jacksonianmarch

This is just another sox fan's wet dream of stupidity. So recovering from a spinal fracture is easy and Buchholz will come back to being an ace? Cmon man. His "track record" is 170IP of solid starting marred by more injuries. He is coming back from a serious injury. You have absolutely no clue if he will return to the SSS that he was.

The problem with Xander is that he will likely be a 3b by that time. He's a bit too thick to play SS long term and I would expect that as he fills out over the next couple years, he'll size himself out of the position. I have said all along that Xander looks like a 3b and with WMB ahead of him, he might end up being trade bait

and are much more expendable in times of strife due to lack of initiative

You do not know if Buchholz will come around. He's coming back from a serious injury. That's like me saying Pineda is going to come around.

Tyler Austin has been the balls thus far. So much for him having a marginal power ceiling. .359/.384/..877 with 9 homers as a 20 yr old in 20 games.

A great day for the Yankees. Sox lose, Yanks win. CC was dominant and looks to be rounding into form. We need to see if Kuroda can do it too

6-2 Yanks

Youkilis with back spasms. Seems he has "mild spasms" that put him out for a week or more almost yearly now

Fans in life make the world go round. Fans in fantasy make your team go down

5-2 top 8 with CC rolling and an awesome pen behind him. I feel pretty good about today

They want him at 100 pitches and to a point where he feels ready. He has said he is close, but he needs to get his legs under him a little more

The Yankees finally did what they needed to do and demoted Garcia to the pen and promoted DJ Mitchell. The assumption is that Phelps will take Garcia's turn and Hughes will get at least one more try

Doubt that significantly. With Pettitte returning, the Yankees will be putting out 4 solid pitchers with a true ace in CC. They will have other needs, most notably a DH who isnt an all or nothing sub .300OBP guy.

CC has been dominant. Good thing too, since the Yankees seem to be sucking mooseballs when it comes to hitting with RISP.

UN, I think you are right in the premise that Valverde does seem to do better than his peripherals would indicate and last yr was an aberration in terms of Sv %. But I think your numbers might be a little disingenuous. His K rate has remained stable over the last 3 yrs. 2009- 9.3K/9IP 2010- 9K/9IP 2011- 8.6K/9IP The rate appears to be dropping at a rapid rate, but he really is 3 K's in 2011 away from having the same rate as 2010, which would probably not reach statistical significance. This isnt a starter who K'd 10-15 less hitters over 200+IP. The sample size is so small, that the number drop is a measly 3. #2- BABIP. It seems Valverde has put up multiple seasons of low BABIP's. And for elite closers, you see that a lot. The one inning at a time thing seems to defy the logic of BABIP. #3- The Cordero comp is WAY off. Cordero's K rate dropped off a cliff last season. He K'd 17 less hitters in 3 less innings, which is humongous. The other non paralell is that Cordero cut his walk rate last yr to compensate and became a contact pitcher. Contact closers typically abide by the rules of BABIP a little more than the power armed high K pitchers. The big reason why I think Valverde declines has more to do with the fact that he has shown to be prone to meltdowns in non-save situations. And with Albuquerque out for most of the season, their pen is a little shoddy and he will likely need to pitch in tie games and 4 run games a few times to lock things down, and he just doesnt seem to be into those situations. Hence, I think he will put up a higher ERA and WHIP this season. Also, he's already blown one save and history suggests that he wont run off another 49 before blowing another one.

Lower Level RH Starters A+ or lower 1. Jose Campos, 19yrs old: SS- 81.1IP 2.32ERA 9.4K/9IP 6.5K/BB 0.97WHIP- Campos is a prototypical ace in waiting. He's got a big frame, he has incredible command for such a young age and a deep, quality arsenal. He can top out around 96mph, but typically sits 92-94mph. He throws a low 90s two seamer with good break. He throws a plus curve that need some refining and a plus now changeup. Campos dominated a level typically full of guys directly out of college as an 18 yr old. This yr, he has started out well in Charleston, although his start today was a complete stinker. It appears the Yankees are going to take it slow with him, even if he dominates the rest of the way. They want to see him refine the curve and change a little more in terms of location and timing before he moves up. He will likely stay in Charleston for most of the season with a late season callup to Tampa likely. He has #2 level ceiling with a pretty high floor. If he adds velocity as he matures and maintains it, he could really be a true ace 2. Bryan Mitchell, 21 yrs old: SS- 61.2IP 4.09ERA 8.6K/9IP 1.9K/BB 1.55WHIP- Mitchell just turned 21 a week ago, so he plays the whole yr there this season. He's a strong, hard throwing kid armed with a dynamite curveball and a developing change with plus potential. His issue is his command, as evidenced by his numbers above and the 11 walks in 14.2IP he's issued thus far in the SAL. He can run his fastball up in the 94-96 range consistently, but he has trouble keeping it down. He has games where he looks incredibly dominant and others where he looks completely awful with very little middle ground. For evidence of this, he has had 4 starts in the SAL. In his 2 good ones, he's allowed 6 baserunners in 11IP with 13K's. In his 2 bad ones, he's allowed 11 baserunners in 7IP with 2K's. He will need to work on his consistency if he is ever going to take the mound in the rotation in the bigs. But his ceiling is very, very high. When he is on, he is untouchable. When he is off, he walks the park and runs up high pitch counts. He will likely be in the SAL most of 2012 until he shows consistency. I think his projection comes out of the pen as a closer level pitcher capable of throwing high 90s ched with a knockout curve. But if he refines his location and his change, he could stick in the rotation 3. Jordan Cote, 19yrs old: NR- Cote is a big, right hander with good power at a young age. He was a 3rd rounder who signed late last season and didnt get into games. He can top out in the mid 90s already and has the workings of a change and curve. He's very raw and due to the fact that he's a northeast HS arm, he's even more raw than most. He will likely spend all season in the short season levels and will likely be there next season as well. It is too early to project him, but with a 6'5" frame, good command and a mid 90s fastball, he has a bright future 4. Jose Ramirez, 22 yrs old: A/A+- 103.1IP 5.66ERA 8.6K/9IP 2.3K/BB 1.57WHIP- Ramirez' numbers sucked ass last season, no doubt. But he is one year removed from dominating long season as a 20 yr old and possesses some of the sickest stuff in the system. He can run his fastball up to 97-98mph in short stints and sits around 95mph as a starter. He also possesses one of the best changeups and sliders in the system. Unfortunately, he loses focus and command all too frequently. In the offseason, he was clocked as high as 100mph, which shows just how good his arm is. I think his best case scenario is as a closer, as I think shorter stints suit him better. For now, he is a starter and getting his tits lit once again in 2012. I hope he moves to the pen so he can showcase what he can do in shorter stints 5. Matt Tracy, 23yrs old: SS- 47.1IP 3.04ERA 9.1K/9IP 3K/BB

It seems like 4 starts is their number. Hughes got 4 last yr, and now Freddy is at 4. At least with Hughes you can see the upside of righting the ship. There's no upside to Garcia. Cut f***ing bait. We have a bevy of good, young pitchers ready to contribute. Get phelps and Mitchell in the 4 and 5 slots, bring up pettitte in 2 weeks, cut Garcia and make Hughes te long man

Garcia sucks cock. f***ing start Phelps

elite entails top of the line. Guys who get their s*** right for 80 games and then fall apart afterwards are not elite. Elite entails durability, sustainability and performance

a new Bard thread for every QS. Sounds fair

do you charge a toll?

Do you let anyone pass?

how's your bridge?

2 run homer! Yankees lead 4-3!