Yankees sign Colon to minor league deal
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Jan 26, 2011 
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As first reported by Jon Paul Morosi, the Yankees have signed Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal.
The 37 year old did not pitch last season, but in 2009 he had a solid 4.19 ERA through 12 starts with the White Sox. This winter, Colon made seven strong starts in the Dominican Winter League, allowing more than one earned run only twice — and never more than three earned — and finishing with a 1.93 ERA. He struck out 28 and walked six through 37.1 innings.
As a minor league deal, obviously this is a low-risk signing. I have to assume he’s in the mix for a rotation spot.
Of course, there’s always the outside chance that the Yankees have signed Colon with hopes of trading him for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips.
UPDATE, 12:10 p.m.: Buster Olney notes that Colon was pitching for Tony Pena’s team this winter, so the Yankees got a good look at him. Colon will make $900,000 if he makes the team.
UPDATE, 12:41 p.m.: The signing has been confirmed by a Yankees source who said Colon pitched well enough in the Dominican to make the Yankees believe he still has something left. “He just threw well, as simple as that,” the source said. “He’s someone who showed he still has good stuff.”
Colon is being looked at strictly as a rotation option — “As many insurance policies as we can collect is valuable” — and if he doesn’t make the team out of spring training, he will be either released or traded. The Yankees have no plans of using Colon in Triple-A.
All they had to do to get him to come to ST trial was say the two magic little words “free buffet.”
have to do it
Bartolo Colon
New York Yankees – Pitcher
Born: 1973/05/24 Age: 37
Height: 5-11 Weight: 245
Place of birth: Altamira, Dom. Rep.
Bats/Throws: R / R
Seasons: 13
Of course, there?s always the outside chance that the Yankees have signed Colon with hopes of trading him for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips.
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LOL LOL LOL
Of course, there’s always the outside chance that the Yankees have signed Colon with hopes of trading him for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips.
+++++++++++
That’s just stupid. They need to hold out for Felix or Josh Johnson.
BoJo January 26th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Of course, there’s always the outside chance that the Yankees have signed Colon with hopes of trading him for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips.
+++++++++++
That’s just stupid. They need to hold out for Felix or Josh Johnson.
——————
Not entirely sure you got the joke.
At least he doesn’t have a triple chin.
Best Case: Colon out pitches either Mitre or Nova, throws like he did at the start of 09 with the White Sox and buys the Yankees some time to get a youngster ready or make a trade.
Worst Case: Colon stinks and winds up in Scranton or released.
Either way – it’s a low risk low reward deal.
From discussion on previous thread. High draft picks help but making good picks” matters as well.
Don Mattingly (19th round)
Keith Hernandez (42nd round)
Ken Griffey Sr. (29th round)
Jorge Posada (24th round)
Andre Dawson (11th round)
Albert Pujols (13th round)
Mike Piazza (62nd round)
Jim Thome (13th round)
Kenny Rogers (39th round)
Orel Hershiser (17th round
Mark Grace (24th round)
In fairness – if you had told me 10 years ago that the Yankees were going to have a winter where they added Mark Prior, Andruw Jones and Bartolo Colon I would have been really excited.
Best Case: Colon out pitches either Mitre or Nova, throws like he did at the start of 09 with the White Sox and buys the Yankees some time to get a youngster ready or make a trade.
Worst Case: Colon stinks and winds up in Scranton or released.
Either way ? it?s a low risk low reward deal.
———————-
Agree Chip !
West Coast Yankee Fan January 26th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
From discussion on previous thread. High draft picks help but making good picks” matters as well.
—————–
Of course making good picks matter more than just having high picks – but I don’t think you can point to a specific organization and say that they have had so much success with lower round picks that they’re doing something in scouting that you can emulate.
Signing Colon is about as bottom of the barrel as it gets. What’s bothersome is that he’ll get ST innings that the Yankees could make better use of by seeing what Phelps, Noesi, or Warren can do.
True, the young pitchers mostly face a half lineup of regular major leaguers in ST but even Freddy Garcia stands a fighting chance because he pitched last year – Colon didn’t.
“Not entirely sure you got the joke.”
I’m entirely sure he didn’t.
Bojo, back in the day the Tribe traded Colon to the Nats for Lee, Sizemore and Phillips.
Wasn’t Omar Minaya driving the car for the Expos at that point?
108 stitches January 26th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Signing Colon is about as bottom of the barrel as it gets. What’s bothersome is that he’ll get ST innings that the Yankees could make better use of by seeing what Phelps, Noesi, or Warren can do.
True, the young pitchers mostly face a half lineup of regular major leaguers in ST but even Freddy Garcia stands a fighting chance because he pitched last year – Colon didn’t.
————————
Between intra-squad, simulated games, split squad, minor league games – there will be plenty of innings to go around this spring.
Chip January 26th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
BoJo January 26th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Of course, there’s always the outside chance that the Yankees have signed Colon with hopes of trading him for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips.
+++++++++++
That’s just stupid. They need to hold out for Felix or Josh Johnson.
——————
Not entirely sure you got the joke.
++++++++++
I was joking on the joke…I got it.
Mell January 26th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
“Not entirely sure you got the joke.”
I’m entirely sure he didn’t.
Bojo, back in the day the Tribe traded Colon to the Nats for Lee, Sizemore and Phillips.
Wasn’t Omar Minaya driving the car for the Expos at that point?
—————–
Yup – the Isiah Thomas of MLB GMs
Quick question for the Cashman defenders and magic bean believers…
So Cashman, if we take him at his word, loves the pitching in the minors… Phelps, Warren, Noesi are all good and close. Slightly further behind and perhaps even brighter stars are the three “Killer B’s.”
So WHY exactly are we wasting our time with guys like Colon?
Actions speak louder than words.
The Yankees reached the bottom of the bowl on this one. If Colon works out, it will be my pleasure to take it back.
Someone on an earlier post talked about the demise of Wang being driven mainly by injuries. I think that’s partially true, but I noted that teams refused to chase that low pitch of his anymore. He never really threw that pitch for a strike and when they layed off it the walks came up and he had to start throwing the pitch up higher and they just pasted him. Is somewhat the AJ and Joba sickness, they have control issues also and the hitters just sit back and zone in.
The good news is the Yankees barber has his work cut out for him with Colon and Warner Madrigal aka the Sideshow Bob & Mel of baseball when last we saw them.
I want Colon to stick just so I can hear Sterling say after a CGSO, a complete Colonoscopy by Bartolo!
Now that we have Colon, Chuck Nagy can’t be far behind. I wonder if Fernando Valenzuela is still pitching…hmmm…..
YankeesNmore January 26th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Quick question for the Cashman defenders and magic bean believers…
So Cashman, if we take him at his word, loves the pitching in the minors… Phelps, Warren, Noesi are all good and close. Slightly further behind and perhaps even brighter stars are the three “Killer B’s.”
So WHY exactly are we wasting our time with guys like Colon?
Actions speak louder than words.
—————-
Because it costs the team nothing and it never hurts to have veteran insurance.
Chip January 26th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Between intra-squad, simulated games, split squad, minor league games – there will be plenty of innings to go around this spring.
+++++++++++++
Absolutely agree
Chip – your comment about draft picks is true, it’s not a matter of one team necessarily being better at finding gems in the late rounds. More of a comment that making good decisions can have a huge payoff. If you look at the rounds when some of those HOF caliber players were drafted, it’s astounding.
In 1988 as an example, 1,389 players were picked before Mike Piazza.
Where does Omar rank on the worst GMs ever list?
In case anyone cares, Keith Law released his minor league organization rankings and he has the Yankees at 9th best.
9. New York Yankees
If Gary Sanchez has a tremendous debut season, Dellin Betances and Andrew Brackman get healthy, and Manny Banuelos sees his stuff tick up, they’re backed up with a lot of back-end starter depth. They rival Toronto for the best catching depth in the minors and took a couple of intriguing guys later in the 2010 draft, one of whom I’ll discuss Friday.
Thursday he releases his top 100 prospects, Friday is guys that just missed the top 100 I believe.
It’s nice to see the Yankees minor league system getting some recognition. FYI – Boston’s was ranked at 11th after he had them at 2nd best last year.
YNM:
Spring training invites are not a message that the youngsters are bad, just that they may not be MLB ready yet. The guys starting at AAA may just need a bit of time, and trying out short term cheap guys makes sense.
I hope this is pending a physical.
“Because it costs the team nothing and it never hurts to have veteran insurance.”
———————————————————————————————-
Doesn’t Colon’s presence in camp cost all these young studs opportunities???
Every pitch he throws is one Phelps, Warren, Noesi, etc… cannot throw… RIGHT???
And if Bartolo freakin’ Colon, who did not pitch AT ALL in the major leagues last season, is good enough to be “insurance” for those young guys we’re all supposed to be SO proud of, I would suggest they can’t be all that great.
blake January 26th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Where does Omar rank on the worst GMs ever list?
++++++++++++++++
Right with
Jim Hendry (Chicago Cubs)
J.P. Ricciardi (Toronto Blue Jays)
Also Law makes a really funny comment about the Mets (at least I think it’s funny):
26. New York Mets
Earth to Fred Wilpon: This is what a strict adherence to slot recommendations will buy you. Parsimony has its price.
Who does Boston have in their system that would warrant them being ranked 11th? A bunch of grinders I guess…..
Actually, it shows just how clueless you are when it comes to baseball matters.
I answered this question in the other thread but, I’ll expand on it here.
Betances and Banuelos aren’t relevant to the conversation. They will both be in AA this year and aren’t yet ready to pitch in the majors.
Brackman also isn’t yet ready.
As far as Noesi, Phelps and Warren are concerned, adding a veteran arm like Colon adds depth to the competition.
If he has something left in the tank, great.
If not, you lose NOTHING. It’s a completely no risk move for the Yankees.
Your biggest problem with your daily stalking and bashing of Cashman aren’t those actions.
Although, its a bit sad a grown man can be so psychotic over someone he doesn’t know.
It’s that you haven’t got the slightest clue about the business of baseball.
If you did, you would see this Colon move is a no risk move and has nothing to do with anything involving the pitchers you named.
Something tells me the Yankees are not going to put out the shrimp and carving station at this press conference.
Plan B all along stood for Bartolo.
Patience pays off.
We got our starter!
YankeesNmore January 26th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
“Because it costs the team nothing and it never hurts to have veteran insurance.”
———————————————————————————————-
Doesn’t Colon’s presence in camp cost all these young studs opportunities???
Every pitch he throws is one Phelps, Warren, Noesi, etc… cannot throw… RIGHT???
And if Bartolo freakin’ Colon, who did not pitch AT ALL in the major leagues last season, is good enough to be “insurance” for those young guys we’re all supposed to be SO proud of, I would suggest they can’t be all that great.
———————
Nope it doesn’t.
As I said, between intra-squad, split squad, simulated games, minor league games – there are plenty of innings to go around for everyone.
YankeesNmore January 26th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
=====================
I’m starting to get the impression that you don’t like Cashman.
all you can do is LOL at this offseason.
BoJo January 26th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
blake January 26th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Where does Omar rank on the worst GMs ever list?
++++++++++++++++
Right with
Jim Hendry (Chicago Cubs)
J.P. Ricciardi (Toronto Blue Jays)
—————-
Omar made some brutal decisions – not the least of which was surrounding himself with just a bad group of advisors in Ricco and Bernazard.
For all that though – I would love to have him come over to the Yankees as a minor league talent evaluator.
blake,
Law loves Boston’s 2010 draft and he thinks they are very strong in the lower minors (who isn’t?)
Why do people with their own blogs still come here to rant and say the same things over and over?
I’d like to nominate Bartolo as an honorary member of the Killer B’s!
Anyone Second that?
SJ44 January 26th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Actually, it shows just how clueless you are when it comes to baseball matters.
I answered this question in the other thread but, I’ll expand on it here.
Betances and Banuelos aren’t relevant to the conversation. They will both be in AA this year and aren’t yet ready to pitch in the majors.
Brackman also isn’t yet ready.
As far as Noesi, Phelps and Warren are concerned, adding a veteran arm like Colon adds depth to the competition.
If he has something left in the tank, great.
If not, you lose NOTHING. It’s a completely no risk move for the Yankees.
Your biggest problem with your daily stalking and bashing of Cashman aren’t those actions.
Although, its a bit sad a grown man can be so psychotic over someone he doesn’t know.
It’s that you haven’t got the slightest clue about the business of baseball.
If you did, you would see this Colon move is a no risk move and has nothing to do with anything involving the pitchers you named.
——————–
You’re wasting time – if Cashman said water was wet and fire was hot he would say that Brian was lying and didn’t have a clue.
SAS
How was your big evening last night?
blake January 26th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Why do people with their own blogs still come here to rant and say the same things over and over?
————-
Because no one is going to their blogs and they are lonely.
Patrick,
Lol….ok. I thought it was just because Casey Kelly once played there….
“all you can do is LOL at this offseason.”
———————————————————————————
In Cashman’s defense, he’s only one Doc Brown DeLorean away from this being a BRILLIANT winter!
West Coast Yankee Fan January 26th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Chip – your comment about draft picks is true, it’s not a matter of one team necessarily being better at finding gems in the late rounds. More of a comment that making good decisions can have a huge payoff. If you look at the rounds when some of those HOF caliber players were drafted, it’s astounding.
In 1988 as an example, 1,389 players were picked before Mike Piazza.
———————
The Mike Piazza thing is a great example of how scouting is an imperfect science – heck the only reason the Dodgers took him was because of Tommy LaSorda’s relationship with him.
Worst GMs EVER
http://www.fannation.com/si_bl.....21?cnn=yes
blake,
I don’t think Law is biased but he always tends to love the Red Sox minor league system.
And for the record, if anyone cares, here is how the entire AL east ranks:
2. Tampa
4. Toronto
9. New York
11. Boston
24. Baltimore
The AL East is going to be insanely good this year, looks like that will continue for awhile!
Sterling: It’s Schlitter coming out for Colon. Sounds like a lot of crap.
Nobody loses innings with Colon in camp.
Between split squad games, regular games, intrasquad games, bullpens, BP, B games, etc, there are plenty of innings to go around.
Like I said in an earlier post, perhaps if you stepped back, took a deep breath, and actually learn a little about the game and the business of the game, your blog, as well as your postings here, would be more readable.
Being a hysterical, stalking fanboy has a limited shelf life. Even in the blogosphere.
Bojo,
I’d add Bill Bavasi to that list…
Chip
For all that though – I would love to have him come over to the Yankees as a minor league talent evaluator.
————-
I know nothing about Omar except he was with the Mets and they weren’t very good. Why would you like him to evaluate? Has he done it before? Thanks
Added bonus if he makes the team: he can serve as A-Rod’s personal BP pitcher.
Patrick January 26th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Bojo,
I’d add Bill Bavasi to that list…
—————
Ah yes, the man who traded Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb
I can buy Tampa. My evaluations of a farm system would place a lot more weight on the players the organization has in AA or higher.
Patrick,
FWIW, rumor is, Baseball America will have the Yankees ranked 5th when they release their rankings.
KPB January 26th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Chip
For all that though – I would love to have him come over to the Yankees as a minor league talent evaluator.
————-
I know nothing about Omar except he was with the Mets and they weren’t very good. Why would you like him to evaluate? Has he done it before? Thanks
————–
He did it for years with both the Mets and then later with the Expos and was very good at it.
This Colon deal could mean Andy is back.
Just to update in case you don’t see the update at the top: I was just told there’s no chance Colon will go to Scranton. He’s coming to camp to try to make the rotation. If he doesn’t show enough in spring training, he’ll be released or traded. It’s an incredibly low risk signing of a guy who pitched well in the DR this winter.
I am not an expert but it looks like a low risk, and possibly high reward signing. (But Bartolo looks like hell in that photo!)
SJ44,
Sounds reasonable. To be honest, outside of KC and Tampa, the top 10 are all pretty close in talent.
blake,
Law’s does as well. He heavily weights high-end talent and guys that are close to the majors.
“Where does Omar rank on the worst GMs ever list?
Right around Matt Millen, Isiah Thomas and Randy Levine.
# Chip January 26th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
West Coast Yankee Fan January 26th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Chip – your comment about draft picks is true, it’s not a matter of one team necessarily being better at finding gems in the late rounds. More of a comment that making good decisions can have a huge payoff. If you look at the rounds when some of those HOF caliber players were drafted, it’s astounding.
In 1988 as an example, 1,389 players were picked before Mike Piazza.
———————
The Mike Piazza thing is a great example of how scouting is an imperfect science – heck the only reason the Dodgers took him was because of Tommy LaSorda’s relationship with him.
***********
Even with a Ted Williams endorsement.
Ah yes, the man who traded Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb
+++++++++++++++
“In 1997, Woodward traded prospects Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe to the Red Sox for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb. As the story goes, Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette said he wanted Varitek or Lowe for Slocumb. Woodward thought Duquette said “and” instead of “or,” and agreed to include both players in what turned out to be one off the worst trades in major league history.”
From:
http://www.fannation.com/si_bl.....21?cnn=yes
I hear that Bartolo Colon isn’t the pitcher he once was – he’s therefor changing his name to Bartolo Semi-Colon.
Come on guys – it’s a nothing move. It’s not going to hurt anyone’s development, not going to rock the foundation of the Yankee universe – if you’re trying to spin it otherwise than you’re just wasting time.
Can Colon throw long relief?
Patrick,
Maybe so but didn’t you just say loved their lower levels and that’s why thy weren’t ranked 11th….
Chad Jennings January 26th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
Just to update in case you don’t see the update at the top: I was just told there’s no chance Colon will go to Scranton. He’s coming to camp to try to make the rotation. If he doesn’t show enough in spring training, he’ll be released or traded. It’s an incredibly low risk signing of a guy who pitched well in the DR this winter.
——————–
And you would figure that Cashman got a first hand scouting report on him from Tony Pena that said he’s at least worth taking an extended look at.
If Colon struggles, will Sterling call him a Spastic-Colon?
BREAKING NEWS: Brian Cashman is on the verge of signing Greg Maddux!
When asked WHY he wants to sign Maddux, Cashman asked, “What? Isn’t it 1995?”
No chance of Colon blowing the save?
blake,
To cut down on the miscommunication, this is what Law says about the Red Sox:
11. Boston Red Sox
The Sox traded away their top two prospects for Adrian Gonzalez, but boosted on the back end with three first-round talents added in the 2010 draft (their actual first-rounder, Kolbrin Vitek, plus Anthony Ranaudo and Bryce Brentz). As usual, their low-minors teams were strong, with the Greenville rotation quietly loaded with intriguing arms.
# blake January 26th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Who does Boston have in their system that would warrant them being ranked 11th? A bunch of grinders I guess…..
——————————–
Law’s weighting scale for his rankings:
Heart: 60% weight
Grittiness: 15% weight
Raw Talent: 5% weight
Looking like a baseball player: 10% weight
Facial hair and ability to grow facial hair: 5% weight
Past Performance: 5% weight
Jon Heyman
Colon threw well for yankees in tampa in last couple days. Thus, the spring invite.
Patrick,
That’s for posting that.
Schlitter and Colon? Release the hounds.
Breaking news: Brian Cashman has five WS rings. How many do you have?
And no, you can’t count your Jetson’s decoder ring as a WS ring.
Also, it’s probably a good idea not to ripoff Joel Sherman’s Tweets.
He’s already tweeted the “Old Timers Day” joke.
Changing a name doesn’t get you off the hook for ripping off the concept.
When talking about past bad GMs, one often thinks of the GM who traded Frank RObinson to Orioles. Must have been a terrible GM, right?
Read about it here:
http://blog.deanscards.com/201.....trade.html
Actually an excellent baseball man who made a bad trade…proving that it happens to even the best.
It’s fun to tweak Keith Law in his comments section. When you talk about his Red Sox bias he usually responds angrily and then verifies that he thinks the Red Sox do everything better. I know this first hand.
He probably ranked the Red Sox #11 because of the possibility that the Yankees will have to return Daniel Turpen to them from the rule 5 process.
Once Turpen is returned, they’ll be top 5 for sure.
Warning: Colon Blow may cause abdominal distention.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1030.....colon-blow
What is the difference between a scout and a talent evaluator? I know a scout travels to “scout” out new talent. So, does a talent evaluator check out the new talent sent to him by the scout to verify?
I don’t think Law is biased. I mean, he just ranked the Yankees ahead of the Red Sox, how is that bias?
It’s interesting how the low minors work.
For years, Keith ripped Yankee fans who would email him on the talent the Yankees had in the low minors.
He would tell them it doesn’t matter until they move up the ladder.
Now he ranks the Red Sox farm system 11th based on low minors talent. Many of whom have yet to see extensive action yet.
Seems inconsistent with his past philosophies.
why are many of our writers so lame and unoriginal, present company excluded of course?
i have seen at least 5 who joke about if this was 2003 or if this was 2005. We get it, they used to be better. Come up with something more original.
If Law is biased why would he rank the Red Sox as low as 11th? More unwarranted media bashing.
SJ44,
True enough. I think he just really liked the 2010 draft Boston had, but again that’s putting a lot of weight on lower minors.
I think Law really likes Theo and probably gives more credence to Boston’s lower level prospects than other organizations.
# West Coast Yankee Fan January 26th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
If Law is biased why would he rank the Red Sox as low as 11th? More unwarranted media bashing.
————————–
Wouldn’t the logical argument be that they don’t deserve to be as high as 11?
Wouldn’t the logical argument be that they don’t deserve to be as high as 11?
—
That’s an argument you probably won’t win. 11 is fairly reasonable for their system.
Keith has a very strong Red Sox bias in so far as their minor league operations go.
It’s a real stretch to rank the Red Sox farm system as high as he did, given the current makeup of it.
Now, if some of the ’10 draftees show something, that’s different.
However, most of those guys haven’t played yet and the one’s who did struggled. Not unusual, BTW.
In the end, this stuff is meaningless.
However, it does humor me how bias does play a role with his list.
I don’t think 11 out of 30 is particularly high. It seems fair to me.
truthfully who cares about minor league rankings. I prefer to look player to player and then who wins the minor league titles, which we do at all levels. So whether they overrank the sux or underrank us, what difference does it really make?
Are there people here that actually read this as being a bright picture Law is painting?
“9. New York Yankees
If Gary Sanchez has a tremendous debut season, Dellin Betances and Andrew Brackman get healthy, and Manny Banuelos sees his stuff tick up, they’re backed up with a lot of back-end starter depth. They rival Toronto for the best catching depth in the minors and took a couple of intriguing guys later in the 2010 draft, one of whom I’ll discuss Friday.”
Sanchez has to have a “tremendous debut season”…….mentioned in a complete mess of a sentence that talks about a catcher and then 3 pitchers
If Betances and Brackman stay healthy and if Banuelos stuff improves…..only then do they have a lot of BACK END OF THE ROTATION GUYS
He’s biased because they are hardly the 11th best minor league system at the moment.
They have zero impact type players in the pipeline unless you think Iglesias is going to hit at the major league level.
After him, who do they have?
They should be lower than that but he’s projecting all their low level talent to be successful yet when the Yankees were loaded in the lower levels he told everyone to calm down.
For a team that may have 2 legitimate prospects at AA or higher, and nobody at the level of an Austin Romine, let alone Jesus Montero, at AA or higher, #11 is a generous ranking.
So now Brian Cashman has “five World Series rings”…
lol.
I wasn’t aware franchises gave World Series rings to interns.
Man, this is one slow winter if people are over-analyzing every move Cashman makes and every word he says.
Oh wait, it’s LHYB. That’s just Wednesday.
In the end, this stuff is meaningless.
—
Agreed. It’s still fun to talk about though
In my opinion, other than the Angels who are ranked far too high, the 3-10 teams are pretty close. I have no problem with Boston’s 11 ranking but I think there’s a pretty big dropoff after Seattle at 10.
Has anyone ever shown a direct correlation between top minor league system (as rated by the typical group of writers) and World Championships?
I think the Mets have more high end prospects than the Red Sox at the moment.
Carlo,
Law said on twitter that the blurb for the Yankees isn’t his work and that it will be fixed soon.
# Patrick January 26th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Wouldn’t the logical argument be that they don’t deserve to be as high as 11?
—
That’s an argument you probably won’t win. 11 is fairly reasonable for their system.
————-
Why, because the infinite wisdom here that believed the Yankees could be top 5 has proven to be too powerful to overcome? I don’t care about a Red Sox bias, nor do I care about these made up commentaries from posters who act like they have intimate knowledge of nearly every player in the minors. Seems like everyone here has a personal scouting report on even the fringiest minor leaguers……..”oh yeah, Bobby Neverpanout, big arm, like the skill set, not sure if the secondary stuff plays though, love his mechanics though”.
KPB,
Thanks for asking. We had a lovely evening with friends, and because we are in AZ….no snow problems here, but another 7-9 where we are in NY…..so all’s well with the world.
11is in the upper third of the teams in the game.
I doubt seriously, given the current makeup of their system, many scouts would rank them that high.
Again, if some of the ’10 draftees, like Renaudo for example, have breakout seasons, that’s different.
As it is right now, 11 is a generous ranking.
I believe this is the corrected version of what Law said concerning the Yankees:
“Gary Sanchez had a tremendous debut season, Dellin Betances and Andrew Brackman got healthy, and Manny Banuelos saw his stuff tick up and they’re backed up with a lot of back-end starter depth. They rival Toronto for the best catching depth in the minors and took a couple of intriguing guys later in the 2010 draft, one of whom I’ll discuss Friday”
# Patrick January 26th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Carlo,
Law said on twitter that the blurb for the Yankees isn’t his work and that it will be fixed soon.
—————–
Please, spare me the nonsense of pretending Keith Law has an assistant who types for him. Its pretty clear the guy thought Gary Sanchez was a pitcher and now he has to account for the idiocy by blaming someone else. Total fraud.
That makes a lot more sense, Mell. The original post indicated to me that he had no clue what the Yankees system consisted of.
SJ44,
I don’t see 11 as being too crazy for their system but that’s just me. Honestly though, who cares how Boston’s system is ranked. Law had them at 2 last year and how much did it help them during the 2010 season? Not much at all, on the field.
My only problem with Law is that he takes the snark to idiotic levels.
Carlo, read Mell’s post about the corrected version.
Law writes his articles and submits them to ESPN. How they get on the webpage isn’t up to him and it’s pretty obviously a typing error by whoever does that stuff.
Continue hating Law though, doesn’t effect me in any way.
11th is low? It’s nearly top 1/3rd.
Much is made in here about minor league rankings. Does it really matter if Montero is ranked 4th or 9th? He’s good either way.
When will Cash bring back Hideki Irabu?
# Patrick January 26th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Continue hating Law though, doesn’t effect me in any way.
———-
Odd you would even feel the need to make that statement. Wouldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that my feelings about Keith Law would impact anyone in the slightest.
I like how Law called Arodys Vizcaino a “throw in” in the Javy deal when everyone else knew he was the main part of that deal. He tried to make it look like the Braves snuck him out from under the Yankees noses.
SJ,
That was my point….who do the Sox have in the upper levels to warrant that ranking….Iglesias?
SAS
Glad you had a good time. How’s the princess doing? Has she been behaving while you’re out?
(Insert colon pun here.)
(Insert ‘this would of been awesome in 199X/200X’ joke here.)
Wow, Law actually ranked the Red Sox system just two places below the Yankees. What a clown!
(Insert colon pun here.)
(Insert ‘this would of been awesome in 199X/200X’ joke here.)
——————————————————————————————————————
This is good.
Actually the DeLorean joke wasn’t bad albeit I’ll admit I’m partial to cheesy 80′s references.
If Colon has lost about 100 lbs since the last time I saw him we may be on to something. Any picturesof him in winter ball?
the best one was in regards to Johnny D/Manny going to the Rays…the Rays win the 2004 WS!!!
Don’t get too caught up in Law’s rankings (or the rankings of anyone else for that matter). It doesn’t matter if Law thinks you’re the best farm or the worst farm – all that matters is how other GMs around baseball view your talent. That will determine whether or not you have the ammo to make trades.
I mean could you imagine the conversation:
GM 1: I’ll trade you John Smith, David Jones, and Bill White for your superstar pitcher
GM 2: Absolutely not!
GM 1: But Keith Law had those three guys ranked as the top three prospects in all of baseball.
GM 2: Fine, then when my owner fires me and hires Keith Law as the GM here you can make that trade with him.
RAB is trying to defend Keith Law’s farm system rankings.
The Colon signing is a no risk one. He has as good a chance as many of the prospects to contribute this year. At the very worst, he can pitch BP to AROD to give him confidence for the year.
Mick, I don’t see how you conclude from this Pettitte is returning. Arguably, it could suggest the opposite. Practically, it says neither. They have two open rotation spots.
Tampa, Yankees, and Red Sox all having a few blast from the past moments:
Tampa: Manny & Damon
Yankees: Colon, Jones, Prior
Red Sox: think Varitek can still catch and Saltalamaccia is a viable prospect.
I know I’m setting myself up for heartbreak but I have high hopes for Mark Pior.
Chip:
Yes you are.
serious question here: if saltalamaccia plays like he has in the past few years, aka not ml level, who is going to catch 130 games for the sox. as much as people like to give posada a hard time, he’s much better behind the dish right now than varitek.
they have some issues in boston. they seem to get a free pass for them. paging mr. law…..
As long as Colon doesn’t block a kid who can pitch as well, I’m ok with it.
Here’s a Jeter update courtesy of AP
01-26) 10:07 PST Tampa, Fla. (AP) –
Derek Jeter has added a new dimension to his pre-spring training workout.
The New York Yankees captain, coming off a down season, worked in a batting cage Wednesday with hitting coach Kevin Long.
The 36-year old Jeter has a career batting average of .314, but hit just .270 last season. Long and Jeter are scheduled to have another session on Thursday at the Yankees’ minor league complex.
Jeter started on-field drills two weeks ago.
Also, new Yankees catcher Russell Martin also worked with Long and had a throwing session in the outfield.
i hope the Yankees take a flier on Justin Duchscherer if he has to settle for a 1 year deal…. he’s a solid pitcher when healthy and i’m sure he’d come on the cheap
If Colon doesn’t work out, he will be cleansed from the system.
This would have been a great move — in 1999 or 2000!!!!
“As long as Colon doesn’t block a kid who can pitch as well, I’m ok with it”
Only thing Colon will be blocking is the sun. As the money involved is so minimal, there is no reason to think he’d block someone who’s performed better than him. He’ll have to earn his way on just like the young pitchers competing for roster spots.
Crawdaddy January 26th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
RAB is trying to defend Keith Law’s farm system rankings.
**************
RAB did no such thing. What they did do is provide a link to a very good writeup that Law did on Dan Burawa. If Law is so biased why would he rave about him, a relative unknown.
“The New York Yankees have several players under control on the Cape, including St. Johns closer Dan Burawa, who showed an electric fastball on Tuesday night. He sat 93-96, dipping below that just twice in his one inning of work, with a fringy upper-70s curveball that he flips in as a change-of-pace pitch. It’s a crazy long arm action with some head violence, but it’s a premium arm that would play pretty quickly in a late-game, one-inning role. His main issue is control, partly from the delivery, and partly because his fastball has so much downward life that it often finishes below the zone”.
As was the Mark Prior signing, there’s nothing wrong with inking Colon….Only something good can come from this……No risk at all…..There’s an epidemic of negativity sweeping across the LoHud…..
Well done, Nick in SF
Pat M
it is so sweet the way you wish us a good morning as you are going to bed
# theREALkevin January 26th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
i hope the Yankees take a flier on Justin Duchscherer if he has to settle for a 1 year deal…. he’s a solid pitcher when healthy and i’m sure he’d come on the cheap
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ZOMG!?! Duchscherer!?? He’s awful! Cash doesn’t know what he’s doing and doesn’t want to be a Yankee! He said so! Or didn’t say so!
Duchscherer can’t even step on the mound without having a panic attack! Worst move EVAR!!!
(am I doing it right?)
I’d love to see it happen too. Another low risk, mid-high reward move. The more arms, the better.
“RAB did no such thing. What they did do is provide a link to a very good writeup that Law did on Dan Burawa. If Law is so biased why would he rave about him, a relative unknown.”
RAB worships at the feet of Keith Law and everybody knows it.
I think the Colon deal is a zero risk move, so why not.
However, I can see the timing being perceived as a bit funky, as Cashman said yesterday that the Yankees were, “a pitcher away from being World Series contenders”. And then he signs Colon. Perhaps that accounts for some of the unwarranted and overly negative fan reaction.
Cash has done this before…throwin pasta at the wall to see what sticks. There’s no problem with it given the current SP situation and dearth of viable starters. This is an extremely team friendly option. He either pitches well enough to make the team (at chump change salary), or he’s cut loose.
Win-win.
If Duchscherer can be had, sign him up as well. Why not take a flier
i am in favor of taking a flier of starters like Colon or Duscherer. the risk is very low.
Keith Law is one voice. What really counts in the analysis of the Boston farm system is what Gammons thinks. Seen now in the as seen on TV section of the MLB Network.
Crawdaddy January 26th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
RAB worships at the feet of Keith Law and everybody knows it.
***************
No they don’t, you made that up out of whole cloth, there is no evidence that “everybody knows it”.
RAB said nothing in the short paragraph on their perceived opinion of Law’s rankings. Not one word. Why do you make things up?
Make things up. You’re a good one to talk with your emotional defense of guys like Heyman and such.
Don’t change the subject Crawdaddy. Why did you say and I quote you, “RAB is trying to defend Keith Law’s farm system rankings”.
They did no such thing, they did not say one word defending or endorsing Law’s rankings. They only reported that he released them. You made that up.
Mick, I don’t see how you conclude from this Pettitte is returning. Arguably, it could suggest the opposite. Practically, it says neither. They have two open rotation spots.
=======================
A. Mac
Using reverse psychology on Andy he might see Colon as a threat and in a fit of jealousy decide to return. I don’t see him leaving money on the table, he has mouths to feed and wouldn’t risk losing it or 1/2 of it to return midseason.
Just sign Duscherer and let him duke it out with Colon. The more, the merrier. Sign Garcia too.
Mucho Nachos
I think this worked out pretty damn well, lol