yankees228

Oh, not at all. Obviously, the one thing that you always have to be worried about is whether or not he is going to jump ship, but unless that happens, I expect them to be a top team for awhile.

I think Saban made two very poor decisions, but other than that, I have no complaints with his game plan or calls.

Right, well, they'll always be at the top of the recruiting classes.

Very satisfying.

The last paragraph does not make sense. In my opinion, the Red Sox shift in philosophy has nothing to do with money. They have a lot of money, and they've spent it this offseason. It has to do with building around their strengths. When they had Ortiz/Ramirez in the middle of the lineup, the focus was more on power and OBP. Now that those two are gone, instead of trying to replace them, which is practically impossible (no matter what your payroll limit is), they've adopted a new philosophy. The Yankees currently benefit from the advantage that the Red Sox had all those years, the dominant 3-4. So now, the Red Sox, being a smart front office, have gone in a different direction; pitching, defense, speed, with some power and OBP mixed in.

Jacko, I don't get why you almost seem bitter. Your favorite team won the World Series. They have a good team moving forward. The Red Sox do as well. Lets you move on from this.

But, what you're missing is that they've clearly changed their approach.

While playing part time when healthy, and missing time during the season, Brett Gardner produced a 2.1 WAR in 2009.

I think the Red Sox approach, since Epstein took over, has been very logical. When he had the most dominant 3-4 in baseball (Ortiz and Ramirez), he built around those two with a lineup geared towards OBP and power. Now, with Ramirez gone, and Ortiz not being the player he once was, instead of trying to replace those guys (nearly impossible), they've shifted towards more of a speed and run prevention lineup, with some power still mixed in. With the Red Sox ability to adjust their approach through smart front office decisions, they'll be able to contend with the power laden Yankees (the Yankees now have the 3-4 advantage that the Red Sox used to enjoy). It should make for an enjoyable, and interesting season. EDIT: But, at the same time, as a Yankee fan, I'd rather face this Red Sox team, than the Ortiz/Ramirez teams.

Based on his WAR (and this is, obviously, with the positional subtraction), it's a bargain.

However, I wouldn't be shocked to see Damon come back for something very reasonable, possibly the 2/14 contract that they offered him. He literally has not been linked to any team (although now that Holliday and Bay are off the market, I do expect more interest). Also, judging by his actions and comments at the time of the Nick Johnson signing, it really doesn't seem like he wants to play anywhere else. I think it's realistic that the Yankees really don't want to go into the season with Brett Gardner in left, and, if Damon drops his demands significantly, I think he comes back.

Haha, and, unfortunately, Gom isn't around to see it either.

Wait a second. The Yankees were honest about their offseason plans? They were honest about Holliday and Bay? They didn't sign the one big pitching FA? This wasn't some big conspiracy to lull everyone to sleep, and then swoop in at the last minute?

Absolutely ridiculous. You never respond to legitimate arguments that counter your own. You only repeat the same line, time and time again. Maybe you're just not reading what I post... I never denied that the Yankees are the big spender in baseball. I only counter your argument about everything the Yankees do being about money (specifically when you talk about Vazquez and Granderson), and your argument that they have no limit (ridiculous, for the reasons already mentioned). EDIT: I don't want to take away from the talk about Beltre. Good move, enjoy it. SoxSport just takes a shot at the Yankees in almost every single one of his posts, and, apparently, he's incapable of responding to counter-arguments. So be it.

Yup, the Yankees have shown absolutely no fiscal restraint... The problem is, you have these pre-conceived notions, and you ignore all evidence to the contrary. When it comes to the Yankees, you have consistently shown this trait. Everything that has gone on this offseason says you're wrong, and, if you use logic and rely on the facts, it's irrefutable.

ex1... Nice post, and I agree with most of it. Just a few points... When I talked about Ortiz/Ramirez, it wasn't meant as a criticism of the front office. I understand that they cannot be replaced, and now I understand why you mentioned the Yankees' players. My only point was really just a statement, that they're a completely different team without those two in the middle of the order. As for 2004, while those were important moments of the series, that doesn't mean it was a fluke. At the same time, they only won game two because Jon Lieber pitched the game of his life, something that certainly wasn't expected. The only reason the Yankees were even in a position to close out game four was because of a sloppy Red Sox defense in the sixth inning. Those tiny things happen all the time, and, in a short series they do mean so much (which is why the postseason is such a crapshoot) but I really think the Red Sox won because they were a better team. Also, they didn't really beat Rivera twice. In game five, he came in with first and third and nobody out, only up one run. That really isn't his fault, and falls squarely on the shoulders of Tom Gordon. As for the Yankees' offense going into the year, while I wouldn't go as far as some people and say the only guarantee was Teixeira, it's important to look at the state of the players you mentioned going into the year. Jeter: Since 2006 had been trending downward, and was getting up there in age. A-Rod: Needed surgery in March. He was an enormous question mark going into the year. Posada: Coming off an injury in 2008 which caused him to miss most of the season, and was getting up there in age. Cano: Coming off the worst year of his career. I agree that it's a matter of opinion, but considering how the season turned out, I think people tend to lose sight of the state of the Yankees' offense heading into the year.

I think there were four main things that changed in the second half of the season. A-Rod was finally healthy and producing, which seems to make the entire lineup go. Sabathia was dominant. Pettitte had an excellent second half. Hughes solidified the back end of the bullpen. They pulled away in the second half because of a combination of all those things.

The Red Sox had a 3-4 that could almost carry their entire team for stretches. That advantage, in my opinion, can transcend an entire team. It's the best one I ever saw, and, I think it was one of the main reasons for their success. It didn't put the Red Sox lineup on par with the Yankees lineup, but it narrowed the gap significantly, and when you take into account other aspects of the two teams, I think they're relatively even. I realize that when Rivera and Jeter leave the Yankees will no longer be the same team. How is that relevant? The ground rule double is the break I was referring to. Sure, coming back from 3-0 was unprecedented, but that doesn't make it a break. When you consider both teams, I think the bigger fluke is that the Yankees won three games in a row, rather than the Red Sox winning four games in a row. Also, I realize we were comparing teams before the season started. I never said the Red Sox had a far better team going into any of those seasons. Actually, I never even said they had a better team. I said the teams were comparable. Even going into 2009 I didn't think the Yankees had a decided advantage. The Red Sox had a huge advantage in the bullpen, and (I've argued this point numerous times following this season) people tend to forget the state of the Yankees' lineup heading into the year. There was a lot of talk, which I agreed with, that there was only one guarantee in the Yankees' lineup (Teixeira).

At ex1... Regarding the 2007 season: First off, Giambi wasn't the number three hitter. Second, the Yankees' lineup was better top to bottom, there is no disputing that. But Ortiz and Manny were both coming up 1,000+ OPS seasons. I believe those two were the cornerstone of the Red Sox success this past decade, and with Manny gone and Ortiz not the same hitter, I know longer look at the Red Sox the same. Regarding the 2004 ALCS: What breaks did they get? I count one. Other than that, like a700 said, the better team woke up and won four straight games. I mean, just look at the Yankees' starting rotation going into that series... Regarding the current state of the teams: I admit, the gap is not huge, but I do think the Yankees enjoy an advantage, even a slight one, over the Red Sox that they haven't enjoyed in past years. I think this advantage stems from the 3-4 combination in the lineup, and the back end of the bullpen.

That's all true going into 2007, but the Red Sox had something that the Yankees didn't have...the best 3-4 combination in the game. Offensively, this is what kept the Red Sox on par with the Yankees. Now, that doesn't exist anymore, and the Yankees are the team that has that 3-4 combination. As for 2004, going into the postseason that year, I thought the Red Sox were better than the Yankees, because of the pitching. Calling it a miracle, in my opinion, is an overstatement. The better team won because they got a few breaks, their superior pitching took over, and they were able to win four games in a row. Now, I absolutely think the Red Sox can contend for a championship moving forward. They can compete with the Yankees for the reasons you mentioned, and, even if they can't, the wild card and the crapshoot nature of the postseason gives them a pretty decent shot at a title. However, while the Red Sox improved their rotation and their defense, I believe a gap (not a big one) exists now that didn't exist in past years, when the two teams were relatively on par.

Excellent analysis Dipre. It clearly isn't fair to use FIP to predict future performance, when the pitcher in question almost never produces what his FIP suggests. However (I've already made this point), we're talking about a guy, who according to anyone, has an enormous ceiling, but he just hasn't quite lived up to it. Now, I don't expect him to come anywhere close to replicating last years' numbers, but I do think it's possible that he has learned to harness his stuff. I think it's possible that he has gotten smarter about when to throw certain pitches in certain situations. Clearly this is subjective, and it's purely conjecture on my part, because I barely saw him pitch last year. The optimistic side of me hopes this is the case, and he can keep his ERA below four this year. I'm not predicting that, and I'm not banking on it, but I do think it's a possibility.