jacksonianmarch

His days arent numbered. Boras went over his head, and the owners responded to the Sox offseason moves with one of their own. Cashman was serious about cutting payroll, and if the owners are okay with raising it, then they shouldnt have any qualms about going higher. What I loved was how Cash kinda gave himself leeway for future moves. When he said he was trying to pare payroll, he was told that the Yanks are a 5 billion dollar franchise and need to be at the top of the heap talentwise to continue that dedication towards their fans. My guess is, Cash just got the owners to open up their wallets and limit his financial restraints in that quote alone.

I would have been open to him returning, although it would be more out of desperation than anything else

Yeah, but you're paying Paps for what he has done a few yrs ago vs what he did over the past 2 seasons. There are some very encouraging signs with Papelbon, that being his K rate and IP. His IP have been remarkably consistent, meaning that you probably dont have to worry about a major injury risk from a major innings jump. The K rate also has been 9.88/9IP or higher for the past 5 seasons with last yrs being 10.21. Also good. The strange thing is that the first 3 seasons are not likely to be repeated. Take a look at his BAA in yrs 1 and 2 of closing. .167 and .146. Seriously, those are hard to do, especially in back to back yrs. And in 2008, he was also dominant (.223BAA), but he only walked 8 batters in 69IP, his next lowest total is 13. Therefore, his 2006-2008 seasons have major outliers that make his numbers a bit harder to appreciate. I think his 2009 season is probably more like his ability, although his ERA was very low compared to his solid 1.15WHIP. I think he settles out more as a 2.30-2.60ERA guy with a WHIP around 1.20 this yr. Numbers that should get him a nice 3 yr deal at probably a 1/3 pay cut per season compared to his arb number

I have a feeling cities like Detroit and Cleveland will never recover. My guess is that the tech cities are going to go crazy over the next 50 yrs and cities that were factory and mill cities are gonna slowly die off. Take a look at Syracuse if you want an example. Big shipping area around the turn of the 20th century is now turning into a cesspool of the lower class with a mass exodus of the educated. When what the city is based upon is no longer relevant to the time, the city either needs to adapt, or people will move to where the jobs are. So my guess is that the Guardians franchise likely wont see a major improvement in their bottom line and by the end of my lifetime, I expect the Tigers and Guardians to be located elsewhere

Sounds like old man SoxSport is hallucinating.

If he has a similar season, 3+ERA, sub 1.30WHIP, then he'll get a 3 yr deal, probably in the range of $24 mil total. And if he does, then I highly doubt the sox offer arb.

How does he price himself out of the second best market in baseball? I think Paps will have to take a pay cut regardless on the open market. Soriano had a ridiculously amazing season last yr and didnt get $12 mil a yr on the open market (he ended up just under that). How does Paps plan on beating that?

Flyball pitcher without the ability to strike hitters out? Sounds like a great fit for Yankee Stadium.....

He did, but that doesn't mean they won't sell prior to his expensive yrs

They have enough to get a mid level guy without giving up Montero or the B's. But if a guy like Josh Johnson comes available, then he might

I am unsure actually. At the start of the offseason, I would have said starting catcher this yr. But after signing Martin to be catching for at least 2 yrs, I don't know. My guess is that he is moved for a prime time pitcher. But if he isn't dealt by opening day 2012, he'll be the everyday DH

Yanks have 3 of the top 8 catching prospects in baseball per MLB. Montero #1, Sanchez #3, and Romine #8

Exactly. If Pettitte is back by June and AJ is pitching like he is capable of, then we dont need to go into desperation mode. On the flip side, if AJ bombs out and if Pettitte is still in Texas, then you better believe we'll be throwing prospects at any team with decent pitchers.

Dipre, my point with Paps is that in his hayday, he was throwing the ball up at the letters and got a lot of hitters to chase. Now that batters are laying off of that pitch for the most part, he's had to come into the zone more. He does have the capability to paint the corners, but lacks the consistency to do so on a nightly basis, which is why he's fallen off a bit. His off-speed stuff has never been great or even well located. When he was throwing the split, he always threw it for balls, but once again, batter chased. His game is predicated on players chasing balls out of the zone. Now that batters seem to have read the book on him, he needs to modify his gameplan, something he hasnt shown the ability to do

Paps is in his contract yr. His stuff hasnt declined, it is just his location. I expect him to be at least as good as last season and probably more like 2009. That being said, I dont think he will ever get back to his hayday of 2007 because the hitters know him a little better now. Papelbon's bread and butter is the high FB that looks like it's down the middle but ends up over the letters. It's an unhittable pitch. Now, hitters lay off of it and force him to come down in the zone. I dont care how hard you throw, a fastball that isnt located onto the corners and is down in the zone will get hit. Last yr, I thought he developed his slider a bit better and that kept him from having a true trainwreck season. This yr, he needs to work more on hitting corners with his FB instead of trying to get guys to chase high on 3 straight pitches.

Well, baseball is a game of 1 on 1 matchups melded into a team game. Whereas football is the ultimate team sport. It is much easier to see the merits of one player in baseball than it is in football where weaknesses can be hidden in coverage or exploited by another team, etc.

Then you have to wait and see what falls into your lap. There is always a pitcher who goes out on the active market come June. Keep an ear to the ground and see what the price is

I would have signed Jeff Francis, but now that he's out, I'd sign Duchsherer. See if he can cut it. Pettitte is apparently working out like he is playing this yr, so I assume he might be coming back at some point next yr. And I would sign Andruw Jones

Grandersons' biggest problem has been the fact that he was a platoon player. Over the final 2 months, Long's adjustments allowed him to hit lefties well. If he can OPS over .700 vs lefties, then he will have a high .800OPS on the season. If he reverts to his prior splits, then he'll be a low .800OPS player

Votto also is still in his arb yrs

I think the Yanks are about a 92 win team. I think with an improvement from Jeter and ARod, we'll have a better offense. Our rotation will be weaker without Pettitte and the degree of that weakness will depend on Burnett and whoever we have fill out the #4 spot. And I think our pen is obviously stronger. And right now, I think the sox are about a 95-98 win team

He's got a great 1-2 punch. He has no third pitch. Moving him to the rotation would be abysmal for him

Well, I think the ownership saw that Cashman's plan of patience was putting them in serious doubt for 2011. I think they weathered the Lee storm pretty well seeing as the Yanks made it to the ALCS fighting him even though a slew of issues reared their heads last yr. But once Pettitte coming back looked in doubt and there was no other conceivable option out there, you needed to do something on the pitching end. I think Cashman needs to have complete control of the team. But the FO has its reasons and getting Soriano makes this team a lot better. But I hope they can work together to keep the peace. Cashman has been a very good GM and a patient one at that. But this deal works on so many levels for all three seasons that I think it needed to get done

Actually, if Soriano opts out and goes elsewhere, the Yankees get that 1st rounder plus a supp pick back for him. This contract shouldnt be considered in terms of draft issues, since the Rays were getting a 1st rounder for him anyways, and if Soriano went to the Angels, the Rays would have gotten a better pick than the one the Yankees are giving up