Yankees Off-Season Plans

[26 to 6]

I didnt say he was the next Roger Clemens. The basis of my statement was to give you guys an idea of his stature over there. I could have said that he was a top pitcher over there, but you might have not gotten the point, and compared him in your head to say a Barry Zito or Mike Mussina. The purpose of the Clemens comparrison (and it wasnt really a comparrison) was to express how he is the top pitcher over there.

 

I sware to god you mother f***ers always try to pick little stupid fights with me, grow up.

[Cityofchampions33]

I doubt this guy will come cheap, and I'll just laugh if he washes out (if he signs for the Yanks).

[Optimist]

I sware to god you mother f***ers always try to pick little stupid fights with me, grow up.

 

...still in Steinbrenner mode?

[ORS]

The Matsuzaka sweepstakes could be interesting this offseason. He's supposedly got some great stuff; his FB is listed at 98 mph (is that tops, or regular?), and a strikeout pitch called a gyroball (the description of it sounds like a cutter/screwball combination) that he throws in the low 90's. I don't think it is a forgone conclusion that he will go to the Yankees. Here are some things to consider:

 

1) Will the Yankees go hard after him? He's quite a risk, a la Hideki Irabu, who also threw very hard, but didn't quite work out. Plus the Yankees have 5 starters under contract (Johnson, Pavano, Wright, Mussina, and Wang) plus the arbitration of Shawn Chacon to consider. Although, if they are interested, you know they will have the biggest offer on the table.

 

2) Are the Yankees at the top of his list? Matsui entered the market as a lock to sign with the Yankees as they were the only team he was interested in playing for. I haven't read anything to suggest this is the case with Matsuzaka.

 

3) Will be influenced by the presence of Japanese superstars on other teams? If this is the case, then Matsui will make the Yankees attractive. Other teams that could benefit from this are Seattle, NYM, and the ChiSox (who could stand to lose Garland and Hernandez next year in the FA market).

 

EDIT: I've also read reports him having some arm trouble. Apparently he has had several seasons with very high inning counts prior to becoming a professional (common in Japan). Another question mark?

[Manny Goes Boom]

I didnt say he was the next Roger Clemens. The basis of my statement was to give you guys an idea of his stature over there. I could have said that he was a top pitcher over there, but you might have not gotten the point, and compared him in your head to say a Barry Zito or Mike Mussina. The purpose of the Clemens comparrison (and it wasnt really a comparrison) was to express how he is the top pitcher over there.

 

I sware to god you mother f***ers always try to pick little stupid fights with me, grow up.

 

Look man, I was just doing what you did to someone else when they said that about Papelbon, thats all.

[He Hate Me]

Hideki Matsui has insinuated that he won't come back if Torre isn't here. f*** you Steinbrenner and your little general act. Go back in hiding and let Stick build another championship dynasty, while you shut the f*** up and sign the checks and keep your Tamp Bay retards out of running baseball business

[ARod2212]

Keep Cash, Keep Torre, and get rid of all your God damn gurus in Tampa. Let these guys in NY run the team for a year and see what happens. I find it comical that Steinbrenner puts more stock in what comes out of the mouths of businessmen in Tampa than the baseball people in NY.

 

If we can get something back for C-Pav and Wright, do it. I'd have to do some research on this Japanese guy, but 98 MPH fastballs are always nice. If I'm not mistaken, they use smaller baseballs in Japan, which could impact his effectiveness? Just floating that one. I trust Cash to build next year's club, just don't let him go to the Phillies.

[riverside sluggers]

Old approach won't yield new results for Yanks

Ken Rosenthal / FOXSports.com

Posted: 8 hours ago

 

Start the drumbeat. Another desperate Yankees off-season is under way, and a dizzying list of free-agent and trade possibilities is making the rounds. Right fielder Gary Sheffield and catcher Jorge Posada might be dealt. Second baseman Robinson Cano could be the bait for Twins center fielder Torii Hunter. Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon, Orioles closer B.J. Ryan and Padres catcher Ramon Hernandez are among potential free-agent targets. So? The Yankees haven't won the World Series since 2000 and might not win another before 2010, no matter how much money they spend, no matter how many additional mercenaries they acquire.

 

They're too old, too unathletic, too reliant on unheralded performers like pitchers Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon. What the Yankees need is an infusion of young talent, similar to the one they received in the mid-1990s — back in the day before owner George Steinbrenner formed the YES Network and started pursuing television stars first, baseball players second. But unlike the Braves, who advanced as far as the Yankees this season while blending in an impressive array of youngsters, the Yankees possess neither the patience nor scouting-and-development savvy to replenish from within.

 

Cano and right-hander Chien-Ming Wang represent a start, but Cano is half a player, invigorating on offense, indifferent on defense, Alfonso Soriano without the power. Outside of Class AA third baseman Eric Duncan and Class A right-hander Philip Hughes, the Yankees' system is short on top upper-level prospects. From a business perspective, the Yankees' star-driven formula is a proven success — the team drew 4 million fans this season for the first time in its storied history. Alas, aging, overpaid stars make for good box office, but not good baseball.

 

The Yankees would be truly dangerous if they used their vast resources in a different way, trading expensive veterans and the majority of their salaries for premium young talent. Let's say the Yankees could send Sheffield to the Blue Jays for right-hander Brandon League, Posada to the Diamondbacks for first baseman Conor Jackson and right-hander Carl Pavano to the Tigers for center fielder Curtis Granderson. Such deals would make the Yankees a better, more interesting team, and their trading partners would be getting established veterans at a discount.

 

The problem is, the Yankees don't even think that way. Steinbrenner isn't interested in building for the future, and many Yankees fans have adopted his mindset, setting unrealistic expectations, demanding new stars. Thus, the Yankees have fallen into the classic trap: By trying to win the World Series every year, they don't win it in any year, digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole. They've already committed $145 million to 12 players in '06, and that's not including left fielder Hideki Matsui and setup man Tom Gordon, potential free agents who must either be signed or replaced.

 

This is not the profile of a team in a rebuilding mode. And even if the Yankees could get younger by trading say, Sheffield and Posada, they would create other problems. Imagine No. 2 hitter Alex Rodriguez hitting in the middle of the lineup without Sheffield to protect him. Imagine a new catcher and a new pitching coach trying to handle a staff in decay. The Yankees drumbeat is coming, only once again it has no rhythm. Cue up the same tired refrain.

[yankeessuck013]

Yankees sent second baseman Mark Bellhorn outright to Triple-A Columbus. Even if the Yankees had some interest in bringing Bellhorn back as a utilityman, they weren't going to go to arbitration with him, not when he made $2.7 million this year. A paycut is definitely on the way. It will be interesting to see whether he lands a starting job as a free agent. He certainly had a rough year, but he's one of the top 30 second basemen in the game

 

hahahha love that last sentence

[empirestrikesback26]

What a compliment.

[26 to 6]

...still in Steinbrenner mode?

yup...just a little

[26 to 6]

Keep Cash, Keep Torre, and get rid of all your God damn gurus in Tampa. Let these guys in NY run the team for a year and see what happens. I find it comical that Steinbrenner puts more stock in what comes out of the mouths of businessmen in Tampa than the baseball people in NY.

 

If we can get something back for C-Pav and Wright, do it. I'd have to do some research on this Japanese guy, but 98 MPH fastballs are always nice. If I'm not mistaken, they use smaller baseballs in Japan, which could impact his effectiveness? Just floating that one. I trust Cash to build next year's club, just don't let him go to the Phillies.

They arent all smaller, though some are. In Japan, the home team provides the balls and canb mak ethem how they want (im sure there is limits, like a minimum and maximum size and whatnot). but yea, that 98 will likely translate to a 92-94 or so over here.

[26 to 6]

Yankees sent second baseman Mark Bellhorn outright to Triple-A Columbus. Even if the Yankees had some interest in bringing Bellhorn back as a utilityman, they weren't going to go to arbitration with him, not when he made $2.7 million this year. A paycut is definitely on the way. It will be interesting to see whether he lands a starting job as a free agent. He certainly had a rough year, but he's one of the top 30 second basemen in the game

 

hahahha love that last sentence

i hope we bring him back, I kind of enjoyed having him here die to his versaitlity, his ability to hit here and there, and the fact that I always love seeing a former Red Sock in pinstripes

 

But if we dont bring him back it wont be that big a deal, I wont be devestated is what im saying (like I would be if we traded Posada).

[Optimist]

Talks with Leo Mazzone have reportedly 'broken down;' the search for a new pitching coach continues...

[26 to 6]

I just heard that Mazzone agreed to go to Baltimore, but im trying to find a more credible source than the one I found.

[yankeessuck013]

One Yankees official says there is talk inside the organization that former Boston Red Sox GM Dan Duquette would be the choice to succeed Brian Cashman if he leaves. Duquette, 47, was Boston GM for eight years before being fired in March 2002 when the current ownership took over. He was also GM of the Montreal Expos, from September 1991 through the 1993 season.

 

[ARod2212]

I just threw up a little, in my mouth.

[empirestrikesback26]

Alright then. Stay cashman.

[Manny Goes Boom]

Alright then. Stay cashman.

 

Why not Duquette?

[ARod2212]

If Cash goes, let's bring in Epstein.

[yankeessuck013]

If Cash goes, let's bring in Epstein.

 

keep dreaming

[26 to 6]

I just threw up a little, in my mouth.

I passed out when I read it, and now i finally woke up

 

....if we bring in the same guy who ran Clemens out of Boston, there are going to be HUGE problems...he'll probably end up releasing Jeter or something.

 

keep dreaming

yea, pretty much

[Manny Goes Boom]

I passed out when I read it, and now i finally woke up

 

....if we bring in the same guy who ran Clemens out of Boston, there are going to be HUGE problems...he'll probably end up releasing Jeter or something.

 

 

yea, pretty much

 

LOL.

[ORS]

Duke's actually a pretty shrewd baseball guy. I don't think he deserves all the blame in the Clemens saga. Roger gets a 4 year $20M deal and then procedes to do this...

 

1993: 11-14, 4.46, 191.2 IP, 29 GS

1994: 9-7, 2.85, 170.2 IP, 24 GS

1995: 10-5, 4.18, 140 IP, 23 GS

1996: 10-13, 3.63, 242.7 IP, 34 GS

 

Prior to that contract, Clemens averaged 257 IP in 34 starts per year, with his ERA being above 3 once in 7 full seasons. Plus he managed to gain a few extra pounds every year. I can't give Duke all the blame for not offering him top dollar because he didn't really deserve it. Toronto was taking a big gamble, and luckily for them, Roger got in a pissy mood since Duquette made the "twilight" comment and decided to get in shape. He sheds 30-40 pounds in the offseason and has two Cy Young years. Why couldn't he stay in shape here after Boston gave him a big contract the first time?

[He Hate Me]

I cant take Duquette serisouly ever since I saw him almost die from shaking when he was signing Manny to the Red Sox. Those of you who saw the ESPN special know what I'm talking about...would you really want someone like that running your team?

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

I cant take Duquette serisouly ever since I saw him almost die from shaking when he was signing Manny to the Red Sox. Those of you who saw the ESPN special know what I'm talking about...would you really want someone like that running your team?

lmao I remember that. I remember Jeff Moorad(Manny's agent at the time) refered to the Yankees as the "big dogs" or something like that when they called about him.

[26 to 6]

well no ned to worry about Duquette guys, loks like Cashman WILL be back.

 

I dont have a link, but its in al of the NY papers (im just too lazy to go searching for the link)

[Optimist]

Woo Hoo!

[ARod2212]

So far so good on the offseason, except for missing out on Mazzone.

[ARod2212]

In hoping the trend continues, George Steinbrenner has announced that the Yankees have changed their name to the Pinstripe Sox. However, this name was racist against the little known ancient "Pinstripe Tribe" of Eastern Cambodia. Steinbrenner was sued by Jesse Jackson, and imprisoned for 3 years. The renamed Yankees win the next 3 World Series.