Good afternoon from a frigid Yankee Stadium. It is 31 degrees, I can’t move my fingers, and I am on coffee No. 3. This is Opening Day. Let’s boogie. Here’s the first ‘pregame notes’ installment of the season, complete with updates on Bryan Mitchell and the Yankees bullpen, the physical heat of the team’s bats and […]
Category: Articles
Historical Yankee Stats On Opening Day
It is sometimes fun to thumb through the baseball history books in hopes of finding some intriguing nugget of information that has been forgotten. Lately I have been doing this and with Opening Day upon us, my mind has been wandering to frequency scenarios of events that may have occurred on this glorious day. For […]
Yankees-Astros Series Preview
The Astros’ 2015 season surprised many, while failing to hold off the Rangers down the stretch in the division. Unlike the Yankees, the Astros’ youth was the driving force of their success. Which is why expectations for the 2016 Astros are sky high. PECOTA puts the Astros with 88 wins atop the AL West. As […]
Gregorius, Castro and the five tools of acting
Baseball Prospectus has traditionally been about the evaluation of baseball players more than anything else. In February, Rian Watt eloquently laid out his vision of how intersectionalist writing could be the way forward, but the nuts and bolts of the game will not be ignored, especially by places like BP. What the “nut and bolts” tend […]
Previewing the 2016 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
With the spring training battles settled and the 25 man roster now set, New York’s minor league teams can begin to put together their own clubs. On Thursday, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, open their season against the Rochester Red Wings. As the organization’s highest minor league level, it’s worth sorting through the […]
When They Were Prospects
Over the last several years, the Yankees have garnered a reputation for taking on reclamation projects; however, that may not be quite accurate. What began with retreads like Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia has evolved into a more youth-based approach, with Didi Gregorius, Dustin Ackley, Aaron Hicks, and Starlin Castro being the most recent beneficiaries. A […]
Why Michael Pineda, not Masahiro Tanaka, is the ace of the Yankees
Just three and a half months after trading for Michael Pineda, when the Yankees announced that the right-hander would undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, general manager Brian Cashman described the Pineda–Jesus Montero deal as a “massive decision gone wrong.” Now, with Montero recently being placed on waivers by Seattle, the trade looks like a steal for […]
Andrew Miller takes liner off wrist, entirety of New York bursts into flames
From a health perspective, it had been a good spring for the Yankees. That was a welcomed change of pace. Of course, all good things must end, for the world is a cruel and cold place filled with sadness. Andrew Miller took a line drive off his right wrist in today’s game with the Braves. […]
A-Rod and the Quest for 762
The all-time home run record is not one that changes hands very often. For all intents and purposes, only three guys in baseball’s century-plus existence have ever laid claim to it. Babe Ruth held the record for nearly four decades, and Hank Aaron held it for another three before Barry Bonds passed him in 2007. Yet […]
Evan Rutckyj and relatable workplace problems in baseball
Technically speaking, baseball is a business like any other. Practically speaking, it’s a surreal slice of life far removed from the everyday experiences of the vast majority of humanity. Because of the way we’ve agreed to organize our society, an industry can spring up where men are paid millions and millions of dollars to hit […]