jacksonianmarch

Blanton for Crisp? Can I have some of the s*** you're smokin?

Gom is right. As Yankee fans, this past season was demoralizing, but it isnt like we were 62-100. We finished 2 games behind you guys mostly because of our injuries early on. We had something like 12 starters make starts last season, which is a record for the yankees. And when most of them are fringe guys, that makes things seem to go out of your favor. All the while, you guys actually had a pretty steady rotation. Yes, Schill missed some time as did Wake, but they were still there for the majority of their starts. Becks made all but 2 of his starts. DiceK made all of his starts. Tavarez, Lester and Buchholz sucked up the remaining fill in time and the #5 hole.

the alcohol level debate is laughable. The only reason we have a set limit is because the damn lawyers would tear apart a jugdement call. For reference, I saw a guy on New Yrs whose BAC was 8 times the legal limit and he was still talking. He was clinically sober at 5 times the legal limit. Now that is some serious hardcore, long term drinking. But it goes to show how useless a BAC of 0.08 is. I have actually seen patients come in who claim they are drunk and have a 0.06 or so. It is all relative.

Jayhawk, Torre was not among the best when he left. When he came in, he could do no wrong. Even bonehead moves turned out for him since his team was loaded with guys who got the job done (most of the time unspectacularly). By the end, he made so many boneheaded moves that he could only trust the superstars, and many rookies and mediocre players who could have taken some of the burden, were swept to the wayside. This is his curse. By the end of the yr, his best players were either run down or injured. And his effects could easily be seen in the bullpen where he took many a talented rookie and turned them into mush. I like Girardi in his very small sample size because he had the balls to rely on the kids in every situation in Florida. Part of that had to do with the fact that that team was so young, but at the same time, he pushed a ton of rookies through on a regular basis and got them to believe.

Santana will decide this. If he goes to the Mets or stays in Minnesota, the sox will still have an advantage in the rotation, but it will not be terribly huge. If he goes to Boston, then the rotation edge isnt even close. If he goes to NY the rotation edge may shift in NY's favor depending on who is given up. As is, the sox rotation is better as they have a true ace. Beckett trumps everything the yankees have right now. Could one of the kids step up and be an ace this yr, certainly possible, but not a definite like the sox have. But if Santana is not entered into either equation, there is a damn good chance that the entire production of the rotations are similar. But unless Joba or Hughes cement themselves as aces this yr, the sox will have the decided advantage in a short playoff series. In terms of bullpen, the sox have the advantage again, for now. Papelbon is the real deal, and right now he is a better reliever than Mo. Okajima may or may not have been a one hit wonder. His stuff isnt impressive, he tired by August and started getting smacked around the more the league saw of him. The true trump card the sox hold right now is MDC. He is a beast in the making. And even if Oki and Timlin have pedestrian yrs, they are still reliable enough to hand the ball to on a regular basis. But the hammer in paps and the solid performance of MDC makes me concerned for a 1-2 punch at the end of the pen that could be active for yrs. For us, Mo is getting old and Hawkins/Farnsworth are going to be serviceable but not spectacular. The true test of our pen will be how the kids handle it. The acquisition of Albaladejo is big as he is a big, powerful pitcher with good K rates for a sinkerballer. If he continues to pitch like he did last yr, he could be our setup man by the end of the yr. Other guys in the mix initially include the enigmatic Edwar Ramirez who K's a ton of guys, but also loses the zone frequently. The fat tub of goo Britton, who was very effective in the minors and in 06 with the O's. He should have a shot at a spot out of ST. Jose Veras, who tore up the winter leagues this yr after having an injury plagued yr. He has the stuff, but is likely one demotion away from being out of the org. And Ross Ohlendorf who showed control and a return of power when moved to the pen. He will likely have a spot out of ST barring a monumental collapse and he could play a big role. Either way, the differences here are that the sox have a young closer and a young MR who has already starting cementing himself as a quality reliever. You have what we hope these kids will become and that is the difference. In terms of offense, it isnt very close. There is significant depth to the lineup with a bench that will be very solid on the offensive side of the ball. We finally have a quality backup catcher who might be able to get a bit more mileage out of Posada. We have a healthy Giambi, who even when he isnt hitting, gets on base at a high rate. We have 2 young kids with tons of power and good patience who will see a significant amount of time this yr in Betemit and Duncan. We have possibly the best 2b in the AL in Cano who is only going to get better. Jeter on the offensive side is still an automatic .310 season, although his power is dwindling a bit. The 3 OFs who will rotate between LF and RF are Matsui, Damon and Abreu. Matsui should be fully healthy and hit rather well last season even through the injuries. Abreu still gets on base at a high rate and salvaged himself in the second half as did Damon. And then we have the best hitter in the game in ARod. Also, dont forget about Melky, who was hitting over .300 and had an OPS around .800 prior to his dreadful month of September. Regardless, the yankees will have a solid lineup that will go 9 deep and a bench that will have solid matchup capabilities later in the game. On D, it isnt very close. Vtek vs Posada is mostly a wash in terms of blocking balls and throwing runners out (Posada edge in arm, Vtek edge in blocking) but Vtek is the better game caller. Youk is the best 1b on defense in the game and for us it will be a rotating butcher block. Cano is superior defensively to Pedroia. As bad a Lugo is, he is still a better defensive SS than Jeter. Lowell and ARod are nearly a wash, although I'd still take Lowell's glove over ARod's. Manny and Matsui are both butchers in left. Damon in left is an upgrade. Melky vs Coco is an edge to the sox solely because of range, but his arm does make up some of the difference. Drew vs Abreu is mostly a wash as well. So only one decided advantage on our side with Cano (mostly due to range) while the other positions are a wash or a decided advantage for the sox. But as Coco said, Santana decides this. Right now, the teams are well matched with the sox having the advantage IMO out of the gate, albeit a smaller one that could widen or shrink depending on how our kids develop. But Santana will decide this for this yr IMO.

It certainly is intriguing. I just hope they are able to keep the innings down somewhat. If Chamberlain doubles his innings this yr, we might as well book the OR.

you are correct. My mistake. So the fact that he threw essentially 115IP including playoffs has him set for 150, not 170. Another reason why he should start the yr in AAA.

I read the same thing, BUT, a poster on another site is fluent in spanish and the original article made reference to a day similar to april fools. Apparently, Dec 28th is similar to our April 1. And since this is the only paper reporting it, it seems like that is the case. Otherwise, I agree. WTF about the 2 yrs?

and going by that scale, he apparently threw a few 92mph changeups? Hilarious.

that is extremely easy to call into question, though. Some guns and operators are different. I am going off the NESN reads. As we all know some guns are intentionally juiced (like on Fox for example) and others seem to lag. I think the NESN guns were rather accurate as most of them had Schilling in the high 80s-low 90s after his 1 hitter, which is where he said he himself felt like he was at. While FOX broadcast games still had him pouring it in at 93-95. Regardless, I know what I saw as I was able to watch almost every one of Lester's starts. The NESN guns had him sitting around 90-91 with the occasional 93-94. Not once did I see a 95 from him last yr. And even the typically juiced guns in the WS did not have Lester throwing that hard.

and by sitting, I mean the majority of his pitches. Sure I saw a couple 93's and 94's pop up on the screen, but they were few and far between.

Lester is by no means a hard throwing lefty. He is a lefty who was sitting 89-91 last yr, and living in Mass, I saw every one of his starts. He apparently threw high 90s in the minors, but that wasnt even close to what he truly threw in Fenway. He reminds me a lot of Ted Lilly without the success at this point. Inconsistent FB command, a very nice curve that is inconsistently located, a cutter that is average at best and a show me changeup. If he truly does throw mid 90s and the chemo was the main detractor, then we should see this yr. But he wasnt throwing that hard before he started the chemo either and he still had the same problem. He doesnt command the zone well, and for a guy who doesnt have power stuff, that will be problematic.

We shall see. Hughes is the goods and he showed it to end the yr. We'll see who shows up. And I totally think you are selling Kennedy short. We will see.

It isnt the money that is the issue here. If Santana was a FA, I'd be all about the financial committment. It is the fact that you are sending over 2 major leaguers and probably two minor leaguers with good upside for a pitcher. If that pitcher gets hurt and is rendered average, then you get 4 reminders every time you face the twins of how stupid you were to make that move.

so might Santana

Crunch. Despite reports from outside news organizations, the yankees have no intentions of having Joba in the pen. They have not waivered from having Joba start. The question is, where will he start. The most recent news is that Cashman and Newman both agreed that all 3 kids will have innings caps. Joba last yr hit 135IP. He will most likely be capped around 170IP Hughes hit 150 in 2006, but was short due to injury last yr. He will most likely be capped at 170IP as well. Kennedy threw 165 last yr and is on pace for 200IP this yr. The other news is that, at least out of the gate, Mussina will start the yr as the #5. And while that is going on, Joba might be the odd man out in Scranton. Due to the fact that the yankees can control his innings in AAA, the season starts 3 weeks later, and eventually Moose will need replacing, this idea works.

If the yankees use Hughes to get Santana, the effects wont be felt for another 3-4 yrs. The problem is, by the time Santana starts to slide a bit, Hughes will have been the best pitcher in the game and we'll be talking about dealing more kids to get Hughes from Minnesota. Dont do it.

I honestly think that steroids also give a player a psychological edge. A feeling of dependence that breeds results and then the player becomes superstitious. A feeling of, With Steroids, I am UNBEATABLE. And once they have success using them, they cannot stop.

A good amount of Meredith's success is arm angle rather than velocity, IMO. His sub 3/4 arm angle puts wicked movement on the ball which allows for him to keep the ball down and get outs. The issue with him will be health, as many of these awkward delivery guys blow out their arms at young ages and never get that movement again.

Interesting Manny stats. Last yr was Manny's first season under .900OPS since 1994, his first season in the bigs Last yr was Manny's first season under 100RBI since 1997. Last yr was Manny's first season under 22HR in his career. Last yr was Manny's lowest walk total in a full season Last yr was Manny's lowest SLG% of his career All that and his season would still be considered pretty damn good compared to the league. You arent talking about needing Manny to be pretty damn good. Manny has been other worldly for the past 13 or so seasons. Manny dropping to such a career low was a huge reason why the sox offense had sustained spurts of suckitude, only this yr they had the pitching to plow through them. Once Manny finally got hot again, the offense was lights out. The questions for next yr will be... A. Can he stay healthy/want to play? We all know he has had some sort of knee issue. Whether or not it is him just needing a break or not, who knows. Then the oblique pull, which I think is real since it was the exact mechanism that would typically cause an oblique pull that did it and you can see the grimace on his face when he did it. Regardless, with DH not being an option, how healthy can he remain? B. Can he avoid the early season swoon to put up big numbers? In 2006, he had a swoon, then went on to put up his best OPS since 2002. In 2007, he had a swoon and then pulled his average up near .300 but didnt have the power Is the real Manny a second half player or is this lack of being able to sustain a full season a sign of breakdown? C. Can he dodge age for the next 3 yrs? He is getting older. He has only played 130 and 133 games over the past 2 seasons, which is his #3 and #4 lowest game totals of his career (one of those other yrs he broke his hand). ANd those totals arent bad at all, but they are showing a decline from the ridiculous precedent he has set for himself. The swoons are starting to show that he may not have the stamina to last a full season, but his incredible eye, talent and work ethic are enough to make it through the swoon unphased. And he is getting older, mid 30s is typically when some players start slowing down. But the true message is, who knows if he will. This upcoming season will be huge in determining what they do. If he comes out and puts up another .290-20-90-.880OPS season, they will decline his option as that will be two substandard yrs in a row for Manuel Aristides. If he reverts to his .310-40-140-1.050 precedent, then it is a no-brainer.

you better believe we are

Hughes for Santana gives us the possibility of having a known ace for the next 5 yrs, while it potentially takes away an ace for us for a decade or more. Adding in Kennedy only makes it worse.