jacksonianmarch

I dont think the padres can beat that offer if the prospect is Owings. That kid has the makeup to be something special for us. If the prospect is Nippert then I'd say F this.

Well, it looks like it wont be two prospects. Yahoo sports is saying that the deal will be Vizcaino and one of the trio of pitching prospects mentioned. Owings, the 2006 DBack minor league pitcher of the yr, happens to be Cashman's favorite of the bunch, so he is expected to be the one. It seems as if Cash was not content with eating more salary for another prospect. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-unit010407&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Piniero did have his struggles though. In the pen last yr he had a very respectable .213 BAA in 24.1IP But he walked 10 in that time as well and gave up 3 HR. There was a reason why his ERA was 4.81 in relief. But if he works on command and lowers the walk rate, then he could be a good option. Thinking outside of the box, interesting.

welcome back VA!

I hear ya. But as we know, ST is rather useless for the most part. Enrique Wilson won the 2b job with a .400+ average in ST then hit a paltry .220. Jeff Weaver and Kevin Brown were untouchable in ST. I think that ST should only be a showcase for command and stuff. Other than that, nobody should win the closers role based on ST performance. I think you need a bias going in and something significant would have to change that. If I were a sox fan, I'd probably choose Timlin. I dont think Donnelly in a new league and coming off 3 straight declining years is the best option. I feel Timlin could give the sox a 70% save conversion rate, enough to give them the wild card. If they wanna go for the gusto though, Edgar Martinez sure is an intriguing option.

This is a tough one. Which in house option is best served to be the closer out of ST assuming the sox are not able to acquire one.

most of those closers go from being solid setup men to being solid closers though. You rarely see a Huston Street scenario where the kid comes from the minors to the closer position directly. Also, the big problem with finding a serviceable closer is that your 4th or 5th choice may be the best bet. How many games will you blow with your 1st, 2nd, 3rd get my drift. Last season, the sox got real lucky putting a power armed kid in the closers slot. But anyone who saw Paps pitch, knew he had the demeanor, the pedigree and the stuff to close. I dont see that out of any pitcher projected to the sox in 07. Cox may be the long term closer. Hansen may be the closer of the future too. Hell, MDC may be the closer this year. But none of them have the pedigree and the track record of success. I think the sox will initially go with a veteran. But none of the vets in the pen thus far strike me as closer material. Timlin hasnt been a full time closer in years and he is undoubtedly declining, Donnelly is declining and has never closed full time, Okajima is not a closer, Romero is certainly not a closer, and anyone who watched Tavres pitch knows that Julian is not a closer either. You know what, interesting poll question is coming out of this. Stay tuned.

I forgot about Halama, the underrated soft tossing, middle of the bullpen innings eater who ate a lot of s*** when he was in Boston.

Cashman is up to something. He is continually stockpiling arms but for which slots and potentially for trades? Consider these rotation slots. 1. Wang- likely to be in NY for a long time 2. Mussina- signed for 2 more yrs 3. Pettitte- signed for 2 more yrs if he is healthy 4. Igawa- signed for 4 yrs 5. Pavano- signed for 2 yrs. the only slot I see opening up this offseason is the 5 hole, as I feel Pavano will be gone by the beginning of 08. If he pitches well, he'll be dealt, if he stays injured, he may be bought out. The 3 slot is another area that could open should Andy be injured, but I wont be banking on that. Igawa could flame out but to count on Igawa to flame out and Pettitte to be injured is too unlikely to occur imultaneously when both have a history of durability. So, for the sake of argument, at most 2 slots are opening. Zambrano hits the market next yr, and I find it hard to believe the yankees wont make a run at him. Westbrook also hits the market, and he is another guy who the yankees will likely have interest in as he is similar to wang in stuff and durability. Then you have these guys. Rasner, 25 - plus sinker, average fastball, successful short stint in the majors. Successful minor league career. Battled shoulder trouble. Pitched very well in winter ball. Will compete for a major league job in 07. Karstens, 23 - 4 big league pitches with plus command. Successful minor league track record and successful short stint in the majors. Will compete for a major league job in 07. Hughes, 20 - Has everything. Amazing minor league track record, plus plus off speed stuff, plus heat, plus location, plus plus plus plus whatever. Will start in AAA this season, with a likely mid season callup. Sanchez, 23 - power arm, plus slider, pitched well in AA/AAA and would have been called up to Detroit during their WS run if not for a minor elbow injury. Will start the yr in AAA with the MLB being a strong possibility in 07 Clippard, 21 - average heat, plus curve, plus control and command. Very high K rate commensurate to stuff. Brought along one level at a time since being drafted out of high school. Will start the yr in AAA and will likely NOT receive a callup. then you have the guys who are coming in, 2 of these 3 are likely to come over. Nipper, 25, made his MLB debut in 2005. Has a plus fastball with plus curve. No tertiary pitch. Command is spotty. Will start season in AAA if acquired. Will likely be called up at some point in 07. Owings, 24, plus heat, average off speed stuff, plus command and control who tore up AA and AAA last yr. Will start the yr in AAA, likely to spend the entire yr there if acquired. Ohlendorf, 24, average heat, plus sinker, plus plus control, plus command. Dominated AA, pitched one game of AAA. Will likely stay the entire yr in AAA if acquired. He threw 180 innings last season, meaning he is stretched out. There is just too much going around. The Yankees have their starting 5 filled. They have 2 guys who will be on the Scranton shuttle all yr long as spot starter. If a starter misses long periods of time, then they have 2 other guys who will likely step up and 3 if Nippert is a package to the deal. Overall, 7 starters (assuming the yankees get 2 of the 3 mentioned above in the RJ deal) on this list will be ready for the major leagues in 2008 as long as injury does not prevent anything, while at most 2 spots will be opening up and one of those holes may be filled externally. So given that, I think Cashman is up to something. Of all of the minor leaguers mentioned above, Hughes is obviously the best. He ranks as the #1 pitcher in the entire minor leagues, not just on the yankees. He is a flat out, ace projected (not ceiling, projected) pitcher. After that, the picture is fuzzy on how to rank them. If you want to go by stuff, then Sanchez is the 2nd best on this list. If you want to go by numbers, then Owings and Clippard could fight it out. NL scouts think Owings is a better prospect than Sanchez while AL scouts disagree. So lets consider them 2A and 2B even though Sanchez has the highest ceiling (ace ceiling, projections are erratic as some think his future is in the pen) while Owings (assuming he is acquired) is projected to be the safer bet (#3 starter with a ceiling of a 2). The fourth best on the above list in terms of ceiling has to be Nippert (assuming he is acquired). He has ace potential (according to scouts.com) but scouts really dont like his limited repertoire and his shaky command. Projections on him range from mid rotation pitcher to bullpen pitcher with a ceiling of an ace. The final two spots would be reserved for Clippard then Ohlendorf (assuming he is acquired). So what are we to do with these guys. Well that is for Yankee fans to discuss and for sox fans to pick apart. Ready GO. WOWZAH!

But if a guy is having trouble handling the workload in SD comes over here with what is considered declining stuff and numbers as the big piece of an RJ trade, doesnt that sound kinda bad?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2719795 Better situation than in NY or in Texas. He should see the field.

what you do is put him in AAA as the closer. Tell him that he will NOT be called up to the majors this yr. Tell him that the job in AAA is his whether he gives up 9 runs an outing or whether he K's everyone he faces. See if he can do that before giving him big league aspirations. There was no reason for him to hit the majors in the yr he was drafted and it is about time to take their time with him. He has the stuff to be a shutdown closer, but immaturity and lack of confidence could really be a problem for a kid.

the problem with Linebrink, and why I disagree with you is that his stuff faltered a little last yr and he fell off poorly at the end (4.4 plus ERA post AS). We dont need another Goron here.

good pickup. So the last thing he wants is a bloated contract to an injury prone superstar. Why does he want Drew again?

all depends on the prospects now crunchy. If it is Vizcaino and Nippert alone I am gonna be f***in pissed.

the rangers offer him no chance to play. The Yankees made an offer to him, and maybe he'll take some ABs away from Cano when they play lety starter, but I doubt it. I am surprised he has no market.

the reason why the Drew signing is the swing factor is because of the cash but also the longevity. Not many teams are willing to absorb a 14 mil a yr salary and sit him on the bench or rid themselves of the player. He will be the sox RF for 5 years, whether at 100 games a yr or 140. Now if they add an opt out clause, say after yr 2, then this would be one hell of an offseason. But I dont like the idea of adding a bear contract to an oftinjured player for long term cash and years. It is Bernie Williams all over again. His 12 mil did not allow us a run at Beltran. His declining presence did not allow us to find a better option, and we are the richest team. But if they are able to protect themselves, with not just reducing guaranteed $$ but adding injury protection, then I'd be all for the signing and say kudos theo. But if they dont and Drew stops the sox from making runs at younger, better FAs in 2-3 yrs, then this signing will be the blame. As far as the rest of the moves, they did well. Lugo is no saviour, but he is an upgrade over AGon offensively and will add some speed to the top of the order. He was the best available. Matsuzaka was a great sign lux tax wise. The pen is very unspectacular and the closers role is up for grabs, but none of their pen moves are long term so nobody will look at a s*** contract in the bullpen in 2 yrs and curse this offseason. So yeah, I am the Drew signing away from giving the sox a golfer's clap. If they find a closer out of the rubble, if the pen solidifies under veteran leadership, then I'll give a standing O.

Not true there el sr. Vizcaino has been in 3 stops in the past 3 yrs. MIL, CWS, and ARI. In all 3 stops, he had a very similar ERA (3.75 to 3.73 to 3.58) and his 02 numbers were stellar (2.99ERA). What I am trying to say is that this guy has more to offer us TODAY. Lower walk total, lower WHIP, more experience, and experience with AL pitcher. But I am saying he is NOT who I want out of this deal. A 32 yr old power reliever with essentially a 1 yr contract. Those prospects better net something, either future rotation fillers or as trade bait, cause losing Medders from this deal makes the MLB reap pretty weak. Medders would have been under yankee control for 4 more yrs. Vizcaino would have hit FA as soon as RJ did. Again, I would expect Vizcaino to be a better reliever in 2007 as he has the experience and the stuff. But I dont like him as the only MLB player coming back.

ORS, I can see the idea of elbow injury being a problem too, but shoulder injuries are rampant in guys with low slot deliveries. If their published reasoning is the elbow, they are also saving the shoulder too.

el sr, not necessarily true. Reliever is a chore that is not necessarily for everyone. A lot of pitchers cannot throw 3-4 times a week and get by without a sore arm. Also, repetition of delivery when tired is harder too, and relievers who get leaned upon pitch contantly when tired. Now, I will agree that less is required. While a serviceable starter requires 3 pitches, maybe 4, a superstar reliever can get by on 2, 1 if you have an lights out pitch (like Mo). It all depends on how he takes to it. Last season, there was an improvement, albeit not a great one from starting to relieving. But he could be a steal if he can recapture his stuff of old (as he still is young) and be a force out there.

Giambi hasnt exactly been a bear the last 2 yrs. Actually, he was likely our offensive MVP for a significant portion of the season (yes, over Jeter), prior to his tearing a wrist tendon diving for a ball. He was the lone consistent power source when Matsui and Sheff went down and ARod pulled his disappearing act. As for Drew getting 28HRs, good luck with that. He hit 20 in the entire 2006 season in a park that is much more friendly on lefties than Fenway. And as for Lugo running down balls, if you wanted your SS to run down balls, you would have kept AGon. Lugo got that contract based on 1.5 seasons in TB. He's a career .277 hitter with a .340OBP, both upgrades over AGon, but they want his .300+ .370+ line he had in TB before being dealt last yr. Jury is out on him too. Like I said before, If Drew stays healthy, then this offseason is a fantastic, yet expensive one. If Drew bombs out, then every other move save Matsuzaka is going to be lumped in as a failure.

agreed. Man was I disappointed. But that was quite possibly the worst ND defense I have ever seen. Damn. Looks like Old Charlie has a one trick pony. In all fairness to Charlie, Willingham left him NO talent on the defensive end save Zbikowski. Last season he got a poor rank on his defensive recruits, but he wasnt able to recruit for the entire recruiting season. The incoming class of recruits are said to be fantastic on both sides of the ball, so we should see a very young ND team on both sides of the ball. Give em a yr or two Mr. C and who knows.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01042007/sports/yankees/yanks__doug_reach_tentative_deal_yankees_michael_morrissey.htm No money yet, but it Mientkiewicz will be in NY to take a physical. The physical for him, as it will be for RJ will be a bit more extensive as both had the same surgery. Doug's was during the season and he is younger, so he is likely to be further along in the recovery. A newspaper outlet previously said that he had been running and fielding, but he was a little bit away from swinging a bat.