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And that was well before Mariano Rivera tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee.

I was talking with Mike this week and saying how this Yankee team was in a situation of seriousness. They have a veteran team, aging superstars and aging bench players. Before Jayson Nix and DeWayne Wise were promoted, guys like Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez were playing every day in the outfield. Two guys that weren’t signed this season to play every day.

This is an aging and expensive team in a young man’s game. And the team is only getting more aged and will be getting more expensive.

So, these Yankees are at that crossroads and there are several reasons for this.

First, is the exhorbitant salaries paid to players whose careers are on the decline. You see the decline already. Alex Rodriguez and especially Mark Teixeira are in their decline phases of their careers, former top of the line talent now slowly sinking down the rope to the floor below. Yes, they will have the occasional big game here and there, but each guy is not the scary run producer they were several years ago. Teams are pitching to them, challenging them and more often than in the past, the pitcher’s are winning those challenges.

Two guys, who play the infield corners for the Yankees, earning a total of $51.5 million this year, are in slow to moderate declines. They are owed a combined $204 million over the next 4/5 years. I bet the Kansas City Royals wouldn’t trade their current infield corners, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer (who had all four RBI in Thursday’s game) for Alex and Teixeira, even if the Yankees paid upfront to the Royals all of Alex and Teixeira’s salaries for balance of their careers.

Second reason is the self-imposed salary cap of $189 million for 2014.

It is this number which the Yankees owners have said they want the team payroll to be in 2014. This number will allow the Yankees to avoid huge luxury tax monies required to be paid to MLB. They could even get a rebate if they remain under that amount for 2015 also.

With the $78 million tied up in Alex, Teixeira, CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter ($8 million player option) for 2014, the Yankees would “only” approximately have $111 million available for 21 other players. And they still have to re-sign Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano to extensions likely to cost $15 million each on an annual basis. Then by 2014, players such as Joba Chamberlain, Brett Gardner, Phil Hughes, David Robertson, Eduardo Nunez and Ivan Nova will all be eligible for arbitration or will try to be be locked up for “below market” multi-year contracts.

That’s a lot of players important to the roster who will be making mucho more cash.

Third, the Yankees will very likely lose Russell Martin and Nick Swisher to free agency after this year. During every long Yankee run of titles, the team has a high quality catcher and right fielder. The Yankees have had such a history at catcher with Wally Schang (an OBP machine), Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Thurman Munson and Jorge Posada. In right field they had Babe Ruth, Bob Muesel, Tommy Henrich, Hank Bauer, Roger Maris, Reggie Jackson and Paul O’Neill.

Both Martin and Swisher will likely command three year deals for $8-12 million per year. That might be too rich even for the 1% Yankees. Two important starters in highly Yankee-fabric positions of catcher and right fielder need to be replaced.

Where wil they turn for these players?

These open spots lead to the fourth reason the Yankees are at a severe crossroads. They have a severe lack of quality position player depth at their higher levels of the system. They have ZERO, repeat ZERO help on the way to fill any open starting position players for at least the next two seasons.

And I hope you aren’t saying to yourself, what about Zoilo Almonte, who impressed the spring training? Well, he wasn’t that good the first time playing at Double A, and it is a stretch to see him seriously contributing at the major league level until at least 2015. Other strong players such as Austin Romine (remember him?), and David Adams, are always hurt, with Romine having chronic back issues. That isn’t good for a major league starting catcher.

Plus, I always thought Romine wasn’t a franchise type to carry a World Series type team.

All the other top position players are three years away, and with the Yankees patient nature, it may be even longer – if the kids like Mason Williams, Tyler Austin and Gary Sanchez even get the opportunity.

Yankee fans are now suffering through injuries, lack of production and, even though the playoffs were expanded, a feeling that they just might not be strong enough to make the postseason, let alone make a run to the World Series. New York fans, in particular most Yankee fans, have what have you done for me now relationship with their players.

Many have written that maybe the Yankees should have traded Gardner before last season when his value was highest; saying his success in 2010 was never going to be improved upon. But now they miss his OBP skills, speed and quality defense on an everyday basis.

After Swisher struggled again last October, almost all Yankee fans wanted to trade Swisher this past off season. But you see how Swisher and Gardner are important to the Yankee lineup. Along with Jeter, they are the only two other Yankee hitters who consistently go the away with pitches, opening up the field and therefore, getting more hits.

Now these same Yankee fans seriously wish both could come back from their injuries quickly.

What the Yankees have done by playing the Ponzi scheme method of long term deals to players who are now aged and much less productive is coming home to roost. Combined with a lack of quality young (and low cost) replacements, the Yankees are stuck.  Dead money for guys, who aren’t producing now, who will continue to decline. And because of their salaries, they would be blocking any young players the organization might develop.

So, what to do?

The Yankees could continue with what they have always done and go with the veteran presence at most positions, eschewing young talent in their system and paying big dollars to players who are getting older, and will decline over time. You know, trying to win now at all costs.

Let’s all admit it right now; the 2009 World Series title was bought with shelling out $400 million to Sabathia, Teixeira and AJ Burnett. It sucks that the rules were changed in the middle of playing the game, and the luxury tax threshold was inserted, but that is the new game MLB is playing.

But the key for any team is to constantly work in young players with established veterans, letting certain veterans go free agent when they have kids ready for the majors. But the Yankees have not produced enough young players or given them a serious chance before pulling them, benching them or having fans ridicule them every time they make a mistake like Nunez.

I say continue with letting David Phelps get starts, Nunez should get more time in the field at all positions and let Phil Hughes continue to start. Even with Mariano out, there isn’t a great need in the bullpen. Let the guys already down there work things out. You have two capable guys at the back end with Robertson and Rafael Soriano, and even though I thought he would not as effective this season, Cory Wade has been prety darn impressive again. This biggest cost factor in baseball is paying for starting pitching and the Yankees really need to find out if Hughes and Phelps can be a better than average starting pitchers.

Hughes has been bumped around on the Joba-train for a few years now and combined with injuries hasn’t really received a full shot at starting. And the way the Yankeees dealt with him in the minor leagues, he hasn’t built up durability. Hughes has made 76 career starts and pitched 7+ innings only 12 times. The Yankees need to find out if they can save free agent type money by letting their pown kids play and produce.

 The only way the Yankees survive is letting their kids play and develop. You know how the other way works now.

As for the current veteran presence, Alex and Tex are now what they are, Jeter seems resurgent and CC will still provide long term benefits. Cano and Granderson are two big issues. Scott Boras will likely want big, big money for Cano, even if Cano struggles for the next two seasons and appears to not be the same player he was in 2010 and 2011. Unless Cano takes a lesser term deal like 4 years, the Yankees have to let him walk. Same with Granderson. Whoever takes the first 4-5 year deal put on the table gets his Yankee money.

Unless of course, the Yankees decide to not hold themselves to the $189 million self-imposed cap, which is a possibility if the fan base starts to whine. But if opnership holds the line on payroll and veterans start leaving, it could be the late 1960s all over again.

Horace Clarke anyone?

No knee injury to any athlete has ever received a reaction like this. It was one thing for the Yankees, their fans and the beat reporters to react emotionally to this injury. This was different. When the sad news was made clear, Twitter was flooded with the exact same sentiment by football writers, national sports media members, Hollywood types, people from the political world and amazingly, even Yankee rivals and haters. That tells you what kind of impact Mariano Rivera has had on the sports world.

This was someone different. This was not just a great athlete but a great man who exuded nothing but class and humility and earned nearly universal respect in a world where respect is often viewed as a thing of the past. This was a man everyone could look up to, aspire to be and who parents could steer their children to as someone they should admire. He was the rarest of commodities in the 2012 sports world: a true role model. He was a man of unmatched personal athletic accomplishments who routinely and honestly downplayed them for his entire career. He chose instead to emphasize faith, family and team, in that order. This was also a man with a legitimate chance to be the first ever unanimous Hall of Fame selection, which is why it’s just so impossible to believe that his epic journey could end by being carried off the field on a random Thursday night in Kansas City via a modified John Deere tractor. It’s simply not right.

It’s not about the 2012 Yankees right now. The season may or may not be over. David Robertson has been the best relief pitcher in baseball since the start of 2011. He was a closer in college and has been groomed for this opportunity for years; even if it may be happening sooner than anyone thought possible. The Yankees could simply wait for Andy Pettitte to return and move Phil Hughes to the bullpen to fill Robertson’s former role- a role he was tremendous in back in 2009- and be fine. They even have an outside chance of getting Joba Chamberlain back for the stretch run. Tonight, none of that matters because the heart of this team has been torn from their chest, like that famous scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. No matter what happens their security blanket is gone.

The hurt is far greater than the injury. This is different because of the overwhelming irony of the situation. By losing their most humble man the Yankees have lost their swagger.

Until next time, I’m Russ and this is the Cress Corner.

Of course, its early as we have seen many teams look like champs in April; even the Orioles. Back in 2005 the O’s had a 4-game lead in the division on June 10th. Former Mets star and Yankees coach Lee Mazzilli was in his second year managing the team. He wouldn’t make it till the end of the season as Sam Perlozzo took over the reins for the final 56 games. The Orioles struggled the last two weeks in June and went 8-18 in July. First place was a distant memory by September and they would finish 74-88, 21 games behind the Yankees.

The Pirates futility has been well documented. Since Francisco Cabrera‘s hit sent Sid Bream running home and the Braves to the ’92 World Series, the Buccos haven’t finished at .500. The economics of baseball have hit the city of Pittsburgh hard, so it’s partially understandable they have been so bad for so long. Quietly, Baltimore has not had a winning season since 1997. That was the year Tony Fernandez homered off Armando Benitez  in Game 6 of the ALCS in Camden Yards. The Indians surprised an Orioles team that appeared to have a great chance of winning the World Series.

A year earlier they had lost to the Yankees in the ALCS. That ’97 AL  East title made the O’s the last  team to finish ahead of the Yanks until Boston did so a decade later in 2007. The Yankees and Red Sox are the big baseball rivalry for years, but it was the Orioles that were the Yankees chief competitors when Joe Torre took over in 1996.

Remember the big early season series at Camden Yards when Tino Martinez finally broke out of his slump? Remember the furious run the Yanks made in the second half of ’97 to fall just short of the Orioles? Remember the ALCS battle in ’96 that finished in 5 games, but was much closer than that? There was Jeffrey Maier, George Steinbrenner vs. Peter Angelos, and who could forget the vicious brawl between the two teams in 1998?

Since then its been awful free agent signings, penny pinching and tons of meddling by Peter Angelos. He is so difficult to work for that an up-and-coming executive bailed out of the interview process after learning of the lack of autonomy he would have. Despite that, this Orioles team has some interesting storylines that could make them an even more interesting rival this year than the Red Sox.

First there is Peter Angelos, who is every bit as meddlesome as a young George Steinbrenner, but without the desire to spend like him. Angelos hates the Yankees with a deep passion. He dislikes them so much he has refused to allow his general managers to make any deals. That why players such as Ty Wigginton and Mike Gonzalez, who would have fit so well into the Yankees roster the last few years, were shipped to other destinations at the deadline. Silly, but that is how Angelos’ works.

Buck Showalter is the field general who was fired a year too early by the Yankees. Many still wonder if Showalter would be revered in New York today if he piloted those late nineties Yankees. Many forget it was under his leadership the Yanks went from a joke to a force in the American League. Showalter has a solid managerial record, but the knock on him is he cleans up messes and hands them over to someone who can get the team over-the-top. It happened in New York, Arizona, and to a lesser extent,  Texas. Now he has a chance to not only turnaround a team, but does it against the organization where he cut his teeth.

The roster is the antithesis of the Yankees as it’s full of young players that finally have come into their own and scrapheap veterans. Matt Weiters, Chris Davis, Adam Jones and Nolan Reimold are leading the way offensively. Former Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson was named the Director of Pitching Development this past offseason so it should be no surprise that Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz are finally pitching to their potential.

The real key is whether veterans like Jason Hammel, J.J. Hardy, Robert Andino, Jim Johnson and Luis Ayala can continue to play key contributions. Can the pitching staff that currently leads the American League in ERA keep this pace into the dog days of summer?

Since the ’97 division title the Orioles are 80-164 against the Yankees. We laugh at home the Yanks have turned the Minnesota Twins into the Washington Generals, but the Orioles are probably a better example. It’s ironic they are just outside DC since their recent baseball plight resembles the Washington Senators in the musical “Damn Yankees.” Ironically, the Orioles new General Manager, Dan Duquette, starred in an off-Broadway edition of that musical.

We saw this story line in Baltimore back in 2005 and they turned out to be pretenders. Personally, I am tired of Yankees-Red Sox, so I welcome any change. The Rays are a nice story but their roster lacks the color to be a real rivalry with the Yankees. It’s surprising since the Steinbrenners made Tampa their adopted home, so the Rays are actually the second team in a city they don’t even share. The ballpark is also drab and empty, so half the games take on the feel of an exhibition. Toronto has similar problems as they would be an interesting rival if people actually showed up to watch the Jays. Right now they are in the bottom third of the league and averaging only 24,000 a game.

This is why the Orioles are the most likely to challenge the Sox as the Yankees chief rival. They play in a ballpark that is still beautiful 20 years after it opened. It’s been a shame that summer games at Camden Yards resemble Yankee Stadium South when they are in town. I actually think Camden has more charm than the House that Randy Levine built in the Bronx. It could be a great home field advantage for the O’s. Unlike Tampa and Toronto, the fans of Baltimore will show up in droves if this team is for real.

The Orioles have the owner, manager, young players and stadium to make this work. They were swept by the Yankees the first week of the season, but unlike prior years you could see they were more competitive. If not for some errors it was possible they could have taken 2 of 3. That is exactly what happened this past week at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles finally won a series at the Stadium, a place they had won only 7 times in their last 30 tries going into last night. Make it 8 for 31 after the 5-0 victory. Even more surprising was they achieved this against the unbeatable Ivan Nova, who was aiming for his 15th straight victory.

I don’t want to say the Orioles are back, but it sure would be fun if they were.

The 24-year-old , a native of Las Vegas drafted in the 27^th round in 2009, is not mentioned with the likes of Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez or J.R. Murphy.

Yet, when Andy Pettitte’s comeback journey took him to Trenton April 25, Farnham, who has played in nine games with the Double-A Thunder, batting .176 (6-for-34) had the good fortune to catch the once and future Yankees rotation stalwart.

“Well,’’ said Trenton manager Tony Franklin with a grin, “Jeff was the only healthy catcher we had that night.’’

True, major-league veteran Gustavo Molina and the quite capable Jose Gil, who likely will be a big-league backup for some team in a few years, were hurt.  Farnham, however, was quite familiar with Pettitte.

When Andy came back and reported to spring training, Farnham was the catcher often assigned to him.

“We did a lot of work together in spring training,’ said Farnham.  “It was a blast catching Andy. He still can hit his spots. He’ll get back to the Yankees, he just has get used to it all again.

“This kind of puts me in the spotlight,’’ said Farnham, who was an offensive star at New Mexico State before being drafted and signed by the Yankees. “I’m usually in the background with all the guys we have catching.’’

Farnham, 6-foor-1, 190, has played in 113 minor-league games. His best stretch came with Charleston in 2009, when he batted .323 (20-for-62) in 20 games. He hasn’t hit nearly as well since, with an average of .239 (86-for-360) in his career.

He jumped from Class-A Charleston to Double-A Trenton to start 2012 and hasn’t played at Class-A Advanced Tampa.  We’ll see where his career goes from here.

Pettitte will make at least one more start with a Yankees affiliate. It could be Saturday in Trenton, and Farnham could be catching his spring-training partner once again.

***

JACKSON’S PLAY NOT A SURPRISE: Former Trenton star outfielder Austin Jackson, who went to Detroit prior to the 2010 season in the Curtis Granderson trade. Last Sunday, he almost robbed Granderson of a home run with a leap to the top of the right-center field wall in Yankee Stadium.

This defensive effort came as no surprise to those who know Jackson – his ninth-inning over-the-shoulder grab June 2, 2010, to prolong Armando Galarraga’s near-perfect game (Jim Joyce episode)  notwithstanding.

Jackson, who still needs to cut down his strikeouts, made a habit of such efforts in 2008 with the Trenton Thunder, robbing several opponents of home runs with leaping, at-the-wall catches, including two in the same game in the Eastern League finals vs. the Akron Aeros.

“He was a major-league outfielder then,’’ said Thunder skipper Franklin.

Over the years, the Yankees have traded many prospects such as Jackson, but it must be stated the present GM, Brian Cashman, does not trade blue-chip prospects to simply trade them for veterans. He trades them to strengthen the Yankees. Granderson certainly has done that.

And the Michael Pineda injury was unfortunate, but he’ll recover and pitch for the Yankees.  Jesus  Montero and Hector Noesi went to Seattle.  Right-hander Jose Campos, who came in return, will prove to be a keeper as well.

AROUND THE YANKEES SYSTEM

Empire State Yankees – Triple-A (13-10) – Obviously they are not prospects, but IF Steve Pearce, batting .380 (30-for-79) and OF Dewayne Wise, at .368 (25-68) are the top offensive operatives on this road show. The top offensive prospect is IF-OF Brandon Laird, who is batting .253 (20-for-79) with 12 RBIs. Righty Adam Warren (2-1, 5.26) needs to stop alternating good starts with bad starts. Reliever Chase Whitley (3-1, 1.98) has 11-3 strikeout/walk ratio in seven appearances. By the way, Triple-A rosters have less prospects than any other level of the minors. It has become a storehouse.  Many players skip the level altogether

Trenton Thunder – Double-A (11-12) . IF Yadil Mujica, a Cuban defector, is batting .500 (11-for-22) in seven games since joining the Thunder, earning an Eastern League Player of the Week honor.  IF-OF Ronnier Musteiler, another Cuban addition, is batting .341 (31-for-91) with 15 RBIs. Righty Brett Marshall (3-1, 3.81) has had three successive quality starts.

Tampa Yankees – Single-A Advanced (12-13) –  The story here is RHP Nik Turley, who is 2-0, 2.01 and, at 6-foot-6, 230, has been a dominating presence in the Florida State League. His fastball can sit in the low 90s at times and his control is rated the best In the system. Look for him in Trenton in mid-season.  Offensively,  Teaneck native Rob Segedin is batting .313 (30-for-96) with 14 RBIs overall and .342 (13-for-38) in his last 10 games.

Charleston RiverDogs –  Single-A (16-7) – This star-studded cast hit its first speed-bump vs. a talented Hickory (Texas) team, but  OF Tyler Austin drove in seven runs in a 14-9 RiverDogs win in the shadow of Grandfather Mountain in Central North Carolina. Austin is batting .357 (30-for-84) and is leading the South Atlantic League in homers with nine and is third in RBIs with 25. C Gary Sanchez checks in at .346 (27-for-78). Jose Campos had his first rocky start of the season at Hickory, but is 3-0, 4.01 with a 26-8 strikeout-walk ratio.

Houston has never been kind to them throughout their history. As Gary Cohen mentioned during last night’s game, the Mets have a losing record all-time in the three parks the Astros/Colt 45′s have called home: Colt Stadium, the Astrodome and Eron/Minute Maid Field.

There have, however, been some unique memories during Houston visits in team history.

Who could forget how four Mets were arrested here, including current SNY broadcaster Ron Darling, during the ’86 season? They would win the pennant in the Astrodome during that wild 16-inning Game 6. There was also Edgardo Alfonzo’s 6-hit performance in 1999 and the 17-inning marathon in 2007 that saw Carlos Beltran make a great catch on Tal’s Hill in center. Beltran would drive in the winning runs in a 6-3 Mets victory.

Courtesy of Bob Levey Photography

In case you forgot, here is a grainy home video of it.

***

Minute Maid/Eron has always been one of the quirkiest stadiums around with its short left field porch know as the Crawford Boxes. The distance from home plate is only 315 feet and there is the 19-foot wall.

A far cry from the spacious Astrodome.

Here is also a video about the opening of the old Astrodome. Do you know who the first Astros opponent was? The Yankees. Although the Mets are saying goodbye to yearly trips to Houston, their cross-town rivals will now be visiting Minute Maid Park once a season starting in 2013.  I guess you could say it’s the end of an era on one hand and the beginning of one on another.

***

In case you are wondering, the Astrodome is still around, but there has been a battle over what to do with the structure. The cost of demolition has been to prohibitive to the City, so a

Houston architect Imad Abdullah presented a recent plan to save the Astrodome by redesigning it into a smaller building, lowering the dome 75 feet using the same techniques when it was built 47-years ago.

Over the 12 years since the Astros left the Dome has fallen into disrepair and is no longer meeting code. The Dallas News wrote this piece in 2010 about the issues with the old building and the politics behind it.

***

Do you have any Houston memories of the Mets playing in Colt Stadium, the Dome or the recent corporate sponsored ballpark?

***

Run expectancy on the scoreboard at Minute Maid Park tonight.

— Mike Fast (@fastballs) May 2, 2012

The sabermetricians in the audience would probably be happy to know the Astros put the statistic “Run Expectancy” (RE) on the scoreboard last night. This was reported on Twitter by Mike Fast, former Baseball Prospectus writer and now Astros statistical analyst.

Run Expectancy estimates how many runs an average team is likely to score in a given base-out situation. I doubt anymore than 1% of the fans at the game knew what is, cared or could have calculated the formula.

There have been some great advances from the sabermetric community over the years. Some have interested me and I have found useful, but none involve predicting runs or wins; I just don’t see any practical use for it. I doubt the fans at Minute Maid Park have for the most part, either. That was more “fun with numbers” for the Astros front office.

Unless, of course, this is a stat they use for their fantasy baseball team.

Sigh… I just don’t get the obsession with shoving this stuff down fans throats. It’s just not mainstream enough for the average fan to care. It also doesn’t enhance any enjoyment or understanding of the game on the field. Baseball is about the experience at the ballpark, not watching some linear weights on a scoreboard.

When Jim Crane purchased the team, one of his goals was to put together a more modern front office. He hired Jeff Luhnow from the Cardinals to head up one of the most sabermetric-enforced front offices in all of baseball. It appears with the addition of RE to the scoreboard they are pushing the ideology to the mainstream.

*As opposed to the “roles” of 9^th inning guy (Rivera), the 8^th inning guy (Robertson), the 7^th inning guy (Soriano), the 6^th inning guy (Wade/Logan), the LOOGY (Rapada), and multi-inning guy (Logan/Wade).

In a related transaction, Triple-A starting pitcher D.J. Mitchell, who many feel could be a good, multi-inning reliever, has been promoted. Cody Eppley, who has thrown well since he was recalled last week, was sent down to make room for Mitchell. Since Eppley threw 3 innings Saturday, he was likely not available Sunday or Monday, and Phelps also not likely available due to his three inning stint Saturday, the Yankees felt that Mitchell was needed for depth.

They still have 13 pitchers on their 25 man roster. That is at least one too many.

With Cory Wade and now Garcia in the bullpen, why the need for Mitchell right now? Did Girardi expect CC Sabathia to get knocked around early in the game on Sunday?

The bringing up of Mitchell told me that he will not be the starting pitcher the next Thursday (Garcia’s next scheduled start). And after the game Sunday we finally heard Phelps will indeed start in Garcia’s stead. I still don’t get Girardi and his ultra secret thoughts about who might or might not be playing/pitching/sent down.

Hey Joe, everyone knows Garcia has really been bad, and that Phelps (and Mitchell/Warren) would be better options. Unlike the delay in naming Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova starting pitchers this season instead of sleeping on things, YOU SHOULD MAKE THE OBVIOUS CALLS RIGHT AWAY.

Then young pitchers might not overthrow the ball to impress and end up missing an entire season.

However, naming Phelps the starter is a great move. Phelps GETTING a role in the Yankees starting rotation is long overdue. But he should not be just a one and done solution to keep the spot warm for Andy Pettitte.

I say getting because the way the Yankees have developed their own starting pitching (not good) compared to ways most other successful teams develop starting pitching (pretty good) is completely different.

The Yankees force their young pitchers to pitch well in the minor leagues, and then pitch extremely well in spring training to “earn” your spot. After you “earn” your spot, then a Yankee pitching prospect needs to pitch like an ace right off the bat to keep that rotation spot. Then that kid has to pitch well again the NEXT spring training to keep that spot.

What other team (besides the Yank-Mees) in their right mind would force a 16 game winner in the prior season to have to EARN a spot in the rotation for the next season the way the Yankees made Ivan Nova do this spring training? There was serious talk in late March of Nova being sent to minor leagues after his sub-par spring training. The minor leagues! Ship out a kid who won 16 games last year, with an ERA well below 4.00? Are you kidding me?

And all that might not even get you a sniff of the major leagues, since the Yankees are always seeking to “improve” their rotation each year with the biggest name free agent available.

Teams like the Tampa Bay Rays develop their pitchers. Each of their current starting pitchers were brought up in the middle (or end) of their first major league season to start games when the Rays needed them.  Then that guy was inserted into the starting rotation for the next season, and in several instances veteran starters were traded away to allow these kids that opportunity. Guys like Matt Garza, Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel were shipped out to allow new starters an opportunity.

And please don;t hand me that garbage of the Yankees having enough money to be able to buy starting pitching? They bought AJ Burnett, right? How did that work out? For every CC Sabathias which works out, there are many more pitchers who do not.

Like Tampa, the same concept of developing starting pitching has been done in San Francisco and Texas – with tremendous success.

So after a career minor league record of 38-15, 2.61 ERA, Phelps has now been granted an opportunity to start a major league baseball game, AFTER he had to “earn” that spot this spring training to even get on the major league roster. I have written about Phelps many times before, most recently here but now people are finally realizing this kid is pretty good.

He throws strikes with four pitches, moves the ball nicely around the zone and can blow the ball by hitters when he needs to.

However, despite his four quality appearances out of the bullpen, he also had two outings where he allowed three earned runs in each. It was in these two games which Phelps has given up three of his four home runs allowed. In fact, five of his seven runs allowed have been caused by the four long balls.

I am sure those home runs really destroyed his xFIP.

It is these two outings which has many in the blogosphere very nervous. Let me break down these two appearances.

In the Boston game on April 21^st,  Phelps allowed six hits, three ERs while walking one in four innings. His ERA for that game (6.75) is less than Phil Hughes ERA of 7.88 this season and well below Garcia’s. This game saw Phelps give up a bunch of ground ball singles, a double and a two-run home run to Cody Ross, who he had whiffed in a prior at bat. He also retired Adrian Gonzalez twice including getting him to hit into a double play.

I guess Phelps was just lucky on that grounder.

Anyway, he was ahead of most of the hitters that game as he was in the Texas game.

But in the Texas game, Phelps allowed two solo home runs, three walks (2 IBB) in 2.1 innings. He threw good pitches which were hit out, a 1-1 up and in fastball to Mitch Moreland, and a 0-2 low and away fastball to Mike Napoli. Both pitches weren’t exactly where they were supposed to be, but weren’t great fat pitches to hit either. I actually thought he should have bounced a curve ball to Napoli 0-2 after getting ahead on two straight fastballs.

There are times when a pitcher can make the most perfect pitch (and up and in and low and away fastballs are two great pitches), but if a hitter is looking for a particular pitch they can still hit it very hard. That is why it is imperative to get ahead (which Phelps consistently does), forcing most hitters to expand the strike zone.

I am not making excuses for Phelps, but despite two “bad” outings, he didn’t pitch as bad as the numbers suggest.

I saw Phelps throw in his last outing. He moved the ball in and out; throwing the ball very well against a pretty good lineup. Just ask Garcia about the quality of the lineup, he’ll agree. Phelps jammed Miguel Cabrera with an inside fastball on the black and had Prince Fielder out in front on an outside corner curveball, which induced the slugger to bounce into a double play.  After getting behind Brennan Boesch 3-0, Phelps threw a nasty 3-1 changeup to get a swing and a miss. Phelps also set up Austin Jackson like he was a little leaguer, striking AJax out on three pitches, finishing him off with a high fastball which Jackson swung through.

It is not practical for the Yankees to not have another young arm in the rotation. Most successful teams continue to produce solid starting pitching, many of whom are not even first round pick. And if the Yankees feel they will sign Cole Hamels or Zack Greinke next year for contracts well over $100 million (the way Hamels is throwing, he might command near $200 million), then they are nuts. As a west coast guy, if Hamels did become a free agent, he will never sign with the Yankees. And after the crap Michael Pineda endured this spring training, Greinke will take his anxiety and depresson history and run far away from the Bronx.

Who else is a possible free agent? A Joe Blanton, Kyle Lohse or Brandon McCarthy? Please.

And what type of Mat Latos or Gio Gonzalez deal are you going to swing now since your biggest trade chip, Jesus Montero, was shipped out to Seattle?

There is a strong chance Hiroki Kuroda and/or Andy Pettitte will not be around next season due to cost (Kuroda) and effectiveness (Pettitte). And will Phil Hughes begin to fulfill all his promise as a starting pitcher and become a fixture in the Yankee rotation?

The best situation for the Yankees is to develop and use another pitcher from their system in their starting rotation. And that doesn’t include a rehash of the 40 year old Andy Pettitte. Ivan Nova has proven he belongs, and it is time for the Yankees to allow Phelps a similar opportunity. He has been their best minor league starting pitcher since he has entered their system.

If the choice is between a 25 year old David Phelps with a four pitch arsenal to both sides of the plate or a 40 year old Andy Pettitte who can barely break 86 MPH, and from what I have seen and heard now throws many his pitches over the middle of the plate, the choice is very easy.

Phelps has shown he can get out many of the game’s best hitters, and has the composure, confidence and repertoire to succeed at this level. There is no reason why he shouldn’t be GIVEN the balance of starts this season.

David Phelps needs to not be a short term stop gap and become part of the long term solution.

There is also a new lineup on the station. I don’t know if it’s possible for Terry Collins or Joe Girardi to shakeup their lineup as often as ESPN Radio has done during its tenure on the New York airwaves. It seems there is a new “plan” every six months with the latest revolving around Stephen A. Smith.

In addition to getting more face time on television, the suits moved Smith to the 1-3 pm time slot and paired him with Ryan Ruocco. Under the new configuration, “The Mike Lupica Show,” moves to a noon start time, while “The Michael Kay Show,” will continue to air from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. weekdays. ESPN continues a “tag team” approach in competing with Mike Francesa in the afternoon.

We won’t even get into the ratings game, as WFAN routinely destroys WEPN thanks to their two mainstay programs: Boomer & Carton in the morning and the aforementioned Francesa.

But could this change with the new move to 98.7 FM? Doubtful as Smith has very little credibility with the knowledgeable New York sports fan. His rantings and gasbag antics are phony and transparent. I will actual say that Smith might be the only radio personality that can make Craig Carton a likeable figure. For as phony a non-sports fan Carton is, I will take him over Smith’s fake outrage and race bait tactics.

Will we be able to hear this new lineup? We all know that one of the biggest issues with ESPN has been its signal. On 1050, it was difficult for many in the five boroughs to get a clear signal, much less those outside the city in Long Island and New Jersey. The move to FM should alleviate that problem*but is it enough to lure the real prize, which is the radio rights to the New York Yankees?

*I still experienced static when trying to listen to the Knicks last night. I live on Long Island in the Smithtown area. I traveled about 15 minutes east to test it and the signal had even more static. I did hear, however, the signal very clearly while traveling through New York City. It’s an improvement, I guess. If suburban fans can let me know their experience  I would appreciate it.

Right now, ESPN has the rights to the Jets, Nets and Devils. The Nets and Devils are irrelevant and the controversial Rex Ryan and popular Tim Tebow isn’t enough to force sports fans to turn the dial. Baseball still is king in this town and WFAN has both New York managers, access to its stars and a caller-driven format that lends itself to 24/7/365 baseball talk. The Super Bowl champion Giants are also on WFAN and have made a power play by taking Eli Manning off his weekly spot on the Michael Kay show. ESPN now has to hope the Knicks continue to stay relevant and Rex Ryan sticks his foot in his mouth. Still, it won’t be enough. They need a game changer.

If ESPN were to lure the Yankees at the end of this season it would be a huge blow to WFAN. You basically would be setting up a scenario where fans would only be able to get full coverage of the Bombers on ESPN. You can forget Girardi, Cashman or any Yankees star making appearances on WFAN. Forget those Mike Francesa remotes from Yankee Stadium. With Francesa’s contract up in 2014, you have to wonder the future of his show simulcasted on YES. Do you think Bristol will want a competitor simulcasted on their prized team’s network? I could see Kay’s ESPN show sliding right in as a preamble to Yankees baseball.

Right now. this is all fun speculation as Bob Raissman of the Daily News reported on Sunday the Yankees will probably re-up with WCBS to remain on 880. Ultimately the move to FM will not be the deciding factor, but how much money is anted up for the radio rights.

I think ESPN and the suits in Bristol have to make a serious run at the Yankees. I heard some rumblings last week there is huge concern about ESPN losing the Knicks and the Rangers. If they do, obtaining the Islanders, Devils or soon to be Brooklyn Nets is a huge downgrade. There has always been industry rumblings that WFAN will eventually purchase its own FM signal. Such a move would alleviate any issues handling the Mets, Knicks and Rangers. They already did it for years without an FM station, so I don’t see an issue. It’s kind of odd not having the two MSG teams on the FAN.

The Yankees might be the last hope for the station to have any relevance. They aren’t going to compete in a sports talk format. For as flawed as Boomer & Carton and Francesa shows are, they have the most important 13.5 hours of radio locked up. Even if Esiason eventually gets smart and leaves his combustible co-host, I can’t see Mike & Mike competing with their national and commercial driven product. Even Carton’s cockroach act is better than listening to four hours of Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic do a few minutes of radio wrapped around endless commercials.

The other factor is the emergence of technology in vehicles that allows fans to listen to the internet and podcasts. The music format has taken a huge hit (see Pandora), and it’s only a matter of time until sports talk goes the same way. You need live sporting events to be a relevant and profitable station. The rest is window dressing.

Having the Yankees would change the game for ESPN. I don’t have to tell you about the Bombers immense popularity. ESPN would corner the market on Yankees guests and breaking news related to the team. Only the YES Network would have more access. Sure, Joe from Manalapan can call Francesa to vent about Joe Girardi’s bullpen management, but he won’t hear the General give his rationale unless he turns on 98.7 FM.

You basically would have the radio version of a turf war. WFAN would be all Mets all the time. ESPN would be all Yankees all the time. Even an improved Mets team doesn’t have the worldwide brand recognition of the Yankees. It would be the first clear victory by ESPN in their history against the New York sports radio giant.

Despite what sources are telling Raissman, do you think ESPN spent $100 million dollars for an FM signal so they can just carry the Knicks and Rangers? They didn’t become the “World Wide Sports Leader” by settling for second best.

If they do obtain the Bombers it would be a huge revenue hit to CBS and a punch to the gut for WFAN ratings.

This is probably the only move that could make ESPN relevant in this town. It’s certainly not going to be a gasbag like Stephen A. Smith.

***

Concerned about John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman becoming extinct if ESPN obtains the radio rights to the Yankees? Raissman also cites a source that said “Ma & Pa Pinstripe” won’t be going anywhere, even if ESPN holds the Yankees rights.

“At the end of the day,” the source told Raissman, “people listen to the games because they want to listen to the Yankees. Media guys rip John. (The Yankee hierarchy) don’t care. You don’t love him, but they know their fans do.”

Do they? I get the sense that Yankees fans have tired of the act. Outsiders think the duo’s shtick is cute, but I get tons of complaints from pinstriped denizens.

Personally, I think there is a charm to Ma & Pa that makes them a good listen, but I could see how inaccurate calls and silly banter could wear a listener out.

Let’s take a quick temperature here on the site. Would you like to see John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman be replaced? Are the Yankees suits correct in standing by their flawed radio duo?

Former big leaguer Frank Catalanotto will kick off the show. Frank recently published a book called “Heart and Hustle: An Unlikely Journey from Little Leaguer to Big Leaguer.“

I will talk about the homegrown Mets and their surprising April start.

MLB.com contributor Jed Weisberger gives his take on the state of Andy Pettitte‘s comeback, the Yankees rotation and whether Michael Pineda was damaged goods when he arrived from Seattle.

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Skowron’s path to the big leagues started with him playing football in high school. He attended a Catholic school in Chicago that only participated in football and basketball. Skowron was interested in attending Notre Dame, but head football coach Frank Leahy wanted him to spend his time solely on the gridiron. He eventually would go to Purdue and play for the legendary Hank Stram who coached him in both football and baseball. He was actually drafted by the Cleveland Browns as a placekicker, but professional baseball clubs became interested in Skowron after he won the Big Ten batting title.”The Yankees offered me the best deal…I signed up with them in 1950 and they sent me to Puerto Rico to play winter ball, and who was my manager? It was Rogers Hornsby.”

Moose would make his debut with the Yankees in 1954. Over a ten year period, Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement values only three first basemen more than Skowron: Orlando Cepeda, Roy Sievers and Joe Adcock.  Those numbers might have been even better if he didn’t spend his first four seasons platooning with Joe Collins. He would go on to appear in five All-Star Games during his tenure in New York.

Playing for the Yankees had the perk of being in the World Series nearly every year. Moose took advantage of that stage hitting 8 home runs and driving in 29 runs throughout his Series appearances. He hit a grand slam in Game 7 against the Dodgers in 1956, and his 3-run homer in the 8th inning broke open Game 7 of the ’58 Series giving the Yankees their sixth and final championship of the decade. In total he appeared in 7 World Series and was on the winning side 5 times. Although the Pirates and Braves defeated them during that time, it was the Giants in ’62 that Skowron believes was the best team the Yankees played during that era. That was the Series that ended when Willie McCovey smoked a line drive that Bobby Richardson caught for the final out in Game 7. If that made it through it would have been San Francisco that won the championship.

Skowron was traded to the Dodgers after the 1962 season for Stan Williams. The Yankees had to make room this hot first base prospect named Joe Pepitone. He would play five more years that included stints with the White Sox, Angels and Washington Senators. Although he won a World Series (against the Yankees) with LA in ‘63 and appeared in another All-Star Game with the White Sox in ’65, Moose never stopped bleeding Yankees pinstripes. “They (Dodgers) didn’t treat me too good. I sold my World Series ring, I sold my uniform. I didn’t want that stuff… The Yankees were always good to me…I was a Yankee. ”

Moose was involved with baseball up until his passing on Friday. He worked for the White Sox in community relations and came back to New York each year for Old Timers’ Day. He loved giving advice and interacting with the modern players since one of his biggest baseball lessons came on an Old Timers’ Day early in his career when Wally Pipp  shared the story about how Lou Gehrig took his job. From that day forward Skowron vowed to never to take a day off when his name was in the lineup, regardless of how he felt. After all, he reminded me how talented the Yankees were at the position during his tenure with bonus babies like Frank Leja, Marv Throneberry and the aforementioned Pepitone vying for his spot. He could never relax no matter how well he performed.

When you think of the Yankees from the 50s and early 60s you remember Mantle, Maris, Ford and Berra. Maybe Moose Skowron isn’t the first name that comes to mind, but he certainly played a key role in that Yankees dynasty.

If you like to hear an interview I conducted with Moose Skowron back in 2010 you can download the replay here.