yankees228

I like the Yankees' chances to make the playoffs, but it's hardly a given, especially because we don't even know what each team is going to look like come Spring Training. As for Cano, he has had one great postseason series, one very good series, one decent series, and three bad series. It's not like he can't hit in the postseason. Regardless, I think they need to give him a chance to fill out his potential. You're talking about him as if you know exactly what he is going to be years from now. Yes, he can struggle against good pitching, but I think the Yankees need to give him a chance to become more patient, and that should help against good pitching. Like I said, his leverage splits this year were ridiculous. There is a decent chance that those will turn around, and, if that happens, you won't mind him hitting fifth. Now, I think the money for Matsui can be spent much more wisely. Lets look at what he'll do for them this year. He can't play the field, so that diminishes his value immediately. He won't start all nine games that they play in an NL park. If you look to give guys like Posada, A-Rod, Jeter, and Damon (if they bring him back) time at DH, Matsui might be sitting out three games a week. In my opinion, it's not worth it. In terms of the one year thing, I agree, but I feel like someone, if it's not the Yankees, is going to give Damon a two year deal. According to fangraphs (based on WAR), Damon was worth 16.4 million dollars in 2008 and 13.6 million dollars in 2009. It's very realistic, even in this market, to thing that he is going to receive a two years deal that pays anywhere from 16 to 20 million dollars. *Unrelated note: Thanks to E1 for pointing out the dollar values on fangraphs. I've used fangraphs in the past, but, for whatever reason, I never noticed that. It's very helpful.

Well, I was going to mention him as an exception, only because he falls under the short list of pitchers that has an actual chance for a pickoff. I'm not sure though.

How can you worry about the postseason right now? The hope is that Cano continues his natural progression, and it's completely reasonable to think there's a good chance his ridiculous leverage splits will even out. Cano has a chance to really solidify that fifth spot for a long time, in my opinion, and I think this year is the opportunity to give him that shot. As for Posada, I know you have this real hatred for him, but he had a higher OPS+ than Matsui last year, and they have the same career OPS+. That's with Posada catching. Come on, lets be fair about this. Finally, you talk about versatility, well, bringing Matsui back severely hampers that versatility. I think an effort needs to be made, immediately, to preserve Posada, A-Rod, and even Jeter (he is obviously going to re-sign) for the duration of their contracts or future contracts. This effort cannot really be made if Matsui is back.

That's fair, I just think it's very unlikely that Clay, or any pitcher for that matter, is deciding when to throw over to first. In today's game, based on my observations, which are obviously fallible, I feel like one of the bigger myths is that pitchers themselves are deciding when to throw to first. I base this statement on the fact that, anytime I've ever seen a shot of the catcher's signs with a runner on base, his sign always dictates what the pitcher does. -Thumb out = throw to first -Fist = pitch out -Other finger signs or touching of thighs, shoulders, knees, chest protecter, etc. = some type of pitch

The Red Sox catcher doesn't receive the sign to throw over to first from the dugout?

^Bingo.

Ah, very nice, because one joke wasn't enough.

Haha, well done.

I agree with pretty much all of this, except it's important to note that Hughes seemed like he was starting to turn it around before he was moved to the bullpen. He had an excellent start to his season against Detroit, then after a poor game against Boston, he got bombed in Baltimore. But following that, he had back to back 5 IP, 3 ER performances. Not great, but in the last one, he struck out nine guys, and he definitely seemed like he was getting it going. Then he pitched an 8 inning shutout in Texas, and then gave up four runs in Cleveland, but if you watch the game, he pitched much better than his line would tell you. Granted, the numbers weren't that great overall, but following his awful start in Baltimore, I really think he started to turn it around. I think one of the main reasons he was so successful out of the bullpen was because he had just begun to get things going as a starter.

I think it's Buchholz as well, but it's not fair to talk about as if it's not even close. While Buchholz has had the most success so far as a starter, the Blue Jays would still be making their decision based mostly on potential, instead of what each has already accomplished. Regardless, like I said, I think it's Buchholz, because he has shown more of an ability to command all of his pitches, unlike Chamberlain and Hughes.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/rosenthal-damon-will-seek-abreu-money.html Interesting. I would probably be OK with that deal if I were the Yankees, but it's a decent amount of money for a guy who is likely on the decline, and is a terrible fielder. EDIT: That would mean a 3.5 million dollar pay cut on a yearly basis.

Well, I think that extra payroll will be used to either resign the current free agents, or replace them at their respective positions, not upgrade at other positions. I don't want Granderson, but if they got him, that would be an upgrade via trade, not free agency. I think Melky is part of the Yankees' long term plans because I believe they're in the process of making an attempt to get younger, part of the reason why they decided not to go after Santana, and the reason why I don't see them pulling off any big trades this winter (such as Halladay). I think they view Melky's defense as adequate, especially his arm. I also think that they don't think it's out of the realm of possibility for his power numbers to improve (especially at NYS) and his patience to improve. Melky, for most of last year, was just going through the motions, and they sent him down. That seemed to have a positive effect on him, and I think the Yankees expect him to progress further next year. *For the record, I understand that most of this is purely speculation, but considering we're talking about how a particular organization views a player, we really have no other choice then to resort to speculation. EDIT: When I said last year, in relation to Melky, I meant 2008.

I don't think Melky is as expendable as E1 is making him out to be. The Yankees have probably reached their maximum amount of payroll, and Melky represents a cost controlled player in the starting lineup. At this point, I don't think they'd be willing to pay more money for a center fielder.

Alright, well, I appreciate the help.

Ugh, I really thought that would work. No such luck.

I think they plan to have Melky Cabrera and David Robertson as contributing members of this team for a long time. They both could be dealt away, but that goes for guys on the Red Sox list as well. You can speculate all you want on how the Yankees view these guys, and so I can, but for now, they've entrusted those guys with important roles.

Haha, I wish it was that simple. It's as if my computer thinks that the site I want to go to is the mobile sit, instead of the regular site, because when I type in http://www.talksox.com, the mobile version comes up.

Gom, I'll just say this. I know you're talking about trends you've noticed, but when you make general comments about other team's farm systems and young players, and then turn around and say that you're not very knowledgable on these things, you tend to lose some credibility.