Hot Stove Mailbag No. 4
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Dec 19, 2007 
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Dave writes: What is the deal with the Yankees apparent interest in Mark Prior? Having read (more than a few times) your feelings on the Carl Pavano soap opera, I assume you feel the same as I do: Didn’t they learn their lesson? Do you think Prior can offer a team like the Yankees anything in the near future.
Answer: To me, Prior is the most interesting of the non-tenders. I would assume any interested team would want to see a fresh MRI to confirm what has been a cheerful prognosis. An incentive-laden deal would be worth the risk. But the Yankees have six starters already, so I can’t see Prior heading to the Bronx. I presume he plans to continue his career as a starter.
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Liane writes: What are the odds that Joba keeps his No. 62? I want to get a batting practice T-shirt with his number, but have some apprehension since he may go for a lower number this year.
Answer: Get the shirt. Baseball players are a superstitious bunch and I doubt Joba would risk a change. Besides, even if he does you’ll have a classic Joba shirt and that will have more cred than the new number.
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Steve writes: Have the Yanks shown any interest in free agent Mike Sweeney at first base? He is a risk but won’t be too expensive and was once an OBP machine! Also, any thoughts about giving Xavier Nady a shot to succeed at 1B? I’m just not convinced Shelley Duncan can do the job.
Answer: Get 25 Yankees fans in a room and all 25 will have a different guy at first base. I have heard no talk of Sweeney and I don’t expect to hear any. He has been banged up physically for several years and the Yankees seem more interested in getting younger, not older. Here’s your first baseman on Aug. 1: Juan Miranda.
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Andrew writes: I had a quick winter leagues question. Is there a significant injury risk for MLB players playing for winter league teams? It seems crazy that many, if not most, players are forbidden or discouraged from off-season activities like skiing or pick-up basketball (Aaron Boone) while others head south to play competitive baseball. If Abreu gets hurt this winter after having his $16 million option picked up, do the Yankees have any recourse?
Answer: MLB has an agreement with the winter leagues that allowes players to participate unless there is a medical reason not to. Given how many players come from the Dominican and Venezuela, it only makes sense. Most of the veterans pick their spots in the winter and try to take it easy. There is always a risk of injury but most players are working out anyway. If Abreu’s contract is insured, the Yankees could get some financial relief were he to get injured. But they can’t just void the contract.
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Zak writes: When Roger Clemens signed with the Yankees he was asked why he came back to the Yankees. He said he spoke to George Steinbrenner during spring training and that he said something very special to him. He wouldn’t say what he said, but he would after the season. Did he ever say what George said?
Answer: I believe it was, “I know you’re on steroids but your secret is safe with me. And kiss up to Hank.”
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Mike writes: Gun to your head, vote today, is Roger Clemens a Hall of Famer? I know in a perfect world we would wait for more details, but if it’s true, is he in?
Answer: That is my favorite expression, gun to your head. Maybe that explains John Wilkes Booth. Gun to your head, Mr. President, did Abner Doubleday invent baseball? As for Clemens, he gets in.
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Todd writes: Andy Phillips has been a constant performer for the Yankees over the past few seasons; why do the Yankees keep cutting him? Also, what to you think is Robinson Cano’s long term future with the club? Could he be the next Derek Jeter?
Answer: My belief is that Andy once pulled up to Legends Field, flipped his car keys to Brian Cashman and said, “Don’t scratch it, Sparky” and walked away. For whatever reason, Cash doesn’t seem to have much time for Phillips. I love the guy, but when it comes right down to it, he’s 30 and not really much of a threat at the plate. As for Cano, he’s an insanely productive second baseman. But asking anybody to be Jeter is asking a lot. Robbie may do well with the ladies but scoring with Jessica Alba, Jordana Brewster, Jessica Biel and Gabrielle Union is a lot to ask.
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Jo-Anne from Tampa asks: Pete, what do you want for Christmas?
Answer: Peace on earth, good will toward men, a bottle of Grey Goose and a high-definition television.
Thanks for the letters everybody.
I hope Liane gets a lot of cred, at $200 a pop!
hey pete your answers make me laugh. keep it up.
seriously I would say Robi Cano is way ahead of Jeter’s pace as a prospect
Robi Cano first 3 seasons
(22).297 .320 .458
(23).342 .365 .525
(24).306 .353 .488
Derek Jeter first 3 seasons
(22).314 .370 .430
(23).291 .370 .405
(24).324 .384 .481
What is Pete looking at in his picture?
all that is keeping Robi back is the OBP % other than that one of the best infact is right now the best position prospect for the Yankees
Robbie needs to learn a little patience at the plate. It’s something that great hitters have learned as they’ve matured.
yeh but that power stroke makes up for it if he were to learn patience we would be saying Miguel Cabrera who ? or Manny Ra..what ? I’m predicting a breakout season for him this year. Girardi helped Cabrera a bit he can also help Robi
Who would ask if Cano would be the next Jeter……
Those types of questions are retarded. Last time I heard that from a Yankees fan it was Brad Halsey is the next Andy Pettite.
THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE.
oh brother….whoever can’t see Robi is going to be a better hitter than Jetes was needs to be examined
“I’m predicting a breakout season for him this year. ”
He’s already HAD a breakout year. In fact, he’s had two. Robbie is no longer a prospect…he’s an All-Star. If he continues to improve his plate discipline, he’ll be an elite hitter and get himself to the 3 hole. If he doesn’t, he’ll still be an elite second baseman and hit in the 6-7 hole. Really, I’d be fine with either.
Pete, those are really good questions this time around!
Clockwork: LMAO
Burgess fan?
“oh brother….whoever can’t see Robi is going to be a better hitter than Jetes was needs to be examined”
Actually…if he DOESN’T merely maintains his current plate discipline, he’ll be just about as productive as Jeter has been. If he does, then yes, he probably will be a better hitter.
whozat:
Robby certainly hits like an all-star, and (at times) fields like one too.
Now, if only we could magically get him to learn how to run the bases, we’d have another for the canon of Yankees’ heroes…
And by this
“he DOESN’T merely maintains”
I meant
“he merely maintains ”
Bedtime.
Cano has been a great second-half hitter.. Imagine if he gets off to a good start. His OBA has been respectable the past two seasons, but room for improvement, for sure
Prior may take the path that Kerry Wood took and head to the pen. He maye just not have to body to hold up for 200 innings. He might be a really effective arm out of the pen for 60 innings. It might be interesting to do what we did with Jon Leiber, a backloaded incentive laiden two year deal.
Hey Pete,
Is Melky Cabrera the next Gerald Williams?
Do u really like da goose, pete ?
Goose and Red Bull rocks
support lohud! voting for lohud is further down page and doesnt require registration
http://www.bustedcoverage.com/?page_id=1124
Worthless Mailbag.Man there must be nothing to report on, Pete should just go on vacation.
And I knew Pete would bash Clemens and not one mention to Andy Pettitte the “True Yankee” who failed us.
Santana in 2008 in Pintsrtipes.
SAndMan: Um, I’ve posted at length about Pettitte since Mitchell came out. Where you been?
And I am on vacation. Just trying to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support.
Grey Goose, eh? I’m a JD man myself. Comparing Prior and Pavano is ridiculous. Prior could dominate a game by himself while Pavano always relied heavily on the caliber of defense playing behind him. I speak of these feats in the past tense because arm miseries have pretty much ruined both, though there’s still a glimmer for Prior. He’s worth a Lieber deal. Happy holidays Pete.
I think it’s a no-brainer to take a flyer out on Prior. He’s not going to pitch until June at the earliest, most likely, and then to have a ‘healthy’ Mark Prior as your trade deadline acquision is a nice problem to have.
Before Prior is considered by any team, he should have examinations done by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham and Dr. Frank Jobe in L.A.
Their thumbs up is the deciding factor in any contract.
Prior is already under the care of Dr. Andrews, who did the surgery i believe.
“For whatever reason, Cash doesn’t seem to have much time for Phillips. I love the guy, but when it comes right down to it, he’s 30 and not really much of a threat at the plate.”
“whatever reason” = “he’s 30 and not much of a threat at the plate”.
in other words, he isn’t very good, but for some unknown reason, Cashman wasn’t interested. that is strange.
If the Yankees were willing to take a gamble on Jon Lieber and Octavio Dotel, I dont see why you would draw the line there and not offer the same to Prior, who is twice the pitcher of either of those two.
Prior would be smart to sign with an NL team. i’d guess the Yankees are a long shot.
i am sure the Yankees will make a nice offer, but he’s trying to recover his reputation so he can cash in next season, and the AL East is not the place you want to do that.
Scotty “When are you going to get off that milk diet?”
Checkov “This is vodka”
Scotty “Where I come from. that’s soda pop”
“Trouble with Tribbles”
“Liane writes: What are the odds that Joba keeps his No. 62? I want to get a batting practice T-shirt with his number, but have some apprehension since he may go for a lower number this year.”
you don’t have to worry very much because in addition to what Peter said, Joba has ALWAYS worn a number that adds up to 8 (6 + 2 =
in honor of his fried who wore #8 and died of brain cancer
hmm that
is supposed to be ( 6 + 2 = 8 )
Re: Winter Leagues
Our old friend Juan Rivera broke his leg after a breakout season and missed quite a bit of time last year. So, yes, teams are paranoid. Vlad also injured himself, but it was minor.
Seriously, I have no problem with a platoon of Betemit and Duncan. That’s average defense, plenty of pop, and an OBP you can bury in the back of the lineup. It’s certainly better than Minky, whose glove might be no better than Betemit’s (who’s a converted infielder).
I’d give Juan Miranda (who hits lefty) a shot in spring training. If he mashes, pair him with Duncan, and use Betemit as the infield sub. Get him an outfielder’s mitt while you’re at it.
Robbie’s plate discipline is far from good, but he took a step forward next year, drawing about 30 more walks. If he keeps moving forward, his OBP will be high enough to sustain his value even if he fails to bat .300. With his bat speed and ability to hit the ball where it is pitched, he should continue to hit .300 for the near future. As he gets older, he’ll need to take more walks.
Actually it was 21 more walks. But that increased his IsoOBP (OBP – batting average) from .23 to .47, somewhat remarkable given how lost he looked at the beginning of the year. Believe it or not, his IsoSLG actually increased – his drop in slugging percentage was purely a result of hitting .306 instead of .342. Cano is good, but .342 is a result of a lot of luck of grounders which he didn’t have last year.
Cano has one of the best, most balanced swings in the majors.
When he is patient and stays back on pitches he consistently ropes liners to left. What I have noticed is he is now starting to turn on pitches more and take advantage of right field at the stadium. He is developing his power stroke as he matures, and I see him as a consistent .300 hitter with 20-30 homeruns per year soon. So yeah, that makes him better than Jeter when that happens.
I think Todd left out a couple of words on his question about Andy Phillips. “Andy Phillips has been a constant mediocre to bad performer for the Yankees over the past few seasons.”
Much better.
All of Jeter’s “work” off the field is rendered meaningless by two words:
Mariah Carey
The difference between Leiber/Dotel and Prior is the type of injuries they’re recovering from. Leiber and Dotel had Tommy John (elbow ligament) surgery. Most players who have it recover fully and actually end up gaining a few MPH on their fastball in the process.
Prior had shoulder problems. Pitchers often aren’t able to successfully pitch in the majors after shoulder surgery, and those that do rarely have the strength they did before the surgery.
Pete,
Where should we send the Grey Goose? Can an online merchant ship that to NJ?
Cheers!
Way to drop a rhyme, Pete.
ill cop u the grey goose bottle Pete and we can take it to the face ….and yea Dominicans and venezuelans and mexicans continuing to play for their countries in the off season is great …I got to see Robinson Cano play in DR last christmas too bad his team broke down at the end of the season and got beat out of the playoff race by a wack team in the last game who s*ck*d in the playoffs
If I had one wish that I could wish this holiday season, it would be that all the children to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace. If I had two wishes I could make this holiday season, the first would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing in the spirit of harmony and peace. And the second would be for 30 million dollars a month to be given to me, tax-free in a Swiss bank account. (Steve Martin)
First thing I thought of after reading your mailbag.
Wow, Pete. You write this answer, then have a pole about Clemens and roids, then go on to dis Schilling — what’s up dude? Were you in the room with Clemens when he used anything? What happened to innocent until proved guilty? I’m
disappointed and I hope others are as well since reporters are supposed to report the facts and that’s it! I’ll be watching the slant – where did you grow up and who was your favorite team and players? I’m going to take a wild guess and say not Clemens. Are you sure your not still a Mets fan – were you covering the Mets during the 2000 series?
Zak writes: When Roger Clemens signed with the Yankees he was asked why he came back to the Yankees. He said he spoke to George Steinbrenner during spring training and that he said something very special to him. He wouldn’t say what he said, but he would after the season. Did he ever say what George said?
Answer: I believe it was, “I know you’re on steroids but your secret is safe with me. And kiss up to Hank.â€
marcy i think that was a sarcastic answer … dont have a titi attack