6Pound8OunceBabyJoba

It was the first week of December 2008 when Conor and I were chatting on the phone, jokingly, about a blog. At some point I facebooked him a bunch of stupid blog names: The Posada Pit, Jetertopia, The Bubba Crosby Blog, and–of course–6 pound 8 ounce baby Joba. I guess he liked the last one, because next thing I knew he’d set up a blogspot account and well…this whole thing happened. Be it a Q and A with Pat Venditte or having Peter Abraham tell us about the New Yankee Stadium wind tunnel, it’s been a lot of fun making this blog happen over the past few years. We’ve had our highs (see November 2009) and our lows (see Javier Vazquez), and it’s been a blast putting every damned Yankee thought I’ve had onto this thing. Analyzing trades, suggesting deals, ranting about different writers, coming to terms with A.J. Burnett, endorsing Swishalicious, listening to too much John Sterling, mourning the trade of Melky, the chronicles of Conor and my fanship have been cataloged here for about two and a half years.

Obviously, we haven’t really done much since last season.We used to be active with this thing, pouring hours upon hours into research, writing, freaking out on the phone with tech support because we thought someone might not be able to access the site at 3am. College though…well, college has taken a lot of our time. I worked on a SportsTalk Radio show this past year, wrote articles for two different online publications, and didn’t really have the time for 6P8OJoba. Conor was busy with sailing and all sorts of other stuff back east. Then there were–you know–classes and what I’ll just call “The College Life.” We realize that running this thing half-assed isn’t what we’re about. We’d held out hope that we’d get this back to the juggernaut we once tried to make it, but at this point we know that we have bigger and better things to work with, so we must turn in the commandments of Joba and give in to the rapture of our other endeavors. (Haha modern events pun about gullible silly folks who thought the world was going to end).

I’m spending my summer working for the Palm Springs Power, a collegiate ballclub in the Southern California Collegiate Baseball League, so my blogging will be for them at powerbaseball.wordpress.com. I’ll hopefully have some pieces about the club in print for other local publications as well. This fall–an a little bit this summer-I’ll be writing opinion pieces for the CMC Forum. And, while currently not frequent, I will hopefully try to get some sports humor pieces flowing into “The Sports Disconnection” over at ClaremontSportsConnection.com. So, if you really actually have any sort of positive feeling toward all these words I scribble down all the time, feel free to check out my writing at those other locales.

It’s been a pleasure praising Joba here and supporting the pinstriped ballplayers in the Bronx. Thanks for reading, thanks for following, and thanks for caring what we’ve had to say. While our writing won’t stop and won’t die, this site must. We’re taking our work elsewhere, and hopefully one day you’ll find it again and think “Hey, those are the boys from 6P8OJoba.” And we’ll say (in this hypothetical image where our columns can talk): why yes, yes we are.

Joba Bless,

Kevin

It’s always fun to predict the opening day 25-man, so here goes…

1. C Russell Martin

2. 1B Mark Teixeira

3. 2B Robinson Cano

4. 3B Alex Rodriguez

5. SS Derek Jeter

6. LF Brett Gardner

7. CF Curtis Granderson

8. RF Nick Swisher

9. DH Jorge Posada

10. SP CC Sabathia

11. SP Phil Hughes

12. SP AJ Burnett

13. SP Justin Duchscherer

14. SP Ivan Nova

15. RP Mariano Rivera

16. RP Rafael Soriano

17. RP David Robertson

18. RP Joba Chamberlain

19. RP Pedro Feliciano

20. RP Boone Logan

21. RP Sergio Mitre

22. C Francisco Cervelli

23. OF Andruw Jones

24. IF Eduardo Nunez

25. OF Greg Golson

My only non-organizational pick here is Justin Duchscherer, who I really do hope that the Yanks sign. If they don’t, that spot might go to Bartolo Colon. I wasn’t quite sure about Greg Golson as my 25th pick, with Jorge Vasquez, Brandon Laird, Ramiro Pena, and others in mind. I figure Golson’s the best pinch-running option, and with Martin and Posada in the lineup, that might come in handy.

Well hey, hey, hey joba-lites. My 2011 has been jam=packed, and I once again apologize for the lack of 6P8OBJ content. If you’re dying for some content, though, I’ve got good news.

My Sports Disconnection series is in full swing over at the Claremont Sports Connection.

I wrote a pinch-hitter for the LoHud Yankees Blog that went up today.

I gave my take on the Vernon Wells deal over at the CMC Forum.

Sure would be great if the Yanks would do something so I could have something interesting to write about for you all to read, but it’s a quiet winter in the Bronx. Happy New Year, I’ll have some posts up in the future as things speed up. In the meantime…you can check out my articles over at claremontcurrents.com/csc

I have this nervous habit where I’ll right down the numbers 1-25 and then try to guess the Opening Day roster. It’s silly, I know. But, it keeps me always thinking about the team, and so I thought we’d look at it here.

1. C Russell Martin

2. 1B Mark Teixeira

3. 2B Robinson Cano

4. 3B Alex Rodriguez

5. SS Derek Jeter

6. LF Brett Gardner

7. CF Curtis Granderson

8. RF Nick Swisher

9. DH Jorge Posada

10. SP CC Sabathia

11. SP Phil Hughes

12. SP Wandy Rodriguez

13. SP AJ Burnett

14. SP Ivan Nova

15. CP Mariano Rivera

16. SU David Robertson

17. SU Joba Chamberlain

18. SU Takashi Saito

19. LS Boone Logan

20. LS Pedro Feliciano

21. LR Sergio Mitre

22. C Francisco Cervelli

23. IF Eduardo Nunez

24. OF Andruw Jones

25. Util Jeff Keppinger

You surely noticed that I added Wandy Rodriguez, Takashi Saito, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Keppinger to this group while leaving off Jesus Montero. I think Wandy’s a logical trade target, as is Keppinger. The Yanks have talked about Keppinger, and I’m not trying to overplay that report, but I just see him as a more likely choice than Bill Hall. The Yanks are looking for depth, like a guy who can backup the infield and possibly the outfield as well. Keppinger could do that. Wandy would be an interesting trade target, although I have no idea exactly how highly the Astros value him or what he could cost. Andruw Jones would essentially replace Marcus Thames as the “let me  just hit lefties” guy. He’d be a fine fourth outfielder and could patrol the field if necessary. Saito’s an older guy (41) who’s still pretty damn dominant. He’s coming off a season with a 2.83 ERA and a 2.43 FIP for the the Braves. The dude handled the AL East as a Red Sox in ’09 to the tune of a 2.43 ERA…though his 4.25 FIP wasn’t so studly. Still, in his 5 years in the MLB, Saito’s never had an ERA above 3.  Since he’s 41, I don’t think he’ll be looking for a multi-year deal, which is good news for the Yanks. Saito would team with D-Rob and Joba as the bridge to Mariano. I left Jesus off the roster because I don’t think he’ll be in the Bronx on Opening Day, not with the Martin signing and Jorge at DH. That said, by the end of August, I assume he’ll be called up and Cervelli released, it’d just be tricky trying to work him in with Martin at C and Posada at DH. If Jesus is only playing once a week, he shouldn’t be on the roster. If however, he can grab two starts a week behind the plate and two at DH, then he’s valuable. It’s about keeping Jesus playing, and if there’s time to get that play at the big league level, great, but if not, then he needs to start consistently at triple-A.

Chances are, my predictions won’t be right, not with the unpredictablity of transactions and spring training injuries and whatnot, but this is just speculation for the day.

It happens year after year, day after day, a total non-story becomes a story because people feel the need to write about something even if it isn’t substantial. These days it’s the “Will CC opt out?” story. His contract guarantees him $23mm/yr through 2015, but in theory I suppose he might benefit from a new $120mm/6 yr deal somewhere else. My issue lies with this: CC’s a family guy. CC has said multiple times, on the record, that he won’t opt out. It just isn’t going to happen. Look, CC was traded from Cleveland to Milwaukee, then signed with the Yanks. He wanted to settle down, get a house in Jersey, and play out the rest of his career. Do you remember how the biggest non-money factor in the Sabathia signing was convincing his wife, Amber, that there were good schools in Jersey and that she’d like living there, etc? I doubt that CC would settle in for 3 years, then asking Amber and his 3 kids to move. Might CC say, “he, Yankees front office, I can opt out at the end of this year and get more years of security elsewhere. As a 31 year old workhorse and ace, I’d be the best guy on the market ahead of Wandy Rodriguez, Mark Buerhle, C.J. Wilson, and Chris Carpenter (if his option is denied). If you don’t want me to do that, how bout you extend me from 2016-2017, since I could probably get an extension like that on the market.” Sure. He might say that. Would he actually opt out though? Not unless he and AJ get in a fight, Larry  Rothschild and him can’t agree, and Joe Girardi tells him he can’t eat Subway anymore. As we saw with Cliff Lee, family decisions can be about more than money and with the way that CC has enjoyed New York, and the way the city loves him, an opt-out isn’t likely.

On top of that, let’s look at this really quickly: If CC opted out, I’d say, at the very best, he’d get $140mm/7 yrs. Not shabby. That would take him through 2018 (he’d be 39 by the season’s end). Now, say he doesn’t opt out. He makes$92mm by the end of 2015 (he’d be 35). If he then signed a deal for, say, 4 years at $15mm per (that’s what Derek Lowe got at age 36…this is, of course, assuming that CC was still pitching well and that there was a sentiment that he’d age well), he’d have accrued $152mm by the end of 2018…that’s $12mm better than he would’ve gotten by opting out. Again, theoretical, but do you see the point? By not opting out, CC assures himself the highest annual average he could get from 2012-2015, and then he can market himself again to make more. If he sacrifices $12mm over the next four years for the sake of a longer deal, he might actually end up losing money overall. Hypothetical, but plausibly. Add that to the family argument, and I just don’t see the opt-out clause being a big deal. It was put into his contract so that if the Sabathia crew hated New York, they could get the hell out of dodge, but that’s not the case, so expect CC to stay in those triple XL pinstripes through the rest of his mega-deal.

Pending a physical, the Yanks have found their new lefty ‘pen addition: Pedro Feliciano. With an $8mm deal for two years with a club option, Feliciano will be a Yank. As Mark Simon points out, Feliciano is purely a LOOGY. Check out his 2010 stats:

v. Lefties: 33 IP, 9.55 K/9, 2.73 BB/9, .218 avg. against, 1.09 WHIP, 2.32 FIP, 3.07 xFIP

v. Righties: 29.2 IP, 6.37 K/9, 6.07 BB/9, .323 avg. against, 2.02 WHIP, 4.22 FIP, 4.75 xFIP.

Yeah, he’s a different pitcher pending on what side of the batter’s box the hitter’s standing in. Oddly, he was used for almost the same amount of innings v. righties as lefties. Knowing the match-up loving Girardi, that’ll change in the Bronx. I’m not a huge fan of two-years for a reliever, especially a guy who’s only going to face lefties, and million-plus deals for relievers haven’t been great for the Yanks in recent years (Marte, Park, Hawkins), but who knows…maybe Feliciano won’t get hurt or forget how to pitch. After all, he’s done the whole New York thing in Queens already. Essentially, what’s happening here is that Feliciano is taking Marte’s spot, since Damaso won’t be back ’till the all-star break or so. Then, when the Yanks decline the club option on Marte’s contract for 2012, Feliciano just basically takes that sector of the payroll for the year that the Mayans thought would end it all. I don’t think this is the best signing ever or anything, but I like it better than the latest move by Boston: Bobby Jenks at $12mm/2 yrs to be their 3rd best reliever. If Feliciano is only used as a LOOGY, he’ll be an effective and key piece of that Yankee ‘pen. We all know the Red Sox have been busy this off-season, and they’re going to be a good team in 2011 if they stay healthy (not all that much better than what they’re 2010 squad could have done if healthy, but that’s still a 95-win type team); Feliciano will be a key part of this year’s rivalry games. Just look at the Boston lineup: Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, and JD Drew are all lefties. So while Pedro will make just $1mm less than Scott Downs next year, it’ll be worth every penny if he makes the difference in some close rivalry games.

Overall, not a bad deal. The Yanks needed a LOOGY, Feliciano has done the New York thing, he’ll help against teams like the Red Sox or in a hypothetical World Series v. a stacked Phillies team, and when Marte comes off the books, he’s basically just replacing payroll space. We’ll see what Feliciano does, but for now this deal looks just fine to me.

Well, Cliff-less, Carl-less, and Werth-less, but Martin-full, and Prior-laden, the Yanks off-season is looking a lot different than you’d have thought. Here’s what I think should be next on the docket:

Try and get Mark Buerhle. Yes, the man has 10 and 5 rights, so he can deny a trade. However, I don’t think Buerhle’s as anti-Yankee as Lee. Getting an opportunity to come to New York could be tantalizing. Buerhle has thrown 200+ innings every year since 2001, and hasn’t had an ERA above 4.30 since ’06.  Last year his 4.28 ERA masked a 3.90 FIP. He was unlucky, with his opponents’ BABIP at .317…as opposed to his .294 career rate. The White Sox spent a lot of money thus far this off-season, and shedding Buerhle’s $14mm salary could give them the flexibility to make mid-season changes. With a rotation that already boasts Jake Peavy, Jon Danks, Gavin Floyd, Edwin Jackson, and (hypothetically) Chris Sale, the loss of Buerhle wouldn’t kill the team.

Talk to Chien-Ming Wang. No, he’s not the solution. But, say Wang would be amenable to signing a 1-yr incentive based contract with a $1mm base and $1mm increases for every 50 innings pitched. If he returned to being a reliable starter, at $5mm he’d be a bargain. If he didn’t get through April, $1mm wasted, in the grand scheme of things, not that big of a loss for the Yankee payroll. Wang would be an insurance signing, like the Prior one; he has a chance to be a valuable starter, but the Yanks wouldn’t have to rely on him. We already know Wang can handle New York, so if his post-injury self is back to normal, then he’d be a great investment.

Ask Ed Wade about Wandy Rodriguez. The Astros are probably another year or two away from contention, and Wandy is a free agent after 2010. The ‘stros would surely prefer to get a couple guys like Austin Romine and David Phelps. instead of two hypothetical draft picks (if Wandy ended up as a Type A…which isn’t guaranteed by any means). With a 3.60 ERA and a 3.50 FIP in 2010, Wandy was a solid number two/three type. He’s had three strong seasons in a row, and while the AL East is much different than the NL Central, even a 4.10 ERA for 200 innings would be a nice pick-up for the Yanks.

Sign Andruw Jones. The 34-year old former all-star is the perfect guy to take Marcus Thames’ old spot. Over 102 plate appearances against lefties in 2010 he hit .256/.373/.558 with 8 homers. He even racked up 9 steals in his 107 games. Jones will come cheap, and if he’s limited to only hitting against lefties, he could actually be a valuable asset as a 4th outfielder.

Sign Will Ohman. Ohman spent the first half of 2010 pitching f0r the Orioles before being traded to the Marlins at the deadline. His 3.21 ERA and 3.98 FIP with a 9.21 K/9 rate were impressive, though the 4.93 BB/9 wasn’t encouraging. Let’s only worry about his splits though: Ohman should just be a lefty specialist. With 25 K’s in 23.2 innings pitched against lefties, Ohman has a 3.16 FIP and a 3.83 xFIP. Not too shabby.Unfortunately, the walk rate was still high v. lefties at 4.94 per 9 (yikes). Still, with no new $23mm annual investment in Cliff Lee, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to add the lefty. The Yanks have Boone Logan as their primary left-handed reliever, they want another southpaw in that ‘pen. They picked up Robert Fish in the Rule V draft,  and the soon-to-be-23 year old could take on the role, but he’s no sure thing. Though he rocked A+ ball, at AA Fish has an 8.93 ERA in 42.1 innings. Yikes! Ohman would be a much more certain, and valuable, arm to throw into the ‘pen.

Jones and Ohman are small investments that would be key role-players, while Buerhle, Rodriguez, and Wang are just ideas for the starting pitching mix. The Yanks have money to spend, and the rest of this off-season is about finding one or two starters and then upgrading other aspects of the club.

Cliff Lee? Pshh. Why worry about that guy when you’ve got the likes of Russell Martin and Mark Prior. Prior’s a total wildcard…no idea whether he can stay healthy, whether he can pitch effectively, etc, but Larry Rothschild was his pitching coach back in the day, and once upon a time he was pretty gosh darn talented. He’s just a nice, cheap option to add to the pitching mix. As for Martin, his signing should push Francisco Cervelli from the 25-man. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Frankie dealt by the spring. There’s speculation that Russell could play some other positions too, which would make him all the more valuable, especially if Jesus Montero is going to be the starting catcher. Lots of people are thinking that Martin’s signing means the Yanks will look into dealing a catcher(Montero, Austin Romine, JR Murphy, Gary Sanchez) for a front-line starter. I doubt Montero will be dealt (and I’d be really, truly, hysterically upset to lose out on a possible clean-up hitter named Jesus).  Romine could definitely be dangled in trade talks, though.

Well, we didn’t see Lee’s return to the Phillies coming, now did we? I don’t have the time nor the energy to delve into the ramifications of this…I had a radio show tonight and I’m cramming for an upcoming Calculus final….my apologies. I’ll lay out a few names that you might want to ponder over though.

Andy Pettitte

Brandon Webb

Matt Garza

Wandy Rodriguez

Chris Carpenter

Ricky Nolasco

Mark Buerhle

Gil Meche

Chien-Ming Wang

And, of course, don’t forget about the Yanks’ young arms: Andrew Brackman, Ivan Nova, D.J. Mitchell, David Phelps, and Manny Banuelos.