The pros and Cons of Andruw Jones

EDIT 4:30PM 1/20/11: The Yankees and Jones have come to a one year, $1.2 million dollar deal according to the Associated Press

With Marcus Thames out of the question since he signed with the Dodgers earlier in the week, the question in Yankeeland is who will be the fourth outfielder come opening day? Johnny Damon was once an option, exciting Yankee fans for nostalgic reasons. But his poor defensive skills and weak arm, along with batting left handed did not fit the bill the bombers were looking for. So the Yankees turned to Andruw Jones, the player that once as a teenager hit two home runs against them in the 1996 World Series.

Pros for adding Andrew Jones :

• Hit .256 against lefties last season and .261 against lefties for his career. Those numbers may not look great but his power is what really matters, and he sure can hit for power. 8 HRs in 86 AB's for 2010.

• Andruw is better defensively, the former Center fielder still can play average defense in left field. Jones did win a gold glove just 4 seasons ago, so his defense hasn't fallen off that much, could it?

• Still just 33 years old.
• Jones always starts out hot, hitting .291/9/15 over the last 2 seasons.

Reasons not too add Jones:

• Strike out city! Jones strikes out a ton, but hes not like Nick Swisher who does strike out, but walks alot. Jones is known for reaching for outside pitches and swinging at balls.
• What if they get a repeat of Randy Winn or even worse Jones plays like his 2008 season. Winn was a bust who was suppose to platoon and play defense. He did neither very well. As for Andruw and his 2008 season, it was the worst ever for a player being paid $14.8 million. In 209 AB's, Jones hit just .158 with just 3 homers. 
• Just as he starts out hot, it also means that he cools down quickly. Over the past two seasons in the months of June,July and August his highest batting average was .273(33AB). But some of the other numbers are, .086 (35AB) .224 (58AB), .170(53AB), .209 (67AB), .167 (48AB)
• Andruw spells his name different from Andrew, causing too many typos.

Possible Free Agents that could help the Yanks

Now I was not signed away from this blog because I was a free agent, just everyday life taking me away. Since my last post MLB free agency has started up. Its obvious that the Yanks will go after Cliff Lee and will most likely get him, but here are a few other free agents the Yanks should take a look at..

Juan Uribe: For the last three months I have been telling anyone who will listen to me the Yanks should sign Uribe. After the last two seasons of watching Ramiro Pena attempt to bat, I think its time to cut ties. Sure Pena could field at all infield spots, but so can Uribe. In fact Uribe will bring enough offense that the Yanks can rest Jeter or A-Rod and not have to worry about a huge drop of in production. Uribe also has had clutch hits in the 2005 and 2010 World Series so if your thinking postseason 2011 already he would be a great fit. The issue could be that he would be getting contract offers to start elsewhere so the Yanks would have to throw a few extra dollars at him.

Chris Young: Not the D-Backs centerfielder, but the Padres pitcher. The 6'10 righty is coming off a season filled with injuries but had a nice run from 2006-2008. If Young could remain healthy he could make for a great back of the end starter or even long reliever. The issue could be that he has expressed interest in returning to San Diego and has had injury issues the last few seasons.

Jake Westbrook: Another possible end of the rotation guy, but would want too much money and has been an injury concern in the past. The upside is he has pitched the American League before.

Miguel Olivo : Sure he does not take pitches but that's not the point, hes a catcher that can actually throw runners out. With Posada likely taking a larger role as DH and Jesus Montero still just 21 and not the best defensively, the move makes sense.

J.C. Romero: Brian Cashman has already said that he wants to add another lefty reliever, and Romero held lefties to a .217 batting average last season, and .215 over his career. The issue is that he walks way too many batters.

Randy Winn: The Yanks are going to have to replace Damon somehow..oh wait this is 2010? Never mind...


So their you have it some potential free agents that can help the Yanks. All have flaws as its been noted, but that's because of a weak free agent class. The pitching is laughable after Cliff Lee, and the Yanks don't really need to add another big bat. So the main goal should be, sign Lee.

First ever! NYY Stars and Pinstripes awards for the 2010 Yankees

NYY Stars and Pinstripes presents : The 2010 Yankees awards

Best Hitter: Robinson Cano

Following his 2008 season, some fans and media called for Cano to be traded. After all they had all labeled him as lazy, and had been benched that season for not hustling. Cano improved in 2009, but still struggled with RISP and had a poor Postseason. 2010 would be his breakout season, starting off in April and May hitting .400 and .336 respectfully. While A-Rod was hurt, and Derek Jeter and Mark Tiexeira slumped, Cano carried the team. Cano struggled at times but was the most consistent hitter over the years.

Best Pitcher: CC Sabathia:
Its always a tough choice when Mariano Rivera has another Mariano type season, but nothing can compare to what the big man did for the Yankees. That big man I'm talking about of course is CC Sabathia. CC in his two seasons has been everything the Yankees could ask for. Sure at times Sabathia may not always look dominant on the mound, but he always finds a way to keep the Yankees in the game. CC may not win the CY Young award, but at least he can take home this award.

Most Improved: Robinson Cano:
It was a tough choice between Robby and Brett Gardner, but since Cano did turn himself into an MVP caliber player, his 2008 season seems miles away.

Best Trade: Kerry Wood for a player to be named later:
At the time Wood had an era close to seven, and had been remembered as the injury prone player. But once the season ended and Wood had an ERA below one, during his time in pinstripes, this could be remembered as one of Brian Cashman's best trades. The Indians were trying to just dump salary, and the Yankees desperate for another arm in the bullpen took a chance. Wood will likely get a closers job elsewhere, and the Yankees wont get a chance to resign him unless they are willing to pay close to closer money.

Best off season pick up: Marcus Thames:
I had mentioned this earlier in the season. But when you think back to the off season Brian Cashman had signed Nick Johnson and Randy Winn, suddenly the best pick up was Thames. Thames did have the knack for the big knock, getting a few big hits during the season.
Editors note: Trades were not considered in off season pick ups. They also will not get their own award since the Curtis Granderson trade involved prospects and you wont be able to declare a winner till you see how they pan out. The Javier Vazquez trade could be considered a draw, although Boone Logan was a big gain for the Yanks.

Rookie of the Year: Ivan Nova?

Alright so I was just being silly adding this category, but I had not realized that the Yankees only had four players that could be considered rookies play for them this season. That list would include Colin Curtis, Kevin Russo, Eduardo Nunez and Ivan Nova. All four had contributed something to the team, but Ivan Nova made a few starts down the stretch of the season that helped the Yanks. Nova did walk a few too many, but I liked what I saw from the 23 year old Dominican righty.

MVP: CC Sabathia:

This could come as the shock out of all the awards handed out, but who was the Yankees MVP. It really came down to CC or Cano, and you could make great arguments for both. But when it came down to it, although Cano carried the team at times with his hitting, Tex and A-Rod still had 30/100 when the season was over. CC was the rock of the pitching staff, while Burnett was imploding all over, Pettitte was injured, Hughes struggled. Sabathia was always the Yankees most reliable starter, giving the team innings and always keeping the Yankees in the game.

Best off season move for 2010 season : Marcus Thames

When the Yankees gave Marcus Thames a non guaranteed contract in February, it seemed like an after thought. Many teams sign players that are trying to catch on with a team to spring training and then either send them to AAA or cut them.

The Yankees had gotten Nick Johnson to fill the DH spot, along with Randy Winn to be the fourth outfielder, so Thames had a slim chance of making the team. But much to my surprise Thames made the team, and the Yankees carried five outfielders, Thames role was to hit against lefty starting pitching. I figured it wouldn't be long before Thames was gone, hes a great hitter but the Yankees had Nick Johnson at DH and Girardi planned to rest the older regulars at that spot. Thames is a poor defender so at the time was it really necessary for the Yanks to just have one player on the team to hit against lefties?

This season Thames got off to a good start and Yankees fans embraced him for his walk off home run against Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox in May. The love for Thames, who go the first pie of the 2010 season didn't last long, as the next night he dropped a key fly ball in the outfield and the Yanks lost the game.

Thames spent some time on the DL and missed most of June. But looking at his current numbers, it is easy to say that this has been the best pick up that Brian Cashman made this past off season. Thames already has 11 homers in only 165 at bats, not only is Thames hitting homers but he is hitting .327 against left handed pitching.

Thames recently gave the Yankees a huge spark while Alex Rodriguez was out, but even with A-Rod back Thames should see more playing time. Lance Berkman has struggled since coming to the Bronx and Austin Kearns can play the field instead of Brett Gardner.

I understand that during the playoffs Thames may not get many chances, other then at DH against a lefty pitcher. But Thames could always come off the bench and pinch hit, making a team re-think about bringing a lefty in for Curtis Granderson or Brett Gardner. With the Postseason arriving, and Thames possibly being on the bench as a pinch hitter, we should enjoy these Happy Thames !