Happy birthday to an everyday player
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jan 02, 2008 
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Our old friend Scott Proctor turned 31 today. Scotty Proct celebrated the occasion with his family and friends in Florida. Joe Torre called in the middle of dessert and told him to warm up.
Proctor’s right arm is spending the week at a spa in Mexico.
Bad jokes aside, isn’t it hard to believe he’s 31? He was one “the kids” two years ago.
and its hard to believe Cashman would be so stupid as to trade a valuable bullpen arm who could pitch every day for an infielder who will be lucky to get 1 at bat per week..
I agree Proctor was overused and sometimes horrible. However, he got big outs at times, had heat, WAS a valuable bullpen pitcher, and could get a big strikeout. The Yankees are overloaded with 1st baseman and can get a decent utility person pretty easily. It’s the bullpen where they need help now.
whatever -
cashman kinda knew what he was doing, proctor was neither reliable nor was he destined for greatness due to the over use. betemit is simply an add on piece and almost takes the role previously held by miguel cairo over.
additionally… just because someone can pitch every day doesn’t mean they will do it well over a long period of time. see our friends paul quantril, tom gordon, tanyon sturtze and the rest of the relievers who had their careers shortened by the likes of mr. torre.
Obviously a birthday bash was held on my blog.
http://scottproctorsarm.blogsp.....octor.html
Jay.. you act as if Miguel Cairo is hard to replace… Proctor was worth way more in return than a Miguel Cairo clone..Proctor could pitch everyday.. and he was effective most of the time.. lets stop acting like he was Tanyon Sturtze.. the guy could give the Yankees 80 innings and a 3.50 era.. which is better than anything we currently have.. the bullpen is disaster now with farnsworth and hawkins closing out games…a FREAKING DISASTER…and with youngsters like Hughes, Joba and Kennedy on innings limits… the bullpen will come into play alot next season. Who do we have? all we did was downgrade. Cashman ought to be fired for putting together such a horrendous bullpen.
I find it harder to believe that you can’t see that: 1) Cashman knew that Torre was riding Proctor into the ground; 2) Cashman knew that he needed insurance at 3B if A-Rod left via free agency; and 3) Cairo wasn’t hitting enough and the team needed a better utility INFer.
btw, How old is Proctor’s arm?
Thirty-one? I thought it was 41.
or as Suzyn Waldman would say: Scawwwwt Prawwwwwcter!!!!!
If Cashman thought Betemit could replace Arod, than why were the Yankees so interested in Mike Lowell?
once torre gets done with him this season he will have the arm of a beer league pitcher
Betemit was never going to replace a-rod, you’d say brroks robinson at 3rd before betemit. The trade was dumb because Betemit was not important and Proctor was occasionally. It was like the Giants-Browns trade for Rueben Droughns in that it was a swap of 2 non-important players. The only difference is that Proctor had the potential to make big impacts last year and this year.
I said he was insurance, which means that if they couldn’t find a better option, like Lowell, who they didn’t and probably couldn’t sign, they were covered.
“If Cashman thought Betemit could replace Arod, than why were the Yankees so interested in Mike Lowell?”
ARod is irreplaceable. However, Betemit could have provided good pop as the lefty half of a 3B platoon, so him and a righty 3B and a righty 1B could probably provide solid production from the two corner spots. That was one purpose of the move…the other is that Betemit is a WAY better bat than Cairo. And young and cheap, and thus still somewhat attractive as a complementary trade piece. The Twins had Nick Punto at 3B last year…I’m pretty sure they’d rather have had Betemit.
The bullpen was always a weakness last season, so it didn’t make sense to trade Proctor at the time. The bench is not as important in the American League as it is in the National League.
And by “as the lefty half of a 3B platoon” I mean “seeing near-daily ABs as the lefty half of both a 1B and 3B platoon”
Cashman has had 8 years to improve this bullpen.. when is he going to do his damn job and trade for marte.
SPA
Wilson Betemit as a possible trade chip is more important than Proctor.
Pete
For Scott’s birthday, did anyone think of a gift certificate to James Andrews?
improving the bullpen should be and will be done internally… we should stay out of the paying big bucks for relievers market nor trade talent.
there is enough talent in pitching that the yankees could piece together a good, but inexperienced, pen. the problem with pitching is that you must rely on your farm system because no one wants to give it up. it’s a lot easier to let go of a 26 year old position player than a 26 year old pitcher. it’s now just a matter of patience and development.
I want Yu.
“when is he going to do his damn job and trade for marte.”
as soon as the pirates stop making absurd demands.
I was fine with Betemit as versatile INF insurance.
The way I read his post of a few minutes ago, Jaewon thinks Brooks Robinson at his age right now could probably play 3B as well as Betemit. He may actually be right on that one. And that’s not necessarily a knock on Betemit either.
As stated by many, Betemit is just the all-around INF insurance Cairo used to be. He’s not a big time stud but he’s reliable enough at the 3 positions, and an emergency backup at 1B. Nothing more expected, and nothing wrong with that.
He can fill adequately and w/o being a disaster for as starter to get day’s rest (or a few days) but NY would be in trouble if Cano, Jeter or A-Rod went down for a month. But they would be in trouble no matter what backup ML infielder filled in for a month for any those three. All of the guys worthy of filling their shoes THAT well are already starters for other teams, not low-cost utility INFs.
Happy Birthday to Proctor’s right arm too! It just turned 54!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree that the yankees bullpen help should and mostly likely will come from within the organization. There are a few big name relievers on the market, but signing a big name reliever to a big contract has always been a risky thing to do and I don’t think Cashman is going to go crazy and spend $10-20 million on relief help. I also have faith in B-Cash and think that he probably has been doing more to help the yankees bullpen than most yankee fans know signing and developing young pitchers. Cashman has proven so far that he is sticking to his gameplan of staying (more or less) within the organization (unless he signs Santana, which would be the complete opposite).
Not that this changes what Leyritz did but there is some misinformation floating around on the internet and various websites. It is being stated that Leyritz was driving with a suspended license. His license was suspended in NY State for failure to answer a summons for talking on a cell while driving (not exactly a capital offense) (who here hasn’t spoken even 2 seconds on a cell while driving, be honest). He still had a vaild license in Fla, although they were planning to suspend it. A little different that driving with a suspended license. None of this changes that fact that he should pay for killing the lady, I’m just pointing out incorrect information.
Wilson Betamit filling the role previously held by Miguel Cairo. I’m sorry, but that role with the Yankees was created and patented by Luis Sojo.
(Or was there someone before him?
A) Proctor was the only guy in the bullpen with any value to another team. However, Cashman knew he was fools gold and sought to sell as high as he could before Torre could do any more damage, or he went on one of his bad streaks. Remember the horrible stretch that produced the bonfire incident?
B) While none of us were sure of it at the time, they had a plan to bring up Joba and make Proctor expendable. Sure, he was a rookie and no one knew for sure what he would do, but these are experienced baseball people and anybody with 2 eyes could see that a kid throwing 99 mph darts on the corner was going to be AT LEAST as successful as Proctor.
C) Cairo was an automatic out. I can’t recall the specific games, but I do remember that very early after acquiring Betemit, he was instrumental in a few important wins with home runs. It’s safe to assume Cairo would not have
provided that offense and those games might have been lost. We barely squeaked into the playoffs and needed every win.
D) As mentioned above, Betemit is young, cheap, and has more upside than Cairo ever had. Cairo should never have been brought back, as his skills could have been reproduced by a AAA guy making league minimum.
Bottom line: Great trade, IMO.
Samples
The Yankees still didn’t have bullpen depth after Joba. With the Joba rules, Vizcaino became Torre’s whipping boy after Proctor was traded. If they’d kept Proctor, some of the load could have been lightened and maybe Viz wouldn’t have been dead come playoff time.
As for Betemit, I see no upside. He is pathetic from the right side, worse than Cairo, and merely decent from the left. He strikes out way too much. I’d have taken Proctor over him any day.
As Horne, Sanchez, Melancon, Cox, etc. are added to the pen over the course of next season, no one will be making negative comments about Cashman and the pen for a while.
“With the Joba rules, Vizcaino became Torre’s whipping boy after Proctor was traded.”
mmm…revisionist history.
Viz was a whipping boy ALREADY. Why? Because he was slightly less inconsistent than Proctor, who was also inconsistent, partly due to abuse.
Betemit has an OPS+ of 110 from the left side. That’s solidly good. Betemit’s never gotten regular work. He’s always been stuck behind somebody else, so it doesn’t surprise me that he strikes out a lot. Besides…a guy who has power but K’s a lot is totally fine is pretty normal in the bottom of the lineup.
“is totally fine is pretty normal”
I am the king of grammar.
Didn’t clay bellinger and to a lesser extent Homer Bush play the roles of Cairo, Sojo and now, presumably Betemit?….Moreso Bellinger since I think Bush only played middle infield.
dead on, whoa. Melancon & Cox for sure. Sanchez isn’t going to be ready for ST, so I’m concerned about him getting to the bullpen in ’08. Horne is just a damn good young pitcher, who can help us either in BP or SR. People don’t understand that the guys we signed are insurance, and that we have great young arms waiting to assume their BP roles for years to come, that’s why we let vizcaino walk and why we signed Hawkins for only one year. I’m also hoping E-Ram worked on another pitch (why not? he taught himself that changeup) and can help us. mccutchen is another option. We’re fine.
Luis Sojo was worth his weight in gold, as was Chicken Stanley of the storied 70′s teams.
I support Hideki Matsui. Please do its best this year. For the World Series conquest of Yankees!
I think the Proctor for Betemit trade was a good one. Cash knew Torre had burned Scotty out (the irony of them being reunited now is almost too much) so he got rid of him while his value was still high enough to get something back. And the return was good – Wilson is young, cheap and a versatile player; between platooning at 1st with Shelley and the fact that he also plays every other IF position, he could help us a lot this year if he is used correctly. Although, I’m not sure about his defense and I am hoping he will get in better shape over the offseason.
Rong Rive Matsui
Alan
Wayne Tolleson and Randy Velarde were two guys before Sojo patented the job.
Betemit looks shaky to me at Third.
I keep hearing that he is in the 1STBase mix still,with Giambi and Shelly.
“Although, I’m not sure about his defense and I am hoping he will get in better shape over the offseason.”
Yeah, I really don’t understand professional athletes who don’t keep themselves in fighting trim. I mean…you make your living with that body. Not only is it a good idea for health, but it’s your JOB to be in shape.
“Betemit looks shaky to me at Third.”
Based on…what? His arm looks fine. His range at all positions would be better if he dropped some mass. But he looked fine at third to me.
Bring Back Sojo anyday…..He was my favorite…right up there with Miguel Cairo…
Oh please whozat….everytime I post something on here you gotta repost it and analyze it to death.
I saw him late in the season field two to three grounders at Third late in a game to give A-rod the rest of the night off,and lets just say he didnt look very comfortable fielding them.
Also when the trade was made for him,a LA reporter said that he was 4TH on the depth chart at 3B at the time for the Dodgers.
BRING BACK MIGUEL CAIRO!!!!!and his .674 OPS
I liked Proctor but he wasn’t great. In 2007, he has a 3.65 ERA. Great for a starter, average at best for a reliever. He also walked a little more then 1 batter every 2 innings, which is poor. His career is 4.18.
Betemin could be a good player for us, and upgraded a terrible bench (which we ALL complained about forever). I think with all the young arms we have, the trade was fair, if not great.
I thought the trade was fair at the time too….Proctor was over used by Torre.Betemit does have a nice lefthanded swing for Yankee Stadium,but we will have to wait and see what role he will play in 08….sometime 1B…or back-up INF.
Yes, Torre was abusing Vizcaino before the trade, but at least there was another somewhat viable option in Proctor. Instead of easing up on Vizcaino, Torre used hin throughout July and he wore down. That’s still on Torre.
And Betemit may be adequate from the left side but that is not what the Yankees needed him for. The team was stacked with lefty bats, and if anything needed a righty bat off the bench. You gave up a serviceable reliever for a player with minimal upside. That’s a bad trade imo.
Clemens is going to get sued if he tells 60 Minutes that McNamee is lying, and his press conference has been moved back to Monday at 4:00PM.
http://slidingintohome.blogspo.....dates.html
I hope then for Clemens’ sake he’s not lying
“I saw him late in the season field two to three grounders at Third late in a game to give A-rod the rest of the night off,and lets just say he didnt look very comfortable fielding them.”
So, you’re irritated with me because I question an opinion of yours that you admit is massively uninformed?
“The team was stacked with lefty bats, and if anything needed a righty bat off the bench. ”
They brought up Duncan, who filled that role just fine. This way, they had both a righty and lefty power threat on the bench.
“Also when the trade was made for him,a LA reporter said that he was 4TH on the depth chart at 3B at the time for the Dodgers.”
That’s just because they have a very good prospect there they’ve blocked with Nomar, and a second solid IF prospect that had a really hot year in AAA that earned him a late season callup. That’s less an indictment of Betemit and more a sign that the Dodgers have a bunch of young players that they enjoy blocking with veterans.
the Betemit trade was made with an eye on the A-Rod situation.
do you guys actually remember that there was a time when we didn’t know if A-Rod was coming back? do you think that this trade was MAYBE related to that situation?
since no one can see the future, it doesn’t make sense to criticize the Yankees for being proactive about a potential disaster at 3B. at least with Betemit, they had a real major leaguer to run out there if no one else was available.
and bringing up Lowell doesn’t make sense, b/c again, the yankees didn’t KNOW if the Sox would allow him to hit free agency or not. remember, they have 2 weeks after the end of the season where they have exclusive rights.
you can’t rely on Lowell to be your insurance policy.
it was a smart, conservative trade to have some insurance in case A-Rod left.
the Yankees are up to their eyeballs in RH pitchers that can fill Proctor’s role this year. one of the young arms will step up.
it’s not like Proctor is that good. he isn’t. his walks were skyrocketing, K’s were decreasing, and he gives up lots of HRs. he’s not even that young.
“since no one can see the future”
But now that we’re _in_ the future, we can use hindsight to criticize every move that Cashman made, because the Yankees didn’t win the world series — so there must have been something that he did wrong.
Right?
I’m with you, hmmm.
I’m also really impressed with Betemit’s HRs and RBIs per AB. As a platoon IF reserve, I think he’s as productive as you’ll find in baseball — and more productive than a ton of starting platoon guys.
Question for the experts in the crowd: do guys with lousy splits ever figure out their weak side? I seem to remember Paul O’Neill (for example) having really lousy splits but then figuring it out. Thoughts?
In Professional sports you live and die by your performance, clearly Scott wasn’t getting it done and some of his escapes crossed the line on what a professional does.
I always wonder why some have this issue with you do the job and have the outputs that the job requires or your gone and they get someone else. It’s true of us in our everyday work lives why should these high priced players be any different? You don’t pay players hugh sums of money to have them under perform.
That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day…got he sucked…