Over at SI.com, Ted Keith ranks the Yankees championship teams in the Derek Jeter Era:
2. The 2009 Yankees
Regular-season record: 103-59, 1st in AL EastPostseason: ALDS: defeated Twins 3-0; ALCS: defeated Angels 4-2; World Series: defeated Phillies 4-2
Any thoughts that this team would be so highly-regarded seemed foolish when it got off to 14-16 start and was mired in third place, 5½ games out, in early May. But from that point on the Yankees went 89-43 to finish with 103 wins. Since the end of the original Yankee dynasty, only the ’98 team has won more games in a single season. The catalyst for their turnaround was the return of Alex Rodriguez from hip surgery and the emergence of Mark Teixeira that gave them the destructive lineup many had long expected. The Yankees finished the season with the majors’ best offense, leading all of baseball in home runs and runs scored. It was enough to more than compensate for a pitching staff that was surprisingly unsettled, given its depth of talent. CC Sabathia was a stud all year long, and Andy Pettitte was old reliable, but A.J. Burnett was consistently inconsistent, and the latest Rules kept Joba Chamberlain from establishing himself as a front-line starter. As always, they still had Rivera, who finished with 44 saves and a 1.76 ERA.
In the postseason the Yankees benefited from curious, and at times downright hideous, play from the opposition, but the closest they came to being in trouble was when they lost Game 1 of the World Series. Undeterred, they won the next three, making their 27th title a mere formality.
I was bored at work earlier and decided to look back on the comment thread from the the day of the Burnett signing...things really escalated quickly.
[0] I was going to make a spirited defense of the 1999 team as the clear second best, but looking back over the numbers I am not as sure. They did have a slightly better run differential and better balance (third in RS and second in RA) compared to the 2009 version, and they had a more dominant post season. Then again, this year's version did win more games overall. Plus, when I looked over the line-up and bench and even the rotation, the '99 club did not look as deep and imposing as I remember them being. Hm.
Per David Pinto, it looks like the RS are parting ways with their captain. Unless he wants to go back for only $3 mil. Might be the right thing to do, but it sure seems kinda heartless.
[2] It might be due to the differences in the scoring environment in 1999. For example, though the Yanks in 2009 had a .286 team EqA, while the Yanks in 1999 had a .274 EqA - those aren't adjusted for comparison to each other.
The 1999 AL averaged 5.18 R/G. In 2009, it was 4.82 R/G. In 1999, the league averaged .275/.347/.439 - say a typical Johnny Damon season with a couple fewer singles (career .288/.355/.439). In 2009, it was .267/.336/.428, basically Melky in '09 with a bit more power (.274/.336/.416). I'm not sure if those differences are enough to account for the differences in EqA, but they go a long way towards explaining it.
Basic Pythag records (and I'd prefer BP's 3rd Order records, but I can't find those for 1999) were 96-66 in 1999, 95-67 in 2009. You might be right yet, monkeypants!
A & B free agents are out.
Damon's a type A, so Yankees could get a first or second round draft pick & a sandwich pick.
Nady & Pettitte are type B, which would give the Yankees a sandwich pick (I'll have a salami & provolone), but I doubt Andy would sign with another team. Yankees or retirement.
I guess all that missed time is why Matsui isn't on the list.
[5] Hm, but Nady is on the list. I guess he had a lot more games last year than Matsui had.
This makes it much more tempting to keep Matsui.
The Rays picked up Carl Crawford's option. I'm surprised.
[5] We only get picks if we offer Arb and it's turned down, correct? JD makes $13m. At Arb, he would get $15, while as a FA, he's worth around $9.
If Andy plans to retire, we can offer him Arb, but I don't think Cashman will offer anyone else Arb.
OldYanksFan, you beat me to the comment. The Yanks only get picks if they offer arb to Damon, which I doubt they would do. If they want him back, they just need to mind their procedural p's & q's, on both sides, and bring him back at a reduced rate. That's about the only way I'd do it.
I think they'll bring Pettitte back under the same kind of circumstances. If they bring Nady back, which I highly doubt, it would have to be some kind of reduced non-roster-occupying arrangement. Really, I think they'll just let him go. He won't play until July at the earliest.
I'm selling very high on Cano this off-season. After all, "he's destined to win a batting title someday." Lets bring back a front-line arm. This is the time to do it.
[8] Of course, with arbitration, both teams make an offer and the arbiter(s) pick the one they think is more fair, assuming the player accepts arbitration. And in that case it is only for one year. So, for those who want the Yankees to offer Damon and/or Matsui a one-year deal, arbitration may be the best way to go.
[10] And the starting second basemen would be..? Ramiro Peña?
RAB has a wondrful post:
What Went Right: The seventh inning on
Fun reading... and for desert...
a video containing all 15 Yankee walk-off Wins!
[10] I sympathize, but I can't go that far. I think we have to live with Robbie. He is what he is. The worst .320 hitter you'll ever want to see, but he is a .320 hitter and plays a prodigious defense.
If you can just accept that he'll probably never realize his potential (e.g., he'll never be the #3 hitter his stroke is perfect for), you have to recognize he's still a hell of a second baseman to have around.
[12] Dan Uggla. C-Money figures it out. But remember, it has to be a big arm for our "future batting champion!"
[10] [12] [14]
Cano's WAR last year was 4.4, higher than Burnett's. It would be hard to find a pitcher with as much value to the team, I think. Yeah, Halladay would do it for a few years, but you'd be paying him an awful lot more than you're paying Cano.
Rob is great value.
Frankly, I hope Robiie is our 2nd baseman for the next 8 years. Yes, he is frustrating as hell, but he is a top 3 offensive 2nd baseman, and I'll guess in the top 1/3 defensively. While I won't bet on it, as he ages and matures, and gets used to being a multimillionaire, he may just start playing smarter.
[17] This is it. This is who he is going to be. He's 27. I'm OK keeping him too if the right offer doesn't come along. But if some team thinks he's going to be a number-3-hitting, centerpiece player and are willing to deal, well.....
frosty can be maddening but i think he is a someone you keep.
he and dustbin are basically tied for third with a wrc of 103.8, and if zobrist has the year he had this year next year i will print this post out and eat it.
[17] according to uzr he is in the bottom third defensively.
i would like to the defensive metrics to continue to improve, and capture more things - for example i think robbie turns a double play better than most second basemen.
[18] Really? ARod is 35 and I though he matured a lot this year, and that his play reflected it. Robbie is a star in New York and a relatively newfound multimillionaire. That is a lot to handle for a kid from the DR. Now maybe this is it for him, and if so.... he still ain't so bad. But I wouldn't be surprised to see his baseball head mature... especially as the old guard fades away.
[20] A-Rod matured a lot, presumably, but how much did it really affect his play? His numbers were right in line with his career numbers.
I'm pretty certain the Robbie is what he is, and that at age 27 we will not see much improvement from him. That said, he is a very valuable commodity at middle infield, on a team with few position prospects and few impact young players. Moreover, is tied up at a relative value. He should not be traded except in the most extreme circumstances.
Cano may be what he is, but that is still very good. Having said that, I think it is very unfair to suggest that a 26 year old has little room for improvement. Cano hasn't even entered his prime. Any improvement on his 2006, 2007 and 2009 numbers make him a flat out MVP candidate. With a roster of offensive players on the other side of 30, I don't think the Yankees should be looking to trade Cano.
It's easy to look at his post season and think he can't hit good pitching, but then what does that mean about Tex? Also, it completely ignores that he had an .892 OPS in the ALCS and a 1.175 ALDS in 2007. In other words, it would be rather foolish to draw conclusions on Cano based on a bad ALDS and World Series. If the Arod saga has taught us anything, it should be that making judgments based on small samples is a recipe for looking for foolish.
[22] I would have more confidence in Robbie improve if I saw any pattern of progress. But he seems largely the same player this year as he was when he was a rookie (or perhaps better, his second year). He has added a few walks per year, but even his walk rate is largely unchanged the last three years.
So yes, maybe he improves a bit when he enters his peak seasons. But I think that he is one of those rare players who has a sort of 'plateau' career (Adam Dunn comes to mind, as a very positive comparison). And given how much of his game is tied to batting average, this should work for him until his bat starts to slow...at 29 or 33 or 35 or 39. We'll have to see.
[23] Oh yeah, I forgot to add, that I *do* think he is very valuable "as is", even if I do not expect any significant improvement over the next few years.
[23] I think we've seen Cano improve defensively, which counts. Also, I think bouncing back off of an awful 2008 also shows an ability to improve. Most notably, Cano did improve his power production, which is something that he can continue to boost. After all, Cano's OPS+ was the highest of his career, so it's not like he is really standing in place. Cano is already an all star level player, so any further "improvement" is likely to be incremental. Otherwise, he'll be entering future hall of famer territory. Basically, I just think Cano needs to tweak a few areas of his game (more consistent defensively, slightly better plate discipline, better hitting with RISP). Continued small improvements in those areas should ensure Cano remains a star 2B for the next 5+ years.
[25] Of course, having an awful year like 2008 shows the ability to decline rapidly. If OPS+ is a precise measure, then yes he had his best year and showed improvement. But if you look at his entire career, every aspect is up and down with no real pattern of improvment:
BA .297, .342, .306, .271, 320
OBP .320, .365, .353, .305, .352
SLG .458, .525, .488, .410, .520
BB 16, 18, 39, 26, 30
K 68, 54, 85, 65, 63
This strikes me as pretty typical for players whose production is tied so closely to BA. In seasons when he hits .320, he's really good. When he hits .290, he's less good. I don't think he'll ever be able to "control" his BA, and I don't think he's suddenly going to learn to command the strike zone. He may add a bit of power.
But I really suspect that this year will be about as good as he gets, and that's not a bad thing.
Fuck, I think I'm in serious withdrawal.
How many days til pitchers and catchers?
Oh, dark, dark, dark...
[26] "But if you look at his entire career, every aspect is up and down with no real pattern of improvment:"
Ya just can't...
[27] Keep sparkling, weeping. you're #27!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCLyMxZA1LY&feature=PlayList&p=A15B42631B765BCA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=11
[26]
Ya Just Can't...
(my first blockquote! Huzzzah!!)
Robbie has a great swing (obviously) and he was impressive, to say the least, with the glove this year. But he is clearly a not a smart ballplayer. He got owned throughout the postseason. He just can't adjust and he probably is close to his peak regular-season performance.
Although I would not be looking to trade him, he would make a nice chip to get someone like Doc, for example. Available but not actively on the market. I think that might have been the original point, in #10, but I'll let Joel speak for himself.
As for Leche, he should be actively shopped, especially if Damon is coming back next year. Gardy deserves a shot at CF, IMHO. Whatever you can say about Robbie's upside, it aint true for Leche.
The more I see of Cano the more I think he's another Soriano but without the Grade A speed or power but with a bit better stroke. And Sori also looked very good at 26 but not in the post-season.
What about Cano+ for Matt Kemp? Who are other young OF bats that might be available? Ryan Braun? Grady Sizemore?
[31] I just think there is a certain group of baseball people out there that thinks Cano is headed toward MVP-like super-stardom. I don't see Cano becoming that player. So why not shop him for a legit super-star?
[32] Makes good sense to me.