Today in The Journal News
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- November
- 10
Joe Torre and Derek Jeter think Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera will return to the Yankees. But Posada and Rivera ducked questions.
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on Saturday, November 10th, 2007 at 3:33 am by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
read what derek jeter said
you don’t have to read between the lines
it’s apparent that jeter is not too unhappy with a-rot’s departure
neither is this poster/yankee fan
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have read with considerable interest the various solutions to what many of you think of as the third base problem that the Yankees have.
First of all, I want to assure you that they do not have a problem, they have a situation. They actually have two players with considerable skills who have played third base, they are Andy Phillips and Wilson Batemit.
Yet it is our job as loyal Yankee fans to do all in our power to suggest how the Yankees can improve themselves.
Sometimes it it necessary to think outside the box and make suggestions that might not occur to the decision makers. I have such a suggestion.
The Yankees have a player with tremendous athletic ability, a powerful throwing arm and the proven ability to hit near 300. He is Melky Cabrera. It will take time for him to learn a new position but he should be great at it by the time they get into the World Series.
But, you say, he is needed in the outfield. Yes, they have three other outstanding outfielders, but they are getting older and prone to injury. But, let me tell you my friends there is another outfielder available as a free agent who can hit with the power and average that Arod can. In fact last year, he was one of about 8 players in major league baseball who played in over 100 games and had an On base percentage plus slugging average of over 1.00.
That is, of course, Barry Bonds. Old he is, but he still can play the game. He did this last year in the National League where they did not have a designated hitter rule.
And yes, he will handle the NY Press with the same aplomb that he handled the West Coast press.
On D Ball:
Take your phone, press 9-1-1. The operator will ask you what’s your emergency. Tell her that Melky Cabrera should be converted to 3d base and that the Yanks should sign Barry Bonds. The EMTs should be there within 3 minutes.
if the quaility of blogging continues at this level i’m looking for another board
Off topic, I know, but it seems that RSN became smaller this morning with the passing of Norman Mailer.
Despite his NY roots, seems he was a RS fan. Just one of many “issues” he had, i guess, despite the talent. RIP.
Supposedly, never got over the Dodgers leaving NY.
Oh yeah:
Melky to third?
Huh?
Jeter was on the money when he said the Yanks can win without relying so much on one player. But they do need a legitimate 3rd baseman. Maybe Wilson Betemit can turn himself into Charlie Hayes, but for some reaon I doubt it. At this point the only similarity is their body fat content.
On D Ball –
Melky Cabrera throws left-handed – not usually a good thing for a third baseman.
Barry Bonds??!!
On D Ball –
Melky Cabrera throws left-handed – not usually a good thing for a third baseman.
Barry Bonds??!!
murphydog-
the last time i tried to call 911,i called 411 instead. it’s amazing what happens under pressure.
anyway, d ball’s idea were at least funny. the blog has been all over the charts without any consensus on what to do. nothing sounds good because yousimply don’t replace arod’s production.
the big problem that is new is that with revenue sharing and the luxury tax there are not a lot of quality free agents out there. in ’ 96, the yankees picked up a 28 year old tino martinez. seattle doesn’t make that trade now because they have the money to keep a 28 year old star player.
there are simply less quality free agents on the market. this raises the price on the ones that are out there like tori hunter and andru jones. and there are no quality free agent pitchers out there.
this is a new market situation in baseball. the yankees obviously need a new strategy to upgrade tthe team from year to year. adding a key free agent or making a trade because someone is too expensive for a small market team is not going to be an easy thing to do anymore.
so what’s left in the revenue sharing era? right now spending a lot on draft picks and young players seems to be the place to maximize the money advantage the yankees have. the problem is it takes at least two years for a pick to pay off. it looks like the yankees will sacrifice 2008 to get in sync with the new plan to spend heavily growing their own. given the skewed marketplace because of revenue sharing, it’s probably the best way to go. i have always thought the yankees should do everything to win every year, but this year may be different. maybe it is better for the yankees to go all in on homegrown for 2008 and take their chances on making the playoffs this year( it could still happen because every team has it’s problems).
it’s a new baseball maketplace so it’s going to take a new approach. the sooner the yankees take a strong position, the sooner they’ll be back . revenue sharing is a real problem . they have to figure out a way around it.
Barry Bonds?
It is now entirely possible that when I sit down to take my exam at 1 PM I will randomly burst out laughing.
On the plus side, last night I saw Field of Dreams for the first time, and there’s enough optimism there to last me a lifetime!
The Yankees would never go into a season telling their fans not to expect a whole lot. It would be a financial disaster- no 4 million plus tushies in the seats, ad revenues would tank, etc.
No, they’ll do the best they can to cobble together a contender, which will mean, horror of horrors, sacrificing one or several of the Untouchables.
When I was a kid in the late 60’s, “wait til next year” was all we had. Then of course, there were the dark 80’s.
The suits in Tampa won’t dare endanger this billion dollar baby now. I’m printing my 2008 World Champs T-shirt right now. Who else wants one?
“The Yankees would never go into a season telling their fans not to expect a whole lot.”
of course they wouldn’t , even if that was what they were doing. hey, if i had my way, i’d have the yankees spend 300 million a year and still make money. but that doesn’t seem like a direction and gamble they are going to take. if it was , they’d trade hughes, chamberlain, kennedy , melky,etc and get hunter, santana, aj burnett(when he opts out), and whoever else was out there.
i think the yankees are going to take a chance on not making the playoffs to be stronger later. not saying i like it, but it makes sense in this revenue sharing era (which i hate by the way).
Okay let’s say that it’s two out of three: Posada and Rivera return, Andy retires. Then Rodriguez goes to the Angels and Cabrera goes to the Dodgers and Tejada comes to the Yankees, leaving us with enough movable parts to acquire Santana (plus Hunter?) or Kazmir (plus another outfielder). Melky and Hughes, plus Farnsworth and other lesser lights, are gone, along with a bunch of bucks.
Is that the end of the world as we know it? Oh, wait, the world as we know it already ended…
Third best OPS in all baseball and you guys don’t want him on your team????
And he is available for a one year contract.
And he is half the price of Arod.
Played 128 games last year.
Where will Posada, Rivera, Arod be at the end of their new contracts??????? Any chance they will be injured or over the hill?
These long term contracts are good for the player, but can be disaster for the club.
Here we know what the guy did last year. Not three years ago.
Rebecca:
The first time I saw Field of Dreams I was completely unprepared for the effect of the game of catch with his father. A three hanky movie.
Break a leg today. (Good luck!).
All I know is that my Pilsner Urquell at the Beers of the World behind Section 2 is gonna cost me $9 whether Wilson Betemit is the 3rd baseman or Alex Rodriguez.
We all agree that the Yanks need to develop their young players. But Phil Hughes does not have an unhittable fastball. Ian Kennedy is a control pitcher. Neither of them are going to be #1 aces on a staff, but they certainly are going to be serviceable major league pitchers.
If the Yankees can acquire a legitimate ace like Santana or a right handed power bat like Cabrera, they ought to use a prospect or 2 to go get them. If it means trading Melky too, so be it. The Yanks system is supposedly deep. Let’s find out how deep it is and fill the holes with an Andruw Jones or Torii Hunter.
What I dont want to hear is about money. Unless the Yanks are going to rebate the fans from the high ticket prices and exhorbitant concession prices, I really dont care how much they spend.
ON D BALL,
The same people who say they dont want Bonds, are the same people who will cheer Jason G hit a game winnig hr for the Yanks this year.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/11/07/the_sorrow_and_the_pity_a_bronx_tale/
Got this off of River Ave Blues, thought I would share it because it is quite ridiculous.
ByanK,
I sent an e-mail to the author:
“I got a good laugh at your article about the Yankees. Apparently, you, like the team you write for, suffer from the classic Napoleonic Sydrome. You wish you could write for a big city newspaper ( like the New York Times ) and the team you write about wishes they could revel in a dynasty ( like the New York Yankees have had numerous times).
Pity not the New York Yankees. Assuming the Red Sox re-sign Mike Lowell and the Yankees re-sign Jorge Posada, the Yankees will still have better players at catcher, 2nd base, shortstop and right field than the Red Sox. If Coco Crisp is still in center,the Yankees have a big advantage there as well. If Jacoby Ellsbury develops ,we’ll see if he can hit .280 in the after big league pitchers make adjustments and lead AL outfielders in assists like Melky Cabrera has. Off season knee surgery should help Heideki Matsui, who drove in 103 run in ‘07 playing on one knee.
As far as the Red Sox vaunted pitching staff goes, forget not that in August & September the Red Sox sent their “aces” against the Yankees 6 times and lost 5 times. Overall, the Yankees won 10 of the last 14 games played between the 2 teams. In ‘08 the Yankees will be “rebuilding their decrepit pitching rotation” with two 21 year old kids, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes and a 22 year old Ian Kennedy to go along with 27 year old Chein Ming Wang.. Granted none of them cost $103mil like DiceK. But they aren’t old as old and decrepit as 42 year old Tim Wakefield, or 41 year olds like Mike Timlin and the most laughable blowhard in the sport Curt Schilling.
Enjoy your winter in New York’s favorite suburb, Boston, Massachusetts.”
Not surprisingly, I never heard back from him. LOL
D ball:
I admire your interest and ideas in suggesting improvements to the 2008 Yankees, but here’s a couple of thoughts to ponder:
Bonds is still a decent offensive force, but very, very impracticle in the left-hand heavy Yankee lineup – there are enough DHs for Joe G. to strategize with. Bonds was an outstanding defensive player once, but the thoughs of him patrolling cavernous LF at Age 44 in the Stadium is hilarious!
Melky throws left-handed – a distinct disadvantage for a third basemen,because of the extra step needed to throw to 1B. In fact the last “regular” left-handed third basemen was Hick Carpenter – he last played for the St. Louis Browns in…..1892. (Bonds rookie year, I think!)
That MLB video game has a serious glitch in it, huh?
Drive 4-5
Great letter you wrote!
Rebecca—
I know you’re probably deep into the GRE’s right now, but I wanted to let you know I thoroughly enjoyed your blog entry. Great use of the vocab! I was right with you until the word “hortatory.” Had to look that one up!
You’re going to have to let us all know how it went.
Pitching wins in the long run.The team with with the best staff,from starters to bullpen,amost always win.To mortage the future for Miguel Cabrera,would be a crippling mistake for the Yanks.Any big name at third is not the answer,if it involves sacrificing any of our young arms,including some(but not all) on our minor league rosters.Joe Crede,should or could be our answer at third.
“There aren’t too many people in the game who can do what he does. But we’re trying to win. It takes more than one person to win.”
If that was a question about Mariano being gone, Jeter would have said the same thing.
the reality is if the yankees had arod , they would be in good shape for 2008( assuming posada and rivera are back). not having him is going to leave a huge hole. there’s no good way to repair the hole without making a lot of moves to jiggle everything around(moving cano ), signing bad contracts, or selling off the future.
the yankees brass clearly did not plan on being in this position, but here they are. judging from the confusion and lack of focus on the blog, it’s not looking good for 2008 right now.
they may still make the playoffs, but it’s not a lock. girardi has it in him to have the team overachieve. overachieving for the yankees in 2008 is where my hopes are because they simply don’t look like they will be that strong of a team. they are definitely at low ebb right now with 2009 looking a lot more promising because of young players developing and bad contracts dropping off.
Drive 4-5
Thanks for writing the exact same response that I would have. Good stuff.
Superb letter by Drive 4-5. The college cowtown is what was formerly known as the Bay State and still needs valuable lessons on how to accept winning minus the kiddie antics.
Good teams will repeat such as the Yankees have done 12 times in their storied history with the last being the three-peat of 2000. Boston hasn’t repeated as a World Champion since 1916.
Doreen—Thanks! I’m leaving in about fifteen minutes…doing some last minute review!
That punk from the Boston Globe wasnt gonna get off that easily! LOL
Randy l:
I understand what you’re saying about Arod’s departure creating a hole, but I don’t necessarily agree that a lot of moves are necessary to fix the problem.
Case in point: The Seattle Mariners won 91 Games and scored 907 runs in 2000. When “Stray-Rod” left for Texas, the 2001 Mariners won 116 Games and scored 927 runs. The offense was able to distribute ARod’s offensive output more evenly and became a better overall Team.
A guy like Lowell ( the only way to trump the Sox is an offer of 4 years/$55 Mil) can plug the gap for a few years until younger talent develops at the position.
Again much will depend upon the maturity of the three youngsters in the starting rotation, and, of course, improvement of the BP.
By the way, I’m from Massachusetts and that “New York’s favorite suburb” line sends Bostonians into a frothing rage every time LOL
old Tim Wakefield, or 41 year olds like Mike Timlin and the most laughable blowhard in the sport Curt Schilling.
Hey Drive 4-5…Schillling won 3 playoff games this year. Would you refresh my memory on how many games your “ace” Wang won this year in the playoff??
Okay, I’m heading out. Keep the optimism going, all right?
I’ll let you all know how it goes when I get back.
“Among the night’s highlights was Williams joining Springsteen on stage for “Glory Days,” in which the former Yankee center fielder brought down the house with two guitar solos. Springsteen, who also delighted the audience, played a song tribute to Torre and the Yankees and said he would include it on his next album.”
Would love to hear that.
Do you really think that what we say on this blog affects the Yankees in any way, shape or form?
drive 4-5: great response!
Pete, what the heck did Bruce play last night? Backstreets doesn’t even have it up yet!
http://www.wfan.com has the audio interviews up from the Safe at Home dinner.
Signing Barry Bonds??!
Brining in Barry Bonds to “fix” a problem reminds me of those Olestra weightloss potato chips that give you anal leakage. Sure you can be thin but you’ll have to live with constant diarrhea. This is the NY Yankees, have we really become so desparate and irrational?
Randy I is right…The dynamics of MLB is costantly shifting….That being said, if the best pitcher on the planet becomes availableand he will, then make every effort to obtain him, and the Yanks will….It may cost a Kennedy ,a Melky and some AAA blue chipper arms, BUT don’t you make the deal???? 3rd base will not be as difficult as some contend, but did someone here actually suggested Melky ?? and Bonds as an otfielder….Wonder what Andru Jones will cost after a down year ???? Maybe he resurects his career in the Bronx ????
I’m not sure what’s worse. Drive4-5’s rambling nonsense or people patting him on the back for a “great email”.
[quote]Assuming the Red Sox re-sign Mike Lowell and the Yankees re-sign Jorge Posada, the Yankees will still have better players at catcher, 2nd base, shortstop and right field than the Red Sox.[/quote]
I remember making position-by-position arguments in 5th grade. But I’ll bring myself down to your level for a sec. So Boston has better players @ 3rd, 1st, LF, and DH. By the way, I think your assumtpion that Cano is better than Pedroia reeks of homerism.
[quote]If Jacoby Ellsbury develops ,we’ll see if he can hit .280 in the after big league pitchers make adjustments and lead AL outfielders in assists like Melky Cabrera has. Off season knee surgery should help Heideki Matsui, who drove in 103 run in ‘07 playing on one knee.[/quote]
Amazing how your optimism and assumptions seem to all slant in one direction. Thanks for the Matsui prognosis doc.
[quote]As far as the Red Sox vaunted pitching staff goes, forget not that in August & September the Red Sox sent their “aces†against the Yankees 6 times and lost 5 times.[/quote]
Wasn’t that around the time the Yankees found themselves in a must win situtation?
[quote]Granted none of them cost $103mil like DiceK. [/quote]
WOW! We have us a born-again Yankees fan. Look at Drive taking a payroll pot shot, impressive.
[quote]But they aren’t old as old and decrepit as 42 year old Tim Wakefield, or 41 year olds like Mike Timlin[/quote]
Wakefield who won 17 games this season, Timlin who came up huge for the Red Sox in the postseason, oh yeah, those guys.
[quote]and the most laughable blowhard in the sport Curt Schilling.[/quote]
Now when I think “old and decrepit”, I think of a 45-yr old who gets paid $18 million to win 6 regular season games and then not even show up for his team in a big playoff spot.
Then again maybe you’re right. I guess Boston will have to settle for Schilling who pitched to a 3.87 era in the regualar season and then won 3 playoff games while NY once again courts Roger Clemens.
LathamJoe, How do you prove that removing A-Rod is the cause for other batter to produce more? Just how does one player leaving mean others will produce at a rate they didn’t before. With all due respect, that logical leap of faith doesn’t mean a single thing.
Lowell is a career .273 batter if you take out the last season where he lived off the green monster. His bat is lacking, and he would get too much money and too many years to bring him to the Bronx. That would be a big mistake and it wouldn’t take long till he was viewed as Giambi is now viewed.
latham joe-
i hope you’re right about the possibility of distributing the offense around in a post arod era, but lowell just doesn’t feel right to me after seeing his away splits.
the bullpen though is an obvious place to pick up some games lost with arod leaving, but building a bullpen is so difficult to project. but i agree that’s an obvious spot to improve over 2007. i’m not saying the yankees can’t make the playoffs in 2008. i’m just saying that this position that yankee management is in is not by design because there is no way they want to be in this position. now they’re in it, they have to figure the best way out. the best way out may be taking their chances for 2008 without comitting to dicey long term contracts like lowells. i hate to say it, but i think it may be true that there is no easy way out of the mess they are in.
“it wouldn’t take long till he was viewed as Giambi is now viewed.”
MoPoRo,
To be that big of a bust, Lowell would have to cut his production in half and more than double his salary.
NYPD113th
Impressive posting!
pat m.,
you and i have the advantage of having been around the block a few times with different yankee eras. this seems to me to be a pivotal time. when the yankees lost munson, on the field it created a hole they didn’t recover from. yeah they had some good years in the 80’s ,but nothing like the 77-78 teams. by ‘67 the yankee dynasty of the mantle /maris years was gone. now it’s clear that the ‘96-2001 core has run it’s course. the difference now is that the yankees do have a lot going for them. they are not going to fall off the table like in the late 60’s and early eighties. 2008 though seems to be lining up as an ugly duckling transition year. teams like boston, cleveland and detroit seem better set up for next year.cleveland especially.
one thing that is going to be different this year is that coaches that did not have much major league success are going to be in authority positions. under torre, it was mostly all star coaches coaching all star players. i don’t know how this journeyman coaches approach will play out ,but it will be different.
We don’t NEED to replace all of A-Rod’s production, just some of it.
What we NEED is to improve our pitching. We do this by keeping the young guys and trying to get one more serious guy. If our pitching improves, we don’t need to score as many runs. Look at where scoring that many runs got us this year? Nowhere.
We also need to play smarter, manufacture more runs, and play a bit more small ball. It was becoming so rare in Torre’s last few years that people would comment on it. “Ah, they’re playing small ball tonight.”
We need more timely hitting. We need to make our own luck. How? We need to run smarter on the basepaths and bunt more. We need to be patient.
I am not nearly so worried about runs. We had “A-Rod’s production” for four years. Where did it get us?
Let him take his prodigious production somewhere else, rack up a lot of numbers, win a few games in the first half of the season, then go home on 10/1 and count his bread.
We need pitching.
“Do you really think that what we say on this blog affects the Yankees in any way, shape or form?”
i think that the blog reflects the situation fairly accurately that the yankees are in. if the team has a weakness the blog will focus in on it. i think the blog does a good job of getting the big questions down. right now the blog is all over the charts because it is a time and situation where there are no easy answers.
i think one thing most people agree on is that it’s going to be a transitional year. how to do the transition is where the differing opinions come in.
Latham Joe
Good post.
Yeh! I know Cabrera is a lefty and third base needs a righty. Too Bad.
As far as Bonds batting left. I don’t worry about that. He is such a great hitter, even at his age, that he can hit lefties better than 90% of the righties.
As far as the drug use that seems to bother some of the purests, it is a dead issue. Last year they had the toilet hooked up to a test machine so his urine could be tested every time. He was third best in baseball at age 44 even without the steroids.
I believe steroids do a great job of bulking a man up(along with a bunch of harmful effects), but they don’t help him hit home runs. Bonds was a great player before the steroids and has been a great player after the steroids. First 40-40 man.
Too bad he can’t play third base.
Wow!, shocking that Ray the RS fan agrees with NYPD113th, the other RS fan.
BTW, the RS don’t have a 3B.
“BTW, the RS don’t have a 3B.”
And the Yanks don’t have a catcher or closer, shocked you didn’t point that out
Yeah Randy I, the comparisons are similar…The past few years was much like the team od the 80’s, great lineup, short on starting pitching….Those 80 teams had great lineups , and every off-season they’d sign some big ticket item and always traded away the young arms….The new Cashman direction is solid as we all agree..Build the foundation with plentiful power arms ….Defense to go along with young pitching will prevail….Someone brought up the 96 trade with Seattle that brought Tino to the Bronx….That what makes the Tejada prospects interesting, he’s young, great stick, and has gold in his glove…The roid issue is of concern however…...The transition peroid is now on fast forward, and it’s exciting I feel…..Just keep building around pitching, you can always find or buy offense…...Picking up Santana would be just like getting the Catfish back in 75, which really was the start…Well dumping Bobby Bonds for Mickey Rivers & Ed Figerueo helped a bit…...
Girardi can still catch & Joba can close.
You have to be kidding yourself if you stand behind that piece of garbage in the Globe. The inferiority complex the RS fans have has worn off on their sportswriters as well.
Rebecca:
Hope your GRE went well.
I visited the Field of Dreams for the first time last summer while on RAGBRAI. I got tears in my eyes just standing there. If you ever get a chance to visit it, you should.
Keep the optimism crusade going.
By the way, why is everyone so intent on trading IPK and Melky? I have no problem adding exactly zero free agents, and making zero trades before next season as long as Mo and Po come back.
We need to give Wilson, Andy, and a NUMBER of young pitchers a chance to do the job. With ZERO moves, I feel confident in this team.
How crazy is it for the Yanks to get older through trades? How crazy is it to trade Melky when he is best buds with Robbie? They help each other and provide ENERGY to this team.
“The inferiority complex the RS fans have has worn off on their sportswriters as well.”
The denial by Yankee fans that Boston has clearly been the better team over the last 5 years and are the better team right now is the current complex.
Okay ladies… settle down. It’s too soon for name calling and b*tch slapping. It’s November. By Opening Day, the Yankees will have a catcher and closer, and the Red Sox will have a 3d baseman. Nobody knows what’s happening with A-Rod or Santana or Cabrera, Blalock, Crede or any of the other names the blogosphere has in motion. There’s plenty of time for sassy retorts once we see where everybody lands.
NYPD113: hope you’re not posting from work. I know your ICO.
I’m not in denial, the RS played really well when it counts, I give credit when its due. The comeback in the 2004 ALCS was incredible.
“NYPD113: hope you’re not posting from work. I know your ICO.”
1) I am posting from work
2) Lt. Acosta is a douche
“By the way, I think your assumtpion that Cano is better than Pedroia reeks of homerism.”
NYPD113: Ask 10 MLB scouts who has the higher upside. 9 of the 10 will answer with Cano. I think that YOU are the one guilty of “homerism”. Let’s see how well Dustin hits when he’s been in the League 3 years and pitchers adjust to his penchant to swing at eye-high fastballs.
MoPoRo:
Obviously no one can “prove” how the Yankees’ lineup will adjust to ARod’s offensive production – that can only happen at the conclusion of the 2008 Season. My only point is that MLB Teams in the past have adjusted to losing a single player’s offensive production and its entirely possible with the Yankees.
Also, I strongly doubt that Lowell will turn into “another Giambi in 3-4 years’ – this guy is eons beyond Giambi in fielding skills! Yes, Lowell’s spray chart in Fenway is better than on the road – virtually every good Red Sox right hand hitter adjusts to the friendly dimensions of Fenway’s left side!
NYPD113:
Relax a little, pal. You’re ahead, remember? Boston has two WS in the last 4 years, the Yankees have none. That’s a pretty conclusive description of the current situation.
The Yanks, however, played the Sox pretty hard this past year and after digging a huge hole early got back to within two games. Boston never put the Yanks away. But the Yankee pitching died in the first round again and the Sox rolled along. It is what it is.
The Yanks don’t currently have the pitching the Sox have. If the Yanks can land an ace (or one of the kids becomes one), and if they put some of their promising youth to work in the bullpen, next year could be very interesting.
NYPD113:
Courtesy, Professionalism and Respect.
A-Rod, good riddance. Sending him packing is the best off-season move the Yankees could have made.
No lineup in baseball has compared to the Yankees over the past three years. Such a lineup can chew through mediocre pitching in July, August and September but not October. It still could not get this team out of the first round.
They need a dominant starter who can deliver two wins in a five-game series. Maybe that is Joba or Hughes. Or maybe Johan Santana … A strong bullpen should be the next priority. Resign Rivera and trade for a lefty specialist. Fuentes from Colorado? Maybe Cashman can dump Farnsworth and a couple of lower-tier prospects on Baltimore for Tejada. Chone Figgins would be a good fit, too, after A-Rod signs with the Angels.
With a strong pitching staff, the team does not need a player to post A-Rod-like numbers. He was a selfish ballplayer, a cancer in the clubhouse. Let him break the home run record elsewhere. Jeter will be refreshed with A-Rod gone. So will Posada and Rivera when they resign. The Yankees want championships, not individual records.
didn’t you guys miss the playoffs last year and finished in third place ?
Some of you need to take a breath and let the roster take shape before you crown the Yankees WS champs or cellar dwellers. The Yankees have found a way to be competitive for the last 15 years and I hope that trend continues but there are question marks.
For a Boston writer or RS fan to question the Yankees ability to get it done in 2008 is not absurd right now. If Boston was looking at going into the 2008 season without Papelbon, Ortiz, Shilling and Varitek would you not think their chances of being competitive were compromised?
That’s the same situation the Yankees are in right now. That may change tomorrow but it is the fact of the matter today. How Cashman can address those needs is going to tell the story of how competitive the Yankees will be capable of being.
PAUL V is right on.Runs won’t be our problem regardless of who is at 3B, stranding runners & Timely hitting was a problem that Joe G. will be able to help with by manufacturing runs. WE NEED A BULLPEN that can throw strikes and actually get people OUT like in the glory days when we OWNED the 7th,8th,9th & therefore the game. Use A-rod $ to buy a good durable bullpen, & KEEP JOBA right there where he will help us win many more games than as a starter. Do not get rid of any of our good YOUNG pitching prospects To Get SANTANA or any other big name OLDER starter. Our history with signing guys like that is a train wreck going back as far as Don Gullet which is way before most of your times.
A solid, young starting staff that will give us innings is Preferable to an overpriced ace with weaker # 2s,3,4s, especially with longevity of an already established Ace ALWAYS an issue. Getr a little more D & speed & spend lavishly on the PEN.
Good Post, Tucker.
An “ace” must develop in order for the Yanks to go farther into the Post Season, and the BP needs both a strong lefty and improved performances from its late inning arms.
However, I doubt that Figgins would be the answer to the offense. I good run producer hitting from the right side is needed in the middle of the lineup – either from both or one of the corner infield positions.
The Oakland A’s every off season lost a key offensive player, from Giambi, Dye , Tejada , even Damon and they always made the playoffs or were in the hunt…Why may you ask, look no further than to their pitching and their defense….The Angels took the Yankee blueprint of the 90’s and are a playoff contending team every season since 02….Pitching and defense….My point is. buy a FA only to fill a need, not just for the sake of putting a fanasty team on the field…..However, Betemit as an everyday 3rd baseman is a gamble I think…..Once again, if Johan Santana is obtainable, you really have to consider that move….I like Melky, but he is replaceable..Santana is the best there is, plus he gives you the edge vs. Beckett…..
“NYPD113: Ask 10 MLB scouts who has the higher upside. 9 of the 10 will answer with Cano. I think that YOU are the one guilty of “homerismâ€. Let’s see how well Dustin hits when he’s been in the League 3 years and pitchers adjust to his penchant to swing at eye-high fastballs.”
I never ever said that Pedroia was better, I just said it was biased to declare that Cano IS better. Maybe he is, maybe Pedroia is, either way, it’s damn close.
As far as your little “9 out of 10” statement, please relax.
“didn’t you guys miss the playoffs last year and finished in third place ?”
;););)
WOW!
Didn’t know there was anybody out there still holding onto that one agent.
I wasn’t able to enjoy our championship this year because of that very fact. LMAO!!!!!!!!
“NYPD113:
Courtesy, Professionalism and Respect.”
LMAO, yeah, whatever you say murph.
CAR 54 WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU ???????
i’m sure there are going to be some big-time moves made by the yankees soon, but the era of dumb moves may be over. phil hughes will only get traded away in a deal for a LH starter, not for a bat. and the yankees are not going to give up two of hughes, joba, kennedy in ANY deal.
the yankees will never go into total “rebuilding” mode-
they are going to look to win it all in 2008, like always-but i think they’re going to be really, really cautious with their young players.i think the best deal the yanks can make for a third baseman is to trade for miguel tejada. sure, there’s some uncertainty there, but there’s no doubt that he is a solid player. AND rumors have it that it wouldn’t take a boatload of talent to obtain him…farnsworth/melky could get the deal done, and that would be a good deal for both sides. the yanks would have filled a big hole and still have some surplus young pitching available to deal for a LH starter. a free agent signing, or two, or three—rowand? iwase?
wood?-
a surprise, or two, out of spring trainingmelancon?-and boom, you’ve got a good-looking team going into 2008.nypd113th-
the red sox finished two games ahead of the yankees this year in the regular season. winning a world series means nothing about what a team will do the next year. look at the cardinals last year. the regular season measures a team better than the crap shoot that is the playoffs. the regular season says there is little difference between the teams.
the trend of where things are going is where things get interesting. john henry has lost about 2/3 of his funds in his hedge fund business. i had thought the guy was worth 3 billion or so. fortune magazine says he’s not even a billionaire now. boston magazine has him at 780 million. bottom line is that henry is in financial trouble if his business continues tanking.
the yankees are owned by a billionaire who is listed on fortunes top 400 list, and figures, despite some family dysfunction, to do better as the value of the yes network continues to rise and with the funds of the new stadium coming in.
don’t be so sure that the red sox are going to have the money to continue taking chances on players like drew,matsuzaka, lugo etc. manny will be gone in 2008. don’t be so sure that he’s replaced with a star.
the reason that 2006 is still in play is that the red sox are erratic in their performance as a team from year to year.from gorilla suits to tension between lucchino and theo to henry’s pending potential bankrupcy( hey, you never know), the red sox are not as solid as they are believed to be.
new york’s money is deep. i’m not so sure boston’s is. the yankees may have hit a little bump in the road, but there’s 2 billion reasons that say they’ll be right back at the top.
I’m glad to see my posting got some Red $ox fans blood boiling.
ray, NYPD113,
You seem to to forget that the blowhard Schilling was 0-3 againt the Yanks in ‘07. An oh yea, Robbie Cano hit 2 home runs off him to beat him his last start lol
“I’m glad to see my posting got some Red $ox fans blood boiling.”
Blood boiling? Retarded arguments don’t bother me, they make me laugh. Actually your post was just the opposite, it was a source of amusement. What bothered me more was how many people actually thought you had something intelligent to offer.
“You seem to to forget that the blowhard Schilling was 0-3 againt the Yanks in ‘07. An oh yea, Robbie Cano hit 2 home runs off him to beat him his last start lol”
Another gem from Corky.
Forgive me Drive if a more lasting memeory of Schilling is a 3-0 postseason record with a 3.00 era.
How about this, I’ll take Schill going 0-3 against the Yanks in the 2008 regular season and Cano can hit 4 HR’s off him as long as he wins Game 2 of the 2008 WS.
“nypd113th-
the red sox finished two games ahead of the yankees this year in the regular season. winning a world series means nothing about what a team will do the next year. look at the cardinals last year. the regular season measures a team better than the crap shoot that is the playoffs. the regular season says there is little difference between the teams.
the trend of where things are going is where things get interesting. john henry has lost about 2/3 of his funds in his hedge fund business. i had thought the guy was worth 3 billion or so. fortune magazine says he’s not even a billionaire now. boston magazine has him at 780 million. bottom line is that henry is in financial trouble if his business continues tanking.
the yankees are owned by a billionaire who is listed on fortunes top 400 list, and figures, despite some family dysfunction, to do better as the value of the yes network continues to rise and with the funds of the new stadium coming in.
don’t be so sure that the red sox are going to have the money to continue taking chances on players like drew,matsuzaka, lugo etc. manny will be gone in 2008. don’t be so sure that he’s replaced with a star.
the reason that 2006 is still in play is that the red sox are erratic in their performance as a team from year to year.from gorilla suits to tension between lucchino and theo to henry’s pending potential bankrupcy( hey, you never know), the red sox are not as solid as they are believed to be.
new york’s money is deep. i’m not so sure boston’s is. the yankees may have hit a little bump in the road, but there’s 2 billion reasons that say they’ll be right back at the top.”
WOW, a lotta words with very little substance.
You seem to have Yankeeitis, a disease first seem in the early part of the 21st century. You aquate winning with money spent.
Color me ignorant, but I have a feeling Boston will not have a problem signing good players while developing from within.
As far as Manny being done in 2008, unless you have spoken to Theo yourseld, you don’t know what they will do with their option on him in 2009 and 2010.
Hey NYPD113,
Here’s the deal. You’re on a Yankee blog. If you don’t expect Yankee fans to think or write more favorably about the Yankees than the Red Sox you’re either kidding yourself or you’re here to simply start arguments.
If the latter is the case ,then you are the prototypical Red sox fan (obnoxious). No wonder you’re such a big Curt Schilling fan. No one can use 300 words and say nothing better than Schil, but you’re giving him a run for his money.
There’s a big difference between a “favorable” view of your team and just plain idiocy. You can have a favorable view while still being intelligent and realistsic.
You do neither.
As far a s being a “big Curt Schilling fan”, I was merely presenting facts and stats to disprove your retarded opions which you seem to deem as fact.
“Color me ignorant”
if you don’t know that henry is in financial trouble, i guess you described yourself perfectly.
NYP113,
“retarded”???? I hardly look or act like Manny Ramirez. But your propensity to call people names sure makes one think you’re more than a little immature.
As for your assertion that you were “presenting facts” ..isn’t it a FACT that the Red Sox lost 5 of their last 6 to the Yankees and 10 of their last 14??? Are those not FACTS?? Or are they just something you’d just as soon forget???
As for your assertion that you were “presenting facts†..isn’t it a FACT that the Red Sox lost 5 of their last 6 to the Yankees and 10 of their last 14??? Are those not FACTS?? Or are they just something you’d just as soon forget???
No, both of those are true statements. However, those are regular season accomplishments you presented yet failed to mention Curt’s far greater feats in far bigger games.
“retardedâ€???? I hardly look or act like Manny Ramirez. ”
I try not to get too caught up in if grown men on my baseball team are good looking or not.
There’s a name for men like that.
That Yankee fans still don’t take the Red Sox seriously, is not a problem for anyone but Red Sox fans. Keep worrying about what Yankee fans think instead of enjoying the fact that a swarm of bugs kept you from missing another WS win.