Bronx Bomber Ball

The 2016 season was a very bipolar season for the Yankees. For the first four months, they were not good. The players were old and not producing, the pitching staff was not going deep into games, and it was rare that someone in the bullpen not named Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, or Aroldis Chapman had a scoreless outing. The team was not exciting, and the playoffs seemed like a distant dream by the time July came. It wasn’t a fun time to be a Yankees fan. Clint Frazier Photo Credit: Jeff Irizarry | The Syracuse Chiefs

Before we hop into part two of the prospect floor and ceilings, I wanted to remind everyone that this article is purely opinion and completely subjective. If you search the web for another place to read this type of article, you won’t find it. Not this complete anyway. No one likes to give prospects Major League comparisons because it’s a complete shot in the dark and they’re scared to be wrong. But in my opinion, with the season still on hiatus, it makes for a fun read. Right now the Yankees have the luxury of having a really exciting farm system with ton of talent that has unbelievable potential. The most intriguing part about the Yankees right now, are these prospects (at least until the season starts). Like I said in part one, every single one of these could be way off. Whether you disagree, totally agree, or think I’m insane, it’s all conversation starter. So feel free to voice your opinion in the comments or find my personal twitter handle or the blog’s twitter handle and let me...

This week five years ago, a Yankees legend made the decision to bid farewell to the game he loved after a remarkable career.  On January 24 th , 2012, longtime Yankees catcher Jorge Posada announced at a press conference that he had played his final game in pinstripes. Posada had given his heart and soul to the game, but the aging catcher simply had nothing left in the tank. For Yankees fans everywhere, this was a somber day.  Posada’s retirement effectively made Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera the last active members of the ‘Core Four’ that had brought five World Series championships to the Bronx. Photo Credit: Mike Stobe | Getty Images

With Spring Training right around the corner (pitchers and catchers report February 13th), the Yankees still have a lot of question marks regarding the starting rotation. It is by far the biggest weak spot on the team and it doesn’t look like it is going to get better anytime soon. For now, the rotation includes Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda as the first three starters, and Luis Severino is all but guaranteed the fourth spot. One problem that is being overlooked is the overall health of the rotation, with the majority of them having past health problems in recent seasons. I think utilizing a six-man rotation will be beneficial to everyone in the rotation as the Yankees continue to rebuild for the future. Photo Credit: Kim Klement | USA TODAY Sports

We’re almost there Yankee fans! There is less than a month until pitchers and catchers report to Tampa for the start of spring training and I bet you’re all looking forward to it just like we are. At this point in the offseason free agency has generally slowed to a crawl, with very little news coming in daily and very little notable free agents left on the market. Brian Cashman said recently that he believes the team is done spending for the winter and as is usually the case with him, we have no way of knowing if he’s just playing it cool or if he has actually packed it in. If he has in fact called it an offseason and the Yankees will enter the season with their roster as is, although it has been on the quieter side, Cashman did accomplish a few primary goals. He brought in Matt Holiday to fill the DH role and landed Aroldis Chapman as their big fish. But perhaps Cashman can continue bolstering the bullpen with another free agent who has yet to sign. Photo Credit: Rob Carr | Getty...

With most of the Yankees offseason wrapped up, a few loose ends remained.   The team is not expected to make any more moves via free agency or add anyone via trades, however, business was still to be done with the seven Yankees who were up for arbitration. Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

For the first time since 2008, the New York Yankees will be heading to salary arbitration with one of their players. The Bombers have been unable to come to an agreement with Dellin Betances, one of the most dominant relievers in the league for the last three seasons, on his 2017 salary. The Yankees offered Betances $3 million, but the right hander hasn't budged from his $5 million demand. Regardless of the outcome here, Betances will be due for a drastic raise from the $507,500 league minimum he earned last season. First and foremost, we must acknowledge that Betances has been, and will continue to be, an integral part of the Yankees bullpen. Betances has earned his money, so give it to him! Since when have the Yankees been so frugal over a mere $2 million? By going to arbitration, the organization has chosen to put itself through an unnecessary dispute with one of its best players, with the potential to damage the relationship between the two parties. Photo Credit: Brad Penn...

For the first time in a very long time the Yankees are considered to have one of, if not the, top farm systems in all of baseball. In 2015 we saw a new strategy from the Yankees, who hit the reset button and traded a handful of big name vets for blue-chip prospects. This was a long time coming for the Yankees. It was only a matter of time before their aging core of homegrown talent retired and their hefty free agent signings of the mid-to-late 2000’s went downhill. But rebuilding a Major league farm system is not an easy task. MLB is not equivalent to the NFL, NBA, or even the NHL.  Photo Credit: Tim Holle/Brevard County Manatees

When the Yankees sent then-top prospect Jesus Montero to the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2012 season, they were expecting to receive a top flight starter in return. Michael Pineda, having come off an impressive rookie campaign with the Mariners, appeared to be an ace in the making. Though he went 9-10 in his rookie season, Pineda put up a 3.74 ERA while accumulating 173 strikeouts in 171 innings. Pineda has been anything but an ace since arriving in New York. Lucky for the Yankees, Montero turned out to be a complete bust. With free agency on the horizon for Pineda, 2017 will be a make or break season. We know Pineda has the talent to be a dominant starting pitcher. Most of his problems, however, seem to emanate from mental issues. Barring a Cy Young season, this will likely be Pineda's last ride in pinstripes. Considering the fact that the Yankees are banking on the erratic right hander to help anchor an already shaky rotation, we can only hope Pineda is motivated by his imminen...

In light of the official Hall of Fame announcement, the BBB held a mock Hall of Fame ballot where our team sent in ballots to simulate a real HOF vote. Writers of the BBB were held to the same standards of the BBWAA; they could vote for no more than 10 players, but they did not have to vote for 10. To be elected, players on the ballot needed 75% of the vote, or at least 17 of 22 votes. After the results came in, we surprisingly only elected one member, Trevor Hoffman, with Vladimir Guerrero falling one vote short, and Ivan Rodriguez falling two votes short.