jacksonianmarch

The framework is in place, $1 mil with incentives. He needs to pass his physical. I thought there were better options, but lets see how he does in the Stadium

Couple things.... 1. Cody Ross is an upgrade over Drew from 2011 and Reddick. But not by much. He may have a career OPS of .779, but he hasnt sniffed since 2009. He's going to enter a league with much better pitching coming off 2 seasons of .730ish OPS. To expect him to all of a sudden hit much better is a bit homerish. It's possible, but not likely. 2. You guys are overestimating Iglesias' bat if you think he can OPS even in the .600s. In AAA last yr, he OPS'd .554, which is absolutely and totally horrible. He's a wizard with the glove, but thinking he's gonna break camp as your starting SS and not be a major drain on your offense is obscene. A guy with a .554OPS is effectively a pitcher in the NL. So your lineup will go from having professional hitters 1-9 to a lineup with 1-8 and a pitcher. 3. Saying the offense at SS isnt going to be a humongous dropoff with Iglesias there because Scutaro only played 110 games is also absurd. The sox SS's were 10th in baseball with a .730OPS. If Iglesias were your starter, then you could see that number plummet by 200 points.

Yes, and Papi and Youkilis are 1 yr older, you no longer have Reddick available for a burst of offense when it was needed and Crawford starts the season on the DL with a wrist injury. You must admit the 6-9 through April looks to be a big black hole, especially with Iglesias. Aviles can hit and right now, offensively anyways, should be your starting SS

I think Rizzo is definitely the guy in the deal with the most to offer. I have a feeling he mans 1b for a long, long time

I think Bichette moves quickly through the system. He has the perfect offensive approach, a true professional strike zone. That will be huge for him going forward. I have a feeling he makes it through Tampa this season and Possibly through SWB next yr. He'll be knocking on the door by 2014

They arent spending $5 mil this season on Ibanez. My guess is some of that money is ticketed to Soler.

Third base This is another position of strength, unfortunately, the Yankees have an old guy sitting there for the next 6 seasons. 1. Dante Bichette Jr., 19yrs old: GCL- .342/.446/.505- The OBP is not a typo, he walked 30 times in 52 games. He comes from a baseball family and shows an advanced approach at the dish. He's projected to hit for solid power and has shown the knack to smack the ball around the park to all fields. The questions come in about the D. He has shown a solid feel for the position, but some think he might grow out of it as he ages. Right now, though, he's got the potential to be an all-star 3b in the future with the hit skill and could rise the ranks fast. As it stands right now, he's ticketed to Charleston as the starting 3b. 2. Brandon Laird, 24 yrs old: AAA- .260/.288/.422- Laird regressed in 2011 and hopefully will bounce back in 2012. He's a kid who plays average D at third and can hit for a lot of power. Unfortunately for the Yankees, he has no plate discipline to speak of, and actually regressed in that category over the past season. He has no real future with NY if he cannot take better ABs, but with 30HR potential, he's a guy to keep an eye on. I think the Yankees will stash him in AAA and see how he does. If he tears the cover off the ball, then they might try to move him since they have a glut at the position and he isnt the kind of patient hitter the Yankees like in their lineups. 3. Rob Segedin, 23yrs old: A/A+- .287/.358/.403- Segedin was a highly touted draftee in 2010 for his power potential. Well, he turned out to be a very polished hitter, earning a promotion to Tampa at mid season. But the big disappointment is the lack of power. Only 7 HRs in over 400ABs for a 22 yr old is a little lax. He has a big body and shows a lot of power in the cages, so it should come, but until it does, he isnt a big time prospect. He should start the season in Tampa again and if he starts to hit for power, he could move to AA quickly. 4. Matt Duran, 18yrs old: GCL- .301/.365/.506- Duran is a kid they drafted in the 3rd round in 2011 who is looking like another solid pick. He hits for average, shows good patience and can hit the long ball on occasion. He also plays a good 3b. Limiting his projection is his size (6'1" 195lbs), which makes some think he isnt destined to be enough of a power threat to play 3b in the Bronx. Time will tell. Right now, though, he's an 18 yr old who has shown an advanced approach, the capacity to barrell the ball regularly and the capability to hit for some power. He should start the yr in the NYP since he's currently behind Tyler Austin and Dante Bichette at the corners 5. Robert Lyerly, 24yrs old: A+/AA- .280/.327/.408- Lyerly was a 6th round selection in 2009 and was billed as your prototypical 3b. Well, as of right now, he isnt. He's got a sweet lefty stroke, but hasnt been able to hit for big enough power. He also isnt consistent with the glove enough to be reliable as a backup. He also turns 25 in July, so it isnt like he has a ton of time. What he doesnt hit in HRs, he does get in EBH, as he smacked 46 extra base hits in 2011. He should start the yr in Trenton and if he finally starts finding the seats with his stick, he will move up this list. 6. Fu-Lin Kuo, 21yrs old: .250/.362/.407- Kuo is an intriguing player in the Yankee system. He's a small guy who can play a solid 3b and has shown the ability to hit for power in the cages, but it hasnt translated to games. Well, this season, he repeated the GCL and improved his OPS by over 100 points. That's a start, but now he's slipped in the rankings significantly enough to where he's going to have to move off the position to get PT. 3b is stacked from SI up through AA, so it looks like Kuo will be manning 2b at NYP next yr. He's older than most of the guys at the GCL level and moving up to SI, he'll be playing with guys his age. If he can improve steadily, then he could be relevant, but as of right now, he's just a name to be familiar with should he start reaching his potential Overall, this is one of the stronger positions in the Yankee minor leagues. I'd have it just below CF and catcher on the position player side.

contract voided. He failed the physical due to his left shoulder

other than the fact that Wakefield couldnt stay on the field and is 10 yrs older, but yeah, they're the same, lol

to spin himself into a FO job for Boston based on his loyalty?

I respected Wake and I thought it was time to go two years ago. This is a good decision on his part

Burnett's deal will get finalized come Monday and then we'll finalize our deals with Ibanez and Chavez. I think Chavez can be replaced with Laird, but Ibanez is an intriguing talent. In YS, he could be a bruiser, but he's slowed down significantly and I am of the belief that he's done. I hope I am wrong

Diego Moreno and Exicardo Cayones come back. Will get SRs on them as soon as I can. I think this is a good deal for both sides, honestly. Burnett wasn't going to start in NY and was expensive, so they got 2 prospects that arent top notch in any way and got $13 mil in salary relief. The Pirates get a guy with AJ's stuff for $5 mil in 2012 and $8 mil in 2013. My guess is they will deal AJ before the deadline, so for two marginal prospects and $3 mil they may have one of the best pitchers to deal at the deadline, which could nab them some actual prospects for the future. To prove my point, here are AJ's splits since he came to NY Pre-ASB- 23-18 4.22ERA 1.36WHIP 1.9K/BB Post ASB- 11-17 5.56ERA 1.56WHIP 2.2K/BB The K's and walks are better in the second half, but he gets hit much, much harder. In Pitt, he's probably going to have a sub 4ERA come the ASB and will likely fetch a deal worthy of taking on some of his salary

SSS

It takes a special breed of fan to root in enemy territory. I know, I am in enemy territory for life.

1 horrible season, 2 mediocre seasons, 1 awesome full season, and 1 awesome partial season.

Phil Hughes to enter camp as the #5 starter. He's apparently lost 20 lbs and has been in camp for weeks. He looked fat and his conditioning must have been lacking last offseason. It took until August to get his stuff back. If he can stay in shape and throw that low to mid 90s cheese, he'd be the best 5th starter in the AL East. If he slumps out of the gate and cannot maintain velocity, then Garcia will break camp as the #5

As most of you know, I started out as a kid who liked both the Mets and Yankees. I grew up in CT, and my dad was a rare fan who liked both teams. I was more a Mets fan until my favorite player, Darryl Strawberry, left in 1991, when I was 10 yrs old. Then I became a die hard Yankee fan and rooted for what became my favorite player of all time, Don Mattingly. I remember watching the 1986 world series with my dad at the young age of 5. I remember when Carter got the hit to start the Game 6 Buckner extra inning and I remember his demeanor behind the dish up until the final out. I may have been a kid then, but Gary Carter was always someone I attributed to my youth as he was on one of the first teams I have ever followed. RIP Gary, you leave far too young, but your impression on this young baseball player was indelible.

Maybe the last 2 decades in Cali has softened you up a bit

Well, if you are looking at the AL as a whole, a #5 starter is a guy who doesnt go deep in games and gives poor performances. If you look at the contenders, though, most of them have a rotation that goes 5 deep, even if the #5 guy gives you 6IP per start and an ERA of 5. And, you have some ???s in the #3 spot as well with Buchholz and his health. Cherington is really hedging his bets on the top 3 being healthy and if one of them goes down, then that #4 spot suddenly elevates to the #3 and the chain moves on. That's the issue. You have legit ???s from 3 on down

There is no objective measure, you are correct. But maybe living in Cali hasnt given you the experience you get here. It's different.

exactly. Your 6-10 are guys who are either under team control as prospects or guys off the trash heap. A good GM consistently finds under the radar guys who fill out those spots and excel. Theo didnt have that quality. He always needed the perfect storm of health for his teams to excel, and they havent had that of late. I think what a lot of sox fans are concerned about, though, is the back end of the rotation in the 4 and 5 spots. That isnt depth, that's a position of need that is currently a big questionmark.

Fred, let me say to you that no matter how big a sox fan you think you are, if you at one time rooted against the sox in a world series, then you cannot understand what it is like here. I am a Yankee fan in Red Sox territory. The people here do not consider sox fandom their baseball preference, it is a way of life. You are born into it. And even though the sox have become corny in their BS to try and get more pink hats to throw their money away, the true die hards treat every dead season as if a relative just died. After the sox lost in 03, people didnt talk to me for a month solid. Nobody talked, everyone was in mourning, everywhere was quiet and nobody seemed happy at all. It's a different way of life. Different than anything I have ever seen anywhere. Yankee fandom is engrained similarly, but the level of dedication in the Mass area is a little higher. I don't think you could understand that if you went into your late adulthood rooting against them