jacksonianmarch

That is what every team wants and I think a lot of people are crazy when they think a #5 starter is a guy who can throw 200IP and have an ERA in the low 4's. That's a #2 or 3, not a #5. #5's rarely go 6 innings and typically have ERA's north of 5.50

BTW, sounds like the deal gets finalized by end of business tomorrow. The Yankees may receive up to $15 mil in salary relief plus prospects. If this works, then Cashman should be lauded

He's coming back from a shoulder injury and he looked a shadow of himself last season. At his best, he's a sinkerballer with a heavy 2 seamer that can get lots of groundballs. But with his shoulder being questionable, you may get the gopherball serving alter ego that showed up recently.

You know what, I don't hate AJ. He had a solid 2009 campaign and his peripherals in 2011 were similar to that season. He is what he is. A guy with amazing stuff who is a world beater when on, but too hot and cold to be relied upon for a championship caliber team.

Shortstop This has traditionally been a position of dearth since the Yankees promoted #2 in 96. But now, there are some very nice prospects shooting through the ranks who can man this position. 1. Cito Culver, 19 yrs old:NYP- .250/.323/.337- Culver's offensive numbers were a bit skewed. Culver is a natural right handed hitter, but his switch hitting took a toll on his numbers. Overall, he showed good patience, but struck out a fair amount. He also didnt show good power, but he was playing as an 18 yr old all season long in a league with a bunch of college kids. He has plus defensive capability with a strong arm and great quicks. He was drafted in the 1st round in 2010 due to his defensive prowess and one has to think the Yankees plan on keeping him on position. His stroke did seem to improve over time and he should see some improvement as he gets comfortable switch hitting. His patience should help. Overall, he'll be in Charleston all season barring a miraculous improvement at the dish. They need to give his bat some time to catch up with the glove. Should they scrap the whole switch hitting idea and push him as a RH hitter, he could move quicker, but the reward will be less. 2. Claudio Custodio, 21 yrs old: GCL- .325/.433/.414- Custodio came out like wildfire this yr as his first in the states and showed everything. He has a solid glove that could use a little more work, but definitely looks to be a kid who can stay at the position. He showed plus patience, solid contact skills and plus speed. The only tool lacking was power, which may or may not come. He's a pretty skinny kid who just turned 21 yrs old. He will likely debut in the NYP this yr unless the Yankees think he is further along than Cito and jump him to Tampa, which isnt likely. 3. Jose Rosario, 20 yrs old: GCL- .331/.372/.529- Rosario is your prototypical 5 tool player. He has a solid glove, great speed, power, contact and a great arm. The reason why he is low is that he projects more as a 3b for now. As a 19 yr old, he hit 6HR in 172ABs in the GCL, which is a pretty solid feat. In a perfect world for him, he'd be moving right on to Charleston, but with Matt Duran and Bichette above him at 3b and Culver above him at SS, he is likely to play all of 2012 in the NYP 4. Jose Pirela, 22 yrs old: AA- .239/.292/.353- Pirela has fallen off the map since his solid 2009 campaign when he lit up the SAL as a 19 yr old. He followed a disappointing 2010 with a very disappointing 2011. He's a guy with above average speed and a knack for making contact, but never developed any power and looks more defensively like a 2b due to his lack of a solid arm. He should still progress through the system as a utility guy, but with guys like Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez in the system, it might be hard for him to find his niche. He has been promoted rather aggressively as he played his entire 21 yr old season at AA, so he does still have some time. My guess is he repeats this level as no major SS prospect in High A will be pushing him. 5. Jose Mojica, 23 yrs old: A- .262/.312/.337- Mojica really has fallen on hard times. He was signed in 2007 with a lot of fanfare, but didnt make it to the states until 2009 due to a knee injury. He's played 3 seasons in the states now and none of them have been good. He still projects as a SS with decent defensive ability, but his offensive prowess is non-existant. He was also signed a little late for most Dominican prospects, as a 19 yr old and didnt debut in the US until he was 20. He now finds himself in a position where there is a ton of talent ready to overtake him. My guess is, he moves to Tampa this yr, but without a Rennaissance, he is going to be passed by one of the guys higher on this list. And in terms of depth, we cannot forget the two guys who are no longer rookies. Eduardo Nunez, who held his own in some big league action in 2011 and Ramiro Pena. Nunez continues to get looks from other teams looking for a starting SS. He has the tools to be an above average big league SS, but as of right now, he is stuck in neutral behind Jeter. Without the Yankees having a true DH, though, Nunez will probably see a lot of PT while the Yanks try to rest Arod and Jeter in the DH spot. Look for him to have an expanded role come 2012. Pena, OTOH, lost out to Nunez last yr and in limited time in 2011, looked to have reverted. Once considered an elite defender, he's now known for being mentally short when crunch time hits. It will be hard to shake that when the Yankees have him 3rd on the depth chart. He would be better served in another org

Why not? Your backup catcher gets what, 40 starts a year? Romine is not a step down defensively at all, which is what most backup catchers are, defensive replacements. I think Romine would do a good job and can learn on the job. Who knows, it may give the Yankees a reason to let Martin walk at yrs end and hand the job over if the kid does well enough. If he doesnt, then they resign Martin until Sanchez is ready in 2-3 yrs

He's average offensively and below average defensively. His aggregate is below average.

Let me clarify that. How many times did we have enough holes and lack enough depth at the beginning of the season to be truly worried, one. 2008. There we go

One, 2008, and they bottomed out.

The sox had a lot less holes going into last season and then holes sprang up. This offseason, they've essentially replaced Scutaro and Papelbon with Melancon, Shoppach and Bailey and the team is close to the same. Cautiously optimistic is a place no team with a $180 mil payroll should be in.

If Cervelli got enough PT and could pin down his throwing inaccuracies, he could be a solid average big league catcher. He's got a cannon and he is adept as blocking and calling games. He is just inaccurate from behind the dish. I think we need to move Cervelli anyway. Romine is ready, and no better way to groom him than to see what it is like at the big league level for a full season. Romine and Martin are very similar, IMO, and I think the kid could learn something from the veteran. I do think, eventually, Romine could be a good starting catcher

Spitball, I think teams are also learning that having flexibility in that spot is more important than having a full time mediocre DH. Teams are now using it to rest their sluggers and get more mileage out of them. Instead of the sox who use Papi 100% of the time while playing vs the AL, most teams now have a guy who plays maybe 50% as DH and the rest of the games, the position players get a rest

2 yrs, $16 mil on the open market would have worked. Stupid of them to offer arb and force their hand. Now, they'd be paying almost $15 mil for one season instead of a little more for 2. I guess the next question is, should Papi have a good season, do they offer him arb again? One wonders if Cherington would make the same mistake twice

UN nails it.

Wake doesnt give innings and isnt healthy. He also doesnt throw 95 with a wicked curve. Burnett in a weak division without the DH will likely put up a low 4's ERA and 200IP.

Padilla is your #6 starter right now, IMO. He's still got his old stuff, he's just injury prone and a f***ing psycho

There is actually a market for a guy who can throw 180+IP and take the bump nearly 30 times a season. Plus, if you look at his numbers between 2011 and 2009, and he looks like almost the same pitcher. 2009- 8.5K/9IP, 1.40WHIP, 2.0K/BB 2011- 8.2K/9IP, 1.43WHIP, 2.1K/BB And in 2009, he was considered a good pitcher. The only big differences between the two seasons were the IP per start and the HR totals, which were much higher this past yr. If you remove him from the AL East and put him in the NL Central, he's probably a 200IP pitcher with an ERA close to 4. That will get you some nice trade chips

I actually think it'd be smart. Here's why. Burnett looked good after an adjustment by Rothschild in late August. He also always seems to have good numbers through the ASB. If he puts up his usual solid start to the season, and are only on the hook for $10 mil of his salary, then he's easily flippable at te deadline. They'd invest about $3 mil and be able to get something good for him

No, I'm not. I am saying that if the sox top 3 can stay healthy with Bard and Aceves as the 4 and 5, then the pen will improve. I am also saying that with Paps in Philly, and Aceves and Bard in the rotation, the pen is weaker, even with the additions of Melancon and Bailey. Also, I was looking from a MLB standpoint. The sox were 13th in the MLB in pen ERA, which is middle of the pack. And the WAR argument for pen guys is a little skewed because the goal of the pen is not to throw a ton of innings, as it is with starters. And it is weighted by IP substantially. And the sox threw the second most innings in the AL to Baltimore, so their WAR should be high

More traction today on a Burnett trade. Sounds like they're only a few million apart. I had thought coming into this offseason that Burnett could turn it around, especially since shortening his motion with Rothschild in August. He really responded in September and his one start in October. But right now, he's the most expensive guy in a three player race for the #5 spot. And, he doesnt have anything going for him aside from pure stuff. Garcia outpitched him last season and Hughes has the better potential, assuming he's healthy.

I am not sure why the Pirates hold up is Jones. He's 30 yrs old and looks the part of a platoon DH rather than an NL 1b. If you are rebuilding, you could find someone younger to give you the same marginal production out of your 1b slot. I think the hold up as with anything Pirates, is money. The Yanks and Pirates have had good working relationships, but the problem is the Pirates always seem to get the upper hand. The big one to remember was the Marte and Nady deals. We get a good half season from Nady and all we get out of 4 yrs of Marte is a solid run in the 09 postseason. And they get Karstens, McCutchen, Ohlendorf, and Tabata. I think the deal actually gets done. It makes too much sense for both sides not to. The Yankees need someone to take the LH portion of the platoon at DH and the Pirates can use a starter on the cheap poised for a rebound in the NL. THey then can sell Burnett at midseason, when he typically has an ERA under 4 and looks like a solid contributor.

Wake is a guy hanging on at this point, but the white of his fingernails. He's never been conventional, so it's easy to hate the guy as a fan of the sox. I've always respected Wake. He's like an every man. I know he was a minor league 1b, but he looks like he's in his mid 40s and he's on the mound throwing the ball way slower than I could. Yet he's been effective. From a baseball perspective, fans want their teams to be younger and devoid of risk. Also from a fan's perspective, you don't want to see your old team stalwarts play themselves into minor league deals. Unfortunately, sometimes you just need to know when it is time.

Exactly. On further review, I do think the sox have the best case. But who knows what the arbiter will rule. He's a prideful man, if he knows at the very least, he's gonna make $12.6 mil in 2012, why would he sign a deal that only guarantees him $5.4 mil for 2013? He believes in himself, and I bet he thinks he can do better in 2012 than he did last yr. Eventually, the gas will run out

you know you've been on the site too long when you've seen this out of your more than twice. LOL