Bleacher Report - Articles by Ernesto Acosta

Yankees Unlikely to Deal for Starter Before Trade Deadline

Ernesto Acosta — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:40:50 -0400

With a little less than a day remaining before the non-waiver trade deadline, the Yankees will most likely pass on any opportunities to improve their beleaguered rotation. With the big names of CC Sabathia and Rich Harden off the board and mid-rotation starter Joe Blanton also being dealt, the remaining pitchers up for grabs leave much to be desired.

The Mariners Jarrod Washburn, the Reds Bronson Arroyo, and the Blue Jays A.J. Burnett had headlined the remaining list of names thought to be dealt before tomorrow’s deadline. Yet, none of those names seem to be destined for the Bronx. The strongest trade winds out of Yankee Stadium seem to be circulating around Mariners lefty Jarrod Washburn.

However, Washburn’s 5-9 record and 4.50 ERA do not give the Yankees any reason to believe the lefty would be much better than whoever he would be replacing in the rotation.

The $13.6 million left on his contract for next season also make Washburn an unlikely addition. Burnett seems a likely candidate for being dealt before the deadline. However, the odds do not seem to favor him being dealt within the division.

Although the Yankees have to have liked what they saw out of Burnett the last time they faced him (8.1 IP 8K 1 ER), the hard throwing righty’s constant control issues will not warrant his price tag. Bronson Arroyo appears to be the least likely of the three to be dealt as the Reds are believed to have pulled Arroyo off the trading block after growing frustrated with the quality of the offers being made for 31-year-old pitcher.

The two years and $23 million left on Arroyo’s contract left many teams unwilling to part with prospects of any significance for the 6‘5” right-hander, despite Arroyo’s 4-1 record over the last month.

Instead, Cashman and the Yankees seem resigned to solving their pitching problems internally by relying on the two pitchers they had hoped to stabilize the rotation from the beginning of the season. Both Phil Hughes (broken ribs) and Ian Kennedy (lat muscle strain) had both provided nothing, but disappointment for Yankee fans before both landing on the disabled list.

Yet, with both young hurlers having begun making their rehab assignments the Yankees find themselves again having to rely on the pair of unproven prospects. Alternate internal options exist for the Yankee team, but seem less likely to come to fruition.

With sinkerballer Chien-Ming Wang (mid-foot sprain) having his cast removed Tuesday, the Yankees are hopeful that their ace can return to the rotation for the final month of the season. However, the team is likely to take it slow with Wang in fear of re-aggravating the injury they had once feared might be career threatening.

Injury/disaster plagued rightie Carl Pavano (elbow) has also made his first rehab assignment since undergoing Tommy John Surgery last June. However, organizational frustrations with their fragile $39.5 million investment make it unlikely that Pavano will be seen in a Yankee uniform this season or ever again.

The three consecutive poor pitching performances of Ponson, Mussina and Rasner could not have made Brian Cashman’s life any easier heading towards tomorrow’s 4 p.m. deadline. However, after dealing the once highly touted prospect, Jose Tabata, last week, the future conscious GM will not readily give away another one of his blue chippers.

Instead the Yankees will revert to their pre-season mindset of depending on the two youngsters many had predicted to anchor the rotation for years to come. It is a risky move that is sure to be considered by Yankee ownership when Cashman’s contract runs out this off-season.

"The Addition of Mark Teixeira Makes the Angels Clearly the Team to Beat"

Ernesto Acosta — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:38:47 -0400

This is the time of year most baseball fans revel in. Whether you’re a fan of a pennant-chasing team looking to add that all-elusive final piece to the puzzle, or a team that’s been out of it since Memorial Day (sorry Royals fans), the trading deadline is baseball’s way of granting many baseball fans very early Christmas gifts.

With more than two days left before the trading deadline, Los Angeles Angels fans are the clear winners of this baseball holiday season. Despite moves by the Cubs and Brewers to add aces to their already better than average staffs, the Angels acquisition of the switch-hitting first baseman Mark Teixeira has catapulted them from World Series contenders to the World Series favorite.

Already sporting the league’s best record carried by a mixture of season veterans like Vladamir Guerrero, Garret Anderson and John Lackey combined with the youth of players like Howie Kendrick, Ervin Santana and Francisco Rodriguez (remember he’s still only 26) the Angels team now exists as the most complete 25-man roster in baseball.

No matter what deals are made in the next two plus days, it is unlikely, if not impossible, to believe that the Red Sox, Rays, Yankees or White Sox will be able to snag the player (or players) it will take to contend with the bolstered Angels.

It cannot be underestimated how much of a ripple effect this deal will make on the rest of the teams in the American league. The Red Sox, recently thought of as having some interest in trading their moody and often painfully wacky cleanup hitter Manny Ramirez, will most likely cease such talks knowing how much more important Manny’s bat now looms against the highly potent Angels pitching staff.

The Yankees, who have had their own share of problems against the Angels over the past decade, now have to worry as much about the threat the Angels pose this season, as well as the frightening possibility that the Angels may possibly re-sign the highly anticipated free agent.

With Bronx Bomber fans already fantasizing Teixeira wearing pinstripes for the 2009 campaign, the Yankees could possibly be the biggest losers of the Braves/Angels blockbuster deal.

The Rays, who to some extent have been playing with the house’s money all season now find themselves in the position of needing to make a deal if they have any interest in contending in what would be the franchise’s first postseason appearance. Although the Rays had shown some interest in dealing for the talented first baseman, Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman was not able to pull the trigger on what would have been the organizations biggest acquisition in it’s brief 11-year history.

The Central Division White Sox, Twins and Tigers have not shown much interest in landing any big names before the July 31^st deadline.

With the Wild Card seemingly locked up somewhere in the AL East, the battle for the stretch run in the central division may weaken the victor to the point of existing as only a lamb brought to slaughter at the hands of their first round rivals.

Yet, no matter how good the trade may look on paper for the Angels, American Leaguers should not yet give up their hopes for the pennant by beginning to look at next season. The games must still be played and injuries combined with other intangible factors always leave a glimmer of hope for baseball fans that anything could happen during the waning months of the season, as well as the playoffs. With that being said, it should be a fun October in Anaheim/Los Angeles.

New York Yankees: Why Joba Chamberlain Needs To Be a Starter

Ernesto Acosta — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:09:43 -0400

Why the hell the Yankees, or their fans, would ever want to make Joba Chamberlain a permanent fixture in the bullpen is beyond me. Although he dominated the American League as a reliever for two months last season, his talents can best help the Yankees with him going every fifth day.

Below are some of the arguements (which are actually wrong) I've heard and my answer to why they are not logical...

Myth: We need a an 8th inning guy to complement Mariano like we had in '96 with Rivera and Wetteland.

Response: Yeah that was great, but lets remember Mariano was first tried as a starter and didn't really do too great a job as one. Even though he was only given ten starts, it wasn't believed his arm could handle the starting job. Also that '96 team featured enough starting pitching to carry the Yankees into the post-season.

Right now with the Yankees starting pitching filled with question marks (including a shoddy Mike Mussina and questionable cranky backed Andy Pettitte) the best thing for the team is another power arm. Remember an 8th inning guy is only helpful if the Yankees have the lead.

If the starters aren't able to keep the Yankees in the game, then how helpful is Joba really going to be?

Myth: If Joba is in the bullpen he can become the next Mariano Rivera!

Response: As exciting as that may sound lets get one thing through all of our heads. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER MARIANO! Unless we discover a way to clone the Panamanian sensation then we will never, EVER see another reliever like Mariano.

Also Mariano's recent three year extension proves that, that job is taken for at least another two years. If MO was heading out the door this might make more sense, but he's not.

Who knows what talent the Yankees might bring up in the next two years who could also take over the closer job. Maybe Putz or some other big name closer will be a fre agent. Why plan for something that's that far down the line when so many things could change?

Myth: Joba throws too hard for him to go five-plus innings.

Response: I've never heard any theories about hard-throwing leading to injuries. Usually these injuries come from the mechanics of the pitching motion or abuse to the arm. Also Joba only throws 99-100 because he knows he's not going more than 1-2 innings. If he were put in a position to be a starter he would most likely limit himself to 94-96 mph range.

Back when Johan Santana was starting his career, he was used out of the bullpen as a setup man. If it weren't for his complaining that he wanted to be a starter than baseball would probably have been robbed of one of the best pitchers in the past decade. Why don't we give Joba the same chance.

Granted we have no idea if he will be as dominant as a starter as he has been as a reliever, we will never know until he's given a chance. He has four pitches, which is two more than most relievers, and he has the personality you would want to give the ball to in a Game Seven situation.

Oh yeah and the move to make him starter would be a lot better for his career and bank account.