The latest on the Yankees, who signed Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal yesterday…
- GM Brian Cashman told John Harper of the New York Daily News that he talked to Derek Jeter's agent, Casey Close, to clarify comments he made earlier in the week about a potential move to the outfield for the captain.
- As Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out, both the Yankees and the Rangers pursued Cliff Lee aggressively, then "gambled on a former Cy Young winner who has been devastated by shoulder injuries in recent years." But Colon is a back-of-the-rotation arm, not a true alternative to Lee. Brandon Webb, the Rangers' new addition, is no sure thing either.
- The Yankees are upbeat about the chances that Andy Pettitte returns for another season, according to Sherman. They're still considering free agents like Justin Duchscherer and Jeremy Bonderman, though.
- The Yankees believe history is a 'pull' for Pettitte, Sherman writes. He can progress through Yankees records and add to his Hall of Fame case if he plays more.
- Manager Joe Girardi showed the kind of sway he has with the Yankees when he voted in favor of adding Rafael Soriano, according to Sherman.
Why would Girardi vote against acquiring Soriano? Its just money after all!
I think the gamble of Duchscherer is worth it, he’d be the 5th starter and would keep Mitre or Nova out of a regular rotation spot. A rotation of CC, Pettite, Hughes, Burnett, and Duchscherer isn’t bad at all. It’s at least enough to get to the trade deadline and see what’s out there (possibly Carmona or Liriano?)
why are yankee fans determined to keep Nova out of the rotation.. as a young kid last year he held his own after being thrown in
I agree, I want to see Nova in competition for the 5th spot with the rest of the guys if Pettite returns. CC, Burnett, Pettite, Hughes, and ?. If they sign Duchscherer then they have a good set of guys competing for the spot.
Nova has no secondary pitches that are truly developed.
Probably for the same reason the Sox probably aren’t gonna see Jose Iglesias starting at SS this year. He’s a solid player but time in the minors would probably be more beneficial to him at this point.
way to compare apples and bowling balls there champ..
Yankees have a pitching need and they have a 23 year old kid with potential..maybe not ace potential. but solid back of the rotation potential.
Where as Iglesias had a .315 OBP in AA, granted he was only 20 and has a lot of time and room to grow, he CLEARLY isn’t ready for the big leagues… add to that the sox have 2 capable SS’s already on the roster, and your comparison makes even less sense..good job
Well he actually might help us with the BIG LEADS, since he has phenomenal defensive skills! With that being said he is not ready for the Big Leagues…
yes, great defensively and could become a good player, but the point is he’s not ready.
I hope you noticed I was pointing out that you wrote “big leads”. It was my subtle way of telling you, you had the wrong word in your previous statement without making you look bad… That def flew your head!! haha its a good thing I like you!
subtlety has never been my strong suit
to your credit, i could’ve been more clear. I know that these aren’t parallel situations by any means but i used this example for lack of a better one. Where Nova could help the yankees, it would probably be in their best interest to keep him in the minors for a while longer.
I know Iglesias is not yet MLB ready but Marco Scutaro is penciled in as the starting SS and Iglesias would most likely be an improvement over him. Nova could help the yankees but if they are thinking long term, they should keep him in the minors.
not to keep arguing but
2011 Scutaro >>>>>>>>>>> 2011 Iglesias
He’s just not offensively developed yet, he would absolutely struggle at the major league level if he was brought up prematurely
Fair enough on Iglesias and Scutaro. But that doesn’t change the fact that Nova would be a gamble for the yankees. He could use some more time to develop and thats why it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for the yankees to sign a back of the rotation guy.
I don’t think they can keep him out. Most teams carry at least six starters and Pettitte is going to be 39 this year.
I am a Yankee fan who liked Nova. If he can just learn to pitch with runners on and not let it snowball he should be a good pitcher. Same thing with freaking Burnett.
difference is age and maturity.. nova is 23 with a chance to figure things like that out..
Burnett is 33 and people are still waiting for him to figure it out
It’s not that Burnett hasn’t figured it out, it’s that he’s been inconsistent.
we’re not, or at least im not i want him there to start the year, im confident nova can be a backend starter at this point.
Aside from the poster above. I think most Yanks fans want Nova in the rotation. Nova is pretty much guaranteed a spot next year even if Pettitte had returned.
I think it goes, and Cashman said so before:
If Pettitte then Nova @ the 5 spot.
If no Pettitte then Nova @ either of the 4 or 5 plus some other pick up or they might go with two rookies, Nova plus one of Phelps/Noesi/Mitchell w/ a long shot for Brackman or Warren. Also add Colon to that mist now.
Let’s see if the Twins try to buy the rest of his arbitration years by signing Liriano to an extension like the Reds did for Cueto. I hear they have some stud pitchers in the minors that are almost ML ready like Kyle Gibson. Maybe they will make him (Liriano) available. They also have Brian Duensing they can work into their rotation
They will not make Liriano available. They’re looking hard to acquire another ace, not sell their only one.
Gibson fell into the late early rounds because he had a fresh arm injury. Pre-injury he was projected to go 5-10th overall. He’s no Liriano, make no mistake. He doesn’t even project to be an ace. His ceiling is closer to a #2-3 guy. He’s just getting press because he’s progressed so quickly through the minors, and is our next best option for rotation help.
At present, there is nobody in our farm who has real ace potential. Hence, the Twins will do everything they can to keep Liriano around.
Sorry, Liriano’s not going anywhere. Your days of treating the Twins like your personal farm system are long gone.
so you’re saying that I wasted 100 bucks on a Yankees Joe Mauer Jersey??? :S
Can’t hurt as much as those who spent 100 bucks on a Yankees Cliff Lee jersey
Actually Yankee jerseys don’t have names on the back so all jerseys will be of use at some point.
They still have the Royals to use for a farm system
Yeah, Liriano is the Twins best pitcher by a mile, under affordable team control for 2 more years on a contending team, so he’s really not going anywhere.
On the other hand, Carmona’s probably available now if you want him. Which I’m not really sure you do.
I guess Justin Duchscherer is the best of the rest but once has he only over 100 innings in a season or made more that 20 starts. His best seasons were coming out of the bullpen.
Bartolo Colon isn’t a true alternative to Cliff Lee. I’m so glad the reporter took the time to point that one out.
“add to his Hall of Fame case if he plays more”
That’s a good laugh.
Hall of Fame Case of Beer?
no Cy youngs, no top 10 in mvp voting, 3.88 career era… hmm yea, doesn’t look likely..
he had a good career, but he’s no hall of famer
I don’t think it would matter if Pettitte had an era of 3.00 and 3,000 strikeouts. Considering the reluctance to let even suspected steroid users in and Pettitte has admitted to using HGH, I’d say his chances are close to nil.
perhaps, although the way in which he handled it as lead to far less criticisms than players who continue to deny. . the dark cloud of performance enhancing drugs doesn’t hover over Andy for some reason
I think that’s probably the biggest reason he may not get in. He and Clemens willbe linked hand in hand in the steroid controversy. The only way he MIGHT get them to overlook that is because he was the only one that admitted to it DESPITE the obvious fact that he was more compelled to admit it. I don’t know if Tejada qualifies for HOF consideration or not (HR total as a SS)? All the others who were caught after they started testing (Manny) or publicly denied or avoided answering once they were exposed will have a tougher time than Pettitte probably despite being way more deserving (Clemens, Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro).
Can I just state how f*C^ed my chilldhood favorites have turned out? I forver have to listen to my dad gloat how the players of his era “did it the right way”. I feel more cheated than the 1st time I went to an out of town Hooters and found out there was no truth in advertising. 🙁
YANKEE GREAT POSTSEASON RESUME MYSTIQUE INTANGIBLES GAMER!!!
Also to add to your point, considering he’s an admitted user of HGH, his case for the Hall is all but shot. He’s a solid player, a great middle of the rotation pitcher, but by all rights, he shouldn’t have a snowball’s chance of making the Hall.
Mystique and Aura are dancers at a nightclub.
The nightclub that is Andy Pettitte’s Hall of Fame candidacy! YANKEE LEGEND FIRST BALLOT OMG
Never say never. If he didn’t make the Hall I believe I could be wrong, he would have the highest amount of wins with more than 100 games separating his wins from his losses. And he could still do it for I’ll say two more years and possibly finish with 270 wins. By the way the most wins in post season is huge. I’m not saying first ballot at all. I’m just saying never say never.
I meant highest amount of wins with more than 100 games separating his wins from his losses from any pitcher not in the Hall.
(cough) Tom Glavine (atchu) 3.54 ERA (gazoontite) weaker division
Some good and some meaningless stats (*) that still have weight with those that vote:
*240 wins. 3.75 FIP mostly in the AL East, *Most post-season wins, *5 WS rings, *Most wins (+22 over the #2 guy) than any other pitcher since 1996.
Off the top I can’t think of any lefty that has had 250 wins and wasn’t voted into the HOF. Jamie Moyer won’t do it because his numbers aren’t as good.
It just shows how the hall of fame has become a joke. It should be the best of the best. Some of the guys who make it are good players but not worthy of being in the hof
Two weeks ago I went to Copperstown and while I was walking through the Hall I thought there were more players from before 1950 that didn’t belong than after 1950.
There are so many “Rabbit Marranville” (r.i.p) types voted in because of old teammates on the Vets Committee. I had a job that made mean learn about all these guys. Some of them (some Yanks included) don’t even measure up to guys like Fred McGriff or Keith Hernandez, guys who have been overlooked in our generation (some for good reasons).
I’m still leading the Albert “Joey” Belle campaign though.
You can certainly make a case for him. I think he should have won the MVP in ’95. He wasn’t well liked and that will hurt him and make it harder for you. If he didn’t get hurt he’d be a lock. I believe he did it clean too. I’m going to get back to you about him and look into it more. I’ve always been a Lefty O’doul guy myself.
Ryan Sandberg and Roberto Alomar come to mind
Best 2nd baseman of all time? Ya definitely shouldn’t be in the hall of fame
which one they’re both good but by no means hall of famers they should be in the hall of the very good
A 2b w/ a great slash line of.300/.371/.443 w/ 200 + hrs, 2,700+ hits and 450 SB belongs in the HOF.
Defensively, he may not have deserved most of those GG he got (according to WAR) but his overall WAR from 1988-2004 is more than any other 2B in baseball.
In fact, take a step fwd and look at ALL 2B from 1900-2004 and the only 2B with higher WARs are Collins, Morgan, Lajoie, Gehringer, Carew, Fritsch and Whitaker and all are in the HOF except for Whitaker. He clearly was the best 2B of the 90’s.
The thing for me is this. I’m not saying Alomar wasn’t a good player and I’m not saying Sandberg wasn’t a good player. My thing however is this. Everyone says that numbers are important and you have to have the numbers to get into the HOF compare Sandberg’s and Alomar’s numbers to Don Mattingly’s numbers. They are pretty much about even in every category except WS Alomar has 2, Sandberg and Mattingly have none. So what i don’t get is why those 2 get in no questions asked they “deserve to be there” but when it comes to Mattingly oh no there is no way he should even be considered. He played 2 seasons less than Sandberg and I think 3 less than Alomar. I just don’t understand what the other 2 did that is so great to deserve to be there. None of them have 3,000 hits or 500 homeruns or any other stat that really jumps out or seperates them from the others. That’s just my opinion though.
Mattingly’s my doggie, but he’s 1B and Alomar is a 2B who had a much longer and defined career. That’s why Alomar belongs in and Mattingly will always fall short. When you can get that kind of offense from a 2B it’s simply a rarity.
Getting Soriano was a no brainer which proves even more how bad Cashman has got to go. What happened in the 1996-2001 era when the Yankees turned every game into a 6 inning game? I believe they were in 5 World Series and won 4 of them and were a out away from becoming back to back to back to back World Champions.
people like you.
Well come talk to me when the Yankees win again based on this formula and now giving Crawford, Lee or any of the other high priced free agents the moon. It worked before and it can work again.
I’m not a yankee fan. but thanks. They still don’t have the bullpen to shorten the games to 6 innings, and Soriano wasn’t a great signing considering they gave up a 1st round draft pick..
luckily the yanks offense has the ability to over come its weaknesses.
They gave up a Thirty First pick, not a First pick. People overvalue late draft picks a bit too much. Are you saying an all star reliever for 3 years (if healthy that is) is not worth a thirty first overall pick, who probably won’t even make the majors in 3 years?
Sorry dude. Rafael Soriano > 1st rnd pick.
Question. If the Red Sox (who also tried to sign Soriano) needed a closer and the team that had him signed for the next 3 years @ 3/$30 asked for…Rizzo and Junichi Tazawa (before the surgery) would you not make that deal?
“Question. If the Red Sox (who also tried to sign Soriano) needed a closer and the team that had him signed for the next 3 years @ 3/$30 asked for…Rizzo and Junichi Tazawa (before the surgery) would you not make that deal? ”
Wait, I’m not sure I understand the question. The wording’s a bit…odd. Are you asking if one would forgo acquiring Rizzo and Tazawa in favor of signing Soriano?
If that’s the question, heck no I wouldn’t. Before his injury, Tazawa was tearing up the mid to high minors (98 IP, 2.57 ERA, 1.082 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 3..38 K/BB) and his limited AAA innings were even better. If he comes back from TJ okay, Tazawa will likely be a solid back of the rotation starter or bullpen piece.
Rizzo is projected to be a solid bat and, more importantly from a Sox fan perspective, was a key piece in acquiring Adrian Gonzalez.
And Rizzo is the important part of the point here. Yes, we all understand that prospects don’t always pan out, but prospects that don’t pan out are constantly shifted around in trades for MLB impact players. That first round pick may never be an MLB starter, but he and two other prospects who may never be an MLB starter could net you an MLB starter.
This year is a prime example of WHY the Yankees need to continue to maintain a good farm system, as they’ll likely need to spin prospects at the deadline for pitching if Pettitte doesn’t return or is ineffective if he does. If you go sacrificing high picks in an effort to sign a setup man, you are hurting your farm system, one way or the other.
Think of it this way. The Yankees had the number nine system according to Keith Law, primarily based off of Montero and their pitching prospects. If the Yankees trade Montero and one of those pitching prospects for an impact player at the deadline, suddenly they’re likely out of the top ten. Meanwhile, the Red Sox are right behind them at number eleven.
The difference going forward? 2011 is said to be the deepest draft in over a decade and the Sox have, at minimum, FIVE picks before the Yankees will get their first (Six if Lopez signs an MLB deal). Fast forward to 2012, Felix Hernandez is available. Those five or six extra high round picks the Red Sox made could be all the difference if the Sox and Yankees both go after him.
Even IF Soriano pitches to last year’s standards for the life of his deal and doesn’t get injured or opt out, I STILL wouldn’t have given up a first rounder for him. Accounting for the fact he has the capability of opting out after this year and he has a lengthy injury history, the deal is extremely questionable when you look at the depth of this year’s draft and account for the fact that a team like the Yankees is more likely to use prospects as trade chips than filling holes with them at the MLB level than your average team.
Colon, Duchscherer, Bonderman….those are some names that should make Yankee fans excited
How do you omit the story about Cashman acknowledging the Red Sox have a much better roster than the Yankees?
cashman’s been running his mouth a lot lately, its hard to keep up
I think he was just being honest. The Sox made some high vale additions this winter.
He also commented that the Yankees have a very good team that went to game six of the ALCS and have a good chance of returning.
to me it just sounds like Cashman is tired of having 49% control of the club and wants to move on.. How else can anyone explain that interview last week, in which he told the world that Joba can no longer be a starter, Jeter will be eventually moved to the OF, and that the Sox are a better 2011 club
Now nothing he said was outrageous, coming from a fan or the media, it would create no stir.. but GM’s are usually not supposed to sit and gossip and unintentionally put down his only players, especially singling them out.. . As I watched I was waiting for him to tell everyone that Adam Dunn doesn’t like baseball and has no passion to play the game
You have to wonder which other ML team would give Cashman a GM position if he leaves the Yankees? He has operated with a huge financial advantage over any other franchise and even then has had some major busts (Pavano, Jared Wright, Kei Igawa, Javy Vasquez…..).
I realize I’m not a ML team, but I would give him a go as a Cubs fan — and not just to replace Jim Hendry. If the GM job opened up and Cashman were one of a dozen options, there’s a strong chance I would go with him.
Did he have major busts? Yeah. Every GM does. Pavano was primarily a bust because of injuries, which you can’t lay entirely at the GM’s feet, and Igawa is something I would lay more at the feet of the international scouts who obviously recommended him highly. The only one of those four that I think was a big deal was Vasquez, from a combination of “he has sucked in New York before” and giving up good talent to acquire him.
Anyway, why would I give him a chance (even though I’m not a huge fan of him personally)? Because he seems to want to do things right. He wants to build from within. He wants to rely on his own, relatively cheap players. If you pair that drive with some good talent acquisitions and a decent-sized payroll, you have a recipe for long-term success. Imagine if you let the Rays spend $100MM a year. With their talent evaluation, their minor-league development, their focus on the draft — with all the great things they have going for them right this second, but also with the payroll means to keep the players they develop long-term if they’re interested in doing so, and to supplement their roster by making good free-agent signings to fill organizational holes.
From a Cubs fan perspective, that would be a nice change. I never got the impression that Hendry has cared about the farm system except as it lets him occasionally pull the trigger on some trades. Having huge financial resources isn’t a strike against somebody so long as they understand that winning doesn’t necessarily always involve tapping them out. It lets you avoid or at least shorten some of those rebuilding periods and, as I said, to fill some holes with quality players, but it should be a fallback and not an expectation.
There are only a few GMs in baseball that seem to truly understand that. Who can develop, can have a strong focus on their own systems and yet throw their payroll around to their advantage if the right situation develops. Epstein in Boston. Seemingly AA up in Toronto (though we’ve yet to see the “throw the budget around” portion). The Rays, but unfortunately only for a year or two at a time budget-wise. Atlanta. Is there anybody else, honestly? There are other teams out there with nice farm systems, but more out of necessity than out of an organizational philosophy.
The fact that Cashman has been in New York, where he obviously HAS the budget but actually seems to NOT want to use it is not a negative for me, it’s a huge positive.
I don’t imagine you live in NY but if there is anyway you could see last Sunday’s Daily News on p.68. The picture of Cashman was certainly a sight to see.
I do not, what pic was it?
I can’t believe it! He did it again. He’s on the back page of the Daily News today, and looks the same way he did when he was hanging off the side of the building. I really don’t want to write what I thinking but he has to stop this. It’s like when Obama was wearing flip-flops, it’s unacceptable. Enough with the spiked hair and highlights. George is probably rolling in his grave.
I wish people would stop citing the game six thing. The Red Sox took the 2008 ALCS to game seven and were leading said game for a good chunk of it. They went in to 2009 with the lineup from that season largely intact and managed to get swept out of the playoffs. The big difference between the 2008 and 2009 Red Sox? Lack of pitching depth and a subpar performance in the first half by a single key offensive contributor (Ortiz). Additionally, I would like to point out that we had one of the best bullpens in the MLB for the first half of ’09.
A year and some starting pitching question marks can make a much bigger difference than people seem to realize.
“A year and some starting pitching question marks can make a much bigger difference”
This is an opportunity for a good GM earns his money.
Now, by GM, are you referring to Cashman, Hal Steinbrenner or Randy Levine? Kind of hard to be sure these days.
That gives the fans more to talk about, it keeps them in the news. It’s good marketing for the Yanks.
Maybe if this was the WWE. A gigantic rift forming in your team’s front office looks bad for the team and while it’ll generate hits on blogs and ESPN, it’s unlikely to increase ticket and jersey sales.
“Manager Joe Girardi showed the kind of sway he has with the Yankees when he voted in favor of adding Rafael Soriano”
If the choice was Soriano or not Soriano, that’s kind of a no-brainer and hardly worth reporting. If the choice was between Soriano or we’ll spend the money on a decent starter, that’s interesting.
I think the Cash man knows he’s working on borrowed time here…..seems like he’s tired of this situation he’s in. Of course this is all speculation on my part but the writings on the wall, he won’t be back
If and when Cashman leaves, I hope the Yankees don’t do a Al Davis/Jerry Jones type deal, where the owners think they know everything about their sport and figure they don’t need a GM they can handle it themselves.
No I don’t think that will happen. The Yankee senior adviser is still very much looking out. And I want to go on record saying do I really want him to walk, no I don’t. I just think he needs to re-appreciate the fact that the good lord made him a Yankee. I think he needs to come back to earth a little. The only stars on the Yankees are the ones on the field. If he wants to walk, do it. And don’t let the door hit you on the you know what, the way he did the same to many others who were certainly more of a Yankee than he is.
“then gambled on a former Cy Young winner who has been devastated by shoulder injuries in recent years.”
A Cy Young winner whose year that year wasn’t even that fantastic. I know he won the damn award but why even attach that label to him?
Pettite come back and the Yanks and Sox are even. Fangraphs stats 2007-2010 show that the Yanks are better at C, SS, 3B, CF, and even at 1b, 2b, RF. The Sox are better at LF. The Sox starting pitching is better with the same pitchers as last year, while the Yanks with Nova project to have a 1.7 pitcher in the 5th spot, better than what they’ve had there for the last 6 years. The Sox line-up is younger which will help them, but the Yanks have 4 top players coming off down years. The Sox also have too key players coming off injuries. Both have great pens with the Yanks having a slight edge.