I’m sorry for the recent inactivity on this blog… as a college student i’ve been swamped by school work lately. There is talk that Phil Hughes would not be needed to make a trade for Jake Peavy? Coco Crisp has apparantly been traded to the Royals.

I’ll write more on this later, so check in.

Just some thought here, but it is knowledge that the Rockies have interest in Ian Kennedy. Why not ask about Jeff Francis? He’s coming off of a bad year, but he had a very solid year in 2007, he’s a lefty and hes young. Why not atleast ask?

While Ian Kennedy is a good prospect, I don’t know if he is a player who can succeed in New York. There were reports that the team was unhappy about Kennedy and his demeanor during his stint in the bigs. I’d rather see the Yankees pursue a pitcher in a trade, rather than an overpriced starter who is hyped up by demand. It will take more than just Kennedy to get Francis, but its atleast worth asking the price.

I’m going to give last year’s season a pass. He spent time on the DL with a shoulder strain. That is going to throw a pitcher off for the season, so look at his stats before that. He’s good for right around 200 innings, which is a very undervalued stat. He has the ability to keep his team in ballgames, which is all you can ask from your pitcher.

Listen, i’m not saying he should be they’re ace. Thats what they’re going after CC for. I think he could be a great #4 starter for the Yanks.

I found a scouting report online from dugoutcentral.com, tell me you don’t think this is worth asking about.

Francis Scouting Report

Overall

Francis, who finished the regular season 17-9 with an ERA of 4.22 and WHIP of 1.38, is a tall, young lefty with good makeup and the ability to keep his team in the game. Hence the 215.3 innings pitched.

Francis possesses an average fastball with decent velocity, but more importantly he has exceptional command in the strike zone. He has the ability to turn the fastball over and cut and sink it. He commands an above average curveball, and he has enough confidence to throw his curve in any hitters count. The fact that he challenges and commands the strike zone by adding and subtracting three different pitches makes him very tough to hit consistently.

Francis rates a 65 on the scouting 20-80 scale, which evaluates raw pitching tools. By comparison, Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins gets a 75. Based on his raw pitching tools, combined with his historical performance, we categorize Francis as “Good” on a marginal/key role/average/good/premium/elite scale.

Strengths

Francis has average velocity with his fastball, but his ability to command it makes him very tough. He rarely makes a mistake in the middle of the plate. He is capable of using both his fastball and curve just off the plate.

Weaknesses

His obvious weakness is that he lacks velocity. He is very slow to the plate and, although his pickoff move isn’t bad, aggressive base-running teams could have a field day. He’s especially weak at preventing steals of third.

Fastball (88-91 mph)

Movement: Francis will sink his fastball to his arm-side and he will cut it to his glove-side. His sinking fastball is his best pitch and most reliable.

Command: He commands his sinker to his arm-side, and he’ll use it effectively in the strike zone. To left-handed hitters, he likes to start it inside off the plate then bring it across.

Plan: Francis will get ahead in the count using his fastball down in the strike zone. Then he will use both the cutter and the sinker in and out of the zone depending on advance reports on each particular hitter.

Curve (74-80 mph)

Movement: Francis has a good feel for his curveball. It is above average because he commands it so well and is able to change the angle depending on the hitter. He’ll use a 2-8 type break but can sweep it away to left-handed hitters when ahead in the count. His curve will have more depth to it when thrown to his glove-side.

Command: He commands it to both sides of the plate equally which adds to the value of this pitch.

Plan: Early in the count Francis will use his curve to good fastball hitters attempting to get ahead. With two strikes on the hitters he will use his curve down and inside off the plate as well as back-door to right-handed hitters.

Change-up (76-80 mph)

Movement: His change-up is his third best pitch; it is a bit unusual in that it has movement similar to a slider at times, although he uses a change-up grip. It will show good movement down in the zone with good sink action most of the time.

Command: His command of his change-up is inconsistent. Most of his misses are up in the strike zone, which is not good. This pitch could hurt him.

Plan: He attempts to keep this ball down, and he’ll use it most when ahead in the count. Francis would rather have this pitch in the dirt than over the fence.

Pitching Mechanics (A)

Francis is able to repeat his delivery better than anyone on the Rockies staff. He is very disciplined in his approach. Most notably, he is able to maintain his balance throughout his motion regardless of the score, base runners and weather. His arm slot rarely changes, allowing him to command his pitches consistently and show good deception.

What do you guys think, is there anyone you’d like to see the Yanks kick the tires on?

I’ve read all over today that Swisher’s numbers were more a reflection of his unhappiness in Chicago. He batted lead-off most of the year because of his ability to walk, but thats not the type of player he is.

All reports say that he is a great clubhouse guy, who is high energy. Sounds like just the prescription the Yanks need. Don’t expect him to be Teixeira, he’s another piece to the puzzle.

Another interesting fact, he seems to be friends with CC. So much for Mike Cameron, I feel like that was half the reason the Yankees wanted him, aside from his defense I can’t imagine what else is so appealing about him…

I like the direction the Yankees are headed. It seems that they are making the neccessary moves to get back to winning baseball. They are getting more athletic, and are now focusing on pitching.

With that being said, the Yankees need to stick to the plan and avoid sexy quick fixes. By that I mean NO MANNY RAMIREZ. We saw what he did to Boston, it’d be absolutely Assanyne to throw him money. Keep him away. We need team players, and players we have traded for, (Nick Swisher, Xavier Nady) we are getting them.

The Yankees are looking more and more like a BASEBALL team. The game is baseball, not home run hitting. Also, avoid Mike Cameron. I know A-rod likes him and is lobbying for him, but he’s not the general manager. Defense should be the first priority with your CF, and between Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera, you have two above average CF options. Theres no sense in throwing money at that. Both of them can but and advance players, and do the little things to help the team win. That’s what the Yankees need to do, the little things. I can’t tell you how many times this year there would be a runner on second and no outs, and they failed to get the runner over. The more players we can get who understand the game, the better off we are.

While our bullpen is good, it can always be better. In all honesty, I have little faith in Jose Veras. If the Yankees can get a better set up man, go for it. Relievers fluctuate the most from year to year, so whenever you get a chance to bolster the pen you should do it. Resigning Marte was definately a good move. Now we have two lefties in the pen who can get out lefties.

When it comes to the staff, after Wang there is no gaurentees. Pettitte will probably be back, and while he isn’t what he used to be, he is a good 4th starter. He will give you 200 innings and keep you in ball games. He faded down the stretch, but keep in mind he was asked to do more than he could. With all the injuries to the staff, Andy wasn’t supposed to be a “go to” guy. Obviously the Yanks should and are going to go after CC. He is the big Ace we’ve craved/needed for so long. He’s a lefty which is a bonus in Yankee Stadium, and he’s a horse, good for 200+ innings. I’d rather see the Yanks make a trade for the second pitcher. Derek Lowe is too old, and pitched in a weak NL West. Theres no sense in throwing money at him. Don’t get me started on AJ Burnett. All I need to say is Carl Pavano with better stuff. Take out his games against the Yankees and he wasn’t that good. He pitched 200+ innings last year. Seeing an injury prone player do that makes me think the next year is going to be terrible! Let the other team’s throw money at overpriced starters.

It looks like Teixeira won’t be donning pinstripes. The Yanks sent P Jeff Marquez, INF Wilson Betemit, and P Jhonny Nunez to the White Sox for OF/1B Nick Swisher and P Kanekoa Texiera. While Swish can play both positions, it seems like the Yanks will slot him at 1B, and let Gardner and Cabrera battle for CF.

Nick has a career .244 AVG, but is a high OBP guy with some pop. Cashman seems to be sticking to his plan of getting back to getting OBP players. He has averaged 27 dingers over the last three years, and should be a decent complimentary piece to the line-up.

At first, I was hesitant at the thought of Swisher playing 1B, however the more I look at stats, the more comfortable I am with the move. He may never win a gold-glove, but he is certainly a defensive upgrade over Giambi. From 2006-08, his FPCT at first base has been .993, .993, and .996… not too shabby compared to Giambi’s .990 last year.

Aside from his play on the field, Swisher is supposed to be a high energy, good club house guy. He will have to shave that beard and cut his hair, but he could be a nice splash of personality to this Yankee team. He has gotten good reviews from reporters who have dealt with him in the past.

It seems that now the Yankees will make a big push to aquire pitching, pitching, and more pitching.

What i’m excited to see is Swisher’s handshakes with Melky and Cano. Every time I see Nick play he has some elaborate handshake with someone, its great.

Pretty fair deal, We can do better than Betemit for UTIL. He didn’t offer much if anything defensively, and didn’t offer much from the plate with the exception of some power. Nunez had a 4.32 ERA in 108.1 IP this year in the minors.

Texeira was a 22nd round draft pick of the White Sox in 2006. He had a 1.33 era in 61 innings this year on the farm.

CC Sabathia is the big ticket ace the Yankees have been coveting for years. He’s a lefty who throws gas, and eats innings. He carried the Brewers on his back into the playoffs last year, and his numbers were dominant. At the age of 28 he’s still in his prime, and has never had arm problems.

SEASON		TEAM		W		L		ERA		G		GS		CG		SHO		SV		SVO		IP		H		R		ER		HR		HBP		BB		SO
2001		Cleveland Indians		17		5		4.39		33		33		0		0		0		0		180.1		149		93		88		19		7		95		171
2002		Cleveland Indians		13		11		4.37		33		33		2		0		0		0		210.0		198		109		102		17		1		88		149
2003		Cleveland Indians		13		9		3.60		30		30		2		1		0		0		197.2		190		85		79		19		6		66		141
2004		Cleveland Indians		11		10		4.12		30		30		1		1		0		0		188.0		176		90		86		20		7		72		139
2005		Cleveland Indians		15		10		4.03		31		31		1		0		0		0		196.2		185		92		88		19		7		62		161
2006		Cleveland Indians		12		11		3.22		28		28		6		2		0		0		192.2		182		83		69		17		7		44		172
2007		Cleveland Indians		19		7		3.21		34		34		4		1		0		0		241.0		238		94		86		20		8		37		209
2008		Cleveland Indians		6		8		3.83		18		18		3		2		0		0		122.1		117		54		52		13		3		34		123
2008		Milwaukee Brewers		11		2		1.65		17		17		7		3		0		0		130.2		106		31		24		6		4		25		128
Career Totals				117	73	3.66	254	254	26	10	0	0	1659.1	1541	731	674	150	50	523	1393

Just look at the numbers. They’re astounding. Chances are the Yankees are going to blow him out of the water and offer him the world, making it impossible for him to turn down.

My only worry is Sabathia in the Playoffs. After seeing him with Milwalkee and then Cleveland, I can’t help but wonder whether he is A-rod of the playoffs. Take a look:

Career Post Season Statistics:

	SEASON		TEAM		W		L		ERA		G		GS		CG		SHO		SV		SVO		IP		H		R		ER		HR		HBP		BB		SO
	2001		Cleveland Indians		1		0		3.00		1		1		0		0		0		0		6.0		6		2		2		0		0		5		5
	2007		Cleveland Indians		1		2		8.80		3		3		0		0		0		0		15.1		21		15		15		3		3		13		14
	2008		Milwaukee Brewers		0		1		12.27		1		1		0		0		0		0		3.2		6		5		5		1		0		4		5
	Career Totals				2	3	7.92	5	5	0	0	0	0	25.0	33	22	22	4	3	22	24

The past two years he has been a completely different person in the playoffs, and its not even close. Granted its such a small viewing window, but those numbers are pretty alarming. It could have to do with the consecutive games on three day’s rest he threw.

At the end of the day, CC is a frontline ace the Yankees need. He’s lefty which is always an added bonus for pitchers in Yankee Stadium, and he eats innings, which will help reduce the stress on the staff, (Especially Joba.)

There is debate as to whether or not the Yankees are serious about pursuing Teixeira. While he is clearly the best option at first base, do the Yankees necessarily need him?

Teixeira is everything you want in a ballplayer. He hits for average, power, takes his walks, plays gold glove defense, and although he isn’t fast, runs the bases very well. He is a career .290/.378/.541 AVG, OBP, SLG guy, and he went 7 for 15 in his first playoff stint this year, showing that he can play when it counts. With that being said, Scott Boras has stated they are aiming for a ten-year $200 million contract. While you are going to get great production right now, do we really need another aged player in a few years? The contract would look good now, but in 5-6 years I’m not so sure. If the Yankees could get him for fewer years, then he certainly would be a nice addition.

In my opinion, however, the Yankees should put their resources towards pitching, and leave Tex as an afterthought. If you look at the dynasty of the late 90’s, you will notice that all of those teams were built on great, reliable, pitching.

In today’s recession, we should all appreciate value. The Yanks can get good enough value out of Juan Miranda in AAA. He is 3 years younger than Teixeira, and is a career .990 fielder, compared to Tex’s .995 career fielding percentage. He had a .993 FPCT last season, and his defense would definately be a bonus to a team that hasn’t had a strong defensive first basemen in a while. Strong defense only makes the pitching staff stronger, and it is a much cheaper solution.

He hit .297 last year in AAA with an OBP almost 100 points higher, so there isn’t much left to prove at that level. When asked, an NL Scout had this to say in 2007 about Miranda:

“This guy’s got huge power. He’s a legitimate threat regardless what his ceiling is age-wise.”

I can’t imagine much has changed in a year, and if he keeps raking in the Arizona Fall League, the Yankees should give him an opportunity to make the club out of Spring Training. I believe in making players earn their spots on the roster, and he has done everything so far, so they should give him a shot.