Perspective & Thoughts On The Hottest Topics in New York Sports and More w/ Anthony Rushing … Staff Writer, Featured Columnist, and Blogger. Follow Me On Twitter @TonyJVilleTFB
@BryanHoch: Mariano Rivera plans to start throwing in about a week, says his knee feels about “95 percent.” via Twitter
Rivera has been rehabbing his surgically repaired ACL, he tore the ACL in early May of last season so it’s realistic that he’d be ready by April for Opening Day.
Rivera’s 43 years old, however he’s also the career saves leader and arguably the best closer of all-time. The Yankees have had an interesting offseason because of their goal to maintain payroll flexibility moving forward towards 2014. If they can start the season with Rivera firmly back in place as their closer for 2013 it will go a long way towards getting their fanbase excited.
Recent news of Yankees 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez needing hip surgery could very well change the blueprint of general manager Brian Cashman at the Winter Meetings. (Image Credit: Puskar/AP)
As if the New York Yankees didn’t already have enough problems to deal with, third baseman Alex Rodriguez will reportedly need hip surgery for the second time in less than four years. The surgery could cause Rodriguez to miss part of the upcoming 2013 season.
Rodriguez previously underwent surgery on his right hip in March 2009, however this time the issue is believed to be with his left hip. Joel Sherman of the New York Post originally reported that Rodriguez was headed for surgery.
Rodriguez apparently was dealing with the injury during the playoffs, he struggled mightily and eventually was pinch-hit for and benched by Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
Yankees beat reporter Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweeted this on A-Rod …
@FeinsandNYDN: A-Rod felt pain in right hip during playoffs, but MRI showed no damage. 2-3 weeks ago, he felt in left hip and MRI showed new labral tear.
Well, here is the deal with all of this …
Shortstop and Yankees captain Derek Jeter is currently rehabbing from Ankle surgery and it remains to be seen if he’s going to be ready to go on opening day in 2013. Rodriguez and his pending surgery now gives the Yankees major concerns about the left side of their infield. General manager Brian Cashman has his hands full.
Rodriguez is coming off a nightmare 2012 postseason and his regular season wasn’t too impressive either. He’s 37 years old and has been in a steady decline over the last couple of years. He also has 5 years remaining on a contract that he’s still owed between $113-116 million.
The Yankees already have glaring holes at right field and catcher that need to be addressed and this was expected to be priorities at the Winter Meetings. Rodriguez most likely missing the start of the 2013 season now gives Cashman one more thing to worry about with a team that’s trying everything they can to meet their 2014 budget goals.
The Mets need all the good news they can get, re-signing David Wright is a pretty good start. (Image Credit: AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The New York Mets took a big step forward in their attempts at restoring credibility with the fans. Third baseman David Wright has reportedly accepted an 8-year $138 million contract offer from the Mets. The move keeps the 29-year old Wright with the only team he’s ever played for and gives the Mets someone they can firmly put in place as the face of their franchise.
Re-signing Wright is good news for the Mets and it’s the right move to make at the right time.
Wright already holds the majority of the franchise records, including hits and RBI. He’s been the one constant in the Mets lineup that their fanbase can look forward to seeing play. The Mets are currently at a point where every move they make will be under the microscope of their fans. Once they decided that Wright was their guy, they couldn’t let him get away like they allowed Jose Reyes to a year ago.
The most important part of all is this is that Wright truly wanted to stay in New York. He could have let this play out heading into 2013, knowing that free agency and the chance to test the market is right around the corner. Instead, Wright decided to make an investment into the only team he’s ever played for.
Wright and the Mets know that this is only the beginning. He’ll get his money and the Mets will get their franchise player, however this is still a team that has plenty of work to do.
The Mets have question marks in the outfield, at catcher, and in the bullpen. It’s the moves that general manager Sandy Alderson makes in the upcoming weeks that will give us a more realistic view of what’s ahead for the Mets in 2013 and beyond. They took a big step forward by making sure their foundation is firmly in place, now it’s time to build on that.
Melky Cabrera will look to show everyone that his career-best season was no one-hit wonder as he is set to join the Toronto Blue Jays. (Image Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Good for the Toronto Blue Jays. The American League East has long belonged to the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. In recent years, the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles have made things more intriguing. However judging by their recent moves, the Blue Jays appear to have finally made it to the division party.
Things became a little more interesting in the American League East thanks to a team not even in the division. Toronto has a pending trade on the table with the Miami Marlins that could bring them All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes, left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle, and right-handed pitcher Josh Johnson. The trade is under review right now and that’s logical after taking one look at how lopsided it seems to be in favor of Toronto. They would be taking on $160 million in the deal that’s expected to include 12 players. This is the kind of move that shakes up a roster. Miami’s unexpected generosity could very well make Toronto a difference-maker in the AL East.
Toronto took it even further with the reported signing of free-agent outfielder Melky Cabrera to a two-year contract that would pay him $16 million. This is another controversial move because of Cabrera coming fresh off a 50-game suspension for using a banned substance that cost him the rest of his season with the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants. Cabrera was the National League’s leading hitter at the time, so he most likely missed out on a batting title as well. He’s going to get a chance in Toronto to redeem himself and he can it could be a big-time addition for them.
The pending blockbuster trade with Miami and the signing of Cabrera are high-profile moves from Toronto. They are expensive and risky investments, however they are also the type of moves that can ignite a fanbase and generate a buzz that’s been missing from their team for a long time. I don’t think the moves are enough to make Toronto division favorites, however they clearly are now in the conversation. They’ve put the rest of the AL East division on notice that they are going to have to make room for a new team in the playoff hunt of 2013.
Josh Hamilton will be looking to see which team shows him the money this winter. (Image Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The San Francisco Giants are the 2012 World Champions of Baseball which can only mean one thing, it’s time for Hot Stove baseball talk to start up again. This is normally the time of the year where teams start locking in on potential additions to their roster for 2013 via free agency or trades. However this particular offseason is expected to have a different feel to it since big market and big money spenders like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets are all expected to hold onto their wallets a little tighter than in the past so they can trim some of the fat off of their payrolls.
Josh Hamilton (Ranked #1) … Baseball fans know what kind of talent Hamilton is and his ability to swing the bat has him in line to secure some big-time money with his next contract. I do believe that his time with the Texas Rangers appears to have run it’s course. The huge question that comes with Hamilton is which team is bold enough to take a chance on him? Hamilton can flat-out hit the baseball, however he’s injury prone and his drug addiction that’s been well-documented is a major red flag for any team, especially a big-market team.
That’s why I agree with Reiter that the Milawaukee Brewers might just be the ideal team that pursues him this winter. Hamilton paired with Ryan Braun in the middle of the lineup makes a lot of sense to me and the Brewers may want to spend some of that money this year they didn’t spend last winter when Prince Feilder left for Detroit. Hamilton is 32-years old so a long-term contract might not be in the cards for him. Teams might want to just look over at the Yankees and how well that idea is working out for them right now with Alex Rodriguez. While Hamilton may not get the number of years he’ll be looking for, he’s definitely is going to see some money from one of these teams and it’ll be enough of it to ease his mind.
Zack Greinke, B.J. Upton, Michael Born, and Nick Swisher respectively round out Reiter’s Top 5. This is a list high on pitching and outfielders and low on big-name stars. However the logic behind why they could very well end up in certain cities makes a great deal of sense to me and for that reason it has me looking forward to seeing how this offseason pans out as the Hot Stove heats up.
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