Next stop for the hot stove: Orlando
-
- November
- 5
The General Manager Meetings start on Monday in Orlando and run through Thursday.
I’m flying out early in the morning and will start blogging as soon as I get to the hotel. The GM Meetings are usually just a precursor to the Winter Meetings in December, but there could be some news coming out of Florida.
Several GMs, including Kenny Williams of Chicago, are ready to deal. We’re also closing in on Nov. 12, the start of the open market on free agents. Brian Cashman will be trying to secure Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera along with seeing what third baseman are available.
The Scott Boras A-Rod Traveling Circus is also due in town, so we’ll hear what he has to say.
A preview story will be on LoHud.com by 3 a.m., so check that out and keep checking back all week for the latest rumors.
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on Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 12:37 am by Peter Abraham.
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Oh…I thought the GM meeting is the same as the winter meeting. Not much if anything will happen at the GM meeting then.
x23 - so did i, oh well
Seriously…when does Pete sleep? For like, 47 minutes every two days?
Scott Bor-ass: “blah blah blah blah $$$$$$$$$$$, blah blah blah blah $$$$$$$$$”
My brother’s going to school at UCF. I told him he should try to sneak into the meetings.
There’s an intersting piece from the boston globe. A-rod wants to play for the Sux! 350 mil? I don’t f’n think so. Bring in Cabrera. Go Yanks!!!!
“According to The Globe, the source said Rodriguez would love to play for the Sox because he thinks they can win multiple championships.”
Not with the soulless cash-grabber.
Never trust people who’s parents valued them so little as to not give them a name.
“According to The Globe, the source said Rodriguez would love to play for the Sox because he thinks they can win multiple championships.””
He wants his old g/f back.
Isn’t there supposed to be some sort of lame Nomar Garciaparra referene here?
That is such bull!!! It is just more of Bor-ASS talking trying to get the Yanks scared so they will get back involved. Believe me in the next month you will hear a ton of Arod to Boston stories. How they are really interested, he wants to play there all part of his whore agents road to getting more $$$ from the Angels. Arod probably would think like that…jump on the free ride. Instead of being on a team where he is the main guy, he joins a team where he can fade into the back ground. Manny and Ortiz and friends do all the hitting, no one focuses on him going 0-20, with 5 errors. Get a free WS while doing nothing. Can you imagine if Arod actually hit this post season then Bor-ASS would be going on and no how he proved himself, he can carry the team in the post season. I am surprised he isnt talking about his homerun in the 8th inning down by 3 runs or whatever the inning and score was.
CC,
I sense you don’t like A-Rod’s agent.
KEEP INSTANT REPLAY AWAY FROM BASEBALL, SAY NO TO INSTANT REPLAY
I hope that Cashman kicks the tires on Kevin Kouzmanoff as a 3b from San Diego.
He had some pretty decent numbers in his first season, he kills lefties, he’s young and he’s someone they liked. They tried to acquire him last off season but lost out to the Padres. I think he was with Cleveland.
The Padres have Chase Headley, a young top 3b prospect, and I think they still have Morgan Ensberg if I’m not mistaken, so Kouzmanoff should be available.
He’s not a sexy name, but the kid hit 18 HR’s and 30 doubles playing half his games in that awful SD home park in his first season. He didn’t even get 500 at bats either.
Considering the Padres were interested in Kei Igawa at the deadline, this might be a deal where we can lose him and another prospect and gain a young 3b, rather than these idiotic deals where we trade our only leadoff hitter and starting LF in Damon for Crede.
As for Arod professing love for Boston, I hope they are dumb enough to sign him. That quote is basically the quote he gave when he came to the Yankees.
Arod will destroy that clubhouse.
The salary structure for a player who never played or won for them coming into that locker room will create more of a divide than you can believe.
Especially, if he somehow came at the expense of Lowell.
I’d love for the Yankees to get the Sox’s first round pick too.
The mere sight of him in a Red Sox uniform should make every Yankee player want to destroy Boston and get it out of the “friendly” back patting rivalry it’s turned into with Jeter giggling with every Red Sox player who gets to 2b.
Joba helped put some juice back in it.
I expect it to get fierce again with Girardi at the helm. I’ve never seen a broadcaster more ticked off than Girardi at the close of the WS on Fox. I loved the scowl.
Arod will be the new Pedro on that team and Pedro seemed to bring out the best in the Yankees. Go to Boston, Arod. Please.
ARod = Anna Nicole Smith
Boras = That leech attorney
I think there will be not much action but we will get an idea on whose available and whose staying on what team.Winter meetings better but we should have at least Jorge,Mariano,Pettite by then.
Lets go Johan.
Kouzmanoff = Delgado defense at 3B
Dude you’re nuts if you think ARod will make Boston’s team worse. Absolutely nuts.
And the Yankees don’t get Boston’s draft pick if ARod signs there. That’s not how it works.
and your Arod is a locker room cancer statement is an arguement that makes no sense Alex didn’t loff playing here he ran out every ball and you talk to Abreu and Melky and Robi Cano, Alex helped them all get in shape in practice and workouts, Alex also made an effort to better his relationship w/ Torre and became a mentor to the young players too. So that cancer BS please stop it, you want to say he likes money more than the game fine but I’ll be damn if someone calls him a cancer.
Yankee players who were cancers
Kenny Lofton
Gary Sheffield
David Justice
Chad Curtis
David Wells
Jim Leyritz
so get your facts straight
I’d add Raul Mondesi to that list as well.
BATTING ORDER/ STARTING NINE:
Damon/Jeter/Abreu/Posada*/Matsui/Crede*/Cano/Giambi/Cabrera
LF SS RF C DH 3B 2B 1B CF
L R L S L R L L S
BENCH: J.Molina*, Phillips, Betemit, Duncan
backup C 1B 2B/3B/SS LF/RF/DH
*Posada and Molina re-signed, Crede acquired via trade.
ROTATION: Pettitte, Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain, Mussina
ROTATION RESERVES: Kennedy, Karstens, Igawa
BULLPEN: Rivera, Farnsworth, Ohlendorf, Veras, Karstens,
Ramirez, Doug Brocail or some other lefty (Villone
re-signed, Chase Wright, Henn et.al.)
Possible righthanded reliever signed in place of Ohlendorf,
Veras, or Karstens i.e. whoever pitches the worst in spring training.
Rebecca,
The meeting is held in UCF. My cousins goes there also!
Hey Brandon
Sheffield and Lofton cancers? Yes, but the Yanks knew what they were getting into signing those guys. Justice, Curtis, Wells, and Leyritz were not cancers. They helped the Yanks win multiple World Series titles, more than A-Rod could say. Where was it written they were all cancers? Justice was the 2000 Yankees second-half M.V.P. Curtis had a problem with Jeter laughing it up and clowning around with A-Rod during a Yankees-Seattle brawl and you know what? I agreed with his stance but also realized Jeter was alot younger then and still had alot to learn. If anything Curtis was a little too hard on him. I sure haven’t seen Jeter joke around during bench-clearers since but that’s most likely from within. That was one incident and I don’t remember it affecting the team adversely. How did Leyritz and Wells affect the team adversely? Leyritz was Girardi’s backup in ‘96 guy. Wells was the #3 starter behind Cone and Pettitte in ‘98. The 2000 Justice had for the Yanks and the postseason HRs Curtis and Leyritz hit for the Yankees render your talk about them being cancers horseshit. As for Wells the second time around, Torre should’ve known he wasn’t able to start in the 2003 World Series and nevermind how Wells boasted he was partying the night before when he said he was hungover the day he pitched a perfect game (you can’t get on him for one and not the other). Who starts a game is up to the manager, ultimately. The Yanks removed $17.5M Clemens from the postseason roster for the next series this year, so if he can be taken off the roster, anyone could be skipped over for a start. Wells was old in 2003. Wells helped the Yanks win it all in ‘98 and most likely would’ve helped them in ‘99 had he not been traded for Clemens. At least the Yanks made it to two World Series with Wells, more than we could say for the Yanks w/ A-Rod.
We expect A-Rod and every other Yankee to run out every ball. What young players did he mentor? Duncan? Hughes? Chamberlain? Kennedy? Are you serious? Cano has had a solid Yankee career ever since he joined the team and was certainly not in worse shape when he arrived with the big club in 2005 or in 2006 than he was in 2007. Ditto for Cabrera. So they followed his workout regiments, thankfully they won’t follow his me-first attitude. Since when did A-Rod help Abreu get in shape? I didn’t see him looking lighter coming into, during, or at the end of 2007. Abreu is in shape, he just loafs after balls.
So YOU get your facts straight and I’ll be damned you insult
the intelligence of legions of Yankee fans including me when by running off some bullshit that A-Rod wasn’t a cancer when he was. Don’t tell me the talk of him opting out all year and his third straight postseason chokejob didn’t adversely affect the team cuz it did.
Cancers prevent or hinder a team from winning (bottom line) and sorry, Justice, Curtis, Leyritz, and Wells were not that. If anyone’s a cancer it’s Mussina with one postseason flop after another and whining all the time about this and that. How about Matsui’s refusal to realize he sucks in LF and doesn’t have enough power for DH so it’s best he learns and moves to 1B? Can the guy volunteer to? David Wright has openly sad he’d move to 1B to make room for A-Rod. Damon is a cancer not showing up to spring training in shape than running his mouth about lack of playing time and his “if they want to trade me/ if I’m traded so be it” jive.
I’m all for Crede to join the Yankees. Here’s why:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ox76_joe-crede-highlight-reelflv_extreme
Wrong, The yankees will get get boston picks if arod goes to boston. Thats how it works
I attend and work for UCF, where are these meetings?
BATTING ORDER/ STARTING NINE:
Jeter/Abreu/Tejada/Cano/Posada/Matsui/Fukodome/Giambi/Duncan
Bench:Jose Molina,Philips,Gonzalez
Rotation:Santana,Wang,Phil Hughes,Chamberlain,Pettitte
Bullpen:Hitoki Iwase,Damaso Marte,Rivera.Edwar Rimerez,Chris Briiton,Codero,Olendorf
Here’s an interesting article in the NY Times if you haven’t seen it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/sports/baseball/04chass.html?ref=baseball
It talks about the possibility that GMs may collude to limit A-Rod’s potential salary and player agents looking the other way. It says that this is out of irritation on how Boras announced the opt-out during the Series.
Is this even possible? I can’t imagine that it is too likely. Is it legal? Is it in the rules for Players’ salary negotiations?
I mean, the Times also has an article about A-Rod possibly taking a pay cut to re-join the Yankees, so perhaps people are just trying to create news here…
At least Justice, Leyritz, and Wells won playoff games for us.
funny enough, saw something on Yahoo about the team that Pay-rod would reaaaaallllyyyyy like to play for…
“If Alex Rodriguez could handpick the team he plays for, Boston might well be No. 1 on his list. According to a source who has talked to Rodriguez recently, he’d love to play for the Sox because he thinks they can win multiple championships.”
LOL. it is classic a-rod. you would have to think that it is some sort of ploy on arod’s (really borass) part. sure sure big george is no longer in the driver’s seat as his sons are trying to take a larger role in management of the yanks. however appeal to boss george’s “love” for the red sox while making a play for the benjamins. smooth move ex-lax. u really have to wonder whether or not the yanks are truly “out” of the arod sweepstakes. i for one do not think they are. it is business. arod made his business decision, and the yanks have made theirs (at least initially). nothing has been etched in stone. if arod were to agree to a slightly lesser contract in terms of value (probably not entirely likely of course), then it could stand to reason that arod returns. murphydog summed it up best really.
would i be heartbroken to see arod leave. no. buh-bye. “what part didn’t u understand, the ‘buh’ or the ‘bye?’ ” but i really thought he was over his hangups. besides if you were juxtapose the recent stories in the NYTimes w/ the above Yahoo story, it does indeed look like that team Arod-a ss (as in Bor-ass) is trying to get the yanks back in it. hopefully the muckymucks in the executive offices on River Ave frequent Pete’s blog. some pretty good ideas in here at times. one would hope that these are things they should have figured out for themselves, but in my field i would not profess to knowing everything myself. i do not always have every angle figured out when faced w/ a particularly difficult problem or case however much experience i might have. it will indeed make for an interesting off season.
One of the picks will be Boston’s first round pick. The other one will be a sandwich pick in between the first and second round - that pick isn’t Boston’s. So they get one of Boston’s picks, and one additional pick.
The Yankees got the pick that eventually turned into Phil Hughes by letting Pettitte sign with Houston. And they got the pick that eventually turned into Joba by letting Gordon sign with the Phillies.
“At least Justice, Leyritz, and Wells won playoff games for us.”
Which further indicates that being a clubhouse cancer is irrelevant once the games begin.
Too bad Boston’s pick sucks because they won the world series.
You can’t get the compensation picks without first offering the player salary arbitration. If he declines and goes elsewhere, then you get the picks depending on what caliber of free agent he is (Type A, B, etc).
So I wonder if Boston will offer Schilling salary arbitration. If they do, and he declines and signs elsewhere, they get 2 draft picks. But they risk that he accepts the arbitration, which they might not want to happen since it would guarantee he is on the team for 2008. Or they could just let him walk outright without offering any kind of salary arbitration, but they won’t get any comepnsation for that. He’s only looking for a one-year deal so if they offer him salary arbitration he would probably accept. Unfortunately, he is arguably the best starter available on the market so he would do well in arbitration. That’s how pathetic the rest of the free agent starting pitchers are.
my wish list has now become Francisco Cordero and Miguel Tejada. No way do we give up Phil Hughes for Miguel Cabrera, pitching is more important now a days. Cordero could be a dominate setup man and allow Farnsworth to work the 7th inning or Vizciano if we resign him.
Any of you who think ARod to Boston would “wreck a clubhouse” are nuts.
“When you hit a lot of home runs, drive in a bunch of tallies, do a good job in the field and, on top of all that, bring in fans who never before went to ball games, you say to yourself, “you certainly meant something in that box office, even if you didn’t mean a thing winning the pennant.”
Nope it wasn’t Scott Boras or A-Rod who said this. Maybe it’s true that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Imagine if there were blogs in the 1930’s.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2007/11/04/2007-11-04_joe_dimaggio_confronted_same_issues_play.html
We need an edit button! I wanted to include this to the above before I hit submit.
Yankees great Joe DiMaggio, who when asked about the kind of money he would’ve made had he played in today’s economic climate, said only, “I’d have extended my arm, and said, ‘Hi Partner.’”
Adrian
Your batting order means trading Damon. That’ll be very hard to do if the Yanks don’t want to eat a significant amount of his remaining $26M salary. I’d say the Yanks may have to eat as much as half of it ($13M) and if they do, they’re basically giving away a free year of Damon to his taker (Damon makes $13M/yr). As much as Baltimore would love to get rid of Tejada, I don’t see them trading him to a division rival. He’s due $13M/yr. through 2009 just like Damon and Matsui -I’ll pass esp. when he’s never played 3B before and has a history of being a jerk. His HR and RBI dropped significantly from a few years ago which is a red flag. He really isn’t a #3 hitter -more like a 4-6 batting order guy. I assume Duncan 1B, Giambi DH -still awful defense there. Matsui LF is worse than Damon LF. Enough with the high-priced Japanese players, the Yanks need a surer thing in the lineup.
You have three people on the bench. Where’s Betemit and the #4 OF? Sardihna? I don’t see Gonzalez over Betemit. A bench with Sardihna and Gonzalez isn’t happening.
I guess you erroneously think Johann Santana is coming to the Yanks for a bag of balls cuz Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera for him (I see neither in your 25-man roster) isn’t happening. Folks, Minnesota is not taking Wang, a sinkerballer, for their fast artificial turf, they’d want at least Hughes or Chamberlain, Kennedy, and Cabrera -three players, not one or two.
I’d sign Jeremy Affeldt and J.C. Romero to be my lefties and Cordero for those three, Rivera, Farnsworth (Yanks are stuck with his $5.75M salary for ‘08), Ohlendorf, any one from Ramirez, Britton, Veras, et.al., but something tells me Cashman will construct the bullpen from within i.e. everyone he had this year with only one reliever signed (a lefty).
If we got Crede he’d have to change his number. He couldn’t be #24, but we could give him 6
jennifer- congrats JOE G
November 5th, 2007 at 9:40 am
If we got Crede he’d have to change his number. He couldn’t be #24, but we could give him 6
Fans like you make me sick.
Way to disrespect Joe Torre after all he’s done the past 12 years by giving his number away a year after leaving.
Maybe people like you should go back and watch tapes of Stump Merril managing to appreciate what has gone on here.
Whoa, these meetings are AT UCF?
Wow!
Eric- Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Can’t you tell i’m joking. Jesus christ take a chill pill.
pat: The difference was Joe D won a few World Series in his day…
Thanks Jake for wasting all of our time by nit picking some fans dream 2008 lineup. Like it matters.
jennifer- congrats JOE G
November 5th, 2007 at 10:02 am
Eric- Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Can’t you tell i’m joking. Jesus christ take a chill pill.
Yeah, I could tell you are joking. Your tone of voice definately made it so. Thanks for being sooooo funny, jenny.
I think the Yankees will just be running in place for the next three years. A second place team until Hughes, Chamberlain and Kennedy really come into their own. But EVERY team goes through rebuilding.
The window on championships has closed for the likes of Giambi, Mussina, Posada, and Rivera.
I say let Posada and Mo walk. Get the draft picks. When all is said and done, the Yanks could have 3 really great compensation picks that could yield significant players in the coming years.
Dude, you have got to develop some thicker skin.
Letting Posada walk makes no sense. He’s not blocking the development of anyone, and there’s no good FAs out there. Same with Mo.
Eric
November 5th, 200Fans like you make me sick.
Way to disrespect Joe Torre after all he’s done the past 12 years by giving his number away a year after leaving.
Maybe people like you should go back and watch tapes of Stump Merril managing to appreciate what has gone o
7 at 9:55 am
Eric
November 5th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Thanks Jake for wasting all of our time by nit picking some fans dream 2008 lineup. Like it matters.
Eric
November 5th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Yeah, I could tell you are joking. Your tone of voice definately made it so. Thanks for being sooooo funny, jenny.
____________________________________________________________
hahahahaha, what an a$$hole this guy is!
“Yankee players who were cancers
Kenny Lofton
Gary Sheffield
David Justice
Chad Curtis
David Wells
Jim Leyritz
so get your facts straight”
LOL at having a clue.
” My client will bring 5 trillion dollars in revenue to the talbe and is on pace to hit 3000 home runs…..although he has stated that he wants to stay in NY, NO MATTER WHAT…he is adept at lying through his teeth and cheating on his wife….Mr Rodriguez will entertain offers of 1 billion dollars or more, for the next 5 years, with the opt out clause kicking in after 2 years. He is only expected to perform during the regular season, as since post season Home Runs and other stats not counting towards his career totals, makes them meaningless in his eyes. Also, any team willing to put Mr. Rodriguez under contract must bring a 100% guarantee that he will not be Booed at home, not even once, or his salary automatically doubles along with the price of every seat in that team’s Stadium. Make sure ALL FANS know this, so they are not taken by surprise when they are punished for their disobedience. ALL HAIL THE KING OF ALL THAT IS PHONY : A-FRAUD !!! ( Trumpet sound here )
Kenny Williams will definitely be searching high and low for the right trade partner. He has made splashes the last two offseasons by trading for Jim Thome and last year he traded Freddy Garcia. Cashman needs to resist any urge and keep from trading for that White Sox third baseman whose name I won’t mention. The right GM for Cashman to talk to about getting a third baseman is Mariners GM Bill Bavasi (hint hint).
Heh, you all are gonna laugh at me for this…but…
at least Joe Crede’s better looking than A-Rod
OH! Those Devils.
I cannot believe how devious and devilish the Yankee management has been.
They have set up the Boston Red Sox up for the kill.
Even though I am a Yankee fan, I believe commissioner Selig should take immediate action to prevent this from happening again.
Let me explain.
First, it has been conjectured with some basis that the Yankees knew for a long time that AROD was leaving. Second, they probably had reason to believe that the Boston’s were prepared to move heaven and earth to get him. And possibly had been tampering.
So What did they do? They made a completely preposterous offer to AROD. The 25 million a year he was already receiving was out of line with the salary structure and still is.
An exhaustive study, performed by this author indicates that any amount in excess of 20 million a year would be solely on the basis of his fan appeal, not his batting proficiency.
So what do they do. They make an offer that is far in excess of that amount; knowing that it would be turned down.
Meanwhile, as I wrote in a previous post, the Boston are cleaning up in the World Series. The not only don’t need AROD but even worse, their fans have adopted and fallen in love with the current heroes.
Scott Boras senses this and has AROD opt out early to prevent the Bostons from backing out.
So now you have it. The Bostons have promised an agent with 65 important players to sign AROD to a contract better than the Yankees would give him.
Their fans don’t want the person.
The Bostons are in trouble; all set up by those scoundrels in New York.
My sympathy to the Bostons, to AROD and to Scott Boras.
On D Ball-
I haven’t read back through the other comments so I have no idea if you’re being sarcastic or not..
But I think you’re the only one other than Arod and Boras who didn’t think the extension offer the Yankees were prepared to make was fair.
If the Yankees trade Damon and don’t get back into the A-Rod sweepstakes, they are in line to come in under Luxury Tax for 2008. Pettitte retiring would put them well under by more than what it would cost to give Mariano and Jorge raises and sign any of the 3rd baseman that have been rumored except Mike Lowell. The Luxury Tax savings in combination with the revenue sharing savings during the stadium build is big $$$.
It will be interesting to see if fiscal responsibility has become a priority for the 2008 Yankees and they hold firm to not trading the farm for expensive veteran players who could help them win now.
Trish-
If you trade Damon, who would you have leading off?
Melky would be the only real option, and I think hes to much of a free swinger right now.
At first, I wasn’t sold on Beltre for third, but after checking his stats more thoroughly & seeing how good defensively, I think the Yanks should really make a hard press to acquire him. He only has 3 years left (about $13 per year) as opposed to Lowell, who would want 4 to leave the Sox. I can’t imagine Seattle just giving him away though.
D-Ball, interesting hypothesis, but probably unbelievable. This is baseball, not the CIA.
But worse: “The Bostons”? You’re killing me with that.
Is there any truth to Paul O’Neill coming back as a coach? Seems like all the coaching positions are spoken for.
Buddy-
I think Paul had mentioned in an interview as being open to the idea, but I think he said he hadn’t talked with Girardi or the Yankees..
So nothing ever came of it, as far as I can tell.
I bet we see him in Spring Training as a special instructor though.
DMan-
He’ll probably get more work on YES now that Girardi is managing, if he even wants more air time.
Pete…you call that the circus ?…more like the freak show !
DMan
I’m not advocating trading Damon. I like the personality he brings to the team and the presence he brings to the line-up. I would use him and Matsui as the LF/DH combination. Others here seem ready to pack his bags though.
Read something yesterday interesting about Damon’s contract. He has a partial no trade and listed the lowest payroll teams where he would go without his permission being necessary. He figured none of those teams would be willing to give him the $26 million he is still owed so it gave him better control over his fate. Also said if the Yankees asked him to waive the no trade to go somewhere he had not listed, he would want an extension in order to agree to it.
Seattle paper today says Mariners would listen to offers for Beltre but young pitchers would need to be included to get it done.
DMan November 5th, 2007 at 11:00 am
You wrote:
>>
Oh yes, fair. In fact, overly fair.
Almost nobody is receiving more that 18 million a year. If I am wrong, please correct me. Twenty five million seems a lot. Thirty Million seems ridiculous.
On my previous post they they left out the quote from D MAN that I used, namely:
But I think you’re the only one other than Arod and Boras who didn’t think the extension offer the Yankees were prepared to make was fair
“I’m not advocating trading Damon. I like the personality he brings to the team and the presence he brings to the line-up. I would use him and Matsui as the LF/DH combination. Others here seem ready to pack his bags though.”
The only reason I’m “ready to pack his bags” is that he’s the most tradeable of Damon, Matsui and Giambi. The latter two both have full no-trade clauses, and Giambi has specifically refused to waive his as recently as last season. Also, as a DH who can’t even stay healthy, no one wants him. So, despite perhaps WANTING to trade Giambi, it’s just not feasible at this point. He won’t leave, and no one really wants to take him.
Matsui has some value on the trade market, but the full no-trade is an issue. Also, with ARod gone and Giambi unpredictable due to injury, Matsui’s actually the team’s best power threat.
Now, Damon. Not only does he have only a limited no-trade, he’s actually expressed a tentative openness to leaving, as he’s not too excited about being squeezed for playing time. Also, he’d like to be a CFer again. Also, he showed in the second half that he’s still got life in him. So, he’s got value AND he’s open to the move. If the team thinks it has or can find another leadoff option…then moving Damon makes a lot of sense.
Trades aren’t always about dumping dead weight. You have to give up something good to get something good, usually.
Trish-
Yah I’m with you. He really is the best leadoff guy we have. If we traded him, we’d have to go out looking for another leadoff guy. But, if there is a decent offer out there, then the Yankees should definitly consider it.
On D Ball-
Well, I see what you’re saying. But I don’t know if the Yankees brass sat down and ploted it out to happen this way. It seems a stretch.
I do see where you’re coming from though.
We miss Paulie
You say this is baseball, not the CIA. You are right, but first and foremost this is Business.
I have made preemptively very high bids to shut out others from bidding and I have seen others do it.
It works.
And if it doesn’t you have stuck your opponent with a liability.
Its a win-win for the Yankees.
“Seattle paper today says Mariners would listen to offers for Beltre but young pitchers would need to be included to get it done.”
If the Yanks are willing to take on most of his contract, I wonder if like…Clippard and Ohlendorf could get it done. Is anyone out there going to give up a blue chipper to get Beltre? If it’s going to cost Kennedy, then I’d say look harder at Crede.
Also, he’s only signed for _two_ more years.
whozat-
I agree. Beltre for Kennedy stright up is a bad trade for the Yankees I think.
Just for the record Joe Crede is horrible!
The Yankees could go the same route by taking on Beltre’s contract that they went by when they traded for Abreu. In ‘06 the Yankees were willing to take on Abreu’s contract from the Phillies, so the Phillies took lower-tier prospects in return. Maybe the Mariners will do the same thing if the Yankees are willing to take on all of Beltre’s contract in a trade.
The best thing about getting Beltre is that he is only 28 and could easily be hitting the prime of his career.
whozat-
Thanks for the correction, he does only have 2 years left on his contract, which could make the deal even more enticing. Beltre even stole 14 SB’s last season as well.
“Just for the record Joe Crede is horrible!”
God, people keep coming here and saying this. I can’t count the number of times that people have addressed this.
Compared to ARod, everyone’s numbers are horrible. Crede put up an OPS over .800 against lefties in both 05 and 06. That’s far from horrible. He won the silver slugger in 06 as well. The question is whether that was a career year, or if he turned a corner. The other question is whether his back is fixed. Minky’s was. I don’t know if Crede’s is. Platooning him with Betemit at 3B could provide very good production.
Some pundit blasted the idea, saying “Crede? The guy with the .313 OBP? Ha!” and now people parrot that opinion. Go look and think for yourself. If the trade price is right (and it should be since he has no position over there, is coming off an injury, and is a year from free agency), then it’s a low-risk high reward proposition.
I know Yankee fans like sure things and set-it-and-forget-it lineups where there is never any platooning. I’d rather see the Yanks get more creative than that, instead of trading their young pitching to get names that’ll play every day but wouldn’t out-produce a well constructed platoon of lesser players.
Rebecca - Crede better looking than Alex? Doesn’t Crede have one of those gross facial hair thingies? I’ll have to find a pic of him on the internets
if you are taking on Beltre’s contract, the Mariners wont expect any of the big 3 to be going back to them. You can prob start with Horne, and work your way down the prospect list.
thats usually the way it goes with deals in MLB… the more the money coming with the contrct, the better the prospects, and not as much money, then lesser prospects.
with the Mariners, thoguh, I would bet they’d eat some salary on that deal to get a better pitcher who can help them sooner than later.
J-Dawg
That would the best case scenario, except I think the M’s want players that can play now. They were right in the mix of things until the last month of the season this year..
So ya, I think they’d be looking for players like T-Clip, Chase Wright, etc..
Two interesting possibilities,if all things work out;Obtain permission from Mussina and Giambi to trade them to the Chi Sox for Crede and Konerko.Throw into the mix some fair to middling kids such as TyClip and Chase Wright,perhaps Slam Duncan,and maybe it gets done WITHOUT giving up our lead off hitter,Johnny Damon.
I like Beltre better than Crede just because he hasn’t had BACK SURGERY!!!
Seriously, I don’t know what the stats are on power hitting slick fielding 3b coming back from back surgery like it was nothing, but I don’t think they are that good.
And to all the people who blasted me earlier for calling Arod a clubhouse cancer, you’re the deluded one’s.
Here’s a guy who makes the game not about team, but about himself, his accomplishments, his salary, etc. He makes himself stand out.
He becomes the de facto face of your organization if you sign him. That would all be great if he had the character and integrity to back it up.
The guy is a mercenary who quit on a team in Texas and did everything including trying to take less money to get out of there when he realized they weren’t going to the world series.
He spent the year telling NY he found his home and he didn’t want to leave, then left at the first chance he had and made the announcement at a poor time.
You don’t have to just kick and scream and be belligerent to be a clubhouse cancer.
When you’re the guy in the clubhouse who makes the most money by a long shot, I think the other players look to you to always produce and also resent you.
Arod is a circus.
I think the Yankee lineup w/o Arod makes everyone more accountable and it just might make it more productive.
The Seattle article didn’t say they wanted to move Beltre. It said the Yankees had interest and they would listen. This isn’t going to be a salary dump. If the Yankees want Beltre his price is a package of young pitchers.
“So ya, I think they’d be looking for players like T-Clip, Chase Wright, etc..”
Looking at Beltre, outside of that one HUGE year, he’s not all that much better than Crede - provided Crede is healthy. Beltre also K’s a lot more.
I think you get Beltre if you want to set-it-and-forget-it, and Crede if you think that working Betemit in against righties gives you an advantage. Depending on the price, of course.
Yah.. Back surgery is no joke. People heal differently.. Theres no conclusive way to tell how thats going to go.
G.Love
True what you said about back surgery and returning to form,look no further than Don Mattingly.I do believe Crede is worth the gamble,at least for the immediate future.Call me crazy,but I see a lot of Scott Brosius in the guy.Ditto your sentiments on AFraud,a numbers hanger and no more.I definitely would not like to be in a foxhole with him.Also, the bloggers who put Jim Leyritz down as a clubhouse cancer could not be further from the truth about him.He is now,and was then, a guy with a big heart,who cared about family(including the Yankee family)and would often visit sick children,the ones with the cancer tag we so freely bandy about,all unheralded and sans fanfare.Mel Hall was a ‘cancer’ for sure,put him on that list,and while we are at it,throw Denny Neagle in there also.
“Two interesting possibilities,if all things work out;Obtain permission from Mussina and Giambi to trade them to the Chi Sox for Crede and Konerko.Throw into the mix some fair to middling kids such as TyClip and Chase Wright,perhaps Slam Duncan,and maybe it gets done WITHOUT giving up our lead off hitter,Johnny Damon.”
That’s not interesting, because it’s just not going to happen. First of all, the ChiSox already have a DH. If Jason could play 1B regularly we’d keep him and play him there every day. Jason refused to waive his no trade last offseason…what’s changed?
Also, Mussina hates change. He’s essentially got OCD. Why is he going to want to go to Chicago?
This is definitely a kind of situation where Brian Cashman will have his work cut out for him. Every GM in the league is well aware that the Yankees are in need of a third baseman unless Wilson Betemit is their answer, which I doubt. Nobody is going to be nice enough to say, “here’s our guy, you can have him for nothing.” The other GMs are the ones with the leverage over Cashman. They will be able to ask Cashman for top prospects when he inquiries about a third baseman, which they should. Cashman just needs to hold firm and not cave in to ridiculous demands from other GMs.
Somewhere out there is the perfect deal and the perfect fit for the Yankees. It’s just a question of whether Cashman is able to find it. I think he can. Maybe it will somehow be the perfect scenario and involve the Yankees getting a good third baseman and being able to hold on to prized prospects. That would be great!
Beltre also has a terrible OBP, since he has been in the AL after that big year with the Dodgers, he has adjusted quite well. If you don’t have to give up that much, either one will be fine. The White Sox really need to move Crede, Josh Fields is ready to be an everyday player so I don;t think they would asking for too much in return. Ohlendorf for Crede could work.
“Yah.. Back surgery is no joke. People heal differently.. Theres no conclusive way to tell how thats going to go.”
Guys…it’s not like teams go into this blind. You get medical reports, you have doctors look at them, you have the guy work out in front of your scouts, all this sort of stuff.
Of course there’s no conclusive way to tell. It’s a gamble. But that’s what you have to do if you want to keep your prospects and you don’t have anyone home grown. They can either trade away young pitching to get Beltre (depending on which pitchers, that could be bad, but maybe it’d be just fine), or trade from the glut of veteran OFers to get Crede.
I’d rather do the latter. It’s riskier in the short term, but trading young pitching for Beltre is exactly the kind of move that got us to where we are now: a team of big names that can’t get over the hump.
Jim Leyritz might have been a big personality, but he was never a clubhouse cancer. The guy wanted to win, was willing to play any position in order to help the team and didn’t play with fear. He may not have been the most talented Yankee, but the guy bleeds pinstripes and no one should be minimizing what he meant to those teams. He wanted to play, he wanted to win and he was one of the Yankees of that era who you knew would run an opponent over to help his team.
You didn’t see Leyritz giggling with the opposing players on the field like our current captain.
yeah, Crede is so bad he had a better season in 06 than A-Rod.
But he’s terrible.
Gold glove defense and a ring are a terrible combo to have I guess.
“Obtain permission from Mussina and Giambi to trade them to the Chi Sox for Crede and Konerko”
What a bunch of morons here.
Like any team wants overpriced unproductive veterans.
Use your heads for petes sake.
I’m sure Minnesota would definately trade Mussina, Giambi, and Farnsworth for Santana.
I wouldn’t mind either Crede or Beltre. Beltre isn’t the type of talent that would warrant us to trade anyone like Horne, Marquez, or Kennedy in bunches. Beltre plays on a field that murders fly balls. His numbers would improve here. He also plays decent D.
Crede, however, is an injury risk but a risk worth taking IMO. If he is healthy he is a gold glove caliber 3rd baseman and a very powerful hitter.
Either player wouldn’t recquire us to trade any real valuable pieces of our farm system or young core. One of these guys should be in pinstripes because fat Miggy, awesome as he is, would cost us too much methinks.
Motown: Yeah, but I dig long hair and the goatee =D
Crede is an injury risk?
What clued you into that, Doctor? The BACK SURGERY he just had????
Jeez.
You can get dumber just reading some people here.
Eric,
I wasn’t aware that back surgery wipes away all back problems in athletes for the rest of their careers.
Got to love the Hot Stove.
And hearing fans think they can get Pujols for Damon.
G. Love OTM re: Jimmy “The King”
I know Leyritz kinda got on some people’s nerves with his schtick (he thought he was God’s gift) but it was mostly in good fun and his teammates knew to laugh at/with him. Far from a “cancer.” He was a hard-nosed player and one of my very favorite Yankees of the past twenty years.
Vice-Admiral Sterling, in his ascot: ” — and Leyritz DID pull Wohlers!!!”
Oh, those were the days…
Thanks Los for being the type of moron I speak about.
No KIDDING Crede’s an injury risk.
Thanks, Doctor, for the update. The back surgery must have clued you right in on that.
How do some people function being 2nd grade intelligent?
Clemens on ESPN2 on all things Yankee: Chattiest about Torre and A-Rod.
No mention of Andy
Doesn’t know how Mariano and Jorge negotiations will work out but will be watching with interest from afar
Watching A-Rod play up close was amazing, respects the work ethic he brings to the team, thinks he will break all records.
Girardi knows the Yankees and will be a good manager
Dodgers will apreciate the man and the manager Joe Torre is. Managers could learn alot from listenig to Torre’s press conference 2 weeks ago. Dodger players will learn alot from him. Torre was one of the big reasons he agreed to come back after the Yankees contacted him last year.
Won’t say he’s retiring.
Leyritz has more big hits than A-Rod.
Am I the only person here that doesn’t really like any of the 3B options out there? Beltre, Crede..
I’m just not high on any of them..
Wow, the second time you sarcastically called me doctor was funnier than the first time. Hilarious. Hilarious. All I was doing was comparing the two players. That’s all.
DMan,
Would you rather Betemit?
Who knows what kind of player Betemit can be if he plays everyday on this team.
I just get a bad feeling when I see the Yankees going out and trading prospects to find a medicore player to play a position for a year or 2..
Reminds me to much of 2001-2006.
I just get the impression that the asking price for these stop-gap players will be to high.
jim leyritz
http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/72556027.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193875DCB1DD8387ABB02954FBDAB807660A40A659CEC4C8CB6
If Clemens doesn’t retire, we’re going to have to start with the Julio Franco comments, and that’s just plain not right!
We knew it anyway, but:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3095461
Mattingly and Bowa slated to go to Dodgers as ‘Yankees West’ becomes official.
Is A-Rot in Miami currently?
Well if the rumors are true Crede would only cost us Damon. That’s a trade you make. Even if it costs us Damon and a mid level prospect you probably have to make the trade. Betemit strikes out a ways too much and he isn’t nearly the fielder that Crede. Forgetting Crede’s injury season last year, he had been a top player in this league. He’s far from mediocre.
As for Beltre, before he got his pay-day from Seattle he had a terrific season in L.A. As a Mariner, he got better in his second season and came up with some big homeruns and more consistency.
Yea, the seem mediocre when compared to A-Rod’s production but who doesn’t.
I still think that A-Rod should come back ,if the numbers are right,with the young pitchers and Girardis leadership the Yankees certainly be contenders again.
Dont get me wrong ,Arod is a mercenarie but ill love to have him on my team.
Los Yankees Just ignore him. He picked on me to, because he was mad he couldn’t figure out I was joking about giving Crede Joe’s old number. All he has posted were criticisms of other peoples comments.
Call me crazy but I have seen crazier ideas.I am going to throw a name out there for 3rd base. It would involve this player waiving their no trade clause and the willingness of the current team wanting to deal with someone in their own division. BUT it would also allow the current team to dump some salary and get younger.
and that player is Melvin Mora
3 years/$25M (2007-09), plus 2010 club option
signed extension 5/06
07:$7,758,503
no-trade clause 2007-09
Whozat - Crede has a CAREER OBP of .305. That my friend is horrible any way you slice. He’ll be 30 next April so I seriously doubt he’ll get any better.
Joe Crede numbers: .259/.305/.446
if that is not mediocre, i dont know what is
Raul,
The Yanks will look bad if they bring him back. They said repeatedly that if he opted out they wouldn’t re-sign him. Maybe the Yanks were wrong in doing that but that is another conversation. The fact is that they did say it. We would look like pansies if we come crawling back and offer him a deal. Forget him dude. He didn’t win anything here. Let him take his October poison somewhere else.
Jennifer,
It’s obvious he’s just an a$$.
Am I the only guy that thinks Damon for Crede is CRAZY!!!
Doesn’t anybody see what Damon does in the second half and playoffs?????? Leadoff hitter!!!! Put Andy at third base if anything doesn’t come up or even Wilson, see how they pan out for the first half then make a trade before July 31st!!
Gayle: And who would you trade for him?
I’d rather the Yankees acquire Crede/ go with Betemit at Third than signing an aging product of Fenway in Mike Lowell to 15 Mil a year for 5 years.
That smells disaster all over it.
Sort of like Johnny Damon part 2.
Stay away from Lowell at all costs.
So much negative vibes here today.
Here’s a feel good article about Girardi:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11042007/sports/yankees/mighty_joe_young_568473.htm
Los Yankees,
Sorry dude, but you’re totally clueless. “Forgetting Crede’s injury season last year, he had been a top player in this league. He’s far from mediocre.”
Joe Crede’s career line:
.259 .305 .446 92
The last number (92) is his career OPS+. In reality he’s been a below average player for his entire career. His career high OBP is .311.
That was all BEFORE major back surgery. Why don’t you try and refrain from posting such mindless crap.
Migames,
In his best season he hit 30 HR’s with 94 RBI’s. Last year was injury-plagued. Weighing the other options i.e. Betemit, Beltre, Mora(?), and Cabrera (which will cost Hughes/Joba) Crede seems like a good choice alogn with Beltre. There just aren’t that many options out there without us losing one of the most promising young pitchers in baseball.
If we have to get rid of crede to get damon, its not worth it. Wilson Betemitt is Joe Crede.
Mora will be 36 in Feb.
The Yanks need to get younger!
Decent player though.
“Whozat - Crede has a CAREER OBP of .305. That my friend is horrible any way you slice”
Sigh.
I can’t even begin to COUNT the number of times I’ve said this.
OBP is not the be-all and end-all. In 05 and 06, Crede put up an OPS of over .800 against lefties. Betemit has good power against righties. There are decent odds that, by going with a well-run platoon, we could get better than average production at the hot corner. And, if it turns out that 06 Crede was the real Crede, then that’s HUGE. If it turns out that he’s a slick glove that only really hits lefties, then ok, Betemit provides us with good pop against righties. Combined, that’s a solid #7 hitter.
I’m not pushing for or against Crede, but just wanted to state the obvious. Once a person has back problems, they have them for life. Examples in the MLB: Randy Johnson and to a lesser extent Minky.
joe crede hit 30 homeruns, and walked 22 times. Thats is not a good sign at all. He sucked before the back problem and he will suck after it.
Based on one season it seems ludicrous but he also provides great defense. It’s not mindless and don’t be surprised if he isn’t playing 3rd base next season. The bottom line is Crede > Betemit.
“Andy
November 5th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
yeah, Crede is so bad he had a better season in 06 than A-Rod.
But he’s terrible.
Gold glove defense and a ring are a terrible combo to have I guess.”
Really? In 2006 AROD’s OPS+ was 134. Your boy Joe Crede the “Silver Slugger” 107.
Yah I don’t want Lowell either.. His spray chat was posted here a few times, and it’s terrible for any place other than Fenway.
Rebecca–I dont know it depends on who the Orioles would ask for. Would I trade any of the big 3 no way but I like him more than Crede
wilsons numbers: .260/.332/.439
crede numbers: 259/.305/.446
factor in age, injury and how much it cost the yankees. I would argue that wilson is better option than crede
Changing the subject, what do we think about signing Aaron Rowand?
Let the stats war begin.
“Wilson Betemitt is Joe Crede.”
Wow, that’s SO FAR from true. Crede is a righty with a slick glove - provided he’s healthy. Betemit is a middling glove that’s nominally a switch hitter, but has really only shown pop from the left side. Also, he’s never really been given a full-time shot. So it’s not entirely clear what Betemit really is.
You would get more production out of Aaron Boone than Joe Crede.
The upside to Crede is that they wouldn’t be making a longterm committment to a stiff like Lowell. Watching Lowell decline for the next 4 or 5 years at $15 mil per (while the Red Sox FO and their fans laugh) would be too much for me to take.
“Changing the subject, what do we think about signing Aaron Rowand?”
NO, NO, NO.
He will command a long deal, is 30, and has had two good seasons, one of them in a bandbox in a contract year.
“OBP is not the be-all and end-all.”
No it isn’t, but it’s a damn good place to start. The more guys on your team get on base the more runs you score period. That’s how Mike Lowell ended up with the most RBI’s on the Red Sox. The guys in front of him were always on base.
“Changing the subject, what do we think about signing Aaron Rowand?
Let the stats war begin.”
Honestly it seems like a giant waste for the Yankees to sign anybody this season other than their own guys(Posada, Mo, and Pettitte).
The 09/2010 Free Agent crops are so rich in talent that I’d wish the Yankees just sit pat and hold their money for next year. They also have a ton of money coming off the books coming off after 08 and 09 so it really works for them.
Rowand, Hunter, and Jones. These guys arent worth giving multiple years at 15 Million a year.
Is Scott Brosius around? Somebody call him and make him an offer.
I think if Beatshismeat gets a chance to be an everyday player he’d be ok. Once he becomes patient at the plate, I can see him hitting .280 30-35 HRs.
“The upside to Crede is that they wouldn’t be making a longterm committment to a stiff like Lowell. Watching Lowell decline for the next 4 or 5 years at $15 mil per (while the Red Sox FO and their fans laugh) would be too much for me to take.”
Exactly right gargoyle.
I only wish that the Yankees have learned their lesson from the Johnny Damon signing.
Wow! Pete may not think this blog needs registration but after reading some of this mornings comments I know it needs IQ testing.
especially w/ people calling for Brosius
I’ve said it before, if Cashman trades Damon straight up for Crede and the Yankees five Chicago money in addition to that, I’ll become a Red Sox fan.
That is the dumbest trade idea in all of the one’s that are floating out there.
I’ve gone into this a hundred times — Crede has no position to play on his team, makes 5 million and is coming off back surgery. Why a GM would trade our healthy leadoff hitting starting LF for that and give them cash too, is beyond ludicrous.
“No it isn’t, but it’s a damn good place to start.”
Yes, and the next step is to look at OPS. When you’re talking about guys in the bottom half of the lineup, taking walks isn’t always the most useful thing.
If my number 7 hitter has an 800 OPS, and it’s more due to slugging than walking, that’s a good thing.
Brandon-
Haha wow. Twas a joke my friend.
Wilson’s age and the fact that he’s a switch hitter who has some power from the left are positives. And there aren’t many world-class 3rd basemen available anyway.
Isn’t it ironic how A-rod’s considered a 3B now?
Lowell>Figgins>Betemit>Crede>NL 3B
I see Lowell staying in Boston. The Angels aren’t going to give us their most versatile position player.
Wilson seemed to do a lot better from the bench than as a starter, but I’d like to see what Kevin Long could do with young Wilson to cut down on his strikeouts. If he could fix Cano’s plate discipline (!) maybe he can help Betemit, too. If Betemit is that much better from the left consider batting him that way more often than not against LH pitching.
If there are no other options, you have to play Betemit over Cano at 3B.
I know DMan couldn’t help it
Haha. =P
Well I wonder if any actual news will filter down through these meetings, or if we just hear a bunch of rumors for another week.
Betemit is in Winter ball this year he will work on the right side so don’t sleep on him.
DMan I’m listening to Max Kellerman he makes no sense he doesn’t even want to trade Ian Kennedy for anything not Kazmir not Cabrera..LOL my car would be on standby
Global
I don’t particularly want Lowell or Crede but of the two Crede is much LESS of a mistake. He can be discarded cheaply when a better option comes along whereas they’d be stuck with Lowell and his huge contract forever.
I wouldn’t be too pissed if they used a platoon of Crede vs lefties (his OBP is 40 points higher vs lefties .273/.340/.508 in 2006) and Betemit vs righties (again much better v RH .268/.347/.464) until a better option presenst itself
That said I would not deal Damon for Crede.
“The Angels aren’t going to give us their most versatile position player.”
If they sign ARod, they might. Or, if they trade for Beltre or something. They’re YEARNING for a power bat, and 3B is really the only place they have to put one. That leaves Figgins without a place to play. And, they have other options for leadoff (Orlando Cabrera, for example).
He might be gettable, then. I’d not play him at 3B, though. I’d play him in CF, which would allow us to use both Damon and Melky in deals to bring back other things we need (3B, 1B, maybe Santana, with the right other pieces)
I wonder what we get if we dangle Matsui and Giambi ?
If AROD goes to the Red-sucks,he will be a shortstop.
I know management will look kind of bad,but the yankess will have a solid team.
Brandon-
Very little I’d guess..
Or if anything, they’d want us picking up a ton off those contracts.
What we’d get for Giambi? You mean aside from getting laughed at?
I agree with Kellerman on Kennedy. He will be a very good pitcher.
Matsui’s not going anywhere, he’s too valuable. (don’t laugh)
Jason’s not going anywhere, he’s too cooked.
“Lowell>Figgins>Betemit>Crede>NL 3B”
Are you saying that those 4 are better than any NL 3B man? Do you know anything about baseball?
Above post directed to mel.
For all the diehards out there, just wanted to pass along that there is the full interview of Scott Boras on Charlie Rose, that you can find on youtube. He is indeed very swarmy, i don’t think i would be able to interview him myself. I’m listening to it now, it’s not new, but he focused on arod’s 252 million deal. Just wanted to pass along this webfind. thanks
will someone be telling the blog that daylight savings time is over?
“I wonder what we get if we dangle Matsui and Giambi ?”
Given that both have full no-trades and don’t want to leave…thinking about trading them is pretty pointless.
Matsui at least has value. But he’s also the biggest power threat currently on the roster, unless Giambi actually plays the whole season and can produce more like he did in 05 and 06.
I might go to the winter meetings. Im trying to get a job in baseball.
Hey everyone…here is my view of how our pitching rotation matches up with Boston’s next year (assuming Pettitte returns and Schilling doesnt) rating out of 100
Boston New York
Beckett 95 Wang 85
Deuce-K 83 Pettitte 84
Bucholtz 75 Hughes 77
Lester 70 Joba 65 (no ML exp as starter)
Wakefield 60 Moose 61 (kennedy might be better but could be used as trade bait)
Basically, if Hughes and Joba become the studs we all assume them to be they could be better than I rate them right now, while Lester really doesnt have that high of a ceiling. To be hones the only place we are lacking compared the Sox is in the ace department. I think we match up well at the 2-5 spots in the rotation and we could have a significant advantage if Joba can be about 80 percent as a dominant as a starter as he was as a reliever. If we somehow trade somebody to get Johan without giving up Joba, or Hughes then we will have a much better rotation then the Red Sox. That along with hopefully getting back Mo would make our pitching better than theirs since all they can count on their pen is OkieJoke and Papsmear, our bullpen would be comparable. What do you all think?
Jason is in the last year of his contract. IF he wants a new contract expect him to put up big numbers.
ps. about the youtube video, the sound and video are off snyc slightly, FYI. I find it interesting to compare the part where he is talking about greg maddox telling him he doesn’t want to the highest paid player in baseball, to arod’s quote about how much he enjoys being the highest paid.
keith,
No, I don’t know anything about baseball. And I should clarify that as “any NL 3B that would be available in a trade”. What I meant is that I’d be wary of NL stats that are based largely on NL pitching.
What’s fine for other teams is not necessarily going to cut it for the Yankees. I’d be shocked if the Yankees went and traded for a 3B from the NL.
Hey Pete
What do you think of this article that claims Arod did all of this to pave his way back to the Yankees?
1) Opted out during Game 4 to release a statement before Girardi’s hiring so as not to create the perception that he opted out because Girardi was the new manager?
2) That if some LA team offered Arod $32 mil for 8 years that the Yankees (the richest team in sports) can claim poverty by losing out on Texas’ $30 mil?
3) His stated concern over where Mo, Posada and Pettitte sign will actually strengthen his bonds with those teammates.
Pretty flimsy in my opinion, but you can read it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/sports/baseball/04score.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin
when is Joe Torre not going to be on my T.V. screen
I mean obviously mCabrera is available but he will probably be too costly. I haven’t heard about other 3B up for sale from the NL aside from maybe Atkins, and while his splits leave something to be desired I believe he’s a better option than Crede.
Torre made it official. Bowa and Matingly signed with Dodgers.
GLove you are still crazy for thinking that ARod is a clubhouse cancer.
Let’s rewind to the end of April. ARod was a monster that month and had a couple of walk-off blasts to propel the Yankees to emotional victories that later appeared on YES as Yankee Classics. Was anybody (including yourself) calling him a clubhouse cancer then? I can’t speak for you obviously, but nobody else I spoke too was calling him a clubhouse cancer. Everyone was appreciative of his awesomeness. Then through mideseason guys like Abreu and Cano and Damon were still struggling. But ARod led the charge as he, Jeter, and Posada carried the offense and the Yankees hovered near the .500 mark. Was anybody (including yourself) calling him a clubhouse cancer then? The people I know certainly weren’t on that bandwagon. In fact it was the opposite. The reaction was more like “wow without ARod we would be the laughstock of baseball this year. good thing this guy is on our team. he is really helpful to keeping our playoff hopes alive.” Then comes the Yankee surge from July through the end of the season. ARod hits #500 along the way and there is much ARod love throughout the Yankee landscape. Was anybody (including yourself) calling him a clubhouse cancer then? Nobody that I spoke to thought along those lines. He was the #1 reason why the Yankees made the postseason this year.
So on October 1st nobody was calling this guy a clubhouse cancer. Then the Yankees lose to Cleveland in 4 games, mostly thanks to Wang bombing 2 starts. Nobody was calling ARod a clubhouse cancer at this point, but the “unclutch” rumblings unfairly surfaced again. Fine, but those people weren’t calling him a clubhouse cancer.
Then he opts out during the World Series before even meeting with the Yankees. And all of a sudden that makes him a clubhose cancer? None of that even happened in the clubhouse! It’s called the offseason. He declared for free agency. If he signed an extension with the Yankees you probably wouldn’t be calling him a clubhouse cancer. And that is ridiculous. You are essentially calling someone a clubhouse cancer for handling an opt-out situation poorly. What, does the Yankee clubhouse have low morale now that he is gone?? Wghat exactly has he done to hurt the Yankee clubhouse?? He is the main reason they reached the postseason in 2005 and 2007. Think about how stupid your claim sounds. You could easily say something like “the guy is greedy” etc but you can’t say he ruins a clubhouse. What a joke!
How about Encarnacion from the reds. Looking at his stats, they arent that bad. He is also young at 24. I havnt seen him play, so Im not so sure if he has an up side. Would he just cost us b level players.
If Crede is available for Damon and they take his whole contract, I say pull the trigger. Everyone keeps saying that Crede comming off of an injury. True but Damon is injury free either. He has been injured for the past 3 years now. What makes us think he will be o.k. this up comming year. At least with Crede if he does get hurt, we arent stuck with him for 2 years and can get someone else mid season.
If we lose Damon, why not put Abreu first in the lineup.
keith,
Oh yeah, I forgot about Miguel Cabrera. Someone tried to argue here that he would be able to drop 75 pounds if he really tried. I think that Cash holds on to his pitching prospects (btw, how big a mistake did the Marlins make by not trading Willis at his peak?)
The Yankees are in a conundrum at 3B like they were at 1B last year. The question is did they trade for Betemit knowing he could be a very real stopgap if and when Alex opted out? Proctor was pretty valuable to us.
Fruity Fruitcake,
A-rod was more of a benign cancer. Harmless, yet still something that needed constant attention.
We respect your opinion, but the actions and words of players, management, and ownership of the Yankees speaks volumes about how they felt about Alex. No one’s lamenting the fact that he’s gone. It’s all about the Yankees,now, not all about Alex.
On Crede and Beltre.
The Yankees have two capable players, namely Phillips and Betemine, who can play third base.
They have enough high-priced all stars, so don’t hold your breathe waiting for them to give up anything to get another.
The new Yankees are all about saving money, getting good chemistry and developing young talent.
Pete’s really blowing me away with all the “blogging” that’s been going on since 12:37 am.
Relax — just teasing Pete, but the lack of new posts really does remind me how much I rely on this incredible blog for news and updates - thanks Pete and good luck during this busy week!
Lowell is the only 3B I would love for the Yankees to get. If Boston does not offer him enough years on a contract I would gladly “oveppay” for him in years &/or $. He will produce at the plate & in the field in regular AND post-season and has great tough at-bats.
Spend $ on the bullpen, at all costs, & KEEP Joba right in the pen
where he will help us win many more games for much longer than as a starter.
Joe G. will know how to manufacture runs & win games if we can shore up the pen.