jacksonianmarch

Everyone, and I mean every sox fan on this board had something bad to say about one of the yankees transactions this offseason. Well, for one yr anyway, the offseason prior to the 2009 season looks like solid gold. Starting with Teixeira. The 29 yr old switch hitting 1b was dynamite and performed well enough to be an MVP candidate. His line was impressive. .292 39HR 122RBI with an OBP of .383 and a SLG of .565. He surpassed his career OPS in year 1 while also playing flawless defense. He could be en route to his first gold glove as a yankee. He signed an 8 yr 180 mil contract in the offseason, averaging out at $22.5 million this season CC Sabathia. There were plenty of things said of CC when he came here. He's too fat, he will break down, he cant handle the pressure, he sucks in the postseason. Well, he proven them all wrong in yr 1, and is a Cy Young candidate after his first season in NY. His line. 19-8 3.37ERA 1.15WHIP 230IP 197K. And to top that, he has started Game 1 of both the ALDS and the ALCS and has combined to throw 14.2IP 2ER and get 2 victories. His salary for this season was $23 million. AJ Burnett. There was a lot said about him as well. He's too wild, he wont stay healthy, he will wilt under the pressure. Well, the former was true as he was in the top 5 in walks allowed. But he started 33 times this yr, and broke 200IP for the second yr in a row. Here is his line. 13-9 4.04ERA 1.40WHIP. 195K in 207IP. The walks were a problem, but the BAA was down and his ERA was right about where it was the yr before. Knowing his history, he was everything we could ask for sans a 6 start stretch in August-early Sept. And his playoff performance thus far is nice too. 2 games, 12.1IP 3ER and two games that NY eventually won late. His salary for this season was $16.5 million Nick Swisher. Obtained for Wilson Betemit, Jhonny Nunez, and Jeff Marquez prior to the season. Swish was coming off a career worst season in 2008. His BA slipped under .220 and his HR total dipped below 20 for the first time in awhile. But Swisher turned out to be the emotional catalyst for the team as well as the 3rd leading HR hitter. Although the BA was still low (.249), he set a new career high in OPS at .869 and was 7th in the game in P/PA. His salary this season was $7 million. The overall cost of these 4 players was Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez, Jhonny Nunez, NYY first round pick, NYY second round pick, NYY 3rd round pick and $69 million. The overall production was immense for this team and could be what puts them over the hump this yr. Needless to say, Cashman's moves paid off pretty huge this yr. It did cost a ton of money, but it has returned this team to one of the elites and has set them up for the long term. I know you love to bash Cashman, Gom, but these moves are the reason why we are sitting where we are on October 19th.

Well, you could use those guys to get younger players at the needed positions. If you use them all up on one big piece, then you lose the leverage to fill those holes with cheap players from other teams.

It will never happen. Steinbrenner and Wilpon would have a cow if someone cut into their profit margin.

thats kind of a short sighted view of things though. Take a look at your team... These guys are free agents after 2010- Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, Victor Martinez, David Ortiz to name a few. Now, nobody is completely commited to Martinez after 2010. He'll be 31 prior to the 2010 season and has seen his defense decline. There are those who think he'll be converted to a 1B by the end of 2010, meaning that the catcher spot will be wide open. Ortiz opens a hole at DH. Lowell opens the hole at 3b, which will likely get filled by Youkilis, and subsequently opens a hole at 1B. Beckett leaving would open a hole at the top of the rotation. Do you really want to fill all those holes with FAs? That is not like Theo. They can do it, but I doubt they will.

Buster Olney is reporting that the sox will likely not go past 4 yrs for Bay. I had read before that the sox are looking at a 3yr deal with a 4th yr club option.

and they could continue that

Winning and money. Cmon now. The Yankees right now are the better team. The Yankees have the brighter future at this point thanks to getting 3 top notch players in their prime yrs. And they have been consistent since 95.

If they win this yr, then they will tie the sox for that distinction. Dipre, now you are just trying arguing semantics. You have the best chance to win on a team that consistently gets the best talent and on a team that consistently makes the playoffs. Boston has been a model of consistency since 2003. NY has been a model of consistency since 1995. There is a bit of a difference here.

The sox could get it done. But it isnt like it was before, when they could deal away 2 or 3 guys for a player and not feel the pain in the system. The sox system has become incredibly bottom loaded with the 08 and 09 draft and some of the INTL signees. Their upper level guys either lost value or caught on with the big club in enough of a capacity to make them difficult to move. In order to get Gonzalez, they would have to absolutely rape their system. And the deal you talk about above would completely rape them, to a point that could set them back 2 yrs of development. And when you consider 2010 to be a development yr to begin with (no big prospects on the cusp of the majors), then you might not see meaningful MLB gains from the MiLB ranks until 2013. You really want that? A deal with Reddick, Anderson, and Kelly wouldnt be enough IMO, and would be against the grain from Theo anyway. He's all about value. Reddick has some value, but he really doesnt look like a corner OFer and he's blocked in CF. So dealing him makes sense. Dealing Anderson right now wouldnt be on line with what Theo seems to be all about. Why trade a guy who was a top 30 MLB prospect last yr after he has one bad minor league season. He'll get 20 cents on the dollar. Same with Casey Kelly, the sox #1 prospect. He looks like he could be a hell of a pitcher. But having only thrown 95 MiLB innings and only reaching High A for 8 starts is not enough to thrust him into the level of an elite prospect. If the sox waited until mid season and had Kelly performing in AA, then it works. You might be looking at a deal of 5 players or more to get Gonzo. Reddick, Kelly, Anderson, Bowden, Kalish. Something like that. It has more to do with SD's leverage (2 yrs of cost controlled production) and also the regression of some of the sox top prospects. And IMO, that deal is too steep a price to pay. That may be what Cafardo is looking at. It can get done. But it would hurt a lot.

Once, in 2000. And maybe twice depending on how they do from here on out.

It starts with getting to the postseason. You have the best chance to win with a team that consistently gets to the postseason. And NY has been that team over the long haul. AND, with the salary disparity, the Yankees will continue to be that team. And, when considering the current teams as constructed, it is hard to argue that NY gives you the best chance to win.

Theo said as much a few days ago. It was on WEEI. Essentially, Theo is expecting Wakefield to return, he just wanted to wait until a couple weeks out from surgery to see how he is feeling before pulling the trigger on the option

Cafardo speculates a few things in his most recent article. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2009/10/18/mattingly_may_be_ready_to_step_up_to_the_plate_in_managerial_position/?page=full One is that Stephen Drew should be available. Drew turns 27 in March and plays a pretty good SS. His left handedness makes him a bit less of a fit for Boston, but he has power to all fields. After a breakout 2008 (21HR .835OPS), Drew regressed to 12HRs and a .748OPS in 2009. He will be entering his first arbitration yr and should be looking at around $2mil, and the DBacks are in financial dire straits. Cafardo thinks that Drew could be better in a deeper, more patient lineup. The other is that Theo will definitely be in on the Adrian Gonzalez sweepstakes. Cafardo questions the depth of the sox minor league system in terms of a package for Gonzalez. It is a valid question, IMO. While the sox have loaded up on talent in the 2009 draft, none of that is trade eligible until spring training anyway, and most teams dont want guys who havent played above short season. The sox biggest trade chips have since worked their way into pretty viral positions on the staff. Bard is the setup man, while Buchholz has worked his way into the #3 or #4 spot in the rotation. That leaves Bowden and Tazawa as the biggest trade chips that are close to MLB ready, especially with Lars Anderson having had an awful season in Portland. That may change by midseason, though, when Reddick has a full yr in AAA and Casey Kelly could be as high as AA or AAA based upon how he churns through hitters. But as of right now, I dont see how the sox get Gonzalez without dipping into their current MLB club.

I am not pimping them as the bulls of the 90s. I am saying that you have the best chance to win in NY. They have been to the playoffs 14 out of the last 15 seasons, took home the trophy 4 times, went to the series 6 times and are well on their way to another series this yr. Nobody offers you that. Not even Boston. And it has a lot to do with the financial advantage that NY is not afraid to flaunt

Holliday "wants to be a yankee" because A- he will be paid more than anyone else. And B- he will have the best chance to win, because said team will continue to pay top dollar for FAs and the team will be loaded with talent. By that logic, everyone wants to be a yankee. I do think the yankees will go hard for him. Maybe not as hard as they did for Tex, but I do think it will be hard enough to make it difficult for St Louis to keep him. I think the Mets, Sox, and Yankees will be in it to win it, and we are likely looking at a contract in the range of 7yrs 110-120 mil.

You mean the guy who said he doesnt want to play in NY because of the pressure? If he thinks NY is pressure than what is Boston? Greinke is an awesome talent, and if his head is right, he'll be dominating. But that is a huge if.

The Yankee rotation has been lights out thus far. AJ with 2ER brings up the collective ERA. The pen was money as well last night (albeit after walking a tightrope). And ARod has been a one man wrecking crew. The two guys who everyone thought wilted in the postseason have been integral in the 5-0 start (CC and ARod). 6 more wins to #27.

If someone took a hometown discount to stay with NY, I would at least wait a season before I'd deal him. That ruins your credibility.

Again, you skirt the issue with another insult. How about you stay on topic here. The topic was about Theo and good faith. I said that his dealings with Arroyo negate any good faith with players. Nobody has attacked that. Just that I am a homer, which I dont deny. Doesnt mean I cannot call someone out when they are being overly homeristic.

again Dipre, you skirt the issues. Instead of making a useful post you either post something that is completely off topic or you post a lolwut. Seriously, your posting quality has been inversely linked to your increased time on this site.

that is homerism to the extreme. Arroyo made it known that he would sign for less with Boston to stay in Boston. Theo took advantage of that then dealt him because his contract was easily dealable.

He managed for game 1, which I have no problem with. With a 3 run lead, though, we probably could have gotten a little less length out of CC. Regardless, the big man can handle it and his next start wont be in freezing temps. CC gives us something we havent had in a LOOONG time. We have the shutdown ace who is in rare form right now. The Angels need to be perfect from here on out to avoid a need to beat CC. If AJ shows his stuff tonight and sticks to locating the fastball, we'll be going to Anaheim with a 2-0 lead.

Start Coke in the 8th then. CC has to be done IMO. Ice cold, 98 pitches, and we plan on bringing him back on short rest. No brainer IMO

So yeah, about that "not being able to pitch in the playoffs" thing. Yeah, its a s*****, s***** statement to be made. CC was a man tonight

Hell of a play from Robby there. Cmon CC, close out this inning and grab a beer.