Most popular sports profiling is based on assessing a player’s skill sets. In baseball, that means the so-called 5-tools of hitting for average and power, fielding, arm strength and running speed. Recent developments in sports and human performance have included new elements like brain design and personality assessments in their scouting and player evaluations. But what about […]

TRENTON, N.J – Back in 2010, David Adams’ career was on the fast track. Grabbed by the Yankees in the third round of the 2008 draft out of the University of Virginia, the 6-foot-1, 202-pound second baseman was turning heads. In the field, he played 39 games without an error, helping complete 24 double plays. […]

As everyone knows by now, Michael Pineda will be starting the season on the DL due to right shoulder tendinitis. Though it’s still way too early to come to any final conclusions, this does not bode well for Brian Cashman and his gamble/trade that sent highly rated prospect Jesus Montero to the Mariners. When the […]

Well, Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova just completed their third spring training appearances. Lucky for Nova, his consisted of a four inning, no run, no walk affair, and Pineda has a pretty good outing yesterday, too. Glad they both performed well or each could likely have been banished to the bullpen. Or even worse – Triple-A. Yes, you heard […]

After a great start to the 2012 Spring Training season, the Yankees have run into some hard times. Starting pitchers Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda and Phil Hughes were belted around and, if you believe all the scribes, Michael Pineda “needs to” improve pretty much everything, except his results. We initially heard David Robertson’s foot injury […]

The Yankees began their Grapefruit League action Saturday with a huge win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankee fans were very nice to Cole Hamels, who started for the Phillies. Typical New York fan, fake adulation towards a guy they want to impress. Hey guys, the Yankees are not getting Cole Hamels. He will re-sign […]

The good news out of Mets camp was the 72 or 73 pitch bullpen session by Johan Santana,  where the hurler reported no pain in his surgically repaired shoulder,  and even though he wasn’t asked about it, his formerly surgically repaired elbow, either. Santana was able to replicate a two-inning stint by throwing some pitches, sitting down for […]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Robinson Cano‘s agent is now Scott Boras. Cano actually switched agents during last season from the troika of Bobby Barad, Joe Rosario and Peter Vescovo to the man often referred to as the “Avenging Agent.” I’ve spoken to over two dozen MLB officials and scouts over […]

According to a tweet the other night by Buster Olney, the Philadelphia Phillies attempted to trade pitcher Joe Blanton to the Los Angeles Angels for OF/DH Bobby Abreu, then planned to flip Abreu to the New York Yankees for A.J. Burnett.  My first thought was how much cash would the Phillies have wanted the Yankees […]

The minor-league deal. The non-roster invite to spring training. It’s like one of those phrases you hear in passing and ignore. There are two types of non-roster invitees, as former Dodgers GM Fred Claire pointed out to me the other day. “There’s the promising young player that you would like to take a long look […]

Now that the inevitable (and overdue) trading of Jesus Montero is comfortably in the rear-view mirror, and with spring training on the horizon, it’s a good time to take a look at who may be in line to ascend the throne as the top position player in the Yankees’ farm system. In looking through the […]

In his daily column on February 13th, Mike Silva wrote that trading A.J. Burnett would hurt the Yankees’ pitching depth, especially if the deal was simply a contract dump with no regard to what was received in return. I disagree. To a point. If you look at the Yanks projected 25 man roster, they are at least seven deep […]

It is common knowledge among the electorate the 2012 New Mets aren’t going to be that good. Without a deep starting pitching staff and not even a true ace, Mets GM Sandy Alderson has attempted to follow the lead of the Arizona Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers by building up a solid bullpen to improve their […]

We’re at the time of year now when the various media outlets and fan blogs start releasing their minor league top prospect lists for 2012. Baseball America is clearly the industry standard leader in this venture, popping out their Top 100 lists every year since 1990. (Their number one Number One? Braves left hander Steve Avery). Whether you […]

This is a response to Mike Silva’s piece on Saturday in which he raves about New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, and how if he helped the Giants win Super Bowl 46, could supplant Derek Jeter as New York’s sports darling and “catapult him to the top of New York sports.” This is not a hit […]