jacksonianmarch

Kilo, take a page out of the last few seasons if you dont believe me. Last season, the yankees won the ALE going away with 3 starters and 2 black holes. There is no doubt that this rotation is an improvement over that. I would say that 1-3 the yankees have #2/3 type pitchers. No aces, no guys who are LIGHTS OUT DOMINANT. But guys who will give a good offense and bullpen a chance to win almost every time out. There are not too many teams (sox included) who have a lights out ace. So, if you wish to call the yankees rotation "average" because they lack a shutdown ace, then I agree. But they are not incapable of beating good teams. It was the consistency that got them to the playoffs. Not the flashy.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062007/sports/yankees/yanks_re_sign_cairo_for_1_year_yankees_joel_sherman.htm 1 yr 850K. Cairo is Alex Cora, but shorter. Cannot complain with this. Not gonna change the balance of power either.

this sounds like Seanez to me. I just dont get the high cash output for a guy who should have gotten a minor league deal.

dont get all bent out of shape over that. He's a hitter, they slump. Now if you told me Buchholz was topping out at 85 in the winter league, then I'd be worried. But for a hitter to go on a 1 for 23 slide, dont read much into it.

Their rotation is average if they made the playoffs. But in the regular season, against the s*** teams, the blah teams, and the good teams, that rotation can win games when you put it with bullpen and offense.

That is what I am saying. Igawa doesnt have Randy's upside. He doesnt have the snarling, coming right at ya type of upside that Randy has. But at 43, slider flat, fastball slow, coming off injury we have to be honest here. His upside is something we wouldnt even see until May and maybe once per month would he be vintage. The other times, he would suck anus.

Sickles is the only one who has Ohlendorf that low in the DBack system. He is 13th on scout.com. Now 13th in the DBack system (arguably the deepest system in baseball) is well ahead of 13th in the sox or yankee system. The top 4 in the DBack system are expected to start the yr in the majors. To put it into perspective, the DBacks have an opening at their #5 rotation position. The leading candidate for that role is their #15th prospect in Nippert. That is how deep this system is. Loaded with major league ready talent. What I dont really get is that Cashman was offered Owings (their top rated pitching prospect, #6 on their list who was their minor league pitcher of the yr) and Vizcaino, yet turned it down. His target all along was Ohlendorf. He may have a scout or two who loved what they saw. I will tell you what though. Sinkerballers never seem to get the respect they deserve. I know Wang did not crack a top 10 the yr after he became a sinkerballer. Then he came to the bigs and now is our ace. Now our system is one of the deepest pitching wise in the game. Last season, the system was rated 17th in the majors. This yr, after the sheffield trade, it was 6th. After this trade, it is likely in the top 5. As for where they fit in the yankee top 10? Sickles wont have either of the prospects cracking the yankee top 10. As for scout.com, Ohlendorf will likely slide into the 9-11 slot as Garcia has slid out of the top 10 with arm injury, Sanchez and Whelan have endoubtedly moved into the yankee top 10 and Ohlendorf moves in front of Ian Kennedy. I looked at Sickles list, and it seems to be a philosophical difference between scout.com and BA. Sickles seems to list players based on their ceilings without taking into account the years it will take to get there. Granted, if someone is a can't miss prospect in the lower levels, then fine, but the sheer fact that he had Ian Kennedy as the 5 in the yankee org shows his hand. Kennedy is likely to start the season in A ball, not even Tampa but lower. So he has a long way to go. Now what hurts Ohlendorf is ceiling. I am not fooling myself into thinking that a low 90s sinkerballer with plus control and command as his only plus attributes translates into anything but a mid rotation pitcher with a high end ceiling of a 2. This hurts Ohlendorf. Because he will never be rated highly as those who project ceiling first will put the guys with ace potential over a sinkerballers every day of the week. But as far as sure bets to make the majors, Ohlendorf is right there. As a matter of fact, he, Owings, and Nippert were originally going to go to camp battling for the last 2 spots in the DBack rotation with Nippert being nearly assured one of them. Now that RJ fills the 4 hole, you could assume Owings stays in the minors and Nippert takes the 5 for now. The fact that Ohlendorf was considered for the DBacks major league rotation without having thrown more than 5innings in AAA ball shows you what they think about him.

We dont have a healthy RJ. We wont have a healthy RJ. A healthy RJ was 5 years ago. This one is old, declining, and injured. Igawa can replace THAT one.

Most players get drafted with hype, get forgotten about and resurface when they get to or above AA. When they get back above AA, they either develped warts in the lower levels or they gain momentum. Tons of prospects with hype flame out in the lower ranks. So once they get to the AA level, there is a relative feeling that they'll make it. If they do well in AA, then even average performance in AAA gives them a look. Guys like Bowden, Buchholz, and Bard will start the yr in A+ ball or even further down (in Bards case). They are the closest pitching prospects the sox have. Buchholz sounds like the real deal as a starter, but he has his doubters. Bowden seems to be defying logic as most scouting reports are mixed on him. Bard projects as a power reliever. Either way, if things go well, Buchholz and Bowden should hit AAA by the start of 2009, with a likely midseason callup. Bard, if he is kept as a starter, will have an ETA of 2010. If he is converted to a reliever, he might be up in 09 or sooner. Either way, the best pitching prospects in the sox system are 2+ years away. The other guy to consider is Lester, but his stock has dropped, by minimal fault of his own. The lack of control and velocity was something to be concerned about, and he'll have to prove it was injury/cancer that made him look rather pedestrian. I for one hope John makes it back and becomes a good starter for the sox. Seems like a good kid, got some s*** luck, and maybe he'll turn it around.

I will never accept letting a player who can help go for a draft pick. I just dont think that the trash we dealt away is worth what we got. We will not miss a beat without RJ, Wright, and Sheff. Now if we dealt Wang, Mussina, Jeter, etc, then I'd be f***in pissed.

what about for 08 and beyond Mr 700?

Chapter 1 Verse 1 of the bible according to Yankee-dom. Amen my sister, amen.

he wont disappoint when we are up by 4 and need a cushion!