Ichiro Traded To Yankees, Not Day's Most Important Deal.

Ichiro will try to chase a ring in the Bronx. 

Ichiro to the Yankees for two minor leaguers.  Read it here for more details.  Ichiro has played 12 seasons in Seattle and no player will wear 51 in Seattle again.  According to The Yankees Public Relations Department, Ichiro will wear #31 and he is the 6th-Japanese born Yankee.  He joins the likes of the Hidekis Irabu and Matsui.

It was starting to look like Ichiro was losing favor in Seattle so this appears to be a beneficial move for all parties involved.  This move will leave Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones competing for at bats in the DH slot.

While the Yankees got the headlines they are accustomed to, the Tigers did the grunt work.  Detroit celebrated their charge into first place by picking up Pitcher Anibal Sanchez and Infielder Omar Infante from Miami for highly touted prospect Jacob Turner and minor leaguers.  Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters on Monday that, "It hurts.  But we're trying to win this season, and you have to give up talent to acquire talent."  Turner had been filling in for injured rookie Drew Smyly.

What this trade gives the Tigers is the same thing the White Sox have been seeking through the trade market: Depth.  The White Sox filled in the blanks.  They picked up Youkilis to fill in the blank at third base.  They picked up Brett Myers, Jesse Crain is now healthy, Gavin Floyd is now healthy and Phil Humber is now healthy.  Hell, John Danks will be back in August.  The Tigers have a rotation that consists of Verlander, Fister, Scherzer, Sanchez and Porcello.  Drew Smyly (@SmylyD) will be a reliable spot starter and long reliever when he returns from the DL.  Omar Infante, who is no Kevin Youkilis, is one of the best second basemen in baseball.  He will provide a spark to the Tigers on offense and defense in one of baseball's best lineups.

Your move Cleveland.  You buyin' or are you sellin'?

Millwood and Friends No-Hit Dodgers

Kevin Millwood, no stranger to no-hitters, pitched the first
six innings of tonight's no-hitter in Seattle.

If you're reading this, there's a decent chance you remember the last time six pitchers were used in a no-hitter.  In June of 2003, the Yankees were no-hit by the Astros.  Roy Oswalt, Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner were used.  Two months earlier, Kevin Millwood of the Philadelphia Phillies had no-hit the San Francisco Giants.

Tonight I was in attendance to watch said Phillies team take on the Baltimore Orioles in Camden yards.  Jimmy Rollins and Jim Thome were the only players in their lineup who were also in the lineup for Millwood's first no-hitter.  The Phillies Left Fielder that day was Bobby Abreu.  Abreu started in left tonight for the Dodgers as they were no-hit by a six pack of Seattle Mariners tonight in Seattle.

Kevin Millwood pitched the first six innings before leaving with a mild right groin strain.  Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen finished the job.  In the process, Pryor recorded his first win.

The hats of all six participating pitchers, Wilhelmsen's glove,
the ball used to record the last out and the lineup
card of tonight's game courtesy of the Seattle Mariners.

Joe Torre's protege Don Mattingly joined Torre as managers who have been on the losing end of a no-hitter thrown by six pitchers.  The Yankees third baseman for that game was Robin Ventura.  He was the manager for Phil Humber's perfect game against these same Mariners two months ago.  Brian Runge was the plate umpire tonight, and for Humber's perfect game.

Kyle Seager drove in the game's only run.  His brother, Corey Seager, was selected by the Dodgers in this year's draft.


The irony in tonight's game is very clear.

The takeaway from this game is that an exciting Seattle Mariner team is getting some national media coverage.  This team is a collection of kids growing up.  There's no bold predictions to come with this.  No Royal or Cub-eque "World Series by 2015" proclamations to make.  Just a fun team with a lot of kids making some national headlines.

Sooner or later, Ichiro will retire and Felix Hernandez will be the elder statesman of the Seattle Mariners.  While this transition happens, we get to watch Dustin Ackley, Jesus Montero, Justin Smoak, Kyle Seager and perhaps Carlos Triunfel grow up in front of our eyes.  We get to see a surprisingly solid bullpen that starts with Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen.  We get to see a team that I would personally love to see more of in October.



---


NOTES:
-The Nats called up Tyler Moore, the Twins called up Chris Parmelee and the White Sox called up Jordan Danks.  I'm excited for all three, but I'm still waiting on the Royals to call up Will Myers.

-Former White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink was released by the Cardinals.  Apparently the Cards injury problems were so bad, they just had to start sending guys home.

30 In 30 Part 23: New York Yankees

Andy Pettite signed a minor league contract with the Yankees
and might just crack their rotation in 2012.

More Pitchers, more problems.

Every spring features a plethora of stories that involve baseball's most storied franchise.  2012 is no exception.  A lot of those stories involve pitchers so I am going to be quick in describing their offense.

Household Names.  Jeter, A-Rod, Gardner, Swisher, Andruw Jones, Eric Chavez, Russell Martin, Granderson, Cano, Teixiera, Ibanez.  These are all established players, most of which are on the decline.  They will produce a lot of runs and will power the Yankees into October.  Granderson is coming off of a 40/25 season.  Jeter is the worst bat in the starting lineup.  The addition of Raul Ibanez should only help this offense.

The issue this spring is pitching.  Coming into Spring Training the rotation was C.C. Sabathia followed by take your pick of Freddy Garcia, Huroki Kuroda, Michael Pineda, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova.  Then the Yankees signed Andy Pettite.  Today, Michael Pineda was placed on the 15-Day Disabled List with Shoulder Tendonitis.  In the meantime, this should bump Freddy Garcia into the rotation.  He will be a spot starter this year and I love him in that role at his age.

What I gather from all of this is that C.C. is the only sure thing.  Huroki has a good track record and is penciled in as the #2.  We will see what Pineda looks like when he comes back and we may have an early winner in the Pineda/Montero trade if Montero has an All-Star season in Seattle.  Phil Hughes will be very average.  Ivan Nova has given me no reason to say that he will not have a solid season.  Like I said earlier, Garcia will amount to a spot starter this season.  He will thrive in this role.  Don't count out Andy Pettite in 2012.  Jamie Moyer made the Rockies rotation this season.  If Kuroda and Nova pitch like I expect them to, the Yankees can show up and win 95 games.

FUN FACT: If Jamie Moyer pitched for the inaugural 1993 Colorado Rockies, he would have been the oldest pitcher on the staff.  They also had a Catcher named Jayhawk Owens.  He was from Ohio so there is some Final Four irony there.

X-FACTORS:

Lineup: 3B Alex Rodriguez.  If he can stay healthy all season, it would make a world of difference for the Yankees.

Rotation: SP Phil Hughes.  He will be thrust into this rotation for now.  He needs to live up to the hype he came into the league with.

Bullpen: Freddy Garcia.  He figures to spend most of the season spot starting or fulfilling Mopup duty.  He needs to limit how often he falls apart this season.

The Kids: SP Michael Pineda.  Will he return and stay healthy?  Will he be first half Pineda or second half Pineda?  He has the tools to be a future ace of this rotation.

ROYAL LIST:

#29 LHP Manny Banuelos: Perhaps Banuelos can answer some of the Bombers' pitching questions if they are not solved by midseason

#63 RHP Dellin Betances: A late bloomer, Betances will see time on the major league roster at some point this season.  Not expected to become a permanent fixture until he is 25 or 26.

#81 C Gary Sanchez: I don't see this kid panning out as a Catcher.

#85 OF Mason Williams: A big reason that the Yankees are excited for their rookie class of 2014.

PROJECTION: 2nd Place AL East

-Red Sox have better pitching and Yankees have a more potent offense.  This will be a very interesting division race.  

Jorge Posada To Hang Up His Cleats Tomorrow

Jorge Posada leaves the game
as a part of Yankee lore.

One of the great Catchers in the game is retiring tomorrow.

Jorge Posada will announce his retirement at Yankee Stadium 2 days after the Giants punched their ticket to the Super Bowl.  Posada, 40, has played his whole 17 year career in pinstripes.  Over those 17 seasons, Posada hit .273 with 275 homers and 1,065 RBI.  He won 4 World Series titles and was a major piece of the Yankees' run of success in the 2000's.

Posada was mentored in his early seasons by then catcher and current Yanks manager Joe Girardi.  Prior to the 2000 season, Girardi left to play for the Cubs and Posada was given the starting role.  Posada won four of his five Silver Slugger Awards and made four of his five All-Star Games appearances in the four years that followed.  In 2003, he hit 30 Home Runs and drove in 101 runs, career highs in both categories.  His 30 Homers tied Yogi Berra for most in club history.

One of the highlights of Posada's career came on May 17th, 1998 when he caught David Wells's perfect game against the Minnesota Twins.

In 2007, Posada hit .338 with 20 Homers and 90 Runs Batted In.  He also registered 42 doubles and 171 hits, career highs in both categories.  He won his fifth Silver Slugger and appeared in his fifth All-Star Game.  Joe Torre allowed Posada to manage the last game of the 2007 campaign.  The Yankees won Posada's managerial debut 10-4 against the Baltimore Orioles.

Before the 2009 season, the Yankees went all in by acquiring players such as C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixiera, A.J. Burnett and Nick Swisher.  The move payed off and as a result, Posada won his fifth and final ring.

After that 2007 campaign however, Posada began to decline rapidly.  Injuries hampered the rest of his career.  His 2008 season ended in July, when he underwent shoulder surgery.  In the seasons following, he went back and forth between Catcher, First Base, DH and the bench.

He came back in 2009 and hit the first Home Run in the new Yankee Stadium.  It was a good start to the last season of a decade in which he could easily be considered the best offensive Catcher.  In 2010, he hit grand slams in back to back games and collected his 1,000th RBI.  2010 was a sad year for his Yankee family.  It saw the loss of longtime announcer Bob Shepard and George Steinbrenner.   The following offseason, he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

2011 was the most trying and controversial year for Jorge.  Posada had gotten off to a slow start and was moved to 9th in the order for the May 14th game against the Boston Red Sox.  He had asked to be removed from the lineup, which had sparked a small media circus in the Bronx.  The rest of the season had positive moments, but were still a struggle for Posada.  He was benched in June and finished the season with a .235 average 14 Homers and 44 RBI.  However, he finished 2011 with a bang as the starting Designated Hitter in the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers.  He posted a .429 Average and a .579 On-Base Percentage.

With the retirement of Posada, one more member of this generation's Yankees have hung 'em up.  Andy Pettite and Jorge Posada are gone.  Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are the last pieces of those great teams from the late 90's and early 2000's.  Eventually, they will have to go and the next generation of Yankees will have their day.  Players such as C.C. Sabathia, Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner, Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova and Francisco Cervelli will have their time and opportunity to the list of great who have put on pinstripes very soon.  Posada's retirement is one step closer to the end of an era.

So one last time.  Hip Hip...JORGE!!!!

Yankees Bolster rotation, Up Ante In The American League.

The sky's the limit for
Michael Pineda and the Yankees.

Today the Yankees agreed to send young catcher Miguel Montero to the Seattle Mariners for budding star pitcher Michael Pineda. Pineda worked his way into the #2 slot in the Mariners' rotation going 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and 173 strikeouts. He also brings a fastball that ranges from the low to high 90's that scouts raved about when he first broke into the league. As for Miguel Montero, he brings what Pineda brought to Seattle last season. Potential. Particularly into the lineup, where the Mariners need help the most. Seattle's lineup consists of players that are either young, bad or Ichiro.

In addition to trading for an arm, the Yankees reportedly signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one deal deal worth $10M. With ace C.C. Sabathia, Pineda, Kuroda and Ivan Nova seemingly locked into the rotation, that leaves A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia competing over the 5th and final spot in the rotation. Combine that with one of the better lineups in the American League and the Yankees could raise more eyebrows than previously thought.

Your move Red Sox.