I'm a Sox fan, but as a gift to my Yankee fan friends, I've removed the schadenfreude photo exhibit from this thread. I don't have a problem with the content of the photos. I've probably posted similar stuff myself. Just want to keep this thread tight for the time being. Everyone's playing nicely.
Wow, yeah. I totally forgot about him. By the time Mo's contract is up, he should be ready, correct? Dwalsh is big-time underrated on this board. No, it's not that I think CC will be injury prone. I don't want CC because he's used up. Just like Santana will prove to be. A human body can only endure so much. Honestly, I'm not even sure we need to worry that much about the rotation. Going in, we have Wang, Joba, Hughes, then either Pettitte or Moose, and one spot to fill. That could wind up being Coke, or Kennedy could come around, or they could bring back both Pettitte and Moose. Even second-half Pettitte is pretty good #5 starter. If I were Cashman right now, I'd get on the phone with Andy and Moose and find out where their heads are at. Are they willing to return at a "fair" salary. If the answer from both is yes, (or if Moose indicates he's open to returning for less than 3 years,) I'd ignore the rotation unless something falls in our lap. I'd concentrate on bringing back Abreu at a fair cost and not for 6 years. I'd test the waters on a Matsui trade. I'd pursue Teixeira and try to convince him playing in NY isn't all that bad. Especially when you don't suck. I'd look at a possible Cano deal. I'd look around at catchers, but not with any sense of urgency. I'd think long and hard about whether Manny would look good in pinstripes. And I'd see if I could add another left hand to the pen.
Thanks Jack. That's appreciated. I considered ranting about it, but I figured making a big stink over it would just exacerbate the issue. :beer:
I'd prob go hard after Sabathia. Hes the real deal. I think Andy is done, he just didnt seem to have the same stuff in the second half. He seemed flat everytime he took the mound. I'd love to bring Mussina back but right now it sounds like hes leaning toward retirement. Chamberlain MUST be in the rotation and I'm sure Wang will be back. As of right now I dont know what pitchers are on the market that you can trade for but I'd see what a pckage of Hughes, Cano and Kennedy can get me although I'm sure their value has crashed. If you do trade Cano you can sign Orlando Hudson who is a free agent. Whatever we do we can NOT depend on Hughes and Kennedy to be in the rotation. Maybe 1 of them can be the 5th starter but you can't have both in the rotation and you cant ask them to be more then back of the rotation pitchers because they are simply not ready yet.
Melancon could be ready to contribute opening day next year. This is a great read about the kid (link), I met him while he was still in AA, and he is genuinely a good guy. He got some negative press from the fans because he personalizes all of his signatures (to dwalsh, go yanks! Mark Melancon - for example), but I talked to him an hour or so before a game, had him sign a ball and an 8x10 i made (he liked it, so i gave him a spare copy of it). Then after the game, I approached him, and he remembered my name (probably about 5 hours between when i last talked to him) and he signed my card and talked to me for a minute while everyone else was getting swarmed by a mob of kids trying for autographs. On top of that, his stuff is filthy (Some Videos) Thanks, I haven't been around much lately because of a really busy summer and now i'm at college so i'm keeping busy. CC Sabathia - I agree completely Regarding the rotation, we definitely need to sign someone, not necessarilly a top starter, but someone consistent who can eat up some innings. Joba is going to have to have some starts skipped to stay around his innings cap, Hughes also. I would also welcome back both Moose and Pettitte, at reduced costs. I would be very happy with bringing Abreu back on a 2 year deal, I wouldn't want to go past that really. Possibly 3, but again, I think that's pushing it. Also at a reduced cost, he is not a $16M/year player. However, if he walks, we could put Nady in RF, Damon in LF, and Gardner (who I really like) in CF. That would be a very good defensive outfield. Absolutely see what you can get for Matsui, but remember he has a no-trade clause. Texiera - go all out. He is the only FA i really want. Do NOT trade Cano. After his benching and refining of his stance/technique, he went on a tear. Kevin Long is working with Cano all winter in the DR to fix his swing, and I expect big things from him next season. Posada is expected to catch 120 innings next season (Source) and Molina is a hell of a backup. And should either of them go down, Cervelli is a very good option. No to Manny. Just no. Lefties in the pen: Pick up Marte's option, and seriously consider leaving Coke in the 'pen. Although he dominated in his last few starts in AA, he seemed to get really comfortable in the bullpen. I wouldn't oppose him being transitioned back into a starter, but I feel like he could really help the bullpen next season. Rivera/Melancon/Robertson/Marte/Coke/Bruney /Sanchez/Edwar/Giese/Veras - pick any 7 of those and you have a damn good bullpen
It wasn't the content, it was the geography. These things can get ugly quickly between Sox-Yankees-Mets fans.
Cool. I remember hearing he was two years away late last year, I think. Why would he get bad press for personalizing signatures? That's asinine. ALL players should take that kind of time with fans. It wasn't empty praise. I think you're a very good poster. I'm with you on that. I don't see it as critical, but if someone is available, I'm down. As I've said, Burnett is a good option. Not CC though. I'd love to bring back Abreu on a 3 year/$30M deal. I think that's fair. Maybe $12 per, but that's about as high as I'd go. He's going to demand a lot more though. I'm not excited about Gardner. He impressed me late, but he's so wild at the plate. I know. Doesn't mean I don't want him outta here though. Me too. 100%. I'm okay with keeping him. I just find myself angry at him more often than not. And even post-benching, he had a couple moments where he looked like he was coasting. I read 120 innings and said WTF!?! hmy::rofl: 120 games is what the article said. I know, but hitting behind Alex. Wow. Just wow. I'm with you 100% here too.
Not quite what I mean by leverage. Leverage has to do with how important the inning is. For example, up 1 in the 9th with 2 on? Pretty high leverage. Up 12 in the 4th with no one on? Not so much. The higher leverage innings are sort of "weighted" more when determining value. So while a starter may pitch 200 innings, only 50 of them may be high leverage, where a closer that throws 75 would probably be in high leverage situations for about 65+ of them. That's the argument made for leaving guys in the pen. However, it ignores the fact you posted about the availability of quality starters vs quality relievers. Just like when playing fantasy baseball a 2B who puts up the same numbers as a 1B is much more valuable. Position scarcity.
Bleh, now you're getting too complicated for me. :wink: Anyway, we agree on the main point: Joba Chamberlain is far more valuable to the Yankees as a starter.
You can often piecemeal a pretty good bullpen together if you have enough good young arms. If you have a good young arm with multiple good pitches who can start games pitching just as well or close to as he would as a reliever and who isn't an injury risk as a starter, you need to give him every opportunity to start. That's why Joba needs to start. Edwar, Veras, Phil Coke, Dave Robertson, and Brian Bruney all have the ability to pitch in late innings. Mark Melancon and Humberto Sanchez will also figure into the mix. Sanchez is the opposite of Joba in some respects. He is a power arm, but he hasn't been able to stay healthy, so pitching out of the bullpen would probably be better for him. A guy like Mariano Rivera moved to the bullpen because he only really had one quality pitch. Joba has multiple quality pitches. One injury to Joba last year should not make the difference between him being a reliever and a starter. Granted, he should start the season out of the bullpen, just like he did last year, but that is only to build up his innings/arm strength.
I disagree about Joba, put him in the rotation so his arm doesn't have to go from starting in spring training, to the bullpen, and then stretching it out again, which i believe (with no outside information) is why he got hurt this year. Stick him in the rotation and just skip his starts occasionally to keep him at his limit. With off-days it's very easy to skip the 5th starter, which he essentially is (not stuff wise, but innings wise) Sanchez was pitching with a bum elbow for most of his minor league career from what I understand, hopefully TJS will fix that. He was a starter, but as you said couldn't stay healthy. I like him in the pen better than the rotation, but I also don't know a lot about his stuff other than a power arm. Melancon, see my above post, the kids a beast. And I want Edwar far, far, far away. I get nervous every time he comes into the game.
Edwar is scary, but his changeup is devastating. He's young enough and strikes out enough people where he will keep getting chances. Veras is similar in that regard.
I see the Yankees only picking up Martes option, Mussina and Pettite r probably done, and the others I just dont see them throwing that type of money towards them. Get Sabathia or someone yea even Texeira
The Yankees aren't going to get any major FA this offseason, not unless they offer a boatload of cash. Sabathia wants to go out west and would reportedly even accept a discount in San Francisco or Oakland. Teixeria wants to goto a winner, and the Yankees are not that team. Petite wil be back, he's old, cost alot of money and had a lackluster season; The bread of butter of Yankee signings.
I don't think Edwar is scary if used correctly. He was overused most of this year because we had no lefties in the pen so he became the "lefty specialist", while still pitching to multiple righties. With Coke and Marte in the pen, Edwar can be used to better effect next year.
