I hope we don't sign Ron Mahay. LH reliever who was good alst year but has sucked for most of his career. Plus he's gonna be 37/38 next year. And he pitched for Atlanta. That's the trifecta of what hasn't worked for this team when signing relievers. Olney thinks we're interested.
Jeremy Affeldt would be my choice... he's a hard throwing, big lefty that can give us some added depth
My only concern with Affeldt was he wasn't that great against lefties and that seems to be what we're going for here. Mahay was definitely tough on lefties last year.
The guy I did want to sign for the pen was David Riske.
Riske's not a bad option but he just turned down a $2.9 million dollar player option to stay in KC... i wouldn't wanna sign any lefty reliever for more than $2.5 mil that can only be effective against lefties... Affeldt can get both righties & lefties out & had a pretty respectable BAA last year of .226, so we can basically use him in Farnsworth's current role & ship his useless butt outta town.
Posted by TMS:
Riske's not a bad option but he just turned down a $2.9 million dollar player option to stay in KC... i wouldn't wanna sign any lefty reliever for more than $2.5 mil that can only be effective against lefties... Affeldt can get both righties & lefties out & had a pretty respectable BAA last year of .226, so we can basically use him in Farnsworth's current role & ship his useless butt outta town.
Agreed.
Are we going to go after Santana or not? The red sucks are going to try to get him.
Posted by 4949:
Are we going to go after Santana or not? The red sucks are going to try to get him.
if the Red Sox are willing to give up Ellsbury & either Bucholtz or Lester for him, then they'll probably get him... i seriously doubt they would, but then i also didn't think they'd give up Hanley Ramirez & Anibal Sanchez for Josh Beckett either... nothing we could do about it if the Red Sox are gonna pull out all the stops to get Santana, cuz there's no way Cashman is dealing Joba away... unless the Yankees trump the Red Sox offer w/a package of Cano & Hughes, or Cano & Wang, or Wang & Hughes that is.
Ahhhhhh, I'd really hate to let Wang go to. A lot of people want to strengthen the bullpen better, but I think we need to get some solid starting pitching in NYY camp, to help take some pressure off' the bullpen. Someone who can put some innings up and hold a lead. Traditionally, we always had a good starter who could keep it close, (and even if not ahead) until the seventh, we'd have a middle man who could bridge it to Mo. I think with this scenario, we could create something like that once again. But I see Santana being the key to this.
We got solid position players already and now can delv into key pieces to fix the few holes we have left over. Especially if we lose someone like Cano. When I realized that we'd be losing A-Rod, that would be a majority of our power offense right there, I knew it would be very hard to let him go. Especially seeing that Sheffield is gone and who knows what's going to happen with the Giambi sweet deal (steroids) thing. And also Hediki and Posada arent really feared power hitters (but very good complitments at the plate), but you see my point on the weakening of our power offense. When A-Rod came crawling back, I knew that was going to be the deal right there and it worked out. So at least we have a guy who can get us through the regular season with the numbers. And I know, the playoffs are still a question with him, but I also think sooner or later he's gonna show up and when he does, it will be lights out. We've maintained our power intact and the few good hitters that go with them and this is why I can see this Yankees being able to make a trade of someone like Cano, for Santana and maybe a few farm guys. Our pitching, I think we need to hang onto, hang onto what we have in Joba the hut, Hughes, with adding Santana. We would maintain and we would definately strengthen our rotation with that addition. But trading pitching for pitching I think would be a mistake at this point. If anyone, I'd be willing to give up Farnsworth with Cano. That one I'd be okay with.
So overall, we've maintained our power, with some good hitters and some depth. With the above scenario, we would be able to maintain our pen and still add' Santan with little sacrifice. Of course, I'm not the GM, but if they tried it something like this way, we would come out much better next year. I also think Joba the hut and Hughes, with a season under their belt will be a big improvement. How could anyone think not? They throw hard as hell. Especially Joba the hut. I think he'll make a great set-up man, unless they actually do try to put him into the starting line-up. But that would depend on whether he can last at least 7 a game. We'll see what happens. As far as Santana, if we' can 't get him, then I hope the Mets get him in NY. I know I'm going to be very popular with that one, but it's better than seeing red sucks get him. Getting Mo, A-Rod and Posada back really helped or position tremendously. It now comes down to how much more Hank wants to spend. I really like this owner. Very business minded, but seems to be more centered. A sign of a good balanced owner. Let's hope so.
Mets aren't getting him unless they give up Reyes, which i doubt they'd do... forget about Farnsworth, he's not an attractive piece in any deal... i agree w/u about being willing to trade Cano for Santana... a true ace starting pitcher who's a horse like that is worth a young Allstar 2B everytime... we'd probably have to throw in some of our prospects to make the deal though... Horne, Tabata, Jackson, Sanchez & Betances are possibilities there.
as for not wanting to give up Wang to get pitching, there are only 5 rotation spots right now... if you trade for Santana & Andy P decides to come back, you have your top 2 guys right there... you then have Joba, Hughes & Kennedy or Mussina to fill the last 3 rotation slots... in that scenario you can easily afford to give up Wang... as much of a horse as he is, Johan throws even more innings & has proven to be more durable over his career... if instead of Wang they decide they're willing to part w/Kennedy or Hughes, i'd be OK with that too, but if ur also trading Cano in the same deal i probably don't do it... i'd throw in Melky & a couple of our minor leaguers for him though if Hughes or Kennedy were being dealt.
Posted by VDesai:
The guy I did want to sign for the pen was David Riske.
http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1196142348126760.xml&coll=1
The Yankees have "definitely reached out" to free agent right-hander David Riske, said his agent Nez Balelo. Riske, 31, was 1-4 with a 2.45 ERA in 69 2/3 innings with the Kansas City Royals in 2007.
random factoid:
Joba & Ian Kennedy were both drafted using the compensatory draft picks the Yankees recieved after offering Tom Gordon arbitration before he left to sign w/the Phils.
boy, are we lucky the Phils signed him!
(we also got Phil Hughes from the compensatory pick from the Astros when they signed him too)
pretty crazy how things work out sometimes.
if the yanks get santana for simply cabrera, either hughes or kennedy, and a prospect, you have to make the trade in my opinion. i like hughes more than kennedy, but if it has to be hughes b/c of the cowardly red sox and theo epstein driving the market up, so be it.
if you can go with johan, chien-ming, pettitte (hoping he re-signs), hughes/kennedy, and mussina (with humberto sanchez, brackman, or ohlendorf coming up) and keep joba in the pen (7-8-9 game set match w/ joba and mo), i like the direction of this team.
Posted by TMS:
random factoid:
Joba & Ian Kennedy were both drafted using the compensatory draft picks the Yankees recieved after offering Tom Gordon arbitration before he left to sign w/the Phils.
boy, are we lucky the Phils signed him!
(we also got Phil Hughes from the compensatory pick from the Astros when they signed him too)
pretty crazy how things work out sometimes.
Where did you get this info from?
Posted by kam77:
Posted by TMS:
random factoid:
Joba & Ian Kennedy were both drafted using the compensatory draft picks the Yankees recieved after offering Tom Gordon arbitration before he left to sign w/the Phils.
boy, are we lucky the Phils signed him!
(we also got Phil Hughes from the compensatory pick from the Astros when they signed him too)
pretty crazy how things work out sometimes.
Where did you get this info from?
it's a fact that's been reported on various media outlets, but here's 1 sample:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/sports/baseball/03yankees.html?ex=1354338000&en=ec2c7f758d83ffc5&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
The Twins would risk losing Santana, who may block any midseason effort to deal him, but if he leaves as a free agent after 2008, they would get draft picks as compensation. Those can often prove to be valuable; when the Yankees lost reliever Tom Gordon after the 2005 season, they used their compensatory picks on pitchers Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy.
Top free agents are classified as Type A (the top 20 percent at their position as determined by the Elias Sports Bureau), Type B (between 21 and 40 percent at his position). If a Type A free agent who had been offered arbitration signs with another team, the team receives two first-round draft picks the following June – either a first- or second-round pick of the new team (depending on a team's record the previous season) and a “sandwich” pick between the first and second rounds. Type B free agents earn just a “sandwich” pick.
http://baseball.about.com/od/majorleague...So in essense a first round pick (from a good team) or 2nd round pick (from a bad team) and a sandwich pick (league awarded) for losing a "Type A" free agent to another team. The Yanks used to routinely give away draft picks because they'd sign so many big ticket guys. But recently they've been a bit more steadfast and it has paid off big time in the draft. Not re-signing Gordon was massive.
Had the Yanks lost A-Rod, Mariano, Posada or Pettitte this offseason they would've been compensated accordingly. But they re-signed all of them. And so far they haven't signed any other team's type A guys, so they will keep their first rounder.
yep, holding onto our own FA's was key... this way we fill our positions & don't end up giving away any picks either... the only guy left to sign is Luis Vizcaino... & by trading for Johan they would get to keep their picks as well... good thing Isiah's not GMing the Yanks, otherwise all those picks would have been as good as gone in exchange for Bartolo Colon or Carlos Delgado.
It's another reason it was good to not sign Mike Lowell.
Posted by kam77:
Was Gordon type A?
Yes, that's why the got a 1st rounder for him (Kennedy) and a sandwich pick (Chamberlain).
The Red Sox I think actually got the Yankees pick, because the Yankees signed Damon from them. So they actually had 2 first rounders and a sandwich pick. If the Yanks had not signed Damon, they would've kept their own first rounder in addition to the comp pick.
PASS on the Viz:
Mattingly, Vizcaino talk
Still no definitive news on Johan Santana, though various reports are that the Red Sox are close to getting him. We'll update as solid news comes in.
Don Mattingly is here in one of his first official capacities as Dodgers bench coach. Friendly as always, and happy to say hello to all his Yankees associates. Probably a bit of an adjustment for him coming to one of these things as a Dodger after a life in pinstripes.
I talked to Luis Vizcaino's agent, Bean Stringfellow, a little while ago. He said of Vizcaino: "He made a point to me that he does like New York." However, he said nothing is imminent and that he is also talking to the Mets, White Sox, Royals and Dodgers, along with the Yankees. Stringfellow also believes that Vizcaino can get a 3-4 year contract along the lines of Scott Linebrink, who inked a four-year, $19-million pact with the White Sox. At those dollars, the Yankees are likely to be out.
A source indicated that Chien-Ming Wang's agent, Alan Nero, was interested in talking to the Yankees about a long-term contract. However, the Yankees told Nero to make them an opening offer. That was the end of any discussions.
2 more Notes- the Yanks designated Andy Phillips for assignment (they needed space on their 40 man roster). But I think he could be back for spring training. Also they traded Tyler Clippard for reliever Jonothan Albalajedo from the Nats. He split time between AAA and the majors last year but had very good numbers. I guess they are looking to build bullpen depth, and Clip sort of fell down the ladder of prospects.
