Chase Headley Making a Statement During Spring Training

Opening Day is still nearly four weeks away, but Chase Headley has taken a regular-season approach to the plate during spring training. 

Image Credit: Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News

Headley hit his second home run of Spring Training against the Phillies, finishing 1-3. He now has a 1.080 OPS this spring.

The 30-year-old Headley was signed to a four-year, $52 million contract in the offseason after playing 58 games with the Yankees last season, hitting .262. The former Padre will stick at third base as long as he's healthy in 2015; Alex Rodriguez will back him up but should only play in emergency situations.

Words like leader, sincere and disciplined follow him. “A real grinder,” said General Manager Brian Cashman, who compared Headley to Scott Brosius, the third baseman who won three World Series with the Yankees.

Headley's one of three every-day switch-hitters in the Yankees' lineup, a boost for Girardi to plug in either he, Mark Teixeira or Carlos Beltran into the lineup. On Tuesday, the combination of pitchers used by the Orioles had his hitters switching sides every other at-bat.

“It’s tough to figure out what you’re trying to do early,” Headley said. “You really want to see pitches, track the ball good out of the pitchers’ hands. I didn’t feel very good doing that, wasn’t seeing them like I wanted to, so I figured today I’d be a little bit more aggressive, try to take it a little more like regular-season at-bats. I think that put my rhythm and timing in better spots. It was good. It doesn’t mean a whole lot, but you want to get hits.”

Headley says his right-handed swing is typically ahead of his left (he throws right) but this year's not quite been the case.

"Being a switch hitter, that's the life of it," he said. "You're always fighting one side or another...generally the right-handed comes a little bit quicker but this year maybe a little bit the opposite."

-- 

Christine O'Connor

Yoan Moncada: Why the Yankees Didn't Get Him and How It Might Hurt Them

Switch-hitting Cuban sensation Yoan Moncada, just 19, will be playing his future home games at Fenway Park because the Yankees reportedly did not want to spend an extra $9 million. 

After months of speculation and rumors, the auction for Yoan Moncada's services has ended and the Red Sox have signed the Cuban prospect for about $63 million in total bonuses and penalties. People had initially blamed Brian Cashman for for not signing him, but it seems that he couldn't Hal Steinbrenner to get any higher than $32 Million. 

​

Image Credit: bostonglobe.com 

The days of the blank checkbook seem to be over the Yankees. 

The Yankees clearly have the money and financial might to acquire a player in that dollar range, so seeing the Steinbrenners place a hard cap on bidding is quite illogical. This all under the assumption that Hal did in fact place a cap, which is not obvious, so we may never know the truth. If the front office's dollar value estimation was at all higher than their rival's bid, then this strategy is not only illogical, but largely damaging to the long-term health of the club. 

The Yankees, under GM Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner family without George, spend most of their time figuring ways to pay less luxury tax and scheming for angles to avoid paying Alex Rodriguez bonus money on a contract they stupidly agreed to extend back in 2007.

When they fell to last place in the AL East during the lost summer of Bobby Valentine, the Red Sox took a fire hose to both the manager’s office and the roster, and stormed back to win the World Series in 2013. Now, after again finishing last in the AL East in 2014 at 71-91,they’re again positioned to make significant hay in the division. They played it smart in July, dealing away most of their rotation and jump-starting the rebuilding process toward 2015. Then this offseason, the acquired Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, which will greatly boost both their offense and defense. 

The Red Sox have acted wisely in order to revamp their team. The Yankees, however, have been less than efficient in rebuilding their team. They could learn a lesson from the Red Sox in the art of wheeling and dealing. Boston formed a team that all the teams in the AL East will struggle greatly against- especially the Yankees. 

Yoan Moncada’s talent is unquestioned, and he would have immediately bolstered a lackluster Yankees farm system that desperately needs a boost. That bonus money would not count against the Yankees’ salary number, and would get them a high-end player that they would control for years to come at a reasonable yearly salary. The Yankees might not have access to that type of player ever again.

Not only did Boston acquire a five-tool, 19-year-old infielder who has been the talk of baseball all winter, the Yankees failed to acquire young talent- which they desperately need- and let the talent fall into the hands of their rivals.

Brian Cashman made a mistake on Monday, one that he might regret in a big way in a few years. Hopefully, Moncada will not pan out the way people thought, and the Yankees will have made the right choice. 

Christine O'Connor

@christineeeeO