The All Free Agents team
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Jan 08, 2010 
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It’s a tried and true offseason blog post: A team of free agents. And so, here is my 25-man roster of players still on the market.
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Orlando Hudson, 2B
3. Miguel Tejada, 3B
4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH
5. Jermaine Dye, RF
6. Adam LaRoche, 1B
7. Bengie Molina, C
8. Reed Johnson, CF
9. Orlando Cabrera, SS
B. Yorvit Torrealba, C
B. Jerry Hairston Jr., INF
B. Randy Winn, OF
B. Xavier Nady, OF
I cheated a bit and put Tejada at third (though I honestly believe he’ll end up there next season). I went with LaRoche over Russell Branyan at first base, and — unlike Joe Torre in the playoffs – I went with Orlando Hudson over Ron Belliard at second. Picking a bench is tough. I thought about Scott Podsednik because my team is kind of slow, then I remembered it’s a completely fictional team, and in my fictional world, I decided Xavier Nady is coming back healthy as a horse.
1. Ben Sheets, RHP
2. Joel Pineiro, RHP
3. Jarrod Washburn, LHP
4. Jon Garland, RHP
5. Erik Bedard, LHP
B. Jose Valverde, RHP
B. Chad Bradford, RHP
B. Kiko Calero, RHP
B. Brian Shouse, LHP
B. Brett Myers, RHP
B. Will Ohman, LHP
B. John Smoltz, RHP
If only injuries never happened, this team would have a no-doubt ace in Sheets followed by Mark Prior, Chien-Ming Wang, Mark Mulder and Jason Schmidt. Noah Lowry would be hanging out in Triple-A. Instead it’s a questionable version of Sheets followed by some middle or back-of-the-rotation starters. Bedard is in there, but he’d need a caddy for the start of the season, so let’s say Doug Davis gets that job. After Valverde, most of the bullpen is pick and choose whoever you want from a fairly hit-or-miss group of options.
A few thoughts:
1. Yankee Hot Stove reported last night that Toronto and Boston are hot and heavy for Chapman. They also reported that the Rangers have made a 1 year 7 mil offer to Vlad.
2. I just can’t see Damon coming back here. At this point he would have to come crawling back and accept at most a 2 year deal for 10 mil (maybe a deal structured like the one Adrian Beltre just signed) and I don’t see him doing that. I think it would do less to hurt his ego to go to a new team like Atlanta or San Francisco.
3. Of the RH bats Chad listed yesterday I guess I would go with Tatis if the Yankees get another LF, if not Reed Johnson. Again, I don’t have a specific objection to Brett Gardner except that I think he should have to earn his spot. Consider This: The Yankees are making Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes battle for a role in the rotation but are willing to hand Gardner (a far less established player) the LF spot. Does that make sense? Chad did say that the Yankees have signed some guys to minor league deals that they just are not ready to report, so maybe Brett’s competition comes from there – maybe it comes from Jamie Hoffmann, but I just think there are enough guys out there (Podsednik, Winn, Ankiel, Church) that Brett should have to earn his spot.
4. I’m surprised that Russ Branyan hasn’t generated more interest – he had a very strong season in a pitcher’s park and you would think that some team could use him as a slugging 1b/DH/OF – I think he (or Blalock) would be a good fit for Baltimore.
5. It says a ton about the free agent market that the fifth highest contract this winter has gone to Randy Wolf.
nice post, Chad
the morrow of the story? There are ALOT of players remaining on the market. More players than teams.
is no reason for the yankees to move fast for a LF. Also, i expect there will be FA players left in June
That’s not a bad team by Chad, I would make a few tweaks: I would take Branyan or even Delgado over LaRoche; Ankiel over Reed Johnson (with Johnson replacing Nady on the bench). Rotation and pen are pretty much set the same.
Vinny –
The other moral of the story is that there’s absolutely no reason to simply hand LF to Brett Gardner.
Chip: you spell better than me : )
On the previous thread it was posted that Cashman migh still be willing to consider some sort of trade to upgrade/platoon in LF.
Good to know that all options are still open.
in addition, have to pass you props for mentioning Russell Branyan. He had lot of HR’s for playing in Seattle. Yet no one have mentioned him in the off-season
what exactly is Bengie Molina waiting for. Is he clinically retarded? The mets have offered him 2 years and he his holding out for 3 ??
Did Jose Molina ever sign with anybody, or is he still out there too?
Erin-
He signed with AJ to be his personal catcher.
the Royals have singed Scott Podsednik
have no idea what my 2nd favorite team is doing. Or has been doing the past 10 years
MTU
January 8th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Erin-
He signed with AJ to be his personal catcher.
**************************
LOL
Branyan is a butcher with a glove and missed the last 6 weeks with a bad back. Given a full year, LaRoche, who is also younger and a very good defensive player is the top 1st base choice. The best offer that I’d make for Degado would to sign up as a left handed pinch hitter and DH.
MTU
January 8th, 2010 at 9:31 am
On the previous thread it was posted that Cashman migh still be willing to consider some sort of trade to upgrade/platoon in LF.
Good to know that all options are still open.
——
Go get Cody Ross from the Marlins for LF
sj44-
you’ve been around good players long enough to know that the good ones have the ability to make adjustments and those adjustments usually involve a lot of work.
your nephew is a perfect example of that. he could have coasted into the draft his last year and still been drafted fairly high, but he worked really hard at the right things, improved his body and skills, and the rest is history.
he’ll likely do that his whole career when he hits a point that he has to make an adjustment.
jeter made about 60 errors his first year. he worked hard and figured it out. he’s continued to do that whenever he hit a bump in the road.
i had a long talk one day with fisk when he was with the white sox at the end of his career. he said that he worked out religiously after games especially doing weight work on his lower body.
fisk didn’t just have some gene for longevity. he worked really hard at it before most other players did. posada has always worked out.and he has the benefit of better training than fisk did.
people underestimate what a strong guy posada is. he’s kind of funny looking with the ears and the not classic chiseled body, but he’s as strong as any catcher. the bombs he hits to the upper deck show that. and also the quality of his throwing arm which doesn’t come without a huge amount of work.
you know how much throwing and working out that a catcher has to do to keep his arm in shape. it’s almost as much as a pitcher. it’s real simple, no arm , no catch. posada has really kept his arm strength.
i’m hoping he has two good solid years catching with some gradual decline and is positioned to make a run for the hall of fame.
when you look at andre dawson getting in with his obp and other numbers, posada’s number look pretty impressive especially as a catcher.
another bench option (for other teams not the yankees) may be Jim Thome
Yankee-
what do you know about him ?
What would it take ?
Going back a couple posts ago … agreed, Reed Johnson looks like the best choice of the OF FA’s. Not just based on the lefty splits listed in the post, but they do help his cause. As long as it’s for not too much $$$, and not too long a deal.
If a deal were to go down with him, the 4 OFs would then be him, Granderson, Swisher and Gardner. Not a star-studded OF but they all have some strengths. The team can always make a mid-season trade if something’s really missing.
“4. I’m surprised that Russ Branyan hasn’t generated more interest – he had a very strong season in a pitcher’s park and you would think that some team could use him as a slugging 1b/DH/OF – I think he (or Blalock) would be a good fit for Baltimore.”
Branyan had a pretty significant back injury that ended his season in late August, so the level of interest is probably skewed by the unknown around that. Sure a few teams also took note of Branyan was hitting .323 with a 1.027 OPS thru May, before reverting to a Branyan-esque .209 with a .775 OPS from June 1 thru the end of August
Vinny –
I’ve been trying to figure out the Royals for a while now. I know Dayton Moore is supposed to be some kind of young genius in the Theo mold but some of the people he’s brought in over the last couple of years just don’t seem to fit (Jacobs, Guillen, Bloomquist as an everyday player) maybe players just don’t want to go to KC and he’s stuck bringing in whomever he can.
I do think Scotty Pods is a good player, but the Royals just aren’t the right team for him. That said, it’s one more team that is now out on Rick Ankiel and so the odds are better that the Yankees can get him.
“The team can always make a mid-season trade if something’s really missing”
—————————————————-
or likely a mid-season FA aquisition. A very bad market
I’m not exactly looking forward to going through this for the next few years, but as our farm is absolutely barren of OF prospects, that seems to be a given.
hfummna, intengtintg.
Frank –
I agree that Branyan is far from ideal but he’s still a viable option for teams that need LH power at a corner. As is Blalock.
GB and Frank: solid points on Branyan. Didn’t know of the back issue
Big mistake to let Chapman go to Boston.
They’re building a system of high quality chips they’ll be able to use for what they need in deals over next few years. Yanks now have little as bait. Is there any doubt if Yanks fail to land Chapman they’ll spend way more than $20 million on free agent relievers over next few years?
Yankee-
checking ross’s stats:
looks like he mashes Lefties.
his fielding stats in LF appear to be OK.
Is he available, and what would it take in a trade ?
“hfummna, intengtintg.”
gb7 sans coffee and before he puts his teeth in.
“I agree that Branyan is far from ideal but he’s still a viable option for teams that need LH power at a corner. As is Blalock.”
They could be, sure. I’d put them both well behind LaRoche though. He plays a good 1B and is the best bat of the lot, IMO.
Betsy -
I don’t know that the farm is devoid of OF prospects – they just aren’t ready right now.
Slade Heathcott should move quickly through the minors and the Dominican Outfielder they signed in November (Moronta) is also projected as a very high impact player once he shakes off the rust of having not played in a couple of years.
Additionally, with both Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth being potential free agents chances are that there will be a long term solution here by next season.
MTU –
I would never say that someone on the Marlins isn’t available, but I believe they are planning to go forward with Ross, Maybin and Coghlin in the OF (unless they can deal Uggla)
Nothing wrong with Bloomquist. He’s a better defensive player than J. Hairston at a lot of positions and has a lot of speed. He’d make a really good utility player. He’s hit in the .270s over the last 3 years.
“Big mistake to let Chapman go to Boston”
——————————————-
NYY needs to do what NYY does. And not differ from their own plan.
far as Chapman, unlike small/mid market teams NYY does not need to take a chance on him. If he develops (far from likely) NYY will be able to sign him as a FA
pass on Chapman/20 million
“I’m not exactly looking forward to going through this for the next few years, but as our farm is absolutely barren of OF prospects, that seems to be a given.”
ABSOLUTELY all the more reason to give Gardner a shot, no?
And on that note. Gardner’s already been through the ST competition. He competed and won the job. Then lost it in April, but didn’t sulk and performed well after his slow start and before his injury.
The message has already been sent and received to him his spot is not guaranteed.
I think the 5th rotation competition is mostly for Chamberlain’s benefit, specifically.
“Yanks now have little as bait. Is there any doubt if Yanks fail to land Chapman they’ll spend way more than $20 million on free agent relievers over next few years?”
No. But that’s only because the free agent reliever in question will be Mariano Rivera. Have I forgotten about millions in free agent dollars poured in building the Yankees bullpen over the past few years? Seems to me they’ve been tapping young arms from their system, at short money, to piece together their pen.
Hard to beleive the Yanks would just sit back and watch the Red Sox just take Chapman without getting involved, if nothing else than to drive up the price for Boston.
chip: don’t forget DeLeon and Sosa
would expect the top 3 OF prospects are as follows: (If i it is not right, someone correct me)
Kevin DeLeon
Slade Heathcott
Sosa
Nothing wrong with Bloomquist. He’s a better defensive player than J. Hairston at a lot of positions and has a lot of speed. He’d make a really good utility player. He’s hit in the .270s over the last 3 years.
GB – I have no problem with Bloomquist – I just found him an odd signing for Kansas City. If you’re a team with a tight budget like they are doesn’t it make more sense to invest the dollars you have into starters and not bringing in a bench player?
randy l.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:52 am
“hfummna, intengtintg.”
gb7 sans coffee and before he puts his teeth in.
————————————————————
I’ve already used my best lines on you, you miserable old trout. When I reload my banter gun, I’ll be hunting you down.
Chip, Heathcott is very far away – probably at least 3 or 4 years (and that’s if all goes well). I’m not interested in spending $$$$ and years on Jason Werth and I doubt the Yankees will be either – he’s not the kind of player you break the budget for. I’m afraid if Crawford is available, that’s who the Yankees are targeting and I think it’s a huge mistake. Once his legs go, that’s it as far as being a particularly valuable player. He’s definitely not worth a big contract. I have no idea who this Moronota is…..
Betsy-
The Y’s are loaded at catcher and pitcher in the Minors.
They can always decide to cash in some of their chips for an outfielder.
What about minor league for minor league swaps ?
They’re building a system of high quality chips they’ll be able to use for what they need in deals over next few years. Yanks now have little as bait. Is there any doubt if Yanks fail to land Chapman they’ll spend way more than $20 million on free agent relievers over next few years?
____
Really?
Exactly what chips does boston have?
And on that note. Gardner’s already been through the ST competition. He competed and won the job. Then lost it in April, but didn’t sulk and performed well after his slow start and before his injury.
Stucky – even if Gardner were to be the Yankee LF this year I don’t think that would prevent the Yankees from looking for an upgrade next winter. In other words he’s still just a stopgap.
Again, I think the Yankees could probably win with Brett Gardner playing LF and batting in the 9 spot – but I don’t see the logic in handing him the job. He performed well in spot duty after his injury but I believe that if he plays everyday he’s going to be exposed.
Betsy: don’t worry. Unless both Joba/Hughes turn into #1′s this year, NYY will attempt to sign Cliff Lee. And not Crawford
“Is there any doubt if Yanks fail to land Chapman they’ll spend way more than $20 million on free agent relievers over next few years?”
Ample doubt. Marte seems like he may be the last reliever the Yanks will spend big dollars on. They seem to be moving in the (very astute) direction of assuming relievers are too unpredictable year-to-year and will address their bullpen internally (for the most part) moving forward, which in my mind is the smartest thing they can do.
As to the Yankees lack of “chips” in comparison to Boston, Chapman doesn’t address that concern. He would NOT be signed to be traded and won’t make any one else in the system any more or less expendable.
Finally, a year can make a HUGE difference in the make up of a minor league system. If Brackman or Betances broke out? If Christian Garcia stayed healthy. If Mesa or De Leon took a step forward.
There is little cause for panic (or some approximation of).
Once his legs go, that’s it as far as being a particularly valuable player. He’s definitely not worth a big contract. I have no idea who this Moronota is…..
___
you do know he is still young right? just because someone gets into their 30s doesnt mean they lose their speed or their ability to hit.
“Exactly what chips does boston have”
——————————————-
cow chips.
lot of dairy farms in the ‘nation’
Betsy: don’t worry. Unless both Joba/Hughes turn into #1’s this year, NYY will attempt to sign Cliff Lee. And not Crawford
___
yankees are going for both most likely. they will want to fill a fielding need and a pitching need. my early guess…
Lee 4/80
Crawford 4/52
Betsy -
I wouldn’t give Jayson Werth a contract like Holliday’s (or probably even Bay’s) but a 4 year 36 mil contract next winter I would be fine with.
I tend to agree with you on Crawford, but he’ll be 29 as a free agent next year so I think that the Yankees would have some time before his wheels leave him if they signed him.
Moronto is 21 years old, plus speed, plus power, plus arm. He had to sit out for a year due to lying about his age (he said he was 17). International scouts have called him a young Raul Mondesi.
The Yankees are hardly barren on the farm for outfield prospects. They may be mostly in the lower levels, but, they’re there. One of the better hitting of the advanced outfielders is Daniel Brewer going to Trenton. They also have Damon Sublett and David Adams at Trenton this coming year. I’m not counting on much from Colin Curtis, but, he could be a surprise.
From MLBTR:
“•The St. Louis Post-Dispatch totals up the Cardinals’ payroll and finds that the club has $7.4MM to spend on four players – an outfielder, an infielder, a reliever and a starter.”
Good luck !
Early 2011 Roster:
Jeter
Crawford – LF
Tex
Alex
Granderson
Posada – DH
Cano
Montero – C
Swisher – RF
CC, Lee, AJ, Hughes, Bleich
Chip, you really think Bleich will be ready to be the starter in 2011 over some of the other mL pitchers?
Now estimate what each player would get on the roster and see how much it would cost to field this team…what would be the 2010 payroll?
MTU:
I wouldn’t rule out a couple of those catchers being converted to something else….like an outfielder.
Seems like minor league swaps aren’t done all that much, especially among high end prospects. Jays and A’s just did one involving Taylor and Wallace, which seemed to make a lot of sense. I too wonder why that doesn’t happen a little more often. Of course, both of those guys are on the cusp of playing in the bigs. Probably makes a lot less sense trading guys at the lower levels.
Yankees might also consider shifting Eduardo Nunez (who has a good bat but an iffy glove) or Kevin Russo to the OF since the middle IF spots are kinda locked up and better defensive utility IF options in Pena and Corona.
I know there’s a lot of thought about keeping Nunez as the heir apparent for Jeter, but figure Derek’s going to be around at least another 4 years.
“Stucky – even if Gardner were to be the Yankee LF this year I don’t think that would prevent the Yankees from looking for an upgrade next winter. In other words he’s still just a stopgap.”
“Looking”? Of course not. They should always BE LOOKING. But if Gardner actually performs, the “need” [cough] for an “upgrade” would be lessened.
As hard as this apparently is for some people to wrap their head around, he MIGHT become a decent player and someone the Yankees would LIKE to pencil into their 9 hole for a few ye
“He performed well in spot duty after his injury but I believe that if he plays everyday he’s going to be exposed.”
I can’t argue with what you BELIEVE. But can’t any of his doubters acknowledge that it’s POSSIBLE they can be wrong and the only way to find out is to let him play?
If we really pass on Chapman I guess I’m okay with it. With Kevin Towers in our front office now, I have a little more confidence in our evaluations of unproven pitchers.
I mean, we’ll never know if he was pro or con Chapman, but if we pass I’d assume someone in the front office with a lot of power didn’t love the kid for some reasons.
I’m actually looking forward to seeing some of the minor league free agents we start picking up pitching wise. Towers has to have input on those moves.
If he finds diamonds in the rough like he did in SD, he’ll be a very valuable weapon since Cash is not the greatest pitching evaluator.
Fan poll:
2010 breakout/CY candidates
a)Cano
b)Joba
c)Phil
d)D-Rob
e)A-Rod
f) Other
g) None of the above
GB
I agree on Sublett and Adams. I’ve seen them both and they both can really hit. I’m surprised Adams isn’t listed in the Yanks top 20 prospects and Corban Joseph is. Adams is much better. Sublett has pretty good gap power which should develop more as he continues to fill out and is a very patient hitter. As for Crawford, he has pretty good power and would hit quite a few home runs in YS, ala Damon. I really hope Yanks get him next year.
bottom line
January 8th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Big mistake to let Chapman go to Boston.
They’re building a system of high quality chips they’ll be able to use for what they need in deals over next few years. Yanks now have little as bait. Is there any doubt if Yanks fail to land Chapman they’ll spend way more than $20 million on free agent relievers over next few years?
————————————————————
Bottom Line Boston, please list all of these legendary chips you have. Even Colin Curtis hit better than Lats anderson. They have a few good pitching arms, but, there’s going to be a lot of wild pitches, because Boston forgot to draft and sign catchers.
“Crawford 4/52″
If Crawford can get done for 4/$52M, he’ll be a Ray for the next 5 years.
***Lars Anderson***
i am a doubter but i am still hoping gardner can become a quality player. its POSSIBLE we can be wrong.
Frank-
Taylor for wallace was interesting trade.
I think Taylor is better.
you think tampa is shelling out 13M per year for a player?
i seriously doubt that…
Chip, you really think Bleich will be ready to be the starter in 2011 over some of the other mL pitchers?
I think that he’s got a shot. It will come down to a competition between him, McAllister and Nova – I’m picking him as the darkhorse of the group.
I think that if Joba moves to the pen this year then that’s it for him as a starter.
As for the payroll – and I can’t believe we’re talking about this before the 2010 season
– Subtract Johnson, Javy and Andy. Factor in 35 – 40 mil for Jeter & Mo and add in contracts of:
Crawford 4 years 40 mil (based on what Chone Figgins signed for)
Lee 6 years $120 mil (based on the contract Roy Halladay signed)
Chip, you keep making comments about Gardner, but you fail to recognize the importance of defense, which is a given for Gardner that it will be excellent. As for offense, Gardner OPS before his injury was .754 and for the year was .725, do you feel that he will not be able to keep his OPS at .725 if he gets 450? Is there a chance he improves on that? What OPS would you expect is he gets 450 AB’s or so?
I think crawford will get the yankees lf special deal like damon and matsui did. 4/52.
I dont think lee gets 6 years because he is already in his 30s.
I think he is just one or two years younger than Halladay and does not have nearly the track record. Leee will have to settle for the 4-5 year max at 18-20M. If he is to be a yankee, no way the go 6 years on him.
I can’t argue with what you BELIEVE. But can’t any of his doubters acknowledge that it’s POSSIBLE they can be wrong and the only way to find out is to let him play?
Stucky – I admit I could very easily be wrong. I was wrong last year when I didn’t think that the combo of Melky and Gardner would work. That said, my thing isn’t that Brett Gardner shouldn’t play, it’s just that I want insurance in case he can’t play and I don’t think Reed Johnson is it. I thought the Yankees made a mistake in 2008 when they didn’t pick up a veteran arm to back up Hughes and Kennedy and I don’t want to see that happen again with the LF spot.
Is it me, or does that team look like it can beat the mets?
crawford may re-sign with the Rays
don’t forget this
I saw that Baseball America give the Yankees draft a 2.63 GPA for their 2005-2008 drafts. You all will be delighted to know the Red Sox were given a 3.50.
I know everyone will scream how all the publications are pro Red Sox and anti Yankee, but is it just possible the farm is not as good as we fans think it is. It concerns me that at least one of our top ten farm system players, such as Heathcott, has hardly played professionally. A high school graduate with no experience better not be one of your best hopes,in my opinion. If Vizcaino is far away, what is Heathcott?
I do hate to see Chapman go elsewhere when he would be, at worst, our 2d best prospect. It seems to me the Yankees can afford to take the admitted risk more than other teams. To say the Yankees will just wait until he is a free agent is just silly. The last left handed hard throwing signing was about 20 years ago. I don’t think they should wait another 20.
“you think tampa is shelling out 13M per year for a player?
i seriously doubt that…”
Sure. Burell’s money alone positions them to do that fairly easily. I just don’t think $13M does it for Crawford. But if it does, the Rays can do it quite easily.
Boras: “We built a great stage here. There’s a chance for this rocket to take off.” #RedSox
___
What does this mean exactly? What rocket? we? Beltre is not the difference maker in the AL east boston may be convinced he is although with the 200 ft wall in lf, his average should jump 50 points.
Burrell’s deal turned into a mistake for them. they arent paying 13 M.
austinmac:
the yankee farm is fine. And will be even better when Kontos and others return from injury
Is this what you all have been discussing re: Gammons? Just found on mlb.com
=============================================
“Yankees GM Brian Cashman wasn’t afforded the opportunity that Theo Epstein was when he took over the Red Sox, in that they were still playing for the model. Epstein has always balanced what he calls “the bridge” — between the immediacy of having to contend and being competitive every year, which is building the farm system and investing a lot in scouting. I think it really paid off for the Yankees this past year on both levels. They did it both ways: They pared a lot of payroll, then they added the big names. They’ve also done a great job developing their farm system. That’s where a lot of these small-market teams can’t compete. If you took probably the two best prospects in Boston’s farm system, both were guys they were able to draft. Casey Kelly they were able to pay $3 million to, Ryan Westmoreland $2 million. If you’re the Kansas City Royals, you can’t pay Ryan Westmoreland $2 or $3 million in the fifth round. He’s probably one of the best prospects in baseball, certainly the best in Boston’s organization. And that scouting and development, some of the big-market teams are figuring that out now, and using that even more as an advantage. That’s too bad. I don’t have the solutions. I’m guessing that for all revenue-sharing has done, it pains the commissioner to see the dichotomy.
I don’t think there’s any question that the Yankees have been winners this offseason. Javy Vazquez is a tremendous pitcher. Curtis Granderson gives them defense in left field. You put Vazquez and Granderson in there with Derek Jeter and Mo Rivera and you just keep building that core of real character, that’s important.”
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
JohnC
January 8th, 2010 at 10:17 am
GB
I agree on Sublett and Adams. I’ve seen them both and they both can really hit. I’m surprised Adams isn’t listed in the Yanks top 20 prospects and Corban Joseph is. Adams is much better. Sublett has pretty good gap power which should develop more as he continues to fill out and is a very patient hitter. As for Crawford, he has pretty good power and would hit quite a few home runs in YS, ala Damon. I really hope Yanks get him next year.
————————————————————
Because of NYYs glut of middle infielders in the system, they moved Sublett to the outfield early last year. He’s a good line drive hitter with good speed. Adams is pretty much the same. His power showed up after being promoted to Tampa. Daniel Brewer is possibly a special bat. Another line drive hitter, but, hasn’t shown a lot of power yet.
The next power bat in the outfield is Neill Medchill at Staten Island. Deangelo Mack is a good looking young player. The biggest power bat is Melky Mesa but, he is so raw and undisciplined, he’s hard to guess. He has speed, power and a great glove at three outfield spots.
Can someone explain to me why the Yankees don’t seem to have interest in Jermaine Dye? He could be a good fit in the OF next year if he’s willing to shift to LF. Consistent year after year.
“I think Taylor is better.”
Wallace is definitely the better bat, but word is he’s a likely DH unless his defense improves by about 500%.
Taylor is the better athlete and can play a position, so overall he brings more to the table skill-wise.
Rishi:
nice article.
aside from that, Joh Heyman and Gammons are going to force Yankees management to play Granderson in LF ??? As they are the only 2 dupes reporting this
There are no free agents that are long-term contract worthy. To avoid a slow start next spring, Yanks need to beef up the outfield ==> sign Johnny Damon – 2 years snd Reed Johnson – 1 year. Sign Crawford long term in 2011. To round out the starting rotation so you don’t end up with the annual procession of schlocks in the starting rotation, sign Eric Bedard – 2 years with options; Resign Wang. May need to sign Lee in 2011 if things fall apart. I’d make Mauer the priority 2011 signing – he’s a once in a generation talent for the middle of the lineup.
Frank-
I would like to see the Yanks consider lateral trades like that at the AA or AAA level.
Guess it’s rarely done.
I like that Cash sometimes seems to think outside the box.
Enjoy conversing with you.
Chip, you keep making comments about Gardner, but you fail to recognize the importance of defense, which is a given for Gardner that it will be excellent. As for offense, Gardner OPS before his injury was .754 and for the year was .725, do you feel that he will not be able to keep his OPS at .725 if he gets 450? Is there a chance he improves on that? What OPS would you expect is he gets 450 AB’s or so?
Guru – I have no problem with Brett’s defense and understand that run prevention is often as important as run scoring. But Brett’s D is slightly overrated – he has a ton of range but a very average arm.
As for his performance at the dish it isn’t his OPS I worry about (because I don’t expect any power at all from him) but take a look at his ML career (which is about 1 season’s worth of plate appearances)
.256 BA, 34bb, 70k, .325 OBP – that’s far too low. I know his speed makes him a weapon when he gets on base but the problem is that you can’t steal first.
MTU
January 8th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Fan poll:
2010 breakout/CY candidates
a)Cano
b)Joba
c)Phil
d)D-Rob
e)A-Rod
f) Other
g) None of the above
********************
Can I pick h: all of the above.
But I’ll go with a: Robbie the ninja I’m hoping he’ll finally get a Gold Glove this season
Vinny, I’m not worried – I’m just not a fan of the constant merry-go-round in LF.
MTU, assuming the Yankees do not trade Romine or Montero, the younger catchers are way too far away to be able to be used as trading chips.
MTU
January 8th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Yankee-
checking ross’s stats:
looks like he mashes Lefties.
his fielding stats in LF appear to be OK.
Is he available, and what would it take in a trade ?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’ll sign for $1 ! However, my playing days are LONG gone………
Vinny–I do see improvement in the farm, but the depth is catching and right handed pitching. Good place to have depth to be sure, but all the outfield prospects are very far away. One can hardly count on guys in short season ball. Who knows where they end up.
I would like to see a left hander or two with potentially top of the rotation stuff(hence Chapman) and some outfield help. While some magazines may be drinking Red Sox Kool Aid, don’t you think we are drinking Yankee Kool Aid since no publication puts the farm anywhere near the top?
I do hope Kontos and Betances recover. Right now those are just hopes as with any arm injured pitcher. The Brackman first rouind draft choice seems to have disaster written all over at as he is 24 or so in low A and not doing particularly well. I know he too is a recovering pitcher, but what I have read he was no longer throwing in the upper 90s.
I never see these players in person. Even if I did I won’t pretend I could pick who would make it and who would not., but players like Mesa and Deleon don’t make enough contact to suit me.
To give everyone a great laugh this AM, I was watching the MLBN and the news conference introducing Adrian Beltre as a Red Sox.
Theo Epstein was talking about run prevention and said…..
“Adrian may be the best in the history of the game at coming in on balls”
Chip, oh that’s the guy that lied about his age? Ok, thanks for the info. It’s ok if he’s got Mondesi’s hitting ability (though I wonder if he used steriods); hopefully he doesn’t have his personality.
“Burrell’s deal turned into a mistake for them. they arent paying 13 M”
Didn’t turn into a mistake. It was a mistake the minute they did it. Crawford is the face of the franchise. The organization loves him and he’s already indicated a willingness to take a slight hometown discount. Rays have $12M committed to players in 2011. Burrell’s $9M will be replaced by Desmond Jennings, who will cost the Rays $450K.
Rays had a $63M payroll last year, and will be at $70M+ this year. This isn’t the Marlins we’re talking about. They’re paying Crawford $10M this year. Bumping him up to $13M is far from a stretch.
By the way, GB7 was nice enough to teach me how to type.
Betsy -
When I first read that the was a young Mondesi I rolled my eyes – then I remembered that before coming to NY Mondesi was actually a very good player.
“Adrian may be the best in the history of the game at coming in on balls”
I hope he gave Fangraphs credit for that quote.
Didn’t turn into a mistake. It was a mistake the minute they did it. Crawford is the face of the franchise
__
Longoria is the face of the franchise.
Looks like the rumor that Texas offered Vlad 7 million is being shot down a little today.
Betsy-
We still have plenty of pitching chips at AA and AAA.
Chip, you keep making comments about Gardner, but you fail to recognize the importance of defense, which is a given for Gardner that it will be excellent. As for offense, Gardner OPS before his injury was .754 and for the year was .725, do you feel that he will not be able to keep his OPS at .725 if he gets 450? Is there a chance he improves on that? What OPS would you expect is he gets 450 AB’s or so?
Guru – I have no problem with Brett’s defense and understand that run prevention is often as important as run scoring. But Brett’s D is slightly overrated – he has a ton of range but a very average arm.
As for his performance at the dish it isn’t his OPS I worry about (because I don’t expect any power at all from him) but take a look at his ML career (which is about 1 season’s worth of plate appearances)
.256 BA, 34bb, 70k, .325 OBP – that’s far too low. I know his speed makes him a weapon when he gets on base but the problem is that you can’t steal first.
===========
Chip, his first year numbers take that down and his track record shows improvement at every stage after adjustment. last year he showed improvement as well. Sure with Gardner his OBP is of more importance because he can turn his singles/walks into doubles. As I have said in the past, his OPS is about .780 when you take the SB’s into account. Combined with his defense (which you say is overrated but don;t show reasons for it “average arm?) which will save a lot of bases over the average guy he will be fine.
Also, if he is playing, I think he should be in CF
People keep talking about Gardner like he is Molina at the plate and that is not correct.
“When I reload my banter gun, I’ll be hunting you down.”
i’m ready for you. just bought a new vehicle:
http://www.tusentakk2.com/imag.....utside.jpg
Frank -
On its own you’re right – signing Crawford for 13 mil wouldn’t be a problem, but the issue is that Tampa has other issues to deal with:
In addition to Crawford, Carlos Pena is also a FA and I believe Matt Garza and BJ Upton are in line for big raises.
They cleared some payroll in the Kazmir and Iwamura deals, but I still don’t think they have enough money to deal with all of those issues, and they have a lot of depth available in terms of outfielders so that’s why Crawford could be the odd man out.
Of course the most likely scenario if Tampa doesn’t think they can keep Crawford is that they trade him this July if they fall out of it early.
I’d like to see if the Yanks could look into Jermaine Dye, against right handed picthing…292 av/ 380 OBP/near 500 slugging. Could platoon for either DH with Johnson or leftfield. His homers last season was much higher for righthander pitchers for some reason.
If his cost goes down, I wouldn’t mind taking a flyer on him.
“Adrian may be the best in the history of the game at coming in on balls”
___
And Ellsbury is the best at poking balls the other way.
GLove, the Yankees clearly like Chapman, but all he seems to care about is getting to the majors as quickly as possible. I would not want this kid in this organization, knowing that we either (a) rushed him just to make him happy or (b) didn’t rush him and he became disgruntled. Most teams seem to think he’s going to need at least 2 years before he’s really ready to be a MLB pitcher. I suspect Chapman is going to find out the hard way that it’s not so easy to pitch up here.
As to pitching, Cash seems to have found pretty good arms in Phil, Joba, Robertson, etc……
erin-
yes you can.
My 2 picks are:
Cano – CY
and
Joba- breakout
For Dye vs. righties. we have people to hit against righties. they are looking for hitters who can hit well vs. lefties to spell Gardner if he struggles and even granderson every so often.
People keep talking about Gardner like he is Molina at the plate and that is not correct.
People also talk about Gardner like he’s a young prospect who has a ton of upside and that’s not correct either.
Again, I’m not saying Brett can’t play
I’m just saying he should a) have to earn a spot in the lineup and not have it handed to him, b) it would be in the best interest of the team to have a viable option as insurance and c) that there are a couple of players still available who have shown that they can play regularly at the major league level and would represent an upgrade over Gardner.
I’ve been away on vacation and am just catching up so maybe someone can explain to me why the Cardinals gave Holliday that crazy contract. Weren’t they the only team in on him?
What was it Boras was waiting for? Just one stupid owner?
And there it was in front of his face the whole time.
Marty Noble was just on MLB network explaining why Robbie Alomar did not get his HOV vote.
1. Didn’t always play hard on the Mets. (who does?)
2. He’s the only player to ever spit on an umpire.
The Tragic Loogie.
Hawk on why is OBP was low.
“I wasn’t a table setter. I was a table clearer.”
Sounds pretty good but don’t you kind of have to get a hit to “clear the table”?
Randy-
That ain’t gonna be enough.
GB has been pullin 18 G’s in his new F22,
AND
using remote weaponry to strafe and bomb opponents.
You better upgrade fast !
I haven’t read through all the comments, b/c I just came in from shoveling snow.
But it seems to me that if injuries never happened, Chien-Ming Wang would not be on any free agent team, because he’d still be a Yankee…
Betsy – Romine wasn’t built in a day January 8th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Vinny, I’m not worried – I’m just not a fan of the constant merry-go-round in LF.
MTU, assuming the Yankees do not trade Romine or Montero, the younger catchers are way too far away to be able to be used as trading chips.
—————————————
Betsy,
Are you actually a fan of anything. You are the biggest chicken little i have ever seen. THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING. Get a grip.
austinmac
January 8th, 2010 at 10:39 am
By the way, GB7 was nice enough to teach me how to type.
————————————————————
If you’re bragging about learning to type from me, you must lead a pretty miserable life, Mac.
randy l.
January 8th, 2010 at 10:43 am
“When I reload my banter gun, I’ll be hunting you down.”
i’m ready for you. just bought a new vehicle:
http://www.tusentakk2.com/imag…..utside.jpg
————————————————————
Thanks, Randy. That’s the perfect vehicle for rabbit hunting.
GB7–We are all a bit miserable today in Austin. But aas a TCU graduate, I was already unhappy. Can we start spring training now?
Coach, deal with it. I refuse to have prove my fanhood to you……..and your comment has absolutely nothing to do with what I posted.
Betsy,
LF is not, and has not been a merry-go-round.
SS for the Red Sox has been a merry-go-round.
“That ain’t gonna be enough.
GB has been pullin 18 G’s in his new F22,
AND
using remote weaponry to strafe and bomb opponents.”
mtu-
he’ll still stick his head out a window of the F22 and try to get me with his blunderbuss.
he’s old school.
“aas”=as. See, I told you GB7 taught me.
Chip:
They do have some arb cases, but there’s a lot of wiggle room too. If it comes down to keeping Pena or Crawford, I think it’s Pena who loses that numbers game. Big thing about Burrell coming off the books and likely being replaced by a 24 year old high end prospect is that the $8.5M gap in their respective salaries would in effect cover a $3M raise for Crawford and a couple of arbitration bumps. I think they’ll have the room for Crawford at that price if they want to. But, as I said earlier, I don’t know that $13M would be enough to keep him.
“Can someone explain to me why the Yankees don’t seem to have interest in Jermaine Dye? He could be a good fit in the OF next year if he’s willing to shift to LF. Consistent year after year.”
Dye is a worse defensive outfielder than Damon and he’s not really that consistent at the plate. He’ll hit 25-30 HR’s but you really aren’t getting much elsewhere. He may have been a DH option but NJ fits what the Yankees like better.
————————————————————
GB: “Bottom Line Boston, please list all of these legendary chips you have. Even Colin Curtis hit better than Lats anderson. They have a few good pitching arms, but, there’s going to be a lot of wild pitches, because Boston forgot to draft and sign catchers.”
Colin Curtis? Who wasn’t he even picked up for %50K by any of 30 teams in the Rule 5 draft? And please don’t add Boston to my name — my only connection is intimate knowledge of just how hateful a management and fan base they have there.
As to BOston’s ability to trade, I do believe they’re now in much better shape than NY. Bard, Bucholz, Kelly, Westmoreland — that’s a pretty decent group. Yankes made their moves, traiding farm inventory this winter. Boston still has room to make moves. If they get Cashman, it makes some of their other talent that much more expendable. A lot of compacency on this board about Chapman. You’re right about one thing, GB– Boston has catching problems.
Read an article yesterday how K-Long was working with a number of Yanks on hitting…A-Rod, Swish, Granderson, others…interesting to note that he’s not working with our “starting LF”???…Unless they think he’s already a perfect hitter…or perhaps he is NOT our starting LF. Hmmmm….
That “fictional” team could beat the Mets.
austinmac
January 8th, 2010 at 10:53 am
GB7–We are all a bit miserable today in Austin. But aas a TCU graduate, I was already unhappy. Can we start spring training now?
————————————————————
I was ready for ST on 7 November.
As for your typing skills. You need to stop blamining me. My suggestion is to get a dog or have twins. They’re perfect for blaming things on.
If they get Chapman (I meant)
9:30am: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Rangers offered about $5MM for Vlad.
” My suggestion is to get a dog or have twins.”
gb7-
a little off topic, but is there such a thing as identical twin dogs?
i figure that since you have both in your life you might know.
MTU
January 8th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Yankee-
checking ross’s stats:
looks like he mashes Lefties.
his fielding stats in LF appear to be OK.
Is he available, and what would it take in a trade ?
—–
The Marlins always look to get back young pitching under control. They also need a catcher so Romine would probably get their attention though Ross might only be a 1 yr player for the Yanks if they are set on Crawford and they might not want to give up too much to get him. He is cheap as far as contract goes and would be a good player for us. I could see us keeping him for more than 1 yr if he does well and we don’t go after Crawford.
Chip
January 8th, 2010 at 10:47 am
People keep talking about Gardner like he is Molina at the plate and that is not correct.
People also talk about Gardner like he’s a young prospect who has a ton of upside and that’s not correct either.
Again, I’m not saying Brett can’t play
I’m just saying he should a) have to earn a spot in the lineup and not have it handed to him, b) it would be in the best interest of the team to have a viable option as insurance and c) that there are a couple of players still available who have shown that they can play regularly at the major league level and would represent an upgrade over Gardner.
===============
I don’t think he is being given anything, if he stinks in spring training the Yankees will look more toward other options, but defense and speed don’t slump as much as hitting and he can give us defense and speed that is far better than anything out there. Cashman is looking for the correct cheap lefty hitting OF as insurance, as a pinch hitter and a starter for platoon reasons.
There isn’t much out there that is an upgrade over Gardner IMO and none of the options are worthy of spending money on to be a regular OF. Not only that you stunt the possible growth with Gardner and for what?
GB7–I have two dogs and was married to a twin. As I recall, the twin did the blaming. The dogs are more understanding.
bottom line (yank)
January 8th, 2010 at 11:00 am
————————————————————
GB: “Bottom Line Boston, please list all of these legendary chips you have. Even Colin Curtis hit better than Lats anderson. They have a few good pitching arms, but, there’s going to be a lot of wild pitches, because Boston forgot to draft and sign catchers.”
Colin Curtis? Who wasn’t he even picked up for %50K by any of 30 teams in the Rule 5 draft? And please don’t add Boston to my name — my only connection is intimate knowledge of just how hateful a management and fan base they have there.
As to BOston’s ability to trade, I do believe they’re now in much better shape than NY. Bard, Bucholz, Kelly, Westmoreland — that’s a pretty decent group. Yankes made their moves, traiding farm inventory this winter. Boston still has room to make moves. If they get Cashman, it makes some of their other talent that much more expendable. A lot of compacency on this board about Chapman. You’re right about one thing, GB– Boston has catching problems.
————————————————————
Buchholz and Bard are no more part of the farm system than than Hughes and Robertson for NYY. Instead of drooling over the Boston farm, try looking at the yankee system. All I said about Curtis was that he had as good a season as the legendary Lars Anderson. That’s not saying much.
I think the performance of the 2010 outfield as a whole will dictate whether or not the Yankees go after Crawford or Worth in 2011.
The Yankees will have to resign Jeter and Mo next year and will likely go after 1 high $$ FA arm.
Will there be enough $$ left to go after a high $$ FA outfielder too? Not if they want to stay under 200mil.
Remember Grandy gets a nice raise for 2011 along with other plays already signed through 2011.
austinmac
January 8th, 2010 at 11:06 am
GB7–I have two dogs and was married to a twin. As I recall, the twin did the blaming. The dogs are more understanding.
————————————————————
That has to be rough, married to a twin. I can picture her beating on you and yammering all day long, and when she gets tired, she brings in a replacement to take over until wifey gets a second wind. I’m so ashamed for my not letting you blame me. It’s probably the first time that you’ve ever gotten to vent.
Ray-
let’s just add him to the list.
Would they take a B pitching prospect for him ?
randy l.
January 8th, 2010 at 11:04 am
” My suggestion is to get a dog or have twins.”
gb7-
a little off topic, but is there such a thing as identical twin dogs?
i figure that since you have both in your life you might know.
————————————————————
I was never that interested to get close enough to the dogs to find out, Randy.
on gardner…i think he should be givin a chance to play. with his speed he only needs to get on base just enough to be very valueable. his D is also above average and hes got great range. however, we have seen gardner play at times when he looks lost at the plate. i believe given enough ABs he may struggle at times but if he can get through them and learn he can be a decent player. because of the uncertainty that gardner brings i think we do need another OF as insurance…Nady if healthy would be the best option. followed by Damon. whatever the yankees do in LF i just hope that they dont bench gardner a majority of the time because he wont be able to grow and improve as a player and we may never know how he turned out. also his speed is just exciting to watch and it really is game changing.
on 2011, i think the yankees #1 priority should and will be a starter. pitching wins championships. i would love to see Lee in pinstripes as i think he really found himself the last couple of years and has proven he can pitch on the big stage. i wouldnt mind brandon webb either, but we’ll see how he rebounds from missing almost all of last year.
a rotation of CC, Lee/Webb, AJ, Hughes, and whoever is incredible, especially if hughes progresses and becomes a solid starter.
also im not a huge fan of carl crawfish, but hes a talented player. as long as we dont give him some large, lenthy contract id be fine with it.
I wouldn’t trade Romine for Ross. I’d rather move Romine to left field and put him on the 25 man roster first. I like Ross but, not that much.
People stop worrying about possibly free agents for next year. Many things can change. What Gardner becomes Brett Butler? What if Crawford signs with TB? What if Mauer is available?
The bottom line is that the Yanks should not be wasting draft picks, minor leaguers or money on things they don;t need right now. Let’s let it play out and you would be surprised who becomes available if they need something at the AS break.
I think getting Granderson was a very good move. He should not play against lefties, but he is a stud against righties. Gardner is fine in CF (or LF) for now.
getting Vazquez was a good move.
letting Damon go was a good move
Letting Matsui go was an idiotic move for 6.5 mil as his Japanese money pays for himself, however, the Yankees responded perfectly in getting NJ who will be much better than most people here think. OBP machines in front of your boppers is a recipe for success. I also believe he will hit 15 HR’s this year
“I hope he gave Fangraphs credit for that quote.”
Frank, Fangraphs actually said that?
Granderson is an everyday player. We have a good hitting coach who will help him get back to respectibility against lefties.
GB-
“That has to be rough, married to a twin. I can picture her beating on you and yammering all day long, and when she gets tired, she brings in a replacement to take over until wifey gets a second wind.”
Like a wrestling tag-team.
Focusing on Gardner and debating how good he is misses the point.
Right now, the Yanks have 3 outfielders you can count on to be in a major league uniform come opening day. There are substantial questions about 2 of them:
1. Can Granderson hit lefties well enough to be in the lineup every day against them?
2. Is Brett Gardner good enough offensively to play every day?
Between those two questions, there is a definite need for a right-handed OF who can at least start against lefties and preferably can play every day if need be.
The Yanks don’t have that guy yet, and until we get him it is ridiculous to spend all this energy debating how good BG will be. Once we get that guy, then the Yanks can sort it all out on the playing field.
do in LF i just hope that they dont bench gardner a majority of the time because he wont be able to grow and improve as a player and we may never know how he turned out. also his speed is just exciting to watch and it really is game changing.
___
gardner was benched this year because he was becoming an automatic out and everytime melky came in, he got a hit. We cannot wait a year to allow gardner to learn to hit, thats what the minors and the pirates are for.
Randy-
I would recommend a personal hovercraft to keep up with GB’s
arsenal.
Great for quick getaways by land or sea.
Randy-
And twin ALBINO dogs would be the most rare.
Folks,
Granderson is an everyday player. He is an All Star elite CF. He is not a platoon player. How many lefties do you think he is going to see?
GB7–The tag team twin “blaming” was really not the tag team I imagined. Oh well, long ago. Does this mean I can still blame you for my typing? I suppose proof reading might be a good idea for me.
I think Hughes and Robertson are quite equivalent to the Sox duo. I noted that Gammons described Buchholz as a potential 2 or 3 starter. I believe Hughes is that or better. I see him as a more likely quality starter than Joba. I hope they both meet or exceed our expectations.
Robertson had remarkable success last year. I admit to being a bit surprised. If he can continue that and one of the young starters becomes the 8th inning guy, I see an excellent pen.
Wave-
For all we know Hoffman might be that guy.
Cheap RH’ed insurance would be good.
gardner was benched this year because he was becoming an automatic out and everytime melky came in, he got a hit. We cannot wait a year to allow gardner to learn to hit, thats what the minors and the pirates are for.
–
We waited 3 years for Melky?
“Frank, Fangraphs actually said that?”
Pretty much, yeah.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs.....-to-boston
“Granderson is an everyday player. He is an All Star elite CF. He is not a platoon player. How many lefties do you think he is going to see?”
Quite a few. Especially in middle and late inning high leverage situations. 30% of Yank PA’s came against lefties last year.
Quite a few. Especially in middle and late inning high leverage situations. 30% of Yank PA’s came against lefties last year.
–
So about 180-220 PA’s vs lefties. All K-Long has to do is even him out a bit. NYS will help certainly.
tex’s friend
January 8th, 2010 at 11:19 am
Granderson is an everyday player. We have a good hitting coach who will help him get back to respectibility against lefties.
===========
based on what? His career is not respectable against lefties (actually it is BAD), but this feeling that our hitting coach is so much better than anyone else’s is kind of silly. Sure he could make some adjustments and maybe he notices something nobody else did, but that would be VERY fortunate if that was the case. Granderson had his WORST year against lefties last year so he isn’t showing signs of improvement, but even if you take his lifetime OPS of .614 against lefties (which is better than his last 3 years OPS against lefties of .570) what kind of epiphany or improvement can you really expect? Moving up 50 OPS points would be a really huge improvement? Is that reasonable? Maybe we are lucky enough for him to have his best year ever against lefties and he play to a .740 OPS against lefties, with his defense that would be OK, but is that better than others would do? Probably not?
I don;t understand this leap of faith that Granderson will all of a sudden do something he has not shown he can do in almost 700 PA’s to date?
yet, many of the same people don’t think Gardner can reproduce what he just did last year at the plate? Doesn’t make any sense to me.
austinmac
January 8th, 2010 at 11:26 am
GB7–The tag team twin “blaming” was really not the tag team I imagined. Oh well, long ago. Does this mean I can still blame you for my typing? I suppose proof reading might be a good idea for me.
I think Hughes and Robertson are quite equivalent to the Sox duo. I noted that Gammons described Buchholz as a potential 2 or 3 starter. I believe Hughes is that or better. I see him as a more likely quality starter than Joba. I hope they both meet or exceed our expectations.
Robertson had remarkable success last year. I admit to being a bit surprised. If he can continue that and one of the young starters becomes the 8th inning guy, I see an excellent pen.
————————————————————
I imagine trying to convince wifey and sissy of your idea of a tag team was about as successful as convincing people on this board of the true value of Posada and Cano to the Yankees.
“So about 180-220 PA’s vs lefties. All K-Long has to do is even him out a bit. NYS will help certainly.”
If K-Long can do all we fans hope he can do, he is vastly underpaid.
Wave Your Hat
January 8th, 2010 at 11:20 am
Focusing on Gardner and debating how good he is misses the point.
Right now, the Yanks have 3 outfielders you can count on to be in a major league uniform come opening day. There are substantial questions about 2 of them:
1. Can Granderson hit lefties well enough to be in the lineup every day against them?
2. Is Brett Gardner good enough offensively to play every day?
Between those two questions, there is a definite need for a right-handed OF who can at least start against lefties and preferably can play every day if need be.
The Yanks don’t have that guy yet, and until we get him it is ridiculous to spend all this energy debating how good BG will be. Once we get that guy, then the Yanks can sort it all out on the playing field.
==========
Hoffman is supposed to be that guy and he plays very solid D as well. he is supposed to be good against lefties. Sure this is unproven, but the Yanks will get one more guy as well as you can’t go into the year with 4 OF’r with the questions you posed.
“Vinny–I do see improvement in the farm, but the depth is catching and right handed pitching. Good place to have depth to be sure, but all the outfield prospects are very far away. One can hardly count on guys in short season ball. Who knows where they end up.
I would like to see a left hander or two with potentially top of the rotation stuff(hence Chapman) and some outfield help. While some magazines may be drinking Red Sox Kool Aid, don’t you think we are drinking Yankee Kool Aid since no publication puts the farm anywhere near the top?
I do hope Kontos and Betances recover. Right now those are just hopes as with any arm injured pitcher. The Brackman first rouind draft choice seems to have disaster written all over at as he is 24 or so in low A and not doing particularly well. I know he too is a recovering pitcher, but what I have read he was no longer throwing in the upper 90s.
I never see these players in person. Even if I did I won’t pretend I could pick who would make it and who would not., but players like Mesa and Deleon don’t make enough contact to suit me”
——————————————————
austin:
you make intelligent points.
to me, i feel very comfortable/confident with the NYY farm for a few factors. Specifically, i believe the system is headed upward. The appointment of a very respected scout (forget his name) last year. The addition of a new crosschecker. The addition of Kevin Towers.
despite the injuries, i love the pitching depth. Cashman has balanced the depth skillfully, with trades (to prevent losing personel via Rule 5). Personally, am expecting Jesus Montero to be the next Miguel Cabrera. And then we have the next catchers in line
as long as Oppenheimer is in charge NYY will make intelligent selections via the draft. Unless Hal Steninbrenner restricts the yankees spending in the next draft, then my outlook of the system will remain positive. As SJ44 have mentioned the organization is really clicking on all cylinders. NYY only needs to continue to be aggressive in the June draft and persist in making key IFA signings (montero, sanchez, sosa, etc) and the system will gravitate to the top. The scouting personel is in place
They can’t platoon both Granderson and Gardner unless they sign 2 right hand hitting outfielders. They aren’t going to play Gardner over Granderson.
Mac, Robertson turned out to be what Melancon is thought to be. He was impressive all season long. I think NYY will regret losing Phil Coke, too.
You’re correct in matching Hughes/Robertson with Buchholz/bard. If not in pure stuff as far as Bard and Robertson goes, at least in the fact that they both get the job finished, even if it’s in a different way. Hughes and Buchholz are very much alike.
gardner was benched this year because he was becoming an automatic out and everytime melky came in, he got a hit. We cannot wait a year to allow gardner to learn to hit, thats what the minors and the pirates are for.
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C’mon, stop with the hyperbole. Melky’s adjusted OPS was less than Gardner’s after you take into account SB’s so as offensive players Melky was not better and most definitely didn;t get a hit every time. This is pure BS
Granderson is going to be given the opportunity to fail against most LHP. The key is to remove in late inning high leverage situations.
“We have a good hitting coach who will help him get back to respectibility against lefties.”
Can’t go back to a place you’ve never been. Hopefully Long can help some, but it’s not as though others haven’t tried.
Either way, I’m sure the fanbase will be happy with what Granderson provides.
“They can’t platoon both Granderson and Gardner unless they sign 2 right hand hitting outfielders. They aren’t going to play Gardner over Granderson.”
Well that all depends. If after 2 months CG has an OPS of .550 against LHP and BG has an OPS of .675 or .700 vs lefties, they sure might play Gardner over Granderson vs lefties.
Vinny-
How about this thought.
Pair Towers and our Mexican Scout.
Towers selects the pitchers, and other guy picks the hitters.;)
gardner was benched this year because he was becoming an automatic out and everytime melky came in, he got a hit. We cannot wait a year to allow gardner to learn to hit, thats what the minors and the pirates are for.
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Not quite. Melky came up as a necessity the first time, and last year he was sent to the minors and this year he came in when gardner choked it.
Dont really see your waiting three years for melky idea?
gardner was benched this year because he was becoming an automatic out and everytime melky came in, he got a hit. We cannot wait a year to allow gardner to learn to hit, thats what the minors and the pirates are for.
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Until the end of May, Melky had the highest average on the team, .325 or something. So yes, in that regard, he was worth more than stare at strike three gardner who lost his job three weeks into the season.
If Dave Duncan (Cardinals, pitch coach) couldn’t help Mulder after his TJ surgery, and the Cardinals let him go, why is he considered an ace? Wouldn’t he be just above Mitre?
Boy am I tangled in baseball boredom.
Its January 8th and the time in which pitchers and catchers reports seems so far away even if it really isn’t.
All this LF hoorah is boring too. The best player we could hope to get, IMO, is still Johnny Damon on a one year contract. If we can’t get him, we might as well sign a cheaper option like Hairston and platoon him with Gardner. Our offense should be fine otherwise.
Wave, if after 2 months then that may be the case but I don’t think the Yanks are planning on playing Gardner very much against lefties to start the year so I doubt we’ll ever know that. Sounds like they will either platoon Gardner or find a replacement for him all together from the start.
Are people really talking about Mulder to the Yankees on here?
Give me a break.
So you are going to bench your good defensive CF 6 or 7 hitter, because he may see a lefty late in innings….im glad you are not in control of this team….
The Mad Prince in Pinstripes
January 8th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Boy am I tangled in baseball boredom.
Its January 8th and the time in which pitchers and catchers reports seems so far away even if it really isn’t.
*********************
I hear you. I always say January is the worst month because spring training is right around the corner, but it just seems SO far away! It’s the never-ending month. lol
kc just signed podsednik, now trade a pitcher (gaudin) to them for dejesus
“As for his performance at the dish it isn’t his OPS I worry about (because I don’t expect any power at all from him) but take a look at his ML career (which is about 1 season’s worth of plate appearances)
.256 BA, 34bb, 70k, .325 OBP – that’s far too low. I know his speed makes him a weapon when he gets on base but the problem is that you can’t steal first.”
Chip you’re smarter than this. No, he’s not a 22 year old kid, I get that, but MOST players need time to learn at the major league level. Guys like Jeter and pujols are RARE exceptions.
His ML experience equates to more like 2/3rds a year for an everyday player and lumping the numbers in together is a little unfair as well. Context is always important, and he improved demonstratively from ’08 to ’09.
You’re expecting him to be fully formed after 350 ab’s and letting his first 150 ab’s skew the figures.
He went from like a .582 OPS in this first 127 abs to a .724 in his next 250, which again, repeats a clear career pattern, progressing at every level.
You’re simply not giving Brett Garnder the same consideration every and any ML player should get on this first 600 abs. Give him another 200 abs to see if he can add .025 more points to his OPS, at which time with his speed could equate to around a .800.
If THAT’s not good enough for the 9 hitter, then there is something WAY outta whack.
GB7–Just realized today, timely enough, is my twin 38 year anniversary. And you have had much more success convincing others of Posada and Cano than did I. Truthfully, my common sense let me keep such ideas to myself.
“kc just signed podsednik, now trade a pitcher (gaudin) to them for dejesus”
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tried to. MLB The Show wouldn’t let me make the trade.
blake-
The way I see it, unless the Yanks get 2 more outfielders, one of which can play center field, if it turns out CG doesn’t hit lefties the Yanks will eventually be forced to give Gardner a try in CF vs lefties.
(does the game have a ‘fair trades’ option?)
Anyone notice there’s been radio silence on Ben Sheets across baseball? He was the flavor of the month on the blog before the Vazquez deal. I still wonder whether he can actually throw right now. You’d think that if he could,and was willing to demonstrate it, someone like the Mets would be on him like white on rice.
Erin,
I think what makes it worse is that all my other teams are either done for the season or relatively hopeless.
Oregon Ducks lost the Rose Bowl…ouch (albeit a great season)
Portland Trail Blazers are plagued with injury
Raiders aren’t in the playoffs (no surprises here)
Oregon basketball will be mediocre at best
The Yanks are my diamond in the rough that is my sports team landscape.
“So you are going to bench your good defensive CF 6 or 7 hitter, because he may see a lefty late in innings….im glad you are not in control of this team….”
It’s called pinch hitting, but if you prefer an automatic out, that’s your choice.
off topic: Matt Holliday has a pointy head. He needs to put on a cap
“The way I see it, unless the Yanks get 2 more outfielders, one of which can play center field, if it turns out CG doesn’t hit lefties the Yanks will eventually be forced to give Gardner a try in CF vs lefties.”
Could be, I’m hoping Granderson can improve to respectability against lefties. He does that then we really have something.
In general, college kids hit the majors at a more advanced age than high school kids. Please don’t forget that when throwing out someone’s age.
“off topic: Matt Holliday has a pointy head. He needs to put on a cap”
Maybe that’s why he chose to play baseball?
(new post)
Frank,
Interesting you bring up Sheets.
I love the stand that teams seem to be taking with free agents.
Olney is right that the Cardinals are toolboxes for paying as much as they did for Holliday when they were clearly bidding against themselves.
Sheets wants $12 million a year? That guy has had non-stop injuries his entire career and just had elbow surgery a year ago…why should any team pay any more than $5 million for that guy with incentives?
But watch, someone will pony up the cash…some silly franchise like the Orioles or Rangers will dump cash on that guy.
Hopefully Damon will come down to earth but as much as I’d still love to have him back on a cheap one year deal, I think we’ve moved on. I am fine with that.
m
That is true to an extent, but it is mitigated by the amount of time a player spends in the mLs.
austinmac
January 8th, 2010 at 11:48 am
GB7–Just realized today, timely enough, is my twin 38 year anniversary. And you have had much more success convincing others of Posada and Cano than did I. Truthfully, my common sense let me keep such ideas to myself.
————————————————————
Mac, since nobody has ever accused me of having common sense, I feel that I’m safe. Happy anniversary, Mac. Condolences to your wife.
If I misread that, Happy Birthday to your dream tag team.
“gardner was benched this year because he was becoming an automatic out and everytime melky came in, he got a hit. We cannot wait a year to allow gardner to learn to hit, thats what the minors and the pirates are for.”
This is what it means when someone says “a little knowledge is a very dangerous thing”.
Tex, this is a undeniable fact, but you’re conclusion is ridiculous.
If Gardner not hitting for 1 months is relevant, how can the TWO months he OPS’s to the tune of about .930 not be?
I understand your answer is probably because YOU BELIEVE April is the REAL Gardner and May and June was not, and you have every right to. But that has no place in a ARGUMENT.
That’s cherrypicking data out of context to support your pre-determined conclusion.
And by the way, the Yanks DID afford having Texeira OPS .738 for April and Cody Ransom OPS something just north of .500 the SAME month.
You might want to ease back on the hyperbole.
blake
January 8th, 2010 at 11:35 am
They can’t platoon both Granderson and Gardner unless they sign 2 right hand hitting outfielders. They aren’t going to play Gardner over Granderson.
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So you would just play a guy who is a much worse hitter (and not a better fielder) against lefties just because you “can’t” do it?
“So you would just play a guy who is a much worse hitter (and not a better fielder) against lefties just because you “can’t” do it?”
No, I think they will give Granderson every opportunity to improve against lefties because doing that would make him maybe the best CF in baseball.
I don’t think they will sit him until he has shown over a long span of time that he just can’t hit lefties and never will. Also, they will likely platoon Gardner from the git go or replace him altogether so Gardner’s numbers against lefties may never build enough data to be significant.
I’d just like to add if Brett Gardner OPS’s .725 next year, even forgetting (for same of argument) that his speeds enhances that (some 30-50 points), he’ll STILL likely be one of if not THE top 9 or 8 hitter in MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.
But of course, having the best 9 hole hitter in baseball isn’t good enough for Yankee fans.
Afterall, their 1-8 line-up is so mediocre, they need all the extra help they can get.
Not sure how so many “fans” can completely discount or fail to understand the very simple notion of CONTEXT.
“I’d just like to add if Brett Gardner OPS’s .725 next year, even forgetting (for same of argument) that his speeds enhances that (some 30-50 points), he’ll STILL likely be one of if not THE top 9 or 8 hitter in MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.”
True statement….but there is an “if” in there.
Yes, there is an “if”, and *I* put it in there
.
That said,
(possible best 9 hole hitter in game) / ($500k salary) + (not spending 7-figures for a marginal replacement) * (the elements he brings to the table like speed and defense) = a worthy 2 month proposition.
Looks like a worthwhile equation to me.
“(possible best 9 hole hitter in game) / ($500k salary) + (not spending 7-figures for a marginal replacement) * (the elements he brings to the table like speed and defense) = a worthy 2 month proposition.
Looks like a worthwhile equation to me.”
I agree, they need another outfielder though in case 1) Gardner doesn’t work out 2) someone gets hurt
I don’t believe anyone is handed a job in the bigs. yes some seize an opp and perform. It becomes more of a matter that it is their job to lose not that it is handed to them. The opp can be handed but I believe it is earned in some manner. From then on do it or lose it seems to be the case.
stuckey January 8th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
But of course, having the best 9 hole hitter in baseball isn’t good enough for Yankee fans.
Afterall, their 1-8 line-up is so mediocre, they need all the extra help they can get.
Not sure how so many “fans” can completely discount or fail to understand the very simple notion of CONTEXT.
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Been harping this point since the whole “Gardner is the worst player ever” talk started. Don’t get why having Gardner in LF (where he’d be a defensive plus) and in the #9 hole is such a hot button topic. If Gardner in LF, batting 9th is the make or break for the team, the team has a lot more issues than Brett Gardner in LF.
It’s a non story, but some Yankees fans (those that loved George’s wild spending ways, it seems) want them to break open the checkbook and buy everyone, just because.
Anybody freaking out about Gardner should remember who got the majority of the LF starts in ’98 – the immortal Chad Curtis
That team did OK….
Think we have a chance for either Reed Johnson or Randy Winn?
Yes.