Chapman to Cinci
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Jan 10, 2010 
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Throughout the Aroldis Chapman speculation, there was always a sense that no one had a great feel for where the young lefty would end up. Turns out, the Reds were willing to pay absurd money.
Not exactly a team that ever seemed to be at the top of the list, but clearly the Reds’ scouts like what they’ve seen.
Some now speculate that Chapman might be more of a closer than a front-of-the-rotation starter. Whatever his fate, there is a great deal of risk in signing him. There’s risk in every prospect, but this one comes with huge money. It’s rare that an international player gets this much attention, and the attention won’t stop now that he’s signed.
One way or another, this is not the last we’ve heard of Chapman.
I think the Yanks missed the boat on this one. Cashman paid $45MM to get Igawa and Chapman is a far better prospect. The Yanks wouldn’t feel the $30MM if they lost it.
nice, now $30M is nothing, just take a $30M flyer, it doesnt matter if it’s wasted….
I don’t get the agita about the Yankees deciding not to spend $30 million on a pitcher who they obviously liked a lot, but who they also thought was going to require time to refine his game. The kid wants to get to the majors as quickly as possible- his timeframe does not jibe with the Yankees, or likely the Sox as well. How can these teams promise him anything? They’d be looking out for his best professional interests by taking their time with him…….not to mention their own interests. The Reds don’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to developing pitchers. The Yankees had their reasons for not pursuing Chapman that strongly and until we find out what the Hendricks brothers were demanding, I will not criticize them. In fact, I won’t criticize them anyway as they know more about this kid than I do.
that’s bad logic. just because igawa failed doesnt mean you go spend more on Chapman or anyone else who is unproven. And ou dont know how they would react to losing 30M. Pavano took 40 M and we didnt win a title in any of those years….
For Cashman $30MM is nothing – He has blown more then that before and survived. Plus, what Cincy and other teams beleive is that Chapman is the real thing. When Cashman threw the money at Igawa the best that was said was that Igawa could be a #5 starter. Unless Cashman beleives Chapman will not be a dominant pitcher this makes no sense from Yanks point.
BETSY is correct on the main issue. The Yanks may not feel that Chapman is as talented as other teams beleive. They met him and may feel he doesn’t have the heart to succeed. I would think Cashman knows something bad and that was the reason he made mo bids. All I was saying is $30MM will not affect the Yanks and not offering it must mean Cashman doesn’t beleive Chapman will be a asset!
hearing #reds believe chapman can start in the majors in not-too-distant future. for $30 mil, that better be the case
about 1 hour ago from web
From Jon Heyman….
Well, that opinion differs from the Yankees and many other teams.
It appears that no other team thought that had $30 Mil of the “real thing” to sign him. If he does, he’ll be a FA in 6 years if he signed an MLB contract.
Also from Heyman:
some teams found chapman to be unpolished, immature. #reds must love him however. $30 mil buys a lot of skyline chili
about 2 hours ago from web i think the #reds are cracked giving aroldis chapman $30 mil. there, i said it. (good job by yahoo’s passan on story, tho)
about 2 hours ago from web #nats were said to be in on chapman ’til the end. $30 mil is a lot, only $2 mil less than contreras, who was proven.
about 2 hours ago from web this will be quite a gamble for the #reds, who allegedly had budget restrictions … a $30 million gamble.
about 2 hours ago from web cuban lhp chapman is nearing a deal. jeff passan of yahoo first suggested reds for $30 mil. ndeed, there are hints it’s cincy
about 3 hours ago from web
Igawa was probably the biggest mistake in Cashman’s time in NY and I am sure he wants a do over. But that doesn’t mean he should use that as a measuring stick for all future international free agent deals. With the posting fee Igawa cost a lot more than Pavano and was, as frighting as it sounds, a bigger bust than Pavano.
I for one hope Chapman does well for the Reds. If he had ended up in Boston or Toronto etc, I would hope for a complete failure, but I like to see a guy that has defected from the lunacy of Cuban baseball and managed to established himself as a free agent go on to do well. That may sound pathetic, but I see the human story behind this, and you can say what you want about his rumored character issues, I hope he turns out to be a big star for the Reds.
Yankfan, that’s not what I said. The Yankees obviously liked his ability, but they (like a lot of other teams) thought he was not close to being Major League ready (hence why Mark Newman said he’d start in A or AA). I never said the Yankees questioned his heart.
Why do people keep bringing Igawa up? Cashman has said many times that he learned from Stick Michael that you don’t shy away from making bold decisions because of a mistake or two. The Yankees obviously liked Chapman, but they had reservations……..like a LOT of other teams. This had nothing to do with Igawa.
Nice catch, but he loses style points for not using his helmet.
5 years at 30mill with total payout spread over a larger no. of years. Seems like low risk high reward if true.
Give credit to Art Tellum for getting Matsui 6.5 million right off the bat……There were two teams he wanted to play for, The NY Yankees, and the Anahiem Angels…..Wasted no time, now the salaries are dropping steadily….
Anyone else getting camera clicking noice when you refresh this sight. Pretty annoying.
noise not noice
30 mil for a big ?
What you see isn’t always what you get.
Once Chapman transitions to organized ball, he’ll be a factor in 2 years…..However, 30 million is a lot dough for him….He does have lightening in that left arm….
I think Chapman really turned them off during Game 6 with the Angels.
I think this because they almost immediately went back to their original plan of signing more IFA’s. Whenever we get the announcement, we’ll see where they put their money AFTER meeting with Chapman.
Betsy
Skyline chili reference….nicely done. It sucks, though.
Damon back to the Bronx?
11:22AM ET
Johnny Damon | Yankees
Top Email
Johnny Damon is still looking for a new home after seemingly pricing himself out of a return to the New York Yankees.
Not so fast. ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney writes today that “some executives with other teams are absolutely convinced that Damon will wind up back with the Yankees.”
Buster cautions that the Yankees are under the assumption that Damon is going elsewhere, so “he’s probably going to have to pick up the phone and make it happen, and soon.”
Atlanta has been mentioned as a possible destination and that would be fine with Damon, according to today’s Boston Globe. Other reports say the Giants also have interest.
Did Chapman drink out of the finger bowl in the Steinbrenner suite???
He double dipped.
I’m glad Chapman went to the Reds. If he becomes a huge star, it won’t hurt the Yankees and they can just try to sign him when he becomes a FA at 26 yrs old.
Maybe he asked Cashman for a happy ending.
Besty
Here’s a few reasons for Cashman to be leary iif pitchers.
Contreas
Pavano
Irabu (pig)
Igawa
What actually happened was the Yanks thought he was going to throw a bullpen for them and when he and his agent arrived, they refused to throw. Then I don’t think the Yanks were able to get an individual appointment to see him later.
Phil the Thrill
January 10th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
He double dipped.
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Chapman taking lessons from the George Costanza playbook?
Chapman may be a starter for Cincy soon, but when will he pitch in the Majors? :0
An absurd signing. Yanks have been burned at least three times on expensive foreign pitchers (Irabu, Contreras, Igawa). Now it’s Cincy’s turn to learn a hard lesson.
Reds 30M Chapman, just when it looked like Mozeliak was the only stoopid fool!
Ease up on Irabu! He was an emotional wreck when it was revealed that he was not of pure Japanese lineage. A trailblazer in his time.
Attn Mr J Damon: 718 293 4300. I’m expecting your call. Be prepared to gravel.
Good evening, all.
1. Whatever the reason – immaturity, refusal to work out for Cash and coaches, needing a lot of work, stealing the silverware from the luxury suite – the Yankees decided that they weren’t into paying over $30M for a lot of speculation. So, they go in a different direction. We’ll see how Chapman develops. The Yankees’ franchise will survive.
2. One of the biggest reasons for problems in life is miscommunication and faulty assumptions. If Johnny Damon wants to come back to the Yankees, he needs to pick up the phone, and pull an ARod. And he better do it fast, because there’s no guarantee even if he does that. If Jerry Hairston signs first, it’s over.
Whether it’s Damon’s doing, or Boras giving bad advice, but Johnny has not handled his situation in this market well. Not at all.
If pavano, contreras and igawa didnt flop/happen, Chapman would be in pin stripes.
Brian $$$$man, I thought the Yankees and Damok were PARTING ways.
Gravel? Does Cashman need work on his driveway?
Chapman gets double what Strasburg got. Insanity.
Just continues proving that the draft needs to be overhauled.
Nothing posted on the jeter wedding?
The Yankees off season is almost finished:
Sign Hairston and Johnson
OR
Sign Damon
OR
Sign Damon and Hairston.
Let’s get er done.
Jeter’s wedding last thread chatter, also http://www.huffingtinpost.com carries an article.
Assuming that the contract details are correct at $30 mil for 5 years, a player option, spread over 10 years, that’s not really crippling.
1 Chapman = 15 Montero’s
No more crippling than Igawa spread over 5 years. Still hurts.
Good luck to him.
The Johnny Damon 6-6 Yankee Classic from 6/7/08 was on YES this afternoon. Is YES trying to give us a hint????
AS
January 10th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Nothing posted on the jeter wedding?
************************
Check the last thread.
Erica -
That was a great game for Johnny D wasn’t it??
Doreen
January 10th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Erica -
That was a great game for Johnny D wasn’t it??
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YES!!!!!! LOL (and a great game for me as well
)
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
January 10th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
The Johnny Damon 6-6 Yankee Classic from 6/7/08 was on YES this afternoon. Is YES trying to give us a hint????
*********************
Well, we know how you spent your afternoon.
Erica
Kermit is on AFV
Tarheelyank
January 10th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Erica
Kermit is on AFV
**************
I do not know what AFV is
Erin
January 10th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
January 10th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
The Johnny Damon 6-6 Yankee Classic from 6/7/08 was on YES this afternoon. Is YES trying to give us a hint????
*********************
Well, we know how you spent your afternoon.
******************
I only watched the last hour. I spent the afternoon at my aunt’s house. I won my very first mahjong game today!!!!
Tarheelyank
“1 Chapman = 15 Montero’s”
Ill take Jesus Montero the best hitter in the minors over Chapman anyday
America’s funniest video’s silly.
Erica,
you Asian?
ed – 2010 season is right around the corner
January 10th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Erica,
you Asian?
***********
Nope. Not at all
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
January 10th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
I only watched the last hour. I spent the afternoon at my aunt’s house. I won my very first mahjong game today!!!!
*************************
Cool! I’ve never played (mostly because I don’t know anybody that knows how to play). But I know from Annie Hall and Seinfeld that it involves tiles. LOL
At least we have one entertaining game this weekend. Playing kinda like a video game, but still…
Tarheelyank
January 10th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
America’s funniest video’s silly.
**************************
I used to watch that when I was a kid because Bob Saget was on. LOL
I might check it out now if The Frog is on.
Erica,
ah okay. mahjong is the best Asian gambling game there is.
Derek Jeter just signed Minka Kelly for 5 yrs/$30M with an option year.
The defense’s from the Cardinals and Packers secondarys is pathetic
Erin
January 10th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
January 10th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
I only watched the last hour. I spent the afternoon at my aunt’s house. I won my very first mahjong game today!!!!
*************************
Cool! I’ve never played (mostly because I don’t know anybody that knows how to play). But I know from Annie Hall and Seinfeld that it involves tiles. LOL
*****************
This was only my second time playing. My grandma was a mahjong warrior. She used to drag my dad and my uncle to the beach club in rain so that she could play her daily game. One of my cousins on my mom’s side is really into it so she wanted to teach me the game so she could have more people to play with. I thinkt he game is in my blood cause I picked it up very quickly. Its basically tiles and a lot of complicated rules
ed – 2010 season is right around the corner
January 10th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Erica,
ah okay. mahjong is the best Asian gambling game there is.
**************
Yeah, I love anything where there is a chance of winning money. But we play a penny a point. Not exactly high stakes
lol it’s ok Erica, it happens
Jeter will have a water tight pre-nup
Damon was taken for a ride by Boras. The market has continuously dropped with the money that Adrian Beltre and Vlad Guerrero accepted. Damon should now consider himself lucky to get a 1-year deal for $4-5M.
He’s now close to tapped out of teams that would need his services.
“Jeter will have a water tight pre-nup”
Sure. What good marriage doesn’t?
1 Chapman @ 30M
or
10 Gary Sanchez’s @ 3M each
19 Montero’s @ 1.6M each
42 Banuelos/Vizcainos @ 700K each
???
This is a really big TV night. Return of Chuck (two hour special) and Big Love. With the help of my DVR I will attempt to pack 4+ hours of TV into just over 3. Can it be done???
The Jeter weddign rumor made it to Yahoo-
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....;type=lgns
I’m in trouble…I bet one kidney on Green Bay and the other un the under-90.
Erica AFV and The Muppets are big hit at my house.
Erica -
You should be able to do that easy. Each hour comes to 40-45 minutes on the DVR…
Tarheelyank
January 10th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Erica AFV and The Muppets are big hit at my house.
**********
That should be a big hit at ANY house!
Wow the defenses of the Packer/Cardinals are an disgrace
rodg12
January 10th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Erica -
You should be able to do that easy. Each hour comes to 40-45 minutes on the DVR…
***********
Except that its 4:15 minutes of recording time. And Big Love is commercial free. So really there are only 30 minutes of commercials to skip. This should realistically be 3:30 of viewing I will try to do in 3. And this does not allow any breaks.
Wow Rackers misses from 34 yards
“This should realistically be 3:30 of viewing I will try to do in 3. And this does not allow any breaks”
3.5 hours of TV? When the hell do you find time for a pretend boyfriend?
Neither team should go on with the way they are playing this game. Brutal.
2 interesting shows:
Jersey Shore (Snooki! We got us a “Situation” lol)
Celebrity Rehab (with Dr. Drew)
“Jersey Shore (Snooki! We got us a “Situation” lol)
Celebrity Rehab (with Dr. Drew)”
You do realize that once your IQ points are lost, there’s no getting ‘em back, right?
Frank
January 10th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
“This should realistically be 3:30 of viewing I will try to do in 3. And this does not allow any breaks”
3.5 hours of TV? When the hell do you find time for a pretend boyfriend?
******************
My pretend boyfriend is very understanding
Frank
January 10th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
“Jersey Shore (Snooki! We got us a “Situation” lol)
Celebrity Rehab (with Dr. Drew)”
You do realize that once your IQ points are lost, there’s no getting ‘em back, right?
*********
Proven fact: MTV Makes you stupider
Hope Nick has the over in this defensive debacle in the desert.
Cards win on a defensive touchdown.
The irony.
Until some of my HBO shows come back (Hung, Bored to Death, and hopefully CYE), I only have Brothers and Sisters on Sunday nights. I miss the Sundays when I had more than one show on.
Well that didn’t take long. Since the real season’s over, I didn’t watch a minute of that game.
But, I’m glad that AZ won.
Frank
January 10th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Cards win on a defensive touchdown.
The irony.
*******************
Darn, I was hoping Green Bay would take it. I wanted the drama of a potential Packers/Vikings matchup.
I have no financial stake in the AZ/Pack game, and I have no dislike for either organization….
Why was that last play not reviewed??????
This league is a mockery and joke of a league.
His arm came forward; it very well could have been a Tuck Rule situation…
How the play not even get reviewed?
The only reason the Jeter wedding rumor seems like just that – a rumor – is that the suggested wedding date is just too close to the world series, parades down the Canyon of Heroes, etc.
that report is def false cuz jeter wouldnt get married so close to the world series esp if we are in the ws. also he would get married in tampa in by his huge mansion not some spot in li.
also that date would be my bday so…
““Jersey Shore (Snooki! We got us a “Situation” lol)
Celebrity Rehab (with Dr. Drew)”
You do realize that once your IQ points are lost, there’s no getting ‘em back, right?”
——————————–
“If hating is your occupation, I probably got a full time job for you” – The Situation
and its johnny damons bday also
Azaz
January 10th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
that report is def false cuz jeter wouldnt get married so close to the world series esp if we are in the ws. also he would get married in tampa in by his huge mansion not some spot in li.
**********************
It’s been suggested that it could be his sister’s wedding-supposedly she’s engaged
while no longer much of a fan of the site. I HIGHLY suggest checking the front page of nom@@S.org
“His arm came forward; it very well could have been a Tuck Rule situation…
How the play not even get reviewed?”
I don’t think the ball ever hit the ground. If it’s plucked out the air, there is no issue.
maybe rachel uchitel can organise some girls for jeters stag do
Erin
January 10th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Until some of my HBO shows come back (Hung, Bored to Death, and hopefully CYE), I only have Brothers and Sisters on Sunday nights. I miss the Sundays when I had more than one show on.
**********
Would you like to borrow some of mine? Sunday night Chuck for 2-hours is throwing me all out of whack. I had to sacrifice Cold Case cause Chuck, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters all have priority. I am watching the later viewing of Big Love
The ball never hit the ground?
Guess I missed that.
“The ball never hit the ground?”
Nope.
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
January 10th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Would you like to borrow some of mine? Sunday night Chuck for 2-hours is throwing me all out of whack. I had to sacrifice Cold Case cause Chuck, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters all have priority. I am watching the later viewing of Big Love
************************
Wow. That’s a lot of TV for one night. You have to love HBO in these situations. If you miss the first showing, just turn in for a later one!
Is NBC going to keep Chuck on Sundays? It’s usually on during the week, right?
I just went back and looked. It kicked up in the air off of Rodgers foot as Rodgers was going down, and right to Dansby.
LOL
The NFL is still a joke of a league.
Erica
What’s been going on recently in Big Love?
Erin
Chuck goes back to Mondays. Tonight is a special.
CR9-
Tonight is the season premiere, so if you haven’t seen it since last year you haven’t missed a thing!
Erin-
Yes, CR9 is right. There is another hour of Chuck tomorrow which is its normal time. I love that HBO is so flexible with its scheduling. Especially since I just cancelled my HBO on demand. I never used it at all and just couldn’t justify the extra money I was spending on it
CR9
January 10th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Erin
Chuck goes back to Mondays. Tonight is a special.
*************************
I see. Thanks!
I am a huge believer in karma and was thinking today that Serena Roberts actually did us a favor by outing Arod because it forced him to own up to what he did. I’ve always believed that the Yankees paid a steep price for the sins of Roger Clemens and anyone else who may have contributed to the steroid edge. I also thought that the Suxers were going to have a little payback time to put in due to the outing of the fertility drug/milkshake tandem. Not a good idea for Ortiz to continue to deny.
Then there’s Bill Belicheat and those “innocuous” videos.
I thought about Pete Abe today, and how he went after Arod with a vengeance – and posters with whom he disagreed also. I think he crossed the line on more than one occassion. Then I thought about how his fortunes tanked along with those of his favorite team – though he might be happy working for the Globe and closer to home. But I would think it had to be a comedown to leave with two weeks left to the season, only to go to a peashooter of a clubhouse and cover a team whose fortunes parallelled his own. And then today, I was thinking about him when his beloved Pats tanked. Now his surliness surely didn’t cause the demise of the Sux or the Pats. But still I think that unhappiness visits those who cause the same, in some form or another.
That’s my existential contribution for the day!
I posted this earlier, but will say it again.
Im not sure what the haste is in us not wasting 30 mil, on a kid with big upside, but is a long ways away. Yankee fans have shown with Joba and Phil that they are not patient with developing young pitchers. We have our own high end prospects that we have control of for much cheaper, and so many of you are ready to send them to the bullpen because of “struggles” in their young pitching careers. If we had signed Chapman and he struggled, are we going to put a 30 million dollar piece in the bullpen because we dont have the patience to develop them. I have said it before and I will say it again, no bullpen piece is worth more than 30 million dollars if it is not named Rivera.
#
ee. Thanks!
# trisha – OPPC forever – (new lucky picture from last day at the old Stadium) BRING ON THE GHOSTS! January 10th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
I am a huge believer in karma and was thinking today that Serena Roberts actually did us a favor by outing Arod because it forced him to own up to what he did. I’ve always believed that the Yankees paid a steep price for the sins of Roger Clemens and anyone else who may have contributed to the steroid edge. I also thought that the Suxers were going to have a little payback time to put in due to the outing of the fertility drug/milkshake tandem. Not a good idea for Ortiz to continue to deny.
Then there’s Bill Belicheat and those “innocuous” videos.
I thought about Pete Abe today, and how he went after Arod with a vengeance – and posters with whom he disagreed also. I think he crossed the line on more than one occassion. Then I thought about how his fortunes tanked along with those of his favorite team – though he might be happy working for the Globe and closer to home. But I would think it had to be a comedown to leave with two weeks left to the season, only to go to a peashooter of a clubhouse and cover a team whose fortunes parallelled his own. And then today, I was thinking about him when his beloved Pats tanked. Now his surliness surely didn’t cause the demise of the Sux or the Pats. But still I think that unhappiness visits those who cause the same, in some form or another.
That’s my existential contribution for the day!
=============================================================
Like your take on it, Trish. Pete always wanted Arod on his team, nothing like a jilted lover.
Tricia, Happy New Years ( belated of course ) …When do you intend to be a regular again ???? There’s some new folks here that I look forward to you meeting ….
Thanks Mick! I definitely think that what you put out you get back, one way or another.
What goes around , comes around.
Hi Pat M – and very very much the same to you, my good buddy! I’m not quite sure about when I will be coming back again for the long haul, whether it will be sooner rather than later. I think I was so elated about this season that I didn’t feel much need to do anything but sit back and wait for the next season to begin! I was around more in the off season last year but I think that was because we were still waiting to get that prize again, and so I was more interested in taking a look at our aquisitions.
I admire those of you who have the tenacity to do the entire year on lohud but I think my needs are less to talk about stuff in the off season (again, maybe now that we have won it all) and more to be there like the endless cheerleader once the fun begins! But I will definitely be back. I also wanted to be able to catch up on life outside of baseball, and the WS win enabled me to do that with a clear head!
You guys are always in my heart though, know that. Most of my posts end up being drive-bys, at least for now. So I post and run. Will check back a little later though as I have to make a market run right now.
How are you feeling, by the way? Are things going better for you with your legs? I really hope so!
XOX
Pat M – I hope your wanting me to meet new people is meant in a good way and not a challenging way. You know that karma is a beach!
trisha – OPPC forever – (new lucky picture from last day at the old Stadium) BRING ON THE GHOSTS!
January 10th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Hi Pat M – and very very much the same to you, my good buddy! I’m not quite sure about when I will be coming back again for the long haul, whether it will be sooner rather than later. I think I was so elated about this season that I didn’t feel much need to do anything but sit back and wait for the next season to begin! I was around more in the off season last year but I think that was because we were still waiting to get that prize again, and so I was more interested in taking a look at our aquisitions.
I admire those of you who have the tenacity to do the entire year on lohud but I think my needs are less to talk about stuff in the off season (again, maybe now that we have won it all) and more to be there like the endless cheerleader once the fun begins! But I will definitely be back. I also wanted to be able to catch up on life outside of baseball, and the WS win enabled me to do that with a clear head!
You guys are always in my heart though, know that. Most of my posts end up being drive-bys, at least for now. So I post and run. Will check back a little later though as I have to make a market run right now.
How are you feeling, by the way? Are things going better for you with your legs? I really hope so!
XOX
——————————————————-
that was very sweet of you
can’t wait til the season starts
you are missed here
Well Tricia, for all the crap that comes your way, I can understand the time-out needs……You do add spice and flavor to the LoHud for certain…..Betsy has been a target this winter, but she’s tougher now than she was a few years ago…….Well does Johnny come marching home or not ??? And what about Gardner in left ???? I’m off to the pool for some laps, then a steam bath……Always glad when you pop in, regardless of our differing point of views……
Don’t put all the blame on Pete. How many emails did he receive from baby acting poster, who’s feelings got hurt when posters wrote something they didn’t like, and wanted him to babysit to blog?
Pete hated the repeated demand for the registration, because he needed volume for advertisers.
Hey all!
Pat M, I just laugh when at the few folks that spend their time obsessing over me; I love it that I get them all frustrated, lol.
I just came home from a lovely dinner with Fran; we went to this Indian/Chinese/Thai place a few minutes from my house. We were there for over 2 hours, so we definitely hit it off, lol. She’s just as nice in person as she is on the blog – a really wonderful lady.
Chuck is on NBC NOW!
Tricia
Or is it Trisha? You know what they say about old dogs. Good to hear from you. Very funny post by the way. I had very similar thoughts today.
Trisha
Promise when you come back you will cut Posada some slack!!!
Betsy,
Thanks. I enjoyed meeting you as well. You are a very nice person. And I like reading your posts
My wife is catching up on old Bad Girls Club episodes on DVR so I come here seeking refuge and I’m reading about Chuck, Big Love and Chapman? I guess it could be worse, she could be catching up on old Jersey Shore episodes
I love how some people are freaking out about this chapman thing…
This would have been a HUGE risk. HUGE.
We have a bad track record with this type of signing.
And plus…he went to the Reds.
I don’t know if there is a single team in the baseball that has less of an effect on the Yankee’s fortunes.
Lets just be thankful he’s not on one of the other AL contenders and be done with him.
Chapman went for money now. He’s only going to be 26 when the contract ends. THEN IF HE’S been good he’ll want a ring, like Halladay. No big deal for the Yankees not having him. Wang still needs a home.
I said the same thing Nick D….
I think you guys are missing this: It will take Chapman at least 2 years to fully establish himself in the majors. BEst case scenario he becomes a top starter or elite closer for the reds. HOwever, when his 5 year deal is over he will only be 26 and if all the hype is true, he will be on the same level as the pitchers his age now- ie what felix, lincecum, and cain are now. IF this is the case, he will not want to stay in cincinnati, a franchise that will probably not have accomplished much in these 5 years. he will be looking to get paid and if he works out the yankees could make a move on him. why not just wait till then instead of taking the risk now? wait till you can say he is definitively major league capable or not.
cash made a smart decision here
i dont now and will never understand the pete abe hate here. sure he wasnt the nicest guy in the world, if you met him you could tell that right off. but he made this blog. nobody else did, its not that he was first or had the biggest paper behind him or anything. what made this blog was the fact that pete posted the most information and posted constantly. whether he was a little snarky or had a temper or was a pats fan, it didnt make any difference, this was just the best place to get the most yankees new the fastest. i like chad and sam but they are just keeping up what pete built by doing the same thing he did, but they started out with the huge audience pete built up to begin with.
pete snapped at me several times and i often disagreed with his take on things, but i will never degrade what he did here, he built the go-to yankees spot on the web, and even though he’s gone, it still is.
we are all still indebted to pete.
and too freakin bad about your damn pats, pete, if you ever read this!
Aroldis Chapman is going to find out pretty quickly that playing in Cincinnati, Ohio for the Reds is a huge difference from Havana, Cuba, on so many different levels.
“I love how some people are freaking out about this chapman thing…
This would have been a HUGE risk. HUGE”
You’ve got it all wrong. It’s huge risk for Reds and would have been a huge risk for 28 other teams. For the Yankees? It would have been yet another stroke of Cashman brilliance.
Let’s face it folks. Most of us who post on this blog wanted this young man. Remember? He’s the guy with the talent the Yankees never have the opportunity to draft. Let’s not kill the Reds for being willing to step up to the level it took to get the kid and let’s wish him well.
“I am a huge believer in karma and was thinking today that Serena Roberts actually did us a favor by outing Arod because it forced him to own up to what he did.”
That is what I have thought since the WS ended.
Her book sales were terrible.
ARod won a World Series. Why was he more comfortable this year? Because he no longer had that skeleton in his closet. He could just be himself again.
The only thing I wish would happen is for ARod to hire a large number of private investigators to stake out Selena’s life and to stalk her every move, the way she stalked his.
Trisha
Great take on Arod/Selena
i look at it the other way, the yankees have enough money to pay established mlb stars so they dont have to take a flier on a guy who may or may not turn out to be top flight talent. the reds could never afford a halladay/cc/johan type pitcher, and the kids they’ve drafted have been good but not all-star good. so they have to go out on a limb and risk $30M on the hope that he turns out to be an all-star and they have him on the cheap.
the yankees dont have to operate that way.
All the talk of Pete, I decided to go look at his twitter.
“Belchick’s no-answer answers aren’t acceptable after going two years without a playoff win. He owes fans more than that.
about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck ”
What an ingrate. Belichick lead them to 3 Super Bowls. Cheating or not, 3 Super Bowls is something to be appreciated, especially if his cheating landed them the SBs.
2 years without a playoff victory? He sounds like those “arrogant Yankees fans” that the world despises.
“Let’s face it folks. Most of us who post on this blog wanted this young man. Remember? He’s the guy with the talent the Yankees never have the opportunity to draft. Let’s not kill the Reds for being willing to step up to the level it took to get the kid and let’s wish him well.”
I wish both the Reds and Chapman well, but its a much bigger risk for them than it would have been for the Yankees. If he does turn out to be the star that some feel he will be then the Reds will likely lose him to free agency right when he is reaching his prime. By the same token, if he busts then the Reds have wasted 30 million dolllars and thats much more significant to them than it would be for the Yankees or Red Sox. That said, small market teams sometimes have to take such risks because they can’t afford the top talent as a finished product.
I would have loved to have him but for 30 million dollars I’m glad the Yankees let another team take the risk to develop him.
It’s $30M spread over 10 years, and maybe less than $30M, depending on the player option. That’s not going to be a significant financial risk to anyone.
It’s a blue light special compared to what the Yankees paid for Igawa’s services or Boston paid for Matsuzaka’s.
It’s a blue light special compared to what the Yankees paid for Igawa’s services or Boston paid for Matsuzaka’s.
–
Both those players were established stars in a league that is somewhere in difficulty between AAA and the Majors and were assumed to come with little grooming necessary.
Chapman is a young lefty that has barely pitched, even in international competition or for Cuba.
They are not the same.
Giving Chapman 30 million dollars is like giving Manny Banuelos 30 million dollars.
“What an ingrate. Belichick lead them to 3 Super Bowls. Cheating or not, 3 Super Bowls is something to be appreciated, especially if his cheating landed them the SBs.”
My guess is the cheating, which I’d guess about 32 teams participate in at varying levels, made a difference.
That said, Belichik deserves a little beating for his coaching today and this year in general. 4 second half leads of 10 or more blown this season. Miserable, unmotivated effort today. His non-answers aren’t going to play nearly as well when they aren’t winning.
*made NO difference
“It’s $30M spread over 10 years, and maybe less than $30M, depending on the player option. That’s not going to be a significant financial risk to anyone.”
No, but as others have said the Yankees don’t have to operate that way. The Reds purchased the parts to the Ferrari. The Yankees can wait and see if they are able to assemble it and then make a bid on the finished product in 5 years if it runs.
“No, but as others have said the Yankees don’t have to operate that way. The Reds purchased the parts to the Ferrari. The Yankees can wait and see if they are able to assemble it and then make a bid on the finished product in 5 years if it runs.”
True but then of course the price of the Ferrari will triple.
I knew when Welker got hurt the Patriots were toast. They can’t run the ball and their defense is a shell of what it used to be. Brady can’t throw it to Moss every time.
However, probably the main reason they lost was because of that ridiculous looking tobaggan that Belichik had on.
JETTER IS GETTING MARRIED FOLKS!!! lucky lady is minka kelly!
“True but then of course the price of the Ferrari will triple”.
True, but the risk would be mostly gone as well. I would have liked to see them sign him because 30 million over 10 years is virtually nothing to the Yankees. However, I can understand why they didn’t want to make that commitment to a guy that may never amount to anything.
“we are all still indebted to pete.”
Ham
Not me. LoHud yes, Pete no. Last I checked this has always been the LoHud blog. Not the PA blog.
Don’t get me wrong at times he is a very good writer. I really enjoy his newspaper articles. I still read his “stuff” frequently. I laughed out loud quite a bit when he was around.
BUT, He is also an arrogant, Sox/Pats loving, internet bully. According to him this blog was all about opinion. Well, I really came to detest his opinion on all things related to the Yankees.
For me, it’s as much (if not more) about the people who post here as it is about what’s on top of the page. People like you Ham have made this blog.
Let me ask you something, have you noticed that the amount of trolls has significantly gone down since he left. I believe our biggest troll has also moved on to “greener pastures”
the problem w/Pete was that you always had the sense that you were one sentence away from being banned (which, quite likely, was true).
his acerbic wit is undeniable, but so too is his how incredibly thin-skinned he can be.
“True, but the risk would be mostly gone as well”
More evidence available, but the risk is never mostly gone. Free agent pitchers have always been a hot or miss proposition.
Huff to San Francisco.
Damon’s options diminish even further.
Well spoken xxx and TarHeelYank.
Frank
“My guess is the cheating, which I’d guess about 32 teams participate in at varying levels, made a difference.”
I know that many people actually believe all NFL teams videotaped at some level. For some odd reason, most believe that just to vindicate the Patriots for doing so, because supposedly every other team did it.
I remember ESPN and the Boston loving media during that time…While attacking the Patriots, many “experts” threw that same line out there, that other teams did the same thing.
That’s what they’d want the fans to believe.
Unfortuantely for those Patriots apologists, there was only one team that got penalized for doing so. If the NFL thought more teams did it, would you not think they would investigate it?
I believe that the videotapes clearly helped the Patriots win those Super Bowls, as evidenced by Bill’s career prior to and post videotapes. (You can say they went 18-0 w/o tapes, but look how that finished!)
And I also believe it did, as Roger Goodell destroyed them when they came into his possession. What reason would Goodell destroy them?….
Because they were so damaging, he could not allow them to damage the integrity of the NFL.
Great to see Chuck back. The cast cuts kind of suck as the big ensemble was part of the charm.
Agree there with the Huff signing.
Atlanta? Why take Damon now? To trade Melky back to the Yankees? Why?
Looks like there’s nobody willing to pay $10 million. Looks like there’s likely nobody willing to pay $7 million.
$5-6 million x 1 with a team option 2nd year.
Damon.
Hariston, Jr.
Avoid arb with Gaudin.
End of hot stove.
Damn good team. PS, I’d take Nady for $2 million with incentives if for some reason Johnny does not come to his senses.
Pitt-
Let’s just get er done !
Phil
I cant believe they killed off Emmett!
What did you think of the 2 hour premiere?
“i dont now and will never understand the pete abe hate here.”
Pete was absolutely infuriating with his anti-Arod sentiment. It was absolutely insane – he sounded like a petty high school gossip queen when he was going off about him. Sure, Alex can be frustrating sometimes, but Pete really angered a lot of posters with the hate.
He also banned a lot of people simply because he didn’t like them, not because of content. That’s all fine and good, but in reality he didn’t own this medium of communication and used his “power” over it in a somewhat abusive way. He’s not a bad writer, per se, but he did do a lot of things that a bad writer might do, or at the very least someone who lacks professionalism.
He is in a good place now covering the Red Sox. We’ll just have to see how he treats their arrogant players and whether it’s consistent or not. I doubt it.
The blog has changed for the better. There is no doubt about it. Sam and Chad are incredible in comparison. They don’t post as often, but that is certainly OK. They will get a better feeling for things as time goes by and continue to improve.
Those are my 2 cents
Why are so many people are saying this would have been a no-risk deal for the Yanks….?
A couple mil a year when the guy needs to be developed and isn’t’ contributing right away is NOT chump change.
Sure the Yanks have money but as they’ve shown this offseason, there is a limit.
Not that I dislike what we did this off season but maybe we could have done more if we didn’t have a couple million perpetually sitting in AAA in the form of Kei Igawa. There is 0 guarantee that Chapman would be better or worse than Igawa.
Sure, any team would have been happy to have this kid but at the price and where our organization is i’m glad we didn’t get him.
also
“Let’s face it folks. Most of us who post on this blog wanted this young man. Remember? He’s the guy with the talent the Yankees never have the opportunity to draft.”
This is plain wrong. The Yankees often can draft pretty good guys lower down in the draft because we are willing to pay them. Many MANY times in baseball the smaller market teams are forced to not draft the best player on the board but rather the most “signable.”
The best chance a lot of these smaller market teams have to get better is through international players.
I’m almost happy a team like the Reds got Chapman and we didn’t. As a Yankee fan would I have liked to maybe have had this kid in our system…sure, but as a baseball fan its nice to see a team spend some money to try and improve itself with a big name prospect.
And as much as I dislike the reality of this for baseball…if hes that good if and when he hits the market we’ll have a shot at him.
CR 9
It was pretty good, but they lost some of the energy that they had built up at the end of season 2. The smaller cast is a little tough to get used to. And this inability to use his upgrade is gonna get hackneyed so I hope they don’t overwork it.
My calculation of AAV right now is $193.25 million for 2010 not including any of the league minimum guys.
That leaves $6.75 million if they really are sticking to $200 million.
Damon at $5 million, Hariston, Jr. at 2 million, plus the league minimum guys (really only count Joba, Hughes, Robertson, Aceves, Gardner, Cervelli = $2.4 million, since the rest may or may not play in the majors in 2010) brings you to $203 million.
Get rid of Gaudin and if you don’t count Brackman ($1.25 million), that’s back to $200 million.
Don’t sign Damon, keep Gaudin and count Brackman you’re at $198 million. Sign Nady (or Reed, etc) for $2 million, and you’re right at $200 million.
Interesting. Are they willing to break their number set in “concrete” for Johnny? If it’s 2003, yes. But George is sitting at home in Tampa now. Very interesting.
I’m waiting for Lost in Orlando Johnny Damon Is…
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/l.....0uQRsMuv0H
If Jeter is really getting married (which I’m not yet sure I beleive) maybe Tiger’s troubles wore him down.
Back to Damon. If you vest the crap out of the second year option, it becomes more palatable.
“This is plain wrong. The Yankees often can draft pretty good guys lower down in the draft because we are willing to pay them”
Not saying it’s right or wrong. Just saying that was the prevailing argument among the “we must sign Chapman” crowd.
I still don’t know why some people on the MLB Network would call the Twins the real franchise of the decade. So what if they developed Mauer and Morneau, Santana, and Hunter. Plenty of teams even large market teams developed similar talent besides Santana. And I hate when people say that they are a small market team and that it’s hard for them to compete. Yes they are a small market team but their owner has more money than any large market team (owner).
REPOST: “Agree there with the Huff signing.
Atlanta? Why take Damon now? To trade Melky back to the Yankees? Why?
Looks like there’s nobody willing to pay $10 million. Looks like there’s likely nobody willing to pay $7 million.
$5-6 million x 1 with a team option 2nd year.
Damon.
Hariston, Jr.
Avoid arb with Gaudin.
End of hot stove”.
PittsburghYankeeFan:
I agree with you totally.
There is only one thing I would add:
Sign Chien Ming Wang to a $1.5 Million Minor League Contract that will give him incentives only if he can compete / contribute on the Major League Level – THEN I’d be happy (and I’m sure the Yankees would too, since they’d only add to their payroll if CMW is making contributions on the MLB Level).
Forget the Hairston madness and bring back Damon for one year.
“Both those players were established stars in a league that is somewhere in difficulty between AAA and the Majors and were assumed to come with little grooming necessary.”
Igawa may have been established, but anyone who thought that a pitcher who throws a 90 mph FB up in the zone would translate to MLB needs to re-think.
Igawa may have been established, but anyone who thought that a pitcher who throws a 90 mph FB up in the zone would translate to MLB needs to re-think.
–
He won a Cy Young award in the NPB, he threw faster than 90 MPH, was a lefty, had a supposedly decent changeup and curveball. While the scouts should have recognized certain things, Igawa did not look like a super bust waiting to happen. He wasn’t even signed to be an Ace like daisuke. He was supposed to be a complimentary piece. Pitching location can change, but for whatever reasons Igawa did not have it in him to do it.
I would probably not have posted for Igawa, but I also would not have posted 100 mil for Daisuke either.
That does not change the fact that Chapman is an erratic lefty with mechanical issues and raw talent, and that Daisuke/Igawa were seasoned veterans of a real league with years of experience and national awards pitching at the top of rotations.
Its not worth crying over, be glad the Sox or Angels did not get Chapman. We won’t have to deal with him.
They signed Igawa cause signing Ted Lily would have cost them their first rounder and they felt they were pretty similar.
“He won a Cy Young award in the NPB, he threw faster than 90 MPH, was a lefty…”
Does it really matter what he won? I have never seen his FB average more than 90 mph, and from the time he started pitching in the US, it was pointed out by virtually every observer that in Japan he was able to get hitters out by throwing his FB up in the zone, but that unless you throw in the high 90s, you can’t do it in MLB. So he had a major adjustment to make.
Consquently, I disagree with your conclusion. To me, he had bust written all over him.
Matsuzaka is more complicated. He throws much harder, and supposedly threw the “gyro.” His problem is/was command.
The only link between the two that I can see is that it seems (obviously, I don’t know) that someone in the Yankees’ hierarchy wanted Igawa signed because they thought they had been outmaneuvered by the RS on Matsuzaka.
Anyway, Chapman’s price is far less than either when you factor in the posting fee, but as they say in hoops, you can’t teach height, and in baseball, you can’t teach a high 90s FB.
The Yankees basically print money. Chapman did not require a MLB contract. I think he is precisely the kind of guy that they should be willing to gamble on, especially after losing Vizcaino, IPK, and Dunn.
Granted,it would have sucked if the RS got him, but I still think it made sense for the Yankees to exert their overwhelming financial will.
I’ll save my crying for when they throw money away on Hairston.
Jerkface, The bottom line with Igawa is that he cannot pitch up in the zone like he did in Japan and punch out hitters here in the MLB….
Jerkface, The bottom line with Igawa is that he cannot pitch up in the zone like he did in Japan and punch out hitters here in the MLB….
–
Uh yea, I never said anything in opposition to this fact. Thats why i said, you can change your pitch location, but for whatever reason Igawa did not do that. Either because he wanted to apply his NPB strategy, or he was used to doing it, or he didn’t believe in the process, whatever. And despite ‘pitching up’, his K/9 is still far superior to Wang. 7 K/9 is nothing to scoff at.
I just don’t think there is any comparison between Daisuke/Igawa and Chapman. Chapman is a prospect. His greatest ability so far is possessing ‘stuff’. We have no idea of how he will be able to harness it in a major league rotation pitching every 5th day.
The yankees obviously did not want to spend 30 million to find out. They don’t spend that much on any draftee or IFA, so why go that high on Chapman?
Chapman mey end up in the bullpen when it’s all said and done…….I maybe the only one here who will admit to this, but when the Yanks signed Igawa, I was exctited somewhat……After reading all his accomplishments in The Japanese laegue, I thought he could transition into a 4th-5th starter…..Then you watch hiom go up on hitters only to fall behind and then gets hammered when he cookies a 90 flat fastball……I mean the club gave up on him and he’s done as far as pitching for the Parent club…..He seems somewhat stubborn with his approach to pitching…..
Jerkface, Basically I agree with you is what I’m failing to say…..
Igawa is a flyball pitcher. For whatever mechanical reason, he can’t make the adjustment to keep the ball down. Not every pitcher can sink a fastball.
Igawa is a never could be.
Chapman is a could be.
Matsuzaka is a lot more advanced. That’s why he got a lot more money, especially when you consider the posting fee.
If you spend $46m (with the posting fee) on Igawa, and your revenue streams have significantly increased, you can spend $30m on Chapman, especially since there was no immediate luxury tax issue.
btw, I was extremely angry when the Yankees signed Igawa.
http://sports.espn.go.com/bost.....id=4814996
LOL @ Matsuzaka.
“btw, I was extremely angry when the Yankees signed Igawa.”
Who wasn’t? That price sounded stupid at the time and looks 10x more idiotic in retrospect.
“, but when the Yanks signed Igawa, I was exctited somewhat……After reading all his accomplishments in The Japanese laegue, I thought he could transition into a 4th-5th starter…..”
But do you spend $46m on a #4 or 5? I know that Vasquez is making that sort of money per year (Igawa’s deal with the posting fee is nearly $10m per year), but Vasquez is an established quality pitcher and he’ll be the #3 or 4 on a team that just won the WS.
Pittsburg,
Totally agree with your post and I think that’s probably what the Yankees are looking at. The options are dwindleing away for Damon. Really its probably down to the Yankees and Braves as possible suitors and they supoosedly have about the same money to spend.
They could offer him 5-6 million base Salary with incentives and still come in around 200 million. I think they may view Nady as plan B if Damon doesn’t work out also.
Pat M -
I was a little excited about Igawa as well. Just from reading what he’d done in Japan. He seemed a good risk for a #4 or #5 – a left in Yankee Stadium.
And as far as the cost – you really do have to put it in the “Dice-K” perspective. Matsuzaka got crazy money from the Red Sox – and the Mets also would have out-bid the Yankees. And the Yankees, by all reports, really wanted Matsuzaka and thought their bid would be more than enough. Igawa was the #2 coming out of Japan. He got #2 money – within the frame of the Dice-K stuff. And the Yankees weren’t the only team to bid on him. The Mets, at least, bid pretty close to what they did.
There were two games he pitched that made it seem like he could break through. One he came in in relief. But he could never consistently do what the Yankees needed him to do. We’ll never know what the other complications were, because clearly there were behind-the-scenes stuff – how else to explain a guy getting absolutely buried in AAA? Even with all the injuries to the ML staff, Igawa has never gotten another sniff of the big leagues – not even for a day.
Chapman is clearly a prospect. Igawa was not. Dice-K was not. Igawa and Dice-K were supposed to be fully formed ML pitchers, who may have needed an adjustment period, but not a developmental one. Igawa just failed. And Dice-K has not been what was advertised.
Ugh, I hate this filter.
Doreen, I disagree. Igawa stinks.
Igawa stinks and that is why he has never been recalled – it’s as simple as that. There are no behind-the-scenes raesons – he’s brutal.
As to Chapman, whatever – the Yankees (and apparently a host of other teams) had reservations. They wanted to sign him, but not as badly as the Reds apparently did. I refuse to kill them or criticize them in any way for making a reasoned decision. Heyman tweeted that the Reds think Chapman can make the majors in the not-too distant future and that a lot of teams disagreed. Well, that’s a pretty big thing to disagree on. Let the Reds rush him – it won’t be good for Chapman or for the team. By the way, apparently the 2nd place finisher in this race was the As. The Sox were out, so were the Yankees. The Jays wanted him, but not as badly as did the Reds ….same goes for the Angels. There were plenty of reasons (probably the same one) to not give Chapman $30 million. Just because the Reds did doesn’t make it the right thing. I trust the Yankees.
i remember thinking igawa would be a bust because every scout on the planet said dice was much better & could be a # 2,3 or 4 pitcher with igawa being a # 4 or 5 if all the planets aligned
too much of a risk
pags our old 3rd baseman & his scouting agency talked cash into signing igawa if i remember correctly
Betsy -
I didn’t say Igawa didn’t stink.
I said I didn’t think he was going to stink when he first came.
And I’m not saying he should have gotten another shot – I’m saying we may never know ALL the reasons why he’s never gotten another shot. He’s exceptionally good in AAA. So, he’s got some talent – it’s just not ML transferrable.
And he’s got to have some sort of trouble in the area of being able to make adjustments – which makes him not a good enough pitcher. So, he stinks at the ML level. He’s not an ML pitcher.
I remember when the whole Matsuzaka and Igawa deal was going on. All the analysts were saying that Dice K was gonna be Pedro in his prime in the big leagues and that Igawa would be a solid #2 or 3 type pitcher. People thought the Yankees got a good deal on Igawa compared to Dice K.
Hopefully teams have been burned enough by Japanese pitchers now that that kind of bidding war won’t happen again. They are successful for awhile on deception but after big league hitters see them a few times its bombs away. Plus they have a hard time getting used to the smaller strike zone, the four days rest and are injury risks because they throw so many innings in Japan.
bru -
Thing was, at the time, the Yankees kind of had to take the risk, no? They didn’t really have anyone else.
They could have signed Ted Lily then? Or Meche? Right? Those would probably have been better moves (okay, definitely, in retrospect, they would have been better moves – maybe not even in retrospect
). But at the time, you have a high strikeout guy, a lefty, and you say, what the hey. To me, the thing that made this other-worldly was the hype around Dice-K. There was this whirlwind effect, I think. I think if Igawa came around a year later or even a year sooner, no way he gets that kind of money. But I do think he still garners interest because of his record in Japan.
I think the Yankees were smart not to get caught up in the same kind of whirlwind with Chapman. So maybe that’s the lesson. Take a step back and ignore the hype. I never cared one way or another if they signed Chapman. Don’t get caught up in situations.
I hope the Yankee scout who signed Igawa is no longer a Yankee scout.
Correction: the people who know what they are talking about thought Dice-K would be a #2 type pitcher…the morons at ESPN thought he would be Pedro in his prime, probably because he was going to the red sox.
The fact that all the big market teams, who can afford to place huge gambles, passed on Chapman goes to show you that the majority of scouts project him as a reliever and therefore not worth the money. The Yankees, Red Sox and many other larger teams could’ve afforded to take a risk on Chapman as a starter and have him end up in the pen. The Reds can’t. They need Chapman desperately to work out as a starter or they’re gonna take a big hit. So maybe considering their division and their staff, he’s at least good enough to be a 4 or 5. Given their current collection of starters in the majors and minors, Chapman projects to at least hold his own as an NL Central starter.
Holliday – 120 million.
Aroldis Chapman – 30 million.
Winning the World Series without Holliday and Chapman: priceless.
The Reds are going to be forced to rush Chapman to the big leagues in order to get the most value they can out of him over the next 5 yrs.. I hope they don’t ruin his arm or his confidence in the process.
I mentioned a few days ago about a report a couple of years ago of Igawa’s problems with getting used the the larger, heavier ML baseball. Included is another apparent flaw in his delivery and followed by a November 2006 scouting report on him.
“Igawa’s fastball will usually stay in the 87-90 mph range, but he is able to reach back and throw harder when in need of a strikeout (tops out at 93 mph). Igawa also throws a changeup, which hovers in the 78-81 mph range, and a slider, which he uses primarily against left-handed batters. His changeup has a tendency to be belt-high and in the middle of the plate. This pitch drew a lot of swings and misses in Japan, but it did not have the same success in America. Igawa was known to possess above-average control in Japan, but has a very poor track record of control at the Major League level.
Igawa is also known for his unique follow-through, in which he throws his left leg into the air and return his pitching arm to a high position. Since he does not do this with his off-speed pitches as often as his fastballs, it might become easier for batters to indicate whether a pitch is off-speed or not.”
Scouting report
http://prospectinsider.wordpre.....igawa-lhp/
Igawa was signed on the recommendation of John Cox, who was the Pacific Rim Scouting Director. He also scouted and signed Wang and recommended Matsui.
“Igawa was signed on the recommendation of John Cox, who was the Pacific Rim Scouting Director. He also scouted and signed Wang and recommended Matsui.”
Two out of three ain’t bad.
I remember arguing with SJ44 about Chapman through the summer when he was projecting that the kid might get $ 50 Million and I insisted at the time I would have ZERO interest at half that.
If the Yanks are going to let Damon and Matsui move on how could they turn around and spend that savings on a completely unproven kid with an electric arm?
Unless Chapman wins 50+ games in the majors this is a bad contract. The Yanks need to be more focused on signing one or two of Hairston/Johnson/Thames/Lopez to provide LF and bench support.
GB-
Thanks for setting me straight.
From Yahoo today-
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ru.....mlb,212765
GreenBeret7
January 11th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Igawa was signed on the recommendation of John Cox, who was the Pacific Rim Scouting Director. He also scouted and signed Wang and recommended Matsui.
***************
Let’s all remember the Sesame Street song “Everybody Makes Mistakes”
Towers doesn’t make any mistakes.
Who the heck signed Monstero ?
I recall at he time of Igawa’s signing, I made a wager with a friend that Igawa’s ERA would not be south of 5.00.
I based this estimate solely on the fact that I thought he sort of looked like a guy that was gonna suck.
“Towers doesn’t make any mistakes”
Joakim Soria says hi.
Erin
January 11th, 2010 at 9:12 am
GreenBeret7
January 11th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Igawa was signed on the recommendation of John Cox, who was the Pacific Rim Scouting Director. He also scouted and signed Wang and recommended Matsui.
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Let’s all remember the Sesame Street song “Everybody Makes Mistakes”
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The Muppet Choir always did a great job singing backup with Karen Carpenter and John Denver.
What’s Japanese for “Can Opener” ?
“Igawa”.
Frank-
It was an “attempt” at humor. Even if it was a poor one.
MTU:
My bad.
If you read that scouting report, NYY wasn’t the only team that had good reports on Igawa.
It’s too bad that Eiland wasn’t good enough to fix his problems with telegraphing his pitches and helping to get his changeup down. You would expect a little improvement after two years.
GreenBeret7
January 11th, 2010 at 9:18 am
The Muppet Choir always did a great job singing backup with Karen Carpenter and John Denver.
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They certainly did
GB-
“It’s too bad that Eiland wasn’t good enough to fix his problems with telegraphing his pitches and helping to get his changeup down. You would expect a little improvement after two years.”
I am not a big Eiland fan.
Do we have to worry about Damon’s motivation if he does get signed back for half-price 1-2 year deal? Is he going to feel slighted by the team or be cool with “it’s just business.”
He seems like a cool guy, soft-spoken but confident….not sure how he would take something like that.
Erin
January 11th, 2010 at 9:23 am
GreenBeret7
January 11th, 2010 at 9:18 am
The Muppet Choir always did a great job singing backup with Karen Carpenter and John Denver.
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They certainly did
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Never cared much for Miss Piggy. She was a tart, and well, to put it bluntly, a pig.
GreenBeret7
January 11th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Never cared much for Miss Piggy. She was a tart, and well, to put it bluntly, a pig.
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LOL
How could you not like Miss Piggy??? I sense a karate chop coming your way.
For NYY to get ready for 2010, they really need to make just two more moves. Sign Damon to around a $5.5 or $6 mil contract for one year with incentives, such as silver slugger, gold glove, games started in left field, MVP position and a team option for 2011 if he meets 3 of those goals. The other is to trade for Willie Bloomquist to be the all around utility player/pinch hitter/pinch runner.
Erin
January 11th, 2010 at 9:35 am
GreenBeret7
January 11th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Never cared much for Miss Piggy. She was a tart, and well, to put it bluntly, a pig.
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LOL
How could you not like Miss Piggy??? I sense a karate chop coming your way.
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A hamhock or a pork chop, maybe. mmmmmmm!!!
New post
GB7: I like your plan although I would be Ok with Hairston as the utility guy.
As a last hope, Hairston is ok, but, Bloomquist is better defensively, equal hitter and a lot of speed. He’s also cheaper, even with a trade of somebody like Mitre and half a mil or a lower level low B or C type minor leaguer.