From the left side
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Jan 12, 2010 
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Back in July of 2008, the Yankees traded for Damaso Marte. A few months later, they signed him to a three-year deal with an option for a fourth. At $4 million per year, it’s not a tiny contract, but it’s not an especially big one either. Probably a reasonable risk for one of the better left-handed relievers of the past decade.
Problem is, of course, Marte was awful in the 2009 regular season before redeeming himself in the playoffs. Some of the struggles might have been because of an injury, or maybe because of the generally unpredictable nature of major league relievers. Whatever the reason, the Yankees need those problems to go away next season. Having traded away both Phil Coke and Mike Dunn this winter, Marte is by far the top left-handed option on the roster, and one of only three potential left-handed relievers on the 40-man. A fourth option was just added with the minor league signing of Royce Ring.
Damaso Marte
Despite last year’s ugly season ERA — a shockingly bad 9.45 through 13.1 innings spread across 21 games — Marte was actually good against left-handers last year. As a strictly left-on-left specialist, last season actually gives no reason for concern.
Career vs. LH: .197/.294/.287
2009 vs. LH: .120/.214/.280
Boone Logan
Back in 2006, Logan went into spring training having pitched a total of four games above rookie ball, but he somehow made the White Sox opening day roster. With his career suddenly pushed much faster than expected, Logan’s first big league appearance spanned two scoreless innings, but he ultimately had an 8.31 big league ERA that season. Since then, he’s been up and down (in terms of going from the big leagues to the minors, and in terms of his success at the major league level). These are his big league splits the past three years.
2007 vs. LH: .221/.296/.291
2008 vs. LH: .291/.324/.505
2009 vs. LH: .231/.318/.308
Wilkin De La Rosa
The young prospect of the group, De La Rosa is a converted outfielder who pitched last year out of the Double-A rotation. Mark Newman has said De La Rosa is likely to return to the Double-A rotation for the start of 2010, but I’m not ready to completely rule him out of the big league mix. It seems unlikely, but possible that he’ll make such an impression in big league camp that the Yankees change their plans.
2009 AA vs. LH: .159/.274/.262
2008 LA vs. LH: .182/.291/.250
De La Rosa also made three High-A starts in 2008 and three more in 2009, but those sample sizes are too small to mean much.
Royce Ring
Signed a minor league deal, Ring will get a chance to pitch in spring training but seems more likely to open the season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. His career big league splits against lefties are OK but not great (.229 average, but a lot of walks leading to a .350 on-base percentage). He has allowed only two left-handed home runs in 159 career appearances against lefties in the majors.
2009 AAA vs. LH: .208/.296/.264
Trade for Huston Street.
Ok, that was pre-emptive.
If the bullpen needs help at the deadline, he’ll be a target.
Living out here in Atlanta I can say that everyone felt pretty good about Logan and that he was going to breakout. Lots of Braves fans were upset to see him go. That said they were also sad to see Jeff Francoeur go so I guess grain of salt.
This is off topic and I apologize for that but if you look at http://6pound8ouncebabyjoba.com/ you will read an interesting interview with Chad.
Mike Lupica’s column on McGwire (below)… Lupica also wrote a book called “SUMMER OF ‘98″ where he glorifies Mac, Sosa, and the Yanks. So yea Lupica – you made few dollars off “a cheater” too.
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo....._dirt.html
Marte is a given but a 2nd left hander is problematic. Since this is likely to be the one of the last 2 or 3 relief pitchers my guess would be that the be Girardi will go with the best arm and not necessarily a second left hander.
I’ve been saying for two years that DeLaRosa was an outstabding arm, especially given his lack of experience. I was always hoping that once he went into the rotation around mid-season that he was there to stay. Lord, was he special in the bullpen, though.
Last season, though, he seemed to break down a bit as a starter, although he still put up really decent numbers. Maybe it was just a tired arm that got to him last year, but, I really think he could walk straight into relief job in NY in 2010.
Marte obviously wasn’t healthy – he missed most of the season and he wasn’t even ready when they brought him up(I remember Pete posting at the time that his velocity was very up and down). I assume Marte was not allowed to spend anymore time rehabbing in the minors and that’s why he was recalled. He was stupid to try and pitch through the injury……..Fortunately, he recovered in the nick of time as our pen was basically dreadful in the playoffs. If Marte is healthy, he should be good this year.
If Marte is healthy and performing up to his contract, I don’t necessarily see the logic in carrying a second left-hander for the sake of him being left-handed. This is especially true for a younger player who needs to log innings. I recall last year Melancon being in the majors yet used sparingly. If a left-hander is one of the best pitchers available, fine, but if he’s there as left-handed insurance for Marte, let him get some experience in the minors where he can pitch meaningful innings.
Hello, just thought i’d introduce myself. I expect to make an impact. Immediately.
The Yanks took a risk when they traded Coke. He wasn’t bad last year. As a young player, he might well improve. I sure hope one or two of the lefties listed here come through in 2010.
Statistically speaking, there’s no real standard way to evaluate relievers. However, I think WHIP works pretty well. Since they typically work in high leverage situations, it’s the goal of relievers to get outs while limiting baserunners. That’s why I like WHIP.
In terms of WHIP, Marte was the 4th most effective lefty reliever from 2000-2009 (min. 400 games).
Billy Wagner – 0.990
Arthur Rhodes – 1.167
Eddie Guardado – 1.174
Damaso Marte – 1.238
The guy is a pretty good pitcher, and a fine option to have in the ‘pen when healthy.
“Hello, just thought i’d introduce myself.”
Allow myself to introduce… myself.
I like Marte as much as anybody, but, it’s really strange to see people continually give him a pass because he was injured lasy year. He wasn’t especially good in NY in 2008, though.
The odd part is that even though Brian Bruney was injured last year and in 2008, he pitched outstanding in ‘08 and well in 2009. In fact, he’s been exceptally good in his 4 years in NY. Only in 2007 did he have what might be considered a bad year.
http://tsn.ca/blogs/?id=305809
A very nice story, once again, of the corruption that runs rampant in the 4 major sports leagues. The referees/umpires are nothing more than power mongers.
Royce Ring
January 12th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Hello, just thought i’d introduce myself. I expect to make an impact. Immediately.
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An impact, just like a bug on the windshield.
“If the bullpen needs help at the deadline, he’ll be a target.”
Sherman reported today that Hal turned down a trade for Cameron at the last year’s deadline because he didn’t want to add the remaining $5m on his contract.
So the idea that any player with a significant salary will necessarily be a target is probably unfounded.
Marte has something to prove, no question.
Marte has something to prove? Umm… did you watch the playoffs?
“Marte has something to prove? Umm… did you watch the playoffs?”
Small sample sizes rock your world, huh?
If the topic is lefthanded pitching, this is off-topic. Just thought I would point out that the Yankees have added righty pitcher Zach Segovia to their list of non-roster spring training invitees on the official Yankees website, which is linked on this blog. I wonder if Chad has an impression of him based upon his pitching for Syracuse for part of 2009. He turned in a nifty 0.918 WHIP in 28.1 innings for Syracuse in 2009. Otherwise, his minor league career stats since 2002 seem pretty mediocre. He was a 2nd round draft choice of the Phillies back in 2002. I don’t think he ever played at SWB, but Chad might have seen him around the Phillies organization before the SWB affiliation change.
thenextandykosco
January 12th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
If the topic is lefthanded pitching, this is off-topic. Just thought I would point out that the Yankees have added righty pitcher Zach Segovia to their list of non-roster spring training invitees on the official Yankees website, which is linked on this blog. I wonder if Chad has an impression of him based upon his pitching for Syracuse for part of 2009. He turned in a nifty 0.918 WHIP in 28.1 innings for Syracuse in 2009. Otherwise, his minor league career stats since 2002 seem pretty mediocre. He was a 2nd round draft choice of the Phillies back in 2002. I don’t think he ever played at SWB, but Chad might have seen him around the Phillies organization before the SWB affiliation change.
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NYYs don’t need a 5.50 ERA type pitcher.
GreenBeret7
January 12th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
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NYYs don’t need a 5.50 ERA type pitcher.
*************************
Mitre is still with us!
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
January 12th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
GreenBeret7
January 12th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
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NYYs don’t need a 5.50 ERA type pitcher.
*************************
Mitre is still with us!
************
I correct myself- Mitre’s ERA never got under 6.00
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
January 12th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
January 12th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
GreenBeret7
January 12th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
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NYYs don’t need a 5.50 ERA type pitcher.
*************************
Mitre is still with us!
************
I correct myself- Mitre’s ERA never got under 6.00
————————————————————
Having two pitchers like that on the same team is just like having Nick Johnson and Reed Johnson on the same team. Somebody’s going to get hurt…one of the Johnsons or one of the Yankee infielders.
Completely off topic, but isn’t it interesting to see MLB and MLPA to basically force the Marlins to increase Payroll because they get tons of Revenue Sharing money and haven’t spent it accordingly.
Hopefully they sign their players to somewhat longer contracts, this is a pretty awesome step. It really doesn’t affect large market teams, but small market teams get tons of cash, it’s awesome for it to be put into it at the very least some of it.
I wonder how Igawa feels about all this lefty talk? Talk about being invisible. At least he knows that they remember him every pay day.
Seriously. If Cash isnt going to sign a left fielder anytime soon. Can we get some type of good news like Igawa was traded back to Japan for a box of Japanese baseball cards? This has got to be more of a robery than what Idle stoled.
Looks like Selig has grown at least a small pair. his public hammering of the Marlins (and other teams) on their pocketing of revenue sharing is years overdue. I wonder if that won’t be something put into the next CBA. Surely, it will be brought up by the union as a baraining tool for something else they want.
From MLB-Rumors-R-Us.
“Uggla, Johnson May Benefit From Marlins Payroll Edict
By Mark Polishuk [January 12 at 7:07pm CST]
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald broke the story of MLB and the MLBPA criticizing the Marlins for not spending enough of their revenue-sharing money on player payroll. In a follow-up blog post, Spencer said this “public flogging” may be an incentive for the team to spend on the two players who have carried the most buzz this winter — Dan Uggla and Josh Johnson.
Uggla has been at the center of several trade rumors (most notably with the Giants) as the Fish were looking to avoid paying their slugging second baseman a large arbitation raise for 2010. Recently, however, Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that the Marlins haven’t found a trade package to their liking and were looking at keeping Uggla for the start of the season. Uggla made $5.3MM in 2009 and, as Spencer notes, is likely to earn between $7-8MM next season after arbitration. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports calls the Uggla situation “a fascinating test case” for how Florida will adjust to the MLB/MLBPA scrutiny.
As for Johnson, the Marlins have been discussing a long-term deal with their ace right-hander but the sticking point seems to be Florida’s unwillingness to give Johnson a guaranteed fourth year on the contract. We learned that negotiations between the club and pitcher were re-opening this week, and Johnson’s agent Matt Sosnick may have a bit of extra leverage given that the eyes of both the league and the union are taking a close look at how the Fish do business. Johnson is under team control through 2011, but it certainly wouldn’t look good if Florida again passed on giving one of their young stars a big contract.
In regards to other low-spending teams, Spencer described Tuesday’s announcement as “a signal” that unusually small payrolls would be under closer watch, citing the Pirates specifically. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that the Bucs aren’t facing a similar probe and notes that Pittsburgh spent $64.4MM more on payroll than the Marlins did between 2006-2008″
S.o.S.
January 12th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
I wonder how Igawa feels about all this lefty talk? Talk about being invisible. At least he knows that they remember him every pay day.
Seriously. If Cash isnt going to sign a left fielder anytime soon. Can we get some type of good news like Igawa was traded back to Japan for a box of Japanese baseball cards? This has got to be more of a robery than what Idle stoled.
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He’s probably thinking, “Why couldn’t I have been Hideki Matsui?”
I say if these mlb owners continue to be cheap skates. Force them to sell the team or the team will be dropped and a new expansion team will come out of it elsewhere like Oregon. Not sure if all this is possible, but something needs to change. Demoting them to a AAA affiliate was my second choice.
He’s probably thinking, “Why couldn’t I have been Hideki Matsui?”
========
With a wife like his, who wouldnt? Im surprised she didnt make the top 10 hottest list.
While the word left is in play…
Keith Law’s take on Left field for the Yanks:
“Either Nady or Johnson represent marginal improvements that may not justify the cost. Neither is really a full-time player. Johnson is strictly a platoon player, and can back up Granderson, but they have Gardner for that. Nady, even when healthy, was a platoon guy until ‘08. I’m not a Gardner guy, never have been, but their offense is fine even if they put a pointed stick in left field (if the ball hits the stick, the batter is out). So why not play for defense a little with the cheap guy in-house? Eventually, some other option will emerge and there’s no reason for the Yanks to spend money on left field simply for the sake of spending money.”
I tend to agree.
S.o.S.
January 12th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
He’s probably thinking, “Why couldn’t I have been Hideki Matsui?”
========
With a wife like his, who wouldnt? Im surprised she didnt make the top 10 hottest list.
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She’s a little flat for my tastes…almost paper thin.
The only area I would depart from Law’s comments is that if Gardner is going to start, it should probably be in CF, but that’s unlikely to happen.
Teams won’t ever be demoted, thats nonsense.
I believe for now since their are no rules, MLB and MLBPA will just instill fear and tentative warnings towards owners of teams. I mean there has to be owners that are richer then Steinbrenner yet do not put as much effort/finances back into their team.
Basically my point is I dont believe a Hard Payroll will be implemented but implications might happen if the owners don’t put much back into their teams especially when they recieve revenue sharing or whatever finances are being recieved and kept.
GB7,
Some wish they had paper thin even with rough edges. Beggers cant be choosers.
Have a good night fellas.
My favorite photos of Matsui’s wife.
http://www.google.com/imgres?i.....CAcQ9QEwAg
Real photos of Mrs. Matsui. Quite a little dolly.
http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/.....-her-26820
“Problem is, of course, Marte was awful in the 2009 regular season before redeeming himself in the playoffs.”
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This is simply not true. Also some people seem to be saying that the playoffs are a SSS so we can not judge Marte on that. However his “awful” performance in 2009 was a minuscule sample size.
Of the 13.1 innings he pitched in the regular season in 2009:
1.1 of those innings: 81 ERA
12 of those innings: 3.00 ERA
For 1.1 innings in 2009 Damaso Marte was brutal, awful, horrific (choose any one of those)
For 12 innings in the regular season he was very good and in the playoffs he was fantastic.
To say he was “awful” in 2009 based on 1.1 innings is dramatic and completely ignoring the facts.
“This is simply not true. Also some people seem to be saying that the playoffs are a SSS so we can not judge Marte on that. However his “awful” performance in 2009 was a minuscule sample size.”
Are you saying that the playoffs were not a very small sample size?
Something every Yankee Fan should have.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.t.....Hh9N6RA%3D
In 2008 Marte pitched 18.1 innings for the Yankees:
In 1.1 of those innings his ERA was 33
(He gave up a GS in his 2nd inning of work. Would just like to point out that Marte should not be pitching more than 1 inning)
In 17 of those innings his ERA was 2.65
Damaso Marte has performed great for the Yankees outside of 2.2 awful innings.
Rich,
No. Was just pointing out the irony in people saying the playoffs were a SSS but his “awful” performance in 2009 was not while the sample was even smaller.
Costas has a great show on now. jim Bouton. He’s funny and intelligent, well spoken and a really fine young pitcher.
GreenBeret7
January 12th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
S.o.S.
January 12th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
I wonder how Igawa feels about all this lefty talk? Talk about being invisible. At least he knows that they remember him every pay day.
Seriously. If Cash isnt going to sign a left fielder anytime soon. Can we get some type of good news like Igawa was traded back to Japan for a box of Japanese baseball cards? This has got to be more of a robery than what Idle stoled.
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I think “Idle”s contract was worse. He got, like, $40mil over four years. I think Igawa’s getting $20 some-odd mil over five years. Five l-o-n-g years. Another two to go!! Geez. You’d think, out of pride, he’d ask to be released from his contract so he could try and redeem himself back in Japan. But no-o-o. I’m sure the Yanks would be happy to release him, and stop paying him, if they could. And it’s not as if Igawa wouldn’t get signed for a few $mil by a Japanese team, so it wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice for him. Problem is (I think) Igawa is a man of poor character. He’s a wrapped-up-in-himself punk. He’s a Gary Sheffield without the HoF quality skills. I think the main reason he hasn’t been given another ML stint by the Yankees–even a shot at trying to be a LOOGY–is because they don’t like him and think he’s a jerk. It’s not as if he hasn’t pitched decently in the minors. In fact, he’s been fairly effective overall and pitched very, very well in AAA in 2008. I don’t think his pitching is the probem. Igawa, Sheffield, Tabata, Pavano–talented players that just don’t fit with the Yanks’ ethos. You can get away with being a jerk if you produce, like Sheffield, but otherwise, it’s “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” A couple of years ago, even after Igawa had pitched poorly for the Yankees, other teams had, reportedly, inquired about obtaining him. You’ve got to think that the Yanks would have taken next-to-nothing in exchange for him. Even though Igawa was, and is, healthy, no deal ever got done. I think the reason is not because no one thought that Igawa could be an effective pitcher in a Nate Robertson/Doug Davis kind of way, but because he’s a jerk. One of the Yanks’ worst-ever signings. Had to be even worse than Pavano. “Idle” may be a jerk, but he’s a major league jerk. Igawa is a minor league jerk. Ugggh.
Any time a situational lefty gives up 14 runs in 13 innings a year after giving up 11 runs in 18 innings, he stinks. No way to color that any other way. How is that different from Vizcaino or veras? Especially after the stupid remarks about Brian Bruney.
Chad and Sam
Another Non Roster Invitee
Zack Segovia 6-2 245 4/11/83 Righty
GreenBeret7
January 12th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
Any time a situational lefty gives up 14 runs in 13 innings a year after giving up 11 runs in 18 innings, he stinks. No way to color that any other way. How is that different from Vizcaino or veras? Especially after the stupid remarks about Brian Bruney.
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There is a way to color it. You actually look at the underlying data and try to figure out why a guy who has been great in his career suddenly has awful numbers. When you actually look at the data you see his numbers are plagued by 3 horrific performances over a span of 2 years.
If you want to go ahead and base your conclusions on less then 3 innings of work, go ahead. It is a completely different situation from a guy like Veras who has 0 track record of success and was not just bad in a few innings.
I will take Damaso’s career and his 30+ innings of good to great work for the Yankees.
Not to mention in the bulk (if I can even use that word when referring to less than 3 innings) of the “awful” innings he was not used as a situational lefty.
I am not even going to delve into the Brian Bruney comment considering months ago you nearly fell out of your rocker when I said Bruney should be and will be non-tendered. How did that turn out?
Pitchers & Catchers. 37 day away.
37 days.
It does creep up on you. Seems like the parade happened just yesterday.
Time to start planning the trip to Tampa.
37 days.
Jim Bouton invented Big League Chew?
I used to love that junk.
lets go yankees
January 12th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
GreenBeret7
January 12th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
Any time a situational lefty gives up 14 runs in 13 innings a year after giving up 11 runs in 18 innings, he stinks. No way to color that any other way. How is that different from Vizcaino or veras? Especially after the stupid remarks about Brian Bruney.
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There is a way to color it. You actually look at the underlying data and try to figure out why a guy who has been great in his career suddenly has awful numbers. When you actually look at the data you see his numbers are plagued by 3 horrific performances over a span of 2 years.
If you want to go ahead and base your conclusions on less then 3 innings of work, go ahead. It is a completely different situation from a guy like Veras who has 0 track record of success and was not just bad in a few innings.
I will take Damaso’s career and his 30+ innings of good to great work for the Yankees.
Not to mention in the bulk (if I can even use that word when referring to less than 3 innings) of the “awful” innings he was not used as a situational lefty.
I am not even going to delve into the Brian Bruney comment considering months ago you nearly fell out of your rocker when I said Bruney should be and will be non-tendered. How did that turn out?
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What three innings. It’s 31 innings. During that time, except for this PS, he stunk. Not sure where you decided that he was “good to great”. Are you saying that those innings don’t count, but Bruney’s did?
By the was, as a Yankee, Bruney had an ERA of 3.25 and only 4 blown saves with a 12-3 record in 144 innings. Yeah, he walked some batters, butm he’s shown a lot more over the last two seasons than Marte. Idiots like to trash Bruney like they did Phil Coke, who did ok for a rookie and was outstanding in his 14 innings in 2008.
You “I told you so” people are jokes. You never respond the other 99 time out of 100 that you’re wrong. I’ll send you a fuzzy lollipop for saying that Bruney would be non-tendered. He was traded. NYY will miss both pitchers.
Bronx Jeers January 12th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Jim Bouton invented Big League Chew?
I used to love that junk.
His teammate Rob Nelson did. Jim Bouton helped pitch the idea to Wrigley.
Grape big league chew is the best gum out there.
“So yea Lupica – you made few dollars off “a cheater” too.”
He saw their size, their muscles, their sheer mass, saw it with his own eyes. He saw them grow bigger than the Hulk and Schwarzenegger put together, but he never asked the simplest, tiniest, least intrusive, slightly probing question. The sharpest tongue, the most cynical sportswriter inch-for-inch of anybody in the sportswriting fraternity, and he never saw nothing.
Loopyca committed the greatest journalistic sin there is: he was credulous. He allowed his desire to cash in on this fake event in the form of a trite, unimaginative sports book all for the money. The hell with journalistic considerations, show me the money, right Mikey? C’mon, it’s expensive to hang in the Hamptons stomping the divots after polo matches on a sportswriter’s salary, supplemented as it is by those wonderful youth sports books he cranks out.
If McGwire needs to apologize for letting his fans down and letting the game down, then Loopyca has at least that much to do for his “fans” and his “game.” Each one cheated.
My nephew was playing in a Little League Championship game in Ft. Myers and pulled out a puch from his back pocket and took a big chaw. The umpires and parents went crazy until the found out it was Big League Chew.
Correction:
pulled out a ***pouch**
Suddenly, I’m in the mood for some gum.
murphydog
I see you’re still on your mission against Mike.
I said this a while ago, Mike Lupica has a face not even his own mother could love.
GB, how are you feeling?
Betsy – Romine wasn’t built in a day
January 12th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
GB, how are you feeling?
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Cantankerous, Betsy. I’m back to normal. Seriously, though, I’m doing great, Betsy. Thank you for asking. I miss not being able to see the twins or having the dog at home, but, it shouldn’t be too long. Hope you and your family are doing great in the Big Ice Box.
Houston may have made a good pick-up with Brett Myers. Of course a guaranteed $5.5 mil and a one year option could hurt them, too.
GB, I can tell – you are feeling your oats with this Bruney/Marte thing, lol. I’m sure the twins miss you as well – can you see them via the oomputer? I thought you mentioned once that your granddaughter was going to hook something up. My family and I are fine, thanks, though I wish we were in Savannah now. This weather is rather annoying…….Just think, another couple of months of this. It’s not like spring in NY is that great, either.
GreenBeret7
January 12th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Houston may have made a good pick-up with Brett Myers. Of course a guaranteed $5.5 mil and a one year option could hurt them, too.
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My giant Astros-fan friend is LOVING the signing. Apparently, word in Texas was that no other signings were getting made
A-Rods 500th homerun ball is going up for sale on auction-
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....;type=lgns
Betsy – Romine wasn’t built in a day
January 12th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
GB, I can tell – you are feeling your oats with this Bruney/Marte thing, lol. I’m sure the twins miss you as well – can you see them via the oomputer? I thought you mentioned once that your granddaughter was going to hook something up. My family and I are fine, thanks, though I wish we were in Savannah now. This weather is rather annoying…….Just think, another couple of months of this. It’s not like spring in NY is that great, either.
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Oh, yeah. Morgan has her cameras hooked up so I can see the twins, which is great. I have concerns about them, though. 5 months old and still not walking or talking and their spelling is terrible. They are great at spitting up, though. Morgan has my dog and she still can’t keep him out of the playpen when the kids are sleeping. He sleeps with them and only lets her near them…just nobody else. Really strange for a male dog, but, they’ll always be safe.
Erica – always OPPC – Bring Johnny Back!!!
January 12th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
GreenBeret7
January 12th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Houston may have made a good pick-up with Brett Myers. Of course a guaranteed $5.5 mil and a one year option could hurt them, too.
***************
My giant Astros-fan friend is LOVING the signing. Apparently, word in Texas was that no other signings were getting made
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Houston really needed another starter. Maybe he’s it. I know people dislike him for his deal with his wife, but, she’s forgiven him and it’s none of my business. He was a really good pitcher before the injuries.
The next thing to watch is if or how the sale of the team goes down.
Watched the Bouton/Costas thing tonight.
He was a little defensive on the subject of greenies making sure they were called performance enablers and not performance enhancers.
Whatever gets you through the night, Jim.
GreenBeret7
January 12th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
***************
My giant Astros-fan friend is LOVING the signing. Apparently, word in Texas was that no other signings were getting made
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Houston really needed another starter. Maybe he’s it. I know people dislike him for his deal with his wife, but, she’s forgiven him and it’s none of my business. He was a really good pitcher before the injuries.
The next thing to watch is if or how the sale of the team goes down.
********
My friend is all for the sale. He seems to think if the team is sold, new ownership will boost the payroll. Its funny how Yankee fans take little things, like ownership reinvesting their money on players, for granted. Especially when you see that MLB and the Players Union had to reach an agreement with the Marlins to get them to spend more
Anyway, pay no attnetion to me, I am rambling- I should have been in bed 20 minutes ago. Good night Yankee people!
has damon signed yet ?
pat
January 12th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Watched the Bouton/Costas thing tonight.
He was a little defensive on the subject of greenies making sure they were called performance enablers and not performance enhancers.
Whatever gets you through the night, Jim.
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I guess it’s a matter of semantics, but, speed has been in the game since the ’20s and really took off after WWII when guys came back from Europe with boxes of the stuff.
Bouton’s always been pretty straight forward, so, it was a bit of a surprise that he made a distinction. He really loved Mantle, though. Regardless what he wrote in that book. Considering the state of writing now, it’s almost written for 10 year olds and under.
Shouldn’t cortisone shots be banned? As they are performance enhancers? Or any kind of opiate based pain reliever? or Phiten necklaces? Or titanium bracelets? Which assert that they enhance performance.
There is a similar illogic behind the decision to make alcohol legal and pot illegal.
Sanity and logical reasoning notwithstanding, rules, no matter how arbitrary and capricious, need to be observed as long as they are in effect.
That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be changed.
Hey GB7.
I am really pleased that you feel and sound better! Hopefully you, Amy and I can get together this spring to celebrate your good health.
Cheers to the regulars.
-dennis
Illogic. Funny you should say that. Bill Simmons was on the Brian Kinney show and was asked about Selig paving the way to sainthood for mcgwire (not only today, but when the Cards first announced he got the job). Simmons was speechless (I know!) and finally said, “It’s illogical.”
Hey, dennis. Tough loss on Sunday.
My prayers go out to the people in Haiti affected by that devastating earthquake yesterday.
Haven’t had much chance to check in here, but see that last thread was on lefties. I wish Cash had singed Mike Gonzalez, but c’est la vie.
So what was Cashman’s best and worst move this off season?
Best move-trade for Granderson?
Worst move-Bruney(I mean,what did the Yankees get in return?)
If this is all the moves Cash is gonne make the Yankees haven’t improved much.
-They have a better rotation but their bullpen is not as strong as last year
-And they have improved there outfield on defense but they had a beter lineup last year
Maybe the numbers say otherwise but I think Damon,Matsui and Melky are better hitters then Grandersn,Johnson and Gardner
The rotation should be significantly better than it was last year.
Depending on what they do in LF, the outfield will either be better defensively and about the same offensively or better offensively and about the same defensively as last year.
If they play a platoon in LF then the outfield defense will be much improved with Gardner, Granderson, Swisher.
However, if they sign Damon then Granderson replaces Melky in the lineup and the offense in the outfield is upgraded with the outfield defense being about the same as last year.
So the outfield will be improved one way or another IMO.
Chad – off topic but I was wondering … if Cervelli is a bust backing up Posada who is most likely to be called up? (I have confidence in Cervelli but being practical a year ago he was a guy in spring training with minimal creds. I know he grew and am happy to have him over Molina but if he takes a step backwards what happens?)
Blake,
To me as hitters:
Melky<Gardner
Damon=Granderson
Matsui<Johnson
Roger,
The combo of Melky, Damon, Matsui would have more power but Gardner, Granderson, and Johnson will get on base more and have more speed. The latter combo also provides for a much better defensive outfield.
Now as I said if they were to sign Damon then in the outfield you are essentially replacing melky with Granderson so you have a big offensive upgrade from last year in the outfield with the defense being about the same.
Johnson is a different type hitter than Matsui but he can be equally effective if he can stay on the field.
The bullpen will be better. A full year of Robertson, Marte, Aceves and the loser of the Phil/Joba competition more than makes up for trading Bruney. If Melancon comes on, it’s the deepest bullpen they have had in years.
They added another starter who is coming off an excellent season and will give them innings.
They added an all star CF who is under 30.
They got younger across the board with each move.
Hard to see how this is a “bad” off-season for Cashman.
The Florida Marlins on Tuesday committed to spend any proceeds from Major League Baseball’s revenue-sharing plan on player development and salaries.
The announcement, made in conjunction with Major League Baseball and its players union, was designed to allay concerns that the Marlins and other clubs were not spending the money on players, as required, and instead were using it to pay off debts and other noncore operations.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01.....rlins.html
I still think last year we had a better offense…but I agree the defense had improved
But what about the bullpen.Bruney wasn’t great last year but I still think he could be a good 7th inn guy.And what did the yankees get in return?That wasn’t a great trade now was it?
If Joba starts, I think Hughes will begin the season at AAA.
Bruney wasn’t even on the post-season roster. Robertson beat him out for that role and will be in that role in 2010.
With 4 guys in the rotation capable of giving them 185+ innings each, the bullpen will be used less and that’s a positive.
Deeper pitching and a better defense more than offsets the marginal loss in offense if the core players stay healthy.
I don’t think you will see either guy in AAA because they are 2 of the best 12 pitchers they have.
Unless they are coming off an injury rehab, I think both guys days in AAA are over.
If they don’t put Hughes at SWB, how will he ever get stretched out to be a starter (unless Girardi will regularly use him in extended relief appearances, which seems unlikely).
They will almost certainly need a 6th (and maybe a 7th) starter at some point, probably for an extended period.
If for some reason they don’t need him as a starter, he can become part of the pen in late July or August when his IP will be sufficient for him to be on track to start in 2011.
I agree with SJ in the pen. Robertson got some huge outs in the postseason and that should carry confidence and experience over (I like that kids makeup). Also as he said the loser of the Joba/Hughes battle royale will probably be the setup man as I can’t see either of them in AAA either. If Marte has gotten his act together and can carry his playoff performance over then that in itself more than makes up for losing Coke and Bruney because he was a non factor last year.
new thread …>>>
Rich, I understand what you’re saying but I think the Yankees will put winning in 2010 over whether Phil stays stretched out. If he loses the starter job and can help the Yankees out of the own then that’s where I think he will be.
That said, I think Hughes will win the job in ST and be in the rotation.. They know they want Hughes to be a starter. Theu aren’t sure what Joba is at this point.
http://www.theyankeeu.com/2010.....lpen-14080
At a certain point, it stops being quoting and becomes plagiarism, right?
68% of this blog entry is “quoted”. Can anyone explain to me why this isn’t plagiarism?