Pujols

I cannot believe the Cardinals let Pujols walk away without an equal or greater offer than what the Angels offered. I know 257 million over 10 years is a lot but just think about how much money he'll make for your team. Not to mention he's the greatest first baseman to ever play the game.

Well now that the Angels have Pujols and CJ Wilson, they have the bat they needed and now have arguably the best rotation in all of baseball, even rivaling the Phillies' rotation.

Miami Marlins

I wanted to side track today just a little to talk about the big splash the Miami Marlins are making. Watching baseball my whole life, it's hard to see the Marlins throwing such money around. But it's definitely good for baseball. Usually they developed prospects and traded them away when they became huge and didn't want to pay for a big contract. Now it looks like they could potential have an infield of Albert Pujols, Omar Infante, Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez. If they add a pitcher to go along with Josh Johnson and their new closer Heath Bell, watch out.

MO

Mariano Rivera has recently hinted at a possible retirement after this upcoming season citing health concerns. We learned he needs to get surgery to remove polyps on his vocal chords. Our prayers go out to Mo..

Trade Rumors

There is a huge rumor going around that the Yankees and Braves will engage in a huge blockbuster deal. The trade would seemingly be centered around the Yankees' Edwardo Nunez and Braves' Jair Jurrjens. Being a Yankees fan, I'd love this deal if it went down but that's just my opinion..

League Predictions

I predict Albert Pujols will end up back with the Cardinals. Jose Reyes and Mark Buerhle will go to the Miami Marlins. The Red Sox will sign David Ortiz and Heath Bell. The Yankees will sign Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes. Roy Oswalt, Jorge Posada, and Eric Chavez will all retire.

Take Your Pick

It looks like the Yankees will have to fill in that last rotation spot. But who will it be filled by? CJ Wilson, Yu Darvish, Mark Buerhle, Roy Oswalt, or maybe even Tim Lincecum? Personally I'm not in favor of paying a hefty posting fee for Darvish. Buerhle would be a good one to two year option if obtained for a reasonable price. Oswalt is 34, has back problems, and would probably be asking too much. I'm unsure about CJ Wilson after watching him this post season. I'd take a trade for Tim Lincecum. Yes, it would probably take a lot of prospects to pull that deal off. But, to get Lincecum for a bunch of unproven prospects (who we can always buy as free agents in the future) would be a steal. It probably won't happen but it doesn't hurt to dream.

World Series

I just wanted to comment on the Cardinals winning this season's World Series. Their win in game 6 was one of the best games I have ever seen in my life. Coming from behind to win the wild card was amazing, let alone win that game 6 and take the championship. Hats off to St. Louis. Hopefully the Yankees big bats were taking close notes of how to hit in the clutch...

CC Sabathia

CC has mentioned how much he likes pitching in NY and Cashman has said that the Yankees will do everything they can to keep him.  However the word is that lately the sides have slowly been drifting apart. CC of course has up until 3 days after the completion of the WS to opt out of his current deal. Part of me can't help but recall last offseason and how the Yankees were in a stalemate with Derek Jeter, the ultimate Yankee. Now CC is great but he is not the Yankee that Jeter is.  I do not think CC returning to the Yankees is a slam dunk whatsoever...

ALCS & Offseason

So the Rangers wrap up the AlCS title in 6 games, as the Tiger bats never fully showed up. I honestly think the Yankees would have put up a better fight against the Rangers but that's just my opinion. Bottom line is we need pitching. Colon and Garcia probably won't come back. And rumor has it, the Rangers will make a big offer to CC. Assuming we resign him once he opts out, we will have one rotation spot to fill. We can go after CJ Wilson, or another free agent. Or we can possibly look to some of our arms in the farm system such as Betances, Banuelos, Brackman, Whelan, Warren or Phelps. All of these youngsters have promising futures but will they develop? If so, how will they fit? Will we look to trade Montero for a front line starter? Or will he stay and start behind the plate? Or will we bring back Martin? The main focus is our rotation, but some interesting questions remain to be answered.

Bitter End

Well, I am heart broken with our loss to the Tigers in the ALDS.  Like I said, in order to make a run, we would need to have our bats. Obviously we didn't.  Cano and Posada were our main producers and barely anyone else contributed. Unfortunately, our offseason begins earlier than I had hoped.  The big headlines heading in will be resigning Cashman, Swisher's option, and CC Sabathia opting out.  Regardless of whether CC opts out and/or we have to give him a new deal, I believe he will be back next season. It is almost a slam dunk that they will resign Cashman. I'm not entirely sure they will pick up Swisher's option though. This all remains to be seen...

Predictions

After watching the first weekend of the playoffs, my predictions are in.  The Yankees will face the Rangers in the ALCS.  The Brewers will face the Phillies in the NLCS.  Ultimately the Yankees will rematch the Phillies in the World Series and once again take them down in 6 games.  I know, not too bold but I really like what I see from the Yankees.  It really is a tough call between the Phillies and the Brewers but it's hard to go against choosing the Phillies stellar rotation. However I just have a special feeling about the Yankees being able to get to Lee, Halladay and crew.

Season Finale

Tomorrow is the last day of the regular season.  In my years of watching baseball, I can't recall too many season-endings as interesting as this year's.  Both the Red Sox and Rays are tied for the AL Wild Card, while the Braves and the Cardinals are tied for the NL Wild Card.  This has the potential to result in single game elimination games to play into the playoffs. This also has the potential to complete the biggest collapse in MLB history, thanks to the Red Sox.  Also, the Cardinals have been as much as 9 1/2 games out of the Wild Card this season, so just the fact that they came back to share the lead with Atlanta is remarkable.  There is a good deal of suspense leading into tomorrow to say the absolute least...

Pennant Race

As the season comes to a close, the Yankees begin a series with the Rays who are trying to take advantage of an epic Red Sox collapse and win the Wild Card.  As a Yankee fan, do you necessarily want the Yankees to lose to the Rays allowing them the chance to make the playoffs over the Red Sox?  I know the hatred for the Red Sox would have most Yankees fans saying yes, as I would definitely love to see the Red Sox have the biggest September collapse in MLB history. However, if the Red Sox were to advance, they would barely be stumbling into the playoffs. With their rotation in flux, it would hard to see them advancing past the first round, regardless of their offensive talent.  Putting my feelings aside, I'd rather have the Red Sox win the wild card, as I see the Rays as a bigger threat in the post season the way they are playing right now. Just a thought...

Reflecting on #601

Yesterday in Toronto facing the Blue Jays, Mariano Rivera recorded his 601st career save, tying Trevor Hoffman for the record of most career saves.  It's hard to over estimate the impact he has had on the Yankee dynasty.  He is without dispute the best closer to have played in the MLB.  He has maintained his status as a top tier closer in MLB regardless of his age. Who knows if the Yankees would have one their recent World Series titles without him closing out the late innings.  Unlike many "elite" closers who fold in the playoffs, Mariano has been almost perfect in the post season.  It's coming time to think about life after Mariano Rivera in New York though.  We will never have another, but it's time to start thinking about who will take over the throne.

Playoff Concerns

If the Yankees are going to make a serious run in the playoffs this season, their offense will have to step up.  The way things are shaping up as of now, the Yankees will most likely face the Rangers in the first round.  They battled the Rangers in last year's ALCS for 6 games, having to face Cliff Lee. This year they don't have to worry about that. But in last year's ALCS, Texas outscored New York 38-19.

Texas has some big bats, but so do the Yankees. Their big names that have slumped in recent post seasons, i.e. Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, will have to do the job this year if they expect to continue past the first round.  Going into this season, pitching seemed to be the big question mark for the Yankees.  Now you know what to expect from the rotation.  It is the lineup that has seen its share of cold streaks, and it would not be timely to incur one in the post season.