Robertson, Cano, Jeter Winners of the 2011 GIBBY Awards

Robertson, Cano, Jeter winners of the 2011 GIBBY Awards

By Delia E.

The 2011 GIBBY Awards were announced today and the Yankees had 3 winners tonight. David Robertson won Setup Man of the Year, Robinson Cano won WOW Factor of the Year & Derek Jeter won Performance of the Year. The Yankees also experienced some upsets when Mariano Rivera was snubbed in the “Closer of the Year” category in favor of Jose Valverde & when Brett Gardner was snubbed in the “Defensive Man of the Year” category in favor of Asdrubal Cabrera.

2011 Yankees Awards: Voting Part 4

Welcome to Part 4 of the voting portion of the 2011 Yankees Awards! Yesterday you voted for WOW Moment of 2011 & the Charity Award. Remember, you can vote everyday as many times as you want until December 26, 2011. Let’s get onto Part 4!

Postseason ALDS MVP: Yes, the Yankees were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, but some Yankees did make some noise during the playoffs and for that they deserve the Postseason ALDS MVP award. All of our nominees are deserving of the award but the question is…

VOTING HAS NOW ENDED

Actions Speak Louder Than Words:  Some players believe that if you talk and yell then things will get done. Not the Yankees. These Yankees showed that Actions speak louder than words. That “I can” can turn into “I did”. All of our nominees are deserving but the question is…

VOTING HAS NOW ENDED

Thank you for voting for Part 4. Come back tomorrow for the 5th and final part of the 2011 Yankees Awards.

A’s Want Big Trade Package From Yanks For Gonzalez

A’s Want Big Trade Package From Yanks For Gonzalez

By Delia E.

The Oakland Athletics are looking for a big trade package from the Yankees for Gio Gonzalez, but the Yankees aren’t so sure. The Yankees admit that they “love” Gio Gonzalez, but they do not want to give up prospect players such as Manny Banuelos, Jesus Montero & Dellin Betances.

Yankees have not discussed a sign and trade with Nakajima

The Yankees have not discussed a sign-and-trade of Japanese infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima with any team

by Matt S.

The Yankees reportedly were surprised that their $2.5 million posting bid won the rights to the infielder, and Nakajima doesn’t really want to play on the East Coast. If the Yanks don’t end up trading him, there’s probably a good chance he’ll wind up staying in Japan.

Source: Buster Olney on Twitter

Angels a better fit than Yanks for Wilson

C.J. Wilson had an interest in the New York Yankees, if not for nothing more than to drive up his price. Wilson tried to set up a meeting with the Yankees, but the Yankees denied him.  As a result, the market for Wilson was not as good as he probably anticipated.Wilson ended up signing a 5 yr, 77 million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Yankees were wise to lay off him, but I do feel as though he is a pretty good fit for the Angels.

I felt as though C.J. Wilson would be vastly overpaid by somebody due to the fact that he was the best pitcher in an extremely weak starting pitching market.  However, his awful postseason hurt him in a major way.Wilson was 0-3 with a 6.82 ERA despite the Rangers making the World Series. I see him more as a number 3 pitcher which is exactly why he was a good fit for the Angels and not the Yankees. With the Angels, Wilson can slide nicely behind Jered Weaver and Dan Haren.  That should limit the pressure on him along with Albert Pujols taking a lot of it.  With the Yankees Wilson would be forced into a pressurized situation as the number 2 starter. He showed last year in the postseason that he may not be able to live up to that. He is not the guy the Yankees are looking for in my opinion, so they made the right decision in not paying a guy they are not sure about into his mid 30s.

I do believe Wilson will have success for the Angels because the fit is a lot better for him.  Some players are not right for the Yankees, but are right for a lot of other places. Brian Cashman has chosen to not to throw out money this offseason and so far he has done a nice job of being patient. Cole Hamels and Matt Cain are much better free agent options next offseason. Cashman does still need to improve the rotation and it will be interesting to see what he does.

Yu Darvish Sweepstakes

Yu Darvish Sweepstakes

by Matt S. and Mike D.

Update, 10:00am:

The New York Post is speculating that the Blue Jays outbid the other three teams competing for Yu Darvish.

According to Post’s unnamed sources, the Yankees’ bid is “not expected to top what the Blue Jays submitted.” The final results will be announced on Tuesday. If he signs with the winning bidder, Darvish is expected to net about $12 million to $15 million per year.

Source: New York Post

Update, 10:40am:

—-Who did bid and now is confirmed is the Yankees,  Toronto, Cubs, and Rangers.  (wouldn’t be surprised if Theo is making a splash in Chicago with getting Darvish).

Update, 7:19pm: Olney says the Yankees did make a bid for Darvish. Jack Curry said the Yankees discussed Darvish at a meeting today and made a bid at the last moment.

Update, 6:10pm: Buster Olney hears that possible, speculated heavy bidders are the Blue Jays, Rangers, Mariners, and Giants. (Link 1, Link 2)

Original:

At 5pm ET, the bidding period for Yu Darvish ended. We’ll be hearing plenty of reports regarding Darvish from now until the winning bidder is announced.

— According to Adam Kilgore, we will learn the identity of the winning bidder sometime tonight or tomorrow morning.

— So far, we know the Orioles, Red Sox, Reds, Mariners, Mets, Rays, Angels, Oakland, Giants and Twins did not bid on Darvish.

Morning Bits: Jeter, Kuroda, Hal

It’s Friday, let’s get right to the links….

* More about Jeter being one of “Most Fascinating” of 2011.

* The Yankees seem to like Hiroki Kuroda the most out of the remaining free agents.

* Hal Steinbrenner has landed himself on the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business list.

Have a great day.