The LoHud Yankees Blog

Today’s Joe Girardi press conference could really be divided into two general themes: The fact the Yankees lineup let them down in the division series, and the fact that pitching remains their priority this offseason.

To drastically simplify things, Girardi believes his hitters picked a bad week to have a bad week. As he’s said before, the Yankees were one hit away from advancing, and with the key hitters still under team control, the offense is a secondary concern.

“The one need that we’re going to have to address again is our rotation, there’s no doubt about it,” Girardi said. “You have two guys that are free agents, you have another guy that can opt-out, so that’s the one thing that we’re going to have to address. Similar to what we had to do for this year. It probably all starts with CC and then you go from there.”

On the importance of retaining CC Sabathia
“He’s extremely important to our rotation. We rely on him heavily in what he’s done the last three years. As a free-agent signing goes, it’s been spectacular. I can’t imagine what it would be like without him. I don’t want to imagine what it would be like without him. Time’s going to tell what’s going to happen here. It seems to be a place that he really likes.”

On the role and evolution of A.J. Burnett
“He’s a work in progress. He’s having to change as he gets older. He’s lost a mile or two (of fastball velocity), and that changes the pitches you’re going to get away with. We saw him pitch very well against Detroit. He’s made adjustments, and he’s tried to make adjustments, and the adjustment he made from August to September really helped him. I hope it continues to help him as we move forward. But as you get older as a pitcher, you’re not immune to adjustments. You have to make them. It might change your curveball a little bit, it might change your changeup a little bit. He’s trying to make those adjustments.”

On the expectation for Phil Hughes
“We consider him a starter, we do, but he’s got to get back to the form he had in 2010 to continue to stay in our rotation. That’s something he’ll work very hard at this winter. He’s got to stay healthy. That’s the other thing. Whenever you have health issues, you have setbacks, and it’s hard to get on a roll. Usually when you have a health issue, it’s physical, it’s always physical, and you have to build yourself back up. He had two of them this year, and the second one he had to deal with was his back, and that’s an issue that we’ll continue to have to address. Back issues can reoccur, and so can shoulder issues, so we need to keep him healthy and then I think he can be a lot more productive for us.”

On whether Hughes and Ivan Nova have rotation spots next year
“I would assume that they both would be part of our rotation. But I can’t tell you what they’re going to do this winter or how they’re going to come in and perform. That’s the one thing I can’t tell you. But going in, I would think they’re going to be a part of our rotation. I know they’re going to work hard, but nothing in life is ever given to you. You have to earn it.”

On young pitchers pushing for big league rotation jobs
“I think the kids could start to challenge. I think Noesi could start to challenge. You would expect some of the other kids, the Phelps and the Warrens and the Mitchells and the Banuelos and Betances to start to challenge. But as I said, you can never have to much depth. And you never know what’s going to happen next year with a Nova or a Hughesy. I expect them to have good years, but I can’t tell you.”

On the need to add a front-line starter
“That’s something that I’m sure we’ll look at doing. I’m sure we will, but it’s got to work out. It’s got to work out for both sides.”

Associated Press photos

The Yankees announced three player moves this afternoon.

• LHP Aaron Laffey was claimed off waivers by Kansas City.

• LHP Raul Valdes elected free agency in lieu of being outrighted off the Major League roster.

• RHP Scott Proctor also elected free agency in lieu of being outrighted.

The Yankees 40-man roster now stands at 37 with Boone Logan as the only left-handed reliever. Laffey and Valdes were added as late-season left-handed depth.

Joe Girardi spoke for a little more than a half hour today. A lot of the conversation centered on the fact the Yankees scored a ton of runs in the regular season but couldn’t score enough during three of their postseason games to advance. There was plenty of talk about luck and sample size, and some discussion about the idea of clutch players in clutch situations.

I’ll have plenty of that to post later today.

Right now, I’m sorting through the audio and getting some things together. For the time being, here’s a comment from Giradi, who seemed to throw his support behind catcher Russell Martin. Girardi seemed to be setting the stage for Martin to return, with Jesus Montero playing a DH/C role. Girardi was clearly happy with Montero’s hitting down the stretch.

“I can’t tell you exactly what the makeup of our team is going to be behind the plate,” Girardi said. “We had a catcher that played extremely well this year, Russell Martin, and did a tremendous job with our pitching staff, I believe. But Montero is a guy that could probably do a lot of different things. DH some. He could catch some. We’ve got to see what our makeup of our team is. I can say one thing, I was very pleased with (Montero’s) at-bats in the month of September and the two that he had in October. There’s a lot of bat speed there and there’s a lot of upside there with that bat.”

Doubt we’ll have any have huge news coming out of Joe Girardi’s end-of-the-season press conference, but just in case, I’ll update this post as we go along. Joe’s scheduled to start at noon.

By the way, you can watch live on YES. The network is carrying the entire press conference.

On the division series: “We’re a hit, maybe a couple of sac flies away from still playing.”

On CC Sabathia: “I don’t want to imagine what it will be like without him.”

On the rotation going forward: “That’s the one thing we’re going to have to address.”

On Alex Rodriguez’s health: “His miniscus tear was kind of a freak thing.” … Girardi expressed no lingering health concerns about Rodriguez.

On A.J. Burnett: “He’s a work in progress. He’s having to change as he gets older.”

On Jorge Posada: “I could tell how difficult that last day was with him.” … Girardi said he can’t say whether Posada will be back.

On Phil Hughes: “We consider him a starter, but he’s got to get back to the form he had in 2010.”

On Sabathia’s weight: “He gained a few
pounds, but I don’t think it affected him.”

On Rodriguez’s playing time: Girardi said he still expects Rodriguez to be the everyday third baseman, with only occasional DH days. Doesn’t sound like he plans additional DH days because of this year’s injuries.

On Derek Jeter: “We expect him to have another good year and be productive for us.”

CC Sabathia gathered his things at Yankee Stadium yesterday, and on his way out, he told the New York Post that he has yet to begin any sort of contract discussions with the Yankees.

“Of course it would be (difficult to leave),” Sabathia told Mark Hale. “It was difficult for me to leave Milwaukee. But you understand that baseball is a business. I do love it here. My family loves it here. But we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

Sabathia has until three days after the end of the World Series to decide whether to opt out, so an official decision might not come for a couple of weeks.

No real surprise that the Yankees and Sabathia have not yet started talking — I would think the Yankees want to settle Brian Cashman’s situation first — but surely those conversations are coming soon. The expectation remains that the two sides will ultimately stay together, but losing Sabathia would change this offseason considerably for the Yankees.

As long as Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner are in the everyday lineup, there are going to be those who doubt and question the Yankees outfield. Neither hits for a particularly high average, Gardner doesn’t have typical corner outfield power, and Swisher has struggled in the postseason.

But there’s a good chance the Yankees are going to stick with them.

Gardner’s streaky at the plate, but he’s a Gold Glove-type in the field, and he gets on base enough to create havoc with his speed. He’s just now entering his arbitration years, so he’s still incredibly affordable. Swisher reaches base and hits for power, and he had another productive regular season even with an awful first half. He has a $10.25-million option for next season, and that’s not particularly out of line given what happened to the corner outfield market last winter.

Of course Curtis Granderson will be back to play center.

If the Yankees do stick with what they have, they’ll still be in the market for someone to fill the Andruw Jones role (could be Jones himself). Chris Dickerson and Greg Golson provide some speedy alternatives — and when he’s healthy, Colin Curtis will be in that same mix — but ultimately, moving forward could be as simple as renewing contracts.

It doesn’t seem out of the question that the Yankees could go into spring training with the same starting outfield for a third year in a row.

Associated Press photo

From the moment the Yankees signed Russell Martin last winter, it was clearthis season was going to be a transition behind the plate. Jorge Posada was shifting to designated hitter, Martin was going to do most of the catching and Jesus Montero was not going to have an everyday role on the big league roster.

The transition could continue next season.

Martin is still arbitration eligible, meaning he’ll make more money next season, but he’s the Yankees property if they want to keep him. His defense behind the plate, strong reputation with the pitching staff and ability to hit for power could be enough for the Yankees to want him back.

Montero, though, has proven he can hit, and he seems ready for some sort of role in the big leagues. If the Yankees prefer Martin at catcher, the natural fit seems to be for Montero to take Posada’s spot as the regular DH, with occasional starts behind the plate when Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter needs a half day off. It could require that the Yankees carry a third catcher — Francisco Cervelli obviously jumps to mind — but the Yankees had a similar roster construction throughout 2010, and it could work again in 2011.

The bigger question might be a familiar one: Do the Yankees trust Montero’s defense enough to ever give him a full-time job behind the plate?

Joe Girardi clearly preferred Austin Romine’s defense late this season, and part of moving forward might be determining whether Montero belongs in the catching conversation. Is he a catcher who can hit, or is he a hitter who can catch? If he’s the latter, is that enough to believe he’ll ever take this job on an everyday basis?

Associated Press photo

Best case scenario, the Yankees infield needs almost no tweaking this winter. Mark Teixeira will return to first base, Robinson Cano will play second, and both Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter will stay healthy enough to play nearly every day at third base and shortstop.

But that’s not a given.

This season showed the Yankees that an aging infield requires more than four players. Jeter started 121 games at shortstop. Rodriguez started just 87 at third base. Moving forward means building a roster that can let those two get occasional days at designated hitter, while also allowing for the fact that one or both could go down with an injury at some point.

This season, Eric Chavez was the original backup plan at third — and he was helpful when he was healthy — but ultimately it was Eduardo Nunez who picked up most of the slack. Despite plenty of inconsistencies, both at the plate and in the field, Nunez gave the Yankees a glimpse of a young, productive player.

Is he enough to make the Yankees feel comfortable with their infield depth heading into next season?

Obviously the Yankees aren’t looking for a starting infielder this offseason, but they could find room for another Chavez type, an experienced player willing to take a reduced role and provide some insurance. Nunez, though, might be the key to just how aggressively they pursue that sort of player.

Is Nunez reliable enough to play two or three times a week on the left side of the infield, and is he productive enough to step into a starting role should either Rodriguez or Jeter — or Cano for that matter — go down with another significant injury?

Associated Press photo

Rafael Soriano is already making closer money, his numbers are down, and he’s coming off an injury-shortened season that saw him dumped from the eighth inning to the seventh. Hard to imagine him opting out after a year like that.

Mariano Rivera has one more year on his contract, Dave Robertson has emerged as an all-star and Joba Chamberlain is ahead of schedule in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.

The key pieces of the Yankees 2012 bullpen are already in place. What’s left is rounding out the edges.

Left-handed relief: Boone Logan is due for an arbitration raise. Despite a down year overall, he went through a terrific stretch in the middle, and the Yankees seem likely to bring him back. I’m not sure his inconsistencies have been any worse than most lefty specialists, and the Yankees have learned the hard way that left-handed reliever is not the easiest spot to fill. Pedro Feliciano is likely a complete bust, and the Yankees should easily turn down Damaso Marte’s option. They could, once again, go looking for a second left-hander.

Middle relief: Two low-profile additions gave the Yankees a big boost in the middle innings this season. Cory Wade is certainly worth bringing back for a second look, and the Yankees might have sen enough of Luis Ayala to be curious about what he can do next season. Middle relievers will surely come and go in the course of the season, but Wade in particular is an intriguing option going forward.

Long relief: This was Bartolo Colon’s job out of spring training, then he moved to the bullpen and the Yankees eventually settled on Hector Noesi as their true long man. Noesi has value as a potential starter, but he also seemed thrive in this spot and could certainly return to it next season. George Kontos is also worth a look here, and all of that Triple-A rotation depth means the Yankees have no shortage of young pitchers capable of throwing multiple innings. The system is more than ready to fill this role without the need for another Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin signing.

Associated Press photo

Brian Cashman calls it the “key the kingdom,” and the game treats it as such. Starting pitching is the highest commodity in baseball these days, and the Yankees have made it a priority ever since the winter of 2008 when they signed CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, essentially setting the stage for the 2009 World Series.

It was a priority again last season, and it will be a priority again this winter.

That priority starts with Sabathia. If he opts out, as he’s expected to do, the Yankees will lose their ace. The top starter on the free agent market is C.J. Wilson, who’s been awfully good these past two years in Texas, but that’s the extent of his rotation experience. Sabathia is a proven commodity, even with his so-so last two months of the regular season.

Beyond Sabathia, the Yankees have Ivan Nova, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes returning. They also have Hector Noesi and a series of young, minor league starters who could compete for spots.

Otherwise, the Yankees have to choose their targets and decide who rounds out the group.

Freddy Garcia opened some eyes this season, and he could be worth a return trip the Bronx. Bartolo Colon’s second half should raise some red flags, but he certainly gave the Yankees more than they could have expected. It’s probably safe to say Brian Gordon’s time has come and gone.

Is Wilson just the guy to bring some left-handed balance, and a reliable No. 2 behind Sabathia? Is someone like Edwin Jackson worth a middle-rotation spot? Is someone like Rich Harden worth the health risk? Is there a pitcher on the trade market who’s worth dangling Jesus Montero?

Moving forward means answering those questions, but first things first, it means resolving the Sabathia issue and giving the team a legitimate No. 1.

Associated Press photo