jacksonianmarch

I know this will look silly if we somehow end up winning the AL East, but right now, this team is in a death spiral and absolutely sucks ******* in every conceivable way. I'd do everything possible to somehow pull a Red Sox and get out of some of these horrid contracts. And in doing so, you pair a bad contract with a good one and see if someone bites while sending over good but not great talent. Transaction #1- Deal CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira to San Francisco for Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito. The Giants get the corner infield offense they are looking for an ace who wants to live in that area. The Yankees take on 1 yr of about $40 mil in bad contracts and maybe Lincecum turns it around. Transaction #2- Deal Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez plus a lot of cash to the Orioles for JJ Hardy and some middling prospects. Granderson gives them a 3rd elite OFer in a park that is nice for lefties, which maintains his advantage. They also put ARod at 3rd and allow themselves to move Machado to SS. This also allows them to get out of the bad contract they just signed Hardy to. Transaction #3- If you do not resign Cano in the offseason, you deal him before the year for a massive cache of prospects. This allows us to see Jeter finish his career in pinstripes, because at that point, who gives a f***. We see Swisher walk in the offseason and take a pick when he walks. We do the same with Kuroda. Pettitte can come back if he wants and so can Mo, but they wont play big parts in this season. We settle the rotation around Pineda, Hughes, and Nova. Our offense can center around Cano and we can rebuild without watching ARod decompose at 3rd or Tex get wide eyed at the RF corner. I am beyond frustrated right now, but this s*** isnt working and one more yr off the calendar wont fix it. Pull a Red Sox, blow it sky high and start from scratch

It looks eerily similar. Which is why I am advocating a total dismemberment and a few yrs of suckitude. Watching ARod and Freddy Garcia and a bunch of the other s*** out there makes me wanna punch a kitten.

This is effectively an open letter to our absolutely horrible manager. You suck. You claim to know a lot about baseball and play matchups, yet you leave Freddy in for the 5th when he is OBVIOUSLY struggling and has imploded in the 5th in his last few starts. Before you know it, our 10.5 game lead in the division is gone and we are left with a bunch of guys who do not know how to play the f***ing game. I have never seen such a rudderless Yankee ship. We always close strong, but now, it is almost like a f***ing party when the Yankees win since it is so few and far between. This team has continued to absolutely suck nuts in situational hitting, fielding and pitching. We cannot drive runners in from 3rd with less than 2 outs. We cannot move runners from second with no outs. We have done this all season long, and it is a testament to horrible managing, coaching, etc. It is also a testament to selfish players who would rather hit 1 HR every 20ABs with RISP and K the other 19 than give themselves up and get the runs home. In the end, this has to cost Girardi his job assuming we consummate the greatest choke in Yankee regular season history. I hope all the coaches follow sans our pitching coach. Rothschild has somehow been able to pull rabbits out of his hat in the rotation and the pen for a few yrs now, and that should be enough to keep him around. But our manager, hitting coach, base coaches, etc all need to go. I have never seen a more fundamentally dysfunctional Yankee team in all of my years of watching and that includes some bad teams in the late 80s and early 90s. And with that, I say f*** YOU JOE GIRARDI, I hope you get your ass canned in the offseason and find a gig with the f***ing Astros you loser f***.

If the Yankees blow this, which they really look like they are trying to do, I hope we gut this squad like the sox did and not live through a death spiral season next yr.

I think, when healthy, Josh Johnson is one of those top pitchers you are talking about.

It's 12 ABs, so it isnt like he will hit .000 for a season. But if you are looking for his lumber to justify anything, then you are grasping at straws

Kalish is the best player on a playoff contender

Iglesias was going to be dominated by pitching. He is Rey Ordonez. He will likely never hit over .250 and he will likely never OPS over .700. But you live with it since he will be amazing defensively

Down to 2 games. God this team sucks right now. Arod is back on Monday, Tex should be back at the end of next week. But this offense sucks cock right now, and at the absolute worst time

Abandoning all hope is what you would have done if you kept the team together. I actually think it will be exciting at the Fens. Watch them develop some talent and see if something clicks. If I were Ben, I'd impose a rule on the franchise that no 5+ yr contracts for 2 yrs. After 2014, you'll have a better sense of who in your system you can count on and who you cannot. Then, you build around them with shrewd pickups and maybe one marquee FA/trade piece. The 2004 and 2007 Red Sox were not build overnight and Theo got f***ing lucky with the 2007 team in that he seemed to develop one centerpiece player per yr for a few yrs. Cherington and Lucchino have carried the baton of "discipline" since the deal. And discipline means sticking to a plan, even in the face of adversity. If they go out and sign Hamilton, they will show no discipline. If they pick up fringe guys with specific tools, use them to their strengths and blossom their minor league talent, then they will set themselves up for quite a run. You guys must admit, that for sox fans, you were spoiled. This is the first yr since 2001 that you are out of it come September. 2006 may be an exception, but you were hit with some serious injuries in that season and had some serious underperformers in their prime. And this is also the first yr since 2001 that nobody really thought the sox would contend. That is 11 yrs of prosperity and 2 titles. The page is getting turned, it is time. You can also look at my team for an example of how not to turn a page. We have players exiting their prime who are on the hook for huge money for many years. When our house of cards collapses, we're gonna be BAD

a700, they definitely got some building blocks. I think 3 of their players will be big leaguers long term for the sox. I see Webster in the middle of the rotation, De la Rosa in the pen, probably the back end, and Sands as a platoon guy in the OF. I just dont see an ace or a middle of the order bat coming back

He has a good slider and fastball. The Boston media continues to sell the Rubby kid as something he isn't. If he was a starter, he'd be in the dodgers rotation already

De la Rosa isn't ranked above Barnes, and if he's at the top of your rotation next yr, then the fens will be a ghost land. If he was that good, wouldn't you think he'd be starting in LA right now? Especially with Billingsley out for the yr? He's a kid with a solid fastball-slider combo with nothing after it and spotty location. If he's in the bigs next yr, he'd be most effective out of the pen. Stop pumping tires

Most guys put NTC's in their contract to the big money teams, since they'd be the ones to acquire them. They then can negotiate a fee to waive it. It's all about getting a little more cash

Guaranteed contracts and known relapsing substance abusers do not go hand in hand. Especially in an area of the world where alcohol abuse is the highest of practically anywhere. Boston is a bad, bad mix for Hamilton. NYC would be a close second

Here are some thoughts for 2013.... Catcher- I'd have Lavarnway carrying the majority of the load here. I'd shop Salty around, but I doubt there are many takers. I think Salty and Lavs split a lot of the time behind the dish. If Ortiz walks, Salty could try his hand as a DH or if the sox dont make a huge splash at 1b this offseason, he could move to 1b First base- The Free Agent options suck considerably, so what do you have to lose with Mauro Gomez? I would also bring in a lefty veteran off the scrap heap who could theoretically platoon with him should he show he completely sucks vs righties. Somebody like Aubrey Huff, who has come through 2 injury riddled yrs, but who has had success in the AL East and who, when healthy, can still draw walks and hit for power. And, if he doesnt play well or stay healthy, he's a scrap heap signee and you could dump him without trouble. Also, depending on the DH spot, you could rotate Salty to 1b vs righties if Gomez struggles 2B- Pedroia, no doubts there SS- I dump Aviles this offseason. There is no reason for it. I'd have Iglesias and Ciriaco splitting time so the kid doesnt get overwhelmed by big league pitching right off the bat. Plus, it gives you a chance to see if Ciriaco is just a one hit wonder, or someone who can actually play in this league 3B- Middlebrooks, no questions asked LF- Re-sign Cody Ross to a 3 yr $21 million deal. He's still young enough, he loves Fenway and if you could lock in a mid .800OPS guy with 20+HRs for the next 3 yrs, you do it CF- Ellsbury until he gets dealt midseason RF- I think the sox need one big splash this offseason, and I think it could come in the form of Justin Upton. He'd absolutely dominate Fenway and hasnt been healthy this yr, which is why the season has sucked for him. A package of Kalish plus one of the B's should headline it. I am starting to have my doubts as to whether Kalish will ever be the big leaguer the sox billed him as DH- Ortiz is the obvious choice, but in the interest of building for the future, I think the sox should offer the qualifying amount, take the pick and watch him go off in the sunset. Lavarnway, Salty, Gomez, et al could use more reps and if the sox arent competing next yr, why bother with a guy who will turn 37, who is breaking down and is a malcontent if things arent perfect? SP- You have Lester, Buchholz and Doubront slated as the 1-3. Lackey will get a fair shake at #4. In terms of free agents, you have the big name in Greinke, who would suck in Boston. You have some other quality guys like Edwin Jackson and Kuroda under the radar as well. And then there are the under the radar moves that could better your rotation on minimal risk moves 1. Colby Lewis- he plays in a bandbox, he's coming off elbow surgery and is a strikeout pitcher. He likely wont be ready for the start of 2013, but he has the stuff and the results to be a good 1 yr flier kind of pitcher. And if the team sucks, but he is solid coming back from injury, he could bring something back in trade 2. Jorge de la Rosa- the guy was good in Colorado before arm issues arose. He's had trouble in his return from TJS, but might be able to pitch in the bigs this September. Provided a good physical in the winter, he could be an under the radar signing with big implications come next yr 3. Brandon McCarthy- this guy has had trouble staying healthy, but he is a sinkerballer who is currently #2 in Oakland on a competitive team. When he's on the mound, he's been good, and with his injury history, he should come cheap

2013 shouldnt be the goal, though. If they go for a win at all costs attitude for next yr, you're gonna run into the same problems you ran into this yr with contracts being paid out for past performance and a salary cap hell. They need to start making some shrewd acquisitions and maybe push some of their kids a little to see what they can do. If they dont contend in 2013, but the rooks they develop are able to hit their stride in 2014, then you'll be closer to a title. We all know that the guys who will finish this season under contract are more than just 1 or 2 guys away from a title. This sox team is about 5 guys away from a title

It's an organizational philosophy and you have a trigger happy manager. One of the compromises for next yr has to be to allow the starters a longer leash. They have to be able to go 120 pitches or else your pen will die in August again

I disagree completely. He was brought in to change the culture. With the recent moves and the fact that Cherington has finally given support to Valentine, I think he is starting to show that he runs this ship. The sox would be right to keep V for another season. He gets a lot out of the young bucks, and you'll be seeing a lot of them over the next 13 months or so

he wont be a Red Sox come next week, IMO. They just put him on trade waivers and a fair amount of teams in the hunt have lost pitchers. I could see StL or Pittsburgh take a flyer on him

Lincecum likely has a structural issue. He's been downright abused, he has a small frame and has now magically lost his fastball and his command. He's on the hook for $22 mil next season, so my guess is San Fran would ask for prospects and the whole nut to be covered since they can try to spin it as a down yr. But my guess is he goes into the spring next yr, has trouble ramping up and they find some labral or cuff damage

Valentine is finally getting the backing of management. V has never been afraid to ruffle feathers and always seems to get the most out of the kids who are just coming up. His motivational tactics seem to piss off the fat cats and finally, the sox moved on from a lot of them. The guys who remain are either untradeable (Lackey) or guys who are smart enough to let it slide off their shoulders. You will see how much of a leader Pedroia actually is come next yr. If he gets into lockstep with Valentine, presuming he is there, you could see a very exciting team full of up and comers.

Emmz, I think Cherington hopes to high heaven he returns to the .320 30HR player next yr so he can deal him at mid season for a gigantic haul. If he remains as this powerless shell of the 2011 form, then they might as well try to resign him on a "re-coup your value" deal a la Beltre after 2013

If you bring a player up too early, you run the risk of losing them or burning a year of control when they arent ready. Bradley starts 2013 in AAA and probably doesnt come up regardless until June so they can get that extra yr of control. Unless the sox do something organizationally insane in the offseason, 2013 will be a rebuild yr. If they get Bradley, Barnes and Bogaerts on the Fenway field by September, they will be very happy.

He wont go nuts if he gets a 2 yr contract. I will tell you right now, looking at this Yankee squad and the fact that their core has stopped producing at elite levels, they will likely try to have a short term injection of power so they can develop or trade for someone to take over. The sox cannot offer Ortiz arbitration this yr and the most they can offer him in terms of qualifying offers is $12 million. If they play the same hardball they did last yr, they will definitely lose him. I do have a feeling, though, that Cherington recognizes the fact that his team needs some players who are marketable since they just cleaned house, and Ortiz fits that bill nicely. I think a 2 yr deal will be in the works and he'll re-up in the big bean for something along the lines of $25 mil or so