I see swisher being in the role like Luis Soho. Just fill in a spot when they need someone to get a day off. As long as he doesn't trip when moving side to side like luis did
we will need a backup IFer on the bench to take over Betemit's role, so u have to assume Cody Ransom is gonna be on the 25 man roster as the utility guy... we will also need a 4th OFer, so that leaves a role for either Swisher, Gardner or Melky... i would try Swisher out in CF in Spring Training & see if he can hack it there... he played 70 games in CF for the Chisox last year & committed 4 errors, not great but not terrible either... he only had 2 assists tho, compared to Melky's 7 assists (in 117 games)
just an observation:
The Red Sox made it to w/in a game of reaching & likely winning the WS last year... they had an injured & underperforming #3 hitter in Ortiz, an underperforming ace pitcher in Beckett, & mediocre middle relievers in the bullpen (Okajima was not the same as he was in '07)... now they will be getting back a healthy David Ortiz, an ace pitcher who seems to have a Cy Young calibre season every other season, a continually growing young lefty in Jon Lester, a more seasoned #3 guy in Dice-K, & have added 2 veteran arms in Smoltz & Penny who may be a key factor later in the season when injuries take hold of other starters.
the battle for the AL East is shaping up to be 1 of the best in years... it should be a very interesting season to say the least.
watching the MLB Network, Carl Pavano is now speaking out against the Yankees for "not standing by him" when he was injured & trying to battle back from it... Harold Reynolds & Joe Magrane were basically saying he should just keep his mouth shut & thank the Yankees for paying him the money he made while he was injured & move on... this guy's got some serious onions, i hope the Yankees pummel him when he comes back to pitch at YS w/the Indians next season & the fans show him exactly what they think of this ingrateful a-hole.
The Red Sox are adding Brad Penny too. They're making some really smart, inexpensive, high potential reward decisions. The Yankees need some moves like that too, not just the big FA signings. Swisher was an OK start.
Posted by TMS:
we will need a backup IFer on the bench to take over Betemit's role, so u have to assume Cody Ransom is gonna be on the 25 man roster as the utility guy... we will also need a 4th OFer, so that leaves a role for either Swisher, Gardner or Melky... i would try Swisher out in CF in Spring Training & see if he can hack it there... he played 70 games in CF for the Chisox last year & committed 4 errors, not great but not terrible either... he only had 2 assists tho, compared to Melky's 7 assists (in 117 games)
I haven't seen Swisher ever play CF but his CF fielding stats are all below average. http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/swishni01.shtml
Posted by Bonn1997:
The Red Sox are adding Brad Penny too. They're making some really smart, inexpensive, high potential reward decisions. The Yankees need some moves like that too, not just the big FA signings. Swisher was an OK start.
Agreed. We should concentrate on more specialized holes that need patching up, like center field. I think they should make a few trades now.
CF is not a position where many viable trade options exist for us right now... guys like DeJesus & McClouth are not gonna be traded by their respective teams unless we blow them away w/a package of prospects, & we're definitely not getting someone like Vernon Wells or Carlos Beltran in any trades either (division rival & cross town rival)... we really are limited in our options for CF, don't expect much to get done there... scrubs like Mike Cameron should be passed on at all costs... we would be much better served using those funds towards signing Andy P to a contract for next season.
Posted by TMS:
CF is not a position where many viable trade options exist for us right now... guys like DeJesus & McClouth are not gonna be traded by their respective teams unless we blow them away w/a package of prospects, & we're definitely not getting someone like Vernon Wells or Carlos Beltran in any trades either (division rival & cross town rival)... we really are limited in our options for CF, don't expect much to get done there... scrubs like Mike Cameron should be passed on at all costs... we would be much better served using those funds towards signing Andy P to a contract for next season.
Yeah, pretty true across the board, but you bring up another thought I wanted to address also about the league blaming us for buying up all the stars. We do indeed let a lot of good prospects go to the league don't we? They ask for a lot from us, so not only do we pay luxury for their butts, but we give up a lot also. Just wanted to rant on it.
yeah exactly, the hypocrisy from these small market teams is endless... they ask for the moon whenever we're in trade discussions w/them for any of their players, & yet when we choose to wait til they become free agents to acquire them, their teams have nothing but disdain for us in return, even as we pay for a significant portion of their operating costs out of all the revenue sharing dollars they collect as a result of the ticket sales & marketing capital that the Yankees generate for Major League Baseball.
getting back to the CF candidates, right now the top FA's on the market are Jim Edmonds & Jay Payton... Edmonds is completely washed up, & Payton is not even an upgrade over Melky... trying to think about possible trade options we could realistically target, & the only names i can come up with is maybe Rick Ankiel or Marlon Byrd... Ankiel is probably a stretch but maybe something can be done to get Byrd, he's a very good backup OFer who can hit for average & makes very little in salary... TEX needs pitching in the worst say so maybe a trade of 1 of our prospects & Melky for him is a possibility? him & Gardner would make an ideal platoon situation in CF next year... or maybe someone like Aaron Rowand might be a possibility if the Giants are looking to dump a contract to make room for someone like Manny? we could offer up Nady for him straight up, which will save them money next year & give back a good ML hitter, or we can offer up a package of Melky & another prospect.
[Edited by - TMS on 01-10-2009 8:07 PM]
If the Yankees were signing a bunch of injured players, the way the Red Sox are with Smoltz, Penny, Saito and Baldelli, they would be ridiculed beyond belief. But of course the Red Sox are going to be praised for making smart cost effective moves, regardless of risk.
Aside from trying to catch lightning in a bottle, I have no idea what the Red Sox are doing. Smoltz had major recontructive surgery on his shoulder and won't be available until June or July, if at all. Penny was a shell of his former self last year. Saito is 39 leaving the dreadful NL West to come to the strong AL East. And Baldelli can't go for more than 6 innings at a time. This is the epitome of the Red Sox trying to prove to everyone how much smarter they are than everybody else.
Posted by islesfan:
If the Yankees were signing a bunch of injured players, the way the Red Sox are with Smoltz, Penny, Saito and Baldelli, they would be ridiculed beyond belief. But of course the Red Sox are going to be praised for making smart cost effective moves, regardless of risk.
Aside from trying to catch lightning in a bottle, I have no idea what the Red Sox are doing. Smoltz had major recontructive surgery on his shoulder and won't be available until June or July, if at all. Penny was a shell of his former self last year. Saito is 39 leaving the dreadful NL West to come to the strong AL East. And Baldelli can't go for more than 6 innings at a time. This is the epitome of the Red Sox trying to prove to everyone how much smarter they are than everybody else.
the first part of what u said is definitely spot on... u'd be hearing you know who getting lambasted around here like there's no tomorrow if all we did was sign up Smoltz, Penny & Baldelli to small contracts this winter... forget about those ESPN bastids, they'd be having a field day second guessing the Yankees for not spending all that money that just came off the payroll.
but as for the moves themselves, i don't think the Red Sux had too many holes to fill anyway... like i pointed out before, they were w/in 1 game of getting to the WS & likely winning it w/some of their key players underperforming last season... they still have a very strong rotation of Beckett, Lester, Dice K, Wakefield & either Masterson or Buchholz to start the season, & now they have added 2 veteran arms who can pay off for them later in the season... even w/o those guys they're still in good shape... if anything, the only real hole they have right now is in middle relief & at the C spot... not sure if they're gonna re-sign Varitek & he's coming off a horrible season as it is.
Posted by TMS:
Posted by islesfan:
If the Yankees were signing a bunch of injured players, the way the Red Sox are with Smoltz, Penny, Saito and Baldelli, they would be ridiculed beyond belief. But of course the Red Sox are going to be praised for making smart cost effective moves, regardless of risk.
Aside from trying to catch lightning in a bottle, I have no idea what the Red Sox are doing. Smoltz had major recontructive surgery on his shoulder and won't be available until June or July, if at all. Penny was a shell of his former self last year. Saito is 39 leaving the dreadful NL West to come to the strong AL East. And Baldelli can't go for more than 6 innings at a time. This is the epitome of the Red Sox trying to prove to everyone how much smarter they are than everybody else.
the first part of what u said is definitely spot on... u'd be hearing you know who getting lambasted around here like there's no tomorrow if all we did was sign up Smoltz, Penny & Baldelli to small contracts this winter... forget about those ESPN bastids, they'd be having a field day second guessing the Yankees for not spending all that money that just came off the payroll.
but as for the moves themselves, i don't think the Red Sux had too many holes to fill anyway... like i pointed out before, they were w/in 1 game of getting to the WS & likely winning it w/some of their key players underperforming last season... they still have a very strong rotation of Beckett, Lester, Dice K, Wakefield & either Masterson or Buchholz to start the season, & now they have added 2 veteran arms who can pay off for them later in the season... even w/o those guys they're still in good shape... if anything, the only real hole they have right now is in middle relief & at the C spot... not sure if they're gonna re-sign Varitek & he's coming off a horrible season as it is.
I disagree about the Red Sox. I think this year they are more vulnerable than they have been in awhile. Beckett is on again off again but you can only bounce back so often. Lester is still young but a nice pitcher. Dice K is putting in his 3rd long season, including another round of WBC but this time in his home country. I think this year it starts taking it's toll. After that they need help on the back end of their rotation. Wakefield is an old standby with nobody to catch him and Buchholtz had an off year. I think they needed to sign an innings eater like Lowe. It looks like they're going to go with quantity and hope they have enough arms to fill the 4th and 5th starter spots.
Their lineup is also weaker than it's been in years with the loss of Manny for an entire season. Ortiz has predictably come down to earth without Manny hitting behind him and he's also showing lots of age. 3rd base is an issue with the oft injured Lowell. They don't have a catcher and the likely re-signing of Varitek is hardly a positive as he's coming off his worst season. Lowrie is still young and unproven and Elsbury was Melky like aside from SB's.
Right now I see them winning 88-90 games, which should get them within striking distance of 2nd place in the AL East and the wildcard.
Posted by TMS:
watching the MLB Network, Carl Pavano is now speaking out against the Yankees for "not standing by him" when he was injured & trying to battle back from it...
I suggest whopping his ass. That's a Hall of Fame disgraceful comment. He does nothing for us and he has the nerve to criticize management?
I would have had more respect for him if he would have just said: We'll I sucked for my whole career, save for my contract year --- the Yankees panicked and were stupid enough to give me that fat deal. I didnt put a gun to their head. Not my fault.
I dont care at all about the "small market" whining. Reminds me of republican propoganda. They are all millionaries many times over, if not billionaires. They pocket all the money and blame the Yankees for their imcompetence and greed.
Yankees are used as a red herring and their hope is that fans are stupid enough to not catch on and continue to buy their b.s. Hey, if nothing else they get a huge spike in tickets whenever the pinstripes come to down, so their fans can "boo" and use the Yankees as a misguided symbol of their own shortcomings. The problem is ESPN who co-signs that garbage and keeps the storyline going of the "evil empire"
[Edited by - sebstar on 01-13-2009 3:57 PM]
every good movie needs a good villain, so i guess the Yankees are being used to be that villain in baseball... whatever, if the rest of baseball needs the Yankees to provide that nemesis, then so be it... it's obviously bitterness & jealousy that drives the haters but let them have their pathetic outlets to vent their anger & frustration at... Yankee fans relish celebrating their success even more.
You guys catch this grandstanding NY assemblyman, subpoenaing Randy Levine so that he can grill the Yankees on their new Stadium financing? Apparently the Yankees, along with the Mets and I believe the Knicks, have deals with the city where they haven't been paying property taxes for decades. Even though the deal was voted on and passed a long time ago, this knucklehead is looking for some free publicity and is only seeking to talk to the Yankees about their new Stadium.
He was on the Michael Kay show earlier tonight and admitted that the Mets have the same exact deal but isn't going after them because 1) their stadium is "only" being financed for $800,000,000 and 2) because they responded to him when his office called asking a few questions. He basically said the Yankees were stealing from the public and robbing the city's schools and hospitals. What a tool.
oh gawd... i can't stand grandstanders like that... just like those idiots on Capitol Hill that all of a sudden became so involved in the steroids scandal, as if our country didn't have much bigger more pressing issues to worry about... this guy can go straight to hell w/the rest of his non-existent future career in politics.
We are apparently interested in Freddie Garcia as per Paul Heyman
he likely won't get much more than a minor league contract... i don't think he'll be a factor for us next season either way... if Swisher is dealt i see the Yankees bringing Andy back.
anybody think it's worth our while to bring in Andruw Jones on a 1 year contract? he's gonna be released by the Dodgers according to the MLB network & he's only 31... his skills have fallen off the table w/a quickness but i personally think it's worth our while to bring him in & give him a look during Spring Training... he looks like he's trimmed down some from the film they showed of him working out w/Chipper Jones in Atlanta.
Garcia and Jones would both be very low cost moves that could have a good reward and are worth getting.
