Greetings from Gate 48
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jun 25, 2007 
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Here we are at the Joe Montana International Airport in San Francisco. I’m taking a red-eye flight home that leaves in 90 minutes. The downside is I’ll have a crappy night of sleep. The upside is I’ll get to spend Monday at home.
I flipped through the comments and laughed at some people throwing Derek Jeter under the bus. How to have perspective. People are also under the mistaken belief that they just trade anybody on the roster. It doesn’t work that way.
But there are a few things the Yankees can – and should – do:
Trade Kyle Farnsworth: His display today should be the last straw. Yes, the defense was sloppy. But he’s been lousy all year. There are plenty of teams looking for relief help, so eat some money and unload this guy.
Find a new backup catcher: Wil Nieves is a friendly kid. But whatever mojo he had with Mike Mussina has disappeared and now he can’t throw. So what exactly does he do well then? There is no in-house solution or otherwise he would be gone already.
Disable Johnny Damon: Now he says he’s fine. Two days ago he was a wreck. This passed tiresome a week ago and is now tedious. Go to Tampa for two weeks to rest and come back after the All-Star break.
Give one of the kids a chance to DH: Your guess is as good as mine. Shelley Duncan, Eric Duncan, Sandy Duncan, anybody.
Call up Chris Britton: Brian Cashman claimed to like this guy when they traded for him, so give him a chance. I’d rather see him than watch Brian Bruney search endlessly for his release point.
Obtain a first baseman: There has to be somebody out there who can play first, hit ninth and give you more than Miguel Cairo or Andy Phillips. Dangle Farnsworth, Bruney, Mike Myers, one of the AAA starters, etc.
Consider a blockbuster: Contracts are such that most of the name players can’t be traded. But give it a shot. See if you can ship out Abreu, Mussina, Farnsworth or Damon. I’d even give some thought to trading Cano. He’s regressing at the plate but has value. Do something big to change the chemistry.
Get Joe Torre to retire: Right now. Everybody knows he’s not coming back barring some sudden run to the World Series. So have Joe announce that he’s retiring at the end of the season and see what happens. Create a little tension and drama, maybe it’ll motivate the players. Then, if they suddenly do go on some magical run, create a story that Big Stein begged his man to come back for one more year. If they lose, you’ve lost nothing. Joe gets his graceful exit and either Mattingly or Girardi takes over.
That’s all I have for ideas at the moment. I’ll try and check in later today.
They do need a 1B and a backup catcher but again the yare 2nd in baseball in runs scored .2nd…………………..
they need arms, reliable pitchers.. try Britton and also try ramirez.. I ahve no idea if he is any good but he ahs a .75 era in AAA what moe can he prove??????????
I read somewhere that Damon saide he feels better and will be ready to go on Tuesday..This needs to stop he is either healthy or DL him enough already…
they are 2nd in baseball in runs scored with about 5 underachievers, nuff said… they need friggin pitching..
Wow, I was driving after the game and was thinking what would I do if I were GM. Well first I thought wouldn’t it be great to unload a Abreu and Farnsworth to say the Braves. Get that kid Salthamachia. We would have to give up more, maybe throw in a clippard and maybe marquis. Just move these guys. Than trade Mussina to say the mets and get a quality arm in there minors, maybe a bullpen guy. Trade Damon when he gets better to a playoff team down the stretch and let the kids play out the stretch.. Trade even a proctor and Cano for a Texiera, we have that kid alomonte and he is suppose to be fast. We need more speed in the lineup and 2b should be a speed position. Than in the off season maybe go after an ichiro suziki. But please dont trade Hughes, Joba, Horne, Kennedy or any other quality arm in desperation. Maybe it isn’t the worst thing to get knocked out of the playoffs early this way they don’t make any stupid moves. Lets get younger, dump some contracts, let the kids play, and make sure we sign our own free agents like Posada and Mariano.
Torre is not retiring. He will be fired after they lose the Orioles series.
does the world end if the yankees are mediocre for the first time since 1993? to my way of thinking, it has been a great run, the best run by a yankee team since i first started rooting for them in 1955. i love the guys who made it possible. and i never expected it to last this long.
this day had to come and now it’s here. cashman has to look at the big picture. the rebuilding process should begin with 2009 as the year of redemption. unload big contracts if possible, begin easing out the aging veterans. get the payroll down to $150M by the end of 2008.
and try to re-sign a-rod, of course. but he holds all the leverage now.
by the way, sheffield was right. he said a-rod would have a big year. and he said he was a better player than abreu. we miss his righthanded back in this portsided lineup.
some responses from the previous string, yes the offense is not always consistent but it is not feast or famine, see when you cannot pitch you lose low scoring games!!you get the drift.
I forget the record but in 1 run games they are like 8 games below 500 and 2 or less run games they are like 12 games or so below 500%..
teams win close games with, good pens, clutch hitting, and good fundamentals… in the 6 game nightmare they just went thru they hit under 150% with RISP. SOme of the stars of that success are smiling robbie 1st pitch swinging Cano and Hideki whatever Matsui, and then we have Jorge, and of course the scrubs.
Arod cannot do anymore for the team, I almost feel sorry for him and when a guy makes $26 mill a yr. it his hard to have any sympathy for him..
Hey Peter –
Have you ever thought it might make more sense to just pack it in for the season and come back stronger next year?
Look at your starting rotation versus the Tigers – look at the AGE of the pitchers – tonight they started 22 yo Andrew Miller, last night 24 yo Verlander, tomorrow 24 yo Bonderman…
OK, so they have Kenny Rogers, we still arent built around 44 yo Roger, 38 yo Mussina and 36 yo Pettitte. It is time to tear it apart and start anew.
YOU GUYS AREN’T EVEN CLOSE AND ONE OR TWO (OR THREE OR FOUR) MOVES AREN’T GOING TO GET YOU THERE.
You won for a lot of years, you got unlucky in some of your contracts and trades or you could have sustain it further than you did.
But it is time to pack it in.
Peter,
Farnsy is ntuz.
I hope he doesn’t go “funny in the head” when hears you want to trade him.
Peter, tell me what you think about this. Earlier today I said, if the yanks are below .500 and 10 games out of the wild card, they should considere trading ARod at the deadline (I know he’d have to appove). The likelihood of ARod opting out is very high. The likelihood of the Yanks meeting Boras demands are even money. given those odds, it better to get something in such a situation, the let him go to whomever for nothing.
jk- what a cheerful though (snark)
Stu – I disagree with on run production, but I strongly agree on how many games have been lost by the pen.
Amen Pete. Amen.
You pretty much summed up the obvious and I’m glad you see the value in selling high on Cano. People tell me I’m nuts and that he’s amazing. I watch this team every game. I just don’t see it. I also know for a fact that Cano parties it up every night he’s in NYC at Dominican clubs. This is why the guy can’t play in day games. He’s usually hung over. Young Soriano anyone? Who knows what he does on the road, but he strikes me as immature and inconsistent. I don’t see the power coming from him. The guy should be launching them into the RF seats at home, but he’s more comfy slapping the ball to LF. As Torre said, he’s Rod Carew….just without all the hits, the average and the desire to be a consistent star.
I think his value is the highest right now it’s ever going to be again as a Yankee. If you could pull a Dontrelle with him as the centerpiece you have to do it. Cano is exactly what FLA wants — young all star talent that is still controllable dollar wise for a few more years.
Or, if you think you’re still in this offer him to the White Sox for Buerhle and one of their young OF studs (Anderson, Owens, etc). Hell, send Cano and Farnsworth (with us picking up some of the Farnsworth cash) to the White Sox for Buerhle, young OF stud (Anderson or Owens) and Macdougal for the pen and I’d be happy.
And as for the 1b, they have to do something. They have to. This is getting ridiculous. I liked Hatteburg as an idea. Hell, I’d even take Millar at this point if it got Damon to stop bellyaching and play.
But most of all, the team needs to get some guys who want to play and who care. Right now, Damon, Abreu, Cano and I’m sorry to say Matsui, all seem asleep out there. Yes, they have little streaks, but they are not giving any consistent effort.
And Pete? If there’s any way the press can run Mussina out of town, PLEASE DO IT!!!!. The press has done this before, we need Mussina and Farnsworth in different uni’s stat. Mussina is a selfish player. End of story. He only thinks about himself and not the team. I’ve seen enough of him to know we can’t depend on him and I was sick when Cashman gave him that 2 year extension. Ugh.
Sheff is better then Abreu at hitting for power but not for this team. Abreu fields better and runs better and usually walks more and is 6 yrs younger. No they should not resign abreu under any circumstances and just a side note sheff is a jerk with a friggin big mouth..
Sheff cannot play the outfield and trading him was a good move….
there will be no firesale so guys stop dreaming they can win with a few marginal moves and TOrre needs to manage for today and start making guys accountable and I of course do not think that will happen.
WHY DO THEY HAVE vILLONE, NIEVES, and a few others on the team?/ They are old, have no up side, and stink.. Why not try some new younger guys??? I forgot that is not the so called Yankee way.. E Ramirez has a .75 ERA with a ton of innings at AAA but cannot get a wiff of the big leagues..His WHIP is insane, will he be good I have no idea but how will we ever know unless they check it out….
kerouac-
Look Jack,
I won’t tell you how to drink with William Burroughs, so don’t tell me the world isn’t ending!!!
you hippies and “it’s has been a great ride” nonsense.
Stuart-
I thought the same thing about shef. But recently I was impressed by SB44 comments that Shef was well liked in the clubhouse and Peter’s allstar ballot post.
yea tigers fan way to be objective forget to mention wang at 27 and hughes at 20 or about 7 great arms in AA or AAA such as sanchez, chamberlin, horne, kennedy, marquez, and others…
sure clemens is 44 and moose is 38 but Pettitte is only 34 and I doubt clemens is in there long term plans.
I forgot jones at 40 and Irod at 37 and sheff at 38 are not old because they are tigers. the joke is the sox and tigers are jsut as old as the yanks it’s just they have a better record so it does not matter…
These are the two moves I make:
1. Trade A-Rod for James Loney, Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, and Andy LaRoche or Brandon Wood, Joe Saunders, Casey Kotchman, and someone else (dont know the Angels system at all beyond the obvious players)
2. Let Posada walk if he is looking for a contract longer than 2 years. Signing him to a 4 year 48 million deal is the type of contract that has put this team in the mess they’re at right now. Plus, it’s more likely for him to be batting .260 with 12 HR’s at the end of it than to repeat what he is doing this year. With the types of catchers available this year, it wouldnt be a bad time to let him go.
While not popular, a youth movement is what this organization needs.
ryan both ideas are great but realize if the Yanks did the Arod move which to the Dodgers is better they would stink the rest of this yr…they would have there future RF, 1B, and 3B.. But would stink this yr……
the Dodgers would win the WEST….
How do we unload Giambi
I like to give him another chance, but come october, if he goes under the knife, that it, trade him to green bay. He’d make a great Tight End. But seriously, if his foot is in a cast for two months, someone has to tell him to do the right thing and watch the sopranos’ finale.
Ryan,
Trade A-Rod?!
~The World
I like your suggestions, Pete. The sad and frustrating thing about this season is that they’ve flirted with .500 enough to offer hope. Which means that any hope of radically changing the team is slim since this team’s front office will not concede they’re out of it until they’re 20 out. A month ago, I was kind of hoping that they’d suck enough to trigger a house cleaning. A horrible thing to hope for, but how else do you shake up things? There are certainly some warriors (to use Big Stein’s favorite expression) and producers on this team to make them competitive, but it’s not enough. Maybe this team (and a chunk of its fan base) needs to have a couple of poor seasons to really wake up and give the young guys like Hughes a chance to learn on the job w/o the intense NY push win it all right now.
Trading Cano would be a major mistake in my opinion. They don’t have many young, talented position players. They shouldn’t be trading their best one. He’s got some problems, but he’s only 22 or 23. Mattingly and others rave about him and think he can compete for batting titles.
Yo Stuart –
Hughes ain’t pitching this year and the AAA pitchers aren’t either (including Sanchez).
Give it up this year – you lost out on Pavano and Wright and couldn’t for the life of you produce one or two starters from your minor league system in years that could pitch like Verlander, Bonderman or Miller can THIS YEAR.
Peter, I love the Sandy Duncan idea, it has peter pan written all over it. I also hear she has a sharp eye.
Maybe Mr. Torre can stay if gives up green tea and starts hitting the double latte with extra mocha. I was watching the highlights last nite, and Tito was questioning everything, even though the replays showed the umps were right. I like that, we need to work the umps, just like a coach does in basketball.
What’s the difference in keeping A-Rod and struggling to stay around .500 and waving the white flag and admitting this team doesn’t care?
While the pitching in the minors is stocked, there are no position players ready to contribute this year or next. You trade A-Rod and you can be set at 3 or 4 positions for the next 10 years. Plus, A-Rod’s contributions can be made up by increasing the production we’re currently getting in RF and DH.
Aside from not hitting or throwing, Nieves is now dropping throws and PITCHES.
He is horrid.
Maybe Damon’s abs don’t feel so bad after he watched Jeter limp around the base for 2 days.
tiger chump you hughes valet???
You know he is not pitching this yr. really what stocks should I invest in?
You have a good team every 20 yrs or so and you own the town.. I know you liked them 4 yrs ago when they lost 110 games blah blah blah…..
Peter I love all your ideas and had them myself today including the Torre retires to motivate the players. I had one other idea that you didn’t spell out and here it is. The Dodgers refuse to play James Loney over Nomar and are even hoping to acquire teixeira. They must fear us as a competitor in that potential sweepstakes so lets team up with them send them a couple of prospects to offset the price of teixeira and acquire Loney who id rather have, younger and cheaper with little service time. Texas wants pitching which we have and the Dodgers could avoid a bidding war with us. James Loney is a good fielder and a player we could build around. He has also demanded a trade already this year.
“He didn’t demand it. He suggested it as an option,” said Joe Urbon, Loney’s agent. “He was the best hitter in the Minor Leagues last year and they re-signed Nomar Garciaparra for two years. If James only gets to the Major Leagues when Nomar gets hurt, he could be sitting around until 2009. No one wants to be a Dodger more than James. But he’s disappointed and frustrated. As he said, he can’t help the [Dodgers] in Las Vegas.”
Ryan I agree but we do not make the decisions and I do not know if the Dodgers do that move…
Arod type trades are very unlikely so why do we talk about things that have about a 5% chance of occuring…
how about trade Kyle, Myers, and someone else.
ALso why would Florida trade for Cano they have Dan Uggla???
Tigers fan, gee at least when we go down in the WS it’s to a good team. Choke, choke, excuse me. 26, 26.
Tigersfan, your team made Jeff Weaver look like Cy Young.
Pete made the case numerous times to trade Farnsworth for Jon Lieber. That’s oft-injured Jon Lieber with an NL ERA close to 5.
This is why some people aren’t GMs.
PS, Mussina is a 10-5 guy. You can’t trade him unless he approves, and chances are he aint approving.
Cough, Cough (pine tar) couch, cough
this is the last year of Moose’s contract (three more months – YAY).
One thing I wanted to add James Loney reminds me of Nick Johnson in a way. Both were big prospects cant miss really yet the Yanks went out and got Giambi and basically blocked Nick. It was a ridicules situation with him as a slick fielding dh, a huge investment in Giambi and a promise to play him at first. You knew they would trade him because of it. The Dodgers with a top prospect at first block him not by going out an making a huge investment in Nomar but with a red sox fan for an owner he wants him on his team and they wont play the better hitting, fielding,running and looking loney. Their trying to play him in the outfield. Its time they make the same mistake we did and send him to the Bronx
lieber is on the DL again… Can’t guys like lieber go to the pen and pitch an inning or 2 3 times a week……
man things look bleak, when is Cash going to do something???
If they had no talent, played smart,hard, but lost because they are no good that is one thing but I am not watching that.. I am watching a team that stinks in close games, has outscored there opponents by a bunch, and stinks..Why….
moose signed a 2 year deal
Nomar has 1 or 2 HR’s so far this yr…….
I live in LA do not watch many games but he literally has 2 HR’s after 60 + games…..
If we cant get a first baseman maybe we can get a second baseman and move Cano to first
I am guilty I liked the Moose signing because it was 2 yrs and without signing him there prospects looked even worse…
they would have signes someone to a terrible 4 yr contract and I thought that under any circumstances was total insanity..
again I said it the other day what about the lilly, schmidt, meche, matsuzaka,and zito fans how you doing???
almost no FA signings are good signings. Vlad is a good one that Steinny blew, name 3 other high profile FA signings that worked out???????????????????????
matsuzaka thing has never been fair. The Red Soxs drove themselves crazy thinking the Yankee offer would be in the 40 million range so they said to themselves 40 what, we don’t know, okay will bid 50, well what if they bid 50, okay will bid 51 but what if they think the same thing, okay will bid 51.1 but what if they, okay will bid 51.100,001
Speaking of Jeff Weaver, our trade to you OF Jeff Weaver netted us Jeremy Bonderman.
How stupid of the Yankees to let Bonderman get away… you could sooooo use him now…..
26?
Yeah, that helps a WHOLE lot right now, doesn’t it?
Hey Tim H-
You think the 2003 Marlins were a good team?
You lost game six IN YANKEE STADIUM to a guy who hadn’t won 20 games IN HIS CAREER?
You lost to a team with a payroll like 25% of yours?
But even that isn’t the biggest embarrassment.
YOU ARE THE ONLY TEAM IN BASEBALL’S 107 YEAR MODERN HISTORY TO BLOW A 3-0 LEAD!!!!!
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
Recent Beltran,Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee
yea tiger moron Bonderman came from the A’s but the Yanks traded him to you. and my uncle is friends with tony and therefore he hates you… that makes the same amount of sense..
BOnderman was crafted by oakland, sorry for a fact. ans please do not give me more of your stupididty in a rebuttal.. your team is great I know, you have won your division many yrs. and you are a cinch to win it all this yr…
that’s right you have all those young position players under 30; inge, granderson 2 future superstars… that is right maybin is the next manny ramirez I forgot.
tiger moron newsflash this is a yankee site, why not go to the tiger site and in breed with some other mental midgets like yourself????
tiger moron when did you win your last title?????
How many titles have you won moron??
How many teams have lost the world series becuase there pitchers made about 5 errors throwing to 1st base???
F off, moron, burn some buildings down on halloween because it is a tradition….
The tigers got Jeremy Bonderman from the A’s not us we gave up Lily. Weaver was a terrible trade. The worse he pitched the better the experts said his stuff was. His stuff was never that good to begin with not better than lily who was lefty not a pot head and had proven he could handle New York
You guys could pick up tigers reject d young from the nats for 1b.
This is a great post, Pete,
can’t wait to see what everybody think about those trades you mentioned.
so could the tigers they need a 1b Marcus Thymes isn’t playing very well this year and it tuns out Sean Casey isn’t Tony Gwynn
and whats with P. Polancos’ head are we sure hes human
Tiger dude, you guys lost the world series to a 83-79 team, featuring jeff weaver !! Even though you had pine tar on your side.
I agree on all accounts Peter.
…or maybe carlos pena.
thames is fine, he just hit 2 in the 2nd deck in dc. and has 1 e for the year.
james,
that was funny as hell, theo pulling a “Bob Barker” and bidding 51,100,00*1*
I’m surprised the didn’t throw in some pennys, the way bidders do on Ebay.
we should deal phil hughs and $$$ for either randy johnson, greg maddux, or the ghost of cy young
Top Cat that wasn’t a joke the Red Sox actually did that and said that was their thought process and they even considered the penny. They were terrified of Wang 26, Dice K 26, and Philip Hughes 20 in the same Yankee rotation
i haven’t posted for a long time, and i don’t intend to post much any time soon, but this is another in a line of fantastic posts, pete. great stuff.
worst case: they miss the playoffs this year, which they’re going to do anyway. you don’t have to blow this team all the way up to make them a contender next year. you move a couple of pieces, get a little bit younger, and you’re one of the elite teams in the league again. few teams can afford to compete AND rebuild over a few years; the yankees can.
as for the continued in-fighting around here, lighten up everyone. this team is as bad now as they were in april and may. the only difference is they rattled off 9 straight wins against some pretty weak competition and tricked most everyone, myself included, into thinking they might make things interesting. if you still believe they will, good for you. some call that boundless optimism. it’s admirable. but, there are some people like SJ44 who aren’t content to believe this team has a run in them when all evidence seems to be to the contrary. lay off the guy. there are different breeds of fans. it takes all kinds. this team is going to contend for a championship again, probably sometime within the next few years. until then, break out your world championship DVDs or find a way to be satisfied with mediocre baseball, and keep hoping that maybe cashman can swallow his pride for long enough to try and correct some of his own mistakes. because that’s what it’s going to take.
take care, everyone. keep up the great work, pete.
Stuart-
its still hard to believe Big Stein went for 35 year old Shef instead of 28 year old Vlad.
All 2003, everyone kept saying “damn, yankees! they’re gonna get Vlad”. And then like some episode of the twilight zone, Big Stein goes for the much older player.
Ugh!
http://tinyurl.com/35hn4m (2nd blurb)
we should have gotten both we needed a cf then and vlad could have done it then and you don’t pass up the chance to get a player like that
Farns should have been long gone. Cash should not have him pitch another inning. The Yankees did have interest in Jose Molina but didn’t pull the trigger. The Angels may not make that trade anymore. What about JD Closser from the A’s AAA affiliate? Will Mussina get his panties in a bunch if Nieves isn’t catching him? The Yankees need lightning in a bottle. Maybe Shelley Duncan. He could be our Jack Cust. I think Cash waited entirely too long to do something with this team. We should sign Milton Bradley when he becomes available. Yes, he does have a temper, but he has kept it in check the last couple of years. Why not sign him? He’s an upgrade in the outfield over Abreu & Matsui and is a switch hitter. The Yankees should get Carlos Pena.
This team isn’t dead. They are a few trades away from being what we expect. I will say it again..
Last season we were 4 under at the ASB. By the end of the season we were 10 over. Yes it helped that the Red Sox fell apart at the end.
Cashman needs to move. ASB is coming up and the phones are going to start ringing everywhere and trades will be made. They just need good trades to happen soon to bring stability back to the Yankees. Yanks have the chips, without trading the farm away. I give the Yankees 1 more month, and if they are 8 or more behind start of August, then I throw in the towel.
James, that’s a good point. why not TWO. I think picking up Manny off waivers for $17 mill would have been a bargain (obp .399), considerng the $24 mill Giambi is receiving.
Milton Bradley has an injury that will keep him out for months. You don’t want Parker Brothers on the team. That is a horrible idea and I wish everyone would stop making it.
We don’t need an outfielder. We need 1st base and relievers.
Why would Cashman sign an outfielder/DH we don’t need.
Sit him for too long waiting for Damon’s day off and he will start throwing chairs around.
You don’t want this season topped off with another circus in the dugout like we saw in the 80′s.
Marius, last year we were 3 behind boston at the all-star game, but we were also 14 games over .500
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standin.....d=20060710
james, oh I know epstein was all about crowding out the yanks on the posting bid.
Damn, in the old day, Big Stein would have had Howie Spira wire-tap fenway and intercept Epstein’s communications. Hey, if dick cheney can do it, why not George.
Milton Bradley isn’t a stupid idea.
I agree with Kasey – another very good post Pete.
I wouldn’t trade Abreu though – he goes through slumps like everyone but guys with career OBP’s over .400 don’t stay down too long.
I also really like the post about your all-star picks – I would like to hear your pitching selections though.
I mean it’s obvious you chose “Krazy Kyle” but who else?
Wow, I can’t believe I read all the responses,
Where’s SJ44 anyway? would love to hear his thoughts on this subject.
so far, I like the post made by kerouac and Kasey.
keep it up guys.
Matsuzaka is winning now and he will probably have a few more winning seasons if he stay in the Red Sox. But most people here in Asia do not consider him as 26. He is considered as at least 36+ in terms of the arm. He pitched 250 pitches games in high school and was pitching a lot in Seibu. I think that he is winning now because Red Sox is winning. He won two close games lately because someone happened to play so bad that they lose two close games to him. I’ve watched Japanese pro baseball for many years, including the period in which I stayed in Japan for 30 months. I do not think him special (if put in the big league) at all. Especially, his two seasons in Japan were not very successful, even worse than Igawa’s. Seibu is doing better now without him.
If reliever is really a concern, then go for Tsao of the Dodgers. If the Dodgers lets you, you can also consider acquiring Kuo. Check out today’s game. Kuo fans out 8 in 5.1 innings, and the Dodgers may have a chance if they send in Tsao instead of Beimel in the seventh.
Okajima of Red Sox is cool this year, but he has been in Yomiuri Giants for 10 years and was doing badly, until he was sent to Yokohama in 2006. He seems fine with his super curve ball at the moment, but as unlucky as the Yankees’ pitchers, I am afraid that he would break his neck on the mound, if he should come to play for the Yankees.
Just wondering: How can the Braves keep Andruw and Chipper Jones there throughout their career, while it seems very difficult for the Yankees to have Jeter and Posada both fit in the budget?
Pete, great post. Thought-provoking stuff. The only thing I’d be hesitant about is anything with Cano. I understand his value is high, but let’s see if he can turn it around in the second half. If not, then maybe in the off-season you see what’s what.
Top Cat -
Great call on Sandy Duncan!
Fat Fatcessa’s blaming Farnsworth and Melky for losing against Giants Yesterday. How come Jeter get east pass all time? How many times this year already that Jeter made a ton of errors in later innings?
*easy
spellig check
I actually agree with most of the points but not all the reasoning.
It’s funny to see a cocky Tiger fan come here and blather about how his team has set the gold standard for building a team when they haven’t won jack since 1984.
Sure, they went to the WS last season, but they got their butts kicked by a clearly inferior team.
It takes more than a good rotation to win it all. Just ask your Tigers in late October in 2006.
The Oakland A’s early this decade had the most dominant rotation in MLB with Hudson, Mulder, and Zito and never won a single postseason series.
The Braves of the 90s had two HoF’ers in their prime (Maddux and Glavine) and another guy who will get close (Smoltz) and that team won a grand total of one ring during their reign (1995).
Perhaps the Tigers should actually win a ring themselves before their fans come in here and lecture Yankee fans how to build a winning franchise.
Andrew Jones is playing like crap and a FA at the end of the year so they will need a new CF. Wonder if the braves would want melky in a package for the backup catcher Saltalmachia. Would allow the braves to dump Jones on someone else.
Everyone knows the Yankees strength right now is their minor league pitching. Stop dreaming about trading without including some of that pitching in the deal. No one wants the contracts and the aging players the Yankees have.AROD will bring prospects and salary relief. The reason the Yankees have not made a big deal is because Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy are the names that come up. And they will continue to come up in a trade worth anything.
13 games. They have 13 games before the all star break.
That should determine what Cashman does re: the team. If they keep losing, its time to make moves with an eye toward 2008.
After a bad loss, EVERYBODY wants everybody traded.
Only three problems with that when it comes to the Yankees:
1. You still have to field a team and, as we saw yesterday, fielding a mini-replica of our AAA team ain’t too pretty.
2. Despite our pleas, no team is giving up their “A” List talent for the Yankees “B” and “C” List talent. Other GM’s have scouts too. They know which guys can play and which can’t. So, you aren’t getting Mark Teixiera for Tyler Clippard, Matt DeSalvo and Kyle Farnsworth.
3. With the number of 10 and 5, and no trade clause guys on the team, despite some of you thinking differently, they aren’t getting moved at the deadline. They will veto the trades. Makes it tough to move guys. Arod isn’t accepting a trade at the deadline. Plus, I don’t know how you improve your team by trading its best player.
The good thing is, with the Wild Card, more teams than ever are in the race. That means, as you get closer to the deadline, more teams get the idea they need to make a move. Especially teams that haven’t been in the playoffs for awhile.
The bad news is, from the Yankees perspective, they have to be HONEST with themelves for the first time in 15 years. Is this a championship team? Is this a team that PLAYS championship-type of baseball? Is this a team that, if you can make a move (multiple, big in-season moves are tough to do at the deadline these days), it can soar?
IMO, the answer to those questions are no. They have played poorly for most of the season. The injuries, fundamental breakdowns from baserunning to pitching to hitting have been there all year. There is also, for lack of a better word, some missing karma on this team. There isn’t that fight you see from previous Yankee teams. When they get down, they stay down. Not a good sign.
I’ll give you one example of what I mean. Yesterday, with a tired bullpen and a short lineup, Mike Mussina can’t go out there and “pitch his game”. He can’t nibble, run up the pitchcount, make the same mistake (pitching to the #8 hitter with the pitcher on deck) he did in Denver, and become a stolen base machine because of his refusal to throw over and check runners.
He had to go out there with the mindset of, “Screw it, I am challenging guys”. He has to pitch to contact and live with the results because his team NEEDED him to eat innings. It wasn’t like he was facing the ’27 Yankees in the opposing dugout. The Giants are a terrible hitting team.
Instead, he took the “intellectual cowards” approach. He, “pitched his game”, and nibbled his way out to a poor 5 inning performance against a very bad hitting team. Its like not even showing up to help the team, knowing you can use the, “I pitched my game” excuse after its over.
Its just one of those years. Personally, I wouldn’t trade any of the good young arms in an attempt to save this season.
If I was Cashman, I would go to Baltimore and tell the players, “You want me to help save the season? Play like you want the season saved. If not, then I am not blowing out the one commodity I have (stable of young pitching talent) to rebuild this team for the future, for a team full of all stars who don’t bring their game to the park each day”.
Some moves are obvious. Not DL’ing Damon smacks of Torre not wanting to play a younger guy (Shelley Duncan) as the DH for a few weeks. Its insane they are playing a guy too hurt to help the team. Its like playing a man short every night. That’s on the Yankees, not on Damon. No player, not named Carl Pavano, is ever going to ask to be put on the DL. That’s a team move and not making it is a big mistake.
The bullpen has to be shaken up. Too many non-strike throwers and with 3, 5 inning pitchers (Mussina, Clemens and Igawa) now in the rotation, they are going to get more work. If they can’t throw the ball over the plate, then they are going to have a hard time winning games as their workloads increase. Right now, their best in house options are Britton and Ramirez and they should be called up and given a shot.
Torre? Firing him, or pushing for him to resign right now, is a cosmetic solution. It won’t make them play better, IMO. He should have been replaced after last season. Once, you make the committment to bring him back, just let him finish out the year.
This isn’t 1978. They changed managers in mid-season that year but, that was a World Championship team and Billy Martin was an emotional mess. This team came off falling apart against the Tigers. Its a completely different situation than 1978. Right now, Torre is the one guy that can hold this fragile team together. If you are there for the rings, you gotta be there when it goes bad. Its part of the deal. Its why I say, let him finish out the year, then move on.
Hi Pete – You’ve got us all thinking – or maybe it is dreaming. Here’s my suggestions:
Joe needs to retire now before someone fires him, and Girardi is in place – make that move.
Trade ARod – he is not a Yankee, will never be one and has been a jinx to this team.
Get rid of Giambi – one way or another, he will always be the druggie = not a good image for the team.
Sweep out the bullpen and bring up the kids.
Keep Cano!!!!
Most of the names mentioned in Peter’s rant are palatable with the exception of Robbie Cano – that idea is dumb!
So who plays 2nd base? Cairo? Andy Phillips? Angel Chavez?
Yeah, a HUGE upgrade!
Cano needs plate discipline and it will come with maturity.
At 24, he’s already been chosen to the All Star Team, hit .342 and handles the pressure of New York well.
Do you really believe you’ll get equal value in return,
especially with the perception that Cashman is in panic mode.?
He makes $490,000, is still hitting .278, and fields his position reasonably well. And the blooger who writes this foolishmess about him “partying all night at Dominic Nightclubs” – Sure! You are there right along with him, right?????
I’m a longtime Yankee Fan and I would rather sacrifice one season than to start giving away all our young studs to salvage a playoff berth.
Cash needs to get off the stick and make changes to this team NOW! We should have won Saturdays game! 17 hits!! 5 runs!! We had the bases loaded!! and couldn’t score!
I think we need to try to trade Matsui, I don’t think he is the same since he broke his wrist! I think it was a huge mistake signing him to a 4 year deal.
I think we need to look into trading Damon, nice guy an all but he is breaking down! and we still have him for another 2 years!!
We need a new backup catcher, Sal Fasno is out there, can be had for nothing!
Fansworth, might have some value, eat some of the contract and trade him!
* I’m a longtime Yankee Fan and I would rather sacrifice one season than to start giving away all our young studs to salvage a playoff berth.
Not to mention, that the playoffs could consist of only an additional 3 to 5 games, and there’s a good chance the Yankees are not going to have home field advantage, although that’s overrated in baseball, IMO, anyway.
What this season should do for a lot of people is to make them realize just how difficult it is to win regular season games, much less playoff games. The Yankees teams of the recent past have made it look relatively easy. It’s not. Even when you have the parts, everything has to work together just right. Makes you really appreciate the past 11 years, including the last 2 where the playoffs ended in disappointment. At least the team really pushed hard to win the division both years — that can’t be discounted, because, you see, you don’t get to the playoffs without playing good baseball all season long.
The last 2 seasons, when things got tough, the team got tougher. This year, they just seem too beat up, so far anyway.
It’s funny how I keep hearing about the Yanks being the worst or this mediocre since 1993.
Let me confuse you with facts.
In 1993, the Yanks weren’t mediocre. They actually were pretty decent. They won 88 that year and were tied with Toronto for 1st with 21 games left. Had there been the current wild card setup in 1993, the Yanks that year would have been the wild card.
When discussing the last subpar Yankee team, get the year right.
1992.
As a long time NYY fan, I don’t see this team winning the division – BRS looks too strong (though I keep telling myself their pitching is overrated) and the NYY record in one run games (4-12) tells me we have MAJOR issues. I also feel our run production is too dependant on one man – Arod. Here are my thoughts….
Farnsworth – I agree, get rid of him. Shake up the bullpen
Bullpen – dig around for talent on the cheap, at least as a band-aid – it worked with the starting pitching two years ago (Shawn Chacon). Maybe it will work again
Damon – he needs to be healthy and get his average up to .300, so rest him
Back-up catcher – there has to be some decent non-expensive catcher around that can bat at least .250
Manager – I really hate to say this but fire Torre, and replace him with Girardi. Girardi is a bit cocky, but we need that attitude to help turn things around.
Cano – keep him. Not having that bad a year after two very good years.
Minor League – Don’t trade the young talent (Ty, etc) for an over aged, overpaid player – that has not yielded a championship since we started doing that after ’01 Series (JGiambi, KBrown, CPavanno, KFarnsworth, BAbreu, Damon, etc.)
Psyche – Get ready for a two year rebuilding. Not sure where Matsui, Damon fit in?
Cashmen – part of the problem or the solution. I’m not sure.
i stand corrected. 1992. feel better?
Here’s a stat that shows where the Yankee problem lies:
Pitching …. Strikeouts; Last in the AL (by 50 Ks!!)
Walks allowed: 2d to last in AL (ahead of TX)
Yankees have sruck out only 130 more than they have walked. (By comparison, the Red Sox have struck out 3oo more than they have walked.)
What that stat tells me is that the Yankee staff has a fatal combination of mediocre stuff and lousy control, on a team whose forte is asuredly not fielding/defense. Too many baserunners, too many balls put in play ….
Hughes will help in this regard, as long as he is not a Wood/Prior clone. The Yankees need dependable power arms (but who doesn’t?).
not good
I see why Peter suggested trading Cano, he’s still a young, cheap, up and coming player who doesn’t have any trade restrictions and could bring back value. That being said, I thing we should keep him and build around him.
It’s crazy how some of the moves we all applauded have backfired over the last few years. Just about all of them. Even the idea to focus more on younger pitching has not worked yet with all the injuries.
Nonetheless, I am not ready to concede the season.
I think the Yankees should go out and get Buerhle and move Igawa to the pen where his quirky delivery and ability to get strikeouts with his opponents only seeing him once a game. If you have to include Proctor in that deal, so be it. Trade or DFA Myers.
Torre retiring idea, nah, I don’t think that will help, most of the players realize this is probably his last year. Joe Girardi is the manager next year.
“Cano needs plate discipline and it will come with maturity.”
His approach at the plate is no better than it was during his first appearance with the Yanks, you idiot.
Cano has shown no desire to work hard at the game and his dancing in the Comiskey dugout when the Yanks were getting blown out shows how little regard he has for his game or the team, so the reports of him out at clubs in NYC are very believable. Now that opposing pitchers know how to work him, his average will only continue to slide, slide, slide.
And even when he hit for a high average, he always blew chunks with RISP.
Edwar Rameriz looks amazing, but I guess Joe and Cash don’t need relief especially since Farnsworth has over a 5 ERA as the 8th inning setup man!
Ramirez yesterday struck out 5 out of the 6 outs he recorded.
Joe retires, Nieves to the minors, hire Joe Girardi as manager/back up catcher.
The NYY record in one run games is a disturbing 4-12. I don’t think we have the right mindset to make a run at the WC or division with that performance. I hate to say it, but I think we need to replace Torre, perhaps with Girardi. He’s cocky, but perhaps that’s what we need right now.
I also feel we are too dependent on one player for driving in runs (Arod). If we do make the playoffs, what will happen then.
So Pete – what would you do with Cashman – is he part of the problem or part of the solution?
Nothing worse than hearing loony fans saying trade everyone after a bad road trip. Gives good headache.
Boston 2007 World Champions
Get used to it..
That team is unstoppable
Alquimista-
i think youre in the minority regarding your countrymen’s opinion of matsuzaka as special.
I think trading Farnsworth would be great, just make sure it’s to the NL. But having Joe announce his retirement seems cheap, and gimmicky, and I think it would come across to these players that way.
Aside from Farnsworth, I don’t think we need to trade anyone, just bring up arms from the minors. Those kids need to be around Roger and Andy while we have them here anyways.
Ahh, the nightclubbing rumor. I heard the same thing about Clemens for years. Crap then, crap now.
I would suggest that using US Weekly for a brain is a poor substitute for honestly analyzing a baseball player’s value.
I’m sure that Cashman cannot wait to to trade a 24 yr old all star 2b who is under Yankee control for years.
Edwar Ramirez has now pitched 23.1 innings for Scranton. He has 41 strikouts, a .103 BAA and a 0.76 ERA. He dominated at Tampa last year: he dominated at Trenton earlier this year. Now he is dominating at Scranton. Britton has been quite good at Scranton (a few so-so outings, but mostle very good). Ramirez has been electric. Cashman, are you listening?
It is always a good thing to crown a team in June as defacto champions. I mean, seriously. That’s baseball. its always predictable and everything always works out like that. So we should all stop playing and hand the Red Sox the trophy on June 25th because they are in 1st.
Do some people here try to sound ridiculous?
Arod is the best player you can trade and get good players back in return so here goes: Arod to the Dodgers for Loney,Kemp,Kershaw,LaRoche
Jax, A Rod has a no trade so he would have to agree and why would he agree to a trade? Also why would an acquiring team give up anything of value if he could become a free agent after this year?
Trading A Rod is out of the question.
Now we’re trading A-Rod away.
Great. Why not Wang too? Maybe throw in Hughes.
Obvious Move,
I am sure that just as Joe has never heard of Clippard, I would wager Arod’s salary that Joe has never heard or followed Ramirez either. So, even if Cash had the guy called up, Joe would never let him pitch as with Britton. Farnsworth is his man no matter what.
Marc, sadly I agree with you. It is definitely time for Torre to go. It is amazing how much better he was when Zim was next to him. Pete’s idea is as good as any I can think of.
Update on Edwar Ramirez
Scranton Yankees beat reporter Chad Jennings writes on his blog on Edwar Ramirez
[quote]
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.....fault.aspx
Ramirez strikes out five more
Edwar Ramirez just struck out five batters in a row, and it was the top five hitters in the Syracuse Chiefs lineup. This guy has unreal strikeout numbers this year, and it’s thanks to a rediculous changeup that some scouts have confused for a split finger.
Between Double-A and Triple-A, Ramirez has 74 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. He’s pitched in 23 games, and given up three runs. His changeup is filthy, his fastball sits around 91 mph and his slider is an effective pitch.
The numbers are tantalizing, but he might not be quite ready for New York just yet. Although he has just 17 walks, the Yankees want to see more consistency with his four-seamer.
“We’re trying to get this guy ready for the big leagues, and do that he needs better fastball command,” pitching coach Dave Eiland said. “And he knows that.”
So Ramirez is working on his fastball, and his slider, to compliment that nearly unhitable change.
“He’s coming along nicely,” Eiland said, and he seemed to know it was an understatement[/quote]
What is Torre retiring going to do? Nothing.
This team just needs another hitter and another bullpen arm.
Now we have Chris Britton and Edwar Ramirez classified as saviors.
Ramirez is not a savior but he is much better than Villone/Farnsworth.
Would be hard for Torre to announce he is retiring as he has made it clear in a couple of interviews that he wants to keep managing beyond this season… he also said in an interview with Mike & Mad Dog that if he doesn’t manage Yanks next year he will try to get a job somewhere else…
I’d rather cut off my nutsos than see Jon Lieber again and his 5+ ERA.
i would love to unload every player you can and pick up some prospects . i would love to see farnworthless , abreu , damon – or at least put him on the d.l., mussina – man did he get old or what ? , villone , meyers , bruhney , melky ( he isnt that good that everybody makes him out to be ) and nieves all go . keep cano . he may just be having a off year or he hasnt made adjustments that the league has made to him . cashman istn doing a very good job and i like torre but the yanks need a change .
This is what losing 5 out of 6 does. Makes people irrational.
At least Ramirez would be fun to watch. I have seen him on TV and batters literally go back to the dugout shaking their heads after striking out.
The Yankees need younger position players. I don’t see how it makes them better to trade the one all star young position player they have. Blaming the 7th hitting 2b for their recent troubles seems awfully rash.
I guess all the Bruney for the 8th inning people here are hiding right?
Its funny, the stuff people are saying about Cano now, that pitchers have figured him out and his average will not get better, sounds eerily familiar to the statements made about Soriano after the 2003 World Series. Soriano looks pretty good now. People need to have patience. In 1995, the Yanks were, at this point, 33-40, 10 games out of the wild card, behind 8 other teams. That team did not have any of the “real” dynasty Yanks besides for Andy, who was a rookie, and was clearly not as skilled as this one. That team also had less games to make a run, they only played 144 that year. Lets not go trading the whole roster and the farm just yet.
The same people saying trade everyone especially Cano are they the same people who wanted A-Rod traded last winter????
Because they really have no credibility right now.
I pray that Cashman isn’t listening to any fan on how to improve the team.
No real Yankee fan says quit in June. It’s disgraceful to hear that talk.
I know he has a NTC but it’s still worth going to him and asking him would he be willing to waive it. He could say no but he could say yes. You don’t know unless you ask. The Yankees have already said that their not going out of their way to bring him back. He’s only coming back if he picks up his option. And most would agree that he won’t. He’s going to want a lot more money than what he’s making now plus an extension. As great as he is he’s still 32 years old and I’m not sure I want to sign a 32 year old to a long extension putting more years big money on his contract. Who knows what Arod is at 38/39 years old and he’ll be making big money too.
ok Jax, assuming A Rod would waive it, explain to me again why another team would give up anything of value for a 3 month rent a player?
Compare these two players
Player A
GS 15 IP 98.2 WHIP 1.30 ERA 4.01 BB 35 SO 102 IP/GS 6.55
Player B
GS 15 IP 98.2 WHIP 1.30 ERA 3.28 BB 28 SO 54 IP/GS 6.55
Player B has been the very reliable Pettitte while Player A has been the ‘overpaid awful’ Dice-K
Can they start winning and quick so I don’t have to peruse terrible postings from most of the people here?
I guess having patience and sticking it out are not qualities anymore in Yankee Land. Just gut the whole thing? Yeah, that makes a ton of sense especially since rebuilding projects are always successful in MLB.
A good start to any rebuilding project would be to trade your youngest and best young position player.
For the record, I wanted Cano traded last season. I see little to no value in “building” your team around a 2b who can hit for average but no power and on base percentage. Cano doesn’t draw walks. So if he doesn’t hit .340, he’s a lineup liability. This is why for all his all star ability, he hasn’t ascended to the top of the lineup.
As for my knowing he parties at clubs till 5:30am almost every night he’s in NYC, it’s a fact. He usually brings Melky along with him. He’s enjoying being the young 2b of the Yankees, but he’s not performing. He can’t hit in day games because he’s tired. You can see the difference in the body language. The guy is tired. I have my suspicions that they are trying to deal with this in house and get Cano to focus, but he’s immature.
Here’s the facts — he’s not Wade Boggs, he’s not Ryne Sandberg and he’s not a steroid pumped Bret Boone – He’s a guy who can hit for average, with little to no power, can’t draw a walk and fades in and out of games. The difference between him and Soriano are huge. Sori could steal a base and hit the ball 500 feet. Cano can’t do any of those things.
Now I don’t think any of the people suggesting trading him are suggesting dumping him for nothing. He’s a sell high candidate. He’s the type of guy who is young, an All star, and dollar controllable. These are all valuable to other teams and should bring back legit talent.
Would you rather have Dontrelle Willis in the rotation and Cairo as a stop gap at 2b or Cano at 2b and Igawa on the mound?
Everyone says FLA has Uggla, but they would move Uggla to another position for Cano who is a better defender than Uggla. Not to memtion they are probably going to lose Miguel Cabrera soon, so getting Cano would work for them.
I don’t think trading Cano is the only answer, but I also think we know what he is at this point. If we can get a top starting pitcher or a better hitter at another position for a 2b who hits for average, you do it. Cano will never be Jeter or Soriano. He shouldn’t be untouchable.
This team needs more than ‘small moves’. One blockbuster won’t change the configuration of this team. We’re not ‘one-player away’. We need to dump whoever we can and trade for younger ML ready players. We need to be sellers at the deadline: Mussina, Matsui (don’t know why you left him out), Damon, Abreu, Farnsworth, Myers should be dealt.
Why deal Cano (or Melky for that matter)? Those two might still be around by the time we contend again. The others are nearing the end of the road and won’t be here for the next dynasty…so it makes sense to unload our big name contracts now. We can buy time and balance payroll with Cano and Melky). Their contracts afford some flexibility in the rebuilding process. The trick here is to unload the declining vets that clog up our roster. The only one we’re completely stuck with is Giambi.
It may not be a rental for the Dodgers. They have the money to keep him. Plus it’s an ideal spot warm weather and LA. Plus they’re in desperate need for a bat so they might get cocky enough to think that he would love to stay there for the couple of reasons that I said and they have the money. So they just may trade a few of their best prospects.
Yankees of the future,
I just spent a very enjoyable weekend at the Cape watching Cape league Baseball. If anybody gets a chance to ever go there I strongly recommend it. Games are free, you can watch from close by and visit with the players. Not to mention the quality of Baseball is great!
Best Players I saw
Gordon Beckham (Georgia Tech SS) 3 HR’s already!
Allan Dykstra (Wake Forest) Think Jim Thome , big lefty hitter
Auston Yount (Robin’s nephew) fun to watch
Scott Green ( Kentucky) 6’8″ and throws fire
The Dodgers are looking for a big bat. They have the money to get him to stay. Plus it’s an ideal spot: warm weather and it’s LA. They might get desperate enough to trade some of their prospects thinking that he might stay and the fact they have the money to keep him. To them it might not be a rental.
Pettitte’s era is .80 lower then Dice K that is not a minute #….
I see the brain surgeon wrote the Yanks do not strike out enough guys , DUH…I wrote that weeks ago, of course Hughes should help in that area.
ALso Moose being scared of contact of course that is accurate especially in that ballpark let them hit the ball.
We do not think Melky iw WIllie Mays but I do think he is a good 22 yr old player with upside… I am guilty as charged I like his game…
Many of the posters here also do not think Britton and Ramirez are the next Mariano but we think they deserve a shot and are better then the VIllone crowd.. I do not think that is irrational. IF they fail it is not the end of the world.
I believe in general the present Yankee staff do not like any young players they a=only play them out of neccessity and this bias towards older players is a negative..
I also think the Yanks are not great but are only a few tweaks from being a plyoff team………Yes Nieves stinks and yes they should try anyone else but that is not there biggest problem and we all know it is PITCHING.
yea damon looks old, yea giambis is hurt, yea Abreu is stinking, yea cano stinks with RISP, etc. but they are 2nd in baseball in runs scored………..
ship out farnsworth, try ramirez and britton in the pen, trade for a backup catcher, get either damon or giambi in there as the everyday DH, and get hughes back and they are a good team…
the problem is when will hughes be back and either giambi or damon able to DH everyday…..
Myers contract expires at the end of the yr. so I definitley trade him he is no lefty specialist get what ever you can….
Man I go on vacation for 5 days and all goes wrong.
I have missed all the games during this streak but have read all of Pete’s post, no comments. We all knew the Yanks were better than this but not as good as the 11 of 12 streak too. They had some hots bats, timely hitting, good pitching and a weak schedule at that point. Now the bats went cold and the pitching gave up some runs to still pretty weak teams.
Saving ALL the young arms means this team is at least another year away and you are probably looking at 2010 before they can be good enough and have the experience to win big postseason games or regular season games in general. Minor league pitchers aren’t going to step in during the 09 season and win us a title. It’s just not going to happen. It takes them awhile to adjust. Most of these kids might be up next year but nothing is for sure and it could be 2009 call ups for Chamberlain and Kennedy even though they are pitching well now.
A blockbuster is a good idea but who do we get? There are not a ton of quality players out there for the taking besides Texiera. Getting a front of the line rotation guy is impossible and getting another #2 is really not what this team needs.
Trading for a quality reliever would help but really how much? You can give Ramirez and Britton a shot b/c they could do better but it always is more than likely going to be more of the same.
Trading Cano is interesting. He is going to be great but could bring back something great. I don’t like the idea of trading him b/c he could be the best 2nd baseman in the league for 10 years but if a deal came up that just was to good to pass up then it would help. He is really the only major league player that could be traded right now. ARod is not going anywhere, and no one else is going to accept a trade.
Cashman has his work cut out for him. I hope he doesn’t panic and just blow everything up that he has built to try and save this season. Even if this team gets hot it still might not be enough. I still think they have a shot at the WC but they have to play consistantly good baseball and not let up every time they think they accomplish something.
Trading ARod to the Dodgers for a package of there young studs would be great but it won’t happen. He would have to waive his opt out clause and approve a trade for the Dodgers to give up much in return. Not happening.
Pettitte’s era is .80 lower then Dice K that is not a minute #….
I would hope so. He’s been in the league for years, faced nearly every batter in both leagues, and isn’t comforming to a new country, language, strike zone, or any of the other issues that arise with what Matsuzaka is doing. The kid is doing a great job, and regardless of what many of us hoped, he’s shown very little to the side of disaster. He has bad innings here and there, but hardly does that constitute comparing him to a proven quality ML pitcher. Get a grip on something tangible and not the straws you’re holding now. The kid is good, and we’d love to have him anywhere near our rotation.
Or, maybe you’re happy with Kei?
Hawk idiot of course he is good and better then Kei. But he is not $100+ million good and I stand by that statement…
SUre going to a new country etc is a handicap for him and also to his benefit is many of these hitters are seeing him for the 1st time….
the sox paid over a 100 million dollars for him, he better be Johan Santana else they will regret it. also I do not care about at the age of 17 he threw 200 pitches, Francona is allowing him to throw to many pitches and it will come back to haunt them…….
igawa costs the yanks $4 mill a yr.. does he stink, he appears to stink to me but the jury is out, they wanted a decent 5th starter….
how is the Lugo and Drew wsigning working out???
Again for the 100th time theo is a genius because of Okajima, Papelbon, and a good starting rotation nothing more nothing less.
Managers and GM’s become geniuses when there starters consistently go 7 innings……….
Okajima was not even remotely this good in Japan and he is in his 30′s he is doing an Aaron Small. I know in Japan he was pretty good but his #’s so far have been unreal………
what are you talking about?
I never made any of those claims whatsoever. All I said was that the kid is damn good and I wish he was on the Yankees. And guess what? There’s only one Santana, and a hundred million isn’t going to get him. I mean, Barry Zito got more than a hundred million. Stuart, I don’t know where that anger just sparked from, but never ever did I mention Lugo or Drew, nor will I. Both of those guys are good players, but I’m pretty darn happy that they’re struggling right now.
I don’t know where you get off coming at me like that. If you don’t want Matsuzaka on the Yankees, and are not pissed that he’s rapidly getting better every time out, then I don’t know what to say to you other than you know nothing about baseball performances, and quite frankly, can’t be taken seriously on any front.
Arod to the Dodgers…
Why would the Dodgers pay for a rental?
Because they feel they’re one player away from a ring, maybe..
Why would Arod waive?
A chance for a ring, the missing crown Jewel from his resume. Say he gets a ring with the Dodgers. Say the Dodgers beat their crosstown rival Angels in the series. How does a ring factor into contract negotiations with Alex Rodriguez?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
And, I can say with some level of absoluteness that the Red Sox in no way regret Matsuzaka in any way.
A lot of BAD ideas too, Pete.
Again for the 100th time theo is a genius because of Okajima, Papelbon, and a good starting rotation nothing more nothing less.
What else is there? A power hitting lineup that struggles against playoff pitching each and every year? Yeah, knock it all you want, but the job is getting done. I’m not so high on my own loyalty that I can’t offer compliment to a very nicely constructed lineup and a good rotation. I’d do the same for Toronto, the Angels, or whomever else.
But, maybe I’m not a REAL fan, and only play one on the computer.
I do give respect where respect is do. Red Sox have a nicely balance line up and a solid pitching staff. And their bullpen don’t walk people. Also they’ve been healthy. Anyway, Paging Brian Cashman……get off your arse and do something constructive like promote couple of players and put a certain player on the DL.
DFA Myers
Trade Farnsworth for Whatever
Put Damon on the DL
Callup Henn,Britton, and Shelly
Put Thompson in LF, and Matsui at DH
————————————————————
At the deadline:
-Trade Damon to SD for Meridth,Bard, and Kouffaman
-Mussina to PHI for a package to be determined
-Bruney,Clippard,and Kouffaman for Texiera(add Padilla as the salary dump if we must)
-Trade Horne to CHC for Zambrano
-Trade Brett Smith to COL for Afflect
Peter– It hurt to read, but I agree with everything you said, even the Cano bit.
I forgot who said it earlier, but trade him to Fla for Dontrelle. In fact, if it is so certain A-Rod is leaving after this year, trade Cano, Melky, Farnsworth,Chase Wright, Tyler Clippard and lots of Cash for D-Train and Miguel Cabrera.
Then, I’d dump Damon and Abreu for whatever prospects I could get. Same with Moose. Blow the whole thing up.
And, if we are going to trade Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain, for the love of God and all thats good, DON’T give them up for some chooch like a Mark Buerhle. Give them up for Johan Santana when MIN realizes this offseason (or next trade deadline) that they won’t be able to afford him.
I really like Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Another nice prospect is RHP from AAA Sky Chiefs (TOR) Mike MacDonald. See if they can grab some young cheap guys.
Shamus – Who is going to patrol your outfield after Damon, Abreu and Melky are gone? I like Miguel Cabrera but he is growing by the minute. The D-Train scares me too. I’d trade Ian Kennedy and Joba for Pujols.
Hawk, newsflash those great sox came in 3rd last yr..
what the hell are you talking about.. Obviously the sox are a good team and have been for yrs. so are the yanks..
I forgot when boston falls apart last yr it is because of injuries but the injuries do not count for the Yanks…
Obviously I wanted Daisuke but not at that price. Yea Zito’s contract in the long run will be a joke and so will Meche’s, Lilly’s and soriano’s also.
If you have not noticed the only FA signing this offseason by the Yanks was Igawa and that was for a reason the Yanks are tapped out and hopefully Cahsman and the tampa morons realize FA signings almost never work out… Or at a minimum are never financially prudent.
in closing the sox are getting it done but they have not won the division in I think 12 yrs. I am sure you will sign up for that level of success with the Yanks!!!!
That;s right I am a homer deluding by the Yankee propoganda……
Joe torre is the last manager you want on a young team. He refuses to “trust” them and I want Joe Torre gone now. Thank goodness Joe Girardi didnt take the O’s job…..Girardi must be named the yankee mgr. I grew up idolizing Donnie “baseball” but I simply do NOT want him as the next yankee manager. I do not feel he has what it takes.
Eroc good reasonable post…
why doesn’t cashman do that? Humor the fan base act like you are doing something…
Here’s my take on who Peter said maybe the Yanks should trade:
Damon-Forget trading him during this season. Offer him and $16M of his remaining $26M through 2009 to whoever wants him for 2 years and $10M ($5M/yr.) I think that would be a very reasonable risk for a team to take. The Yanks could clear $10M with this trade. How about Damon back to K.C. for Mike Sweeney this year or after this year (I’d prefer this year of course)? Damon plays 1B for K.C. I can’t see anyone giving K.C. a bevy of prospects for Sweeney. All playoff-contending A.L. teams have starting 1B and DH and I don’t see an N.L. chancing a guy coming over from the other league and having to adjust.
Mussina-He’s a 10-And-5 Guy which means he can veto any trade. He also has a full no-trade clause. If he refuses a trade, tell him he’s being put on waivers after this season thus anyone who claims him has himl. If he was claimed (I think he would be), he’d have no say in the matter unless he wanted to kiss his $11.5M for next year goodbye by becoming a free agent. If he decided to go free, he’d have to take alot less than $11.15M cuz no one has to or would give him that, more, or two or more years at this point. He’s the one without 300 wins and a World Series ring, so he’s the one who would have to sacrifice pay. Does he want the Cubs to claim him? They better win the 2008 World Series cuz if they don’t, Mussina has even less time to not only grab a World Series ring but to pick the right team to go to in 2009 -if that team even wants him.
Abreu-You make me laugh, Peter. A few weeks ago you lambasted all the people who wanted him traded for Jermaine Dye. My thing was the Yanks could get more and better in a trade than Dye. I’m not so sure now after Abreu has tanked again. He has kissed his $16M club option for ’09 goodbye. The way the Chi-Sox are playing and with the talks of a firesale, I can’t see them taking on more salary (Dye to Abreu) unless the Yanks take on the amount of salary so that both teams pay an equal amount e.g. if Team A Player has $8M remaining on his contract and Team B Player has $4M, both teams pay $6M which means Team A takes on $2M of its $8M player. If Abreu refuses a trade, tell him his club option for ’09 will not be picked up. If the Yanks are eliminated from the postseason race, release him.
Farnsworth-Who’d want this guy? Can he pitch back-to-back games on a consistent basis? He hasn’t shown he can. Who wants a guy who can pitch only once every 3 games or twice every 3 games but not back-to-back games? If someone wants him, hand him over and toss in money like you said Peter.
Cano-I’d trade him. He can’t hit for average or power. He can’t drive in runs, draw a walk, bunt, or steal bases. He jokes around too much in the dugout with the other guy just like him who I want traded, his pal Melky Cabrera. Both are average at best defenders. Cano has tremendous value because I believe he would be under contract through 2010 and isn’t arbitration-eligible until 2009. ‘Problem is, who do you get for him? Another 2B? Another position player and you put Cairo at 2B and in the #9 slot the rest of this year?
You should also add “Tell A-Rod he’s not getting an extension next year” and if $27M/yr. for the next three years when no one is coming close to making that save 2008 Manny Ramirez isn’t enough, if $252M overall isn’t enough, he can opt out. You can’t tell me that $48M cleared couldn’t be used to create a more balanced team. How ’bout Mike Lowell at 3B, Andruw Jones in CF, and Ichiro in RF?
I also want Girardi, call me crazy but if he was mamanging this team I think they would have minimum 5 more wins YTD…
Why doesn’t Torre trust young guys?/Wang, Cano, and Cabrera the last few yrs. have produced nicely.
Yrs ago some guy named Jeter started as a rookie at SS and things turned out OK…
I just do not get it, the Tigers, Cards, and others are trying to shake things up but the Yanks have doen absolutely nothing.
The rumore is Buerhle to the SOx, I am not saying that is a good move but Boston is in 1st and still trying to go for a run…
LMAO at the Fire Sale post.
Let me tell you a little secret.
NO TRADE CLAUSE. That’s right.
NO TRADE CLAUSE
NO TRADE CLAUSE
NO TRADE CLAUSE
NO TRADE CLAUSE
NO TRADE CLAUSE
You think other teams want out old overpaid players? Don’t make me laugh. The only team in the market for salary dump players are the……..YANKEES! To make teams even consider taking our large bulky contracts you would have to eat an giant part of the salaries, also you would have to take lousy prospects back in return. You see that’s how a salary dump works….AKA Abreu Trade last year.
Hahahaha at Fire Sale.
Comparing the Yankees’ style of play to the NL style of play, A-Rod said “The NL game is an attack-mode game and our game is stationary softball.” (article in today’s Daily News) “Stationary softball”! HA!!! I couldn’t have put it better myself. This offense is atrocious. Feast or famine…and it’s been that way for years. The Yanks couldn’t be further away from the formula that worked for them so well in the late ’90s…Great pitching (both starting and reflief) combined with an offense that could manufacture runs even when it was struggling.
On another note…The papers here are all abuzz about the Yanks trading top pitching prospects like Kennedy and Chamberlain for stiffs like Jermaine Dye and Mark Buehrle. If Cashman makes a deal like that, he should be hung up by the privates and left out in the hot sun to rot! Seriously, Cashman has already made enough bad moves to last a career in putting together this year’s team…and now he’s thinking of trading the farm for nothing. And this is the guy that deserved “full control,” right? Please…
I’m with you on pretty much all of those, except I think you have to hold onto Abreu and hope he starts hitting again. And I wouldn’t want to give up Cano (who would we play everyday at 2B? Cairo? That wouldn’t be good…)
“-Trade Damon to SD for Meridth,Bard, and Kouffaman
-Mussina to PHI for a package to be determined
-Bruney,Clippard,and Kouffaman for Texiera(add Padilla as the salary dump if we must)
-Trade Horne to CHC for Zambrano
-Trade Brett Smith to COL for Afflect”
this is beyond hilarious.
who is “Kouffaman”? do you mean Kevin Kouzmanoff? who is “Afflect”? is that the duck that reads the trivia questions or the guy from Good Will Hunting?
why would the Padres want to trade 3 players for a CFer who would be a downgrade from their current CFer?
the Rangers can do better than that for Teixeira.
“In fact, if it is so certain A-Rod is leaving after this year, trade Cano, Melky, Farnsworth,Chase Wright, Tyler Clippard and lots of Cash for D-Train and Miguel Cabrera.”
in what universe is this a good trade for the Marlins?
seriously, maybe we can trade DeSalvo for Pujols while we are at it.
Hey Guys, I’m a baseball fan living in asia.
I’m not very good at english.
I’m not a yankee fan or redsox fan.
Anyway, DICE-K will probably lose much of velocity of his fastball in 3~4years.
Remember guys like Nomo and Park?
Park had 96~99mph fastball in his twenties.
Now he’s 34 and throws 88mph fastball in minor league.
And By the way, Wang will also start to lose velocity of his lethal sinker in 5years.
Wang is much bigger man than Dice-k,
so his 95+mph velocity will probably last a little longer.
All I want to say is that Asian pitchers lose their velocity of fastball much sooner than American power pitchers.
That’s all.
it’s 2:40 AM here and I have to go to bed.
good night.
If you go by Sabermetrics, Cano isn’t that great.
Cano can get you a nice return if traded.
He hits, but he doesn’t get in runs. Runs are what matter.
What does it matter if you get on base if you don’t put numbers in the runs column. It may not be that crazy to put Cano out there on the trading block.
The Yankees would get twice the return for him. Teams want him.
A-Rod won’t get traded and will remain a Yankee one way or another.
Kennedy and Chamberlain cannot be traded to August and Sept. the Yanks are not trading them for Buerhle under almost any circumstances and especially if he is FA at the end of the yr. If the sox get Buerhle and sign him to a 5 yr deal, bye bye CUrt at the end of the yr. Tavarez moves to the pen and the injured lefty who had cancer takes shillings spot next yr…
I think Buerhle is a good player but not great…
Stuart – I hope to god you’re right. However, we’ve all seen the Yanks make some atrocious trades in the past…and right now I don’t trust Cashman as far as it could throw him.
Again Chcicago Dave I know no more then the other posters I am not on the inside but my belief from reading etc. is that Cashman really has only been in control for a yr or so and he realizes the giambi and sheff(instead of Vlad) type signings are not the foundation to a great long term run. I think he was aware this may happen this yr. but was strapped financially ie. only getting Igawa no luxury tax hit and hoped that there offensive abilities would paint over other shortcomings.
the clemens signing is a no brainer it is only money for a few months but has no long term drag on the team as far as multi yr contract or losing draft picks…
If they traded any of there top line pitching prospects I would be shocked and outraged….
Cano had too good a year last year, especially the second half, to give up on him. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to remember that he led the league in RBI after coming back from his hamstring injury. There are adjustments going on, and he’s not responding to those as quickly as he should, but I would be very surprised if he doesn’t make those adjustments.
Remember, this is the player who called Larry Bowa on his own to request that he work with him on his fielding. He may not look like it (I mean the smiling an laughing that some of you seem to object to), but this guy does take his job seriously.
I hope that you don’t flame me for making some summary.
In-field:
1B: There is not a 1B so let’s skip it. (My suggestion, though, is to get Yee Song-Yop from Yomiuri Giants for that position.)
2B: Cano is partying more than playing. Better look for another solution.
SS: Jeter makes a lot of mistakes in later halves of games. Better find a place for him early.
3B: A-rod’s value is on the size of his contract instead of the fact that he is #1 in HR, RBI, and perhaps RISP and Slugging %? Well anyway, he has shown obviously that he wants to take Bond’s position in SF. Better squeeze more value from him as much as possible.
C: Where is Fasano? That’s not important. He and Nieve are non-factors. Posada’s numbers are not real. He will return to what he is at the end of the season. Moreover, he might only be playing for getting a 4-yr 48 million contract. That’s terrible. Trade them if you can.
Out-field:
LF: Matsui has not been the same after injury. In what aspect? Maybe his has turned his interests from batting into making play-of-the-day type of defense. Better trade him for a more focused player.
CF: Damon? Not CF anymore and may change from DH to DL very soon. Melky? Why should he switch between right and left hand batting all the time? He hit himself on the leg so many times when hitting with left hand. Too childish to stay in the lineup.
RF: Anybody disagree that he should be traded? I think that he is too passive. Instead of trying to produce anything, he is now thinking about bunting and inducing walks, hoping that someone else would bat him in. That’s not what he’s paid for.
P:
RC: Will not pitch next season anyway. He returns for a chance to win one more ring. Very likely he will retire for the third time before or after the all star break.
AP: At the age of 35 he has already felt pitching a boring job. Will quit pitching after allowing homers.
MM: There are two of them…Moose have no guts to pitch to contact anymore. Why is he still there? I don’t know what the point is to use Myers, either.
MR: Not the same guy anymore.
KI: $4 million joke.
SP: Maybe we can use him to knock Manny Ramirez or Ortiz on the head.
BB: I thought that he was waived by other teams before, right? Is he a relative of someone up there?
LV and RV: Rarely see LV in the game. Does he have a role there? RV is probably the one with least problems.
KF: Does he know what he’s doing?
CMW: When he is pitching, the SO/BB difference of the whole team is very likely decreasing. A very bad sign.
Coaches
GM: Torre should have retired last season. He may be safer at home. But why do you insist on having the next GM named Joe too?
P: What can you say about Gator when the pitchers are playing in that level?
1B: Pena may still be wondering why he has to shave himself.
3B: Must be a wise guy. He tried to kill Damon by asking him to stop suddenly after he passed the 3B in full speed.
Well, that’s the mini-summary and some of my observations. My conclusion is: Please trade Chien-Ming Wang to a team that can go into the post-season!! I wish to see him there….
cano is 23, I am infuriated by him as much as anyone but I would not trade him. He grew up a Yank which matters he understands the tumult here.
Basbeball as Doreen says is a game of adjustments hoepfully he is smart and a good listener and he will make the adjustments.
I am listening to mike and the maddog now mike conceded the division which I agree with, they have almost no chance of winning the didvision but they are bitching about Melky’s D. The bloop on Saturday if he was playing too deep it is the coach’s job to move him in.
the balls yesterday were the insane sun if you do beleive me on that one ask randy winn, arods double was a sun ball also..
Pete, I agree with pretty much everythning except for traiding Cano and having a guy like Eric Duncan DH.
Damon is absolutely tradable as is Farnsworth. What we need is a young good hitting 1st baseman even if the defense isn’t great. Sure, Teixeira is perfect, just because he is a very good defender as he is with offense, but trading for him would cost too much pitching. I wouldn’t mind trying out Eric Duncan until the All Star break to see if he produces at all, but I’m pretty sure the Yankees won’t be taking that route.
“Damon is absolutely tradable as is Farnsworth”
you mean from the Yankees perspective, right?
“tradable” implies another team would want to give up players to assume their contracts.
neither really fit that definition right now.
“CF: Melky? Why should he switch between right and left hand batting all the time? He hit himself on the leg so many times when hitting with left hand. Too childish to stay in the lineup.”
????
Wow, so we’re playing the ‘blame game’ today? I am not exactly thrilled with the last week of play either but trading Cano? Trading Abreu (who has become integral for ARod’s game plan, trading Damon’s monster contract?
What are you people smoking today?
Any of you season ticket holders who are also giving up feel free to send your tickets my way. . .
p.s. Anyone talking smack about Derek Jeter can just hand over your cap and pinstripes right now, you disgust me.
By the sounds of it (i.e. from what other posters have been saying about Cano’s party lifestyle and the fact that he drags Melky along most of the time) we’d have a better chance of straightening out Melky if we get rid of Cano. Right now, Cano still has good value on the trade market. After all, his ’06 numbers are still fresh on most people’s minds. Who would we replace him with? I’m not sure, but I do know the Yanks won’t benefit long-term from having some would-be playboy moonlighting as a second baseman!
Melky may never become a very good hitter, but he has shown great promise on defense, and there does seem to be a certain energy/enthusiasm to his play that is sorely lacking on this team. So, maybe once he’s away from Cano’s influence he can be coached properly into being a better player (an a player that will help the Yanks for years to come).
Heck, I would like to see some sort of “blockbuster” trade. Why not? The Phillies supposedly sold their season with the Abreu trade last year, but they still ended up making a real run at the playoffs after he left. So, I think it is possible to trade some allegedly “key” guys and still compete. The bottom line is something of note needs to happen. Personally, I think Cashman should start thinking like Kenny Williams here with the White Sox…At a certain point you have to swallow your pride and realize that the team you built is just not working. Once you’ve done that, you can then take the next step of making some decisive moves to try to fix the situation.
Stuart — I agree with you regarding the ball hit to Melky late in yesterday’s game. I watched the last part of the game on Encore this morning. Obviously a sun ball, and the Giants’ CF had the same problem top of the 9th. And not for anything, the ball was hit pretty well off Farnsworth to begin with…. Now, the play where he kicked the ball, that was far worse, IMO. Not to mention the error by Jeter. Ouch.
I had said I wouldn’t watch M&MD anymore, but curiousity got the better of me today, and I had to hang around the house for a repair person anyway, so I put them on. I’m beginning to get used to the idea that if they can, the Yankees probably need to do something with Farnsworth and Abreu. My husband keeps saying the Phillies knew what they were doing; that people in Phillie laughed that the Yankees got him. Be that as it may, Abreu did ease in nicely last season, it did seem like a perfect fit for him. This season he just doesn’t seem to be comfortable. It is not a good thing for the #3 hitter to be bunting in power situations. Ah, well.
It should be interesting to see what does transpire. I don’t get into the trade speculations much, they seem almost a waste of time because no one knows who is or is not truly available and most of the trades offered here are so fantastical in their scope, you’d think other teams wanted nothing more than to take the Yankees’ castoffs off their hands and help the Yankees coast to another division title. NO ONE wants to help the Yankees. I would venture that Cashman has the most difficult job of any general manager out there, and that’s one of the reasons.
It’s incredibly interesting to me that one person posts that he absolutely knows that Cano is out nightclubbing every night, and now it seems to have become fact here. Puh-leese.
Billy Crystal and Guidry to SF for Robin Williams and Righetti!
I wouldn’t trade Cano or any player who is in their early twenties for that matter. Damon would accept a trade to a team of his choosing. Farns should not pitch another inning. Myers should be gone with the quickness. I like Villone actually. Villone just doesn’t get a chance to pitch at all. Promote Henn and Edwar Ramirez. If Villone, Bruney, Henn, Ramirez, Proctor, and Vizcaino don’t pan out, then get Gagne or Akinori. Vizcaino looks like he is finding his groove at the moment so we’ll see where that goes. I do think we should check the interest on Cano, but that’s about it. We need more speed on the team. Abreu annoys me because he doesn’t hustle and he might be on the wrong side of thirty now. Trade Farns for Michael Bourn of the Phillies. Get something decent for Myers. Trade for Jose Molina or JD Closser. As far as first base goes, Carlos Pena should be our number one option if we’re going to make a trade for one. I’d take a flyer on Eric or Shelley Duncan. Shelley producing in AAA right now. I know about the strike outs and the career OBP, but he could be our Jack Cust. Think about it before u dismiss it. Last but not least, Milton Bradley will become a free agent. We should sign him. He has been a model citizen with the A’s and looks as though that won’t change. I’m quite sure he will have his moments but nothing catastrophic.
Trade Cano’ He overrated..No power at all, Lack of plate discipline and horrible at Risp.
Alquimista, you are the biggest loser to ever post on this site. Your post makes no sense, and for that post, you deserve to be hung. You have no understanding of baseball, and your “summary” on everyone would be better written by a two-year-old retard. You clearly don’t watch the Yankees games, because if you did, you MIGHT have some sense of the team…but you are just an overall dumbass loser.
Please, don’t post here anymore because you probably make everyone sick to their stomach. Thanks
Lauren, I think this series has debunked the myth that A-rod hits better when Abreu is hitting.
Upon hearing that he was going to get DFA’s, Milton Bradley started throwing chairs around. That is not a model citizen.
When did Milton start throwing chairs?
Just for the “Cano has no power” crowd – his SLG% in 2006 was .525, good for second in MLB at 2B. He started slowly in 2006 and I see no reason to believe he will not hit more as the summer rolls on, just like last season.
BTW, no the Yankees have nobody to play second if they traded Cano. Really, who do you all think you are getting in return for him ? The best thing about Cano is that he represents both present AND future value to the team. The only other guy that really qualifies there is Wang, and maybe A-Rod, given that he could be very good for another 5 years or more. Meaning those are the 3 players you LEAST want to trade.
I don’t think Peter’s point, necessarily, was in getting value BACK for these guys, but to unload them. If you can get a bucket of BP balls for Farns or Damon, do it. What they really need is more influx of youth and energy. Torre said as much himself when he talked about the impact Melky has playing every day. So you get rid of some of the older guys, if possible, and you DO bring up Britton, Ramirez, and Shelley Duncan. None of them may be world beaters, but the team needs more than just gaudy stats right now.
basicaly the yanks just have to ride out these bad contracts . let the youth in the farm simmer till the new stadium oepns and hopefully gene michaels puts together a team that cashman has had no hand in .
Oh yeah Douglass, thanks for the comments. I think that you are right. I wrote that because I felt sick after reading so many comments. Please go beck through all the posts again. If you see any respect to the players (or coaches), please point it out to me. It seems to Yankees fans, players are simply goods. I do not know about other players, but Matsui got a proposal of around $10 million /yr from Yomiuri Giants before he went to New York. He was not in New York playing for money. He deserves more respects. I don’t know for sure, but I think that there may be a few other players also deserving more respects.
In Taiwan, not all Yankees’ games are broadcast. Mostly, they broadcast the games that Wang starts. Maybe because of that, I felt most of the Yankees not so awful. Maybe because of that, I have no real sense of the team, indeed. Tell me if they really stink as described in all these posts.
Let me tell you one more thing that I thought. A couple of years ago when the Orioles were to be eliminated in the first round, Karl Ripken Jr. was the last at bat. He hit a ground ball and everybody saw that it was hopeless. But he made head-slide to 1B and when he got up there was blood over his chin. That would not happen to the Yankees, given the fans like this. Such a team is no fun to watch, winning or not, in the playoff or not. I wish Wang to go somewhere else as soon as possible.
its true that matsui hasnt been the same player since the broken wrist .
I would have to say Alquimista’s post couldn’t describe this board any better. He might be one of the only people on here that actually makes sense. Douglass how about you give some insight on the team and what they should do going forward instead of just crucifying Alquimista
Yeah, trade Cano for Dontrelle Willis and let Cairo finish out the season at 2b.
The trade proposals get more moronic as the day goes on!
Dontrelle, with his 4.90 ERA and 1.58 WHIP pitching to inferior N.L. lineups, a sore arm and a delivery that begs for future shoulder and elbow problems?
Of course there’s a market for Cano, he’s one the best young second base p;rospects in baseball. No power? Let him fill out some – he’s 24!
And, Canofcorn, plate discipline doesn’t always come quickly, nor does maturity – just read your own posts – Moron!
ARod made it obvious that he wanted to take Bonds’ place in SF? Did I miss something? Where do people GET some of this stuff??
And Doreen, you are spot on – as soon as one person says something, it’s amazing how many jump on the ship to say the same thing, and _verbatim_ more often than not. Do people really want to fit in so badly or look like they know what they’re talking about that they will sacrifice thinking for themselves? That’s SAD.
BTW – the real reason Cano isn’t hitting is because he has chronic constipation. Let’s see how many people run with that as a fact now.
http://www.baseball-reference......hi01.shtml
Please explain in better detail how his stats this year is obviously different from before he’s injured. He broke his wrist totally just 13 months ago for God’s sake. How many players in the Yankees have as consistent or better performance as last year as Matsui has?
Matsui may not be having a typical year for himself this year, but I submit it does not have anything to do with his wrist.
When he went on the disabled list last year, he was hitting .261. By the end of the season, he finished with a .302 BA (that’s 21 for 53) with 3 homeruns adn 10 runs batted in. He also walked 10 times and scored 11 runs. Seems like he did pretty well in the final month of the season following the wrist injury.
Hitters have slumps. Yankee hitters have their slumps in a lump.
Wolf In Pinstripes –
Just read your post. LOL!!!!!
“But he made head-slide to 1B and when he got up there was blood over his chin.”
awesome. did the blood mean it wasn’t an out?
Wolf In Pinstripes –
Chris Russo — (typed dripping with sarcasm) who apparently has some important position with the Giants, since earlier he was talking about how his team did so well this weekend and why didn’t a particular caller congratulate him — has been saying today that A-Rod “loves the SF ballpark” and would get to play shortstop there and of course, it’s a done deal that A-Rod will take Bonds place next year.
Wolf in Pinstripes, I was only half joking. A-Rod said that AT&T ball park is so beautiful that it must be fun to play there. Many journalists here said that he was flirting with the SF management.
To me, A-Rod seems to be a guy who is not specially well in handling pressure. Well maybe many will say that he is POOR in handling pressure. I think that’s exactly why he was playing awful in the playoffs in the previous two seasons. If given no other information, I would say that he wishes to stay with the Yankees so much that he felt too nervous in his playoffs with this team, and this made him play poorly.
You are welcome to tell me more inside stories.
BTW, staying up late often will indeed cause chronic constipation. That may even lead to hemorrhoids.
The people who still think Robinson Cano wasn’t a fluke last year probably still believe Melky Cabrera is a future All-Star. I doubt anyone wants either of those bums, otherwise they’d be moved in a second.
Gee, I wonder how Jeter got through all these years with chronic constipation and hemmorrhoids…….
Back to Matsui — it actually looks like his numbers are on pace to be about where he usually is. Approximately 20-24 HR and approx. 95-115 RBI (if you figure just a little less than 2/3 of the season is left).
hmmm, “awesome. did the blood mean it wasn’t an out?” The answer is of course NO. He was the last at bat of that game.
I have no doubt that you read what I wrote. I just want to take the chance to make my point clearer: There are players who mind if they play poor games than the fans do, while there are other players who do not, just as there are players who play better than they are expected while some do not. You can criticize players for playing under expectation, but you should also show respect to them if they really show passion in the games. I always think that a team that minds if they play well is a better team to watch, and they are closer to success. If I were a boss, I will try to build my team in that direction. If you could, tell me who in the Yankees now are players that mind the future of the team.
And for everyone who is so impatient with Robinson Cano, just go back and look at Bernie Williams’ statistics. It took him a few years to establish himself, as well.
LathamJoe, I was only saying stupid joke, trying to make the atmosphere easier. I am really upset to make Douglass mad. I should have kept in mind that some people do not like satire.
I do not know whether Cano goes to pubs all nights. He is very popular in Taiwan because the journalists told people that Cano is a good friend of Wang. I think most Taiwanese fans would choose to believe that Cano is a good player (also a disciplined one like Wang). I would rather not believe in any of such gossips in blogs, in spite of the pretty high quality of this blog. If the bad things about him were true, we will hear them from authoritative sources later.
2005 Robinson Cano is the real Robinson Cano. Not a bad hitter for a second baseman, but certainly not the second coming of Rod Carew. If there was a decent offer for him right now he would be moved. Period.
asin baseball fan:
“I’m not a yankee fan or redsox fan.
Anyway, DICE-K will probably lose much of velocity of his fastball in 3~4years.”
Really? In 3 or 4 years he might lose something off his fastball? As he approaches 30? Going out on the limb there, huh? I thinking A) he’s throwing in the mid 90s in the 7th inning presently, so he’s fine now, and B) the red sox will worry about 4 years from now 4 years from now, C) he’s throws so many quality pitches that theres a good chance he’ll adjust even when he loses velocity.
As for those pointing to his contract, after this year it’s actually not bad. He’d look good in the yankees rotation.
If Cano is out clubbing after the game, all I want to know is where?
Dude, hook a brother up!
Dominican!
Who care if he’s clubbing. I mean, ARod goes strip clubbing with his paramour and that hasn’t effect his batting stroke (no pun intended).
Alquimista:
I was only joking, too. My intent was not to insult you or anything you’ve posted – I believe your views are honest and refreshing!
There is a modern proverb that fits appropriately on posts you may read or hear on this Blog.
“You can only believe half of what people tell you…Trouble is, which half?”
Robbie Cano will stay a Yankee. They have no position players, outside Tabata, who can even approach Cano’s talent!
Doreen, I am not trying to make a causal model of the numbers but, in the month in which Matsui came back to the games last season, the Yankees were doing very well. I personally suppose that most of the pitchers of the opponents were pretty tired facing the central batters so that Matsui saw more chances. I was not saying that Matsui is a poor player who needs the protection from others. On the contrary, his numbers show that he is quite consistent over the good times and the bad of the Yankees, and of himself (after the injury).
I wish that I have more time to check the stats of more Yankees. I personally think that stable stats is the sign of a disciplined and thus reliable player. It might have better value of reference than a number that’s inconsistently good.
“If you could, tell me who in the Yankees now are players that mind the future of the team.”
i really don’t know and neither does anyone else
on an internet message board.
Enough for tonight. It’s 5AM Taiwan time now. I should go to bed, whether or not the Yankees will do well.
Hope that Douglass comes back without much anger on me.
Cheers to everyone.
Alqumista-
Is Chinese take-out better in Taiwan or in the States??
Dr. Acula, now that you called me….I go to bed a few minutes later for you. I think that the take-outs in Taiwan are on average much better than in the States. But you have to understand that in Taiwan there is actually not anything directly corresponding to the Chinese take-out in the States. Maybe you have to come visit to find out the differences.
It was a tough day for Mike Mussina to pitch yesterday. I believe he likes the air temp at exactly 76 degrees and a relative humidity of no more than 33%. He also believes that if the wind comes out of the southwest at more than 7 mph he just can’t pitch.
Seriously folks, this washed up wimp needs to GO!!
At first I didn’t like seeing Farnsworth’s antics in the dugout, but you know what? At least he showed some emotion. I do hope that next time he takes the bat to his own head rather than an innocent bench.
Peter,
Trade that kid Jeter and that pitcher with the funny first name to Toronto for David Cone.
That Mantle kid strikes out too much! Maybe we can get Feller for him, he is only 38.
I can’t wait until the All-Star break.
Trade for Duncan the King from MacBeth, try Billy Crystal at 1st
Who cares if Cano will win a “batting title”? That’s all I ever hear about the guy. If he does hit .340 again, so what? Does that mean the guy’s a winner? No. He swings at everything. He’s lackadaisacal on defense. So he’ll hit .340 and have an OBP of .341. Second base is a defensive position. If you can get a power-hitting first baseman who can help drive in runs and protect ARod for him and something else, do it.
As for Johnny Damon, go on the dl or shut up and play! I’m starting to think this guy doesn’t want to go on the dl so he can always have an excuse for his horrid play. Has anyone ever heard of a professional athlete suffering from “cramps” in his “sexy calves” for THREE MONTHS???? If he goes on the dl, he will supposedly heal and come back and — voila! — no more lame excuses for his pathetic play.
Awww, thanks Alquimista!
You do me honor!
Alquimista, I understand what you are saying about ARod, but this is exactly where some members of the media get too much credit for their opinions. I’m not even sure of credit is the word I want. I can’t remember who it was now, but another Yankee was quoted as saying how nice the SF park was, but he was never rumnored to be wanting to go play for them. Only ARod would be, y’know?
Good posts, BTW – and I’m glad we agree on the constipation.
As for Douglass, that was one of the most ridiculous, uncalled for comments I’ve ever seen. Don’t ever act like you speak for the rest of us here.
I’ve seen some comments on Dice-K which, predictably, tend to reflect Yankee (or Red Sox) bias. A couple of points:
(1) The money …. in this market, $100 million for a 26 year old quality pitcher (for six years) is a steal. And only $50 million counts towards the luxury tax. If the Yankees had the opportunity to switch the Clemens acquisition for the the Dice-K deal, I’m quite sure they would.
(2) His ability …. he didn’t pitch well against the Yankees, so I understand the skepticism. But he has had numerous quality outings (including a complete game win, two 2-1 wins, and a 1-0 win). He holds onto leads. He has more strikeouts than innings pitched, indicative of his stuff. His velocity goes up later in games. Even though he has mysterious meltdowns, he usually recovers and goes deep in games. Yankee fans don’t want it to be so, but he is already very good.
Re: his durability. The medical exam MRI showed an absolutely clean throwing shoulder. The Japanese conditioning program seems to produce stamina atypical with non-Japanese pitchers. Or it could be that Dice-K is a Secreteriat-like fluke. Francona is careful with him, but the guy defies today’s pitch count logic. He has a cultural passion to finish what he starts, and the stamina to do it.
I’m not a myopic Sox fan. For instance, I don’t see the ballyhooed Jon Lester as being any better than Casey Fossum. But Dice-K will be a durable force for years to come.
P.S. A month ago Jayson Stark (I believe) said on radio (or TV) that Cano might be smitten with “big leagueitis,” a euphemism for someone full of themselves at an early age, and not willing to work at the trade. That doesn’t mean that he’s out partying, but he sure isn’t addressing his shortcomings.
The Yankees traded Billy Martin because he was introducing Mickey Mantle to the NY club scene. Maybe they should look into Cano’s situation. Where there’s smoke, there is often fire. I have supervised people who “worked” as though they have substance abuse problems, and, more often than not, they did.
When you must rebuild, you don’t unload cheap, young players who help balance payroll.
Melky and Cano stay.
We hate Kobe.
Hmm.
Pete.
I wonder what Joe Torre will say to you the next time you meet.
This actually raises a very interesting issue. Bloggers can say things like Torre should retire. Farnsworth stinks. Does this impact your effectiveness as a beat reporter? Can players and coaches say “oh I know he said something not objective but that was in his role as a blogger.”
Fine, I’ll ask it. Why would a Red Sox fan keep posting on a Yankee blog??
Can you please get a life Brian. Or is that too much to ask?
HMMM Wheres that EDWARD guy??
I agree that trading Cano at his young age would be a mistake given that The Yankees have no talented position players ready.
But I would listen to offers,if I got a young good position player back in a deal.
The Muts have 3 secondbasemen this season.
Five weeks from tommorow is the Trading Deadline…a lot could happen.
Did he say Karl Ripken JR????????
The neo-fascist Yankee dress-and-haircut code was Damon’s undoing. How do you expect to win in the 21st century when the owner thinks it’s still 1958?
Master Wangkee, the Yanks are not “rebuilding.” And payroll obviously doesn’t matter to the Yanks. Yes, they’re trying to hang on to young players (particularly pitchers), but they will still be signing high-priced free agents and trying to remain in contention. Cano (and Melky) are attractive to other teams precisely because of their age and contract status. The question the Yanks have to ask themselves is, will Cano ever be the type of impact hitter who can actually help them win? Yeah, he has a sweet swing, but meaningless base hits to left don’t mean much when he’s giving away most of his at-bats swinging at the first pitch he sees. He does nothing in the clutch, and pitchers know they don’t have to give in to him to get him out. He’ll get himself out. Can anyone remember the last hit he had that actually meant something? I can’t. We’ve lost a ton of power from last year, and need a power hitter (DH, 1B), someone to drive in runs behind ARod (or in front of ARod, considering Abreu has turned to crap again). If Cano can help get that, I’m all for it.
Other thoughts-
Get rid of Bruney. He’s been a disaster since the Yankees got him. He walks too many batters. Wow he throws 95 mph, big deal. He can’t control his fastball. If that happens, then call up Britton.
How about finding another 2B? Cano is sloppy and lethargic at times. Find someone who can play the position better than him.
Hey E-ROC; you’re not the O&A E-Roc are you?
MUSSINA IS A 10-5 PLAYER AND WILL NOT ACCEPT A TRADE.
ABREU HAS A FULL NO TRADE
STOP POSTING FOOLISH TRADE OPTIONS.
Everytime I log onto this blog another person has commented a load of tripe (RUBBISH). When will we ever get any decent intelligent information / comments?