefits Yankees
If A.J. Burnett does nothing more for the New York Yankees as a pitcher he did them a major favor off the field this week.
The Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels had worked a trade of the 35-year-old right-hander to the Angels in exchange for former Yankee outfielder Bobby Abreu.
However, as part of Burnett’s five-year contract with the Yankees, Burnett had the right to block a trade to up to 10 major-league teams. The Angels so happen to be one of those teams and he rejected the trade.
For the Yankees’ sake, I am very happy that A.J. rejected that swap. Abreu, who will turn 38 in March, is on a fast downward escalator in his career. A career .293 hitter, Abreu hit .255 in 2010 and a career low of .253 in 2011 with only eight home runs and 60 RBIs in 142 games.
Abreu is available because the Angels’ outfield is filled with left-fielder Vernon Wells, center-fielder Peter Bourjos and right-fielder Torii Hunter and, with the signing of free-agent first baseman Albert Pujols, the Angels already have a logjam at designated hitter between former starting first baseman Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo, who hit 29 home runs as a rookie first baseman last season.
The Angels were seeking Burnett as a No. 5 starter behind ace right-hander Jared Weaver, free-agent lefty C.J. Wilson and right-handers Dan Haren and Ervin Santana.
Abreu is owed $9 million in the final year of his contract and Burnett is owed $33 million over the final two seasons of his contract. It is unclear how much of Burnett’s salary the Yankees were willing to pay. A source did say it was a “considerable portion” and the Angels would not have been obligated to pay Burnett anything until the 2013 season.
Abreu likely would have assumed a platoon left-handed-hitting DH role with the Yankees in a tandem with the righty-swinging Andruw Jones. The Yankees would then have some money left over to re-sign backup infielder Eric Chavez to complete the 2012 roster. The Angels would get a No. 5 starter and be rid of an expensive bench player without adding money to the 2012 payroll.
Reports indicate that Burnett rejected the trade because his wife does not like flying to attend Bunrett’s games. That is the reason Burnett listed all of the West Coast teams on his 10-team no-trade list. The same reports indicate that the Yankees are still trying to pursue a trade for Burnett with the Pittaburgh Pirates.
So far the Yankees have struck out on deals for Burnett that included 30-year-old first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones of the Pirates, 34-year-old first baseman/DH Travis Hafner and now Abreu. However, if they agree on a deal with the Pirates to unload a portion of Burnett’s salary and the Yankees can get a few young prospects from the Pirates in return for Burnett they likely would have enough money to sign a free-agent DH this weekend and work out a deal with Chavez.
The Yankees are looking to add former Phillie outfielder Raul Ibanez, who said he would be willing to accept less money in order to play with the Yankees. The team also possibly could sign two members of the Yankees’ 2009 world championship club in Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. Right-handed-hitting DH Vladimir Guerrero also expressed an interest in playing with the Yankess but the team is strictly looking at signing a left-handed hitter.
Let’s face reality here. The Yankees would be better off with a combination of either Ibanez and Chavez or Damon and Chavez than Abreu and Chavez. That is the reason the Yankees should actually thank Burnett for nixing the deal and exercising his no-trade rights. It now actually forces the Yankees into trying again with the Pirates.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and his Pirates counterpart Neal Huntington have spent so much time talking with each other this week they may end up picking out china patterns. The Pirates remain confident a deal can be reached, but the Yankees have told the Pirates they would like the deal completed before Burnett is required to report to the spring training in Tampa, FL, on Sunday.
The two teams are trying to come to agreement on how much money the Pirates will pay towards Burnett’s contract and what prospects the Pirates would be willing to trade.
STAY TUNED
Pirates’ Deal For Burnett Still On Front Burner
This bulletin just in from the news room: A.J. Burnett is still a New York Yankee.
This trade saga has played out for nearly a week and there still is no resolution, which shows that the Pittsburgh Pirates are being very difficult trade partners.
This is what we do know at this hour: The Pirates are definitely seeking the 35-year-old right-hander in a trade. The Yankees would like two things in return. No. 1 is some financial relief from the $33 million owed to Burnett over the next two seasons. No. 2 they would like to have a few young prospects to stock they burgeoning minor-league stockpile of talent.
But those two requests have held up the deal.
First, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington rejected the Yankees’ request for 30-year-old first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones, who could have filled in nicely as the Yankees left-handed designated hitter in 2012.
Now there seems to be some snag regarding how much money the Pirates will pick up of Burnett’s contract. The Pirates reportedly offered $10 million and just wanted that payment to Burnett to be the deal. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said no to that proposal, claiming any deal for Burnett had to include players in return.
Now the haggling is coming over what prospects the Pirates are willing to give up and to what extent those players change how much the Pirates will pay towards Burnett’s contract. Does trading two prospects mean the Pirates only pay $6 million? Who knows how they come up with that formula?
Hence the delay.
Meanwhile, a number of other related items about the Burnett are swirling.
First, the Cleveland Indians were one of four teams who have shown interest in Burnett but they rejected a deal that would have sent first baseman/designated hitter Travis Hafner to the Yankees in return.
Hafner, 34, would have satisfied the Yankees’ desire for a power-hitting left-handed hitter they could platoon at DH with Andruw Jones.
Hafner, who is nicknamed “Pronk.” hit .280 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs in 94 games with the Indians in 2011. He is owed $13 million this season and an additional $13 million in 2013 with a $2.75 million buyout.
The Yankees were obviously hoping to unload Burnett’s $16.5 million for Hafner’s $13 million to give them about $5.5 million to re-sign infield reserve Eric Chavez to round out the team’s roster for 2012. But the Indians and Yankees halted talks and the deal is considered dead.
If the Yankees do acquire prospects from the Pirates, they would like to have enough money available to sign a DH. The odds-on favorite is left-handed-hitting outfielder Raul Ibanez, a former Phillie. He said he would accept less money in order to play with the Yankees.
The Yankees also have an interest in former Yankees Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.
However, another free-agent designated hitter has expressed an interest in donning pinstripes. Vladimir Guerrero, 37, contacted the Yankees to apply for the job.
Guerrero hit .290 with 13 home runs and 65 RBIs with the Orioles last season. But the Yankees would seem to have little interest in Guerrero because he is a right-hand hitter and the Yankees have Jones to DH from the right side. In addition, Guerrero’s power stroke is waning and it would not seem to fit in with the larger dimensions in left at Yankee Stadium.
But it is useless for the Yankees to even consider DH prospects unless the Burnett deal is signed and sealed.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Yankees want the deal done by Saturday, a day before pitchers and catchers report to Tampa, FL. The Yankees do not want Burnett showing up on Sunday and then having to ship him out a few days later.
According to reports, the Pirates are optimistic about resolving the monetary and player issues with the Yankees.
Well, if they are, then so am I.
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A.J. Could Have Had It All But Left Yanks Wanting
“We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside your hand
And you played it
To the beat”
- Lyrics to “Rolling In The Deep” by Adele
It is ironic that on the same weekend Adele was the recipient of six Grammys based largely on her single “Rolliong In The Deep” that the “broken-hearted” Yankees are trying so desperately to part ways with a right-handed pitcher who has repeatedly disappointed them.
Allan James Burnett has been both at the epicenter of the Yankees’ success the past three seasons and he also has been part of the team’s struggles to get to their 28th world championship. There have been lots of good times: The second game of the World Series against the Phillies, the games in which Burnett appeared to be a father tossing nasty breaking pitches to mere kids flailing at air and, of course, those walk-off victory pies he delivered to the face of the game’s hero.
Then there was the games in which bad luck seem to attach itself to Bunrett like a stubborn barnacle on a proud fishing vessel. Things would unravel at a moment’s notice. Two dominating strikeouts would be followed by a walk, a wild pitch, a bunt single, a double in the gap, a stolen base, another wild pitch and then a home run.
That was what fans termed “Bad A.J.” It was used as a term to differentiate from the dominating pitcher the Yankees thought they signed to a five-year, $82 million free-agent contract in 2009 after he was 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Yankees tolerated a bit of “Bad A.J.” in 2009 because he was 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA in a season the Yankees won a championship. Burnett, along with ace CC Sabathia and left-hander Andy Pettitte were a huge reason why the Yankees blitzed through the Twins, Angels and outplayed the Phillies in six games to win the 2009 World Series.
Since then, the Yankees have failed to make it back to the World Series. The starting pitching was targeted as a huge reason why. And, unfortunately for Burnett, he was being trotted out by the prosecution as Exhibit A, whether it was true or not. He was underperforming for a pitcher making the kind of money he was being paid.
Burnett was 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA in 2010. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild was hired for the 2011 season with the expressed No. 1 task of “fixing” A.J.
Rothshild tinkered and toiled with A.J. without completely changing his style as a strikeout pitcher with a career strikeout rate of 8.2 per inning. Early it seemed to be paying dividends. Besides that old nemesis Jorge Posada, who Burnett seemed to lay a lot of his troubles upon, was not catching anymore.
However, by the end of the 2011 season, Burnett was 11-11 with a 5.15 ERA. For all the tinkering Burnett seemed to be right back where he was in 2010.
Then came the whispers that Burnett later confirmed as true. Burnett at age 35 was losing velocity on his fastball. That allowed hitters to get a bit more comfortable in the box on him. Pitches that hitters used to wave at were now getting hit solidly. Burnett told reporters he would have to learn to pitch inside more.
General manager Brian Cashman had to look at all this with a bit of sadness. It was, after all, Cashman’s idea to sign Burnett to that five-year deal. But Cashman had to admit that if the Yankees were to compete in the hitting-rich American League East they needed to improve the Yankees’ rotation in 2012.
The Rays advanced to the playoffs largely on the basis of their pitching. The Red Sox, despite their swoon in 2011, still have Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. The Blue Jays have lefty Ricky Romero and righty Brandon Morrow. The Orioles have . . . well they have nice looking uniforms for their pitchers.
So Cashman moved this winter to acquire right-hander Michael Pineda, who was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA as a rookie for the offensively weak Seattle Mariners. He then signed free agent Hiroki Kuroda, who was 13-16 with a 3.07 ERA for the Dodgers. Those moves left Burnett out in the cold. He was now expected to compete this spring with 25-year-old Phil Hughes and 35-year-old Freddy Garcia for the No. 5 spot.
Cashman said at the time that he “had not given up on Burnett.”
But after an ugly incident in a game against the Twins on Aug. 20 at Target Field in which Burnett was removed in the second inning after having been hammered for seven runs on five hits and three walks pretty much sealed his fate with the Yankees. As Burnett left the mound he turned and the cameras caught him saying, “This is bulls—” to manager Joe Girardi. Girardi claimed not to have heard it.
But Burnett later compounded it by walking directly into the clubhouse. Girardi, who has a rule that starters may not leave the dugout until the runners they left on score or the inning is over, went straight into the clubhouse and ordered Burnett back into the dugout. The angry Burnett did return but he quickly left immediately as a reliever allowed Bunrett’s seventh and final run to score.
A.J. finally burned a big bridge and it is the reason the Yankees are trying so hard to unload the two years and $33 million left on his contract.
Yep, Adele is right. We could have had it all, A.J.
But now Burnett needs to go. The Yankees know it. The fans know it. Now even Burnett’s agent knows it.
“He is getting ready to go to spring training, whether it’s with the Yankees, Pittsburgh or anyone else,” his agent, Darek Braunecker, told the New York Daily News. “A.J. understands this is a business and will do what he has to do. He’s healthy and he’s looking forward to pitching for somebody.”
TRADE UPDATE
Today the Yankees made it clear to the Pittsburgh Pirates that they will not accept just a portion of the $33 million left on Burnett’s contract. They want prospects also.
Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger reported on Monday that the Yankees are willing to assume a large portion of the money Burnett is owed as a condition of the trade. But they also refuse to move Burnett unless they receive players back in the deal, a person close to the negotiations said.
“(The Yankees) have to get players back,” the person with knowledge said on Sunday. “Not a give away.”
So the teams are locked into talks concerning the players the Yankees should receive as well as how much money the Pirates are willing to contribute to Burnett’s salary.
According to various sources, the Yankees have had discussions about Burnett with four teams, including the Pirates. One of the teams is on Burnett’s no-trade list of 10 teams. Reportedly that team likely will not be part of a deal because Burnett would invoke his no-trade clause to block it.
The Pirates, Carig reported, remain the frontrunners. Though the teams are still talking it appears no deal is imminent.
Meanwhile, Yankee fans have heir fingers crossed that some sort of accommodation between the Yankees and Pirates can be reached. They are ready to turn the page on Burnett and they want Cashman to sign a free-agent DH because the team needs some salary room in order to do that.
With Burnett gone and Pirates helping pay some of that contract the Yankees possibly could afford to sign a Johnny Damon or a Hideki Matsui.
Then all those memories of “Bad A.J.” will fade slowly away.
STAY TUNED
Pirates Offering $10 Million To Obtain Burnett
The trade talks concerning pitcher A.J. Burnett between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees are apparently continuing through the weekend, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The talks reportedly no longer include first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones.
The Pirates seem to be more willing to keep the 30-year-old Jones, who is projected to be their starting first baseman against right-hand pitching, and the team prefers to pay more money towards the 35-year-old Burnett’s $33 million salary over the next two seasons.
CBS Sports reported that the Pirates would be willing to assume $10 million ($5 million per season) of the $33 million Burnett is owed as part of a five-year, $82 million contract the right-hander signed with the Yankees in 2009.
That would be good news to the Yankees, who are looking to open up some salary room in order to sign a left-handed-hitting DH from among a group of free agents that includes former Yankees Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui and former Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez.
The Pirates have been openly trying to add to their rotation this winter, having made a three-year contract offer to free-agent right-hander Edwin Jackson, who subsequently signed a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals.
Burnett’s role as a starter was left in question this winter when the Yankees traded with the Seattle Mariners for right-hander Michael Pineda and signed former Los Angeles Dodgers Hiroki Kuroda as a free agent.
Burnett was 11-11 with 5.15 ERA with the Yankees last season but has made at least 32 starts in each of last four seasons and he carries a career strikeout rate of 8.2 per nine innings.
The Pirates seem to be set with five starters that include former Yankee Jeff Karstens, Kevin Correia, Charlie Morton, James McDonald and newly signed left-hander Erik Bedard. However, Morton had surgery in October to repair a torn labrum in his left hip and he may not be ready for Opening Day. Karstens and Correia struggled last season with fatigue and a strained oblique, respectively.
Bedard, 32, has not started more than 28 games since the 2007 season due to a series of injuries.
Burnett does have a limited no-trade clause in his contract which precludes the Yankees from trading him to 10 teams, however, the Pirates are not among those teams.
Yankee fans might be disappointed somewhat that the Pirates are refusing to part with Jones because he could have been a valuable backup at first base and the corner outfield spots as well as been the left-hand part of platoon at DH with Andruw Jones.
However, the money the Pirates are offering would be enough for the Yankees to make an offer to sign a free agent to DH and the Yankees would be rid of Burnett, who has been unable to harness his great stuff consistently enough to be successful with the Yankees the past two seasons.
STAY TUNED
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