Yankees make it official with Hawkins
-
- December
- 27
This press release came today from the Yankees:
YANKEES SIGN RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER LaTROY HAWKINS
The New York Yankees announced today they have signed right-handed pitcher LaTroy Hawkins to a one-year contract.
Hawkins, 35, made 62 relief appearances for the Colorado Rockies in 2007, going 2-5 with a 3.42 ERA. Over his final 53 outings of the season following a one-month stay on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation, he was 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA, holding opponents to a .233 batting average. Hawkins appeared in five postseason games for the National League champions, allowing just 2H and 1ER in 5.0IP (1BB, 3K).
He has a 56-76 career record with 75 saves and a 4.68 ERA in 631 Major League games (98 starts) over 13 seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies. Since becoming a full-time reliever in 2000, Hawkins’ 532 relief appearances are tied for the ninth-most in the Majors and tied for the fourth-most among right-handers. He is one of only five pitchers to make more than 60 appearances in each of the last eight seasons (2000-07) and threw a combined 550.2 innings over the stretch, sixth-most among Major League relievers.
A native of Gary, Ind., Hawkins was originally selected by the Minnesota Twins in the seventh round of the 1991 First-Year Player Draft.
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Peter Abraham
Hawkinsfor 1 year and a supplemental pick we won out this one
CHAMPIONSHIP!
Hopefully he doesn’t blow up too often.
he’ll keep the seat warm for Cox and Sanchez
He’ll help, but the bullpen is a big mystery right now. Still, he’ll probably give “Viz” like production and we get an early pick in the draft.
This isn’t a bad move for the Yankees at all. Hawkins has had very good durability and it is just a one-year contract. The Viz was asking for three years before settling for two. The key is not getting tied up for too many years with set-up men, and the Yankees have prevented that by signing Hawkins to the one-year deal. Hawkins has more than enough experience and know-how to get hitters out.
Welcome to the club, uh, Troy.
I bet Jeter calls him “La Choy”.
Here’s a link to the depth chart as of today:
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/team/depth_chart/index.jsp?c_id=nyy
6 starters + 5/6 bullpen guys.
Definites:
Veras
Hawkins
Farnsworth
Rivera
Ideas? J-Alba? And please don’t tell me Britton (no offense Mama Britton)
There will be at least one more bullpen move before the winter is over. Either Marte or Affeldt will be brought in.
At least it’s only for one year.
I had absolutely forgotten about La Troy Hawkins!
Albaladejo, Ohlendorf and Bruney. I look for a deal, moving Farnsworth and either Rasner or Karstens.
So here’s the $64,000 question:
Who’s done less this off season: The Yankees or the Mets?
Okay, I know the Yankees have actually done a LOT, but outside of Girardi and the ‘pen, how different is the roster from 2007?
Not that I’m complaining…
The rotation will include the kids for a full year, and, that’s a big plus. I think that there may be at least one, maybe two trades by Spring Training….maybe with Pittsburgh and Waashington.
How many pitchers do teams usually carry?
Because of our “youth” and IP situation it might be a good idea to have a bigger ‘pen. Right now we have 9 starters, 6 starting pitchers, 3 bench guys, and 4 set bullpen guys. That’s 22 guys. That’s 3 spots left to fill. Is it insane to go with 13 pitchers?
Rebecca –
Aside from that blockbuster between Detroit and Florida, there hasn’t been a whole lot of action by anyone! But I would say the Yankees were very active. I know it’s just getting back their own guys, but each of those guys is top-notch and if any one of them had gotten snapped by by someone else it would have be awful, to say the least.
Mel, didn’t they start last season with 13 pitchers? Or did I just make that up????
Rebecca-
Optimist Prime-Save the Three Musketeers! December 27th, 2007 at 6:20 pmOkay, I know the Yankees have actually done a LOT, but outside of Girardi and the ‘pen, how different is the roster from 2007?
Not that I’m complaining…...
OK Rebecca I know you’re not complaining, but this argument is very silly! (no offence to those guy’s) were the yankees so bad the second half last year? if you want so much changes you can switch team
Mel, the usual number of pitchers is 12, and, no Doreen, you didn’t make up the number 13. Torre brought 13 north because of the number of injuries to the starters, who weren’t hurt bad enough to go on the DL, like Pettitte, but, they weren’t sure they would be ready. That’s why Pavano pitched opening day.
That would be nice if the Yankees could swing a deal for Damaso Marte to get a quality lefty into the pen. I’m not sure what kinds of parts would have to go to Pittsburgh in return for them. The Pirates were looking at Melky around the trade deadline in ‘06 (in a rumored swap for Jeromy Burnitz and Craig Wilson). A player or two to go along with Melky could be a bit of a possibility for Marte. That is up to the Pirates to decide.
Wait, why do the Yankees need a quality lefty? They already have Kei Igawa!
GB7 –
Thanks! I never remember what I remember, if that makes any sense.
I had also forgotten about Albaladejo, even though I spent a little time trying to say/spell it when he was first acquired!
Yanks worked overtime to land the biggest free agent of the winter, and the guy they weren’t supposed to get back. They’ve set themselves up with a combination of veterans that can still get the job done and promising youngsters, while continuing to push guys like Giambi to the margins.
....and, of course, the cherry on top is the man soon to be known as “aw sh*t, they brought in” LaTroy Hawkins, the heir to the mighty Ron Villone throne.
I also keep forgetting about Kei Igawa. Darn.
J-Dawg: your under-25 starting CF for a mid-30’s middle reliever is not the kind of trade you make under any circumstances.
Do relief pitchers (middle relief guys) really even need names? I mean, they seem to be pretty interchangeable, and most don’t really separate themselves from the crowd for any extended period of time.
Lets hope the conditioning coach doesnt get in the way of the 08 start.
08 predictions
Santana’s a Yankee and wins Cy Young
Girardi Manager of the Year
Arod Back to Back MVP
Jeter wins batting title
Giambi is the 08 version of Fielder(pinch hitter)
Damon steals 35 bases
Cano hits 25 homeruns and 310 avg.
Matsui traded
Miranda takes over firstbase
Duncan rotates dh and right field
Wang wins 19 games
Kennedy rookie of the year
ALL STARS Cano,Jeter,Arod,Santana,Wang,Posada.
27th Championship over the Dodgers. 4-1 Jeter gives Torre his bat to keep.
My pleasure, Doreen. I know what you mean about not remembering what you remember. Pittsburgh needs money and pitching…both relieving and starting. Washington also needs both. They are overstocked with outfielders (6) and first basemen, all making at least 5.5-6 mil a year. Nick Johnson may be on the block. A couple of pitchers such as Karstens/Rasner and Bruney/Farnsworth (with cash to pay most of Farnsworth could shake either Marte or Johnson loose and build a similar package to get the other.
How much are they paying Mr. Hawkins, the man who put the “journey” in journeyman?
J. Steinbrenner, Marte is only 32 years old…not mid-30s, but, Pittsburgh needs pitching also…starters and relief pitchers…along with money.
Jorge- I’m just trying to think of bullpen solutions, much like others here on the blog. We have to toss in some names for these kinds of trade possibilities.
Doreen, you’re right. The one exception to that was Stanton, Nelson and Mendoza. Timlin bounced around a lot before settling in Boston for a few years, now.
Effective middle relief is a rare commodity, indeed. Timlin has been a fixture in Boston for a few years now, and that is good for them. He’s not a star, but they pretty much know what they’re getting with him. I was very disappointed with the way things turned out for Scott Proctor. I really, really liked him—liked his make-up and grittiness. I wanted him to work out so much. Now that he’s in LA, you can’t really follow how things are going for him without really working at it, because of the time difference. I was able to keep up with Pettitte (even more so than Clemens) while he was in Houston, though. As much as I usually root for the laundry, there are a few that creep into your heart and you can’t let ‘em go, wishing them well wherever.
Jim PA- The contract will pay Hawkins $3.75 million.
Dorren, exactly…on Proctor, the Torre haters (plenty of those) complain about him ruining Proctor. Proctor, most admit had a very good 2006 (he had trouble with Boston and Baltimore)but then talk about how bad he was in 2007, even though the numbers were about as consistant with his prior season as possible. Proctor likes to work, and he got the work because there wasn’t another reliable pitcher in the pen besides Rivera. Bruney started great and fell apart, Vizcaino started great, hit a slump, and rebounded. Over the first four months, Proctor was as steady as he was in 2006, except for Boston and Baltimore. To bad they couldn’t have shipped Farnsworth out, instead.
Doreen,
Middle bullpenners with few exceptions are like Broadway gypsies, going from chorus line to chorus line. I think that Scott Shields is about the longest running middle relief pitcher with the Angels, and even he’s starting to wear down..
Off-Topic—
We are thinking of getting PlayStation 3 80G, because the drawer on our PS2 won’t open (and I think there’s a disc stuck inside). Anyone have one and are PS2 games compatible? I bought my daughters Singstar for Christmas and they opened the box before we knew the console was unusable. Any suggestions are appreciated. And I apologize for the off-topic-ness of this, but you guys all seem to know a little bit of everything…
GB7—
That’s exactly what they are like!! Broadway gypsies. That’s a perfect analogy. Never the stars, but they do end up getting steady work.
Can’t help you, Doreen. I’ve never used any Play Station. I’ve never played any electronic games before.
I buy into Green Beret’s takes. Cashman will get that elusive bullpen lefty soon in either Marte or Affeldt.
Unless Farnsworth shows Joe Girardi that he can be resurrected by mid-March, he could be dealt before the season starts. Farnsworth could get pushed by Veras or Ohlendorf for a bullpen spot.
Bruney, Britton, and Ramirez have things to prove for Girardi.
Doreen:
I believe the PS3 is backward compatible. It will play the PS2 games, but you will only get the graphics at PS2 level.
Exactly, Doreen. Left handers like Mike Myers and Ron Villone are around forever. Not always spectaular, but, at least they always know that they’ll have a post game spread waiting for them someplace. If the Yankee bullpen kids come up this year and are as good as advertised, there will be a lot of trades going on around the deadline. If that happens, guys like Hawkins and possibly Bruney will be traded. It’s hard to give up on a guy like Bruney. Young, cheap, and has a great arm and that big fastball. He’s out of options, like Henn is, so, they’ll get every opportunity or will be traded. You just hope things finally click for them.
Doreen:
For laughs, you ought to get yourself MLB 07 The Show (PS3 version). There are a lot of great games for the PS3 but this is the only baseball sim I’ve played that I like.
They should of just took the money and flushed it down the toilet. Atleast they wouldn’t have to pay luxury tax on that money. Another fine move by cashcheapo.
Uh, Ben, chill—
I’m just poking fun at that it doesn’t seem like the yanks have done a lot…even though they signed all their major free agents
anyway, it’s not the roster from the second half of 2007 that concerns me
Yeah, I look for a move to sign Affelt. Lefty, young, cheap, throws hard and a great arm. All he costs is money and no draft picks. I wouldn’t mind seeing Affeldt and Marte coming in. NYY has plenty of minor league arms to move, and, they’d work well in the NL, especially. I’d almost look for Mussina to get moved during ST if he shows much. The perfect spot for him would be the Mets. No moves, bigger park, hitters don’t know him and the Mets need starters. Depends on whether NYY gets Santana and at what cost.
Captain, what relief pitcher was out on the market, that didn’t want multiple years, large paycheck or didn’t cost good talent? ?Don’t say Mahay, because he didn’t want to sign for less years or money. He isn’t worth the years, money or picks.
Maybe the bullpen situation isn’t a very dire one, but sometimes it isn’t the easiest thing to find the proper solutions. What Cashman and Girardi will do at some point is evaluate the roster and answer one question- if we have a lead going into the 7th inning and our starter is done, do we currently have a reliever on the staff who we can trust to hold the lead? Maybe Farnsworth or Ohlendorf is the answer, or maybe the answer lies in the minors with someone who will wow them in Spring Training.
MLB.com is reporting that Darin Erstad has agreed to a deal with the Astros.
Doreen, you can add Scott Patterson to the bullpen hopefuls, also. NYY has high hopes for this guy.
The ps3 is backward compatible for sure. Also, you would have a blu-ray player, which I am convinced is the height of technology.
Vizcaino when he is used properly. Meaning not everyday, sometimes 2 innings a day and 6 out of the 7 days that week. For $7m for 2 years which is what he got I do not think that would have been a bad gamble.
J-Dawg, I’m not crazy about Farnsworth setting up. For one thing, he can’t go but, every other day or two, and even then, they’re never sure he won’t be out a week with a stiff back. Right now, unless Chamberlain is in the pen, I’d go with Ohlendorf. Let Farnsworth, Hawkins, and who ever is left to pitch the 6-7 innings.
Vizcaino was used because, outside of Proctor everybody else in the pen and 2 of the 5 starters stunk.
Clever. Just what they need…another BS article by somebody who thinks he’s funny.
GB7:
Dang, I must be slowing down… He got you too, eh?
“Off-Topic –
We are thinking of getting PlayStation 3 80G, because the drawer on our PS2 won’t open (and I think there’s a disc stuck inside). Anyone have one and are PS2 games compatible? I bought my daughters Singstar for Christmas and they opened the box before we knew the console was unusable. Any suggestions are appreciated. And I apologize for the off-topic-ness of this, but you guys all seem to know a little bit of everything…”
It is backward compatible but you need to buy the 80 Gig PS3. Not sure if the 40 Gig will play PS2 games.. I get my PS3 tomorrow. Blu-ray is a major plus also…
Jorge Steinbrenner… The biggest free agent of the winter was not Johan Santana. Try Alex Rodriguez, but the Yanks signed him early.
Rivera and Posada would have been big, but they didn’t declare, did they?
Thanks for all the help with the PS3 situation.
Murphydog –
I’ve pretty much quit playing video games since Atari. When I first got married, I was a student-teacher and I would get home a couple of hours before my husband. After I did my “homework” I would put in the Space Invaders game and after what seemed like 5 minutes, but was actually about an hour and a half, my husband would come home from work, and no dinner on the table, and he was great about it and all, but I figured I was too easily addicted, and went cold turkey.
Last year we picked up Guitar Hero for the girls, and it was the first game in years I felt tempted to play, and so I did, but I’m not that good at it and I only like a couple of the songs. Video games have sure come a long way since Atari!
GB7 –
I don’t think the Yankees have anything to lose by sticking mostly with what’s in-house. It’s worth a shot, anyway.
Yeah, Murph..I got suckered into the BS report also. Who says you get smarter as you get older?
This is going to get ugly.
Mussina will waive his no trade clause and accept a deal to the Phillies or Mets no later than the 7/31/08 trade deadline.
This will be influenced by a July AAA callup of either Alan Horne or Daniel McCutchen reducing Mussina to a virtual non-role with the Yankees.
For the most part, I think they will go with the inhouse personnel, Doreen, but, NYY has a lot of pitchers that are similar, out of options and are too good to just release. These are the types that would help a Pittsburgh or Washington team or, even Texas and San Francisco. Pitchers like Farnsworth, Rasner, Bruney, Karstens and even Veras could be grouped with other players like Gardner (if Cabrera isn’t moved), Gonzales, Duncan or Betemit to bring in a Marte or Johnson. NYY has so many kids ready to advance that there is starting to be a logjam. Most of these pitchers are better off in the NL than the AL. This, obviously is my opinion, though. NYY has more of these types than anybody else, just no left handers or first basemen. I’m not really sold on Miranda at first base, because he’s a butcher with the glove, and NYY has a lot of ground ball pitchers.
Steve, can I advertise to adopt a 19 year old Swedish orphan? blonde, blue-eyed…loves to cook and clean house, doesn’t snore are all good qualities, but willing to be flexable. Do you guarantee good results?
Hawkins? I’m jealous the ‘Stros got Erstad! haha Kidding, of course! This guy has nothing left…
http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2007/12/27/astros-sign-darin-erstad/
Steve, as long as you guarantee results, count me in. ‘m more concerned about Girardi’s handling of the young pitchers. I’d hate to see a repeat of the body count he left in Florida.
draft pick is good, so is one year deal.
but Hawkins is gonna blow up, I guarantee you!!!
but what choices do we have anyway? FA market simply sucks…
hopefully Horne and Sanchez could help us sooner than later…
GB7,
Girardi has such a tough act to follow; hopefully Torre left notes on pitchers/bullpen management.
Know I am being sarcastic; but definitely feel a change was needed in the manager position and the “hire” of Joe G. was an upgrade.
S.o.S.27:
Wang is NOT gonna win 19 games again… winning 19 games back-to-back is extremely lucky for a one-pitch guy like Wang, he won’t make it back-to-back-to-back! The baseball God won’t allow that to happen!
Wang in 2008: 13 wins, 4.50+ ERA… BOOK IT!!!
That’s why we should put HIM, not Hughes, in the package to get Santana! we can even pay ALL THE MONEY he’s gonna get from arbitration to Minny… and make it a “Wang+Melky+Marquez+ 2 more B-level prospects” package to get Santana…
Keep Hughes, get Santana… #27 is coming to NY in 2008!!!
Doreen, make sure you get the 80GB model as the 40GB model definitely isn’t backwards compatible. I’m sure of that – been doing my homework on them too.
We also have an XBox and are going to wait a bit before upgrading that to the Xbox 360.
Is the MLB 07 game any good Murph? I’ve been looking for a few games to get for the PS3 for the other half when he gets it for his birthday next week.
NY Hunter,
why would the Twins want a ground ball pitcher such as Wang (when he is pitching well)? -they play on a carpet. It won’t happen.
NYhunter,
The Twins don’t want Wang. They want VERY YOUNG players that have a number of years before free agency. Plus, Wang would get killed on that turf—a lot of groundballs off his sinker would fly through the infield for hits.
Twins had Carlos Silva many years… it didn’t seems that they were afraid of using him.
Although I don’t have high hope for Wang, he is better than Silva…
Doreen –
80 gig is backwards compatible with PS2 games. there’s a bit of upscaling involved with more recent firmware updates, but that’s about it.
i’m about to test out one of the cooler hidden things the PS3 can supposedly do, which is stream my PS1 games onto my PSP in another room.
Hawkins will be fine.
GoYanks
December 27th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
GB7,
Girardi has such a tough act to follow; hopefully Torre left notes on pitchers/bullpen management.
Know I am being sarcastic; but definitely feel a change was needed in the manager position and the “hire” of Joe G. was an upgrade.
They’d better hope Girardipaid attention. Girardi could be getting something that Torre didn’t have for years…a deep and talented bullpen of young, hard throwers and a stable of young, strong starters.
I haven’t been following for a week or so, so I’m at least that far out of the loop. Sorry if this may already be old news to some of the hard core bloggers:
Yanks asked Cano to pull out of winter ball. Being a little bit of a slow starter (in just a couple seasons so far) I thought winter ball would help him tune his swing going into the season. Any chance this might be tied to a trade?
My imagination is asking … Santana? Since I’ve been out of the loop, I have no idea.
Angel:
Ain’t you sweet, thinking of the other half’s gaming needs. Now that’s what I call a partner.
MLB 07 The Show is fun, with good gameplay as well as good graphics, especially the PS3 version. Lots of ways to play, different levels of difficulty, you can play against the game’s AI or other gamers via internet. The AI is pretty good, creating some realistic game situations, and you can customize the game to a great degree.
Try Drake’s Fortune (PS3) also.
I thought they pulled Melky?
Ranting Guy
Just read that as well. Cano said they wanted him to heal a calf injury.
Ranting Guy- Cano was probably asked to pull out to keep from getting one of those freak injuries that can happen sometimes in Winter League ball. As far as we know, Robbie is one of those untouchables that Cashman refers to at times.
GB7,
Agree that the bullpen has and is still an issue; Joe G. may not be the magic answer . . . but think that he will give the youngsters a shot.
May not work this upcoming year – but think it pay dividents down the road.
From River Ave. Blues:
We’re a day or two late on this one, but MLB Trade Rumors linked to this article in the Dominican daily Listin Diario about Melky Cabrera. The Yankees, it seems, have invoked the fatigue clause and have ordered Melky to sit out Winter Ball this year. While the paper in Spanish speculates that this move may be a part of any deal for Johan Santana, the truth is that Melky faded pretty badly down the stretch last year and probably shouldn’t be playing baseball until Spring Training.
Anyhoo, the Twins supposedly have offered Santana a 4yr/$80M deal to stay in Minny.
Well, glad to hear Cano may only be hurt instead of becoming trade bait.
I know that sounds bad but I thing y’all know what I mean.
It sounded like it was a calf injury he had from the regular season, not something that happened in winter ball.
Mel, it’s understandable. Cabrera expends a lot on energy during the year. He’s been playing year-round baseball for years, and, even at his age, he needs to recharge and rest the nicks and bruises. Same with Cano.
Hi everyone – I’m just checking in quickly. I spent Christmas at my parent’s house in Westchester, and I just got back to Boston a few hours ago. I’m heading up to Killington for New Year’s tomorrow. My vacations seem to be more hectic than my normal life lately!
1. re: video games. I love the Wii, and I love the MLB game for it. The guys that made that game appear to have a strange obsession with Doug Meintkevich.
2. re: Santana – I still think we should be careful to not give up too much talent to get him, especially since it seems like no other teams are all that serious about getting him. I feel better with Hughes/Melky/Marquez than I did with the earlier rumors we heard, but frankly, I’m starting to take less and less stock in the Santana rumors in general.
I think that’s it – I hope you all had wonderful holidays, and Happy New Year!
GB7,
So it’s conditioning? I hope Cabrera’s been doing the A-rod winter workout. Heck, if Jason can lose some gut, Melky should be able to!
well Jason lost gut because he stayed away from the needle Mel, as for Melky SJ has said it I have heard whispers too that Alex did indeed get him a Robi a trainer for the winter, this should be very interesting to see his body physique mature
I wish we could back out of this one.
Hawkins is gonna make Farnsworth look like Mariano Rivera.
we get a supplemental draft pick plus a viable bullpen arm, people forget BP arms are like playing lottery not many pan out when you offer longterm deals, that’s why Viz was let go so in essence what we did was trade Viz for lesser year and younger BP
it really was Viz for Hawkins, Cox, Sanchez, Albaledejo & TBA
I’d think that it’s more of a conditioning thing, too, Mel I think with both of them (Cabrera and Cano), their diets consist mainly of fried rice and red beans and meat…standard staples on the Islands, so, there’s probably some baby fat still around. A winter of conditioning will be of more value than playing baseball all winter, I would think. Most of the players that are major league regulars play out of habit and obligation. They make a little extra money to help out, but, by the end of the ML season, they’re beat down.
So by my earlier calculations we have only 3 bench players at this point (assuming Giambi starts at 1B). Molina, Duncan, and Betemit. Another infielder? Real 1B? Thoughts?
Where’s in the world is Miguel Cairo?
“Where’s in the world is Miguel Cairo?”
His name is now Wilson Betemit.
So a consistent right-hand Cairo with zero power gained a few (giggle) pounds and became a switch hitter who can only hit from the left side, but has some pop? Ay carumba!
I really don’t think we will see Miggy back here again. I think we will see the former attorney general getting a shot at being the utlity guy espcially if Wilson doesn’t show up in shape.
Don’t forget that you can consider matsui a bench guy as well. We no longer have the consecutive game streak over our heads, as well as Joe Torre who cared more about records than resting players.
We all need to be grateful that we have Molina as our backup catcher. He’s better than some of the starters out there.
He is the new supersub infielder. And he’s much better, younger, and cheaper.
Jennifer,
Check out the depth chart. I figured Giambi as the 1B and Matsui as the DH with JD in left.
Gonzo sounds good. I’d like to see a real 1B though. Is that hoping for too much? Eyechart’s looking pretty good all of a sudden.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/team/depth_chart/index.jsp?c_id=nyy
plank,
But a little heavier.
“We all need to be grateful that we have Molina as our backup catcher.”
agreed. This seems like a good use of the Yanks resources. Dropping 2 million on a backup catcher would be unfathomable to most teams.
I think you might see Gardner before you see Gonzales in NY as the 25th guy.
Isn’t Gardner an outfielder? Seems like we have plenty of those. But they really need to see if he’s MLB material.
5 Outfielders is standard. According to that depth chart, the fifth outfielder is the primary/secondary 1st baseman.
Remember the other day when I said that you need to have talent and high basketball IQ to play in the NBA? Well Corey Magette has neither. He’s got no business playing in the league. Clips down by 33!
In other news, Sonics hanging with the
Lil’ Papi’sCeltics.Yes, Gardner is a center fielder with a ton of speed and a very good glove. He’ll make a great pinch runner, defensive replacement and he’s a great bunter. He’d have more value than Gonzales, who’s not a great base runner with a little more than decent speed.
Gonzales needs to play every day, to get his hitting up to par.
5th OF is penciled in as Shelley Duncan by the way (according to that chart.) I didn’t mention that in the last post.
Trying Matsui at 1st would solve a lot of problems. That’s a big bat not to have in the lineup every day.
plank,
I think we all consider Shelley more of an outfielder than an infielder. I hope he recovers well. It’ll be interesting to see him play a full year. I would say it’d be nice to see him learn some plate discipline, but those golf shot homeruns are so pleasing to the eye! Maybe he’ll turn into our Vlade. lol.
2 years ago, when they tried Sheff at 1B, Matsui said he’d try 1B if it helped the team.
Where’s all the Matsui trade talk? I hope he stays. He’s been so consistent every year.
I think the best thing for the Yanks is to either trade him or play him at 1st. 4th OF/ part time DH is not ideal to say the least. Matsui has value. If he moves to 1st he becomes a help to the Yanks, if he is traded for someone who fits a role the team needs, that also helps. I’m okay with both of those decisions. I’m not okay with him riding the pine or taking ABs away from Giambi (who is still a better hitter.)
On second thought, I take back the part about being a worse hitter than Giambi, their skill sets still overlap leading to redundancy so the larger point remains.
Giambi is not a better hitter than Matsui. He may have more power, but, in no way is he a hetter hitter. He’s a .250 hitter with power, except for his long slumps and constant injuries.
If Giambi is healthy (or on juice), he’s a better hitter than Matsui.
You’re right. Already caught myself.
I would be surprised if either one significantly outperformed the other next season.
Giambi is playing for his next contract, I could see him easily outplay Matsui.
Giambi will have bionic knees. Expect him to compete with Giambi.
That’s Hideki will have bionic knees.
“Giambi is playing for his next contract, I could see him easily outplay Matsui.”
Entirely possible. The flip side is he’ll be 37 next year. Typically not a good age to expect a rebound from your chubby, injury-prone DH.
Wouldn’t it be incredible if Jason reported to spring training healthy and in shape? Love the guy, but am so looking forward to him not being with the Yankees in ‘09.
chubby, injury-prone DH————————————————-
Lol
How come the other chubby, injury-prone DH hits for average and power AND is clutch?
http://slidingintohome.blogspot.com/2007/12/yankees-to-cano-no-more-winter-ball.html
Yankees tell Cano: NO MORE WINTER BALL.
Could be a great ROY race in the AL with Bucholz vs Joba assuming Joba starts.
“How come the other chubby, injury-prone DH hits for average and power AND is clutch?”
He’s 5 years younger. Giambi was almost a mirror image of Papi at the same age. Giambi used to hit for insanely high BA. Papi’s age 36 season will probably be similar to Giambi’s.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/giambja01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/ortizda01.shtml
Mirror image? Hmmmm.
OPS+ by age
Giambi Papi
24 107 101
25 109 106
26 126 120
27 130 144
28 153 145
29 187 158
30 198 161
31 172 171
32 148
33 90
34 161
35 148
36 108
Eerie. (I hope the formatting is legible)
http://img210.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=23864_Hideki_Giambi_122_591lo.JPG
my crappy Microsoft Paint rendering of the current debate
Stewie,
LOL. Not bad for a 2 yr. old. J/K.
Hawkins was the losing pitcher in david wells 1998 perfect game!