Bronx Bomber Ball

Ace Acquisitions Hello once more Yankees fans. Today I will be highlighting two of four impact pitchers that are ‘available’ in the major leagues at the present moment and what exactly it would take to acquire each one. Articles like these are fun to read and fun write, but let me caution you: I view none of these guys as a likely move despite the fact I feel the Yankees need to make one. I have been quite open about how poor the rotation looks and let’s face it – this roster isn’t going to seriously contend especially as a quite a few teams completely revamped and improved their teams. Resigning Chase Headley was a step in the right direction, but acquisitions such as Chris Capuano, Did Gregorius, and Nathan Eovaldi aren’t going to help in 2015. Sure, the latter two are younger, but the bottom line is none of those guys are hardly even average let alone above it. Today I will discuss two of the four impact pitchers I propose the Yankees look into.

  By: Matt Cote A few years ago, the American League East was arguably the best division in baseball. In fact two years ago it produced the World Series Champion. For many years it was dominated by the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, as the two historic rivals would fight for the top spot all season long and then try and one up the other in the offseason.  

By: Frank Mello-Morales When talking about the Yankee bullpen in 2015, there may not actually be a need for optimism. On paper, it is clear that this current assemblage is among baseball’s best. In a recent ESPN article, Buster Olney ranked them as high as number two in the sport. Relative to the other facets of the roster, it is clear that the bullpen is the Yankees greatest asset heading into the season. Give New York a lead through six innings of play, and Yankee fans will have every reason to feel good about their chances. When breaking down the particular components of the ‘pen, it is easy to justify my own and many others’ high expectations.  

By: Eliot Podgorsky Every MLB ballpark has its own unique experience and food is integral to the game day experience.  Through my years of fandom I’ve had the pleasure of trying as much food as I can at Yankee Stadium. While Yankee Stadium might not have the crazy food options such as Primanti Bros. Sandwiches, Rocky Mountain Oysters, The Schmitter, Fish Tacos and Waffle House to name a few there are some tasty options at the Cathedral of Baseball. Here are my opinions on what to get and what to pass when you visit Yankee Stadium.

By: Nick Scott  Hello Bronx Bomber Blog! Recently we have had the privilege of interviewing several players in the Yankees system and today we will be featuring minor league pitcher Christopher Smith. Smith has quite an extraordinary story in overcoming hardship as he has rebounded from being released from an independent league after throwing only one inning. He eventually signed a $0 contract after he spent some time in an Australian league in which he set the strikeouts in a game record at 15. His success there has resulted in him playing in the Yankee minor league system and he enjoyed himself a solid season there in ’14. Here is the transcript from our interview:

  By: Chad Raines Let’s get right to it, Alex Rodriguez is now training with Barry Bonds. Insert your own punchline where you see fit. But in all seriousness, this partnership, as odd as it appears to be, may not be so bad.

By: Chad Raines In Yankees general manager Brian Cashman’s attempt in stocking up the bullpen depth with multiple arms, the Yankees went out and acquired Chris Martin from the Colorado Rockies on Jan. 13 for cash. The 6 foot 7 and 3/4 inch right-hander will look to compete for a roster spot in spring training through the use of his mid-90’s four-seam and two-seam fastball, cutter, slider, and a “work in progress” changeup.

By: Nick Scott When I say Adam Warren, most of us probably think of one game, the one in which he blew the game in Baltimore at the end of the season which ultimately ended the Yankee playoff quest. Yes, I too was quite angry, but I think it’s important to realize Adam Warren was quite a strong piece for the Yankees in 2015. (photo via zimbio.com)

By: Nick Scott A lot went wrong for the 2014 Yankees and Carlos Beltran was a lot of that wrong. Signed in what appeared to be an overreaction move to the departure of Robinson Cano, Beltran was given three years for a total of $45 million. At the time I thought it would be decent in the short term, but that the third year would hurt. Little did I know the whole contract would turn out to be a disaster. (photo via imgkid.com)

By: Frank Mello-Morales I want to make things clear right off the bat (no pun intended): This article is not a penetrating expose, or one of saber-metrical, analytical or statistical backing, but rather is an optimistic approach towards this year’s Yankee roster- as currently assembled- contingent solely on speculation and subjective (presumably logical) reasoning. Breaking down various aspects of the team, I attempt to offer a reason to be hopeful in 2015.

By: Alex Reina An argument can be made that the Yankee’s pitching rotation is the weakest part of their team right now. Currently, the Yankees have Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Chris Capuano, Nathan Eovaldi, Ivan Nova (returning in May/June) and some others vying for a spot in the rotation. There’s also some other minor leaguers, free agents, and trade options the Yankees may try to utilize. 

By: Nick Scott  I can sense the hordes of angry pinstripers gathering their torches and pitchforks now. They are marching the long road to the Bronx and more specifically, Brian Cashman’s office. Once there they will take him to the town square and have him publicly shamed for his betrayal of Yankee nation, as he has just re-signed Stephen Drew. (photo via nydailynews.com)

By: Eliot Podgorsky It is official (or will be once he passes his physical). Stephen Drew has re-signed with the Yankees on a one-year $5 million deal ($7 million if he hits incentives). Most fan reaction was either up in arms calling for Cashman’s head or gave it a general "meh." Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons of his signing. (photo via yanksgoyard,com)

By: Chad Raines The Yankees have resigned second basemen Stephen Drew to a one year contract according to CBS Sport’s Jon Heyman. The deal is reported to be worth $5 million dollars and could be as much as $7 million in incentives.     (photo via chatsports.com)

By: Chad Raines As many of you know, the Hall of Fame inductees were announced today. And after not being inducted once again in his last appearance on the ballot, I simply do not get why this particular player is not in the Hall of Fame. Let me throw a couple of facts at you, the reader, right now. This Yankee great was a nine time Gold Glover, a six time All-Star, a three time Silver Slugger award winner, an AL batting champion, an MVP award winner, a career . 307 hitter, and a former Yankee captain. As you have probably guessed from the title, this player is Donnie Baseball, Don Mattingly. Considering these accolades, it begs the question: Why on earth isn’t he in the baseball Hall of Fame? (photo via espn.com)

By: Nick Scott I don’t think any player on the New York Yankees is more polarizing than Mark Teixeira. Fans are split into two groups: Love him or hate him. I personally fall into the group that loves Mark Teixeira. I believe most the criticism thrown his way is unfair and the typical overreaction of a lot of New York Yankee fans out there. After all, performance really has never been an issue for Teixeira when healthy, the issue has been just staying healthy. And can we really blame him for that?

By: Nick Scott I don’t think anyone else was harder during the regular season on Brian McCann than I was, myself. I found myself disappointed that this $85 million man wasn’t hitting 30 home runs and batting above .250, but when I looked at his career numbers I found myself a bit more understanding about his performance. Simply put, while I think Brian McCann is an all-star caliber catcher, he is not the elite one he has been hyped to be.

By: Chad Raines Growing up as a huge Boston Red Sox fan, with Roger Clemens as his idol, 22 year old Johnny Barbato may not have foreseen the day where he would be traded to the New York Yankees. However, the former sixth round pick out of high school in 2010 is looking forward to being a member of the storied franchise.

By: Vince Pitzulo Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Capuano look like a pitching rotation worth 80 wins in another potential disappointing season for the Yankees. Pineda and Sabathia are disabled list regulars, Eovaldi has a power arm but has not shown consistency yet and Capuano has only had one season where he was over .500 in 2005. Tanaka is an ace without much question unless he goes through a sophomore slump as many pitchers have coming from Japan.

By: Nick Scott In Yankeeland there appears to be two differing schools of thought. The first is that we need to channel our inner George Steinbrenner and spend big on every big name out there. The second is that we should burn the evil that is signing star players and move towards an all farm team system. Obviously, both schools of thought are a bit ludicrous. We can’t simply rely on spending money to fill our roster and we also can’t field a team full of home grown players due to lack of MLB ready talent, underperformance, etc.

By: Nick Scott The Yankees have agreed to trade minor league prospect Manny Banuelos for relief pitchers David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve. On first glance I believe this is a pretty solid trade on the part of the Yankees.  

By: Eliot Podgorsky While replacing Derek Jeter may seem like biggest change the Yankees will have in 2015, their rotation has gone under some major revamping. Brandon McCarthy, Hiroki Kuroda, Shane Greene and David Phelps are long gone. Replacing them in the depth chart are a healthy C.C. Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Capuano, Adam Warren, and a rehabbed Ivan Nova (in May). There is a $200 million gorilla in the room, Max Scherzer, the best free agent pitcher to hit the market is still available. To this point many big market teams have steered clear of expressing interest in the starter. While the Yankees top brass have said Scherzer is not in the cards it’s not over until it’s over and let’s think about how adding another bona-fide ace to the Yankees rotation will compare to the rest of the AL East.