Photo taken from Google Images

With the impending retirement announcement of Yankee veteran Jorge Posada, baseball fans are wondering, what will his legacy be? For the diehard fans of New York, Posada will go down among the greats. For those who analyze statistics, Jorge Posada was a quality player on both sides of the plate, but his lack of production in the playoffs and overall average seasons leave much to be desired.

A career .273 hitter, Posada racked up 275 home runs, a .374 on-base percentage, a .474 slugging percentage, and a respectable .848 OPS. Posada collected 936 walks which is good enough for 15^th place among active players and swatted 379 doubles. Yet, Posada also managed to strike out 1,453 times (58^th most all-time and 13^th most among active players). The 40-year-old catcher’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR) stands at 44.7, which means he has consistently made himself an asset to the Yankee starting lineup. Among active players, Posada ranks 27^th in Runs Created (RC) with 1,100. Defensively, he provided a career 7.49 Range Factor per 9 innings (RF/9 is a statistic used to measure how many outs a player is involved with, thus allowing a more comprehensive evaluation of one’s defensive play), which ranks 24^th all-time among catchers. Also don’t forget Posada’s 2007 season, he remains the only catcher in history to hit at least .330 with 20 homers and 90 RBI.

Posada’s postseason shortcomings damaged what is otherwise an outstanding catching career. With the exception of last fall’s ALDS, Posada failed to impress during the crucial playoff games. What’s worse is that as the Yankees got deeper into postseason, Posada’s production fell further into the abyss. Posada’s postseason batting average is a measly .248. In six World Series, he hit just .219. His OPS in the playoffs is more than 100 points lower than his career average at just .745.

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Still, Yankee fans will see far past those lackluster playoff numbers and remember the mighty catcher who won five World Series rings, caught a perfect game, collected five Silver Sluggers, was named to five All-Star games, and started 1,574 games behind the plate for the Yankees (trailing only Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey). Posada was an integral part of the latest Yankee dynasty, part of the legendary “Core Four” along with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte. What’s even more impressive about Posada is his durability, which until recently was unwavering.  The Bronx Bombers never placed Posada on the disabled list until the 2007 season.

Is Jorge Posada a Hall of Famer? No, probably not. Will he be remembered as a winner, an intense competitor, and a highly respected battery mate? Absolutely. Take a look back at the infamous 2003 ALCS brawl between the Red Sox and Yankees (Note: Pedro Martinez vs. Don Zimmer). Who was the first to stand up to the mouthy Martinez and defend his team? Captain Jeter? Joe Torre? No, it was Jorge Posada who took the first bullet for New York by exchanging verbal jabs with Pedro. He’s a fiercely loyal guy who didn’t mind taking a back seat to big name players in the name of winning championships. If there was a Hall of Fame for players with heart, Posada would be one of the first inducted.

Photo taken from Google Images

Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez have a few things in common. Both are professional athletes who play for two of the most popular teams in their sport (Lakers and Yankees) and in the biggest markets in the country (LA and NY). They are two athletes people love to hate, but they seem to use the negativity as fuel. And they both were playing through devastating knee injuries last season.

Both men had troublesome right knees but Kobe was the one who got the new treatment done first and gave A-Rod the number to the doctor.

Arthritic joints in the knee caused Kobe constant pain last year. He had three surgeries up to that point and the pain was getting worse. Basketball fans around the league were ready to count him out, and most of them wished he would retire because they’re tired of him dominating their favorite team and players. They were ready to call the movers and get him out of LA and out of the league.

Kobe, being the ultimate competitor that he is, wasn’t having that.

After doing research on a procedure called Orthokine, he decided he was ready to travel to Duesseldorf, Germany. The surgery is detailed and isn’t done here in the U.S. To put it simply, doctors inject “plasma rich platelets” into the affected area to stimulate the joints recovery.

Blood was taken from Kobe and swirled at high speeds to decompose it back to its base plasma form. After that, the blood is injected back into the knee and then the magic happens. Kobe has said that the procedure has his knee at 95 percent, and that it hasn’t felt that good in years.

A-Rod got the number to Dr. Peter Wehling from Kobe and he spoke with the Yankees to get the team’s approval to go ahead with the treatment. Dr. Wehling gave the Yanks a signed statement verifying that no banned substances are used in the procedure because A-Rod has already gone through his share of problems with that.

The Yanks assigned team physician Christopher Ahmad to spend time conducting his own research on the process and exactly what happens during it before making a final decision. Last season A-Rod had arthroscopic knee surgery to repair his torn meniscus. Afterwards, he missed six weeks and had his share of lingering pain and issues.

The best thing about this procedure is that it’s not a surgery. The athletes aren’t forced to miss time recovering and rehabbing. A-Rod was in Germany from Dec. 5-9 to have the work done, and when he got back to the States, he was able to start his training regimen again almost immediately.

As the countdown for spring training begins, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said there has been no setbacks for A-Rod and that the superstar third basemen is 100 percent and ready to get started.

This procedure will definitely grow in popularity with the endorsement of athletes like Kobe and A-Rod. More doctors around the world will be researching and learning how to perform it. It could be a major step forward in sports and rehabilitation medicine.

From messy negotiations with the Captain; to ace Cliff Lee choosing brotherly love over the big apple; to waving goodbye to one of the Core Four; the New York Yankees off-season seemed to be in the news for all the wrong reasons.

The only legit move was signing reliever Rafael Soriano, but even that became a soap opera, as the Yankees GM Brian Cashman publicly disagreed with ownership.

Oh, let’s not forget what we learned about Alex Rodriguez, he is a want-a-be jet setter, who cannot feed himself; he picks and flicks, but don’t worry he still likes blonde actresses. Let’s all hope A-rod can deal with playing baseball again.

The off-season ended on a sad note, as Andy Pettitte hung-up his gloves on February 4th at Yankee Stadium. Pettitte is still a top of the rotation ace, was loved in the clubhouse and was a fan favorite. Yankee fans can only wish Pettitte all the best.
Now with the Yankees officially in Spring Training, it’s time to get to work. With the moves implemented by Boston’s GM Theo Epstein, the Red Sox are heavily favored to not only win the AL East, but also a shoe-inn to be playing in 2011 World Series.

The Positives:
Though Yankee Universe got a reality check this off-season, it is not as if the team as it is now can’t play baseball. Most teams would be happy to have the same ‘problems’ as the Yankees, as the team is still one of the best.

Just look at whose returning to the Yankees line-up from 2010, Jeter, Granderson, Teixeira, A-rod, Cano, Posada, Swisher, and Gardner. It includes four All-Stars, three Gold Glovers and one Silver Slugger recipient.

In 2010, with chiefly the same group, the Yankees posted a 97-67 record. The bats led the majors in RBIs with 832, On Base Percentage with .350 and had the most runs with 859. Add that to coming in third with 802 home-runs, they came in second in walks with 662 and ranked fourth in baseball for total bases and slugging percentage.

To have those numbers in a season where the Captain was off, Granderson was on the DL for almost two months and our best hitter, A-rod still wasn’t fully cleared from hip surgery, is pretty darn good.

Last season, Gardner and Swisher proved their worth by stepping it up when the team struggled and look for both to continue.

The glue of the line-up was Robinson Cano, who finally broke out and showed everyone that he is as good as scouts predicted. Cano should win his second Silver Slugger in 2011, and after coming in second for MVP in 2010, look for him to win it in 2011.

Jeter and Granderson finished the season like themselves, and A-rod finally got cleared this past June to be able to workout without any hesitations.

So, with virtually the same line-up, and an upgrade of what fans hope will be touted prospect Jesus Montero taking the empty spot in the line-up. Andruw Jones will fill in as part-time DH, which adds up to a Bombers line-up that is going to be better than last season.

The clubs clear other strength came against GM Cashman’s better judgment, as Hal and Hank Steinbrenner overrode him to sign the best closer from 2010, Rafael Soriano. Soriano is more than happy to move from closer to set-up for, as he knows what an honor setting up for the great-one, Mariano Rivera will be.

Rivera’s signature cutter still mystifies batters after 16 seasons. Rivera is 41-years-old but showed no reason for concern at all. Still, having Soriano ready just in case was a brilliant call that would make the Boss very proud of his sons.

Add in Pedro Feliciano from the Mets and the returns of David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan and Sergio Mitre and this is easily the best bullpen on paper in the division. A solid bullpen is a team’s icing on the cake. The importance of relief pitchers cannot be overstated because fact is they are game changers.

The rotation is steered by ace CC Sabathia, who has been practically perfect since arriving in the Bronx in 2009. Sabathia has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for all 10-seasons of his career, named to four All-Star teams, winning the 2007 Cy Young, while finishing second in 2008 and last season.

Sabathia is an innings eater, goes deep into games and posted 197 strikeouts in each of the last two seasons. He dropped 25+ pounds during the off-season, which should only make the 6’7” Sabathia even better.

Following CC is Phil Hughes who defied odds during his first season as a starter. Hughes won 18 games, with 146 strikeouts over 177 innings pitched. It earned Hughes his first of many All-Star appearances.

Look for Hughes to incorporate his change-up more in 2011 and should be excellent in the two spot, especially with the experience of a full season in the rotation behind him.

The Yankees defense has always been elite and heading into 2011 this fact still remains.

The Negatives:
The Yankees have more holes to fill than fans would like. No Lee, no Pettitte and after the season AJ Burnett put together last year he is still unreliable until proven otherwise.

What is so concerning about Burnett is that even before 2010, he was never steady on the mound. His pitches are dominant, but what used to just happen every third or fourth start became regular last season. Without Pettitte, the pressure is on and the team needs Burnett to be productive.

There are two empty spots, the fourth and fifth in the rotation. This is bad because neither spot has even a front-runner heading into camp. Yankee haters love this, while the fans are counting on a big time trade by the end of June.

The beloved Yankees Captain had the worst season of his career, followed by a very ‘messy’ and public contract negotiations. Hopefully Jeter, as in the past, is already over it. Still, there is no doubt blood was shed off-the-field and that is a place that Jeter has kept sacred, which is why it remains in the minds of Yankee fans. It is dormant for now, but it will reappear or disappear after seeing Jeter’s first few at-bats.

Another grey area is the list of players Cashman invited to camp. It turned into what seems more like a self-fulfilling pilgrimage to look like a hero-GM, than actually being productive additions to win. Quantity over quality has never been the Yankee way, so my concern is not unwarranted.

As the great Lou Holtz once said: “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
So, understand the concern when the name Bartolo Colon is on this list. Colon shouldn’t pitch for a major league team again after the crap he has pulled.

Followed by the name Mark Prior, whom Cashman thinks is going to turn into Kerry Wood. Why Cashman didn’t pay to keep Wood is beyond me, because Wood took pennies to play at home with his Cubs after the Yankees didn’t pick up his option.

Then there is reliever Luis Ayala, who is almost 34 and posted a 1-5 record with a 5.63 ERA back in 2009, the last time he pitched in the majors.

You get the point?

Imagine if the baby Steins hadn’t pulled rank on Cashman about Soriano, this is what Cashman thinks is better? Cashman is a great GM and not getting Lee was ultimately the fans fault, but this off-season his moves were questionable and that has made fans uncomfortable.

Players To Watch:
Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild will have his hands full in his first season with the Yankees.

If Rothschild can right AJ Burnett his status will be instant hero in New York. He visited Burnett during the off-season at his home, where Burnett had a barn turned into a pitching facility after 2010. Not only Burnett, but also Rothschild will play a major role in choosing the fourth and fifth starters and then guiding them.

3B Alex Rodriguez has spent the off-season jet setting around the world, living more of a Hollywood life than one of an athlete. Rodriguez better have saved some energy for baseball because the fact is, when he hits the line-up responds and it’s about time he starts to earn his paycheck once again. Hopefully feeding himself again will not be too much of a distraction.

2011 AL East Prediction:
While the Red Sox’s off-season forces them to be the favorites to win the AL East, don’t count out the Yankees because they will be the Wild Card at the very least. Look for this old-school rivalry to be back to awesome again.

Being labeled, as the underdogs will work in the Yankees favor, Cano will win MVP and Jeter will come in second again.

Photo taken from Google Images

With the recent signings by the New York Yankees of Bartolo Colon and Andruw Jones, the Tampa Bay Rays of Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez and the Baltimore Orioles of Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero you have to wonder if these teams realize that it is 2011 and not 2005.
If it were 2005, the impact of these signings would without question make these three contenders the top teams in the division and favorites for the World Series.
In 2005, Bartolo Colon won 21 games for the Anaheim Angels and was named the American League Cy Young Award winner.
In the2005 American League MVP race, Vladimir Guerrero finished third, Manny Ramirez was fourth and Johnny Damon placed 13th.
On the National League side, Andruw Jones placed second while Derrek Lee was third.
Unfortunately as the Yankees, Rays and Orioles look toward 2011, most of these former superstars are years removed from performing at that high level.
That is especially the case for the two new Yankees Jones and Colon.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Since his Cy Young season, Colon has won a grand total of 14 major league games and did not pitch in the majors in 2010. With the retirement of Andy Pettitte and inconsistency of A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes, the Yankees are crossing their fingers that Colon and fellow non-roster invitees Freddy Garcia (third in 2001 Cy Young voting) and Mark Prior (third in 2003 Cy Young voting) can return to past form.
They are also hopeful that at the age of 33, five-time All-Star Andruw Jones still has some pop in his bat. Though expected to serve as the fourth outfielder for the Yankees, the team would certainly like to see him provide another offensive weapon. However, if recent years are any indication, how much pop he has left is questionable. In his final three years with the Atlanta Braves (2005-2007), Jones smashed 118 home runs and drove in 351 runs. In the three seasons since he left Atlanta, Jones has hit a grand total of 39 home runs and driven in 105 runs. He also has gone from being a 10-time Gold Glove fielder to being a part-time outfielder and part-time designated hitter.
But New York is not alone in looking to the past to help save their present.
While the Tampa Bay Rays cut significant salary during the off-season, they still have a solid nucleus that is capable of contending in 2011. For that reason, the addition of Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez is hoped to help fill some of the void left by the loss of Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena.
Though he is now 37 years old, Damon is still capable of serving as a table setter for the Rays. Last season he played in 145 games for the Tigers and hit .271 while scoring 81 runs. He is no longer a base stealing threat, but he should be a solid addition to the lineup.
It is difficult to predict what the Rays will get out of Ramirez, who will turn 39 on May 30th. Since serving a 50-game suspension for violating the MLB drug policy in 2009, Ramirez hasn’t been the same dominating player that he was for most of his career.
Splitting time between the Dodgers and White Sox in 2010, Ramirez played in only 90 games and hit .298 with nine home runs and 42 RBI.
If he is healthy and motivated in 2011, he could be a huge addition to the lineup. However, if he struggles, Ramirez could become a distraction and have a short tenure with the Rays.
Of the three teams that went back in time looking for help in 2011, the Baltimore Orioles seem to have the best chance of seeing big dividends.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The 36-year-old Guerrero had a tremendous season in 2010 helping lead the Texas Rangers to the World Series. Though he struggled during the playoffs, his regular season was still tremendous as he hit .300 with 29 home runs and 115 RBI.
If he can come close to a repeat performance in 2011 Guerrero will give the Orioles a much needed run producer in the middle of the lineup and take pressure off the young Baltimore hitters.
A similar statement can be made about the other big signing for the Orioles in first baseman Derrek Lee. The 35-year-old Lee had a solid season in 2010 with 19 home runs, 80 RBI and a .260 average. In 2009 he hit 35 home runs with 111 RBI and a .306 average for the Cubs.
If Lee is able to produce at a level somewhere in between those two seasons, he will be a huge improvement over what the Orioles had at first base a year ago.
Though the Orioles could have used a veteran starting pitcher, signing Guerrero and Lee will certainly help make them even more competitive in 2011 than they were over the final two months of the 2010 season when they went 34-23 under new manager Buck Showalter.
Because it is 2011, instead of 2005, the reality is that all three teams will likely spend the season chasing the only team in the division that spent the offseason signing players actually reaching the peak of their careers, the Boston Red Sox.

Trevor Hoffman photo taken from Google Images

Trevor Hoffman Calls It Quits

So, after the trials of the 2010 season where Glenn’s little brother saw himself loose his job as the closer for the Brewers for a while, yet rebound and still get his 600th career save (most ever), he decided to hang ‘em up! Here is the video of his retirement announcement…

By the way, his big brother Glenn Hoffman was the SS for the Boston Red Sox from 1980-1987, then turned to coaching. He managed in the Dodgers minor league system up until 1998 when he became the interim manager of the big club in mid-season (replacing Bill Russell). The next year (1999) he became the club’s third base coach where he remained until 2005. Since then (2006) he has been the third base coach of the San Diego Padres.

Yankees‘ Andy Pettitte Announces Retirement

Yesterday, longtime Yankees (with a short stop playing for Houston from 2004-2006) pitcher Andy Pettitte retired after 16 seasons. Pettitte is the all time leader in playoff wins with 19 (in 42 starts, which is also a record).

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

As an aside, Pettitte may also need to testify in court this year against former teammate and friend Roger Clemens on his PED use. Might this be part of the reason Pettitte isn’t playing in 2011 and left the door open for a possible return to the game in 2012 (if he gets that itch back once the season begins)?

Jeter Photo by Icon SMI

Seems like a perfectly asinine question. Of course, most teams should be after Derek Jeter. He has great leadership qualities and is one of the top ten hitting shortstops in the history of the game. The trouble is that there is so much more about the game. Even when you include the hitting, he is due to get worse before he is due to get better. However, to be generous to Jeter, let’s take the last three seasons and compare them with other prominent shortstops. We will look at ten prominent shortstops and their wins above replacement over the last three seasons.

There are two ways to look at these numbers. You could be positive and point out that only three of the ten shortstops have been better over the three year period. You could also be negative and point out that every shortstop on the list had a better 2010 than Jeter. Remember, we just cut it off at ten. The problem is that the Yankees are already offering Jeter more money than any of these players. He wants between 23 and 24 million dollars. That is double the annual rate of any of these players. The problem comes down to defense. Despite all of those Gold Gloves, Jeter is an awful defender according to most metrics. Here are his Dewan ratings as far back as they go.

Remember we are only going back as far as 2005. If we were to go back further we would see even more red ink. If you peruse baseballreference.com you will find that he has only two seasons where he has a positive defensive WAR rating. So, obviously he has never been a good defender and only sporadically has been mediocre. He isn’t likely to get better in his latter thirties.

Here is where the traditionalists come into play. How can we possibly understand the greatness of Derek Jeter with all of these numbers? Fair question. Jeter has the reputation of being a money player. So, if Jeter goes to the Astros, Pirates, or even a team like the Athletics, would he have the opportunity to produce in money situations? Will that famed leadership make a difference on a team destined to win 75 games? Does a Derek Jeter (who has been in the playoffs every year but one) want to go to one of these teams where the playoffs are a remote possibility?

I hate to side with the Yankees on any dispute, but you have to side with them here. Derek Jeter needs the Yankees more than they need him. Sure, having him finish his career there is a feather in their cap, but I doubt it’s a feather that is worth more than fifty million dollars over the life of a contract. As tough a pill as it is to swallow, Jeter needs to realize he isn’t an elite shortstop anymore. When all things were considered he might not have ever been an elite shortstop in terms of the game’s history. Often times, reputation and reality just never meet.

The New York Yankees haven’t made the World Series every year, it just seems that way. Since 1921, the Yankees have appeared in the World Series 40 times, winning 27 championships.

By contrast, post season play is something very new for the team that dethroned the Yankees as the American League Champions.

Since entering the league as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961 and moving to the Dallas–Fort Worth area to become the Texas Rangers in 1972, the franchise has had little success. They reached the playoffs three times between 1996 and 1999, but lost in the opening round all three times while winning only one post season game.

Just as a comparison, while the Senators-Rangers went 50 years without making the World Series, the Yankees have made 15 World Series appearances and claimed 11 titles during that stretch. In addition, they reached the playoffs nine other times for a total of 24 playoff appearances in 50 years.

Since the failed attempt to implement a salary cap in baseball in 1994, the Yankees have made the playoffs in 15 of 16 seasons with seven World Series appearances and five titles.

To many Yankee fans across the world, appearing in and winning the World Series every year isn’t just a hopeful expectation, it is considered an expected right. Over history, failure to achieve the annual objective has often resulted in quick changes, regardless of past success.

Beloved manager Joe Torre, owner of four World Series rings, was run out of town because the Yankees had lost in the opening round of the playoffs three years in a row and had gone eight years since claiming a World Series championship. But Torre wasn’t the first New York manager to endure such a fate.

Joe McCarthy led the Yankees to eight World Series appearances and seven titles in 16 years, but when the team went three straight seasons without a post season appearance, he was fired during the 1946 season.

Despite having led the Yankees to the World Series title in his first season guiding the team in 1947, Bucky Harris was fired following the 1948 season and replaced by Casey Stengel. The move certainly worked out for the Yankees as Stengel led them to seven World Series titles and 10 appearances in 12 seasons.

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However, after losing a dramatic seventh game in the 1960 Series, Stengel was replaced by Ralph Houk. The Yankees won the next two titles, but after being swept by the Dodgers in the 1963 Series, Houk was replaced by Yogi Berra despite the fact that New York won 104 games that season.

In 1964, Berra led the Yankees to 99 wins and the seventh game of the World Series, but it didn’t help the Yankee legend as he was fired after the season.

A similar fate met many Yankee managers during the George Steinbrenner era, but perhaps none was more pronounced than the firing of Dick Howser after one season leading the team in 1980. The Yankees won 103 games that season, but were swept by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.

Steinbrenner also had little patience with Torre’s immediate predecessor as Buck Showalter was fired following the 1995 season despite having led the Yankees to their first post season appearance in 14 years.

Photo of Yankees Mgr Joe Girardi by Icon SMI

It is doubtful that Joe Girardi’s job is in jeopardy after reaching the AL Championship Series in 2010, but given the past history it isn’t difficult to understand why there have been rumors of him looking at other potential jobs.

You can also bet that even with a 2010 payroll over $206 million, the Yankees will be in the market for new talent to put on the field in 2011.

With veteran shortstop Derek Jeter in need of a new contract and a number of other players reaching the downside of their careers, there will certainly be new faces added to the lineup in 2011.

The Yankees won’t be adding another championship in 2010, but you can count on them being back in the mix again next year.

Get 2010 World Series Tickets at StubHub!

I now see that it is much easier doing one of these with at least one more person like on the BBA Baseball Talk podcasts or online with the guys over at Pro Rumors TV.

Either way, I hope you enjoy this & I’ll work on improving this as I do more of these solo webcasts thanks to my new laptop with the built in webcam!

So without further ado, on with the webcast…

Sorry for the delay…we have some technical difficulties with YouTube earlier that had to wait until I got home from work. I went 2:05 over the allowed 15 minute time frame.

American & National League Divisional Series Preview/Predictions from Peter Schiller on Vimeo.

This 17 minute webcast (my first) is my American & National League Divisional Series Preview/Predictions.

Please let me know if you think it is too long.
Thanks!

AND

Image of George Steinbrenner provided by Perry Barber

March, 1990: After twenty-eight years with the New York Mets, my friend and mentor Arthur Richman had recently matriculated to the Yankees‘ front office at his good pal George Steinbrenner’s insistence. One of the first things Arthur did upon assuming his vice-presidential duties was hire me to umpire some Yankees spring  training games in Fort Lauderdale. I met Mr. Steinbrenner on quite a few occasions: here’s a photo of him my husband at the time, Tom Vris, took while he was sitting next to him in the stands at a split-squad game I was working over on one of the practice fields at Legends Stadium in Tampa in 1996. And here’s a shot of me working the actual game, a Cincinnati Reds@Yankees affair featuring Jimmy Key, a high-priced rehab project coming off the disabled list, on the hill for the Bombers. The Yankees are obviously on offense in this picture, and I can’t positively identify the batter behind me who appears to be on his way up to the plate while eyeing me as if I were an alien, but it may be Ruben Rivera.

Umpire Perry Barber in Tampa, FL provided by Perry Barber

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