Thursday, December 8, 2016

Yankees are beyond stupid: bad and boring. Sign Aroldis Chapman: $86 million, five years.

Mark Melancon just signed for $15.5 million per year for four years from the San Francisco Giants. So in a general sense, the New York Yankees giving Aroldis Chapman $17.2 million per year for five years is proportionally rational. However, Yankee management continues to delude itself and the media and Yankee fans into thinking that the team is a contender. In recent seasons the Yankees have been a .500 team with a few more wins added by field manager Joe Girardi.

Free agent Edwin Encarnacion averaged 38.5 home runs the last five years. He might have agreed to the contract given to Chapman who is likely to average no more than 70 innings pitched.

The Red Sox top three starting pitchers are Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello.

The Yankees top three starting pitchers are Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda.

For 2017 the Yankees project to have one batter better than average at his fielding position: catcher Gary Sanchez.

The Yankees are counting on 25 year old rookie Aaron Judge to play right field and improve on his 42 strike outs in 84 at bats in late 2016. Judge did hit four home runs.

The only bat the Yankees have added is that of Matt Holliday who will be 37 in 2017. He will essentially replace Carlos Beltran who will be 40. What they have in common is that they had been really good but the Yankees had no interest in either when each was available about a decade before finally joining the Yankees. Beltran could have replaced Bernie Williams in center field.

In October and November 2013 the Yankees deviated from their plan to get under the soft salary cap and foolishly signed center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, catcher Brian McCann and Beltran. In January 2014 the Yankees then signed Tanaka, which put them over the cap. Owner Hal Steinbrenner explained that getting under the cap was a flexible goal, not a policy.

Now in 2016 the Yankees are displaying a similar foolishness. If the team is essentially .500, then no closer will make much difference

The Yankees needed to add two batters who could hit at least 30 home runs. Instead they are hoping that rookie Aaron Judge can hit 30.

The Yankees also needed to add two starting pitchers. They added none. They must be hoping ... it's difficult to even imagine what.

During the winter meetings this week a parade of Yankee management people have been interviewed on the team's tv program. They all seem diligent and sincere, led by general manager Brian Cashman.

But the bottom line is that the New York Yankees have become bad and boring. The erratic late owner George Steinbrenner would never have allowed either. His son Hal has spit the bit as George would say.

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