Off Topic · Yankees Talk thread (page 413)

latest on Brackman:

http://bombersbeat.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/02/brackman_i_think_his_mechanics.html

Brackman: "I think his mechanics are cleaner"

"He looked good. He was down in the zone all day today, which is encouraging. I think his mechanics are cleaner. He's had some physical ailments that he's had to deal with, and this is not an easy game, and when you're 6'11", there's a lot that can go on mechanically that shorter guys don't have to deal with. But I thought he looked really good today."

I think we're looking at Brackman more likely being another Jon Rauch, not another RJ. He's super intriguing, but man I think he's gotta a long way to go still. The injuries may always be an issue.

Damon signed w/Detroit for 1 year $8 mil

we signed Chan Ho Park for the bullpen - 1 yr. $1.2 mil with incentives

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=...

REPRESENT BIOTCH!!!

one thing i question w/these small signings... Cash said he had no room in the budget to accomodate Damon... he ends up signing for 1 year $8 mil w/the Tigers... Yanks end up spending $9 mil on signing Nick Johnson, Randy Winn & Chan Ho Park to 1 year deals... so in essence we did have the money to spend on Johnny Damon, we just chose to go a different direction, or Damon & Boras overplayed their hand & tried to play hardball w/the Yankees this is the result... either way, both parties lose... Damon could have & should have been a Yankee this year.

TMS wrote:one thing i question w/these small signings... Cash said he had no room in the budget to accomodate Damon... he ends up signing for 1 year $8 mil w/the Tigers... Yanks end up spending $9 mil on signing Nick Johnson, Randy Winn & Chan Ho Park to 1 year deals... so in essence we did have the money to spend on Johnny Damon, we just chose to go a different direction, or Damon & Boras overplayed their hand & tried to play hardball w/the Yankees this is the result... either way, both parties lose... Damon could have & should have been a Yankee this year.

They had a budget and have stuck to it. Before they signed Johnson they probably had that money available to sign Johnny, but his demands were much higher then. Obviously circumstances have changed now.

Not a Chan-Ho fan, but at those dollars why not. He had a great 2nd half last year and had been a lot better out of the pen. I think he turned down a much offer from the Phils earlier in the offseason

i don't mind the Chan Ho signing at all, dude was throwing great in the playoffs last year & his velocity was up in the mid-90s... still, it just leaves a sour taste in my mouth that Damon signed for essentially less money than we just spent on 2 guys to fill his role & another guy who we really didn't need... Scott Boras is the one to blame for the most part because if he weren't Johnny's agent i happen to think a 1 year deal w/incentives could have been worked out.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=...

holy crap, that didn't take long

I am definitely Pro Cash$, but this is the one signing that made me crigne a bit. I've never loved Johnson and now we have this to deal with all year long. I predict he will play fewer than 90 games.

Cervelli has a concussion. Hopefully he can recover and be an asset to us this year.

jusnice wrote:Cervelli has a concussion. Hopefully he can recover and be an asset to us this year.

he has a big role this season.

here's a revisit to an old question:

do we keep both hughes + joba in the pen.

cc + aj + vasquez + andy + #5 (mitre/gaudin)

it would give us a bullpen of park + robertson + marte + hughes + joba + mo with aceves and mitre/guadin as long relief. i mean that bullpen would be stizzacked.

djsunyc wrote:

jusnice wrote:Cervelli has a concussion. Hopefully he can recover and be an asset to us this year.

he has a big role this season.

here's a revisit to an old question:

do we keep both hughes + joba in the pen.

cc + aj + vasquez + andy + #5 (mitre/gaudin)

it would give us a bullpen of park + robertson + marte + hughes + joba + mo with aceves and mitre/guadin as long relief. i mean that bullpen would be stizzacked.

at some point the yanks need hughes and/or joba to be a full-fledged starter. andy is probably in his last yr, burnett has a history of injury problems, and mitre/gaudin are certainly not long term solutions. unless neither is up to par coming out of spring training, it would be a waste of time in my opinion to put both into the pen, esp for the whole year.

Caught some of the game yesterday -- Christian Garcia really looked nice after giving up that HR on a hanging slider. If this kid can finally stay healthy and pitch enough to the point where he finally builds up some arm strength and gets the velocity back up to where he's mid-90s consistently, with his other plus pitches and smooth mechanics, I think he's a top-of-the-rotation starter. Been reading about him for awhile now - yesterday may have only been the 2nd time I've seen him. When fully healthy, this guy might have better stuff than Hughes or Joba.

BigSm00th wrote:at some point the yanks need hughes and/or joba to be a full-fledged starter. andy is probably in his last yr, burnett has a history of injury problems, and mitre/gaudin are certainly not long term solutions. unless neither is up to par coming out of spring training, it would be a waste of time in my opinion to put both into the pen, esp for the whole year.

i agree but i also think that cliff lee will be a yankee next winter so that will solve one spot in the rotation.

djsunyc wrote:

jusnice wrote:Cervelli has a concussion. Hopefully he can recover and be an asset to us this year.

he has a big role this season.

here's a revisit to an old question:

do we keep both hughes + joba in the pen.

cc + aj + vasquez + andy + #5 (mitre/gaudin)

it would give us a bullpen of park + robertson + marte + hughes + joba + mo with aceves and mitre/guadin as long relief. i mean that bullpen would be stizzacked.

if the goal is a championship those guys go to the pen... that's the best possible team this year

Aroldis Chapman is looking dominant this Spring so far... scoreless in 4 innings with 5 K's & has been hitting triple digits in both appearances... still think we shoulda signed that kid up instead of trading for Javy Vazquez.

update on Austin Jackson:

http://www.freep.com/article/20100308/SPORTS02/3080369/1356/SPORTS/Austin-Jacksons-performance?-Grand

Posted: March 8, 2010
Austin Jackson's performance? Grand

BY JOHN LOWE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- You want patience from your leadoff hitter? On Sunday, Austin Jackson drew his fifth walk in his five exhibition games.

You want hits from your leadoff hitter? Jackson is 5-for-9 this spring.

You want speed from your leadoff hitter? Jackson stole third Sunday, and he almost beat out a grounder for an infield hit.

You want confidence in your leadoff hitter? You should have seen Jackson smile as he talked about what's coming up in the next few days.

On Tuesday, in a start against the Tigers, Washington right-hander Stephen Strasburg is scheduled for his unveiling. It will mark the first pro outing in spring training or the regular season for Strasburg, whom the Nationals made the first pick in last year's draft and then signed for $15.1 million, the most guaranteed money that a drafted player has received to turn pro.

Asked what it would be like to face Strasburg on Tuesday, Jackson said, "That would be fun because of all the things you hear about him. He's definitely a good pitcher. I know he has a real good fastball. It will be an interesting matchup."

On Wednesday, the Tigers will face the Yankees for the first time since the Yankees sent Jackson to the Tigers last December in the trade for Curtis Granderson.

"I won't try too hard against them or try to do too much," Jackson said. "I don't want to make it too difficult. If I start pressing, I'll be fighting against myself."

Jackson has spoken to Granderson once, during a previous spring training.

"I watched him coming up through the minors," Jackson said. "I never thought I'd be traded for him.

"I was compared to him a lot. That's an honor to be compared to somebody like that."

Now Jackson is due to replace Granderson in the Tigers' leadoff spot, presuming he shows this spring he can handle hitting atop the order.

Entering Sunday, Jackson's on-base percentage this spring was .727. On Sunday, he made clear that it's a .727 cleared for takeoff.

Re: Austin Jackson....Let's stop lamenting about what we don't have. The future is bright and let's talk about the team we DO have here. Hughes will be the 5th starter and that puts everyone else in the pen for now. We have a great pen and if Joba can solidify the set-up role, this team can be dominant. Jaavy will eat innings and provide the BP some rest so they can step in for CC, Andy, AJ when needed. We have a better rotation this year than last and our lineup will score plenty of runs. I'm excited.

I would also be OK if Aceves wins the 5th spot. I like him a lot.

jusnice wrote:Re: Austin Jackson....Let's stop lamenting about what we don't have. The future is bright and let's talk about the team we DO have here. Hughes will be the 5th starter and that puts everyone else in the pen for now. We have a great pen and if Joba can solidify the set-up role, this team can be dominant. Jaavy will eat innings and provide the BP some rest so they can step in for CC, Andy, AJ when needed. We have a better rotation this year than last and our lineup will score plenty of runs. I'm excited.

sorry, still don't like that Javy trade one bit... we didn't need to trade assets to get a #4 starter at that level money, there were other options out there we could have had for just a money contract... this would be like trading Danilo Gallinari for Zach Randolph this summer, what's the point? the guy didn't work out here the first time around, no use giving up young talent to bring him back especially when there are better FA's out there to be had at similar money... i'm not a Cashman hater but this move made no sense to me.

Austin Jackson, dunno if he's the real deal yet for sure yet but so far he's looking good in ST... obviously that can change during the regular season & i'm not lamenting his loss to bring in Granderson cuz i think he's going to be a nice addition for us.

jusnice wrote:I would also be OK if Aceves wins the 5th spot. I like him a lot.

i'd be fine w/that... Joba belongs in the bullpen anyway & Hughes has yet to prove himself in any other role except as a late inning reliever himself... eventually tho i'd like to build Hughes up to be our #5 guy & just groom Joba as our setup man & eventual successor to Mo.