TwitterYoukilis
11 Dec 2012
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Kevin Youkilis has agreed to a $12-million/one-year deal with the Yankees.
Youkilis gives the Yankees someone who can play third in A-Rod’s absence and also provide some righty power, two things they really need. Furthermore, he is only signed for one year which won’t affect the 2014 payroll and he will certainly be motivated to play for his next contract. But, he is very brittle. He hasn’t played over 140 games since 2008.
It’s hard to judge this move without seeing how the other pieces of the Yankees offseason will work. Youkilis looks like a solid bet for a rebound year as his BABIP last year was .268 compared to .322 for his career and his line drive rate was right in line with his career average. But, I have to ask, why wasn’t Eduardo Nunez given a chance at playing third? In fact, what is the Yankees’ plan with Nunez?
If the Yankees are not planning on giving Nunez a lot of playing time next year, they need to trade him. Nunez is 25, his prospect clock is essentially up, its time to see what he can do. Unless Derek Jeter’s ankle keeps him out at the beginning of the season, it is hard to see how Nunez will get a lot of playing time since the Yankees are insisting he is a shortstop only. And, with the signing of Youkilis and his injury history, the Yankees probably won’t be able to carry Nunez on the roster because of his positional flexibility.
Assuming Ichiro is next, as rumored, the Yankees still have some heavy lifting to do. They need another righty bat, to balance the lineup and it isn’t clear who the DH will be. The Yankees can’t count on A-Rod in 2013. Youkilis protects them at third, but they will need more oomph in the lineup.
Dec 12, 2012 @ 15:11:22
off topic – wondering your opinions on the espn “hall of 100″
Dec 12, 2012 @ 17:25:14
Nunez seems to be a very good hitter. They got to get him ABs at DH and backup SS plus have the flexibility to play him elsewhere.
Alternatively, the best hitter on the market (assuming Josh Hamilton is an impossiblity) is Delmon Young. I observed him closely in Minnesota and can say that he is a complete cement head (and a terrible fielder). But he has tremendous power to the opposite field and would be a perfect fit at Yankee Stadium.
Dec 12, 2012 @ 19:01:46
BL
I haven’t looked at it because I can’t stand those click-thru things. I hope they just post a list somewhere.
Dec 12, 2012 @ 19:07:59
Corey
I don’t understand why they won’t let him play some other positions.
I can’t see the Yankees going anywhere near Delmon Young after his incident in NYC this past April.
Dec 12, 2012 @ 19:43:47
Peter,
I saw a great quote on pinstripedbible.com:
Ladies and Gentleman, your 2012 New York Yankees . . . where every day is Old Timers’ Day!
Me thinks these Yankees are going to rock the Geritol Division!
On to a different topic: When I signed in, I was asked to “share my email address” (the alternative was to not log in at all). I believe this was the first time I’ve been asked to do that. With whom is my email address being shared, exactly?
Dec 12, 2012 @ 21:25:44
Greg
Yeah, hard to argue with that take on it. It could work, it could all blow up in spectacular fashion.
The message you are getting is a Type Key thing. In the past you shared your email address without that notification popping up. This way they remind you that you are sharing it each time you sign in.
As for who you are sharing it with, the grand total is two people, Andy and I. I can assure you that we do not do a single thing with it and never would. If you want more details about why we ask for it or want to discuss it further, shoot me an email peter@yankeesredsox.com
Dec 15, 2012 @ 09:23:20
hey Peter – here is a good read, beginning is a little tough to read but it gets going after a while
http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/page/Roberto-Clemente-bat/enduring-mystery-roberto-clemente-bat
Dec 15, 2012 @ 16:05:09
BL
I was in diapers when Clemente died, but he has always been one of my baseball heroes because of what he did off the field. This story is a great reminder of that, thanks for sending it.
Dec 17, 2012 @ 11:27:18
The thing I remember about Clemente was how much the press ripped him for being injured — as if he were dogging it. Ever since then, I never credit moronic questioning as to whether a player is truly injured. I even gave Pavano the benefit of the doubt.
Clemente was a good man and a terrific ballplayer.