Actually news is slow this time of year. Hopefully things will heat up once Harper and/or Machado come off the board, but let’s take a look at some things that seem to be true:
Above all else, regardless of who you want the Yankees to sign, trade, or dump, they are going to have a good team. It always bothers me when people try and predict what’s going to happen during the regular season with wins and losses and who is favored for this or that. The truth of the matter is there are so many variables (slumps, injuries, attitudes, and even the weather) that can all play a factor on who will win on any given day and over any given period of time. In the words of John Sterling “You just can’t predict baseball Suzan.” As annoying as it sometimes is to me when he says it (seemingly) every week, it definitely rings true, especially this time of year. So much can change with a team with a trade or free agent signing.
If I were a betting man though, which I’m not, I would say that the roster as it stands right now will be competitive and most likely be a playoff team. So many teams seem to be in rebuild mode right now that it seems unlikely that there will be a huge surprise team. (I say that knowing that there probably will be…) I could sit here and try and make predictions based on WAR, other stats, and all the sabermetrics your heart desires, but truth be told, it’s all just a guess based on historical data. Stats tell us what happened, not what will happen.
Has anyone ever bought a Farmer’s Almanac? Do you really believe all the predictions will come true? Of course not, it’s all just a best guess. Every team has some big question marks and it’s fun to project what we think will happen. This is the time of year when all we can do is speculate, and we’ve all been waiting for the winter to move on so I thought let’s try something a bit different. I am going to list five big questions that the Yankees have right now. In the comments below I hope to hear what you think the outcomes will be and why.
Who will be the Yankees starting short stop?
How effective will C.C. Sabathia be considering his age and health issues?
Will the Yankees get anything from Jordan Montgomery this season?
What will happen at first base? Can Greg Bird make a comeback? Is Luke Voit the real deal or did he just have a hot streak at the right time?
Will the Yankees extend anyone’s contract during the season? What about next off season? Start this conversation with Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks.
Let’s hear it from you now. Or perhaps you have some questions of your own to contribute.
Here are my answers
Troy Tulowitzki will be the shortstop.
I do not think C.C. Sabathia will be very effective.
I predict Monty coming back for the second half and basically be the addition that the Yankees need. If nothing else, it seems that they are usually too cheap to trade for something better.
I think Bird has better defensive skills than Voit and will show just enough with the bat to win the job over Voit this spring. I think Voit just had a good couple of months.
It’s not unheard of for the Yankees to do extend players, but if they do it, itwill be for both Hicks and Didi. Both of these guys are quality players that would be difficult to replace in the off season if they are lost to free agency.
But then again, at this point, all we can do is guess…
