Slow start in Orlando
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Nov 16, 2010 
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Let me set the scene…
A beautiful hotel lobby looks out on a massive swimming pool and golf course. It’s a nice, Florida day. Sun is shining through the clouds. Fountains are shooting up into the air. Vacation families are coming and going.
Meanwhile, several dozen baseball writers are standing around with nothing to do. We haven’t seen any of the GMs, and only a few agents have passed through.
There are official media sessions scheduled for late this afternoon, and it seems most of the news will have to wait until then. In the end, I don’t think this will be a waste of a day. But it has certainly been a waste of a morning.
Produce pix of Cashman chatting with Towers and this blog will explode.
GreenBeret7 November 16th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
sorry, Erin, but, his career has always been a little fuzzy.
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I am still sticking w/ my surprise move of the Yankees signing Buck
SI_JonHeyman a #diamondbacks person on what they want for justin upton: “everything.” well, that says it
Following the conversation on the last thread:
To get Justin Upton the Yankees would almost have to include Jesus Montero or Phil Hughes. Most likely Hughes given that Arizona has a good young catcher in Miguel Montero.
Hughes and Swisher for Justin Upton and then the Yankees go out and sign Lee, De La Rosa and either bring back Andy or leave the fifth spot up for Phelps, Noesi and Nova to fight over this spring.
“I’m you’re biggest fan I’ll follow you until you love me…….. papa papa paparazzi.”
That’s basically the scene huh?
SI_JonHeyman: a #diamondbacks person on what they want for justin upton: “everything.” well, that says it
REPOST:
Chad:
A couple of Bloody Marys and then a nap. By then the meetings will pass and the BS will be flowing in the lobby for you.
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Slow huh ? You must have missed my tip a couple of hours ago ? LOL !
I could make a run to Orlando and invite the Steinbrenners and Cashman out for a round of golf. If they sign Lee, Feliciano, Crawford and Soriano, I promise to never threaten them with my golfing skills again.
Thanks Bronx Jeers-now I’m going to have that song stuck in my head.
Mell,
The bottom line is, you can’t trade a pricey young player with upside at the value of a cost-controlled young player with upside.
Quite frankly, Justin Upton is owed a ton of money and he’s far from cost-controlled.
So far the hot stove=watching paint dry……
The AZ GM can always set a high asking price, but that doesn’t translate to real value.
repost:
VY-
Utah is Yankee Country !
We convince Red Sox fans that the Desert is a welcoming place. We encourage them to try it out. To explore it fully. We also tell them that they’ll just find water along the way and not to bother bringing any along.
Works every time.
Kate:
IMO, Buck would be too expensive and a waste of space if Montero can catch 100 to 120 games next season. Doesn’t make sense to me to stunt the growth of our young players, especially the catchers we have on the farm coming up.
Bret:
Then you don’t get him. He is not owed a ton of money by any teams’ standards. Next three year’s Upton’s average salary is less than $7M. Less than $10M over the next 5. It is a more than reasonable contract.
Towers has already said he’d need to be blown away. If you’re coming with B-listers instead of the Montero, Bettances, Banuelos crowd, you may as well not bother coming.
Mell,
I don’t doubt Towers would want Banuelos. They were rumored to want him in the Haren deal…Joba as well.
to get Upton ! .. get ready to lose a Killer B
MTU
November 16th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Please send Theo out to that remote area you spoke of the other day. You can give him some water but leave the PLD behind.
P.S. Right after you set him adrift in the wilderness don’t answer the phone either.
VY
I don’t really see that happening, that is why it would be a surprise move.
However, if Posada really is just DHing, and Monty is just starting out, they could use a veteran catcher…just sayin
Also worth noting that when you’re under contract for the next 5 years, your cost is in fact controlled.
MTU November 16th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
GF-
Yup. It’s easy for some to get carried away.
Hope you are 99.9 % now.
———
Thanks, MTU.
I’m actually far beyond that. I dropped quite a bit of weight as well so I’m feeling 10 years younger.
Nobody expected my recovery to go this well. It was a pipe dream just 6 months ago.
Appreciate the kind thoughts.
So what if we lose one Killer B we’ve got 3 of them.
Still plenty of sting left.
Can’t keep ‘em all.
The contract is back-loaded. Upton earns 14 in 2014 and 14.5 in 2015.
You can advertise him as a minimum wage young OF making the league minimum for the next 5 years but that doesn’t translate to real value.
I would trade Betances or Brackman for Upton. If something like Swisher, Betances, Nova would get it done then maybe I do it. If its more than that then I think it becomes counter productive.
GF
sounds like you are feeling better than before you got sick…glad to hear you are doing so well
VY-
I love to see Theo try to “think” his way out of that one.
GF-
You’re welcome. I’m heartened to hear you are doing so well.
Guess you have a ++ curveball.
Kate:
Got it. Just don’t think there will be enough Innings / AB’s to go around. Monty, Jorge, Cervelli………….
Monty: 100 to 120
Jorge: 30 to 40
Cisco: 20 to 30
Give or take with injuries, dh’ing and such.
blake – I approve of your version of this trade. Lets get it done people!
Bret The Hitman November 16th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Mell,
I don’t doubt Towers would want Banuelos. They were rumored to want him in the Haren deal…Joba as well.
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Towers had nothing to do with the Haren deal. Last year Towers worked for the Yankees, not Arizona.
Arizona gets: Phil Hughes, Nick Swisher, Manny B
Yankees get: Justin Upton, and a pitcher – Sam Demel or Blaine Boyer perhaps.
Here’s something to drool over.
Can you imagine how good Justin Upton might become working with
K. Long ?
OMG.
Blake, of the pitchers that NYYs have stocked, Banuelos might be the most likely to not be moved. His talents are almost the others’ equals, but, the fact that he’s 3 years younger and left handed would make him almost untouchable with Betances a close second, as far as the pitchers are concerned.
Thanks, Kate. I am indeed in better shape now than before I got sick.
Roughly only 2 out of every 10 people with my condition even get back to 90%. So getting better than 100% is quite rare.
It wasn’t luck. Lots of bust ass work.
Chip November 16th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Bret The Hitman November 16th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Mell,
I don’t doubt Towers would want Banuelos. They were rumored to want him in the Haren deal…Joba as well.
——————-
Towers had nothing to do with the Haren deal. Last year Towers worked for the Yankees, not Arizona.
**********
To be clear, what I mean is, the same AZ scouts that were pushing for Banuelos and Joba in the Haren deal are likely to make the same case in negotiations with the Yankees.
I’d rather trade Brackman out of the 3 killer B’s.
Brackman + Joba is a good start.
You can advertise him as a minimum wage young OF making the league minimum for the next 5 years but that doesn’t translate to real value.
************
Considering it would be impossible for Upton to make league minimum for 5 years yeah I don’t doubt that doesn’t translate to real value.
“You can advertise him as a minimum wage young OF making the league minimum for the next 5 years but that doesn’t translate to real value”
Didn’t say anything about mimimum wage. Said what the AAV of the contract is and pointed out that it is more than reasonable.
MTU
November 16th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
VY-
I love to see Theo try to “think” his way out of that one.
==============
LMAO ! !, BTW, no compass or sundial for him either. Gives him lots of time to ‘think’ without the small distractions.
Chip,
Phil Hughes is worth more than Justin Upton.
Hate to burst your bubble.
NYY isn’t giving up Hughes in any deal for an outfielder….especially one that includes both Swisher AND Banuelos.
Too many rumors about position players that we don’t need and not enough talk about pitching. Our lineup has no weaknesses, especially with Montero coming on the scene and a less banged up Posada at DH most of the time.
If we can get younger, not weaken the lineup and not give away our primo minor league talent then ok. But I don’t see that happening.
GB-
Upton is exceptionally talented. We both know that. 5 tools. Young.
Can’t keep all the B’s. Use ‘em or lose ‘em.
I agree with you about trying hard to keep the Lefty but the other 2
should be made available for a guy like JU IMO.
Actually, I wouldn’t even give it a 2nd thought.
Takes a premium package to get JU. that’s if we really wanted him.
with all the talk about how valuable pitching is, especially young pitchers, why would the Yankees want to trade Phil Hughes?
Boras was telling the truth about the interest in Beltre. Looks like the concern about his walk-year performance was overstated.
The idea of signing young players like Upton to the deal he has is that over the course of the contract you save money. Taking it year to year should be more expensive with a player like Upton.
Justin Upton is the definition of cost controlled young player.
It wasn’t luck. Lots of bust ass work
———————————————————————————————————————-
It takes a lot more than desire to rehab from that sort of thing. You’ve got to have the guts to deal with the pain and torure that could be almost as bad as the illness or injury.
I agree with Brett,
Phil Hughes is worth more than Justin Upton.
I don’t want us messing with our pitching.
Not at 14 million then 14.5 he’s not cost controlled.
Phil Hughes is going nowhere. With all the uncertainty with our rotation right now that would be nuts.
GB,
I wouldn’t trade ManBan if I could at all help it. Betances and Brackman have enough injury history and enough question about their abilities to remain starters that I would consider moving one of them for a player like Upton. Im not trading Hughes either.
I don’t get the fascination with Upton. He’d be an offensive upgrade over Gardner and a idefensive upgrade over Swish. And Isn’t he kind of an under-achiever in AZ?
Take it from someone that under-archived in AZ. Things don’t get better when you come to NY, they get worse.
They might as well try and sign Crawford or Werth and keep the young arms.
Also I read that ATL would be the favorite for his services.
Not at 14 million then 14.5 he’s not cost controlled.
**********
Do you even know what cost controlled means?
Those are FA years and a player with Uptons talent and the age he was supposed to hit the market he is worth more than that.
West Coast Yankee Fan November 16th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Too many rumors about position players that we don’t need and not enough talk about pitching. Our lineup has no weaknesses, especially with Montero coming on the scene and a less banged up Posada at DH most of the time.
********
Did you watch any games this past year? The Yankees were prone to some pretty ugly offensive slumps.
Given the age of Jeter, Posada, ARod and Tex’s sporadic output, it’s not a given that this team is going to have an explosive offense next season.
MTU November 16th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
GB-
Upton is exceptionally talented. We both know that. 5 tools. Young.
Can’t keep all the B’s. Use ‘em or lose ‘em.
I agree with you about trying hard to keep the Lefty but the other 2
should be made available for a guy like JU IMO.
Actually, I wouldn’t even give it a 2nd thought.
Takes a premium package to get JU. that’s if we really wanted him.
———————————————————————————————————————-
MTU, that’s exactly why I’d like to see Brackman in the pen. Move Phelps and Betances up and into the pen until a starter is needed and then to the rotation. By the time banuelos is fully matured and developed, Burnett will be just about gone (two years down the road). I’m a big believer in young pitchers getting their feet (arms) wet in the pen.
GB-
Better be an oversized pen.
Isn’t the cost of every player under contract controlled?
Controlled by the terms of the contract?
Warren, Nova, Noesi, Stoneburner are as good or better than any pitcher a team like ‘Zona has in their system. That’s why they keep trading for pitchers. Why they traded Scherzer and Schlereth was more about ineptitude than intelligence.
Do you even know what a write-off is?
Nick in SF November 16th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Do you even know what a write-off is?
**************************
No, but they do. And they’re the ones writing it off.
YankeeBlue222 November 16th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
West Coast Yankee Fan November 16th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Too many rumors about position players that we don’t need and not enough talk about pitching. Our lineup has no weaknesses, especially with Montero coming on the scene and a less banged up Posada at DH most of the time.
********
Did you watch any games this past year? The Yankees were prone to some pretty ugly offensive slumps. Given the age of Jeter, Posada, ARod and Tex’s sporadic output, it’s not a given that this team is going to have an explosive offense next season.
*********
I watched every single game this year. Did you?
Runs scored – First
RBI’S – First
Home Runs – Third
OBP – First
OPS – Second
SLG – Third
MTU November 16th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
GB-
Better be an oversized pen.
———————————————————————————————————————-
Brackman and Betances will have to move into the visitors pen to make room. Let the visitors warm up in the clubhouse. There’s more room in there than most bullpens have anyway.
Imagine having “Goliath” and “Colossus” warming up for the Yanks?
next year’s triple a rotation is going to be pretty impressive.
you likely need 6 to 8 starters throughout the year due to various injuries. even in the bast case scenario with lee and pettitte in pinstripes, nova, noesi or one of the killer b’s makes a start this year.
in the absence of pettitte, nova might be servicable enough to last for most of the season at #5. no need to sign a free agent to a long term deal and give up a pick
Nick in SF November 16th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Isn’t the cost of every player under contract controlled?
Controlled by the terms of the contract?
**********
We can really have fun with this…but heads might explode.
Upton’s contract is very similar to Cano’s, another cost-controlled player.
Just got back in and was catching up from the last thread. I agree with Giuseppe Franco about Swisher – just because his name keeps coming up doesn’t mean Cashman is shopping him – it probably means other teams are showing interest in him. And why shouldn’t they? He’s done an excellent job for the Yankees these past 2 years. Hope he isn’t going anywhere, but I think I’m finally learning that anything can happen and virtually every player is tradable in the right deal.
I wonder which team makes the first big trade/signing? Usually something happens before Thanksgiving, and we’ve only got little more than a week to go!
GB-
“Imagine having “Goliath” and “Colossus” warming up for the Yanks?”
As long as “David” isn’t on the other team we’re good.
“Isn’t the cost of every player under contract controlled?”
——————————–
That’s too easy, apparently.
MTU November 16th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
GB-
“Imagine having “Goliath” and “Colossus” warming up for the Yanks?”
As long as “David” isn’t on the other team we’re good.
———————————————————————————————————————-
It’ll take more than a slingshot to bring down Goliath, Colossus and the other PHIListine.
Right now our rotation is Sabathia, Burnett and Hughes. Lee and Pettitte are far from sure things. Pitching wins.
This lineup does not need tweaking does it?
Gardner-CF
Jeter-SS
Cano-2B
A-Rod-3B
Teixeira-1B
Swisher-RF
Granderson-CF
Montero-C
Posada-DH
typo – Gardner – LF
GB-
LOL.
You’re back. 100%. You don’t need me to goad you on any more.
I’ve done my job. Served my porpoise.
A great viewing coming on CNN. The awarding of the Medal Of Honor to the first living recipient since Vietnam. Well worth watching a great ceremony.
West Coast Yankee Fan November 16th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
YankeeBlue222 November 16th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Did you watch any games this past year? The Yankees were prone to some pretty ugly offensive slumps. Given the age of Jeter, Posada, ARod and Tex’s sporadic output, it’s not a given that this team is going to have an explosive offense next season.
*********
I watched every single game this year. Did you?
Runs scored – First
RBI’S – First
Home Runs – Third
OBP – First
OPS – Second
SLG – Third
**********
I never said the offense isn’t good, but to say that it “doesn’t have any weaknesses” is far from the truth.
I missed a few games, but for the most part saw every game too. A lot of those stats came against poor teams or when they were already ahead by a lot of runs….tack on runs.
A deeper look into their offense showed that they were terrible against pitchers they hadn’t seen before and some players were very inadequate against lefties/righties. ARod had horrible #’s against LHP and Jeter against RHP. The ALCS loss to the Rangers was as much of a blame towards the offense as it was to Phil Hughes’ crappy pitching.
To say that they lineup has no weaknesses would be assuming that Jeter, ARod, Posada and Tex will put up on par #’s, Gardner will play like the 1st half (or somewhere in between) of last year, Swisher will have another career year, Grandy will hit like he did in Sept., and Montero will immediately hit in the majors.
All of this happening is quite unlikely.
Ok just asking because I think I lost the thread of this conversation…
People would rather trade for Justin Upton than buy Carl Crawford (in both instances assuming that Swisher is the one that is on the move)?
New Post: Yankees reportedly interested in Feliciano
Here’s a little background on SSG Sal Giunta from Iowa. Huge salute and many thanks, Sal.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/m.....nner_N.htm
Oh, and Joe from LI -
Have a great time in Paris!