YANKEES NOTES: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASA...t_id=1707717&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASA...t_id=1707878&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy
Although they won 97 games, I really didn't see any spark in this team during the Tiger series. No emotion, nothing. This is a collection of stars but that doesn't make a "team".. If this team doesn't get younger in a hurry, you're gonna see the Yankees turn slowly but surely into the Braves..
Torre and A-Rod BOTH can't be back next year. Changes are needed, and both represent something within the organization that needs to be changed. Torre will be back, so I hope (and in the end expect) the team does everything in its power to convince A-Rod to waive his no-trade.
It's pretty clear that A-Rod and Torre aren't on the same page. If there is one positive about Torre over Lou, it's that there is a much greater chance that Alex gets driven out of town.
I really hope this is just posturing by Cashman to try to inflate ARod's trade value a little bit. No way he can return with Torre here at this point. Not that I'd want him to stay even if Torre wasn't here. He can't handle this city.
The saprk left when Matsui and Sheff came back and it sent some young guys who earned their playing time back to the bench. It sounds like Lidle wasn't coming back but I would have been fine w/ him as a 5 starter. will huges be ready? At some point next year we'll see him(barring injury) but how soon into the year? jeter wasn't supposed to come up until later in 1996 but started the year after tony Fernandez got hurt, maybe Hughes starts the year at the back enbd of the rotation. I also like what i saw of Karstens and rasner so I think the back end of the rotation is set. it would be nice to get a front of the rotation guy to go w/ Wang and that should be the main goal.
Mike Francesa said there's been a lot of murmuring among baseball people that the Yankee organization have been babying Hughes and that he should have already been pitching in the big leagues. I guess you have to take that with a grain of salt, but hopefully we do get to see him next year. If they can somehow get rid of Wright, maybe our rotation can look something like this Matsuzaka Wang Johnson Mussina Hughes
I'd love to hear these "baseball people" saying that Hughes should've been in the majors already. He turned 20 only a couple of months ago for christ's sake. In reality, he probably shouldn't pitch until 2008, but he's so good he'll probably get called up sometime this season.
Yeah, you really have to wonder about the sense of people who would suggest this. Then, if the kid gets hurt, they can all turn around and browbeat the Yankees for "rushing him along."
Hmmm...A-Rod to Chicago? http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...0117oct12,1,403575.story?coll=cs-sports-print How Sox could land A-Rod With Torre staying, door opens for Williams to deal By Dave van Dyck Tribune staff reporter October 12, 2006 As the Cubs' search for a manager Thursday pointed west, a captivating scenario of off-season events that may involve the White Sox was pointed east. Amid a whirlwind of complicated Chicago/New York connections, the Cubs could wind up with Lou Piniella as manager because of Alex Rodriguez, and Rodriguez could wind up as a White Sox partly because of Piniella. It could be just the beginning of what promises to be a rip-roaring off-season in baseball's two major cities involving names such as Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Joe Crede, Josh Fields, Freddy Garcia and agent Scott Boras. The scenario? Sources in New York insist Piniella did not replace Joe Torre because of his previous close connection with Rodriguez when he managed him in Seattle, a move that would have driven a further rift between Rodriguez and the Jeter forces in the Yankees clubhouse. How does that involve the White Sox and Cubs? Because Piniella will not become Yankees manager, he is available to the Cubs, making him a strong co-favorite for the job with Joe Girardi. And because George Steinbrenner was talked into letting the Torre/Jeter faction win out in New York, Rodriguez may be available for trade, despite denials. And that brings in the White Sox. General manager Kenny Williams, according to those in the know, long has had a "thing" for Rodriguez, much like he has had for Carl Everett (acquired twice), Sandy Alomar Jr. (acquired for a third time) and Ken Griffey Jr. (whom he tried to acquire two years ago). In fact, insist sources very close to the situation at the time, first-year GM Williams tried to get a one-on-one interview with Rodriguez to induce him to join the White Sox before he signed with Texas in the winter of 2000. Boras rejected that request, but Williams remains convinced--to this day--Rodriguez not only would have come to the White Sox but he would have made the Sox into instant and constant contenders. Williams still believes Rodriguez, only 31 years old, would be a hero in Chicago, and never has been afraid of criticism for making a big splash for a big name. The White Sox would have much more than most teams to offer the Yankees--certainly more than the talent-starved Cubs--in return, including fellow third baseman Crede. Coincidence or not, Crede also is represented by Boras, not a friendly face among Sox executives. But Boras could do both of his clients a favor getting Rodriguez to a less-pressurized situation in Chicago. Here Rodriguez could move back to shortstop and get away from a sour situation in New York, where he and Jeter are seen as opposite forces. As for Crede, he could get a long-term contract with the Yankees, something the Sox may not be willing to do with Fields on the horizon. The Sox also might be willing to part with a Yankee trade necessity, a starting pitcher in Garcia. With the Rangers still paying a huge chunk of Rodriguez's salary, the Sox would be looking at a $66.6 million commitment for four years. Could they handle that? Yes, especially if they shuffle off Crede's potential contract and Garcia's $10 million for 2007.
Bill Madden's take on A-Rod/White Sox http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/col/madden/ White Sox still eyeing Rodriguez Alex Rodriguez is now Yanks' best chip to attract a quality arm for a struggling rotation. Now that Joe Torre has come full circle with George Steinbrenner - facing the same "show me what you're made of" edict in the potential final year of his Yankee managerial tenure as he did in his first - his main mission must be to re-establish the "team first" culture in the clubhouse that has gradually eroded with the importing of so many high-salaried mercenaries in recent years. But as Torre would surely concur, it would also help if his boss Brian Cashman is able to execute a near-total overhaul of the starting rotation around younger power arms. In some respect those two goals are linked in that the team chemistry problem can only be resolved with the trading of Alex Rodriguez and A-Rod represents the Yankees' best chip for acquiring a young power arm for the top of the rotation. That's why the Angels, who were willing to deal Ervin Santana last July as part of a package for the Orioles' Miguel Tejada, remain the Yankees' best trading option for A-Rod. White Sox GM Kenny Williams has long lusted for A-Rod and was the first to come calling last week, letting it be known he'd be willing to give up any one of his three established starters, Freddy Garcia, Javier Vazquez or Mark Buerhle. The Yankees weren't interested. On the other hand, Brandon McCarthy, the White Sox's 6-7 righty with top-of-the-rotation potential, might get their attention. Conceivably, Williams would be willing to include third baseman Joe Crede in any deal in that because, in Josh Fields, he has a blue chip replacement ready for the hot corner. A-Rod's agent, Scott Boras, would probably be interested in that scenario since he also represents Crede, who is up for free agency after next year. The White Sox have told Crede they won't offer him an extension unless he gets a minor operation for his periodically ailing back - which he has so far refused to do.
I'm not so sure I want to bring a guy in to play third who may need surgery. I'd like to grab a guy like Buerhle, but I don't want a gaping hole at third if the guy we rely on to fill the spot goes down. Do we have anyone in the minors who is approaching readiness on the left side? If there is someone who we could call up to fill in if Crede was to go down, then I'd pull the trigger. Otherwise, we could still make a very nice deal with A-Rod elsewhere. Amazingly, teams are salivating over the opportunity to get him. We all thought that the problems in October were going to hurt us trying to trade him, but now we are seeing that we are still in the driver's seat. Very nice. I'm looking forward to a very nice offseason.
I wouldn't touch Buerhle. That guy is dreadful. He continued to let his team down in the second half of the season. We could do much better than him.
Do you really think Buerhle and Crede for A-Rod is teams salivating over him? Unless Crede hits .280+ again(.020 points over his career average) he's going to put up and OBP of around .300. And Buerhle was about as bad as you can be last season. The guy walked 48 in 204 innings and he had a WHIP of 1.45. He had an ERA of 6.44 and a BAA of .343 in the 2nd half, including 2 seperate months where batters hit almost .400 against him. Even scarier over that time period his BABIP was only .318 which means that he was just getting tatooed all over the place.
