Come on, Don. Like I said before, if Hughes is such a pussy that he can't handle this level of adversity (and comments like that from a manager are hardly adversity), then he'd never make in the majors anyway. I don't think that's the case. Do you doubt your own self-worth so easily? Did you when you were 21? I'll say this, no one who has succeeded at sports at even a remotely competitive level has such a fragile ego. If they did, they would have flamed out loooooong before reaching the majors. If you don't like the way Girardi phrased it, fine. Shame on you, Girardi. I don't have a problem with it, though, and I doubt Hughes does, either. He seems to agree with Girardi... check out this article: Link Here are some excerpts: So what's more likely, that Girardi and Cashman both secretly think Hughes sucks and are undermining his confidence, while Phil secretly cries himself to sleep at night wondering if he'll be able to throw his fastball for a strike, all the while keeping a stiff upper lip to the media? Or do you think their comments can be taken at face value? Occam's Razor is your friend, dude. If Phil Hughes never turns out to be a front-line pitcher, it's not because Girardi hurt his feelings.
Im not ecstatic about the signing but I think it is still another good pitcher...I would have liked the signing more if we did not get Sabathia
Me either. Why would not getting Sabathia make getting Burnett better? They were discussing on SportsCenter earlier that with the Burnett signing, it was a possibility that the Yanks could now go after Teixeira, and that many teams around the league are whispering that they think the Yankees will wind up getting him when all is said and done. I can only pray that happens.
no, i think Tex ends up in Washington, Manny ends up in La and were done now except for maybe trading for Cameron Damon left Jeter SS Matsi Dh Arod 3d Jorge C Nady Rf Swisher 1b Cano 2b Cf Cameron?? Thats a danm good lineup, and i think we could even survive w/o cameron with gardner or Melky. Rotation CC Wang Burnett Joba Hughes Kennedy or Aceves first one if someone gets hurt Hate to say it but i think we will see this team back in the postseason
and by the way, Matt Holliday is going to be a FA next year and we can sign him to replace Damon. That only leaves Us needing a Dh and if Matsui can stay healthy hes a great dh anyway. My only concern is that Jorge can stay behind the plate, i have serious doubts about that and then he may be forced to become the fulltime dh, which wouldnt be too terrible but it will be tough have Jose Molinas bat in the lineup everyday
I don't like either of these moves at all. Everybody knows that the Yankees have more financial resources than any other team by far. That still doesn't mean they should bid against themselves and sign stupid deals. They have just committed 243.5 million over the next 5-7 years of two pitchers that most likely already have their best years behind them. Sabathia has way too many miles on his arm for me to feel comfortable about a 7 year deal, and that's in addition to him being nearly obese. The Burnett signing I think is even worse, because not only is he injury prone, he's also nowhere near a top caliber pitcher. Sure, it's okay for a team with the money the Yanks do to splurge and overpay occasionally on someone that they fall in love with, but I don't think these two are the guys. Both of these pitchers are likely to only decrease in value every year after, and this is supposed to be the type of stuff they Yankees were moving away from. It's certainly possible that this works out, I just don't think either of these pitchers are worth anywhere near the money they are getting. Very bold in this economy. We'll see.
the Yanks will never move away from this method of free agency. they don't have to. they throw money at the problem. sure, these aren't moves made with long term plans in mind, they are meant to win in the next three years, and after that, if these players don't produce they just eat the salary and spend again. they have that luxury.
I don't like giving an injury prone pitcher a 5 year contract but if Pettite comes back which I'm sure he will and everyone stays healthy that is a damn good rotation.
They've been doing that for the last 8 years, and it's worked to an extent considering that they've made the playoffs each of those years except for one. But it's still not a smart way to operate, because signing deals like this every year takes away any incentive to A)develop a farm system and B) attempt to integrate prospects onto the MLB roster. Results in the playoffs are based on more than just luck and there is a reason the Yankees haven't won a world series this decade. Again, I'm not saying that signing big-time free agents to huge deals is inherently bad. But a team needs to be smart and focus on players that haven't already experienced (or at least have more than 1-2 years left of) their peak years. The Yankees should have signed Teix first instead of Burnett/ Sabathia for the same reason that they should have gone after Beltran over Randy Johnson during the 04-05 off-season.
The Yankees don't have the luxury to lose constantly like other teams do. Not when they charge $1000 for seats. They will spend and spend and spend some more. That insures success and insures that the income continues to go up and not down. Other tea,s can do nothing and just pocket their share of Yankee money and nobody really cares. Let the people who complain about how the Yankees spend live with that money for a few years and then see what they have to say. Florida is the perfect example where they take in more than 70 million a year in profit and spend 20 on the team.
also, the signings themselves sell tickets, regardless of the outcome on the field. so, even after last year when they missed he playoffs, they sign a couple of players, the fans think he ship is righted, and those expensive tickets are sold. if they don't win again, theyll repeat that next offseason.
I don't think you even read my post. Overspending in free agency does not guarantee winning or higher attendance/income for a team. Winning does. If the Yankees go out and turn into the Texas Rangers from a few years ago, with bunch of huge names (with huge contracts) but a terrible overall product: attendance will go down and any spike from the signings will be short lived, and the team will be stuck with immovable contracts of useless players for years. Outspending everyone isn't inherently a bad thing, but a team should still have a more comprehensive plan then "outspend everyone". We don't know if that's the direction that the Yankees are headed back towards, but if Hank is calling the shots I wouldn't be surprised.
1. Hank is not calling the shots. 2. I think what you're missing is that "overspending" on free agents is only detrimental if it truly hinders you from making other moves. The Yanks are in a pretty good spot here. They had a ton of money coming off the books this year. They're moving into a new stadium. Their farm system is good enough that they're comfortable enough "hedging their bets" so to speak against the possibility of injury or failure. They have a good amount of money coming off the books next year. They have a fair amount of talented, cost-controlled, home-grown talent already with the club (Cano, Wang, Joba, almost the entire pen). 3. Remember the Yankee dynasty of the late nineties? They were a nice balance. Posada, Pettitte, Mo, Jeter, Bernie... but then they also brought in Cone, Key, Boggs, Clemens, Wells, etc. Having some positions locked down for less allows the team to spend big money elsewhere. And the Yanks have a lot of money.
yes, if the Yankees have an extended period of losing, they will certainly see a reduction in attendance. but the Yankee philosophy of spend now for now isn't concerned with the long term effect of the signings, because they inherently believe they will win now with these signings and if these players don't perform for the length of their contracts it's no big deal because they have the luxury to eat bad contracts and will just sign another big name those following seasons and "win now" with those. the flaw is that this is a process they have been repeating for years, and you can argue the team is getting progressively worse with every offseason, so the scenario you propose may already be in motion. but, because they charge so much for tickets the Yankees have to conduct business this way and create enthusiasm before the season to maintain ticket sales. just look at the reaction in this thread. that is what sells tickets.
