The LoHud Yankees Blog

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone – hope you’re with someone you love today and/or at least eating a boatload of chocolate. Either way.

In the spirit of the holiday, I thought it’d be nice to share this terrific piece by Doug Miller, who comes up with a team of all-timers that would fit right in on this day of love. It’s worth a look.

This year it seems like most baseball writers got a break; I recall two years in a row having to leave for spring training on or before Valentine’s Day (thanks, Joe Torre) which didn’t exactly sit well with The Girlfriend. Thankfully, she didn’t hold it against me and went on to become The Wife.

For those of you with more a bah-humbug approach to V-Day, you’ll no doubt enjoy this: I was listening to the Rangers-Lightning game in the car this afternoon and heard the announcers describe how a young man in the crowd proposed to his date on the scoreboard during a stoppage in play. The woman looked at the board, looked at the man and promptly got up and stormed out, the would-be groom chasing hopelessly after.

Ah, young love. What a thing.

UPDATE, 4:42 p.m.: Good job by reader Tom, who found video of the, um, aborted proposal here.

First, a quick announcement. Sam and I will be video chatting here at the LoHud Yankees Blog on Monday at noon. We’ll be talking about the Yankees offseason, their upcoming spring training decisions and whatever questions are sent our way. Should be a solid way to spend part of your Presidents Day, and we hope it’s a good way to kickoff Pitchers and Catchers Week.

Here’s the Yankees’ statement regarding head athletic trainer Gene Monahan.

The New York Yankees announced today that Head Athletic Trainer Gene Monahan has developed a significant illness and is taking a medical leave of absence effective immediately, which will cause him to miss 2010 spring training in Tampa, Florida, and possibly the first portion of the 2010 regular season. Prior to this season, Mr. Monahan had worked 47 consecutive spring trainings for the Yankees organization from 1963 through 2009.

Mr. Monahan will remain in New York to receive extensive treatment, which will take place over the next several weeks.

“I miss not being around my professional family already, but I’m battling,” Mr. Monahan said. “The New York Yankees have gone above and beyond in this most difficult time. I couldn’t do this alone, but with the support and love of my immediate family, my family within our organization and the dedication and expertise of many fine doctors, I look forward to resuming my role with the team this season.”

Mr. Monahan is the longest-tenured head athletic trainer in the Major Leagues, having worked in that capacity for the last 38 years. He was honored with induction into the New York State Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2009, Mr. Monahan received the National Athletic Trainers Association Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.

Steve Donohue, who has worked 25 consecutive seasons as Assistant Athletic Trainer under Mr. Monahan and 31 overall seasons in the Yankees organization, will serve in Mr. Monahan’s role during his absence.

Predicting a baseball season is tricky business, and the good folks at Baseball Prospectus never stop working to make their formulas better and more accurate. They’ve once again updated the PECOTA predictions for 2010.

You might remember that PECOTA initially predicted the Yankees in third place, then put them in a tie for first. The latest edition has the Yankees finishing second in the American League East, just behind the Red Sox. The newest prediction has the Yankees allowing fewer runs than in previous versions, but also scoring fewer runs (though still scoring the most in baseball).

I don’t put a ton of stock into these predictions, but I find them endlessly interesting.

Also, if you’re wondering why the Tigers — who seemed to be cutting payroll not so long ago — are suddenly in on Johnny Damon, it might be because they’ve figured out what PECOTA seems to have figured out: There isn’t a clear favorite in the American League Center, and a player like Damon could make a difference in winning that division.

Via Baseball America’s latest minor league transactions, the Yankees have re-signed RHP Paul Bush, 3B Marcos Vechionacci and OF Edwar Gonzalez to minor league deals. It does not seem any of the three will be brought to big league camp.

Vechionacci is the biggest name of the bunch and was once among the most highly regarded prospects in the Yankees system. His career, though, has been undone by injuries and a general lack of performance. Still just 23, Vechionacci is a good defensive third baseman, but he hit just .212 in Double-A Trenton last year (with career highs of 10 home runs and 113 strikeouts). He’s probably no more than upper-level minor league depth at this point. My guess is he’ll return to Trenton to play off the bench, but that’s just a guess. He could get regular time at third base if the Yankees decide to move Brandon Laird permanently to first.

Bush, 30, was plucked out of independent ball last season when Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s pitching staff was thin, but Bush wound up pitching pretty well in Triple-A and Double-A and gives the Yankees some flexibility as a reliever or spot starter.

Gonzalez, 27, seemed to have a breakout year in 2008 when hit .295 with 14 home runs after an early season call-up to Double-A. Sent back to Trenton last year, though, Gonzalez hit just .232 with four home runs. He had some nagging injuries that might have played a part in those numbers. Regardless, he’ll probably go back to Trenton where the outfield crop is thin.

Other familiar names among the latest minor league deals:

1B Josh Phelps and OF Bronson Sardinha have signed with the Rockies, OF Jason Lane has signed with the Marlins, INF Angel Chavez signed with the Rays and LHP Chase Wright re-signed with the Brewers (though we already knew about that one).

The alignment of the Yankees outfield remains undecided. For the sake of this series, we’ll call Curtis Granderson the center fielder and leave Brett Gardner as the front-runner in left, but those roles could switch. Whatever the alignment, the Yankees have a young center fielder with either. A: Terrific power for the position, or B: Terrific speed for any position. And that center fielder is locked up for at least the next four years.

Starter: Curtis Granderson
Backup: Brett Gardner
Veteran insurance: Randy Winn
Almost ready: Colin Curtis, Greg Golson
Low rising: Abraham Almonte, Slade Heathcott

The center field depth chart is more of a flow chart than a 1-2-3 ranking of options. Even if Gardner is the starter in left field, he’ll likely be the No. 2 man in center for days Granderson takes a game off. Randy Winn is the veteran of the group, Jamie Hoffmann might fit into the mix from time to time and both Curtis and Golson — plus minor league free agent Reid Gorecki — are likely be toolsy options waiting in Triple-A. Ultimately, the Yankees have some options for mixing and matching depending on different scenarios, but Granderson and Gardner seem pretty well established at the top. The minor league system’s top center fielders are in the lower levels, headlined by Heathcott, with Eduardo Sosa and Melky Mesa possibly fitting into the conversation somewhere.

Worst-case scenario: Granderson strikes out too much to take advantage of his power. Gardner strikes out too much to take advantage of his speed. Winn has aged far too much to be a reasonable center field option. Hoffmann is an obvious roster cut in spring training. Golson’s potential continues to go untapped. Curtis can’t come close to his Arizona Fall League numbers. Heathcott stumbles out of the gate, gets hurt and looks like an obvious over-draft as a first-round pick. Does that pretty much cover it?

Best-case scenario: Left field or center field, it really doesn’t matter. Gardner continues his trend of improving year-by-year. He falls behind in the count much less, gets on base much more and proves the bunt can be a legitimate weapon. Granderson takes advantage of Yankee Stadium to repeat last year’s home run total, but it comes with a batting average that bounces back close to .300 like it was in 2007 and 2008. Kevin Long fixes a glitch in his swing that help’s Granderson improve against left-handed pitchers. Winn proves 2009 was a fluke, Golson and Curtis finally live up to their tools in Triple-A and Heathcott stays healthy to be the top center fielder in the South-Atlantic League.

The future: Granderson is signed through 2013 – though the Yankees can buyout his last year — and Gardner still has two years before he’s eligible for arbitration. The future in center field can belong to either of them, assuming they produce. If not, Heathcott could be the center fielder of the future now that Austin Jackson is gone. If Heathcott moves one level at a time, he’ll be ready for the big leagues on opening day 2014, exactly the year Granderson’s contract runs out.

An attempt at the complete depth chart
An educated guess, but just a guess
Scranton: Greg Golson
Trenton: Austin Krum
Tampa: Abraham Almonte
Charleston: Slade Heathcott
Extended: Eduardo Sosa

Head trainer Gene Monahan, who has been a presence in the Yankees organization for decades, has reportedly fallen ill and will miss the opening of spring training.

There’s no official word from the Yankees on Monahan’s status and it’s unclear how long he’ll be away from the team. It’s believed that this will be the first spring training in 48 years that Monahan will miss. Assistant trainer Steve Donahue will fill in and the Yankees may add another trainer to the major-league staff to assist Donahue.

Every baseball reporter has a story about the time they got sick or the time they stabbed themselves with a pen or the time they got a bloody nose in the clubhouse, and Monahan is a great guy who was always there with a band-aid or a Tylenol. Here’s hoping he gets well quickly and is back with the Yankees soon.

A few weeks ago, Javier Vazquez caused a minor stir when he told a reporter that he wasn’t sure how much longer he would play. Now there’s a newer story dealing with the same issue, but this time Vazquez makes it clear that he’s not planning to retire any time soon.

“I have other interests outside of baseball,” he said according to the transation. “But I’m not developing anything because my goal is still to play.”

Vazquez has never indicated he would retire in 2010, he just doesn’t want to play well into his late 30s. The only way this could affect the Yankees would be if Vazquez retired after this season — eliminating the Yankees potential to cash in on a potential Type A or B free agent — but his most recent comments make that seem unlikely.

To be perfectly honest, there were a handful of the Pinch Hitters posts that I disagreed with, but that was kind of the point of the series. The most important role Sam and I play on this blog is to provide news and information, but in the winter, most days come and go without any real news to report. Quite often, opinions and predictions become king in the offseason, and I think it’s best to get as many of those as possible.

Sam and I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the Pinch Hitters and to all of you who took those posts and ran with them in the comments. It was a lot of fun and worked out even better than I had hoped or expected.

I would say the high point of the series came on January 25, when Lucas Vanderwarker’s post on Derek Jeter and the all-time hits record was picked up by Rob Neyer at ESPN.com. Rob disagreed with Lucas, but it’s the discussion that matters, and that post generated discussion here, here, here and here. And probably in other places I missed or forgot to bookmark.

The series came together with Sam and I asking for proposals, not finished posts. In most cases, we picked the posts and put them in order before actually seeing the finished product. I remember getting Ryan Lee’s post in my email inbox and saying outloud, “The kid nailed it.” There was poetry, and what seemed to be a page ripped out of a memoir. There was a new statistic, and a near dismissal of statistics altogether. There was a post from England that was nothing like what I expected and even better than I could have hoped.

It doesn’t make sense to mention all of the guest posts in this space, but thank you to everyone who participated. Great stuff throughout.

Now, let’s get spring training started!

Interesting list over at USA Today, ranking 100 Names You Need to Know for the upcoming baseball season. It’s not a ranking of prospect talent, but rather a ranking of which young players could have the biggest impact this season. To be included, a player had to have more innings or at-bats in the minor leagues last season than during all of his major league career.

Phil Hughes doesn’t fit that standard, neither does Brett Gardner. The highest Yankee on USA Today’s list is Mark Melancon at No. 52.

“Next in line to continue the run of success the Yankees had last season with young pitchers setting up in front of closer Mariano Rivera, Melancon, 24, should fill one of the openings. He’s a hard thrower with a sharp-breaking curve. Groomed as a reliever since turning pro in 2006, he has bounced back well from missing 2007 after Tommy John elbow surgery.”

I’ve written before that it wouldn’t surprise me to see Melancon open the season in Triple-A but finish it in a key spot in the big league bullpen. That’s the path Dave Robertson followed last year, and I could see the same happening with Melancon. There’s a lot of talent there, and those two could really solidify the seventh and eighth innings.

Other Yankees on the list:

• No. 56, Zach McAllister: “Among the first to be considered if there’s a need for a major league starter.”

• No. 58, Jamie Hoffmann: “Has plenty of speed and is a consistent contact hitter.”

• No. 66, Jesus Montero: “Barring an emergency, his initial stay won’t be long because he has had only a half-season at Class AA and needs to continue developing his defensive game.”

For whatever it’s worth, I actually think Montero might be ranked a bit too high, only because I don’t see him having a significant impact this season. Hoffmann is also probably too high now that Marcus Thames is in the mix. If I could add a name to the list, it would probably be Ivan Nova. He looked good enough at the end of last season to suggest he could play a role either as an emergency starter or as a reliever.

Other familiar names on the USA Today list: Austin Jackson at No. 19, Dan McCutchen at No. 84 and Jose Tabata at No. 86.

The whole list is pretty interesting. Thanks to mlbtraderumors for linking to it. That’s where I first saw it.

As you’re well aware, Derek Jeter is in the final year of his contract. He’s 35 years old, he’ll be 36 by the end of the season, and the Yankees have a long-standing policy of not negotiating extensions until the winter.* And so, the face of the Yankees will go through the season as a lame-duck shortstop, but there’s no reason to believe he won’t be back for 2011 and beyond. It’s just a matter of how much money and how many years. The Yankees have a handful of promising young shortstops knocking on the door to the big leagues, but I wouldn’t count on any of them taking the Captain’s place.

Starter: Derek Jeter
Backup: Ramiro Pena
Veteran insurance: none
Almost ready: Eduardo Nunez
Low rising: Jose Pirela

True, Jeter is well into his mid-30s, but he’s also coming off a season in which he won both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger, made his 10th all-star team and finished third in MVP voting. He’s been the American League’s Silver Slugger at shortstop each of the past four years. What can I say? The guy’s good. Behind him, the Yankees have a defensive shortstop in Pena and an offensive shortstop in Nunez, plus utility man Reegie Corona has considerable experience at the position. For now, Pena is probably the better option should something happen to Jeter, but Nunez could easily pass him if he can improve his defense (33 errors last season) and his plate discipline (only 22 walks). Pirela is probably the top shortstop in the lower levels, partially because Carmen Angelini’s development has been a struggle.

Worst-case scenario: It makes sense to worry about injuries and a lack of production from most 35-year-old shortstops, but Jeter has shown no signs of such problems. That said, if he does stumble this season, it could make for a messy contract negotiation in the offseason. Replacing Jeter from within — even slightly — would be impossible if Pena’s bat can’t handle prolonged exposure to the big leagues or if Nunez can’t handle his first real taste of Triple-A.

Best-case scenario: Jeter plays like the guy everyone is used to seeing. He puts himself in the discussion for another Gold Glove, he runs away with another Silver Slugger and he leads this team to another World Championship. When it’s over, the Yankees settle on a contract that comes together easily, with very little back and forth. All the while, Nunez continues to rebuild his prospect status, and Angelini finally starts to hit and finally gets his career moving.

The future: Pena’s glove is exciting, Nunez’s bat has come to life and Pirela hit .295 as a 19-year-old, but Jeter remains the past, present and future of the Yankees organization. The lineup might revolve around Mark Teixeira and the pitching staff falls in line behind CC Sabathia, but this is still Jeter’s team. I don’t know how much it will take, and I’m not sure it matters. One way or another, Jeter will be back in 2011, you can bet on it. Shortstop will be his as long as he can be productive at the position. The Yankees aren’t waiting for someone to take the torch, they’re waiting for Jeter to hand it off.

An attempt at the complete depth chart
An educated guess, but just a guess
Scranton: Eduardo Nunez
Trenton: Walter Ibbara (maybe Justin Snyder or Luis Nunez gets regular at-bats?)
Tampa: Jose Pirela (with Addison Maruszak in a versatile infield)
Charleston: Carmen Angelini
Extended: Jose Mojica (unless he swaps places with Angelini)

———

* In my opinion, the negotiation policy makes sense. The only way it hurts anyone’s feelings is if an exception is made for one player and not another. That’s why the Yankees can’t negotiate with Jeter just because he’s Jeter. It would make everyone else feel second-class, and the policy lets Jeter know that there’s  nothing to read into the decision to wait until the offseason.