I know I am piggy backing off of Craig Williams article from earlier today.  He put a post up about the Ibanez signing but I hope I am taking a different angle on this.  Ibanez does have power and with the short porch in Yankee Stadium can take advantage of it.  Andruw Jones figures to be the fourth outfielder and the DH against righties along with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.  I think that if Brett Gardner continues to hit 259, you could see Jones playing more in left field.  I know that it is hard to keep Gardner out of the lineup because of his speed but he needs to hit better then 259.

Ibanez numbers were not great last year but he was much better against righties.  He will only be hitting against rightie batters so he should have a pretty good season.  I think he could put up 20-25 home runs and drive in 70+ runs.  I think this is a pretty good signing and the Yankees fans won’t be so worried about it at the end of the season.  The Yankees DH isn’t going to make or break their season.  The Yankees pitching is what is really going to make or break them.  The offense really isn’t a problem although it cost them in the postseason last year.  The big guys are the reason why though, the Yankees need Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher especially to produce and if that happens they will be just fine.  Ibanez isn’t going to make or break their season.  One of the good things about Ibanez is he is good in clutch situations.  He is a veteran who seems to know when to cut down his swing and just get a single.  Ibanez hopefully can do that next season and maybe show some of the other guys that.  I think one of the biggest problems the Yankees hitters have at times is they think too big.  When they are in a clutch situation they can’t just cut down their swing and get a sac fly or a single.

I also believe Ibanez will be good in the clubhouse.  He has always been a good guy and never had a problem anywhere he has gone.  Ibanez should fit right into the Yankees clubhouse and be a veteran presence.  Ibanez is coming over from Philadelphia so the pressure and big games won’t affect him.  He has had his share of both in the last three seasons in Philadelphia.  I expect Ibanez to have a good year and the Yankees and their fans won’t regret signing him.

I’m not really sure how much defense Ibanez can play at this point in his career, but I still think that he was the best choice of the three old ass bats (the other two being Johnny Damon and Vladimir Guerrero) that seemed to be in the lead for the position.  I went into more detail on Ibanez’s stats over the weekend so I won’t do that here.  I will say that I think he’s a solid bet to bounce back from a rough 2011 though.  If I had my choice, Russell Branyan would have the inside track to the DH spot this season, but this just isn’t looking like my year.  I think Branyan has the most to offer with the lumber and it’s not like Ibanez’s “defense” adds much more value.

The biggest issue that this Raul Ibanez signing underscores is the fact that the New York Yankees traded their young and potential juggernaut designated hitter in Jesus Montero without a legitimate plan to replace him – not in 2012 at least.  This isn’t stinging so much right now, but the wound certainly hasn’t quite healed for me.  It is going to take some legitimate offensive additions and upgrades over the next couple of years before I fully get over the Montero trade.  A World Series ring or Michael Pineda Cy Young would go a long way, but I definitely want to see some elite offensive talent added to this roster sooner rather than later.

For more complaints and wishes regarding the  New York Yankees’ DH situation, follow me on twitter@craigmwilliams.

The health of Alex Rodriguez.  The Yankees are saying he is 100 percent healthy and there is nothing to worry about right now.  The Yankees need him though and is last year a sign of things to come??  He only appeared in 99 games and hit 276 with 16 homeruns and 62 RBI.  They need a much more productive Rodriguez.  I think he is capable of getting back to 30 and 100 and I would expect a bounce back year from him.

Will CC Sabathia stay in shape?  Will Michael Pineda be able to develop that Changeup and get used to New York?  Will Phil Hughes be able to bounce back from a terrible year??  I do think Sabathia as the ace will stay in shape this year.  I think he wore down at the end of last year and into the postseason, I think he also takes being the ace seriously and wants to be better.  Pineda is saying all the right things right now.  He is a very impressive pitcher, physically and stuff wise.  If he is able to add the Changeup he will be devastating.  Phil Hughes is just 25 years old even though it seems he has been around forever.  I would expect Hughes to bounce back, but will he be a starter or in the bullpen??  That remains to be seen, I don’t know how that will shake out, we will have to see.

When the games start will Robinson Cano be the number three hitter.  The Yankees at the end of last season and into the playoffs had him there with Teixeira as the fifth hitter.  I do think that transition will take place now and Cano will be the three hitter for years to come.  Cano is the teams best hitter and deserves to be in that spot in the lineup.

I do think the Yankees have a very good team.  I don’t think they have many questions and will be in the postseason once again.  I don’t want to get into predictions right now.  I will do so towards the end of spring training as we prepare for the regular season which will be here before you know it.

I would say that they did the right thing because Phil Hughes is still only 25 years old and has a bright future ahead of him.  Hughes has questions because of his poor 2011 season.  He was hurt though and he did come into camp last year out of shape.  This season he came to camp early looking in shape and ready to go.  I believe he is eager to erase last year and get back to what he was in 2010 when he won 18 games.  I think Hughes is more of that guy who can be a number two type starter.  If that is the case he will be around for a long time and to go along with CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova the Yankees will have a good young staff for years to come.  The other part about A.J. Burnett was he is 34 years old and at this point he is what he is.  Your not going to teach an old dog new tricks, and he is starting to show signs of losing his stuff due to his age.  I think he will do well in Pittsburgh where there is no pressure and he is facing weaker lineups.  That doesn’t mean though if he does well the Yankees made the wrong move.  The Yankees will depend on how Pineda, Hughes, Nova and there other young guys that are up and coming do.  If all those young pitchers pan out, or a majority of them then the Yankees made the right move.

Burnett was 11-11 with a 5.15 ERA, on a team like the Yankees he should be able to do more then that.  The ERA is very high even in the American League and the East division.  In 2010 he was 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA.  I guess you could say he improved in 2011 from the year before but not really.  The pies weren’t enough to keep a guy for either.  The Yankees will have to find a new pie man or not do them at all.  They never did it before until he arrived from Toronto so I am sure they will be fine.  The deal should become official on Monday, Burnett is scheduled to have his physical with Pittsburgh on Sunday and then the commissioner will approve the deal and it can be official on Monday or Tuesday.  The Yankees will then move on signing Raul Ibanez as their lefty DH and maybe resign Eric Chavez.  Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Tampa on Sunday for the Yankees.  The 2012 season is upon us and it is a very exciting time for those around the game of baseball.  I hope you enjoy my writing and if you are on twitter follow me @gmarchesej.  I also appreciate any comments under the article, please keep it civil but I welcome positive and negative reviews.  Let me know your opinions and thanks for reading.

I can understand pursuing Ibanez as one-half of the designated hitter platoon.  I still prefer someone younger who could help the Yankees in the future as well as the present, but in terms of the old DH options, I do prefer Ibanez over Johnny Damon.  I think Ibanz has more gas in the tank than Damon and I see signs suggesting that the former could be in for a bounce back season in 2012.  For starters, Ibanez’ BABIP in 2011 was .268 – well below the .300 mark that represents the league average.  Secondly, this bad luck occurred despite Ibanez’s batted ball tendencies (line drives vs. grounders vs. fly balls) remaining mostly constant.  It would be one thing if his bad luck coincided with a spike in fly balls or grounders at the expense of line drives, but that is not the case.

Now, as far as Eric Chavez is concerned….I’m not sure what the fixation is.  The guy can still pick it at third base.  I’ll give him that.  He hasn’t shown any signs of life with the lumber since 2007 though – at the earliest.  And of course there’s the fact that he’s going to get hurt before the All-Star break.  It doesn’t really make much sense to back up Alex Rodriguez with the a guy who is guaranteed to have worse health.  It might make more sense to let Eduardo Nunez and/or Brandon Laird handle back-up duty at 3B and then sign Vladimir Guerrero to compete for a share of the DH role.

It appears close to certain that the New York Yankees will make more moves once the A.J. Burnett deal finally goes through the final finalization process.  Hopefully they come to their senses on Eric Chavez, but I admit that I am warming up ever so slightly to the idea of them bringing Raul Ibanez on board.

For more discussion on the New York Yankees and their developing DH situation, follow me on twitter@craigmwilliams.

Moreno, 25,  is a right-handed relief pitcher with a big arm, but he has not been able to solve Double-A yet.  According to Baseball America’s 2011 Prospect Handbook (I’m sorry, but 2012 hasn’t arrived in the mail yet), Moreno can touch 98 on the gun with his heater, and compliments it with a “wipeout” slider.  The scouting report goes on to say that he “lacks a dominant secondary pitch”, but that would seem to contradict the “wipeout” slider that they described.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the 2012 edition has to say, huh?  Cayones is a 20 year old outfielder who has yet to play an inning above Short-Season ball (unless you count the Venezuelan Winter League) and I’ll have to go digging for some more info in the coming days.

The prospect return was not really the main attraction to dealing Burnett.  Hell, as far as I’m concerned, the salary relief isn’t even what I’m most excited about (I retain the right to strike that from the record if the extra dough leads to a Jorge Soler signing).  I’m actually most excited about Phil Hughes having a clearer path to the fifth starter gig with Burnett out of the picture.  He still has to beat out Freddy Garcia, but I’m not sweating that too much to be honest.

A.J. Burnett was a great guy (from what I could tell) and played a vital role in the New York Yankees’ 27th World Series Championship, but man, I saw him host enough fireworks shows.  I’m sure most fans feel the same way.  Just remember this: whatever he does in the Steel City – 20 wins, 200 strikeouts, 3.00 ERA, etc. – that sh*t wasn’t happening in the Bronx.

For more colorful, fresh and sometimes opinionated analysis on the New York Yankees, follow me on twitter @craigmwilliams.

Burnett in the 2009 World Series had his best moment, he pitched great in Game Two.  It was a game that the Yankees had to have and he delivered in a very pressurized spot.  Burnett didn’t pitch well at all in Game Five of that World Series though, he did pitch pretty well in this past postseason.  The Yankees though paid him 82.5 million over five years to be their number two starter and after his first year in pinstripes he wasn’t able to be their number two starter.  The Yankees grew more and more frustrated with Burnett as his stuff started to erode.  He also had some weird behavior last year such as showing up with a black eye and possibly going through some marriage problems.

The one thing that Burnett did do in pinstripes was pitch.  When the deal was made with him, everyone including I said bad deal because he is never healthy.  Everyone assumed he would be like another Carl Pavano, but he wasn’t.  He actually pitched pretty much all the time, never had a major injury.  The problem was he pitched to a 5+ ERA in two straight seasons.  In the Bronx that just doesn’t cut it.  He will probably be most remembered for his pies following a walk off win and the fans and the team will miss that.  It isn’t worth keeping someone over being able to deliver pies though.  The Yankees figure to have a rotation now of CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda, Pineda and either Freddy Garcia or Phil Hughes.  They also have great depth at AAA, they have guys like Warren, Phelps, Banuelos and Betances who they think can all be major league pitchers.

The other thing about this deal is now the Yankees can sign two players with the money signed.  The deal should be official on Sunday when Burnett takes his physical.  At that time the Yankees will move forward and according to all reports sign Raul Ibanez to be their lefty hitting DH and resign Eric Chavez to backup Alex Rodriguez.  The Yankees pitchers and catchers will report on Sunday and then all players the following Saturday.  The Yankees will be set now until the trade deadline.  I think they have a championship caliber team though and we will have to wait and see how it playes out on the field.

I have discussed Soler and my desire for the Yankees to sign him.  Nothing has changed on my end.  Soler is immensely talented – according to Ken Rosenthal, some scouts even mention him in the same breath as the Miami Marlins’ Mike Stanton. Ironically, I’m a little bit concerned about the price tag as far as the Yankees are concerned.  I won’t say that they’re getting cheap, but they just don’t blow money quite as fast as they used to.  Ultimately, I think this can be a good thing in the big picture, but it surely doesn’t make the offseason as fun for the fans as it could be.  I’ve seen price estimates range from $15.5 million up to $27 million.  If this situation was unfolding five or six years ago, there would be very little doubt that Soler would be a Yankee.  Hell, they might have had Cespedes and Yu Darvish signed as well.  I’m not sure I can see this “modified” Yankees front office forking over that amount of dough for a 19-year old prospect though – not at the high end at least.

We’ll have to wait to see what the actual price is.  Remember that people were talking about Cespedes pulling in $50-60 million.  It is possible that Soler winds up costing $17-18 million.  Spread out over five or six years (I’m just guessing), that price really isn’t that bad for a franchise with deep pockets.  Based on the raw tools and the glowing scouting reports, it sounds as if Jorge Soler would be a great addition to the New York Yankees’ organization – especially after trading away their top offensive prospect.

(That picture is of Yoenis Cespedes by the way)

For more New York Yankees chatter, follow me on twitter @craigmwilliams.

The Yankees biggest weakness was their starting pitching.  They are clearly looking to get younger and more cost effective in this department.  They now look at having CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, Phil Hughes and then at least one of the killer b’s coming up this year or next year.  The Yankees are looking to have a young cost effective rotation for years to come.  These arms are also power arms and have a lot of potential.  The Yankees didn’t trade Montero away for nothing.  Pineda has his risks but the Yankees think they are less the the possible reward they will get.  Pineda will work on his changeup in spring training and most feel that will make him an elite pitcher.  If he has a plus fastball, slider and a decent change-up he could be a number one or two starter at worst.  If you team him up with CC Sabathia then the Yankees really have something going.

Pineda will be in a pressure situation in New York but it doesn’t seem like that will bother him.  The other thing that will be good is he won’t have to lead the staff.  The Yankees could have him as the number four starter at the beginning of the season.  CC Sabathia is the ace, Ivan Nova could be the two starter with Hiroki Kuroda being three.  Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia will battle it out for the fifth spot and we will assume that A.J. Burnett will be gone.  The Burnett rumors have been going on for days and he is still a Yankee so who knows.  I would still bet on him being gone by the weekend though.  The Yankees pitchers and catchers will report on Sunday.

Pineda already arrived in camp early on Tuesday.  He is set to go and has said all the right things so far.  He said he knows he needs to work on the changeup and will do that.  He has said he is very happy to be a Yankees and when he looks at all the guys he will be playing with he is just amazed.  The Yankees will need him, if he can turn into a number two starter they will be a very tough team to beat.  It will be hard to match-up with him, Sabathia, Nova and Kuroda.  The Yankees already have a great bullpen and offense and if their starting pitching is great, watch out baseball.  The American League is stacked this season so they will need Pineda to be Big and effective right away.  It should be interesting and fun to watch this Big man develop.  I know I am looking forward to watching him pitch on the big stage of New York.

I don’t necessarily think that Vlad would be a poor decision for the Yankees, but at this stage, I don’t think he is the best decision.  The main concern is that Vlad’s numbers have declined significantly over the past three seasons (a monster first half carried his overall numbers in 2010).  Secondly, if the Yankees are hell bent on going down the “aging vet” route to address their DH opening, they are probably better off at least going with a lefty that can take advantage of the short porch in right field. 

At the same time, let’s not dismiss Vlad outright simply because he bats right-handed.  That does not necessarily mean that there is no spot for him on the team.  At this point in time, Andruw Jones appears penciled in as the right-handed platoon partner, but signing Vlad would allow him to fulfill the fourth outfielder role that he was originally re-signed for.  I do like the idea of Jones being freed up for fourth outfield duty because that allows the Yankees to sit Brett Gardner against tough lefties.

The fact that Vlad reached out to the Yankees might slightly improve his chances of obtaining the DH spot – assuming, of course, that he’s willing to take less money than a Raul Ibanez or Johnny Damon type.  I still don’t see the two sides matching up though.  It is hard not to get excited about the idea Vladimir Guerrero in pinstripes – even though he’s only a shell of his former self – but I think the New York Yankees (aka The Boss) passed up their best shot at him during the 2003-2004 offseason.