moonslav59

For many of these positions, average is way better than 2023. BTW, Story is way better than average on D.

We were like 5th to 10th in most categories until September. We ended up around 11th in runs and OPS. We need some health and things to go right. We can't just focus on losing JT, Duvall & Dugo: we also lost Kike, Arroyo and other poor hitters.

Kimmi left.

There are many pacifists in the US, too.

Foulke is a hero. No regrets. Plus, it was only a 3 year deal.

Like Red, you totally don't understand who I am or my motives. I have no wish to meet with someone like Red. He's a troll and continually lies about me and my position. There would be nothing to gain or enjoy. I'm not sure why you and others are trying to stir things back up. I've put Red on ignore and am trying to avoid talking about him and his lies and misrepresentations. Just leave well enough alone and mind your own business.

A while ago, I posted a breakdown of the best, somewhat long, stretches of good to excellent starting pitching by 6 of our current pitchers: Bello, Gio, Pivetta, Crawford, Houck and to a lesser extent Whitlock. There is some reason to think, they could stretch this out to a full season of good pitching. my worry is that we are hoping than 3-4 of them can all do it at the same time, while a 1-2 of the others don't suck. It just seems like way too much to hope for. Maybe the rest of the team can take up the slack. Maybe improved defense can help the pitching do better. (Maybe the pitching wasn't as bad as we thought, because our D sucked, last year.) Maybe, maybe, maybe...

He pitched more innings in another season, earlier than 2004, even counting the playoffs. He routinely pitched near or over 80 high leverage innings. It is more likely, a few years of this took its toll, than one season or 3 game stretch. I agree, but who can ever know, for sure?

I have never said we should not have signed Foulke, Lackey or Price, even in hindsight. In fact, I have said the opposite. I was fine with the Price signing and said it was "necessary." I make a comment about how his whole body of work "might not have been worth it," as he was a part of the Betts trade to cut salary and minimized our return, and it's like I'm saying it was an awful signing. It wasn't, and I didn't say it was. I defended the Lackey signing. I think the 3 years of Foulke is not in the same boat as 5 for Lackey and 7 for Price. 1 great year that led to a ring, and without him we don't win, for sure, out of 3 is not bad. 3 out of 5 seasons for Lackey, with only one bad year was a good signing. 2 years out of 7 for Price is questionable, especially since it's not a clear point that we could not have won it all in 2018, without him. (My guess is, we'd have signed someone else.) I'm sure glad we had him in 2018, and he helped us win more games than lose in a couple other seasons, but that contract was a drain. To me, there is no clear answer on Price. I was fine with us signing him, and we won a ring with him. That may or may not outweigh the rest. I have no firm yes or no answer on him.

"Not sure" is not the same as saying they weren't worth it. For one thing, I'm not sure we couldn't win without Price, or Sale, for that matter. Lackey was more important, IMO, to the ring won than Price. I'm not sure we could have won, without him. I also just showed how he had 3 good seasons out of 5 and 1 okay one, and was the one most worth it out of Price, Lackey and Foulke, because he did give more than just a ring boost season. I do tend to think more about rings, but I'm not a black & white type of person. I enjoy rings and consistent winning teams, but if I had to choose, yes, I'd still take 1 ring and 9 last place finishes over 10 second place seasons and no rings. It's not a slam dunk position in my mind.

Why do you care that I have no desire to meet with an "alpha" troll? I have the guy on ignore, now. It's like you guys are trying to stir it back up, again. I won't get into a long list, but the guy doubles and triples down on lies about me and my positions. Feel free to meet with him, yourself. Don't try to lecture me about what I should or should not do. (And, you can stop lying, too.)

As always, the Yanks look good on paper, when everyone is healthy and playing a full season. There is absolutely no reason to expect that to happen. In fact, one could or maybe even should expect more and more missed time, as so many key players are at the end of prime or post-prime. Almost all their key players are aging. Judge turns 32, soon, and plays a very demanding position, especially at Yankee Stadium. Since 2018, he has missed more than 30% of possible games played in 4 out of 6 seasons. Stanton is now 34. His OPS has decline, every season, since 2019 and was .695 in 2023. (.729 from 2022-2023.) He's played over 110 games, once since 2018. LeMahieu turns 36 in July. He has a .720 OPS, over the last 3 years. He's no longer the .922 hitter he was the first 2 years w NYY. He's also has not played over 136 games, the last 2 years. Rizzo turns 35 in August. He's had a couple decent years since his last big year in 2019, but he's a .768 first baseman in the last 3 years. His games played have steadily declined from 157>153>146>141>130>92. Cole turns 34 in September. He's been a horse over the last 7 seasons. Nobody has started more games, in the last 7 years (206.) There is no reason to think that changes, but he is getting older. Rodon is 31. It's well-documented, that this guy is injury prone. Stroman turns 33 in May. He has a pretty decent history of not missing too many starts, but he's only gone more than 139 IP, once in 6 years (twice in 8 years), and that was just 179 IP in 2021. Kahnle turns 35 in August. Nestor is only 28, but he's only had one good, full season (2022.) The Yanks have a lot of big question marks, as do many teams. They won 82 games, last year, and it took a late season collapse by the Sox for them to not finish in last place. They've made some huge moves, unlike the Sox, but the Soto trade hurt them in other areas, and they lost a couple other key players, too.

It's been over 70 for a week straight, here near Houston, so I guess some spring fever is setting in. I think there will be a lot of enjoyable things to watch. I do think it is wishful thinking on our rotation, but I've got that wrong a few times over the years, and maybe 2024 is the next one. I like our line-up. Our defense should be better- maybe near average. Our pen looks good and pretty deep. It's just the rotation that looks bad. I know: it's like saying you are in excellent health, except for the brain tumor.

The holes in the rotation, SP'er depth and farm SP'ers has been well documented and dissected. I think we all agree that it is our highest need area. I'd say it is our #1 and #2 weakness, in terms of needing at least 2 SP'ers before any other position. The rest of the team may have some areas in question, but all have some sort of hope- now and or in the future. Catcher: Wong and McGuire are not a top 15 tándem in MLB, but they are not awful and still have room to improve. The bigger hope is with the future. Teel could end up being the best Sox homegrown catcher since Fisk. Even if we did not have Teel, the remaining catching prospects look pretty good, too: Joh Garcia (19 y/o) Nathan Hickey (24 and may not stick as a catcher) Brooks Brannon (19 and has a lot to prove) Stephen Scott may never make the bigs and has Roberto Perez & T Heineman ahead of him. 1B: may have the least organization depth of any non pitching position, but it also has our best 24 or younger MLB player in Casas. Dalbec seems doomed to be a AAAA player. Jordan has to prove a lot. Kavadas has all but lost any hopes. EValdez may be given a 1Bman mitt, despite being just 5-8. 2B: Grissom looks like a very promising 2Bman, but still has to show he belongs. I like his chances. Reyes is a decent back-up and EValdez and Yorke offer some long term depth, despite some defensive limitations. (Story may move back to 2B, someday.) SS: Story is a great defender, but he needs to bring his bat back to respectability. Mayer is a top 50 prospect, who did not really jump up, last season, maybe due to injury. I'm a huge Cespedes fan, but he is far away. Rafaela is a decent SS, but is better in CF. Zanetello may end up in the OF. Romero needs to show growth, this year. Paulino is a super longshot, and is not really a SS. DHam could be DFA'd. Alcantara may end up at 2B. 3B: Devers has a lot of years left on his deal. He may end up at 1B or DH, someday, but not likely this year or next. Meidroth offers some hope. OF: We seem loaded with LF'er at the big league level (Yoshida, O'Neill, Duran & Refsnyder,) but we have some young ML ready or near ML ready OF'ers knocking loudly on the door: Rafaela: Great D but questionable O. He is best in CF. Abreu: Good O promise and okay D. He could play CF and maybe CF. Anthony (19) might be our most promising prospect and can play CF. Bleis (19) lost a year to injury, but he still has a lot of promise. Castro (20) is still promising. (Others mentioned as maybe moving to OF.) So, our 3 weakest non pitching positions: catcher, OF and middle IF seem have our best prospects.

Except this is not what you put in quotation marks.

Further proof of your reading things into my statements that just are not there. Go ahead and make that your new signature line.

Be my guest. I avoid trolls. To each his own.

He still is. He started 13 games, last year- a career high.

Monty is not enough. Yes, a possible future SS for a top 30 SP;er.

We all remember the Pedro, Schilling, Beckett and Sale trades for top pitchers and rings, but another great trade that brought us a SP'er and great catcher was the Slocumb for DLowe & VTek trade. Another was Andrew Miller for ERod (a prospect, at the time.) Jalen Beeks for Eovaldi Going back farther: Mike Paxton, Rick Wise & others for Eckersley (later converted to RP by OAK) Other trades for SP'ers had mixed results: Cespedes for Porcello Iggy & Montas for Peavy Lackey for Kelly (later converted to the pen) & Allen Craig Allen Webster & Rubby DLR for Wade Miley A trip down memory lane... Brady Anderson & Curt Schilling for Mike Biddicker Reggie Smith & Ken Tatum for Rick Wise & Bernie Carbo Ken Harrelson, Dick Ellsworth & Juan Pizarro for Sonny Siebert & others, John Curtis, Lynn McGlothen & Mike Garman for Reggie Cleveland & Diego Segui Ken Brett, Billy C, Jim Lonborg, & Others for Marty Pattin, Lew Krausse & Tommy Harper Juan Benitez, Steve Barr and Craig Skok for Fergie Jenkins Steve Lyons for Tom Seaver Fred Lynn & Steve Renko for Frank Tanana & Joe Rudi

Yes, Workman & Hembree.

Here's another one" To LAD: Yorke and Jansen To MIA: Mayer, Rafaela, Wikelman & Grove To BOS: Garrett & Puk With some of the savings from the Jansen trade, maybe we can then sign Monty. I'd even sub Duran for Rafaela & Wikelman, and maybe they add Berti.

I don't disagree, but I think we could compete in 2024 with Luzardo or Garrett AND Monty.

I think 3 years of Luzardo is about equal to 5 years of Garrett. BTV has... 65.4 Luzardo (91 value-26 salary) value: 30 per season 57.7 Garrett (103 value-46 salary) value: 21 per season 44.4 Mayer We'd need to add: 22.2 Houck 21.5 Bleis 15.6 Teel 13.8 Rafaela Would you do Mayer & Rafaela for Garrett? Mayer & Bleis for Luzardo?

I've never been high on Duran, but if he just repeats 2023 over a full season, his "upside" is better than ECab's, who has never really done squat. (2022 was not too bad, but not Duran good.)