Why Yanks need David Price more than the Red Sox do: Babe Ruth.

Well, not the Babe really, but his ghost or at least his impact on the Yankees: Yankee Stadium.  It was built for him.  You know, with the short right field and the extra large rest.

Should Yanks be playing in a house built for Ruth?  Monday, June 30, 2014

Babe Ruth joined the New York Yankees in 1920.  In 1919 Ruth hit 29 home run (HR) in only 432 at bats (AB) to set the season record playing for the Boston Red Sox; Ruth hit 9 HR at home in pre-Ted Williams Fenway Park and 20 on the road...

The conventional wisdom is that Yankee dominance is based on lefty power and to a lesser extent on lefty pitching.  The current Yankee ownership apparently assumed that when they spent a billion dollars to build a new park for the long dead Babe Ruth, one favoring lefty power, even though the vast dimensions in left field had been drastically reduced over the years...

Even non-home run hitters can hit homers more easily, making it more random, which should be a competitive disadvantage to the better team, which the Yankees strive to be...

Yankee management may need to be more careful than ever about getting players who fit their odd park.  Maybe they should have brought back Curtis Granderson.  Maybe there are long term consequences for Masahiro Tanaka, who lost 2-1 to the Red Sox two days ago on two solo homers, the winner a right field short porch special in the ninth inning by righty Mike Napoli.
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Unfortunately, the Steinbrenners did not consider that Ruth was no longer on the 40 man roster when they planned the new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009.  In the new park, for whatever reason, the short right field distance plays even shorter.  It's pretty ridiculous, actually.

The Yankees take advantage of their home park by continuing to try to stock their lineup with lefty power hitters.  Unfortunately, that currently includes Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury; both outfielders bat lefty but neither hits a lot of homers.

But opposing teams can also take advantage of that short right field.  What's the best way to combat that?  Get pitchers who induce more ground balls and strike outs than fly balls AND get lefty pitchers, southpaws!  Yes, southpaws!

Do the Yankees need a lefty starting pitcher to win it all?  Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Former ace CC Sabathia is the only lefty starter of note...

I checked all 27 seasons in which the Yankees won the championship and 1947 was the the only one without a lefty starter.
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Ironically, 34 year old Sabathia threw the most innings of any Yankee starter in 2015: 167.  Unfortunate, and it pains me to write this, Sabathia abandoned his team at the start of the tournament, an overweight drunk.  It is not reasonable for the Yankees to think that Sabathia can make a substantial contribution to the 2016 Yankees at age 35.

OK, so the Yankees need a lefty starter.  The Yankees also need a top of the rotation starting pitcher.  Masahiro Tanaka has been on the disabled list in each of his two Yankee seasons and his one tournament game was less than inspiring.  I do not think that the Yankees can win with Tanaka as their number one.

So the Yankees need a LEFTY top of the rotation starting pitcher.  There is none available this off season, nor likely to be available in the next better than 30 year old free agent David Price, 2012 American Conference Cy Young award winner.  Because Price was traded during the season, he does not even cost the team that signs him a coveted draft pick.

The Red Sox need a top of the rotation guy even more than the Yankees, who have Tanaka.  However, the Red Sox are much better off if their guy throws righty because they play their home games in Fenway Park.  In the 1950s Yankee manager Casey Stengel would avoid using his Hall of Fame lefty Whitey Ford in Fenway Park.

2009 to 2015, (ERA+>=120 and At least 1200 Innings), sorted by greatest Adjusted ERA+

Rk	Player	ERA+	IP	From	To	Age	G	GS	CG	SHO	GF	W	L	W-L%	SV	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	FIP	HR	BF	IBB	HBP	BK	WP	Tm	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	SH	SF	2B	3B	GDP	SB	CS	PO
1	Clayton Kershaw	162	1503.1	2009	2015	21-27	222	221	21	12	1	109	51	.681	0	1089	423	384	414	1646	2.30	2.52	86	5909	23	26	14	55	LAD	.202	.262	.296	.558	59	66	16	213	18	95	53	53	55
2	Felix Hernandez	136	1596.0	2009	2015	23-29	230	230	20	9	0	104	65	.615	0	1356	566	502	414	1549	2.83	2.99	119	6442	3	52	5	97	SEA	.230	.284	.336	.620	75	29	38	217	27	147	133	43	6
3	Zack Greinke	134	1436.0	2009	2015	25-31	220	220	11	4	0	108	48	.692	0	1265	510	466	334	1379	2.92	2.95	112	5798	6	31	0	51	KCR-MIL-LAA-LAD	.236	.284	.357	.640	78	48	20	250	31	115	50	45	13
4	Johnny Cueto	129	1246.1	2009	2015	23-29	195	195	12	6	0	87	56	.608	0	1090	469	427	342	1013	3.08	3.67	116	5108	14	69	11	17	CIN-KCR	.235	.296	.368	.665	83	44	22	225	21	96	18	32	20
5	Justin Verlander	127	1511.1	2009	2015	26-32	221	221	18	5	0	111	63	.638	0	1323	606	551	423	1466	3.28	3.14	127	6185	10	32	11	38	DET	.233	.289	.358	.647	75	27	35	267	29	84	96	44	13
6	David Price	125	1427.2	2009	2015	23-29	213	212	14	3	0	104	56	.650	0	1252	547	492	367	1360	3.10	3.19	128	5809	11	34	4	29	TBR-DET-TOR	.234	.286	.360	.645	80	22	28	252	20	105	75	44	15
7	Cole Hamels	121	1470.2	2009	2015	25-31	223	222	11	5	0	83	68	.550	0	1321	559	534	371	1404	3.27	3.36	150	6001	25	48	10	29	PHI-TEX	.240	.293	.381	.673	86	53	24	283	21	110	142	56	23
8	Jon Lester	120	1446.1	2009	2015	25-31	225	225	10	2	0	100	71	.585	0	1321	608	561	452	1402	3.49	3.35	130	5995	2	47	0	38	BOS-OAK-CHC	.243	.305	.375	.680	84	25	31	279	25	134	140	48	17

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/2/2015.

Kershaw, Price, Hamels and Lester are lefties.  Greinke, Cueto and Price are free agents.  Greinke is 32 and will cost a draft pick; neither Cueto or Price will.

Late yesterday afternoon we heard that the Boston Red Sox had done what the New York Yankees should have done about David Price: made him an offer he can't refuse.

Seven years, $217 million.  That's a record for a pitcher.  Price can opt out after three years.

The official announcement is expected Friday in Fenway Park.

Pittsburgh Yankees: Hal Steinbrenner thinks small.  Tuesday, December 1, 2015

chief executive Hal Steinbrenner wanted to draft well and not over spend on free agents.  You know, small market stuff.  Like the Pirates.
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Hal Steinbrenner, grow a pair and sign David Price yourself.  Monday, November 16, 2015

Yankee general manager Brian Cashman put the Yankees in this hole and he cannot be trusted to dig them out...

Yankee signings of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran were mistakes I opposed.  Wednesday, October 7, 2015

... the Yanks were trying to finally get under the salary cap of $189 million.  Those three signings put the Yanks on the cusp and then months later Cashman plunged the Yankees way over by signing Tanaka to be the ace.  Well, now, the Yankees need someone else to be their ace.  Enter 2012 Cy Young award winner David Price ...

(Dave) Dombrowski (as Detroit GM) acquired David Price July 31, 2014, traded Price July 30, 2015 and was fired, largely because of that, August 4, 2015.

Boston scooped him (Dombrowski) up almost immediately and both because of their background and because the Red Sox have as much need for Price as the Yankees I see a bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees over Price, if only the Yankees can muster the common sense to do it.

I fully expect Dombrowski to go after Price...

But what will the increasingly erratic Cashman do?  His pattern since his ill fated signings two years ago has been to "cleverly" wait until it's too late, then do nothing.

The Yankees have no base on which to build.  Their only chance to be relevant in the next year or two is to add at least one top notch starting pitcher.  Obviously it's much better for the Yankees if that pitcher is left handed.

Signing David Price is imperative for the Yankees and they should be going after him full force immediately.  Brian Cashman will not do that.  Principle owner Hal Steinbrenner must step into the breach and exercise some previously unused leadership.

Hal Steinbrenner needs to grow a pair of balls.

Then for good measure, fire Cashman's ass.
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