A few items to be aware of
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Aug 03, 2009 
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Don’t forget, the deadline to submit a question for our Q&A with Yogi Berra is today at noon. See this post for more details.
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Received an interesting e-mail from Sachin, a blog reader and Yankees fan who works in Cambridge in the heart of Red Sox Nation. He is taking part in his company’s Autism Awareness Week to raise money for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation, which supports autism research.
The person in Sachin’s company who raises the most money will present a check to the foundation on the mound at Fenway Park in September. Sachin promises that if it’s him, he will wear his Yankees cap.
How great would that be? As Sachin writes, “Obviously the plan to wear my Yankees hat on the mound at Fenway is just a small reason to donate. The important reason is to aid financially disadvantaged families who need assistance in caring and receiving services for their children with autism.”
Go to Sachin’s fund-raising page if you want to contribute. I just kicked in $25.
(Full disclosure: I attended a Flutie Foundation event last winter and autism research is a cause that I support. I would never presume to tell you what to do with your money. But if you want to contribute, it’s a great cause.)
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Here are a few links to be aware of:
If you are on Facebook, you can become a fan of this blog and get links to each post there. We have close to 1,900 fans, so join the crowd.
All of the audio files that are posted are also available as podcasts on iTunes.
We’re on Twitter, too. Follow “PeteAbe” and there will be a tweet every time the blog is updated with a link you can follow. There are close to 2,800 followers on Twitter, which has blown up the last month or so.
You can find the daily newspaper stories at LoHud.com’s Yankees page.
the cost of not having a consistent solid 5.50 era fitth starter is that the team knows it and tends to press in the other games they know they need to win.
the yankees need someone in the 5th starter role who is good enough that the team isn’t dreading the spot coming up in the rotation.
it’s a negative emotional sink hole for the team at the present that puts pressure on the other 4 starters..
it’s cashman’s achille’s heel that he almost always has trouble with this fifth starter role.
he had it covered this year before he turned two starters into short relievers in hughes and aceves.
you can’t stick a guy like livan hernandez at triple a so it’s difficult to stock pile veteran 5th starters.
so it makes it questionable what cashman was thinking in taking his two triple a starters and making them into short relievers.
there was an obvious need for the 7th and 8th inning , but does it really help to take the 6th and 7th starter to fill this gap who are your 5th starter replacements?
i think they should have been left as starters and quality relievers found.
if the logic that joba should start because 6 innings is more valuable than 2 innings, then hughes and aceves should have stayed stretched out as starters.
cashman has played the yankees into a problem that doesn’t appear to have an immediate solution.
Randy:
Regarding the 5th starter, is not having a worthwhile one making the Yankees any different than the Red Sox, Angels, Tigers, or anyone else besides Tampa?
This reminds me of that time a couple of years ago where someone else who was a Yankee fan who lived in Boston won some sort of raffle where he could rename the Garden for a day. He decided to rename it the ‘Derek Jeter Center’ or something like that, but the organizers of the raffle quickly put the kibosh on that.
randy
What does not having a reliable 3,4 or 5th starter do to the RS?
Hey,
If anyone is trying to unload any tickets for Thursdays game at the stadium let me know. Prefer 4-6 tickets
-Matt
rosem@udel.edu
sorry for bringing this up on a new thread but doesn’t it bother anyone here that CC decided that “Thats all they get” and for the most part actually pitched that way after giving up the 4 runs?
Shouldn’t he be pitching that way every inning? So he basically admitted that he was thinking about a double whopper for the first 4 innings and then like magic he pitches like the 170 million dollar pitcher that he is supposed to be for the last 4 innings..
I like the guy, really I do, and if he wasn’t here (even with his mediocre record) the yankees would probably be in 3rd place or worse right now, but I just can’t seem to understand that he can pitch like cr*p for 4 innings and then something clicks and he pitches like the guy they are paying $20 million a year for the next 4….maybe money does really make some people complacent….
Heyman is on with Adam the Bull on WFAN and he basically confirmed that the other teams were asking for a premium from the Yankees (as opposed to the other teams). Then again, I knew that….
The problem with the waiver wire is that the Sox (if they are behind us) will block the Yankees…….if, indeed, there are even any decent pitchers the Yankees might want to acquire (and if Hal has not put the kibbosh on going over budget)
A great line by Neal Huntington of the Pirates one their selloff of players: “We don’t feel like we’ve broken up the 1927 Yankees.”
Repost:
“there was an obvious need for the 7th and 8th inning , but does it really help to take the 6th and 7th starter to fill this gap who are your 5th starter replacements?”
Yep you are totally right. I’ve been saying all season that it’s a mistake to put Hughes in the pen. Yeah he’s great there but it completely eliminates all pitching depth.
Everyone knew that all 5 starters wouldn’t stay healthy for the entire season, that’s why the 6, 7 and 8 pitchers were very important.
The 6th starter and 7th starter (Hughes and Ace) were put in the pen. The 8th starter missed the entire year with a freak injury (Kennedy). Mitre is essentially the 9th starting pitcher. It never should have gone that deep.
Unfortunately, at this point, it’s probably too late to move Ace or Hughes into the rotation. We saw what happened when Joba did that last year and when Ace did it this year. They both came down with injuries.
Right now the only chance Cashman has to fill the hole is to acquire a pitcher on the waiver wire. The only problem is, the pitcher isn’t going to be very good and will probably cost a lot of money. Jon Garland anybody? Ugh…
betsy
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:17 am
Heyman is on with Adam the Bull on WFAN and he basically confirmed that the other teams were asking for a premium from the Yankees (as opposed to the other teams). Then again, I knew that….
The problem with the waiver wire is that the Sox (if they are behind us) will block the Yankees…….if, indeed, there are even any decent pitchers the Yankees might want to acquire (and if Hal has not put the kibbosh on going over budget)
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The Sox would have to satisy the other yeam on a trade, first. It wouldn’t be normally be a straight cash deal.
“The problem with the waiver wire is that the Sox (if they are behind us) will block the Yankees…….if, indeed, there are even any decent pitchers the Yankees might want to acquire (and if Hal has not put the kibbosh on going over budget)”
They’re not blocking unless they want to take on that contract. I think Cashman has a better feel for the waiver market than you do so my faith is with him right now.
other ***team*** on a trade
Just heard Ian Browne from mlb.com on ESPN2 say that the Red Sox players had no involvement with the 2 Sox employees fired for steroids involvement and while they may have known them by face, they probably didn’t know who these guys were.
Not saying they supplied any Sox player with steroids but….color me skeptical that a Sox player didn’t know Remy’s son.
If it seems like teams “were asking for a premium from the Yankees”, then wouldn’t it mean that “Hal has put the kibbosh on going over budget” is not the reason why the Yankees couldn’t land a starter at the deadline? I think the reality is that nobody will know for sure why Washburn went to Detroit for 2 okay prospects and why Bannister never made it to the Yankees. The reports aren’t certain from the baseball “insiders”, and Cashman basically didn’t hint at exactly what happened in his negotiations (no reason to).
You can speculate that it was money that slowed them because of the fact that Pittsburgh is paying Hinske but we have no idea if that report about not paying the remainder of Bannister’s salary was the entire reason why he didn’t get traded. It could have also been the fact that Moore was asking for Hughes or Montero or something crazy in return for Bannister. Since it is all unclear, it seems pointless to stress about it even though Mitre stinks. The hope is that someone else better will emerge in time to log some quality starts in the stretch run.
I would be STUNNED if he was allowed to wear a Yankee cap during an on-field ceremony at Fenway.
Good morning, everyone!
Looks like a great cause, and I hope that Sachin wins. He’s willing to risk life and limb for a great cause!
Wow. Can’t believe people are still going on and on about Ransom. Everyone and their grandmother knows his days are numbered along with GGBG’s cast. And if you didn’t, read Chip’s post a couple thread’s back.
And Christina25, I know you’re still in shock about the steroids revelation and it’s still germain in your neck of the woods. But we’ve been through the 12-step process.
I’ve seen you come in several times over the past couple of days and drop little passive-aggressive bombs. If you want a discussion or argument, you might want to go somewhere else. We’ve been there, so done that with the steroid talk because we flushed it out of our system when it came out in February, and when Alex came back earlier in the season.
Wearing a Yankee hat to Fenway and then going on the field?
Isn’t that kind of dangerous?
I mean it’s one thing to wear Yankee gear in the stands (I’ve done it!), but quite another if you’re on the field…
“The problem with the waiver wire is that the Sox (if they are behind us) will block the Yankees…….if, indeed, there are even any decent pitchers the Yankees might want to acquire (and if Hal has not put the kibbosh on going over budget)”
And after a team gets awarded the claim for someone they really didn’t want to have to pay, how many more claims will they be putting in?
Why put in a claim on waivers? From all I heard, we can’t afford to take on any more salary.
“From all I heard, we can’t afford to take on any more salary.”
You hear what they want you to hear.
Josh Towers has been pitching well in AAA per Jennings’ blog updates. He’s an option if Mitre continues to blow. We’re not gonna pick up anybody decent in august from another team for that 5th spot.
“The Sox would have to satisy the other yeam on a trade, first. It wouldn’t be normally be a straight cash deal”
If nothing gets worked out though, the player is pulled back. Red Sox wouldn’t get him, but the Yankees wouldn’t either. I think any low end of the rotation pitcher with a contract expring this year has no shot of getting to the Yankees so long as they’re in 1st.
pat,
lol. I was talking about the people here. As far as Hinske is concerned, I think it shows you how good Cash is. Or is that how bad Neil Huntington is?
GB7,
I saw that quote and thought it was the bluntest, most accurate, and funniest quote I’ve seen in a long time. Still, it’s got to hurt being a Pirates fan right now. I’ll be rooting for them because I like an underdog. Besides, I cheer for all the Yankee minor league affiliates.
Do you really think CC Sabathia is going out there with a complacent mindset?
He’s saying “enough” just as some of us say “enough” with the mindless posting some do on here everytime the Yankees lose a game.
He’s a human being and gets frustrated when he doesn’t pitch well. That’s a good thing because it shows he CARES.
Never has there been so much whining over a first place team.
In case you haven’t noticed, EVERY team is flawed this year.
It’s just a matter of which team shows fewer of it’s flaws at the right time.
“Not saying they supplied any Sox player with steroids but….color me skeptical that a Sox player didn’t know Remy’s son.”
It was in a Boston Globe article that both of these guys did extra jobs for Manny and Ortiz, driving their cars to pick up items and so on. This stuff they are putting now is all about spin control. Just like the various political parties do when bad news comes out, they are spinning it to limit damage to their image.
I think the espn “story” (all 100 words of it) said that Remy’s son got busted for having all kinds of stuff (steroids) in his car. He was sleeping in his car outside of a party hosted by Josh Beckett.
Pretty sure the players knew these guys if they’re cruising with the players.
Steve B, the choices may be less for the Yankees if they are in first place, but no team can block every possible candidate. If some make it through waivers they can be traded to whatever team deals with them. Given the economy and payroll issues a lot of teams have this year there may be a decent selection who get through waivers.
“It wouldn’t be normally be a straight cash deal”
Most years I would agree with that. This year could be different with the way teams are trying to get a financial handle on things.
Less revenue sharing money coming from the NY teams this year could make teams feel the pinch even more next year.
Interesting stat I discovered while working on this morning’s blog post:
Melky Cabrera has a HIGHER OBP than Jorge Posada.
(In my mind that says more about Melky than Jorge).
Also, Derek Jeter’s OBP is nearly .400.
Folks have to be really dumb, not naive, to believe the Sox players had mo idea who Remy’s son was.
George Mitchell. Distinguished statesman and ruins his reputation protecting his investment in the Red Sox with a tarnished, and phony, report.
How sad.
“It was in a Boston Globe article that both of these guys did extra jobs for Manny and Ortiz, driving their cars to pick up items and so on”
It said he did some extra jobs for Ramirez. Not Ortiz. Closest connection made to Ortiz is knowing his assistant.
SJ, if you read some of the posts on this blog you would think that CC was throwing right handed for the 1st 3 innings so the White Sox could score some runs.
I’m willing to be that each and every negative poster has never set foot on a baseball field at a level about little league. They just have no clue what it takes to be successful. CC was facing major league hitters with power and a track record, he isn’t exactly the first one to give up HRs to Jermain Dye and Jim Thome. Both went the opposite way off pitches away, it wasn’t like he threw a BP fastball down the middle on either of them. After the 4 runs he adjusted and went more to the curve ball early in the count, that seemed to make a difference in the next 4 innings.
above, not about in the last post…
I think it was the Saturday game, but before it started I thought to myself, “That’s a pretty stacked lineup”.
We caught them at a bad time. At home off a horrible road trip, and with Quentin finding his stroke coming off the DL.
At least we took one. Can’t do much about the middle 2 games, but losing Andy’s start after a great pitching performance and Swisher tying it up late is the one they wish they could have back.
“If nothing gets worked out though, the player is pulled back. Red Sox wouldn’t get him, but the Yankees wouldn’t either. I think any low end of the rotation pitcher with a contract expring this year has no shot of getting to the Yankees so long as they’re in 1st.”
That depends entirely on what the intention of the team is when it puts the player on waivers to begin with.
If they want something of value back – sure the player might get pulled back.
But many players put on waivers this year from here on out will be pure salary dumps.
John Garland is signed to a 1 year 7.25M contract with the Diamondbacks with a mutual option (which the d’backs are unlikely to pick up).
7.25M is a lot of money, especially for the Diamondbacks and especially for Garland in this market.
If they put him on waivers it won’t likely be because they want something of value in return. It’ll be because they don’t want to pay him.
So then it’s up to the Red Sox to claim him. But if they claim him they’ll have to be willing to accept the player. The D’Backs might just say go ahead and take him we don’t want him.
That’s exactly how the yankees got stuck with canseco. There was never any negotiation of substance. He wasn’t going to be pulled back.
MGump:
I agree. In some cases, Boston won’t even try. For example, if Arroyo is placed on waivers, Boston won’t touch him because they won’t want to pay him $11M next year. Same with Harang or Zito. But if it’s Doug Davis, whose contract expires this year or even Jon Garland, whose 2010 season can be bought out for $2.5M, then Boston will place the claim.
“So then it’s up to the Red Sox to claim him. But if they claim him they’ll have to be willing to accept the player. The D’Backs might just say go ahead and take him we don’t want him.”
I know. And they’d do it in a heartbeat because he’s probably an improvement over what they have and will cost only $3M for this year and a $2.5M buyout for next.
m -
Thursday with Pettitte was a tough loss, because you never want to waste that kind of pitching performance, but it was a 3-2 loss, no biggie.
Friday, it was all on Mitre. I know the offense didn’t do a great job (or any kind of a job, really) with RISP, but Mitre set the tone for that game. The Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead. And Mitre not only game the lead back, but it was like a big, amorphous blob – no shape, no rhythm, no nothing. Sure, the Yankees should have enough talent to overcome a pitching performance like that, but sometimes, it’s one of those days.
Saturday’s game, as bad as AJ was, that was a Girardi loss. From the starting lineup to leaving Ransom in when he had better options on the bench, it was just a bad day from the get-go.
They should have won 3. Realistically, they could have won 2. I’m just glad it was the get-away game that they re-established themselves. Then the off day to refresh.
I’d be interested in Jon Garland. He seems like one of a select group of pitchers that will get through waivers, doesn’t have a gigantic contract and might be able to pitch decently in the AL East. How many other pitchers will meet that criteria? Not many..
He’s a very mediocre pitcher but he throws a lot of innings and would probably be fine as a fifth starter. He’s a better bet than Mitre.
If Cash is saying that he’s got payroll constraints (not that it’s necessarily true), then I wonder what the financial situation is with the Red Sox, where John Henry’s lost a ton of cash in his hedge fund business. Cash may have more insight here than any of us. The problem with putting in waiver claims is that you may get stuck with an additional salary you didn’t want. And, then you have to clear a roster spot, meaning you may lose a player you may have been counting on for a particular role.
The whole waiver business is an tricky one.
Garland’s been pitching much better recently than early in the year but at best he would pitch to his 2008 ERA with the Angels, which was 4.90. That’s about the same as the rest of the Sox back of the rotation starters, why would they spend millions on someone who might make 8 starts for them?
“And they’d do it in a heartbeat because he’s probably an improvement over what they have and will cost only $3M for this year and a $2.5M buyout for next.”
SteveB,
I don’t know. I actually don’t think they would claim him just to block because Garland is so bad and so overpaid.
$5.5M is a lot of money just to block.
I think they’d only claim him if they wanted him. I don’t think they would claim purely to block.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding the conversation? Was the issue that the sox needed starting pitching for the back of the rotation as much as the yankees so they would claim anyone the yankees would? If so I can see that. But I don’t think they are going to claim a guy like Garland just to block.
They’ve just pushed Tazawa up to AAA. I think they’ll give him a shot before claiming an expensive player like Garland.
Doreen,
Everything you say is true. BUT some credit has to go to the White Sox for hitting something like .600 with RISP in the first 3 games. Of course they couldn’t sustain that, but 5 of the first 6 hits off CC were for extra base hits.
Their hitters got the job done, and ours didn’t. Very few meatballs were served at the Cell. There was some good hitting.
Our pitching aint that bad.
Peter – Thank you for the support. This blog post just launched me close to the top spot.
Stephen – I thought about that but the fact that I would be donating a check to the Flutie Foundation may offset my Yankees cap. Regardless I would find a way to wear in it…
This certainly would be a good test of Red Sox Nation’s moral ethics. Would they boo someone donating a check to Doug Flutie’s Foundation?
Doreen,
I feel like the Yanks could have won the Mitre game but a lot of that was on Aceves. Usually when the starter gets blown out like Mitre did, Ace comes in and shuts down the opposition. He was able to do that and the Yanks lost.
The Yanks can survive with the current rotation only if the bullpen gets it’s act together. Aceves needs to be healthy and effective, Coke needs to shake off that last outing and Hughes must continue to be amazing. Then you need Bruney or Marte to step it up and contribute. If that stuff doesn’t happen it will be very hard to win consistently with a guy like Mitre and the occasional off outings from Sabathia and Burnett.
Meant to say “He was unable* to do that..”
m -
I agree. White Sox played great, hit great. I was simply focusing on “my” team!
Joe from Long Island,
Interesting. IF the Yankees are suffering financially (I don’t believe that to be true, they just don’t want to be fleeced for prospects), then you know the other teams are feeling it.
If Cashman can pull a rabbit out of the hat, I think a lot of people will owe him an apology if he reads the market correctly.
But I can’t kill him for not making a move. Sounds like the demands in general were ridiculous, and even more so for the Yankees.
CB
I think I heard somewhere the RS were thinking of puting Tazawa in the BP.
One more point – there may be more than one no.5 pitcher placed on waivers. Boston can’t block all of them. And depending on who it is, their contractual obligations, and whether Cash and the other GM have worked out a gentleman’s agreement, I can envision a scenario where somebody gets through. And, I really think other teams’ willingness to risk getting a player that would complicate their own roster and salary issues is a real risk in the industry at this time.
CB:
Yeah, I’m saying the Red Sox would take Garland out of need moreso than anything else. Wakefield’s back is still ailing and Smoltz and Buchholtz have struggled badly. So long as it’s an expiring contract or something close to it (Garland’s buyout), I think they’d be in on it.
How True is the Bannister debacle…. not picking up the 650 left on his contract?
lol. If they put Tazawa & Daisuke in the pen, that has to be some sort of major league record.
Patrick -
Aceves has been so reliable. I almost always expect that at some point a relief pitcher who has been great will have a bad game or two, and then be okay. Sometimes the “bad” outing isn’t costly, but in this case, it definitely was. I’m not giving up on Aceves for that day. But what you say is true; perhaps if Ace is “Ace” the Yankees don’t lose that game.
Watching 8th inning from yesterday. Posada had a terrible series. If he wasn’t cold as ice, perhaps the games turn out a bit differently, too. Slumps happen, I don’t get too down on a player, But Posada was really bad these games.
“Aceves needs to be healthy and effective,”
Any word on what can be expected of him this week? I know he says “the lion is back”, but it didn’t look at all that way last time out. Is he healthy?
I wouldn’t mind if the Cashman claimed Garland, his ERA might not be very good, but he gives you innings. At best, he might pitch to a 4.50-5.00 ERA in the AL East. As long, as he gives you innings that’s all that matters.
m
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 am
lol. If they put Tazawa & Daisuke in the pen, that has to be some sort of major league record.
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Dice K was put on the 60 day DL.
AJ’s game suffered a bit because of the terrible strike zone as well. When the zone gets squeezed it can take the pitcher out of his game. You could see the expressions on AJ’s face with a number of those calls.
m, there was good hitting that the Pale Hose did. Sometimes a team just clicks with stringing together unlikely hits.
Wakefield got a cortisone injection that improved his back but is now dealing with a sciatic nerve problem that has left him with no strength in his left calf. A second cortisone shot is being considered.
I’m pumped about heading to NY for a looong weekend on Wednesday. I’ll be at new YS for the first time ever for Yankees v Sox on Thursday! BTW, if we snap the losing streak against the Sox on Thursday, I will take full responsibility. Of course if we lose, I will take no responsibilty for that!
D Rob & Melancon looked pretty good vs CWS. Even though Bruney gave up a couple hits in his last IP (bloops, and I think Joe extended him a bit) he looked better too. Much better command, his pitches weren’t all over the place. Hopefully those 3 guys will build on it. The team could use a few more reliable RP. For a guy who is supposed to get LHB out, lefties sure get some good swings off Coke.
Cortizone shots aren’t going to take care of sciatic nerve problems, though. That comes from it being pinched. It seems that Wakefield has more of a back problem than is being talked about.
White Sox have a very good offensive team since Beckham has emerged and Quentin came back healthy. They have a very deep lineup, and the Yankees even missed Alexi Ramirez who is also a real good hitter. It’s unfortunate to lose 3 of 4 but it can’t be a total shock given the Yankees only got 2 decent pitching performances, but got shut down offensively by Floyd in the other “winnable” game.
“How True is the Bannister debacle…. not picking up the 650 left on his contract?”
Could be a factor of the player asked for in return. A fringe player and they would pay Bannister. A more impact player and they wanted KC to pay some of it.
Yanks have shown a reluctance to give up players and cash (Santana) but to this point have never let cash get in the way (CC, AJ, Tex).
CB
You are good on the # that teams are dealing with so I have a question for you.
Do you think one reason the Yankees are concerned with payroll is because they are tired of helping the teams such as Tampa with the revenue sharing.
Revenue sharing is going to be the same regardless of their payroll. Its the luxury tax that they are looking to reduce.
The Royals wanted an A List prospect for Bannister. The Yankees, as well as other teams that inquired about him said, “if that’s what you want, you pay the rest of his salary this year”. Talks ended right there.
Meaning…..the Royals had no intention of trading him unless they fleeced somebodyand nobody was interested in being fleeced for Brian Bannister.
I don’t think that CC’s comment is strange in any way. He’s been pitching around 250 innings each of teh last two seasons – that is only possible if you’re very clever about the effort you put in for each occasion. We’re all happy when we hear that Joba is learning to tune it down a bit to save energy from time to time, and then people are upset when it turns out CC is doing the same?
If a pitcher is going full speed all the time he won’t be going for long until he gets injured. CC knows the team is counting on him to go 7+ innings virtually every time to save the penn and with an offense like ours there is probably more of a margin for error.
Jon Garland is an innings eater and familiar with the AL. Let’s see if the Arizona Snakes put him on waivers.
“Meaning…..the Royals had no intention of trading him unless they fleeced somebodyand nobody was interested in being fleeced for Brian Bannister.”
Haha seriously, an A list prospect for Brian freaking Bannister? Dayton Moore is the worst GM in the league.
The season is not going to be determined by the #5 starter.
The performance if the core players will determine the season.
Guys like Mitr and Ransom Re bit players that get WAY too much play on blogs.
As bad as Mitre was, if Aceves does his job, the Yankees had a shot Friday night.
As bad as Ransom was Saturday, if AJ and Posada had better games, perhaps a different outcome.
It’s always about the core players in tight races.
“Do you think one reason the Yankees are concerned with payroll is because they are tired of helping the teams such as Tampa with the revenue sharing.”
This might be part of the reason – but not the primary driver.
I think the main reason they are concerned with payroll is out of a sense that some kind of budgetary discipline needs to be instilled in the team.
At some point enough has to be enough and I think Hal is at that point. He’s looking at what the yankees are spending vs. others and saying to himself – this really needs to be enough. Otherwise we could keep spending until infinity.
I don’t think it’s that they don’t have the money. I’m sure it’s a concern given that they’ll have to service debt on the new stadium. But the team is pulling in so much more revenue in the stadium. I can’t see this being a primary problem with revenue or cash flow.
At some point it’s not rational to be spending 60%, 70% more than your closest competitor. I think Hal’s at that point. It may be an arbitrary distinction but they’re drawing a rough line at around $200m-$210M.
I also think a good part of their price sensitivity is related to whether or not they have to give up any talent.
If they have to give up talent they aren’t going to be eager to increase pay roll. That’s my sense.
It’s not just Moore, every GM acted the same way with their mediocore players.
Only thing worse than making no deal at the deadline, is making a bad deal.
Thankfully, the Yankees didn’t make a bad deal out of panic.
Clearly, Mitre is not the answer. However, neither is trading Austin Jackson for Washburn or Bannister.
They will just have to make due with what they have right now.
“The Royals wanted an A List prospect for Bannister. ”
I’d read the same thing in some places. Because bannister was cheap and signed for several years the Royals were asking for a similar amount of talent to what the M’s were asking for with Washburn – that is an “Austin Jackson” like talent.
The Royals really shouldn’t be trading Bannister. They actually need more players like him.
The Yankees have always cared about the budget.
They just aren’t interested in blowing it up over average players AND surrendering significant minor league talent at the same time.
That’s not being “cheap”. That’s good business.
I can appreciate financial prudence. But after Wang and Damaso Marte went down, don’t the Yankees have some sort of need to fill their spots? Yes, they did with Hughes, but as we all know he couldn’t be in two places at one time. Especially with Hughes, Aceves, and Kennedy all unable to fill Wang’s spot, I would consider this an emergency. We’ve been piecing wins together, which is great. But the #5 needs to be addressed if Mitre has an encore performance in his next start.
Even if it means bringing up Towers, Igawa, or the guy they got from the Rockies (Johnson?).
Re: The 2 fired Red Sox.
1. What a joke. Look how long this has been under wraps. Why were there no reporters leaking this. I am 100% certain Peter Gammons knew of this. Why didnt he speak his mind?
2. This is all one big fat lie. Just like I proposed CodY Ransom help our team by asking to be released. Remy’s son did nothing. Nor did the other bum.
Like Monk would say, here’s what happened:
The Red Sox went to these 2 guys, one of them being Remy’s son giving him credibility and the fact that the elder Remy will remain with RS gives the Red Sox credibility. The RS said we’ll take care of you off the books, you cop to doing whatever we tell you, and then you say you had no knowledge of Manny or Papi or Pedro or any other RS on PEDs. Pretty simple.
3.) Im always weary to give to any Red Sox sponsored foundation. In this case Doug Flutie, he is a Bostonian by nature. Like the Jimmy Fund that Mr. Steinbrenner, the great man that he is, donates to, I wonder if any of the money gets poured into the Red Sox and Patriots, Celtics or Bruins. I wish the IRS would audit those charities to see where the money is actually going.
Here’s a great charity if you’re interested, the Jimmy V charity. Jimmy V was a respectable, inspirational, excellent human being.
“The Royals really shouldn’t be trading Bannister. They actually need more players like him.”
Yeah this is what people miss, and why it’s not right to call Moore the worst GM in baseball. Bannister is someone KC should be holding on to unless they get a great offer for him–he is cheap money-wise and has shown to be effective in the majors as a starter, something the Royals would need to find more of if they ever want to get back to being good.
“I’d read the same thing in some places. Because bannister was cheap and signed for several years the Royals were asking for a similar amount of talent to what the M’s were asking for with Washburn – that is an “Austin Jackson” like talent.
The Royals really shouldn’t be trading Bannister. They actually need more players like him.”
Which is why no move made sense unless they got an offer they could not turn down. As much crap as KC gets, they are trying to build something…and at least they’re not the Pirates.
“The Royals really shouldn’t be trading Bannister. They actually need more players like him.”
Agreed. I’d guess Moore was just putting him out there to see if he could catch a lightning in a bottle deal. I don’t really blame him for asking a lot in this case. Why take a B-lister from the Yankees or anyone else rather than keeping him?
Was Bannister “out there,” or did a lot of teams simply inquire about him? (Just asking the question, not questioning anyone’s statements.
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“I can appreciate financial prudence. But after Wang and Damaso Marte went down, don’t the Yankees have some sort of need to fill their spots?”
But I don’t know if money per se stopped them from making any deal. I think it was money and talent. Just like it was with Santana, though on a much smaller scale obviously.
Both the M’s and Royals were asking for significant returns in terms of talent.
As GF has pointed out – Hairston is not exactly cheap and they are picking up his whole deal.
Money may have entered the Ian Snell issue. But he was in AAA with the pirates so he was far from a sure shot and owed a good chunk of money this year and next.
Doreen, there were reports (on the 31st, and again these are not 100% guaranteed accurate reports but they were definitely made) that the Yankees and Marlins had inquired and made offers to KC towards getting Bannister. Buster Olney went on TV (ESPN News I think?) and reported the fact that the Yankees had backed off because they didn’t want to pay the remaining $650k on his salary (which now tons of people have cited as a reason why Cashman is an idiot), when in reality it is looking more and more like a smokescreen for the fact that KC wanted an Austin Jackson-type prospect for Bannister.
Thanks, Andrew.
It sounds to me like it was a situation where KC didn’t put Banister out there in the same way, say, Halladay was out there, but that if the right deal presented itself Banister could be had. Although JP was the same in that Halladay was going nowhere unless they got exactly what they wanted for him.
The Yankees not wanting to give prospects AND money is nothing new. Banister is not a pitcher worthy of making an exception to the unwritten rule there.
The Yankee pitching is good compared to Boston’s rotation which really consists of Beckett, Lester, and question marks. Buchholz, Penny, and Smoltz are unknowns for every start.
Matsuzaka is still only in the long tossing stage in Florida with bullpen sessions yet to come before any rehab starts.
The 43 year old Wakefield will now be out longer than thought.
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....tra_bases/
Telling half a story is a standard practice in the media both sports and non sports. It may well be true that the Yankees insisted on K-C paying Bannister’s salary in exchange for a particular prospect but would happily paid his deal for a lesser talent.
That that’s not as much fun as telling people the Uber-rich Yankees passed on a deal over $ 650 K.
I’m surprised the Yankees and other teams haven’t raised hell about the way MLB handled the Red Sawx steroid incident. Had that happened in NYC does anyone think it would have resulted in a quiet, private investigation?
“So he basically admitted that he was thinking about a double whopper for the first 4 innings and then like magic he pitches like the 170 million dollar pitcher that he is supposed to be for the last 4 innings..” LOL !!!!
CC and Burnett better be effective in this Red Sox series because the yanks need to win this series. No more excuses, either you put up or shut up. Beat the Roid Sox !!!
Bannister is not signed for several years. He is, however “controlled” for three more seasons before he’s eligible for FA.
Let’s not forget he was 9-16, 5.76 last year. He’s been better this year, mostly due to significantly cutting back on HR. He’s decent, but not a lot more than that.
Of course that makes him a lot better than Senor Mitre
who cares if they beat the red sox as long as they continue to play good baseball.
No. They need to beat the Roid Sox because it’s all about confidence. If the yankees can’t beat them then how are they going to have any confidence against them in an ALCS battle. They need to beat the Roid Sox and the Angels and stop making excuses. They are good teams, not great so they can be beaten.
Mitre is one more bad start away from DFA Land
But, please God PLEASE – no Sindey Ponson, Round 3.
I’d even consider Kei Igawa – well, maybe not.
Mitre should be in DFA land, the guy sucks. It sucks that wang is out because the yankees wouldn’t have all of these problems. I just don’t know who would be a suitable choice to replace him.
Sachin -
“This certainly would be a good test of Red Sox Nation’s moral ethics. Would they boo someone donating a check to Doug Flutie’s Foundation?”
They certainly would — these are the same good people who stand up and cheer when Jeter gets hit by a pitch. And booing would be a real shame when a good cause is being featured.
How about a nice Yankee logo tie? Too small for Sully to see from the bleachas, but visible on TV!
Seriously, good luck, hope you win.
I don’t understand this general lack of understanding that Aceves is a perfectly fine #5 starter. He has been a starter for his entire career, made 3 quality starts in 4 appearances last season for the Yankees (including a 7 inning shutout of the hated Angels) and has proved he can get major league hitters out.
Instead most of you want him to fill this nebulous ‘bail out the starter whenever they don’t have it role’. All it’s done is screw up his preparation so that he’s not as effective now as he was a month ago.
For over a hundred years major league teams have put their best pitchers in the rotation, now all of a sudden you slot pitchers in roles where they may never pitch.
One of these days the Yankees will wake up about Aceves’ best role on the team, hopefully it will be before Mitre’s ERA is above 9 and before they ever think about bringing back Kei ‘Batting Practice’ Igawa for a shot at starting (and failing) once again.
Jeff – Thanks for the support. If you have any ideas on how I can raise more funds feel free to share. I am open to all ideas. I want to crush all my co-workers. They vandalized my cube a few weeks ago with Red Sox crap.
Yanks need to win the first game. Joba vs. Smoltz should equal a Yankees win.