jacksonianmarch

I was in my early 20s. Of course

They can do whatever they want in terms of bonuses and options. I expect Holland to get a solid guarantee but a huge incentive. Nobody is going to give a post TJS pitcher big guaranteed money unless they've proven their health and effectiveness. While it is safer than shoulder surgery, it's by no means a sure thing

He's gonna get a one year plus big option. First year $5 mil guarantee with incentives up to $15 mil total and a team option for $15 mil for next yr. He was a top closer prior to TJS, so he'lol want the chance to make top closer money

Not fluky you say? Jarrod Saltalamacchia posted the best OPS of his career that season. Stephen Drew would post one of his best seasons after 2 awful years and basically disappeared off the face of the earth after that Daniel Nava hit .300 with a .831OPS. Daniel frieking Nava. Mike Carp had an .885OPS in 200+PA's. Jose Iglesias hit .330 as a sox that year before being dealt and is now a no hit all glove SS for DET Johnny Gomes had a great season only to fade into obscurity after the season Shane Victorino posted an .800+OPS in 2013 only to fall off the face of the earth afterwards Felix Doubront won 11 games for you Clay Buchholz had a half season for the ages Koji went from oft injured middle reliever to the best relief season of all time Craig Breslow had a sub 2ERA. Don't ever mention 2013 as anything but a fluke.

Because CERA is only useful when it supports your argument, lol

The sox lost a lot when Pedro left in 2005. Not that Pedro was anything special 05 and on, but he was dynamic even as he slowed a bit in 2004. Plus with Schill on the mend and in your pen, 05 didn't really give you a shot. The 07 team was good, not great. They got hot at the right time. The offense had Lowell and Papi in prime status, but Manny declined a bit. The rotation had Beckett and Schill, but a fluky year from Wake and DiceK made it look better. You did have a shutdown pen. To be totally honest, the teams you had in 03 and 04 were way better than the 07 and 13 variety. 2013 was as fluky as one could get

Dojji, Vasquez has the pre-reqs for the position. Baseball is so specialized now. Catcher used to be for the fat guy who couldn't run but had quick hands and didn't mind being in a crouch. Now, it is a defensive premium position. Vazquez has the chops there. He just cannot be entirely abysmal with the bat, or he will be a backup. The only question I have is if the sox feel Vasquez has already proven that he's a backup or if he gets another shot. Also, for as terrible a market for FAs as there is, there is a good dual threat catcher on the market, albeit coming off injury. I wonder if Ramos becomes a sox target, especially on a prove-it type deal

Even the most successful people make mistakes. The important thing is how you respond and learn from them. Epstein got you over the hump, and while he is blamed for a "decline" you won another title 3 years after the first one. I think most every team in baseball will sign up for that kind of "decline".

Slav, he put a franchise that continued to believe in the "wait til next yr" mantra into a position to win a title. They not only won one title, but they won two. I think it is easy for sox fans to forget since you've seen 3 over 12 seasons, but the lack of confidence in Boston when it came to the sox was incredible prior to 2004. Also, a fair amount of his players were center stage in the 2013 title win also. So if you want to demure him in terms of 2004, you need to credit him for 2013. In terms of Chicago, he turned a lovable loser franchise into a dynastic team. He built them from scratch. And this team is mostly young and incredibly deep. He should leave Chicago with more than one title

Yes, there have been guys who have created insane dynasties like the Berra led Yankees. But when there is one executive responsible for building 2 different clubs which shattered a total of 194 years of "curses", you get a special wing in Cooperstown. And the guy still looks like he gets carded. I wonder if he moves on to Cleveland in a few years and wins them a title. He could just keep moving to the next most suffering franchise and close curses like real estate agents close houses. The guy is a special talent for finding talent. And the funny thing is, my very first thread on a message board was over at the Herald with the title "The Red Sox Cannot Win With Theo", which came immediately after the Nomar trade

What a series

DD was handed a last place team and turned them into AL East champs immediately.

And there's the old guys who always s*** the bed in the playoffs seem to always s*** the bed in the playoffs thing too. Price and Porcello are abysmal in the postseason.

Dojji, they're gonna deal off expensive redundancies and see if their current roster and win in 2017. If they falter out of the gate, Hosmer and Moustakas will be available for a HUGE price

Your issue with developing a catcher has nothing to do with your OF glut at the time. Your issues with catcher is that one is seriously offensively challenged and the other is seriously defensively challenged. I think it was UN? that I had a bet with in the offseason that Swihart would be below average in 2016 as a defensive catcher. I think the fact that the sox moved him to LF supports that theory. I think it's the only sig bet I won this offseason

The Cubs are wilting against a #5 starter

That's absolutely absurd Dojji. Your Kool Aid is running like a damn river right now. You're saying that Joe Kelly could be the next Andrew Miller, ie the best reliever in baseball right now. You're full of it today

That makes almost no sense. Rather than negotiating in the offseason, you'd rather have them up against a deadline with multiple desperate trade partners? Panda is a recurring disaster who was declining when he was signed. If he turns into something, good for you, but planning as if he's a viable option is stupid. Shaw got exposed, and basically was so bad that the brass decided, albeit for a short period of time, to rush a kid who started the yr in A ball to replace him. If Moncada can handle the spot, then great, but he might be the white whale of a prospect used to get what you really need.... pitching. Tazawa was dead by year's end. Kimbrel could use some help, and the guys under contract outside of him, aren't reliable.

You really cannot make major team adjustments based on 3 games where your pitching s*** the bed. You have to look at each position and ask if you can get more out of the position with the players you have and if you can upgrade without harming your squad. Like I've said before, I expect the sox to be VERY active this offseason, and not just because the Tribe got hot. But because you have a window where the core of your team is cheap and really good. Once all those players reach late arb or FA, retaining them all will preclude major updates. So you do them now. Also, I'm pretty sure the team that usually tries to win the winter (NYY) will still be in prospect acquisition mode.

Lackey is nails in the WS and Kluber is on short rest. I know Francona doesn't have much option but to go to Kluber on short rest, but he was shelled in Toronto on 3 days in the ALCS. My bet is Lackey outduels him and ties up the series.

Figured it was time to update the thread since the 2016 autopsy is complete and 2017 is due to be rung in in 2 months. BA came out with the top 10 list for NYY. Its on the free side and it is located here: http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2016/10/baseball-america-unveils-top-10-yankees-prospects/ 1. Gleyber Torres SS- We picked up this kid in the Chapman deal. He doesn't turn 20 until December and he has already more than held his own in High A for both Chicago and NYY. He was a full 3.7 years younger than average in High A and still put together a .270/.354/.421 triple slash with 11HR and 21SB. Now he is in the AFL, leading his team in HR and OPS through 10 games against guys who are a full 3-4 years older than him. This kid is a future stud. He has the glove to handle SS and the bat to handle 3B should a position change be necessary as Didi is more than holding his own on the big league level. He has the hit skill to hit .300 and the power speed combo to at least be a 20/20 guy. He was already a top 20 prospect in all of baseball coming into the season and could land in the top 5 or 10 by the time all the rankings come in during the winter. That we got him on a rental deal is insane. He should be the starting SS in AA next yr. 2. Clint Frazier CF- We got him in the Miller deal. He just turned 22 yrs old and has already tasted AAA for both CLE and NYY. He was a full 4 years younger than average in AAA. He had a solid start to the yr in AA with a .827OPS and 13HR/13SB in 89 games. He struggled on promotion to AAA with CLE and then missed time with hamstring issues when moved to NYY. Needless to say, the plan is for him to start 2017 in AAA and earn his way up the ranks. He has raw power, beyond the 16HR he hit last yr and speed that should make him a 20/20+ player and a solid defender in CF. He should make his debut in 2017 sometime in the summer. 3. Blake Rutherford- OF- a 2016 draftee, Blake fell due to signability issues and issues with his age (at 19, he was a year older than your typical HS draftee). All Rutherford did was crush the ball in his pro debut. He hit .382 with a 1.062OPS in 25 games. Of his 34 hits, 13 were for extra bases. His K rate needs a bit of work (24 in 25 games) but he showed good patience, power and speed in his time down there. He did have two stints on the DL due to hamstring issues, so he needs to work on that. He is being listed as a 4 tool player, probable corner OFer due to arm strength issues. He has the range for CF, so he sounds like an OF version of Ellsbury with solid speed and a s*** arm. BA has him pegged as a RF with NY. Regardless, this kid can mash and should bypass the NYP altogether and start 2017 in the long season leagues, either in Charleston or Tampa. 4. Jorge Mateo, SS- Some of the shine came off Mateo this yr due to immaturity issues. He came out of the gate like gangbusters, but when Andujar was moved up and he was left behind, he pouted and complained to management. This earned him a 2 week suspension and spiraled what was looking like a great yr into a lost season. He should probably move up to AA anyway now, but he wont have the SS position to claim anymore as Torres has surpassed him. He still stole 36 bases and hit a career high 8HR, so it wasn't all terrible. He very well may have to move to 2b or CF for next season, but how he progresses is up to him. He is supremely talented and one season off of an 82SB season. 5. James Kaprielian SP- Kap was drafted as a control pitcher, but on arrival saw a major velocity bump into the mid to high 90s. Unfortunately, after three dominant starts, he was shelved for the season with a "forearm strain". Well, he's back now and pitching well in the AFL. A healthy Kap could even be an option in the bigs for 2017. He was that dominant. Even though he missed all but 3 starts, the stuff and polish are there that he could start in AA 6. Aaron Judge RF- He still qualifies as a prospect since he didn't extinguish his rookie status. He started 2016 cold in AAA, came back and dominated and then got some time in NY by the end of the yr. He has light tower power, good speed for a big man, and an impressive arm. What he lacks, though, is plate protection and with his big frame, that's an issue. He also needs to be a little more aggressive. Far too often, he'd find himself in 0-2 holes after taking two pitches and then was done from there. He has the looks of a Richie Sexton kind of producer. High HR totals, ultra high K totals, good walk totals and probably a middling average. 7. Justus Sheffield SP- Crazy that a guy who started the yr in the top 100, had a dominant season, gets dealt and ends up at 7 on the BA team list. Just a testament to the depth here. Justus is small framed, so he gets overlooked a lot, but he can hit the mid 90s, sits around 92, has a good change and breaking ball, and has solid command for someone so young. He doesn't turn 21 til May and yet he made it to AA this season. When he got to NYY, he was practically unhittable with a 0.923WHIP and a 9+K/9IP. Should start 2017 in AA and climb from there 8. Chance Adams SP- another small framed guy with power. Chance can run it up into the mid to high 90s. He has a solid three pitch mix and was the Yankees best minor league pitcher in 2016. He just turned 22 two months ago and has already mowed down high level competition. Across A+ and AA, he went 13-1 with a 2.33ERA 144/39 K/BB in 127.1IP with a 0.90WHIP. He was actually better in AA than in High A and looks to start the season in AAA with a good shot at a callup in 2017. 9. Dustin Fowler OF- A versatile OFer who profiles best at a COF spot, Dustin played 2016 solely in CF as a 21 yr old in AA. He had a .770OPS, but that was mostly based on a poor walk rate. He otherwise filled up the stat sheet. 12HR, 15 triples, 30 doubles, 25 steals. He needs to work on the patience, but 57 extra base hits as a 21 yr old in AA looks really nice for future power, especially for a lefty in Yankee Stadium. He has the looks of a 25/25 guy. His value could rise if they keep him in CF, although I expect him to be in LF in AAA to start 2017 as Frazier has a lock on CF 10. Domingo Acevedo SP- Domingo is a power armed pitcher with a dynamite changeup and a gigantic frame. He missed some time with leg injuries, but piled up the K's (near 10/9IP) and showed impressive command. He turns 23 during spring training, so the Yankees have been careful with the kid, but the kid gloves should come off in 2017. I expect him to team up with Kaprielian and Sheffield in a pretty stacked rotation for 2017 in AA.

He is showing an adaptability that most sox fans didn't think he had. He doesn't have a team full of plodding mashers and big egos like he has in Boston. He's got a young team reliant on speed and skill with a starting rotation decimated sans the ace and a dominant pen. Fans who followed him in Boston wouldn't recognize the managing style he's employing now. Good for him. His team did not have the talent, especially with Brantley out, to stand up to Boston or Toronto or Chicago. But he is maneuvering them in a way that gives his team advantages.

The Yankee contingent in the AFL are killing it to this point. Gleyber leads his team in HR and OPS. Andujar leads the team in BA. Bird leads the team in doubles. Kap and Tate have dominant peripherals in this high scoring league. The future is bright

Francona has been absolutely masterful to this point. He caught flack for pulling Kluber when he did and at the time, for pulling Tomlin last night. But the diminished workload should lead to fresher pitchers on short rest.

Swihart will get every chance to win your starting C job out of ST. Leon was a flash in the pan and Vasquez cannot hit his way out of a paper bag. Thing is, Swihart might be better served to spend a bit more time in AAA, but in the end, his offensive upside at a premium position may be a good thing