(The Blue York Jankees – Created by Kyle Phillippi)
by Kevin Kunzmann (@KevKunzmann)
MLB Columnist for Grandstand Gazette
Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the first ever Grandstand Gazette mailbag! Similar to any mailbag or Q&A you may have read, I will be answering the questions of readers to the fullest extent of my ability, so feel free to browse through and find questions that tickle your fancy. Disagree with something I wrote or have another opinion/question on the subject? Leave a comment below to be included in the next mailbag we have!
Today, you will be reading about current topics in the MLB. More specifically, the AL East. More specifically, the Yankees and Blue Jays (a.k.a. The Blue York Jankees). More specifically, Yankees fans wanting to hear me reassure them that there’s no possible way on Earth that the Toronto Blue Jays will win the division. So, let’s get into it.
How are Jeter and Mo going to do after their injuries? -Scott P.
I want to say that Rivera is going to be a little rough this season, but seeing as he has only posted one season — as a reliever — with an ERA over three in his career, I’d settle for a 30-save, 2.90 ERA season. How incredible is he that, at age 43, he’d be under-performing with that stat line? I’ve always been skeptic over the value of relievers, but Mariano Rivera is greater than any closer we have or will ever see. However, there is room for concern with his recovering ACL: it was his right knee, or his drive leg. Mo has never really been a power pitcher; 90 percent of the time he’s throwing the infamous cutter. But, Rivera needs to be entirely healthy to compensate for his aged arm, and that drive leg is more important than any other joint or muscle. He still needs a decent fastball to set up the cutter, and it’s yet to be seen if he’ll have it. And yet, history says we have absolutely nothing to worry about, Scott.
With Jeter, things are going to be weird. I remember a few years back, Ken Griffey Jr. was beginning his final stand. Constant injuries, days off, the slowed swing, the old-man gut — it was upsetting. But Griffey, being the player he was, compensated. He humbly moved to the corner outfield and hit behind cleanup. He did what he could until he couldn’t anymore. Jeter is about there. A broken ankle on an already worn down pair of legs must have Girardi thinking of moving his captain to DH at some point. Nunez is less of a liability at short, and the one thing that hasn’t slowed on Jeter is his plate production: 557 hits and 294 runs in the past three seasons. He’s not a lead-off hitter, and he’s not going to make the classic Jeter hustle plays, but he’s going to make sure he contributes.
My last advice for Yankees fans regarding the two future first-ballot Hall of Famers is to appreciate this year. We live in a generation where watching a legend slowly break down is lightly reassuring: I’m confident that these two guys are clean, and them playing at their level on final fumes is a sign that the game still has its share of good guys.
How do the Blue Jays have all of this talent to trade away for big name players? And what do you think about Piazza not even coming close to induction? -Matt J.
Let’s break down the Blue Jays’ offseason chronologically, seeing as saying, “They kicked some ass” doesn’t entirely justify the many moves they made.
October 4-9: Aaron Laffey, Shawn Hill and Bobby Korecky are released from the 40-man roster, ridding the team of two of their most established veteran pitchers at the time. Many similar small moves are being made in this span; they are clearing up space.
November 1: Exercised their option on veteran reliever Darren Oliver (career-best 2.06 ERA in 2012), and re-structured outfielder Rajai Davis (80 stolen bases in two seasons) to a one-year deal. Wait for it…
November 19: Toronto officially wins the Miami Marlins Fire Sale, swapping the polarizing Yunel Escobar and a handful of farm system players you may never hear of again for Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, John Buck, Emilio Bonafacio and cash. Don’t think GM Alex Anthopoulos used some kind of Jedi mind trick on Miami’s front office. These players were all bound to be dumped after a season of blown expectation, disappointing ticket sale, and horrible signings (see: Heath Bell). Toronto was just right place and right time; it was only a matter of sacrificing prospects for All Stars with bloated contracts. Toronto accepted, as they seem to think they can win now, and so did Melky Cabrera; he signed with the Blue Jays to a two-year deal that same day. This was the most important day of the 2012-2013 offseason.
November 20: John Gibbons returns to Toronto after stunts with Kansas City and San Diego’s farm system. His career record as a manager: 305-305. Not too bad, considering the teams.
December 17: Anthopoulos gives up a top-notch prospect catcher with poor knees (d’Arnaud), John Buck, a single-A righty (Snydergaard), and another prospect to the Mets for the reigning Cy Young pitcher and his two established catchers. He then re-signs Dickey to a three year deal worth only $5 million more than what the Mets had offered him. On paper, it was the biggest risk made by the Jays all season, but I’ll explain later why Dickey is one of the better bargains amongst premiere pitchers.
So, the most the Jays gave up were their top prospect, their starting shortstop, and some veteran pitching for a big-risk All Star team. The risk is not winning before contracts expire, and they would be left with a lessened income and asset stock than their division counterparts, and they will resume fighting it out in the AL East cellar. If it pays off? Then how in the world do they not win the division?
As for Piazza, I’ll keep it relatively short:
It really, really sucked. I had the pleasure of growing up in a time where the Mets were contenders, and the atmosphere at Shea was always buzzing, always ready for something. Even as an 8-9 year old, I knew my team was decent, but I thought it was due to one guy. Piazza would stride calmly to the plate, gripping the barrel of his bat like a hammer, staring into space. Every single time, the crowd would lose it. Shouts, whistles, chants, signs; everybody would be at full capacity from his walk to his swing. I’ve seen David Wright, Derek Jeter, Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, and Chase Utley play in front of a home crowd before. Only Jeter came relatively close to creating that sort of reaction every single at-bat. And to think that after the numbers, the homer after 9/11, the battle with Clemens, the accolades, the Mitchell Report, the swing, the way he could make 50,000 people lose their minds for 30 seconds, after everything, you would like to think he earned that first-ballot vote. But when he didn’t, I wasn’t angry; I was concerned. Concerned that somebody knew something that I didn’t. But, I don’t think Piazza took steroids. How we would we not know by now? We’ve already caught Melky Cabrera twice. It’s all too strange, and I’ll stay concerned until he gets 75% of the vote.
What do you think R.A Dickey is going to bring to Toronto? -Christopher S.
Not a Cy Young Award, if that’s what everyone is thinking. Verlander, Sabathia, Sale, Price, Weaver — there’s far too many guys hitting their prime in the AL that Dickey would have to break records to top. But that’s fine. Dickey is now the number one guy for the potentially most dangerous rotation in the majors: Dickey, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Brandon Morrow, and Rickey Romero. What Dickey brings better than all of them is endurance. Johnson and Morrow are coming off injury, and nobody else beyond Buehrle has shown 200-inning potential. Dickey? 616 innings in three seasons as a knuckleballer — about 200 coming with a torn abdominal muscle last year. He’s 38, but in his 20′s as a knuckleballer. He developed from a bottom-rotation man in 2010 to a big-game pitcher last season, and his ability to be as fresh in September as he was in May may prove incredibly fruitful for a suddenly contesting Toronto team. Additionally, he’s a rock star — he comes out to John Williams’ Imperial March and screams like a banshee mid-pitch. If you can point out another pitcher who can sell out home games better than Dickey, I’d love to know.
1.Do you think the Blue Jays are going to be as good as advertised? Or are they going to be similar to the Marlins of last year? 2. Who has the best lineup in the MLB? 3. Playoff predictions? 4. Thoughts on A-Rod and Braun? -John F.
- 1. Nobody is as good as advertised; too many factors play into baseball that prevent it from the “video game” results we all expect from these big-name teams. With the factor of injury in mind, guys like Jose Reyes, Jose Bautista, and Josh Johnson are significantly less imposing, regardless of who’s playing next to them. Melky Cabrera is potentially looking at another suspension, and no ones knows what to make of Edwin Encarnacion’s worth (42 HR’s in 2012). Compared to last year’s Marlins, they will fare much better, mostly because they did not have to spend as much as Miami did. That gives them the choice to buy, trade, or sell in July — depending on their success — and still put out a competent team. But, I don’t think a makeshift All-Star team wins the toughest division in baseball. Not in 2013.
- 2. Other than the Blue Jays? Kidding. But really, this can be broken into two categories: natural lineups, and artificial. Natural are teams with hitters who have spent enough time together to develop chemistry and established roles with one another. Artificial lineups are strewn together by free agency, unproven to competition but incredible in speculation. The best natural lineup in the league is the Brewers, followed by the Rockies and Reds. The best artificial lineup is the Angels, followed by the Tigers and Braves. Note how the natural lineups are all from the NL?
- 3. From the AL: Yankees, Tigers, A’s, Blue Jays, Angels. NL: Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Phillies. Not very different from 2012, but still. Tigers meet the Angels in the ALCS, Angels win in 5. Braves play the Giants in the NLCS, Giants win in 6. Angels top the Giants in a 4-game sweep to win the Series. Sometimes, artificial is better.
- 4. Alex Rodriguez is the real-life Anakin Skywalker. And Ryan Braun hasn’t proved nowhere near as much as Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Manny Ramirez have to be tossed into the burning cycle of hate and blame that these once-superstars suffer on a regular basis. For that twisted reason alone, I imagine that Rodriguez will one day become a Hall of Famer — but not on his first ballot. And I also imagine that we’re close to learning how much Braun has lied about in the past two years. Golly, you’ve just got to hate the Steroid Era!
When are the Yanks going to make any moves? -Kyle A.
When there’s something worth making a move for. I don’t think Cashman gets much credit beyond being a splurging spender. I genuinely believe he didn’t see anything worth sacrificing a piece of his core group for this winter, and is stocking up for the next big name. Their pitching is maturing into a top-notch crew, and Robertson is a great predecessor for when Mo retires this October (yes, I think that’s finally happening).
Remember that they lost the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes, and that they are not accustomed to losing out on big free agents. That tells me that they are going to start valuing age and projection over accolades for the next couple of years; Hamilton may have been their beta test. I don’t think anyone major is trading in for pinstripes in 2013, unless injuries become a problem by July. Just remember that when the Yanks are rattling out 92 wins this season, they are in rebuilding mode. That’s how good the Yankees were five years ago.
The AL East seems pretty loaded heading into the season. How do you see the race panning out? -Matt H.
I get why almost every single question is related to the AL East. It’s potentially the tightest division in all major sports right now. Even better, there are so many different personas amongst the teams: Yankees are the seasoned winners, Red Sox are the rebuilding team, the Orioles are the hottest team in baseball, the Rays are the consistent wild card, and the Blue Jays are the dark horse. Each have a reasonable argument as to how they will make the playoffs, but this — after 2,000 words on the 2013 Yankees and Blue Jays — is how I imagine it playing out.
- 1. Yankees 92-70
- 2. Blue Jays 89-73
- 3. Orioles 82-80
- 4. Rays 72-90
- 5. Red Sox 68-94
Age before beauty — if that even applies here.
Who goes to and wins the World Series? -Alex G.
I’m a really good New York Giants fan. You get to be good at being a fan when you develop a sense for when things will go well and when things are going to crash and burn harder than the Hindenburg. I developed that sense a few years back when I realized that whenever I said, “the Giants are going to win,” before kickoff, they would get their teeth kicked in for the next four quarters. But if I said, “the Giants are screwed”? They’d be doing the kicking of the teeth. It is a horribly frustrating, strenuous, and polarizing lifestyle — cheering for the inverse of what I actually want — but I have enjoyed/suffered through two Super Bowl wins in the past six years.
With that revelation in mind, I expect a California series, with the Angels sweeping San Francisco in four games. I have written before — and still stand by — the idea that the artificial Angels will sputter and lose the division to the naturally cultivated A’s, and because that is what I believe, the Angels will win the World Series.
You’ve got to love being a fan. I think.
Do you think Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens are ever going to make it nto the Hall of Fame? -Marc C.
What would a Yankees / Blue Jays mailbag be without the most hated Yankee / Blue Jay of all time making a guest appearance with his outspoken partner in crime? That’s right: a better mailbag. But really, this is a question that more people who care about baseball need to be asking. Both should have been the greatest players of all time. Think about that sentence. Seven MVP’s, seven Cy Young Awards, 25 All Star Games, 762 home runs, 4,672 strikeouts. They should have been the greatest of all time. There’s never been such an instance of disappointing greatness — or ruined excellence — in the world of sports. But, we also have to understand that Bonds and Clemens were not the first stars to cheat the game, and they will be nowhere the last. We need to figure out a standard for as to where players who took steroids stand amongst each other: is it all just the same level of play, cancelled out by the fact they cheated, or are some cheaters of greater value than others?
The sad thing is that there was little doubt before their failed tests that the two were Hall of Famers; the argument that they didn’t even need steroids to be first-balloters is an easy one to make. But, they will instead serve as the faces of when the game went wrong.
We stand somewhere right now that leaves baseball fans two options: continue to fight the good fight against PED’s, or just accept that they are becoming a part of the game. To be frank, they already have been a part of the game for 20 years, and have left a bigger stain on the game than any other scandal in MLB history. I’m confident that all of the investigation and punishment that has transpired will not have been done in vain, that Bud Selig and his colleagues are working towards an end of the Steroid Era. It just may take awhile. But, if there is no room in the Hall of Fame for Pete Rose or Joe Jackson, then there is no room for Bonds’ big head. No, Marc, neither of those liars get into the Hall of Fame.
