Kuzul

This week's acquisition of outfielders Brennan Boesch and Ben Francisco, recently released from their respective squads, means only one thing concerning the New York Yankees' attempts to improve their roster: They continue to be content with picking from the scrap heap rather than trusting  their young upcoming prospects. In the offseason, starting catcher Russell Martin and starting right-fielder Nick Swisher, along with important bench pieces in Eric Chavez and Raul Ibanez all left to free agency. Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Curtis Granderson have all suffered injuries and will be out for at least a month and a half (In A-Rod's case, perhaps the entire year). With no ML starting catcher, no regular CF (Brett Gardner will switch from LF to the 8 spot for Grandy), and half the infield gone, the Yankees are in dire straits, and have done a very poor job to replace them.With Teixeira and Rodriguez out, former ...

Ichiro Suzuki is the greatest Japanese baseball player to ever play in the United States.Before we get into this, let's take a brief look at some of the storylines for the New York Yankees going into 2013.Year by year, sports writers have written the Yankees off but somehow they keep making the playoffs. This season due to age, injuries and an older rotation, it's easier than ever to write the Yankees off going into 2013.  Beloved pitcher Mariano Rivera—probably the greatest player ever at his position—is in the sunset of his career and will retire at season's end.This will inevitably be followed by the retirement of an even more iconic Yankee legend—Derek Jeter.  However, as is perpetually the case with most storied franchises in American sports, there are still plenty of reasons to tune into the Yankees this year.  One of the primary ones is the chance to watch Ichiro play ...

The infield shift is one of the most effective yet frustrating strategies used in sports. Originally used by Cleveland Indians Manager Lou Boudreau to halt Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams, the infield shift has given baseball fans fits.It has done this because the infield shift is a self-licking ice cream cone, surviving only because of men's pride. But perhaps New York Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira can unleash a trend to crush the Boudreau shift. During a fun, lighthearted interview with MLB.com writer Bryan Hoch last spring, Teixeira said he might try bunting a try to achieve this end. From Hoch: [Teixeira] did talk a lot last spring about wanting to bunt, saying he’d like to plant it in opponent’s minds to keep defenses more honest. Of course Yankees’ fans know Teixeira’s tough talk did not translate to action in 2012. As explained by Hoch, Teixeira later he had "just been having some fun with the ...

New York Yankees prospect Tyler Austin was not a well-known player at the start of the 2012 season. But in less than one year, Austin has steadily risen through the Yankees' ranks to become the No. 3 prospect in the organization. Still just 22, this 6’2”, 200-pound Georgia native is a speedy athlete with steadfast lumber and an above-average arm. In 110 minor league games last year, Austin batted .322 (133-for-413) with 17 home runs and 80 RBIs. The right-hander also garnered 36 doubles, six triples and 23 stolen bases. Austin’s OBP/SLG/OPS was a very respectable .400/.559/.960. Now entering the 2013 campaign, this 2012 Futures Game selection has been invited to spring training (per Kurt Aschermann of the Rockdale Citizen). This is a pretty neat development, considering Austin is not on the Yankees’ 40-man roster.   But what makes Austin so impressive is not so much the fact he was ...

The New York Yankees off-season has been a quiet one due to ownership implementing a new frugal stance. Instead of story-lines about signing the biggest free agents, Yankee fans were relegated to watching the realities of missing the 2013 postseason grow by the day. So as a result, fans, the media, and bloggers alike have been provided with plenty of things to grumble about. And for the first time in almost two decades, the paved regular-season road to October that the Yankees build during the off-season is no longer a smooth ride. But in reality, not all hope is lost yet; and here are three reasons why.Begin Slideshow

Just a month and change remains before the thrilling kickoff to spring training 2013.As the thump and thwack and crunch of cleats scurry through our imaginations, questions remain regarding what the everyday lineup for the New York Yankees will look like this campaign. One thing fans do know, however, is that Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki and Robinson Cano will be swinging at the top of the Yankees order come April. For Yankees fans, this fact fosters mixed feelings. These feelings really come to light when fans consider that both Jeter and Ichiro lead an aging Yankees fleet, and also how Cano has not yet signed an extension.   Blend this uncertainty with star outfielder and leadoff specialist Michael Bourn still lingering on the free-agent market, and many Yankees fans have cause for concern.   But through this tunnel of uncertainty lies an exciting silver lining: The Pinstripes have the opportunity ...

The American League East is the most competitive division in baseball. From this division, the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles made the playoffs last October. The Tampa Bay Rays came up just short in their playoff push, but have competed for the division crown in each of the past five seasons. With the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox improving their rosters dramatically this offseason, there's an argument that any of these five teams can win the division this season.  The Yankees enter the 2013 MLB season with a bunch of question marks. Amazingly, it's not just their pitching that should make them worried. It's the bottom of the lineup. Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson taking up the first five spots in the lineup is still an elite top of the order. After that, it gets ugly rather quickly.  Their biggest offseason acquisition, ...

New York Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson is in a very interesting situation going into the 2013 season.  Granderson, who will be turning 32 in March, will most certainly be looking for a huge payday when he reaches free agency in 2014.  Sure, the Yankees could hold on to him and potentially contend for another pennant in 2013, but they could also trade him before free agency hits and get valuable prospects in return.  Though he has had issues hitting for average, one thing is for sure, he does not lack in power and production, averaging 42 home runs per year over the last two seasons.It seems for every reason to keep Granderson, there's another argument to trade him away.Let's take a look at four reasons the Yankees should consider dealing him before he hits the open market.  Begin Slideshow

Recently, ESPN writer David Schoenfield wrote a detailed feature about the New York Yankees and their success in spite of old age. Rebuking doomsayers, Schoenfield time-traveled 18 seasons (to when Jack McDowell wore pinstripes) to show why it would be unwise to count the Yankees out in 2013. Absorbing the chart Schoenfield provides in his feature, he makes a valid argument. After all, it is tough to argue with a 1,731-1,163 team record and an average plus-148 run differential since 1995. What is debatable however (and not mentioned in Schoenfield’s work) is that this present Yankees ball club fields one of the oldest Yankees teams in the past 18 years. Frankly, Yankees fans accused of grumbling have every right to grumble. As the recent signings of Ichiro Suzuki and Kevin Youkilis can attest, it seems the Yankees look like a team one year away from a monster overhaul. Double-strength aspirin in ...

Let me begin by saying this is never an article I envisioned I would ever have to write.There are times in the world where we, the fans, lose sight of what is important in the world. We become so obsessed with free-agency signings, poor performances, wins, losses and lockouts that we forget that the games we become so obsessed with our merely that: games.We clamor for the big-name player, victories, championships and heroes. We at times consider selling all of our possessions just for the opportunity to gain access to a ticket to the big game.We put things like key games, playoffs, and sports rumors in front of what really matters: friends, family—our loved ones.Yesterday was one of those days that truly helps put the world into perspective, making us realize that there are scarier things in the world than losing a game. When we realize how trivial one game seems ...