I just read that they did not pick up Giambis' extension....looks like the worst stache on the field may be elsewhere next year.....
I read Oakland hired the trainer Giambi took with him to the Yankees. The thinking being, of course, that it means they're looking to bring him back. Good riddance.
If the Yankees can't get Teixiera they may bring Giambi back. Can't think of any other FA that would be as good.
Giambi will end up in Oakland, regardless. Unfortunetly for the BoSox and Yanks, I'm thinking Tex stays in Anaheim, despite how well of a fit Boston is.
Source? I haven't seen that anywhere. ETA: For the Hughes Haters in the crowd (courtesy of Fat Pete): You don't write off a 22-year-old who has shown not only potential to perform well, but actually HAS performed well at the MLB level. He just hasn't done it consistently, and hasn't had a chance to stay healthy. To give up on him now is beyond asinine. If he's 25 and still hasn't put together a healthy or productive season, fine. He might not make it. But to say that now? I know Yankee fans aren't known for their patience, but this is ridiculous.
So the Yankees are back on Cameron now. I thought that was dead after his option was picked up. http://www.nypost.com/seven/11062008/sports/yankees/yanks_eye_cameron__could_move_cabrera_137265.htm
"Phil Hughes, New York's top young pitcher, remains of interest to other teams despite an injury-filled season during which he went 0-4 with a 6.62 ERA in just eight major league starts. "He's a significant piece for us as we move forward," Cashman said. "But that doesn't mean he can't be traded, either. He continues to be a guy that gets asked about quite often, so he must being doing something right despite the '08 season." What a fool Cashman is. Too bad he didn't have that attitude last year when Hughes might have had some value. We wouldn't have missed the playoffs if he had. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8762320/Yankees-want-Pettitte-back-next-season
Unfortunately I can't find it today. It was on one of the sports pages yesterday. It quoted him as saying his preference is to return to NY and he hopes the Yankees offer him a deal. This came after the Yankees passed on picking up his option.
I assume you mean because we'd have had Santana? Even though the reason they sucked had nothing to do with the pitching? Come on Don. I know you dislike Cashman, but don't be ridiculous in revisionism to make your point. Having Santana may have earned us, tops, another 6 wins where our fill-ins lost. We'd still have lost the race by a lot.
It had everything to do with pitching. We lost Wang and Chamberlain (who should have been in the pen anyway) and Hughes and Kennedy totally sucked. Even Cashman realizes that and why their priority is starting pitching this winter. Another 6 wins would have given us the wildcard I believe. At least we would have been tied with Boston unless one of those 6 came against them. In that case we win it. Anyway, looks like Pettitte will be back. Probably as a #4 or #5. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/27564611/ "With the Yankees' streak of playoff appearances ending at 13, Cashman has much work to do during the offseason. Asked about New York's defense, he answered playfully. "Team defense isn't a strength of ours," he said. "Last year, our rotation wasn't, and our team defense isn't. Team speed isn't. Can I stop?" He must have had Jeter in mind when he made that first response.
We lost the wild card race by 6 games. Winning 6 more in the rotation would not have made up the difference. Unless of course, each of those 6 came directly against the Red Sox. I'm not saying we don't need to fix up the rotation, but next year looks totally different from before this year.
Alio, they wouldnt have had to come against the Red Sox.....6 wins is 6 wins. 6 wins means 6 less losses. We would have tied the Sox
Ugh. Yeah, my math skills, while poor most of the time, are even worse early in the morning. Anyway, I still contend that pitching was not the issue last year. We couldn't hit consistently. We weren't pitching phenominally in the rotation, but no one could have foreseen Wang getting hurt. Hughes should have had more success, regardless of how anyone ever felt about Kennedy. If Joba never got hurt, who knows how many he would have won. If Pettitte didn't implode, who knows? Who would have predicted Moose would throw 20 winners? Who would have said Ponson would be in our rotation? Hindsight is a wonderful gift. I still stand by my support of all decisions made previous to last season. This year, clearly, different moves need to be made. If someone had all the answers though, that person would have a championship team every single year. Even Belichick isn't that good.
