Gom

Piniero is ass. You guys seriously get excited about every bit player you sign. Britton is ass. Vizcaino is garbage. Nothing to write home about. Just because a girl tells you what time it is when you ask her doesn't mean she wants to sleep with you. Remember that.

His velocity was down, his control was off, and he's 43. Did you expect him to be dominant until he was 57 years old? He has to fall off, and realize that at his age, he will get worse, not better. You guys are going to see the same thing with Schilling very soon. I hope you hold on to him...and see how that will work out. Also, he is missing the first part of the season. This trade will look like the steal of the year if he doesn't start pitching until July.

Jackson, Britton sucks. We just got a warm body for the guy. ERA for relievers especially is one of the most misleading statistics. I'm just glad we got rid of Wright. A lot of the people here can't remember, the Yankees used to suck in the early 90's. Steinbrenner was banned, and Gene Michael took the team over. He built it from within. The Yankees won by creating homegrown players, making good trades, and supplanting them with needed pieces. As a franchise, we got away from it. It's good to see them go forward. Say what you want RSN. You put Jackson, Sanchez, and Ohlendorf in a package come July, and you can pretty much get any player available at the trade deadline. Dontrelle, Miguel Cabrera, Sheets, Peavy, Oswalt...etc., etc. Once teams fall out of the race, the Yankees are going to have some serious poker chips to use.

Exactly. Just like Joel Piniero. At least Britton is fat. Everyone loves fat baseball players.

LOL!

Maybe they should get Christy Mathewson. He's in the Hall of Fame too. Wait...he's dead. Never mind. Last year he was 2-1 versus the Red Sox with a 7.17 ERA. Last year against the Sox, in 21.1 innings, he gave up 17 runs on 26 hits, 3 of them homreuns with 16 walks. Yeah, he really dominated you guys. The fact that he won any game shows how pathetic your pitching was in those games. A malcontent who had no power at the end of last season due to a major injury to his wrist, where he gets the majority of his power from. A player who didn't want to switch positions to help the team, and was only interested in his own welfare. If healthy, his production will be missed, but his post-season production in NY [.260 BA, 2 HR in 81 AB] will not be missed. I don't know if you actually watch baseball and don't know the Yankees or simply don't comprehend it. 11 wins on the Yankees is not an accomplishment as a pitcher' date=' not when you have 30 starts. The fact that he averaged 4.6 innings a start and killed the bullpen made him more of a detriment than anything else. They burned the pen with him win or lose. At least with Randy Johnson [or Beckett in your case'] if they pitched well, they went deep into games. A major addition by subtraction. Mientkiewicz was brought in to play defense' date=' and give below average offensive contribution. His primary value is to keep Giambi OFF the field. Call me crazy, but I think the Yankees will finish in the top half of offensive production in the AL next year. Having below average production when you are getting above average offensive production from EVERY OTHER SPOT POSITION ON THE FIELD makes one below average production easier to swallow. Who knows? I like Melky, but unlike most Yankee fans, I'm not in love with him. Getting a fireballing lefty pitcher out of the pen to be your setup man is worth your fourth outfielder, in my opinion. That deal, however, hasn't been made yet.

So do I. For completely different reasons.

The deal is fine. It's more than we should have gotten. The only reason the Diamondbacks make the deal is because they need a draw after getting rid of Luis Gonzalez.

Piniero sucks. Period. Nothing to get excited about. It's like if us Yankee fans got all excited about Chris Britton.

The fact that the Yankees have cleared 22.4 million by trading away Randy Johnson [including luxury tax] and got ANYONE in return is amazing. The fact that Randy Johnson is not going to be ready for the start of the season is something else as well. The Yankees have shaved payroll, added depth to their bullpen, gotten younger, increased their overall depth. In return, they gave up a very quickly declining pitcher coming off of major back surgery who wouldn't be ready at the start of the season. Wait, they also acquired a few quality prospects as well. You can throw out any stats you want here. The truth is that Randy Johnson is no longer a good pitcher. Karstens, Rasner, Pavano [LOL!] or Igawa can be reasonably counted on to give the same/better results as RJ did last year, or to be reasonably expected this year. There is a point with players where their ability drops precipitously. I believe RJ is there. He had a 2.65 ERA in the two years before joining the Yankees. His two year average in NY is 4.36, with last year being 5.00. The Yankees, contrary to opinion here, have gotten better with this deal in 2007. They also have stockpiled an enormous amount of talent that can either be cultivated or traded away at the deadline. As for my fellow Yankee fans, don't size up Clemens just yet. Don't count your chicks before they hatch.

The thing about Wang is that he has that pitch. A signature pitch that makes him very difficult to hit. Like Rivera's cutter [ok, nowhere near that good], Hoffman's changeup, etc., he will be one to actually stay ahead of the curve and more than likely improve. He got better as the season went on, not the other way around.

LOL!

I couldn't agree with you more. The guy is VASTLY overrated.

I mainly agree with this statement. However, I feel that the Yankees, if they do trade Randy Johnson, will make a serious push for Clemens before the season begins. They will have the money previously allocated to Johnson, an opening in the rotation, his best friend just signed with the Yankees. For both teams, he will be looked upon as a savior if they win, but more so in New York, since we haven't won without him, but the Sox have. I think Clemens is the Boras of players. He goes where the money is. This is why I believe the EXACT OPPOSITE of what he says. By stating that he wants to end his career, go full circle and go back to the Sox, I believe it is nothing more than a ploy to get the Yankees to spit out more money, which they will. I can't see Cashman keeping his job if he loses Clemens to the Red Sox after losing Matsuzaka. I do not believe the Astros are serious bidders anymore, I can't see him pitching and losing his 473rd consecutive game in Houston by a score of 1-0. That must be tiring. I think all things considered even, he signs with Boston. I think the Yankees will offer him more money, due to an increased need as well as more funds to allocate. The question will be whether it will be enough. Knowing Clemens' behavior pattern, he ends up with the Yankees. I admit, a lot of this is just plain hope.

Pretty much everyone else on the Sox is pissed he's leaving, lol. I don't know how reliable these sources are though. Anyone have a more solid confirmation?

I actually think he'll end up in Boston. If I was going to bet, he's going to Beantown. In that case, I hope and pray that me and a700 are both wrong.

You guys fall in love with BABIP, and K/9 ratio. Admittedly, it is a very strong indicator, but you guys sometimes treat it as the holy grail. The art of pitching is deception. He isn't deceptive. However, his forte was brute power. He has lost that ability for the most part. His whip admittedly is lower than what his ERA predicates. However, he falls off drastically. He can be sailing for 4 innings, and completely falls apart in one inning, before the pen even gets a chance to warm up. This is a good trade for the Yankees in 2007. The Yankees WILL make the playoffs, with or without RJ. The players they get will help them in a trade for this year, either now, at the trade deadline, or will hopefully mature into major league pitchers. This also gives them an ability to increase their payroll since they shed some payroll in the process [Clemens?]. They have made the playoffs for 12 straight years, and will again next year. It's about who can help them win in the post-season as well as not tax their bullpen in the process. Randy Johnson did neither for the Yankees. After seeing the success rookies and journeyman have had in the post season, I would give someone else a chance. I can win 17 games with 7.5 runs of support. Randy Johnson will have a decent season in Arizona. I would rather see Igawa. He can't be any worse. The Yankees won in the post season in seasons past because of good starting pitching and relief. Their starters consistently gave them 7 innings. I remember Pettitte being the weak link innings-wise. Wright hurt more than he helped. Win or lose, he burned your pen. Johnson is heading in that direction. So is Mussina, but at least he is saavy enough to sail through a few more innings than RJ. The guy is no longer a pitcher you can depend on. Time to move him now, rather than just let him go for nothing at the end. It's not like the Yankees can't turn around and trade the same three players they get for a pitcher better than RJ right now. To tell you the truth, I don't even know what the hell the Diamondbacks are thinking. As for losing Sheffield, he wasn't around last season for the most part. So losing him is not an appreciable loss for the Yankees when comparing 2008 to 2007. Mirabelli had much more of an impact for your team than Sheffield did for ours. Plus, are any of you taking into consideration that he is coming off major back surgery, will not be available at the start of the season, and is 43? Exactly what should the Yankees look forward to if they keep this guy? You really think he will be as good (sic) as he was last year?

You guys are all nuts. Randy Johnson was brought in to win in the post-season. He has failed miserably. He has had back surgery and is not expected to start the season. Literally any pitcher in baseball could have had his record with 7.5 run support per game that he averaged last year. 17 wins for this guy is the most misleading stat in baseball outside of Beckett's wins last year. Both were horrible. At least Beckett had a chance, a realistic one, of being better. The Yankees finished 11 games ahead of the Sox. The signing of Drew (?), Matsuzaka, and Lugo do not make up the difference between them and the Yankees if you figure in the losses of Sheffield, Wright, and potentially Randy Johnson and the bringing in of Britton, Pettitte, and Igawa. The Yankees have gotten younger, shed some bloated contracts, and given themselves serious ammunition for a deadline deal [ala Abreu] next season. The Yankee strategy of signing stopgaps until their system improves over time is a no-brainer. Randy Johnson is a mediocre pitcher. One whose statistics can be easily replaced by any above average Triple A pitcher. Anyone who watched the Yankees last year can tell you that Karstens outpitched RJ. So give him a shot. Open up a spot for Clemens. Offer up half the farm for Zambrano if the Cubs fall out of it. Getting rid of RJ is a boon for the Yankees.

Trading Randy Johnson for the Yankees is a godsend if no cash is involved. Next year's free agent class is much better than this one, and the Yankees are showing some great foresight in signing good, older players to short deals to allow their system to develop within. Short deals for Mussina, Pettite, Abreu, etc., are just the band aid the Yankees need to retool their system. With a lot of big spenders having fired their bullets, next year's free agent class is going to be a turkey shoot for the Yankees and Mets.

David Ortiz. That would be so funny. Any player over 40. AND THE BIGGEST SHOCKER OF ALL..... DAVID ECKSTEIN!!! LOL!

Wow...I can't believe my comments went that far. First of all, signing RJ was lauded as a FANTASTIC move. Look at the numbers that RJ had the year before he came to the Yankees. I for one, thought he would be the missing piece. So did pretty much everyone. Now, hindsight is 20/20, but it sure looked like a great move. I would love to hear someone's logic to the contrary. Secondly, before any of this happens, if it does, I have come here numerous times saying I would love to have Zito, before the Matsuzaka sweepstakes. Also, I have given credit to the Sox numerous times for getting him. However, giving Drew 70 million was a mistake, and the fact that the guy failed his physical may save the Sox from a tremendous mistake. The fact that you call RJ a nightmare now is understandable. I don't believe you thought so beforehand. If you start saying so, then I will admit that I thought Beckett would be one of the worst trades the Red Sox have made in 20 years when they made it. As well as I thought that Renteria was going to completely bomb in Boston after being an All-Star caliber shortstop in the NL for years. Also Clement was going to suck royally, and Arroyo would be a first half Cy Young candidate, and Crisp would be an utter waste. Are you starting to get the picture? RJ was a great deal when it happened. It didn't pan out that way. The fact that the Yankees can get a prospect or two, or maybe even Linebrink, and not eat any salary, and use that money to get Zito is a fantastic move for the Yankees, if they can pull it off. Period.

I would rather have Zito than RJ. No doubt about it. If they can sign Zito if they trade RJ, then it is a great move(s) for the Empire.

Randy Johnson will finish with an ERA in the mid 3's next year in the national league. He will be a servicable pitcher for Arizona/San Diego. That does not change the fact that he is literally useless to the Yankees. If the Yankees can give away RJ without paying a penny, it's a good deal for the Yanks. Couple that with signing Zito, and the Yankees would have had a FANTASTIC offseason.