jacksonianmarch

Next yr VA. Next yr.

the sox are gonna need to be VERY good to beat out the yankees this season. They dont have the luxury of blowing a few games early on a kid who has been has a surprising knack for hitting the sweet spot of the bat.

I'm gonna die!!! LOL

therein lies the problem animal. He is on a MLB contract. He cannot go to the minors without being put through waivers and that wont fly.

Manny will still play, I just have a feeling it wont be in Boston. Also, just keeping him on the bench will retard him. He needs to play full seasons. He really could use a minor league trip, but alas, he cannot go.

It didnt work in 03, but they were in better shape than now because the sox had pitchers who were in their prime in that pen. Plus, it cost the sox early on that season blowing saves before BH Kim took over. And overall, the pen really kinda sucked. They converted less than 63% of their team saves, which ranked 22nd in all of baseball. They had the 8th most blown saves with 21. The pen was 20th in opp OPS. 19th in Opp OBP. 21st in opp SLG. 28th in ERA. Their 27 losses ranked them 8th. They were tied for the lead in bullpen decisions, which is NEVER a good thing. Also, while having one of the best rotation the sox ever had, they still put in the 6th most innings in the AL. Their BAA was 3rd worst in the AL, 25th overall in the MLB. I mean, those stats SUCK. That was a bad pen that got on a roll at the right time, and of those 21 blown saves and 27 losses, how many could have been avoided? The Yankees won the division by 6 games. If the sox had a closer who could convert like Paps did (85%) back then, then these no good bastards would have thwarted my yankees for the ALE! Never underestimate the important of having a solid pen, especially one whose closer is determined. You were carried by the good fortune of your rotation who were blowing people away and the rest of the rotation ate innings. That pen nearly felled you. You only won the WC by 2 games. Imagine if it was WORSE than that year's ebachle, which it very well could be this yr.

Manny in 2 yrs will still be head shoulders knees and toes over Wily Mo offensively.

and trust me on this one. If the sox prospects all develop well, hit no snags and make it to AAA, then you'd be singing a different tune. Offense is different. That is why I really dont care about Duncan. Tabata is nice but a long way away. This SS kid could be the next best thing since sliced bread, I really dont care all that much. We can buy offense. There is always someone available who will hit as long as you are willing to pay the piper, but pitching, WHOA NELLY. That is something that is a problem buy.

That is where I differ with you Mr C. If a fistful of dollars could buy us pitching we wouldnt have taken the fist square in our bumhole the past few seasons. Teams are smartening up. You dont see the young aces hit the market anymore. Santana, Sheets, Peavy, Oswalt, etc all are being locked up prior to hitting the market. This leaves #3 and #4 starters to hit the market. And then there is the adjustment to the AL, then to the ALE, then to NYC and the rivalry and the like. But if you want to get a young pitcher in his prime, you better pony up the prospects. Either develop them yourselves or deal for them. That is the fatal flaw with George's reasoning the past few yrs. That is something that is being righted by Cash. And I like developing kids here. Because it is all they know. Yankee stadium = major leagues. It makes it easier than someone who hits the majors, adjusts to it, then has to adjust again to one hell of a crazy place. And, if a kid dont have the cajones to fit here, then we owe him nothing, we can deal him away. If a FA doesnt have the stones to hang here, we are stuck with em.

Nah, that is not what I am saying. I would trade them all for a dynasty. If you told me, listen, I'll give you a world championship in 07, then complete misery for the next 5 years I wouldnt take it. Nothing is more fun than watching something wonderful blossom, win a championship, and have hope for more afterwards. I dont want to relive the 80s after we won it all in the late 70s. I'd rather not relive the days of Steve Howe, Mike Pagliarulo, and Pascual Perez. Give me sustained excellence and a chance at the title every yr. No valleys, all peaks.

I agree complicitly with you ksush aside from Ohlendorf. He pitched 182 innings last season in AA ball and was clocked at 91-95 as the season was coming to a close on his sinker. Kid can throw. He also walked only 29 in those 182 innings. I agree on your assessment of Jackson. He has the numbers, not really sure why he is rated so poorly. He has the stuff, has the numbers, has the control. The only knock on him is command, so I guess command issues were enough to knock him down a but in their system. In most systems, a guy with mid 90s heat, a plus slider and another major league pitch with control at still a young age and progressing with success through the minors usually gets you a top 10 ranking. One other thing I read on him was that he has s*** mechanics in 05, had them completely retooled for 06 and had a breakout year. The question is, in a new situation with new coaches, will he revert to his old ways?

You have an eloquent way of putting things old timer! May I be your apprentice? Damn, I am still laughing at this.

I agree. I'd sell every single player in the yankee minor leagues for an 06-08 championship run.

george may be pissing and s***ing himself by then regardless of the yankee position. Word is, he aint doin so hot.

eric Milton? He makes the disappearing ball trick look like it is child's play. Now you see the ball moving towards the plate, now the ball disappears over the fence. He is the best mistake we never made.

LOL. That made me laugh Crunchy. Based on the ETAs I have read it sounds like the Bronx is gonna be a revolving door on the field. Obviously, those ETAs are just when these guys are projected to be ready for the leap, not when they will have room for them.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/485885p-409054c.html

good point on Tavares. I think he is getting lost in the shuffle as a rotation option.

Good comparison, but to an AL version of such. That 04 rotation would get f***ing mashed in the ALE (and did by the sox). Overall, great post. I feel that the yankees have a complete team right now, but by no means are they as strong as they were years ago. But at the same time, they are filling the needs that cannot be filled externally with youth. We are reloading to coin a phrase used by one of my college coaches years back. The team will still be successful, while getting younger. And I also agree on the 2 yrs thing. Previously, the entire yankee roster was locked in 2 yrs out. Now, the guys under contract for 09 are as follows. C- ?? 1B- ?? 2B- Cano SS- Jeter 3B- ARod LF- Matsui CF- Damon RF- Melky? 1- Wang 2- ?? - Hughes? 3- ?? - Sanchez? 4- Igawa 5- ?? - Clippard, Ohlendorf, Jackson, Chamberlain, Betances, Karstens, Rasner? and none in the bullpen, although Mo has said he wants to open the new stadium, so that sounds like he will be here till it opens in 09. That breeds flexibility above. No more passing on the best possible FA because their slot is filled. I also think the sox are breeding good things for the future. Matsuzaka and Papelbon should be nice additions to the rotation and if Beckett can figure it out, the sox might have something brewing.

our future backup catcher will be in AA this yr. PJ Pillittere. Not totally horrible with the stick and a good glove. Sounds like a backup to me. Honestly, unless you have a specialist on your roster who needs his own catcher, all you really need out of a backup catcher is defense. Chavez is a D first backup who will likely hit around .220. That is fine with me. What I dont like is that the best catching prospect in our minor league system is Montero and he is 4 years away and may be a 1b by the time he hits the majors. Posada is in the last yr of his contract (but he does have a player option), and I sure as hell dont want to give him a Varitek deal at 35. None of the FA options are nice aside from Barrett after this yr and Ross after next. So we may be forced to trade, or that may be the position taken with our first pick in the draft.

major league ready pitching talent is worth more than a backup catcher. We werent going to get Montero from them, so asking for him wasnt gonna happen.