jacksonianmarch

Scutaro was damaged goods from the start. His range was underrated, but his arm was pathetic. And he did have shoulder surgery, right? If he did, then that could be the reason why the sox seem so eager to deal him

I watch as many games as I can. At least 100 per yr and probably more like 130. And I have never seen a player's defense be so far blown out of proportion. His patented jump throw is gawked at by the ESPN heads, but he typically needs to do it because he doesnt have the range to get there and set and throw. Dont get me wrong, I love Jeter. He is exactly the kind of personality that a winning team needs, which is why I wouldnt mind having him back. But his D is so bad that no matter how good he does offensively, he still hurts the team. If we could move him to 2b or to 3b, then I think he could be well worth it. But as a SS without a real place to move him to, he is dead weight

The thing about the sox playing it that way is that it sets up AdGon to have all the chips. I highly, highly doubt the sox are going to cave to every demand on AdGon. But to put all your eggs in that basket one year in advance is a bit problematic, don't you think? The Yankees did it in 2008 because they were going to offer CC the largest pitcher's contract in history. They knew they werent gonna get outbid. But if someone comes to the AdGon table with 8yrs $200 million (Tex deal plus inflation) do the sox overbid? I dont think the sox are "holding out" for AdGon. I think they have what they determine to be fair market value for a player and arent about to pay anything more than that. Now it is noble, but as Brian Cashman said, you dont get any awards for spending the perfect amount on a deal. You get awards for what the product is on the field. If Theo isnt willing to step out of his box at some point, then he might come out of next yr shorthanded as well. This is why I think the sox might fill one of their needs via trade. At least at that point, you are assuming another contract that is already known and you are giving up prospects that you are well aware of what they can do. This might be the better route for Theo. Since paying 1-2 mil more per yr seems to be against his MO, even if it is absolutely necessary to land a needed player

I have said this before and I will say it again. The Yankees in 2011 will be better without Derek Jeter as their SS. If he doesnt have a serious rebound offensively, he will not be worth the negative defensively. I do think he ends up hitting again, but not in the .330 range that he would need to offset his statuesque range. I think Eduardo Nunez has the range to handle the position and has the stick to at least replicate what Jeter did last yr in terms of OPS. If we get a .710OPS with a positive UZR, then I'd take it.

Andy Pettitte is leaning towards returning. I would assume another incentive laden deal would be in the works. But it sounds like we have one glaring hole in that #2 spot in the rotation. If Lee comes in and fills it, you'd be hard pressed to find a better rotation. 1. Sabathia 2. Lee 3. Hughes 4. Pettitte 5. Burnett Man, and if Burnett ever found it again, that rotation would be unreal

I agree, it is not a good business move.

Well, we had a post-season slot wrapped up when Girardi pretty much tanked from Mid August to the end of the yr

The sox rotation is good enough for them to win, even with a lineup that drops off considerably after Ortiz. I used the nail in the coffin reference when your best hitters went down with injury one after another, and I was right. This time around, I will wait to see how they do in the rest of the period. And I will also wait to see what we do. If NYY keeps Jeter and Mo and gets Lee, then the division will be all but wrapped up

Vazquez has a gentleman's agreement in place with the Yankees that he will not accept. I think the Yankees factored in a Type A payment for Javy, but now as a Type B, there is no hindrance to Javy. In terms of Wood, he would likely get a pay cut into the $8 million range after 2 up and down yrs in Cleveland, which on a 1 yr deal, I think the Yankees would gladly take. Once again, as a Type B, teams arent afraid to sign you due to draft pick comp. As a Type A, a lot of teams shy away from the second tier guys

The Yankees will offer arbitration to Javy Vazquez and Kerry Wood. They will not offer arbitration to any of their other free agents. Vazquez has agreed not to accept arb as a move to allow the Yankees to snag a pick for him

A Brian Schneider type does them no good. Salty cannot hit lefties, he has borne that out time and time again. If I were the sox, I would buck up and renew Vtek at $3 mil for 2011 and platoon him and Salty. That would at least get you into the .750OPS range which would be above average in the bigs from the offensive side of things.

This is absolutely f***ing humongous from a Yankee perspective. VMart was the #2 offensive catcher in the game, and obviously had some defensive shortcomings. The thing is, all internal candidates have those same shortcomings without the offensive upside. This is a gigantic step down in the lineup. If Beltre leaves and the sox are shut out on the Werth front, then 2011 will truly be a bridge yr

They wouldn't beat 4/50? Man, that's a huge loss

Assuming that any deal for AdGon would include a $20 mil per yr extension, then that would be a massive increase in payroll.

The Yankees would love to have him, but dont really need him. We already have a pretty young OF that works pretty well. So giving up a prospect load to maybe improve our OF is not a good venture when our rotation needs the biggest boost

He was injured prior to 2009, it really took him all of 2009 and most of 2010 to get healthy, then he got hurt again at the end of the season. I dont think he becomes an iron man, but with the DH spot being more open than yrs past, I expect him to get a bit more mileage. I am definitely of the belief that ARod will rebound in 2011. In terms of his contract, no objection here. That was stupid

28 a yr? That's stupid. I think the Rangers are in a lot worse financial straits than they let on. A lot of their capital and future revenue (in terms of their TV network) went into the sale. I doubt they come forth and offer 1/3 to 1/4 their entire team salary to one player

No, I dont. I could care less about 3,000 hits. Really, I would rather see a guy with a career .900+OPS than 3,000 hits. I am one of those radical Yankee fans who would love to see Jeter go off into the sunset with another team. He isnt an outfielder, yet. He cannot move to 3b. He doesnt hit enough to DH. And his range has slowed to a point where he is a liability at SS. I would rather have Eduardo Nunez starting at SS in 2011 than Jeter. I think Nunez can easily match the .710OPS of Jeter's in 2011 and can run circles around him in the IF. If I HAD to retain him, then I would offer a 3yr $30 mil contract and leave it out there until Christmas. If he didnt take it, then I would pare it down to 2/20 and see when he accepts it

I actually think ARod is going to show that his decline was vastly overrated. First of all, ARod wasnt healthy through the first 2 months of the season. He looked like he was made of stone. Eventually, they worked out his hip and he started moving a lot better. Shortly after that came the 600HR chase where he acted like a child, again, and sucked for 3 weeks before he finally hit the big homer. Then, when all seemed right in the world, he hurt his calf and was on the shelf again. That being said, 30HR and 115RBI isnt bad for a guy with such a topsy turvy season. With no milestones ahead and presumably much more DH time, I bet ARod gets back over .900OPS with 35HR and another 110RBI+ season. His bat didnt slow this past yr, probably due to the residual steroid effect, but his bat looked good. I thought his lower half gave him a good amount of trouble which he should be healthy for this yr