Syracuse crushes West Virginia in Pinstripe Bowl

NEW YORK -- Their rivalry may be ending, but Syracuse and West Virginia can still put on a show.

The former partners in the Big East met in the snow-covered Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, and the result was a game fitting of their storied history. Syracuse, riding a stingy defense and a two-headed rushing attack, pounded West Virginia for a 38-14 victory.

Prince-Tyson Gulley scored three touchdowns to steal the spotlight for Syracuse, but the biggest story came from the circumstances. West Virginia and Syracuse have played each other in every season since 1955, but the future of their rivalry is in doubt after both teams joined new conferences.

West Virginia, a charter member of the Big East football conference, left this season to play its first year in the Big 12. And Syracuse, an original member of the basketball-centric Big East, will leave next year to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, ending an era rich in tradition.

"When I played, we were not in the Big East. We were a major independent and we played pretty much the same teams every year," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said of his team's swan song. "We haven't really talked about it as much as a team. We are going into a conference that's competitive, not only athletically in all men's and women's sports, but also very competitive educationally and academically."

And if the last few months are any indication, Syracuse may have regained its footing as a football power. The Orange closed out the 2012 campaign with victories in six of their final seven games, and can boast of tying for the conference championship and taking a resounding Bowl win.

Syracuse has now been crowned Pinstripe Bowl champion for the second time in three years, and Marrone joked that he'd do well to schedule more games in the Bronx.

Syracuse rushed for 369 yards on the snow-capped field against the Mountaineers, with Gulley going for 212 yards on 25 carries and front-line back Jerome Smith springing for 157 yards of his own. West Virginia, by contrast, rushed for just 88 yards on 37 carries and couldn't make up the difference in the air.

"Those are some real men in the trenches," said Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib. "They really took over that game, because with the conditions, you have to be able to run the ball if you want to win that game. We came on the sidelines and said, 'Hey, if we're going to win, it's going to be behind our O-line and running backs.' They came in and did what they had to do. They killed it out there."

Indeed, the Syracuse line paved some huge holes for their running backs to plow through. The Orange used an early field goal and a sack of quarterback Geno Smith for a safety to take a 5-0 lead, then went ahead 12-0 on a 33-yard touchdown scamper by Gulley.

The junior halfback later broke the game open with a 67-yard run off right tackle, and he scored his third touchdown on a 10-yard swing pattern late in the third quarter. Gulley was named Most Valuable Player, and Marrone was thrilled by his back's performance.

"Prince has been a player that worked really hard, played with injury [and] has really come a long way in our program," Marrone said. "I couldn't be prouder of him sitting next to me."

Syracuse, primarily a passing team this season, took advantage of the conditions on Saturday in crafting its gameplan. The Orange ran the ball 65 times -- 31 in the first half and 34 in the second -- and managed to keep the ball away from the high-octane Mountaineers offense.

West Virginia came into the game as the seventh-highest scoring team in the country (41.6 points per game), but it had trouble finding its own comfort zone. The Mountaineers' two All-Conference receivers -- Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey -- were held to four catches for 43 yards in the first half.

Bailey finished with seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns, but one of them came with his team already trailing 26-7 in the third quarter. Smith, a second-team All-Big 12 selection, finished 16-for-25 for 197 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough for coach Dana Holgorsen.

"The team with the best running game is going to win, and they clearly had the better running game," Holgorsen said. "The one thing about what we have been able to do all year defensively is be able to control the line of scrimmage. Our pass defense was bad, but our run defense was OK. A game like this is where you have to rely on your run defense to win, and when you're not able to do it, it's pretty frustrating."

Syracuse, protecting a 19-7 lead in the third quarter, gave the ball back to West Virginia on an interception at their own 30-yard-line. But Smith was sacked and fumbled on the next play and Gulley followed with a run off tackle and up the sideline, sprinting 67 yards to give the Orange a 26-7 lead.

Syracuse became the first team since 2008 to register two safeties in a Bowl game, and exceeded 300 rushing yards for the first time since running for 348 yards against Buffalo in 2005. Perhaps most importantly, the Orange improved to 33-27 all-time against West Virginia.

"Over the four years, it hasn't been easy playing for Syracuse," Nassib said. "We've had some success and we've had a lot of ups and downs, but we've had a lot of fun doing it. Anything that happened to my career, I wouldn't have it any other way. It made me a better player. It made me a better man."

Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Yankees confident as they construct roster for '13

NEW YORK -- There is less of an emphasis on winning the winter these days for the Yankees, as they have appeared content at times to allow other teams to make the splashiest moves of the offseason.

In retooling for next season, general manager Brian Cashman doesn't care much about newspaper back pages. He prefers to point to the noise the team made on the field, having won 95 games and the American League East despite having its roster repeatedly hit by injuries.

Thus, with many key pieces of the ballclub falling into place, the Yankees will watch the calendar flip toward another Spring Training in Tampa, Fla., and believe they still have what it takes to contend in a division that seems to be getting more challenging every year.

"The bottom line is tomorrow is not Opening Day, and so we've got a lot of time on the clock here to methodically continue putting a roster together," Cashman said. "We're putting something together that really has a chance to put us back where we were last year, which was winning the division and competing for the title."

A look ahead • Buy Yankees 2013 tix • Yankees '13 schedule • Yankees top prospects • Important dates

The Yanks weren't players for the biggest free agents this offseason, standing on the sidelines as outfielder Josh Hamilton secured a five-year, $125 million deal from the Angels and watching pitcher Zack Greinke land a six-year, $147 million pact with the Dodgers.

Working with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner's directive to reduce payroll beneath $189 million for 2014, digging deep for massive multiyear contracts wasn't a move that appeared in the Yankees' playbook this time around.

Instead, the club focused on retaining its talent from within: Cashman prioritized pitching and was able to secure Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera for a combined $37 million in one-year deals before turning his attention to pacts for third baseman Kevin Youkilis (one year, $12 million) and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (two years, $13 million).

The Yankees will be one of the older clubs in the Majors, but as long as the production level stays high, they won't have a problem fielding a lineup that's a little long in the tooth. Between now and Opening Day, they'll also continue to look for options to plug in just in case Plan A doesn't work out.

"I'm very satisfied and comfortable with the approach we're taking and how we're conducting our business," Cashman said. "We've been the big-game players and done the big contracts and had success doing that, and we've had failure doing that. We've also had success on the short-term stuff too, but every year is different. I'm comfortable with what we're doing."

Like the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball, the Yanks enter a new year with their share of questions. Here are 10 of theirs:

1. How will Derek Jeter bounce back?

At the moment Jeter crumpled with a fractured left ankle in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against the Tigers, you couldn't help but sense that the Yankees weren't going to advance much further without their shortstop and team captain. Jeter is expected to be rehabbing into the spring, but the Yanks continue to believe Jeter will be in place as their Opening Day shortstop. You can be sure that his defensive range, always a popular topic even before the injury, will be watched closely during the Grapefruit League games.

2. How will Youkilis look in pinstripes?

With Alex Rodriguez potentially lost until June or July following left hip surgery, the Yankees are counting on Youkilis to hold the fort at third base. They're very familiar with just how much Youkilis can wear down opposing pitchers from his time with the Red Sox, but Youkilis has also battled injuries and is trying to prove he can still be counted on as an everyday player. It might be jarring at first to see Youkilis wearing the interlocking "NY" on his chest, but his work ethic should help him fit in quickly.

3. Who will be the Opening Day catcher?

After being unable to match the Pirates' two-year, $17 million offer to Russell Martin, the Yankees are emphasizing defense behind the plate. Cashman has said that it is likely the Yanks already have their Opening Day catcher in the group of Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart, Austin Romine and perhaps Bobby Wilson, so it's apparent they won't be expecting someone to match Martin's 21 homers from last year. Whoever the catcher is, they'll need him to work well with the staff and save runs on the other side of the ball.

4. Will CC Sabathia stand tall as the ace?

It wasn't all that surprising to learn Sabathia needed to have his elbow cleaned up after the season; after all, there was a point where he was unable to lift his left arm above his head, forcing him to the disabled list. The Yankees don't believe there will be other lingering injuries, but it's no stretch to say that they need Sabathia to make a complete recovery for their blueprint to succeed. It's important that they be able to count on him for his usual 200 innings and 30-plus starts.

5. Can Mark Teixeira return to form?

Teixeira believes that if he hadn't been slowed by a lingering cough and a strained calf, his streak of seasons with 30 homers and 100 RBIs would still be intact. He might be right, as the calf alone cost him most of September, but Teixeira's other numbers have been sliding since his terrific '09 season. He said that he's no longer concerned with trying to bring up his batting average, embracing the power side of his game, and no one is waiting for him to bunt to beat the shift. The Yankees would still love to see his average inch closer to the .292 he hit in '09.

6. What will A-Rod be able to contribute?

At least the Yankees have a solid explanation of why Rodriguez struggled so much in the postseason, which probably defuses a lot of the controversy that could have carried over between Rodriguez and manager Joe Girardi. The Yanks believe Rodriguez will play in 2013, even though he'll probably be out until June or July. If he returns from hip surgery as a force like in '09, they'll be thrilled, but that might be wishful thinking. There's so much mileage on A-Rod's tires, so the Yankees just need to hope he can be an above-average option at third base and as a designated hitter -- not just in '13, but also with the next five years in mind as well.

7. How much magic does Rivera have left?

Why are the Yankees so confident Rivera can return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament at age 43 and be the same dominant closer? Well, as Cashman put it, Rivera has never failed, so there's no reason to believe he'll start now. There's always a chance that Rivera could wobble, but people have been forecasting that for years. As the Yanks say, even if Rivera is only 80 to 85 percent of what he showed in his prime, they'll take that over most of the other options out there. There's a solid chance that this could be the end of Rivera's fantastic career, and you can be certain he intends to go out on a high note.

8. What does the future hold for Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson?

The Yankees picked up the options on both Cano and Granderson for '13, and it's possible we could be seeing the last seasons in pinstripes for both players. Agent Scott Boras seems intent on bringing Cano to free agency, and with talk of a 10-year contract possible, the Yanks need to swallow hard at the thought of a team like the Dodgers getting a free crack at Cano. The Yankees quietly showed a willingness to discuss trading Granderson, but they'd need a big return to advance those talks -- his power would be tough to replace. It is possible that Granderson's only move of '13 will be to a new position, as the Yanks have talked about shifting Brett Gardner to center field and installing Granderson in a corner-outfield spot.

9. Can Pettitte and Kuroda still keep up in the AL East?

The Yankees' rotation looked much more appealing on paper once they officially slotted Pettitte and Kuroda back in for the '13 season, but there's no getting around that both of these veteran pitchers are a year older and some decline could be possible. The Yanks need both pitchers to eat innings, using their wisdom and guile to work with Yankee Stadium's dimensions and keep opponents off balance. Health is vital; Pettitte's broken ankle was unavoidable, but he had just seemed to find his groove. The Yankees must wonder what Pettitte's two lost months would have looked like.

10. How will next year's $189 million budgetary restrictions impact 2013?

We've already seen that the Yankees seemed allergic to multiyear contracts this offseason because of Hal Steinbrenner's directive to avoid paying the luxury tax in '14, which certainly impacted the construction of the '13 roster. It still could have a domino effect down the road: as Girardi has suggested, we might see a Yanks club that is reluctant to add certain pieces in season, such as near the Trade Deadline, if it threatens to throw their budgetary planning off course. That makes it all the more important that the pieces they have in place can succeed.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cashman still looking to add meaningful pieces

NEW YORK -- As the Yankees' high command reports to the office for the first time in 2013, they'll do so knowing that they have entered the home stretch for assembling a competitive roster.

Under general manager Brian Cashman's direction, the Yankees' roster has tilted toward older players this winter. Barring a major trade, the months of January and February will be important for the club to identify and pursue complementary talent.

"I think patience is a virtue, and it's something we've learned can be used effectively," Cashman said recently. "It's a harder road to walk, but sometimes it's not the worst road to walk. Sometimes you've got to wait for the right time and the right place to strike."

Other than signing Kevin Youkilis to a one-year, $12 million contract, the Yankees have spent most of the offseason retaining their own veterans; pitchers Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera all secured new agreements, as did outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. Of that group, Youkilis (34 by Opening Day) is the youngest.

This anti-youth movement is one result of the team's more constrictive budget, with the objective of getting under a $189 million salary threshold in 2014 now well-known. Cashman has noted that he does not have unlimited funds to flash around the marketplace, but the Yankees are hoping that they can find an edge by shopping creatively.

The Yankees have increased the reach of their old-school scouting staff as well as high-tech statistical analysis over the last several seasons, and those advances have helped procure talent late in the Hot Stove game. They're not afraid of chasing older players, some with injury histories, because they can represent good value.

"I think we've improved our pro scouting network, and I think we've improved our evaluation of statistical data streams," Cashman said. "It puts us in a position to make informed decisions and much more comfortable knowing what is really available, and what you can expect from those players if you sign them and what you'd be comfortable paying them."

Last season, for example, the Yankees were occupied for much of February seeking useful pieces. They came away with Raul Ibanez, who helped the club as an outfielder and designated hitter before making his mark in postseason lore, as well as pitchers Clay Rapada and David Aardsma.

In a similar vein, the Yankees didn't bring infielder Eric Chavez and outfielder Andruw Jones aboard until February 2011. They proved to be helpful, with Jones replacing Marcus Thames, a low-cost addition who had paid dividends as a lefty-mashing bat in '10.

The Yankees were enticed to keep both Chavez and Jones for 2012, and Chavez excelled as a fill-in when Alex Rodriguez went down to injury in July. But Jones was unable to repeat his success in a second season of duty, and slowed by a wrist injury in August, he became an afterthought by playoff time.

That's the risk of rolling the dice on players that others see as flawed, and certainly there have been late winter misses; Randy Winn and Nick Johnson were busts for the 2010 roster, and in '11, the Yankees extended a deal to overworked reliever Pedro Feliciano, who didn't give them a single inning due to injury. Freddy Garcia was valuable to the '11 club; not so much in '12.

"I don't think we see things that others don't," Cashman said. "A lot of people have access to the same types of information and are organized the same way. I think we're in position to make better and informed decisions. We have a circumstance where we have a city that's a wonderful place to play, with huge fan support, with great players that we can surround ourselves with."

Cashman said that he knows some players have shunned other offers for the opportunity to play in New York. Youkilis wasn't enticed by the Indians, and Matt Diaz, who inked a Minor League deal last month and will hope to be New York's answer for a right-handed outfield bat, said that it was his childhood dream to play for the Yankees.

"It's worked to our advantage," Cashman said. "A lot of teams see similar stuff that we see. We've been able to benefit because we are the Yankees and this an exceptional place to play."

That isn't to say that the Yankees can rely solely on bright lights to attract a winning team. Coming off a disappointing exit in the American League Championship Series, the Bombers must convince the fan base that this roster is better than the one that was swept by the Tigers in October.

To that, Cashman would say to grade the roster as incomplete thus far. The Yankees believe in their ability to add meaningful pieces in January and February.

"I think that it's too early to say that we've gotten better or not," Cashman said. "Last year's team won 95 games and had a ton of injuries. We're still putting a team together for 2013, so it's not in a position to do a comparison yet, whatever the 2013 team will look like compared to the 2012 team. It's too early in the process to have those types of discussions."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Matsui will always be considered a Yankee

Believe it or not, there was a baseball life for Hideki Matsui before the New York Yankees, but you'd never know it.

Blame it on the Reggie Jackson thing.

Quick. When you think of Mr. October wearing a baseball uniform, what do you see, and how striking are the pinstripes?

Just so you know, Jackson played 21 seasons in the Major Leagues, and he spent most of that time with the Oakland A's, his team for the first 10 years of his career. In addition, there was his season with the Baltimore Orioles, and he also was with the California (now the Los Angeles) Angels for five seasons, which is interesting.

That was the same amount time Jackson was with the Yankees.

Even so, you say "Reggie" to those ranging from casual to ardent baseball fans, and they see Yankees visions. Three home runs on three pitches at old Yankee Stadium during the 1977 World Series. Nose-to-nose (ahem) chats with Billy Martin. The Boss.

They also see drama -- a bunch of Yankees drama, involving the self-proclaimed straw that stirs the drink.

Jackson is the poster child for the following: Once you do something huge as part of the Yankees, anything you did before the Yankees or after the Yankees becomes nearly irrelevant.

Take Graig Nettles, for instance. He played half of his 22 Major League seasons for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos.

Folks only remember Nettles' half with the Yankees.

David Wells was around for 21 Major League seasons, but he primarily was known for his four years in the Bronx, where his hero was Babe Ruth. The left-handed pitcher even wore an authentic cap of Babe Ruth's during parts of a Yankees home game. He also threw a perfect game for the Yankees, but to the chagrin of management, he wrote in his autobiography that he did so with a hangover.

What about Roger Clemens?

Was he more of a Red Sox guy or a Yankee?

It's a close call.

Yes, Clemens managed the first three of his seven Cy Young Awards with the Red Sox, and he captured a couple with the Toronto Blue Jays. But he did grab one with the Yankees, and he won his 300th game and recorded his 4,000th career strikeout in pinstripes.

Bigger than that, Clemens' Yankees made three trips to the World Series, and they won two of them.

Then there is Alex Rodriguez, with all of his great moments with the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers. He'll be remembered the most for his great and not-so-great moments with a Yankees franchise that has featured just nine of his 19 years in the Major Leagues.

Which brings us to Matsui, who announced this week that he is retiring at 38 after 20 years in pro baseball as a prolific slugger.

Matusui was such a star for a decade with the Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese Central League that he was known as Godzilla. He won three of the league's Most Valuable Player awards. He made nine straight trips to the All-Star Game, and he won three home run titles and three RBI titles. He also led the Giants into that league's equivalent to the World Series four times, and he helped them win three of them.

Little of that matters when it comes to Matsui's baseball legacy. All you need to know is that he spent October 2009 becoming as grand as Lou Gehrig and Ruth. He joined that duo back then as the only players to hit over .500 with three homers during the World Series.

It made Matsui the MVP of that Fall Classic, and it secured his image as more of a Yankee than anything else.

That's right. Even though Matsui was efficient overall during his seven seasons with the Yankees (.292 batting average, 140 homers), it only took a single moment -- that 2009 World Series -- to evolve into an unofficial lifetime Yankee.

See Aaron Boone.

He was with the Yankees one year. He spent his other 11 seasons in the Major Leagues with other teams.

Still, after Boone ripped his walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox, he became just a Yankee.

In other words, CC Sabathia shouldn't even think about wearing a Cleveland Indians cap if he reaches Cooperstown.

While Boone and others had their Yankees "moment," Sabathia is among those with Yankees "moments."

First, let's return to Sabathia's pre-Bronx days, when he was splendid enough during his first eight seasons in the Major Leagues with the Indians to reach three All-Star Games and to win an AL Cy Young Award. He also helped the Brewers make their first playoff trip in 26 years after he pitched brilliantly after he was traded from Cleveland to Milwaukee in the middle of the 2008 season.

Then came the Yankees. During Sabathia's first year with the team in 2009, he did much along the Yankees' journey to a world championship by winning ALCS MVP honors. Plus, he has led the Major Leagues in victories during two of his four seasons with the Yankees.

Anything else of significance that happens for Sabathia with the Yankees will be overkill.

He's already a Yankee forever.

Just like others.

Terence Moore is a columnist for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syracuse crushes West Virginia in Pinstripe Bowl

NEW YORK -- Their rivalry may be ending, but Syracuse and West Virginia can still put on a show.

The former partners in the Big East met in the snow-covered Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, and the result was a game fitting of their storied history. Syracuse, riding a stingy defense and a two-headed rushing attack, pounded West Virginia for a 38-14 victory.

Prince-Tyson Gulley scored three touchdowns to steal the spotlight for Syracuse, but the biggest story came from the circumstances. West Virginia and Syracuse have played each other in every season since 1955, but the future of their rivalry is in doubt after both teams joined new conferences.

West Virginia, a charter member of the Big East football conference, left this season to play its first year in the Big 12. And Syracuse, an original member of the basketball-centric Big East, will leave next year to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, ending an era rich in tradition.

"When I played, we were not in the Big East. We were a major independent and we played pretty much the same teams every year," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said of his team's swan song. "We haven't really talked about it as much as a team. We are going into a conference that's competitive, not only athletically in all men's and women's sports, but also very competitive educationally and academically."

And if the last few months are any indication, Syracuse may have regained its footing as a football power. The Orange closed out the 2012 campaign with victories in six of their final seven games, and can boast of tying for the conference championship and taking a resounding Bowl win.

Syracuse has now been crowned Pinstripe Bowl champion for the second time in three years, and Marrone joked that he'd do well to schedule more games in the Bronx.

Syracuse rushed for 369 yards on the snow-capped field against the Mountaineers, with Gulley going for 212 yards on 25 carries and front-line back Jerome Smith springing for 157 yards of his own. West Virginia, by contrast, rushed for just 88 yards on 37 carries and couldn't make up the difference in the air.

"Those are some real men in the trenches," said Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib. "They really took over that game, because with the conditions, you have to be able to run the ball if you want to win that game. We came on the sidelines and said, 'Hey, if we're going to win, it's going to be behind our O-line and running backs.' They came in and did what they had to do. They killed it out there."

Indeed, the Syracuse line paved some huge holes for their running backs to plow through. The Orange used an early field goal and a sack of quarterback Geno Smith for a safety to take a 5-0 lead, then went ahead 12-0 on a 33-yard touchdown scamper by Gulley.

The junior halfback later broke the game open with a 67-yard run off right tackle, and he scored his third touchdown on a 10-yard swing pattern late in the third quarter. Gulley was named Most Valuable Player, and Marrone was thrilled by his back's performance.

"Prince has been a player that worked really hard, played with injury [and] has really come a long way in our program," Marrone said. "I couldn't be prouder of him sitting next to me."

Syracuse, primarily a passing team this season, took advantage of the conditions on Saturday in crafting its gameplan. The Orange ran the ball 65 times -- 31 in the first half and 34 in the second -- and managed to keep the ball away from the high-octane Mountaineers offense.

West Virginia came into the game as the seventh-highest scoring team in the country (41.6 points per game), but it had trouble finding its own comfort zone. The Mountaineers' two All-Conference receivers -- Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey -- were held to four catches for 43 yards in the first half.

Bailey finished with seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns, but one of them came with his team already trailing 26-7 in the third quarter. Smith, a second-team All-Big 12 selection, finished 16-for-25 for 197 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough for coach Dana Holgorsen.

"The team with the best running game is going to win, and they clearly had the better running game," Holgorsen said. "The one thing about what we have been able to do all year defensively is be able to control the line of scrimmage. Our pass defense was bad, but our run defense was OK. A game like this is where you have to rely on your run defense to win, and when you're not able to do it, it's pretty frustrating."

Syracuse, protecting a 19-7 lead in the third quarter, gave the ball back to West Virginia on an interception at their own 30-yard-line. But Smith was sacked and fumbled on the next play and Gulley followed with a run off tackle and up the sideline, sprinting 67 yards to give the Orange a 26-7 lead.

Syracuse became the first team since 2008 to register two safeties in a Bowl game, and exceeded 300 rushing yards for the first time since running for 348 yards against Buffalo in 2005. Perhaps most importantly, the Orange improved to 33-27 all-time against West Virginia.

"Over the four years, it hasn't been easy playing for Syracuse," Nassib said. "We've had some success and we've had a lot of ups and downs, but we've had a lot of fun doing it. Anything that happened to my career, I wouldn't have it any other way. It made me a better player. It made me a better man."

Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Yankees confident as they construct roster for '13

NEW YORK -- There is less of an emphasis on winning the winter these days for the Yankees, as they have appeared content at times to allow other teams to make the splashiest moves of the offseason.

In retooling for next season, general manager Brian Cashman doesn't care much about newspaper back pages. He prefers to point to the noise the team made on the field, having won 95 games and the American League East despite having its roster repeatedly hit by injuries.

Thus, with many key pieces of the ballclub falling into place, the Yankees will watch the calendar flip toward another Spring Training in Tampa, Fla., and believe they still have what it takes to contend in a division that seems to be getting more challenging every year.

"The bottom line is tomorrow is not Opening Day, and so we've got a lot of time on the clock here to methodically continue putting a roster together," Cashman said. "We're putting something together that really has a chance to put us back where we were last year, which was winning the division and competing for the title."

A look ahead • Buy Yankees 2013 tix • Yankees '13 schedule • Yankees top prospects • Important dates

The Yanks weren't players for the biggest free agents this offseason, standing on the sidelines as outfielder Josh Hamilton secured a five-year, $125 million deal from the Angels and watching pitcher Zack Greinke land a six-year, $147 million pact with the Dodgers.

Working with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner's directive to reduce payroll beneath $189 million for 2014, digging deep for massive multiyear contracts wasn't a move that appeared in the Yankees' playbook this time around.

Instead, the club focused on retaining its talent from within: Cashman prioritized pitching and was able to secure Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera for a combined $37 million in one-year deals before turning his attention to pacts for third baseman Kevin Youkilis (one year, $12 million) and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (two years, $13 million).

The Yankees will be one of the older clubs in the Majors, but as long as the production level stays high, they won't have a problem fielding a lineup that's a little long in the tooth. Between now and Opening Day, they'll also continue to look for options to plug in just in case Plan A doesn't work out.

"I'm very satisfied and comfortable with the approach we're taking and how we're conducting our business," Cashman said. "We've been the big-game players and done the big contracts and had success doing that, and we've had failure doing that. We've also had success on the short-term stuff too, but every year is different. I'm comfortable with what we're doing."

Like the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball, the Yanks enter a new year with their share of questions. Here are 10 of theirs:

1. How will Derek Jeter bounce back?

At the moment Jeter crumpled with a fractured left ankle in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against the Tigers, you couldn't help but sense that the Yankees weren't going to advance much further without their shortstop and team captain. Jeter is expected to be rehabbing into the spring, but the Yanks continue to believe Jeter will be in place as their Opening Day shortstop. You can be sure that his defensive range, always a popular topic even before the injury, will be watched closely during the Grapefruit League games.

2. How will Youkilis look in pinstripes?

With Alex Rodriguez potentially lost until June or July following left hip surgery, the Yankees are counting on Youkilis to hold the fort at third base. They're very familiar with just how much Youkilis can wear down opposing pitchers from his time with the Red Sox, but Youkilis has also battled injuries and is trying to prove he can still be counted on as an everyday player. It might be jarring at first to see Youkilis wearing the interlocking "NY" on his chest, but his work ethic should help him fit in quickly.

3. Who will be the Opening Day catcher?

After being unable to match the Pirates' two-year, $17 million offer to Russell Martin, the Yankees are emphasizing defense behind the plate. Cashman has said that it is likely the Yanks already have their Opening Day catcher in the group of Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart, Austin Romine and perhaps Bobby Wilson, so it's apparent they won't be expecting someone to match Martin's 21 homers from last year. Whoever the catcher is, they'll need him to work well with the staff and save runs on the other side of the ball.

4. Will CC Sabathia stand tall as the ace?

It wasn't all that surprising to learn Sabathia needed to have his elbow cleaned up after the season; after all, there was a point where he was unable to lift his left arm above his head, forcing him to the disabled list. The Yankees don't believe there will be other lingering injuries, but it's no stretch to say that they need Sabathia to make a complete recovery for their blueprint to succeed. It's important that they be able to count on him for his usual 200 innings and 30-plus starts.

5. Can Mark Teixeira return to form?

Teixeira believes that if he hadn't been slowed by a lingering cough and a strained calf, his streak of seasons with 30 homers and 100 RBIs would still be intact. He might be right, as the calf alone cost him most of September, but Teixeira's other numbers have been sliding since his terrific '09 season. He said that he's no longer concerned with trying to bring up his batting average, embracing the power side of his game, and no one is waiting for him to bunt to beat the shift. The Yankees would still love to see his average inch closer to the .292 he hit in '09.

6. What will A-Rod be able to contribute?

At least the Yankees have a solid explanation of why Rodriguez struggled so much in the postseason, which probably defuses a lot of the controversy that could have carried over between Rodriguez and manager Joe Girardi. The Yanks believe Rodriguez will play in 2013, even though he'll probably be out until June or July. If he returns from hip surgery as a force like in '09, they'll be thrilled, but that might be wishful thinking. There's so much mileage on A-Rod's tires, so the Yankees just need to hope he can be an above-average option at third base and as a designated hitter -- not just in '13, but also with the next five years in mind as well.

7. How much magic does Rivera have left?

Why are the Yankees so confident Rivera can return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament at age 43 and be the same dominant closer? Well, as Cashman put it, Rivera has never failed, so there's no reason to believe he'll start now. There's always a chance that Rivera could wobble, but people have been forecasting that for years. As the Yanks say, even if Rivera is only 80 to 85 percent of what he showed in his prime, they'll take that over most of the other options out there. There's a solid chance that this could be the end of Rivera's fantastic career, and you can be certain he intends to go out on a high note.

8. What does the future hold for Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson?

The Yankees picked up the options on both Cano and Granderson for '13, and it's possible we could be seeing the last seasons in pinstripes for both players. Agent Scott Boras seems intent on bringing Cano to free agency, and with talk of a 10-year contract possible, the Yanks need to swallow hard at the thought of a team like the Dodgers getting a free crack at Cano. The Yankees quietly showed a willingness to discuss trading Granderson, but they'd need a big return to advance those talks -- his power would be tough to replace. It is possible that Granderson's only move of '13 will be to a new position, as the Yanks have talked about shifting Brett Gardner to center field and installing Granderson in a corner-outfield spot.

9. Can Pettitte and Kuroda still keep up in the AL East?

The Yankees' rotation looked much more appealing on paper once they officially slotted Pettitte and Kuroda back in for the '13 season, but there's no getting around that both of these veteran pitchers are a year older and some decline could be possible. The Yanks need both pitchers to eat innings, using their wisdom and guile to work with Yankee Stadium's dimensions and keep opponents off balance. Health is vital; Pettitte's broken ankle was unavoidable, but he had just seemed to find his groove. The Yankees must wonder what Pettitte's two lost months would have looked like.

10. How will next year's $189 million budgetary restrictions impact 2013?

We've already seen that the Yankees seemed allergic to multiyear contracts this offseason because of Hal Steinbrenner's directive to avoid paying the luxury tax in '14, which certainly impacted the construction of the '13 roster. It still could have a domino effect down the road: as Girardi has suggested, we might see a Yanks club that is reluctant to add certain pieces in season, such as near the Trade Deadline, if it threatens to throw their budgetary planning off course. That makes it all the more important that the pieces they have in place can succeed.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Matsui will always be considered a Yankee

Believe it or not, there was a baseball life for Hideki Matsui before the New York Yankees, but you'd never know it.

Blame it on the Reggie Jackson thing.

Quick. When you think of Mr. October wearing a baseball uniform, what do you see, and how striking are the pinstripes?

Just so you know, Jackson played 21 seasons in the Major Leagues, and he spent most of that time with the Oakland A's, his team for the first 10 years of his career. In addition, there was his season with the Baltimore Orioles, and he also was with the California (now the Los Angeles) Angels for five seasons, which is interesting.

That was the same amount time Jackson was with the Yankees.

Even so, you say "Reggie" to those ranging from casual to ardent baseball fans, and they see Yankees visions. Three home runs on three pitches at old Yankee Stadium during the 1977 World Series. Nose-to-nose (ahem) chats with Billy Martin. The Boss.

They also see drama -- a bunch of Yankees drama, involving the self-proclaimed straw that stirs the drink.

Jackson is the poster child for the following: Once you do something huge as part of the Yankees, anything you did before the Yankees or after the Yankees becomes nearly irrelevant.

Take Graig Nettles, for instance. He played half of his 22 Major League seasons for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos.

Folks only remember Nettles' half with the Yankees.

David Wells was around for 21 Major League seasons, but he primarily was known for his four years in the Bronx, where his hero was Babe Ruth. The left-handed pitcher even wore an authentic cap of Babe Ruth's during parts of a Yankees home game. He also threw a perfect game for the Yankees, but to the chagrin of management, he wrote in his autobiography that he did so with a hangover.

What about Roger Clemens?

Was he more of a Red Sox guy or a Yankee?

It's a close call.

Yes, Clemens managed the first three of his seven Cy Young Awards with the Red Sox, and he captured a couple with the Toronto Blue Jays. But he did grab one with the Yankees, and he won his 300th game and recorded his 4,000th career strikeout in pinstripes.

Bigger than that, Clemens' Yankees made three trips to the World Series, and they won two of them.

Then there is Alex Rodriguez, with all of his great moments with the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers. He'll be remembered the most for his great and not-so-great moments with a Yankees franchise that has featured just nine of his 19 years in the Major Leagues.

Which brings us to Matsui, who announced this week that he is retiring at 38 after 20 years in pro baseball as a prolific slugger.

Matusui was such a star for a decade with the Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese Central League that he was known as Godzilla. He won three of the league's Most Valuable Player awards. He made nine straight trips to the All-Star Game, and he won three home run titles and three RBI titles. He also led the Giants into that league's equivalent to the World Series four times, and he helped them win three of them.

Little of that matters when it comes to Matsui's baseball legacy. All you need to know is that he spent October 2009 becoming as grand as Lou Gehrig and Ruth. He joined that duo back then as the only players to hit over .500 with three homers during the World Series.

It made Matsui the MVP of that Fall Classic, and it secured his image as more of a Yankee than anything else.

That's right. Even though Matsui was efficient overall during his seven seasons with the Yankees (.292 batting average, 140 homers), it only took a single moment -- that 2009 World Series -- to evolve into an unofficial lifetime Yankee.

See Aaron Boone.

He was with the Yankees one year. He spent his other 11 seasons in the Major Leagues with other teams.

Still, after Boone ripped his walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox, he became just a Yankee.

In other words, CC Sabathia shouldn't even think about wearing a Cleveland Indians cap if he reaches Cooperstown.

While Boone and others had their Yankees "moment," Sabathia is among those with Yankees "moments."

First, let's return to Sabathia's pre-Bronx days, when he was splendid enough during his first eight seasons in the Major Leagues with the Indians to reach three All-Star Games and to win an AL Cy Young Award. He also helped the Brewers make their first playoff trip in 26 years after he pitched brilliantly after he was traded from Cleveland to Milwaukee in the middle of the 2008 season.

Then came the Yankees. During Sabathia's first year with the team in 2009, he did much along the Yankees' journey to a world championship by winning ALCS MVP honors. Plus, he has led the Major Leagues in victories during two of his four seasons with the Yankees.

Anything else of significance that happens for Sabathia with the Yankees will be overkill.

He's already a Yankee forever.

Just like others.

Terence Moore is a columnist for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syracuse crushes West Virginia in Pinstripe Bowl

NEW YORK -- Their rivalry may be ending, but Syracuse and West Virginia can still put on a show.

The former partners in the Big East met in the snow-covered Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, and the result was a game fitting of their storied history. Syracuse, riding a stingy defense and a two-headed rushing attack, pounded West Virginia for a 38-14 victory.

Prince-Tyson Gulley scored three touchdowns to steal the spotlight for Syracuse, but the biggest story came from the circumstances. West Virginia and Syracuse have played each other in every season since 1955, but the future of their rivalry is in doubt after both teams joined new conferences.

West Virginia, a charter member of the Big East football conference, left this season to play its first year in the Big 12. And Syracuse, an original member of the basketball-centric Big East, will leave next year to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, ending an era rich in tradition.

"When I played, we were not in the Big East. We were a major independent and we played pretty much the same teams every year," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said of his team's swan song. "We haven't really talked about it as much as a team. We are going into a conference that's competitive, not only athletically in all men's and women's sports, but also very competitive educationally and academically."

And if the last few months are any indication, Syracuse may have regained its footing as a football power. The Orange closed out the 2012 campaign with victories in six of their final seven games, and can boast of tying for the conference championship and taking a resounding Bowl win.

Syracuse has now been crowned Pinstripe Bowl champion for the second time in three years, and Marrone joked that he'd do well to schedule more games in the Bronx.

Syracuse rushed for 369 yards on the snow-capped field against the Mountaineers, with Gulley going for 212 yards on 25 carries and front-line back Jerome Smith springing for 157 yards of his own. West Virginia, by contrast, rushed for just 88 yards on 37 carries and couldn't make up the difference in the air.

"Those are some real men in the trenches," said Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib. "They really took over that game, because with the conditions, you have to be able to run the ball if you want to win that game. We came on the sidelines and said, 'Hey, if we're going to win, it's going to be behind our O-line and running backs.' They came in and did what they had to do. They killed it out there."

Indeed, the Syracuse line paved some huge holes for their running backs to plow through. The Orange used an early field goal and a sack of quarterback Geno Smith for a safety to take a 5-0 lead, then went ahead 12-0 on a 33-yard touchdown scamper by Gulley.

The junior halfback later broke the game open with a 67-yard run off right tackle, and he scored his third touchdown on a 10-yard swing pattern late in the third quarter. Gulley was named Most Valuable Player, and Marrone was thrilled by his back's performance.

"Prince has been a player that worked really hard, played with injury [and] has really come a long way in our program," Marrone said. "I couldn't be prouder of him sitting next to me."

Syracuse, primarily a passing team this season, took advantage of the conditions on Saturday in crafting its gameplan. The Orange ran the ball 65 times -- 31 in the first half and 34 in the second -- and managed to keep the ball away from the high-octane Mountaineers offense.

West Virginia came into the game as the seventh-highest scoring team in the country (41.6 points per game), but it had trouble finding its own comfort zone. The Mountaineers' two All-Conference receivers -- Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey -- were held to four catches for 43 yards in the first half.

Bailey finished with seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns, but one of them came with his team already trailing 26-7 in the third quarter. Smith, a second-team All-Big 12 selection, finished 16-for-25 for 197 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough for coach Dana Holgorsen.

"The team with the best running game is going to win, and they clearly had the better running game," Holgorsen said. "The one thing about what we have been able to do all year defensively is be able to control the line of scrimmage. Our pass defense was bad, but our run defense was OK. A game like this is where you have to rely on your run defense to win, and when you're not able to do it, it's pretty frustrating."

Syracuse, protecting a 19-7 lead in the third quarter, gave the ball back to West Virginia on an interception at their own 30-yard-line. But Smith was sacked and fumbled on the next play and Gulley followed with a run off tackle and up the sideline, sprinting 67 yards to give the Orange a 26-7 lead.

Syracuse became the first team since 2008 to register two safeties in a Bowl game, and exceeded 300 rushing yards for the first time since running for 348 yards against Buffalo in 2005. Perhaps most importantly, the Orange improved to 33-27 all-time against West Virginia.

"Over the four years, it hasn't been easy playing for Syracuse," Nassib said. "We've had some success and we've had a lot of ups and downs, but we've had a lot of fun doing it. Anything that happened to my career, I wouldn't have it any other way. It made me a better player. It made me a better man."

Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Yankees confident as they construct roster for '13

NEW YORK -- There is less of an emphasis on winning the winter these days for the Yankees, as they have appeared content at times to allow other teams to make the splashiest moves of the offseason.

In retooling for next season, general manager Brian Cashman doesn't care much about newspaper back pages. He prefers to point to the noise the team made on the field, having won 95 games and the American League East despite having its roster repeatedly hit by injuries.

Thus, with many key pieces of the ballclub falling into place, the Yankees will watch the calendar flip toward another Spring Training in Tampa, Fla., and believe they still have what it takes to contend in a division that seems to be getting more challenging every year.

"The bottom line is tomorrow is not Opening Day, and so we've got a lot of time on the clock here to methodically continue putting a roster together," Cashman said. "We're putting something together that really has a chance to put us back where we were last year, which was winning the division and competing for the title."

A look ahead • Buy Yankees 2013 tix • Yankees '13 schedule • Yankees top prospects • Important dates

The Yanks weren't players for the biggest free agents this offseason, standing on the sidelines as outfielder Josh Hamilton secured a five-year, $125 million deal from the Angels and watching pitcher Zack Greinke land a six-year, $147 million pact with the Dodgers.

Working with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner's directive to reduce payroll beneath $189 million for 2014, digging deep for massive multiyear contracts wasn't a move that appeared in the Yankees' playbook this time around.

Instead, the club focused on retaining its talent from within: Cashman prioritized pitching and was able to secure Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera for a combined $37 million in one-year deals before turning his attention to pacts for third baseman Kevin Youkilis (one year, $12 million) and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (two years, $13 million).

The Yankees will be one of the older clubs in the Majors, but as long as the production level stays high, they won't have a problem fielding a lineup that's a little long in the tooth. Between now and Opening Day, they'll also continue to look for options to plug in just in case Plan A doesn't work out.

"I'm very satisfied and comfortable with the approach we're taking and how we're conducting our business," Cashman said. "We've been the big-game players and done the big contracts and had success doing that, and we've had failure doing that. We've also had success on the short-term stuff too, but every year is different. I'm comfortable with what we're doing."

Like the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball, the Yanks enter a new year with their share of questions. Here are 10 of theirs:

1. How will Derek Jeter bounce back?

At the moment Jeter crumpled with a fractured left ankle in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against the Tigers, you couldn't help but sense that the Yankees weren't going to advance much further without their shortstop and team captain. Jeter is expected to be rehabbing into the spring, but the Yanks continue to believe Jeter will be in place as their Opening Day shortstop. You can be sure that his defensive range, always a popular topic even before the injury, will be watched closely during the Grapefruit League games.

2. How will Youkilis look in pinstripes?

With Alex Rodriguez potentially lost until June or July following left hip surgery, the Yankees are counting on Youkilis to hold the fort at third base. They're very familiar with just how much Youkilis can wear down opposing pitchers from his time with the Red Sox, but Youkilis has also battled injuries and is trying to prove he can still be counted on as an everyday player. It might be jarring at first to see Youkilis wearing the interlocking "NY" on his chest, but his work ethic should help him fit in quickly.

3. Who will be the Opening Day catcher?

After being unable to match the Pirates' two-year, $17 million offer to Russell Martin, the Yankees are emphasizing defense behind the plate. Cashman has said that it is likely the Yanks already have their Opening Day catcher in the group of Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart, Austin Romine and perhaps Bobby Wilson, so it's apparent they won't be expecting someone to match Martin's 21 homers from last year. Whoever the catcher is, they'll need him to work well with the staff and save runs on the other side of the ball.

4. Will CC Sabathia stand tall as the ace?

It wasn't all that surprising to learn Sabathia needed to have his elbow cleaned up after the season; after all, there was a point where he was unable to lift his left arm above his head, forcing him to the disabled list. The Yankees don't believe there will be other lingering injuries, but it's no stretch to say that they need Sabathia to make a complete recovery for their blueprint to succeed. It's important that they be able to count on him for his usual 200 innings and 30-plus starts.

5. Can Mark Teixeira return to form?

Teixeira believes that if he hadn't been slowed by a lingering cough and a strained calf, his streak of seasons with 30 homers and 100 RBIs would still be intact. He might be right, as the calf alone cost him most of September, but Teixeira's other numbers have been sliding since his terrific '09 season. He said that he's no longer concerned with trying to bring up his batting average, embracing the power side of his game, and no one is waiting for him to bunt to beat the shift. The Yankees would still love to see his average inch closer to the .292 he hit in '09.

6. What will A-Rod be able to contribute?

At least the Yankees have a solid explanation of why Rodriguez struggled so much in the postseason, which probably defuses a lot of the controversy that could have carried over between Rodriguez and manager Joe Girardi. The Yanks believe Rodriguez will play in 2013, even though he'll probably be out until June or July. If he returns from hip surgery as a force like in '09, they'll be thrilled, but that might be wishful thinking. There's so much mileage on A-Rod's tires, so the Yankees just need to hope he can be an above-average option at third base and as a designated hitter -- not just in '13, but also with the next five years in mind as well.

7. How much magic does Rivera have left?

Why are the Yankees so confident Rivera can return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament at age 43 and be the same dominant closer? Well, as Cashman put it, Rivera has never failed, so there's no reason to believe he'll start now. There's always a chance that Rivera could wobble, but people have been forecasting that for years. As the Yanks say, even if Rivera is only 80 to 85 percent of what he showed in his prime, they'll take that over most of the other options out there. There's a solid chance that this could be the end of Rivera's fantastic career, and you can be certain he intends to go out on a high note.

8. What does the future hold for Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson?

The Yankees picked up the options on both Cano and Granderson for '13, and it's possible we could be seeing the last seasons in pinstripes for both players. Agent Scott Boras seems intent on bringing Cano to free agency, and with talk of a 10-year contract possible, the Yanks need to swallow hard at the thought of a team like the Dodgers getting a free crack at Cano. The Yankees quietly showed a willingness to discuss trading Granderson, but they'd need a big return to advance those talks -- his power would be tough to replace. It is possible that Granderson's only move of '13 will be to a new position, as the Yanks have talked about shifting Brett Gardner to center field and installing Granderson in a corner-outfield spot.

9. Can Pettitte and Kuroda still keep up in the AL East?

The Yankees' rotation looked much more appealing on paper once they officially slotted Pettitte and Kuroda back in for the '13 season, but there's no getting around that both of these veteran pitchers are a year older and some decline could be possible. The Yanks need both pitchers to eat innings, using their wisdom and guile to work with Yankee Stadium's dimensions and keep opponents off balance. Health is vital; Pettitte's broken ankle was unavoidable, but he had just seemed to find his groove. The Yankees must wonder what Pettitte's two lost months would have looked like.

10. How will next year's $189 million budgetary restrictions impact 2013?

We've already seen that the Yankees seemed allergic to multiyear contracts this offseason because of Hal Steinbrenner's directive to avoid paying the luxury tax in '14, which certainly impacted the construction of the '13 roster. It still could have a domino effect down the road: as Girardi has suggested, we might see a Yanks club that is reluctant to add certain pieces in season, such as near the Trade Deadline, if it threatens to throw their budgetary planning off course. That makes it all the more important that the pieces they have in place can succeed.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Inbox: Was getting Youk the right move?

Kevin Youkilis' transition from Red Sox crimson to Yankees pinstripes (by way of Chicago) is complete, and a two-year agreement with Ichiro Suzuki was announced last week, crossing another item off the to-do list.

The 2013 Yankees appear to be taking shape, but general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged that they still have plenty of work to do between now and spring. Here's a look at some of the questions you're asking:

Why did the Yankees decide to sign Youkilis as opposed to giving the position to a Minor Leaguer until Alex Rodriguez is ready? They'd save quite a bit of cash and might discover a future star or trade bait at the same time.
-- Al S., Morocco

That would have been ideal, but the Yankees quickly made it very clear that they did not believe they had an in-house candidate to take over at third base. The club has refused to consider moving Eduardo Nunez back to third base, saying it only wants him to focus on refining his defense as a shortstop (possibly to boost his trade value), and Jayson Nix isn't viewed as an everyday player.

There also wasn't a whole lot to choose from at the upper levels of the Minors. The Yankees could have given David Adams, Corban Joseph or Ronnier Mustelier serious looks in the spring, but I'm not sure you can definitively say that any one of them would have been an answer if A-Rod winds up missing more time than expected. The organization thinks A-Rod should be back by June or July, but there's no guarantee there.

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Instead, the Yankees were able to move forward with Youkilis on a short-term, flexible basis, which exactly lines up with their needs. His recent decline aside, the Yankees can at least point to Youkilis' solid track record of success in the league and know that -- in a worst-case scenario -- they should have their everyday third baseman for all of 2013.

It seems there is little chance the Yankees will re-sign Curtis Granderson after this season. Will they trade him to help restock the farm system?
-- David F., Boston

It's still possible, but not probable. The Yankees have made it known around the league that they are willing to listen to offers on Granderson, but I'm not sure they can receive enough in trade to make it worth their while. Granderson is due $15 million next season and will be seeking a long-term deal after 2013, which is sure to make some potential suitors think twice about parting with their top talent.

Granderson's strikeout totals (195 this year) are a turnoff as well, which is probably part of the reason you don't hear many people talking about the Yankees giving him the extension they'd hinted at earlier. Granderson has plus power, and that's also part of the reason why the Yankees might need to keep him around -- 43 homers is tough to replace, and especially needed in an outfield that figures to have both Brett Gardner and Ichiro in it. Granderson's power numbers would also suffer by not playing 81 games at Yankee Stadium, something any potential trading partner would have to consider.

I've been reading a lot about a pitcher named Mark Montgomery, who has been progressing through the Yankees' farm system. How close is he to pitching on the Major League level?
-- Ken S., Hicksville, N.Y.

Montgomery -- the organization's No. 14 prospect, according to MLB.com -- appears to be on the fast track to helping the Yankees. A strong showing in the Arizona Fall League didn't hurt his chances, and even if he begins the year in the Minors, he might be in position for an early-season callup. Contributions on the level that David Robertson provided in 2009 aren't out of the question.

With these latest signings, the Yankees are getting older. When will there be a youth movement?
-- Ed A., Jacksonville, Fla.

We hear this complaint a lot, and Cashman said that the advancing age of the Yankees roster is a concern. There are promising prospects (Gary Sanchez, Mason Williams, Tyler Austin and more) in the pipeline, but they've still got more to prove before seriously threatening to break into the Show.

The Yankees seem to be collecting guys well into their 30s and beyond this winter, which works with their criteria of obtaining talent on a flexible, one-year basis. Cashman defended his recent moves, saying the Yankees didn't like their other choices on the market.

"I'd say you're always concerned about [the age of the roster], but I'm not concerned about it when you look at the alternatives," Cashman said. "The alternative is, hey, I could get a younger player that just isn't very good. But hey, you could run him out there for 162 [games]; it wouldn't hurt, but he wouldn't help you."

What type of compensation will the Yankees get if Nick Swisher or Rafael Soriano sign with other teams, and will they get anything for Russell Martin?
-- Jody S., Peru

The Yankees will receive compensation picks at the end of the first round of the 2013 Draft, now that Swisher has signed with the Indians and Soriano seems to be a lock to sign elsewhere. They'll receive no such compensation for Martin, because the Yankees didn't extend him a one-year, $13.3 million qualifying offer; Martin likely would have accepted that, considering he signed with the Pirates for two years and $17 million.

Are the Yankees concerned about having an all left-handed outfield?
-- Chris W., King of Prussia, Pa.

It's something they need to address. Cashman has said he needs to find someone to fill the Andruw Jones role, and though the Yankees have had some success finding players in late January and early February, you'd rather not have to wait that long. This week's Minor League deal with Matt Diaz gives them something to look at in Spring Training with no risk attached. Scott Hairston's name has been floated quite a bit, and he'd seem to be a good fit, but Hairston is said to be looking for at least a two-year deal and we've seen that the Yankees are reluctant to offer those right now.

When will Mason Williams and Melky Mesa be ready to help the Yankees outfield?
-- Harris K., Schaumburg, Ill.

You know what they always say: prospects are suspects, at least until they make it. Mesa did make it into three Major League games late in the season, so it's possible you'll see him helping out at the big league level this year -- if not to start the year, then perhaps later. Williams, the Yankees' No. 2 prospect according to MLB.com, had just 83 at-bats at Class A Tampa last year. That's probably where he'll start 2013, and the best estimate for his big league ETA would be '15.

With all this talk about starting pitching, I'm not hearing Michael Pineda's name anywhere. Did I miss something? Is he done for 2013?
-- Phil K., Pittsfield, Mass.

No, the Yankees are still quietly optimistic that Pineda will be able to help them at some point in 2013. If everything goes perfectly with his rehab, you might see him in the big leagues by June, but the Yankees are thinking of it as though anything they get from him will be a bonus. Considering the nature of Pineda's injury and the challenges that go with it, pitching coach Larry Rothschild recently said that it "would be a mistake" to count on Pineda helping the '13 club.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

14.25 | 0 komentar | Read More