Author Archives: Chris Calderon

Priority 1 and 1a for the Yankees this offseason

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Now that free agency is upon us, it’s time for every random fan to play armchair GM, and start spouting wild speculation about who they think their team should go after in the off-season. Of course we hear at at Big Apple Baseball aren’t just some random fans who want to be GMs, we’re random fans who want to be GMs, with a website! So here are my targets for the Yankees this winter.

1) Robinson Cano : The no brainer in the group, Cano is the best player on the team by far. The Yankees have to resign him if they hope to convince the fans they are serious about contending this year. There is no other second baseman available this winter that can come close to his production, both offensively, and defensively. If he goes, the Yanks will likely have to trade for either Brandon Phillips (.261/.310/.396) this year, Howie Kendrick (.297/.335/.439), or sign free agent Omar Infante (.315/.335/.450).

While Kendrick and Infante may not seem like huge downgrades from Cano’s (.314/.383/.516) 2013 stats, the numbers don’t tell the whole truth. None of those players can come close to the power that Robby displays, he is pretty much a lock for 30 homers a year, none of the alternatives are likely to break 20 or even come close. Not to mention his elite defense at second base.

The other issue with guys like Kendrick and Phillips is that both are still under contract for 2014. The Yankees don’t really have the prospects to get a deal done that won’t handcuff them in the future. It would likely cost a Nova or Sanchez to pry Kendrick from the Angels, and that is not a price the team should be willing to pay for 1 year of Howie Kendrick. As for Phillips, he has 3 more years left on his current deal deal with the Reds and I have to think that there is a team out there with better prospects to get a deal done, possibly the Royals.

That really just leaves Omar Infante as the only acceptable option if the Yanks lose Cano this winter. Infante is the same age as Robby, and has had some good years, I was a little surprised at some of his numbers when I was researching for this article, he is as career .279 hitter and solid defensive player as well. Like Cano, he’s not exactly the quickest guy on the bases, but you can live with that. The real loss is in the power department, as he only averages 10 homers a season.

All in all the Yankees need Cano back this winter. No one can come close to what he provides on the field. Unfortunatly there is no help coming from the farm system anytime soon, Corban Joeseph sure isn’t the second baseman of the future. Is Omar Infante and acceptable replacement… yes, but this is the Yankees we are talking about, second best is not acceptable.

1a) Masahiro Tanaka:  The best pitcher in this years free agent class comes not from America, but from Japan. For the past 3 seasons, Masahiro Tanaka has posted a sub 2 ERA, his career WHIP, 1.108, granted that’s in the Japanese league. Now, just for a fun comparison, Matt Harvey’s career WHIP, including his time in the minors is 1.137. While that may be a somewhat silly comparison, it give you an idea of what kind of pitcher Tanaka is.

Not only is Tanaka a clear ace, he is also 25 years old. Players of his caliber are never available at that age. Especially when it only will cost the Yankees (or whatever team eventually signs him,) money. After Yu Darvish garnered a $52 million dollar posting fee, one can only imagine how much Tanaka will command, my bet would be somewhere around $60 million. Fortunately that fee does not count to the luxury tax, so for the Yanks, money should not be an issue.

The only issue with Tanaka, is that the MLB and NPB are currently renegotiating the posting process. There has been some recent uncertainty as to whether or not these two baseball behemoths will get the new deal done before the start of next season. If they don’t strike a new deal players may use the proposed new system, or may not sign this off-season.

So those are my top prioritys for the Yankee off-season. I will be writing up 2 through 5 later this week, and then 6-10 some time after that. Let me know what you guys think in the comments.

A New Yorker’s Guide to the World Series

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Well folks here we are, the leaves are falling, a chill is in the air, and the baseball season is coming to an end. Of course, for the New York baseball fan, the season, unfortunately, ended weeks ago. Now, there are only two teams left, the Boston Red Sox, and the St. Louis Cardinals. The question is, who should we root for, the Sox, the Cards, or should we even care. Lets go over the options.

Root for the Red Sox: This is a tough one for me, as a life long Yankee fan, hating the Red Sox is in my blood. I know some Yankee fans will root for the AL team, my father is one of those people, I think its crazy, you are rooting for the mortal enemy. For Mets fans it may not be so hard to root for Boston, there really isn’t any animosity from Mets fans for the Red Sox since they handed them their most recent World Series victory in 1986.

Root for the Cardinals: This is my personal choice, the Cardinals are classy team with a history comparable to the Yankees, no stupid beards for the birds on bats. For Mets fans there is likely a certain anonymity toward the Cards, after all they are the team that knocked the Mets out of the post season in 2006, the last time they legitimately had a chance. It probably hurts even more to see the man that ended that series on an Adam Wainwright called strike three, Carlos Beltran, now playing for the Cards.

Watch something else: This is a perfectly valid option for the local baseball fan. The Walking Dead is back on and if the last two episodes were any indication, it’s better then ever. Boardwalk Empire started out slow this season, but seems to be picking up, so that also a valid option.

If you prefer to watch some sports that aren’t baseball, there’s football, though the Giants season has been pretty depressing, and while the Jets are doing better, it’s nothing to write home about. Hockey is going on, though I’m not exactly a hockey fan so I can’t say if it’s worth watching this season. And of course, basketball starts soon and both the Knicks and Nets have high hopes for the season.

So that’s my guide to this years Yankees and Mets free World Series, the games should be good if you choose to watch them, I know I will. Let me know what you plan to do in the comments.

 

5 Reasons to be pessimistic about the 2014 Mets season

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Now that Luke has given Mets fans a reason to be somewhat cheerful going into next season, it’s my job, no… my duty, as a Yankee fan to rain on his parade. So, here are my 5 reasons why Mets fans should be pessimistic about next season.

1) No Matt Harvey: This was the obvious reason to worry about 2014, Matt Harvey will miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. When word got out that Harvey’s season was ending due to elbow discomfort there was an audible gasp from the baseball community. He’s a young man with great mechanics, how does he blow out his elbow while Chris Sale gets to whip his half cooked noodle arm around and finish the season just fine, is there no justice.

No. No, there isn’t, and that means the Mets will be missing their ace for the what, the 3rd year in a row. And while they are lucky to have Zach Wheeler ready and able to step into the top of the rotation, this means that they will likely have to sign a free agent starter, and the names are not good. Fans should prepare themselves for someone like Josh Johnson, Aaron Harang, Tim Lincecum or even Johan Santana (I kid, we all know he will find someway to once again destroy his shoulder.)

2) Weak free agent class:  It’s pretty much a  guarantee that the Mets will sign a free agent outfielder this winter. That means that one of Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo, Curtis Granderson, or Nelson Cruz will be wearing the orange and blue next year. While the names are good, everyone of those players has a significant shortcoming, whether that be a lengthy injury history, terrible platoon splits, or a recent PED suspension. There is also the very good chance that one of more could be a dud, think Jason Bay 2.0, does anyone have faith the Mets will choose the right one, history says no.

3) Shortstop issues: Mets shortstops hit a collective (.208/.286/.247), and that’s just terrible. Offensively the position is a black hole. While you can afford to have a poor hitting position player, this is the NL, you already give up an at bat when the pitcher comes up, two week hitters in the 8 and 9 holes can be the death knell for a team with hopes of contending.

Quintanilla and Tejada are back up players, if the Mets don’t sign a strong hitting SS this off-season I fear for the bottom of the order, they will be giving away outs that they aren’t capable of making up defensively. Fortunately Sandy Alderson is no fool, I can only assume he is going to go hard after Stephen Drew.

4) Dropping down the dial: After 26 years of being heard on WFAN 660, the Mets have been dumped by their long time radio partners. What this means for the crew calling the games is still unknown, what is known is that the Mets will now be heard on WOR 710, or as they are also known… who?

While this really doesn’t effect the on field performance or the fan base (both stations are 50,000 watts,) it can’t feel good to be dumped by a long time broadcasting partner. It also has to really hurt to not have been picked up by ESPN radio, which had been in the running for the Yankees but lost out to WFAN.

5) Kicking the can down the road: 2014 was supposed to be the year of the Mets, or was it 2013. Well, none of that matters, cause now its 2015! A fan base gets tired of hearing next year, year after year. Eventually its going to take a toll on the fan base, though from what I have gathered Met fans are a somewhat masochistic hardy bunch.