Assuming how the Steinbrenners take everything to heart I am guessing this hasn't made them feel all warm and fuzzy this morning. Not with a new ball bark opening and a new team to field on it.
The team refers to Alex as "A-Fraud". Jealous of Jeter, crawls after Madonna, can't hit in the clutch, average fielder (don't give me the converted SS business...he signed the deal). Now that story, I believe. A-Fraud.
No, I understood what you meant Don...the key words for me were "At least it's good to know..." I couldn't root against Torre nor could I harbor bad feelings for him, the words in the quote imply ill-will, I don't get where that could be founded from.
Joba will be limited to around 140-150 innings this year. I'd bet almost anything he's the one who gets skipped, regardless of who the Yanks might or might not sign. As for Torre, I hope this finally puts to bed the idea that Torre is such a "classy" guy.
I don't think it's any big surprise the way Cashman left Torre high and dry either. While I don't think it was very smart of Torre to put this book out while he is still managing ... granted 2500 miles away but still how do Dodgers players react to a guy that just ripped former players and organization in a book? How can you trust a guy that is willing to spill clubhouse info for some extra $$$?
I can root against him now..easily. I didn't like his late show circuit tour either and now this. For a couple of bucks he is willing to throw the whole team under the bus and for what? Because they didn't give him a multi-year contract when in fact he should have been fired years earlier anyway? He is sounding very much like the spoiled bitch. edit..just noticed that Rich pretty much just said the same thing..sorry.
Yeah, I just finished reading that. So Verducci says Torre doesn't rip anybody in the book. I can see the tabloids making something out of nothing but I guess we will know for sure after the book is out. I did think, however, that some copies have been obtained and some of those stories yesterday came directly from them. More from Verducci here. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/?eref=fromSI "- Verducci says don't believe all the headlines you're reading about the book. Torre never uttered the words "A-Fraud" or "Single White Female" about Alex Rodriguez. A lot of that was from A-Rod's teammates and other people Verducci spoke with. "Obviously A-Rod is a lightning rod," Verducci said. But don't jump to conclusions about what Torre actually said. -- Verducci said that you can't read too much into the New York tabloids. They said that Torre called players "prima donnas." Verducci said Torre would never do that. "Name-calling? That doesn't happen," Verducci said. -- Verducci said he talked to Torre on Sunday, and the current Dodgers manager isn't surprised by all the controversy. After all, it's New York. -- Verducci says it's not shocking that A-Rod has trouble fitting into the Yankees locker room. And it's no surprise Rodriguez has issues with Derek Jeter. Of course A-Rod did. -- Torre did say that A-Rod had a different viewpoint than some other Yankees. A-Rod was much more focused on himself than the team-oriented players of late 1990s. Torre said the team had to adjust to make Rodriguez more comfortable. -- Verducci said there was a philosophical difference between Torre and GM Brian Cashman. Cashman was more "new school.""
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9136992/Sources:-Yanks,-Pettitte-closing-on-1-year-deal "The Yankees are closing in on a one-year contract with free-agent left-hander Andy Pettitte, according to major-league sources. The agreement, which could be reached as soon as Monday, will be for less than $10 million, the amount the Yankees offered earlier this offseason. However, the deal will include incentives that could push Pettitte close to his 2008 salary of $16 million, the amount he was seeking on a one-year deal. Pettitte, 36, was 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA for the Yankees last season, making 33 starts and pitching 204 innings." Certainly no love for Hughes and Kennedy. I wonder if either will be traded. Oh, and nice...maybe 16 million for a #5.
Well, first off, he's starting out under the $10M everyone was willing to give him a month ago. So already the Yankees are saving money. Now if he reaches enough incentives to turn $10M into $16M, I'd say we got more than a #5 pitcher. Hell, to make up 6 million dollars, I'd say he would have to pitch like at least a #3, if not a #2. In that case, I'd happily give him the extra money. Then add in that if he pitches that well, he'll appear in more games than Joba, thereby circumventing the issue of figuring out a way to keep his inning count on target. Win-win. Now why would Hughes be traded, regardless of Pettitte? He'll either go to the pen, or be sent back to AAA in case someone goes down in the rotation. Really, nothing changes from a month ago. Kennedy will not be traded. What's his value right now? I'm a Kennedy fan, but even his mother would probably have to say that right now there isn't much demand for him. ----------------- I'm curious to see what happens with the Torre fallout. ARod's camp has already blasted Torre's comment regarding Alex, and Jonny Damon has defended ARod. http://http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9134992/Report:-A-Rod-insiders-blast-Torre's-tell-all I'll wait to see what Torre actually said in context as Verducci suggests, but my reaction thus far is that Torre pulled a serious douchebag move with this.
Doubtful (on Hughes, anyway). You've seen how important it is to have depth in terms of pitching. You trade Hughes and/or Kennedy, and we're looking for Ponson Part III if a couple of guys go down. You do understand how incentive laden contracts work, right? Assuming that report is on point, if Pettitte is getting paid $16 million, it will be because he's pitched well enough to earn it (i.e. he didn't pitch like a #5 starter). And, really, whether he's called the #5 starter or the #1 starter doesn't mean anything. Let's say you could add Johan Santana, Jake, Peavy, and Carlos Zambrano to the current rotation. Someone would have to be a #5 starter. Does that mean they deserve less money because of the "title"? Of course not. I really hope this comes true... it makes too much sense for it not to happen. It should also be noted (again) that, due to Joba's innings cap, having another reliable starter to eat innings is of HUGE value.
How long can you keep Hughes and Kennedy in the minors? You seem to be forgetting that Hughes was the proposed ace of this staff 2 years ago. You either play him or trade him.
Everybody is getting the wrong idea on that 16 million dollar comment. I think it's a hoot that the Yankees can pay their #5 16 million. And yes if he earns it, that's great. I wonder if that means he gets it for going 14-14 though as he did last year.
Full Name: Philip J. Hughes Born: 06/24/1986 Full Name: Ian Patrick Kennedy Born: 12/19/1984 Hughes is 23, Kennedy is 25. What do you mean "how long can you keep them in the minors"? Kennedy is right around the age where he would be getting his first shot at making the pro club, and Hughes is still a baby. It doesn't make a bit of difference what the Yankees' former attempts were. The fact is, both guys are young, and both still have many years ahead of them. If they started the year in the minors, or even played the entire year in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, it wouldn't be a big deal at all. Promise me 14 wins from my fifth starter, and I'll give him $12M up front. I'd say though, to reach $16M it won't focus so much on wins as how many quality starts he gives the team.
He's twenty-two years old! Many/most rookies (including many top prospects) don't even crack the major league roster until a year or two from now. And Hughes was NOT the "proposed ace of this staff" a couple of years ago. He had (and still has) the POTENTIAL to be an ace. No rational person was expecting him to be dominant at age 20. As for the Pettitte comment... wins are a horrible way to judge a pitcher. I wish more people understood this.
I mean both were promoted to the majors and Hughes was two years ago. Do you really think he is going to be happy in the minors now?
I believe the idea for incentives is to reward achievements not mediocrity. I'd like to know what the incentives are for Pettitte, I doubt there's a "meet this win total" incentive because then he can accrue a good amount of wins still go .500 (or under, or 1 game over...etc.), maybe a "achieve a .630 win percentage with a minimum of 12 wins" is a good incentive, IDK...
