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Two weeks ago, people were talking about the New York Yankees as one of the best teams in the American League after their acquisitions of starting pitchers Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda. Now, the race for the American League pennant in 2012 might actually feel like you have won the World Series. Over the course of this offseason, we have seen teams in the American League get significantly better.

The Detroit Tigers, who beat the Yankees in the ALDS last year, signed Prince Fielder to a 9 year-$214 million contract to be  the first baseman. The Los Angeles Angels made the splash of the Winter Meetings by acquiring both slugging first baseman Albert Pujols and a top of the line pitcher in C.J Wilson. Plus, the Texas Rangers picked up Joe Nathan to strengthen their bullpen and won the bidding war for Yu Darvish, who could become the first international pitching sensation to actually be successful.

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Just as the President must take some time each year to address the nation on the State of the Union, so do baseball fans take time to assess the state of their respective teams. The difference is that baseball fans obsess and debate about their teams year-round, not just on one cold Tuesday night in January. So in keeping with that tradition, here is my take on the State of Yankees Universe as the roster stands right now.

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• River Avenue Blues makes the case for Phil Hughes as the Yankees fifth starter. As we’ve mentioned before, the Yankees new-found surplus of starting pitching means this a probably a do-or-die year for Hughes that will dictate his future with the team.
• The Yankee Analysts took a look at the Yankees retired numbers and determined where Jorge Posada rank based on average WAR/season.
• A few days ago Shawna Lent argued that the Yankees need a DH who can hit rightys. Now RAB breaks down the potential left-handed hitters that the Yankees could pick up.
• Jason Bay‘s name has been thrown around as a possible trade target in a swap for A.J. Burnett, but IATMS thinks the Yankees should steer clear of him.
• MLB.com has put released its list of the Top-100 Prospects and the Yankees have four guys on the list. Manny Banuelos was ranked #12, Dellin Betances #41, Gary Sanchez #53, and Mason Williams #73. Jesus Montero also made the list (#13) but, you know, he’s not one of our guys anymore.

You can follow Robbie (@clarkbar213) and Yanks Go Yard (@YanksGoYardFS) on Twitter and “like” YGY on Facebook.

• The Yankees avoided arbitration with Russell Martin, signing him to a 1 year/$7.5M deal. That’s quite an impressive raise from the $4M he made last season.
• River Avenue Blues makes the case for Freddy Garcia as the fifth starter.
• The Yankee Analysts break down the Yankee bullpen and give us some insight into what we can expect from each pitcher this season.
• Jorge Posada wasn’t the only member of the Yankees family to say good-bye today: Kim Jones will reportedly leave YES to pursue other opportunities.
• Speaking of Jorge, Brian Cashman says there is a possibility that Jorge  could return to the team in some sort of front office/coaching/commentator position. I sure hope this happens – I’d love to see Jorge in the booth with Paul O’Neill and David Cone

You can follow Robbie (@clarkbar213) and Yanks Go Yard (@YanksGoYardFS) on Twitter and “like” YGY on Facebook.

Photo credit: @Dlauraposada

The Yankees really know how to put together a great event to send a guy off. If you missed it, no worries – below is a short summary with links to the actual videos of the event. Fair warning: you should probably have a box of Kleenex handy.

• Jorge gave a very emotional speech in which he said “I could never wear another uniform… I will forever be a Yankee.” He acknowledged Mariano’s impact on his five World Series titles (“We wouldn’t have any of those without you”) and joked with Derek Jeter (“I hope you won’t miss me too much”). You can watch his full speech here.
• Thurman Munson’s widow, Diana, spoke about how Jorge brought her back to baseball and how she followed his progress in the box scores every day. She concluded by saying “I’m so honored to have loved two Yankee catchers in my life.” You can (and should) watch her entire speech here.
• Long-time Yankees fans got a chance to thank Jorge and share what his years in pinstripes have meant to them. Video here.

As for future plans, Jorge said he doesn’t have anything in mind at the moment, and says he is looking forward to spending the summer with his family. It seems only fair that his family should have the summer with him, considering we fans have had the privilege of spending the last 17 summers with him.

Thanks for everything, Jorge. We’re going to miss you.

Jesus at Safeco. It's just wrong. (photo via: marinersblog.files.wordpress.com)

The Voice of the Mariners has a few new posts on the team’s newest acquisition, Jesus Montero. Some of the stuff is pretty cool but the picture to the left is just…wrong.

I know I said I was happy with the trade the other day, but seeing this picture hurts. I guess I knew the time would come when Jesus would do promotional photo shoots and that kind of stuff for his new team, but I’ll be damned if it’s not bizarre seeing him at Safeco. It will be even weirder once he puts on their jersey.

Montero is really the first position player I was old enough to follow the whole way through the minors, so it feels like I’m losing a son. I know that’s a dumbass comparison to make, but whatever. You don’t like it get your own blog.

Anywho, check out some quotes from Jack Z and Montero’s conference call and another interview with the kid after the jump. Continue reading this post »

• Jorge Posada will officially announce his retirement today at 11 a.m. EST. Those of you with the YES Network can watch the coverage there.
• It took a bit longer than expected, but the Jesus Montero/Hector Noesi for Michael Pineda/Jose Campos trade is finally official.
• Of course, Pineda joining the Yankees has resulted in a great deal of speculation about A.J. Burnett‘s role this season. The good news for those of you pulling for Burnett to remain in the rotation is that River Avenue Blues believes there is a case for making Burnett the fifth starter.
• As for the unsettled DH question, Matt at the Yankee Analysts thinks Raul Ibanez could be a good fit.
• According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees would like to kill two birds with one stone and deal Burnett, or possibly Phil Hughes, for a DH.

You can follow Robbie (@clarkbar213) and Yanks Go Yard (@YanksGoYardFS) on Twitter and “like” YGY on Facebook.

Today marks the first official snowfall of the winter (where I’m from at least), and baseball can’t get here soon enough. Yikes:

The Pinstripe Bowl would've been cooler if it was in weather like this. (photo via @julie_stone)

76 more days until Opening Day and only 29 days until pitchers and catchers report…LET’S GO YANKS!!!

After shipping Jesus Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda, the Yankees were left with one minor hole in their lineup: a designated hitter who can do some damage against right-handers. This, by the way, is the epitome of Yankee Fan Problems.

There’s a growing consensus that the Yankees can make due in the DH spot with Andruw Jones facing lefties and a revolving door of veterans switching off a couple times a week. And it’s mostly true. It wouldn’t be the end of the world starting the season without someone to platoon with Jones – Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira figure to get at-bats there against lefties, and Alex Rodriguez against righties. Teixeira’s OPS against RHP last year was .779 compared to .967 against LHP. His career splits aren’t as drastic, so if Kevin Long and Teixeira can fix this that gives the Yankees even more of an advantage.

But rotating old man infield — and occasionally Nick Swisher or Curtis Granderson — through the DH spot means more appearances on the field from Jones and the defensively challenged Eduardo Nunez. And to maximize both the defense and the offense it’s best to keep Rodriguez, Jeter, and Teixeira on the field as often as possible. Since we’re all in agreement that Jones shouldn’t be hitting against righties – he had an OPS of .709 against them last year in 76 plate appearances (seems like 76 too many) – the Yankees would be a better club by having an option on the bench who can hit right-handers.

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• John at Motor City Bengals ranks the Yankees at #12 on his countdown of MLB’s best farm systems. Check out his take on the Yankees prospects, especially since Jesus Montero is no longer in the top spot.
• It’s no secret that the Yankees have been looking to deal A.J. Burnett if the right buyer comes along, but Brien at IATMS points out that there are actually a handful of roads the Yankees could go down when deciding what to do with Burnett.
• An A-Blog for A-Rod takes a look at who will be the next great homegrown Yankee hitter, now that Montero is Seattle-bound.
• In related news, Eric at the Yankee Analysts notes that the Charleston RiverDogs are going to be stacked with talent to enter the season.
• Yoennis Cespedes isn’t the only Cuban phenom turning the heads of MLB teams this winter. 18-year old LHP Gerardo Concepcion is also drawing interest from teams, and he reportedly worked out at the Yankees training complex in the Dominican Republic yesterday.

You can follow Robbie (@clarkbar213) and Yanks Go Yard (@YanksGoYardFS) on Twitter and “like” YGY on Facebook.