Yankees cool on Lowell
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- November
- 17
The reports of the Yankees wanting to give Mike Lowell four years never made much sense to me. Not given his splits, Brian Cashman’s desire to see what Shelley Duncan can do and the likely need to give Jorge Posada some ABs at first as time moves on.
Fear not, it seems that whatever interest the Yankees had in Lowell has all but vanished.
Meanwhile, has anybody seen or heard from Cashman? It seems like Hank Steinbrenner has become the team’s de facto spokesman and lead negotiator. If Cashman was involved in A-Rod’s return, nobody has mentioned it.
The relationship between Cashman and the Steinbrenners will be one to monitor. Now that Hank and Hal have the wheel, they seem determined to drive the car. Is Cashman just a passenger?
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on Saturday, November 17th, 2007 at 11:47 am by Peter Abraham.
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It was reported that Cashman was present at the meeting between Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez and the Steinbrothers.
I personally like lowell, is it a good move? Probably not. A 2 year deal at first would be awesome.. but giving up draft picks to Boston.. no thanks.
I was wondering the same about Cash? Wtf? Where is he in all this?
I can dream.. Miggy Cabrera at first, Johan SP, Mo .. whatever, Joba closer.. get some BP strength and wow.
Like I said, I can dream.. not like this would ever be a reality.
Pete, good points on Cash. Perhaps he was pissed off that Little Stein chose to re-negotiate with A-Fraud? if this is true, then Cash may be on the way out as he sees that the little Steins (Hank primarily) will be at the driving wheel.
I guess we won’t know until we know, but that’s my theory and I’m sticking with it.
Before Hank, Cashman never gave out quotes at the rate Hank does. It sounds like Hank speaks to every newspaper at least once a day. Cashman never did that. I do not think Cash has been silenced, more like Hank is the mouth that roars.
Glad to hear it about Lowell. He wasn’t going to be worth it. The Sox can pay whatever to reward him, and he’s a good hitter at Fenway, but the 1B experiment wouldn’t have ended well, I think. Get Duncan in there, see what he’s got.
I don’t know if this article has already been posted but I wanted to share the Wall St Journal version of the circumstances behind ARods return to the Yankees.
People will believe what they want; If you hate AROD or the Yankees you will believe that Boras planned this all along and that the Yankees have been duped.
I for one will choose to believe the respected jounalists at the WSJ (They are the same people who exposed Enron) rather than a bunch of gossip columns masquerading as sports jounalists. The Daily News actually printed that Art Modell (He of the 5th tier sporting goods francise in NY Modell’s) arranged the get together between the Yankees and AROD
How ridiculous
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119526835344296733.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
I
I think you are readining more into the Cashman/Hank & Hal roles. Hank has always refferd to the excellent baseball people the organization has and he has always referneced Cash as part of that.
If a team is going go commit $275+ to one player over ten years, any owner will be heavily involved.
“Now that Hank and Hal have the wheel, they seem determined to drive the car. Is Cashman just a passenger?”
well , hank does love dragsters. they go fast, straight ahead, don’t back up, make a lot of noise, and don’t have room for passengers.
http://www.dragracingonline.com/features/ivstein_1.html
Actually I do find the dynamics interesting here. First of all, why couldn’t A Rod just call Cashman and say he wanted to come back? I’m sure he has his number. Unless Cashman rebuffed him. I find it amazing that A Rod could only get in touch with them via Goldman Sachs via Randy Levine. BY the way, notice how quiet Levine has been since the Torre negotiations? He came off looking like the bad guy there. So there is definitely something behind the scenes here to think about.
How long before Hank forgoes the “patience plan” and starts issuing edicts like, “Anything less than a championship is unacceptable”?
If Cashman feels like he’s getting neutered, he’ll be smart enough to get out. He’d have a job the very next day.
On Lowell? Good news in that we don’t spend that big chunk of money. Just hope that Philly gives him what he wants. Don’t look forward to seeing him in Boston.
Yahoo Sports said that the Yankees and Molina have agreed to a two-year contract (worth $4 million).
Great news.
“First of all, why couldn’t A Rod just call Cashman and say he wanted to come back?”
Perhaps because Hank was the one saying “he doesn’t want to be a Yankee” and Alex wanted to make the personal connection to show that he was, in fact, coming back with hat in hand.
Apparently, until Mo comes back, Farnsworth is the closer. :/
At least, that’s how all the current depth charts are listing him (I find that ridiculous and unlikely on all levels).
What kind of a vacation is this?
East side yankee:
WSJ didn’t expose Enron. Fortune magazine did. Specifically a reporter named Bethany McLean did.
Now that Rupert Murdoch owns the WSJ, you can expect a huge increase in some really great unbiased reporting.
They caved on AROD and JoPo, so likely the four years will come for Mo.
danny:
Amen
They will not go beyond 3 years for Mo. In the case of Po, they feared Mets will snag him. In the cae of Mo, it is higly unlikey that another team will top the $$45mil offer given he is 38 years old and he is not effective as he was in the past. If you watched the games last year, even when Mo got a save, number of times it was an adventure with men on base before the door was closed.
The only thing I can think of is to save Mo’s face, they may give a fourth year option with low buy out like $1mil.
Jimmy you are incorrect
The downfall of Enron is directly linked to a series of articles describing in excruciating detail the accounting shenanigans that were taking place at Enron.
Ms. Mclean is a fine reporter and she and her colleague, Mr. Eichenwald, wrote a great book detailing the mess…but it was the reporters at the Journal who got the ball rolling. In fact they won a pulitzer prize for their efforts
Hank loves to talk, he and Hal both recognize that Brian Cashman is an excellent GM.
“What kind of a vacation is this?”
I don’t think the blog is a big stressor. Writing articles takes time and editing and rigorous fact checking. Blogs are just opinion. Read your mail, toss off some thoughts, go see Springsteen. Sounds like vacation to me:-)
I could completely understand why a deal of A-Rod’s magnitude would be done through the owner. That’s not a surprise. Given the fact that there was the statement we wouldn’t sign A-Rod after he opted out, Cashman can’t have the authority to then sign him.
If anything, Hank has been just saying exactly what Cashman has been saying all year long.
It’s probably best for the Yankees to pass on Lowell. Besides all of the other factors, it’s also good that they won’t be spending any more money on first basemen. Giambi’s contract ends (thankfully) after next season, giving them the opportunity to pursue a Mark Teixeira or anybody else. Teixeira is MUCH better than Lowell.
Stein versus Cashman making all the statements.
Correct me if I am wrong here Peter but is Hank calling all of these reporters himself saying I want to talk? I would imagine that the reason why we are seeing so many Hank quotes is that reportere see that he is willing to talk so they call him and ask for a quote. Unlike Big Stein who everyone had to go through Rubenstein. Until when they start calling and he says he has no comment there will continue to be Hank quotes all over the place. Also might is be a good thing so Cash can be the one doing the negotiations behind the scenes and not having to deal with the press. Hank did quote on the Mo thing that Cash was the one talking to the agnet not Hank.
Also Cashman was part of the Arod stuff, he was there in Tampa or at least that what was reported. Also it seems to me that it was Hank that had the harshest words for Arod if you recall Cashman only had good things to say about him, remember the statement and the intervies where he said rememebr he gave up his no trade, remember he switched positions etc etc the ONLY thing he said negative was that they would not negotiate after the opt out and how his major regret was that they were not able to talk to him before the opt out.
Interesting read on the NYT about why Rivera will not get a 4th year added to his deal & he will likely resign.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/sports/baseball/17chass.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=sports&adxnnlx=1195311691-uZVDnHTAdL58aTorYX0W1g&oref=slogin
“They caved on AROD and JoPo, so likely the four years will come for Mo.”
i think it’s the opposite. because the yankees have arod and posada, they can take the public relations hit of mo leaving. not that they want him to leave.
three years at 45 million is a good offer. the way out of this stalemate is to do a vesting 4th year. so many appearances and it’s guaranteed. hank has painted himself into a corner again with his tough talk so he can’t give a guaranteed 4th year without looking weak. and looking not tough is to be avoided at all costs in hank’s head.
mariano seems like he’s dug his heels in on this one too, so the innings or appearances vesting option gives him a way to get the fouth year. both sides will probably come out claiming victory. hank’s fans will say he made the great rivera blink when he is paying rivera a third more than any other reliever.
i just want to see rivera back in pinstripes. the sooner the better.
It was reported that Cash was in Tampa when the Yanks were talking to Alex.Lowell should remain in Boston it`s an ideal park for him.
BORAS in a tailspin?
Kenny Rogers has just fired him and is dealing directly with the Tigers.
The Journal article was very intersting to me on two front. First that Warren Buffet was involved, cant find a better business/investing recommend then him. More importantly that Arod reached out a day after the opt out, the timing of that seems very very strange to me.
IN terms of Kenny Roegrs firing Boras. My opinion is that perhaps that might have something to do with attention then anything else. Kenny perhaps feels that Boras is so busy with Arod that he cant give him the attention he needs?? Rogers is not the first one to leave him and he will not be the last. Boras will surivive just fine
“BORAS in a tailspin?”
Kenny Rogers has just fired him and is dealing directly with the Tigers.”
yup, that model of impulse control who has so much future income coming in is going to stick it to boras.
how’s those anger management classes going kenny?
You know you are in trouble if you get dumped by Kenny Rogers.
Again, people are reading too much into Cashman not being visible. I really like how the Yankees handled the A-Rod situation.
There is no doubt (based on the reports) that Cash was involved in the discussions. At the same time, given the stand they took, there was potential for backlash from some crazy media folks and some fans. So, they played it right by shielding Cash from unnecessary puublic visibility, especially given it was Cash who suggested not to negotiate with A-Rod if he opted out.
One has to look at the circumstnaces before criticising Cash or Hank. The idea was that if A-Rod opted out it was to get the highest bid. Yanks did not want to be part of the bidding war and they stood by that stand. Once A-Rod came back to the table and offered to take the cut, the dynamics were different and it was not a bidding war. It was same as the situation before opting out. They worked together and made the deal both parties are comfortable with.
After Torre was out, people like Pete wrote the same stories about Cash losing out and Randy Levine was running the show. I said at that time and still beleive it, that Randy took the bullets to protect Young Steins and Cash. Then he was out of the public eye and Cash ran the show. Now also, it is the same. A-Rod’s situation is very high profile and given Cahs’s original advice he is being protected. Hank has said numerous times about how Cash is running the baseball operations and past weeks prove that.
Lot of people love to bash Hank. I think he is doing a good job, he is supporting baseball people and listening to them unlike his father, and above all he is an open spirit, which I like.
Above all, he wants to win which is good for all of us Fans and spending money as needed. Initially I was not sure if he would do that.
It is great to be a Yankee fan for the next decade or so, wiht all the propspects in the farm, new stadium and the revenue streams and willingness to spend on the part of Hank.
And, it would be great to see A-Rod break the home run record and bring it back to Yanks which was held by Babe for so long.
Hopefully this blog will be around for the next ten years, so that we all can continue to exchange ideas, including putting Pete in his place when he goes overboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obvioulsy, Pete puts in much more effort in to his blog than any body else out there and we are thankful to Pete for that.
Thanks, east side Ysnkee, for the link to the WSJ.
It was quite an interesting read, and probably closer to the truth than anything else that’s been discussed/written on the topic.
Looks like Bonds will be turning himself in on Monday to get fingerprinted & a mugshot.
Pete, I was talking to a friend yesterday about the exact same Cashman angle. We have not seen any direct quote from Brian on the A-Rod situation or Lowell rumors!! Where is (Waldo) Brian!!??
I think Brian has been spending his time working on deals to get Santana in pinstripes.
Also, I agree with Gayle. Sounds like Hank is always available for a provocative quote, while Cashman is the master of saying not much while talking on and on.
Nice to see Hank step up and divert some attention/pressure so Cashman can concentrate on doing his job. Got to upgrade the relief pitching.
Will Mo get 4 years if he’s willing to go back to setup in the 3rd or 4th? LA has a closer so where would he fit there? Can anyone get multiple innings and consecutive games out of Farnsworth?
JimM
It was my pleasure. Just like everyone else on this board I LOVE the Yankees. It makes me mad when people who say they are Yankee fans espouse positions that make me think they actually hate the yankees.
People do not make the same mistake you made in the 2006 season when you listened to all that yankee hate directed towards AROD and actually booed the greatest player on the planet. Yankeehaters everywhere cheered when that happened.
When word of his opt out leaked in 2007 every Mets, Red Sox, Angel , Cub etc fan I know wanted him on their team. And it wasn’t only AROD…all the haters say we stink and yet as soon as a Yankee is available (even a 67 year old coach) they fall all over themselves trying to grab our players.
I hope fans are ready to embrace AROD.
I think that Cash is wisely using Hank as a seemingly blustery bad cop. He blabs hard line stances to the press. Cash is the good cop whose hands are being tied by his out of control owner.
Classic negotiation technique and a smart one.
Hank has said nothing that was truly stupid or harmed the Yanks.
I think that it is all choreographed.
Interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal. Appears to be good reporting, and very believable.
Those of us on the outside (which is almost everyone on this blog) can only guess as to the relationships behind the scenes with the Yankees. It’s getting to be like the old Soviet Union, where Kremlinologists parsed every word to come out of Moscow, and people looked to see who stood next to whom on the reveiwing stand.
Mo will resign and leave his last payday and 45 mil. on the table. OK I believe that.
Please please please, for the love of God… will people please stop capitalizing the name A-Rod? It’s not AROD.
Love this blog, but something about AROD in the comments drives me up a wall.
/rant
While Hank is doing all the talking, my impression is that he is merely stating the decisions that have largely been made by his baseball people, whom he appears to be wisely allowing them to do what they are being paid for. Look no further than the GREAT hiring of Joe G. Do not mistake Hank’s brashness & outspokenness for Meddling. I love how Cashman has been giving Girardi an opinion & say in all matters concerning personnel. Cashman , whose future is probably dependant upon Girardi’s performance, seems to trust Joe G.’s judgement & I believe they will work well together along with the player development folks. I believe that Hank is merely being the spokesperson in baseball matters & is giving his baseball guys a free hand subject to his final say re DOLLARS. I think the Yankees are functioning better that they have in years, with Joe G.’s involvement a big plus. Future is looking great. Just need to fix the bullpen, & KEEP JOBA there.
Report: Buffett advised A-Rod to go around Boras
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-yankees-rodriguez&prov=ap&type=lgns
NEW YORK (AP)—Warren Buffett advised Alex Rodriguez to approach the New York Yankees and go around agent Scott Boras, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
The newspaper cited a person familiar with the matter, whom it did not identify.
“A-Rod really loves being a Yankee,” Buffett was quoted as saying. He wouldn’t comment on the substance of any discussions with the player.
The two became friends several years ago.
I have a suggestion. When we are talking about a player signing a new contract with the Yankees, can we say he is re-signing or he will re-sign? That way, everyone can be sure that we’re on the same page. Because when I see the word “resign,” at first glance it suggests a player is leaving. I realize that when I continue a sentence, the context will most of the time convey the author’s intent, but just for clarity, can we all use the hyphen if we mean that, for instance, Mariano is going to re-sign with the Yankees, rather than, Mo is going to resign from the Yankees?
Lowell being the next Yankee 1B doesn’t make sense because Damon and Matsui will share LF and DH, Giambi will have to play 1B as much as possible along with get whatever DH at-bats are left over, and Giambi will not be a $26M total ($21M salary + $5M buyout) pinch-hitter. If you sign Lowell, you have to trade one of the three but two of them have no-trade clauses (Matsui and Giambi), one has a limited no-trade clause (Damon), and only one is tradeable (Matsui).
Irabu’s Son, the other night you were upset, because you felt Mariano needed to proclaim publicly how much he loved NY. Doesn’t take much huh? AROD, AROD, AROD.
Make no mistake about it, Hank Steinbrenner wants no part of the day in-day out duties that Brian Cashman has.
Among his peers, Cashman has respect, longevity and good dialogue. Hank is just flexing his newly found muscles and making George proud. He recognizes and endorses the path of success that Cashman is in the process of.
By now George may have already dealt Joba and Phil to Minnesota to get Santana. Hank has said no top tier pitchers are to be used as trading chips.
”...will people please stop capitalizing the name A-Rod? It’s not AROD.”
Do you have something against AROD?
What did AROD ever do to you?
Please stop picking on AROD!
The D train, I believe that what Hank said, referring to Joba, Hughes and Kennedy, was that they would not be traded for a position player.
Pete….and how do you know this about Lowell, did your 2 year old nephew tell you ?
Pete
If you want a money quote to use in a story for the Journal News are you going to Cash or to Hank? I’m guessing Hank. Cash is reserved in his comments and never gives you the headline. Hank is all sound bite, all the time.
Thank GOD that Hank has arrived to counter Cashman’s penchant to over-analyze and seemingly obsessive need to outdo the big (and better) saber boys, Billy Beane and Theo.
Yes, the little guy has a huge ego. Don’t let his little boy shyness and awkwardness around women (i.e. Damon’s wife) fool you into thinking he’s an “aw shucks” humble lil fella. Or gay for that matter.
And to be quite honest, my little sister can evaluate major league talent, especially pitching, better than Cash. She’d also be just as patient at not trading the minor league talent that Damon Oppenheimer scouted and developed.
joe from long island-
thanks for the tip for the wsj article.
this is how the article ends:
“If the deal goes through, it’s a happy ending for most everyone involved. The 32-year-old Mr. Rodriguez gets a richer pay package, which includes incentives if he manages to reach goals like breaking the home-run record set by Barry Bonds. The Yankees and Goldman get to keep Mr. Rodriguez’s star power, which helps sell tickets and attract cable viewers.
And Mr. Boras still gets his commission.”
it’s interesting how goldman sachs is involved in the yankees. good reading.
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2007/11/17/yankees-cool-on-lowell/#comments
here’s the right wsj link;
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119526835344296733.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Here’s an obscure first move to bolster the bullpen:
MLB Transactions
New York Yankees
Purchased the contract of RHP Scott Patterson from Double-A Trenton.
Patterson was lights out in Trenton and the AFL. I believe he is 28.
A-Rod/AROD is a nickname I don’t think their is one correct spelling although A. Rod. might be the closest.
Make that: I don’t think there is one correct spelling.
Cashman is probably humiliated that his word obviously means nothing, and that he’s lost so much credibility and leverage with other teams and agents.
Makes you wonder if Cashman really was in Joe Torre’s corner all along.
Oh yeah; Cashman’s word means so little that Hank and Hal gave him full permission to pick his own manager, which is why we see Girardi back in pinstripes.
Actually “Donna” Cashman is probably thrilled that he doesn’t have to try to replace A Rod’s production which will allow him to concentrate on other matters.
Once again another alleged yankee fan that sounds like another “hater”
You seem to forget that we were entering an offseason where it looked like we were gong to lose not only our coach but our catcher, closer and third baseman.
The winter meetings haven’t started and we have our catcher, third basemen and we are likely to get our closer back as well. That is a very successful offseason in my book.
The poor Red Sox are probably enraged; They won the world series and all anyone can talk about is the Y
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2007/11/17/2007-11-17_derek_jeter_can_fix_reputation_fast_
“People see this as a money situation, which some people consider a white lie, but they’ll still be disappointed in him,” Paul said. “He needs to speak openly about it and do it quickly.
“If he takes responsibility, is truly sorry and offers to make amends, I think he could put this behind him.”
i think if the state says it’s sorry ,maybe jeter will spend some time in ny that he doesn’t have to in the future.
in this guy paul’s world , it looks like if you’re guilty until proved innocent.
East,
A ‘very successful off-season’ does not consist in one in which the team is not even as good as it was when it played and lost its last game. We still have not even signed our own FA’s, let alone picked up players to fill the holes.
We will not begin to have even a moderately successful off-season until NYY FO succeeds in putting in place an IMPROVED team. Let us hope that by next week our own FA’s will be signed and rookie ownership and management can START the process of improving the team.
In my opinion, its an improved team just with Clemens and Mussina out of the rotation.
Musinna is still in the rotation without Andy back.
Where did Lowell get those eyebrows? He looks like a muppet.
This Paul guy is obviously not in touch with the real world. To be the target of the IRS is nothing like being indicted for a crime. How many of us have suffered the irrational swoops of the taxman? How many of us are going to have a lesser opinion of Jeter because the same has happened to him? If anything, those of us who have been in his shoes (though not to the tune of millions) have nothing but sympathy…
To DHC
I’m sure that should the Yankees re-sign Mo and get Pettite back your next comment will go something like this
What..this front office hasn’t done anything…all they have done is get us the same exact team that lost in the first round of the playoffs and finished second to the Red Sox.
I’m also certain that if the Yankee traded for Santana (in an effort to make you happy and improve the team) you would then say this
“Those dopes gave too much to get Santana…and they signed him to a ridiculous extension…no one was ging to give the Twins what the Yankees gave up.
I have a feeling you are one of those fans who are only optimistic when the final out of the world series is made.
I shouldn’t be shocked but I can’t believe the Daily News went to Jeter’s moms house. That is just wrong, this is just between Jeter and NYS. Leave his mother out of it.
On his own site he has it as AROD. A-Rod is how a lot of papers put it. Why should it bother you at all though? Seems a silly thing to get so upset about.
lol re: AROD/A-Rod
To Josh (5th post from top): I agree about Shelley Duncan. If he got 500 at-bats, I think he’d be good for .240, 35 HR, 80 RBI, and about 200 strikeouts. But I’d take that production for the money he’s making.
Actually I like Duncan in RF too, spelling Abreu occasionally. He has a cannon, probably even better than Melky’s.
A-Point: good point.
I guess it just reminds me of my childhood a bit (circa 1989, I was 9 years old at the time). I used to write baseball lineups (dream teams) all the time. I always had Bo Jackson leading off and playing center field, except I’d just write BO (no last name) in capital letters, as if he was some god or something who needed no last name. The rest of the lineup would look normal:
3. Don Mattingly, 1B
So I guess AROD reminds me of how dorky I was as a kid.
For what it’s worth, it bothers me that Ichiro Suzuki has his last name on his jersey. I like uniformity, damnit.
Warren Buffet and Arod friends?? i guess that shouldnt be that surprising considering Buffet and Lebron hang out in Vegas.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3115789
I do not hate arod, but i do believe all this talk of how he came to his senses is nonsense. Boras clearly was behind this. by opting out, Arod had the potential of getting over $30M per, but still gets the same package if he didnt opt out. there was no downside risk.
doesnt lowell and posada have the same agent. could it be the yanks allowed the agent to use the yankees to help drive up the price for lowell if posada stays off the market.
doesnt goldman sachs still have an investment stake in the YES Network.
its a huge benefit for them if the Yanks keep arod.. TV only cares about winners and superstars
Irabu’s Son… regards to Irabu then.
I can understand your feelings about it. I think some of it is because we have gotten so used to abreviations – think text messaging and IM (See- there we go again), and typing AROD all caps, no space, seems just a little easier than A-Rod. There you have to use the dreaded shift key (as some posters here have yet to discover.)
Plus, with your reason for writting BO, AROD/A-Rod Alex Alexander Emanuel Rodriguez is quite the player, I have been lead to believe.
It’s always amusing to watch Peter desperately flail to create a story.
I agree Mathilda. Seems as though he isn’t happy unless he’s stirring the pot and trying to put a negative spin on something.
Cash is still doing his thing. He’s never been one for narrating his moves as he makes them.
Yankee VIP (I tend to doubt that you really are a very important person to the Yankees, but I digress)...
How do you know what A-Rod was going through? I would take a look at every thing he has said through the year, then look at the actions.
I think its Bull that he couldn’t get a big deal elsewhere. This whole thing was starting to come together before A-Rod was able to talk to other teams about money. According to a number of accounts, and according to Hank Steinbrenner, A-Rod reached out within a short time of opting out.
When all is said and done, Boras is the one who stands more to lose over this. Think about looking for an agent, while you want to get good money for your talents, I would think that you also want to retain your image while doing so. A-Rod looked like crud from all this. That isn’t something a good agent allows to happen if they are worth anything.
But you will believe as you WANT to believe.
Either way, I don’t lose sleep over it.
RGK at 2:12 PM –
You’re right, that is interesting, about the Yanks buying the Trenton contract of Scott Patterson.
I think it was SJ44 (I might be wrong on that point) who pointed out a few days ago that Patterson had been picked up as a minor league free agent this past year and performed well beyond expectations at AA.
I wonder if this move puts Patterson on the 40-man roster and protects him from the Rule V draft in early December. If so, it speaks volumes of what the Yanks see as his potential.
To me, the most important thing is that there doesn’t appear to be a disconnect between what Hank says and what Cashman says.
It just looks like Hank is determined to be the face of the franchise… but at the same time seems to simply echo the consensus of his baseball people – including Cashman, Oppenheimer, Nardi Contreras, and Gene Michael.
“rookie ownership and management can START the process of improving the team.”
So…having three new starters, all of whom have already shown the ability to succeed in MLB (albeit in limited duty) and who have amazing minor league numbers AND are all 22 is no different than last season? The rotation is 3/5 different! How is that the same?
Re: Shelley Duncan. 35 HRs is ridiculous. The guy’s a poor-man’s Richie Sexson. He’d K 200 times, have probably 20 HR and hit around .230. And walk a little. Used sparingly, he could be an asset by providing some alternative RH power.
And, Abreu’s arm is very good. Not sure how Shelley’s would be an upgrade. But, I don’t have a problem putting him out there from time to time.
Fun & interesting question to toy around with:
So AROD gets a 10 year contract worth $27m+ annually after posting .314, 54. Cool.
Suppose a guy posted a .467 batting average with 60 home runs in his contract year. What kind of contract do you think he’d pull?
For argument’s sake, let’s suppose he plays 1B and is 30 years old.
The reason I ask is because my buddy and I sometimes play a game called Bases Loaded for old school Nintendo. There’s a guy on there named PASTE, he’s a first baseman for Jersey and his stats were listed as .467 with 60 home runs! He’d be getting crazy boy-band money.
I think he’d be get 10 years at $50m a year for the batting average alone. The homers would be a bonus.
What do you think?
“I wonder if this move puts Patterson on the 40-man roster and protects him from the Rule V draft in early December. If so, it speaks volumes of what the Yanks see as his potential.”
I thought that too, but then someone pointed to a blog entry that was pretty certain he’s not eligible for the rule 5 yet. He’s only been in pro ball for two years, despite his age and independent league play. I guess that makes him the same as any other non-drafted free agent signing, who I think have four or five years until they’re exposed to the Rule 5.
The same blog speculated that maybe they had to sign him to a major league deal to hang on to him, given that he probably had some offers elsewhere.
Whozat: I didn’t say Shelley was an upgrade over Abreu in RF, I actually just meant that he was fun to watch. Late in the year, he was in RF, and someone hit a liner into the corner, and Shelley threw a frozen rope missile to 2B on the fly, holding the guy to a single… and then just stared him down.
I love Shelley Duncan.
And yes I think he can put up 35 dingers over 500 AB’s. He hit 6 in like a week, so 20 seems awfully modest for a 6 month season.
USA & Cuba to meet in the World Cup final
“He hit 6 in like a week, so 20 seems awfully modest for a 6 month season.”
Yes. He was certainly going to stay on that pace.
Listen, there’s a reason he didn’t get to the show until he was 27. He’s got holes in his swing. Lots. If he gets overexposed, he’s not going to be hitting homers because the pitchers will figure out how to get him out with regularity. He was hitting those homers because pitchers were challenging him because he was a nobody. They’ll adjust, and he’ll need to adjust back. I hope he does, because he’s on my team and I want him to succeed…but thinking that all of a sudden we found our very own cheap richie sexson (before last year) is just unrealistic.
Doreen-
Sorry I resign to stop using resign.JK
Duncan looks to be like another reincarnation of Shane Spencer & Kevin Maas. No way he hits 35 HRs, pitchers will adjust to him, his energy is great to have on the team though.
Betemit, Bruney, Cano and Wang are all abritration eligible this year. Cash might be smart to work out longer term deals with a few of them as the Mets did with Wright and Reyes.
Perhaps. I probably just have a man-crush. I’d still like to see him get a shot at 1B though.
That being said, I also wanted Fernando Seguignol to get a shot in 2004 after he hit .341 with 28 HR in 400 AB in Columbus the year before. The Yankees instead signed Tony Clark, Seguignol went to Japan, and my heart was broken.
The truth is that we will never know what really prompted A-Sorry to come back to the Yankees. Was it because he couldn’t find the money elsewhere? Maybe. Was it due to his burning desire to “die” a Yankee? Possibly. Only A-MyCellPhoneNowWorks knows. And I have a feeling that if he held a press conference and told us the real answer, most people still wouldn’t believe him.
In the end, the truth doesn’t matter. He is going to remain a Yankee and we as Yankee fans have to go back to praying that he can translate his monster regular season numbers to the postseason. A tall order, but maybe he can do. Maybe.
Win or lose, I hope the Cuban team escapes and signs with the Yankess!
“I probably just have a man-crush. I’d still like to see him get a shot at 1B though.”
It certainly sounds like he’ll have a chance to take the bull by the horns in ST, like Phelps did this season. And, with Girardi managing, if Shelley continues to show a hot bat into April, who knows?
shelley’s a beast, give the guy a chance, I say. If nothing else, he dramatically increases the badass quotient in the lineup (stats irrevelant), but seriously, is an okay defender and is right handed with some major pop, sounds good to me.
Speaking of Cubans, anyone know why Juan Miranda got less than 200 ABs in AA this season? Was he hurt? He’s in the AFL now, right?
He’s done in the AFL. He got injured for awhile during the season going back on the flyball, I believe. He kicked butt in the AFL and now he’s off till ST.
I for ome am personally glad that Alex is back with the Bombers. The Home run record belongs to the Yankee tradition. I enjoy hearing the call, “It`s an A BOMB FROM A-ROD”.
I believe Miranda finished with team high totals in HRs and RBIs, but most of his damage was done against RH pitchers… his numbers against the LH pitchers were not very good at all.
for the time being, on paper it looks like a Duncan/Miranda platoon at 1B is the best solution for the Yankees in house, but i dont think they are going to rush Miranda up if he’s not ready. He could certainly be in line to play 1B in 2009 if he can continue to rake LHers and hover somewhere around league average against RHers.
I agree with J-Dawg!
Going after Mike Lowell made no sense to me, unless the intent was to drive up his fee to the Red Sox…
After signing Jorge to four years, you know he’ll see a few ab’s in years three and four at 1B.
Plus…
Giambi and his final year (at $21 mil in 08, with a $22 mil team option in 09, OR a $5 mil buyout,which they will obviously purchase, he will end up costing them $ 26 mil for his final season, 08, including the 09 buyout) of that awful contract are about to be up.
Hopefully, Shelley Duncan goes Albert Pujols (or Prince Fielder or name-your favorite young, slugging 1B here___) on us and secures the 1B position for years to come. He has a great attitude and shown signs of power. Now let Tony Pena and Joe Girardi have at him, turn him into a monster.
Of course, Mark Teixeira, especially ith that agent of his, will test the free agent market after the next season, ‘08. I wouls love to see the NYY get him in pinstripes via free agency in 2009, maybe a five year deal. He is young, switch hitter, good glove at 1B, tremendos upside.
After Big Tex, after just reviewing Cot’s baseball contracts, guys like Pujols, Derek Lee, etc. won’t come up for free agency until after the 2010 season. Short of Justin Morneau or Prince Fielder hitting the trade market anytime soon, the 1B market will be thin.
But still, signing Lowell had to be to ploy to increase his price to the Sox… They really had no use for him once Opt-Fraud made his return.
“He’s done in the AFL. He got injured for awhile during the season going back on the flyball, I believe. ”
Oh, right, the AFL is over now. Yeah, I think now you mention it I remember hearing about that injury.
It looks like he slugs adequately and takes his walks. If he can get his average up, or at least keep his OPS where it is as he rises through the system, he could be a useful piece someday.
Or, Shelley Duncan could dwell in the minors untl he gives up in a few years to sell insurance… You just can’t project a guys MLB career without letting have at least 1/3 of a season at the MLB level.
I say they play him as much as poss next season to see what they have with him.
As long as they are on the same page to make the moves for us to compete, I could care less who speaks in to the microphone. Cash may be the guy that gets most of it done, but I think it’s a good thing for H&H to develop a relationship with the media and the public at the same time.
Besides, I think Phil was right on with his statement about Cashman not narrating his moves.
Scott Patterson is a minor league free agent right now and could have signed with any team. The Yankees may have needed to sign him to a major league deal to keep him.
Chad Jennings has a good entry on it today:
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.com/Blogs/SWBYankees/tabid/552/Default.aspx
Miranda only had 200 AB in AA because he played half the year or so at Tampa in A ball. For the whole year he got around 450 AB.
AFL season is wrapped up. Miranda went home a few days early.
“I wouls love to see the NYY get him in pinstripes via free agency in 2009, maybe a five year deal. ”
He’ll turn 29 at the start of the 2009 season. That’s solidly in his prime. I wonder if Boras will try to get him a big, short deal so that he can hit the market again at like…32, or if he’ll shoot for a Giambi-esque 7 year deal. I mean, 4 is exactly what I’d want as a team signing him, with a vesting option or a team option for the fifth year.
I like Tex as a player. A lot. Then again, Jeter and Posada are going to need to get ABs SOMEWHERE in 2010…
“Miranda only had 200 AB in AA because he played half the year or so at Tampa in A ball. For the whole year he got around 450 AB.”
I’m an idiot. I looked at his stats on thebaseballcube and saw that, but read it as two separate years, 2006 in Tampa and 2007 in Trenton. Duh.
whozat,
no biggie. i’ve done the same myself.
miranda looks like at minimum he’ll be able to hit right handed pitching very well.
the guy hasn’t played any baseball in two years due to the defection. there’s uncertainty about his age, but given the context of not playing against serious competition for a couple of seasons he had an excellent year. Just raked right handed pitching.
Miranda faced an unusual for anyone % of lefties and that depressed his numbers. He murders righties then buries them down by the train tracks. He may or may not get better at hanging in against lefties, but he can help the Yanks right now against RHP’s.
Actually, Peter, it’s in the Yankees’ best interests to have Hank discuss money issues publicly, which is really all that he has done, because affords Cashman the distance to maintain a better relationship with the players. Good cop/bad cop if you will.
The Yankees are wearing a patch on their uniform next year.
Here is a picture of it.
http://static.zoovy.com/img/toonstation/-/Y/yankee_stadium_closing_2008
To East and whozat, who found my comment too critical, remember I said the team has not improved ‘since it played and lost its last game’. I would be glad to be proven wrong if you could tell me what improvements have been made SINCE THEN.
Players who were added during the season do not count as off-season improvements. I am looking forward eagerly to seeing some of those happen, and perhaps by next week our (yes, I said ‘rookie’) ownership and manager will be able to focus making it so.
‘Rookie’ isn’t an insult. It just means that they are new and unproven.
Being on the 40-man roster, the Yankees will want to see what they have in Juan Miranda other than what the reports say.
He likely will get a fair amount of playing time in exhibition games and probably all of the “B” games.
It will be interesting to see what kind of shape Giambi will be in health-wise in his final contract year as a Yankee.
Shelley Duncan seemed happy and rambunctious, but with skills at the AAAA level, and the appearance of Mitchell Report potential.
Of course if it is true that those names will number in the hundreds, maybe the last part doesn’t matter much.
Can’t Warren Buffet recommend an attorney and financial advisor to Arod so he can fire Boras? Surely Buffet knows the best people on this planet who can do a good job advicing Arod in the future. I don’t care if Boras’s known Arod since he was in diapers this is a good times for them to part ways, especially if Arod doesn’t need another player’s contract ever again (hopefull no opt out clause this time).
For the endorsement/marketing side of things there are sports marketing and celebrity agents out there who can do a better job. Boras sounds like a hardnose attorney and negotiator but please don’t tell me he’s a marketing genius too.
As one of the papers mentioned, this will be A-Rod’s last contract. His need for an agent like Boras in the future is limited.
btw, Even if it’s true that Alex is really pissed at Boras, he has made him a ton of money during the course of his career. So while he may feel he did him wrong now, he may not want to totally nuke him out of appreciation for what he has done in the past.
I think publicly firing Boras, if handled well, will help improve Arod’s image. But I can see him being conflicted given their history, there are many things Boras has done for him that he should be grateful for even though he did make Boras very wealthy.
Pete,
If Cashman were “just a passenger” then Don Mattingly would be the manager. Cash is still driving.
Hey, it not like Britney & Swindal are “driving”
http://tinyurl.com/2qyz55
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Moms Jeter vs The Daily News
Two outta three falls.
Firing Scott might be easy but firing Boras Corp. would be tougher for a player who has gotten used to all they do for him. This isn’t a one man show. Boras Corp employs trainers, nutritionists, statisticians as well as PR people, reps and agents. They do alot more for the players than just negotiate contracts. If A-Rod is unhappy with Scott, cutting ties with him would mean cutting ties with lots of other people that he has worked with for many years. That would be a huge change for him.
I tell ya, C-Note sure is a Hottie !!
http://snipurl.com/1tsum
To quote Travolta from “Face Off” – HOOOOO-WEEEEE, you’re GooodLook’n
This is from last week.
I don’t understand everyone who’s saying the Yankees were going after Mike Lowell to drive his price up to the Red Sox. The Red Sox are notorious for not budging once they offer a contract. The Red Sox are going to offer what they’re going to offer regardless of what the Yankees offer. If Lowell does not sign with them, they will go another way. They seem to be a whole lot less sentimental than the Yankees are.
That being said, I truly did not want the Yankees to have Mike Lowell, no offense against Mike Lowell. He’s certainly talented. But splits or no splits, green monster or no green monster, I did not want the Yankees to be locked into a 4-year deal with a person who was switching to 1B from 3B. It seemed to make no sense, since Cashman has been preaching flexibility these last 2 years, and that, since it seems ARod will be a fixture at 3B for a while, seemed to offer no flexibility whatsoever. It made sense to go after Lowell for 3B only, and I had every confidence that though he would not have duplicated his auspicious season with the Red Sox, he would have been more than adequate offensively while providing at good glove at the hot corner.
I was a little afraid to listen to the sports news last night and this morning because some (troll) said the Yankees had reached an agreement with Lowell and I so did not want that to be so. My husband and I were talking and both of us are really excited to see Shelley Duncan have a shot. Neither one of us is deluded into thinking that he’s anything more than what he is. But he’s such a positive force, and such a personality on that team, that you have to wish him well and hope he at least gets a legitimate shot.
I am also skeptical that Mark Teixeira will be available as a free agent. He likes playing in Atlanta, and well, now that Alex has shown that it is indeed possible to be a superstar and make your own decisions (yes, I know, it could still have been orchestrated by Boras—but that’s not what I think), he may choose to extend his contract with the Braves. I don’t think it is a good idea for the Yankees to put all their eggs in the Mark T. basket. I think they will do more than fine offensively this year and can again afford to have 1B be an “undecided” position. And who knows? Maybe someone (Duncan?) will claim it for his own.
Well, great news about Lowell. As far as I’m concerned, if Shelley continues to show that he can contribute, the more we see of him, the better. I see where some think he’ll be “exposed” if he plays too much, but I have faith in Girardi to use him correctly (as opposed to Torre’s ultra-conservative use of him in the playoffs) and the fact that Stick has been vocal about there being a future for Shelley, is more than enough to convince me that there is indeed a future.
I also hope they give Juan Miranda a chance in Spring Training to make the team. IIRC he hits RHP pretty well, and doesn’t do much against lefties, so platooning him with Shelley could produce great results. I know Betemit could be platooned with Shelley too, but if Miranda can do it also, that frees up Wilson to be less of a 1st baseman and more of a “Miguel Cairo with power” type of utility man. Now if only he’d start getting the big hits with men on like Cairo did, rather than K’ing on 3 pitches, we would really be in business!
Oh and also, about Cash. I continue to believe that Hank is just doing the talking and Cash is still making the baseball decisions. So far out of everything the Yanks have done in the still-young offseason, there really isn’t a single move that I can point to and say “this doesn’t sound like Cash.” I hope I am right about this cause Cash being cut out of the loop would be a mess. Really though, it seems to me like even though Hank might be the one loudly announcing the stops, Cash is still driving the bus.
jennifer, thanks for posting the link to that patch. I’m planning to get a new jersey this season and I’m going to have to round up one of those suckers to put on the sleeve when they become available. Way cool.
Tax issues: Whatever. It’ll work out one way or the other. Yawn . . .
No matter who the Yankees play at 1B the majority of the time- Giambi or Duncan, they need to keep either Philips or re-sign Mientkiewicz for defensive replacements later in the games. Philips would be my choice because he gives them a little more flexibility in that he can play other infield positions as well.
I think Lowell was primarily an insurance policy for 3B. Nothing against Mike Lowell, I really respect him, but he’s not a good fit anywhere but 3rd.
As far as Miranda, I think he’ll get a look in ST, but spend this coming year in the minors. Shelly will lefty-righty platoon with Betemit and Giambi – if he shows he has problems with rightys. If he shows he can hit both, we’ll see a lot of Shelly Duncan.
Jennifer—
). It’s kind of like “Death of a Stadium.” Kinda creepy. I know it’s a tribute patch, but it feels kinda odd.
Interesting patch. I’m not sure I like it (not that my opinion counts
Does this mean there will be a new patch in 2009 with “2009 – ?” ??
Thanks for the link!
Doreen,
I agree. “Death of a Stadium†is kinda creepy, but it sounds like a good title for a novel.
Cashman is the only guy that can go to Florida & come back even paler than when he left NY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doreen: I agree that there’s little chance Tex even reaches free agency. Even if he does, he will definitely re-sign with the Braves. He went to Georgia Tech I think, so he does indeed love playing there, and after his time with Texas I think he just wants to be on a team that doesn’t suck, and the Braves fill that requirement well enough. Also, supposedly almost all the money saved on Andruw will go to Tex and his new contract. I think with Andruw and Renteria gone, Tex becomes the offensive player they now want to build around. They’ll offer him a sweet deal and he’ll take it.
And that’s better for the Yankees, cause not only do we have lots of cheap possibilities like Shelley, Miranda & Betemit, but we’ve made commitments to Posada and even A-Rod and/or Jeter that may necessitate an open spot at 1st in the future, so we really need the flexibility there, not another lengthy contract, no matter how good Tex is. 1st basemen are easy to find, it’s never difficult to sign a stopgap like Minky. So I hope the Yanks don’t give a big contract to a 1st baseman for quite some time. It’s just frivolous and unnecessary.
Oh and I agree about the importance of retaining a defensive replacement 1b, and that Phillips should be the one over Minky because of his versatility in the infield and not needing to give him a contract.
The article that I read (on ESPN) that said the Yanks weren’t interested in Lowell also said that they were leaning towards playing Giambi at 1b as the lefty. I hope this isn’t true! I think we could get a good deal of production from Giambi as a DH (perhaps even more than Matsui, which is why I’d not be opposed to seeing if Mats will waive his NTC) and I see no reason to upset the apple cart and risk injury by throwing him in the field when he clearly can’t play there anymore.
Also, while I do want to see a lot of Shelley at 1st, I’m still a bit nervous about his defense. It sucks that Mattingly will not be around to work with him and Betemit in ST but perhaps Tino wouldn’t mind coming in and showing them how it’s done with the glove?
Todd Drew—
You live near the stadium, right? What’s it like to see the new one go up right next door?
I imagine it’s going to a little unsettling, both figuratively and literally, to watch the old one come down. I guess they’ll implode it?
BBB—
I was one who was hoping that Tex would at some point join the Yankees, but once he went to Atlanta, it was kind of easy to disassociate myself from that idea. I had forgotten about the years going forward when 1B is going to have to be left available for our aging superstars. And I LOVE the idea of having Tino come and do a 1B clinic in ST. That would be awesome. (Although why it would be awesome for me, I’m not sure—I won’t be at spring training, I don’t know Tino personally, and I sure don’t need to learn 1B).
Doreen,
Yes, I live six blocks from the Stadium. It’s a bit strange seeing the new ballpark going up, but I’m getting more comfortable with the idea. I still haven’t dealt with the fact that the old ballyard isn’t going to be my home anymore. I always feel empty at the end of the season and I don’t know how I’ll feel walking out of the place for the last time. I hope some of my sense of loss will be covered by a World Series title.
Doreen –
Unless I’m mistaken, my understanding was that the old stadium was going to remain open as some sort of museum full of Yankee stuff.
Here I was thinking it wouldn’t be torn down – I hope not!
Wolf,
The field and some portion of the lower level is supposed to remain, but the Stadium as we know it will be gone.
OK – thanks for the clarification, bro.
I was planning on finding a way travel so I could hit at least one game in the old stadium this coming season. I guess there’s a little more urgency attached to my agenda now.
Todd Drew—
A WS Title would really send the old girl out in style, wouldn’t it??????
Are you planning on trying to take a little piece of the place? (A patch of sod, or something sentimental in nature?) My brother-in-law’s brother has, I think, a seat from the stadium from when they did the renovation. I don’t know how he got it, though. I’m wondering if they’ll have an auction or just dispose of the pieces. These days, it seems those kinds of things are so organized. Not like back in the 70’s, before the internet, before sports was as big a business as it is today. Before the memorabilia business exploded.
BREAKING NEWS
MARIANO RIVERA EXPECTED TO TAKE THE YANKEES’ 3-YEAR OFFER
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11172007/sports/mariano_rivera_expected_to_take_the_yank_77957.htm
Doreen, I can see them auctioning off large or significant pieces. Of course, with the “emergence” of ebay I can imagine a lot of stuff being auctioned off by people outside of the organization after the stadium closes as well. That’s really cool about the seat from the pre-renovated stadium.
Cool with Rivera. I still would like to see Cordero as a setup man but I know that’s not going to happen.
I`ve got some dirt from the Stadium’s warning track
Doreen,
My wife thinks the Yankees should give us our seats since we’ve had full-season tickets since 1989. I don’t see that happening because someone will pay big dough. I thought about catching a Stadium rat and making it a pet, but that just didn’t seem right. I’m assuming my little friends will be relocated across the street. Ultimately, I think I’ll just take the memories. They should squeeze neatly into our 375-squarefoot apartment.
I wish they`d keep the Stadium as a museum. I think they`re going to use the field for 3 public softball fields which is kind of cool I guess so people will be able to play where all the Yankees greats played but they could still do that even if it was a museum right?
Also they`re moving the foul poles which were also part of the stadium before the renovation.
The most dissapointing parts of it is that they`re losing seats and they`re basically making a clone of yankee stadium only without all the history
Dr Acula
about c-note,didn’t know you were a switch hitter!
Hehehe
I’ll bet no one finds “c-note” hot!!!! but you fo course.
A-Rod interview/video from today
http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071117&content_id=2302778&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Dr Acula, meant “of course”
The Yankees would likely have to give up Wang and Hughes plus Melky Cabrera or Robinson Cano to entice the Twins, and it may still not be enough.
ouch
Todd Drew—
Your wife is right. That’s what they should do – at least make them available to you first. What they should do and what they will do? But the memories—those no one can take, and I hope you put them down in writing for your progeny, if any. (I won’t talk about the “guests” who’ll be moving across the street!)
Willis –
Thanks for the link to the Post article. I won’t be sure about Mariano until they announce it’s done.
Bill Madden also memtioned Rivera agreeing to the three year deal on MLB TRADE RUMORS.
Doreen,
They might make them “available†to us, but I don’t think I’ll bite. I save every penny for my baseball tickets.
This Blog overestimates the value of Santana.
Todd—
You’ve got your priorities straight, I think. I guess those kinds of things (seats from a stadium) aren’t all that practical. And if there’s a choice, I’d much rather go to a game than sit at home looking at seats from the old stadium.
Did anyone watch that interview on MLB.com? I thought it was pretty lame. The interviewer seemed nervous, and too deferential. The interviewer seemed to be tapdancing around the questions rather than asking them.
It depends on how much MLB-ready talent you are trading back. If you are trading Cano, you can get away with not having to trade back Wang, Hughes, or Joba.
If you arent willing to trade Cano, then Hughes is going to have to be part of the package. You’re prob talking closer to Hughes, Tabata, and then another positional prospect with upside, aka AJax.
And what happens if the stadium isn’t ready. It doesn’t look as far along as Citi Field is.
you dont have to worry, thats not an option. believe me, it’ll be done.
i was watching the Prudential Center construction, and if there was really anything that wasnt going to be built on time, it was that arena in Newark…
Jennifer—
Citifield started a ways before the new stadium so they are ahead of where the stadium is.
I would imagine that there will be some sort of auction or steiner sports something for some of the stuff in the old stadium
Also just watched the Alex interview one thing I found very interesting. When asked about the thought process about approaching the Yankese he said “it is the best way to do things. sometimes the messages can be mixed up and you may be getting some information that is not 100 per cent accurate and I took it upon myself to call Hank and have a hcat with him one on one”
If that doesnt say something about what he was getting from Boras nothing else does. He says that at the appropriate time in the right forum he will tell the whole story. I imagine that will be when the deal is done.
Also was very realistic about what his image is “I dont have the best image. Also talked about having a long term contract allows you to delve much into the fiber of where you are you dont want to show too much of yourself etc but with longterm committment that can change.
I have a really good feeling that the next ten years we will be seeing a very different side of Arod.
The Post article saying we would have to give up Wang and Hughes and Cano or Melky is insane speculation. If the Yankees traded 2/5s of their starting rotation and one young star positional player, I would cancel my season tix.
Fear not. The new Stadium is progressing on schedule.
http://www.yankeetradition.com/NewYankeeStadium.htm
For those who are interested – Steiner, of Steiner Sports (or whatever it’s called) has already said that they will be heavily involved with the Yankees in selling whatever memorabilia that anyone wants to buy.
So start making your lists and saving your pennies…
So that means the seats from the stadium will be sold for 10,000.
Sorry for the multiple posts but just saw this now and I know it is not a Mets blog but once again the Mets seem to m,uck it up the Torealba deal is off no reason given. Not that the deal they were giving him made sense but the same thing happened the last time they went after a catcher
I just read that. Someone thought it was because he had a bad shoulder.
I just read that people went to the Joba signing waited 4 hours and left empty handed.
Am I glad I didn’t drive down, I would have been very angry driving that way to get shut out.
A-Rod seemed skinnier in the video than I remember from this season.
Was nice to read on the mlb.com story that Kevin Long flew in from Arizona to help him with the kids clinic at the Boys and Girls Club in Miami. Maybe they got in a little adult BP as long as he was in town anyway.
Jennifer,
Where did you read about the Joba thing?
just saw on pinstripealley somehow proposing santana for ipk+ prospects not on the major league radar….never happening. keep dreaming if anyone thinks it wouldnt include 1/3 trio and melky/cano. also vote for joba on espn “who’s next” feature in the mlb section. it seems as though theyll run a feature on him if he wins in the dec issue. random thought- what kind of package would we need to put together for mark teixeira?
the Braves just morgaged their fam system for Tex, so he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. If the Braves arent in the NL East race come 7/31/08, he may be on the market then, if an extention has not been reached.
on phil hughes message board.
jennifer- link?
OK, that’s some weird timing. I had just finally registered at Phil’s site an hour or so ago. I had no idea it existed until I saw a link at Bronx Banter a few weeks back. I finally get around to registering and then I come here to check on new posts and see this.
Here’s a link, turntwo –
http://philiphughes.net/
philiphughes.net
He posts on there himself, not very often though.
so i just went to pinstripealley for the first time, and they lost me the minute they tried to argue that Clayton Kershaw could come back to NY for Hideki Matsui. just pure awfulness.
Geez someone really flipped out on Joba.
Jesus Montero went 4 for 5 with a double, home run and 3 runs scored. His avg. now sits at .394 and a .497 OBP %
Remember Randy Levine? He’s back, was mentioned in the NYT as part of the relay team in the rebirth of Arod. The Goldman Sachs guy placed a call to Levine. A day or so later, Levine nemesis (as he complained in his phone call to the NYT’s Sandomir) Verducci is relieved of Levine having to see him on YES anymore.
DHC
November 17th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Shelley Duncan seemed happy and rambunctious, but with skills at the AAAA level, and the appearance of Mitchell Report potential.
Of course if it is true that those names will number in the hundreds, maybe the last part doesn’t matter much.
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Shelley Duncan is the same size as his brother at 6’5” and 215. His father, Dave was a big guy, especially for a catcher back in the early ‘70s. I wouldn’t be concerned about him being on the Mitchell list. He’s always had huge power, but, could never stay healthy, and had a lot of holes in that big swing.
“I would be glad to be proven wrong if you could tell me what improvements have been made SINCE THEN.”
Well, first of all, they replaced one of the starters with a flame throwing 22 year old righty that has a dirty slider, a good curve and a good change.
Also, another 22 year old starter will gain back the 3-4 MPH on his fastball that he lost rushing back from a hamstring injury.
Those are two big differences. Also, instead of a Giambi that doesn’t have his timing, the Giambi who was one of the top ten offensive players in the league in 2006 will be back.
Those are all big changes, if you’re going to talk about the team that ended the season.
Also…you make it sound like the other teams have all set their rosters already and the yanks are screwing around. That’s not true. At all. The Tigers are the only ones who’ve made any appreciable moves.
In short…you’re looking for things to whine about. Get your instant gratification somewhere else, the baseball offseason is not the place to be looking for it.
Somebody asked when the Yankees/VA Tech game would be the other day. Scheduled in the middle of spring training for March 18 at VA Tech. Tickets will be free and distributed to students and faculty only because the stadium only holds 4000.
Hank S. does sound like a guy who wants to be involved in every transaction which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Hopefully, his brother make shut his trap. I have to think that Cashman is still running things. I pray to God he’s still running things.
The whiner known as Rivera finally signed the contract. This will keep Joba in the rotation which is always a good thing. Hopefully, Pettite comes back and we trade Matsui for Broxton and something useful.