i am not a mientkiewicz fan, but this isn’t really fair.

last year he had an OBP of around .360. if he just does that, he will be fine.

i wasn’t crazy about his signing, but i understand the rationale. there is no way the yanks could have come into the year with Andy Phillips penciled in as their starting 1Bman. and Phelps was a total ?. at the least, they needed someone who resembled a major league player and was at least above replacement level, which phillips may not be.

here is the deal with Mientkiewicz:
2006
Minky: .283/.359/.411
Melky: .280/.360/.391

the yanks scored 930 runs with Melky batting 9th for much of the season. it doesn’t matter if that batting line is coming from left field or from 1B. if Mientkiewicz repeats his 2006, he would not be the sucking black hole that many think. think of like Mientkiewicz is replacing Melky, and Matsui is replacing Phillips.

IF (and it’s a big if) Mientkiewicz simply repeats his 2006, the offense will be just fine. on the other hand, he very well may be done. in which case, he’ll be DFA’ed at the trade deadline.

i didn’t like the deal, but i understand why it was done.

Ron Villone deserves to make the team.

He pitcehd really well in the first half of last year, struggled down the stretch because he had thrown far far too many innings. On the days he didn’t get into the game he was usually told to warm up at some point as well so put hundreds of more pitches on his arm.

I don’t expect to see him in the eighth inning too often, but he can go more than one inning when needed and now he has had a few months off, should be a good option out of the bullpen.

I’m surprised he didnt get any bigger offers this year. Both he and Ray King, who went to Washington for $5 and a packet of boiled sweets, seem to have been ignored in a market short of lefty relievers.

I know, I know, many of you will say that’s cos hes got nothing left, but I think he’ll surprise some of you.

http://baseballanalysts.com/ar....._and_1.php

[QUOTE]
* A player who is currently entering his fourth or fifth pro season and already has been optioned in three separate years gets a fourth option. Delmon Young has been optioned in three years (2004, 2005, 2006) and he’ll get a fourth option in 2007, which he’s doing his best to earn.
* A player who has missed one or more seasons to injury – meaning an entire season, or enough time to accrue fewer than 90 days on an active roster – may get a fourth option if, exclusive of those injury-shortened years, he has fewer than five full seasons in pro ball. A season in which he’s on an active roster for 60 days or more and then gets hurt still counts as a full season, but a season in which he’s hurt and then comes back and gets 60-89 days of service after the injury does not.
* Seasons spent entirely in short-season leagues (the New-York Penn, Northwest, Pioneer, Appalachian, Gulf Coast, and Arizona Rookie Leagues, as well as the Dominican and Venezuelan Summer Leagues) don’t count as seasons for the purposes of a fourth option.

As you might imagine, more players are eligible for fourth options than you might have realized, but they often don’t come to light because the players are low-profile or because they’re kicked off of 40-man rosters before the fourth option comes into play.

as for minky, what else was cashman supposed to do? aurilia? hillenbrand? no thanks. like he said, when they didn’t get a good hitting 1b-man, they turned their eye to D. minky is NOT terrible despite his poor spring (just as karstens is not our ace). he has a career OPS+ of 99. ok, he’s an average hitter. he’s not going to slug much, but his career obp is actually higher than damon’s! he has a good eye and can draw a walk. we’re not talking about bubba crosby here. the guy is an average hitter with an above average glove. pretty good for the 9 hitter. not a bad acquisition, and for a decent price.

i also see Torre taking Phelps over AP bc he’s just the best 1b hitter we have. and who knows? maybe duncan tears it up in SWB and becomes the everyday 1b come july. i can dream.