jacksonianmarch

He has some pretty serious mishaps, but last yr gained a lot of traction with me. We had no business being over .500. This yr, we have no business being in the playoff hunt. He just bothered me because I spent a ton of dough to get good tix and we didn't see jeter

No doubt. It would be an excellent decision. The problem is, you would have to wait until he hits FA and see what he is offered. Based on the sox stance, there is no way they'll be the top bidders in the FA marketplace and it sounds like Lester wants fair market value. Regardless, you'd be stupid not to deal him unless you find middle ground on a contract that he agrees to before Aug 1

I also think we should take this opportunity to extend Headley. The guy is finally healthy, and typically, when you free a player from ballpark hell in SD, they play up to their ability. Headley is a .280/20/100 player in YS, IMO. He might not ever hit 30HR or .300 again, but he can play and his defense is second to none.

We are only 3 games out. But we also lead the 2nd wild card by a full game now. I will tell you what, after being thoroughly disappointed with the production of this team through 3 months, I am just going to enjoy the ride. Because with 4/5 of our rotation on the DL and the only guy left standing being a 39 yr old above average starter, we should be in the cellar. What we have been able to do with a bunch of rookies and castoffs has been rather incredible. It will be interesting to see if we can actually get Tanaka back for the stretch run or not. Same thing with Pineda. If we weather the storm with these kids then get 2 top notch arms back, we might be able to make some noise in October.

What you guys aren't seeing, though, is that if the sox don't pony up for Lester, why would they pony up for Scherzer, Price or Shields?

The Yankees haven't been completely out of it for a long time. Last yr, they were 5 over .500 at the deadline and 3 out of the last wild card. This yr, they're in the 2nd wild card lead somehow. For the sox, they've made the popular decision to deal away detritus the last time they were out of it. This time, though, the "detritus" is a home grown player who wants to stay.

I was listening to EEI this morning, and they were saying the sox would face a PR disaster should they deal Lester, or at least that is the mindset of the brass. I find it appalling that a team is run by PR and not on improving their club in the short and long term. The sox aren't making the playoffs. Lester is in the last yr of his deal and has broken off negotiations. The sox have made it clear that they aren't interested in signing pitchers over 30 to long term deals. He's gone. The question is, if the sox dealt Jon Lester now, would the return be larger than the supp 1st rounder you'd get for him if he leaves in FA? And the answer is a resounding YES. If the sox called around and said, Jon Lester will be dealt in the next 6 days, make your offers, he would bring an immense return. Lefty stud, short contract, playoff ace, in the best season of his career.

I went to the game yesterday and heckled Girardi for sitting Jeter. Granted, Ryan played a hell of a SS, but damnit, sitting Jeter at home is downright annoying with the prices you gotta pay to get in the door. /fanrant. This week has been interesting. Sweeping Cincy and then taking 3 of 4 vs Texas has really put us in the driver's seat for that second wild card as we now lead it by a half game. Looks like Cashman has all the phone lines going trying to add more pitching help. Tanaka is still feeling soreness in the elbow, although he was injected 2 weeks ago, which isn't all that abnormal. I still think he ends up with TJS. Pineda is healthy, and might be an option for August. It would be a miracle if this team makes the playoffs. Seriously, a f***ing miracle.

Where's the logic for Philly, though?

Price isn't a FA until after 2015. Scherzer or Lester are likely to be Yankee top targets, and if the sox aren't willing to go long with a 30 yr old ace, why would they do the same thing with a guy they don't know in Scherzer or a guy who is a lot older in Shields? If the sox let Lester walk, you're gonna see some back end signings (maybe a guy like Brandon McCarthy?) and a willingness to go with the kids. If they don't sign a high priced pitcher, they likely bring up Owens and mold their PR perspective around him in the rotation with Rubby

This is his audition. If he's good, we'll re-sign him. If not, then we didn't pay much for him. DePaula has flamed out in High A and is probably headed for the pen. His arm is awesome, so he's probably closer material. But this isn't a bad deal

Girardi sucks as a manager. f***ing sickening. Cost us the game

f*** you Girardi, you f***ing loser

Girardi, PULL HIM NOW! Greene has been awesome, but he is cooked

Greene is finally harnessing his stuff. This isn't a smoke and mirrors guy like Whitley. This is a 95mph heavy sinkerballer with a dynamite slider who hasn't figured out if he's strikeout pitcher or a contact guy. He's been around the zone in his 3 starts, which is something he had issue with in the minors. Tonight, his defense has been horrendous and he still has only allowed 1 run in 3 innings. I am glad we got a chance to see this kid.

Tex has been pretty solid this yr. ARod is waste of money. CC may cost us just his lux tax percentage because his contract is fully insured

A 4-5 yr deal with a vesting option was reasonable before the season. Now? No way. He's gonna get 6-8 yr deals on the open market at STUPID money. If the sox sign him, they are going to be paying in excess of $50 mil more in committed money than they would have had they not lowballed him early on. A 5yr $100 mil offer in February likely finishes this process. Now? It's more like 7yrs $175 mil.

I was just about to say that. We should have stuck to our guns on the initial deal. Granted, at the time, he looked like a horse we were gonna ride for the next 5-6 yrs. Who knew he'd lose a bunch of weight and it would inversely affect his performance, lol. I wish fat CC were back. Maybe he'd be good for another 20 win season

If they deal Peavy for Craig, all sox fans should jump for joy. Craig is a great buy low guy, RH power hitter who kills it in the clutch.

He's a kid. Give him some time before seeing who he is. I guarantee we're gonna hear whining when he has a rough 3-4 game stretch. He's got ace stuff, although he pitches to a lot of contact. He has the tools to be an ace, let's see where he settles out before he's anointed

Now that the ASB is over and the second "half" starts tonight, I figured I would weigh in on my Yanks. They're dead. Not in a literal sense, but in a "they have no chance at winning the WS" sense. They might pull a remember the titans and slide into a WC slot. But they aren't winning a WS, and in NY, that's all that matters. It kinda sucks that we are saying goodbye to the captain this yr and Mo last yr and we'll have no playoff berths to show for it, but that is what happens when your health goes to s***. So, it's time for some reflection... In the ROTATION, we got decimated. CC's career might be over, and in some ways, that'd be a blessing. CC and his massive salary would be fully insured and would only cost us the lux tax component, not the yearly salary. Nova seems like so long ago, but he came into the yr with such promise. He's had 2 solid partial big league campaigns and came off a very solid finish to 2013. Instead, his elbow finally went. Tanaka injured his elbow too, and by god, just fix the f***ing thing and be done with it. Kuroda has been decent and durable. No qualms here Pineda showed us his potential, then showed us his reality with his lat going out on him The positives? David Phelps is a big league starter. Sub 4ERA, decent K/9IP rate, decent command. He isn't a #1 or anything close, but he can be a solid #5 for this club for a long time. Shane Greene has been lights out in his 2 starts. His stuff is electric, if his promotion causes him to be focused for more than just a few starts, he could be in our long term plans We don't have to see Vidal Nuno pitch again in the Bronx now that he is a DBack PLAN for end of 2014-beginning of 2015- I say punt the year. Seriously, f***ing punt the yr. This is a disjointed team of underachievers and injury plagued players. I hope they either are certain Tanaka is healthy or they get TJS for him. I want him to be dominant in 2016, and if that means we don't f*** around and get it done, he should be back and ready come 2016. CC potentially being done for his career saves us serious bank, but I don't think we should go out and get a guy like Lester or Scherzer the more I think about it. This would be doing a CC deal all over again. And while CC was the s*** for 4 years, any deal for Lester or Scherzer will involve 7 or 8 yrs, and I don't want to get into that again, especially since I want to punt 2015. Nova should be back to full health come the ASB next yr, and this will be the first time we have seen this since he first came up. He's had elbow issues the last 3 seasons, and the fact they f***ed with him for the past 3 yrs and only now offered the surgery is annoying. Pineda needs to finish this yr strong and go into next yr as the lead dog with Tanaka presumably on the shelf. Then deal him when the stock rises. He is a slow healer, and that wont be tolerated in the Bronx Phelps has earned a full time job. Kuroda needs to be traded. There will definitely be a market and there is no chance he comes back in 2015. Deal him off, and I am sure you can get a good return from a desperate team (maybe the Jays or O's?) And for the rest of the slots, I go with the kids. Rotation starting the yr of Pineda, Phelps, Greene, Banuelos, ??? and then move Nova in come mid season. Why the f*** not? I know this wont happen, but we have to rebuild, and paying for the last few spots just isn't worth it with $50 mil of starting pitcher on the shelf BULLPEN I am very pleased with this part of the team. Seriously, even though the pen ERA is dismal, the bright spots are intense. Robertson has been a solid closer. Betances has been otherworldly. Warren is closer material as well. We have a slew of talented kids coming down the pipe as well. Hence, we have to deal away Robertson right now. The guy is a FA after 2014 and we have 2 closers in waiting plus a slew of players capable of filling in the pen. Maximize your return, because throwing a 4-5 yr deal at 8 figures annually isn't smart when you have the talent we have in the pen. Next yr, we'd probably have a pen consisting of.... Jose Ramirez, Dan Burawa, Mark Montgomery, Adam Warren, Dellin Betances and maybe Bleich or Rondon from the left side as well as Thornton. LINEUP What a f***ed up lineup. Seriously, we spent a TON on offense in the offseason and got dogshit for return. Looking at the bright spots....crickets....crickets..... Well, Ellsbury has been good as has Gardner. Tex has returned to being powerful, but can't hit against the shift. Regardless, he's a useful piece, albeit grossly overpaid. McCann has been overwhelmed. Roberts looks old and broken down. Jeter will be gone. Third base has been a disaster. Beltran has been hurt all yr. Soriano was cooked. So, plans for 2015??? We actually have a fair amount of position player talent brewing in the minors. We just don't have any transcendent stars in the making, which is why people kill our farm system. At catcher, I deal away Cervelli. He'd be a starter on a lot of second tier teams. We have McCann, whom I think will rebound in yr 2 as he is WAY better than what he has shown thus far. I like JR Murphy as a backup and with Gary Sanchez coming down the pipe, I try to move the fodder between McCann and him as much as I can. At 1b, we have Tex for 2016, but we have a few other guys coming down the pipe. Peter O'Brien has been clubbing HR at a serious rate and a guy in AAA right now is actually doing better than practically anyone. Look up Kyle Roller's stats, the guy has done nothing but his. The knock is that he wears a butcher knife on his non throwing hand in the field. He makes Papi look like Doug Mientkiewicz defensively. I say we leave Tex at 1b, but for breathers, we have some options At 2b, we have Rob Refsnyder. He's hitting .331 with a .942OPS this season, including a .956OPS in AAA. He can hit for above average power (12HR), he takes walks (.401OBP) and he can play solid defensively. This kid has done nothing but hit his entire pro career, might as well start him in the big next yr. At SS, we are devoid of talent entirely. We could use Solarte, but he isn't really a SS. We could use Brendan Ryan, but we might as well let the pitchers hit for him. We could purchase Hanley Ramirez, although he is made of glass. I am entirely unsure who we sign for this position, but I am sure it will suck ass without a major acquisition At 3b we have AROD, the SAVIOR!!!! f*** him. Cut him. Sign Headley. Buy low on this guy, he should have offseason back surgery and my bet is that he gets energized in YS and returns to being productive. LF and CF are covered with Gardner and ARod. RF is a mess. I think Beltran gets his surgery and starts the yr in RF, but seriously, I hope he moves to DH quickly, or contracts ebola. I liked the idea of Beltran, but not for 3 yrs. Year 1 sucked. Year 2 will probably not be much better. Peter O'Brien is playing RF at this time and has actually been pretty good out there. He is an option out there should Beltran contract ebola. DH will be either an outside signee or a combo of Beltran/Roller/O'Brien In the meantime, you collect assets together, showcase some players, and be ready for the big trade. I want Stanton in NY for 2016. Not sure how that happens, but if we can accumulate enough talent by tanking in 2015 while acquiring talent for guys like Kuroda and Robertson, we might be able to pry him away...Pipe dream, I know

Deal him now before the rug gets pulled out from under him.

Then you wont get the player. Why does everyone pretend like Stanton isn't worth the unproven rookies? He's 24 and is a major power player in a powerless league.

And, BTW, the likelihood is that Stanton isn't hitting FA, IMO. My bet is he is dealt to a major contender and is extended on a ridiculous contract

Yes, and I'd say it before the words came out of the Miami GM's mouth. The reasons are many, but most of all, you're talking about a 24 yr old generational talent who has been raking in the bigs for 5 yrs vs a 3B in a SS clothing who has sucked this yr. And, the guys are less than 3 yrs apart in age, so it isn't like you are getting a guy on the back 9 of his career. Stanton has hit 138HR before his 25th birthday (which isn't until the winter, BTW). That's ARod territory, and he was cheating. With the steroid limitations and investigations, you are seeing a massive decline in offense and power. Well, Stanton won't see that, as I have said, he is a generational talent. Put his RH bat in Fenway and he'll hit 50HR a season. This isn't even a question, IMO.