jacksonianmarch

My guess is they'll negotiate a settlement. The Yankees don't want him, and ARod will be far too proud to be booe on a nightly basis in his home stadium. The pressure is building. This interview tonight will be interesting as well. We'll all be able to hear what this fraud did

How does having a better system incentivize a FA to come to you? Would that be a negative, knowing that if you start poorly, you can be buried?

ARod is f***ed. He has no shot of playing Major League Baseball again. His best bet is to request a buyout and ride off into the hazy sunset

The only way Tanaka ends up in Boston is if he likes it more than NY off the bat. The money coming out of NY and LA will be insane, and something Boston won't match

Actually, now that I think about it, yeah Alex, go the federal route. Please!!! Lie under oath, go to jail and get off the Yankee books forever

No such injunction will occur. He can try to go to the federal level, but he's a member of a union which negotiated this process in good faith. This means that going to the federal level is inappropriate and something the union likely won't get behind him for. Also, in federal court, he'll have to swear under oath that he didn't use PEDs, and he could risk his freedom if the evidence MLB has is damning enough. I doubt he goes that route, as the last thing he needs is a criminal trial. At that point, the Yankees could terminate his contract

He can go to the federal level, but at that point, it won't really change anything. MLB followed their policies and procedures. He's done for the entirety of 2014, as this covers playoffs too. So, Mr. Tanaka, here's a 6 yr $108 mil offer. Sign here and here and brush up on your English, cause you're going to NY

Yankees are keeping tabs on Johan Santana. Don't have a problem with that at all. If healthy, the guy knows how to pitch. I wouldn't pencil him into a rotation, but having him as depth is a good idea. I'd offer a MiLB deal with incentives for big league games started

He must sign by January 24. Also, it's hilarious that people are saying he won't help us before he's thrown his first pitch.

I'm sure they could try. But who is going to give up a king's ransom for a HR prone starter on a 1 yr contract?

It could be the .256/.308/.343 slash line the guy had in 504ABs in AAA that have them a little concerned. Thing is, Bailey is a luxury for them, one they will not afford come 2015. They have Cueto, Leake, Latos and the hot shot rookie Cingrani. The thought is that dealing Bailey will free up enough cash to re-sign Arroyo for 2 yrs. Gardner would be the stopgap in CF to give some more seasoning to Hamilton. If Bailey has another year like he did in 2013, he will command upwards of $20 mil per yr for 5-7 years. They cannot afford that. If they like what they see in Gardner, they could resign him for Bourne money

How the f*** does Biggio not get in? 3000 hits is a shoe in and should be. That's ridiculous

I agree that a one for one swap seems unlikely, but to the previous point, why are we cherry-picking when WAR is reliable and when it's not based on the argument? Gardner had a single down yr in UZR/150 which placed him as average. One thing we know about that stat is that it can fluctuate and you need to look at a few seasons to see whether someone is a good defender or no. He stole over 20 bases again. His power improved, and his slash line was still good for a speed guy. He's a little things kind of ballplayer. Do I think that's worth a 200IP starter who's rounding into top of the rotation form? Not one for one, but you cannot downplay Gardy's value and degrade the best stat that encompasses all stats because he isn't a flashy guy

There have been rumors of the Yankees dealing Gardner to Cincy for Bailey. Both are in their walk years and Cincy needs some OF help after losing Choo. The Yankees, obviously, need pitching. Gardner did have the higher WAR, but front line pitching has a premium. That being said, Homer has a problem with the homer. Great American is a bandbox, but YS is worse.

I'm gonna go with 100. The delay into the new year makes me think the arbiter is going to ratchet it down

Drew is falling back into the sox lap because nobody wants to give up the pick. Therefore the sox are the only team that doesn't have to give up a 1st rounder to sign him.

It would make no sense in the world to hold onto Middlebrooks and watch him play twice a week. The guy either needs to play or be dealt. If Drew falls back in your lap, you deal Middlebrooks for something else of use

Exactly, and at least Scutaro doesn't have a horrendous injury history to fall back on. Drew's ankle essentially detached from his skeleton. Teams are going to be wary of that, especially since he is coming off a pillow contract that showed he was adequate. He's a risk on a long term deal. I think the sox have significant leverage here. If I were Boras, I'd come crawling back to them with a bargain basement deal with a clause in the contract stating the sox cannot offer a QO following 2014. If he wasn't tied to draft compensation, he'd be signed on a 3 yr deal by now

Boras saw he had the best player at the position. The problem was, the position had a bunch of retreads, a PED user and Drew. That's about it. Nobody wants to surrender a pick to get a SS who is okay

I think the majority of Yankee fans saw that around the ASB that we had fallen into a hole we couldn't get out of. The sox were the better team, but so were the Rays. Once we lost Tex for the year, I said we were in trouble. The other thing was, it wasn't a very exciting team. No spunk, no fire, they looked lifeless. Remember, they started 30-18, yet for the final 4.5 months, they were 4 games under .500. The attendances got really weak late August into September, and that is usually when Yankee ticket prices start to rise as the push for the playoffs drives up demand. Well, with no playoff push, and with probably half the seats empty, what the hell was the point? You can tell when a team has no shot. The Yankees didn't, and they paid for it. Thing is, the Yankees writers are talking about how Cashman has been operating in a lux tax "jail" for the past 2 yrs. When you know ARod and Jeter are coming off a major injury and your only contingency is to sign a beat up and washed up Youkilis, you have to know that your depth is thin. Well, Youk misses the year, Grandy misses over 100 games, Tex pretty much missed the yr, Jeter pretty much missed the year, and ARod missed 100 games. Hell, our starting catcher missed 140 games in Cervelli and we lost 30 from Gardner. There was nothing there in September

First thing, we are exceeding the $189 million. That much is for sure. I think Hal saw his revenues plummet and people really not care come the end of 2013 even with 2 icons retiring, so he figured the place would be empty if we put out another failure. The amount he'd lose at the gate or from the TV revenue dwarfs the amount he'll get back from revenue sharing or lux tax. Second, there is a rumor out there that the Yankees are going to shatter the spending record for INTL free agents. Their plan is to spend over $12 million on INTL Free Agents this yr and take the 2 yr penalty after that. The rule, as it is currently states, keeps teams to a certain limit based on their position at the end of the year. The Yankees limit figures to be $2 million or so. If you spend over that, you pay a 100% tax on it and you are kept to a strict $500K cap for the following 2 seasons. If an INTL draft is instituted as Selig hopes, they would lose their first round pick for the next 2 yrs. There is a lot of international talent out there this yr and apparently, the Yankees are on the ground like they never have been. Instead of being fired, the Yankees amateur scouting department is getting support like they never have before.

Yes a700. INTL FAs are up for grabs. Anyone who resides outside the US and PR are INTL signees and available for all teams to bid on

Yes, an INTL signee.

He's hitting the market at a good time for him. He'll be 31 in the first year of a new deal. How many years would you want to give to a guy with a lot of innings on his arm? I think in a perfect world, the sox would want 3 yrs. in reality, on the open market, he'll get 7 with those final 4 years likely seeing him have to reinvent himself as his fastball starts to slow down. It's an interesting dilemma. I can tell you right now that if he hit the open market, NY would be all over him, but Cherington seems to crave value and flexibility. And signing a 31 yr old pitcher for 6-7 yrs doesn't lend to flexibility. Also, one shoulder injury and his career could be over (see Roy Halladay).

Lester is going to be an interesting case. He had 2 yrs of sheer dominance with 225K's and 200+IP. His K rate started dropping in 2011 and reached its current state in 2012. The funny thing is, his xFIP in 2012 was lower than it was in 2013, even though his ERA dropped a full run. The biggest assistance Lester received in 2013 was his HR rate dropped to his 2010 and earlier level and his BABIP came down to .300 after hitting a career high of .312. But his playoff performance, especially in 2013, will make him a legend and likely get him paid a la Sabathia. Lester has said many times that he wants to stay in Boston. But I also think there may be a disconnect between what Boston considers his worth and what his FA value may be. During 09-10, he was an ace. Since then, he's been a good pitcher with a flair for the playoff dramatic. On the open market, he likely gets a $20+ mil per year deal. But his last 2 yrs point towards a guy who might only be worth Anibal Sanchez money (5yrs $85 mil). And if Lester has a great contract year, he could get even more than that. He turns 30 next week, so he will hit the market at a good time. If I were the sox, I might want to wait this one out.