jacksonianmarch

Abreu, Burrell, and Dunn signed for cheap last yr for multiple reasons. One of them was the other talent available. NYY needed a power hitter, they got the best one on the market. LAD needed a power hitter, they got Manny. The second was a need. The big market teams didnt need power hitting outfielders prior to 2009. Boston didnt need one. The Yankees didnt need one (and after they got Swish and Tex they didnt need anything else offensively). The Tigers didnt need one. The White Sox didnt need one. The Angels got Hunter the yr before and waited out Abreu. The Mets werent looking. The Cubs werent looking. The Phillies had 3 all star OFers. So, the need wasnt there for the big market clubs. That hurt the outfielders significantly. And third, the economy was in the shitter and the mid market teams were getting hit hard. So once you get outside of the top 8 or 10 spenders in the game, the offers werent there for guys like Abreu and Dunn. Those three factors raised the perfect storm for there to be contract hell for those OFers. That wont happen this yr. The Mets, Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels will all need OFers. Bay will be far and away the most wanted commodity. Holliday will be second. Then Abreu, Damon, Matsui et al will follow suit. If you think Bay is gonna be had on the cheap on the open market when he is the best offensive option available this offseason, then you are smoking crack.

The Yanks have a high likelihood of losing today (we dont hit Jackson and Joba is in the midst of a rough patch), so hopefully Doc can keep the sox at bay

By the way, he hit his 8th homer last night. He now has a .700+ SLG and a 1.1+OPS.

I think the tendonitis scared Joba and showed him that throwing every pitch full force is a bad idea. I think Joba is trying to be a guy who throws 92-93 consistently with the occasional 97-98mph fastball as needed. What he is seeing, though, is that he has to be a lot more fine with the 92-93 than he did with the 97-98. When he was in the pen, he got the 98mph heat close to the location and he dominated. Now, the 92mph heat close to the location is getting fouled off. This causes longer counts, increased tiredness and an increased likelihood of a walk or a mistake. He'll get there. Either he will gain more endurance and arm strength through this yr causing him to be able to elevate the heater further on into his career, or he will develop some improved control. As much as some like to think it is, this is not a lost yr for Joba. This is a learning opportunity for him, and he will be better for it.

Its coming. I will get it. He has mentioned it a bunch in the context of conversations about him on the site, but I PMed him about it. That will get copied to my email and I will cut and paste it from there.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07192009/sports/yankees/big_backstop_montero_on_rapid_rise_to_br_180100.htm?&page=1

you cannot highlight the text either. He's sneaky. I'll see what I can do

You dont see any other team offering more than 2yrs 20 mil for Bay? Put the crackpipe down

bout time we got a call

good win for NY. It would be frickin nice if I could actually watch any of these games though

The sox will still have exclusive negotiating right for 15 days after the WS. That being said, if Bay waited for an entire season, dont you think he'd wait another 15 days to see what he can get on the open market. As possibly the best hitter on a slim FA market, Bay would be foolish to sign right now.

I can link you to a source that requires login. pinstripesplus.com and nomaas.org

I can tell you that Pat Teale and Lane Meyer have had these discussions publicly in their forums. Both of these guys are paid to report on the yankees and both gather inside information for their websites.

Even though he is in a slump, Bay is the perfect player for the Yankees to go after. Big time power hitter with good RBI skills who can handle the yankee sox rivalry. I guarantee you that if we have the choice between Holliday or Bay, we'll take Bay.

I agree, they seem to know what they are doing and they must see something the scouts dont.

Semantics. It is definitely something being discussed, thats the point. Its not like I am lying or pulling it out of my ass.

I know. Especially Boston since they just spent 8 mil on a kid with nowhere near the talent that Sano has. Granted, Sano has a long way to go and is likely a 3b, but that being said, Sano is a great talent

You just dont get it.

actually, I am stating fact. Generational talent or no, Pena grades out as an 80 on the 20-80 scale defensively.

ah, ok. I can agree with that

Yankees sign Mariel Checo, their 41st round pick. He's a tall, lean high school right handed pitcher out of Washington Heights. He was previously considered unsignable by many area scouts. I wonder what kind of money he received. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high_school/2009/06/11/2009-06-11_yankees_draft_norman_thomas.html

His glove scales out to an 80 on the 20-80 scale. Pena's does as well.

That is off, IMO. Buchholz has the stuff to blow through minor leaguers but doesnt have the consistency to wait out the major leaguers. He will develop that in time. Kennedy throws harder than Moyer ever did and has better breaking stuff than Moyer ever did. Moyer gets by on being probably the best locator in the game since Maddux in his prime. Yet Moyer has only one plus pitch, his change. Kennedy has 1 plus pitch already (change) and 2 plus potential pitches in the slider and the 2-seamer when you consider break and location. Problem being, Kennedy is too cocky for his own good and just doesnt seem to care that the big league strike zone is smaller and the umps arent as lenient with a rookie out there.