Eric Duncan. He's never put it together for a full season, and has also had back problems (although the back injury doesn't project to be chronic). He has the talent, but until he puts it together for an entire season, I'll assume he won't ever be the full time starter at 1B for the Yankees.
They are firm at 7-8 million a year.... which judging from what guys like Gil Meche and Adam eaton are getting isn't nearly enough and the Red Sox know it.
If the Sox actually have any intention of signing Matsuzaka, they sure as hell aren't showing it. How are they going to sit there with a straight face and offer him the same kind of money that Ted Lilly is making? Bud Selig should step in and change the posting rules--from now on you should have to pay your bid, whether or not the player is signed. I'm sure the Japanese leagues wouldn't have an issue with that.
I thought the bid was to just negotiate with the player. Whether he signs or not doesnt matter. The Sox are out the 51 mil just as the Yankees are out whatever they paid to negotiate with Igawa if they dont sign.
You only have to pay the bid if you sign the player, if not you get the money back, and the player stays in Japan
The Sox don't want to give Matz no higher than 10 mil. Boras is asking for 18-20 and up. THey already put a bid of 51 mil and they don't want the total sum to be worth over 100 mil. And us Yankee fans know Boras well. When he makes up his mind, he damn sure makes it up. You can't mess with him when he does.
For Eric Duncan, having nagging injuries at a young age tends to carry on. So we should basically give up on him now. I wouldn't mind packaging him to the Mariners with Pavano and possibly Karstens or Rasner for Richie Sexson.
I thought about the Matsui experiment at 1B a few weeks ago. Then I remembered he is a lefty hitter, but throws with his right hand. My firm belief is that you cannot convert most righties to 1B. It becomes not just a matter of learning a new position, but also a matter of playing off-balance way too often. If they give Matsui a shot in ST to try first, that's okay, but that also means that we have not made a deal to bring in a defensive replacement, and IMO, we should either stick with Giambi, and his improved BA, or let Wilson have the job. 10P10, I don't agree with you that Moose is better than Zito, but it's not a point I would argue too fervently. My opinion is that Zito has better off-speed stuff than Moose. Moose has better "hard" stuff, though neither throws rockets. The other thing Zito has over Moose is age. Moose is in his twilight. Zito still has quite a few years left. This being said, everyone knows I am partial to Zito anyway, and until this past season, I was never a Moose fan, so I admit there could be bias guiding my opinion.
That's fine, as long as you're admitting that a bias is leading to that opinion, since there's really nothing out there that says Zito is better than Mussina (even when Mussina had elbow problems, his WHIP was still better than Zito's WHIP this past season).
Sexson is falling fast and is no where near the player he was a few years ago. He now suffers from the dreaded "Kingman" disease. Enough HR's but hitting near the Mendoza line. I would prefer the Yankees stay far away from him.
I've never heard of Miranda, but it reminds me: whatever happened to Yulieski Gourriel? I remember reading last summer that he was defecting along with a shortsop from the National team, but I guess that was false?
"On July 28, 2006, ESPN.com reported that Gourriel and another Cuban national player, Eduardo Paret, had defected from Cuba and into Colombia. Gourriel refuted this claim on August 1, 2006, stating that he returned to his home in Cuba immediately after the conclusion of the tournament the Cuban national team had been playing in." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulieski_Gourriel#Reported_defection
If you're going to give Moose the #1 over Zito based on past accomplishments, what's the case for Wang over Zito?
I'd say Wang's familiarity with the coaching staff and proven ability to pitch in the AL East (as opposed to Zito's proven inability to do so.) This is all irrelevant though, because the Yankees aren't going after Zito unless Roger Clemens makes a decision much earlier than anybody thinks, and he goes to Boston.
Fair points. Zito has actually had some pretty good games against the AL East in the playoffs (2000, 01, & 03) his teams have not had success though. I could see him having an adjustment period as some players do when they make it to NY not to mention changing teams, but I think he's a good enough pitcher to adjust by the time games really matter.
I agree with your post FTC. It seems like the longer this goes on, Yankee fans grow more angry towards Zito, which I think is totally unfounded. Zito doesn't have a lack of success against the AL. He struggles against the Yankees (who he wouldn't have to face) and Boston. Who knows when he pitches in pinstripes. He could get a taste of that rivalry and be dominant against the Sox. Not to mention he will get significantly more run support as a Yankee than he did as an A.
I'm not giving it based on past accomplishments, I'm using the most recent info. Mussina's been better in a tougher division. This past year he was much better in a much tougher division, and the previous two years allowed less baserunners than Zito even when he was battling elbow problems. If you think this is "anger towards Zito", then you have missed the entire point from the beginning. Zito's a solid pitcher, I like him. But why should the Yankees invest so much money, for such a long period of time, into a guy who will never be more than a mid-rotation innings eater here? It would be exactly the opposite of what the Yankees should be doing, and what Cashman has done since getting control. I'm also not sure what the run support comment means. Run support will improve his win total, but that is meaningless, it doesn't improve him as a pitcher. Zito is the perfect move for the Mets to make, and the worst move for the Yankees to make.
