jacksonianmarch

That's for sure. Let's just run down the list of improbables from last yr... 1. David Ortiz returns to his prime and plays a full season. The guy had trouble staying on the field the yr before and had some up and down yrs before then. So, at 38, he puts up a season akin to his age 30 season? Really, that happened 2. Pedroia blows out a ligament in his thumb that is needed for stability. He goes on to post a 5+ win season. 3. Clay Buchholz pitched like Pedro a la 1999 for half a season. The injury was the only thing that could equalize his yr. 4. Daniel Nava puts up an all star caliber yr a year after being DFAd. 5. Two of your closers blow out their arms. Your third closer, who has a long injury history, posts what is likely the best season for a reliever ever. 6. Mike Carp has a near .900 OPS 7. Salty goes from one of the worst catchers in the game to a 3+ win season in his walk yr 8. For the 60 games Iglesias played for you, he hit over .300. He'll never do that again 9. John Lackey goes from worst pitcher in baseball to beer and chicken scapegoat, gets TJ in his mid 30s and returns an ace 10. Stephen Drew stays healthy and posts a 3 win season after his ankle fell off. I'm sure there are more, but you guys had EVERYTHING go right. The likelihood that happens again while losing key talent and relying on rookies up the middle is absurd

Maybe we can expect career years out of everyone on the 25 man. Or maybe, when we get career years out of everyone on the roster in 2013, we can expect them to continue those against the odds and against all statistical metrics for another season, right? The Kool-Aid is a-flowin this yr.

Exactly. I think Robertson is an elite pen talent, one who can close and be effective doing so. I am not convinced we'll build a bridge quickly enough. By the end of the yr, I expect our pen to have figured it out. But leading up to that, we're gonna have some growing pains.

So your answer when I make a claim that the sox depth isn't as strong as it was a yr ago is that the Yankees don't have depth. Good retort. Keep on, just, keep on truckin!

Lose Drew, no additional signing. Lose Salty, bring in an old and unproductive malcontent in Pierzynski. Lose Ellsbury, bring in a guy who hasn't played in 2 yrs in Sizemore. Where is the depth on the offensive side of the ball? What happens when Nava, Carp, and Napoli post .300BABIP seasons? You lost 11 wins and brought in 1 guy who can't stay on the field, one guy who is in serious decline and then fill 2 holes with rookies and call it depth? Cmon man. You have considerably less depth than you had a year ago and you will feel it.

Expecting anything out of Grady Sizemore is crazier than the Yankees expecting anything out of Andrew Bailey

He cannot be counted on. We apparently have a 2015 option. He's fine as depth, but he better not be who we figure to be the setup man

Yankees sign Andrew Bailey. Lol

That's pretty stupid Thunder.

That isn't true. Very few pitchers make it back from labrum tears after the age of 30. There are a bunch of success stories with younger guys with labrum issues. Very few older guys. Schilling was one.

I have two favorite memories. One of my first baseball memories was when I was 5 and I watched the ball get through Buckner. The other was the Boone homer.

Why bring in a lefty to Fenway who has platoon issues? I would think you'd take a shot on a righty with some issues, a la Cody Ross, and watch their stats soar in the friendly confines of Fenway

Having the extra money works for the sox assuming good health in the rotation. Dempster offered you a rubber armed veteran presence who can pitch out of the pen and rotation. That is worth something, although nowhere near $13 mil. Regardless, with him out, you probably have to deal with pulling Workman out of the pen should there be an injury to the rotation. And let's be honest, there will be. The odds that Buchholz makes it through the whole year are next to none. And Workman is far more effective out of the pen.

LOL. Let's just pick a sample size that works and ridicule others for it, right? Over the last 5 yrs, the Yankees have the same amount of titles, more playoff appearances and more wins overall. But let's drag 07 and 04 into it as well. Hey, I know, let's go back to 96. Regardless, both have had success, although to start counting titles in shortened time frames when you haven't even gotten to double digits yet is rather premature.

I think Pineda is due for a bounceback. My biggest concern with any pitcher coming off shoulder surgery is their velo. And he apparently has regained his. We'll see if they season him in AAA for a little while or if they throw him into the fire in April

He OPS'd .550 on a broken leg. My guess is he will surpass that, especially in his swan song season. I am betting on a nice 2014 so long as Girardi isn't playing him 150 games at SS.

Yankees are in on Aledmys Diaz. He's a good hitter with projectable power and a glove that should stick at SS. Sign him NOW Cashman, let him play in AAA for 2014 and let him take over in 2015

The dynasty will end when the wallet is closed

I will miss the guy. I was 14 when he debuted and he was one of the best shortstops of all time. He was clearly third in the big 3 when they were in their hay day, but he outlasted Nomar and wasn't juicing like ARod. He also is the classiest athlete. In the athletic self promoting era, you couldn't find a more team first, spotlight deflecting superstar. 5 rings help as well. They wont retire his number in 2015. They'll retire it in 2014, last weekend home game of the yr

They're all rookies. I am surprised we didn't add one setup quality reliever as well. We got Thornton on the cheap as I think he's probably DFA'd before 2015. But we have a ton of MiLB talent. I only listed guys I think will be career reliever. Banuelos will likely see time in the pen as well. I think that we should have a good pen come season's end, but we might be in trouble until then figuring out which guys are studs and which ones are duds

Arroyo had a 5.8WHIP the last 2 seasons. Not bad for an innings eater. His contract is cheap compared to players with similar resumes

Drew isn't coming back. The sox don't want to go over the threshold and the Mets apparently have an offer out there for 2 yrs. Boras will likely work this to the final day, but he'll end up taking the money

Balfour is the Rays closer. I agree, they need one more arm. Here are the list of high end guys who will either break camp or be making their debuts in the pen. 1. Dellin Betances- the guy's big league debut was a disaster. He then had 3 solid appearances before being the guy who pitched before Mariano in his final game. He then lit up the stros 3 days later. The kid has a serious arm. Mid to high 90s, knockout breaking ball. His lack of development of his change cost him his starting career as well as his command. Before being called up, he had a 1.35ERA as a reliever in 32 games with 83K's in 60IP with a BAA of .163. He has ace level stuff and I have a feeling he plays a big role, good or bad, in our 2014 pen. 2. Mark Montgomery- Mark had a bad 2013 by his standards. In 2012, he was topping out in the mid 90s on his way to striking out 99 batters in 64IP. That isn't a typo. Last yr, he dealt with some elbow tendinitis and came back with less velocity, which led to him striking out a measly 10 batters per inning. He says he's healthy, and if he gets his fastball back, he has a chance to be in the back end of the pen early on. He has the nastiest slider in the minor leagues after all. 3. Chase Whitley- another guy who gets overlooked because he doesn't have blowaway stuff, but he can top out around 96 with a solid 4 pitch arsenal. He started 5 games last yr and still ended up striking out nearly a batter an inning. He'll be on the short list early on 4. Jose Ramirez- this guy was a rotation candidate out of ST last yr, then got hurt and didn't garner the same attention after that. Right now, he's squarely behind Banuelos, Pineda, Phelps, Warren and Nuno for the 5th starter spot, and with his stuff, he could make it to the bigs this yr as a reliever. He throws high 90s, has a lights out changeup and a good slider. His control has been at issue, so who knows what will happen if he comes through in the pen 5. Francisco Rondon- there is a reason he is on the 40 man with god awful minor league stats. He's a lefty with mid to high 90s cheese and a knockout slider. His changeup sucks and he has serious issues with his command, which has led to him failing as a starter. He was promoted to SWB where he was to relieve. He is likely behind Cabral and Thornton, but he is the next lefty to come up. There are plenty more. Tommy Kahnle was selected in the Rule V, but is unlikely to stick. He throws mid 90s with a solid slider with some command issues. Danny Burawa tops out at 101mph. There are tons of these guys. I think a few, especially Betances and Montgomery, should play a prominent role in the pen come 2014. Like I have said before, the only minor league area where we are truly stocked is the bullpen.

I wouldn't be surprised if ARod wants to shrink away for good. If so, he's got the Yankees right where he wants them for a buyout. They want out and they don't want ARod back. If ARod wants out too, he can negotiate now and get a good return without having to play another game. Ask for $50 mil to go away, then retire and be a professional douche on TMZ or Bravo or whatever.

Pal, the Cubs and Rangers did the same thing last yr