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Leave all off topic stuff here- click all to see full discussion.
Anyone on spring break this week?
Yup, this coming week. I just need it to study.
Who’s leading in the march madness bracket competition.
Not me. L. Chong is the leader.
Jeter’s defense in the WBC? Ugh.
Has anyone noticed the awesomeness of our widgets? Schedule and constantly updated standings in the sidebar, and you can follow games out by out in the scoreboard app to the left.
Im watching the Mets on MLB.tv, and it is so incredibly clear.
i know its not the most prudent decision but i would have managed the home opener like i playoff game. This was such a ridiculous way to open the new stadium.
/end rant
I really wish we would stop with all the gay bunting…Why are we giving up outs with such a good lineup….i fucking hate that small ball bullshit
Yeah, I did not like the bunt there. At least let Brett steal first.
June 27th I am off to see the minor leagues, until July 8th or sooner. I had a mixed read on Romine…so says a reporter. I’ll go see what’s up with his report.
I have a ton of stats with me, now I have to see the guys in person. Some of these stats don’t add up when compared to the hype and reports.
Maybe you’ll write up a post for us?
I think you have to view Joba’s season as aplus as it is his first year as a starter throwing7 mph less. Kind of learning on the go. more reliant on secondary pitches.
I have a question about OBP. Say a player gets a walk half the time and strikes out half the time. BA is therefore zero. OBP is an insane .500. Could this hypothetical player have an MLB career, assuming he can play decent defense and can run the bases?
Nah. Pitchers would just challenge him with fastballs down the zone. If he can’t hit at all, then why not?
Well, if he had this innate talent whereby he automatically walked half the time, then yes, I think he could have an MLB career. Of course, with no slugging percentage, that makes for a low OPS, but an OPS of .500 entirely weighted to OBP should give him at least a bench spot.
Would you take that “player” over a guy who hardly ever walks lets be insane and say once or twice a year as a starter but hit a solid .260 and 15 HRs a year? The difference in OBP is huge but one actually contributes with RBI and power.
Since I am in a whimsical mood, let me add another hypothetical player for your consideration. This guy never walks, strikes out 7 out of 8 times, but hits homers (and only) homers 1 out of 8 times. BA is an awful .125, but same total bases as Walkman. I would venture that such a player would be very valuable, since he woul drive in 100 plus runs per season.
No, I do not think he is very valuable, but has some value. That is a .125 OBP and a .500 slugging percentage. AN OPS of .625, when you know that every bit of slugging results in a run scored, is not too bad at all.
Since I am in a whimsical mood, let me add another hypothetical player for your consideration. This guy never walks, strikes out 7 out of 8 times, but hits homers (and only) homers 1 out of 8 times. BA is an awful .125, but same total bases as Walkman. I would venture that such a player would be very valuable, since he would drive in 100 plus runs per season.
Yes I think Rays plan on keeping Carlos Pena… all except the never walks part, but if you hit bombs you should get walked.
Hey Moshe, or anyone else, way off topic, but do any of you know where I can find a basic You Are Here Type Map for Yankee Stadium…not just seating stuff? Mom and Dad are nervous about going, thought it might help
Sorry, I just noticed this (love the feature). Moshe, you asked where you could find streaks W-L records in games where a team is leading, trailing or tied after a certain inning and such: http://presspass.mlb.com/pp_teamselect.asp
Thanks a lot Jamal. I actually found it on BB-Ref, but this is a lot easier to use. Thanks a lot.
I got back from my trip around the minors a few days ago but, have been very busy.
I did see a few guys that struck me as worth while, also Romine and Kevin Russo.
Both guys are ok but, I really like what I saw in Romine. Where that reporter got his information (criticizing Rommy), I don’t know! He looked good to me, of course, like most guys down on the “Plantation”, there are still some holes…nothing that can’t be fixed.
I will try and put something together for all to critique.
I have only put one profile up on my blog, not many (if any) stats but, my take on Andrew Brackman. Give me a break guys, I am not as talented as you are. I wrote what I saw, nothing fancy. Any questions?
Blog is; http://oldranger7.blogspot.com
I don’t know how to put a link in this thing.
Next up is Romine.
Hey guys. I’m in the Navy and currently stationed north of Seattle, then headed to Hawaii in October. Anyone happen to know any good bars to catch games in these areas? Or even better a Yankees bar? I searched around on the net and no luck. Hope someone can help me out!
Hey Tim. I lived in Seattle just a few months ago. I was there since 2007. In terms of bars, I’m not really sure of any that are specifically for Yankees fans. However, if you’re not too far from Seattle, I encourage you to check out Safeco for the series. You may still be able to grab some tickets and the Stadium is excellent. Feel free to email me at if you’re interested and I can give you some info.
Do either CC or AJ have a decent chance at twenty wins this year?
CC is the only one, and he’d have to win 5 of his remaining 6/7 starts. Possible but not probable.
No but I think he could do it with our offense being so strong and his stretch runs being historically really good, lets not forget he went on 3 days rest for like 3 or 4 starts last year to end the season and won them so I’m sure he can go on regular rest with our pen and get 5 wins, just don’t count the big guy out for 20 wins just yet.
Anyone have news on Bret Gardner?
He is aiming to be back by next week sometime.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090825&content_id=6610392&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy
Thanks Chris!
Quick update on Gardner looks like he will do a rehab start in Scranton on Thursday and could be back for the double header with the Rays coming up… His speed off the bench really will make this team even better and will give us a scary bench in the post season Gardenr for speed, Hairston’s versatility, Molina’s arm and Hinske’s power gives us an array of skill sets at a plethora of positions.
I just saw that R.A. Dickey has been DFA if he passes waivers should the Yankees go after him or would it even be worth it to claim him on waivers? I wouldn’t want him to be a starter but it couldn’t hurt having him in the bull pen and if he passes waivers then you could sign him to a minor league contract in order to call him up when rosters expand.
Any news on Ben Sheets and how his recovery is going? I know he is friends with CC and although I doubt the Yankees would sign him for this season I think there is a possibility that they could take a low cost incentive laden contract on a good pitcher who just hasn’t stayed healthy.
Looks like Arod is finally getting on a run and it looks like he is seeing the ball pretty well, he got his 2500th hit today and followed it up with a 2 run single to extend his hit streak to 11 games. The one thing missing from Alex all year was one of those typical Alex hot streaks that lasts a while and gets him going for the year and maybe this will finally be it.
HE pressed some on the first two pitches and got himself in an 0-2 count but he cut the swing fwon and got a s run single with the bags juiced and no outs.
Alex is really starting to look good and his hitting streak is at 12 with his 2-4 day and the last hit was his 24th HR of the season.
Speaking of looking good with that shot Posada has 20 HRs and with Posada’s 20th the Yankees now have 7 players in the line up with 20 or more HR and Jeter currently at 17 should be 8 and 8 would be a share of the record for most 20+ HR hitters in one line up.
Actually we have a share of the major league record for most 20+ HRs in one line up at 7 with Posada’s 20th and once Jeter hits 20 we will have the only line up ever with 8 20 HR hitters.
Gotta love the way Marte is pitching… a perfect 9th inning after Bruney walked the first batter and gets a ground out and 2 strike outs one looking and one swinging and he has allowed one base runner since coming back and a walk at that.
Yup. Marte looks like he did prior to coming to the Yankees. That is a really big development. He’s been a very good reliever for most of his career, no reason to believe he cant help here.
Yeah he was pitching through injury at the beginning of the season so the bad numbers can be dismissed but if this is how he is going to come around when he is healthy we have the best pen in the post season or at least most versatile.
Well even though the D really let him down Joba Chamberlain had a pretty decent first inning stuff wise as he threw two fastballs at 96, two at 94 and only a couple at 91… the curve looks real good but he has no slider to speak of and when he does throw it, it was cement mixing up to the middle. If this whole re spring training thing and then release him for good in the playoffs gets his velocity back up I’m all for it.
Well the fastball started real good but never reached the same level again as in the first, he had no slider at all and a good curve but he used it to much and hung some. Overall not bad, not great but a slight improvement over last week so if he continues progressing maybe he will be ready for the post season.
Mark Melancon is really proving to be a one inning pitcher… in the 4th he was 94 consistently with a few 93′s in the 5th he has been 92 with the occasional 91 and his off speed stuff has lost it’s life.
That was one of the best games I have ever seen Roy Halladay pitch!!! He was beautiful all night, he threw strikes, he mixed speed and movement he did everything you could ask of a pitcher… Red Sox are losing big so it might not hurt us and when you run into that Halladay you very rarely win so no shame in going down to that guy.
Big double header in the Bronx vs the Rays and we got both big ticket pitchers on the mound starting with CC in the morning and Burnett in the finish, should be a lot of fun I think we should win at least Sabathia’s game and hopefully Burnett gets it on track (I wonder who Molina is going to catch? No way Posada catches both games) and Derek Jeter enters Yankee stadium tomorrow 3 hits away from the “Iron Horse” with an opportunity to enter the record books in front of the home field crowd!
EDIT: Well apparently CC chose to pitch the day game and he will work with Posada while Burnett gets Jose which is fine with me because it should bring out the best in both… I wonder if Arod with DH one game or be out for one…
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David Robertson is getting shut down with elbow pain and is going to see Dr. Andrews… Well it was nice to know you David, enjoy your Tommy John surgery and good luck on a healthy return.
Chad Gaudin looks great tonight and he has only thrown 65 pitches through 6 innings and speaking of looking great Alex Rodriguez really battled David Price made him throw a lot of pitches and got a really well hit single to drive in Damon for his 80th RBI of the season, he really is looking like he finally feels comfortable I can’t wait to see what he can do after an off season of conditioning and hip strengthening.
Nick Swisher with 2 HRs and one the game winner and I am really happy for him he really deserves it! He has been struggling at home all year and hits a HR from the left and right side of the plate in this one and has 26 HRs and could be the next to hit 30.
He’s been great. What a steal.
Yeah you had to love the acquisition of Swisher and Hinske as soon as both deals went down, you can’t go wrong adding a walk/HR guy with plenty of character and bravado. If the Yankee win the WS I think people will look at the Swisher trade as one of the best deals made this year!
With BJ Upton dropped to the 9 hole and the Rays trying to dump salary to get Crawford locked up as well as some other players would anyone here consider trading either Melky or Austin Jackson along with 2 minor league pitchers that the Rays like for BJ? This is a guy who plays gold glove defense (9 times out of 10) goes back on the ball better than anyone in the game right now and can develop 20+ HR power 40 SB ability and hit for average, he is struggling with the bat but last post season shows he can hit the ball for power like his brother and steal more bags with better D at CF a premium position so I think you have to consider it if your the Yankees this off season. I think a lot of his struggles are due to the injury early and never getting started off right now if Kevin Long can help sort his swing out he could be one of the top 5 CFers in D and bat every year, and right now Melky and Jackson are no where near that.
Is there anything worse than a rain delay?
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And you people actually want Johnny Damon back… That is the worst play I have ever seen in my life, I have never seen a two bag sac fly.
So Tex has gone 0-3 and left 6 men on base, yet even worse every single one of his at bats today have had Jeter on 3rd base with less than 2 outs and he has yet to get a run home in a tie game every single at bat.
Well through 3 innings tonight Joba looks pretty good, his overall fastball average has been around 91 or so but he has hit 93 several times and he has hit 94 and 95 3 and 4 times respectively. His other pitches however are what is really the impressive part so far as he is actually pitching! He is throwing curve balls, change ups and sliders all with regularity and since the beginning, he is really doing a good job of not falling into a pattern with his pitch selection he seems to be moving the ball in and out well and while his command has been come and go it has been good enough that he has hit the glove when he has needed to in order to get outs. I like the mix of change ups though because Joba really has a very underrated change up and it is a real key for him to go deep into games and get outs with regularity because it is so good. I don’t think you can say that he is where you want him to be just yet but he is definitely making improvements in each and every start he has made since they started him pitching every 5 days, so you can’t say the “Joba rules” aren’t working they just weren’t thought out real well. They should have started him like this just going 4 or 5 innings in every game at the beginning of the season and then let him go at the end but hey no need crying over spilled milk.
The 4th inning was another good inning for Joba he went scoreless and only gave up the one run in 4 innings of works and he had his most consistent high MPH fastball in the 4th. He was averaging about 93 or so and hit 94 and 95 on several occasions while mixing the change, curve and a really nice slider. He looked fairly good overall and he threw close to 70 pitches so he should be able to pitch 6 innings against the Red Sox in the start after the next so lets hope he keeps up the improvement up to and through the playoffs.
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Well I am going to put myself out there and say AJ Burnett will have a great game tomorrow against the Mariners in Seattle, the M’s have some decent talent in there line up but they are in a big park with a lot of free swingers and AJ usually eats those line ups alive.
I say he pitches 7 innings with 8 hits but only 2 ERs, 9 KS and 2 BBs and obviously gets the win with Hughes and Mariano pitching a perfect 8th and 9th respectively.
Well I don’t know if he is going to follow the line I predicted but AJ has a really really good fastball tonight and he is hitting 96 and 97 on several occasions with good command, I think Chris owes AJ an apology for saying he shouldn’t have said he was close when he clearly was ;)
Well Burnett was good and Hughes was better but Mariano had a chink in the armor and the name of that chink was Ichiro and with a 2 run walk off HR we are down to a 6 game lead and still need 10 wins to snag the division after being an out away from 9.
re-reading this post it kind of sounds racist but I had no intention of it coming out that way….
CC looks good tonight even though his fastball command was a little shaky early on but the velocity is really there so going forward he should be fine. Matsui with yet another HR tonight gives him 26 on the year and he looks like his knees are a lot more stable now than they have been all year, does that mean they will be OK going further to the post season and in years to come, probably no way to know unfortunately, but if this is his last year as a Yankee he is making it a good one and it could end in his first WS ring. Man I hate watching Ichiro play opposite the Yankees, he is always so dangerous, makes me wish we had pulled off the Ichiro trade that was in the works a few years ago… I think you could still get him but I don’t know if I would want to trade all the prospects it would take for him to play RF, besides if I was trading for anyone on that team I would just pull out the Phil Hughes/Austin Jackson/Austin Romine/Zach McAllister and any other minor league player they wanted not named Montero for the King.
Everybody must either be on vacation or they are partying until the sun comes up but either way the Yankees won! Mark Teixeira hit 2 HRs to go along with a single and a triple that should have been a HR but Gutierrez brought the ball back in the yard but couldn’t hang onto the ball to make it Tex’s 3rd triple in 5 games after coming into this season with on 13 career. Cano had a great game going 4-5 with 3 doubles and along with the rest of the offense split pretty much even down the batting order the Yankees pounded the Mariners to a grand total of 10-1 and giving only one game to go to come back from the blown save to win the series and kick this west coast trip off the right way. CC Sabathia got his AL leading 18th win pitching 7 innings of 1 run ball, he was hit with a come backer in the 5th inning with 2 outs but would remain in the game and pitch brilliantly to the end, which is a really good thing when you consider Burnett and Sabathia just threw down to great starts back to back for the first time in a while.
In other Yankee news Ian Kennedy made his first 2009 call up with the Yankees today and has joined the bull pen for the stretch run which could only mean good things if he is pitching well, and with all the success we have had with starters in the pen already on the team (Joba, Ace, Hughes, Mo) one more could only do good. I am not however sure if he can be on the post season roster, he was on the DL so it may be possible but it woud take some manoeuvrings to do and I would think he would have to be lights out from here on to have a chance, but with Bruney still not regaining his command he may have a chance to beat him out.
If anyone cares Yankees website has an article up on Robertson and he threw off a mound for the first time since his arm problems and thinks he should be back for at least a few games before the post season.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090922&content_id=7101142&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy
From an article I was reading today… This is from MLB outsider and it’s their list of the Yankees top 10 prospects.
AGAIN I DID NOT WRITE THIS; I PUT THIS UP TO START A DISCUSSION ON THE YANKEES TOP PROSPECTS.
1. Jesus Montero, C: Absolute monster, was on track to be the minor league player of the year until he broke his finger; a top ten prospect in all of baseball.
2. Zach McAllister, SP: Pitching prospects don’t get more solid across the board than McAllister; he has stayed healthy and has ERAs of 2.09 and 2.23 in the past two seasons.
3. Austin Jackson, CF: There are some definite questions about whether his bat will improve more, but he was still one of the youngest players in Triple-A in 2009.
4. Austin Romine, C: More likely to be the Yankees’ catcher of the future than Montero. He has a good approach at the plate, but has yet to turn that into on-base skills.
5. Slade Heathcott, CF: A serious five-tool talent in center field, with a significantly higher upside than Austin Jackson.
6. Manny Banuelos, SP: Broke out in a big way this year – 2.76 FIP in Charleston as an 18-year-old.
7. Arodys Vizcaino, SP: Succumbed to a back injury, but was absolutely dominant in Staten Island this season. Before he was injured, some considered him the best pitching prospect in the system.
8. Jairo Heredia, SP: As you can tell, I am a fan of teenage pitchers who get results. Heredia missed a majority of the season, but has done nothing but excel when he has pitched.
9. Ivan Nova, SP: After being drafted in the Rule 5 draft, he was returned to the Yankees and destroyed Double-A. He was pretty average after being called up to Scranton, though.
10. Jeremy Bleich, SP: Polished lefty has already reached AA, meaning he’ll probably be in line for a call-up at the end of next season.
Heathcott too high, Melancon too low.
I actually agree with both…. I posted this so maybe you would disagree with it and start a thread on next years top 10 or top 15 prospects in the Yankee system, it’s kind of hard to get a discussion going on here in the perpetual off topic thread because it’s always off topic haha.
For those who didn’t read the article here is the rest of the list
11. Mark Melancon, RP: Continued to overmatch Triple-A batters, but didn’t get much of a chance to prove himself with the Yankees.
12. J.R. Murphy, C: He can hit and looks like he’ll stick at catcher, he raked in limited time in the GCL this season.
13. Caleb Cotham, SP: Really like this guy out of Vanderbilt, he dominated the Cape Cod League and was good in a minor league cameo this season. He has the potential to move fast.
14. Andrew Brackman, SP: You know all about this guy.
15. Dellin Betances, SP: He always strikes out a lot of batters and walks a lot when he’s healthy, but he has just never managed to stay healthy.
16. Adam Warren, SP: Dominant debut for Staten Island, I’m told he has been sitting 93-94 with great command.
17. D.J. Mitchell, SP: First professional season and he dominated with a 2.13 FIP in Charleston and a 3.02 FIP in Tampa, also a groundball machine.
18. Kyle Higashioka, C: Numbers weren’t there this season, but he has all of the tools to develop into a solid catcher.
19. Jose Ramirez, SP: Absolutely dominated the GCL this season, and he backs the numbers up with good stuff, sitting 92-93 with his fastball and commanding all four of his pitches.
20. Kevin Russo, UTIL: Personal favorite really raised his stock this year, but much of it was based on a high BABIP and he still doesn’t hit for much power.
21. David Adams, 2B: Higher upside at second base than Russo, solid across the board.
22. Michael Dunn, RP: Converted outfielder who is now a lefty reliever; He has struggled in the majors so far, but a lefty with velocity will get all the chances in the world(see: Sean Henn).
23. Romulo Sanchez, SP/RP: Long stint as a starter for Scranton went well. He’s been hitting 98, getting ground balls, and striking guys out.
24. Wilkins de la Rosa, SP: The hard throwing lefty will probably end up a reliever, but he could be a good one with a strong heater and good slider.
25. George Kontos, SP: Was probably next in line for a big league callup, but went down with Tommy John Surgery; He would have been around the top 10 if not for injury.
26. Gary Sanchez, C: I trust the Yankees’ scouting, and if they are willing to give a 16-year-old $3 million, there must be a lot to like.
27. Damon Sublett, 2B/OF: Versatile defender and on-base machine.
28. Corban Joseph, 2B/3B: Drafted as a shortstop, Joseph hasn’t really found himself a position yet, but he sure has hit.
29. Kelvin DeLeon, OF: Not his biggest fan, but he has too much raw power to ignore. However, his 30.3% strikeout rate in rookie ball is terrifying.
30. Bradley Suttle, 3B: Missed all of 2009, but had to include him on the list with his sweet stroke and hitting upside.
Mitchell, Phelps, Nunez and Adams are all top 10 prospects.
I forgot Nunez as he is very much top 10! He would be no lower then 7th on my list.
Montero
Jackson
Romine
Banuelos
McAllister
Nova
Nunez
Adams
Mitchell
Phelps
You are the last one any wants a list from kid…
Dude you are way to over the top again! Look at all the dumb stuff you write? Now you call me a kid so you continue with the name calling! I mock your ideas because they don’t make sense given the facts that we fans are lead to know.
You have a very narrow view on things and if someone steps off your defined path you go nuts!
Yes I don’t like Melky as a member of the NY Yankees and as a fan I have that right.
Here is an example of why your thinking needs an overhaul. You love Figgens and believe the Yankees should sign him to play left field and lead off. It was pointed out the Figgens isn’t a very good defensively in LF at this time (maybe he can become good out there someday)but that does not stop the CHRIS EXPRESS? does it NO? Next you say let him lead off but did you even look to see how well he is as a lead off hitter? NO you didn’t because if you did you would have found that Jeter is so much better at it. Again dude your ideas don’t have merit. Tone down your ego and open your mind and maybe you can stop quoting yourself!
Finally this forum is for everyone! There is a discussion here on prospects and I have just as much right to comment as you do. Unfortunately you and your humongous ego can’t comment on what I wrote but instead toss out another insult.
Wow, I didn’t even see that list from MLB Outsider, and they have an identical list to me numbers 1-8… dunno how I feel about that.
Oh, this is my list haha… give me the credit instead of MLB Outsider:
http://mvn.com/pendingpinstripes/2009/09/new-york-yankees-post-2009-season-top-30-prospects.html
Did you see Nunez play in person? If so how many times?
Nope, didn’t make it to Trenton this year. I wouldn’t let my eyes change my assessment, though. I’m not a scout, and everything I’ve heard from scouts and people who have seen every game this season say his defense has been poor besides for his arm strength.
Why do people love Nunez all of a sudden. He is in no way a top 20 prospect, I didn’t even have him in my top 35. He’s terrible at defense, doesn’t walk at all, and has no power. His average this season was based on an inflated BABIP that wasn’t backed up at all by his line drive rate.
9 homeruns in Trenton for a middle infielder is quite nice imo.
Over his last 137 pa from August 1st through his AAA experience he has 13 BB again very nice. Hopefully he can keep it up next year.
He has great range and a fantastic arm. Yes he’s made a bunch of errors and I have seen him make some terrible off balance throws but he’s also made some unbelievable plays.
You do not even mention that he gave up switch hitting at all.
I am a big fan of Nunez and firmly believe he has the inside track to the Yankees starting SS job for 2012.
Plus he has a language barrier as well with Spanish being his native tongue. Nunez has had a very fine season an if you don’t see it I am not sure what you are looking for. Did you get to Trenton to see him play in person? I did and I like what I see. Even if you didn’t see him in person the range he exhibited in spring training was excellent.
What does a language barrier have to do with anything? A good 60% of the MLB native language isn’t English…
Don’t you think a young player who does not speak English could find playing in foreign country just a little intimidating and uncomfortable? It’s just another obstacle to overcome.
Not when you consider almost everyone in the club house speaks Spanish and a lot of the veterans barley speak English… Sounds more like an excuse you are trying to make because someone disagreed with you.
So your opinion is nothing but second hand imagination and fluff! Nunez is a top 10 prospect and seeing him live in person confirms what I read and hear. Maybe you ought to go see him play before denouncing him!
Scott…
I have seen him play a few times…top 20, not a chance. Good range…nothing else!
My opinion only, you have yours…I have mine. Let’s move on to something else, shall we?
So your opinion is nothing but second hand imagination and fluff! Nunez is a top 10 prospect and seeing him live in person confirms what I read and hear. Maybe you ought to go see him play before denouncing him!
LOOK DUDE WERE FINISHING THIS HERE…. We have better things to do on here than talk about this every single day so here is the finish line my friend.
First off all I don’t want to read anything you say ever and don’t even want to take it into consideration when you start out your messages with “LMAO” and “GENIUS AT WORK” and Etc… it makes it you look 12 and by the way you talk that is about the age I think you are, now maybe you’re a lot older but that is how comes off to me because no adult types LMAO.
Now I don’t care what you think of me and you don’t care what I think of you but I am not idiot I do know what I am talking about and I am very passionate about all sports, we have two choices either you can respond to this in some childish manner and I will forever ignore you or we can be adults here and actually conversations going forward and probably learn a lot from each others respective knowledge, but if you don’t it’s whatever. I am looking to bury the hatchet because I don’t want to keep talking to you about this all the time and having problems so either you also bury the hatchet or I stop reading your posts.
First of all it was never pointed out that FIGGINS (correct spelling) was a bad LFer it was pointed out he was inexperienced but has played the position before and there are no stats to show he did badly.
Jeter is a great lead off hitter true, but if Chone doesn’t lead off you lose a lot of his value because he doesn’t get a chance to get on first with no one on as much so he doesn’t get a chance to steal as much, he also doesn’t have a lot of power so moving him to the two hole and having Jeter leading off doesn’t make much sense, and when you consider he is a switch hitter who hits .300 you lead him off to start him in the right direction and since Jeter can hit any where he moves to the two hole because it doesn’t hurt him as much as Figgins in the two does. Chone is nothing but a lead off man and has been for a few years so yes I do know lead off stats…
Stop capitalizing so much I’m not your kid and your not going to computer yell at meit just makes me not want to read because you have dismissed my idea based off the fact you don’t like me… you have even gone so far as to criticize my writing while telling me you didn’t read it which is also childish.
As far as quoting myself, I am the one who posts the most here since I obviously right now have the most free time to do so, so in order to elaborate on a concept I put forward earlier that I can no longer edit I quote it. Is there a rule saying I can’t quote myself or post a lot?
You say my ideas don’t have merit? Then fine don’t read them but I do know sports, I do know baseball and I do know the Yankees and you could learn a lot by reading my writing probably as I can learn a decent amount from reading your works, but guess what you have made it almost impossible for any of your ideas to get through.
You say I have an ego? I have opinionated thoughts I put out for people to do what they want with… you are the one who dismisses anything about anyone you disagree with so aka you have a huge ego as well bub.
As far as the Melky stuff, how can you not understand that he is inconsistent because of a reason? He doesn’t choose to be inconsistent and he wasn’t born that way, he has a reason behind it, he is doing something wrong at times that when he is successful he isn’t doing, I explained thoroughly that I believe this to be trying to pull up and create lift for more HR swings and when he is just trying to hit what is thrown his way he levels out his swing more (although there is still some lift to it) yet you come in and say he never has a mechanical flaw and there is no way he could have one after that many at bats. Everyone has mechanical flaws they fight from time to time because they are getting out of what they do best this just happens to be his, don’t believe me? Watch just him hitting… Still don’t believe me after that then come back on this website and explain to me what you see wrong with his swing when he is going through slumps and between us and this site I bet we will come up with the real reason no matter what it is.
You say this site is for everyone I agree that is why I share my ideas, no one is being forced to agree with me but for some reason if I don’t agree with you I’m wrong, seems to be some hypocritical actions going on here.
So what is it going to be? Are you going to continue to act like a 12 year old or can we move past this stuff? either way my aggravation ends here.
Laughing…
Exactly what I thought you can’t be mature enough to even move on with anything less than a middle school answer….
Enough, this ends here. I’m not going back and reading through all of this stuff to see who is at fault, so both of you act like the bigger man and stop replying to each other, please.
I already ended it bro… If you can read my message it says either grow up or i’ll stop reading your posts… guess what his response was that of a 12 year olds and so I’m done reading his posts…. Doesn’t matter anyway kids to young to be typing on the computer to adults.
I see you still like calling me names! Moshe I never started with the name calling. I am sorry he always goes there. I laugh at him because he’s amusing and funny with his silly ideas. To bad he can’t take it without getting petty.
Does anyone know why Brian Bruney changed his number to 99?
Good range nothing else? Wow, please tell me what you look for in a young player? The kid is not a finished product yet. He is still honing and harnessing his game.
Where are the Chapman free agency talks at? I know the Yankees are going to be interested but will they wait until the off season to do anything? Will they be willing to sign him based off of just the bull pen session he is going to throw soon or like the Angels will they only sign him if he is willing to pitch to real batters in a realistic pitching situation.
I think the Angels are just posturing (with Chapman and other teams). They’re right, though. Spending $40-50 million on a guy after seeing only a handful of bullpen sessions is rather problematic. It’ll be interesting to see what Chapman and his handlers decide on doing in order to maximize his contract.
I think if he decides not to pitch to live batters it may be a real indication of his lack of ability to pitch at a consistent level… I think a major part of this whole process though needs to be put into his mental status because I have read about him and he seems like any 21 year old coming out of a repressed country to free world would be, WILD. If he isn’t mentally ready to handle New York we need to know, Cuba and New York really are two different worlds.
Any more Chapman news lately?
How come CC is not in the MVP poll?
How come CC is not in the MVP poll?
ROFL Sabathia gives up 4 runs in the first inning but yet none of them count against his ERA because of Tex’s fielding error on the second batter.
But how does it feel to plug into a system that’s say, a million times as smart as a person.
Well it looks like the Twins really want to face the Yankees and they pounded Zach Miner to take the lead from the Tigers… I personally don’t care who wins this game I think we win the upcoming series either way but for the simple fact that the Twins have no real Ace I would like to face them over Verlander.
Ordonez tied it up on a solo shot, he is really putting in a good game in this one.
This is one hell of a game and the final out in the 10th is a an out at the plate on an attempted sac fly, at this point one team would be better off to just go ahead and win because it’s already in the 11th and they have to play in New York tomorrow. That is not an ideal situation for either team but could be a huge advantage for the Yankees as long as the Yanks don’t come out rusty after a few days off waiting for an opponent.
I really like Delmon Young, when they were both in the minors I always wanted the Yankees to be able to acquire both Delmon Young and BJ Upton. I never thought it would be able to happen but it looks like one or the other could easily be gotten by the Yankees this off season, I would much rather trade for Upton though, he has the abiltity to win a gold glove in CF every year and the raw ability to hit 20-30 HRs and steal 30-40 bases a year. I think a starting package of Austin Jackson and McAllister might be able to be close to getting it done and with his talent level I would try and work a deal out.
I like BJ, if we can get him that would be great. My only criticism of him would be, I have seen him give up on some plays. Is it my defensive mind thinking or is this something anyone else has seen or heard of?
I have never seen him “give up” on a play but I have seen him not run as hard as he can or style for the catch but for the most part when he looks “lazy” it’s because of how easily he runs it look effortless.
The match up is official and tomorrow will be game 1 in New York the Yankees Vs The Twins… I wonder who will start game against Sabathia?
Cole Hammels showed why he didn’t start game 1 by only going 5 and giving up 4, not terrible I guess but not good either.
Leaving Kershaw in to hit and then pitch in the 7th coming up on 100 pitches is classic Joe T! What a terrible mistake, he probably wanted to give him a chance to pick up the win and instead he can only lose.
WOW Broxton is warming up in the bottom of the 7th down by one… That would be pitching Broxton for two innings in back to back games to start the playoffs, get serious, I am so glad Torre isn’t our manager anymore he is terrible with the pen!
Angels finally broke through on Lester with a 3 run Torri Hunter HR in the 5th inning! If Lester loses there is a good chance at LAA taking home field advantage and going into Boston with Kazmir against Clay for game 3, with the Clay being a rookie and having the series on him he could crack.
For a playoff game there have been 3 pretty big base running calls that were just plain wrong! 2 went against the Sox though so who cares haha… Lackey has the 5-0 lead going into the 8th.
The Dodgers are 2 Broxton outs away from a sweep of the Cardinals and if the Yankees and Angels take care of business it could be the first of 3 DS sweeps this year!
I figured Padilla would win this game before the series started but I thought it would be the Dodgers first win of the series not the sweep… but I gues that is what makes baseball so great, anything can happen!
Apparently part of the Yankee organization wanted to send Joba to the minors in August to work out his problems and if he struggles at the start of next year he could see himself demoted to triple A as opposed to going to the bull pen.
Who makes the best 2010 Yankee DH? Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Jason Bay, Aubrey Huff, Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero or Jim Thome?
Matsui and Thome fall into the same category as guys who can’t play the field at all and even though MAtsui holds some emotional value I think Thome over a one year contract makes more sense because he has (even today) a lot more power than Matsui offers and will probably only hit .30 points lower than Matsui.
Abreu, Damon and Vlad can all play the field a little bit but only a very little as they all are getting older and becoming liabilities in the outfield… out of the 3 however Abreu probably gives you the most ability in the outfield still, which really is sad for the other two. As far as which bat I would want for us it would have to be Damon, his swing is perfect for Yankee stadium and if he can manage to hit 22+ HRs he is worth the DH spot and familiarity with the player helps as well. Damon should also manage to stay healthier over a full season at DH only playing the field every so often which should allow his bat to stay hotter than it did this year as he struggled with leg injuries and played through quite a few injuries of all sorts.
In the end I would go with Damon to DH and try to sign either Bay or Figgins to play LF if no trades present themselves.
I forgot to add Mike Cameron to the LF list if Damon DHs he is going to be 37-38 next year but he can play LF at more than an acceptable level and deliver 20 HRs from the 8th spot in the order.
Chris….what happened to Adam Dunn as DH and some OF, he is only 29 and a Lefty bat? How do you think he would fit with his swing?
You would have to trade for Dunn and it would have to be some good prospects to pry the only name out of Washington besides Zimmerman… Why would you trade for Dunn when you could get just as many HRs and just as many strike outs and just as low a batting average with Thome. I personally wouldn’t want either because of the cost of Dunn and the age and lack of D with Thome. Damon on a 2 year deal makes the most sense because he makes the DH spot somewhat flexible and he knows New York and the fans of the Yankees like him.
Early in the spring (maybe winter) everyone wanted Dunn. I said no way because they wanted him to play OF also! As A DH he still has shortcomings, but not as many. You may be right as to the cost for him.
Johnny is a very good clubhouse guy but, I don’t see him having another good year with the bat. I know, I have been very critical even before others jumped on the band wagon (of his defense). He would be no better then Matsui in the OF, in fact I would go for Matsui over Johnny any-day as DH, Johnny always wears out around late September. I guess I’m just not sold on Johnny, I have seen his type of player fade fast…speedy lead-off hitter with some pop to a beefed up slower hitter with more pop. They tend to go out fast, not all but, most of them.
What you say about Johnny is true but a lot of the reason he went cols this year was because of leg injuries, at DH it would allow him to stay healthy all year, as to where Matsui’s knees are going to be a question mark for the rest of his playing career and he is a DL stint waiting to happen.
I would also say if you are signing Matsui to DH you might as well just sign Thome to a one year deal with a team option for the 2nd, Thome has more power and in Yankee stadium would hit 40 HRs in the 5th spot giving some real protection to Alex. Neither can field and neither are hitting .300 again and both are left handed so go with the one with more power who could drive in 100 in the 5th spot with at least 30 HRs as opposed to 25-28 HR and 80-90 RBI. I would go with Dunn over either but he isn’t a free agent until 2011 and if your going to trade for him just wait until then and you don’t have to give up young talent.
I worry about a guy the age of Thome, sometimes age catches up quickly. As it is his bat is already slowing down big time. Granted, his swing is great for right field.
One of the reasons I like Matsui is, he hits lefty’s as well as righty’s and will be one more year away from surgery. If he is used right, he could make it through the year as DH with rest and give Posada DH time.
Well, time will tell…Cashman makes deals that others never saw coming, so we’ll see what happens.
YEah, and those are the reasons I wouldn’t sign Thome but I still say he would be a better option than Matsui because I still believe he would hit 30+ HRs and drive in more runs than Hideki. Would he be as clutch? Who knows.
Matsui would want at least a 2 two year contract and I don’t trust those knees enough to ensure him to be the every day DH for two years.
Yeah you could end up with Jason Bay at DH and someone else in LF, or he could make a trade for a CFer and then you have Gardner as the left fielder, a lot to happen before we know though.
I don’t have any arguments with what you say but one thing…Brett has played CF his whole life. He did play a couple games in L/R in the minors but his fielding suffered a bit. Moving him to LF would be tough unless they send him to winter ball somewhere. To be honest, I think we would have to get one hell of a defencive CF for me to take him out of that spot.
If finding a very good DH for us is our biggest problem for 2010, I’ll be very happy…wouldn’t you?
Well if you trade for a guy like BJ Upton you can’t move him to LF over Brett he has better defensive all the way around except maybe in speed and even there they are really close. YOu would spend all spring training with Gardner playing LF and he would pick it up fast enough to start the season at LF, it’s not like he would be swithcing to 1B over here it’s just LF it would take some time to get use to it but he could do it and with Swisher in RF, BJ in CF and Garder LF with Melky the defensive replacement in RF and 4th outfielder you have a really athletic and and talented out field.
I think our problems will be a starting pitcher, LF or DH and a set up man so we have a couple of problems to fill in and if Pettitte doesn’t come back we may need two FA starters.
My Free agents to watch…
Rich Harden
Ben Sheets
Jason Bay
Chone Figgins
Players to watch for in trade
Huston Street
BJ Upton
Grady Sizemore
Ian Stewart
Brett to LF is alright to me, he can do it. I don’t agree going after FA Pitchers, I don’t think we need them. We already have CC and AJ as our #1/2s, even if Andy comes back (which he will, if offered) we have Joba, Phil, IPK, and Gaudin ready to start if they can win the job. Out of Four guys we should be able to get two that can make a difference as our 4 and 5 starters, don’t you think?
No I don’t! Hughes has an innings limit so he wont be starting all year, Joba is a complete unknown and could take a complete regression back or be sent to the minors, IPK is not a starter IMO and he especially can’t be a 3 or 4 starter this year for sure and Gaudin is below as average as a starter and his value mostly lies in being a long man/spot starter like Aceves.
We only have 3 real “starters” right now and w do need to sign at least one starting pitcher and I think Rich Harden is the one…
Sabathia
Burnett
Pettitte
Harden
Hughes/Joba
Harden becomes the 4th starter and in spring training Joba and Phil compete for the 5th spot and loser goes to the minors… Joba needs some minor league time t help develop what he never did and Hughes could start in the minors to help limit his innings like David Price. I also believe we will sign Aroldis Chapman but he won’t be ready to be in the majors for at least a half year if not 1-2 years.
The reason we have to go with 3 starters in the ALCS is because we only have 3 starters and next year they will be older, there is no guarantee that Pettitte comes back or that he (or Burnett for that matter) will stay healthy so you need to sign at least one starter.
Do you really want this rotation?
Sabathia
Burnett
Joba
Hughes
IPK/Nova/McAllister
If we have a guy like Harden who could be an ace as the number 4 starter we have one of the most unbeatable rotatons in baseball, and if Joba or Hughes step up big and have a good year then we have 1-5 dominate and we are planning for the future because Harden is only 28 next year and Pettitte wont be around more than one more year if he wants to come back.
The Dodgers have announced there starting rotation for the NLCS
Clayton Kershaw
Vicente Padilla
Kuroda
Wolf
That looks like a decent rotation but when you consider Kershaw being a rookie, Padilla being inconsistent who knows what to expect from this rotation, they could go up 2-0 or they could go down 0-2.
Who would you rather sign for the 8th inning role Valverde out of Houston or Gonzalez out of Atlanta? Both have been closers, both are in their 30s and both could be a 2 or 3 year stop gap until someone steps up with the ability to set up for the future.
I’m really hoping tomorrow doesn’t get rained out… If it does we are looking at Gaudin Vs Kazmir and then this whole series turns on it’s head and we could lose the series in 5 games….
Phillies have a 4 run lead if Lidge can just hang on they can steal Cole Hammels start they have a chance to be 2-0 entering Cliff Lee’s start.
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This is why the playoffs are so crazy and fun to watch… Pedro Martinez throws a 7 inning 2 hit game, who would have seen that coming? They were saying if he could just go 5 with 2 or 3 runs they would take it and boy did he show up… People trying to say the Angels will win in 5 or the Yankees will sweep just watch this game see you can never know this stuff for sure.
The other Chris H
October 15th, 2009 at 18:30
Do you really want this rotation?
Sabathia
Burnett
Joba
Hughes
IPK/Nova/McAllister
===================================================
Nope!! I’d go for CC, AJ, Andy, Joba and Phil!
If the price is right I would love to have Harden, as you have said; “He could make a difference”‘ Can Harden be gotten without braking the bank? It’s not that I don’t think he is a good pitcher and can’t help the team, I just think he is not an Ace type pitcher. Joba or Phil (maybe both) may become dominate within a very short time…2010/11.
I’m talking about if Andy wins a ring and decides he is done and is going out a champion then we have a rotation with no Andy and Phil and Joba both become playoff starters.
Harden has “ace” stuff but the perfct part of it is that he isn’t an ace and we don’t need one… He was the 4th pitcher with the Cubs he would more than be the 4th starter for a world series team like the Yankees… Harden also has an injury history which will drive his contract down and he wont get more than 2 years at an average price for a 3 or 4 starter in this economy. That is what makes him so appealing you are getting a 4th starter with “ace” quality stuff but the question marks surrounding him make him a cheap source of pitching.
Ok, I see what you are getting at but, I like the idea of giving our own pitchers the chance to advance and show they are worth something more then a trading chip. We have some guys that are just one steep away from being major league pitchers themselves.
Guys like Joba, Gaudin, Phil, IPK (i know you don’t think much of him), even Z-Mac, Nova and Dunn could have big turnarounds next year.
I guess if Andy goes bye, bye, Harden would be a good replacement, I just see so much talent in our own house…use um or lose um!
Approve of the give and take, you may have changed my mind about the Harden pick-up. Like I said; I like our own, first and foremost and Harden will be 30 (right?) whereas, our own kids will be in their early 20s with room to grow.
First of all Joba is an unknown and could end up back in the minors next year (the only reason he didn’t this year was because we didn’t have anyone to take his place), Hughes will have an innings limit and will have to be sent to the minors to start the season to control his innings better, Gaudin isn’t a starter for us next year ad the Yankees won’t try and make him one. He is better out of the pen and he isn’t a great starter by any means. McAllister has never pitched higher than double A ball so you don’t know how much time he needs to be major league ready or what he will do when he gets there, Nova struggled at triple A last year and will need at least a half a year at Scranton to be ready for a call up and Dunn isn’t a starting pitcher.
No! Harden is 27 years old right now and will turn 28 in November so he will be 28 all of next year that is why it makes so much sense to sign him because he is technically just into his prime as a pitcher… I even want Harden even if we do decide to bring back Andy and he decides to come back. I have no problem with letting young guys develop but you can’t count on them like that to take over big pitching roles, especially when both probably go back in the bull pen next year and we should have a 4th starter so we don’t have the problem we have this year next.
Just think about the starting rotation and what it means for Joba and Hughes and Kennedy and see if it isn’t better.
Sabathia
Burnett
Pettitte
Harden
Joba/Hughes
Harden comes in as the 4th starter giving us a legit 4th starter making sure we don’t have to pitch CC on short rest at any point in the post season if we don’t want to! Joba and Hughes both have to come to spring training knowing which ever one doesn’t perform goes to the minors to sort out there problems which creates competition and you get the better of both instead of just promising both a starting spot from the beginning and Joba getting lazy again. If Joba goes to the minors it is good because he can work out the problems he had as a starter this year and harness his mechanics in a less stressful enviorment, if Hughes goes to the minors then the Yankees use it as a chance to treat him like David Price and limit his innings while in Scranton so once he ready to come up (if someone gets hurt or they want to go to a 6 man rotation again) he is all hands on deck with no pitch counts or innings limitations on the horizon like with Joba this year. Finally with Kennedy you can put him in the pen, let him work his way back from the surgery and missing most of the year by contributing in the pen and becoming a better pitcher who can contribute and he will be an Aceves type out of the pen.
You don’t have to not use your own young pitchers but you can’t count on them to come up big that’s how you get in trouble, if they do come up big fine but if they don’t you have to have the back up plan ready. Harden who is a 27 and will be 28 next year is a perfect pitcher who would come cheap and would only need a 2 or 3 year deal, he takes over as the number 3 when Andy leaves and when his contract is up Joba and Hughes will be full fledged starters in the 3 and 4 spots and Kennedy will have his chance at the 5 spot. We also have some problems we can address with guys like McAllister and get something in a trade like an 8th inning guy or a young LFer.
When you think about it reasonably and consider that both Joba and Hughes have a long way to go before you can count on them to be a 4th starters then signing a young 27 year old soon to be 28 year old Harden makes perfect since for us. Harden has some of the best pure stuff in the league and has the 4th highest K/9 in baseball at 9.35 per 9 after spending all but a year and a half in the AL dominating as an ace. He has the injury concerns which go away with him being a 4th starter and you are getting a pitcher who at his best can shut down the Red Sox or any line up and help take this team to an even higher level.
Think about the playoffs this year with a guy like Harden as the 4th starter, CC doesn’t have to go on short rest to close out the series and he goes into game 4 with a stuff advantage over Kazmir.
Ok,ok already, I get it, Harden would be a good fit…you say! I must confess, I have no memory of seeing him pitch, so I will bend to your knowledge of how good he is. I don’t like going by stats alone, they never tell the whole story of a player.
I do like the way you laid it out for those guys, not too unreasonable at all. It makes as much sense as any other approach to making us better next year.
One thing to keep in mind, Joba and Phil will be much better next year. The Yanks f–ked up with Joba, and he will have all winter and spring to get it together…and he will.
Harden is a great starting pitcher with a mid 90′s fastball that sits at 93-95 and he compliments that with a good change up and splitter (they could be the same pitch with slight changes in grips) for the strike out pitch and he has a good slider and a curve ball as well… Go watch some tape on him from when he was in Oakland or look at what he did last year with the Cubs or in the second half with the Cubs this year. He struggled at the start of the year but had one of the best second half’s in baseball for starters!
You can expect Joba to have a better grasp of starting yes but if he is still throwing 90-92 then he is no more than a 5th starter in his career and simply becomes average if that is the case you have to be prepared for that to happen not blind to the possibility of it because you don’t want it to happen! As far as Hughes goes you really don’t know what to expect, first of all he has an inning limit so it would be better for him to start in triple A and work his innings there instead of the way Joba was handled and Hughes is going to have to learn to re pitch to line ups and do it with out his 95 MPH+ fastball he has in the pen and he is going to have to re learn his breaking pitches to make sure he is a complete pitcher which will take time… If you sign Harden you take all the pressure off of Joba and Hughes to be winners on a team that has no choice but to win and you can focus on winning with the team but for Joba and Hughes developing good starting pitchers is allowed to come first because they don’t have to be 4th starters or carry any of the load.
T.O.Chris, I think you may be forgetting Joba has more then one pitch.
If he can throw at 90/94 fastball, he can still be a very good pitcher with the other pitches he has. He has a killer slider and curve, with a change-up. When he quits going to his slider all the time he will be much more effective. Fastball at 92, slider at 88/89…not much different. Fastball at 92, curve at 83/85 is much better along with a change-up.
Right now he is to predictable, FB or Slider all the time. He has to get confidence in his other pitches and throw them more. How many pitchers have four good pitches…not very many.
Phil has the same thing going for him, fastball (90/92), killer curve and a change-up with a cutter coming along (it’s looking good).
These are some of the reasons I say they may have a break out year in 2010…not that they will, just that they could!
First of all I have been following Joba’s career since he was in the minors I know all about the guy’s stuff///
He isn’t throwing 90-94 in starting he is throwing 90-92 with one or two 93s every once in a while and if you haven’t noticed he hasn’t had a “nasty slider” since they started limiting his innings, in fact this post season I haven’t seen him throw one slider that was even close to a “good pitch” he has gotten away with a lot of bad sliders but he hasn’t had that good tight slider in a couple months even while starting… and it should have gotten better in the pen.
His curveball he doesn’t believe in and very rarley has thrown as of recently (in his starts) and he hasn’t had good control on it either and it really hasn’t done much for him in his last few times he started.
His curveball isn’t 83-86 it’s 78-82 at the max and when it is right it is a good pitch but he doesn’t believe in it near enough and he can barley throw it for strikes so it gets him in trouble. His change up has gotten better and it’s an underrated pitch he has but he doesn’t use it until the 5th innings or the 4th inning when he is really going good but since he can’t seem to throw less than 100 pitches in 5 innings it doesn’t seem to matter much because he is getting blown up before he can use it.
If Joba is only throwing 92 MPH he will never be a great pitcher, he is a power pitcher with less than power stuff it won’t work, he is protecting his arm and if he keeps it up then that will determine what he will be a guy who works hard in contract years and is scared to get hurt the rest of the time!
When Joba is throwing 92 his stuff is just average, he doesn’t have the killer bite on his slider and he little command on any of his pitches… even his strike out of Vlad was because Vlad will swing at anything… Chamberlain has a lot of work to do and he can not be lazy about it! HE needs to build up his leg and arm strength and not be worried about hurting himself and throw 93-95 as a starter because if he doesn’t he is a 5th starter or a bullpen piece.
I don’t see Hughes as much of a top line starter no matter how you slice it his fastball is 90-92 with occasional 93 or 94 but it is one of the straightest fastballs I have ever seen and his knucklecurve has barley been worked on at all, he has gone back to a slider and using his cutter. He has a lot to work on but much less overall potential then Chamberlain if Joba can get his velocity back, if Hughes becomes the top of what he can be I see a good 3 starter if he doesn’t he is another 4 or 5 starter with OK stuff who has his fair share of pretty good game and terrible games.
Joba needs to face more live hitters, time in the minors might do him some good and Hughes is going to need minor league time as well to limit his innings either way we need another starter to help feel some games those guys won’t be starting. They could break out but it shouldn’t be counted on you have to make other plans.
Being as I grew-up in Nebraska and follow NU sports, I think I have a little bit of an edge on you with Joba. You are right in the fact that nothing seems to be working right now. What I said was more or less; Joba has a good fastball, killer slider and a good curve along with a change-up. I never said they were anywhere near the way they were last year or the year before.
These are pitches he has and must work his ass off to get them back, for next year…in other words, a work in progress. There is no doubt in my mind, he can do it and will do it, it may take some time but, that’s life.
OK let me tell you what he actually has this year since you still seem to be watching the old Joba right now (and as a starter) he has a below average straight fastball sitting 90-92, a terrible cement mixing slider with no real in the zone breaking out of the zone late life, he has a curve he doesn’t believe in and can’t throw for a strikes and a change up that he doesn’t use because he never gets deep into games! I like Joba, he’s my favorite young pitcher but right now he has none of what you said, right now Chamberlain is a below average middle reliever!
You are absolutely right.
“Right now”, being the key words. I think with hard work and help, he can change all of this back to the old Joba, maybe even a better one. Adversity/failure is a very good teacher. This kid has had things go his way (more or less) for so long, he hasn’t had to deal with the problems he is having now…he’ll get it together.
Yes but you see the point I have been making from the beginning is you can not count on that to happen because what if he doesn’t care? What if he is fine with just being good enough as long as he doesn’t get hurt, then you need a starting pitcher to be ready in case he needs to go to the minors to learn that lesson and fix himself.
I got Alex down for another HR tonight! He looked more focus in the batting cage than anyone else I saw and I think he is going to have a big game against the lefty Kazmir and the Yankees will end this one in regulation on top.
Well instead of having teams and scouts come to him Aroldis Chapman and his agent have decided to come to New York to meet with teams and suppose to touch down in the NYC sometime this afternoon.
“Arangure Jr. still sees the hard-throwing 21-year-old lefty getting a contract in the $40-60MM range. He considers the Yankees and Red Sox top suitors for Chapman, with the A’s and Giants in the mix. The Angels, Mets, and Orioles are also interested, based on previous reports. The Dodgers are not viewed as a serious suitor, according to one Arangure Jr. source.”.
Well with him coming to New York to do his interviews I think it bodes well that he will ultimately be a Yankee, and the fact that we have put such a performance together this offseason should only help our case to get Chapman but I would hope it’s closer to the 20-30 million are.
Another stat to add to my “bring in Mike Cameron” platform is that this year out of all the hitters in free agency this offseason Cameron was second in OBP against lefties at .420… He would really help out in LF with his glove and his bat against left handed hitters changes this line up around to be a strength even more so against left handed hitters.
Swisher in Right Field, ok?
CF- Brett 26 years old….270 BA/.345 obp
LF-Melky 24 years old….274 BA/.331 OBP/68 RBIs
or a 37 year old with .250 BA/.342 OBP/70 RBIs
Camerons numbers don’t come close to matching up with those guys…plus the age difference is bad news. Again, I say NO to Cameron, he is a disaster, just waiting to happen.
Melky can’t start in LF with his offensive numbers the outfield just isn’t any good! You aren’t looking at the right numbers… Cameron was one of the better CFer in the the NL this year and still covers good range, in LF his defense gets even better and he has a much improved arm over Damon which in turns gives you a great 4th outfielder in Melky off the bench.
The numbers you give don’t tell the whole story so don’t short change the guy, he hit 24 HRs (RBI are a luck stat and don’t matter) and 32 doubles to go along with his .420 OBP against left handed hitters… In this line up with Kevin Long as the hitting coach he no choice but to take more pitches and walk more and with the players surrounding him in the line up he will get better pitches to hit, even if he still hit .250 he is better than Melky because you are comparing 13 HRs to 24 HRs in the 8th hole before Gardner comes up.
When you consider it would be a one or two year contract for him to play above average defense in LF and hit 25+ Hrs a year he is an upgrade in every department over Melky but average and Melky was on a great team and Mike was one of the only offensive forces (besides Prince) on a terrible Brewers team!
He will be a stable LF for two years until we decide what we should do with Austin Jackson… trust me Cameron is a good player and would more than fit in and would upgrade our team…
one line up with Matsui at DH the other with Damon….
Jeter
Damon
Tex
Arod
Posada
Cano
Swisher
Cameron
Gardner
—————
Jeter
Cano
Tex
Arod
Matsui
Posada
Cano
Swisher
Cameron
Gardner
Both those line ups are upgrades over our current one when you consider Melky is your 4th outfielder and Cameron will actually save us runs in LF as oppose to Damon actually losing runs with his glove… If you want Melky starting in LF you have more belief in him than even I do…
The only good point made for Cameron is his HRs and his hitting against Leftys. His HRs are not needed and his splits are a WAS. He will be a year older next year (37), how many good old players have you seen have ONE good year before they fall off the table the next? Bernie Williams anyone! I say NO way, we are trying to get younger not older. Melky is not and ideal LF (he may improve more) but, he is better then Cameron…a 250 BA with only a .342 OBP is not what this team needs. Besides, splits don’t tell the whole story; last year Matsui was badddd aginst leftys, this year he is hitting much much better.
Melky has been centering the ball a lot more this year and his HRs have gone up every year (I think) he could be in the 20 HR range as he grows and fills out (trim off some of that baby fat).
No the best argument is that he is not Bernie Williams and he actually plays CF at an above average level so putting him at LF will only allow him to do better defensively…. You say his HRs aren’t needed but if you let Damon go you have 24 HRs to replace and if you let Matsui go you have 28 HRs to replace and Melky/Miranda aren’t doing that… With his Hrs and his defense in LF especially when you consider it’s a one year deal because no one else available is better for the same price it’s a move that makes sense and I wouldn’t be surprised to get done!
Last year Matsui didn’t have enough at bats to prove anything and he was injured because he need knee surgery you comparison is not valid! Also Cameron has more range than Bernie did at all times and he always had the better arm, Bernie had a less room for error and couldn’t hack it in CF anymore.
Melky has a shot at 20 but I doubt he will ever get there at this point because he wants to yank the ball to often, having Mike in LF with Melky as your 4th outfielder is more than fine! If Cameron fails it’s a one year deal in which he will still play better LF than Damon can Melky is right there to replace him towards the end if he sucks… which he won’t he will hit .260-.270 with 25+ HRs and a play above average LF.
If you are trying to say Cameron had ONE good year defensively this year you are wrong the guy has always been an above average CFer.
No, I didn’t mean his defense, I meant his all around game was good for a guy his age. Cameron is a ballplayer…Bernie was an athlete (like A-Jax) that happened to take up baseball. Great speed, good hitter, NO baseball instincts. That’s why Pauly said one time ‘Bernie never thinks at the plate’ (or words to that effect) when asked if Bernie was setting on certain pitches as Posada does sometimes.
Either way Cameron is a much better player at this point and has had a very solid consistent career with a .260-.270 BA, 70 BBs a year and 20-30 HRs a year if you have the ability to add a guy like that for a year or two playing above average defense you are only upgrading the team… It’s the difference in 5 or 6 million for Cameron or 17+ million per year for Holliday… No thank you! I’ll take Cameron.
Have a question for you T.O. Chris…
You really didn’t mean A-Rod was the best player ever did you? You can’t really make such an egregious statement and let it stand.
Before we get to arguing about that, maybe you will look up two Yankee players and their records. A-Rod stacks up ok with them but, ok isn’t good enough. Try The Babe and the Iron Horse.
I know the old argument “A different era” and all that but just think about it a little. They set their marks in the much much much bigger Yankee stadium and most places were much the same, in the dead ball era, most teams had two Aces on each staff and because there were fewer teams the pitching was better. Just a point of fact, have you ever worn those heavy shoes or one of those old uniforms (I have, I’m that old) they were heavy and hot as…all get out. The bats were heavy, hell I used a 34 ounce and had to choke up a bit on it.
So yes, the era was different but those to guys would be mega stars in to-days game…NO doubt!
Off to bed, there are some fish waiting for me in the morning.
I NEVER SAID THAT AND YOU SAYING I DID A COMPLETE LIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I said he was ONE OF THE GREATEST PLAYERS TO EVER PLAY…. If you want to words in my mouth our conversations are done period!
That actually really pisses me off that you didn’t read anything in full and jumped to your own assumptions of what I said… People like you really make me angry because you read two words of a statement and the extrapolate that into your own idea of what was really said!
Here is my exact quote from the post you are talking about which is the very first post in the “small sample size thread”
“Alex Rodriguez is ONE OF the greatest players to ever play baseball, not right now but all time!”
T.O. Chris, did you not read my post or what? There was a question mark after it; I was asking you if that is what you meant!
Damn kid, you gotta lighten up a bit. Not every one is out to get you, you sound like a little kid. Grow up, not everyone has to agree with you nor do you have to agree with anyone else.
Also, I just threw two names out there, there are many many more. I think A-Rod will go down as one of the best players ever, not one of the greatest ever.
Some think that Poulos (spelling) is better right now, I tend to disagree, A-Rod is a more rounded player.
Some day you will find that you are not infallible, all of us have our liabilities, one of yours happens to be youth…one of mine happens to be old age. The good thing about old age is; one learns a lot having lived so long. One of the bad things of youth is; no respect for others, but yet you demand it for yourself!
This comment has been deleted for obvious reasons. That kind of behavior will not be tolerated here. This is the last warning.
Hey, if A-Rod puts up 30 HR 100 RBI totals for the life of his contract, each year, he could very well be considered the greatest player of all time. It’s likely unattainable, but you never know.
Babe is the best ever and no one will ever top what he did in his career, not even if someone hits 1,000 career HRs…. If num nuts hadn’t misread a statement do poorly and now refuses to admit he miss read he would know I consider Babe and only Babe the greatest of all time…….
If this is the way this place is going to be I’m done… Considering I probably am anyway after Ranger decided to make some shit up that I said……… Old Ranger…. probably 12 anyway since you can’t read nor spell!
Go Yankees since I probably wont be here to post on them anymore! I had no problem with anyone here but Ranger because he can’t read and is a liar!
That is something to think about.
If he were to do that, I would put him in the class of; Willie, Mickey, Joe D, Ted W, Stan “The Man” etc. His numbers are nowhere near the Babe or Lou but, stack up very well with the other guys, in fact better then some of them right now.
It is just hard to match his numbers up favorably to Babe or Lou. I guess it is a lot like the old days; who is better…Mickey or Willie.
Derek Jeter has won the Roberto Clemente award
Aroldis Chapman is being sought after by the Mariners now this normally wouldn’t interest me at all but if they do for some reason open the purse strings and sign a guy to a 40-60 million dollar contract could they be doing so to in turn trade Felix Hernandez away and that way they could bring in the young “phenom arm” like they did with Felix and then trad Hernandez for a bunch of high line prospects and sell that to their fans as a good move somehow.
So the reports are that the Red Sox are going to offer 4 years 60 million (15 per) to Jason Bay to play LF, my question is why? You could have Holliday for 5 or 6 years and 17 million per and he could play good LF and have a much better average with similar power but overall being a younger and better player… I just don’t see investing 4 years in Bay.
Article on Aroldis Chapman
Akinori Iwamura has been traded to the Pirates so I assume that means Zobrist will be the everyday 2nd baseman and they are saving money by trading Iwamura so they can pick up Crawford’s option.
Damn, I was thinking we had a chance for him to play LF for us…oh well, so be it!
The only way you could get Crawford (Or Upton) is by trading for them and I would rather trade for Upton over Crawford because he can play CF and move Gardner over to LF, not to mention Upton is younger and more talented than Crawford even if he hasn’t put it all together yet.
This is why Cameron makes so much since! The only big FA for the outfield in the offseason will be Holliday and I really think he is going to be overpaid and get to long a contract, I consider him highly overrated and he is just a role player with big numbers so he doesn’t deserve that much money.
Crawford won’t be available and we have such a good offense if we just get a guy who can play LF with above average defense then we are golden, Cameron’s 20+ HRs is just a icing on the top of a great fielder. For one year you can’t accept that?
If everything goes like the Yankees want then Cameron is here 1 year and then Austin Jackson takes over or you sign someone next year like Jayson Werth for LF or Dunn for DH.
**Cameron makes so much sense**
Jeremy Hermida was acquired by the Red Sox today and they traded a couple of left handed minor league pitchers for Hermida who hit “.265/.344/.425 in almost 2,000 career plate appearances”…
What’s his role? The New Rocco?
Well the day new just keeps growing…
The Royals have traded Mark Teahen to the White Sox in exchange for Chris Getz and Josh Fields… Teahen is expected to take over for FA Jermain Dye in RF.
Just a small comment in regards to CMW…
His injury is said to be minor but, as Steve pointed out in his article; shoulders are very tricky. A football related injury (to the shoulder) ended my baseball (pitching) career in collage. The bad thing is, mine was back in the 50′s…the good thing is, his was last year. The after care and surgeries (doctors) we have now days do more then they ever did back then (thank the Lord) but, elbows and knees are one thing…shoulders are still a career killer for Most.
Let’s all wish him luck, good heath and back to form…for next year.
He could become the best pick-up of the year.
What about Z-Mac taking Phils’ place in the BP? C&C is not a problem with him, he also has good stuff? He is a starter but, so was Joba and Phil, plus there are others about ready to move up; Dunn and De La Rosa are in the mix also.
I’m not really sure if a high 80′s/low 90′s sinker ball pitcher is exactly Phil Hughes trowing 95 MPH in the pen… It’s one thing to want a setup man but you can’t assume every starter makes the best setup man in the world, you have to be able to strike people out and that simply isn’t McAllister’s game. He throws down in the zone and pitches to contact relying on his D to make outs and late in the game you want to hand the ball to the hard throwing strike out guy.
As a BP guy, a 92 mph sinker becomes a 93/94 mph sinker. His fastball has movement and would be about 94/945 (in the BP), he has great C&C of his pitches and strikes out almost 1 per inning.
He’s not throwing 92 though he is throwing 88-90 consistently so at max he would be up to 92 and either way that isn’t making him a strikeout guy (those strikeout numbers are the minor leagues though), you don’t want to try and make him be a strikeout guy he is a sinker ball pitcher who throws to contact. He isn’t 8th inning stuff… Not every starter can become a gas throwing setup man.
There was a guy in collage that only hit mid-80s with his fastball but, every one of his 4+ pitches had movement with great C&C. This guy avg. almost 1 strike out an inning and was set-up and closer for 2-1/2 years, until a football injury ended it. Now I know everyone thinks one needs a blazing fastball to be a closer/set-up in the bigs (nice to have though) but, very few have that speed.
Mo has been throwing around 91-92 all year, the thing that makes him good is not the speed, it is the C&C of his pitches, also his cutter is not breaking as much as it did before…see how many bats he breaks.
99% of the major league hitters get to the bigs by being able to hit the fastball, they stay when they learn to hit the of speed stuff. In other words; their are very few pitchers with 97/99 mph fastballs with good C&C. The breaking ball (if good) is still one of the hardest pitches to hit, with that being said…I would take the fastball every time but, their are some very very good pitchers that only have a 89/90 mph fastball with other very good off-speed pitches.
Let’s face it; a pitcher takes the mound and finds out one of his pitches can’t be controlled (happens all the time), what does he do? If he has only a fastball and slider/curve he is left with only one pitch, if this happens to a guy like Z-Mac he will use the pitches that are working.
It is not always the God given talent of the arm, as much as it is the God given talent in the person. One pitcher can be a breaking ball pitcher but have the given talent of reading the hitter, his approach, stance, bat swing, likes and dislikes, he could be the better of the two pitchers.
If one were to ask 100 pitchers if they would take a 97 mph fastball over their very good curve, 99% would take the fastball…and go to their slider/cutter or change.
Bottom line is Zach McAllister doesn’t have setup man stuff and you shouldn’t want to make him try and be a strikeout guy….
You can’t compare an 88 MPH sinker from a guy who has never thrown a big league pitch to a 91 MPH cutter from from the most veteran of veterans… They aren’t the same pitcher and if everyone could so what Mo does more would.
Besides what is this obsession with putting a starter in the pen to be the setup man every year? We just lose them at the end of the year ans then end up with an inning limit problem the following year with that said starter. It’s just easier to find someone who can be the 8th inning guy for some time to come and not just tinker around with setting up 1 year.
Besides you can’t just throw McAllister into the setup role, that’s not what they did with Hughes and it’s not what they did with Joba, both started out just being middle relievers and were moved to the 8th as the primary setup man once they showed a real knack for the pen.
Z-Mac is not a strike-out pitcher and I would not want him to be one.
Set-up guys like him, come in at the start of an inning or to get a double play, soft fly…in other words; use him as he is and for what he has.
Not all starters can become BP pitchers, FACT! If he can handle the big league hitters, why waste him in AAA? Move him up, if he works out fine, if not…back to AAA. The same goes for the other guys, the only way to really know is to put them (him) in the fire and see if they burn.
Look how the BP started out last year and how it ended up. Phil was a starter, the mop-up in the BP, then the set-up man…the same could happen to anyone else they try…or not!
The main thing is; if they have a good year they can always slip into the rotation at a latter date if someone got hurt, after all in ’08 he had 151 innings and 09 it was 121. Going by past counts’ he could go about 165/175 innings (that sound right?), also he will be learning the league and gaining confidence. I don’t see a down side, a few of the guys being used as starters will end up in the pen anyhow.
You don’t ever say anything you just retype what I say or go with everything is one way then it’s another…
McAllister is not a guy who can come in and setup PERIOD!
McAllister has never even faced triple A hitters so why do you assume he can handle them well enough to come up and be a stellar setup man? You have nothing to prove he can be a setup ma other than Hughes and Joba who are completely different pitchers than Zach… Just drop Zach in the 8th, it won’t happen and it shouldn’t he should stay in triple A and learn how to start.
What is with the starter to the pen trend everyone is on in NY?
It doesn’t make sense because it;s all guess work that he will dominate triple A, the majors, the 8th inning it’s all guess work… Why go into the season with a guess work 8th inning when you can sign or trade for someone who will solve the problem for more than 1 year!
Using this years pen is a terrible example… It is also the same pen who blew up in the postseason because Hughes wasn’t a setup man. We got lucky for a lot of things and relied to much on starters in the en, if we had veteran pen guys we would have been better off.
By the way, “everyone is wrong and am right” is a good way to post in your eyes? Calling people names is very childish and immature, try using the English language, it works every time it is tried.
Maybe you should slow down when you read, maybe you would understand what is being written. I don’t vacillate, sometimes, if a person has a good point…I will change my mind. But I very seldom vacillate.
I try to give a reason (other then just stats) why something may or may not work. Unless one tries one can’t succeed or fail, both of which are teachers.
I never said he was an 8th inning guy. I said he could take Phils place in the BP, as I also pointed out he didn’t start as the set-up for MO. I must point out, Mo stated out as a starter for the Yanks, then moved to the pen after he couldn’t make it as a starter, so there is some history with trying things this way.
You were the one that said the set-up man needed to be a strike-out pitcher not I.
As for it all being guess work, there is no such thing in baseball or in the real world (one gets lucky once in a while), you make a decision on the pros and cons or on the known or unknown of a subject not a guess, although people think it was a “good guess”.
For instance, if you were to guess that I will not reply to your posts anymore, would that be a guess or a decision on my part? No great loss I realize but, good-by. Thanks for all the fun…!
When did I call you a name?
If you are making stuff I am done talking to you! I also don’t care if I think you are wrong I will tell you!
Phil’s place in the pen is as the 8th inning setup man so to take his place he would have to be the setup man… Also he hasn’t even been in triple A yet so why rush him…
I have been done with this conversation for so long it’s over… I don’t care… McAllister doesn’t belong in the pen and won’t be there and he definitely won’t be a setup man…
It’s not everyone is wrong I am right, it’s I think I am right so I will defend my point… If you have a problem with that In don’t care.
Please don’t respond to my posts please… That’s what I have wanted you to do for so long!!!!!!
I rofl at the name calling post though… I never did that and you can’t actually back up your points so you try and make something up… Here’s laughing at you buddy!
Also Old Ranger learn how to spell… Half of your posts are weird rambling thoughts and you misspell words like College which is really ironic.
Jon Heyman says the Yankees are one of many teams with interest in Mark DeRosa… Now the Yankees inquired about trading for DeRosa so that doesn’t surprise me much but I don’t know if Mark would be the greatest choice for starting LF if only because he hasn’t had as much experience in LF as you would like.
Interesting, but I really think Derosa signs w the Phillies to be their third baseman.
Really? What have you read on it? It makes sense but from what I read they have all eyes on Figgins and are in it to win it all the way… He makes sense because he can lead off and you can move Rollins to his more appropriate spot 3rd and slot Howard 5th.
Figgins, 3B
Victorino, CF
Rollins, SS
Utley, 2B
Howard, 1B
Ibanez, LF/Werth
Werth, RF/Ibanez
Ruiz, C
P
That is a really diverse lineup!
no doubt that lineup is sick, but i think the angels will try hard to keep him.
sports illustrated said phillies already reached out to Mark DeRosa. I think I read that on sportingnews too.
I believe he wants to stay with the Angels as well but we all know they don’t go above a certain point for there players and Chone is no different if the Phillies give him 13+ a year for 3+ years I could see him in Philly.
“The Yankees plan to tender a contract to reliever Brian Bruney, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post”
If that is true then you can look for Bruney to at least be in competition for the setup role once again, maybe they have hope he can stay healthy this year… Never has before but when healthy Bruney can be a good reliever.
According to Bob Nightengale on Twitter Brian Cashman and The Yankees left the winter meetings without sitting down with a single agent…. Cashman looks like he is going to take a lot of time to do anything and he may be waiting to see what the market is instead of setting the market up by over-signing someone.
Aroldis Chapman has stated that he doesn’t mind starting his career in the minor leagues and working up to the majors, that should be the statement that locks in the Yankees as bidders until the end win or lose.
Return of Gagne?
“Diamond Leung passes along a report which indicates that Eric Gagne told Canadian reporters that he will attempt to get back into the big leagues next year, and wouldn’t rule out a return to the Dodgers. Gagne reportedly said that he is willing to sign a minor league contract, and wouldn’t mind pitching in Double or Triple-A.”
Looks true, apparently Eric Gagne is attempting a comeback and will sign a minor league deal if he has too in order to try to reform to some form of what he was with the Dodgers. As bad as this free agent market is for pitching Gagne could actually draw some interest and if he could get back to a fraction of his old form he would make a decent middle reliever for someone even though he is 34 now.
If Billy Wagner decides he wants to pitch this coming season is anyone interested in trying to bring him to the Yankees after what he did with the Red Sox? His control seemed lacking to some degree but his velocity was just as good as when he left and he never seemed lose it over the short time he pitched with Boston… He would be a pretty good left handed setup man and he along with Marte, Coke/Dunn could make quite a few tough hard throwing lefties out of the pen.
I don’t know if he would do it if he couldn’t be the closer but I have heard he was willing to setup possibly and if so a chance with the defending champs makes sense for a guy looking to win…
Ian Kennedy has taken his AFL time to sharpen his 2-seam fastball…
I need your help!
Has anybody been in Russia? What’s your opinion?
I’m going to go there in spring but still I need more information. All I’m familiar with is Moscow…
Can you suggest me something? What to visit? Or probably, you can advise some really interesting places especially which are situated far away from big cities?
Any ideas about travel agencies that hone in on some outstanding or off the wall tourist activities? I visited such web sites as (gotorussia.com, russia-travel.com, dovisit.com, russia.com, etc.), they really offer such tours but I’m not sure they are reliable enough…
I really appreciate your help and advices.
Thanks a lot, Michael
No idea on the specifics, but in the words of my Russian Politics professor a few years ago, “Never try and drink a Russian under the table. You’ll lose.”
Good luck!
“An MLB executive tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Yankees plan to pursue free agent relievers Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez.”
Both Soriano and Gonzalez could do well in our pen as setup men but I see Gonzalez in the same mold as Marte so I don’t think we need another lefty in his 30′s… Soriano is the one I would want to be the setup man for Mo he can come in take over the 8th, handle a closing situation or 2 if Mariano is unavailable that day and he shouldn’t cost all that much to establish the 8th.
Mariano, CL
Soriano, SU
Marte, LHP
Robertson, RHP
Coke, LHP
Bruney, RHP
Gaudin, RHP
Aceves, RHP
I like it! the only thing is I thought the yanks were cost cutting. Soriano will cost a pretty penny to obtain.
some 60+ million is coming off the book and Soriano is a setup man… He made 6 million this year which was a 4 million dollar raise from the previous year… I really have a hard time seeing him making 6 million this year and definitely no more than that.
According to Bob Nightengale The Yankees are letting teams around the league know that Nick Swisher is available for trade… Who would play RF?
Why would they make him avail? What are their intentions- to free up money to sign a big fa? Swish is relatively cheap and productive. I dont see why they would give that up.
It’s not freeing up money we aren’t a firesell team… We made Swisher available last year right after trading for him… Trading Swisher would be done in order to not sign a free agent and use Swisher’s trade value to bring in a starting pitcher most likely but I doubt he goes anywhere.
“Jason Bay rejected a contract offer from the Red Sox worth close to $60MM over four years, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. We’ve heard for a while that Bay wants to test the free agent market.”
So Bay apparently wants closer to 20 million dollars per year, does anyone think he is worth? Maybe the offensively starved Giants but that park isn’t very inviting and I don’t know why Bay would leave the Sox for the Giants.
Why isnt anyone talking about the yanks signing Marlon Byrd? He plays good d and has a good bat.
The number 1 reason is that the Rangers need to keep him, they may not but they really do need an outfielder with his credentials so letting him walk is dumb by them!
The number 2 reason is that Marlon is 32 years old and is wanting a long term deal coming off a career year in a contract year… He has never hit 20 HRs before this year and this was the first year he ever had 500+ ABs…
Marlon Byrd’s UZR rating this year was -6 and his RngR is -1.8 so he didn’t do that well on D this year and we really need more of a CF playing LF…
A much smarter move than signing Byrd to a 3-5 year deal is signing Mike Cameron to a 1 year deal who played well above average CF defense this year and can provide 25 HRs to our lineup and he will only cost 5-8 million on a 1 year deal.
Mike Cameron 2009 RngR 14.7 in CF
Mike Cameron 2009 UZR 10 in CF
Marlon Byrd 2009 RngR -1.8 in LF
Marlon Byrd 2009 UZR -6 in LF
2009 offense
Mike Cameron (37 next year)- .250, 24 HRs
Marlon Byrd (33 next year)- .283, 20 HRs
I like Mike Cameron too, but he’s a stop gap to what?
I wouldnt mind signing him to a 2 yr deal, and then pry Victorino away from the Phils to replace him and to fill in the 2 hole in our lineup.
I’m not a firm believer in that uzr stat bc victorino has a horrible uzr, yet he won the gold glove last yr and I’ve seen him make some nice plays. I’d say Shane is an avg def cf, but based on this uzr stat its like no team would want him patrolling the field.
All in all, theres some nice players out there I wouldnt mind the yanks getting either by trade or fa- relievers, outfielders, pitchers (sheets). I just want them to put the best team on the field to have a chance to repeat and not miss a beat if they cannot re-sign some of their own.
He’s a stop gap to either or Ausin Jackson or after this season Jayson Werth is a FA and can play LF or RF if you want to then trade Swisher or move Nick to LF. Adam Dunn is also a FA after the season and while I see him as a DH he would still likely get a handful of starts in LF so other guys could get in at DH without losing Dunn’s bat.
Gold Gloves don’t mean anything toward defense! The Gold glove is often times based on either reputation, flashy plays instead of solid D and the abiltity to hit believe it or not… Jeter did well this year but Gold Glove level? I don’t think so…
The RngR stat is the one I use more than just UZR even though both together can tell you something about the player especially in the OF…
We can re-sign our own but I really hope we don’t for the most part! The only ones who should be brought back are Andy on a 1 year deal and Matsui on a 1 year deal.
Damon can’t play LF anymore
Hinske is just a power lefty bat off the bench and Juan Miranda can do that
Hairston Jr is a solid defensive player but Ramiro Pena can play all those position as well or better with a younger bat
A lineup with Cameron in CF and Melky in LF or maybe Cameron in LF and Gardner in CF…
Jeter, SS
Cano, 2B
Tex, 1B
Arod, 3B
Posada, C
Matsui, DH
Swisher, RF
Cameron, CF
Cabrera, LF
Combined with a starting rotation of…
Sabathia
Burnett
Pettitte
Sheets
Hughes
Bullpen
Mariano, CL
Soriano, SU
Marte, LHP
Robertson, RHP
Coke, LHP
Bruney, RHP
Gaudin, RHP
Aceves, RHP
You end up cutting payroll and upgrading your outfield defense and starting rotation depth and set yourself up to repeat and get younger in the process because you didn’t get locked into any real long term deals.
Just off the top of my head I came up with five or so better leftys then Johnson. At least, pitchers that I would want on my team.
How about these guys; Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, Whitey Ford, Sandy Koufax, Carl Hubbel or Lefty Grove and just for the hell of it CC.
Give me any three of them and even I could win the WS with the Nationals. Remember, those guys (except CC) are use to three or four day starts. Just to think at one time the Mets had three of the (soon to be) best pitchers on their team at one time…so sad!
I wouldn’t take CC over Randy Johnson in his prime and I would only take Spahn and maybe Grove over Randy out of that list…. Are you really trying to put down a 300 game winner just because the Yankees want to sign Chapman? That is ridiculous! Randy has already proven himself and has proven himself to be a talent that lasted the years and is still pitching well into his 40s even with the injury last year.
I really don’t know how you put Koufax over Johnson, Randy has had a much longer career and proven to be affective for a lot longer time which has to count for something. Whitey Ford was a great pitcher but Randy’s level? Randy was and to some degree still is a very dominate and powerful lefty.
EDIT: Actually CC might be debatable… Randy is clearly the more overpowering strikeout pitcher but CC’s abiltity on short rest and his big body frame make him durable…
Where do you see Sabathia’s rank being all time in lefties when he is done? I know he is a somewhat longshot to reach 300 but with the Yankees offense behind him and CC’s abiltity coupled with his relative health throughout his career he has a much more real shot than anyone else.
You guys already heard about the josh johnson news, right? Would any of you guys trade for him? He’s only 25 and has some good stuff.
Johnson has injury concerns which is why the Marlins don’t want to go over 3 years on the extension but he can be an absolute beast and really dominate great lineups (and did so against us this year). With that said I probably wouldn’t trade for Johnson because of his injury concerns and the fact that the Marlins rarely get screwed on trades for their great players… Look at Beckett it would be a very similar deal and the only player we have on the level of Hanley Ramirez is Jesus Montero and I wouldn’t trade him for anyone right now and especially not him+ more prospects, thanks but no thanks… We can sign him if he makes it to the market.
Is anyone else getting the feeling the Yankees aren’t trying to bring Damon back to DH and instead they are trying to bring Damon back to play LF for 2 years? I really hope I’m wrong but if it’s DH Matsui has all the better power numbers and is a better hitter on the road when it comes to power so the only reason to bring Damon in over Matsui is if Damon is playing LF and if Damon is playing LF we are screwed!
I really like this Chapman kid and I don’t care what team he goes to I want him to do well (except if he becomes a Red Sock) but is anyone else just plain tired of reading and talking about him? I have never debated someone so much who wasn’t even actually in baseball… It’s not a bad thing to talk about but boy this story has gone on for along time!
I would take Carl Hubbell, Steve Carlton, Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn and Lefty Grove over a malcontent as Johnson.
Let me put it this way; Denny McLain won 31 games one year right? What doesn’t show up is, his team won a few of those games for him. If one goes by the record, they see 30 wins, not how he won them. Granted, his era. was under 2.20+/- and started over 40+/- games with over 300 innings. Randy has had the same thing going for him with his time on the mound.
Those guys above (except for Steve, for awhile) were on avg., or less then avg., teams then was Johnson…makes a difference but so does the period they pitched in.
I’m not going off of Randy’s win total… I am going off of Randy Johnson’s pure stuff and very few lefties have hit 100 MPH like Randy has with the nasty strikeout stuff he has!
Let’s put it this way Randy Johnson is 2nd in the all time strikeout list second only to Nolan Ryan so not only does he have 300 wins but he is the number one lefty all time in strikeouts… His stuff for a lefty is almost unprecedented…. I’ll take Randy.
Does anyone know why some peoples posts (not all posts) are all turned into links and when you quote it doesn’t actually quote anything but the name?
Yeah there wasa problem with a plugin. I’m working on it.
Just making sure it wasn’t just my computer haha…
Red Sox apparently have interest in Justin Duchscherer and since Justin was originally drafted by Boston it seems they want him back as insurance for Wakefield and Dice K…
This does nothing to the Halladay plans but what it does do is put us in the driver seat for Sheets if we want him, if they trade for Halladay it would take away his shot to start the year in the rotation… with the Yankees he just has to bump either Hughes or Joba to the minors.
Which pitcher would you rather have be the Yankees 4th starter going into the year?
1.Edwin Jackson by trade
2.Sheets by way of contract
3.Bedard by way of contract
4.Joba with Hughes as 5th starter
5.Hughes with Joba as 5th starter
Me personally I would rather go with Jackson just because he is still young (26), throws hard (98 MPH), has experience in the AL East and pitched well against our own lineup in Yankee stadium this year in the rain! He provides everything you want, I don’t expect a 3.6 ERA again but he is more than a worthy 4th starter in a rotation.
I like Option #4, but you probably know that already. Sheets intrigues me also.
I just don’t think you can trust that going into the season with your backups being Mitre and Gaudin… You are basically having to hope that Andy, Burnett and CC all have the same season or better, I have no problem with both Hughes and Joba being starters but I think one (Joba) needs to start the season in the minor leagues.
CC
AJ
Andy
Pitcher X
Hughes
This allows you to let Hughes start at the major league level and at the same time develop Joba as a starter in an environment geared towards development more so than winning that way Joba can focus on developing his change and his curve and getting his velocity up and keeping his slider crisp which he wasn’t doing last year.
To go into the season with just Hughes and Joba is asking for trouble to me… If Andy or AJ get hurt you are looking at a lacking rotation…
Sabathia
Burnett
Joba
Hughes
Mitre/Gaudin
Or
Sabathia
Pettitte
Joba
Hughes
Mitre/Gaudin
OR
Sabathia
Joba
Hughes
Gaudin
Mitre/Kennedy
If you add a capable starting pitcher like Sheets at least you avoid option 3…
Buster Olney says the Yankees are looking to add two relievers but that they might not be willing to give up na first round draft pick for them…
Personally I hope Jose Valverde ends up signing a deal with the Yankees but if it’s not him I have no problem with the Yankees signing Soriano, Gonzalez or Lyon.
In AL East news Alex Gonzalez decided to take the Blue Jays 1 year deal and is leaving the Red Sox but staying in division… This means the Sox and Jays could be doing a SS switch if Scutaro decides to go to Boston.
More AL East moves…
the Rays traded a PTBN to the Indians for Kelly Shoppach. so now both Indians catchers are in the AL East alongside their former battery mate Sabathia.
The Yankees are showing interest in Brandon Lyon according the Ken Rosenthal…
Lyon had a .205 OBA to both right handed hitters and left handed hitters and actually gave up more HRs to righties than lefties which could help him in the New Yankee Stadium… (112 ABs Vs LHP- 1 HR, 161 ABs Vs RHP- 6 HRs)
Which relief pitcher available would you rather have? All have been offered arbitration so they all cost picks.
Brandon Lyon(30)- 78.2 IP, 56 H, 7 HR (1 VS LHP), 31 BB, 57 Ks, 2.86 ERA, .205 OBA
Rafael Soriano(29)- 75.2 IP, 53 H, 6 HR (4 Vs LHP), 27 BB, 102 Ks, 2.97 ERA, .194 OBA
Mike Gonzalez(31)- 74.1 IP, 56 H, 7 HR (2 Vs LHP), 33 BB, 90 Ks, 2.42 ERA, .209 OBA
Soriano has the best strikeout numbers but is the most vulnerable to left handed power and even though Gonzalez is a lefty he has better strikeout stuff than Lyon even though Lyon gave up the least amount of LH HRs.
Lyon scares me, seems like a typical reliever who fails in the big spot. I’m probably underrrating him a bit, but I like the other two guys much better.
I would have to agree, he doesn’t dominate nearly enough which can be a big difference in the AL East but going on his splits alone he had a .190 BAA with RISP, a .190 with RISP and 2 outs and .273 with bases loaded.
My personal choice would be Soriano because I think a RHP for the 8th is best considering we have Marte and Coke/Dunn to deal with lefties.
Well Scutaro has joined the Red Sox on a 2 year deal and I am pretty sure this is a down grade from Gonzalez considering Gonzalez has better defense and Scutaro just had a career year in a contract year at the age of 33, a feat he likely will not repeat.
Yep, I think Scutaro falls down to earth this coming season. Last year isnt typical of how he consistently has been.
His year this year reminds me so much of Adrian Beltre’s last year with the Dodgers! Career highs in every statistic with power numbers way higher than ever before all indicates a contract year that won’t be repeated. Beltre has never hit more than 36 before or since he hit 40 that year, they just fall back down to who they are. Keeping Scutaro until he is 37 will only hurt them.
I was reading some of the comments from a month or so , came up with one I thought was very unusual…
About Montero, this was written:
“I see him as an Elston Howard type who can hit .300, hit 30 HR’s and play LF/DH/1b and maybe even some catcher, though I doubt he’ll ever be an everyday catcher.
Romine and Murphy are the catchers of the future.”
I only hope I misunderstood the opinion of Elston Howard by the poster, because he was a very good catcher for many years. In fact, he was a better catcher then Yogi, that is why yogi spent most of his years from about 1960/61 to 1966(?) in the out field. Another reason Yogi was in the OF more was…age, we all know how that is with catchers. Needless to say, both were very good G.G. Catchers, something Montero has little chance of becoming. If Montero becomes about as good as Posada…should that be enough?
I do agree with his last sentence, made a good point.
If Montero can manage to be compared defensively to Posada, he’ll be a perennial MVP candidate. I mean Mauer hit .294/.372/.411 as a 22 year old in the majors for an OPS of .783 (his first full season). Montero’s season (which was cut short just as he was really starting to heat up) in AA last season translates to a .262/.303/.421 season according to the MLE calculator which gives you a .724 OPS despite the fact that he’s only 19.
For another comparison, Montero hit .317/.370/.539/.909 as a 19 year old in AA while Mauer hit .341/.400/.453/.853 despite being a year older in his AA season. That just goes to show that if he can manage to stick behind the plate, Montero has a chance to be historically (like Mike Piazza) good.
I think anyone would be happy with a Mike Piazza or Jorge Posada behind the plate if he can swing at a level anywhere near that, the kid seems to be one of the great pure hitters to come along in a great while! That doesn’t guarantee him success but it gives him a great chance and with Jorge Posada, Joe Girardi and Tony Pena all on the team he should be able to pick up something defensively behind the plate, at least enough to be good enough to stick. My only concern is at 20 he is already 6’4, 225 pounds, I mean this kid could get up to 240 easy you have to wonder about his pure size behind the plate and the target that t creates and what will ultimately wear out his body and decide if the risk is worth losing his bat possibly or moving him to a new position.
Jose Molina is 6-2, 235 and he’s regarded as a great backstop. It’s possible that he can still grow and stick back there. Obviously, Montero only has to be somewhere in the same ballpark as league-average to be an absolute monster
???? ??????! ?????!
odonteplete…
“Dammit cool!”
Looks Russian to me, did it translate right?
Or is it “Damm cool”
===================================
Chip…
“though I doubt he’ll ever be an everyday catcher.”
“Romine and Murphy are the catchers of the future.”
If Montero becomes ABOUT as good as Posada…should that be enough?
The first two lines were written by the person I quoted, the last one was mine…I agree with all 3 of the lines and hope I am wrong on the first one. We should know in the next year or so…maybe, sooner.
I’m actually incredibly high on Romine. I think he’s going to turn into an above-average MLB catcher. Still, Montero is on another planet. If Romine and Montero can split time at catcher at the MLB level with Montero occasionally playing 1B/DH, that’s a huge boost to our offense. Like I said, even if Montero can hang with the worst catchers in the league, he could be historically great.
Yup…!
Putting the whole package together (offence/defense), Romine is the guy, Montero is the big bat. There have been many players come up as good stick, -/- “D” and turned it around with a lot of hard work at the major league level. If Montero wants it bad enough and works hard enough, he can improve his defense an acceptable amount. One needs the God given talent to improve much more then that…does he have that talent to tap into? If not, so/so catcher (middle of the pack), I could sign-up for that.
I’m actually incredibly high on Romine. I think he’s going to turn into an above-average MLB catcher. Still, Montero is on another planet. If Romine and Montero can split time at catcher at the MLB level with Montero occasionally playing 1B/DH, that’s a huge boost to our offense. Like I said, even if Montero can hang with the worst catchers in the league, he could be historically great.
If Romine gets good enough with the bat you could possibly get to the point where they switch off between catcher and DH and keep both of them fresh and keep both bats in the lineup, it’s a long shot but it could happen.
Well the reports are in and the Tigers have asked the Yankees for Phil Hughes and Austin Jackson in return for Granderson so it looks as though that idea is dead and we can move on to Mike Cameron.
That’s what they asked for, it’s not what they expect to get. They throw Phil Hughes in there and hope the Yankees allow them to get Austin Jackson+
They ended up with Jackson+ but it ha to be done through a 3-way trade, I wonder who called who to setup a 3 way deal? It really seems like Granderson was the Yankees plan A this offseason for the outfield.
As expected; I don’t like it, we gave up to much! IPK and A-Jax ok, but all three of them…No way. I do like the idea of having CG but, the cost!?!
Coke is a good guy to have around (lefty)…now we have; Granderson, Swisher, Melky, Brett and Pena for the OF. Swisher and CG strike out a lot (140+), about two times(+) as many times as BB.
I like defense, speed and athleticism in my OF, with Swisher, Matsui, Tex, Posada and Cano we have guys to hit the long ball. Why do we need 8 guys hitting 25 or more HRs a year…it’s nice to have but not a “Got to have”.
I would go with this…
CG-LF
Jeter-SS
Tex-1B
A-Rod-3B
Matsui-DH
Posada-C
Cano-2B
Swisher-RF
Brett-CF
Not because I like Brett as a player anymore then Melky, it’s just he has more things to bring to the game if he gets to play every day. He hasn’t had the chance to play every day as Melky did when he came up. Remember, he lost his job because he came back to soon. After his hand injury, he wasn’t the same with the bat, was clueless. This team is getting older every year, with Pena on the bench we have a guy to come in and pinch run.
If Melky improves as much in 2010 as he did in 2009, we may have a good trading chip or, a good OF replacement for injuries. He showed well last year.
You like Coke and Kennedy way to much!
Jackson isn’t going to be as good as Granderson, Coke is nothing more than an average left handed reliever and Dunn is going to be better than him anyway and Kennedy is never going to be anything more than a 4th or 5th starter and for us right now he is the 7th or 8th starter behind Joba, Hughes, Gaudin and Mitre and only slightly above McAllister and Nova.
No way Granderson takes over leadoff!
I would go with the following lineup…. Buster Olney has already reported Granderson will hit 2nd…
Jeter, SS
Granderson, CF
Tex, 1B
Arod, 3B
Matsui, DH
Posada, C
Cano, 2B
Swisher, RF
Melky, LF
Melky has the better arm in LF and isn’t a good player off the bench so he basically gets buried behind Miranda and Pena on the bench, while Gardner however is a weapon off the bench and can steal on Que. Pena isn’t a pinch runner who can steal bases Gardner on the other hand can steal bases almost every time he pinch runs and he makes Pena the super sub first off the bench for the infield and the 5th outfielder which is what he should be.
I say at least start with Melky in LF and see what happens with his performance.
Agreed on the overvaluing of Coke and Kennedy. Coke isn’t in the same league as Marte and Dunn is essentially equivalent to him. I’m really high on IPK so it was tough to see him go but it’s not like he was getting his shot this year and possibly not next year. Say the Yankees go out and sign Cliff Lee next year, now you’re looking at CC/AJ/Lee/Joba/Hughes which is a killer rotation while Kennedy continues to burn through options.
Honestly though, in my heart of hearts I’d rather see Granderson move over to left and put Gardner in center as the everyday lineup. Granderson is really good on defense but I don’t think people realize how incredibly good Brett is out there. Also, Granderson is going to put Melky to shame in left field. Nothing would ever fall in left center with those two running around out there. On top of that, you get a guy in Gardner who could end up stealing 50 bases if he can get 500 ABs.
I may have over valued Coke but not IPK…I said, Coke was to much…not IPK. Doesn’t matter anyhow but, I also liked IPK, I thought he could be a help in the BP as the long man or a #3/4 starter in the National league.
I do agree with your last paragraph and Jeter and CG were put in the wrong order…my bad.
I like Kennedy out of the pen but he was never anything more than 5th starter and those grow on trees, he was blocked by a few guys anyway and was never going to be a big part of any championships. I am interested to see what he can do in the NL though, I will be watching some Diamondback games this year.
Coke lost a lot of his value once he started getting hammered by lefties, he was basically a left specialist who gave up more HRs to lefties than righties and you can’t have that, Dunn has more potential and in the end trading those 3 for Granderson isn’t bad you have to trade talent for talent and I think we got more talent back than we traded.
Gardner 50 bases? It will never happen because you can’t get that many opportunities when you hit dead last in the batting order and he isn’t bumping anyone down!
Granderson is not a LF and his bat combined with Melky’s glove and D is much more valuable than having Gardner’s glove and D combined with Granderson. Besides if Gardner starts Melky becomes a nobody and can’t play off the bench so he needs to be traded and after that Pena is the 4th outfielder. If Gardner is on the bench however he is a weapon and it makes Pena even more valuable being the 5th outfielder and first infielder off the bench.
Gardner would steal 50 bases if given 500-600 ABs and a .350 on-base percentage. I’m not sure you can say for sure that the Granderson/Melky combo would beat out the Granderson/Gardner combo. I think if you move Granderson to left field he probably wins the gold glove and Gardner would be one of the best defensive center fielders in the league. That would be an outfield defense that only the Mariners could touch.
He won’t get 500-600 ABs in the role he is one on our team and he wouldn’t get that many ABs hitting in the 9th spot because he will be subbed out to much for Melky and others…
Again if you only look defensively… If you are reasonable about it you don’t trade Kennedy and Jackson for Granderson to put him in LF, besides that Gardner hasn’t shown any consistency against either handed pitcher enough so to warrant putting him in the lineup every single day and I have concerns of him even getting to a .350+ OBP with the struggles he has. Melky’s bat and arm in LF would be better than Gardner’s D in CF with no bat.
Gardner has a career .256/.325/.352/.677
Gardner in 2009 Vs RHP .264/.335/.373/708
Gardner career numbers Vs LHP .241/.310/.316/.626
Now he can’t hit right handed batters very well last year and in his career he isn’t a good AB vs left handed pitchers which makes him average at best overall because he is below average with his bat… Tee fact he is fast and will still a base if he gets on doesn’t change that much. You can’t steal first base.
Melky hit 13 Hrs last year and is only showing improvement over the last 3 years, I think he will be at 15-18 HRs next year and if that is the case with his defense and arm strength in LF he is better with Granderson in CF than Gardner with Granderson in LF.
Yeah I know he’d never get 500-600 at bats but you’re picking pretty convenient numbers to throw out there. Also, he was injured parts of last year in addition to his major league sample size being fairly small.
The problem with making the argument about not putting Granderson in left field is that you don’t make those kind of decisions based on who you traded for him but how he can best help your team in the present. I just really want to see Gardner get a real shot in the big leagues but I think it’s going to have to be with another team.
Let me make this real clear for you so you get!
Melky in LF and Granderson in CF BETTER than Granderson in LF and Gardner in CF IMO!!!!
So you think career numbers and numbers he put up this year which all show he sucks with the bat are convenient because I am trying to make him look like and hitter when he isn’t or because he is generally a bad hitter? He isn’t a wizz with the bat! All his value comes from his defense and his legs and because of that Melky will have the much better bat next year and if I am right and Melky hits 13-18 HRs next year while playing above average D in LF than he is better than Gardner in CF hitting .260 and stealing 20 bases.
I think it’s pretty convenient for your argument to throw out 50 stolen bases when you know there is no way for him to reach that total!
I say trade Gardner while he still has value! I would trade him for Thornton from the White Sox in a heart beat!
If that trade is available I agree that you do it. I still would rather see Gardner get a shot than Melky but I do realize it’s not going to happen. I’d have no problem with the trade.
I doubt it would be available now that the White Sox have traded for Juan Pierre.
Apparently the Rangers, Mets and Yankees have the most interest in Ben Sheets according to baseball tonight, these are 3 teams we have bee hearing for a while now and if it comes down to these 2 against us I think it’s a no brainer for sheets to choose the Yankees.
COke is actually a pretty good pitcher.He was lights out ofr awhile his first season and again in the first half.A real bulldog too.I’ll miss him.I think he’s going to be around a long time getting lefties out.
He has to much tendency for the long ball… In his 261 career ABs he has given up 10 HRs and 6 of those to left handed batters, and those don’t include his post season HRs allowed.
Arquimedes Caminero- Is he the Rule V pick?
Arquimedes Caminero, rhp
Age: 22 Level: Low A-Double-A
Caminero is a pure fireballer, armed with an explosive 95-98 mph fastball and a mid-80s slider. That combination makes him death on righthanders. His big (6-4) frame is conducive to starting, but Caminero’s aggressiveness, inconsistency, and lack of a third pitch make him a prime bullpen candidate. Working out of the ‘pen would also get him moving quicker, as he’s 22 and has pitched sparingly above short-season ball. Caminero needs to overcome astounding control deficiencies (nearly 6 BB/9 this year over 40 IP–compared to 13.5 K/9), but he has the scorching stuff to make an impact. His name definitely won’t hurt (Arquimedes Euclides Caminero).
Edit/Delete Message
One thing overlooked on a player hitting 9th, after the 1st inning, it doesn’t matter. Having him hitting in front of Jeter and CG, Tex and A-Rod is a plus. I still say, he would have more impact on the team then Melky. Of course that’s only my opinion, others think otherwise…so be it, that’s what Blogs are for.
“Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Steve Kornacki of MLive.com that there’s a chance Phil Coke starts in Detroit. “.
Really how? With a 91 MPH fastball and a slider that doesn’t always break well? This has got to be a joke right? Coke was OK as a lefty reliever but he can’t start what else will he throw his lack of change change up?
I just read that the phils traded for doc, but they gave up lee. Thats a dumb move. how does this make them better? If they had lee AND Doc, then it would of been a good trade for the Phils.
This way they can get a long-term ace rather than just lose Lee next season.
So they want a long term ace who is 2 years older than Lee?
Never said it makes sense but they want to lock Halladay up for many years rather than big for a big-name free agent pitcher. Apparently they think they’re better off this way. I think it’s a sideways move at best
Sideways for now until Halladay is 38 and Lee is 36 and still has more good years left than Halladay… I guess they thought Halladay would take less money to leave the Jays than Lee would to stay a Philly.
The Phils got a better haul for Lee than they gave up. Aumont is the real deal.
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What you think about news – GOPers Hold ‘Prayercast’ to Ask God to Stop Health Reform ?
Wanna hear your opinion
Not a bad gambit, someone has to stop them…they are way out of control. Socialist do the things they have been doing, and yet they wish to be known as Progressives. Most of the stuff is against the Constitution but, they control everything so, what can we do…2010 is a new election year, time to take back this country and make it like it use to be. You get what you work for, not what I work for.
Ok so what exactly in the two bills are “Socialist” and “Unconstitutional”?
An 1890s reading of the Constitution is irrelevant today. The 1930s changed what Government can and cannot do, and mostly for the better. “What it used to be” to me is always a silly distinction – except for a brief period during the 1980s where taxes were a little bit lower, federal tax rates are the lowest they’ve been since before WWII. Government has scaled back regulation over the past 30 years to an astonishing degree – the number of companies treated like public utilities is nothing compared to the 60s and 70s.
And its mostly been for the better. A few bumps in the road, but that’s the nature of public policy.
Sorry EJ, the Constitution is the law of the land, it has been twisted turned and until Pres. Johnson, more or less followed. Remember FDR wanted to change many things; the Supreme Court from 9 to 12 for one…he wanted to add 4 libs to the court so he could do some of the things he wanted to do.
One must read the Constitution and learn the thoughts behind it, to understand our founding fathers wanted the Gov. to be unobtrusive and limited.
As of 2009, we have had a dictatorship, run by un-elected appointees of OB (that have admitted they are socialists/communists), not the two houses of Gov.
If you need the thoughts of those behind the Constitution, try reading the papers of Ben Franklin, Adams etc. very educational stuff.
Old Ranger, read the works of Hamilton. Anyway, the Civil War had a greater effect than FDR.
Roy, I have read Hamilton and many of the others, it was required reading in school.
You are right, to some degree but, the Civil War was more about economics then freeing the slaves, most books now days make it out as though it was all about slavery.
FDR tried to do the same thing Obama is doing now, the problem was…he didn’t own the congress and courts, Obama does.
Anyhow, this isn’t the right forum for this stuff. Let’s get back to the important stuff…like baseball and the Yankees.
The Supreme Court gets to decide what the Law of the Land is, and without their interpretation the Constitution is just a pile of words. They’ve repeatedly held up a General Welfare-based, post New Deal reading of the Constitution. FDR’s Supreme Court shenanigans failed, which proves the resiliency of the democratic system established. And despite this, the Court mostly upheld the New Deal when challenged.
A federalist interpretation of the Constitution is essentially a Night Watchman state. Strict reading would mean the elimination of the Social Security administration, Medicare, Tennessee Valley Authority, Federal Reserve, Department of Education, EPA, and even the Air Force. A documented written in the colonial era obviously needs to be given some leeway today. The Supreme Court has established that the limits of public policy on a broad scale, when not discriminatory, arbitrary, or capricious, can be established by our elected officials, who almost to a person support the above mentioned programs.
While the interpretation you are mentioning is a nice fantasy, it doesn’t work in the real world. The Constitution gives enough flexibility to push the limits of what used to be accepted practice.
Whoa, new layout
You got it Eric…
On to Baseball…sorry about that, it was way off topic!
The Giants are so bad.
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How many of you are old enough to remember the pictures on the news and in the papers (during the VN war) of a Vietnamese officer shooting a bound NVR in the head?
That was my introduction to bad journalism. They never reported the part that was very pertinent…the rest of the story.
The NVR had just raped and killed his wife and kids, he was very up-set (to say the lest)…so, he shot him.
Me, I would have…let’s just say, it wouldn’t be nice.
Jay says:
January 4, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Ken, normally I agree with you. I just have no idea how you can make this argument, when it’s SUCH a subjective issue. For instance, how did ARod go from “clutch” when with Seattle, “clutch” with the Yankees in the ALDS against the Twins, then go on an “unclutch” stretch from the ALCS ‘04-’08, then became “clutch” again. And then David Ortiz in the playoffs used to be “clutch,” but in the last couple years, became “unclutch.” Explain this? These are just two examples.
I assume that because you are the “Old Ranger,” you are probably older then I am. I know you used to comment at RAB (I’m pretty sure you used to end your posts with a 27 at the bottom). Being 30 years old, I deal with my grandfather and situations like this all the time; whatever he sees, he believes that is the way things are. The fact is, your eyes lie. I also think stats lie as well, so I am not going to try to beat you over the head with OPS+, WAR, UZR and stuff like that. However, unless you are able to look at an 18 year old and decide if that kid could turn into a superstar, you need to rely on stats more often then not. A good baseball player gets 600 ABs a year, and plays 10 years or so. They also have 3 years of minors, spring ball, winter leagues, etc… There is no way your eyes can see all these at bats, thus you cannot determine, just off of what you see, whether or not a player is having a great week, month or year, or if the player is just that good. Relying on your eyes will get you Chris Shelton, and get rid of ARod because he is bad in the postseason.
In the case of Vasquez, I’m not in disagreement with the post. He thus far hasn’t shown that he has performed well. However, if you look at his portfolio as a whole, both how he performed and what he costs/is worth, it’s a major plus. I agree with your closing statement about his lack of being the leader. I do think the arguement could be made also that last year he turned a corner. Lastly, the key to the entire post is this: “And of course, there’s a big difference between “hasn’t” and “can’t”. I’m willing to say that Vazquez certainly hasn’t pitched well under pressure in his career, but not that he can’t.”
(Quote)
I had the same trouble with older people, as you have with your Grandfather. One day I found myself doing the same thing, but a Lt. Col. told me I was getting sloppy in my planning for a job. I reevaluated how I approached things after that.
I digress, Yes, clutch is very subjective but i have seen and worked with guys that were clutch and not so much. I believe clutch is in the DNA (mind and talent) of a person, sometimes one doesn’t have the confidence in himself. One day he needs to step up…and surprises himself by doing so. Most of the time if you mention to that person he came through in the clutch…he is bewildered…that was his job, no big deal or I had no choice.
Yes, I did post on RAB, you were right, Yes I am very old but, I hope I never become an old fart that thinks; “It was always done that way,” ETC. One does learn from history but, the main thing is always “Adapt & Improvise” with any situation or any time in life. I have also learned from people much younger then I am, many times, so being 30 or 18 years old is not a sin.
Very good Reply Jay, I liked it. Thanks!
I was thinking: will anyone ever break Nolan Ryan’s single season strikeout record?? I just came across this stat (383 Ks) playing videogames and I got a bit curious, so I did some research. Not even close to what the guys here at TYU do, just some 15 minutes spent between google and wikipedia.
As you know, Ryan K’d 383 batters in his record-breaking season. Just to put things in perspective I looked at the 2009 stats for Justin Verlander, Tim Lincecum and CC Sabathia. The first two led the MLB with 269 and 261 Ks. CC got “only” 197 strikeouts, but I looked at his stats because I’m a big fan of his. LOL.
I also did some math, and came to the conclusion that a pitcher, who would start 32 games in a season, would have to K 12 guys per start, and would still break the record by only one single strikeout. If this ace would pitch for, say… 7 innings in every single start, he would have to get 1,71 batters per inning, on 3 strikes.
Lincecum got 1.15 in 2009. Verlander got a close 1.12. Our guy CC caught only 0,85 batters on strikes.
As I sayed, I’m an amateur, so I didn’t have the patience or the luck to find the amount of IP by Nolan Ryan to get his 383 SOs. But he was over 40, so he didn’t break any records in THIS stat in the ’93 season So I can’t really compare my Ks/IP stat.
But let me throw in another set of numbers. Verlander recorded 720 outs in 2009. 269 by strikeout, that means 37,3% outs by Ks. Lincecum got 676 outs, with 261 Ks (38,6%) and Sabathia outed 690, with his 197 Ks (28,5%).
That Ace we imagined above (the guy with the 32 starts, 7IP and 12Ks)… He would record 672 outs, and 384 Ks. That would get him a sky-high 57,1% of outs by strikeout.
Even if he pitched 8 innings in every start, he would still get 50,2% of batters by K.
So, bottom line is: Even todays aces (Lincecum, CC and Verlander) don’t even get close to what would be necessary to break Ryan’s record. That’s why I can’t see that happening.
Please, if you don’t agree with me or if I made a bizzare math mistake (that is highly probable. I always sucked in math! =[ ) or even if this post is too long and boring, correct me or show it to me. I would gladly see my theory fail, even better if CC breaks it. But I just don’t see it happening. Thanks for reading
One thing you may have missed, Nolan started 40+ game back in 1970 or 74. Some where in there is when they all went to 5 man rotations…I think.
On the other hand, most guys hated to face him…I have heard a lot of players say things like “I had a count of 0 and 2 when I stepped into the box” or “No chance”. A few of his records will not be broken….I don’t think anyhow.
Guys,
Being a Brit, even though I get to see the Yankees as often as I can, it’s no more than a few times each season – and I have never been to spring training. So I was pretty excited when I decided that I would soon be attending a conference in Miami, because I figured I would probably be able to catch a game during my trip.
Sadly, the conference is taking place slightly earlier than I’d hoped (Feb 25/26) and even though I will stop over in Florida for the weekend of 27/28 as well, I will be elsewhere by the time the Grapefruit League begins! Darn!
I will probably schedule my travel so that I am in Tampa for the weekend anyway, and I wondered if you seasoned campaigners can suggest if there will be anything occurring at Legends Field (or elsewhere in the area) that would at least allow me to scratch the itch, even if it doesn’t satisfy my craving for the new season? Like, are there weekend practices that are open to spectators for example?
I’ve twice tried contacting the stadium staff about this and have received no reply :-((
Cheers
Tim
Anyone going to be in Tampa on the weekend of Feb 27 / 28?
I eventually heard back from Steinbrenner Field (after three emails and two phone calls) and they confirmed that since I am in town that weekend, I might like to watch the public workouts in the stadium, which run between 10 and 2.
Since this is the closest I am going to get to Spring Training this year, I’m pretty excited to be getting my fix of live ball. Anyone else happen to be in Tampa over that weekend?
Tim
The yankees are going to repeat because the sox lost bay and he is basically there whole offense is david ortiz were to struggle
Hey guys
I really need some help with a couple of things:
1st: MLB 10: The Show. I’m thinking about buying it and having it sent over to Brazil. However I would have to get the PS 2 version, because PS 3 still costs a fortune down here. Around US$ 800. I looked around on the internet but could’t find any answer to the following question:
Does the PS 2 version have everything that the PS 3 version has? (Of course there is the lower graphic quality and the online playing mode “problem” but those don’t bother me at all)
What I would like to know is, if it makes sense to buy the PS 2 version, or am I gonna get the same features and playing modes of, say, the 07 version but with updated rosters?
Can anyone help me with that?
2nd: MLB.tv. I want to get this because down here we only get one game a week, on sunday nights. That means i have to hope the Yankees are playing on primetime on sundays, or I don’t see them at all.
The good thing is, I don’t think we have blackouts in Brazil, so I would be able to watch every game. Is MLB.tv worth the $25, or are the games shown on terrible quality and you can’t really follow it?
thanks in advance for the help/answers.
I cant answer the first question. Regarding the second, I love mlb.tv. If you have a decent internet connection, it is worth every penny.
Every year a few of the better pitchers go down. Every year there are HRs up yahzoo. Other then the fans loving to see monster HRs, there is a quick and easy cure for those two things.
“Put the damn mound back to where is was!”
Once they lowered the mound; More HRs and more pitchers getting hurt. They lowered it because of three pitchers (I think it was three) Gibson, Koufax, and Drysdale. Those guys were unhittable back then, HRs were down so….they lowered the mound.
The so called “Juiced ball” era was just the players got bigger, faster and pitchers didn’t have the mound to drive off of. To be honest about it, I think all the HR records after that time should have an *.
I may be wrong about it but, I believe all three of them quit that year or the next.
If Jeter wants more than 3 years, let him walk, let Russo play SS, and sign Carl Crawford.
You’re nuts. Jeter’s merchandising value alone almost pays for his contract.
I thought the clubs share equally in merchandising revenue?
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Remember last year when Tex struggled at the plate…until A-Rod came back? Without having done the statistical analysis, I wonder if Jeter’s struggles this year coincide with Nick Johnson’s injury and a relative void in the no. 2 slot in the order? Perhaps Granderson will help, if he gets slotten in there. (This was really Damon’s value in the batting order, too.)
Russo our full time SS? I hope there was sarcasm in that
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Hey guys. This came up to me as I was watching AJ Burnett getting torched by the Phillies. But please don’t think this is a angry and out-of-his-mind guy writing this. Obviously I got pissed by AJ’s bad start, but it did not influence this post at all. I also didn’t find any posts on TYU about Dave Eiland, this is why I am commenting here, altough this will not be a true “Off topic” post like “I’m going to Russia for vacation and need tips from someone who has been there”. But here we go:
Where is Dave Eiland? What has happened to him? What could be so bad to make a man leave his job and don’t tell anyone the reason except your bosses (let’s just hope he told his boss!)?
I don’t want his life to turn into a Brittney Spears sort of paparazzi drama, but I just need a reason for his “personal leave of absence”! Even if it is “I just NEEDED to be at home for the NBA playoffs. Just bought myself a new 3D TV”. I would obviously be mad about it, but at least I would know when/if he was coming back and why in God’s name he went M.I.A. like this.
Please: I am not questioning Mike Harkeys abilities as a pitching coach. (By the way, who is our Bullpen coach now? Mariano?) But if he were that good, he would certainly BE the regular pitching coach. And not the Bullpen one.
I follow this guy on Twitter. Don’t really care for him, and Moshe most likely knows why (@Yankees_N_More), but he tweeted something which I tought was quite true just earlyer tonight: “And the next person being PAID to cover the #Yankees who writes a story about Eiland’s absence will be the first!”
I also follow Marc Carig, Bryan Hoch, Ken Davidoff, Mark Feinsand, Kim Jones and a ton of Yankees (or not) beat writers and baseball writers in general. And nobody, NOT ONE of them, tweeted or wrote something about why Eiland left, when he’s coming back or what might be the reason for this long absence. I’m no journalist. But if I had time or patience to look up Yankees pitching stats for since Eiland left, I would say this could be a good story. Even if there have not been any changes in those stats. Don’t you?
I think that’s all I had to say about that. Thank you for reading and sorry for the ocasional typing mistake. Just hate laptop keyboards!
I think that the reporters have left it alone because it is clearly something serious and personal, and there is no reason to drag a person in a difficult situation into the spotlight. I’m sure it comes out eventually, but I really do not think this matters at all. Harkey was Girardi’s pitching coach in Florida, I believe, so he has experience, and the team obviously felt that he was equipped to stand in for Eiland. Considering how little we know about how much pitching coaches help, this is really a non-issue to me.
I know this is sort of wrong and not really my business at all but this will shut me up and ignore it for the time he is out but, what do you think he is out for?
Is it about time to level some doubts about the saint hood of Jeter yet. For the last month and a half he has been a disaster in clutch at bats. He has been killing rallies with his DP and strike outs.
Has anyone had enough of Joe Morgan and him repeating over and over the trite analysis of “National League style baseball”. According to Morgan the Yankees (Pettitte really) making those errors in last nights game was “because of the DH”. That sounds good to someone who doesn’t watch baseball and may be impressed by Morgan’s analysis. I’ve seen NL teams mess up those same type of plays, and I have seen the Yanks execute that play many times. Also according to Morgan the Yankees won all those championships under Torre because Torre brought a “National League-style” to the Yankees of stealing bases. hit-and- run, and sac bunts. Did Morgan do any research to back those claims? I bet you the Yanks were never in the top half of AL in sac bunts in the Torre years. By the way the Yanks came back to beat the Dodgers “American League-style” but Morgan didn’t realize this.
Does this drive anyone else crazy or is it just me?
Not just you. Myself and tons of others complained about it on Twitter last night. He just babbles, it’s disgraceful.
Oh my god is that annoying or what?! I don’t know how many times I heard that old married couple say “The American League teams are just not used to this style of play”. And don’t forget to throw in the other two butt-buddies Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, whenever those two call the games I want to keel over and die of a heart attack!
Did you guys hear McCarver’s take on the Yankees and the WW2 Germany/Russia? When I heard that during the game I thought it was ridiculously over the line for a guy calling a game to pull that loaded gun out and fire it off, talk about a subject that can get a little dicey for live TV.
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Has anyone noticed most players today when they get hit by a pitch aren’t afraid to show everyone how much it hurts. No matter where they are hit. Arod is a prime example. Don Baylor got hit on the hands/wrist many times and simply jogged to first. Not only him but every player back then wouldn’t show any signs of pain or discomfort.
Yeah but that whole atmosphere of the game has changed. now you can get warnings to both dugouts for one guy getting plunked people aren’t allowed to show intention of hitting someone and thus batters don’t expect to get hit and when they do they put on this whole show (Youk last year was a prime example). It hurts like hell obviously but some of it has to be to get the attention on the pitcher, it only behooves the batter for the pitcher to get a warning.
Looks like the Yankees are trying to trade Chan Ho Park according to Jayson Stark so it looks like his days are numbered with the team because I can’t imagine they will just keep him if no one offers anything up, most likely he has a sate with Mr DFA.
Maybe Sanchez can finally get a longer look at making it in the pen, what can it hurt to give the guy a chance? His outing against the Sox was better than any Park outing all year.
That’s right 2 run shot from Curtis Granderson!!! That’s 3 HRs in 2 games, how can anyone not route for the guy? Seriously.
Can any one explain to me why A LOT of people are saying “if CC opts out of his contract, we can get Lee as insureance”? I don’t get it, why would CC opt out where he is getting top dollar, best chance to win, and maybe one of his best friends sitting next to him next year in Cliff Lee?
If CC has a Cy Young season in 2011 he will opt out. He’ll be looking for a couple of more years added on. So it is important to have Lee in case some team gives CC another 7 year contract.
The market next year will dictate whether C.C. opts out. If the economy continues to be poor and teams are still slashing payroll, it would make little sense for him to turn his back on the four years remaining on his deal. Another factor will be the strength of the free agent pool for starting pitchers after the 2011 season. Lastly, once a starter gets beyond age 30, contracts beyond five years are almost unheard of. C.C. would have four years remaining on his Yankee deal. For the possibility of one additional year, which is the best he is likely to secure, it would be risky to throw away the guaranteed Yankee money. Of course, it takes only one foolish owner or GM to alter the calculations, but I’m skeptical.
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With DH looking covered for the rest of the year lets hope that Craig Breslow can be a Yankee in the next 24 hours… Being a left handed pitcher who dominates right handers and more than holds his own against lefties he would definitely help cement the middle of the pen if Robertson can take over the 8th until Hughes drops into the pen for the playoffs.
The Mark Melancon days are over according to Joel Sherman who reports that along with Jimmy Paredes (switch hitting infielder) Melancon will be headed to Houston for the Big Puma.
If this is true it’s a pretty huge steal if Berkman can match his numbers against right handers on the season and he probably slots in to the 2 or 6/7 hole in the Yankees lineup.
Looking at Berkman’s peripheral numbers you would have to assume that injuries and some unlucky breaks have lead to his numbers being lower across the boards. His BABIP is .279 this year which is the lowest since his rookie season (his BABIP has been .300, .341 and .296 over the past 3 years).
Considering Berkman’s numbers against right handers (with his left handed swing) .261/.395/.479/.874 with 12 HRs and the short porch in Yankee stadium Berkman should be a signifigant upgrade over any DH the Yankees have carried into a game this year when not using the spot for an aging veteran named Alex.
Betances K’d 9 over 5 innings with 1 ER and walked none yesterday he has really come on strong since surgery, it’s been really surprising to see his control numbers improve as quickly as they have, I’ve read it’s all thanks to improved abiltity to repeat mechanics if he keeps this up he really could turn into the plus arm I had almost given up for dead.
It’s been amazing. He has absolutely resolidified himself as a top prospect type player.
It’s funny to see guys like Betances and Brackman to a smaller degree re-solidify themselves in that potential “top arm category” that they had fallen out of, while many Yankee fans including myself almost left both of these guys for dead in the terms of ever even seeing the major leagues.
The fact that his control has come so far and the reports about much better mechanics gives me a lot of quite optimism that we have good things to come in the next few years as far as good young arms go.
With guys like Betances, Brackman and Banuelos having potential to grow into that 1-2 pitching category (depending on how much velocity Banuelos adds you have to put him in that group) and the amount of middle of the rotation arms we have Nova, McAllister (even though I believe Nova has passed him this year), Noesi and DJ Mitchell we have a real opportunity to hold onto and develop some key starting pitching in a way that the Yankees haven’t been able to do in a long time.
Curtis has really been starting to hit the ball with a lot more authority and consistency, he also seems to be a lot more comfortable at the plate than he has been in earlier in the year where he looked like even he thought he was going to make an out. I don’t know how much credit to give Granderson or K. Long individually but it’s nice to see athletes continue to make adjustments to better themselves and not stay stuck in a shallow one minded thinking of only relying on themselves.
I knew Nova could throw a fairly hard sinker but man he really impressed with the velocity he was keeping, I don’t know if the 97 was adrenaline or a high ticked gun (probably both) but sitting anywhere from 92-94 on a pitch with that kind of movement remind me a little of Wang.
You know how we say, all the time, that Cano has been playing “Gold Glove caliber defense” in 2nd base? And Mark Teixeira in 1st… I obviously agree, but what about other Yankees having great defensive years? What about Brett Gardner. He has played in almost every game in the season, has CF-like range in LF, tracks down every ball hit to him and has 10 OF assists already in the year! The last one was last night, against the Blue Jays –> http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=11299029
Anyone agree with me?
I don’t think anyone would disagree, we knew coming into this season that at the bare minimum Gardner would play well above average defense in LF all year, the fact that he has been hitting on top of that is really just a nice plus. If it’s one thing Gardner has it’s some of the fastest wheels I have ever seen and a great glove no matter where he plays in the OF. If he won a gold glove I don’t think any of us would be surprised but I’m just not sure if he has enough name recognition to take the award away from an established veteran name. The gold Glove is really more of a popularity contest than it is the best defensive player at a position and if you have won it before it gives you a greater chance of winning one in the future.
OK isn’t enough enough? Isn’t everyone in agreement that Gaudin should be DFA’d and Alby and his 40+ saves for Scranton should be called up? The guy has done nothing but dominate the minor leagues all year and he has barley sniffed the bigs, if they don’t believe he can do it than they need to call up Romulo and his 95+ heater because having him go back and forth between starting and reliving in the minors isn’t doing anything.
Both Sanchez and Albaladejo have earned shots to have extended looks before the rosters expand and Gaudin isn’t making a post season roster anyway, besides it’s not like they both aren’t on the 40 man.
Banuelos made his Trenton debut yesterday and it wasn’t a gem as he pitched 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 Ks and allowed 2 HRs.
Agreed on the relievers. As for Banuelos, apparently it was in atrocious weather.
Even without the weather I would be more than inclined to simply give him a pass on that start, besides the step up in competition he has to be nervous it’s the first real major jump he’s made on his way to the big leagues, not to mention the fact that he is probably one of the youngest kids on the field at 19.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Betances does with the step up in competition in his first start, he is older than Banuelos and has a better fastball. If he finishes the year strong with Double A you could see him with Scranton at some point late next year and for a guy most of us thought was going to waste away in the minors with injury after injury that would be a huge step forward in his career.
Betances pitched tonight. I believe he went 4.2 due to pitch count, gave up 2 R (1ER), and struck out 8.
I was looking for the Trenton score today good looking out I thought I was going to have to wait until tomorrow to get that line.
Betances has some electric stuff and it’s good to see the Ks their, I think though eventually someone is going to have to sit him down and make him understand you don’t have to strike every batter out. Guys with that kind of stuff can work against themselves at times by striking too many guys out and not lasting deep enough into games, we saw a little of that with Joba but lord knows he has many other issues to work out if he is going to re-join the rotation at some point next year.
26-20 ball to strike ratio for Gaudin in 2 IP with 3 ER and 0 Ks… Mitre has proven to be a much more reliable reliever than Gaudin at this point so I really see no reason to keep him around, both MItre and Mosley can go long out of the pen and Alby and Sanchez have better stuff than he does.
As a reliever opponents are only hitting .196 on Mitre meanwhile opponents are hitting .289 off of Gaudin.
Mitre’s opponents line as a reliever .196/.271/.351
Curtis had another really good game today and he is making tremendously better contact than he was earlier in the season, it was like at one point in the year he almost went up to the plate expecting to make an out and he wasn’t even striking the ball well on outs, now is almost the opposite he seems to have plenty of confidence and even when he makes an out he seems to make decent contact most of the time and drives the ball. He has also seems to be able to reach that down and away pitch a lot easier since they took a little bit of the movement out of his swing and we all know he can get to the inside pitch if he can maintain good contact
that outside pitch he should maintain his good hitting.
You have Vernon Wells 0-2 and you decide to throw a fastball? You deserve to give up a HR with pitch selection like that, worse yet was where he intended to throw the fastball which was down and away the exact same pitch he got 0-2 on and even missing up and out of the zone Wells hit it because he is a fastball hitter.
People get mad at Joba for not throwing what the catcher puts down and rightfully so to some degree but I think it’s about time Phil got criticism for 1. his pitch selection and 2. his unwillingness to ever shake off the catcher. When you are a pitcher it your job to make sure you are mixing your pitches and going through a good pitch selection, if you have a catcher constantly throwing down 1 finger shake and get to something off speed. You don’t have to shake every pitch but when it obviously is terrible time to throw a fastball then shake!
When you have the curve ball Hughes does why in the hell are you throwing a 0-2 fastball after you just threw an 0-1 fastball?
Brackman pitched well yesterday throwing 6 IP with only 2 H, 2 BB and 0 ER (2 R), he also had a fantastic groundout to flyout ratio of 9-4 and K’d 4. In Brackman’s last 51.1 IP he has a 2.79 ERA while striking out 51, walking 25 and allowing only 49 H (1 HR), over that same span he has held his opponent batting average down to .251 and got back the effectiveness he had in Tampa after a rocky start with Trenton.
Gotta love Marcus Thames! I still can’t believe people wanted him DFA’d early in the year all he has been the entire year is a great teammate and a great bat off the bench! Hopefully there is a place on this team next year for Big Time Thamesy Jim.
They are keeping him on a short leash (and with a young starter on the first go through that is the right way to handle it) but while he is out on mound Nova is extremely impressive! He maintains a higher velocity than I thought he would, he has a serviceable change that needs better control but has good movement and his curve is close to that of Hughes although I think Hughes has a more contently tight break his curve.
I have to say if he pitches the way he has been pitching for the rest of the way then you might see Nova earn a chance at the rotation next year if Pettitte retires, if Andy does decide to return next season Nova might be an interesting Aceves type out of the pen only with better velocity and a little less touch.
In case any one didn’t see and was wondering Manny Banuelos went 5 IP yesterday with 3 H, 0 R and 5 Ks in his second start for Trenton, it’s good to see him bounce right back after a less than stellar start 1 to his double A career.
Kerry Wood since the all-star break (since he joined the Yankees) 11.2 IP, 9 H, 7 BB, 15 Ks .214 BAA
While at Yankee stadium this year 8 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 9 Ks .233 BAA
More Marcus Thames love after his untying 2 run blast today! I really hope he gets a chance to return to the Bronx next year, the guy has 11 HRs and after today he has 7 of them against right handed pitching and he was able to play the field today without “the ball finding the weakest player on the field”.
Why come out of the bullpen with a 94 MPH fastball and throw a slider first pitch? Doesn’t make any sense what are you changing the speed of first pitch to the first batter of the inning.
Yet another heart breaking loss in a game we should have had won… Thank god Andy comes back Sunday but we have a ways to go before we are post season ready.
The amount of men we leave in scoring position and on base in general is really starting to annoy the hell out of me, we have no problem getting men on base but just as if we have traveled back to 2004 we can’t plate jack unless we hit a long bomb.
If this team has any chance of going deep into the playoffs we need to reverse this trend in a hurry.
The Yankees just seem to be at the top of the league in finding ways to lose games… I hate to say it but they seem to be the opposite of last years squad, the team that never said quit and always found a way to win close games. This year we have had some comebacks I’m not taking that away from them but it just seems like the games champions find a way to win we come up short, for the time being at least.
Can all the people who want Nova to start a game in the playoffs take a look at tonight and last time our against the Rays and realize he just hasn’t learned enough about pitching in the big leagues to pitch 6-7 IP consistently.
It was a bad idea when it was brought up and he has only proven it since, I would rather throw Javy out over a kid who is in his first go through and breaks down around 75-80 pitches with big leads.
This hasn’t been a very great month overall for the Yankees but if there has been one really bright spot it’s the play of Curtis Granderson, whatever you want to say is the cause he is really starting to hit like the player we all thought he was going to be when we first got him. After todays 2 run shot (although in a game out of reach) he has 23 HRs and he missed a month of the season, I really don’t think it’s a reach to say he will have 30 HRs next year at this point. His numbers are up across the board even if he is still weak to left handers at least he has improved those numbers from last year and he is getting closer to the more acceptable level he was at in 08 against LHP. He has 23-12 so far this year I will go ahead and guarantee 30-20 next season for the Yankees.
Is anyone starting to wonder about this team in close situations? It seems to me like last year any time the Yankees had to come up big in a close spot to win the game they found a way to do it, this year they just seem to find a way to get close but then ruin it. It’s a disturbing trend in “big” games going into the playoffs and while I wouldn’t say there is concern yet it doesn’t bode well.
I blame Jeter. He is killing them offensively. That was the softest 14 game hitting streak I’ve ever seen. I think his average went down at the end of the streak. He couldn’t catch up with Papelbon’s fastball. I can’t believe the Yankees are obligated to give him an enormous contract next year when the Red Sox have the exact player stats wise in Scutaro and they are paying him 5 mil a year.
Scutaro isn’t Derek Jeter and in situations like this you’re almost paying him to not take a huge PR hit (as small as it would financially it would be felt through out baseball with the players) hopefully Jeter has some dignity and doesn’t try and take us to the mattresses on this one but we have to pay him either way.
I do agree that Jeter should be hitting lower in the lineup and putting him either 7th or 8th against right handed pitchers at least is something I think we have to consider next season, we can leave Gardner leadoff and have Swisher and maybe Granderson when he is going well hitting 2nd. Jeter has the mental strength to not mope over a demotion like that and it would sure take a drag out of the top 2 spots in the lineup I’m just not sure they would be willing to do that this year in the last half of the regular season heading into the playoffs.
Well we are officially in! Lets celebrate this tonight and move on to the next task we have to accomplish and that is overtaking the rays/getting ready for the postseason.
What is to be made of Brian Cashman saying Betances “might be our best pitching prospect ever”… Does he really believe this or is it just some hype for the young kid or maybe even his own pride? If he truly does believe that it goes along way to the overall credibility of the reports we have read over the last year about his improvements.
At one time I had Betances pegged as the least likely to make it to the bigs out of the Yankees top prospects and now I think he may be at the top of that list if the injury bug is behind him, he seems to have the build that would hold up better than Banuelos and if he can keep up the control he seemed to show this year then he is further along than Brackman on that front.
13th straight year and 14th year overall in his career with 30 HRs and 100 RBI Alex truly is one of the greatest players of this or any generation… Now maybe all the people who were saying he wasn’t going to hit 30 HRs this year because of steroids can get smart and shut up, I guess we can’t hope for miracles though.
Does anyone else feel like the Twins even on the road to open the series is an easier opponent than the Texas Rangers this year? They have the real Liriano back sure and they are a tough team but with what Cliff Lee did all postseason last year I have to say he holds more fear for me and without Morneau out the Rangers offense (if Hamilton is healthy) is probably more dangerous.
I do feel that way. Hate to say it, but I was rooting today for the Yanks to take the WC.
I was hoping for the division just because with CC, our offense and the prestige even the new stadium carries I think we have a huge advantage in Yankee stadium that other teams don’t necessarily have in baseball.
However that said for the reasons I listed above I’m not mad get to face the Twins… However it seems like all the “experts” aren’t giving us much of a chance in this series going so far as to say “outside of CC the Yankees have no advantage in this series”.
How are the Twins going to align their rotation? Does Pavano start game 2 or 3 and is Liriano pitching on short rest in the post season?
Sabathia Vs Liriano
Pettitte Vs Pavano?
Hughes Vs Duensing?
Sabathia Vs Kevin Slowey?
Question. Rivera has 5 career blown saves in the postseason. One vs. D’backs, 2 vs. Boston in ’04, Cleveland in 97 (alomars homer). I can’t remember the other blown save. .
Against Minny in 2004. 8th inning, Gordon puts 2 on, Mo lets them score. Yankees win 7-6 in 12, A-Rod has huge double against Nathan, Yanks tie series.
Thanks Moshe. I guess I can’t recall that one because the Yanks won the game!
Hughes is looking pretty nasty tonight! He has been wild in the strike zone but that is the definition of Phil Hughes success at the big league level effectively wild within the strike zone.
The offense looks a lot more alive early than it has in games past hopefully we can keep this up and get some rest in before finding out if we face Cliff Lee and the Rangers or Price and the Rays.
Well the Rays have forced a game 5 and that means that both Price and Lee will have to pitch an extra game in the ALDS looks like we all got our top scenario a Yankee sweep and the Rays-Rangers going a full 5.
Hi, it’s nice here so I am just saying hi. I’ve been reading website for a moment now.
Well it’s a good thing that UFC 120 is free on spike tonight so I can forget about this disaster!
Let’s just hope by some miracle we can hit Cliff Lee better than we could Colby Lewis or CJ Wilson and also hope Andy shows up with a big game to make it count…. I said at the begining of this series we needed to take 2 of the first 3 games to win this series and we have to do it against the toughest pitcher on the Rangers staff.
MLB rumor says the Yankees are going to offer Jeter a 3 year deal worth 45-60 million and are prepared to “overpay him”.
Me personally I’m ok overpaying both Jeter and Lee by some degree if it means they take less years and if we can get Jeter to do a 3 year deal over a 4 that works out to some degre with sacrafice on both sides.
With Lee he is going to make bank no matter what but I would much rather give him a couple million more a year for 5 years than get locked in for 6 or 7 years and if the Rangers are dumb enough to pull out a vontract thay long we should walk away IMO.
On MLB rumor Andy Pettitte says that if he plays at all it will only be for 1 more year but that right now his heart is at home and he’s leaning towards retirement.
If Andy decides to leaves this changes the game because it makes Lee a neccesity and not a luxury to get over the hump but at the same time this could also be Andy’s way of asking to be paid for 1 last year knowing he has no other leverage than he might retire and the Yanks need his arm.On MLB rumor Andy Pettitte says that if he plays at all it will only be for 1 more year but that right now his heart is at home and he’s leaning towards retirement.
If Andy decides to leaves this changes the game because it makes Lee a neccesity and not a luxury to get over the hump but at the same time this could also be Andy’s way of asking to be paid for 1 last year knowing he has no other leverage than he might retire and the Yanks need his arm.
Without Pettitte and Lee
Sabathia
Hughes
Burnett
Nova?
Noesi?
With Lee but without Pettitte
Sabathia
Lee
Hughes
Burnett
Nova?
I know that Justin Upton is probably not going anywhere and these recent trade talks of the Yankees and Red Sox calling the D-Backs is probably just teams making yearly calls but I thought it might be fun to see someone on TYU do a write up on Upton and his potential value to the Yankees on the field and more importantly open a discussion for what if anything you would give up in a trade for Justin knowing that you have to include 1 of the 3 current outfielders we have and a number of high named prospects.
If I was going to do it I would try and keep Montero by trading Gardner, 1 of their choice of killer B’s, 1 of the minor league catchers not named Montero, Nunez and their choice of any non killer B pitcher.
Manuel Corpas has been released by the Rockies anyone have interest for the Yankees? I would be open to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training because he could prove to be a cheap sign and if relived even half of his sophmore year he would be a huge addition, like I said though I would want a ST invitee only no guaranteed contract but I know that might not be possible so a 1 year deal with incentives on ERA, K’s and IP might be a better way to go. He obviously wouldn’t be a setup guy or anything I would give that to Robertson out of the guys we have right now but he could be a valueable piece in the pen and who knows maybe he re-captures some old magic and does become the setup man eventually.
Apparently Corpas had TJ surgery in Sept so maybe we could sign him to a minor league deal and stash him away to see if he comes back healthy for cheap.
According to “sources” The Yankees offer stands at 3 years 21 million but Derek wants a minimum of 4 years and “prefers five or six”.
The which I say I would prefer to come home and lay in bed with scarlet Johansson every night but some things just aren’t going to happen and the sooner you realize what is fantasy and what is reality the sooner this deal can get done.
Don Mattingly is managing the Devil Dogs in the AFL which is the current team of Yankee prospects Brandon Laird, Austin Romine and Manny Banuelos, Donny Baseball had this to say about Banuelos.
“He’s going to be good. He’s got a good arm, it’s not going to take long for him to reach the majors. He throws hard, sneaky hard it just jumps out of his hand. For a 19 year old kid I got to tell you he really held his own out their today.”.
What a ringing endorsment for a kid who is in the Yankee farm system from a former Yankee great and current manager, I have a good feeling about Banuelos going forward he may just be the ace pitcher Cashman has been trying to develop since being GM.
According to MLB Rumor Jeter’s camp may not even respond to the 3 year 45 million dollar offer from The Yankees in order to force their hand on offering a bigger deal.
If Jeter really goes this route with this thing I’m going to lose a lot of respect for the guy, I always thought he was the kind of guy who would recognize when he was becoming more like a regular player and would allow the Yankees to keep him at a more appropriate salary and I never expected him to embarress himself on the field, however if he is planning on playing another 5 or 6 years than I’m afraid that can’t be stopped and apparently neither can his ego.
I have a feeling that Arod making cake until he is 42 years old has a lot to do with Jeter’s demands and it’s stupid pride and nothing more, to not even respond to a 45 million dollar offer would really drop him in my book.
I wonder if he’ll pull a Joe Torre….take less money somewhere else for his pride.
15 million a year for 3 years is overpaying by far.
The Yanks will be bidding against themselves again like they did for Arod.
Can we all just stop comparing this with Alex please, yes we overpaid Alex in money and years but that is where the comparison ends, Alex Rodriguez was a 2 time MVP right before hand with us and is still to this day a huge part of the middle of our lineup. Most of us wouldn’t care and would in fact cheer if Jeter got dropped to 9th against RHP, comparing the situations is no where near the same we needed Arod just as much as he needed us honestly if Jeter leaves we wouldn’t lose much Nunez’s defense would almost erase Jeter’s bat being gone.
dnt think so i obv no we dnt wanna over over pay but ?……if it is about pride i wouldnt b suprised if he walked ….geogre wouldnt mess this up lets see what happens
If Jeter really wants to be a Yankee until the end he will brush his pride off and make the right decision BUT if Jeter only wants to stay a Yankee if we WAY overpay him 20 per year for 4 or 5 years then he has been lying this whole time and has no loyalty.
If Jete wants to go I’m at the point where he can leave and I won’t care… really at this point in his career no one would miss his play they would only miss the man in the uniform and if he leaves over 5 million dollars he’s a dick and I wouldn’t miss that either.
Does anyone know how many teams have made it to the world series with a starting everyday SS of 37? None.
I think we should get a new pole up.. Would you rather overpay Jeter so he’s stays no matter what or tell him to leave?
I really think it would be interesting to see how many people would rather keep Jeter even if he holds a gun to our heads and straight robs us, after the Lee pole I bet a lot more would rather give him 115 million over 5 years rather than let him leave.
anyone think just giving him a 4th yr player option?(jeter)…i think he’d retire if wasnt hacken it..2009 was a real good year b 4 that people worried bout him but what if it was just a down yr an maybe he does have 4-5 pretty good yrs left……i could see if he was down right terrible but he wasnt
What makes you so sure he would turn it down? He already is proving how much he’s about money if he had a terrible year with a 21 million dollar player option he’d probably just assume he could play well and if not still pickup the check.
No way would I give any option other than a club option, Jeter obviously can’t recognize his value has already slipped so he probably never will, great players never see themselves as anything but the “prime” them just ask Michael Jordan.
2009 was an abiration, the one last final great season in a great career, 2008 wasn’t good and 2010 wasn’t good it’s more likely that those numbers are the “new norm” for Jeter than him hitting .330 again. No Jeter wasn’t terrible but he also was slightly worse than Marco Scutaro (who the Red Sox are trying to trade and replace with Lowrie) and he wants 3x Scutaro’s paycheck.
Hanley Ramirez is the highest paid SS in baseball outside of Jete at 11 million…. Jeter wants double what Hanley makes for as many years as Hanley has left on his deal!!
Let me add this last thought, even if Jeter somehow manages to bounce back and hit better for the next 5 years than he did in 2010 at best he can play SS for 3 more years (maybe 2) and his bat won’t play at DH.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have a safe and happy holliday, we’ll back to arguing tommorow ;)
Also don’t forget to give thanks your not a Met or Red Sox fan!
Anyone think that when Troy Tulowitzki finishes his essentially 9 year contract (7 year extension) the Rockies will give him 4 years at 25 million a year for being “the face of the Rockies”…. Come on man just pay him hahaha.
I also find it hillarious that potentially the best short stop in the league (if you think Hanley Ramirez eventually ends up in the OF) just got an extension of 7 years at 19 a year and Jeter wants more money than that for 1-3 less years.
Looking over the non tenders for an outfielder I have come across 3 names I think would be of interest to the yankees the first being Scott Hairston, were familiar with his brother, he can play both corner outfield spots and he has a little power in his bat. He could fill a Marcus Thames role only instead of DH he can play outfield and he definitely would be a good cheap upgrade over Colin Curtis for the bench.
The other I saw non tendered that would be interesting are Lastings Milledge and Fred Lewis both can play all 3 outfield positions when push comes to shove (but both do better in LF) and they would bring something solid to the bench, obviously Milledge has more upside (even though he has never put it together) since his bat if it ever clicks was projected the be starting caliber but Lewis would provide a speed threat off the bench to pinch run for the older guys late in important situations.
My prefered target of the 3 is Hairston followed Milledge and finally Lewis, all 3 of these guys will be had on the cheaper side of things and they will all be looking for bench roles anyway, they play defense and provide an upgrade over Colin Curtis and a replacement for Thames on the bench.
I like all 3, in the same order you do. Another interesting name is Matt Diaz, who is basically Thames plus he can play corner outfield. I think he and Hairston have similar value.
Diaz is a nice option as well I think Hairston has more power potential and a little more upside but Diaz obviously has been a little more consistent than Hairston over his career and both had off years this season so I think both can be had on the cheap.
George Sherrill was officially non tendered so if we don’t get Fuentes I would love to see us go after him as a second lefty specialist.
I keep wondering if it would be worth takng a risk on JP Howell, the last 2 years he pitched he was fantastic and did it in the AL East, I just have concern over his shoulder I would feel better on a minor league deal but the Rays will offer at least that.
According to MLB rumor Derek Jeter and The Yankees have agreed to a 3 year deal worth 16-17 million with a 4th year that becomes GUARANTEED based on the first 3 years…. Once again it isn’t a team option or a vesting option if get X hits in the 3rd year instead it’s based on work in the first 3 years and he will be getting his 4th year after all.
So the Sox steal A Gon from San Diego and now Derek gets 4 years at 17 million per….. what happened to the 3 years 45 that no one matched? I don’t understand this move if he refused to talk until a 4th year was guaranteed than he could leave IMO, eventually he would’ve come back and take 3/45.
I understand Kelly is the Sox top prospect and Rizzo is probably their best power hitting prospect but if I was San Diego I would have taken nothing less than Clay Buccholz because I believe you could’ve got this same deal at the trade deadline, to give up Agon this early without being blown away smells to high heaven.
I’ve read a couple times now from Jon Heyman that The Yankees may try and squeeze both Crawford and Lee into one offseason, now while I don’t believe that personally it is an interesting possibility according to Heyman either Gardner or Swisher would be traded to make room and he believes it would be Swisher moving on so I was thinking what would that look like?
VS LHP
SS- Jeter
LF- Crawford
1B- Teixeira
3B- Arod
2B- Cano
DH- Posada
C- Montero
RF- Granderson
CF- Gardner
VSRHP
SS- Jeter
RF- Granderson
LF- Crawford
3B- Arod
2B- Cano
1B- Teixeira
DH- Posada
C- Montero
RF- Gardner
It’s a hard lineup to place because Crawford’s real value will come out of the 2 or 3 hole, Jeter may need to be dropped VSRHP, Granderson does well in the 2 hole VSRHP, Cano should hit no lower than 5th but his real value is as a 3 or 4 hitter, because of Tex’s slow starts you’d like to see him hit somewhere besides the 3 hole and Gardner has earned a chance at the leadoff spot at the least against RHP.
Looks like Jeter has agreed to defer some money on the deal to help with luxury tax…
Once again the deal has a 4th year but it is based on what happens in the first 3 years but isn’t a club or vesting option… I want to see the wording on this before I make up my mind because right now all I invision is like a 3 year hit total and/or total runs scored, either way I doubt he agreed with 100% believing he was going to be able to do it.
Basically I’m looking at this as a 4 year deal until I see the wording written up different.
The deal is finalized and is now being reported by YES.
Well he wasn’t on our list but he was on the Red Sox list Jayson Werth has signed a 7 year 126 Million dollar deal with the Washington Nationals… for a 31 year outfielder and a small organization this is a huge risk, at least he’s off the Phillies and far away from the Sox!
If I were Cashman I would make my first and final offer to Lee this week at 5 years 25 million per year with a club option for 10 and a 5 million buyout and tell him to take it or leave, he gets 5 years at the highest mark ever for a pitcher and he gets a possible 6th year which is made more reasonable at 10 million and worst case he gets 5 to leave.
The Yankees have touched base with Bill Hall’s reps at the winter meetings obviously for a bench role I assume he would take on a Hairston Jr type of role from 2009 playing a little bit of everywhere but mostly someone with a bat to place at 3rd when Alex DH’s or full day rests.
I’m not against the Hall signing he played way too often for the Red Sox and got exposed some but even then he showed reasons why we would be interested but honestly I would rather have Hairston Jr than Hall for that role since Jr has done it on a championship team before.
How about this contract offer to Lee?
5 year deal worth 23 million per year with a club option for 10 million with a buyout of 10 million which would be defered money from the 5 year deal but to be paid in 2 installments of 5 million a piece for 2 years starting once he retires.
This way Lee gets 25 million per year for 5 years but the contract gets written up as 23 million per year so that Sabathia doesn’t feel shafted and get the urge to opt out looking for 25 million a year, Lee would also get a possible 6th year but he would be paid just 10 million in the scenario in which the option is picked up.
The Yankees would be only locked into a 5 year deal like they want and they wouldn’t have to set a new bar at 25 million per, Lee gets 115 million for 5 years and then get an additional 5 million for 2 years of retirement it makes sense for all parties and there is some give and take for both sides.
I dont think Lee would go for that 6th year at 10 million. He’d likely prefer that it not be included at all.
That would actually suit me much better because I really prefer to just part ways after 5 years which is why I would be inclined to offer the 5 million for 2 years upon retirement I just assumed Lee wants the 6th year pretty badly, I think he would likely prefer the the 10 go up to 15 or 20 over dropping the option all together but I could be wrong.
No really shocking news but MLB rumor has the Yankees meeting with Pedro Feliciano’s agent and Cashman says that the Yankees do want to re-sign Kerry Wood but he “isn’t interested in paying closer money” for him, I really think both of these moves make us better and while I would prefer a Fuentes to Pedro I think Fuentes is going to command multiple years (thanks Benoit).
Apparently some mystery team haha is going to offer Lee a 7 year deal in the near future and it won’t be the Yankees, now while I don’t believe this for a minute (although maybe the Angels see Lee as a better 7 year invest than they do Crawford for 10) but saying it is true what is plan B? Andy is leaning toward retirement, in this scenario Lee is gone and I personally have no interest in Greinke.
The Yankees may be forced into making a decision of going with two rookies in the rotation (something they can’t do or trading Montero for a big splash type pitcher and going hard for this year (which I don’t want them to do) it’s really a bad spot to be in this pitching climate.
I have been looking over Pedro Feliciano’s numbers recently to get a better feel of his play and the more I see on his numbers versus lefties the more I think he is a very good fit in our pen, I know he has had a decent work load over the last 3 or 4 years but with the Yankees he wouldn’t have as big a role as far number of outs he has to record and between him and Logan they could each ease the amount of pitches on the others arm since both can pitch to righties.
Feliciano over the last 3 years VS LHP .212/.273/.310, 110 K, 24 BB, 6 HR, 17 2B in 377 ABs that is some serious domination against left handed hitting and I really see no reason that should change going to the AL plus you have the added bonus of knowing how he pitches in New York.
Does anyone have any possible rule 5 draft selections for tomorrow?
Brad Emaus is one of the only names I’ve seen thrown out that would interest me since he has power and can play both 3rd and 2nd but I highly doubt a guy like that falls to our pick at the bottom of the draft.
Maybe the Yankees can pull off some kind of trade like they did with Bruney last year.
BREAKING NEWS The Red Sox have signed Carl Crawford to a 7 year 142 million dollar deal.
I wonder what the monetary value of this 7 year deal to Lee is, if it’s 140 it’s a lot but if it’s 160 they’ve lose their minds I think they have anyway giving this guy 7 years but I guess if Werth and Crawford get 7 then Lee gets 7 but I have to think health wise both Werth and Crawford have better probabilities of staying healthy late in their careers than Lee does at 39.
Yankees select both Robert Fish a 6’3, 225, LHP who tops out at 94 from the Angels and Daniel Turpen 6’4, 230, RHP from the Red Sox in the rule 5 draft. Both are relievers from double and neither had a very good season their this past year, neither have a real chance of making the team but I suppose Fish has the best chance being a lefty.
what u guys think if we land cliff lee an trade for greinke…with no word on andy ….think they move montero an prospects for greinke not as much pressure as 3rd starter ……an can possibly keep outfield together if montero is centerpiece
Why is everyone so obssesed with Greinke? Have you even looked at his numbers without his Cy season? He will NEVER duplicate that year because nothing before or since. Says he should’ve been that good then, Zack’s numbers show a consistent 3.7 FIP in Kansas City a small market, pitcher’s park what would it be in media frenzy hitters park like New York?
Why would you want to trade Montero a 3rd starter? Montero even if he doesn’t stick at catcher has a chance to be the best slugging anything he plays, he’ll have opportunities at DH, RF, C and probably even a little 1B. Why trade that for a guy who will probably put up ERAs near 4?
Anxiety disorder is a disorder with an irational fear of failure, public humiliation and fear why that change being a second or third starter? No one is afraid he can’t handle game day pressure it’s what he will do living in New York having to face 10x the media every day.
In order to add a contract like Zacks’s we would have to trade Swisher just to clear up 10 million and in two years Greinke needs an extension and if you trade Montero and don’t plan to extend him it’ an even worse trade!
Do you really think a rotation of Sabathia, Lee, Hughes, Burnett and Nova needs Zack Grienke?
The Angels have finally signed a free agent and have reach an agreement with Scott Downs on a 3 year 15 million dollar deal with 1 million in incentives.
Really I’m just glad to have him out if the East because that is way too much money (more than the money it’s the years) for a lefty reliever especially one who has never closed, I was worried Boston was going to sign him though so this isn’t bad.
This pretty much confirms what Brian Fuentes will get and that means the Yankees are probably out on him as well and even though I like him and Downs it’s just to many years/money, I would much rather have Pedro Feliciano and Kerry Wood over either one of those guys alone since I believe Wood and Pedro can be had on 1 or 2 year deals.
Anybody getting ready to watch UFC 124? I’m hoping for the unlikely and after this card is over the Lee decision breaks but most likely this will run on until at least tomorrow if not Monday.
GSP by unanimous decision.
CHRIS my situation is not that i love greinke at all in fact i dunno if i like him much i just would like to ee the pitching staff solidified with good pitching i would def worry about him here but i would no that the potential is there i men cc ,hughes,pet?,burnett?..huge potential there but ……where else are we gonna go? if the answer if young then that fine too but i do believe there always lookin to upgrade but really not much avail………anyone know anyone who may be avail an not beenn mentioned?…..then theres cliff?…..to be honest when i watch him pitch good i say wow causde i saw him when was bad in cleveland and buffalo and i didnt ever expect him to be demanded like this but hey gotta give it to him
It’s really hard to read what you post…. not trying to be mean it’s just the truth….
As far as Greinke goes why would you trade a bunch of young high upside arms and bats like Montero and Banuelos and Betances for a starter your not sure you like and know has massive risk? Also there isn’t any untapped potential in Zack anymore he’s 27 and has pretty much shown us that outside of his one career year he is a 3.7 FIP kind of guy which is good but it’s not even close to a single year put up by Cliff Lee in the last 3 years, people (not you) talk about Zack likes he just as good as Cliff but younger but in reality outside of Kansas City Greinke is a high end number 2 starter and I wouldn’t bet my rotation on a guy who I don’t think can make you a world series team.
Now with us Greinke doesn’t have to be an ace and he actually can be a hugh end 2 but you have two problems in that and one is obviously the price tag, The Royals aren’t trading him for a package less than that of an ace’s package so it makes no sense to spend number 1 prospects on a number 2 pitcher. The other problem is that we don’t know what he will do in New York because it is such a big city and the media will be all over him even away from the park in a way they never have been in KC, so there is a chance he could preform in a manner less than that of even a high end number 2 and then your stuck with trading your system away for a 3 pitcher who will leave in 2 years after his contract is over.
Is there a world where none of these problems occur and he pitches great for years? Yes. Is it likely? No one knows and that is the problem, he’s too big a risk to trade the prospects it will take.
I agree problem is i got alot i wanna talk about lol just sayin worried bout not getting lee an where were gonna be at i really dnt wanna trade the B’s or montereo really wanna see them as yanks just dunno
If we can bring back Wood, sign either Fuentes or Feliciano and bring in a right handed bat for the outfield like Scott Hairston we should be fine to setup a wild card run, if we can add a guy like Russell Martin we might catch some lightning in a bottle and be solid defensively behind the plate for the first time since Jose Molina.
I read today that the Yankees have reached out to Jerry Hairston Jr he was brought up a couple weeks ago and I would love to see him back in pinstripes! He is a great utility guy and he can play almost every position on a baseball diamond the only problem is he can probably get starting offers somewhere else including maybe back with San Diego, I know he like playing for the Yankees and it’s the only time in his career he’s been to the post season so maybe he comes back.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Hairston brothers combo? Jerry handles the defense as a backup in the infield for Jeter and Alex and Scott mans the OF hitting occasionally against lefties and spelling guys along the way, the really enjoyed playing together last year in San Diego but Scott won’t be back, maybe it’s enough for them to both take reserve roles.
Chris today I like everything u say lol wood an a good lefty would be nice both hairstons would also be nice still worried with andy’s decision ………..where u think were at cc aj phil nova …andy?……an ill say if not andy an nova an like we talked about not making a big move I think we should go with the young guys but where do u stand now on our starters?
Sabathia, Hughes, Burnett and Pettitte isn’t as strong as it could be because of the question marks surrounding Burnett, Hughes coming off his first extended innings period and Pettitte breaking down last year but it’s definitely good enough to make the wild card if we stay healthy.
We already have an offense that can match the best in the league and if we can sure up the pen and bench and possibly bring someone in at the trade deadline we could make a push, it could be a tough year if someone in the front of the rotation goes down but that’s always a risk just a bit higher now.
Have heard yanks plan to speand aggressivley on relievers now so will see
Update on the Prior signing the deal is for 750,000 dollars and will get a spring training invite, Prior has agreed to go to the minor leagues if he doesn’t make the team out of spring training.
Maybe Prior and Rothschild can get Wood back on a discount? Not likely I know but we can hope.
Prior apparently can earn another 750,000 dollars in incentives so the grand total to 1.5 million and if he pitches for any extended period of time out of the pen he should be able to more than earn that, I read a week ago that he wants to use this year to transition back to starting next season I don’t think that will ever happen but he is only 30 and could still be a decent setup man or at worst middle relief.
What I’ve read about Prior is that in the Rangers system last year he was sitting around 90 MPH and topping out at 92 and scouts like what they saw… encouraging news but I’ll keep my expectations low, even pitching at all for Prior in the bigs would be a huge step.
love the prior move cant expect much at this point but could def be worth the $ …………and ya i def see us lookin at the trade deadline…….cant wait to see what happens
i like the martin move but where do u think this leave montero an cervelli?…….cervelli movin ?or montero in AAA to start?
They both have options so it really doesn’t matter the best will play but if I had to guess Montero gets more out of triple A than he does being a backup.
According to MLB Rumor Jerry Hairston Jr. told Dan Hayes of the North County Times that four to five teams are pursuing him and the chase is “heating up”.
I know the Yankees are one of the five teams but we will have one of the least attractive offers in terms of playing time but as I said the other day maybe we can sell the fact that he has only been to the playoffs once in his career and it was with us in 2009.
Bill Hall is another utility super sub the Yankees are looking at in the same mold but he also has starting offers from the Pirates and Dodgers and since he has no ties to the Yankee organization I doubt he passes those offers up for a part time role and less money.
I read Kerry Wood is looking for a 2 year deal for 12 million total which is the exact number (6) that I was willing to give him for one year but a two year deal for someone with his injury history is iffy, however when you look at Benoit and Downs getting 3 year deals as a setup man and a possible lefty setup man then 2 years is probably what he will get somewhere.
We should probably go for it because it would solidify the 8th and 9th innings for the next two years and it woyld give us someone we trust to spell Mo for a save op here or there when he’s a little tired or sore, with Lee we have a bunch more financial flexibility to there is room for the 2 year deal with Wood.
If we could just get Fuentes to agree to a 2 year deal worth 10 million or so we’d have one of the best pens in the league, Feliciano wouldn’t be a bad sign either but he is weak against righties and Fuentes dominates righties quite well as a former closer.
Russell Martin ended up turning down more money with the Dodgers when he declined their contract offer but if he reaches his incentives he will end up with more, overall the deal works out nicely for both sides Martin has 4 million base salary and 1.4 or 1.5 million in incentives, if he catches 120 he arms the whole amount but if he catches 120 games he will have EARNED the whole amount for sure.
Well we may have lost Kerry, report is that the White Sox have offered him 2 years and even though they Thornton or Sale will close he could be told he can compete for that job and he could easily beat those two out for that spot. I read yesterday in an interview Wood said he couldn’t see himself going to the White Sox but things often change when multiple year deals are in play, he could be looking at this situation as leverage to try and force the Yankees hand on a 2 year deal if this is the case and the reports of 2 year 12 million is true I say you have to do it.
Jon Heyman reports the Yankees are currently seeing a lefty reliever as their main target and he mentioned Arthur Rhodes, Fuentes and Felicano as possible targets but I would want no part of Rhodes who is 41 and has just come off his first all-star and likely last really effective season.
The Yankees are interested in Bobby Jenks but he is “no where near making a decision”, I think Jenks is probably a fall back if the Yankees lose out on Wood because they will cost roughly the same and both are former closers the Yankees obviously have the funds for both but if they are giving 2 contracts for 5 million a year I imagine it would be Fuentes and a righty.
Well Kerry seems to have agreed to a contract with a Chicago team but it’s not the White Sox, yes it looks as if Kerry Wood will be going back to Chicago, I’m sure he’s going to be in the pen but that means he is probably setting up Carlos Marmol. I’m not happy he’s leaving but if he was going to go somewhere I’m glad it’s Chicago with the Cubs because he obviously really enjoys it their and he has a chance to finish what he started years ago as a promising starter striking out 20 against the ‘Stros.
This development makes Fuentes much more of a need than a want in my opinion, with Wood we could justify signing just a lefty specialist but now we need a setup man and with past history closing and good splits Vs both Left and right handed hitters Fuentes could be the 2nd lefty, setup man and occasional closer to spell Mo. If we sign Brian we also have the option of signing Feliciano in order to have Logan and Pedro for lefties and Fuentes as a pure setup man.
Reports are Yankees close to deal with Feliciano
Hopefully it’s a one year deal but knowing this reliever makret it’s at least 2, after Marte I’m wary of multi year deals on lefty relievers but I’m cool with 2 years just not 3 under any circumstances.
The Red Sox have signed Bobby Jenks to a 2 year 12 million dollar deal it looks as if he signed to be the 7th inning guy with Bard abd Papelbon.
Russell Martin is going to have knee surgery apparently the Yankees don’t feel the injury is too serious and signed him anyway, I guess this means Montero still needs to comes in ready to start because Martin could miss some time.
Jon Heyman reports that the Yankees will not attempt a trade for Zambrano…
Personally I couldn’t be more relieved, he was clearly going to end up in a Javier Vazquez situation only with a nasty temper which could make things worse! He has been a good pitcher in the NL but his velocity has dropped steadily for the last 4 years and this season it dropped all the way down to 90 MPH and that was with some bullpen work. It is an almost identical trend as to Javy who’s velocity had dropped steadily for 3 years down into the 91 range the year before we acquiredd him and then in the 4th year like Z he dropped below 91 MPH (in Javy’s case down to 89) I see no reason to take another of those risks when it didn’t work last year.
I have read that the Yankees don’t like Brandon Webb and will not try for his services but that theyd don’t mind signing an injured starter.
In other injured starters news looks Chien-Ming Wang will be headed back to the Nationals on a 1 year major league deal this time, GL Wang.
The Yankees have asked for medical records on Freddy Garcia…
I would not like this move at all! If Pettitte is coming back Nova has much more upside as a number 5 starter than Garcia and if Pettitte isn’t coming back Garcia isn’t good enough because he is nothing more than a 5th starter now and wouldn’t be much of an improvement over Mitre.
Freddy Garcia 2010- 157 IP, 4.64 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 4.59 xFIP, 1.3 WAR, 5.1 K/9, 2.58 BB/9, 40.7 GB%, 11.6 HR/FB%
Ivan Nova alone could probably duplicate those numbers and if not some combination of Noesi, Nova, Brackman and Joba can without a doubt, hell Joba already had a better year than in 2009.
Joba 2009- 157 IP, 4.75 ERA, 4.82 FIP, 4.56 xFIP, 1.8 WAR, 7.61 K/9, 4.35 BB/9, 42.9 GB%, 12.4 HR/FB%
CC,AJ,Andy,Phil,Joba?……….or does he stay in the pen an go with Nova?……..we talked couple days ago about moves at trade deadline youn no anyone with expireing contract that could be on the move?
I was actually just coming here to post that Brian Cashman was asked about Joba Chamberlain now that the rotation is so slim and he told MLB.com that despite the lack of rotation options at this point Joba will be in the bullpen no matter what.
I don’t necessarily mind this move (even though I think he should be given a chance in ST) I will be very very pissed if we sign Freddy Garcia over letting Joba start for less since he could clearly have as good or better a season than Garcia who is pretty much done in this league in the next couple years.
MLB Rumor is suggesting that the White Sox would be willing to trade Edwin Jackson for payroll relief this is the type of acquisition that would be a decent buy for the back of the rotation, being as it’s for salary relief to loosen their budget room we would lose no real prospect we would just pay most of the last year of his deal.
Edwin has pitched in the AL East and with 3 total different AL teams and when you look at his numbers he has a bunch of positive trends including a 3 year increase in WAR, a 4 year decrease in FIP, a 3 year decrease in xFIP and his ground ball percentage has jumped from 39% to 49% which in turn meant he had the lowest HR/9 of his career suggesting he has grassped a better understanding of the 2-seamer and control which explains the good trends.
Considering he has thrown 200 innings in both of the last 2 seasons (and 180+ three seasons in a row) he would be a good “money” pickup that would only be a one year rental with no real prospect price tag and he comes with much much better “stuff” than almost any other trade possibility or free agent out their except Grienke.
Edwin also had a pretty low LOB% last year of only 69.6% down from 76% the previous two years in a row and his BABIP was also really high at .320 way up from his .281 BABIP in 2009 and even his .301 BABIP in 2008.
Sabathia
Hughes
Burnett
Pettitte
Jackson
Or
Sabathia
Hughes
Burnett
Jackson
Nova
Jackson 2008- 183 IP, 5.30 K/9, 3.78 BB/9, 1.13 HR/9, 4.88 FIP, 5.03 xFIP, 1.3 WAR, GB% 39.1, 1.51 WHIP
Jackson 2009- 214 IP, 6.77 K/9, 2.94 BB/9, 1.14 HR/9, 4.28 FIP, 4.39 xFIP, 3.5 WAR, GB% 39.1, 1.26 WHIP
Jackson 2010- 209 IP, 7.78 K/9, 3.35 BB/9, 0.90 HR/9, 3.86 FIP, 3.85 xFIP, 3.8 WAR, GB% 49.4, 1.39 WHIP
He’s not going to be anybodies ace ever but for a number 4 or 5 starter for mostly just salary on a 1 year rental he is more than worth the potential risk with reward, how many other 4 or 5 starters have back to back 3.5+ WAR seasons?
Jon Heyman reported today on Hot Stove on the MLB Network that the Cubs either gave or promised Kerry Wood a personal services contract on top of his deal which means he would be under contract for a front office job once he retires from baseball and this assurance that he would be in the organization for life was what got him to take the 1.5 million.
Boston also offered Kerry 10 million for 2 years.
The Yankees are looking into Jeff Keppinger (30) 2B/SS of the Astros he’d probably be a utility man maybe even playing 3rd some, he’s coming off a career year but still probably wouldn’t cost much, I’ve seen him play and he isn’t anything special but he can certainly replace Pena or Nunez on the bench.
Brian Cashman has told Jack Curry of the YES network that Pettitte is still leaning towards retirement and if he goes in that direction the team will fill his spot in the rotation “internally” and that the teams has very little interest in signing someone to replace Andy like Freddy Garcia or Kevin Milwood.
It’s good to know that Garcia and Millwood are long shots to end up on the team but it’s kind of disconcerting to know we might end up with Mitre at the back of the rotation at least to start the year, it’s looking more and more like this is going to be a hope for the best but expect the worst type of year that will pay off later on when we re-stock but for at least the first full half of the season if not the entire season we may not be a power of any kind… and I’m fine with it. Alex and Jeter are getting older so wasting any positive years they may have left is never a great idea but it sure as hell beats just trying to piece something together and giving away the future to just delay the inevitable and maybe this way we can speed up the future by really focusing on controlled development of young players, especially pitchers coming through the system, while I don’t want Betances or Banuelos making it to the bigs this season we have quite a few pen and rotation pieces that can come up and stake a place on the team.
Does anyone else feel like Jerry Hairston Jr is now a more realistic option since the Padres signed Orlando Hudson and traded for Bartlett?
I figured he’d be a lot more likely to return to San Diego than come here because of the starting option but since they have filled both of those spots he’s probably down to looking at a bunch of utility roles or take a Bill Hall like move and go to a team that has no chance of playoffs just to start.
I’ve said before we should have some pull for Jerry as he has only made the playoff once in his entire career and he won the World Series with us when he finally did, he’d be a perfect replacement for Pena as first man off the bench and it would allow Nunez to stay in triple A all year. We would still need to sign an outfield bat as Hairston’s stick isn’t strong enough to make him the 4th outfielder but instead a super sub but signing Jerry might also help us get Scott and I think a double dip of the Hairston brothers would really strengthen our bench, we’d at least have one of the most defensively sound benches in baseball with Scott, Jerry, Ramiro and Cervelli especially when Frankie is probably the worst one.
I was looking over some of Montero’s numbers last night and I came across a couple that were interesting to me for different reasons.
The first are his lefty righty splits now I think we all assumed he crushed lefties and that is one of the main reasons for wanting him in the lineup from the start of the season in some fashion, and yes he does crush lefties .284/.372/.530 but he isn’t that far off from those power numbers against righties although his OBP takes a bigger hit .292/.345/.511 (if you ever needed more proof that average is useless there you go).Now the main difference seems to be the fact that Montero walked 20 times with 26 strikeouts in 134 ABs Vs LHP but only walked 26 times with 65 Ks against righties suggesting that there is at least some hole in his swing righties can exploit that lefties can’t or it could simply be that he sees the ball better out of a lefties hand and therefore is able to control the zone better against a left hander because of the better pitch recognition, either way it doesn’t really bother me as he has solid numbers against both sides and I’m sure Kevin can fix any hole in the kids swing.
The numbers that really interested me though was his increasing production from bases empty, to runners on, to runners in scoring position which shows more and more focus as the stakes increase in the game, now it’s hard to put a number on a player and say he is or isn’t clutch but it always helps when your numbers go up the more men are on base.
Montero 2010 bases empty- .278/.336/.487
Montero 2010 runners on- .305/.376/.558
Montero 2010 runners in scoring position- .301/.382/.563
Has anyone seen this kid we signed today Leonel Vinas play? Or know anything about him other than what has been reported today? I’ve seen thus far that he is 19, throws a Fastball, curve and change, he threw 2 no hitters this year in the Amateurs for Hank Steinbrenner amateur baseball team and he is going to be a reliever in A ball.
I haven’t seen any MPH’s on the kid or why he was playing for an amateur league instead of going to college if he was good enough to be in a farm system, apparently the kid out-dueled Mariano Rivera Jr in some final game at Yankee stadium this year.
In weird news that just doesn’t make any sense the Yankees are talking to Johnny Damon about a possible return as a part time DH and outfielder… I thought we needed a 4th outfielder who batted right handed and could field as far as I know Damon can do neither of these things and will demand playing time.
Posada bats best from the left side so he doesn’t make a good platoon bat at DH and both Gardner and Granderson field way better than him and hit left handed so he doesn’t make a good platoon with either of them, I guess the Yankees just like the man but seriously where does he fit?
Also the Yankees are interested in 30 year old LH starter Jeff Francis who missed all of last year after shoulder surgery.
MLB network is revealing their list of the top 50 prospects in basebal with John Mayo and the first 2 Yankees to come across the list are Manny Banuelos at NO. 35 and Gary Sanchez at NO. 32 and with Montero left on the list we are well represented in the top 50.
Jesus Montero got really shorted on this MLB network top 50 list as he ends up as the 9th best prospect in baseball, I think he is easily in the top 5 with his mix of power and average at a premium up the middle position but I guess not, worse than that though is they devote 2 minute segments to 4 players in the grouping Montero was in and never even talked about the kid.
Anyone else feel that 9th is too low for Montero?
Absolutely. To me, he’s 3rd or 4th.
Apparently this is the MLB.com top 50 as well… Before I saw the breakdown of the list I thought he was probably 4th but looking at their list I wouldn’t even be mad about 6th but 9th?
Starting from reverse order here is the top 9 list including Montero at 9.
9. JESUS MONTERO
8. Eric Hosmer
7. Mike Moustakas
6. Arodlis Chapman
5. Dustin Ackley
4. Dominic Brown
3. Bryce Harper
2. Jeremy Hellickson
1. Mike Trout
I don’t have a problem with Trout, Harper, Hellickson (since he is a pitcher) or Ackley (still debating on whether I would rank Ackley ahead of him or not myself) being ranked above Montero and Dominic Brown is debatable but at the same time understandable since he has a legitimate position to play and there are no doubts about his D, however to rank Aroldis Chapman above Jesus Montero to me is a pretty big mistake when you consider hat Chapman is probably a career bullpen piece.
Honestly I don’t see Hosmer or Moustakas as anything other than equal to or below Montero’s overall ranking, they both have power and they both are projected to hit with some average but neither of the two project to hit with more average than Jesus and neither one blows him away with power. Now Hosmer plays 1B and there is no doubt about his defense at that position but if Montero can manage to play terrible defense at catcher for 10 years he is more valuable a bat than a gold glove first baseman with respective power. Moustakas is IMO a lot like Montero because many people see him as a future DH or 1B in his own right and if you are trying to decide between an awful 3rd baseman with 30-40 HR power and an awful C with 30 HR power I’ll take the catcher every time, now maybe they rank it this way because if both become first basemen or DH’s, then with more raw power possibly Moustakas could be a more valuable bat.
Betances just missed the cut on the 50 man list as he comes in at number 53, so in the top 60 the Yankees walk away with 4 prospects.
Guys,
Can anyone recommend a nice simple, entry-level Fantasy league system that I could use with some friends of mine? I’ve been getting steadily more engrossed in baseball over the last few years but, as a Brit, I’m still a relative beginner and of course don’t have access to the level of information that’s available in the US. Certainly I haven’t the bandwidth to be tinkering with my team on a daily basis.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Tim
Yahoo has a really easy fantasy baseball system and they allow you to pick which kind of league you want to run to make it as easy as you would like.
Thanks Chris. I’ve checked out the Yahoo! system and you’re right – it does seem pretty user-friendly. If you want to play a really advanced game you can do so, or if you want something a little more straightforward, that’s also possible. Thanks for the tip!
That’s exactly why I like it… Last season me and friend played and my friend had never done a fantasy anything before and he easily found his way into it and found no trouble picking everything up within the first day.
The Yankees have signed Eric Chavez and Ronnie Belliard to minor league deals with ST invites, while neither is a huge move one or the other could prove to be a solid addition to the bench and give us a bat to sub in at 3rd base for the aging Arod. Neither is going to rake or play stellar D but they (I’m hoping Chavez) have a chance to contribute with the bat in a way that Pena and Nunez won’t.
If I had to guess right now the Yankee bench would consist of Jones, Pena, Cervelli and Chavez while the bullpen would be Mariano, Soriano, Robertson, Joba, Feliciano, Logan and Mitre (Yes I’m giving Freddy Garcia the 5th spot with Nova as the 4). It’s not the greatest overall team in the league but it has a chance to have a very solid bench and bullpen to go along with one of the best lineups in baseball.
Not looking very good for Wainwright and the Cardinals as it looks like he may need TJ surgery…
That could seriously put the Cardinals in a hole they won’t be able to pull out of, Carpenter is a great pitcher but he isn’t the ace of that staff anymore and he is already an injury concern.
Buster Olney reporting that the Yankees didn’t reach out to the Braves about Tim Hudson.
Love the guy going “ay, ay, ay” 10 secs into the video, when Colon gets his 2nd K of the night!! http://atmlb.com/myEaW8
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9 homeruns in Trenton for a middle infielder is quite nice imo.
Over his last 137 pa from August 1st through his AAA experience he has 13 BB again very nice. Hopefully he can keep it up next year.
He has great range and a fantastic arm. Yes he’s made a bunch of errors and I have seen him make some terrible off balance throws but he’s also made some unbelievable plays.
You do not even mention that he gave up switch hitting at all.
I am a big fan of Nunez and firmly believe he has the inside track to the Yankees starting SS job for 2012.
Plus he has a language barrier as well with Spanish being his native tongue. Nunez has had a very fine season an if you don’t see it I am not sure what you are looking for. Did you get to Trenton to see him play in person? I did and I like what I see. Even if you didn’t see him in person the range he exhibited in spring training was excellent.