jacksonianmarch

The MVN is reporting that the yankees are willing to add another prospect in the deal and get Conor Jackson, a power hitting right handed 1b in return. Not a terribly reliable source and no I have no link, but this is just getting better and better.

agreed. 700 is gonna fall hard when roger is a yankee.

everyone talks about the loss of sheffield as a big loss. We finished 11 games up without sheffield for the most part. We are taking last yrs team, subtracting Jaret Wright and Randy Johnson, adding 2 young power relievers, 5 top pitching prospects, a full yr of Abreu and Matsui, Pettitte and Igawa. And maybe there is a certain 45 yr old coming to town?

the thing about gagne vs snyder is the definite difference in stuff. Snyder had gagne esque stuff when he was drafted. Now, after multiple injuries, he is a guy who has to grunt to hit 90. His secondary stuff made him a swing and miss pitcher, but it was not consistent. Hence, he had to rely on that heater which was cold.

good post senior. My retort is that those other teams had quality, veteran arms mixed with quality young arms. The sox have 2 guys with quality arms and both are young and coming off rough first seasons. The veterans all appear to be on the wrong side of the hill.

To show you how important bullpens and having them settled are, here are a few stats for you. 2006. BP ERA ranks of teams in the postseason (in all of MLB) out of 30 teams 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 14, 15, 16 once my computer decides to run better, I'll finish this thought with 2005 and 2004. Fact is, a good bullpen in the regular season is imperative to make the playoffs. Hence, entering a season with a bunch of retreads and shaky kids is a risky proposition.

Gammons has a habit of swinging things in favor of the sox, even though he is supposed to be an unbiased reporter. Either way, all of the bullpens noted above sans the 06 cardinals had bullpen aces. Minnesota had two very solid options out of that pen. Guardado was always a reliable reliever and was still young as was Hawkins The angels had one of the best closers in the league in Percival and KRod turned out to be dynamite. The marlins had 2 bullpen aces going into the postseason The white sox had a reliable closer who got injured and a new one developed. The cardinals had a bullpen ace who was injured. All of these teams had at least one bullpen ace or clear cut proven closer coming into a yr. The sox dont have any if Paps stays in the rotation. Timlin is not the BP ace, as he exploded down the stretch. Donnelly is a nice piece, but he has been inflating his pertinent stats and peripherals 3 yrs running. Romero is a disaster. The rest are kids. Can the sox pen morph into a reliable one, absolutely, but the same can be said about any team right now. Is it probable, not really.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12302006/sports/yankees/in_the_zona_yankees_joel_sherman.htm the more $$ the yankees eat, the more talent they will get in return. EAT ALL OF IT CASH AND FLEECE THE BACKS! The Yankees are trying to actually reserve that cash for another aging ace, Roger Clemens. I would assume Cashman has had to have talked to old man clem by now if he is their contingency plan.

riverside, while I like your analogy, I think it doesnt necessarily fit what I am saying. When there are no closer options left on the market, hence forcing a trade, and you make public acknowledgments that the closer position is 'keeping you up at night' then you essentially are throwing yourself to the wolves. I like what Cashman does. Last season, when Johnny D was deciding where to go, he said he would be fine with Bubba as the CFer. We all knew he was full of s***, but he never officially showed his hand. Now that RJ is being dealt, he never came out and said anything about randy wanting to go home. Speculation abounds, but he certainly hasnt made any acknowledgements of a need to deal randy. This makes the other team the aggressor. This makes the other team get fleeced. When he was dealing Gary he said that he would love to have him on his team going into next yr, while at the same time keeping gary out of the yankee loop. Theo has made it known that the internal options are not good for closer. Hence, any team that is dealing a closer can ask for a little more from the sox. If Theo came out and said, we are ready to give the ball to Mike Timlin as the closer on opening day then he could poke around for a closer without getting fleeced. Also, by doing that, he is showing confidence in his player should no market develop for him and he needs to settle for what he has. By essentially saying the internal options suck, he has put down his team, which can only be a detriment to already low confidences. Therefore, any team calling them with trade offers from here to the deadline knows they have theo in an uncomfortable position and knows that they will get more out of him. Never show your hand, bluff when you can.

and the ledger was the paper yesterday that said nothing was imminent. I would be completely shocked if we get 2 starting pitching prospects and Medders. Man, Cashman would have turned two old malcontents into 6 damn good pitching prospects. WOWZAH.

agreed. The sox have the problem of overstating their needs to a point to where they put themselves in a horrible position. You are at your best when you have a need, but you are in no hurry to fill it. The sox continually make public their needs and set artificial deadlines on when they need them filled. It makes it real easy to get fleeced.

No, I believe they will be fleeced for a mid level closer.

Cashman is really making the farm pretty damn formidable. If he deals RJ and essentially has 5 top 10 pitchers in AAA as well as a durable major league rotation (1-4 at least) then you are doing your job. Add that to likely the best offense in baseball and the best closer in the history of the game (as well as a fireballing relief core aorund him) and you have a team set up for today and even better setup for tomorrow.

plus, if you can trade a guy coming off back surgery who is 43 and has one yr left on his contract for 2 top notch pitchers, 1 who may actually be a success in a yankee uniform for years to come, then do it, and do it NOW.

Well, it is the one thing the yankees could not consistently buy. Great pitchers get locked up prior to FA. Good pitchers mostly get locked up prior to FA and a rare few make it to FA. Those that do get bids from tons of teams believing they are the final piece,hence the price is fantastically high. Overall, if you want to get the best pitchers in baseball, you either develop them or trade for them. Building a stable of young power arms (aside from Clippard) is a great way to maybe find the next great pitcher. It also allows you to package a few and deal them off for a great pitcher right now. Cashman knows how the game is played, and I think he is dipping into our past trying to make our future solid. I also love how he saved our draft pick this yr. This draft is supposed to be incredibly deep and with the yankees deep pockets, they may be able to sign a few guys who would initially be deemed unsignable. We finally have a decent head to go on the yankee shoulders. If you add the financial power to a great farm, then you have the makeup for one hell of an organization. Cash is doing it right. If that means we sacrifice today for tomorrow, so be it.

The top 3 can be penned in. The last 2 can be pencilled in. The fact is, RJ's production from last season is replaceable so long as you have a guy who can give you innings. Pavano, if healthy (LOLOLOLOLOL) can do that. If he isnt healthy (more like when), then you have a stable of young pitchers available. I like our top 3. They should average 200 innings pitched which will be the anchor of the rotation. Igawa is a mystery, but his biggest asset is durability, and 200IP out of him is certainly a possibility. Durability as a 4 is something the yankees have lacked since 03. That leaves the 5 hole. If Pavano is actually "working his ass off" in florida and comes into camp in shape and healthy, he will be a fine #5. If he comes in and his ass actually fell off (which is a possibility) then you have 2 guys who had successful debuts in the bronx last yr in Karstens and Rasner. Next in line would be the 2 kids picked up in the RJ trade and then you hit the top 3 that the yankees currently own. I will give you this. Looking at the known quantities, RJ is certainly a guy I'd rather have right now, December 06 in my rotation. But his last season's performance isnt hard to recoup. He was 33rd out of 39 pitchers who qualified in the AL in ERA. He had 7.5 runs a game in run support. I find it hard to believe that touted rookies will give you less so long as they stay healthy. And it isnt like I am asking these kids to be #3 or #2 starters. I am asking them to be #5's. And if they rise the ranks then fine. And I am certainly not relying on one rookie like the sox did with Lester last season. If RJ gets dealt and 2 top 10's come over, the yankees will have 5 top 10 pitchers in their AAA rotation. THAT is depth, that allows for them to find which one or two can be good. Depth is what makes pitching staffs effective. You cannot go into a season without contingency plans. Add to that, the fact that the yankees have probably the best offense in baseball and a damn good bullpen, and you have the fertile ground to foster the growth of one of these kids. I mean christ, it is about friggin time one of our teams developed a reliable pitcher. Over the past few yrs we have each developed 1, Wang on our side, and Paps on yours (as a closer, jury is still out as a starter).

Loretta as a utility infielder would be absolutely money. Mientkiewicz as a 1b will at least lengthen the lineup enough to work the count. At the very least Monkey bitch gets on base, plays fantastic D, and isnt god awful slow, which is all we need.

but that same article says that a deal could be finalized by next week. Nothing is "imminent" so to speak right now, because the dbacks need to negotiate an extension. All I gotta say is, adding 2 power pitching AAA kids to the mix cannot hurt. Imagine if this deal gets done and Owings and Nippert are the guys coming over. You have a rotation of Wang- 27yrs old Mussina- 38yrs old Pettitte- 34yrs old Igawa- 27yrs old Pavano- 31yrs old with a AAA rotation of Hughes 20yrs old Sanchez 23yrs old Clippard 21yrs old Owings 24yrs old Nippert 25yrs old with Chamberlain, Betances, and Kennedy in lower levels. MAN, that will be something. I have a feeling some of these kids will be considered untouchables and we'd turn around and deal the others in a package and get a pitcher who has some REAL MLB impact. I know Zambrano will be on the block this yr when the cubbies suck, and they will. I wonder if Minny falls out of it, would they, could they. I wont even finish that dream.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12292006/sports/yankees/126m_deal_too_rich__n_y__teams_yankees_joel_sherman.htm a one sentence blurb at the end. I think Schoenweis could be a very good addition. Lefty with the capability to spot start and be a matchup lefty as well as a setup man. Sorta in the mold of Villone, only hopefully more durable and less prone to burnout.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/484072p-407473c.html This is getting interesting. The NY Daily is reporting that the yanks and dbacks are closing in on a deal here. The report is that the yankees have asked for a middle reliever (Medders is their top option but Vizcaino is a guy who may be available) plus two top pitching prospects and from the sounds of it, the dbacks are willing to oblige. The rationale for the dbacks is that their gate attendance plummetted after they went belly up and nobody is going back to the games, even though they were in the race last season and have a young core of exciting position players. So they need a gate attraction, and Johnson is precisely what they want to return the team to championship attendance. As for the holdup, the dbacks want to negotiate an extension with RJ which will take trade negotiations into next week. If Cashman gets 2 power pitching prospects then he is amazing. Here are the 3 pitchers in question, 2 of which may be heading to NY Micah Owings- just turned 24. Is 6'5". Was a combined 16-2 between AAA and AA last season with a 3.33ERA in 162IP. He gave up a hit per inning, K'd 130 and walked 52. He is a power pitcher in his first season as a starter in the minors after being in the pen after being drated out of tulane in 05. He is the DBacks #4 prospect in the organization, which is saying something. Dustin Nippert. 25yr old 6'8" power pitcher with a solid curveball. Had much success in the minors and earned a callup in 05, pitching in 3 starts, going 1-0 with an era north of 5. Last season, had a rough yr in AAA going 13-8 in 140IP with an era of 4.87, 162 hits, 132K's and 52BB. Over his minor league career, he started as a power pitcher with no control. Now, his control is improving and projects as a #3 pitcher with the ceiling of a #1. He needs to develop a third pitch in order to have continued success in the majors. He is following the career path of the player he might be traded for. Tall, lanky, lacking control initially, then finding it late. Ross Ohlendorf may be the best of them all. He turned 24 in August. He is a 6'4" 235lb "bulldog" who tops out in the high 90s but has plus control. Out of Princeton, this kid has shown amazing command for a power pitcher, walking on 29 in 182IP in AA/AAA last season. He was 10-8 with a 3.25ERA and had 129K's as well. Of all the pitchers in the minors for the dbacks, this kid has the frame and has already handled the load to be a 5th starter in the majors and handle a 200IP workload. Their pitchers all seem to have power stuff but K much less than 1 per inning. It seems to be an organizational philosophy to cut down on walks and work location rather than blow it by these guys. All 3 of these pitchers have shown plus control while having good K rates, but all 3 gave up a hit per inning. Interesting. Another thing I like is that all 3 have a track record of durability and have gone to the 150IP plateau, which means they are ready for the jump- arm-wise - to the majors. If we can get Owings and Nippert or Ohlendorf, I'd be friggin ecstatic.

I think the RJ deal and the Zito deal are independent of each other. If RJ Arizona is willing to pass over Owings, Nippert and Medders, you better believe RJ is packing his bags.

Johnson for Zito is futile now, but I never advocated it. Zito in NY would have been a huge mistake. Johnson right now would be a solid #4 pitcher in NY and would eat 200 innings at least. At best, he is an ace who owns. But then again, the yankees have 5 options other than Johnson that are capable of eating innings plus 2 guys who had a good debut last yr as well as a bunch of young kids ready to make the leap. Dealing Johnson is not something that will detonate our chances of winning. But dealing Johnson better have its benefits. In that deal, I would expect the yankees to add pitching. Potentially one young MLB ready pitcher who could repeat RJ's last season performance (200+IP and a 5ERA). If they can get that plus more, then do it. Otherwise, the 43 yr old creaky backed, bad kneed, bad attituded big bird is more worthwhile here than in another organization. In the NLW he will be an ace again. In the ALE, he is a mid rotation pitcher.