jacksonianmarch

I gave you a perfectly good reason why we only won 87 games in 2000. If the sox didnt suck dick that yr, maybe we would have won 95 games. But we didnt need to.

You gotta keep Nady. He's a versatile defender, albeit average at both COF position as well as 1B. But when you look at our offense, you need the righty balance. Giambi, Cano, Damon, Matsui, Abreu?, Gardner?, Miranda?, Posada is better from the left. All guys could be on our roster next yr. The only right handed balance in terms of power is Nady and ARod. So he wont be going anywhere. I have told you before that Marte was getting abused in Pittsburgh and his arm started barking for us. He appeared in one game during a 10 day stretch to rest the tendonitis in his elbow and since then, he was lights out. 11IP 5H 2ER 4BB 13K to finish the yr. He got a one yr option at 6 mil that you have to pick up. While I like Coke a lot, he picked up about 3mph on his fastball since the move to the pen and I'd want to see he sustain that before isolating him in our pen as the only lefty reliever. Our pen is gonna be very, very good next yr. Here are all the candidates. 1. Mariano will be back after having off season AC joint surgery (which is pretty much nothing). And he's coming off the best season of his career. For those who wish to look, take a look at the stats. They're preposterous. 1.40ERA 39/40 Sv/SvOp 98%Sv% 70.2IP 41H 77K 6BB 9.8K/9IP 12.8K/BB 0.67WHIP. The bolded parts are all career bests for a full season. His K/9 total was his second best of his career. Just ridiculous 2. Veras will be returning coming off a pretty damn good first yr in the bigs. Its even better when you note how poorly he finished, most likely due to fatigue in his first full MLB pen season. 3. Edwar also has his first full yr under his belt, which was solid by all standards, especially when you look at the stellar peripherals (1.23WHIP, 10.25K/9IP). 4. Marte as indicated above 5. Phil Coke, after being nearly dealt to Pitt, came up in late August and has been lights out as a middle reliever/long man. Remember, as a former starter, he has the capability to be more than just a lefty specialist. His numbers were dazzling. 14.2IP 8H 1ER 14K 2BB 0.68WHIP. As I said above, dont let his numbers and stuff fool you. He was in the 86-90 range as a starter last yr. This yr, he was throwing 90-92 as a starter in AA and is throwing 92-95 as a reliever. I dont know if he was on a strengthening program (legal or illegal), but big jumps in velocity can sometimes mean a drop the following yr. I am not ready to just hand him the reigns as the lefty specialist. 6. Brian Bruney- 34.1IP 18H 14BB 33K. Another sub 1 WHIP kind of guy who looked damn good this yr, even with the lisfranc injury 7. Joba Chamberlain, if he is healthy and if he doesnt see winter ball. It looks like the yankees are easing off the pedal. They were gonna reconvert him to a starter and get him some innings out in ARI fall league. But after his injury, he said he was taking it easy a bit and the heater just wasnt there. It looks like they're gonna monkey around with him some more and start him in the pen to build up his innings. Didnt they learn that this didnt work last yr? I think Joba's future may be in the pen now that we've f***ed him over enough. So here he is. Our dominant 8th inning guy. 8. David Robertson- didnt like the walks, but the K/9IP was solid. He was 23 in only his second season of professional baseball, so he has some learning to do. But he throws well, has a nice bender and will see a lot of time in the majors in 2009. 9. Jonathan Albaladejo will be back from his elbow stress fracture. Word is, the velocity was down after his rehab, so he'll likely begin the yr on the DL in the minors. But when he was right, he was pretty solid. His numbers look pretty crappy, but as a reliever, one outing can skew anything. On May 1, he was left out there to burn since the pen was spent. He went 1.2IP 6H 4ER. Outside of that outing, 12IP 9H 2ER 3BB 10K. Not bad. If he is healthy, he is another guy who can swing between long relief and short. 10. Humberto Sanchez is back and throwing smoke. He'll see time in the majors next yr 11. Dan Geise was a solid long relief option, who I think has the inside track on being the 6th man/ long reliever on this team. 12. Kei Igawa may see time as a long man next yr. He quietly was a very solid pitcher in AAA this yr. 13. Dont forget about the minor leagues. Mark Melancon will break camp in the majors this yr, unless he just has an awful ST. I have him pegged as our #3 prospect and he was a beast this yr. 95IP 69H 89K 22BB. Pretty dominant. And the only reason why he threw 95IP out of the pen is because it would take him 3-4 innings to reach his pitch limit. I have seen BA and other news orgs label him a "beast", a "sure thing", etc. He's Mo's replacement BTW and one of our biggest trade chips, who I dont think we should deal. And when you consider this was his first full yr back from TJ, you have to be impressed. 14. JB Cox started the yr on fire, then fell flat on his face. But it was his first yr back from TJ, so some fatigue was expected. He will be in our plans. 15. And there are too many more to count. Lots and lots of starters are pegged to relieve in the future. What does this all point to? A trade. We have a lot of young talent in our bullpen, too much to fit onto 2 teams, let alone 1.

We dont have the time to be worrying about SS this offseason, but the SS position will need to be tightened up in the near future. Jeter is one half step lost away from being unhideable. At least right now he has a good 3b and a rangy 2b to help him out. I find it funny that MLB2K8 actually has it in the game. "Past a diving Jeter". He's the only shortstop that gets that.

To be fair to the 2000 yankees, they had a 9 game lead by mid September and put the rest in the tank. At that point, they were 25 games over .500. In the span from Sept 13 to the end of the yr, we went 3-15 while resting a bunch of our guys cause the division was won. Just to extrapolate, lets assume Torre had a race on his hands and the yankees went just .500 the rest of the way, they would have won 95 games

the angels were stupid. They had the opportunity to choose the schedule and they chose the one that eliminated the 4th starter. The Angels have an ace, but their strength is in their rotation depth. If they played it another way, needing to use 4 starters, then game 4 would have been a heavy mismatch

You guys are talking like its set in stone. Oblique injuries are bad ones to have. They nag, they arent debilitating, but they are nagging injuries that can take weeks to heal. I honestly dont think Beckett makes the start. If it was bad enough to move his start back, I dont think he'll be well enough to throw in the first round.

The recent developments are interesting. Abreu's .932 post AS break OPS moved his stats into a solid to all star caliber level. near .300AVG, .371OBP, 20HR 100RBI 22SBs. And he will be 35 when the season starts next yr. I have said before that one of the 4 of Nady, Matsui, Damon and Abreu needs to go. And Abreu is probably the easiest to let go since he's a FA. Plus, now that he has shown a resurgence, he will likely get some more attention from us, but also a LOT more attention from other teams in desperate need for a right now corner OFer (Hello Mets). I think we might have kept him with an incentive laden deal if he continued down the .280AVG .780-.800OPS range he was in pre ASB. But as a .300AVG and mid .800s OPS guy with speed and a high OBP, he'll get a 3-5 yr deal easy. Another development out of the yankee camp is Giambi essentially saying that he will come back for a severe pay cut. Even though he has taken some hits in the media, he says he came to NY a boy and left a man. He also said he'd stay on a short term deal. Dont look a gift horse in the mouth if you have the opportunity to hang onto him. If Tex spurns us and goes to Anaheim, I wouldnt mind Giambi on a short term, cheap deal. He did hit 32HR have nearly 100RBI, have a .375OBP and a .500+SLG. I think we have seen the last of Andy Pettitte. The overall numbers were respectable for a back end starter. 14 wins, 4.51ERA, 204IP. But if you look inside the numbers, Pettitte has a very alarming trend. He has always been one of the best closers in history. Not end of game pitcher mind you, but a closer in the sense that he finishes very well. This yr was not the case. 10-7 4.03ERA preASB. 4-7 5.35ERA post ASB with a 1.53WHIP and a BAA of over .300. Plus, he said his shoulder was barking and he had an MRI prior to the end of the season, whose results were not publicized. I think the yankee stadium closing is the last time we see Andy Pettitte. And what a career it was. He'll be one of the guys who will get some votes for the HOF, but doesnt belong there. Then again, I do think his number should be retired though. 200+ victories, 4 titles, was a consistent force in our staff throughout the entire championship run. Now if he insists on playing again, I'd have to pass. No arbitration offered here IMO cause I think he'll accept it if he truly wants to come back. As for Mussina, he really learned how to pitch this season. He went inside and outside with all of his pitches and became a pest. He has said he will contemplate retirement and has said before that he's okay going yr to yr. If that is truly the case, then I would pony up the greenbacks for a one yr deal. If he decides to see what the market can offer him and asks for more than a 1 yr or a 1yr with vesting option, then I'd offer the arb and see him later. On to Mariano. People are saying he is gonna have shoulder surgery and whatnot. This is not the type of surgery that is concerning as they wouldnt even be operating on the shoulder per se. This is the AC joint, or right where your clavicle (collarbone) end and joins the acromion. This is not something that will affect the structural integrity of the shoulder, so if he does have surgery, then it shouldnt hinder him one bit as they arent actually entering the shoulder.

Obliques are tricky things. Some are very mild, some are more severe than broken bones in terms of missed time. The obliques are very important muscles in baseball, both in swinging and pitching and I have a sneaking suspicion that even if Becks tries to give it a go, he wont be 100%

Gom is obsessed with proving a point that wont be proven. He's incapable of reason. Just another bandwagon dumbass who doesnt know that a change has taken place. Hey dumbass, lets take a look at what we got for Gordon. Joba and Kennedy. Not bad eh? Things changed in 2006. You will see. Unfortunately, it takes time and *******s like you cannot understand that.

Doug Melvin? The guy who built the Brewers through THE DRAFT by having early round draft picks and then added pieces when the team showed it was ready? That guy? I thought you loved the idea of outspending everyone for right now kind of players? Melvin did that once, for a one shot deal on a franchise that isnt even gonna make the playoffs, and will be in ruin for the next 3-4 yrs after going for it in one shot this yr. That's your guy?

fairweather, s***** fan you are. Go root for the Mutts

I understand that a lot of sox fans on here hate the Stadium, but for me, it is just an awesome place and I for one will miss it. They did the Stadium proud with their pregame ceremonies.

you are dense. I am not crying poverty. I am saying that we DIDNT PUT MONEY INTO THE DRAFT UNTIL 2006!. We were one of the bottom 5 draft bonus teams for about a decade. If you dont put money into the draft, you dont get good players. And to boot, most of the low bonus guys were college players with limited ceilings. If you are gonna go cheap, its best to snap up some high school kids who have talent.

back injuries like herniated discs are typically not a one shot deal. Guys in their early 30s with debilitating back issues typically have back issues for life. The question is how much he can deal with it. His history would show that he cannot.

Clausen is growing a bit today. He's faced a ridiculous pass rush and is learning to get rid of the ball and to throw to his checkdowns. His second half has been very solid. And if it wasnt for Floyd's fumble in the red zone, we might be winning this game

He's Melky Cabrera with a worse arm and better speed.

4 good outings

and again, you dont get it. We got one in the first draft that we actually put money into. Also, how bout Aceves, eh?

on the verge of blowing a playoff spot? Isnt their magic # 1 for the playoffs?

The point is that the farm system is a recent development and takes time to develop. It is coming. The best of them all are gonna be in Tampa next yr. But we'll get a taste with Jackson and Hughes once they settle in

The peripherals are dominant, I am not calling him dominant, but his peripherals are very solid. And any baseball fan who knows anything about relief pitching knows that ERA is a very poor stat to follow for relievers. But I am not surprised that you stick to it. Cause you're one of the dumbest but most outspoken fans on this site, yankee or red sox. You're a fan, but not an educated one. With some of the logic you have shown on this site, I am surprised you have any sort of formal educational training.

So back about a month ago, you were all over the balls of Jose Veras and all about wanting to cut Edwar Ramirez. Well, lets see who has had the better season. Oh and by the way, just saying that one is easier to watch is not a good argument. Who put up these numbers between the two, Edwar or Veras. Highest IP: 54.1IP Lowest ERA: 3.64 Lowest BAA: .214 Highest K/9IP: 10.10 Lowest BB/9IP: 4.0 Highest K/BB: 2.54 Lowest WHIP: 1.23 Lowest HR total: 7 Give up? Highest IP: 54.1IP BOTH Lowest ERA: 3.64 Veras, Edwar's was 3.98 Lowest BAA: .214 Edwar Highest K/9IP: 10.10 Edwar Lowest BB/9IP: 4.0 Edwar Highest K/BB: 2.54 Edwar Lowest WHIP: 1.23 Edwar Lowest HR total: 7 Tied I think you can gather from here that although Veras may be the sexier pick because he throws 97mph and has a sick slider, Edwar has actually been much more effective. So instead of cutting this guy, maybe you should realize that he belongs in the fray on our pen squad.

and the Leiter statement about young kids needing TJ is bunk. I think it has to do with more kids playing yr round. Back in the day, when you played in seasons, most future ball players were good basketball players and good football players, so their arms actually got a rest. Nowadays, kids in the northeast are in the cages throwing in the winter (I know I was) and kids in the south are playing 200-300 games in a season (Fall, Winter and then in season ball). And, we are seeing it diagnosed more. More people are aware of it, more families and doctors are willing to recommend it. Hell, to some people, they think that if they get it, they will pitch better. So Leiter's blanket statement holds no water. And like I said above, Humberto had bad mechanics. They are better, not the best, not even good, but passable. Compared to where he was, he is much, much better. The adjustments were made.