Guess the Halladay question is off the board - various websites reporting that Halladay is going to the Phillies with Cliff Lee going to the Mariners...glad to see him out of the AL.
Lackey's pretty good. His career ERA is not that different from CC's. (He's not as good as CC but I think you're underestimating him.) He would really help Boston. What do you think would be overpaying?
jusnice wrote:Guess the Halladay question is off the board - various websites reporting that Halladay is going to the Phillies with Cliff Lee going to the Mariners...glad to see him out of the AL.
Agreed. I think the asking price was too high if it involved the four prospects that were previously mentioned. Halladay is amazing but he'll be 33 next season. Getting him shouldn't require more assets than getting Johan at age 29 would have taken.
MATSUI TO THE ANGELS ON A ONE YEAR DEAL WORTH 6.5M........
I guess the recent flurry of activity makes Matt Holiday the best available FA. With the subtraction of Damon and Matsui, Yanks have enough salray available under their newly imposed budget restraints to sign him for a 6 year deal.
BTW - this whole Halladay deal just doesn't make any sense. Sure getting Halliday makes Philly a better team, but losing Lee and prospects certainly doesn't make them any better. I just don't get it.
kam77 wrote:jimimou wrote:MATSUI TO THE ANGELS ON A ONE YEAR DEAL WORTH 6.5M........
I mean for that amount of money for what this guy can do for you as a steady DH behind A-Rod (nevermind what he's done for us so far in a Yankees uniform), they couldn't have brought him back??? WTF man???? This guy wanted half the amount of money Damon wants. $6.5 million bucks is chump change for a guy with his type of bat in our stadium..And apparently unlike Damon, he wasn't even looking for a long-term deal -- he signed a one-year deal for Christ's Sake. And with one of our top playoff competitors potentially...Cash, I love ya buddy and think you do a hell of a job but you blew this one not bringing Godzilla back. You can't convince me that we'll be as good a team rotating designated hitters in that DH role over having a steady 25+/100+ lefthanded guy like Matsui hitting 5th protecting A-Rod in the order -- this dude was a huge weapon playing half his games in a ballpark like Yankee Stadium. They showed him absolutely no love right from the end of the season and he bolted (from everything I've read, he wanted to stay here). Maybe w/o this guy's performance in the WS we don't win it all...Huge mistake not retaining him if you ask me. For $6.5 mil. on a one year deal, Matsui's TREMENDOUS value..No-brainer value...We pioneered this guy - he was a Yankee man. I never thought they'd let him get away. And his demands apparently weren't even unreasonable..I'm so pissed off about this I could spit..
They better get this kid Chapman...I read this morning that the Red Sox already made the first offer, somewhere in the $15 - 15.5 mil. dollar range. I mean they already got Lackey - are we gonna let them get this kid Chapman too??? Come on now...Wake up Yankees! STAY AGGRESSIVE Goddamnit! Everything was great so far with Granderson and Pettitte, but now you get the feeling they're getting cheap and complacent. Gotta continue to build, not add then subtract. You don't wanna get involved in any of this Roy Halladay stuff for what Toronto was asking for (Hughes or Joba, Montero, etc.), Ok no problem, I can understand that but Jesus, bring Matsui back at least. How was that not a priority?? Someone tell me how we're suddenly a better team than last year having added Granderson then losing Matsui and probably Damon. That's one step ahead, two steps back...
i think the Damon deal will get done, what other teams realistically still view Damon as a fulltime OF that will give him better money than what Abreu got in Anaheim? i dunno if there are many out there... Yanks didn't wanna engage Matsui until they got that settled, but Matsui didn't wanna wait... i think we had to assume he wasn't gonna be back after the Granderson deal got done... it sucks to see him go on such a cheap deal but i don't see any way he was gonna be here next year logistics-wise, & Matsui probably knew that too.
my concern is more that we're still short in the starting rotation... Wang's future here now uncertain & both Joba & Hughes not yet proven options as fulltime starters leaves us thin at the back end of our rotation... getting Halladay out of our division was huge, especially that BOS didn't get their filthy grubby paws on him... getting the Cuban kid would be great but he's not really a proven option yet either, so we need to sign a reliable & proven veteran arm to eat up some innings for us... i know Garland isn't a sexy name but he will give us quality innings & win us double digit games & will be a very cheap option... Wang would be a great option if not for his uncertain injury status for next season... i think the Yanks are still trying to engage him in a contract discussion.
maybe Cashman is trying to save every possible million on deals w/Wang & Damon so he can & garner some payroll flexibility to make 1 more big splash move this offseason (Rookie suggested Matt Holliday)? Cashman's been given a payroll budget to operate under by the ownership & they need to cut salary from last season to accomodate the pay raises for the existing contracts as well.
Just read a report we've contacted Bay's agent. BTW - The Yankees can easily beat the Card's 130M for Holliday if they want to that is.
Beckett, Lackey & Lester as the Red Sux big 3 looks strong
Rookie wrote:Just read a report we've contacted Bay's agent. BTW - The Yankees can easily beat the Card's 130M for Holliday if they want to that is.
i'd rather steal Bay away from Boston if they're gonna make a splash signing, but i think we should just re-sign Damon & go after some rotation & bullpen depth & sign that Cuban kid... even if he bombs out as a starter, we can still convert him into a powerful setup lefty which are real hard to come by these days.
TMS wrote:Rookie wrote:Just read a report we've contacted Bay's agent. BTW - The Yankees can easily beat the Card's 130M for Holliday if they want to that is.
i'd rather steal Bay away from Boston if they're gonna make a splash signing, but i think we should just re-sign Damon & go after some rotation & bullpen depth & sign that Cuban kid... even if he bombs out as a starter, we can still convert him into a powerful setup lefty which are real hard to come by these days.
Resign Damon for a year, maybe 2. Then next offseason, go for Crawford. Move Melky to right field. Make Swisher the DH if he can prove he's a 30 homerun hitter and close to 100 RBI this coming season. Unless if he's a free agent too?
Either way, an outfield of Crawford, Granderson and Melky is very very good.
Either that, or just sign Damon for a year, then after next season, get Crawford and have Swisher and Posada platoon. Make Cervelli the backup until you're ready to make Posada the fulltime DH.
Nick Swisher is off the books in 2011. I would consider that though. Sign Damon for this year, see how that goes. Then have Posoda and Swisher platoon DH in 2011.
Damon won't sign on a 1 year deal unless we offer him some outrageous amount like $13-15 mil... Jermaine Dye might be a suitable 1 year option to play some part time in the OF & DH until Crawford hits the open market, but i do prefer that general plan over signing someone like Bay or Holliday longterm.
Tell you the truth, I really didn't care much for bring Damon back. I felt like that even before we even got to the playoffs last year..I appreciate everything he did but the fact remains he's older now, a total shakebox in LF and to me, he became expendable as soon as we got Curtis Granderson on board (Grandy's an even better top-of-the-order guy, 5-6 years younger than Damon -- he's an All-Star right in his prime and should blow up even more playing everyday at Yankee Stadium now - this dude could potentially be a 30/30 guy easily, maybe even a 40/40 guy. Even with that type of pop, I still see Grandy as a top-of-the-order guy and a damn good one). To me they really needed Matsui back. He was a perfect fit here. With Granderson & Jeter up top to start things off, a big bat to hit behind and protect A-Rod was really the only obvious piece left to add (in our case, bring back). I really think they dropped the ball not making Godzilla a priority, I'm sorry..
Moving on, I guess I wouldn't mind a Jermaine Dye pick-up short-term on a reasonable deal. Good call T. Another guy I might look at is Jack Cust who was just non-tendered by the As last Saturday. A lot of Ks and a pretty low BA but the man can mash the ball -- he did hit 26, 33 & 25 HRs his last 3 seasons, some of that coming as a part-time player. Switch-hitter with a lot of pop who gets his share of walks too (last 3 seasons: 105, 111, 93 BBs). Like Hideki, here's another guy who could thrive in Yankee Stadium (most of his damage does come against right-handed pitching). Maybe he could be a short-term solution w/o breaking the bank...And they absolutely have to get this kid Aroldis Chapman in pinstripes. I don't care what they have to do and I don't even care if he's not major-league ready yet (if he has to start in AAA at first before making the jump, so be it). I want this guy. Come up with a better offer than the $15.5 million Theo Epstein just offered him..
Damon's defense has been horrid, i agree w/u on that front, but i don't think Granderson's a better top of the order guy than Damon to tell u the truth... Damon can hit lefties at a decent clip while Granderson is horrible vs. lefty pitching, & we typically see a lot of lefty pitching in home games cuz of our short porch & lefty heavy lineup.
i suggested Jermaine Dye cuz i think he'd likely accept a 1 or 2 year deal & he's a consistent & proven ML bat that would likely fit in nicely w/our current roster personality wise & i think he could handle the pressure of playing in NY well, plus he can play a little RF in the short porch in YS & still has a pretty good arm.
Jack Cust has some nice pop but he is a strikeout waiting to happen & we just added a high strikeout guy in Granderson as it is, so i'm a little wary of adding someone like that to the lineup... if u could get him on the cheap as a power bat off the bench to take over Hinske's place, that wouldn't be a bad option but he doesn't really play a defensive position, so he'd be a part time DH or pinch hitter only & i think Cash is looking for guys who can play multiple roles because he wants to give Girardi the option of resting guys like Jorge, ARod, etc. during the course of the season & having that DH role be more of a rotation rather than assign one player exclusively as his fulltime DH.
Cust is very similar to Swisher, but can't play defense. Not enthralled with having two of those guys, plus Granderson, who strikes out a ton. I'm generally ok w/ guys who K but have good plate discipline overall, but not if you end up having to bunch them up in the order, which very well could happen in this situation.
I say go with Damon as your primary DH- he brings a good deal of versatility at the plate. Sees a lot of pitches, good at the top of the order, a little bit of pop and speed. The good thing is while his defense is horrid- the guy is at least ambulatory and can play about 30-40 games in left, allowing Jorge Posada to stay in the lineup more often (especially when Burnett pitches), and making us a better overall team.
I did hate to let Matsui go though. Mostly for sentimental reasons. Will never forget that WS performance. Great Yankee.
curious, would you rather sign Sheets or wait till next year and go after Cliff Lee? Also, would you rather sign Matt Holliday or wait till next year and go after Crawford? Personally, I'd rather get Crawford and Lee next year
Rookie wrote:curious, would you rather sign Sheets or wait till next year and go after Cliff Lee? Also, would you rather sign Matt Holliday or wait till next year and go after Crawford? Personally, I'd rather get Crawford and Lee next year
i think Sheets is way too much of an injury risk... unless we get him for some extremely lowball 1 year contract w/incentives type deal, i don't think we should bother... i'd rather sign a veteran like Garland for a year & then target Lee as a FA in 2011
& no thanks to Matt Holliday, his numbers took a significant dive when he switched over from the Rockies to face AL pitching while playing for OAK, then his #'s spiked right back up when he returned to the NL with the Cards... i dunno if he's got the NY baseball player type either for that matter, that huge defensive gaffe he made last year in the playoffs cost his team game 2 of the NLDS... i'd rather sign a stopgap 1 year solution to play partime OF/DH & then target Crawford the following season also... we got enough power bats in the lineup, we should target more team defense, speed & of course, pitching from here on out.
