jacksonianmarch

I highly doubt Soriano actually opts out. He gets closer money to be a setup man and then is the heir apparent to the most glamorous relief job in sports. Especially since the Yankees would probably be the only franchise with 2 HOFers coming out of their closers role and the best of all time exiting that role. That being said, I do not think this was a desperation move. If it was a desperation move, they would have set a new precedent for relievers with him. Instead, they actually paid less for Soriano than the Mets did for KRod, even though KRod was declining stuff wise going into FA. Now I know he isnt closing, but our rotation isnt getting fixed overnight, and if our middle relief wasnt stellar then we could hand the division to the Red Sox in April. Yankee games are now 7 innings long. With our offense and with CC, Hughes, and AJ, we should be in most games. If the game is close going into the late innings, there is a much better chance the Yanks are winning with Soriano than without him. It's a calculated move. We wanted Lee. He would have made Soriano moot since he and CC regularly would hand the ball off the Mo. But with one guy in the rotation capable of acting as his own relief corps, we didnt have that option. We still need another starter. I am cool with Nova in the 5 role, I think he will be much better than anyone thinks. But we cannot have Mitre or another rookie in the 4 role. We need one more. Soriano lessens the blow significantly, but without another starter, we're still starting the yr with a handicap

I think the supplemental pick went a long way to making the first rounder expendable. Plus, as long as the draft stays as is, the Yankees can continue to find great talent beyond round 1. Plus, they have really made their hay in the INTL market anyway

He's a better closer than Paps. He is the second best reliever in baseball, IMO, behind Mariano

BTW, after CC, playoff starts might only be 5 innings. With the built in games off, Soriano and Mo can go 2 innings and shorten games to 5 innings

As it stands right now, I do think the sox win the AL East. They have the innings eaters 1-3 and 2 guys who can give innings behind them in Beckett and DiceK. The Yankees have 2 guys who have a record of eating innings, one second yr starter and a bunch of ??s. Even though the Yankees pen is the best in baseball, their rotation will need an upgrade to be a world series contender

As it stands, right now, the Yankees will make the playoffs. Their addition to the rotation needs to come before the playoffs, which I am sure it will.

The Yankees are paying him closer money because they eventually think he will be closing games in NY. Also, seeing as our rotation took a hit with Pettitte leaving, we cannot afford to be losing 8th inning leads like we did last yr. This time around, 90-95% of our 7th inning leads will be wins. That's huge

Well, if we cannot go deep into games with our rotation, we'll convert all of our late game leads into wins. Makes sense. We just need one more starter by the time the playoffs start and we should be in good shape

Blown away by this. But I do love it. Any lead after 7 is a win pretty much and it locks up Soriano as our future closer as well when Mo hangs em up. And the rest of the pen wasnt too bad either with Robertson, Joba, Feliciano and Logan as well as Marte out there. I think this might indeed mean Joba moves back to the rotation, which I dont agree with.

An interesting food for though, which players has the better yr, Lackey or Beckett? I go Beckett, as I thought Lackey's stuff looked pretty pedestrian throughout last yr

And for BSN, I doubt the aging process of the team is in his mind at all. Actually, I think what might make veterans a little less excited about staying is the youth movement that is coming. Especially if the Yanks strike out on a big time deal for a pitcher over the next 5-6 months. Regardless, my hope was that the Yanks could land Lee and keep this ride going. Without Lee and Pettitte, we still can be a wild card and probably will be the wild card. But injecting some youth into the picture isnt a bad thing

Ben Sheets was coming off elbow and shoulder surgery. Not a good parallel there

If I were CC, I'd opt out too to get more cash. But CC has said he will honor the contract. We'll see if he lives up to his word

I think he and Burnett have similar seasons. Runs of maddening inconsistency mixed in with runs of dominance. I think Beckett has the higher injury potential, though. My guess on Beckett is a 15 win season with an ERA around 4.20

Ah, you are correct. If they are saving for Pujols, though, my guess is they wouldnt want to exercise it

They were in it through August, but they also have an impetus to move him at the first sign of a downturn. First of all, he turns 36 in April. Second, he's in the final yr of his contract, which means they might be willing to sell on him. And third, I doubt he is brought back to StL with the Cards needing to scrounge and save every penny for a massive Pujols contract. If the Cards stay in it, then I agree, they wont deal him off. But if the Reds are 5 games up come July 1, then I think they might decide it is time to get something back for the guy

This wouldnt be AS bad if this were next yr. By next yr, we will need to have a spot open as we'll have a minor league system brimming with talent at the AAA level who have AAA experience. As it stands, I love our pitching farm, but our best prospects either will start the yr in AAA or AA (Brackman, Betances, Banuelos). Our middle of the rotation prospects like Phelps, Noesi, and Mitchell have some AAA experience from last yr, but arent ready to start the yr in the Bronx. Nova is ready, but if you are breaking a rookie into a rotation, you dont want to have him paired with another rookie in the rotation. Mitre has shown he isnt a rotation option, but is darn good out of the pen as a swing guy. As it stands right now, we do have an ace in CC. We have one kid who should improve on an impressive 2010 in Hughes. And we have AJ, who had a lost season marred by his pitching coach going AWOL and his wife leaving him. I do think that Hughes improves and AJ gets back to being a 4ERA pitcher with runs of dominance and maddening inconsistency. But that isnt enough. In the AL East, you need to go at least 4 deep in pitchers with the ability to give innings. We have 3 guys who can give inning, and one with a major question mark after a lost season in Burnett. My guess is that we sign 2 reclamation projects with the hopes that one of them can fill a spot while also having Nova start out in the #5 role. And then we troll the waters for a pitcher on the block. I would look long and hard at Carpenter if the Cards fall out of it again. He's in his final season, he's older and shouldnt cost the farm and would be a nice shot in the arm to pair with CC

CC has said multiple times that he will not opt out. We'll see if he keeps his word

So, now that Pettitte is out of the picture, I would assume Duchsherer is brought in as a starter and we sign maybe Francis as well to round out the top 5, knowing that one of the above will be injured at some point in 2011

Pettitte has chosen to stay home for now and will not be starting 2011 with the Yankees. There remains the possibility of a midseason reunion, but as of right now, he will not be a Yankee in 2011. This is worst case scenario for the Yanks

I agree there. He's not the long term answer, but not the worst stopgap measure

Apparently the Yankees are moving on Justin Duchsherer for either a SP or RP role. Not a bad contingency signing. When healthy, he's very good (1.14WHIP). The problem is, for about 2.5 yrs now, he hasnt been healthy

The Yankees should have been in the 15 range last yr, and I said as much. When you have arguably the best offensive players in the entire minors, depth at a priority position and one of the deeper pitching farms, you shouldnt be in the back third. This yr, 5th is warranted.

They never should have been 22nd last yr. See BA never gives talent it's due, it's all about performance. And when it comes to prospects, I'll take the 5 tool athlete who hasn't put it together yet over the one tool athlete who is playing over his head any day of the week.