Laffey designated for assignment
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Aug 22, 2011 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
The Yankees just sent a clarification about Aaron Laffey’s status.
Apparently he was not optioned to make room for Alex Rodriguez. He was actually designated for assignment. So he might not be an automatic September addition after all.
Well, that was quick.
God Speed you mediocre lefty, you shall find employment again
He comes away….still left handed and still breathing.
Wow. That was fast.
Jerkface August 22nd, 2011 at 3:17 pm
God Speed you mediocre lefty, you shall find employment again
*********************
is this to open a spot on the 40 man for jesus?
NY lost nothing but a few thousand dollars. Not an issue. He did well in the first inning. It was after that. If he isn’t picked up, maybe he goes to Scranton to fill the hole left by Greg smith’s release.
what is th e neccesity for wandy or harden?
not that they dont have enough starters for now and October.
other than freddy or colon i dont want to see any relievers pushed out bc of them
Aaron, I hardly knew ye.
Sometimes life is cruel – Brings you up, to knock you down. But for the rest of his life he can say. “When I was pitching for the Yankees”.
Back to the car and trailer.
he was no Aaron Small.
Didn’t he last longer than Brian Gordon?
what is th e neccesity for wandy or harden?
__
I dont think there is a necessity other than the idea there is no clear #2 starter (though i believe Nova right now can fit into there, maybe Hughes too)….
Not a great loss but just shows how this is a business and performance driven. He literally had a cup of coffee. Now they have a roster spot and still need a second lefty & maybe one with a bit more velocity.
28. ADam August 22nd, 2011 at 3:24 pm
To me there really is no question who makes the PS roster on the staff except Burnett. Your starters are no doubt about it:
CC
Nova
Fred
Hughes
And your Bullpen is
Mo
D-Rob
Soriano
Colon
Logan
Wade
Burnett/Noesi/Ayala (pick one)… none of the 3 will win or lose the WS for you
Colon has trouble getting through the 4th and 5th now that he’s running our of gas or HG… and Burnett is all but useless… the only reason he is in the rotation now is because of a freak accident to Fred.. Not hard, i dont even thing you have to smoke the objective pipe to see that…
===========================================================
29. mick August 22nd, 2011 at 3:29 pm
Burnett/Noesi/Ayala (pick one)… none of the 3 will win or lose the WS for you
========================
that is a mighty disclaimer.
rather have a real reliever down there than aj.
The idea of Nova or Hughes as the #2 in the post-season doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
KayShowESPN NY Yankees GM Brian Cashman will join us at 4:00pm on ESPN NY 1050, ESPNNY.com ,XM 210 & SIRIUS 93. We’ll discuss AJ Burnett. Tune in!
Jerkface August 22nd, 2011 at 3:17 pm
God Speed you mediocre lefty, you shall find employment again
——
Ha! If only he was mediocre he’d still be on the Yankees! He’s in that class of less-than-mediocre, but he is lefty, so he will live to throw pitches in the Major Leagues again, perhaps even for the Yankees.
if colon isn’t good enough to start in sept. i would leave him off the PS roster
same with aj
this would allow you to carry the same pen we have now.
Laffey went from being ‘reinvented’ in the Seattle bullpen with a 1 ERA to a 4+ ERA and DFA’d twice in 2 seconds.
Burnett/Noesi/Ayala (pick one)… none of the 3 will win or lose the WS for you
=======================
if aj, this is a disaster.
you are putting a disaster waiting to happen in for 2 known quantities.
Wave It is what it is, the future is now…And actually it might be as tough as you think….Hughes pitched well last ALDS after a week or so rest…….Nova needs to get his October feet wet sometime, and as we know there’s many more October’s to come…..I’m just not warm and fuzzy about Garcia come October
The idea of Nova or Hughes as the #2 in the post-season doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
=====================
If not Colon, then who?
Harden?
4-5 more quality starts from both of them and you’ll feel a lot better Wave…
Are Harden, Wandy, or anyone else out there better than what we have?
Wave Your Hat August 22nd, 2011 at 3:33 pm
The idea of Nova or Hughes as the #2 in the post-season doesn?t make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
*********************************
Think about whether you’d want AJ going as #2. Now how do you feel about Hughes/Nova?
harden got pulled back after cleveland claimed him and they couldnt agree on a deal
This is where you miss Andy Pettitte.
Love that Cashman went from defending AJ to “he is better than Oliver Perez”……
And that will be the epitaph and possibly the calling card if they go down in the ALDS.
Oh, Andy…
The idea of Nova or Hughes as the #2 in the post-season doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
———–
Well, I don’t think anyone currently on the team should make people feel warm and fuzzy.
Maybe Colon IF he can get back to early season form when he was going deep into games, striking everyone out, and not walking anyone… could fit as the #2.
The reason for that is that Colon has consistent swing and miss stuff when he’s right.
Nova and Hughes don’t go to the mound with the same stuff every time. Are we getting the Hughes that has 3 pitches working for strikes or the one that gets 1 swing and miss the whole game? Are we getting Nova with the nasty slutter or the one who relies on FBs and induces too much contact? Garcia is always going to be a question because of his stuff. Burnett is a non-factor.
Nova with the nasty slutter
================
Maybe we try that one out.
mick,
I think Andy got out at the right time, at least for him. If he’d come back average or worse, could you imagine the flames the hes blocking the rotation?
bisonthrow August 22nd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
harden got pulled back after cleveland claimed him and they couldnt agree on a deal
——————————————————————————–
To take Ubaldo’s spot?
Pat M,
Nova s looking better and better all the time for that ROY…..he gets to 15 wins and a sub 4 Era you never know….
“This is where you miss Andy Pettitte.”
No question. He was a guy you could slot anywhere – 1-2-3-4-5 and be confident he would win the game. You could match him up against Lee, Halladay, Lester, Haren, Verlander, etc. and feel like you had a great chance to win the game, even though his abilities were far less than those guys.
He was very very unique in that regard.
Yanks, the fact is someone has to be the number 2, and right now Colon looks to be fading a bit (maybe resting him in the pen in September is the answer).
Nova and Hughes (minus one start each), have looked pretty consistent. Nova seems to be ahead of Hughes right now.
I think Nova has been very consistent. You dont have to strike out 10 a game. You find ways to get outs and he does that. He’s won 9 in a row. The Yankees offense “should’ be able to cover him in any game 2.
could you imagine the flames the hes blocking the rotation?
===========================
the claims?
but he could be back next year, he didn’t rule it out.
esp if they are knocked out of the alds
The idea of Nova or Hughes as the #2 in the post-season doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
—
Who would make you feel warm and fuzzy in that spot?
Certainly not anyone currently on the roster.
who would andy have blocked this year?
maybe colon or freddy.
Bar none, the best thing Cashman did this year since the off season was not pulling the trigger on the Jimenez trade…..
This weeks playoff projections
American League Weekly Review Playoff % Chance
Team 15-Aug 21-Aug % Diff Win Div
Detroit Tigers 65.4% 81.4% 16.0% 81.4%
Tampa Bay Rays 1.6% 3.4% 1.8% 0.2%
Chicago White Sox 7.2% 8.4% 1.2% 8.4%
Texas Rangers 96.7% 97.6% 0.9% 97.6%
Kansas City Royals 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Toronto Blue Jays 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Baltimore Orioles 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Seattle Mariners 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Oakland Athletics 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Minnesota Twins 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
New York Yankees 99.0% 98.6% -0.4% 53.1%
Los Angeles Angels 3.6% 2.6% -1.0% 2.4%
Boston Red Sox 99.1% 97.8% -1.3% 46.7%
Cleveland Indians 27.4% 10.2% -17.2% 10.2%
blake…….I thought he’d have a successful rookie season and be a ROY candidate, maybe in the top 5….What he’s doing to date is clearly more than any of us thought including the Bombers themselves
The next 9 days could be more interesting for the Yankees than the 7/31 trading deadline.
- Who is on the playoff roster ? Who gets left off ?
- How does the starting rotation shape up ? The bullpen ?
- Any phantom injuries to decide the roster ?
- How much attention is given to the callups ?
the way it now stands its nova-hughes or hughes -nova….cc could come back for game 4 , if necc.
If Colon were the 1st half Colon, I would have a lot of confidence in him as a #2. I am still hoping he can get back there, but what will be will be. Nova and Hughes could pitch well, but I can easily envision them not pitching well. AJ IMO won’t be on the post-season roster so I’m not worried about him.
Pat M,
Very true….Nova seeks like a kid not satisfied with being a back end starter to me.
any thoughts on who and freddy in the doubleheader?
Kieth Law has Granderson ranked 6th in AL MVP voting… One spot below Ben Zobrist.
Kieth Law has Granderson ranked 6th in AL MVP voting… One spot below Ben Zobrist.
___
That’s because, as has been pointed out here many times, Keith Law is a moron.
In the CC-Nova-Hughes-CC scenario…the game 2 starter can go game 5 on full rest.
Assuming CC is the winner of the 2 Yankee victories….they could also go with Colon or Freddy in game 5.
Keith law is dumb sometimes.
Who did he put ahead of him?
Bautista 1st, Gonzalez, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Zobrit, Granderson? If that is the list well it would simply be unbelievable.
Kieth Law has Granderson ranked 6th in AL MVP voting… One spot below Ben Zobrist.
=====================
aint that what they call the anti-Yankee bias?
pkyankfan69 August 22nd, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Kieth Law has Granderson ranked 6th in AL MVP voting? One spot below Ben Zobrist.
*************************
Nova made his case very early this season. Remember he was the 1st contender to get a rotation spot although you could say that Freddy had a spot as soon as he was signed.
i guess he didn’t want to show his boston bias by making joey bats mvp….why was youk left off?
Bautista 1st, Gonzalez, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Zobrit, Granderson? If that is the list well it would simply be unbelievable.
___
IM sure three Red Sox are probably there, which in itself makes very little sense. If you have 3 players out of 9 who are mvp candidates, is any one of them truly an MVP?
I would say you cannot have more than two candidates on the same team in one year for any of them to really seem like an MVP.
Jerkface August 22nd, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Bautista 1st, Gonzalez, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Zobrit, Granderson?
*************************
Seriously? In what universe is the elf finishing above Granderson?
No Erin, I was asking! Quick someone with insider get the real list. He can’t be going straight WAR, as Grandy is still 5th in the league.
Seriously? In what universe is the elf finishing above Granderson?
__
The elf didnt even deserve to win the year he did win, he wasnt even the best player on his own team that year.
Jerkface- oh, I see. My bad! LOL
Browsing around the web, Yu Darvish’s stats from NYYFANS
15-3 (leads the league. 2nd is 12 wins)
1.59 ERA (3rd in the league. 1st is 1.48)
158 IP
182 K (leads the league. 2nd is 157 K)
24 Walks
:>
how does zobrist finish ahead of grandy?
why is he even on the list? where is cano?
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb.....id=6876480
bautista
pedroia
ellsbury
verlander
agon
granderson
Speaking of Yu Darvish, has any Japanese PITCHER ever come over and lived up to expectations?
bautista
pedroia
ellsbury
verlander
agon
granderson
____
Sometimes i think Law just does this to F with Yankee fans.
I would trade for Harden if it only cost a middling prospect. If he’s healthy he’d slide right into the #2 spot. His contract is peanuts for the rest of the yr and he’s not under contract for 2012. So the Yanks would be counting on him for about 10 starts (including the playoffs). He’s so cheap that he’d be worth the gamble.
You know what’s sad?
In the world of Keith Law you can have a top 5 MVP list with three men on one team, and that team STILL IS NOT IN FIRST PLACE!
Speaking of Yu Darvish, has any Japanese PITCHER ever come over and lived up to expectations?
–
Hideo Nomo! Daisuke once had a 2 ERA! Kuroda has been very good, as has Uehara
Pedroia? What am I missing about Pedroia’s year that makes him a stronger candidate than Cano, nevermind Granderson?
I think someone is quoting Law’s article from 3 days ago where he talks about each MVP candidate. He wrote a paragraph on Bautista, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Verlander and Granderson. And one sentence on Gonzalez saying he wasn’t even close to being MVP.
Then there was a table with each guy’s WAR and Granderson was 6th in the league at that time. So it’s not like Law is saying Granderson should be 6th in MVP race.
In fact I seem to remember Law saying a few days ago on twitter that he’d vote Granderson 2nd or 3rd, I don’t recall the exact place.
What am I missing about Pedroia’s year that makes him a stronger candidate than Cano, nevermind Granderson?
–
When they hand him the award he will do this adorable little hop to get into a ready position on the podium.
Touche Jerkface, but i dont consider Dice_K a success with 1 good year in a 6 year deal. Kuroda has been good, ill give you that. Haven’t seen enough of Uehara to say just yet.
1st off, why bautista over grandy?
ellsbury is the rs mvp
“In the world of Keith Law you can have a top 5 MVP list with three men on one team, and that team STILL IS NOT IN FIRST PLACE!”
hahaha, blame Brian Cashman. He’s holding the objective pipe too long and not passing it on to Law.
Jerkface August 22nd, 2011 at 4:14 pm
When they hand him the award he will do this adorable little hop to get into a ready position on the podium.
****************************
I don’t have insider but the list is:
Bautista
Pedroia
Ellsbury
Verlander
Zobrist
Granderson
A. Gonzo
“Then there was a table with each guy’s WAR and Granderson was 6th in the league at that time. So it’s not like Law is saying Granderson should be 6th in MVP race.
In fact I seem to remember Law saying a few days ago on twitter that he’d vote Granderson 2nd or 3rd, I don’t recall the exact place.”
Patrick, don’t go injecting facts into our Keith Law rants.
Hard for anyone to have sustained success in the majors. If there was the same talent base that every other race had for Japanese in MLB you’d have your guys putting up nice long careers, flame outs, 1 year wonders, and the rest.
Lack of available talent certainly makes any 1 acquisition risky, but can’t be turned off of an entire nations worth of talent because there hasnt been a home run.
Actually, Pedroia should probably get some votes for being the only player that can pull off playing for a major league team and a Little League World Series team at the same time.
Strike my Harden comment. Buster said he was pulled off back after the Indians claimed him. So much for that.
Erin August 22nd, 2011 at 3:34 pm
KayShowESPN NY Yankees GM Brian Cashman will join us at 4:00pm on ESPN NY 1050, ESPNNY.com ,XM 210 & SIRIUS 93. We’ll discuss AJ Burnett. Tune in!
—————-
Because this will be the interview where Brian Cashman goes off script and says something that is actually newsworthy?
Ten-to-one it’s some variation of “AJ hasn’t pitched well but we still believe in him and think he’s going to be a big part of what we want to accomplish here.”
CountryClub August 22nd, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Strike my Harden comment. Buster said he was pulled off back after the Indians claimed him. So much for that.
————–
Sigh.
Brian Cashman: “Burnett’s pitched much better this year than last year.”
Cash on with Kay
Now he is going through start by start since June 29th and saying he only had 2 “bad” starts in that time period out of 9 and the rest he gave us a chance to win. Says he is not pitching like a #2 but not pitching as poorly as people indicate. Says he provides a lot of value with his innings and giving chance to win as good as other back-end guys in the league. Said there is still value in what he brings to the table (has said this a few times throughout the interview).
Other than that… the usual stuff “we have 6 guys who can pitch in a pennant race, not in a rush to make a decision, playoffs are still over a month away, etc.”
Zobrist/Ellsbury/Pedroia all have huge WAR because of position adjustment and really great fielding stats. And for some reason Granderson has a -9.2 UZR this year. I’m not saying ignore WAR or UZR just that UZR isn’t the most reliable stat in the world.
Chip-don’t shoot the messsenger.
Missed it..whats cash man saying?
Ten-to-one it’s some variation of “AJ hasn’t pitched well but we still believe in him and think he’s going to be a big part of what we want to accomplish here.”
___
From what i read this morning, Cashman has pulled back from his AJ defense. He says things like “at the time i said it, i thought people were overreacting” and “At least he isnt Ollie Perez” and “his contract will not guarantee his spot”.
Doesn’t exactly scream 100% support.
ac1 August 22nd, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Speaking of Yu Darvish, has any Japanese PITCHER ever come over and lived up to expectations?
—————
No – but then again every Japanese pitcher that comes over here is supposed to actually be better than God if God was a pitcher.
That said, Nomo, Sasaki, Uehara – all pretty good. Even Irabu wasn’t awful – he just wasn’t the Japanese Nolan Ryan, unless they meant Ryan at the very end.
The positive thing on Darvish is that his success isn’t predicated on a trick pitch “gyroball” it’s just flat out overpowering stuff.
ac1 August 22nd, 2011 at 4:20 pm
From what i read this morning, Cashman has pulled back from his AJ defense
********************
He needs a new objective pipe.
The positive thing on Darvish is that his success isn’t predicated on a trick pitch “gyroball” it’s just flat out overpowering stuff.
—
Matsuzaka’s success wasn’t predicated on a gyroball either. That was just a silly rumor created by NYYFans or some other crap website
ac1 August 22nd, 2011 at 4:20 pm
Ten-to-one it’s some variation of “AJ hasn’t pitched well but we still believe in him and think he’s going to be a big part of what we want to accomplish here.”
___
From what i read this morning, Cashman has pulled back from his AJ defense. He says things like “at the time i said it, i thought people were overreacting” and “At least he isnt Ollie Perez” and “his contract will not guarantee his spot”.
————-
Well again that’s just going by the book – Cashman isn’t going to go out there and say “look at his contract, of course we’re going to keep running him out there.”
I’m with GB….Law is an ass and for the most part has been for sometime now
I’d go after Darvish but I wouldn’t expect him to be an ace. Even though they play the same game in Japan, it’s so much different. Much larger strikezone, I believe they use a slightly smaller ball, and the hitters aren’t as good. Not to mention they all work off a different rotation schedule and throwing program.
Erin August 22nd, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Chip-don’t shoot the messsenger
—————-
Wouldn’t dream of it – just tired of people promoting interviews with managers or gms as if they’re going to be the one who gets the nugget no one else does, who get the answer to the hard questions.
Unless the manager in question is someone like Ozzie Guillen or TLR there is nothing more useless and uninformative than 20 minutes of manager/gm speak regarding a controversy with the team.
“Now he is going through start by start since June 29th and saying he only had 2 “bad” starts in that time period out of 9 and the rest he gave us a chance to win.”
Throwing out AJ’s awful starts, and giving him proper credit for his good start on June 29th, AJ has gone 5 or 6 innings and given up 3 or 4 earned runs, 6 times in 8 starts since June 24th. The other two times he gave up 4 earned runs in 7 and 8 innings respectively.
This is in an environment where the average AL pitcher has a 3.97 ERA, or about 4 earned runs in 9 innings.
I’d go after Darvish but I wouldn’t expect him to be an ace. Even though they play the same game in Japan, it’s so much different. Much larger strikezone, I believe they use a slightly smaller ball, and the hitters aren’t as good. Not to mention they all work off a different rotation schedule and throwing program.
____
They can learn from Dice-K with regard to the training regimen issues.
Also, wouldnt hurt to ask Yu to throw with an MLB baseball before giving him whatever he is looking for in FA.
Full Cashman story is on espn.com
This is in an environment where the average AL pitcher has a 3.97 ERA, or about 4 earned runs in 9 innings.
___
Except Burnett’s ERA is 5. If he went 9 innings and gave up only 4 runs that would be great. But he goes 5 innings (6 max ) and gives up 4 runs.
I’m with GB….Law is an ass and for the most part has been for sometime now
—
That is definitely part of his persona, although he would claim he’s being funny and not a jerk. The argument was over his supposed ranking of MVP candidates, which as I proved was false. He has Granderson in the top 3 which seems to be the consensus even among the non-SABR people.
Patrick August 22nd, 2011 at 4:27 pm
I’d go after Darvish but I wouldn’t expect him to be an ace. Even though they play the same game in Japan, it’s so much different. Much larger strikezone, I believe they use a slightly smaller ball, and the hitters aren’t as good. Not to mention they all work off a different rotation schedule and throwing program.
——————
Not sure what Cashman will do. Does he spend big in Japan again after the Igawa fiasco? He’s spent big on NL pitchers after being burned by them so I don’t see why not.
And Darvish is much different given how young he is (22 I believe?) so if you’re going to get stuck giving a 5 year deal to a pitcher, would you rather it be a 31 year old converted reliever (though one who has had success in the AL and the playoffs) or a phenom 10 years his junior…tough call.
Cashman referred to Jeter as ‘the short stop’, shades of the Boss
Cash also said earlier today that AJ is having “his typical terrible August.”
Chip,
Darvish is 25.
I think Cash will definitely make a run at it but he could very well be outbid. He’s not going to crazy with the posting fee like Boston did for Matsuzaka.
Granderson has a higher OPS than any of those guys except Bautista and is a CFer……also Cano is having a better year than Pedroia.
Cashman just did about 15-20 solid minutes of rationalizing about AJ. Repeatedly said that money wouldn’t factor into their decision……we’ll see about that.
I spent the weekend saying things to my wife such as: “Did you just plouffe?” and “Remember, no plouffing in bed!”
I’d trust pitcher performance in Japan more if they used the same ball as MLB.
h also said earlier today that AJ is having “his typical terrible August.”
____
Which was followed by his ‘typical horrible July”, “typical mediocre june”, “eh may”, and his ‘deceptively good Aprils’
“Except Burnett’s ERA is 5.”
Actually, from June 24th on his ERA has been 6.32.
Good to know that works for the Cashman.
*which followed*
not ‘followed by’
The mythical of the gyroball was created by ESPN
Cashman said: in AJs 9 starts since the end of June AJ has been abysmal in two and pedestrian in the other 7…….its not that bad guys
blake,
Pedroia/Zobrist/Ellsbury are in the conversation because they play premium defensive positions and have a really high UZR. Since that’s used in WAR they show up on the top of the WAR leaderboards which is what most SABR people use as a snapshot for “most valuable”.
Erin-
In regards to Japanese bowing:
A more formal way of bowing is performed to a 45-degree angle looking down at your feet. This type of bow signifies deep gratitude, a respectful greeting, a formal apology.
That was a s%*t bow!!!
I think Cashman and Yankees fan base have different ideas of what pedestrian means….
To me, pedestrian means middle of the road, not 5th worst qualifying ERA in the majors.
Patrick August 22nd, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Chip,
He’s not going to crazy with the posting fee like Boston did for Matsuzaka.
—————-
The question becomes, who will? I don’t see Boston doing it. Seattle might, given their huge Japanese following he would be a natural transition from Ichiro and if he’s half of what he’s cracked up to be, a young rotation of King Felix, Pineda and Darvish could be fun for the Mariners to build around.
Id rather sign Wilson than Darvish……he probably wont cost much more and I know.he can.at least pitch in the big leagues……not crazy about pursuing either.
This was Laws breakdown of Granderson:
“The most valuable position player on what may be the team with the best record in the American League by the end of the season, and if you throw out the defensive runs figures on FanGraphs — not that I’m advocating you do such a thing — Granderson is second in the league behind Bautista, as UZR shows him at nine runs below the mean for all AL center fielders this year and Baseball-Reference concurs. He’s third in the AL in wOBA, a total-offense rate stat, behind Bautista and Cabrera. I don’t know if Granderson is suffering from playing with a former center fielder, Brett Gardner, to his right, but I’ve never seen Granderson as a below-average defender, and he wasn’t one statistically until this year. I wouldn’t put him first on my ballot under any circumstances right now, but I could understand any voter who put him second or third due to skepticism at the implied collapse of his glove.”
“but I could understand any voter who put him second or third due to skepticism at the implied collapse of his glove.” —- Not exactly a screaming endorsement of him voting Grandy 2nd or 3rd now is it?
The mariners bid like 10 million dollars on Ichiro. They wont drop 40+ on Darvish.
Yankee Trader-
Told you it was a good one.
So C.J. Wilson is the “big” pitcher on the market this year?
Pass…
Cashman truly is an idiot. If he didn’t have the Yankees budge, he’d be lucky to have a job as a clubhouse boy.
All this Cash talk of Hughes being better suited to the pen will make Betsy’s head explode.
The A’s probably pulled back Harden instead of trading him to the Indians because the Indians traded away their best prospects for their new #1, pitching like a #5, Ubaldo Jimenez.
Don’t get on Cashman too much – he can’t come on the radio and say “AJ is awful, you know it, I know it. He’s been my third worst pitching pick up behind Pavano and Igawa and I’m sorry. I should have known better but we had just missed the playoffs and my choices were AJ or Derek Lowe and there was no way I was going with Lowe. If I could, I would release him tomorrow, but he just makes way too much money. I’m sorry…I’m so, so sorry.”
Now Cash is on with Joe and Evan…. and is getting kind of defensive.
Joe and Evan obviously asking tougher questions than Kay did
Yankee Trader August 22nd, 2011 at 4:41 pm
The A’s probably pulled back Harden instead of trading him to the Indians because the Indians traded away their best prospects for their new #1, pitching like a #5, Ubaldo Jimenez.
————
21 runs in 21 IP.
What Cashman should have done is gotten on the radio and said “Hey, at least I didn’t trade Montero, Nova and Betances for Ubaldo”
Is Curtis supposed to be a below average CFer or something?
I think he’s great.
There are like 60 pitchers in baseball with an ERA under 4 in baseball.
I believe there are only like 3 or 4 qualified pitchers in all of baseball who have an ERA over 5.
Cash is still living in 2004. The run environment is far different than it was in the past.
Only 2 pitchers in the AL have a higher overall ERA than Burnett (once Lackey qualifies, it will be 3). He is not mediocre – he is one of the worst in baseball.
What Cashman should have done is gotten on the radio and said “Hey, at least I didn’t trade Montero, Nova and Betances for Ubaldo”
–
He said a contender made a trade for someone that is now pitching very ‘Burnett-like’
Patrick,
WAR weighs defense too heavily as the defensive metrics aren’t accurate. Granderson has like 70 points on Ellsbury in OPS last time I looked……and is just as good if not better defensively. WAR is a cool concept…..but its flawed.
4time August 22nd, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Now Cash is on with Joe and Evan…. and is getting kind of defensive.
Joe and Evan obviously asking tougher questions than Kay did
————–
Either that or he gets snippy when asked the same question 14 times in 2 days.
On the plus side, since he’s on with Joe and Evan and not Francessa he at least gets to finish a sentance.
Is Curtis supposed to be a below average CFer or something?
I think he’s great.
–
He has had some iffy moments in CF this year, and I think Gardner would be better, but Granderson has been a very good CFer for the yankees. UZR goes against averages though, so its possible that the CF position has gotten buff recently.
# Niblick August 22nd, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Cashman truly is an idiot. If he didn’t have the Yankees budge, he’d be lucky to have a job as a clubhouse boy.
———-
You’ve got to add more to the discussion than “Girardi is an idiot” and “Cashman is an idiot” if you want people to take you seriously.
Otherwise, it is YOU who continues to sound like an idiot.
Giuseppe Franco August 22nd, 2011 at 4:46 pm
# Niblick August 22nd, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Cashman truly is an idiot. If he didn’t have the Yankees budge, he’d be lucky to have a job as a clubhouse boy.
———-
You’ve got to add more to the discussion than “Girardi is an idiot” and “Cashman is an idiot” if you want people to take you seriously.
Otherwise, it is YOU who continues to sound like an idiot.
————
haha soooo true
“WAR weighs defense too heavily as the defensive metrics aren’t accurate. Granderson has like 70 points on Ellsbury in OPS last time I looked……and is just as good if not better defensively. WAR is a cool concept…..but its flawed”
OK kids, the question for today is which is more flawed:
1. voting for MVP using WAR incorporating UZR; or
2. refusing to vote for a player for MVP because the player is not on a playoff team.
Haven’t heard any of the Cashman interviews. If he is indeed building on some positives in regards to Burnett, although I can’t imagine what they might be, maybe he is in the process of working on trading him?
Where is Miguel Cabrera in all the talk for MVP. Similar OPS to Grandy with almost 1/2 the strikeouts?
My favorite Cashman answer ever:
jaydestro Cashman on A-Rod in Mohegan Sun: “mohegan sun is a important sponsor of the Yankees. ”
Just out of curiosity, would anyone here agree to sign AJ to a 3 year contract extension if you could somehow be guaranteed a 2011 Game 2 World Series victory?
So the Red Sox supposedly have three Top 5 MVP candidates with Josh Beckett having his best season and own a 10-2 record against the Yanks this season.
Funny how despite all that they are in 2nd Place.
If that’s the case, yes Cash must keep throwing aj out there to show he aint that bad.
If he aint that bad, he still has trade value this winter when all the stats are in.
They don’t need him for the playoffs, so that’s a positive.
Giuseppe Franco August 22nd, 2011 at 4:51 pm
So the Red Sox supposedly have three Top 5 MVP candidates with Josh Beckett having his best season and own a 10-2 record against the Yanks this season.
Funny how despite all that they are in 2nd Place.
—————
true – imagine if the Yankees had any success against them at all.
GF – thanks for calling me an idiot. I apreciate that very much. Cashman continues to defend AJ’s performance, as if it were acceptable to have the guy with the third worst ERA on the team in the rotation of a Penang contender. He’s delusional. And GF if you don’t like my comments don’t read them. Otherwise you’re the true idiot.
I’ve never claimed to be a big fan of Cashman but I think he’s had an amazing “walk year”.
I’d be very surprised if Hal lets him go elsewhere. Honestly if Cash leaves I think it would only be if he wanted out.
Same goes for you doc. When you add something valuable to the conversation, it’ll be a first.
Ledger_Yankees Also, re: Laffey, I hear that though he is DFA’d, he’s been placed on optional waivers and technically remains on the 40.
Ledger_Yankees Yankees intend to send Laffey down but I believe his service time made it so he had to go through optional waivers.
My favorite Cashman answer ever:
jaydestro Cashman on A-Rod in Mohegan Sun: “mohegan sun is a important sponsor of the Yankees. ”
====================
jay destro, that’s a nme from the past….is that where lohud’s missing posters go ? to tweeterville?
This is the problem with sabremetrics – it turns everything into a number of statistic. There is no substitute for actually watching the games. And anyone who watches the games can see that Granderson is an excellent outfielder. Gets to everything, makes spectacular catches, dives into walls, etc.
It’s not his fault that they have the best LF in the game and a good RFer. Any stat that shows Grandy as -9 or whatever in defense is obviously not a stat that should be taken seriously.
Hope the old-time baseball guys get most of the votes for this MVP – you know, the ones who actually watch the games, not make decisions based on spreadsheets.
Same goes for you doc. When you add something valuable to the conversation, it’ll be a first.
===============
hey doc is an expert on tatoos…
Idiots Delight!
Niblick August 22nd, 2011 at 4:53 pm
GF – thanks for calling me an idiot. I apreciate that very much. Cashman continues to defend AJ’s performance, as if it were acceptable to have the guy with the third worst ERA on the team in the rotation of a Penang contender. He’s delusional. And GF if you don’t like my comments don’t read them. Otherwise you’re the true idiot.
————–
Cashman defends AJ because he has no choice but to do so. It’s an impossible situation for the GM or Manager. His performance is indefensible and in a meritocracy he shouldn’t be in the rotation – but there is the matter of his contract and the two years left on it that prevent the Yankees from moving AJ.
So now you tell us – how would you, in Cashman’s place, fix this particular problem?
So maybe he’s responsible for AJ’s look?
as if it were acceptable to have the guy with the third worst ERA on the team in the rotation of a Penang contender.
===============
Is Penang in Viet Nam?
# Niblick August 22nd, 2011 at 4:53 pm
GF – thanks for calling me an idiot. I apreciate that very much. Cashman continues to defend AJ’s performance, as if it were acceptable to have the guy with the third worst ERA on the team in the rotation of a Penang contender. He’s delusional. And GF if you don’t like my comments don’t read them. Otherwise you’re the true idiot.
———
Cashman and Girardi are going to defend their guys. Period. Why is that so hard for you to understand?
Tearing guys apart like Ozzie Guillen does regularly got very old a long time ago. Many of his own players can’t stand him.
And frankly, this is a public blog. If you don’t like to be called out on your stupidity, don’t write stupid things. It’s as simple as that.
Anybody seen Dinner for Idiots?
How about bowling for Idiots?
Yankee Trader August 22nd, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Haven’t heard any of the Cashman interviews. If he is indeed building on some positives in regards to Burnett, although I can’t imagine what they might be, maybe he is in the process of working on trading him?
Where is Miguel Cabrera in all the talk for MVP. Similar OPS to Grandy with almost 1/2 the strikeouts?
———————–
I would be more apt to give the MVP to his teammate – Verlander.
Granderson has a slew more HR, RBI, obviously runs scored and steals than Miggy while playing a more difficult position.
LD juiced last night.
mick August 22nd, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Anybody seen Dinner for Idiots?
***********************
Yes. Why, are you thinking that would be what a LoHud dinner party would be like???
They ate Igawa’s contract; they can eat AJ’s. The money they committed to him is a sunk cost. It’s unlikely they can recover it by trading him. Why add to the monetary cost the additional cost of him pitching crappy every 5 days? Cashman should do what any executive with a brain would do: cut his losses and move on, not wallow in self-delusion about the job AJ’s doing.
WAR weighs defense too heavily as the defensive metrics aren’t accurate. Granderson has like 70 points on Ellsbury in OPS last time I looked……and is just as good if not better defensively. WAR is a cool concept…..but its flawed.
—
I agree.
BJK August 22nd, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Just out of curiosity, would anyone here agree to sign AJ to a 3 year contract extension if you could somehow be guaranteed a 2011 Game 2 World Series victory?
—————————————-
OMG. Randy Levine would probably be willing to overule Cashman!! The Yankees would have to score at least 9 runs to get a game 2 victory with Burnett pitching, and even then that might not be enough the way he currently is pitching.
Niblick,
You really are an idiot if you think cutting AJ is Cashman’s call.
GF – I’m waiting for you to write something worthy of reading.
jaydestro Cashman on A-Rod in Mohegan Sun: “mohegan sun is a important sponsor of the Yankees. ”
—————————
The Mohegan sun is fine. Everyone gets their cut while Mom & Pop blow junior’s college fund at the roulette wheel.
#misremembered”Casino”quotes
Yes. Why, are you thinking that would be what a LoHud dinner party would be like???
=====================================================
A LoHud dinner party?
That would be awkward.
Would we wear name tags?
ESPNNewYork Is Mariano Rivera the best closer ever? No way, said Padres radio announcer Ted Leitner while honoring Trevor Hoffman. http://t.co/Kg83UIk
@ESPNnewyork
Is Mariano Rivera the best closer ever? No way, said Padres radio announcer Ted Leitner while honoring Trevor Hoffman. http://t.co/Kg83UIk
————————————————————————————————————————-
HAHAHAHAHAHA so he will be the best closer for roughly 3 weeks
Niblick August 22nd, 2011 at 5:00 pm
They ate Igawa’s contract; they can eat AJ’s. The money they committed to him is a sunk cost. It’s unlikely they can recover it by trading him. Why add to the monetary cost the additional cost of him pitching crappy every 5 days? Cashman should do what any executive with a brain would do: cut his losses and move on, not wallow in self-delusion about the job AJ’s doing.
————–
Igawa’s contract was not even half of AJ’s contract – try again. There are certain players you have to live with because of their contracts:
AJ
Zambrano
Todd Helton
Soriano
Once in a blue moon you find someone willing to take it (as the Jays did when they sent Vernon Wells to the Angles) but those opportunities are few and far between.
So you think it’s the Steinbrenners who want AJ to go out there every 5 days? That’s stupid.
Is this week the final week of auditions for starter #6?
The world wants to know.
Cash makes it sound like it could be Hughes.
Don’t tell Betsy…
Yup, you’re an idiot!
mick August 22nd, 2011 at 5:00 pm
LD juiced last night.
*************************
and couldn’t get into the HOF as a result.
niblick, what the hell r u talkin about?
ur doggin giradi and cahsman callin them idiots, and u say cause they stick with a guy in the rotation,
they have to do something with him as he is being paid 16 mil,
we r in first place right now when in the beganin of the season ppl projected us to be 3rd, even 4th,
ill trust giradi and cashmans opinion over u since they are both successful baseball people and ur posting on a blog from your computer
ill trust giradi and cashmans opinion over u since they are both successful baseball people and ur posting on a blog from your computer
=====================
you forgot to say in his mothers basement.
and couldn’t get into the HOF as a result.
=========================
did u see him smack that ball tho’.
Is this week the final week of auditions for starter #6?
The world wants to know.
Cash makes it sound like it could be Hughes.
Don’t tell Betsy…
___
This would be a very flawed and shortsighted resolution.
Hughes should go to the pen because he was good there a few years ago for 2 months?
Shouldn’t he be pitching every 5th day, getting some innings in (especially if he is pitching well, which he is)?
Cash makes it sound like it could be Hughes.
============================
meant to say Hughes to the pen.
haha mick, i didnt want to go there haha
# Niblick August 22nd, 2011 at 5:01 pm
GF – I’m waiting for you to write something worthy of reading.
———–
So skip my posts. I promise you it won’t offend me.
Let other LoHudders be the judge who has something to offer and who doesn’t.
Was Laffey DFA’d to in order to make room on the 40 man roster for Wendy Rodriguez? If so, I think its a bad move. I’d rather the Yankees bring up Adam Warren rather than obtain Wendy Rodriguez. I believe that Warren could give the Yanks 5 good innings in a playoff game or two before turning it over to Ayala/Logan, Soriano, Robertson and Rivera.
Burnett is arguably the worst starter in major league baseball the past two seasons that continues to get the ball every 5th day.
If he wasn’t guaranteed a contract next year he would be lucky to get more than a minor league spring training invite offer.
For a team that is supposedly so financially powerful it’s time to stop making decisions based on money and sugarcoating AJ’s truly awful performance.
I find it unbelievable that Cash would mention Hughes and the pen at this team.
Is he doing everything possible to undermine this kid?
Don’t get that…
When does Manny pitch again?
make room on the 40 man roster for Wendy Rodriguez?
=================
who is this wendy you speak of?
I find it unbelievable that Cash would mention Hughes and the pen at this team.
=========
at this point
they have said they are not in on Wandy, so the Laffey move has nothing to do with that.
There are certain players you have to live with because of their contracts:
AJ
Zambrano
Todd Helton
Soriano
———————
Let’s not forget some others:
Barry Zito
Carlos Lee
Somehow there are those that do get pawned off on others when their careers are really over like Mike Hampton and his contract-the largest in its time for a pitcher.
why not laffey off the 40 and montero on?
LGY,
Come on…..stop piling on AJ…..he was pedestrian in 7 of 9 starts.
There is no way to justify Cashman’s comments that AJ’s contract will not affect a decision, then mention Hughes to the pen…..
AJ could be pitching for his life this Friday.
Is that enough pressure for him.
ac1 August 22nd, 2011 at 5:10 pm
they have said they are not in on Wandy, so the Laffey move has nothing to do with that.
===============================================
Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad that the Yankees will not pursue Rodriguez…his contract would be a burden on the Yankees for the next 2 years.
“There is no way to justify Cashman’s comments that AJ’s contract will not affect a decision, then mention Hughes to the pen…..”
Until it happens, it’s nothing more than words.
Couldn’t pitch with a 13 run lead against Chicago, 7 runs in 1.2 vs. Minny. If he cannot beat Baltimore, that says it all…
The Laffey DFA leaves an open spot on the 40 man. Hmmm….
“There is no way to justify Cashman’s comments that AJ’s contract will not affect a decision, then mention Hughes to the pen…..”
Until it happens, it’s nothing more than words.
___
Agreed, however it isn’t something that Phil Hughes should have to listen to….
These are the guidelines for MVP voting:
(1) actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense; (2) number of games played; (3) general character, disposition, loyalty and effort; (4) former winners are eligible; and (5) members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.
I can see both sides of the argument, it’s a legitimate argument that a player on a team that finishes 4th is less valuable than a player that lead his team to the postseason, even if their performance is identical.
Plus, Granderson is currently winning (2) over Bautista 123 games played to 114, and (3) as it seems everyone loves Granderson and is like an ambassador of the game.
Mo is going to reduce Trevor Hoffman to a footnote.
Mo gets the big plaque.
Understand this.
The only thing Hughes needs to worry about is pitching well, if he does that then he doesn’t have to worry about the bullpen as I don’t see AJ turning it around anytime soon.
The Giants don’t have the revenue streams the Yankees do and they haven’t bound themselves to Barry Zito in their rotation…..he pitches some to eat innings but when a game matters he wont be out there……and they still owe him more than the Yanks owe AJ.
Ledger_Yankees Also, re: Laffey, I hear that though he is DFA’d, he’s been placed on optional waivers and technically remains on the 40.
Not so sure about C.J.Wilson. Given a choice I’d rather have LH Mark Buehrle for less years until Manny Banuelos is ready.
Every time I saw Hoffman in a big game, he blew it.
I didn’t hear Cashman on the radio as I was at work, but from what the callers who called in to Kay afterwards said and by what Curry said, I got the impression that Cashman (which didn’t surprise me at all) completely defended AJ. I don’t expect him to rip into his player, but to go out of your way like this? Curry is right – AJ has been given some of the strongest support a player has ever had by management. I also have felt for some time that Cashman did NOT want to take AJ out of the rotation – it wasn’t just a feeling, it was borne out by his very strong comments from a few weeks ago. I just feel that he is really down on Hughes as well and that Hughes is the one constantly auditioning for a role – that he can not afford one bad start while AJ has a good one. Curry said as much to Kay – the Yankees WANT AJ to maintain his spot in the rotation. They keep giving him all these chances to show the stuff they believe he has. Well if they feel that way about AJ, then they obviously do not feel the same about Hughes. I said this last night and have said it – I think if they had their druthers, Phil would go to the pen. I just do not believe Cashman is overly committed to Phil any longer – I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s traded over the off-season.
Jacksquat-
Good post. I believe the writers must also fill in all 10 slots, listing them from 1 to 10, as a 10th place finish might effect the outcome of who wins.
“For a team that is supposedly so financially powerful it’s time to stop making decisions based on money and sugarcoating AJ’s truly awful performance.”
So over the last two years AJ has a 5.12 ERA, this year a 4.96 ERA. According to fangraphs, AJ’s been worth about $5MM each year. Now he’s making $16.5M per year, so per Fangraphs at least the Yanks are losing about $11.5MM on him for each of the last two years.
So one obvious possibility is for the Yanks to trade him and eat $23MM of his remaining contract and let some other team gamble on whether he can return to form. This wouldn’t hurt the Yanks financially, as they are already committed to paying AJ $33MM over the remaining two years of his contract no matter how well or poorly he pitches.
That would open up a rotation slot, which the Yanks could fill with a kid (Nova, etc.) making minimum salary in the hopes the kid could pitch to a value of $5MM per year or better. In which case the Yanks would break even financially but there is an upside to the risk.
That would allow the Yanks to continue making decisions based on money.
Betsy,
Cashman didn’t sound like that at all today about Hughes. He said he’s had some.struggles and he’s through them…..I can’t remember the exact words but he said something like a couple weeks ago there was talk of Hughes coming out of the rotation but now that’s over.
New Post on Yankees DH decision—>
Wave,
That’s what they should try and.do this winter.
“Well if they feel that way about AJ, then they obviously do not feel the same about Hughes. ”
That looks like 2 +2 = 6 to me.
AJ is a veteran with an expensive contract who is likely an old dog who can’t be taught new tricks.
Phil is a young one who is cost controlled with options and there is still a chance to get right.
Different criteria needed for evaluation.
“blake August 22nd, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Betsy,
Cashman didn’t sound like that at all today about Hughes. He said he’s had some.struggles and he’s through them…..I can’t remember the exact words but he said something like a couple weeks ago there was talk of Hughes coming out of the rotation but now that’s over.”
——————————————————————————————————
This sounds a little bit more realistic. How could anyone in their right mind not keep Nova, CC, and Hughes in the rotation at this point? If the Yankees have given up on Hughes, as Betsy suspects (often) then you would keep him in the rotation until he falters. The better he does, the higher his trade value. Put him in the pen and his trade value falls.