You probably remember this day
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Dec 23, 2009 
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It was one year ago today that the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira.
They were supposed to be out of the race. Teixeira was going to the Red Sox. Or maybe back to the Angels. Even the Orioles and Nationals were in the mix. The Yankees were supposed to be out of the race, until they suddenly won it.
Oddly enough, Pete was on vacation that day — two days before Christmas, who knew the Yankees would make a huge move? – but as someone pointed out a few weeks ago, it’s fun to read the comments from that day. Things start to get interesting around 3:18 p.m.
It’s worth remembering that Pete was gone on that day because, on this day, I’m flying to see my family in Missouri. I’ll be writing from the middle of the country for a few days before coming back to New York.
It’s two days before Christmas. My guess is the Yankees don’t have any big news planned.
But you never know.
Enjoy a few days with your family. It’s been an eventful year for you.
I had been lobbying for them to sign Tex. Glad my wish came true.
Actually I thought it was around noon time when Buster and Heyman started posting comments on their sites that something is up with Tex and the Yankees.
Have a good holiday.
Can’t wait for baseball to start up again!!!
My opinion: the Yanks don’t win the 2009 WS without signing Tex. Huge, huge win for Cashmoney!
That would be awesome if Boras folded on the same day this year.
Travel safe Chad. Enjoy your Christmas. It’s been an eventful year with more to come.
Chad, have a great holiday.
I remember the day they signed Tex very clearly. My brother was at work (where he doesn’t have access to a computer) so I called him and left a messgage on his cell phone. A year later he still holds a grudge that I found out that Tex signed with the Yankees before he did. Baby.
Chad:
Safe trip and happy holidays to you and yours. Thanks for the excellent bloggery.
(repost)
“Can you explain why that is a bad stat?”
It’s not that it’s a “bad” stat. FIP and xFIP are in fact well designed stats in certain ways from a technical stand point.
The concepts underlying them however are the issue. And they are an issue in that there should be a debate about whether the ideas that the stat represents truly encompass “how good” a pitcher is in a satisfactory way.
The notion that FIP is “better” than ERA because there is more year to year correlation in the stat just astonishes me.
FIP tells you about a very narrow portion of a pitchers performance and that’s it – FIP argues that the only thing that a pitcher has under his control is strike outs, walks, and homeruns. Implicitly this aruges that a pitcher largely has no control over the quality of the contact he gives up is.
I think that’s a ridiculous idea. But fangraphs disagrees, so you know… (or worse yet hasn’t explicitly identified the assumptions)
Go back and compare Mariano’s ERA’s and FIP’s or even xFIP.
Mo’s greates skill arguably isn’t strike outs or even his control (which are both great as it is). I’d say his most unique skill is his capacity to prevent hitters from squaring up his pitches with any frequency.
FIP does not represent this skill or capture it. It implicitly decides that in fact Mariano does not possess this skill – rather it suggests Mariano is simply “getting lucky.”
To me, it is a wholly inadequate statistic to do things like calculate WAR.
The more I hear about Torre, the less I like him. His treatment of Alex was shameful and designed to embarrass him; batting him EIGTH? Didn’t that paragon of virture, Jason Giambi, make comments about Alex as well?
Patrick, I hope you’re right. I’m not worried about his cutter as he’d use that in the pen; I’m talking about the curve…..and his development of the change.
Jerkface, everything I’m hearing from Vasquez I like. I feel badly for him that he didn’t feel wanted……but it’s clear he’s wanted now.
Memo to Scott Boras …..
“You can’t always get what you want”
It was a coup for Cashman to steal Tex from Boston. Not since Tino Martinez had the Yankees acquired a 1B of Tex’ talents.
thanks for posting that link – a lot of fun reading comments from this time last year. Esp the “Cash is crazy” posts that don’t seem to be different a year later
repost:
Good points CB.
I remember back when Wang was healthy he was the bane of the sabr community’s existence. Every projection system hated him and all the fans expected him to regress in a big way. You are touching on one of the reasons why. Wang’s special talent was (and hopefully will be in the future) generating ground balls; especially weak ground balls.
I think the same can be said for Halladay – something you alluded to earlier. You can watch entire games where nobody can hit the ball on the sweetspot of the bat. He’s just amazing at generating poorly hit balls.
I see where you’re coming from now, thanks for explaining.
Enjoy ur holidays chad…you are doing a super job
Merry Christmas Chad !
Happy Chanukah Sam ! (Belated)
Signed,
The Underbelly.
SIGN TEX
A year later he still– holds a grudge that I found out that Tex signed with the Yankees before he did. Baby.
==========
Erin,
I thought you were going to say that he still has the message saved on his phone.
LOL, having a good time reading through that thread. I must’ve still been sleeping that day.
But “Lost in Tex-is” is there. The name calling is still there. Brandon was there and W–T–F could get through the filter back then.
Good times.
S.o.S.
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:21 pm
A year later he still– holds a grudge that I found out that Tex signed with the Yankees before he did. Baby.
==========
Erin,
I thought you were going to say that he still has the message saved on his phone.
**************
LOL! For all I know he might. I’ll have to ask him.
Last year it was Tex, today it was Nick. Maybe Nick will go off and prove to be huge this coming year. On the 26th it will be the 90th anniversary of our acquisition of The Bambino. We’ve won 27 titles since then and even more pennants.
Chip,
a correction. I did not say Cash was signing Damon or Holliday.
I said he is talking to Boras, which he was, and he was only going to do a deal if it worked for HIM and not Boras.
IMO, the Vasquez deal takes Holliday out of the mix.
Damon? I can’t see Johnny coming back either at this time. Not unless he wants to take a huge paycut.
Players normally don’t like taking those kinds of cuts to return to their teams. They justify (at least on their own minds) taking that kind of cut going to a new team.
Chip you are a cool guy but I will never understand your love for average corner OF’s Have a great holiday.
Chip, Merry Christmas buddy. You’re one of the more easy going posters on here. Although your proposed trades are CRAZY!
============
Chip, Your a cool cat. Enjoy your summer and make sure to party with the ladies. See ya next year.
Signed S.o.S..
It just reminded me of the end of the year, year book signing.
This one was the cutest
:
SJ44
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
If true, never been so happy to be wrong!
With Joba and Hughes on hand in a potential deal to fill LF, shouldn’t Boras be concerned that the Yankees could trade their way out of the bidding process?
It’s no secret that Cashman is a wheelin’ and a dealin’ thus far this offseason.
Damon was offerred 7M as a DH which is more than any other FA DH has or will get this season. Now we don’t need a DH and Damon won’t be back.
Did you find any of my posts mel? There must have been a few well thought out intellegent ones.
Do the COLTS go 16-0?
I think Scott has a big dilemma on his hands with Both Damon and Holliday.
Money is drying up in the marketplace.
When even the Yankees are shopping for bargains, you know it’s a tough marketplace.
If I was Holliday, I’d sign with the Cardinals ASAP.
If he doesn’t, and they move on, his market becomes non-existent.
Well, Cashman is already god-like in this offseason, but if he can somehow get rid of Kei Igawa and bring in a decent LF, he will become Saint Brian the Great!
Damon? I can’t see Johnny coming back either at this time. Not unless he wants to take a huge paycut.
=========
SJ,
Do you think the Yankees have enough confidence in Damons outfield play to sign him? Girardi was bringing defensive replacements for him late in games. I got the idea that they wanted him to fill the dh role instead.
SoS,
Let’s backtrack a bit. How did your team do the year my team went 18-1?
I say this every year on some forum or another, but this year I think it’s finally going to come to pass.
I think this is finally the year that Cano becomes the offensive player that many have projected him to be, especially now that he won’t have that pesky Melky (;)) being a bad influence on him:
.330./.370..550/.920 30 Jacks
One year ago today I officially forgave Brian Cashman for his sins of the past.
m
A Pats fan? Say it isn’t so.
S.o.S-
Two more games with Jets at home and at Buffalo.
If they plan to rest their regulars since they’ve clinched home field, possibly they’ll lose one of those games.
G. Love
“One year ago today I officially forgave Brian Cashman for his sins of the past.”
TMI!
Why wouldn’t the Yankees take a flyer on Holliday at slightly above Cards money? He makes sense, and who exactly is burning up LF for them (other than Carl Crawford, who will cost as much, if he’s available) in the next few years?
Good lord, how things change in a year.
Pete’s name could still be used as a handle, people wanted to kick Andy to the curb, and Steven A. Smith still had a real job.
AJ said yesterday during that Steiner Sports interview that Girardi cares more about you as a person than a player and always wants what is best for you and that’s why he is a great manager.
Javy will have no problems here now that Torre is gone.
Lost in Tex-is
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I told you this morning..
The ball is in the Yankees court. It’s what they are willing or not to do..
Tex’s choice is Yankees first. Is that not obvious by now?
=========
Can we replace that with its Holliday’s first choice and get it done?
“I think the same can be said for Halladay – something you alluded to earlier. You can watch entire games where nobody can hit the ball on the sweetspot of the bat. He’s just amazing at generating poorly hit balls.”
According to FIP Halladay actually does not possess that skill.
It’s all “luck.” It’s just a random happenstance that the empirical phenomenon of people not being able to hit the ball on the sweet spot happens. And FIP argues this because of the underlying assumptions and concepts about what skills are and aren’t under a pitcher’s control.
tRA is better about this – but marginally so.
Ironically, the best stat to capture that particular skill is ERA.
How hard is it to field the ground balls that people break their bats producing when facting Halladay?
According to these context neutral stats it is equivalently difficult to field a ground ball or line drive off of Halladay as it is off of Livan Hernandez.
But I guess there are actually people who believe this – or at least don’t know enough about the stat to know otherwise.
I actually think Cano is going to have a down year this year now that Melky is gone.
He lost his partying buddy… most of the guys on the team are married and big family guys. Cano has no one to go clubbing with anymore, and I can see it affecting him negatively.
You figure that hid buddy not being there will make him concentrate even more, but I can see him pouting and letting it affect his play.
I see that people are back to pointing fingers and blaming the wrong people again for the collapse in 2004. The truth is that NYY had no business getting that far together with a patched together rotation. Put the blame for that where it belongs…on the front office for allowing 3/5ths of their rotation to walk at the end of 2003. Whether it was Cashman or the Tampa faction, that’s where the blame lies.
Just got a huge smile across my face reading
“ESPNEWS SCROLL SAYS TEX AGREES TO SIGN WITH THE YANKS!!!!!!”
YankeeTrader,
Im not sure if it was a good thing for the Colts that the Saints lost or a bad thing. Does the front office feel that it no longer has the pressure of keeping up with them or do they smell blood and to for it all. Im really concerned about the Jets defense. If they get by this game, i dont see Buffalo having enough offense to stop them. Even though they have played all teams tough.
mel,
Whats up with the question?
This was my personal favorite post from last year:
Wave Your Hat December 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
IMHO, if the Yanks let Tex get on that plane to the Red Sox, we’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of our lives.
Someday you’ll understand that.
.330./.370..550/.920 30 Jacks
___
he hit .342 3 years ago….
Cashman will package up Colin Curtis or Luis Nunez and $1 mil cash to Atlanta and pick up Melky Cabrera, since he doesn’t fit a need there.
“The truth is that NYY had no business getting that far together with a patched together rotation. ”
But they got there anyway, so there were other factors that were responsible for the loss apart from the rotation.
Torre’s usage of Gordon being one of them.
Apart from that, luck played a role, like the balls hit by Matsui and Clark that bounced over the wall instead of remaining in play.
Cashman will package up Colin Curtis or Luis Nunez and $1 mil cash to Atlanta and pick up Melky Cabrera, since he doesn’t fit a need there.
___
this would be really funny.
The only way I see Holliday getting signed is if Hal says go for it, I’ll worry about next offseason, next year. This is not an option that will happen IMO, BUT if Holliday would take a one year contract with a large portion of it as a signing bonus, proving he can play in AL east, then he enters the FA market again next year. Don’t see this as realistic either!
“he hit .342 3 years ago….”
You are aware that AVG often goes down as SLG goes up, right?
I focus on OPS, not AVG.
CB December 23rd, 2009 at 3:41 pm
This was my personal favorite post from last year:
Wave Your Hat December 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
IMHO, if the Yanks let Tex get on that plane to the Red Sox, we’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of our lives.
Someday you’ll understand that.
———————–
I do not feel that same desperation with Holliday this offseason, interestingly enough…
CB/SJ, what would you do with the LF situation? I agree about no Holliday, but I’ve never thought we were getting him. Do you agree that a trade is out as it would further deplete our farm system? As we have zero OF prospects in the upper levels of the minors, the Yanks are in something of a bind.
I was at work when I heard about Tex. I pretty much shrieked and couldn’t concentrate on my job the rest of the day. Oddly, I never wanted him- I thought he was overrated.
“The truth is that NYY had no business getting that far together with a patched together rotation.”
There’s that too.
That team could rake and was made to win 95 or so in the regular season, but the starting pitching was light. Still, I maintain that had they not had to play 5 games in 5 nights, they’d have won the pennant.
Hey thanks, CB!
“The only way I see Holliday getting signed is if Hal says go for it ”
I think Swisher’s contract would have to be traded as well.
Braves GM Frank Wren probably values Arodys Viz and Mike Dunn more than Melky anyway.
lol at the trade Matsui talk
“This was my personal favorite post from last year:
Wave Your Hat December 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
IMHO, if the Yanks let Tex get on that plane to the Red Sox, we’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of our lives.
Someday you’ll understand that.”
LOL … yeah that was a great post … nice job by Wave Your Hat referencing Casablanca … the classic scene with Bogart and Bergman on the airplane runway at the film’s climax.
Enjoy the holidays Chad. Cashman should let the leftfield position go to the best rookie in the Yankees system. They can afford to play a young guy in LF for the year. Hoffmann probably has the best shot of getting that spot and the Yanks should let some of their young infielders who have the ability to make the transition to the outfield like Pena, Corona and Nunez a shot at the LF spot. However, we know the Yanks are the Yanks and probably will sign DeRosa or Dye to play the corner spot in the outfield.
or even Kevin Russo for LF.
GB, That’s the point most forget, the pitching staff was in shambles, the few arms in the pen were spent…..Yanks would have taken out The Crads if they had put away Boston in 4 or even 5……That team slugges it’s way into the Postseason….Do remember, that A-Rod carried the club vs. The Twins, and Ruben Seirra had a big double to clinch that series…….In 03 you can simply point the finger to David Wells….Also losing game 1 at The Stadium was a killer….The Boone hangover affect……
“Cano has no one to go clubbing with anymore, and I can see it affecting him negatively. ”
I disagree. Cano’s not stupid. Baseball is a kid’s game, but for these guys, it’s also their jobs. Cano isn’t going to jeopardize his career because Melky is in ATL. I’m sure he’ll miss him, but Robbie will get by. And if he starts having issues, I’m sure that Alex or Jeter will get him back on the right path.
SoS,
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/200.....nt-1196824
GB7
that trade would make me happy, altho I am sure I will be happy w/ whoever winds up in LF (unless it is one of Chip’s crazy trades)
“ESPNEWS SCROLL SAYS HOLLIDAY AGREES TO SIGN WITH THE YANKS!!!!!!”
That would bring a smile to my face too!!!
Hey while we’re at it. Can we go further back and find the “we signed Igawa ” thread? Im really interested in reading some of those posts. Must have been right there with this thread as far as the yankee fans excitement.
Wave,
I love that thread. And your posts with Brandon were great – that one in particular.
The thread before that one was actually also very good, IIRC though I haven’t gone back and looked at it.
That was a fun day. In fact the entire process of figuring out how tex’s skill sets and impact on how the team projected to do as a kick.
That they won the world series cemented many of the hopes from that day.
4 x 4
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
We could probably get a nice package for Matsui from the Angels.
Hat did get the Post of the year Award for that great line ……
Rich in NJ
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
“The truth is that NYY had no business getting that far together with a patched together rotation. ”
But they got there anyway, so there were other factors that were responsible for the loss apart from the rotation.
Torre’s usage of Gordon being one of them.
Apart from that, luck played a role, like the balls hit by Matsui and Clark that bounced over the wall instead of remaining in play.
————————————————————
Those other factors were a non-existant rotation outside of Vazquez and Mussina.
I like this one:
———————————————————
E-Man December 23rd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Forget Tex, he doesn’t even want to be a Yankee.
Manny does. Sign the better player!!
Manny Ramirez.
Memo to Boras:
You got spanked by your #1 client,big time. Because of you/your clients You now wear a egg on yor face.
lol mel. Oh the too sensitive thread. I get it.
Another great post from last year:
Holy sh-t…
mind boggling.. they better get rid of Matsui and others wholly cr-p.
Tex is like Arod and stat dude phony who cares only about greenbacks..
He is a very good but not great player, holy moly..
Tex was great, but he did nothing when A-Rod was not in the lineup and did nothing in the postseason.
Don’t think Manny would have needed A-Rod in the lineup to produce…
Pat M
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:46 pm
GB, That’s the point most forget, the pitching staff was in shambles, the few arms in the pen were spent…..Yanks would have taken out The Crads if they had put away Boston in 4 or even 5……That team slugges it’s way into the Postseason….Do remember, that A-Rod carried the club vs. The Twins, and Ruben Seirra had a big double to clinch that series…….In 03 you can simply point the finger to David Wells….Also losing game 1 at The Stadium was a killer….The Boone hangover affect……
————————————————————
NYY couldn’t stop Clemens from “retiring”, but, Pettitte departure and the handling was inexcusable. I believe if Pettitte had stayed, Glemens would have. I realize that Pettitte got hurt and missed 2/3rds of the season, but the injury was caused by a check swing. As far as Wells goes, I don’t the the clubhouse would have accepted him back.
David, it doesn’t look like that Steiner show will be repeating anytime soon. Do you remember what else AJ said?
Thanks!
It’s clear how much AJ loves being a Yankee……and that goes for CC and Tex, too. They have really embraced the pinstripes tradition. I remember at Old Timers Day AJ was chatting up Goose, Doc, Charlie Hayes…..
As to Girardi, he’s just a decent human being and that’s why players like playing for him.
Anyone see the last post of that thread?
“I be the Yankees win the world series this year, in 6 games against Philly. Andy is Dandy in October!”
Good call, bud. Good call.
“My opinion: the Yanks don’t win the 2009 WS without signing Tex. Huge, huge win for Cashmoney!”
They probably don’t even win the division since Alex wouldn’t have been the same, not to mention the huge RBI production and what he did for the team defence.
So if we traded Matsui, who did people want to be the DH last year? Swisher?
GB – Planning Melky’s return already? Fine by me.
GreenBeret7
“Those other factors were a non-existant rotation outside of Vazquez and Mussina.”
Torre used Gordon with 9 run (seriously, 9) lead in Game 3. If that hadn’t happened, maybe he isn’t spent in Game 5.
If one of those balls had stayed in play, they win Game 5.
btw, Lieber pitched well in Game 2:
http://www.baseball-reference......0130.shtml
What a great day it was. Mark has been quite the player and asset to this franchise, lets just hope they dont get rid of him like they are doing with the others someday.
Pat M-
Don’t forget they we lost John Olereud in game 3, and his replacement, Tony Clarke was an instant out. Agree that we would have also beaten the Cardinals in the WS.
Ryan Braun – I have to believe that Cash has kicked the tires on this stud. He’s the perfect number 5 hitter behind ARod and LFer that the Yanks would crave. Not expensive now, but worth signing long term in his prime years. You’d have to give up either Hughes or Joba plus others. But yes – he’s worth it. Let go Cash!!! Do it. But doubt the Brewers would.
Comments!!!
Joba and/or Hughes are not being traded for a LF, Bret…….no way
“Don’t think Manny would have needed A-Rod in the lineup to produce…”
You clearly don’t follow the NL as Manny did Jack Squat for LAD after returning from his 50 game suspension for drug use. Tex didn’t have a great postseason offensively, but if memory serves, he was 100% there defensively. That’s worth it’s weight in gold.
here’s a good one from last year:
“SJ44
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
These stories don’t change by the minute at all.
You don’t enter 150+ million dollar negotiations on a whim. They also don’t conclude in a day or so.
Columnists write as if these things “change by the minute”.
The reality is, they don’t. Teams are actively engaged with players/agents and while everyone tries to build drama (Boras does it to jack up his price), most GM’s have a pretty good idea where the numbers will fall with players when all is said and done.”
….ooops, maybe they do after all…
Tex was great, but he did nothing when A-Rod was not in the lineup and did nothing in the postseason.
Don’t think Manny would have needed A-Rod in the lineup to produce…
___
especially the 50 games manny was suspended this year.
All the best to everyone here! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a great 2010. Let’s hope that 2010 is as kind to us as 2009 was in a baseball sense. Doreen hope 2010 is a better year for you. Same with you GB7. And Remember GB NO MORE SMOKING! If you’re tough to be a GB, you’re tough enough to lick nicotine! Do it.
To Sam and Chad thanks for making this blog number one in Yankeeland! Best analysis and links! Looking forward to 2010 and Number 28.
Good fortune all,
C
Tex has been worth the money. Every penny.
Manny’s bat speed was not particularly confidence inspiring this past year.
He did not look good at the plate. And Manny always had phenomenal bat speed. Not so much last year.
Rich, Cano is very talented, but I’m skeptical of him. It bothers me a great deal that he is completely unable to hit higher than 6th. It’s ridiculous that he limits himself that way.
Tex is a notorious slow starter so him starting badly didn’t mean much last year.
And his playoffs he certainly wasn’t hitting. But he was spectacular in the field especially during that Robertson inning against the Twins. He did have that game winning home run. And he also launched the home run against Pedro to kick start the Yankees offense. At least he was contributing somehow. Next time he gets his crack he may be carrying others on his back during the playoffs.
Betsy,
Most of the show was just talking about collectibles and what his “man cave” looks like at home, and stuff he collects and autographs and stuff. Said the most embarassing plauqe he has on his wall was the one for his no hitter because he associates no hitter with perfection and he doesn’t think 9 walks is considered perfection.
Said game 5 still stings him and he thinks about it a lot even though they won and really wants the season to start now to avenge that loss. Then he did some word association with different players. Girardi (see above),A-Rod, Tex, Jeter, Swish, Damon. Usual stuff about A-Rod/Jeter/Tex… confident, great hitters, etc. But he really gushed over Damon and what he meant to the chemistry of the team.
They had Gardner on it too. I only caught the final segment, so I’m not sure if anyone else was on the show earlier…
CB-
There were some great threads during last year’s off-season. More was at stake, I think. The Yanks had lost in 2008 and there were a lot of different views on the way forward and whether the Yanks’ front office was up to the task.
The need for Tex seemed so obvious, I was always surprised at the amount of opposition there was to getting him.
“Tex has been worth the money. Every penny.”
So has CC. Two phenomenal signings.
One year later and this blog has never been better.
It is truly amazing the coverage that Chad, Sam and Josh do on here.
Pete got too self-obsessed and preachy in his last full year.
Also, if I can say so myself…the fighting, petty bickering and trolling has been down as well. Though that can be contributed to the off-season I guess.
I havent been commenting, but Im always reading. I love this place.
We keep revisting that Cano will bust out this year. He frustrates the heck out of me, but now I am comfortable just watching him play the way he is, nothing more. Once you realize this is maybe as good as he will be you will feel a lot better. He simply is a great talent at the plate, but lacks discpline or that aold baseball IQ which allows players to be great situational hitters. He has yet to make any strides there. So if he hits over 300, 20 odd homers and plays great defense that is pretty darn good.
CB, Manny’s bat has slowed down, and he started cheated down the stretch on heaters..As a result his hands were committed and all he could do is pop-up the offspeed stuff…..
Manny’s bat speed was not particularly confidence inspiring this past year.
——————————————————-
Sometimes if uninspired, he’s been known to let the bat rest on his shoulder while looking at strike three!!!
I’m rooting for Gardner to get his shot. At every level, he improves markedly year over year.
Here’s Gardy’s OPS:
2006 Trenton .670
2007 Trenton .810
2007 SWB .675
2008 SWB .837
2008 NYY .582
2009 NYY .724
(and his worst stats were immediately upon returning from injury)
The kid learns and grows.
I guarantee… those ripping Crawford this year will warm up to him significantly next year if/when Cashman signs him. It always works like that.
I was at a nail salon getting a mani/pedi with my best friend (not a baseball fan) when the Teixeira deal was announced. My cell phone exploded with calls and texts and I had to excuse myself.
When I returned, my friend asked me who died. LOL
“Sometimes if uninspired, he’s been known to let the bat rest on his shoulder while looking at strike three!!!”
That’s an at bat I’ll never forget. I remember being so shocked at the time that Manny didn’t even make an effort at anything Mo threw. It wasn’t until later that I learned that his performance at the plate that day was in retailiation against BOS.
The comments of Steve Phiilips toward the moves that Cashman has made is a non-factor with his unemployment and that by itself makes for a merrier Christmas.
Yazman it’s a great point. Every level Gardner is said to be above his head yet he adjusts and becomes a pretty consistent hitter. If he stays within himself and adjusts to the majors pitching I think he will have a much better year than people expect. If he can draw some walks and hit above .280 he will be a huge force in the end of the lineup as he is more than capable of 50 steals if Girardi cuts him lose.
Cano can always go partying with Boone Logan next year….
Laura, I was at that game. I too will never forget that at-bat. Mo had nothing that day, and it seemed like he was going to blow the save. The place erupted after the strikeout and I couldn’t figure out why the bat never left Manny’s shoulders.
That was great.
Dye hit 27 HRs last year
And the year before that he had 80 extra base hits and hit .292.
For a 1 yr deal, he wouldn’t be a bad option at all…
On the day we signed Tex, I was in NYC visiting my Mom. Unfortunately, my Mother doesn’t have a computer or the Internet so I didn’t learn about Tex until it was mentioned on the evening news. I remember being disappointed that I couldn’t sign on and blog with everyone here about it. Wave Your Hat and I had been lobbying for Tex all along. SJ44 swore that it wouldn’t happen. I like it when SJ44 is wrong.
“There were some great threads during last year’s off-season. More was at stake, I think. The Yanks had lost in 2008 and there were a lot of different views on the way forward and whether the Yanks’ front office was up to the task.”
Last year was the critical year for the franchise. It was the one that was going to define what the team would – and perhaps even more importantly – could be for the next 5 years.
It was just huge.
The biggest thing was that if the yankees missed on any of those 3 contracts and wound up with a bad deal the team was in huge trouble moving forward.
But the yankees did their talent evaluation correctly and instead of signing second rung talents who might cost less they signed guys who they felt were elite performers and/or elite talents.
And that’s paid off.
But what an off season it was.
This winter has been so much more relaxing in comparison.
But there really was so much at stake given how the convergence of how much money they had coming off the books with the quality of players available.
I know we tend to think about the Tex signing more than the others because of how it transpired and getting him from the Sox – but the critical signing of last winter was CC.
CC is as close to a unique talent as there is in baseball due to the combination of his brilliance and ability to give length. Only Halladay is comparable.
That CC was available only for money was just a gift.
If the Red Sox had signed CC they would have created a dynasty. I still can’t believe they didn’t even try to sign him.
Instead this year they wind up giving John Lackey a huge deal. Not nearly as much as CC got – but Lackey is older, a bigger injury threat and not nearly as good.
Invest in value. I hope the yankees are still thinking about that lesson with Holliday (though I know the chances are remote that it’ll happen).
That was great reading that thread again. I was hoping for a repeat thread today only substituting Holliday. Only Hal can make that happen.
My favorite moment from that day though was when we were watching the ESPN announcement of the signing by Gammons when my innocent observant 12 yr old daughter said
“Daddy, that man looks like he doesn’t want to be there”
Just Classic
Nobody but people on the message boards ever said that Cano couldn’t hit higher than 6th. He’s a .299 hitter out of the 5 spot in less than 280 at bats. He just doesn’t walk much. he also doesn’t strike out. He hits and hits with power, though.
“The place erupted after the strikeout and I couldn’t figure out why the bat never left Manny’s shoulders.”
Manny was having a hissy fit. That was one of the key moments that led to his departure from BOS.
“Manny’s bat has slowed down, and he started cheated down the stretch on heaters..”
Pat M.,
That was shocking to watch. Manny was starting to cheat. It was just so strange to watch and really has to concern the dodgers.
He looked nothing like the player he was in 2008 after the trade.
What Manny so great was his ridiculous ability to let the ball travel deep into the zone and still have the bat speed to crush the ball. All great hitters have that – but even amongst great hitters Manny was a freak.
And in 2009 that hitter and those skills wore away.
Hey fellow fans, it has been awhile and I’m glad to see Chad is doing such a great job with the blog. We are the Champions and it feels great! I love the Granderson and Vazquez pick-ups my only problem is who plays LF? Gardner is NOT an everyday player. I really wish we could bring Johnny back 2 years at 9 per would be a good compromise IMO, but it seems that ship has sailed
Merry Tex-mas!
For one year, we can deal with Dye…
Yazman
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I’m rooting for Gardner to get his shot. At every level, he improves markedly year over year.
Here’s Gardy’s OPS:
2006 Trenton .670
2007 Trenton .810
2007 SWB .675
2008 SWB .837
2008 NYY .582
2009 NYY .724
(and his worst stats were immediately upon returning from injury)
______________________________________________
Actually his worst stats were
A) in April, when he was given the starting job and couldn’t hold it;
B) in the four weeks BEFORE he got injured on July 25 (beginning the day after his 5-6 against the Mets on June 26);
and
C) in the World Series, where he went 0-10 with 4 SOs and an .000 OBA
The Phranchise
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
We keep revisting that Cano will bust out this year. He frustrates the heck out of me, but now I am comfortable just watching him play the way he is, nothing more. Once you realize this is maybe as good as he will be you will feel a lot better. He simply is a great talent at the plate, but lacks discpline or that aold baseball IQ which allows players to be great situational hitters. He has yet to make any strides there. So if he hits over 300, 20 odd homers and plays great defense that is pretty darn good.
————————————————————
That ” lacks the old baseball IQ” is a load of BS. This year was a freak year, but, it didn’t stop Cano from knocking in 85 runs with Cabrera/Gardner and Molina batting behind him.
David, thanks! I’m so annoyed I missed that, lol.
Yep, AJ really is embarrassed about the no-hitter; I know he’s hoping for another chance to wipe that one away. I thought in that game against Tampa early in the season he had a good chance…….but a lot of it is just a matter of luck.
I’m sorry he’s still thinking about game 5 because he should be thinking more about game 2 – that was the most important game of the Series. Who knows? Maybe he’ll come out blazing, with something to prove. He’s a proud guy – I’m looking forward to seeing him pitch next year.
Another thing about Dye is that he’s about as exciting to watch as watching paint dry. Very low key guy. Maybe Swisher can loosen him up.
Gardner looked like a boy amongst men in the World Series.
Actually his worst stats were
A) in April, when he was given the starting job and couldn’t hold it;
B) in the four weeks BEFORE he got injured on July 25 (beginning the day after his 5-6 against the Mets on June 26);
and
C) in the World Series, where he went 0-10 with 4 SOs and an .000 OBA
________
Agreed and for melky, you could argue he had the highest average on the team in june when he hurt his shoulder crashing into the wall to make a catch. he struggled after that. he was hitting something like .325 when that happened (or close to it). What part of any stretch did gardner hit .325 ?
I do remember this day.
I was in NY, at a bar in the village with a friend of mine, getting drunk before a rangers game. One of my buddies, a sux fan, calls me and is livid, going on and on about how the yankees won the offseason but we won’t win the season cause we are awful in the playoffs etc. After the rangers lost to the capitals in overtime, some guy was like “Its okay, we got Tex, we’re gonna win the world series!” so he and i started a Mark Teixiera chant as we exited the garden.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Jermaine Dye would cost alot more than 2 million bucks, and we are already at 198 million with the 200 million dollar limit. Obviously we would need to move some pieces if we are to sign a legit outfielder.
CB, CC is an amazing pitcher. Earlier in the season, he was struggling some, but watching him down the stretch and in the post-season, I was in awe. What he did for Milwaukee should go down as one of the greatest feats in baseball history. I literally don’t know how he did what he did.
I love your post because I get giddy thinking of the guys we signed and how well they fit in and performed.
I am overlowing with love for this team
Matt Holiday is still the answer for the club’s 2 needs …A leftfielder who will excell hitting in the 5 hole……I just cannot see how they’d pass on this opportunity….His price has been marked down for Christmas by at least 25 %…..
I’m pretty confident Cano’s gonna be one of those age 27 guys who go from good to great at that age.
Jermaine Dye got old before his time. He can’t cover right field any more, he can’t run and his bat is getting slower.
tt Holiday is still the answer for the club’s 2 needs …A leftfielder who will excell hitting in the 5 hole……I just cannot see how they’d pass on this opportunity….His price has been marked down for Christmas by at least 25 %
____
marked down says who?
I like Gardner. The kid is fast! That being said, I’m not going to delude myself into thinking that he can play everyday. He simply doesn’t hit well enough. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon. If you watch his at bats, his entire approach is all wrong. Unless Kevin Long can re-train him, he will be [at best] a late inning pinch runner or emergency 4th OF guy.
Clearly, we need a guy for LF. Damon has become a butcher out there so I’ll pass on him. Holliday? Honestly, I haven’t watched him play enough to know if he’s worth the $$$. Plenty of people on here seem to think that he is, but that’s not saying much. Heeheehee!
I’m just going to cross my fingers and hope that Cash makes the right decision. I haven’t been happy with anything he’s done so far this off season (save for Granderson) so he’s got nowhere to go but up.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but Jermaine Dye would cost alot more than 2 million bucks, and we are already at 198 million with the 200 million dollar limit. ”
My guess is that Dye would cost at least $5mil.
MTU,
Just In Time For the Holliday’s
“But I guess there are actually people who believe this – or at least don’t know enough about the stat to know otherwise.”
Put me in the latter group until now. Thanks for giving perspective on these statistics.
we’re down about 25 homers from last year’s starters to 2010′s starters. I wonder who’s out there, that could play a position of need and give us 25 homers.
I haven’t been happy with anything he’s done so far this off season (save for Granderson) so he’s got nowhere to go but up.
___
yeah i guess getting the 3rd highest OBP and the 4th in Cy Young were two bad moves.
we’re down about 25 homers from last year’s starters to 2010’s starters. I wonder who’s out there, that could play a position of need and give us 25 homers.
___
We DONT need 250 homeruns again. It’s about the runs, and Johnson offers to get on base in front of Tex and ARod more than Johnny did. That makes up for it.
It’s amazing to think that the former ‘OF of the future’ have all been traded away. Jose Tabata, Melky Cabrera and Austin Jackson.
Pat M or CB…can you guys explain why a young player like Alex Rios, with as much talent as anybody around would fall off of a cliff so fast? He has/had Clemente type skills.
plus…. granderson and johnson played in big parks. coming to yankee stadium, their hr numbers may go up too.
ask the texas rangers whether hitting a ton of homeruns make a championship team…
as long as you have guys with good averages and hitting a fair number of homeruns and quality pitching, we will win.
“yeah i guess getting the 3rd highest OBP and the 4th in Cy Young were two bad moves.”
Tex’s friend, let me see Johnson stay healthy and Vazquez pitch like that in the AL and then we’ll know I was wrong. Until then, the jury is out.
Just because I like this turn of phrase…i’m going to throw it out there…
If the Yanks get Holliday…I will eat my hat.
You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
“It’s amazing to think that the former ‘OF of the future’ have all been traded away. Jose Tabata, Melky Cabrera and Austin Jackson.”
Apparently it wasn’t Cashman’s “OF of the future.”
DaSaint007
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
*****
Thank you President Lincoln
Burnett’s performance in game 2 of the world series was clutch. That game was a huge factor in determining the outcome of the series. Losing game 1 with our ace on the hill was a bad start, but going down 2-0 would have been a huge hole to get out of. Burnett and the yanks gets the W, hands it over to Pettite, and we just rolled from there. that game 2 was as important as any game last year
GB, I expect Rios to bounce back next season……I’m off to meet my friend Richie A. & see what I can find out about the Matsui deal…….
Tex’s friend, let me see Johnson stay healthy and Vazquez pitch like that in the AL and then we’ll know I was wrong. Until then, the jury is out.
___
you can say the same thing about anyone. in your scenario, we should just keep matsui and damon until they retire because lets see someone else come to ny and play.
“So has CC. Two phenomenal signings.”
John Sterling always refers to it as the best signings in Yankees history. I haven’t searched through my brain to see if I can come up with any better signings in their history. Lots and lots of major trades, but how many times have they made a huge signing that worked out so well (I can certainly see the ones that didn’t, like Giambi)
Phil the Thrill
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:31 pm
we’re down about 25 homers from last year’s starters to 2010’s starters. I wonder who’s out there, that could play a position of need and give us 25 homers.
——————————————————-
i would also guess that arod will hit about 10-15 more hr’s next year as well
tex’s friend,
do you think Rangers fans have anything they could tell Yankee fans about homeruns? Or getting on base? Over the last 90 years when we’ve been great, that’s what we’ve done.
Thanks, Pat. I assume that’s Richie Amaral?
sab,
but we could be down in some other spots. Jeter, por ejemplo…
no, im just saying you dont need to hit 250 homeruns to win. hence losing 20 or so wont kill us.
“I see that people are back to pointing fingers and blaming the wrong people again for the collapse in 2004. The truth is that NYY had no business getting that far together with a patched together rotation. Put the blame for that where it belongs…on the front office for allowing 3/5ths of their rotation to walk at the end of 2003. Whether it was Cashman or the Tampa faction, that’s where the blame lies.”
GB7,
You’re right to a point. Boston was the favorite in that series and rightfully so. They had Schilling and Pedro (2 sure Hall of Famers), we had Mussina and . . . not much. But in fairness, our starters outpitched there’s 4 games to 2, with Game 3 featuring equally putrid performances from both Arroyo and Brown.
It was Torre’s horrible managing (leaving Gordon in Game 5 too long, not running on Wakefield/Varitek who hadn’t worked together all year, etc.), our repeated failure to get clutch hits in Games 4, 5 and 6, Brown and Vazquez’s failure to keep us in Game 7, and yes, Mo’s failure in Game 4, that did us in.
es verdad..
jeter may be down in homeruns, but he is pretty consistant above 60 rbis every year. if it is 10 hr and 60 rbis or 18 hr and 60 rbi, what difference will it make?
“you can say the same thing about anyone. in your scenario, we should just keep matsui and damon until they retire because lets see someone else come to ny and play.”
No, I thought we should have kept them for one more year, with a club option for a 2nd year. That’s the deal I would have tried to negotiate with the both of them. I don’t know if that would have worked out, but I would have tried. The Yankees tried with Damon (Damon let Boras screw him over), but didn’t even bother with Matsui (from what we’ve seen).
Vazquez and Johnson might work out; no one will be happier than me if that’s the case. But right now, I have my doubts.
Betsy
I think his ability to hit with RISP will normalize.
mdot
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Just got a huge smile across my face reading
“ESPNEWS SCROLL SAYS TEX AGREES TO SIGN WITH THE YANKS!!!!!!”
LOL! Actually it read:
“ESPNEWS SCROLL SAYS TEX DOESN’T SIGN WITH THE RED SOCKS!!!!!!”
no, im just saying you dont need to hit 250 homeruns to win. hence losing 20 or so wont kill us.
—–
Very much so. I don’t understand why people think we need to perfectly replicate last years numbers, especially HR numbers to win a WS again.
The gap and homeruns could be made up in things like OBP and WHIP (as reducing runs scored is often just as good as scoring them)…both of which two of our signing have the potential to provide in spades.
Dye was on my fantasy team the last 2 years and im a big fan of his, but he is in a fast decline. his second half was awful this past season.
i think best bet for LF is get a player on the cheap and platoon with hoffman and gardner. gardner deserves to get a chance at least at a platoon. his speed changes games.
“Gardner looked like a boy amongst men in the World Series.”
Now this is one thing I just can’t stand. I can’t stand it when veterans like Gardner finally get on the big stage, but just can’t deliver. Lucky thing we had Tex and Swish cranking out hits in the postseason. Love the way that Tex made teams pay for feeding him a steady diet of breaking balls.
Signing/trades that is.
With anothwe of our trades potentially looking at a big boost in power.
i agree about matsui to a point, but i think he is as likely to miss time next season as NJ is.
“I haven’t searched through my brain to see if I can come up with any better signings in their history.”
Catfish and Reggie worked out pretty well. Jimmy Key was nice too.
Travel Channel is having a Man Vs Food marathon today. I am currently watching an earlier DVRed episode of the host eating a bacon cheeseburger on a Krispy Creme donut at a ballpark.
I am mesmorized
Brett-
Have you seen this yet ?
”
Facts:
- Personality wise, clubhouse chemistry, yanks love Damon.
- Age with Damon is an issue, he battled injuries most of the season (some unpublished).
- Damon is not happy and adamantly feels he is worth much more than 7 mil
- Yanks org much prefers Holliday and has expressed interest to Boras.
- Boras’s asking price on Holliday is STILL off the charts.
—–
Based on the fact that the offer the yanks were prepared to make for Holliday was extremely low according to Boras, Yanks have moved on (without giving up hope) and Cash said the right things to the media. The player the yanks like a lot is Holliday, but 7/120+ is not coming out of their pocket.
I am lead to believe there is/was a formal 5/85 offer to Holliday, or there was going to be, but it was never submitted because of Boras’s persistance at hitting 9 digits.
Boras has been getting low-balled on Holliday all along, but his persistance in high-balling all teams is what has created the stand-still. The only mediator here is Holliday himself, but I am not seeing him intervene just yet.
With all that said, there is one more variable:
Hal.”
What’s your opinion on it if you already have.
GB
Rios’s BABIP last season was .277. His career mark is .323, so we might think that luck was involved, BUT his LD% was 16.4 %, in prior years it was about 20 %. So that would explain some of the drop in his BABIP. Why he is hitting less LDs, I don’t know.
“i agree about matsui to a point, but i think he is as likely to miss time next season as NJ is.”
Very possible. I guess I’m a believer in that old adage about the devil you know being better than one you don’t. I would have taken my chances with Matsui. I’m not saying that because of his World Series heroics; I’ve been a Matsui fan since day one. I just like him as a player. He’s a great hitter and I thought he was a good Yankee.
speaking of prospects that may never pan out – has scott kazmir reached that point yet – or is he still on the fence in terms of not panning out?
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Travel Channel is having a Man Vs Food marathon today. I am currently watching an earlier DVRed episode of the host eating a bacon cheeseburger on a Krispy Creme donut at a ballpark.
I am mesmorized
***************
That doesn’t sound good at all, but somehow I bet it would taste amazing. lol
Rich, you think his poor performance with RISP was bad luck?
Laura – And Kazmir throws the ball over Kendrick’s head!!
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:54 pm
“i agree about matsui to a point, but i think he is as likely to miss time next season as NJ is.”
Very possible. I guess I’m a believer in that old adage about the devil you know being better than one you don’t. I would have taken my chances with Matsui. I’m not saying that because of his World Series heroics; I’ve been a Matsui fan since day one. I just like him as a player. He’s a great hitter and I thought he was a good Yankee.
*************
Laura, I agree completely. We should start a Matsui fan club.
Erin
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Travel Channel is having a Man Vs Food marathon today. I am currently watching an earlier DVRed episode of the host eating a bacon cheeseburger on a Krispy Creme donut at a ballpark.
I am mesmorized
***************
That doesn’t sound good at all, but somehow I bet it would taste amazing. lol
********
The secret is, they sliced the glazed donut in half. Then they put the donut on the grill, unglazed side down. Apparently, it winds up tasting like french toast
Betsy
I think it’s both bad luck and his mental approach, but I don’t think either aspect will be enduring.
tex’s friend,
but the homers have always come in handy for the Bronx Bombers. That’s why I don’t want to get too far down.
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:58 pm
The secret is, they sliced the glazed donut in half. Then they put the donut on the grill, unglazed side down. Apparently, it winds up tasting like french toast
**************
Mmmmm…that does make it sound better!
new thread
The power of the Rally Monkey !
Though that didn’t help the Angels against the Yankees this year.
The MLB network is showing the 2002 World Series. The comeback game against Dusty Baker’s Giants.
Yeah, I remember this day last year. I was in a bakery in the evening and the news came on that Teixiera had signed with the Yankees. A great moment and now I am wondering if we will get another surprise this year, a Holliday present that we didn’t expect!
Pat M & GB7 -
I so agree about the pitchers departing at the end of 2003 had everything to do with the way 2004 ended. the 2004 offense was unbelievable, thouogh. In the end, pitching is king. always. I was despondent when they let Andy go. couldn’t believe it. I never thought about that if Andy had been signed they might have coaxed clemens back. Interesting idea.
And let’s not forget – didn’t Mariano have a personal tragedy that post-season?
Last year at this time – I was as I am now – busy cooking and cleaning and getting ready for Christmas Eve company and fun. Back and forth to the blog. I wanted Tex but really did not believe it would happen. What a great Christmas Eve it ended up being. Loved the headlines the next day. One of the best in a while for yankees fans.
Before I get sidetracked, I want to wish all of you who celebrate a Merry Christmas, and those of you who do not – a wonderful winter holiday, whatever it is (was).
It’s so strange here when one can only pop in and out. Disjointed conversations, and yet, familiarity.
I don’t see Holliday under the holiday tree, however. But I can’t and won’t complain. Cashman’s had a busy, productive and largely positive post-season so far.
I remember that day very clearly. It was like lighting striking! I followed Teixeria’s career for years, always wanted him to be a Yankee, and dreaded the expectation that he’s soon be a Red Sox for years to come. Then…POW! Anyone that doesn’t understand Tex’s value in the 2009 postseason is just a “Fantasy Baseball” stat-head, and doesn’t see how many huge defensive plays Tex gave us, as well as big, timely hits. Not too mention the great season he had which helped the Bombers make the post-season. Now if we could only strike lighting again (of sorts) and re-sign Johnny Damon!!!!!!!!
Found a post at 3:53 as usual bagging on pete. God i hated his Boston ass.. But he did a good job, so it’s all good!