Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Dec 07, 2007 
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The Yankees left the Winter Meetings knowing more what they can’t do than what they can. They also lost a player in the Rule 5 Draft and may finally release Carl Pavano.
UPDATE ON ANDY PHILLIPS: Andy cleared waivers and was offered an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton. He refused it and elected free agency.
Given that the Yankees have DFA’d him twice in the last nine months, can’t say I blame him. Obviously they don’t have much regard for him. Good luck to him finding another team.
Small moves for now…But with what Hank just said before,there’s always a deal for Johan still in the bushes lurking:)
Phillips will land on his feet, perhaps another Andy Fox type career.
Andy Philips declines looking for $$ he knows Shelley and Betemit has 1B locked and then there is Juan Miranda
Good luck to Andy, I hope for his sake he latches on with another team.
Good luck to Andy.
Tell me again, when will Pavano be healthy, and if he ever does get healthy, is he as good or better than the list of relief pitchers we saw yesterday on the roster? Is he as big a negative influence in the clubhouse as was portrayed?
Good luck to Andy. He did some great things.
Andy Phillips – a class guy and real gamer. Really came through for us last year, and I would have liked to have thought there was a place for him somewhere, but “emerging” and “30″ aren’t the best combination of words sometimes.
A business associate of mine is friends with Andy’s family. He has confirmed to me on several occasions that Andy is as nice a guy as they come. I wish him well in catching on somewhere.
I’ve always liked Andy Phillips – he seems like a good guy who loves playing baseball. I think he could have done better had he gotten more playing time. I hope he lands on his feet somewhere. Good luck Andy!
“Given that the Yankees have DFA’d him twice in the last nine months, can’t say I blame him. Obviously they don’t have much regard for him. Good luck to him finding another team.”
well, in fairness to the yankees, their opinion is obviously shared by 29 other teams since both times he was DFA’ed, he cleared waivers.
i don’t mean anything negative about what you wrote Pete, just saying that maybe, just maybe, Phillips isn’t a major leaguer.
Andy Phillips will be missed by this observer. His glove at first was far better than any of the current alternatives (and really just a notch blow Minky’s). Phillips played huge part in the Yanks’ recovery last summer.
PS. Why on earth would the Yankees want to bring back Nick Green? Who’s next? Will Nieves?
What I don’t understand is why the Yanks would keep Pavano on the 40 man roster in place of Phillips, especially if they know Wilson Betemit might be a trading chip in order to get Santana…..is it an insurance thing? it makes no sense to me….
“is it an insurance thing?”
yes, it most likely is.
Betemit isn’t going anywhere. Cashman loves him and his potential on this team. Look for him at 1st base with Shelley this year.
Also, the yankees have to make room for Pettitte, Posada, Mo, and A-Rod on the 40 man roster so some have to be DFA’d. Pavano is only one guy and Phillips is approaching the wrong age to be worth keeping based on performance.
I share the same sentiments, but wonder why? regardless of the fact that Betimet is a switch hitter, he’s overweight and his BA isn’t very pretty. Andy hit at clutch moments, when given the opportunity and you gotta believe he was a great guy to have around the clubhouse given his choice to take care of his mother over playing ball…..just goes to show, there is more important things than “THE GAME”. I really truly hope he goes on to have a stupendous career, I’m confident he will, somewhere.
Steve
They need to get Pavano to agree to a minor league contract before they drop him from the 40 man roster in order to collect the insurance money on him for next year.
oh and BTW, he is easy on the eyes, nothing to do with baseball, but had to get that in!
“especially if they know Wilson Betemit might be a trading chip in order to get Santana”
You’re kidding, right?
Yes, Andy Phillips will go on to have a stupendous career with the Toledo Mud Hens.
Think Torre will pick him up for the Dodgers?
It is an insurance thing. They are currently working on signing Pavano to a minor league deal to benefit both parties.
I agree with hmm..
If any other team was interested in Phillips, wouldn’t they have claimed him on waivers? What makes him think he’ll be signed through free agency?
People are going to miss him after a few Betemit/Duncan/Giambi errors at 1B. Still, I think it was the right move.
It would be sooo funny if Pavano somehow got injured while trying to sign that minor league contract …
Pete, why isn’t he “future Hall of Famer” Andy Phillips?
Paul, Pavano is shockingly even more ineffective as a relief pitcher, with a 4.78 ERA and a 1.8 WHIP.
Wishing the best for Andy Phillips.
Mr Faded Glory asks:
Pete, why isn’t he “future Hall of Famer†Andy Phillips?
The answer is:
Pete doesn’t have any axe to grind against Phillips. Pete’s axe is substantial, but apparently Phillips doesn’t raise his ire like Phelps. Pete’s a biased hack, if you haven’t noticed. Furthermore, his skills at analysis and prediction are weaker than the 8 ball sitting on my desk. I can’t even imagine what a bitter and unpleasant guy Pete would probably be if any of us met him on the street. His vitriol leaks through most every post he writes.
Blargh-
You have an 8-ball on your desk. That’s so old school.
As I wrote before, I know this is a business but it feels too much like a business and not enough of a ball club. Through all of the messy years, the Yankees always tried to have a “do the right thing†look to them; they helped ex-players and seemed to care, not only treating the players and their families well but to even have some heart.
Do I think that they should keep what they consider a sub-par player? No, of course not – if they have a better replacement. Who is better defensively that they have on the roster now – maybe there will be a positive change. I do want to acknowledge Andy Phillips and thank him. Andy really helped the team defensively last year when they really needed it. What is bothering me most is that just this past Sunday Andy (and his wife) was the designated Yankee who cut the ribbon for the Madison Ave. charity drive and they DFA’d him the very next day. It isn’t as if the Phillips family lives in NY.
On a similar note, what is with the A-Rod story? http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12.....ref=sports
A-Rod, another business decision, is now the face of the Yankees – for the next TEN YEARS. This is not very good PR for the Yankees. I preferred the “old face of the Yanks†Derek Jeter, who is working with kids, giving out presents, culminating in a huge party for poor kids from all 5 boroughs.
I keep hearing that spending less money will help the Yanks image with non-fans but losing isn’t going to endear the new Boss to the fans – as a fan I don’t think this is good business. They appear more money conscious than anytime since Steinbrenner took over. Could this be a result of giving A-Rod $275M+, keeping/paying Farnsworth (who I’d like to never see again), and overpaying Jorge and Mariano because they were disrespected – where is the smart business? Help me here, pls.
I keep hoping that Cashman is being smart, keeping things close to the vest (while Hank is out there telling everyone more than we need to hear) but still trying to make some shrewd moves but day by day, I am beginning to doubt it. Day by day, it appears Hank has too much to say publicly and Hal is privately telling them no more spending.
They still owe huge taxes in the Bronx, charge fans a fortune for decent seats and with a new ball park opening the prices are going even higher – is this how they are trying to endear themselves to fans? They’ll always get the corporate money but how long will the average fan want or be able to shell out hundreds of dollars to watch the team they love lose?
Why is it that players for the Red Sox willingly take less money to play in Boston while players for the Yankees try to bleed the team dry? I know it’s more expensive to live in NY but let’s be honest – these guys make enough money to live anywhere they want.
Sorry about the rant but today I am not a happy fan. In fact, while it hurt to lose in 01 (terribly) and it hurt to lose in 03 at least we were contenders – how many of you really think the Yankees will contend with the team we have now in 08? This feels more like the beginning era of the wild card – if we’re lucky. Detroit and Boston are going to be formidable and unless we’re willing to trade and spend, I just don’t see a very bright end to the 08 season; I hope I’m wrong.
Seriously, Pete, they don’t have much regard for him ? Be honest already – the guy is a fringe MLer. They have Giambi, Betemit, Shelley Duncan, potentially Eric Duncan if he ever comes around, and depending on injury, Damon, Posada, and Matsui that could all see time at first base.
It has nothing to do with “regard”. I’m sure they like Phil as a person quite a lot, but they have both a business and a baseball team to run and he simply does not fit.
i think andy phillips doesn’t get the respect he deserves. i’m usually the first to point to numbers when talking player value, but andy seemed to defy this. he wasn’t extremely capable offensively, but he always gave you a pesky AB and had a penchant for the big hit, even if it was always singles. in addition he was superb defensively. duncan, giambi, and betemit give us nothing defensively, and quite honestly, all give us about the same thing offensively…so you don’t need three of them. keeping one or two of them as well as a defensive player like andy would have been a better move.
Phillips made some nice plays at first but was the definition of an empty batting average. The need for a good defensive first baseman who can’t hit has been debated endlessly here, but Phillips wasn’t even that great a defender.
It’s a small miracle he lasted as long on the Yankees as he did.
Good luck to Phillips, but take my word for it if Juan Miranda hit and played like he did in winter ball in camp, he will be playing first base. He hits righty which the Yanks need and will fit well at the bottom of the line up. I don’t really know how he is deffensivly but I guess he’s alright if he is a 1st basemen naturally.
Ranting Guy – that was funny as h*ll!!!
As far as those saying Pete is a hack…first off kiss my a**. He is a very astute articulate reporter. As well he was interviewed for his opinions on ESPN…how many of us can say that? If you can…then call him into question. If not…stfu!!!
Pete you do awesome work! Keep it up!!!
Marcy’s Rant- Are you on drugs? Andy Phillips is going to turn this team into a winner? How did they show him a lack of respect? They offered him a minor league deal, he turned it down. And as to your question about contending, you obviously don’t know much about baseball other than what some hacks at ESPN write. This was the best team in baseball from June to September- better than the Sox who haven’t made any moves this offseason to improve. We were unlucky against the Indians, but you know who else would have lost to them if it was a 5 game series? That’s right, the Red Sox, who also started off the series 1-3. We had a better shot at winning a couple of those games than they did and would have won that series had Wang not had the two worst games of his career (and, no, he’s not done, he’ll be back and better than ever) and midges not swarmed Joba at an inopportune time. Stop the doom and gloom. We’ve got three great youngsters and a deep offense. Our bullpen will be fine, though we don’t even know what it’s going to be yet! I like the idea of throwing a bunch of young guys out there because middle relievers have a well-known lack of longevity, so their first few years are usually their best. Take your pessimism and ESPN hackery elsewhere.
Andy is a classy guy and this fan will miss him. Good luck Andy Phillips!
Yesterday’s Sports Section of the NY Times should be required reading for all ARod fans. Selena Roberts has written a lengthy account of ARod the ‘businessman’. Titled “Behind the Facade” the story begins on Page D1, the Front Page of the Sports Section.