Yankees Should Have let A-Rod finish the Season

Alex Rodriguez will hang it up Friday for the Yankees anyway and it should be a special night. The stadium will be packed and Alex will be honored. Rodriguez has had a polarizing Yankee career but for the most part he has been a great player for them. Rodriguez sits at 696 home runs and most likely he will end with less than 700. The Yankees are moving in a young direction and you have to be behind that but if A-Rod had gotten enough at bats to get 700 homers and finish the year would that really have stopped the youth movement ? Of course not but the club is in a hurry to get kids up to the majors. The Yankees made the wrong call when it came not letting him finish the year. Rosters expand soon. In a perfect world the team would have let Rodriguez finish out the year. Rodriguez agreed to an advisory position with the team that he will pursue after his playing career. Possibly he will hook up with another team in attempt for number 700 or just to finish out the year but either way Rodriguez will remain a part of the Yankees. Rodriguez could have mentored many of the September call ups. The Yankees are headed for a true transition period. The team will not be in the period for long but many of the familiar faces from the team will be gone.

The 2016 Yankee Prediction

My Yankees Prediction

Yankees 89-73 , First Place Finish

I have the Yankees winning the division and it's not just because this is a Yankee site. I like this Yankee team a lot and I don't see why they cannot compete for a World Series championship. It will all come down to health for this team. If Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda stays healthy the Yankee rotation is as strong as anyone.

If healthy I think the Yankees rotation matches up with anyone in the AL and certainly the AL East. Tampa Bay has the best rotation in the East but if you look at Toronto , Boston , and Baltimore I like the Yankees rotation better. The Blue Jays are not very strong behind Marcus Stroman and the same is said for for The Red Sox with David Price. The Orioles staff is filled with number threes and fours.

The Yankees bullpen is the best in baseball and it's not even close. The Yankees add Aroldis Chapman to Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller. Chapman will serve a 30 game suspension but will be back in May. The Yankees will look to shorten games with this big three.

The Yankees lineup needs to stay healthy but I expect Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner to have better seasons. I think Starlin Castro will turn out to be a great pickup as I see him being a big time hitter for years to come. Alex Rodriguez may not have as good a year as last but I expect 25+ home runs again. The question marks for the Yankees are health and age. If the older guys produce and the young guys like Luis Severino break out this team will be a force.

By Peter Vitella

Projecting the Yankees Hitters

1. Jacoby Ellsbury - He has to bounce back and produce in 2016. In 2015 Ellsbury struggled to stay healthy and didn't get on base much. Ellsbury has to set the tone and have his best year as a Yankee.

Projection - 279 avg , 9 HR , 50 RBI , 28 SB , 347 OBP

2. Brett Gardner - Gardner had a great first half but was a different player in the second half. The Yankees need him to be consistent.

Projection - 262 avg , 18 HR , 66 RBI , 16 SB , 340 OBP

3. Alex Rodriguez - Rodriguez was excellent coming off his year away from baseball. Rodriguez will still produce but expect some regression.

Projection - 252 avg , 26 HR , 76 RBI , 3 SB , 352 OBP

4. Mark Teixeira - It is a contract year and he wants to remain a Yankee. If Teixeira stays healthy he will have 100 RBI.

Projection - 247 avg , 31 HR , 104 RBI , 358 OBP

5. Brian McCann - McCann gives you a lot of power and a low average. Expect the same in 2016.

Projection - 239 avg , 24 HR , 83 RBI , 318 OBP

6. Carlos Beltran - Will we get first half Beltran or second half Beltran ? Hopefully second half.

Projection - 272 avg , 18 HR , 58 RBI , 321 OBP

7. Starlin Castro - He really turned his season around when he moved to second base. I love Castro becoming a Yankee.

Projection - 292 avg , 9 HR , 50 RBI , 7 SB , 317 OBP

8. Chase Headley - An average hitter career wise , but the Yankees need better than what they had last year.

Projection - 260 avg , 12 HR , 50 RBI , 325 OBP

9. Didi Gregorius - He made great strides in the second half for the Yanks.

Projection - 259 avg , 7 HR , 48 RBI , 307 OBP

Yankee 2016 Pitching Projections

1. M. Tanaka - 13-8 , 3.34 era , 1.02 whip , 168 K

2. M. Pineda - 15-9 , 3.66 era , 1.18 whip , 170 K

3. N. Eovaldi - 14-7 , 3.92 era , 1.27 whip , 160 K

4. L. Severino - 16-6 , 3.35 era , 1.25 whip , 180 K

5. C. Sabathia - 8-10 , 4.60 era , 1.78 whip , 140 K

I. Nova - 5-5 , 3.99 era , 1.60 whip , 80 K

C. Shreve 2-3 , 3.25 era , 1.45 whip , 50 K

D. Bettances 4-1 , 1.45 era , 1.01 whip , 114 K , 5 saves

A. Miller 3-3 , 1.63 era , 0.96 whip , 106 K , 11 saves

A. Chapman - 5-2 , 1.88 era , 1.02 whip , 129 K , 30 saves

Yankee Off Season Questions

1. Thoughts on the Yankees 2015 season as a whole ?

2. Biggest Surprise ?

3. Biggest Disappointment ?

4. Team MVP ?

5. Which SP/RP should they acquire ?

6. Which bat should they acquire ?

7. Will the Yankees trade Brett Gardner in the offseason ?

8. Will the Yankees promote Aaron Judge in 2016 ?

9. What do you want the 2016 rotation to look like ?

10. How can you get enough at bats for Alex Rodriguez , Greg Bird , Mark Teixeira , and Carlos Beltran ?

11. Will Rob Refsynder be the 2015 second basemen ?

12. Will the Yankees make the 2016 playoffs ? 

Shane Tobin's answers 

1. For a typical Yankee season it was a failure but if someone told me that they would make the Wild Card game this year I would be content. This should be a building block for the young guys.

2. The  biggest  surprise for me was the production of the old guys. Alex Rodriguez  and Mark Texeira carried the team with some help from Carlos Beltran.

3. Brett Gardner was the biggest disappointment. He continued his second half struggles and it really hurt the team.

4. Andre Miller is my team MVP. He was the best closer in the game in my opinion and he was automatic when we needed him.

5. I think that they should have acquired Craig Kimbrel to create a mind blowing bullpen. The starting pitching would be good enough to go 5 innings and then hand it over to a lights out bullpen. 
Unfortunately the Res Sox acquired him so I wound keep the focus on the bullpen. 

6. I think they should acquire either Justin Upton or Jason Heyward. Heyward fits the long term plan as Aaron Judge would be the next big right handed bat but Upton would be instant offense. Heyward is still developing.

7. I think they will if they trade Garnder for James Paxton. I would call it a successful trade.

8. Maybe in September or in a injury situation like Greg Bird in 2015 but odds are they won't need him.

9. A dream rotation would have David Price or a big time starting pitcher in it but realistically I see it being Masahiro Tanka, Luis Severino, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, and James Paxton. All young talented arms.

10. I don't think Greg Bird can get MLB at bats this year unless there is an injury to Teixiera. If Arod or Beltran get hurt there is a replacement on the roster already. An injury to Tex is the only way I see Bird playing in the bigs this year.

11. I think so. I think there will be a platoon early on but it think that Rob Refsnyder will put perform the sabermetrics baby Dustin Ackley. Refsnyder must seize the opportunity.

12. If the key guys from last year stay healthy and if there are some improvement made to the team specifically added pitching depth and a power bat in the outfield I can see a long playoff run. Arod had it right in 2015 once you're in you can make some noise and the Yankees certainly have the guys to make plenty of noise.

Peter Vitella's answers 

1. The Yankees made some noise in 2015. Nathan Eovaldi was an excellent addition. Andrew Miller was also an excellent addition. Alex Rodriguez was excellent in the year back from his suspension.

2. I think Alex Rodriguez was a huge surprise to most people. I thought he would be productive but didn't expect 33 home runs.

3. For me the biggest disappointment was the way the Yankees fell from an 8 game division lead. That impart was due to the struggles of Brett Gardner and Jaocby Ellsbury. They were terrible in the second half for their standards.

4. I think I would say the combination of Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances are the team MVP's. 
They shortened the game and dominated games.

5. I would like to see the Yankees add one of the big name starting pitchers. Their are a lot of them and adding anyone can help. Of course I wouldn't complain with signing David Price or Zack Greinke but I think a Jordan Zimmerman type is more realistic. I would rather them see get Zimmerman and a right handed hitter.

6. I would like to see the Yankees acquire an impact right handed hitter such as Justin Upton or Yoenis Cespedes.

7. I think the Yankees will trade Brett Gardner. I like Gardner but being that they have Ellnsury and he struggled down the stretch I can see a trade happening.

8. I think eventually one way or another we will see Aaron Judge in 2016.

9. I would like to see
1.  Greinke or Zimmerman or Price
2. Tanaka
3. Severino
4. Eovaldi
5. Pineda

10. I think Alex Rodriguez will go in as the primary DH. I think Carlos Beltran will get at bats in the outfield and at DH. Mark Texeira will be the first basemen. Baring an injury I think Greg Bird will see at bats in the minor leagues for some time.

11. Unless the Yankees sign Ben Zobrist I believe the Yankees will platoon Dustin Ackley and Rob Refsnyder.

12. I think the Yankees will improve and build off of this season and ultimately make the 2016 playoffs.

The Yankees Season Ends

Last night the Yankee season ended with a lack luster 3-0 loss to the Astros in the Wild Card game. The Yankees blew a big AL East lead and held on to the Wild Card game. The Yankees had a good year however just could not manage to go further in the playoffs. I predicted the Yankees to make the playoffs but hoped that they would make a longer run. In the end the age and the injuries caught up to the Yankees. The Yankees had some young pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Luis Severino emerge as two strong starters. The Yankees also witnessed some young infielders Greg Bird and Rob Refsnyder make major impacts. Of course Andrew Miller and Dellin Bettances had excellent years in the bullpen. Alex Rodriguez came back from his year out of baseball and had a 33 home run season. The Yankees made the playoffs but fell short of their World Series goal.

Stay with us all year as we will talk MLB playoffs and the offseason.

Yankees Clinch Playoff Berth

At times it wasn't pretty lately but the Yankees did it. They are back in the playoffs. They hung on and clinched a wild card spot. The Yankees hope that home field advantage is next. The Yankees truly are a remarkable team. They battled so many injuries all year and still battled to this spot. So many people wrote them off and they kept pushing. Their are so many reasons why they got to this point and so many reasons why they can go even further. The bullpen was a dominating force led by Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances. Brian McCann had a great year leading the team in many ways. The young players like Greg Bird , John Ryan Murphy and Luis Severino steeped up also.

Greg Bird filled in for Mark Teixeira so well. Dustin Ackley has been excellent since getting healthy and everything is just going right. Of course many doubted the pitching staff and it has held up. Many doubted the veteran players and they held up. No one could have imagined Alex Rodriguez would hit 33 homers and he did. He was so vital to this team providing offense and leadership. This Yankee team will be considered under dogs in this postseason but that's just how they like it. This is a special group.

By Peter Vitella
@Realpete13