#Michael Kay, David Cone and Paul O’Neill talk 2020 Yankees
“#Michael Kay, David Cone and Paul O’Neill talk 2020 Yankees”
Q: When was the last time the Yankees had a pitcher like Gerrit Cole?
Cone: Even when the Yankees had Roger Clemens, he was kind of later on in his career. I’m not sure the Yankees have had a power right-hander like him ever in their prime.
O’Neill: Roger was not a guy that took it for granted, “I’m gonna throw the ball by people,” he knew how to pitch.
Kay: I’ve been following the Yankees since free agency began. Obviously Reggie (Jackson) was a great signing. … There’s so many, Catfish (Hunter) and (Dave) Winfield. … But this guy is everything that you could possibly hope. I can’t believe how good he is, it almost seems like it’s too good to be true. But then you talk to people, they go no, this is him, he loves the game, he loves to talk about it, he loves to break it down, he loves to help his teammates. I don’t think this is a guy that will wilt in New York at all.
Q: With 12 or so starts, what can you envision from a fresh Gerrit Cole in the playoffs?
Cone: He can win the game all by himself. Whether it’s (Max) Scherzer or (Stephen) Strasburg, we were kinda reminded how important starting pitching can be last year with the Washington Nationals in postseason.
O’Neill: In the (2019) playoffs, he for the first time looked like he was getting overworked. This might even have been a blessing for him to have this break. You just see a guy that’s in the prime of his career that’s just a little bit better than the rest of the pitchers.
Kay: He’s not gonna be on fumes at all.
Q: A healthy Aaron Judge?
Cone: A healthy Judge is right squarely in the middle of an MVP conversation, because he does everything so well, he plays great defense in right field so he’s not a one-dimensional player.
O’Neill: I think he has something to prove obviously because of the injuries in the past couple years. He does EVERYTHING for this team.
Q: MVP candidate?
O’Neill: I think so — because of the people around him, too. He’s gonna have a ton of opportunities to do big things offensively. He does a lot of other things that don’t show up.
Q: Which Yankee will lead the team in home runs?
Kay: I think Judge will. … I think he’s locked in.
Q: But he won’t be aided by Judge’s Chambers.
Kay: It’s still there — there’s just no judges in there.
Q: So how many home runs?
Kay: Let’s do the math … 19 home runs.
Q: A healthy Giancarlo Stanton?
O’Neill: I think that he has something to prove to himself.
Cone: A healthy Stanton is gonna be probably more of a DH this year because the Yankees are healthy; Aaron Hicks is back. Stanton’s not gonna be relied on in left field … just do what he’s always done on average and it will be perfect for the Yankees.
Q: Gary Sanchez behind the plate?
Cone: This is the year where he answers a lot of the critics’ questions about whether he can be the long-term catcher or not. He’s still, to me, the biggest offensive threat of any catcher in the big leagues.
Kay: They’ve been working on him getting lower, where he could block pitches better and frame a little bit better. He’s got a great arm, I think that’s gonna pay off in this season because I think you’re gonna see more running than you’ve seen in the last three years in baseball. He calls a much better game than people think, and I think he’s gotten better at blocking pitches and staying away from the passed ball.
Q: Have the Yankees had a young talent like Gleyber Torres that you can remember?
Cone: I think probably when (Derek) Jeter first broke in and won the Rookie of the Year award. … Jeter didn’t have these kind of power numbers.
Kay: Probably (Robinson) Cano when he first came up. What a swing, and he developed unbelievable power. Gleyber’s a superstar, he really is. He’s a No. 3 hitter for 10 years.
Q: Could DJ LeMahieu win a battling title?
Kay: I think so. He’s got the perfect swing for it, he’s the one guy that’s not shiftable in baseball, he’s almost like a throwback, they play him straight up because he uses foul line to foul line. If he’s gonna lead off, and you’ve got Aaron Judge behind him, he’s gonna see a lot of pitches to hit.
O’Neill: I think actually there’s two people on this team that if they got off to great starts and got their heads into just playing the way that they can play, have an opportunity to win a batting title — Gleyber can do it, and I think LeMahieu can do it, because both of them can hit in counts the way the old-school art of hitting was.
Cone: He’s just a tremendous contact hitter, hits the ball all over the ballpark, he hits the ball as hard as anybody almost. That’s why those balls get through the infield.
Q: Is a .400 hitter possible?
Cone: In a 60-game schedule, absolutely. It easily could happen.
Q: Is LeMahieu a threat to hit .400?
Cone: It would not surprise me.
Q: James Paxton?
Cone: Power left-handed starters are a real commodity, they always have been, they always will be. The strikeout power left-handed starter, he’s at or near the top of the list.
Kay: And he’s got a lot to play for as well because he’s gonna be a free agent. I don’t think he has ever been unnerved by New York. When he’s healthy, he’s as good as anybody.
Q: J. A. Happ?
Cone: His problem obviously was keeping the ball in the ballpark last year; his damage was kinda quick damage, as we say. He’s a candidate to bounce back.
Q: Jordan Montgomery?
Cone: He’s throwing the ball in the mid-90s now all of a sudden. He’s one of those guys that comes back from Tommy John surgery stronger, throwing harder. His stuff is better than it’s ever been.
Kay: When (Masahiro) Tanaka comes back, he’s your fifth starter, and he’s been pitching like he has No. 2 or 3 starter stuff.
Q: The injury concern for pitchers?
Cone: It was easier for them to keep their arms in shape during the shutdown. Most pitchers nowadays throw much more than the pitchers of yesteryear. I’m not as worried about the pitchers, although the big starting pitchers you’re gonna have to watch, because they look like they’re ready to throw seven innings now or six innings or 100 pitches or so, (but) exhibition games and practice games are not the same as real games.
Kay: The one place that they don’t have unbelievable depth would be shortstop. I would be afraid not so much of injuries, but I would be afraid of COVID-19 hitting people at the wrong time and then having several people go down. The teams that manage that the best and keep the guys healthy and away from this virus, I think they have the best chance to succeed.
Q: Would David Cone have been able to pitch his perfect game on Yogi Berra Day with no fans at the Stadium?
Cone: You had two strikes on a hitter and the crowd started to get on their feet and cheer for a strikeout, that was something that I felt and fed off of, so that would be hard to say. These players are conditioned — and certainly I was, and most are — that they put the blinders on. Once you get into a competition and you get into your job, whether you’re a pitcher or hitter, you tend to narrow your focus pretty well. That’s the X factor, that little extra adrenalin rush you get from the crowd will not be there.
Q: How will players handle no fans?
O’Neill: Sure, the first game or two, it’s gonna be strange, but progressively you get used to it. I think that it’s gonna be very easy for players once they get over the initial empty stadiums to concentrate and realize that these games matter.
Kay: Buck Showalter told me that the guys that are self-motivated will be best served. Some teams actually ride the crest of a crowd, but the Yankees have a veteran presence, and they have young guys that have good heads on their shoulders. When you’re a Yankee, you have to motivate yourself. Other teams say, “OK, we want to make the playoffs,” the Yankees have to make the World Series. And I think in some way, there are some players that are gonna benefit from no fans in the stands, and I think that Stanton might be one of ’em. Stanton seems to have emerged as the A-Rod to Aaron Judge’s Jeter, so every time he struggles, even if he strikes out the first two times in a game, he got booed. That’s not gonna be the case this year.
Q: Zack Britton as a closer until Aroldis Chapman is back?
Cone: Been there, done it, he’s fine. What a nice insurance policy for the Yankees to have.
Kay: Britton can close probably on 20 of the 30 teams in baseball.
Q: How many at-bats for Miguel Andujar?
Cone: It’s sorta two-fold: how many at-bats can Aaron Boone find for him, and how many at-bats can Miguel Andujar force on his own by playing so well?
Kay: If you’re gonna put Andujar in the outfield, you’re gonna lose something. With Stanton as the DH, unless Gio (Urshela) stumbles, when I don’t think he will, if they can Andujar two games a week to rest Urshela and maybe one game a week to rest Stanton. … If he gets 100 at-bats, I think they’d be really lucky.
Q: Unsung hero?
Cone: I would probably say Brett Gardner, just because of all the intangibles he brings that are hard to quantify. He’s now absolutely the de facto captain for the clubhouse without a C on his uniform. He’s gonna exhaust every ounce that he can to finish his career as a Yankee, and that just speaks volumes to me.
Kay: Probably (Mike) Tauchman. I think he could play a big role, I thought he played a huge role last year.
Q: How much of a challenge will policing teammates on the road be for Aaron Boone and the leaders?
O’Neill: I think the Yankees are in a unique situation there because they focus on winning is so important, and it’s driven in the minor league all the way to the major leagues where if you’ve gotta stay in 60 days in a row to play games and win a World Series, you do it.
Cone: I don’t think it’s gonna be that difficult, because we are in the age of social media, and everybody’s got a phone and anybody can snap a picture at any time. I don’t see it as a real problem at all. I think the modern-day ballplayers are more prone to play video games in their hotel room as opposed to closing down bars. This isn’t the ’80s or ’90s anymore.
Kay: I could never see Gardy (Brett Gardner) snitch, he’s not that guy, but I could definitely see him, you know, “This is the job we have to do.” And Aaron Judge kind of has emerged as a de facto leader as well where he said, “For two months, no restaurants, no going out, nothing like that. We have a job to do, you have your whole life to do that when everything returns to normal.” I think that’s the mindset that they have to have, I think they all have to police each other, I think Aaron Boone is a great guy to do that where he can do it without having to be overbearing, he’s a communicator and he could tell them, “This is what we’re trying to do, and if anybody gets sick, it’s really gonna set us back from doing it.” There’s gonna be temptations, these guys have done most whatever they want since they were kids because they’ve always been catered to because they’re the best at what they do, and now they’re gonna take a step back and say, “I’ve got to live a very spartan life, I can’t enjoy the spoils of being a major leaguer, and if I operate under that premise, then maybe I can enjoy the spoils of being a world champion.”
Q: The Yankees’ mindset?
Cone: I see big confidence right now. I think the team is ready to bust out. Since the acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton, they feel like offensively they’re gonna have their A lineup for the first time.
Kay: I think they’re looking at this as a season that a championship is gonna be something to celebrate, and I really think they’re into it.
O’Neill: I expect the Yankees to get off to a good start. I think Aaron Boone does a wonderful job as far as realizing and having relationships with the players.
Q: Who is the Yankees’ biggest threat?
Kay: The Rays are really good, they’ve got depth, they certainly know how to use their bullpen, they’ve used the opener a lot over the last couple of years. And they have a good farm system, so if anybody gets hurt or anybody goes down with COVID-19, they’ll be able to plug and play. I think the Indians over a short season will be a threat, and the Astros will benefit from no crowd.
Cone: The Tampa Bay Rays are very good. They have an extremely deep farm system, and people aren’t talking about them enough right now.
O’Neill: In the World Series, you would look at the Dodgers. The Nationals, they’ve lost a big-name player (Anthony Rendon, and Ryan Zimmerman opted out), but they’re still the world champions, and the Houston Astros are gonna have to answer a lot of questions.
Q: Do you expect to see the Yankees in the World Series or win it?
Cone: Yes, I do. I expect them to be the front-runners in the American League, absolutely, and I expect the Dodgers to be the front-runners in the National League. With the shortened season, anything can happen though.
Kay: I would pick the Yankees to be in the World Series. I think it should be the Yankees and the Dodgers, then anything can happen in a short series.
O’Neill: If I had to bet my life savings going into the season, I think that the Yankees are put together to win a World Series whether it’s 162 games or 60.
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