6-5-4-3-2-1 … Ka-Boom!
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Seems like a lot of people on the blog want to blow the Yankees up and make a bunch of moves. I can understand that. But a few things before you press the plunger:
People advocating a trade for Todd Helton can’t be serious. As of today, he owed $82.1 million through 2011. Read that again $82.1 million. His batting average, HRs and RBIs have declined for three years in a row and this will likely be a fourth year. He has not received an MVP vote since 2004.
People saying Robbie Cano is untouchable need to be objective. This is a free-swinging infielder who is average defensively. He has five less strikeouts right now than he had all last season. Opponents have figured out how to pitch to him and he has not made the adjustment. If Cano can help bring back a good player under their control beyond this season, you have at least consider it. It’s not hard to find an adequate second baseman.
Finally, I see where people seem to believe Jose Tabata or some of these other minor leaguers will be ready next season. Tabata has two home runs in 275 at-bats for Class A Tampa. What in the world makes you think he’s remotely close to playing outfield in the majors? Out of 10 blue-chip prospects, maybe two become helpful players in the majors. One in 20 becomes a front liner.
People are under the assumption that Phil Hughes will be a starter next season. First he needs to prove he can stay on the field. These are how many starts he has made in his professional career:
2004: 3
2005: 16
2006: 26
2007: 5
Don’t be writing him down for 33 starts quite yet. The first part of being great is being on the field.
This is a big mess. The bill has been coming due for years and now it has arrived. It’s going to take some slick moves by Brian Cashman to fix this for 2008, never mind 2007.
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on Sunday, July 1st, 2007 at 6:18 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
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Josh Thomson
Pete, If you look at past top 20 prospect lists about 50% of those guys because major leaguers. That being said Tabata is more than a year away.
If we can get Roy Oswalt then I would consider trading Cano. Aside from that there is no reason to give up on him because of one down year.
The bill came past due in April just a lot of people refused to admit it then. Cashman needs to develop his own inner-circle braintrust pronto. Just like Joe Torre his arrival fortuitously coincided with winning teams. And perhaps no one ‘deserves’ it and it is too late to do any real good, but for the sake of the fan base someone does need to be fired and not just the strength and conditioning guy.
All good points Pete.
On Tabata, to be fair, he’s a product of desperation from people who just want somebody to come out of the farm system and be an impact everyday player.
He’s only 18 (the youngest player in the FSL), and he’s 3 years away, on a fast track, to the majors.
He’s not strong enough yet to be hitting in the big ballparks of the FSL. He can play though. Just not ready for primetime anytime soon, as you correctly state.
IMO, their most expedient way of fixing this is to go with young pitchers, their organizational strength, use free agency to fill some positional player needs, and move Cano for better parts.
You can fix it that way. Just can’t be bidding against themselves for free agents, as they have done in past.
Its not going to be easy and its not going to be painless. Especially if Arod leaves.
If he does, move the timetable to 2010 before they are good again.
I agree the rebuilding process must begin asap. A big problem, that Pete has often pointed out, is the large block of untradeable, aged over-the-hill players. It might be good practice in the future to make sure this kind of situation doesn’t occur again…
Mike: Most anybody who a team has invested heavily in can become a major leaguer. I’m talking about being a front-line, top 6 in the order, significant player. Just because a kid is on some list doesn’t make him a player.
If A-Rod is going to leave The Yankees – why is he looking at apartments on upper east side?
http://www.nydailynews.com/gos.....it_-2.html
Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez is eying apartments in a swanky upper East Side building featuring a $16 million penthouse big enough for his wife, child – and friends, real estate sources told the Daily News.
This is ridiculous. I am so sick of the Yankees, it is not even funny. Here are my proposals:
1. SJ44, why do you even bother commenting. Your long, detailed, well-researched proposals do noting for this blog. You clearly have no idea what is going on, with the Yankees or with baseball. How dare you insult and challenge the magnificent team we have built this year. I am so disgusted with your well-reasoned, logical analysis of the 2007 Yankees that I hope you will never contribute to this blog again. It is utterly pointless, as we here are very satisfied simply praising the Yankees and licking their bags.
2. Peter, how dare you not be familiar with Edwar. Your ignorance of the complete minor league system, including your non-familiarity with a journeyman reliever is intolerable. Why do you even keep this blog. I would expect you to keep track of every one of our prospects. I do have to disagree with you, every one of our marginally decent prospects will, in fact, put it together for the 2008 Yankees. Duncan will hit 50 homers, Edwar will K 300, and everyone else in the minors will succeed. Foolish Pete: off the radar. HA.
3. Let’s make a trade. This is clearly the only thing that is keeping up from dominating this season. Here is my expert, true Yankees fan, I am absolutely 100% a yankees fan through and through, trust me please:
Tyler Clippard, Chris Basak, Ron Villone, and Chase Wright for the Rangers Eric Gagne, Otsuka, and Texeira. This is clearly even and a good trade for the Rangers. They get the third baseman of the future, two legit starting pitchers (great for a good hitters park no less) and a number one bullpen guy willing to mop up if need be. I can’t see why this would work. Are you with me? This blog clearly features all of the smartest baseball analysts around, so I know you are. Goooooo Yankeesssss!!!!!!!!!! YEahhh!!!! Let’s go Mussina tomorrow. One winning streak and then the other equalls dominance! Yaheeee! O , and SJ44, go screw yourself, because here we only like praising the Yankees. If you want to bash them, go praise the Red Sox. I know you’re really a fan of them, I know you are. Really. Someone please shoot me.
It is obvious that you don’t understand that the park where the Tampa Yankees play is an extreme pitcher’s park.
Doom and gloom. It’s kind of amusing.
No question, the contracts are a huge issue.
When the history of the last 7 years of the Yankees is written, you could make a pretty compelling case the Jason Giambi contract has done more to mess up this franchise than any other move from 2001 to now.
The couldn’t pursue some pretty terrific players because of the economic ramifications of that contract. Only one of a series of poor moves. But, a very expensive one.
That’s why, going younger, with some exceptions, is the way to go, IMO.
For those who revel in the “All Star at every position” concept, I think you are in for a shock.
Even if Cashman gets fired, they are spending a billion bucks of their own money on a new ballpark. There is only so much money to go around.
I think the days of 200 million + payroll days are over.
If they are smart, its going to be leaner and meaner. Especially within the pitching staff. They will spend on position players. They have to (since the farm system is still years away from producing anybody), and they will have money to do so in the off-season. A lot of money if Arod leaves. If he doesn’t, they still have the money to pursue one of the top FA OF’s.
The cost of pitching is just too expensive to keep wasting money if you have better in house options. Which, if good health among the players prevail, will be the case, perhaps as soon as next season.
Pete,
While I admire your astute assesments most of the time. I think your dead wrong on the “It’s not hard to find an adequate second baseman” statement ! I can remember when Willie Randolph was gone and that same statement was made and it took quite some time until they got Knoblauch which was the best of all the “adequate second baseman” they found so easily and that was short lived as well !
I’ve seend plenty of “free swinging” baseball players as young as Cano learn to adjust. Half of a season and not making the full adjustment yet is no reason to go trading away a player with as much potential as he has. There is a reason plenty of teams would want him and I am sure it has to do with his upside.
The Yanks are a lot like the Knicks of a few years ago – over-paid and over-aged. Hopefully George doesn’t get Isiah to run the team.
But, to be fair, they are composed of most of the same players that won the division last year. The question Cash has to ask himself is – who’s done and who’s just having an off year? and move on from there.
The Yanks haven’t found themselves in this position in a long time – one plus about Cash is he was part of the organization for the rise in the mid-90s, so hopefully he saw what the people ahead of him, like Gene Michael, did to make it happen. The downside is he’s never been the GM for a team like this.
Whatever he does, he needs to field a contender for the new stadium.
Speaking of which – anyone know if YES’s numbers are down because of this losing? I remember part of the Giambi signing was to add even more star power to attract viewers when the station launched.
The cost of pitching is expensive, which is why Cash is accumulating pitching prospects more successfully than any GM in MLB, which proves Bill Madden is a moron.
The Yankees are not like the Knicks because they have one of the best farm systems in MLB and MLB has NO SALARY CAP.
You people just post stuff and ignore facts.
Open question:
If ARod opts out, would you rather spend money on resigning to $33 mill per year or a young pitcher (Santana 28; Zambrano 26) at $20 mill ????
A-Rod is staying. Should they want a sign a FA pitcher, they can do it with Abreu’s money, but they don’t have to. Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy are close no matter what some say.
Chris: Funny post.
Mel,
Excellent points. The demise of Cano and Abreu are particularly troubling. I don’t know how anybody could have seen that coming.
Ratings for Yankee games on YES are up 5% from last year.
I guess its the trainwreck theory. Folks are going to watch no matter what. lol
Seriously, Its why I think they need to bring up and play some of these younger pitchers. Fans are hearing about them and they want to see them play.
IIRC, the highest rated Non-Red Sox game on YES this year was Phil Hughes start against Texas when he had the no hitter going.
Its going to be hard to keep fans interests for the rest of the summer unless something, or someone, is worth watching.
If Arod is approaching 60 home runs, or kids like Horne, Kennedy, Ramirez, Hughes, Chamberlain, etc, are playing, that will keep fans interest in a losing team.
If its just the same ‘ol, same ‘ol, I have a feeling any rating bump for the first half of the season will not carry through the second half.
Sorry to make a tounge-in-cheek comparison of the current Yanks and the early 00’s Knicks for NY sports fans who are watching a bad season of baseball.
From now on I’ll keep my posts to anything that can be backed up by Sabermetrics and Bill James.
Pete,
I meant good players, not just run of the mil major leaguers. The success rate is much higher than you’re saying in your post.
It is amazing how people are getting on Cano. He’s a young player who is still trying to find an understanding of the strike zone. I understand he’s not having the year he’s capable of having but he’s young and let him grow as a player. You can’t ship every young player once struggles.
So if Phil Hughes has a 5.00 ERA, you want him traded as well. It takes time guys. Look at Morneau, he struggled in the MLB and now he’s one of the better hitters in baseball. He will make the adjustment trust me. Jose Reyes was a free swinger and also Derek Jeter, and they learn the strike zone and look at them now. Give the kid a break.
And anyone who thinks the rebuilding process should start ASAP doesn’t seem to understand that it started in 2005 when Cash got more power.
The proof: The ascendancy of the farm system in the eyes of experts, rather than a fool like Bill Madden.
Try to remember the old aphorism: You aren’t as good as you look when you are winning nor as bad as you look when you are losing.
It’s not that bad.
Mell Hall engages in ad hominem attacks because he can’t rebut facts. Nice.
Exactly, Hey the Yankees are due for a bad year it happens. It is amazing how people wanna make drasstic changes just because the yankees have one bad year. It’s not liek the yankees have no farm system here.
Is it troubling yeah, but you do have to take in account that this have been some what of a fluke year. Nevertheless, it’s not the end of the world although it is VERY FUSTRATING to watch this team.
Pitching isn’t expensive, per se, it’s risky.
38-Stitches $13 mill
Zito $10 mill
KRod $ 7 mill
But it sure can blow up in your face
Pedro $14 mill
Hampton $15 mill
Schmidt $16 mill
Peter look at these top 20 lists from a few years ago:
20031. Mark Teixeira, 3b, Rangers
2. Rocco Baldelli, of, Devil Rays
3. Jose Reyes, ss, Mets
4. Joe Mauer, c, Twins
5. Jesse Foppert, rhp, Giants
6. Jose Contreras, rhp, Yankees
7. Brandon Phillips, 2b/ss, Indians
8. Hideki Matsui, of, Yankees
9. Gavin Floyd, rhp, Phillies
10. Francisco Rodriguez, rhp, Angels
11. Scott Kazmir, lhp, Mets
12. Miguel Cabrera, 3b, Marlins
13. Casey Kotchman, 1b, Angels
14. Justin Morneau, 1b, Twins
15. Jason Stokes, 1b, Marlins
16. Victor Martinez, c, Indians
17. Michael Cuddyer, of, Twins
18. Adam Wainwright, rhp, Braves
19. Hanley Ramirez, ss, Red Sox
20. Jeremy Bonderman, rhp, Tigers
There are 13 good major league players on there.
1999
1. J.D. Drew, of, Cardinals
2. Rick Ankiel, lhp, Cardinals
3. Eric Chavez, 3b, Athletics
4. Bruce Chen, lhp, Braves
5. Brad Penny, rhp, Diamondbacks
6. Michael Barrett, 3b/c, Expos
7. Ryan Anderson, lhp, Mariners
8. Pablo Ozuna, ss, Marlins
9. Ruben Mateo, of, Rangers
10. Matt Clement, rhp, Padres
11. Alex Escobar, of, Mets
12. Roy Halladay, rhp, Blue Jays
13. Lance Berkman, of, Astros
14. Carlos Beltran, of, Royals
15. John Patterson, rhp, Diamondbacks
16. Corey Patterson, of, Cubs
17. Alex Gonzalez, ss, Marlins
18. Nick Johnson, 1b, Yankees
19. Pat Burrell, 1b, Phillies
20. Matt Riley, lhp, Orioles
Pretty similar ratio…
Prospects at Tabata and Hughes’ level have a much higher success rate than you are implying.
Jeremy Bonderman’s rookie stats: 6-19, 5.56 ERA, 108k, 58BB, in 162 IP.
Jeremy BOnderman’s 2006 stats: 14-8, 4.08, 202k, 64BB in 214 IP.
The point being: sometimes you have to let the kids play, suffer their growing pains, and avoid dumping $40 million on Glass Jaw Pavano. Getting rid of Cano isn’t the answer, getting him a hitting coach who knows how to saw “take a walk” in Spanish is the answer. As for anyone over 30 on the team making more than the league minimum, I say open season on seeing what you can get – which ain’t gonna be much.
Hard for me to blame the hitting coach on Cano.
He had Mattingly as his hitting coach and still didn’t walk.
The fact is, the league has adjusted to him and he hasn’t made the adjustment.
That’s on him, not the hitting coach.
Its not like he is being coached to not have a clue about the strikezone.
Criticism should fall on where it belongs. On the players. They are the one’s playing.
Hard for me to blame the hitting coach for guys not being able to hit. If only it was that easy.
Young pitching and good enough position players – a la Detroit – is the way to go. It gets you there the fastest. It will take us a couple of years to get there, but we will get there is we stay the course and don’t panic.
Of the position players we currently have, the only ones who should be considered untouchable are Jeter, A-Rod (I think he’ll get whatever he’s looking for and stays; the Yankees and YES need his star-power, and his own ego wants the big stage), and Posada. Abreu, Cano and Damon – somebody tell me what happened there. Abreu and Damon have track records and are not really that old – what, 32-33? – and had outstanding years last year. (For that matter, Carlos Delgado and Andruw Jones are each having horrible years – is Jones even over the Mendoza line?) Cano needs to learn the strike zone and make whatever other adjustments. Can he do this? Who knows? Should he be traded? Depends on the deal.
Position players are more easily obtained on the marketplace than good pitching, and the deals are less expensive. I would not go after Zambrano or Santana, unless they were willing to settle for much less in terms than Barry Zito, which I don’t know that they’re willing to do. If the Giambi contract hampered the Yanks, imagine what a deal like Zito’s – or Hampton, or Schmidt – could do.
So what do you pay the hitting coach for? Pitching coaches get fired because a staff can’t execute, why is it different for a hitting coach? Cano is the one who has to put the ball in play. But if his approach to each at bat is wrong, that’s where the coach steps in. That’s not a physical talent thing (uncoachable), that’s a “knowing how to be a smart batter” thing (VERY coachable).
Swinging at three straight pitches every at bat, with one of them ALWAYS around his eyes is ridiculous. If Long can’t get it into Cano’s head that you can’t succeed at the major league level with that kind of approach, then I say Long can;t succeed at the major league level.
SB-
Isn’t the new Yankee stadium be treated as its own profit center? That is, the value of new incremental cash exceeds the costs of servicing the construction loan. yes, risk is always a factor, but the yanks didn’t embark on a new stadium which would trade off operating payroll for new sightlines.
I still wonder if they’ll make it in time for the start of 2009 (21 months).
moreover, if the yanks payroll fell behind boston, what would RS nation have to whine about.
Jeff G –
you can only help someone who wants to be helped.
Pete – your hatred of Hughes is really becoming hilarious. You realize you are now routinely mocked by Yankee fans on other boards for your disdain towards this kid, right? It’s reallly becoming your calling card.
And please save the…”I’m just stating the facts as I see them.” I really don’t care if you have a bug up your @$$ about the kid or not…I sort of find it funny. Just wanted to let you know that you’re turning yourself into a bit of a joke because of it.
Proctor did his bit to burn the Bronx yesterday. What’s still missing. Reggie! Fire Torre and hire Reggie. That’ll stir things up. Play Matsui and Damon at DH and First Base. Alternate every series. See who rises to the occasion. If both great. If one, get rid of the other. If neither, get rid of both after the season. Trade Cano and Abreu for outfielders with some power and cool hair a la Guerrero and Manny–A young veteran and a young’un (big like Howard). Find a second baseman somewhere. Speed. A bit of plate discipline. Someone fun. The next Figgins. Get rid of all the middle relievers who throw hard and inaccurately. Make deals for Otsuka and Kuwata. At least you’ll get strikes.
Hope for the best. Enjoy the show. Meanwhile lay the groundwork for 2010.
The Yankees haven’t hit in the post-season under Don Mattingly. Is that his fault?
I think hitting coaches and pitching coaches are the biggest scapegoats in baseball.
Its amazing how Leo Mazzone was a genius in Atlanta and has no answers in Baltimore. Those guys are just pawns in the baseball chess game. They don’t impact the overall success of an entire group of players. They help a guy here and there. But, overall, its still the players that have to get the job done.
Go no further than the Mariners to see how little manager’s (for example) are needed in the big picture. The M’s are 12 over .500, and having a great year, Hargrove quits, and they don’t miss a beat.
The problem with the Yankees is not the coaching staff or the manager.
The problem is threefold and its all come together at the same time to yield poor results:
1. Age. Can’t be overlooked, especially with the pitching staff. Its the oldest staff in the league. Starters (except for Wang) don’t go deep into the games, which kills the bullpen, etc. etc. Old pitching staffs don’t win.
2. Injuries. Give me a healthy Phil Hughes, Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon. Give me everybody else having the years they are having, the coaching staff and manager doing what they are doing now, and they are at least 6-8 games better than they are right now and right in the middle of the race. And, that’s just three players. Instead, we have what we have this year. Injuries have killed this team this year.
3. Loss of confidence/swagger. This team has lost some brutal games this season and, IMO, its done as much to shape their year as anything else. They haven’t come from more than 2 runs down to win a game since April 19, the Arod “miracle game” against Cleveland. That’s not the Yankees I know.
They have taken some brutal losses this year (in Oakland on the Scutaro HR, 4 blown leads of 3 or more runs to the Red Sox, blowing a 5 run lead to the Mariners, just to name a few) and have never really recovered from them. Its shaped the identity of the team to being a club that says, “Oh no, here we go again”, as opposed to “we play today, we win today”, which has been the mantra of this team under the Torre Era.
You combine it all, and you have the trainwreck we are witnessing.
I like Robbie Cano a lot and think he has a lot of potential but he has taken a HUGE step back this year because the league adjusted to him and he hasn’t adjusted to them. That is what seperates him at his age from someone like Jeter at the same age. Certain people can make those adjustments but Cano has not yet. IF they can find someone young who can play adequate defense and trade Cano for a young stud pitcher or a good 1B glove, you’d almost have to do it. His stock has dropped already and if they wait too long, he will have no value.
1) Mattingly and postseason is an inapt argument: a sample size of 5 games is too small to mean anything.
2) age, injury and confidence have nothing to do with Cano. He’s young, healthy and hit .340 last year. (when he was, in fact injured)
The league figured him out and he hasn’t adjusted. So I ask again, what is a coach paid for if not to educate players about the league’s adjustments and how to make their own. Whereas a 5 game postseason is too small a sample to judge anything by, 80 games begins to reach a meaningful, if still relatively small, sample size.
There are two non-veterans on the team: Melky and Cano. Cano is the only one who has played regularly all season. Cano has been using a horrible approach all season. It may not be Long’s “fault,” but he sure ain’t done nothing to fix it.
Pete…you really think Cano is just “average” defensively? I think he is having a great year with the glove. Is there a play he can’t make? I haven’t seen it.
Other than that I agree with ya- if you can get a young arm in return (like an ervin santana, Dontrelle, etc.) you’d have to move him. There are 5 Mark Loretta’s available every Winter
Hitters are a strange bird. You never know if they are truly great hitters until they are forced into changing their approach.
Alfonso Soriano is a great “bad pitcher” hitter. He is not a great “good pitcher” hitter. He relies on pitchers making bad pitches and makes them pay for it.
Cano is sort of the same kind of hitter. He had 3 or 4 hangers today and didn’t take advantage of them. He also has never met a pitch he didn’t hack at.
Kevin Long is terrible. This tema hos NO Offensive game plan—ever.
Cano has regressed under Long.
You are really getting silly with the fervor that you root against Hughes. He made all his starts last year. In fact, this is his first time being hurt. Everyone wants him, but he won’t amount to anything.
Its more than a 5 game sample size. Its every post-season he was the hitting coach and it is relevent because its money time. If a coach is that valuable, shouldn’t that come through in the post-season? Post-season success certainly shapes other coaches in other sports. If we are going to hold baseball coaches to a high standard, shouldn’t the post-season count?
Do you not think they are coaching Cano re: the strike zone? Do you not think Mattingly is still involved in that situation as the bench coach? Of course he is.
I gotta tell ya, I don’t know of a coach or manager around who coach’s their players to swing at every pitch over their heads, as Cano has done all season.
Its the player that isn’t making the adjustment.
Cano’s problem is simple. He’s a kid who thinks he can get by on talent alone. It was his rap in the minors. He is finding out this year he can’t and, like Arod last year, the league has adjusted and he hasn’t been able to get it done.
Unlike Arod, Cano has never been a hard worker. Melky, on the other hand, has always been a hard worker. Less talented than Cano but a harder worker.
If you could put Cabrera’s work ethic into Cano, you would have the player everyone thought he would be.
Arod, to his credit, has taken Cano and Melky under his wing this year and they often work out together.
The problem is, when you get in the batters box, nobody, coach, manager, teammate, can help you. Its up to you to get the job done. If you can’t, the only person to blame is the person you see in the mirror. Nobody else.
I don’t see where Pete is ripping Hughes. He’s just stating a fact.
Put it another way.
If the Red Sox had a young stud who was hyped like Hughes, and Pete (or anybody else) wrote how many starts he made year to year, what would many of your reactions be?
Probably, “He is going to have to show he is healthy before we call him a stud”.
He’s not ripping the kid, he’s stating a fact.
I love Hughes and I think he has the chance to be special.
But, let’s face it, this year is a lost year of development for him and that’s not good.
Its also the third season he has had an injury cut short his season. Again, not good.
You hope he gets this bad karma, luck or, whatever you want to call it, out of the way and becomes the pitcher we all hope he can be.
Don’t shoot the messenger. Pete is just saying what any reasonable person would say about a player who hasn’t yet shown he can stay healthy for a full season.
Plus, lets be honest, this have been somewhat of a fluke year for the yankees.
A fluke year would be Arod tearing up the league while the rest of the team flounders…..
Ohh wait….
SJ-Just not true. They shut Phil down in previous years to protect a very young arm. Not because of any injury. He’s been healthy his entire career.
And the attack on the Yank prospects is another way for Pete to protect Torre by ripping Cashman’s focus on player development. Its really silly.
They shut him down his first year to protect him. Although, there are various schools of thought as to whether or not that’s a good thing. They shut him down last year because of shoulder soreness. That’s not just protecting him, that’s dealing with an injury.
In fact, one of the reasons why Billy Masse got fired from his job at the manager at Trenton last year was because they thought he was using Hughes while his shoulder was hurt.
I honestly don’t see Pete’s post as an “attack” on Hughes.
Why would he attack him? He probably would LOVE for Hughes to be pitching right now. Makes for a helluva lot more to write about than the trevails of Kei Igawa.
Today: Ian Kennedy struck out nine and walked three over his five no-hit innings…
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.....;fext=.jsp
Thunder’s Kennedy proves uncrackable
Ian Kennedy got another taste of a near no-hitter on Sunday.
Kennedy combined with three relievers on a one-hitter as Trenton limited visiting Harrisburg, 9-1, at Mercer Waterfront Park.
Using all four of his pitches, Kennedy (4-1) struck out nine and walked three over five no-hit innings, not realizing he had a no-hitter in progress until the fourth inning.
“I’ve almost thrown a no-hitter before in college. That was a pretty crazy experience,” he said of last year’s contest with USC against Kansas. “I had two outs in the ninth inning.”
On Sunday, the 22-year-old right-hander walked Dan DeMent and retired the next three batters in the fifth before reliever Jeff Kennard continued the no-hitter through the sixth.
“It’s my first year, they just want to keep me in low innings,” said Kennedy, who started the season with Class A Advanced Tampa, where he was 6-1 with a 1.29 ERA in 11 games. He also pitched 2 2/3 innings with the New York-Penn League’s Staten Island Yankees in September last season.
“Out of 10 blue-chip prospects, maybe two become helpful players in the majors. One in 20 becomes a front liner.”
truer words were never spoken.
there are roughly 4500 minor league players, 750 major league players,and 60 mlb all stars.
for every all star there are 75 minor league players. each organization has about 150 minor league players in it’s minor league system. so out of those 150 , maybe 2 all stars are produced . how can any team produce the 5-6 all stars it takes to be in the playoffs every year. the red sox have 5 all stars. one is home grown.
it’s a myth that any team can build a consistent playoff team that gets in the playoffs every year by doing it mostly with players from it’s own system. if there is such a team that has, i ‘d love to hear about it.
cashman is putting too much emphasis on the minor league system. at it’s best, it won’t spit out enough all stars. most these players that every one seems to be counting on will likely never be all stars, as peter says. the yankees need 5-7 allstars a year to make the playoffs every year. say the minor league system produces two. where do the other 3-5 come from? just like the red sox this year 4 out of 5 come from somewhere else.
This is what needs to be done:
Dump as much payroll as possible. Acquire as many positional players as possible (C / 1B / OF) b/c we have nothing in AA and AAA that are capable of playing in the big leagues. No one wants to trade young pitching but are more than willing to move positional players. This Yankees trio of outfielders in Matsui / Damon / Abreu can’t play the OF and is a reason we have issues. I’m not sure how much value we can get back for these three OF’s due to Matsui and Damon having 2 more years on their contract after this season and Abreu seems lost. Not many teams are going to be sellers at the deadline b/c of the the wild card race. I don’t care if they reduce the lead, we can’t win w/ those OF’s this year or next so we need to get younger and improve the makeup of the roster.
They did not shut Hughes down last year because of shoulder soreness.
They even considered having pitch in NY in September.
There was no injury. Stop making stuff up.
SJ:
Leo Mazzone is doing some damn good things in Baltimore, at least with the starters. He took Jeremy Guthrie, a castoff from Cleveland, and turned him into something. Eric Bedard is having a breakout year. Even Daniel Cabrera is doing better. He’s heralded because he’s good, and he’s proven it year after year. I would love to have him on the Yankees coaching staff, but I doubt Baltimore lets him go.
Just a side note: Robinson Cano is above-average defensively. On a rare day, he lacks focus, but he makes everything look easy most of the time.
Anyway. Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera are players you don’t want to just give away because they’re having a bad season. They’re young, cheap position players with huge upside, something the Yankees don’t have much of. Who would you trade them away for? Jermaine Dye? You’ve got to be kidding me. At any rate, no one is going to give the Yankees top-flight, already-here Chase Utley-like players for Cano and Melky. Why would they? They’re at the bottom of their value. The Yankees will not get fair value on a player who’s having a sophomore slump. Just think if Minnesota gave away Justin Morneau last year when he was made into a platoon player because he couldn’t hit lefties. Or if they traded away Joe Mauer because one year, he couldn’t stay healthy. Sheesh.
If the Twins want Cano as the centerpiece of, say, a Johan Santana deal, that’s a no-brainer. Duh. But seriously, who would you trade Robinson Cano for, realistically, in a move that would improve the team?
The Yankees are simply not going to go from being a perennial 95+ win team to being a 75 win team year in and year out like every ledge-jumper is suggesting. It won’t take until 2010 for the Yankees to even hope to be good again like Bill Madden idiotically wrote, as if every free agent class from here till then will be completely barren and the Yankees will have no shot to obtain anyone past their current roster. Everything seems all doom-and-gloom now, but seriously, get some perspective. Hell, the Red Sox came off a could’ve-been-even-worse third place finish last year and everyone writes like we shouldn’t have doubted it. Is everything going to continue to go wrong for the Yankees from now till 2010? I wouldn’t bet on it.
Couple Of Thoughts:::
If someone out there doesnt like SJ44s posts,then dont read them.I find them informative and reasonable.
Like people who say they didnt like Howard Stern on the radio,turn the station.
Forget Todd Helton Please.Like Pete said about the money,do we really want this albatross of another contract (Giambi).
If the Yankees can make a package for Teixera of Texas,DO IT!!
Under no circumstances do we trade Kennedy or Chamberlain or Hughes.
I have had enough of Joe Torres’ pre and post game interviews,so ya know what,I dont listen/watch them.
Same stupid excuses…and What the Heck kinda of saying is “We just wanted to give__________(fill in player) a blow”
Someone mentioned last week that Kevin Long looks like Cory Lidle,I agree with that.
Tampas Legends Field has the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium—Thats for an earlier post regarding Tabata hitting HRs.
Finally….My hope is that Joe Girardi is the next Yankee Manager and not the next St Cardinal Manager.
Andrew…I might move Cano for Saltalamacchia (and the Braves might take it too since they have McCann). Althoguh that would be risky on the Yankees part. I remember when Ben Davis was a can’t miss catching prospect…
what about Cano for Dontrelle? I know Dontrelle has been bad this year but he is young, dynamic, huge upside…might be worth the risk…I doubt FLA does that though cuz they have Uggla
Pete…could you envision any scenario where our pending free agents-Posada and Mariano, are dealt at the deadline?
They were both talking tough about not giving the Yankees a hometown discount (or any advantage at all) this past ST…
Is that possible? I could imagine what DEetroit might part with to get Mo for the stretch run…(Andrew Miller? Joel Zumaya (who might be done for the year)) wouldnt Cash HAVE to consider it?
I wouldn’t trade Cano for Dontrelle Willis. Willis is very overrated and I just think he’s the answer.
Plus, why would the yankees trade Mo to detroit? Tell me why, why, why, why? Besides, the team maybe bad but there is three months of baseball left, they need MO.
asburyboss: That might be actually be a good trade, for both teams. Braves get their answer at second base, and the Yankees at catcher. But it would never happen, IMO. Makes too much sense.
Wow can you kiss Cashman’s a ss more Peter? Cashman the Yankees g.m. for 2008? That’s a joke and you’re a joke for thinking he should/ could/ would be after the mess he has made this franchise which is now the laughingstock of M.L.B.
He replenished the farm system my a ss. To what end? To brag and boast about having the best AA and AAA rotations in M.L.B. and not even. As of 7/2, Igawa’s his 2007 Yankees fifth starter -THAT’S and indictment on his so-called overstocked farm system. OVerstocked with alot of nothing.
Cashman should be fired tomorrow. He’s a joke of a g.m. who inherited the nucleus and foundation which ran off 3 more World Series titles. He got a free ride in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Ever notice once most of that nucleus left, the Yanks never won a W.S. title and barely got to a W.S? Now you see what he’s made of -NOTHING! Trading for Knobluach was a no-brainer, so was swapping Wells and Bush for 1997-98 A.L. Cy Young Award winner Clemens, Ledee/Westbrook for Justice, Soriano for A-Rod, signing Mussina, bringing back Pettitte and (at the time) Clemens. El Duque was all Gene Michael. Bob Watson could’ve easily remained the Yankees g.m. for 1998-2004 and the Yanks would’ve still won 3 World Series out of 5 if not more.
It’s plain to see you are cool with Cashman because he provides you with quotes and info and if you ever called for his head, your pipeline would be cut off, just admit it. Therefore your blog is bias thus without merit. It’s obvious you are beholden to Cashman and even Torre, so shut up about them cuz it’s the same old story from you. Don’t fire them, you can’t fire them, blah blah blah. If this team lost the next 15 games, you’d defend them to the death. You’re a Yankees media shill.
“So don’t read my blog.” Actually, I don’t, really. I check it for lineup info but when I see the Yanks i.e. the way they are playing and I read your ridiculous defense of Cashman and Torre, I can’t help but think you are nothing but a Yankees media shill more concerned with making nice than telling it like it is.
Cashman is an idiot on this alone:
He calls up Chris Basak to play 3 games and get one at-bat but
doesn’t call up Shelley Duncan who just hit his 20th homerun for AAA Scranton to be the DH. Genius.
Did you ever consider that Torre makes the marginal roster decisions?
Kevin:
Please point out one occasion on the blog or in the paper where I have “ripped” Hughes and I will give you $1,000. Quite the contrary, I have written extensively since last year how good he is. Our preseason preview section focused on player development and I did a long story about Hughes and his vast potential.
I’m simply pointing out that he has been injured 3 times in four professional seasons. If you don’y consider that an issue, that’s your call.
As for what fans blinded by their love of the Yankees think of a few facts, that is their problem, not mine.
I hate Hughes? That’s funny. I spent a lot of time talking to him in spring training and got to know him well. When he got called up, it was the same way.
I’m sorry he got hurt and I reported it. Perhaps I can start a blog of only good news for sensitive fans.
You don’t rip him, it just seems to some of us that you construe every ambiguous fact about Hughes in the most negative light possible.
Well, I don’t think Hughes will be an injury proned pitcher. I just think that leg injury was a fluke. The Yankees will be very cautious with him next year. He’ll probably make 20 something starts and may even skip his turn in the rotation. I don’t want Todd Helton. He sucks. I’d rather have Adam Dunn. I don’t know what’s up with the Robbie Cano, but if we can get something of value in return, like a young player under contract for the next couple of years, I’d make that trade.
Well, I think you are wrong about Hughes, Peter. You clearly do not follow the team’s minor leagues that closely and I’ve never heard of any injury concerns with Hughes from any of the people that monitor the minors with a magnifying glass.
What’s more, the only injury I am aware of – this season – was not because Phil is fragile or injury prone, but because he tried to overthrow a pitch, and his ankle injury was a flukey non-pitching injury.
You are also totally wrong about Cano. Yes if a team comes calling and the Yankees can get better in a deal that involves Cano, you listen. He is hardly “untouchable”. But it is a long way between untouchable and thinking that one of the few guys you COULD trade makes sense. Shopping Cano is just a stupid move. Abeu ? Farnsworth ? Meyers ? Definitely. None of them figures in the future of this team. Cano does. How about they try and address their bigger problems before they contribute to them by creating ANOTHER hole on the roster just for the sake of making a trade involving a player not over 30 and not making $15M.
“asburyboss: That might be actually be a good trade, for both teams. Braves get their answer at second base, and the Yankees at catcher. But it would never happen, IMO. Makes too much sense.”
Please do a bit of research before posting nonsense like this…Kelly Johnson is having a good year for the Braves at 2B, a much better season than Cano so far. In addition, prospect Yunel Escobar has played well filling in, even driving in the game tying and go ahead runs in the 9th yesterday with 2 outs in the top of the 9th.
Even if they had a hole at 2B, they wouldn’t trade Salty for Cano…Salty is the best catching prospect in the league. What’s harder to find, a good catcher or second baseman? If they trade Salty, it’s for a young pitcher, NOT a guy like Cano.
Peter-
On my first comment on this blog I will say that I appreciate a little pause before anointing Phil Hughes the next King of New York. Not that he will not be, but we must keep the seed of doubt close in our collective mind- the fact is no one knows, for a variety of reasons. But Hughes is not the only pitcher we have to look forward to seeing in pinstripes and when it comes to trade talk I wonder where the fruits of the Sheffield and RJ trades come in. What is going on with Umberto Sanchez?
Frankly I think trading Cano or Melky is a bad idea. First of all, if you trade one, you will be almost forced to trade the other. They are best friends and are two young, latino players who are “growing up” together and dispensing of young talent of whom the fan base is enamored certainly sends the wrong message. Sadly that leaves little MLB talent available for trades and compels the yanks to loosen the grip on some minor leaguers; although it seems that Abreu, Proctor, Farnsworth and anyone who plays 1st base are expendable at best. If only someone wanted Mussina…. Looks like the Johnny Damon signing will be looked back upon as a bust… No more contracts longer than 3 years for anyone over 32!
“This is a free-swinging infielder who is average defensively”
i agree that Cano is not untouchable.
but he is well above average defensively.
I say trade everyone for anyone! And do it yesterday!
Whoa
July 1st, 2007 at 10:08 pm
“They did not shut Hughes down last year because of shoulder soreness.
They even considered having pitch in NY in September.
There was no injury. Stop making stuff up.”
Whoa… sorry but SJ is NOT making it up. I don’t know that he was completely shut down last year, but he had his innings severely restricted in the 2nd half because of shoulder soreness.
The prior year he was shut down with a toe injury.
This year it’s a hamstring and an ankle.
It would be naive not to have at least a minor concern regarding his durability. The Yanks have been very careful to keep his innings down during his development, yet he’s still managed to come up with aches & pains.
Agreed on Cano’s defense…
“Frankly I think trading Cano or Melky is a bad idea. First of all, if you trade one, you will be almost forced to trade the other. They are best friends and are two young, latino players who are “growing upâ€? together and dispensing of young talent of whom the fan base is enamored certainly sends the wrong message.”
Was this paragraph a joke?