This week, Bronx Banter will be collaborating with our new hosts here at the SNY.tv Blog Network to take a look at the Yankees, position by position. We start today at first base.

2008 Yankee First Basemen

*adjusted for position

Organizational Depth Chart

*on May 1, 2009

Having bought out Jason Giambi’s $22 million option for $5 million, thus ending Giambi’s seven years with the team, the Yankees had a gaping hole at first base until last week’s acquisition of Nick Swisher, which I covered in full here. Swisher is coming off his worst major league season, but there’s plenty of reason to expect a return to form in 2009. Still, Swisher’s career rates of .244/.354/.451 are actually a bit shy of the .272/.353/.464 line of the average major league first baseman in 2008, and almost an exact match for the production the Yankees got out of the position last year. Swisher’s real value lies in his ability to hit like a typical first baseman while providing flexibility by bouncing between first and the outfield corners and spotting in center field when needed. As a full-time first baseman, he’s a stop-gap, but there’s no gap for the Yankees to plug. The best opportunity they’ll have to field a superior first baseman exists in this year’s free agent market.

Looking down the depth chart, the Yankees don’t have anything resembling a first-base prospect unless you count catcher Jesus Montero, who is the best hitting prospect in the system. The Venezuelan Montero, who made his full-season debut this year at age 18, could prove to be a poor fit for his current position, and is thus likely to shift to first base as he progresses through the system. Still, he has yet to play a single game at first base as a pro and would be just as good a fit at designated hitter. At low-A Charleston this year, Montero hit .293/.333/.440 as a catcher and .356/.417/.548 as a DH in a similar number of plate appearances. What’s more, the Yankees would be well advised to make every attempt to keep Montero behind the plate given the tremendous competitive advantage that a productive offensive catcher can provide.

Given all of that, there’s no good reason for the Yankees not to make every attempt to sign Mark Teixeira to a huge contract. (more…)

No truth to the rumor that Cashman has been canned for not signing “all the pitchers” yet. 🙂

Here now the news …

• Anthony McCarron of the News notes the elephant in the C.C. Sabathia free agent bargaining room … pressure from the union:

Whether it is suspicion or reality, some in the baseball industry believe Sabathia has a responsibility to other players and the Players Association to accept the biggest offer, which perhaps would lead to bigger contracts for other top free-agent pitchers. If he accepts a lower deal to stay in Milwaukee or go to the West Coast, where he’s from, he might fix the pitching market at a lower price.

• McCarron’s article also has a link to a nice Yankee Stadium photo gallery, tracing the history-making events there.
• Over at LoHud, Pete Abraham lists the following five free agents the Yanks should have reservations about signing: Abreu, A.J. Burnett, Oliver Perez, Pettitte and Manny Ramirez.  Pete also has some interesting notes for those that like career projections:

As always, there were some interesting findings in the Bill James Handbook. Derek Jeter has a 93 percent chance to get to 3,000 hits but Alex Rodriguez has only a 49 percent chance at a record 762 home runs. James also sees Mike Mussina having a 47 percent shot at 300 wins. Of course that will fall to zero percent if he retires this week, as many expect he will.

• BP.com’s John Perrotto believes that “the focus on pitching, coupled with the recent acquisition of Nick Swisher from the White Sox, means that first baseman Mark Teixeira will most likely either return to the Angels or sign with the Red Sox, though the Nationals and Giants are both wild cards in that sweepstakes.”
• Also at BP.com, Joe Sheehan applauds the Swisher deal:

Now the Yankees have acquired Nick Swisher while giving up nothing that they’ll miss: Jeff Marquez, a 24-year-old finesse pitcher who has yet to succeed at Triple-A; Wilson Betemit, a longtime stathead favorite with a .260/.325/.437 career line and a 314/98 K/BB ratio; and Jhonny Nunez, a 22-year-old right-hander who could eventually end up as a high-leverage reliever. Then again, Nunez was traded for Alberto Gonzalez—no, the other one—about 15 minutes ago, which speaks against the idea that he’s about to go all Carlos Marmol on the world. The package, in toto, is nothing; you can make a case for each of the players individually, but you can’t make the three of them add up to a switch-hitter with plate discipline, power, and his peak in front of him.

Swisher may not be the perfect solution to the Yankees’ offensive woes, but he brings upside, a plate approach that they missed last year, and positional flexibility that leaves a range of off-season options open to them. His lost 2008 season—.219/.332/.410, a career-low .259 EqA—was largely the product of a down year on balls in play. He hit .249 on them, after marks of .301 in 2007 and .283 in 2006. There was a slight uptick in his strikeout rate, but nothing alarming. What’s missing from his season are 15 singles and 15 doubles, and there’s not much reason to believe those won’t come back in 2009. When they do, his contract, which pays him $21 million through 2011 with a $10 million option for ’12, is going to look like an absolute bargain.

(more…)

Separating truth from rumor during the baseball season is difficult enough, but during the hot stove season, it’s easy to get burned if you don’t view everything you read with a skeptical eye. We know the deal: the rumor-mongering is intended to sell papers, conjure arguments on talk radio, and stir conversation and commentary on blogs like this to keep baseball relevant in a town where both NFL teams are in first place and the Knicks look like an actual professional basketball team for the first time in six years.

Speaking of rumors, we knew the Yankees, with their financial clout and now $32 million to work with (I like Cliff Corcoran’s conservative accounting), would be big players in this winter’s free agent market. The past 30 hours or so have seen one constant in the CC Sabathia Sweepstakes: the Yankees are the highest — and only — bidder to date.

Not long after our Diane Firstman gave the skinny on the landscape’s analysis of the record offer made to the 6-foot-7, 290-pound southpaw, which included a quote from a Yankees official who welcomed the Mets’ inclusion in the mix, Newsday’s David Lennon reported that the Mets put the XX on CC. Joel Sherman wasn’t as definitive in this blog post, but he did not discount the Mets as a player, if for no other reason than to jack up the price for the Yankees.

What no one needs to see as it relates to CC Sabathia are stories like this. LeBron James is a Yankee fan. He’s friends with Sabathia, who until mid-summer spent his entire career in Cleveland. But do we, and should we, care what James has to say on this issue? In James’ defense, I believe this is more of an indictment of the Cleveland reporter who felt compelled to ask the question more than it is on James, who could face a similar free-agent dilemma next summer. James could opt out of the remaining two years of his contract in July and go to the highest bidder, which according to the aforementioned report, is expected to be either the Knicks or the New Jersey Nets. But if you’re the Cleveland scribe, why create a mess now? Haven’t those fans suffered for long enough? As a former reporter, I’m embarrassed. Maybe I’d have used that question as an icebreaker for an off-the-record situation, but that’s it. No way do you go to press with that.

(more…)

If C.C. signs with the Yanks, I fear some entrepreneur will start printing up “Black Sabathia” t-shirts, showing him biting the heads off of baseball bats.

But I digress … here now the news:

• Over at LoHud, our buddy PeteAbe has photos from inside the new stadium.  Unfortunately, there are 12 photos, and they’re not all in one post.  You’ll have to page through them, but its worth it.  Pete also reports that Hank Steinbrenner “wants all the pitchers.”
• Hold the phone on yesterday’s report that the Metsies would go after C.C.  Marty Noble at MLB.com spoke to a source within the organization, and got a different take.
• Out in Milwaukee, GM Bob Melvin is a bit flummoxed by the supposed offer to C.C. (as per the Journal Sentinel)

“It sounds like they’re overbidding,” Melvin said. “If the speculation is true that we’ve offered CC $100 million, why would you offer $140 million? Why wouldn’t you offer $110 million?”

“(The Yankees) have been pretty adamant about bidding on everybody. That doesn’t mean that’s what the market is. That’s just one team’s offer. Until all the bids are on the table, I don’t know what the market is.”

• The News‘ Bill Madden likens the Swisher deal to similar trades in prior years:

His .219 batting average notwithstanding, Nick Swisher looks to be a high-upside acquisition in the same mode as Scott Brosius (.203 with the Oakland A’s) in 1997 and Paul O’Neill (.246 with the Cincinnati Reds) in 1992. That is, a quality all-around player who, for whatever reasons, had a down year and was in dire need of an environment change. Just as O’Neill had a personality conflict in Cincinnati with Lou Piniella (who wanted him to pull the ball more and hit for more power), Swisher fell into a batting funk early on with the White Sox last season and resisted advice from hitting coach Greg Walker and manager Ozzie Guillen.

• Also at MLB.com, Robert Falkoff reports that the Padres and Yanks have had numerous discussions regarding Jake Peavy, despite the no-trade clause in Jake’s contract.
• Darrell Rasner asked for and was granted a trade to a team in Japan, according to ESPN.
• Dwight Gooden, one of a few ex-Mets to pitch a no-hitter for someone OTHER than the Mets, turns 44 today.  Dwight no-hit the Mariners on May 14, 1996.
• On this date in 2002, the Yankees and the Yomiuri Giants sign an agreement to form a working relationship, hoping to establish scouting and marketing ties which will benefit both teams.

The Boston Globe‘s “The Buzz” is proving to be a strong Hot Stove roundup, and a helpful one given the local tendency to see every free agent through pinstriped glasses. Here’s some of the latest they’ve collected, the top two of which were updated this afternoon:

A.J. Burnett:

According to a report in the Toronto Star, the Blue Jays have an offer ready for Burnett for $54 million for four years that they have been waiting to make to his agent . . . According to the Globe’s Nick Cafardo, the [Red] Sox don’t want to extend themselves that long contractually or money-wise for Burnett . . . The New York Post’s George King writes . . . “word is spreading that A.J. Burnett will shy away from The Bronx.”

Derek Lowe:

According to the Globe’s Tony Massarotti, Derek Lowe is among the most probable targets for the Red Sox . . . “a major league source has confirmed that the Sox have inquired with agent Scott Boras about Lowe, interest deemed sincere enough that Boras has equipped the Sox with one of his famed marketing portfolios, or ‘books,’ on the player’s value.” Massarotti writes that Lowe “has never has been shy about declaring his fondness for Boston and East Coast baseball . . . Lowe has made Boston his No. 1 preference according to the Globe’s Nick Cafardo. . . . Cafardo also reported that the Mets are going after him strong and have the resources to land him. The Mets also employ Lowe’s personal trainer, Chris Correnti, but Lowe, who wants to play for a winning organization in a place where he’s comfortable, may not see the Mets fitting his criteria. St. Louis, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Detroit might be better fits, writes Cafardo.

These two pitchers are the Yankees’ top two targets after CC Sabathia (though Burnett shouldn’t be), but it just might be that neither wants to pitch for the Yankees, which could either pass those Yankee bucks on to the likes of Ryan Dempster and Oliver Perez, or, better yet (much better) into an increased offer to Mark Teixiera. Speaking of . . .

Mark Teixeira:

From the Globe’s Nick Cafardo: “The Sox also should be in the mix for Teixeira, in whom they have long had interest. The early chatter is a contract in the vicinity of 7-10 years at more than $20 million annually might whittle the field, though the Angels, Red Sox, and Yankees won’t likely feel their pockets burn no matter what they have to pay. . . . It would be a surprise if they don’t make a substantial offer, though it might not come on Day 1.” According to a report in the Washington Post, the Nationals may be making a run at Teixeira: “Against all odds and logic, the Nationals envision themselves as serious players in the Teixeira sweepstakes, according to team and league sources, and are believed to be preparing an offer they feel will be competitive with the others Teixeira is likely to receive. In other words, it would almost certainly be north of $100 million, if not $150 million.”

I don’t know about you, but the thought of a Boston infield with Kevin Youkilis at third, Jed Lowrie at short, Dustin Pedroia at second, and Mark Teixeira at first base is going to ruin my sleep until Teixeira (hopefully) signs elsewhere. I doubt Teixeira will quarantine himself on a losing team like the Nats, but he’s a Baltimore native, so it’s slightly less than ludicrous.

Meanwhile, heres something I stuck in comments earlier today that I’d be interested in getting your reaction to:

I don’t doubt the accuracy of the estimates of the Yankees offer to Sabathia, but I think a lot of the speculation about how much money the Yankees have to throw around beyond Sabathia is misguided and uninformed. Dealing in 2009 dollars only, I’ve heard estimates that the Yankees have as much as $80 million coming off the books, but my accounting shows something closer to $65, and that was before they spent roughly $9 million on Marte and Swisher for 2009. So $56 million minus $24M for CC . . . that’s $32M. That’s just a pair of $16M pitcher contracts before the payroll starts going up. That means no money for another hitter unless they’re willing to push the payroll past $230 million [or punt on one or both of those other pitchers, or if they don’t land CC]. With unsold suites, $11 million in unpaid taxes being collected by the city comptroller, and a federal investigation into their tax-exempt bonds for the new stadium, I’m not sure they have that much flexibility.

(more…)

Today’s news (now with 37% more Nick Swisher in it!):

• The Mets have put their hat into the Sabathia ring, states the News.  This makes one unnamed Yankee exec happy:

A high-placed Yankee source Thursday reacted to the development by saying: “The Mets are in it? Great. Bring it on.”

• Add ESPN’s Buster Olney to the list of writers who think the country’s economic slowdown won’t impact the Yankees this off-season.  He estimates the Yanks opening offer to Sabathia at around $140 to $142 million over six years. Update: Olney states the offer became official Friday night, rumored to be 6 years and slightly over Santana’s $137.5 million contract.

Folks with other teams don’t know how Sabathia possibly can turn down the Yankees’ offer. But regardless of whether the Yankees sign him or not, their intention is to plow ahead and pursue other pitchers, as well. If they can sign Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, they will do so. If they can sign Sabathia and Derek Lowe, they will do it. If they can sign Burnett and Lowe, they will do it. If they can sign Sabathia and Burnett and Lowe, they will do it. If they can sign Sabathia, Burnett and Andy Pettitte, they will do that. They have the room to themselves, and their choices will largely dictate what leftovers will remain for others to choose from.

• Jayson Stark concurs with Olney …

If the Yankees, as expected, come roaring out of the free-agent blocks, offering CC Sabathia a six-year deal in the neighborhood of $140 million, how many teams can possibly even hang in there with them in the CC Derby? ….  So the honest answer is: There is probably no team that can shower money on Sabathia the way the Yankees can, especially in this economy. And it’s becoming increasingly clear they know it, too.

• ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick puts the Yankees under the microscope, and comes up with their probable plan for the off-season.  Most of the ideas you can guess already, but there is one quote I found interesting.

As Cashman points out, the Yankees weren’t exactly hoarding their resources last winter just because they passed on Torii Hunter, Carlos Silva et al. They spent $382 million on long-term deals for A-Rod, Rivera and Posada, signed Robinson Cano for four years and $30 million and shelled out $32 million more on Andy Pettitte and Bobby Abreu’s one-year option.

“Even if everything that we hope and dream for happens, we’ll spend less money this free-agent market than we did last free-agent market,” Cashman said.

• Here’s the Swisher portion of today’s news.  Newsday’s Ken Davidoff thinks the acquisition of Swisher shows that Cashman is still exerting some restraint in his team-building:

It means Cashman still values roster and payroll flexibility, a concept he put in doubt with his questionable three-year, $12-million commitment to setup man Damaso Marte on Wednesday.

It means that the Yankees appreciate the risk in giving a nine-figure contract to someone they don’t know firsthand — and that they’re certainly not going to give out two such deals in the same winter.

• Christina Kahrl of BP.com does her usual excellent job of analyzing transactions.  Here is a bit of her take on the Swisher trade:

The genius to the Swisher deal is that it’s a down-market solution for an up-market franchise.  … getting a player with experience at all three positions this early in the Hot Stove season engenders all sorts of follow-on possibilities. The Yankees can look at fixes at all three problem positions, but they can afford to be flexible and pick the best two fits instead of locking in on any one option. They can still pursue Mark Teixeira to play first for them, but they can also keep Bobby Abreu informed of where they’re at on that front, and that might help keep the latter’s price down if he’s determined to stay in pinstripes. It might even deke him into the kind of discounted, short-term deal that would really be in the Yankees’ best interest, whether Tex signs with the Yankees or not.

• Here is Baseball America’s take on the Swisher deal:

Swisher’s success in New York will be the key to the deal from New York’s standpoint; Texeira is redundant in a system full of similar fastball-slider relief pitchers, such as Anthony Claggett. The White Sox hope pitching coach Don Cooper and pitching coordinator Kirk Champion can work the same magic with Marquez that they have for the likes of Gavin Floyd and John Danks and pick up a potential power arm for the ’09 bullpen in Nunez.

• Even more opinion on the Swisher acquisition, this time from the Times‘ Tyler Kepner:

… Swisher is popular throughout the game, and he has some attributes the Yankees really like: he draws a ton of walks, he’s got a good glove at first, and he’s a switch-hitter with power who can also fill in at all three outfield spots.

• Meanwhile, the Post’s Joel Sherman believes that the Swisher deal means that Teixeira probably won’t become a Yankee:

The plan is to concentrate on starting pitching, namely Sabathia, and – at best – Teixeira is a backburner issue in case all the rotation avenues prove fruitless. Teixeira was pushed further to the backburner yesterday when the Yanks obtained Nick Swisher, who, as of now, projects to be the starting first baseman.

and …

Swisher’s acquisition from the White Sox helps Cashman avoid the Teixeira market. Swisher is not a Gold Glover like Teixeira, but is considered above average at first. He also can play any of the three outfield positions. But even if he ended up there (with a trade of Johnny Damon or Xavier Nady), the Yanks would likely still avoid Teixeira. They worry Posada, Rodriguez or Derek Jeter could end up needing to play first during the life of what would be a long-term deal for Teixeira.

(more…)

By swiping Nick Swisher from the White Sox for Wilson Betemit and two dubious pitching prospects, Brian Cashman has given the Yankees a rousing start to what could be a dramatically entertaining off season. Swisher’s power, patience, and versatility are all major assets, giving the Yankees plenty of flexibility along the outfield and at first base. He’s a legitimate defender at first and in the outfield corners, and has enough athletic ability to play a backup role in center field. Given his earlier track record in Oakland, he also figures to raise his batting average significantly from the .219 mark he posted with the White Sox. And he’s only 28 years old, which makes him a virtual toddler in the Yankees’ thirty something lineup. Make no mistake about it, this is a good first move for Cashman and the Yankees.

So what’s next on the winter agenda? Aside from the imminent bidding on CC Sabathia, I’m curious what will happen with Robinson Cano, who might by New York’s most enigmatic player. If the early signs of winter mean anything at all, the Yankees appear to be preparing for life with Cano in 2009. They’ve already given him permission to play winter league ball for at least a month, so that he can continue using the newfound batting stance he discovered late in the regular season. They’ve also made arrangements to have batting coach Kevin Long work with Cano during his winter league stint. And the Yankees have finally hired minor league defensive instructor Mick Kelleher as their first base and infield coach, at least in part because they believe that Kelleher will have a positive influence on Cano the way that Larry Bowa once did. (Let’s just hope that Kelleher has no influence on Cano’s power stroke. In 11 major league seasons with the Cardinals, Astros, Cubs, Angels, and Tigers, Kelleher hit exactly zero home runs.)

But not so fast. The Yankees, despite the warning signs listed above, should listen to several offers for Cano, their starting second baseman who played in a cloud-filled funk for most of the season. Of all the players the Yankees are likely to deal this winter, Cano still has the most trade value, more than Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy or Hideki Matsui. Cano was supposedly offered to the Padres as part of a package for Jake Peavy, but San Diego turned down that possibility. He might still become the centerpiece to a deal for another starting pitcher (like the Giants’ Matt Cain) or a center fielder (like Carlos Beltran, to borrow from an earlier rumor). With Cano out of the picture, the Yankees could then step up efforts to sign free agent Orlando Hudson, a player with which the Yankee front office is infatuated. Hudson, while five years older than Cano, would represent a significant defensive upsurge over Cano, who may lack the desire and work ethic to achieve his Gold Glove potential. Hudson would also bring some much needed positive energy to a Yankee clubhouse that has become too staid, too corporate, and too damn passive in recent years.

(more…)

The annual “Running of the Free Agents” begins today …. so stay inside and read this:

• Mark Feinsand of the News has an update on Mike Mussina’s 2009 decision:

Mussina, who won 20 games this year for the first time in his career, told the Daily News Wednesday that he plans to make his decision early next week.

“I’m still kind of up in the air,” Mussina said Wednesday from his home in Montoursville, Penn. “I’m enjoying my time off, but then again, I always enjoy my time off.”

• Mussina earned two 3rd place votes (and Rivera three 3rd place votes) in the AL Cy Young balloting, with the award going to the Indians’ Cliff Lee (MLB.com).
• Tyler Kepner of the Times was in on a conference call Wednesday with Joe Girardi, and the manager reiterated the Yanks’ primary need this off-season:

“We know that we have to fill some needs in our pitching rotation, and there are some pretty good starters out there and we understand that,” Girardi said. “We’re going to do everything we can to fill the needs of our rotation, and that is more than one guy. There are other pitchers out there that have thrown very well, and we’re looking at those guys as well. We would like to add as many as we can.”

(more…)

“Swisher is a rare point of agreement between Paul’s computer and the interal compass of an old baseball guy. He has the raw athletic ability the scouts adore; but he also has the stats Billy [Beane] and Paul [DePodesta] have decided matter more than anything: he’s proven he can hit, and hit with power; he drew more than his share of walks. . . .

“Swisher is noticeable, isn’t he?” says Billy, hoping to hear more about what Swisher looks like. How Swisher really is.

“Oh, he’s noticeable,” says an old scout. “From the moment he gets off the bus he doesn’t shut up.”

–from Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Nick Swisher was the first player taken in the Oakland A’s 2002 “Moneyball” draft and the 16th overall, a pick the A’s received as compensation when the Red Sox signed Johnny Damon. With the 17th pick, the Phillies drafted a left-handed high school pitcher named Cole Hamels. The son of major leaguer Steve Swisher and a product of Ohio State University, Swisher needed just two and a half seasons to work his way up the A’s ladder and in 2005 he was their starting right fielder at age 24. Swisher spent the next two seasons splitting time between first base and all three outfield positions. By his 27th birthday, a little less than a year ago, he was had established himself as the best hitter in the A’s weak offense with a career .251/.361/.464 line, a tick below his .261/.379/.476 career line in the minors.

The A’s had signed Swisher to a five-year deal the previous May, buying out his arbitration years for what amounted to $24.55 million over four years with a $10.25 million option for 2012, but on January third of this year, the rebuilding A’s traded Swisher and his new contract to the White Sox for outfielder Ryan Sweeney and a pair of pitching prospects.

Swisher began the 2008 season as the White Sox’s center fielder, almost by default. After a quick start, his average and power numbers began to plummet, soon followed by his signature on-base percentage. Swisher hit rock bottom at the end of May, then recovered with a strong June (.315/.402/.630), but hit the skids again in July only to see his playing time diminish after the trading-deadline arrival of center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. With the White Sox in a pennant race, Swisher made just six starts over the season’s final two weeks and appeared only as a defensive replacement at first base in Chicago’s one-game playoff against the Twins. He started just once in the Chisox’s four-game ALDS loss to the Rays, going 1 for 3 with a pair of walks in their Game 2 loss and popped out in a Game 4 pinch-hitting appearance.

All together, Swisher hit just .219/.332/.410 while splitting his season between center and first base, with some additional work in the outfield corners. According to ESPN’s Keith Law, Swisher suffered through:

. . . a horrific year, looking slow and even apathetic, almost as if his patience at the plate was the result of indifference rather than a desire to work the count. He can still run into a ball if a pitcher makes a mistake, but his bat was slow and he would foul off average fastballs and miss plus heat entirely.

Our YES pal, Steven Goldman sees Swisher’s down year differently:

If you look inside Swisher’s stats, you will see that his line-drive rates were actually up from 2006 and 2007, but his batting average on balls in play dropped by 52 points from 2007 to 2008. In other words, he was still hitting balls hard, but they were caught at an abnormally high rate. We call this bad luck, maybe very bad luck. If he doesn’t overreact by tying his swing into a pretzel, he’s an extremely good candidate to rebound.

Steve also points to Swisher’s bizzare home-road split, which saw him hit a typical .247/.361/.517 at U.S. Cellular, but a miserable .189/.301/.294 on the road, this a year after hitting .270/.376/.474 in his road grays for the A’s, as another likely indication of a fluky season.

The Yankees certainly hope Goldman, not Law, has the right take on Nick the Swish, because he’s their problem now. The Yankees acquired Swisher and the $21.05 million over three years remaining on his contract from the White Sox yesterday along with minor league closer Kanekoa Texeira for infielder Wilson Betemit, Triple-A starter Jeff Marquez, and Double-A reliever Jhonny Nuñez.

(more…)

The Yankees just picked up OF/1B Nick Swisher from the White Sox for triple-A starter Jeff Marquez (and possibly others, though it seems Marquez is the main piece). Both players had bad years this year. The big question is whether or not this will impact the Yankees pursuit of Mark Teixeira, or if Swisher is more of a Shelley Duncan/Wilson Betemit replacement. Discuss. I’ll be back later to break this one down.

Update: The full deal is Swisher and Double-A righty reliever Kanekoa Texeira for Marquez, Wilson Betemit, and Double-A righty reliever Jhonny Nuñez, the last of whom was the player received for Alberto Gonzalez at the trading deadline.

By Mike Vaccaro

What I’ll always remember most are the eyes: eyes belonging to professional baseball players, who aren’t supposed to be impressed by much and are surprised by even less. Eyes filling a clubhouse containing men who had already won three consecutive World Series and 11 consecutive playoff series and were already being listed among the greatest dynasties of all time.

And yet late on the night of Nov. 1, 2001, and early in the morning of Nov. 2, those eyes were all rheumy and moist and wide with wonder. Even the Yankees couldn’t believe what they’d just seen, and done. Even the Yankees couldn’t quite fathom that, a night after Tino Martinez had rescued them with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 4, Scott Brosius had done the same exact thing, taken Byung-Hyun Kim deep and sent Yankee Stadium into the kind of frothy frenzy that you can still summon in your ears, and your memory, all these years later.

I remember it especially well because it is the only time in 20 years as a newspaperman that I’ve ever blown an edition. I was working for the Newark Star-Ledger at the time, and had written a “running” column which described how valiantly the Yankees had fought in losing and going down three games to two in the Series, and I’d done so without composing a backup “early” column in case it didn’t work out that way.

But it was clear: lightning had struck once the night before.

Couldn’t happen again.

And then it did.

I had already left the press box to stand outside the Yankees clubhouse, to avoid the rush and the crush of postgame. There was a TV monitor set up there, which was on a four-or-five second delay. Which helped add to the surreal nature of the moment, because Kim was still in the stretch position on TV when suddenly there emerged from the tunnel leading to the home dugout a roar that defied explanation. And could mean only one thing.

(more…)

T-minus one day till free agent hell breaks loose … here’s the news:

• Over at Newsday, Ken Davidoff pokes holes in the public statements that Hank, Hal and Brian are all working with the same mindset on how to build the team.

“Cashman understood that the key to roster management was controlling the years you commit to players.  … the Yankees were using their financial might in a more intelligent way: Paying over slot in the draft. As Cashman said, better to pay them well on the front end than on the back end.

Cashman’s vision started to melt away a year ago at this time …  the Steinbrenners – both Hal and Hank, we should stress – decided they needed to retain their own free agents at all costs. They signed Jorge Posada to a four-year, $52.4-million deal, an investment that already looks terrible; Cashman wanted to give Posada two years and an option … the fact that A-Rod has nine years left in pinstripes seems to horrify, rather than excite, the Yankees and their fans.

There went some roster flexibility, and they sure seem happy to fritter away at it some more, starting on Friday. Will they really bid six years for CC Sabathia? Would they possibly go seven for Mark Teixeira?”

• MLB.com reports that Al Leiter has taken his microphone from the YES Network and will be a studio analyst for the new MLB Network next season.
• Aside from clearing out the area near “the bat” soon to make room for a pedestrian walkway to the new ballpark, demolition of the old stadium won’t really take place until Summer 2009, as per LoHud’s Pete Abe.
• From the Times, we read that in other old stadium news, Babe Ruth’s monument was VERY carefully excavated and wrapped up for its move across the street.

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The Yankees have signed their first Type A free agent of the offseason, re-upping lefty reliever Damaso Marte, whose $6 million option they had declined just last week, with a three-year deal worth $12 million with a club option for 2012. Marte joined the Yankees just before the trading deadline this year in the deal that also brought Xavier Nady over from the Pirates.

Marte’s Yankee career didn’t get off to the best start as he struggled in two of his first five outings for the Bombers, allowing six runs in his first 4 2/3 innings. His fifth Yankee appearance saw him throw 42 pitches in 101-degree heat in Texas. Marte hadn’t thrown that many pitches in a single outing since August 2006 and promptly developed discomfort in his pitching elbow. Four outings later, Marte turned in another stinker, setting his Yankee ERA at 11.05 after nine appearances. Though Joe Girardi insisted that there was nothing wrong with the Dominican lefty, Marte faced just one batter over the next nine days, eventually informing the media of his elbow discomfort on his own.

The time off did trick as Marte returned to action on August 22 and posted a 1.64 ERA over his last 15 appearances, striking out 13 in 11 innings, while allowing just nine baserunners. The Yankees have clearly chosen to focus on those last 15 outings rather than on the first nine and that bit of elbow pain.

By declining Marte’s option only to resign him to a multi-year deal, the Yankees have done exactly what many expected they would, though I’m troubled by the length of the deal, particularly given that Marte will turn 34 before pitchers and catchers report. Perhaps the most significant success of the 2008 Yankees was their ability to piece together one of the best bullpens in baseball from an assemblage of home-grown arms and minor league free agents. Perhaps just as impressively, they were able to replace parts on the fly when, for example, Brian Bruney broke his foot, or Joba Chamberlain moved into the rotation.

That success seemed to teach the Yankees all they needed to know about the fungibility of relief pitchers, prompting them to release struggling veteran LaTroy Hawkins, whose signing last winter seemed like little more than a hedge against betting the pen on those other unproven arms, and trade Kyle Farnsworth, the lone big-money holdover from past failed attempts to buy a better bullpen, in the wake of the acquisition of Marte. When Marte struggled in his first month as a Yankee without doing much damage to the pen as a whole, that seemed to provide another lesson. Still, here we are again, evaluating a three-year deal for a veteran set-up reliever.

I would have understood if the Yankees had picked up Marte’s option, using him as a hedge against coming set-up man Mark Melancon or against a second look at lefty Phil Coke in the major league pen. I would have understood a two year deal at a reduced salary, which would have allowed the team to trade Marte either at the deadline or next winter. Three years plus an option? That I don’t get. Not when the option would be for Marte’s age-37 season. Not given that bit of elbow trouble in August. Not given all of the pitching already in the Yankee system.

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By Luis Guzman

(as told to Alex Belth)

I grew up in Greenwich Village in the 60s on 10th and Hudson. I went to PS 41. Then when I was ten, we moved to the LES, to the Lower East Side. All my life I’ve been a Yankee fan, B. Mantle, Pepitone. I remember Horace Clarke, Kekich, Peterson, Hamilton, “the folly floater.” When I was between the ages of say 10 and 14 which would have been ’66 to 1970, I’d get together with my buddies in the Villiage, my man Wayne Teagarden, my boy Norman sometimes too, and we’d shine shoes outside of the bank of 7th avenue and Christopher Street. We’d shine shoes in the morning, make enough money, sneak on the train, get up to the Stadium, and sneak into the bleachers. We’d make $2-3 dollars which was pretty good back then. Sometimes we’d pay to get in, it depended. It was fifty, seventy-five cents. We’d fill up on hot dogs and soda and cracker jack, which was the thing at the time.

Back then, they had day games during the week. We used to go out Sunday for bat day and hat day and ball day and yadda-yadda day. It was great. I’d go to every Old Timers’ game, that was a big thing for me, and nothing was bigger than the day Mickey Mantle retired. We had seen Mickey play, he had hit a few home runs when I was there, that was big stuff man. But that day, his family was there, it was heavy.

Between 66-70 the Yankees weren’t doing too good. But we watched Mickey Mantle wind down his career, and you’d see other guys that would come in—Yaz with the Red Sox, Luis Aparicio with the Twins, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew.

We didn’t know at the time but the old Stadium was…it was amazing. They had those beams that would come down and we’d wonder how anybody would be able to see if they had to sit behind one of them. But we were always in the bleachers, the right field bleachers, cause we used to like looking into the bullpen to see who is warming up. Remember when the bullpen was in the tunnel? We’d be talking to the pitchers.

Back then Yankee Stadium was a real relaxed, kicked-back kind of a place. They didn’t have guys coming onto the field between innings like now, it wasn’t this high–security place. It’s when it was a ballpark. Dude, we used to wait for the third out in the top or bottom of the ninth and after the third out we’d jump over the railing and run around all over the outfield. There would be fifty, one hundred kids running around. But that’s all we’d do was run around. We were respectful about it. We’d wait for the last out, you know, bro.

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News you can use …

• At the Times, Tyler Kepner lets Brian Cashman give his impression of how the Yankees will be involved in this year’s free agent market.
• The economic downturn is indeed impacting sales of some of the pricier seats and suites at the new Stadium, as reported by USA Today.  Seven luxury boxes down the foul lines priced at $600,000 remain available for the 2009 season. The team still had seven available in August, too.   As of August, 3,500 of the 4,300 premium seats had been sold, including the $500-$2,500 per-game tickets near home plate in the first nine rows of 25 sections ringing home plate.
• Over at WasWatching, Steve Lombardi points to a Gotham Baseball article which quotes an unnamed Yankee exec suggesting that Jim Edmonds might be a nice CF stopgap until Austin Jackson takes over.  (Oy!)
• MLB.com reports that the Yankees and Cisco Systems held a news conference Tuesday to announce the technological enhancements fans will see in the new stadium.  They include:

1. Live game broadcast on HD video monitors displayed throughout the stadium, including concession areas, the Great Hall, the Yankees Museum and other in-stadium restaurant and bar locations.
2. Premium luxury suites will be outfitted with touch-screen Internet Protocol (IP) phones that will allow fans to order concessions and Yankees merchandise for delivery to the suite.
3. Going forward, the new stadium is equipped to support future fan use of mobile devices for ordering concessions from their seat, viewing instant replays or chatting in real time with friends inside and outside the stadium.

• At that same press conference, Hal Steinbrenner was asked what his primary concern was for this off-season:

“I would be remiss if I didn’t say starting pitching,” he said. “The injuries to (Joba) Chamberlain and (Chien-Ming) Wang certainly didn’t help us last year. We need to build the starting pitching.”

• Still within that conference, Hal denied that his and his brother’s goals were different from Brian Cashman’s philosophy of trimming payroll and developing talent from within.

“Brian is the head of baseball operations,” Steinbrenner said. “The goal, as far as I’m concerned, is balance. Young players built from within and veteran mentors.”

• According to the Boston Herald, Mariano Rivera and A-Rod will be appearing at David Ortiz’s charity golf event in the Dominican Republic next month.  The event helps fund medical care for critically ill children in that country and New England.  (Don’t worry, Mo won’t be swinging a golf club so soon after having had shoulder surgery)
• Happy 36th birthday to Homer Bush.  Homer’s claim to fame may just be that he was included in a trade that brought Roger Clemens to Gotham.  A happy 47th to Greg Gagne, drafted by the Yanks and soon included in a 1982 trade that brought back the immortal Roy Smalley.
• This isn’t a Yankee birthday, but gotta include it.  On this date in 1865, the one and only Archibald “Moonlight” Graham was born. 
• On this date 50 years ago, Bob Turley, who had 21 wins and 19 complete games, is named the Cy Young Award winner (only one award given back in those days).  Turley gathers five votes to four for 1957’s winner, Warren Spahn.
• One year ago today, Jorge Posada re-signed with the Yanks for $52.4 million over four years. This makes Posada the highest-paid catcher in MLB history, edging out Mike Piazza’s $13 million average from 1999-2005.

The Only Bond We Had

by Diane Firstman

My mom was born in the farm country of Monticello, NY in the late 1920s. My dad was born in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn around the same time. They met when my mom moved to NYC after high school to find a job as a secretary. They married in 1958.

Some time shortly thereafter, my dad began exhibiting signs of mental illness … bouts of paranoia and/or delusions. Amidst all this, I was born in 1963. It was obvious that my dad wasn’t capable of being a care-giver to the family, so my mom got a quickie divorce in 1965, and my dad returned to live with his mother in Boro Park. My mom and I stayed in our apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Dad had visitation rights, once a week at my apartment for a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday. He would hop on the B train, then the F, and upon arriving at our house, plop himself down on the couch and turn on the TV, invariably to the Yankee game on Channel 11 with Rizzuto, Messer and White. My mom scolded him for this seeming lack of interaction with me. So, sometimes we’d ride the Q66 bus on Northern Boulevard out past Shea Stadium to Main Street in Flushing to do some shopping or see a movie in the (now boarded-up) RKO Keith theater.

I soon inferred that if I wanted to engage with dad, it was going to involve baseball, especially the Yankees. My dad heartily encouraged this. I took a fondness to Bobby Murcer, since he was the only “name” on those middling early 70s teams. So dad got me a t-shirt with an oversized Murcer head on a cartoon body. He knew I was good with numbers, so he got me a Strat-o-Matic game, and occasionally we sat down to play.

Our “big events” were schlepping on the train to Yankee Stadium (though, in my kid mind, we lived only 15 minutes on the 7 train from Shea … why couldn’t we go there?). In the early to mid-70s, before the Yanks made free agency their own version of “Candy Land”, you could easily walk up and grab a couple of field level seats on game day.

We went to Old Timer’s Day quite often, and regardless of the particular day/game, we always sat on the 3rd base side, seemingly always behind one of the girders (sigh). I’d be sitting there with the program dad had bought me, filling out the scorecard and attempting (in my own baseball shorthand) to keep score. Dad would be enjoying a beer or two and a dog.

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Remember the veterans today, then read this:

• Derek Jeter will be gracing one of five regional covers for USA Today Sports Weekly’s Baseball Insider Special Edition, on newsstands today through December 15.  The Special Edition “provides fans with a unique ranking and analysis of all 30 major league teams … based on a formula that measures a teams’ success over five years (2004-2008), including post-season and regular season success, number of draft picks who’ve reached the majors, attendance and affordability for fans attending home games.”
• Joba Chamberlain garnered one 3rd-place vote in the BBWAA’s AL Rookie of the Year balloting.  Evan Longoria was the well-deserved winner.  (Shield your eyes before going to the link … its an “electric lime” background the BBWAA has chosen!)
• Maybe Brian Cashman is following the lead of Theo Epstein in terms of continuing with the same organizational philosophy for 2009.  As quoted in this piece on MLB.com today:

“New York deserves a champion, and that’s part of our mission statement,” Cashman said. “We’re trying to build for the future but win in the present. It’s that balancing act which keeps that payroll to the level it is. Our ownership has always been fantastic in giving us the resources we need to fix what’s broken. They’ll be there again for us.”

• At ESPN.com, Sean McAdam has a brief “Winter Forecast” for the Bombers.  Nothing there that we Banterers don’t already know, but …
• Have your tickets ready as you head over to a site called SecondAveSagas.com for an update on the new Metro North Yankee Stadium stop (thanks to LoHud’s PeteAbe for the link).
• As quoted in the Taiwan News (yes … I do indeed span the globe for my beloved Banter), Chien-min Wang assured the Taiwan public that his ankle injury has completely healed. The article also states “He also promised that he will take care of himself to prevent further injuries. Wang said that his physical therapist warned him against jogging since his ankles are still too weak for intense activities.”  And you MUST check out the outfit he had on upon arriving in Taiwan …. you go boy!
• Over at BaseballAmerica.com, John Manuel gives us the rundown on the Yanks’ Top 10 Prospects (as I alluded to over the weekend).  If you like gazing into a crystal ball, Manuel takes a crack at the 2012 starting line-up (warning: he thinks Jeter will still be manning short …. aiiiiiii!).
• Anthony DiComo of MLB.com has an update on the movement of Monument Park from the old stadium to the new one.  Workers began taking down the team’s 16 retired numbers and their corresponding placards on Monday, packaging them for safety during their move across the street. The monuments — statues of Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Miller Huggins, along with a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy — are set to follow, with Ruth’s moving to the new park on Wednesday.
• What’s going on in the Hawaiian Winter League?  Tim Bontemps at the Post has the latest.  The best performance so far appears to be that of Jeremy Bleich.  The former Stanford lefty is 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA in 30.2 innings over six starts. He has struck out 31 and walked nine, and is pitching to a 1.08 WHIP.
• There are 183 free agents to be had this off-season, and Yahoo! Sports‘ Jeff Passan has decided to rank them all.  He says you can bookmark that page and track the signings as they occur.  By the way, Abreu comes in at #13 overall, Mussina (#27), Pettitte (#28), Giambi (#31), I-Rod (#35), Marte (#56), Ponson (#116) and Pavano (#118).  ESPN also offers a free agent tracker (unranked) here.

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If you still held out hope of seeing Matt Holliday in pinstripes, you can stop now.

ESPN is reporting that the Rockies are close to dealing Holliday to the Oakland A’s, in exchange for pitcher Greg Smith and some number of other players from a group including P Brett Anderson, OF Ryan Sweeney, OF Carlos Gonzalez and perhaps even closer Huston Street.

By Rob Neyer

My first visit to Yankee Stadium, and for that matter my first visit to the East Coast, was in 1991. I was working for Bill James then, and accompanied Bill to New York for the annual Society for American Baseball Research convention. At that time, I had seen only five major-league ballparks, and none east of Cleveland.

Of course I’d been reading about Yankee Stadium since I was a little boy. By 1991 I was utterly obsessed with baseball — this was before I developed any other serious interests — and in a sense Yankee Stadium was New York.

Just one problem: When Bill and I were in town, the Yankees weren’t. Instead we went to a Mets game at Shea. Now, I don’t mean to complain because it was baseball and it was New York and of course there’s been plenty of history at Shea Shadium. But it wasn’t where Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio played. So one afternoon during our stay, I hopped on the subway and headed for the Bronx, just to see what I could see.

From the outside, I couldn’t see much. If you’ve been there, you probably know that the building doesn’t look like much (and I didn’t walk around to the third-base side to see the big Louisville Slugger). But a big gate beyond the right-field corner was open to the sidewalk, and I could see the field, blindingly green in the sunlight. I wanted to see more, so I scrunched up my courage and walked in like I belonged there.

I got about two steps when a beefy security guard with a mustache and a blazer stepped right in front of me. I couldn’t see the green anymore.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Uh. I just wanted to, umm, see the field.”

“You can’t do that.”

So that was Yankee Stadium, and would be for nearly nine years.

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Monday Monday (la la la la la la) …. here’s the press:

• Over at WasWatching.com, the Yankees’ “Top 10 Prospects” are listed, as per Baseball America.  OF Austin Jackson heads the list.
• PeteAbe at LoHud.com notes that Andy Pettitte filed for free agency, but only wants to play for the Bombers for a one-year deal.  Abraham suggests $12-13 million should do the job.
• Mike Lupica of the News joins the list of columnists piling on Mayor Bloomberg for the funding of new stadiums for the Mets and Yankees given the City’s budget cuts.
• John Perrotto of BP.com makes some educated guesses at where the premier free agents will land.  He expects the Yanks to land Sabathia (its all about the Benjamins, at the end of the day).  Also, Derek Lowe will be wearing pinstripes in 2009.  He sees Abreu re-signing, but not for the three years he was seeking.
• Happy 30th birthday to Jorge DePaula.  Happy 44th to “The Gambler”, Kenny Rogers.  Jack Clark turns 53.
• On this date in 1978, the Bombers traded Sparky Lyle and four other players to the Rangers, getting back top pitching prospect Dave Righetti and four others.
• On this date 80 years ago, Knute Rockne delivered his famous “win one for the Gipper” halftime speech to the Notre Dame team during a game at Yankee Stadium.