Breaking news: Roster set
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Mar 30, 2007 
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LHP Sean Henn, C Wil Nieves and 1B Josh Phelps are on the team.
No word on yet on the No. 5 starter other than that RHP Jeff Karstens is headed to the DL.
There will be a lot of happy people on this board with Phelps and Henn making the team
Free at last, free at last, thank God we’re free at last!!
Ok, I’m sorry about Karstens going to the DL, and I certainly was fond of Andy Phillips (who I hope gets a chance to play in the majors, be it with the Yankees or with some other team).
But the thing is that the Yankees finally made some very, non-Joe Torreish roster moves.
Did Bruney make the team?
BTW – I don’t know if Henn will be much better than Villone (who BTW, sounded like a very nice, family guy).
But he’s going to be making very little money vs. $2.5MM that Villone would have gotten.
That being the case, I certainly prefer that the Yankees use those extra $2MM to take on some salary later on (ala the Bobby Abreu deal), than to spend it on Villone and get pretty much the same production as they will probably get with Henn.
(I think the NYT had put it best: Villone had to be demonstrably better to be kept, in light of him being more expensive).
Phelps over Phillips are not that big an issue to me, in that I think they are not going to be that different in production, but to have some semblance of credibility in regards the way they view ST, the Yankees had to give the position to Phelps (though I won’t be surprised if Phelps sucks, gets returned to Baltimore and Phillips – if he’s at Scranton – ends back with the team).
I didn’t think Bruney was in a contested spot hes pitched awesome this sprin my bet is he was on the team a week ago
WOW. Yes, Yes, and Yes. Nice decisions, IMO. Now lets get this season started already!!!!
Peter,
Please extend my best wishes to Andy. He seems like a great guy.
Peter,
Thanks for the quick updates on the roster; I don’t think there’s anywhere else to get this information this quick, and it’s appreciated.
Same sentiments here as Jennifer regarding Andy. I prefer Phelps on the roster, but I hope that AP does well and catches on elsewhere.
I actually wouldn’t be shocked if Phelps IS better than Phillips going away. And from the bits I’ve seen on him and heard from past scouting years ago he could move into full time 1B over Minky. I just think that Joe would rather have that than a platoon, and if Phelps can show he’s able, Torre would make the move.
Thanks for the update. I was always an Andy Phillips fan (remember the GW HR he had against the mets last year at Shea!!), but it was his job to lose and unfortunately for him, Phelps looked really good. I hope AP clears waivers, it would be nice for him to stay in the organization.
As the rest said, all the best to Andy. He seemed like a great guy, and hope him all the success.
Anyways, Phelps has been great, and it would have been ridiculous to not give him a shot. Andy got his last year.
Can they use Jackson as a fifth starter until Wang gets healthy?
Best to Andy from me as well – the man deserves good things after all he’s been through the last couple of years.
Fair moves, and that’s all you can ask for. If you produce, you get selected. If you don’t, you get released. Now they too have to produce. I’m amazed at all the Andy Philips sentiment. I mean, yeah, he seemed nice enough, but so are most young players. I think Phelps has demonstrated more upside, and I hope he achieves it again. Andy should clear waivers, and be there, just in case…
Lots of teams will go after Villone. Baltimore, Boston, Phillies, Toronto, White Sox, even the Mets.
Great news. Things have changed in Yankee land.
thank you Brian Cashman !! woot woot ! now convince Joe that Myers needs to be cut
Why would any of those teams want Villone? I heard he was cooked.
Congrats to Henn, Nieves, and Phelps.
searay he was ok until Torre wore out his arm. I remember countless times how he used Villone excessively , I even said after that game vs Seattle that the Yankees should send an I’m sorry letter to his wife for burning out his arm.
Brandon –
I would accept the “Torre wore him out!” excuse if Villone was good prior to coming to the Yankees. His final ERA for 2006 was about where you would have expected it before 2006 began.
If another team wants him, it’s no big loss.
It is a sad commentary on Torre when people are “shocked” by these normal roster moves. Hopefully he is on a short leash this year.
Best of luck to Andy and congrats to Henn, Nieves and Phelps!
Good luck to Andy. I got his autograph last year in that strange game where Damon ended up playing first base and AP played 2nd after a long rain delay. Nice guy – hopefully we’ll see him land on his feet. Maybe even in Scranton.
Unbelievable! Even when Joe chooses what some of the “fans” on this blog consider the right moves he get criticized. Torre may not be the best tactical manager in baseball, but IMO there is no one who could have done a better job of managing the Yankees of the last decade. He’s won nine straight division championships, four WS and six AL pennants. I guess these Yankee fans are either spoiled or maybe just not old enough to remember all those years when the Yankees sucked. They should give Joe a break.
Joe gets no more breaks ,I’m sorry, I understand what he has brought since 1996. But call it what it is he burns out arms and that coach in Anaheim owns him. Notice one thing about Joe the coachs he beat 1/2 of them are unemployed or not w/ their current teams.
The game looks to be passing Joe. Big time offensive options for years had better players than most GMs could wish for , last year had a tools player waited till game 4 to use him, left his best pitcher in NY. .. etc.
Joe just seemed to lose his Midas touch somewhere along the line. He made plenty of risky moves when they were winning (like batting Pettitte in the 96 world series in order to have him pitch to Chipper Jones even though we were winning by only 1 run and had a man on base), but they panned out. His latest risky ones, e.g. an extra inning of Weaver in 03 when Mo Rivera was rested and sitting in the pen, batting ARod 8th last year, Wright instead of Wang in game four last year, and countless others I can’t even remember right now, just haven’t worked. I still love Joe though and think he’s still got something left. Maybe those moves will start working for him again, he’s due.
great moves by toree. I guess toree likes rookies after all.
Great news on the roster moves. However, I don’t put the same premium on defense as most people. I’d rather see Phelps catch 35 games behind the plate, Phillips take Cairo’s spot (Cairo really cannot hit) and they carry a fifth outfielder (Thompson has a nice righty bat and can take Cairo’s job as designated runner). But those are just my thoughts.
The team is getting younger and less expensive, which is great news for all Yankee fans. Thanks for the info, PA.
Wow, I’m surprised Nieves made the team. I thought conventional wisdom said Pratt would be chosen because he’s ancient, err, a veteran…
In reading all these comments from fans who sound like they must be 25 or less, I’m reminded of the standard baseball cliche “It’s a marathon not a sprint”. There’s a bit of value in perspective and history in this game, rather than the deli approach – “Next!”. I’m sure the Yanks would be better served if many of you were managing than Joe Torre. What does he know after all.
I’m not saying Joe doesn’t make mistakes, everyone does. He does occassionally seem too tied to vets, and uses his trusted relievers too much. But he’s the one under pressure to win today, tomorrow, and always. And he sits watching, actually watching these players day in and day out while you read stats, choose which suit your opinion du jour, and type.
Try a little perspective on for size, and a little patience. While I’m comfortable and happy with the roster decisions today, and I’m glad that players got what they earned for now, but I’ll also be happy if Villone and Phillips report to AAA, because many of you “du jours” might be calling for the heads of Bruney, Henn, and Phelps by mid-May, and the depth and options will come in handy. I’m not wanting that to happen – I’m wanting to be prepared if it does. 60 AB’s or 20 IP are unlikely to tell us what the results for the year will be. Just consider how that vociferous March opinion might turn into a nasty tasting case of foot-in-mouth.
Making good decisions has nothing to do with age. The President was around 57 when he decided to invade Iraq and it hasn’t turned out so well for him. Tom Kelly was 37 when his Twins won the world series, and it seemed he did alright figuring out what to do.
Wisdom is not a natural result of age, although senility certainly is. I’m not calling Torre senile, but if all decisions must be deferred to the elderly then we may be in a lot of trouble. Brian Cashman is still a few years shy of 40, and I’ll still take him as GM, thanks.
Taking Phelps makes sense because when he was invited to Spring Training, first base was a position to be earned based on nothing but the small sample size of Spring Training. Taking Nieves over Pratt makes sense for the simple fact that if anything is going to happen with Nieves, aged 29, it is going to have to happen now. Taking Henn over Villone makes sense because Villone, looking at data that accurately describes his performance over the past few years, suggests he is, what is the term, “not so good.”
These are common sense observations that can be made by a 14 year old or an 80 year old.
No, I don’t see a long queue for Villone, Garry. Those teams had all winter long to go after the free agent Villone. They didn’t.
Ed: Phillips take Cairo’s spot? Phillips can’t play SS in case of an emergency. Cairo can.
Mike S:
Phillips doesn’t need to play SS. A-Rod hasn’t left yet and Phillips CAN play 3rd base.
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