Here are some tidbits from the National League East..
- Today, Oliver Perez notified the Mets that he wants to make the club as a starting pitcher, writes David Waldstein of the New York Times. Perez met with manager, Terry Collins, and GM Sandy Alderson to inform them of his stance. However, it is far more likely that he will be a lefty out of the bullpen or be released before the season starts. Perez is owed $12MM in the final year of his three-year contract.
- Collins told Perez that he'll have an opportunity to make the Mets' rotation, writes Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal.
- After more than two months of talks, the Phillies and manager Charlie Manuel still have been unable to reach agreement on a contract extension. Tonight, Manuel's agent Pat Rooney told Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that the two sides are not seeing eye-to-eye on dollars. “Charlie deserves to be paid as one of the top five managers in baseball,” the agent said. “I don’t want to negotiate through the media, but they know our position. Hopefully we’ll have something by Opening Day.”
- When addressing the media today, Cliff Lee insisted that he chose the Phillies over other clubs, such as the Yankees, because he felt that the Phillies gave him the best chance to win, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
give charlie his contract.
Of course the Phillies have the better chance to win. We have 1 average pitcher in Blanton while the yankees rotation is made up of many average players outside CC lol.
So, the bullpen, highest scoring offense in baseball, and the best closer in history mean nothing, huh? Ok. We’ll see what happens this year.
Your pen is not as good as the Sox, your rotation is not as good as the sox, and heck they have an equally good offense. Basically you will not win the AL east this season. Have a good night.
Yankees bullpen > Sox bullpen
However, I will agree (and everyone should), Sox rotation > Yankees rotation.
Congrats…that still doesn’t help you with that gaping hole in your rotation.
Not the point I was making. Point is, a good bullpen and good offense can make up for an average at best rotation. If you don’t believe me, check some numbers, and not just from the Yankees.
SEE: Angels 2002…Yankees 1996.
Anyone that says the Red Sox bullpen is better than NY’s is seeing the world through Bloody Sock colored glasses.
Feliciano is better than any left hander the red sox have (Okajima is finished), Soriano was the best closer in baseball last year *and he’s our set up guy*, and Robertson, Logan, and Joba would be closer/set up guys on quite a few MLB teams right now. Oh, and I forgot about Rivera. And you have….a head case for a closer (pick one: Papschmere or Jenks), and Daniel Bard, who throws 98MPH straight.
And I absolutely think that starting rotation is overrated. On paper they look really nice….but, um, NY owns Beckham I mean Beckett, Dice-BB can’t throw strikes consistently, and John lackey is the most OVERPAID RHP since Clemmens. Yeah, He’ll go 14-13. My point: The DeadSox Rotation is not as good as people think, and without a stable bullpen (loaded with head cases) I think that rotation will be pushed too far. What ever. Let’s just see what happens this year. The red sox are like the Steve Philips Mets: Look real nice on paper but…
Don’t forget the 2000 Yankees and 2006 Cardinals (2 of the worst teams to win a WS)
Some teams with mediocre rotations make and sometimes win the world series. Teams with below average and some might say bad, rotations do not make or win the World Series. Any team that faces New York this year, if they don’t face CC has a chance of winning 2 out of 3 games in a series. Previously teams would HOPE to win 1 of 3. The Yankees will be over .500 maybe even win 90 games on offense and a top quality bullpen. But they will not win the East or get the Wild Card.
As you mention the Red Sox have questions about their starters but their questions are 100x easier than the Yankees. If Dice-K doesn’t pitch up to snuff or Beckett gets hurt the Sox have Doubront or Wakefield. What happens if Hughes pitches like he did in the second half? What if AJ pitches 50% better than he did in 2010 and it still puts him at a below-average pitcher? What happens if Nova doesn’t pan out? The Yankees at best have a below average staff and if only one thing goes wrong they are pretty much screwed. There aren’t any free agent fillers and no team is trading quality starting pitching.
As for the bullpen, the Red Sox lefties in the bullpen could include Miller, Doubront and we have four guys at the back end who throw heat in Wheeler, Bard, Jenks and Papelbon. While nobody is better at closing than Mo, that is a pretty killer back 4.
I would rather have the Red Sox question marks than the Yankees.
If the Yankees don’t get the wild card, then who does?
Chicago, Min, Texas, Oakland?
O rly? So they are all better than the Yankees?
I wasn’t aware the best rotations make the postseason. This is clearly what you are saying, because that is the only thing those teams have an advantage over the Yankees. Yankees by far have a better bullpen and lineup than all of them.
7 of the top 10 rotation teams last year did not make the playoffs. The Yankees were amongst the 10 worst and finished with the 2nd best record in the AL. Sheer luck right?
Seattle was 8th best (Eigth BEST) and had 101 losses. (LOSSES, not Wins). Sorry but there is more to a team than a starting rotation.
A great bullpen and great offense makes up for a shaky rotation. As S pointed out, look at the numbers, if you don’t believe us.
The other teams I mentioned do not necessarily have to be better than the Yankees, they just have to win more games. Chicago can beat up on KC and Cleveland. Oakland can beat up on Seattle and Angels. It is harder for the AL East as the division has 5 good to amazing teams.
“The other teams I mentioned do not necessarily have to be better than the Yankees, they just have to win more games”
Thanks John Madden.
“Teams with below average and some might say bad, rotations do not make or win the World Series.”
False.
True.
True only in October.
To prove that it is NOT True. Last 7 WS champions. Number in parenthesis is what their SP was ranked
2004- Red Sox (12)
2005- White Sox (6)
2006- Cardinals (20)
2007- Red Sox (4)
2008- Phillies (13)
2009- Yankees (13)
2010- Giants (3)
4 out of the last 7 teams to win the WS did not even rank in the top 10 in SP.
Apparently you fail to realize that regular season stats don’t matter in October.
As there are 30 teams in the major leagues, except for the Cardinals, the rest of those teams were above average rotations. I do not believe the Yankees will have a top half of the ML rotation. Not when they have CC and then question marks.
“except for the Cardinals”….That proves that I’m right and you’re wrong. Here’s what you said before- “Teams with below average and some might say bad, rotations do not make or win the World Series.”
Here’s another example of postseason baseball:
2010 ALCS. Yankees vs. Rangers
2010 Yankees and Rangers starting pitcher rankings
Rangers- 19th
Yankees- 23rd
Yes the Giants won the WS, but then why did 2 of the worst pitching staffs in the game meet in the league championship series?
You might want to rethink your thoughts. I’m not trying to be an a-hole or anything, just proving to you that “sub par” rotations can win championships. A good bullpen and good offense saves it.
Fine then, I am rethinking my statement and here it is. The Yankees will have a bad rotation and will not make the playoffs. There is that better? And my proof? Nothing, a hunch. Offense generally does not win world series alone. You need a solid pitching staff in general (starters and relievers) and a solid defense. The Yankees defense is spotty(mainly on the left side of the infield and at catcher) and the rotation is less than stellar. The Yankees will not make the playoffs.
The Yankees defense is spotty(mainly on the left side of the infield and at catcher)
—–
That’s the only part of the Yankees defense that’s spotty. Everyone else besides Jeter and A-Rod (well and catcher if you count it) is a top fielder.
I’ll be sure to make note that you predicted the Yankees to make the playoffs and laugh if they do, and will laugh even harder if they win the division, and will laugh the hardest if the Red Sox miss the playoffs again, due to injury or not.
And I will go on with my life and enjoy watching baseball without caring what other people think.
“Basically you will not win the AL east this season”
Can I have the winning lotto numbers please?
41 31 11 18 19, hope you know why those are the winning numbers lol
Oh well, they sure as hell came up short last time. Maybe they win this time.
I think the sox offense gets um over the top. They have a ton of talent to not win. Im not saying the yanks dont have talent but that pitching is too questionable for my liking.
Oh without a doubt it’s questionable, and I myself am picking the Sox to win the East. Just saying never eliminate the Yankees, or any team for that matter. (well, maybe the Pirates from winning the Central but ehh, you get my point)
REALLY? If you look at the numbers, the offense will essentially put up the same production as they did last year. The Crawford/Gonzalez Acquisitions are essentially replacing the offense lost from V-Mart and Betre leaving. And you STILL have Scutaro at short, and JD (I play when I feel like it) in RT, as well as the most overrated catcher in red sox HISTORY…CF? Elsbury? Cameron? Who is your CF? So the way I see it, that offense has three GAPING holes in it. And NY has two lefties who can get Ortiz out in late innings…and we all know Pedroika and Pukilis will be on the DL.
So have fun talking your trash in Feb. I just want to see what happens when the season starts.
My prediction: 87-91 wins for Boston, because that team will blow a TON of leads, Paplebon will be a problem, and they’ll have half the team on the DL, while JD Drew will totally lose interest, Tek will bat .220, Gonzalez will put up good numbers, and they’ll get almost zero production out of CF and Short.
I’m done arguing. I jus want the season to start already.
And the Yankees STILL have Jeter at short. Although of course I’ll take Jeter over Scutaro though, but just saying.
The Red Sox will have full seasons of Youkilis, Pedroia and Ellsbury who will be the starting CF. There has been no question of that by anyone. Cameron is the 4th outfielder hitting against tough lefties.
CF Ellsbury
2B Pedroia
LF Crawford
1B Gonzalez
3B Youkilis
DH Ortiz
RF Drew
SS Scutaro/Lowrie
CA Salty
The only potential hole in the offense is Salty as he is an unknown quantity. The rest though are all above average to star quality players. Scutaro will probably give way to Lowrie at the begining of the year as he is the better player.
Basically you know very little about the Red Sox.
Oliver Perez should worry about making the team in general, before he starts notifying people of anything (other than maybe a refund of that terrible, terrible contract).
Definitely. Perez isn’t really in the driver’s seat here.
I’m sure Perez wants a spot on the rotation so that he can best help the team … as opposed to wanting the best opportunity to showcase his talent prior to his walk year.
The Mets are to blame for his absurd contract but if they are not in it I would bury Perez in the bullpen all season and kill his off-season earning capability. That would at least provide some mild satisfaction to an otherwise horrid situation.
Good lord is that vengeful… But exactly what needs to happen to Ollie
I would bury Perez in the bullpen all season and kill his off-season earning capability.
Actually I was thinking more along the lines of, “I would kill off Pérez and bury him in the bullpen…he’s earned it.”
I thought the same thing. I only wonder if Sandy waited for Ollie to leave the room before bursting into tears from laughter.
Wow, how does Oliver Perez think he has a right to an opinion?? Incredible.
Hopefully after this season we never have to hear Major League Baseball and Oliver Perez in the same sentence.
Oh, and Cliff Lee + Yankees would have been better for much longer than the Phillies will be. Don’t get me wrong, the Phillies have a historic rotation right now but their window isn’t very big. The Yankees have a better farm, better offense, and a bigger budget.
Of course, there are plenty of fans that would point to the respective ages of the guys you are paying $15m+ over the next 2-4 years …
The Yankees are getting old, have an amazing amount of financial commitments, and play in a very challenging division. I don’t see how you can safely say that the Phillies are less likely to be competitive than the Yankees over the next 5 years.
That was something I considered when I posted. I thought about the Phillies having Oswalt hitting free agency next year, Hamels and Victorino in ’13, too much money tied up in Howard, etc. Even now, the offense isn’t that great beyond Utley, Howard, Victorino, and the rare occasion that Rollins is healthy and playing well.
I don’t have a crystal ball, just my 2 cents.
Well, respectfully disagree. The Phils are locked in to three long-term contracts – Howard, Lee, and Halladay. They easily have the cash to sign Hamels long-term. Victorino leaving after 2012 isn’t exactly a big deal, considering the Phils have minor-league depth in two spots – pitching and OF. The emergence of Aaron Altherr at third gives them a legit IF prospect.
Quite frankly Oswalt retiring isn’t the worst thing in the world – they have several SP prospects that should be ML ready by next season, gotta put them somewhere.
Actually I should add Utley to this; so 4 long-term deals, but still plenty of room given they’re losing Lidge, Ibanez, and Blanton over the next two seasons.
I think the Phillies should remain competive for the same reason the Yanks will. Both teams have shown the ability and willingness to spend on mlb talent and have become better at drafting and signing international free agents.
However, the Phillies are a team built to win now and they will have questions to address. You can’t just assume that this rookie will easily slide in and perform up to an all-star caliber of a veteran and you can’t just assume that the veteran will automatically sign an extension. I like the Phillies as my NL team but Amaro will ahve to navigate wisely to keep them at the top. By nature, East coast teams always seem to have big wallets and no one should expect the other teams to just roll over.
I know you’re not making a negative statement, so don’t think I’m attacking you or anything. However, it amazes me how ppl focus on the older players and not the younger.
Starting pitchers, important bullpen arms plus starting 9 position players & DH.
Over 34: Posada (FA after 2011), Rivera (FA after 2012) , Burnett (FA after 2013),
Jeter (FA after 2014) and Arod (sigh…..2017).
Between 31-33: Tex (31 in April), Soriano
30 or under: Cano, Gardner, Swisher, Granderson, Sabathia, Hughes, Nova, Martin, Joba, Logan, Robertson.
Yanks have to really hope Montero and some of the pitchers can live up to their potential in ’11 and ’12 but they aren’t as old, across the board, as ppl think.
Just for comparative purposes.
Over 34: Halladay (34 in May), Ibanez, Lidge, Polanco, Contreras, Romero
Between 31-33: Howard, Lee, Utley, Rollins, Ruiz, Baez, Oswalt (34 in Aug)
30 or under: Hamels, Blanton, Victorino,madson, Francisco
I think both teams have a lot of things to keep an eye on.
Coulda…..well, woulda……um, shoulda…
Yea yea
Well I want to make the club as a starting pitcher, just saying c’mon alderson tell collins put me in coach! Though I do see Collins thinking to himself after that with a little chuckle: Who the f&*( does this guy think he is?
Cliff Lee on the Yankees would have made them the favorite to win that division. The phillies offense has its question marks, such as how will Dom Brown do as a rookie filling in for werth, can utley stay healthy, is rollins going to continue to regress, howard is coming off his worst season since his rookie year, is ibanez done, and can polanco do what he did last year. With the yankees, there arent that many question marks in that offense, the only thing that is going to hold them back is their rotation and if they had lee in there, they would be the better team.
How about:
— Can A-Rod play 3rd and was his sub 850 OPS (lowest since 1997 and his 3rd straight year of regression) a sign of things to come?
— Is Posada’s bat good enough to be the full-time DH?
— Can Jeter rebound offensively and how many runs can the team afford to give up with him manning SS?
— Will Teixeira rebound from career lows offensively?
— Can Cano repeat his career season?
— Will Granderson ever remember how to hit lefties?
— Is AJ Burnett done?
— Can Hughes hold up to an entire season?
— Is there anyone who can start in the #4/#5 slots in that rotation?
— Will Mariano ever show his age and finally regress?
— Is Joba finished?
The Yankees (like most teams) have plenty of questions. If things go well there is no doubt that the Yankees could win 100 games. On the flip side I wouldn’t be shocked with an 80 win season either. If I were a betting man I would put money on the Red Sox and the Phillies over the Yankees heading into 2011. And it pains me to say that considering I despise both Boston and Philly.
All valid questions.
Why do so many ppl question whether Posada’s bat can hold up at DH? He hit 18 hrs in 383 AB and had a .357 OBP. Playing w/o the concussions and foul tips of the knees, fingers and etc I don’t see a problem with him hitting 25 hrs in 500 AB. 18 in 383 AB equals 1:21 AB. 500 AB works out to 25 hrs. Not saying it’s that simple but if he’s healthy and doesn’t sulk then I would think moving away from C and keeping him fresh should spur and up tick in production. Going into his FA year might further motivate him as well.
I think that Granderson can become better than awful against lefties, and yes I’m saying that in regards to his shortened swing. He won’t be your ideal candidate at the plate against a LOOGY late in the game, but he won’t look completely helpless either. And no, even when dead, Mo’s 500 year old skeleton will still pitch this well
Cliff Lee is a front-runner.
Aren’t they all?