Interview With Yankees Fans Unite

Friend of Yanks Go Yard Delia Enriquez — who writes for Yankees Fans Unite and can be found on Twitter at @dfiregirl4 — was nice enough to take time out of her schedule to answer some questions I had about the team.

Check out what she has to say about such topics as the rotation, Gio Gonzalez, AJ Burnett and even Andrew Brackman, among others, after the jump.

My questions are in bold and Delia’s response is in normal font. I didn’t change any of her answers and they should be treated as [sic’d]. Enjoy.

1) Do you think the rotation is good as is? If not, who do you think the Yanks should try to get?

While the Yankees rotation was good enough to get us into the playoffs, I don’t think that it is good enough for the Yankees to win it all. I would suggest the Yankees would sign Roy Oswalt to a 1 year contract. Even though Oswalt had back problems in the past, he would be a good candidate for the Yankees rotation. He only walked 33 batters (2.14 BB/9), he only gave up 10 HR’s in 2011 (0.65 HR/9) & he struck out 93 batters (6.02 K/9). I think that he would make a good addition as probably a #3 starter.

2) What prospects/current roster players would you give up for Gio Gonzalez?

Since the Yankees are looking for pitching and the A’s are looking for OF’s, it would only make sense to give them what they want. The player that sticks out to me that would be a good fit for the A’s would be Nick Swisher. True, he was a former Athletic, but I think that he fits well there. To spice up the deal I would probably include prospect pitchers Dellin Betances & David Phelps. Betances didn’t impress me at all during September, so I think that he would be a better candidate to go to the A’s.

3) What should the team do about AJ Burnett?

With A.J Burnett, I think the Yankees should keep Burnett in the rotation. Burnett showed promise towards the end of last year and he really came through for the Yankees in Game 4 of the ALDS. Burnett just needs to learn how to pitch well during the summer. He can pitch well in April-May and in September & the postseason. He just needs to bring his mechanics into the summer and become dominant. We are paying him $33M for a reason and by the time his contract is over, it would be nice if we could get a mostly positive experience from it.

4) Who do you think the Yanks should try to get for their bench?

If I were the Yankees I would re-sign Eric Chavez once again. He did a fantastic job in the 2011 season and it woul be a pleasure to see him in pinstripes. I would also have to say Andruw Jones. Jones isn’t one of my favorite players but he does have some pop in his bat. It would be nice if Girardi could probably not start Jones every time there is a lefty, because how else is Brett Gardner going to learn how to hit lefties if Jones takes his job?

5) What other moves would you make if you were Cashman?

If I were Brian Cashman, I would look into trying to get another Major League ready lefty in the bullpen to compliment Boone Logan. To have just Logan to turn to when the Yankees need a lefty can really put a strain on him. To me for some reason the name Brian Tallet sticks out. The kid is good and he is familiar with the AL East since he’s pitched with the Blue Jays. I would also try to get another starter (Not King Felix) via trade or signing. I would sign either Hiroki Kuroda, Roy Oswalt (as I explained in Question 1) and Kevin Millwood. Sure his worst year was in 2010 when he was 4-16 but to be fair he was playing for the Orioles, who were really bad. Millwood has experience pitching in the AL, so that could be an advantage for him.

6) How do you feel about the departure of Andrew Brackman? 1/3 of the Killer B’s is gone 🙁

With Andrew Brackman it was a little sad to see him go, but the Yankees felt that he didn’t live up to the expectations that everyone wanted. I hope that the change in scenery will help him, but I wish him the best of luck. Maybe one day he might come back.

7) What do you think about Yu Darvish? Are you high on him or not? Do you think the Yanks will end up with him?

Yu Darvish is a very impressive pitcher I must admit. His numbers are stunning and he is the player that every team has their eyes on. I would like Darvish, but of course I would be a bit iffy to have him on the Yankees. For one thing. he hasn’t pitched in the Major Leagues before. Not sure if this is a good excuse either but baseball in Japan is different than in the United States, and third of all the Yankees might be a little wary of putting all their money on the table for him due to the Kei Igawa disaster. I would be shocked if the Yankees ended up with Darvish since they seem very money conscious on him but anything can happen.

Fin

There you have it, opinions about the team from someone who is not a dumbass (me).

Now that you have seen some of Delia’s work, go read Yankees Fans Unite and follow her on Twitter.