jacksonianmarch

Thing is, did he have a shot and if he did, would it have been worth it. The Jays had a ton of money to burn and the willingness to absorb bad contracts. That willingness got them the overpriced Reyes and Buerhle. Johnson was the prize there. For the Mets deal, they have d'Arnaud, the best catching prospect in baseball, for a team that is truly in rebuild mode and to net a guy like this would be a huge boon. Dickey is a get for a team who knows they need to win within the next 2 seasons. The sox arent that team anymore.

Dickey is heading to the Jays pending medicals. No specifics yet, but a package highlighted by Travis D'Arnaud is heading to the Mets. The Jays have added Josh Johnson, Mark Buerhle, and RA Dickey to the rotation while adding Jose Reyes on the offensive end. They're gonna be a good team in 2013

Who's Cabrera? And Perez would be a decent get, although I think he will end up signing a guaranteed deal

Yes, a 1.26WHIP pitcher is now a $15+ mil a yr pitcher. And he moved to Detroit for half a season, thrived and pitched very well in the playoffs. He's the #2 they need

We've got one more yr before the bulk of the pen arms will be totally ready. And while Logan can be frustrating, we dont have a solid lefty reliever who is ready to step in now. That could change if Bleich continues on his pace, Rondon improves or Pazos shoots up the list.

His peripherals have been pretty steadily going in the right direction. He's not a big strikeout pitcher, regardless of what his 2011 season suggests. But the walk rate has dropped steadily as has his WHIP. He's improving rather than reverting

The A's built to their park with pitching, defense and suddenly developed some offense. The Rays didnt have anything break right, they just eventually hit on the multitude of high draft picks they received for sucking cock for a decade. The O's are my example of everything breaking right, and that didnt even really happen since they lost Hammel for half the season

Buchholz isnt really a given either a700. If everything breaks right in the rotation, the sox should be good enough to contend for the final wild card, maybe even more. But everything breaking right rarely, if ever happens

Young pitcher capable of giving you innings with solid effectiveness. He's 4 yrs removed from his surgery and has averaged 195.2IP the last 3 yrs with a mid 3ERA and 1.28 or so WHIP. He is the kind og guy you throw in your rotation and not worry about.

We did lose some power. Chavez' power will be mitigated by the addition of Youkilis. Swisher's loss of power will hurt a little. Ibanez doesnt have a spot right now and to commit resources to him as a DH isnt prudent either. Our 4th OF will be a RHH and I have a feeling it will be internal. I have a feeling Melky Mesa will get all the chances in the world to grab that job and take it as his own. The guy is a switch hitter who really doesnt hit well left handed, but smashes when he hits right handed. He owns a career OPS vs lefties of over .900. He can run and plays elite D as well in all 3 OF positions, and has a cannon. His biggest bugaboo is the K, which he seems to love, but he does limit them a little batting righty

Manny had a 30.9WAR through 7 seasons. That averages to 4.4 per season. Hamilton had a WAR of 20.8 in 5 seasons with the Rangers, which averages to 4.2 per season. Hamilton's numbers arent as gaudy aside from his insane 2010, but he is playing in a different time where pitchers once again rule the game and the hitters arent as dominant. Hell, Manny has a .900OPS season with a .380OBP and his WAR for the yr was 0.8 since everyone at his position was just mashing

Swisher is a luxury for them. I am still surprised the sox didnt sign Sanchez. The years are prohibitive, but $15.5 mil a yr for a pitcher of his caliber at his age isnt bad and he would give the sox a second innings eater

If the sox were to match a Profar and Olt package right now, they'd have to go Bogaerts, Barnes and Bradley. After 2013, they might not have to, depending on how far Bogaerts goes

Dempster is the kind of guy the sox needed. They didnt have to commit long term to him and he can help them if he can pitch to his typical 200IP mark without getting destroyed. We seem to hit him well, but the same cannot be said for everyone. BTW, Ichiro finalized a deal with the Yankees, 2yrs $13 mil.

The option is already being factored in. Lackey's AAV is currently below $16 mil

It's a smart move by the sox. It's a short term deal for a veteran innings eater. If he sucks, then he's gone after 2014. If he doesnt, then he's a rock in the rotation

I know that isnt the question. At their peak, Youk was a better player than Napoli. The last 2 yrs, Napoli has been the better player. Nap is 3 yrs younger, Youk is coming off injury. From the Yankees perspective, a 3 yr deal isnt feasible, so it's a better deal for the Yanks to go with Youkilis. From the sox perspective, a 3 yr deal is alright, so if Naps is healthy, they're better off with Napoli. From a sheer WAR perspective, Napoli will likely outperform Youk in yr 1

He had some personal issues this yr and was off to a Cy Young type start in Chicago. He goes to Texas, had to leave the team for a period of time and came back a shell of himself. His K rate actually rose in Texas, but his walk rate, BA and HR rate skyrocketed. Prior to 2012, he has thrown 200IP 4 yrs in a row and he was well on his way when he moved to Texas. The guys isnt a bum. He's older, which is always a concern. But he will give you innings, and will likely be more of a hybrid between the two extremes next yr. In Boston, I bet he throws 190-200IP and has an ERA near 4, which is exactly what you need

You cannot look at dealing away or letting a player walk and think about where they'll sign. You have to think about how that player fits in your lineup and if the salary structure can support the asking price. That's it. If those two dont line up, then you let him walk. If it helps your rival, so be it.

Because a lot of Yankee fans are idiots. That's why. I love my Yankees, don't get me wrong, but I don't love all Yankee fans. Every move has to be looked at as a "What can you do for me now" kind of move instead of a "f*** you, you were a Red Sox player, AARGH!". There is tremendous upside to this move. Another interesting development is brewing. Sounds like the Yankees are close to a 2 yr deal with Ichiro for around $12 mil total ($6 mil AAV). That, to me spells out two things. 1. The Yankees want Ichiro to be in range of 3,000 hits in a Yankee uni (he needs 397). 2. Granderson is gone after 2013. #2 is more because the Yankees will be able to produce one OFer for 2014, barring a catastrophe, as I have actually left out a few candidates previously. Ramon Flores, Zoilo Almonte, Abraham Almonte, Slade Heathcott, Mason Williams, and Tyler Austin should all be a AA or higher in 2013. One of them should make an impact enough to start the yr in the bigs in 2014. And as my avatar suggests, I think that'll be Tyler Austin. Sounds likely that Gardner is the CFer, Grandy the LFer, and Ichiro the RFer for 2013

I am along the same lines Dojji. You have to be able to treat him like an aging veteran and not a guy you have to throw out there at 3rd on a nightly basis. The sox had Ortiz and couldnt move Youk to DH. The beauty of the Yankee lineup is that we dont have an exclusive DH, so Youk can probably count on spending 60+ games or so as a part time player. I expect our DH spot to be a rotation of Jeter and Youkilis the first half of the season then a triumvirate with ARod added in the second half. Jeter may hate it, but he'll have to deal. And, it will give us a chance to see what Nunez can do with semi-regular playing time in the bigs. And, if Youk sucks, we have 3 potential replacements waiting in the wings in Nunez, Joseph and Adams. But it's good that we dont have to rely on them right off the bat

Red Sox deep in negotiations with Dempster. I think this'd be a good move

Choo and Sipp are talented big leaguers.

My guess is that they found something that could be chronic and are working in some language to protect themselves if he misses a specified amount of time with said injury

How is this a bad thing for the Yankees? Who was their in house candidate to play 3b while ARod was out? They have kids with promise, but if Youk is healthy, he's a good player. I think the days of .900+OPS are over, but can he be an .800OPS guy while splitting time between 3B and DH? Maybe, maybe not. But he at least can replace the patience lost by Swisher while still having a spot for him when ARod comes back. If he sucks ass, then he's on a 1 yr deal and is replaceable. If he's great, then we get 1 great yr and the possibility of a draft pick if he declines a QO. If he's in the middle, we get a serviceable replacement for ARod