Friday, January 30, 2009

14 Days, 14 Players: Cody Ransom

Everyday until spring training begins the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog will review one player from the Yankees roster. We will review a total of 25 players, the 25 we believe will be on the active roster after spring training. Our reviews are all edited by Carl Pavano himself to insure they're up to the stringent "Pavano Tough" standards.

Cody Ransom is a curious case. There had been talks earlier in the off season that the Yankees could look to trade either Swisher or Nady for a true utility infielder. This means that either they were not sold on Ransom, or they forgot that they had him. It would seem strange that they would want to replace Ransom since he provided what Betemit didn't. A decent glove, and pop off the bench. Though Ransom mustered just 48 at bats last season, he hit .302 with 4 homeruns, and a .400 OBP. 2 of his homeruns came in one game against the Red Sox. What more can you hope for from a utility infielder? Well, while Ransom could play the corner infield spots well, he struggled a bit at short and second. He wasn't completely incompetent, but definitely left more to be desired. Further more, this last season was Ransom's best at the major league level. A veteran of the minor leagues, Ransom has seen limited play at the major league level going as far back as 2001 with the Giants. In 2007 he played for the Astro's before the Yankees got him for 2008. At the age of 32, Ransom is not a prospect looking to break into the game. However, at this stage in his career, he likely wants to secure a regular role.

My Fearless Prediction:

If the Yankees do not trade for a utility infielder, then Ransom will have a chance to stay on the roster. Though he came up as a shortstop, he's not particularly good at that position, but his bat will continue to give us that off the bench pop we hoped for from Betemit, and will likely makeup for his defensive issues. Its hard to guage what a player will do in limited play, but it wouldn't be out of the question to get about 100 at bats with a .250 average and 7 homeruns with a handful of doubles to boot.

Little Known Ransom Fact:

Cody Ransom is also a Molina brother, but because he doesn't catch he was casted out of the family.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

.250, 3 homers, and he picks the ball up off the dirt and throws it to first base.

That's all we need.

Fernando Alejandro said...

Sold! Unless someone in the infield goes down with an injury, were probably not going to be seeing him much. The only exception is for players needing a day off here and there.

Anonymous said...

hmmm..cody cody cody! tahts all i can say.. impressive.. very much so after thoese boston games.. he's swinging in the rain (frank sinatra refrence)..and Shelley Duncan could always do some back up if tex gets injured or if they want to give damon a rest and put some new blood in the line up.. although i doubt that would ever happen. i wonder what place the yanks have for dunky now that they got tex and are pushing matsui.. (matsui..another curious case.)

Raven King said...

Cody can certainly take the role of a back up SS to give Jeter a rest.
And his performance in that rainy and misty Boston game was extremely spectacular.

Fernando Alejandro said...

Raven, that was quite the performance! Cody endeared himself to many fans that day. I just hope he can keep it up this season.

Ruthie, I would like to see Shelley at some capacity, but if we do see him, its because something has gone horribly wrong. Either Teix is down or Swish/Nady are out. Either way, its not looking good! I hope Shelley does end up finding a regular job somewhere, because he sure is an entertaining player. I could just imagine what he'd be like with the Cardinals playing with his brother.

Raven King said...

Now we know our Captain is not only smart in choosing the right girls to date, but also genius in selecting memorabilia.

Anonymous said...

A few days ago, the Yankees picked up Angel Berroa to compete for the back up short stop position. He is not that great but he was the AL ROY in 2003 for the Royals. He lost his job to Tony Pena Jr. I don't think he will be much better than Ransom with the stick but he has MLB experience.

Fernando Alejandro said...

I'm not sold on Berroa. He's only played 16 innings at second base, and one out at third base in his career. For a backup guy, that's not very convincing. He was ROY, but its gone down hill since then. After that season, he hasn't been able to match his average, homeruns or RBI totals. From everything I hear, he's a nice guy and a fun character, but I think Cody has him beat.

Fernando Alejandro said...

Raven, I saw that! I say good for Jeter. The best part about it is whose going to say to Jeter, "You need to bring that back so it can be auctioned"?

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