If baseball had an injury-free mode, setting a starting rotation would be pretty simple. Step 1) Pick your best five pitchers. Step 2) Let them take turns pitching every five days until the season ends or you trade for someone better. Of course, real life doesn’t work that way. Like any other team, the Yankees deal with injuries […]
Author: Daniel R. Epstein
Miguel Andujar’s Spring Training Power Surge
The Yankees hit 241 homers in 2017, then traded for Giancarlo Stanton. It’s no surprise that one of their 8,000 players in camp this spring leads the Grapefruit League in long balls. If that player was Stanton, Aaron Judge, or Gary Sanchez we probably wouldn’t care very much. No one evaluates established stars based on […]
The 2017 Yankees Were—NOT—A Great Home Run Team
The Yankees led all of baseball with 241 home runs last year, the 16th highest single-season total ever by a team. Aaron Judge set a MLB rookie record with 52, while Gary Sanchez’s 33 and Didi Gregorius’s 25 were franchise records for a catcher and shortstop. You knew all of that already. As Maude Lebowski […]
Tyler Wade’s Opportunities
Some ballplayers just get stuck in between. There is a perception that just because a player has exhausted prospect eligibility, they must have also exhausted all of their potential. Some people believe that a small sample cameo in the major leagues is enough to see a player for what he is. Besides, if you can’t read […]
The Chances for Adams
Chance Adams should already be a major leaguer. Baseball Prospectus’ #51 overall prospect posted a 3.33 DRA through 21 starts in AAA last year. In his minor league career, he’s limited opponents to just 204 hits and 20 home runs in 313 innings. The reasons why he hasn’t yet debuted—some combination of innings limits and […]
Yu Likes the Yankees, and Why That’s Bad
Inexplicably, Yu Darvish is still a free agent. After 7 years as a Nippon Ham Fighter and 6 as a Texas Ranger and Los Angeles Dodger, he’s earned the right to be selective about his future employment. Recently, Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News provided an update on his impending decision: “Yu Darvish […]
Recruiting a Yankee Fan
“UMPHH” Ron and the recliner made the sound simultaneously as they collapsed into each other. Both were covered in dust and grease spots from hard work days much like this one. Ron took a deep, slow breath, closed his eyes, and exhaled. He picked up the TV remote and turned on the pregame show. He […]
Chad Green is Baseball’s Best OTTO
It’s great to win a game, but it’s better to win a trade. In December 2015, the Yankees sent Justin Wilson to Detroit for Luis Cessa and Chad Green. At the time, not many people thought they got the better end of the deal. In the two seasons since, Wilson has moved on to the Cubs […]
Lineups for All Occasions
Setting a lineup is the most idiot-proof aspect of baseball. Except for catchers, the best players take the field every day. There are slight nuances, such as a player needing a rest, playing an occasional platoon advantage, and managing minor injuries. On the whole, the lineup changes very little. Furthermore, batting order doesn’t even matter too […]
Clint Frazier, Third Baseman
The 1968 Detroit Tigers won 103 games and the American League pennant. However, they had a serious lineup construction problem as they prepared to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series: four of their best players were outfielders (there was no DH yet). Willie Horton (167 wRC+), Al Kaline (146 wRC+), Jim Northrup […]