40-year old lefty swinging DH/OF Raul Ibanez finished 24th in the voting for the A.L. MVP in 2012, which is shocking to me. He played in 130 games for the Yankees last year and he was 92 of 384 (.240 avg, .761 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 19 homers, 62 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Ibanez has now played in 1,947 games in his first 17 years in the majors and he is 1,883 of 6,771 (.278 avg, .810 OPS) with 978 runs scored, 271 homers, 1,116 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. Whoever voted for Ibanez for MVP, should have his vote revoked forever.

38-year old righty swinging shortstop Derek Jeter finished 7th in the A.L. MVP Voting in 2012. Jeter played in 159 games for the Yankees last year and he was 216 of 683 (.316 avg, .791 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 15 homers, 58 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He has now played in 2,585 games in his first 18 years with the Yankees and he is 3,304 of 10,551 (.313 avg, .829 OPS) with 1,868 runs scored, 255 homers, 1,254 RBIs and 348 stolen bases. Here’s to hoping that Jeter will be ready for the 2013 regular season as he continues to recover from a broken ankle that he suffered against the Tigers in the playoffs last year.

48-year old manager Joe Girardi of the Yankees finished in 5th place in the A.L. Manager of the Year voting in 2012. He led the Yankees to a 95-67 (58.6%) record during the regular season, winning the A.L. East again. But, in the playoffs the Yankees were a pathetic 3-6. Girardi is now 479-331 (59.1%) during the regular season in his first five years in charge of the Yankees. He is also 21-17 (55.3%) in the post-season in his time with the Yankees. It’s extra hard for Girardi to take home this award due to the payroll advantage that the Yankees seem to always have over every team in the majors.

32-year old righty reliever Rafael Soriano has opted out of his $14 million dollar contract for 2013. He got a cool $1.5 million bucks as a buyout from the Yankees as he hits free agency. Soriano pitched in 69 games (0 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 2-1 with 42 saves, a 2.26 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He pitched in 111 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Yankees and he is 4-4 with 44 saves, a 2.94 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Soriano wants to close and he can’t do that with the Yankees if Mariano Rivera comes back for 2013. I see Soriano signing with another team over the winter to close games.

UPDATE: Rafael Soriano finished #20 in the A.L. MVP voting in 2012.

The Yankees have picked up their club option worth $15 million bucks on 30-year old lefty swinging 2B Robinson Cano for 2013. Cano played in 161 games for the Yankees last year and he was 196 of 627 (.313 avg, .929 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 33 homers, 94 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Cano has now played in 1,214 games in his first 8 years with the Yankees and he is 1,459 of 4,731 (.308 avg, .854 OPS) with 718 runs scored, 177 homers, 715 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. This was a no-brainer for the Yankees as Cano is the best hitting 2B in all of baseball.

UPDATE: Robinson Cano finished #4 in the A.L. MVP Voting in 2012.

30-year old lefty swinging CF Curtis Granderson finished 4th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award today. Granderson played in 156 games for the Yankees last year and he was 153 of 583 (.262 avg, .916 OPS) with 136 runs scored, 41 homers, 119 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Granderson has now played in 966 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 970 of 3,628 (.267 avg, .837 OPS) with 647 runs scored, 167 homers, 485 RBIs and 104 stolen bases. Granderson showed this year what kind of potential damage he can do with the Yankees. He could win an MVP Award in the near future as long as he keeps hitting lefties.

29-year old lefty swinging 2B Robinson Cano finished 6th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award today. Cano played in 159 games for the Yankees last year and he was 188 of 623 (.302 avg, .882 OPS) with 104 runs scored, 28 homers, 118 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,053 games in his first 7 years with the Yankees and he is 1,263 of 4,104 (.308 avg, .843 OPS) with 613 runs scored, 144 homers, 621 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. Robinson Cano has such a sweet swing that I wouldn’t be surprised to see him eventually win a MVP Award.

31-year old switch-hitting 1B Mark Teixeira finished 19th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. He played in 156 games for the Yankees last year and he was 146 of 589 (.248 avg, .835 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 39 homers, 111 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Teixeira has now played in 1,374 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,467 of 5,213 (.281 avg, .904 OPS) with 872 runs scored, 314 homers, 1,017 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. I look for Teixeira to rebound batting average wise in 2012, and he will have his usual power numbers as he is very consistent.

47-year old Joe Girardi finished 5th in the voting for the A.L. Manager of the Year Award. The Yankees won the A.L. East last year with a 97-65 (59.9%) record. Girardi now has a 462-348 (57%) record in his first five years as a major league manager. He has won the Manager of the Year Award one time (with the Marlins), but it’s going to be hard for him to win another one because the Yankees are expected to win big every year.

31-year old lefty starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia finished in 4th place in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award voting. Sabathia pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has now pitched in 355 games (all starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 176-96 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Sabathia has a real shot at joining the 300 win club if he can just stay healthy.

UPDATE: (11/21/2011) - C.C. Sabathia finished 14th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award today.