Musty at third; Mesa in center vs. Twins
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Mar 22, 2013 
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Eduardo Nunez SS
Brennan Boesch RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Juan Rivera 1B
Ben Francisco LF
Chris Stewart C
Thomas Neal DH
Melky Mesa CF
Ronnier Mustelier 3B
RHP Ivan Nova
austinmac -
Winning the back pages with multiple firings and re-hirings of Billy Martin and other such shenanigans? Thanks, but no thanks. The stands were still not full. Lots of papers got sold though.
Yes, they knew about ARod’s injury early and they got Youkilis. Not perfect, but he’s not supposed to be a mainstay here, just a stop-gap.
Derek’s injury? They expected him back for the beginning of the season, and they have Nunez and Nix.
Granderson’s injury? I’m sorry, you cannot foresee that one.
Teixeira is problematic. Swisher was a perfect backup for Tex at first. No ready answer for that one, and Tex had enough nagging injuries last year to make you think you have to know who would fill in for him.
The bench is always going to be guys you’re taking a chance on. They are not first stringers.
Good to see Ronnier get another look and set of AB’s at 3rd.
Make the most of it kid.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....hare_tweet
I’m going to check out the site.
I’ve tried to prepare myself for the Transition.
And for a couple of years of less than stellar finishes.
In return we get to rebuild and reset the Tax. Maybe build a new Dynasty.
So going forward the Yankees should be in good shape.
Now. maybe not so much.
We do have excellent Pitching. But do we, or will we, have a enough O ?
That remains to be seen but I do not blame anyone for having their doubts.
I have them too !
When the season starts I would say its a good bet most teams will pitch around Robbie with this surrounding cast of characters.
Doreen – In regards to your post in the last thread, it’s really important to note (IMO anyway) that the Yankees could keep their payroll exactly as is next year and save close to $6 million dollars with the new CBA.
blake March 22nd, 2013 at 8:14 am
“The Yankees were picked for either 4th or dead last.”
as I said yesterday…..Espn is loving this “yankees are doomed” storyline almost as much as they loved the “Red Sox are the best team ever” one from a couple of years ago……we saw how that turned out.
The Yanks have issues…..but if they can get healthy I think they could be good enough to make the playoffs with the pitching they have.
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100% agree.. it’s really a product of the lack of solid competition. Now, granted, every team every year has question marks but there’s no ‘team to beat’ in our division right now. It isn’t like the Nats in the NL East where it’s hard to find a hole.
I would say the Jays are a Team to beat.
Unless of course you believe the injury bug will bite them as well.
Teixeira is problematic. Swisher was a perfect backup for Tex at first. No ready answer for that one, and Tex had enough nagging injuries last year to make you think you have to know who would fill in for him.
________________________________________
Swisher at 5 years 75 mill? Sorry, Yanks were right to let him go, even if they had a crystal ball and foresaw Tex getting hurt
And the Rays aren’t too shabby either.
Most of the Teams in the AL East have improved.
I see the level of competition even more difficult for the Yankees this season.
Shame,
Perhaps. But it is the principle of the thing. It is the whole idea of paying money for nothing for years, and finally getting the chance not to. In the long run, we all hope it will be worth the sacrifice.
MTU March 22nd, 2013 at 8:57 am
And the Rays aren’t too shabby either.
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Is their O better than the Yankees?
Tackleberry -
I’ve said before, I wouldn’t have signed Swisher for what he went for, and I don’t believe really that Swisher was going to take less from the Yankees, at least not significantly less.
All I’m saying is that for 4 years they had a ready backup for Tex whose name happened to be Swisher, but they do not have that right now by any name.
Unless they put Youk at first and let someone else have 3rd.
Maine-
Probably better than the injured form.
They have improved from last year IMO in that department.
Getting Will Myers could have a big impact at some point.
The problem with Swisher is that they probably shouldn’t have given him that contract if they are serious about this budget…..but at the same time….they could REALLY use him right now…..
we have talked a whole lot about the risks of signing Swisher to a deal like that……what we are seeing now though is the flip side….the risk of not doing it, especially when you don’t replace his production….double edged sword.
Doreen
I knew first hand the embarrassement that was George.
RS fans were quick to harrass me for the circus he provided.
Doreen – I think qualifying it as ‘finally getting the chance to’ is misleading. They could have started to be more fiscally conservative at any point before this or any point after this… but they’re choosing to do it at a time that makes the least amount of sense in regards to current contracts and talent.
If they decided to slowly roll back to below $177 targeting 2015 or 2016, I’d be much more on board with the plan because at that point you have legit prospects that will be/should be hitting to fill out your roster.
blake – There’s also the ‘risk of not doing’ the trades for Swisher that many suggested. To let guys that valuable walk for nothing when you know you aren’t planning to retain them (or even tenure and offer) is ass-backwards given their monetary goals.
an offer*
Dangit.
HardballTalk ?@HardballTalk 1m
Phil Hughes likely to start the season on the disabled list http://dlvr.it/36s2pN #mlb #hbt
Shame,
yes…there is risk in everything….clearly the Yanks decided the money risk was higher than the other ones in this case.
Blake-
Unfortunately that has become a familiar refrain with Phil.
Someone please tell the weather gods that winter’s over.
My kingdom for a day that reaches 50 degrees.
Winter is coming….
Bronx,
Amen, brother. Had some snow flurries here around daybreak.
You people should move out West.
Time to walk the Mops.
Later.
The curious case of Philip Joseph Hughes… I still think he’ll end up notching 11-15 wins for us this year. Maybe he’ll go on a surge before the deadline and they’ll move him if Nova bounces back this year.
Have a feeling this lineup is gonna put up 10+ today.
Shame, well, they were. they had been trying to keep payroll at about an even level for a few years before this.
I just have to think it is not frugality at play here. Just not wanting to “give” their money away for nothing. Take the savings out of it. It is just the principle of the thing. They don’t want to pay that tax. Period. And they have an opportunity to get out of paying it for a few years, or at the very least lessening it.
Reading all these comments about how the Yankees are about to re-enter the late ’60s and hte CBS years and Old George as the savior may have some historical merit however how does that explain the Stump Merrill years (also under Old George’s ownership) where the same guy, with the same willingness to spend money, had teams that were probably worse than the teams of the ’60′s?
Inquiring minds want to know…
In the long run, resigning Swisher would have ended up becoming another albatross contract around their necks. I’m willing to suffer alittle in the short term rather than go throuh another declining free swinger who chokes when the playoffs come around. The one thing I do question the FO for and hold accountable for is their unwillingness to spend on the International free agents. No reason they couldn’t have made stronger bids for guys like Chapman, Cespedes, and Puig. They did make a strong bid for Soler, but the Cubs shocked everyone by going to a 9 mill per year offer as they were determined to get him no matter what
It’s hard to trade guys away when you’re still competing for the WS. Who would have played right field for the Yankees last year if they traded him for prospects? And perhaps they don’t get to the playoffs?
We don’t know the alternate reality.
Here is the thing about Swisher, was he good allocation of resources (both financial and position/hitting) for the next four to five years? This is a question the Yankees have been asking themselves more and more so, and probably would have helped them in the past with ARod, though Cashman did speak up at the time.
For me, the answer is no, he would have been another quick fix this year, but going forward is that someone to commit to even if just for four years.
The same goes with the Granderson/AJax trade (and the trade was not about AJax vs. Granderson, it is about Ajax vs. Gardner, because the Yankees were going to replenish Damon’s lost production with an established hitter, it was just a matter of who do you keep and who do you trade: AJax or Gardner – and don’t think Gardner did not have value, the Tigers knew he had 2010 and 2011 in him). Anyway, that deal was the Yankees saw more value over the next fours in Granderson than AJax. Turned out to be correct. Now over the next four years, AJax might turn out to be more valuable, but that is not what that trade was about.
In many, the Yankees could start operating more and more like the Giants, not overreacting to trades and injuries, trying to have “next man up,” not always making the splashy FA. Now, NFL there is a cap, but event hen, the Giants to not usually operate the way some teams do with moving the money always around to get the next shiney toy (see Dallas Cowboys and Washington until last season).
The Yankees could very well have number 3-5 starters homegrown in 2014
They could also have a 2/3 homegrown OF by 2015 (go back to resourse allocation with why Swisher is probably good for this year, not so much 2014 and beyond) and a homegrown catcher at some point in 2015/2016.
Add to it increasing pitchng depth to deal from to fill positional need of 3b
As for SS, that is where asset allocation of FA will also come in, the same with 2b, as both Cano and Andrus will loom large as FA targets in the 2013 and 2014 offseason.
I dunno. That Swisher contract is an overpay, but Swish has been a remarkably consistent player and he plays low-impact positions.
I think Cano’s coming contract is way more alarming.
Ah, but Cano is a different story altogether. He is an “elite.” Swisher is good, very good, but not elite.
And with the old guard passing the baton, they really do need a “guy,” and who other than Cano?
Now, who knows? Maybe the Yankees are willing to let Cano go if the cost and/or years gets too high in the stratosphere? Could definitely happen. But I think they’ll try very hard to retain him, and won’t go down without a fight.
I guess, as Carly alludes to, you have to pick your battles.
Tackelberry
No reason they couldn’t have made stronger bids for guys like Chapman, Cespedes, and Puig. They did make a strong bid for Soler, but the Cubs shocked everyone by going to a 9 mill per year offer as they were determined to get him no matter what
——————————————————————————
How do we know how strong a bid they made on these players?
I don’t get why people were or are defensive about a team spending their own money. It was great when other teams were jealous of our ability to spend rather than now when they laugh because we cannot.
Nothing has changed with regard to spending. It has always been the Yankees choice to spnd over the cap to try to win. Now, the cap trumps winning despite any statements to the contrary.
Less and less players are making it to free agency when they are still in their prime and the Yanks just don’t seem that into going after IFA so they will rebuild this team straight through the draft? Scary thought
Yeah Doreen, point is just that Cano’s contract will be far and away higher risk than Swisher’s. At the same time, yes, it’s apples and oranges.
And, I dunno, signing Cano to an 8-10 year deal isn’t a passing of the baton. You’re getting 2 more prime years or so, and then, most likely, decline. Cano is not a long term fix, in my opinion.
Cano will be roughly two years older than Tex when he signed with the Yankees…
Have we seen a successful mega deal to a 30+ player?
Austinmac,
I think a distinction can be made in that it’s not so much they cannot spend as it is they are choosing not to. Which means at a nod from Hal, they can start spending at any time if this does not go the way they hoped.
And they have an opportunity to get out of paying it for a few years, or at the very least lessening it.
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Again, my issue is that they’ve had this opportunity all along and will also have this opportunity whenever they want going forward. It makes very little sense to fit a circle into a square at this point, and it’s hard to imagine if this were based on ‘principle’ that they wouldn’t have done something sooner. The boys were in charge when they resigned Arod, Tex, got CC, and Soriano.
I wish they would have either discovered their principles sooner or were willing to eat crow for a little while until we’re in better shape to start adhering to them.
And to ask if we would have made the playoffs in 2012 without Swisher while also saying we shouldn’t have retained him seems at odds with itself. There were replacements for Swisher out there (we got one in Ichiro!) or even Grandy who was coming off an MVP year. If they were serious about reassessing their budget they needed to move one or the other for some sort of return. It’s going to be sad to lose Grandy for nothing this year..same for Hughes if we don’t retain him. I’m still not sure what they’ll do with Hughes.. if you guys had to pick between spending $$ on Hughes or Grandy (assuming we retain Cano) who do you pick? I think I let them both go and try to resign Kuroda on a one year deal lol.
RadioKev -
I know, I know. there’s no perfect thing here. But I would think the Yankees would be loathe to see Cano playing for someone else.
Most long term contracts don’t wear well, and I don’t like them. But they’re not going anywhere.
Shame -
They want to be able to spend money they way they want to spend it without the tax. In the past, sure, they could have avoided paying tax by not ever going over that threshold. I think they want to be able to go over the threshold and not pay the tax (or at as high a rate), and this is the first time they have the opportunity to do that.
If I understand correctly, they only have to keep at 189 for a couple of years in order to go back to spending whatever they want luxury tax free (or discounted).
And 189 is a lot of money. the problem is they’re not getting production from ARod and probably won’t get any going forward.
I think the megadeal is the logical conclusion of the old free agent model. The young mega-extension is becoming the new model, and I think their could be greater benefits going that course.
My favorite comment about the Cardinals letting Pujols go, I don’t remember who said it, was that the Cards got 10 years of the Beatles and now the Angels get 10 years of the solo Beatles.
I think we’ve gotten Robbie’s Beatles…
MG,
Firstly, the teams of the late 60s were the worst teams of my lifetime. Last place, for example. Losing over 90 games. The cause was CBS running the team as a corporate asset.
I don’t recall anyone recommending poor managers or stupid spending. What I personally recommend is a willingness to pay fair market value for players as other teams do even if the contract extends into the dreaded 2014 and beyond.
They acted this off season unlike any other team in baseball. They would not enter into multi year contracts other than the inexplicable two year deal to a 40 year old.
We recommended trading Swisher when he had value. We recommended signing Cespedes at a reaonable sum for his ability. We recommended Chavez be resigned or at least offered a contract.
The logic of “teams can spend and still not be good” means a team should not spend escapes me.
Reality is a team that will spend improves their chances to win. It was spending and not some crafty front office work that has been a critical factor in the success of the last decade and a half.
You can support the Hafner, Rivera, Francisco approach. I see it as a sure way to diminish the team, cause loss of fan support and loss of income.
Doreen – It was my understanding they could have reset the tax amount in the last CBA as well… we’ll ask JF when he’s around later. I don’t believe the new CBA presents them with any new opportunities.