Hockey to Close Yankee Stadium?

ESPN.com reports the New York Rangers and NHL are discussing a potential hockey game at Yankee Stadium in late 2008 or early 2009.

The NHL and the Yankees are continuing their work toward a deal that would call for the Rangers to play host to a 2008-09 regular-season game before Yankee Stadium is shuttered for good, the New York Daily News reported in Monday’s editions.

“It’s something we’ve spoken both to the Yankees and to the city about,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the newspaper, “but it’s not a done deal. There are still other possibilities and a lot of moving pieces.”

Yankee Stadium opened in 1923. Construction on their new park began in 2006 at a cost of more than $1 billion. The new stadium — the site is adjacent to the current edifice — will open in 2009.

It seems clear that the NHL is intent on capitalizing on the incredibly popular Winter Classic in Buffalo, played on New Year’s Day before a crowd of more than 71,000 at snowy Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Yankee Stadium is a baseball cathedral. It has played host to the greatest teams and greatest players in the history of the game. It just does not seem right that the last event at this magnificent venue could be anything other than a Yankees game.

Wang Loses Arbitration

Chien-Ming Wang has lost his arbitration case with the Yankees. The righty will make $4 million in 2008, not the $4.6 million he was seeking. Expect Hank Steinbrenner to chime in on his own magnificent work to produce this victory on Monday. It is simply amazing that the team that bid against itself to keep Alex Rodriguez cares enough about $600,000 to risk souring relations with a young cornerstone at the top of the rotation.

Sabathia Ends Extension Talks

The Associated Press reports 2007 AL Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia has put an end to contract talks with the Indians until he becomes a free agent after the 2008 season.

The 27-year-old left-hander, who is eligible for free agency after the 2008 season, said on his Web site that he and his agents have broken off negotiations on an extension with the club. The Indians recently had offered Sabathia a four-year extension believed to be worth $17 million to $18 million per season.

On Sabathia’s Web site, he posted this message: “This offseason, through my representatives at Legacy Sports Group, I have discussed the possibility of a contract extension with the Cleveland Indians. At this time, we haven’t been able to reach agreement. Now that the reporting date for spring training is here, it is time to put aside contract discussions so that I can focus all of my energies and attention on preparing for the upcoming season.

This means he is definitely hitting the free agent market. If a player wants to stay with his team, he signs an extension early, taking a hometown discount in exchange for future financial security. Risking injury without a future contract this season would make no sense if he was just going to resign with the Indians without testing the market. The Yankees can clearly outbid the Tribe for his services next winter.

Sabathia should be New York’s top target at that time. He is only 27 years old and has emerged as one of the game’s best pitchers in the past 2 years. C.C. has averaged over 200 innings pitched throughout his career and has not thrown less than 189 since his rookie year. His big frame has prevented him from breaking down. Cleveland probably will not trade Sabathia since the Tribe is likely to contend in 2008. Mark Shapiro will likely take one more shot at winning it all with his ace. At that point, Cleveland will not have the funds to retain his services in the inflated market for quality pitching. The Yankees will be able to use the money earmarked for Johan Santana to lure him to the Bronx in addition to money coming off the books as the result of big contracts like Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Kyle Farnsworth, and Carl Pavano expiring. Aces in their 20’s rarely come available for nothing except money. This team could realistically be looking at a 2009 rotation of Sabathia, Hughes, Wang, Chamberlain, and Kennedy, a quintet of young, high quality pitchers. Sabathia’s move was the first step in that direction.

Legends Field Renamed

The Associated Press reports that the Yankees will rename their Spring Training stadium, Legends Field after George Steinbrenner.

George Steinbrenner is replacing a Yankee Legend.

The New York Yankees will rename their spring training home Steinbrenner Field in honor of the man who has owned the team since 1973. The ballpark has been called Legends Field since it opened in 1996. 

“I am humbled and flattered,” Steinbrenner said in a statement Tuesday.

Is George as important as figures in the history of the team like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, or Ford? The answer is no. Those men and many others are more deserving of this honor. Nevertheless, it is nice to see a team pay homage to some facet of its history in this era of overcommercialization, especially when it comes to stadium naming rights. I would rather go to a stadium named after somebody important to baseball than one named after a cell phone provider.

Joba Chamberlain out of the rotation???

In order to keep with the new 2008 “Joba Rules” (140 innings) the Yankees have decided to start Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen this year. The bizarre plan has Joba in the bullpen for April and May, and returning to the minors in June to prepare for a starter role late in the season.

I am completely baffled by this plan. Joba belongs in the bullpen, period. Lets hope that the plan changes yet again, and Joba stays where he has proven himself time and time again last season. As a long time Yankee fan, I’d rather see Joba every other day than once every 6 days. He can make the most difference in the very thin bullpen…….

Pitchers and catchers report in less than 48 hours!

Yankees Sign Ensberg

The Yankees have agreed to terms with Morgan Ensberg on a minor league deal. The veteran third baseman will now compete to back up Alex Rodriguez and to potentially be the righty half of a first base platoon. Ensberg has only played a single game at first base in his career so he likely will not alleviate concerns of defense at the position. This is still an excellent signing. Morgan is only three years removed from a 36 homers, 101 RBI season in Houston. His career .366 on base percentage and .476 slugging percentage are well above average. Even as the 32 year old’s numbers have fallen off in recent seasons, he still has had great success against lefty pitching. He had an .831 OPS against lefties last season and is at .950 since 2005. This is a terrific guy to bring in to a nonguaranteed deal to challenge Shelley Duncan for a roster spot off the bench and in a platoon.

Mets Acquire Santana

Johan Santana is coming to New York, but he will not call the Bronx home. The two-time Cy Young winner is heading to the Mets after Omar Minaya pulled the trigger on a deal sending Carlos Gomez, Phillip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra to Minnesota in return. This brings a the Yankees’ long pursuit of the elite lefty to a close. This team still lacks a proven shutdown starter at the top of the rotation. It is time to take a look at how all relevant parties fared in this deal.

Winners

Johan Santana: The lefty is going to get the big contract he covets, play in the world’s biggest media market, and go to the weaker hitting league.

New York Mets: The Mets somehow landed the game’s best pitcher without giving up their top hitting prospect, Fernando Martinez, or their top pitching prospect, Mike Pelfrey. They gained the dominant ace they had lacked and added an anchor to a thin pitching staff. This move is the big splash that will finally allow the fans and media to start looking forward and forget their dramatic 2007 collapse. In one move, Omar Minaya has made the Mets the team to beat in the National League in 2008.

Boston Red Sox: They would have loved a Beckett-Santana combination to top their rotation, but their starting pitching looks great as currently constructed. They did not need Santana. Their only concern was the Yankees using him to counter Beckett. Now the Yankees did not get Santana, and they get to hold onto their prized prospects.

Yankees Fans: Fans of the Yankees have grown tired with the marquee acquisitions. Over the past three years, it has been deeply satisfying for them to watch their young, homegrown stars develop. Now they will get to see Phil Hughes turn into one of the game’s top pitchers instead of buying up an established star who made the leap years ago.

Losers

Bill Smith: The Minnesota general manager has to top this list. He could have had the game’s next great young pitcher in Phil Hughes to pair with Francisco Liriano for the next five years at the top of his rotation. He also could have had an adequate young centerfielder in Melky Cabrera to compensate for the loss of Torii Hunter. He could have replaced Hunter with Jacoby Ellsbury, a future All-Star in centerfield, or received a future 2 or 3 starter who has won a World Series clincher in Jon Lester. He could have topped off a deal with the Red Sox by acquiring an above average shortstop prospect in Jed Lowrie. Instead, Smith ended up with a couple of middle of the rotation starters, a project pitcher, and an overrated centerfielder prospect with great speed but no power or discipline at the plate. Smith deserves to be tarred and feathered by his fanbase. This was awful evaluation. He picked the worst package.

Hank Steinbrenner: Hank lost out on the pitcher he coveted. He has nobody but himself to blame. His pompous negotiations and through the media, unprofessional public complaints about the Twins’ front office, and setting of fake deadlines helped to torpedo any chance the Yankees and the Twins could sit down and amicably negotiate a way to get Santana to the Bronx.

New York Yankees: The Yankees still do not have a shutdown starter at the top of their rotation. It would have been foolish to trade a future ace like Phil Hughes for a guy that much older and more expensive. It still made no sense as to why the Yanks were willing to give up Hughes but not make Robinson Cano the centerpiece instead. Cano has firmly established himself as an elite second baseman at a young age. The hitting challenged Twins gladly would have listened had the Yanks put Robbie in the package in place of Phil. Cano is a terrific hitter, but the Yankees have plenty of offense. Giving him up for a shutdown starter should have at least been considered. Their refusal to do so might have cost them Santana. Second basemen are easier to find than pitchers of Santana’s caliber. It is more important to have an ace in October than it is to have a .300 hitter at second base.

Major League Baseball: The fact that the small payroll Twins could not afford to keep a player so important to their franchise speaks volumes about the problems Major League Baseball has. One cannot blame teams like the Mets, Red Sox, and Yankees. They are using a flawed system to their advantage just like any other business would. Baseball needs to get more equitable rules because this is awful for fans of the Twins.

Yankees sign Cano to a four year deal

The New York Yankees locked up their second baseman, Robinson Cano with a four year deal worth more than $30 million dollars. The deal includes two option years that could add another $25 million to the pot. This is a great sign from the new Yankee regime. In recent years, the Yankees shyed away from giving multi-year deals to their young players, and instead, went with aging stars and flash-in-the-pans (too many names to mention here…you all know ‘em). The Yankees seem to be planning for the future, banking on the success of the home-grown players that the fans simply love. Chien Ming Wang is up next, with guys like Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and one Joba Chamberlain also to hopefully be locked in for years to come.

We really don’t know what to expect from the Hank Steinbrenner era, but this is most definitely a step in the right direction.

On an even brighter note. pitchers and catchers report in 19 days……

Yankees Set Payroll Record

The New York Daily News reports that the Yankees set a Major League record last season with a $218 million payroll.

While its streak of AL East titles ended at nine, the Yanks wound up with a record payroll of $218.3 million.

The World Series champion Boston Red Sox were a distant second at $155.4 million, according to information received by clubs from the commissioner’s office.

In addition to the largest payroll, the Yankees have the highest revenue in the majors. The Bombers took in $415 million last year, giving about $100 million of it away in the sport’s revenue-sharing plan.

To summarize, even though the Yankees did not even win their own division in 2007, their spending is destroying all competitive balance in baseball. Small market teams do not have the financial resources to compete even though the Yanks gave them around $100 million, much of which was pocketed by cheap owners.

Mattingly steps down as hitting coach for LA Dodgers

Citing family reasons, Don Mattingly stepped down as hitting coach for the LA Dodgers today. He will stay on with the LA Dodgers as an advisor, but has been replaced as hitting coach with Mike Easler (Triple A Dodgers). Pinstripes will remain the only uniform he has ever worn….