a700hitter

Welcome, here we make Yankee fans cry.

These guys usually give up 5 in the first 5 innings causing a major strain on the bullpen. Even when they pitch well, they don't go deep into games.

The take-it- or-leave-it strategy was Cashman's not Damon's. It turned out to be a very effective negotiating technique as Damon and Boras could not be certain that the Red Sox would increase their offer. Theo and the twins got outmaneuvered big time in those negotiations. Cashman used the take-it-or-leave-it technique during the season when they offered the Phillies essentially no prospects for Abreu but agreed to pick up all of his salary. The Red Sox were demanding that the Phils pick up $6million. Theo looked like a novice once again. They floated a damage control story in the press about how taking all of Abreau's salary would in reality hav cost $27 million due to the cap, etc. I hope by now everyone realizes that it was a BS damage control story, because we are paying J.D. Drew a load of dough for 4 years. Abreau's commitment was one year and he is on the field about 50 more games each year than is Drew. Edit: As to Damon's wife, I think if the $ was equal, he would have stayed in Boston because the wife was a pseudo-celebrity in Boston. She got her face on TV etc. In NY, she's just another pole-dancer.

I am starting to think that Drew will be on the field more than Crisp, who always seems to be banged up.

You are a hardcore fan Crunchy.:thumbsup:

I agree with every thing in your post. One thing you left out was that Crisp is now the issue because they let the catalyst, Damon walk to our chief rivals for what now looks like very reasonable coin.

Theo is either lying or smoking crack if he thinks this is depth.

I suspected that until it became clear that Papelbon asked to close. Also, the Red Sox are not stretching him out like they should be if he is going to start.

It is a long term contract, but not for a FO job. Clemens has no interest in a 9 to 5 job. It's probably more in the nature of public appearances and visiting instructor. He could most certainly balance that with a personal appearances contract with the Red Sox. These are not 5 day a week jobs. They require maybe 25 personal appearances for the entire calendar year. They get paid thousands for hobnobbing with fans, sponsors etc. It's well paid lucrative work, and Clemens would be a fool not to take advantage of it with the Red Sox as well as Houston.

A quote from Theo: Someone needs to check what is in his coffee cup.

I guess I did.

I don't think it is analogous. The hamstring problem is a muscular problem. Short sprints would be more apt to tear the muscle if it is not probably warmed up or if there is cramping due to fatigue or dehydration. The distance runner does not have the violent muscle movement and even if he starts his exercise with cramping, he is more likely to warm up the muscle and feel better during his exercise than to injure himself. The shoulder is a joint with tendons, ligaments and muscle. I would imagine the theory is that working several times a week fatigues he muscles around the joint without adequate opportunity to recover. The fatigued muscles cannot hold the joint together as well as they would like and that can strees the ligaments etc. Edit: That being said, I think it is not a bad move to put him back in the closer's role. We went from having a strong rotation to having a big question mark and 2 forty year olds. The bullpen is now fairly strong, but that could break down from overwork.

Hansack may be intriguing, but are we going to start this season with a parade of pitchers auditioning for the 5th slot. That's what happened last year and it turned out that we rolled out one garbage can after another and became incredibly dependent on the top of the rotation going deep into games so as not to totally wear down the bullpen. By the end of July, the 4th slot in the rotation was doing autions and by the 1st week of August, the wheels fell off the whole staff.

Lester is going to have to develop better command if he is going to hold down a rotation spot. He can't be put on equal footing with Papelbon. Papelbon attacks the strike zone. Lester does not. If we put a 4 - 5 inning pitcher out there every 5 th day, the bullpen will be exposed, and Papelbon will get overworked. They need to find a legit #5, and not run out one idiot after another to the mound every fifth day like they did last year.

Sure let him go to the Yankees win 15+ games, knock us out of the playoffs because our rotaion will be playing musical cahirs with one prospect after another who isn't ready or re-treads like Kyle Snyder and Jason Johnson. Good idea. If you want to get rid of an old guy on the staff, let Wakefield go. He takes up two roster spots for .500 performances.

I just went through this with your Yankee fan compatriot jacksonianmarch. He was criticizing Red Sox fans for thinking he would come to Boston out of sentimentality or a storybook ending, I agreed with him that Clemens will go where the financial opportunities are the greatest. Please don't tell me that you believe that friendship stuff. When he was in Houston he made a ton of money. He was the highest paid pitcher in 2005 and per game in 2006 he was the best paid. He also got a 10 - year post playing days deal from Houston. He didn't go their because Pettitte is his lover. Jackson, do you want to chime in here?

I didn't realize that the contract was back-weighted. I still think he has a market if he opts out. If he gets 6/$120 as compared to 3/$81, he essentially playing for $13 million/year from age 35-37. It would be quite ironic if he won his Championship in Boston. I'd laugh myself silly.

I don't agree at all with this comparison. Ortiz makes an effort at staying in shape. Those other guys were bags of s***. If you haven't noticed, he moves remarkably well for a big man.