BillyWilliams

Can you please pass along what you are smoking?? You take sale over Paxton every day and twice on Sunday.............

You insist on "age related decline" and then give 2 examples of how it hasn't really hit CC or Happ yet. So it's really just wishing on your behalf until we see otherwise. Some guys are just able to reinvent themselves at the latter stages of their careers. One could argue that price has started to decline since 2015 and that porcello is the pitcher he has shown the past 2 seasons, which is a 4.25+ ERA pitcher........

I'd like to see him pitch for one of our opponents!

Not exactly sure what that has to do with where Yankee fans live, but, umm, ok.

I guess that's why they sell the most merchandise by far!

Yankee fans live everywhere...........

:)

Well, he'll probably be a wealthy idiot either which way.......

I realize that it's a small sample size of 150 innings in his career so far but his ERA is terrible, horrible WHIP the past 2 seasons. Every time I see him take the mound I feel like we are waving the white flag.

Reading is fundamental was obviously not part of his childhood. But I guess we shouldn't expect too much from the swamps of Jersey........

I certainly did express my concern with Paxton's health (and disappointment with the trade, I wanted Kluber). But I kept it on the Yankee thread about Paxton, ya know, kinda where it's supposed to be posted, not on the sox ST thread. As for Happ and CC, they put up almost the same ERA as price and had a much better ERA than porcello. While I certainly have health concerns with CC, Happ has been pretty consistent the past few years and performed very well for us after the trade despite your constant droning on and on about players "on the wrong side of prime".

Boston Red Sox: Chris Sale's shoulder. Sale clearly wasn't 100 percent at the end of last season, when his velocity was down in the postseason and Alex Cora skipped over him to start David Price on short rest in Game 5 of the World Series. Sale did pitch the final inning of that game (and struck out the side), so maybe all he needed was an offseason of rest. He is entering his walk year as well, which adds to the intrigue. Level of excitement: 5. Yes, 108 wins and a World Series title will keep the fans enthused -- even if Boston is a football city now. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25952980/one-thing-watch-spring-training-all-30-teams

I'm not a big fan of Cessa.

Predicting the Yankees' Opening Day Roster By Bryan Hoch MLB.com @BryanHoch Feb. 10th, 2019 As he prepares for his second season as the Yankees' manager, Aaron Boone believes that he has a complete team at his disposal, excited by the promise that he senses while surveying the potential 25-man roster that could go north for the March 28 season opener against the Orioles. "You look at the moves we've made this winter, it's hard to deny that we haven't significantly improved our club," Boone said. "We feel like we have a team capable of hopefully going out and competing for a championship." With pitchers and catchers set to report to Spring Training on Wednesday, here is MLB.com's early prediction for the Yankees' Opening Day roster: Catcher (2): Gary Sanchez, Austin Romine The Yankees have doubled and tripled down on Sanchez's future, refusing to believe that his underwhelming 2018 was representative of his talent. General manager Brian Cashman believes that Sanchez's performance will improve following left shoulder surgery performed in November. Romine provides a capable defender who contributed big knocks early in the season. First base (1): Luke Voit The hulking Voit is said to have a leg up over challenger Greg Bird coming into camp, by virtue of a terrific second half in which he hit an American League-high 14 homers from Aug. 24 through the end of the season. Only Christian Yelich, the eventual National League Most Valuable Player Award winner, homered more over that span. Bird needs to shake the injury bug and reclaim the form that thrilled the Bronx at the end of the 2015 season. Second base (1): Gleyber Torres Torres will continue to carry big expectations as he enters his second big league season, having ranked second among Major League rookies with 77 RBIs and fourth with 24 homers, good for third in the AL Rookie of the Year Award race. His numbers would have been even more impressive had he not missed most of July due to injury. A natural shortstop, the 22-year-old will be available to play on that side of the bag as well. Third base (1): Miguel Andujar One of the Yanks' most consistent performers from wire to wire, Andujar finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting, hitting .297 with 47 doubles, 27 homers and 92 RBIs. He led all big league rookies in hits (170), doubles, RBIs, extra-base hits (76) and multi-hit games (53). Although he struggled defensively, registering a Defensive Runs Saved of -25, there is belief that Andujar can develop into a solid defender at the hot corner. Shortstop (1): Troy Tulowitzki The Yanks promised Tulowitzki an opportunity to serve as their shortstop while they wait for Didi Gregorius to return this summer, so if Tulowitzki can make it through the spring healthy, he is the odds-on favorite to play regularly. That is not a given, as Tulowitzki has not played in a big league game since July 2017 due to ankle and foot injuries, though his athleticism impressed the club at a recent showcase. Outfield (5): Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton Cashman recently said that if the season was underway, he'd envision Gardner in left field, Hicks in center field and Judge in right field, with Stanton serving as the primary designated hitter. That leaves a reserve spot up for grabs, and it could go to Ellsbury, assuming he makes a full return from left hip surgery performed in August. If Ellsbury is not ready or can be traded, Clint Frazier has said that he intends to steal playing time from Gardner. Utility (1): DJ LeMahieu Boone has said that he wants to use LeMahieu as a super sub, seeing time at second base, third base and shortstop, with first base also a possibility. LeMahieu offers Gold Glove-caliber defense at second base, so in the event that Tulowitzki is unavailable, the Yanks could present a tight middle infield by sliding Torres to shortstop and using LeMahieu at second base. Tyler Wade's chances of making the roster would then improve. Starting pitchers (5): Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, CC Sabathia. Though the order can change, the Yankees' starting five appears to be set, barring injuries. The greatest concern will be Sabathia, who is coming off right knee surgery and an angioplasty as he prepares for his final big league season. Sabathia will also begin the year serving a five-game suspension for his actions in a game against the Rays last September, so the Yanks will likely carry an extra arm in the bullpen until the southpaw is reinstated. Relief pitchers (8): Dellin Betances, Zack Britton, Luis Cessa, Aroldis Chapman, Domingo German, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder, Adam Ottavino No bullpen ever recorded a higher strikeout-per-nine-innings ratio than the 2018 Yankees, who fanned 11.4 batters per nine innings. In fact, the Yanks have led the Majors in bullpen in that each of the last five seasons. This year promises to be no different after re-signing Britton and importing Ottavino to join Betances, Green and Holder in setting up for Chapman. German could fit as a long reliever, with Cessa (who is out of Minor League options) providing early-season depth due to Sabathia's suspension. Chance Adams, Tommy Kahnle and Jonathan Loaisiga are among those who could make this list with strong springs. Aware of the ongoing clamor for the Yankees to add Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner has advised fans to "keep an open mind that I'm never done until I'm done, and that's usually not until Opening Day." Barring a splash of that magnitude, the team still believes that it has upgraded over the squad that reached the 100-win mark in 2018. CATCHERS Gary Sanchez Austin Romine INFIELDERS Miguel Andujar Gleyber Torres Troy Tulowitzki Luke Voit OUTFIELDERS Jacoby Ellsbury Brett Gardner Aaron Hicks Aaron Judge Giancarlo Stanton UTILITY PLAYERS DJ LeMahieu STARTING PITCHERS Luis Severino James Paxton Masahiro Tanaka J.A. Happ CC Sabathia RELIEF PITCHERS Aroldis Chapman (closer) Dellin Betances Zack Britton Luis Cessa Domingo German Chad Green Jonathan Holder Adam Ottavino INJURED LIST Didi Gregorius, SS Ben Heller, RHP Jordan Montgomery, LHP Yankees' Opening Day roster prediction WWW.MLB.COM As he prepares for his second season as the Yankees' manager, Aaron Boone believes that he has a complete team at his disposal, excited by the promise that he senses while surveying the potential 25-man roster that could go north for the March 28 season opener against the Orioles."You look

2019 MLB projections are split on these teams WWW.MLB.COM If baseball carries any lesson from year to year, it's that few of us really know anything about what's going to happen in October before the first pitch is thrown in March. But with seven more weeks to go before Opening Day, predictions are all baseball fans have -- and

And without the bullet Lincoln had a great night at the theatre..........

https://www.12up.com/posts/6292572-jim-duquette-walks-back-manny-machado-yankees-rumor-in-major-way?view_source=leagues_page&view_medium=[mlb]

But haven't the sox and the dodgers greatly increased their percentages over the years?

Is that really a recent phenomenon? I believe that the Yanks % of their revenue spent on payroll hasn't really changed all that much throughout the years. It's the other teams that have increased theirs.

The gap was primarily reduced by other teams finally stepping up and spending more, not the Yanks spending less.........

So sox fans defending the bullpen doesn't get tiring?

Not really, the debt service cost hasn't really stopped the Yanks from having the top payroll in baseball for most of the time that henry has owned the sox.

My reply had to do with parity, not with the free agent market.

I find it hard to feel sorry for someone who gets paid millions to play a game .............

Why would he need to "spin" this? They weren't going to be competitive with Realmuto and from what I've read they got some pretty good prospects for him.