yankees228

While I agree that it would be nice if this thread didn't turn into a Yankees vs. Red Sox thing, I don't think the Red Sox fans are to blame. Jacko was the one that started comparing the two, and whether he's right or wrong, that's only going to lead to one thing.

Fair point, and one I've been contemplating since the season ended. Lets compare the lineups. 2009 Yankees: Jeter Damon Teixeira Rodriguez Matsui Posada Cano Swisher Cabrera 2010 Yankees: Jeter - Expected regression Johnson - While he's not the same caliber offensive player as Damon is, if he can stay healthy, his OBP will be a huge asset in the two hole, and his power numbers should improve at NYS. It might be a slight downgrade, but I don't think it's too big a deal. Teixeira - I expect much of the same. Rodriguez - A full season out of A-Rod (if they get that) would be an improvement over his output in 2009. Granderson - To me, he's a big mystery. It's unrealistic to think that he'll produce at level that Matsui did in 2009, but I think it's possible that he has a very good season. I also think it's possible that he repeats his 2009 production. I honestly don't know, because his numbers the last three years suggest a lot of different things. Posada - While he might show signs of aging, if the Yankees give him adequate time at DH, I could see him putting up similar numbers. Cano - Huge mystery. If he really started to figure things out last year, and his ridiculous splits with RISP even out, he could be in for an improvement and a huge year. However, when it comes to Cano, you never really know what to expect. Swisher - Expected regression, with the caveat that his home numbers should spike this year. Cabrera - I expect much of the same. I think they probably won't be as good as 2009, but I think it's still an offensive that can do a lot of damage, and there is probably more flexibility than last year.

26, while that was my stance, at this point, I do acknowledge the possibility that the Yankees had reason to believe that Matsui's knee wouldn't be able to hold up in 2010.

lol, I'm not saying you're wrong, but how many of your posts have been in an attempt to put down something that Jacko said?

Certainly a possibility. Obviously, as a fan, we can't know these things, so just going on what I know, I don't think this makes sense. However, I do acknowledge that Matsui's knees might be the reason.

I realize this thread isn't about Nick Johnson anymore, but it should be, so lets talk about him. While I like what Johnson can bring to the table offensively, I'm in agreement with Gom. Johnson, essentially, is just going to be a DH. If he could play outfield, this would make more sense to me, but he can't. They could have brought back Matsui in the same role, at only a slightly higher price. The only way this would make sense to me is if they approached Matsui about coming back, but not only playing about 100 games, or so, and he declined. Then they moved onto Johnson. However, if they plan on making Johnson their DH for almost all the games, then this makes no sense to me.

Certain situations do transcend this, though. If a hitter (Manny for example), drives in an unusually high numbers of runs, that goes beyond just the guys in front of him, and can be used as part of an argument. At the same time, if a guy hitting in a power position has an unusually low number of RBIs (and the hitters in front of him get on base), then it should also be mentioned in an argument. I agree with Dipre though, RBIs are best used as a supporting component of an argument.

This is not a good idea. The whole idea of letting Matsui go was so that they don't have a permanent DH, because they feel that they need to give guys like A-Rod and Posada time at DH. So after letting Matsui walk, when they could have signed him for only seven million dollars, you want them to go out and get a worse player at the same position? Explain to me how that makes sense.

Fair enough. I actually didn't realize they were spending that much.

I'm not sure they have the money to extend both Lee and Hernandez.

Come on 26, we all know that Jose Molina is the linchpin of the Yankees' pitching staff.

You continue to bash Cashman, yet you fail to grasp his philosophy and the financial side of things. On top of that, you throw out ridiculous scenarios like trading for Mauer. What's incredible to me is that you think you're reading the market correctly, while Cashman is way off. Lets take a look at Matsui. Even if Cashman thought he would receive more than 6.5 million dollars, I'm sure if they wanted to sign him at the last minute (judging by everything I've ever heard about Matsui) he would have accepted the same offer from the Yankees. It's not that they got beat out by the Angels or something. The Yankees know the health of their players better than we do. Obviously, in their estimation, it's important to leave the DH spot unoccupied, and whether you agree or not, you have to see the merit in the argument. As for Lackey, I'm sure they would have loved to get him, and I doubt they misread the market. I don't know how many times I have to say this, but after what they did last offseason, I think it's very possible that they're simply not going to pay top dollar for free agents this winter. I think you're getting too caught up in calling people sheep to realize that Cashman's claims that the 2010 payroll will be less than the 2009 payroll make sense. On top of that, in the case of Damon, they've already proven that they'll avoid even the possibility of paying five million dollars more than they want. If that doesn't tell you what kind of offseason this is going to be, I think you're blinding yourself from reality. For one offseason the Yankees are forced to act like the majority of the other clubs. After what happened last offseason, and after what happened last season, I think you should be able to live with that fact.

That had absolutely nothing to do with my post. You're ignoring my point that, in my opinion, the Yankees simply aren't willing to spend that type of money after last offseason.

I'm not even going to touch on the Molina point, because it's clear we're far apart on that one. So lets look at your three other criticisms point by point. 1. It was a mistake not to sign Lackey - Again, while acquiring a pitcher of Lackey's ability would certainly be a huge help, after what they did last offseason (and if you consider all the guys they have locked up long term), I'm inclined to believe that ownership simply isn't going to give Cashman the go ahead to spend the required amount of money. To me, this is a logical and plausible scenario. 2. It was a mistake not to sign Matsui - http://www.talksox.com/forum/508092-post28.html 3. It was a mistake not to offer Damon arbitration - While I expressed my displeasure with this decision at the time it was made, for the reason you mentioned, I understand that this is an example of the fact that the Yankees are going to be very money conscious (at least for the moment) after what they did last offseason. For whatever reason, they believed there was a possibility Damon might accept, and they just could not take that risk.

As for not resigning Matsui, I think this is just the consequence of the A-Rod and Posada contracts. The Yankees need to attempt to preserve this two players through the duration of their contracts (for A-Rod, as much of it as possible). A permanent DH simply does not fit into their plan for next year.

In terms the current state of their rotation, a pitcher like Lackey made a lot of sense for the Yankees. No one disagrees. But Gom, what you continue to miss in your refusal to believe anything anyone says is that there is a very good chance last offseason is effecting what they can do this offseason. They had a great offseason last year, one in which they spent a lot of money. In my opinion, they were going to do some minor tweaking (Granderson), and go with a similar team. If Lackey's price tag came down in the sixty million dollar range, I think the Yankees might have been interested. But if a team was willing to sign him at the price the Red Sox signed him at, the Yankees simply were not going to be interested. A lot of Yankee fans seem to want and expect everything. Unfortunately, the realities of the world tend to clash with this desire.

If they feel confident in giving Bay four years, a team with the financial flexibility that the Red Sox enjoy should probably spring for that fifth year, if that's what it would take. Because they're reluctant to do so leads me to believe that they think even four years is a stretch.

In terms of AAV, I actually think he's worth more than that, but I don't think anyone else is going to approach eight years.

Anything can happen, but I really don't think Joe Mauer is going to reach free agency.