Bill Hall has impressed very good skills. I think he has a shot to make the team.
 Bleacher Report | Missing Links: Nova, Pettitte & Mattingly ESPN (blog) Start with Joe Torre, who hired Mattingly as a coach with the New York Yankees and later included him on his staff with the Dodgers. “I first crossed paths with him as a broadcaster,” says Torre, who worked as a color commentator for the California ... New York Yankees: Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes Upset over Andy Pettitte Return Andy Pettitte's return gives Yankees cheap help Rounding Third: Pettitte unretirement could spell trouble for Pineda |
 Long Island Business News | NY Mets Owners Face Trial to Keep $303M of Madoff Ponzi Profits NewsMax.com At jury selection, lawyers will be working with a pool sure to be familiar with the troubles of the Mets and even perhaps fans angry at rising ticket prices and the team's chronic inability to catch up with the rival New York Yankees. Madoff trustee vs Mets owners trial begins today Batters up: Madoff trustee vs Mets owners trial |
Off the top of my head I cannot remember if Pinstripe Alley has ever had a Yankees Trade Talk section or headline or anything like that. Since I don't think they did, I'm going to claim it as my own in today's IGYARticle. If you actually read the headline, you should know the two players who will be the subjects of today's Yankees Trade Talk; David Phelps and Adam Warren. I'll be honest, I've been thinking that they should most likely be traded for a while now, but I did have a little hope that this Spring Training they might show the Yankees something that might warrant giving them a chance on the mound sometime this year. However, with the recent news of Andy Pettitte coming out of retirement, I think it's pretty clear that Phelps and Warren have little chance in any role on the Yankees except for injury replacement starter or long relief bullpen status.
More Yankees Trade Talk after the jump...
Reasons Not To Trade
Pitching depth is always a nice thing to have. If the Red Sox had a shred of it last year, they probably would not have had that orgasmic, euphoric collapse to end their season last year, a collapse I really like to bring up as much as possible. One main reason not to trade Phelps and Warren is because they do provide us with pitching depth in case god forbid one of our starters do get injured and are going to be on the DL for some time. The thing is though, with Andy Pettitte now back on the Yankees, unless he is absolutely unplayable after his Spring Training/Minor League sessions, he will be called up before Phelps or Warren will be because Pettitte is an absolutely beloved New York Yankee. I know I love Andy.
The other reason not to trade them is because they can be used in the bullpen as long relief, in case something happens to a starting pitcher like a minor injury or a seventeen run inning or two. Hector Noesi was pretty much used in this role last year and he was pretty good at it for the most part. It's always good to have a long relief guy who can keep the runs down so that the vaunted Yankees offense has a chance to come back, score some runs and hit some dingers! Phelps and Warren could definitely provide that for the Yankees and that might be more valuable to the team than trading them.
Reasons To Trade
The main reason to trade Phelps and Warren is the simple fact that there are a lot of teams out in the MLB that need starting pitching. Rather than list the ones that do, it'd be simpler to list the ones that don't and the teams that come to mind that do not have a pressing need for pitching are the Yankees, Rays, Braves, Phillies, Rangers, and Angels. That leaves 24 MLB teams that could use starting pitching, and Phelps and Warren could be just the starters they are looking for, even if they might be nothing more than back of the rotation starters. Teams still need those as well. Hector Noesi might very well be that guy for the Mariners this year, and it was clear that on the Yankees he would pretty much be nothing more than bullpen help.
The follow up reason to trade them is that while the Yankees do not really need help in the pitching department currently, they could use some more decent bench players, as well as perhaps some minor league replacement fielders here and there. It's definitely unclear what the Yankees could get for Phelps or Warren in terms of minor league players or bench players, but come the trade deadline there could be many a team out there who would be willing to part with someone in order to receive pitching help. Nothing is set in stone as anything can happen, both to the Yankees and other teams out there, but it's not so farfetched to believe that we could get back some key components the Yankees might need for either now or the future. Keep in mind, Raul Ibanez continues to show how awful he could very well be for us, so come the trade deadline we could very well need a DH to replace him.
Closing Thoughts
There are definitely pros and cons to either keeping or trading Phelps and Warren. Personally I don't think they really have a place on the Yankees other than the lesser roles I mentioned, and as a baseball fan I just find it kind of sad. I was happy when I found out that Hector Noesi was traded because now he actually had a chance to shine on another team where he would not have the same pressure to succeed or get demoted like he would on the Yankees. Again, with Pettitte back and the Yankees nostalgia just itching to get him back up to the majors as a starter, I am a bit concerned about Hughes, Nova, and Pineda in the beginning of the year. I just don't feel that any young starter should not have a chance to learn and grow and on the Yankees, it really is a "WIN NOW AT ANY COST" mentality, so Phelps and Warren would probably have to come up and be Roy Halladay in order for the Yankees brass to give them any serious consideration. My guess is that the Yankees will keep one and trade the other this season. With Pettitte back, the Yankees really already have an abundance of pitching depth so they really do not need both Phelps and Warren. Which one is traded will remain to be seen. Honestly, I think everything regarding pitching is kinda up in the air right now. Except for CC and Kuroda, there are quite a few question marks with our pitching abundance. I think the coming weeks will be very interesting indeed.
However enough about what I think. What do you think, Pinstripe Alley?
Should Phelps and/or Warren be traded?
If so, when do you think the most ideal time to trade them would be?
If not, is there any pitcher you might trade in their place?
Which teams would you consider trading them to and for who?
*Six days ago, we reported on the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. The young man was killed as he begged for help.
There were plenty of neighbors around to see and hear the incident, but because it was dark, they couldn’t immediately make out the players.
But, now that the 911 tapes have been released, the general public can piece this tragedy together. (more…)
Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas (1) celebrates his shot late in the first half against Gonzaga in Pittsburgh, Saturday, March 17, 2012.
*The NCAA will never be the same after the performance set by a certain state’s teams…not saying any names … achooBuckeyes … ’scuse me!
The state’s college basketball teams can pat themselves on the back for making such an astounding achievement in men’s basketball. (more…)
WARNING, SEASON FINALE SPOILERS
*AMC’s “The Walking Dead” has recruited “Treme” actress Danai Gurira to play Michonne, the legendary heroine from the Robert Kirkman comic series on which the zombie drama is based.
The hooded, sword-wielding character made her onscreen debut in the final moments of Sunday’s season-two finale, saving Andrea (Laurie Holden) from an almost certain death when she arrived — with a pair of armless and jawless walkers chained behind her — to put down an approaching zombie.
The hooded Michonne arrived on TV much the same way she did in the comic book. There, she saved Otis from a group of walkers and joined Rick and company in the safety of the prison, which was shown in the very last scene on Sunday.
Michonne makes her debut in the comic book "The Walking Dead"
In an interview about the finale, Kirkman told The Hollywood Reporter that the series was “transitioning into a new world” where the survivors are “faced with more adversaries, danger and different kinds of threats” and that Michonne is a “big part of that.”
“She saves Andrea and she’s carrying a sword. This is a very strange visual for fans of the show,” Kirkman told THR. “Fans of the comic book know all about her and I’m sure are very excited to see her. … I like to think about how the audience that just watches the show takes that. I think that is such a bizarre and jarring image. It really speaks volumes as to what you’re going to be seeing in season three.”
Fan favorite Michonne was introduced in Issue No. 19 of the Image Comics/Skybound series and continues to survive in the comics, which recently published its 94th installment. The character quickly earns Rick’s trust and becomes his most valued ally as the group battles the sadistic Governor – who will be played by David Morrissey.
Kirkman says of Michonne: “We know that she’s a loner, we know she kicks ass. But we have some other traits about that her that are not in the comic book that we’ll deviate. There’s an interesting process as we start to write this character and bring her to life. We see this character as a significant character, not just as someone who’s in the mix. This is a major addition to the show.”
Mazzara noted that the series was looking for “someone who inhabits the traits of the character” and didn’t need to necessarily bring in a “name” actress for the part. “We really feel like we want an actress who’s going to be identified with the character and bring the character to life,” he told THR.
Gurira’s credits include six episodes of HBO’s “Treme,” playing Village Voice writer Jill. She has also appeared in episodes of “Lie to Me,” “Law & Order” and “Life on Mars.”
*The postal service has been in real trouble lately with funds decreasing every day to support the service and less and less Americans utilizing their local post offices.
The attractive box that postal customers can stuff all they can get inside is an attractive deal, but is it enough against e-mail, Facebook, Skype, and couriers like UPS that just made a deal to get even larger? (more…)
