Kuzul

For the first time in several seasons, The New York Yankees spring training campaign is not being dominated by scandal or distraction.

The Bombers’ third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, has consistently been at the forefront of many of these distractions. Whether it’s steroids, divorce, or Madonna, A-Rod and scandal have had a very intimate relationship in the last few years.

But this year things are different; Rodriguez has not had to handle off-the-field issues or being mauled by the media. This is not to say that Alex has stayed completely out of the headlines. During the Super Bowl, Rodriguez was caught being fed popcorn by girlfriend/actress Cameron Diaz. (Is this really news worthy? Well, define news.) In A-Rod’s first meeting with the media during spring training, instead of having to face tough questions Rodriguez sat down, and with a smile on his face, quipped, “Did anybody see the Super Bowl?”

Rodriguez got the whole matter of “Super Bowl-popcorn-gate” out of the way, and since, has not had to focus on anything besides baseball. A-Rod is pleased to have avoided anything extracurricular to confront this spring, as he was not happy with his last three seasons, stating that his production was “unacceptable”. Mind you, in each of those three seasons Rodriguez posted more-than-acceptable numbers with 30+ homeruns and 100+ RBIs.  Alex Rodriguez came into spring training in better shape than last year and certainly in a better state of mind.

The Yankees were by all means not the biggest winners in offseason roster moves. What that means to the team is, besides Rafael Soriano and Russell Martin, there are no new players that are supposed to take on big roles for the Yankees. There aren’t any new playing styles to adjust to and no new egos to handle. What this also means is that, compared to the Boston Redsox who have brought in two all-stars, the Yankees have not really been a focus of other teams and the media alike. Other than the retirement of pitcher Andy Pettitte, the Yankees have lost very little of their team, and if A.J. Burnett can pick it up this season, the Yanks’ rotation could come up with similar production to last year’s.

According to Mariano Rivera, the Yankees are happy to be somewhat under-the-radar this spring, hoping that the team can sneak up on some teams in the upcoming season.  No matter what the media has said, the Yanks are still confident that they can win it all in 2011.

With the A-Rod situation seemingly in order and the team still largely intact, in combination with the recent lack of media attention on the Yankees, it has been a very positive spring for the team. For the firs time in a while they have been allowed to focus on baseball and baseball alone. Hopefully they can use this to their advantage and reclaim the retooled AL East.

This article has also been featured on All Sports New York

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

One of the most important qualities for a fantasy baseball starting pitcher is consistency. Having a pitcher who can deliver a solid performance week in and week out is worth its weight in gold, especially in head-to-head leagues that are scored on a weekly basis. 

Even the most seasoned pitcher will have an off night now and then. However, finding a bookend starter who will provide a consistent level of strikeouts and wins with a below-average ERA is the key to a successful season. 

This leads me to the curious case of CC Sabathia, a pitcher who has fallen down draft boards this season despite being the epitome of consistency over the past four seasons. During that period, Sabathia averaged 19 wins and an ERA of 3.12, while striking out 213 batters and pitching no less than 200 innings each season.   

In addition to his excellent stats, Sabathia has been able to stay relatively injury free while pitching in no less than 27 games in each season of his 10-year major league career. This begs me to wonder why Sabathia has a Mock Draft Central ADP of 49.64, behind Cliff Lee, Jon Lester, Zack Greinke and Dan Haren.

In the case of Greinke and Lee, I believe the media and baseball fans alike have been blinded by the fact that both pitchers have only had a few good seasons apiece.

Aside from Greinke’s Cy Young season of 2009, he has not posted a single winning season and has a career ERA of over 4.00. The move to the National League and the improved run support afforded by the Brewers should help Greinke regain his form. However, I would not feel very comfortable having a No. 1 pitcher with so many question marks.

Lee is still cashing in on an excellent postseason career that was over-hyped in last year’s NLCS, as baseball fans were bombarded with exaggerated comments that would make one think Lee is the second coming of Sandy Koufax. In reality, Lee has posted two consecutive seasons with a pedestrian ERA of 3.20, failing to win more than 14 games in either campaign.

Yes, Lee pitched for a poor Mariner team that failed to provide sufficient run support and a Ranger team that plays in a hitter-friendly park. However, that argument does not hold much water after Felix Hernandez won the 2011 Cy Young under similar circumstances.  

Fantasy baseball by definition is unpredictable. Players emerge out of nowhere to become stars only to regress to the shadows as another player steals the spotlight. The unpredictable nature of sport is what makes the game so interesting and so engaging.

Yet as a fantasy owner, having a starting pitcher who can mitigate some of that risk and unpredictability is a very valuable asset. When comparing second-tier pitchers like Lee, Greinke, Lester and Sabathia, consistency and lack of risk should be the determining factor, which is why I believe CC Sabathia is by far the most valuable pitcher of the group. 

Please visit www.kramericasports.com for a complete version of this article, including an in-depth statistical analysis of why CC Sabathia is a great value in 2011. 

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Serious injuries are never good things for baseball players, but the extent to which health problems affect someone’s career depends a lot on the situation.

For example, a young player who still has time to recover before he enters his prime is likely to bounce back, and a guy in the middle of a long-term contract doesn’t have to worry about finding a new job right away.

But for talented stars entering free agency or to a lesser extent, their arbitration years, getting seriously hurt could end up costing them several million dollars. And for older players whose ability to maintain their current levels of performance, a bad injury could mean a forced retirement.

In this slideshow are the 10 MLB players who would have the most to lose if they were struck by serious injuries.

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I was always under the impression that the starting pitcher on Opening Day was the best pitcher on the staff. That was until last season, when Dusty Baker gave the ball to Aaron Harang for a record-tying fifth consecutive season.

That is a stiff indictment against a pitching staff. Something must be wrong for a man to start game one in back-to-back seasons while winning only six games the previous year.

Bronson Arroyo should have started in the opener last season, but watched as the Reds were routed by the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-6.  Arroyo is so mellow and type-B, that it was not a big deal to him.

This season, Baker announced (seemingly from day one of spring training) that his opener would be Edinson Volquez. Yes, that Volquez. The Tommy John surgery undergoing, steroid-taking, flat-billed hat-wearing, Josh Hamilton-traded-for, Dominican Republic-born enigma, with back-to-back four-win seasons.

So, how does he rate the big honor? I suppose he is still basking in the glory of his freshman year with the Reds when he made the All-Star team and was 17-6.

Arroyo has been one of the best work-horses in MLB since coming to Cincinnati in a trade for Willy Mo Pena in 2006.

Since then, he has pitched more innings than anyone in the National League, and is fourth overall. The only ones with more innings are Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia and Dan Haren. Nobody else has started more games than he has during that period.

I don’t recall him missing any starts since joining the Reds.

In 2010, he finished fourth in the NL in wins with 17. It is hard to see how anyone could find Volquez deserving of an Opening Day shot over Arroyo.

The last time he was seen in live baseball, he was being rocked by the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the first round of the NL playoffs. In less than two innings, he faced 11 batters and left the game with an ERA over 21, and of course was tagged with the loss.

Why didn’t Baker start southpaw Travis Wood that game? He nearly threw a perfect game at those same Phillies last year.

There is nothing magical about starting on Opening Day. But it should at least be an honorarium for work done the previous season.

Again, Arroyo let it roll off like water on a duck’s back. He said it was fine with him as he enjoys watching the opening game from the dugout.

Baker’s justification for the nod to Volquez is, “You want to go hard, soft, hard. You want to break up Cueto and Volquez so they don’t go out and out-radar gun each other.”

Nothing wrong with that logic, but what is wrong with soft, hard, soft, hard?

A rotation of Arroyo, Volquez, Leake, Cueto and Wood could accomplish the same mission. It seems weird seeing the words “radar gun” without Aroldis Chapman’s name mentioned.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

All major league teams are now full bore in camp and the countdown until March 31st can’t get here quick enough. With teams going through their full workouts and games starting last weekend, who are the “old timers” that came into camp maybe a little more fit than last year? Bleacher report will look at these aging stars and see if they can regain or increase their numbers from last year.

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Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

Despite posting a sub-3.40 ERA for the fifth consecutive season in 2010, CC Sabathia’s peripheral stats uncover some alarming trends. Much like fellow southpaw Johan Santana after his age-27 season, Sabathia has regressed in several statistical categories over the last three seasons.

In 2007, Santana’s age-27 season, many of his peripheral stats began to trend in the wrong direction. They were almost unnoticeable, however, because the starting point was so high.

• 2007 to 2010 strikeout rate: 9.66, 7.91, 7.88, 6.51
• 2007 to 2010 walk rate: 2.14, 2.42, 2.48, 2.49
• 2007 to 2010 WHIP: 1.07, 1.15, 1.21, 1.18
• 2007 to 2010 contact rate: 73.2, 77.0, 78.4, 81.6
• 2007 to 2010 swinging strike rate: 14.0, 11.4, 11.3, 9.2

Now on to Sabathia. If you’re a Yankees fan or own Sabathia in your fantasy league, I hope you’re sitting down.

• 2008 to 2010 strikeout rate: 8.93, 7.71, 7.46
• 2008 to 2010 walk rate: 2.10, 2.62, 2.80
• 2008 to 2010 home run rate: 0.68, 0.70, 0.76
• 2008 to 2010 FIP: 2.91, 3.39, 3.54
• 2008 to 2010 WHIP: 1.11, 1.15, 1.19
• 2008 to 2010 contact rate: 72.0, 76.3, 79.4
• 2008 to 2010 first strike rate: 63.9, 58.2, 57.6
• 2008 to 2010 swinging strike rate: 13.9, 11.2, 9.4

Sabathia is at or around the MLB average in most of these categories, so I’m not necessarily suggesting a full-blown flop in 2011. Rather, Sabathia is slowly trending in the wrong direction in many important statistical categories and fantasy managers need to take notice.

His three-year averages are incredible and he’s never logged less than 180 innings in 10 major league seasons, which includes a current streak of four consecutive 230-inning seasons.

However, his strikeout, walk and contact rates (most notably) have crept into mediocrity. Will he be a bad pitcher to own in 2011? No. But his value will likely never be higher.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: FANTASY BASEBALL INSIDERS

Latest from Fantasy Baseball Insiders:

• Adam Wainwright to Undergo Tommy John Surgery: Updated Pitcher Rankings
• Keeper Conundrum: Bryce Harper or Mike Trout?

Fantasy Baseball Insiders’ 2011 Big Board:

• Top 50 (projections included): Is Pujols Still the Top Pick?
• No. 51: Ubaldo Jimenez
• No. 52: Rickie Weeks
• No. 53: Derek Jeter
• No. 54: Adam Dunn
• No. 55: Justin Morneau
• No. 56: Justin Verlander
• No. 57: Chris Carpenter

MLB Trades: Fantasy Impact:

• Frank Francisco Traded to the Blue Jays, Who Will Be The Team’s Closer?
• Mike Napoli Traded to the Texas Rangers: Fantasy Impact
• Vernon Wells Traded to the Los Angeles Angels: Fantasy Impact
• Adrian Beltre Traded to the Texas Rangers: Fantasy Impact

Previous articles from Fantasy Baseball Insiders:

• Guerrero to Baltimore: Why He’s Better Off in Camden Yards than Rangers Ballpark
• The Sub-2.50 ERA Curse: Why Five Elite Starting Pitchers May Regress in 2011
• 2010 Batting Average on Balls in Play Leaders: What to Expect in 2011?
• 2011 Closer’s Corner: Papelbon, Cordero & Rivera Are the Only Reliable Options

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and will miss the entire 2011 season. 

While this puts a major damper on the Cardinals playoff hopes, last year’s Major League Baseball playoff participants are faced with questions of their own.

Whether it’s the New York Yankees or the World Champion San Francisco Giants, each of these teams will have to address major concerns if they hope to play deep into October for consecutive seasons. 

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After an embarrassing ALCS loss to the Rangers, their inability to sign key players and losing both Kerry Wood and the heart of the New York Yankees, Andy Pettitte, the Yankees have had an offseason filled with both disappointment and discouragement.

With questionable pitchers (A.J. Burnett) and players (Derek Jeter) not playing up to par, the Yankees are in need of an aid to their troubling situation.

Unless the Yankees can magically sign an ace pitcher with the caliber of CC Sabathia or postseason Pettitte, the Yankees will need some type of change to ensure a successful season. That success can all come down to both the starting lineup and rotation.

Here is a projection of both the starting lineup and rotation for the 2011 season.

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Perhaps the greatest statistical achievement for a Major League pitcher to accomplish is that of the Triple Crown of pitching.

In the history of Major League Baseball, only 35 times has a pitcher led his respective league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

In the American League, 10 pitchers have combined for 15 Triple Crown seasons. In the National League, it has been done 20 times by 15 pitchers.

Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, Lefty Gomez, Roger Clemens, Christy Matthewson, Grover Alexander and Sandy Colfax are the only pitchers to accomplish the feat more than once.

Since 1970, it has only been done eight times, and it’s happened just three times since 2000.

The last pitcher to win the Triple Crown was Jake Peavy in 2007.

With so many dominant pitchers in today’s game, will 2011 be the year that we see someone win a Triple Crown for the first time in five seasons?

Who will be the 26th pitcher to win baseball’s Triple Crown of pitching and join this “Who’s Who” list of pitching legends?

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The whole offseason drama with the Yankees was: “Who’s going to pitch for us?”

The Yankees have talented minor league pitching prospects, but they aren’t ready to pitch by Opening Day and they have free agents on their staff, with decidedly mixed results.

Where that leaves the Yankees as Spring Training 2011 begins is with a starting rotation with holes the size of fishing nets. Just how did the richest organization in sports get into this mess?

Short answer: They don’t develop pitchers. 

Since the “Core Four” came up together in 1996, the Yankees have developed exactly one starting pitcher: Phil Hughes.

For years, the Yankees relied on Andy Pettitte and a bevy of free agents: Clemens, Mussina, Wells, Pavano, Wright, Irabu, etc.

During that time, from 1996 until 2010, there were two pitchers the Yankees brought up that could have worked, but A: They traded Ted Lilly for a headcase and B: They mishandled Chien-Ming Wang’s injury and he is busted for the foreseeable future.

It’s interesting to note that the Yankees were initially reluctant to bring Wang up and showed little faith in him, despite his domination of the minor leagues. Wang only was in the rotation because free agents Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano and Jared Wright all had catastrophic performances throughout 2005.

Wang was never supposed to have been given a chance—circumstances and desperation afforded him his opportunity.

In any event, the point is the Yankees have had no real success in developing young pitchers since 1996. Their faith has always been placed—despite much evidence to the contrary—in free agency.

Whether it was due to lack of interest or just plain old incompetence, the Yankees haven’t been able to develop a young pitcher and haven’t shown any confidence in giving one a chance.

“We’re gonna be in it every year,” says Hank Steinbrenner. “Every single year.”

Which is great news for Yankees fans, having an ownership that puts their profit back onto the field is a wonderful thing.

Ask the Pirates.

But it also means that trusting rookies to develop is going to usually be a non-starter, especially pitchers. Rookies make mistakes, need time to grow.

Check out Randy Johnson’s first couple of years, or Johan Santana’s or Tom Glavine’s. It takes a bit of time before pitchers find their groove.

The Yankees do not have a bit of time.

So here come the free agents—the Kei Igawas, the Kevin Browns, the Jared Wrights, the A.J. Burnetts.

Which brings us to 2011 Spring Training, with a ball club that has a $200 million dollar price tag and roughly 2.5 to 3.5 starting pitchers.

Ivan Nova will probably have a starting job, but will also have the added pressure that he has to produce immediately as a starter in the rotation. He wont be afforded the luxury of developing in the bullpen and working his way onto the staff. His growth as a pitcher is borne of panicked desperation instead of prudent development.

Our rivals to the north have in two slots of their rotation potential aces that were home-grown. Both Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz came up young, were allowed to make mistakes (Jon Lester’s WHIP his first two years was 1.648 and 1.460; Buchholz went 2-9, 6.75 ERA, 1.763 WHIP in 2008), were allowed to get sent back down to AAA to work on their stuff and generally learn and grow.

There is very little chance that the Yankees would have allowed a 2-9 performance or a 1.648 WHIP rookie on their staff. A call would have been made to Sidney Ponson or Shawn Chacon to try to save the season.

Development over.

So that is where the Yankees are in 2011: Two quality starters, one recovering starter, one journeyman starter and a rushed rookie, along with a $200 million dollar price tag and tons of hope in the minors, but most of them at least a year away.

Going forward, the prayers of Yankees fans regarding those talented minor league pitchers are A: Don’t rush them (remember 19-year-old Jose Rijo?) and B: Don’t trade them for someone like Derek Lowe or Bronson Arroyo in an attempt to catch the Red Sox in July.

I do appreciate the Yankees spending beau-coup bucks to try to win. But that mindset—of winning every single season no matter what—has placed pitcher development on the back burner, and has created a culture of distrust of young pitchers.

“Win now” has meant “No Growing Pains;” either perform like an All-Star immediately or you’re out, which is a short-sighted philosophy.

Overpaying an older, fading pitcher who may not fit your team and who will plug your payroll for years (Brown, Johnson, Wright) instead of taking a chance to develop a younger, cheaper pitcher makes no sense over the long haul.

Yet the Yankees continue to do it.

Which is how we got here.

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