Karstens gets some much-needed work in
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- November
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Because of the elbow problems he started the season with and the broken leg he suffered on April 28, Jeff Karstens finished the season with only 65 innings. That includes his time in the minors.
That was the main reason the Yankees volunteered him for Team USA and so far it seems to have been a good idea.
Team USA tuned up for the World Cup by playing some games in the Arizona Fall League. Karstens started two games, going 6.2 innings. He allowed two runs on four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.
He is one of the five starters Team USA will use when it travels to Taiwan for the Cup. Their first game is Wednesday. Karstens is working with Marcel Lachemann, the respected pitching coach.
Karstens is not an A-level prospect. But I believe he could have some value to the Yankees. He was terrific in spring training last season until the injury came up.
Follow the World Cup at USABaseball.com.
UPDATE: I received an e-mail from John Blundell of Major League Baseball, who is in Taiwan with Team USA. Karstens is starting the first game of the World Cup against Mexico. So good luck to Jeff.
In case you were wondering, Chien-Ming Wang is not playing for Taiwan.
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Peter Abraham
Who else is playing in it?
Pete,
I e-mailed you earlier this year about the Yankees trading Rasner and Karstens for something remotely valuable. You had said that nobody wants the Yankees leftovers or something to that effect. Do you really think that either of them can’t be #4 or #5’s somewhere in the majors? They certainly aren’t what the Yankees need in the majors, but wouldn’t teams like Cincinnati, KC, or TB want young(ish) pitchers with MLB experience?
about my last post- just kidding, its on the website.
His eye brows are wierd.
EricVA-
I think those type teams could definitely use Players like Karstens or Rasner.. But I don’t think those teams want or need a 5Th starter enough to part with anything the Yankees might want..
On the last thread someone asked if A-Rod would be welcomed back by Yankees and Yankees fans…
I wouldn’t welcome him back just yet, but you all may differ.
Glad to see Karstens is all right, it was kind of a tough spot to put him in, to have him pitching the night Scooter passed.
Right…I don’t expect a Johan Santana deal centered around those two. However, they do take up two 40 man roster spots. With so much (supposedly) good pitching coming through the system, why waste spots on two pitchers that will never be in the rotation? I think next year the Yankees spot start Kennedy before Rasner, Karstens, Wright, etc.
He made his choice. I wanted him to stay but once you spit on the uniform there’s no putting it back on. I hope he signs with the Giants and enjoys playing on a horrible team for the rest of his career.
No thanks to Alex in New York. That’d be real touching if it were true, but he could’ve earned major points if he had played out his contract (his salary would’ve bumped anyway). He had the fans in New York eating out of his hand, and he could’ve named his price with an extension. All that’s out the window. I think it’s obvious to everyone but Alex that he and the Yankees are not a good fit.
I bet a lot of the players and front office don’t want him back either. As Cashman said, “That ship has sailed”. His opting out is the best thing that could happen to this team. It may be rough in the beginning without him, but it’s a new era for the Yankees.
How true do you guys think those comments of someone close to Alex saying that he’d like to come are? The rumors can’t be out there to drive up the price because it’s obvious that the Yankees are sticking to their word and won’t participate in the A-rod derby.
Continuing from the last post, I recommend the Tyler Kepner article in tomorrow’s NY Times on A-Rod.
As I said, I still don’t know how I feel about it or if it’s just more BS from the Boras spin machine to try to improve A-Rod’s image. Interestingly, Hank refused to comment on A-Rod for the story. Either he believes his earlier statements speak for themselves or he is waiting for A-Rod’s next move.
Here’s the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/sports/baseball/04yankees.html?ref=sports
PS–someone asked about Boras being in Miami for 2 days of talks w/ A-Rod. It’s in the 2nd paragraph.
jeff karstens will never amount to anything. He is a horrible pitcher who cannot be counted on to ever pitch meaningful games. This was a wasted blog entry on a non prospect. How about an update on a real prospect like humberto sanchez…if he is healthy in 08 he can be next years joba.
That’s an interesting NYT article–
Am I the only one that finds it odd that the Yanks made a formal offer to Posada and an informal offer to Mo?
Thanks, Ethan. Must have mentally skipped over the second paragraph. My gut tells me this is just damage control by Borass, but as I said, I would like to believe this is Alex regretting the whole thing got away from him. But I seriously doubt it. But Hank’s no comment as opposed to “ship has sailed” type comment leaves some ambiguity.
Mo is an informal guy, Rebecca. Never seen him with a tie.
Maybe they are sick and tired of talking about Alex. I said they should say we’ve slamed the door and thrown away the key, can we be anymore clear than that?
Rebecca:
Good take on MO/PO.
Might the Yanks know that MO has the most to lose by leaving the YAnks.
We all(me,you,Yanks FO,CAsh) know he is the best closer of all time.
This belief is based on his postseason performance.
He has no peer as far as PS#s, due to his greatness and due to the fact that no one has a comparable number of opps.
The legend of Rivera is dependent on the Yanks and vice versa. That discussion could go on for days.
I just really wish we’d hear of Mo and Posada being signed. We need to hear more good news.
I wonder how many years Mariano is looking for?
I think 2 would be just fine,and I also would keep Joba in the same role next season.Ive heard a few opinions that he very similar to Papelbon.
UtilityMan-
I’d be surprised if he wasn’t asking for at least 3 years.
I’ll say it again if Alex takes a pay cut it’s him proving he was wrong, if Alex takes a paycut and fires Boras it means Boras was manipulating his choices and ties have been broken, I said the only way I want him back (and I love Arod my favorite player in the league period) on the Yankees is if fires the rat first, be it realistic or unrealistic I really don’t care I’m just tired of Scott Bor-RRRat’s ransom requests
Maybe Karstens can make a bit of an impact next year as a spot starter/long reliever. His stats weren’t too bad in ‘06 when he wasn’t battling so many injuries. With a healthy season next year, maybe things will be like ‘06 for him.
The Yankees probably made a formal offer to Posada due to the fact that the Mets are also pursuing him. The formal offer is the Yankees’ way of telling Posada that they are fully dedicated to keeping him around for the future. They are facing some competition to keep Posada. Mo probably only received an informal offer because the Yankees know that they are getting close to coming to agreement on a deal with him. The Yankees and Rivera both know where the other stands.
P.S. WTF are they giving Karstens that extra play it should have been to Clippard or Wright. Karstens has no future here.
This Next Year-!! LMAO!
See what you all are saying, all makes sense. Just hope they sign both. Neither Mo nor Po would look quite right in another uniform.
UM &JcJGNbJB:
2 years for MO is more than fine.
Forget about Papelbon.
If we face him, we’re usually losing. If they face MO, same deal.
Its a wash.
Here’s a different NYTimes article than the one posted above with a different take on ARod.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/sports/baseball/04score.html?ex=1351828800&en=e710c14086a09937&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
I wondered at the time if the timing of the announcement was related to the pending Girardi decision, especially since I read somewhere that ARod wanted Mattingly, but was hesitant about Girardi. The only way to avoid the implication that he was opting out due to Girardi was to announce it prior to the Girardi announcement.
The Yankees said the Texas money is what made A-Rod’s opt out different than Mariano and Jorge.
If A-Rod removes the Texas money from the equation, if they don’t want to negotiate with him the Yankees need to change their story.
these damn Knicks better win tomorrow I mean it’s frickin’ Minnesota , the Pacers are 3 - 0, whatever they want to call themselves Nets are 2 - 1, dammit I hate Isiah
Trish-
There is no way ARod backtracks and accepts the offer the Yankees had drawn up, minus the subsidy. He would never eat that much crow.
This is a puppet show. Boras would not have opted out the way he did without an under-the-table deal in place. They’re just treading water until they announce the deal.
Diane
You’ll notice I used the word IF.
Top Ten Reasons I’m a Nets fan:
10) Lawrence Frank is adorable.
09) My very first professional sports event: New Jersey Nets vs. Utah Jazz.
08) I saw the Nets play the Chicago Bulls in the ‘98 playoffs, and I don’t remember it much, but I got to see Jordan play. Dude.
07) I’ve gotten to shake Jesse Jackson’s hand at a game.
06) The Nets have been so bad for so long that when they finally got good, it felt so refreshing.
05) I once stayed at the same hotel as Vince Carter (okay, he was on Toronto at the time, but still!). My dad wouldn’t let me wait around to see him come off the bus, we had to go to some toy store in Manhattan instead.
04) They have Ian Eagle as a play-by-play guy.
03) Home opener this year, the starting five walked down from different aisles in the stands!
02) We have Sly, who is so totally a furry.
01) They didn’t hire Isaiah.
For any college football fans out there, FSU just beat #2 Boston College.
Hank’s comments about A-Rod in the NYT article shows he’s learning.
Not sure that Cashman is going to be thrilled that he commented on ongoing negotiations with Jorge and Mariano though. Seems like that’s something Cashman never does.
Rebecca reason # 1 out weighs the rest.
I actually think the Nets are being low balled, SI has them not making the playoffs. I like what I’m seeing from Antoine Wright off the bench and Sean Williams and Boki and Boone but he needs more minutes.
Rebecca, why the hell does LF play Jason Collins I mean seriously
Rebecca- I’m jealous of you on reason Number 8. I’ll bet that it was incredible to watch MJ. That was back when John Calipari (the coach of my Memphis Tigers) was Nets head coach. Ian Eagle does do a good job as an announcer, he’s real good as an NFL announcer on CBS.
DMan- It looks like LSU will be Number 2 now after their close victory over Alabama. That top three has changed so many times this year!!
Diane:
Where will he wind up, in you opinion?
Rebecca:
Have you heard of DR.J by any chance? Check it out. Will increase your NET fandom!
Jeff Karstens looks just like the son in “Nip/Tuck”. Creepy.
Brandon: It’s a good question! I dunno! He was good at one point, and then he just wasn’t…
ESPN has the Nets as I think the 7 seed which isn’t as laughable, but I think the Nets could be at least a five seed, if they ever figure out that blowing leads is a bad idea!
But what ticks me off about SI isn’t that they had the Nets 9th, but that whatever idiot thought the Knicks would not just be better than the Nets, but a 6 seed as well!
Dude needs to stop living in 1999!
more like a bat
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/images/2006/08/27/4VJHQQtY.jpg
I think all of the sources that we are hearing in these articles are Bor-ASS talking to different newspapers and talking crap trying to make the 2 of them look better. Who knows what is going on from Arods point of view. BUT I would be shocked if he is ok with all of this. Unless he really is a piece of crap, hated NY and couldnt wait to get out. Announcing it during WS, didnt even know what the Yanks were offering..How do you opt out without knowing what the team is offering you?? Doesnt make a lot of sense. I really wonder what he thinks about all of this. Varitek is a Bor-ASS client and he even said in an interview that Bor-ASS leaves the player out of any talks with the team and the player doesnt know anything that is going on with the team until the end when Bor-ASS has the most money from a certain team. So I wouldnt be surprised if Arod really didnt know that any of this was going on. That the Yanks wanted to meet with him, the $350m offer and he definitely told Arod dont worry we will opt out and they will be right there to top whatever offer we get. Now that is me hoping that Arod is really not that bad of a person because if he was in the know with everything, then he really does deserve all of the bad rap that he gets.
J-Dawg–Yep. Ian Eagle is amazing, I love him. I wish he’d do Yankee games on occasion!
Tommy–Of course I’ve heard of Dr. J! Every Net fan has!
Dman and J-Dawg: who do you have in the big game? OSU for one, probably, but who else? And WTF is UConn doing ranked? That’s as absurd as the Rockies going to the World Series!
Rebecca, on the Knicks rated 6th they must have done a video game simulation or something , my bet is Dolan bought Sports Illustrated stock or something, either that or the editor was eating a donut and hit enter team on the spots
Hard to argue with LSU now as the #2, but Oregon will get a lot of votes too I think.
Especially with the leading Heisman candidate on the team..
Brandon–only reasons that make sense to me as well!
I’ll be so sad when they move to Brooklyn…
Pete,
I expect a game thread for tomorrow’s big game!
Rebecca- Right now I have Ohio St. and LSU, unless the Buckeyes fall to Michigan at the Big House. Oregon would probably slip in there at that point. LSU still has to get through the SEC Championship game, but I think that they can do it.
Rebecca, I hope you don’t stop going just because they are in Brooklyn, if it were me I sure as hell wouldn’t stop going.
Trish:
When I saw that article I thought the same thing. Cash never gives out any information or even hints when he is negotiating with a player. It is nice that Hank talks to reporters and answers questions so he fills us fans in alittle bit but he talks way too much!! Especially with on going negotiations that should be kept quite until the player is signed.
Rebecca:
I assumed you know the DOC!
I guess I was just hoping for some historical representation isall!
Anybody know if the Ducks beat ASU?
Captains Corner:
I agree. Arod working for Boras or vice versa? I’ve posted on this before.
Tommy-
Yah the Ducks one today.
EUGENE ROCKS!
Brandon–the issue is that when I’m in NJ, East Rutherford is a lot closer and easier to get to than Brooklyn is, though I’d certainly make the effort!
Tommy–Mmm, I was born in 86 so I don’t really remember Dr. J playing, for obvious reasons, but we all know I love history
Trade him!
Trish, CaptainsCorner- That is true how Hank is so quick to tell what’s going on with negotiations. He is kind of like the gunfighters in the old westerns who shoot first and ask questions later. I’m sure that Cashman would like to tell him to hush, but he knows that he can’t really afford to!
Tommy- QB Dennis Dixon had to leave the game against ASU in the fourth quarter with a knee/leg injury. Of course, as a true competitor he says that everything is fine.
Rebecca:
No matter your YOB. Really! DOC was already on the 6ers in 86.
Already won the NBA title by then.
Just sayin, whether you mosey to the swamp or ride to the Yards, the DOC is the Greatest playa in the HISTORY of the franchise!
Thanx J-Dawg:
I wish to hell that UO could play in the BCS Title game.
Tommy: Oh, no doubt!
No doubt DOC was the best player in that franchise’s history but I think that seat is occupied by Jason Kidd for some time now.
Tommy- They could really be in the driver’s seat if Michigan trips up Ohio State or LSU stumbles, possibly in the SEC Title game. Oregon’s schedule isn’t particularly tough the rest of the way. I think that they have Arizona, UCLA, and the Civil War remaining.
Thanx J-Dawg.
I’m not a big College Football fan. I just have a Ducks bias isall. It is a gorgeous part of the US and all that.
Brandon:
No doubt JKIDD is awesome. But, dude, DOC is an ICON of NBA history!
DOC invented the foul line extended dunk!
There is no Jordan(as a dunker) without DOC!
Tommy, trust me I know but many people haven’t seen the Doc play, right now Kidd is going down as a legend IDK what other player has completely turned around a franchise in basketball like he did w/ NJ
No one I remember!
Kidd was like…gold.
Brandon -
P.S. WTF are they giving Karstens that extra play it should have been to Clippard or Wright. Karstens has no future here.
Are you looking for things to be cranky about? Do you bother to READ? Karstens pitched 65 innings this season. Wright and Clippard had a full load. They need to rest, while Karstens needs to work. There are plenty of places for guys to get work anyhow…there are a plethora of winter leagues throughout latin america.
Karstens has had some decent outings at the MLB level. With a strong spring, Karstens or Rasner could bring back something from an NL team that suffers an injury at the back end of the rotation. A solid AA position prospect, perhaps. Or, if a team has a bunch of kids they want to try out in the rotation next season and they all prove to be too green, making a deal for a guy that’s at least had a little success in MLB might be appealing next may or so.
nobody and I mean nobody sees Karstens as an asset to any deal, even the minor league scouts said this heck Goose even put DeSalvo above him. He regressed immensely
Brandon:
Dude, I’m down with KIDD. guess I waws just tryin to represent for times gone by.
I Think, DOC, I think Cons, Fros, STYLE!
?????????????
Did everyone turn their clocks back just now?
LOL! I am in an hour!!
dammit I thought it was 2 AM
“heck Goose even put DeSalvo above him.”
When? When his leg was broken?
terrific in spring training god awful in his three games in the regular season. Wow three whole games.
I’m going to do the whole sleep thing…spent my extra hour writing =D
I know they were mentioned earlier, but both stories on A Rod in the Times today are very very interesting.
This story says ‘Rodriguez is dismayed with the fallout and is considering whether to give the Yankees a discount on the front end of a new contract.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/sports/baseball/04yankees.html?ref=sports
And this one walks us through A Rod testing the market, but really wanting to be a yankee all along. I gotta say, the logic is incredible from this guy:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/sports/baseball/04score.html?ref=sports
Please keep IPK at ALL costs.
What are the odds of phil/Joba beig better than IPK?
Quite good. We’ve yet to see Phil and Joba hit their ceilings, while what we’ve seen so far from Ian is pretty much all there is (not that that’s a bad thing)
“In case you were wondering, Chien-Ming Wang is not playing for Taiwan.”
shame. the US would be a lock.
i kid.
oh, and karstens isn’t going to amount to much. he’ll pitch just enough to lower his trade value to nearly nothing.
Glad to see Jeff getting back in shape. Both he and Rasner are good enough to be a #5 somewhere. With the rash of injuries in 2007 the Braves, Cards, and Phils would have been happy to have either. History will repeat itself on a few teams in 2008 and they should pitch at the MLB level.
alright people I’m done for tonight. Me and the wifey are going to watch Eddie Murphy Raw on Bravo
laters.
Karstens, or someone like him, has an important role for the Yanks. It has been years since the Yankees had a long relief / spot starter guy. We used to have Jason Grimsley or Doc Gooden and guys of that type. We had plenty of games over the last 3 years where we went into the game knowing we had no one left to go to in the pen because we used 5 relief pitchers to get thru 6 or 7 innings the day before.
When a starter gets knocked out early we need a guy that can throw 4 or 5 innings just so we don’t blow out our bullpen. It seems that Karsten can pitch at least well enough to perform that role.
Good. I think Wang has had physical issues this season and needed to be shut down.
In order to play an important role, you sort of have to be good. Karstens sort of sucks. He is not a major leaguer.
This is all Cashman has done this offseason:
Pick up Abreu’s option.
This is all he’ll do the rest of this offseason:
Pray Pettitte exercises his player’s option (he will -I doubt he and his wife will pass up another $16M).
Re-sign Rivera, Posada, and Molina (no-brainers).
Trade for Joe Crede or sign him if the Chi-Sox nontender him.
Go with a crap bullpen after Rivera of Farnsworth, Ohlendorf, Veras, Ramirez, Karstens, and some lefty not named Jeremy Affeldt or J.C. Romero (my guess is an ancient Doug Brocail -he might as well re-sign Mike Myers).
So there’s your new blood folks:
Joe Crede and a lefty reliever -PBBBBTTTTTT!!!
The Yanks should fire this twit the minute they are eliminated from making the postseason or knocked out in yet another A.L.D.S., let him go if they fail to reach the World Series. He has developed exactly TWO everyday players worth anything (Cano and Cabrera) and THREE starting pitchers worth anything (Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain) since he took the job in 1998.
Cashman is a fraud. Let’s look at the everyday players and pitchers from the Yankees farm system under his command outside of Cano, Cabrera, Wang, Hughes, and Chamberlain (players under Bob Watson’s regime don’t count):
EVERYDAY PLAYERS:
Nick Johnson: Perennially injured chinadoll.
Juan Rivera: Marginal starting OF-#4 OF type.
Wily Mo Pena: Career platoon OF.
Soriano, Guzman, Spencer, and Ledee were all developed during the Watson regime.
PITCHERS:
Starters: NONE! Jake Westbrook was originally drafted by Colorado then traded to Montreal and Ted Lilly came from Montreal. Eric Milton was under the Watson regime (the Knoblauch trade was made in early February 1998).
Relievers: NONE!
All he does is make no-brainer trades and signings and spend
the Yankees seemingless bottomless pot of money. Only now is he going with farm system players who better deliver for his job’s sake.
Note: Soriano began his career in Japan and was signed under the Watson regime. He developed during the Cashman regime, so I’ll give Cashman him. So one guy from 1998 until Cano in 2005. Thing is, Cashman gives him up for a guy who opts out of his contract cuz (Cashman) failed to demand those opt out clauses be dropped. What was A-Rod stuck in Texas gonna do,
refuse? Fine, you keep posting up meaningless numbers in loser Texas, we’ll keep our All-Star 2B who’s helped us reach two World Series, thanks.
Cano, Cabrera, and Wang were in-season called up only due to injury, so let’s all thank Tony Womack, Hideki Matsui, Kevin Brown for getting hurt. Or did Womack suck so bad he got cut in favor of Cano? Talk about a guy I could care less about. Hughes and Chamberlain were called up this year cuz Cashman couldn’t sign or trade for a decent starter or reliever. I don’t count Clemens cuz that was just a special deal (another no-brainer).
We make the WS in 2003 the year before AROD with Aaron Boone hitting a homer…one that AROD never hits in the post season by the way, he would be gripping the bat too hard, thinking too much being the post season head case that he is….then we collapse in 2004 with his arm swipe of Arroyo, lose in the first round vs. Angels, Tigers, and Indians, AROD can’t hit in the postseason, meanwhile Boston who got lucky when the AROD deal fell through wins 2 world series…who still wants AROD as a Yankee…definitely not me….we are better off without him..get your money elsewhere AROD and we’ll go back to winning the World Series while you still try to win MVP’s and Boras record contracts…thanks for nothing but drama AROD, we will both be better off without each other….now Cashman lets build a smart hard working team, mixed with some veterans and youth and get # 27!!!
Those of you ripping Jeff Karstens:
What crummy human beings you are. The kid broke his leg pitching for your team and tried to keep pitching until they went out there and got him.
Now he’s volunteering to play for Team USA and representing your country in a tournament on the other side of the world.
How about cutting him a break? His 2007 season cannot be evaluated in any way, shape or form. He threw 65 innings and was out three months.
Some of you need a line drive off your heads.
Just a news for everyone.Wang will be in Taiwan on November 6th.He may go to see World Cup and Jeff when he is in Taiwan.Of course,root for Taiwan team.
Yeah, I was about to say what Pete said, but people seem to get mad at me if I defend players for any reason.
Pete - thanks for the update on Jeff. I hope he bounces back from last year. I seem to remember that he worked out hard training in the off season last year and was in pretty good shape until he took that liner on his leg. I hope he can get it together.
I heard that Wang had invited to show Karstens around Taiwan this off season.
If Karstens is not traded this off season,then he will be part of the bullpen as the long man.He has shown the ability to get ML players out.You do have to give him a pass on this past yr.
Hopefully this year Jeff wont suck so bad. Last season he wasnt good consistantly. GOD we need pitching!!!!
Whats it gunna be next year?Wang Pettitte Hughes?Mussina is a big question mark in my book, but I would personally like him back. He delivered in the postseason. Wang played TERRIBLY in the ALDS..We need another starter, some good quality relievers.definitly need a 3rd baseman. personally i think A-Rod will come back to New York. Boston is not interested, I heard. No one will pay him the money he wants except THE YANKEES. All this Texas gossip is crap. By the way, we havent seen the real Hughes in forever. Whats the deal with the Giambi-Damon situation?All the pitchers need to get their acts together.CASHMAN!PITCHING!
“GOD we need pitching!!!!”
Wow, it’s a good thing that the team also has Joba and Ian Kennedy. And Ohlendorf, Veras, Clippard, JB Cox, and Humberto Sanchez. All of them should be in the mix this season.
Oh, and Rasner and Karstens who have shown the ability to be acceptable spot starters and swingmen.
In other words: you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Mussina will accept a trade to Philly.I think.We may be able to get a youngster or two,with some upside, for him.If Crede is non-tendered,does that make him a free agent?
Does anyone know if there is a way to listen to the Team USA games online? I went to the Game Day Audio site, and there is nothing listed there.
Ahhh! a nets conversation and i missed it!
what’s with the Jason Collins hate? guy doesn’t stack up numbers for your fantasy team, but he’s a great player.