Do's And Dont's For The Offseason

I agree with all of your points except for the OF. I’d like us to pick up a player like Werth. I know there is this slobbering love affair over Bret Gardner, but I’d like a bigger stick.
Other than that, I agree about Lee. In fact, I’d rather we give Nova and Joba a shot at winning a spot over going out and spending a ton of money on Lee or trading away what’s left on our farm for someone like Greinke.

Yup you need another starter. However, what I see as really interesting is your SS and Catcher dilemma. That is the 800 lb Gorilla in Yankee stadium.

You have two kids major league ready now – Nunez and Montero. Jeter and Posada the obvious faces of Yankee pride are now really an obstacle. Their success in the past is probably holding these two guys back.

How do you Yankee fans think the transition will take place. I mean, nothing would make me happier than to see you trade Montero and Nunez plus the other two you mentioned to the Royals for Grienke – they are your future. You will not get Grienke unless you burn the farm. I do not see that happening. However, to keep trotting Posada and Jeter out when these guys are ready now seems crazy.

What do you do with these two guys? They are the face of the franchise.

I think Tex was a bad idea for you – you cannot put Jeter on 1B now and he cannot DH – he does not have the power.

 Posada could DH. He is 39 though. Do you think Posada reitres?

The pitcher thing its Cliff Lee or Grienke. I rather throw away money than prospects.

I’ll edit this in later when I’m on my computer but I’d like to make one thing known. I was very, very, very, very against the Burnett signing from the start and I’m even more against getting Greinke.

For once I agree with nearly everything you wrote. I agree, they need some kind of talented pitcher. Going into the season right now the Yankees have Sabathia, Burnett, and Hughes. Nobody else. If Andy Pettitte comes back thats great. However, they still need a talented pitcher.

CC is the ace, and I know people won’t like to hear it, but AJ’s contract alone will earn him a lock as the #3 man in the rotation at least. It’s not that bad. Last year was a fluke and I bet he has a decent year next year. What they need is a man to put behind CC and in front of Burnett. A talented #2 pitcher that can give them 200 innings and win 15 games. I’m thinking like a Mike Mussina type pitcher when the Yankees first signed him, but of course he’s gone. I don’t care if it’s Cliff Lee or not. But they need somebody.

If Andy doesn’t come back then Joba can move to the rotation and give him a chance to be a full time starter with no restrictions.

…but not much more. He will probably be good next year, but he will face some regression.

Going after Lee is imperative if we want a real title chance in 2011, but going after Lee will KILL US come 2013 and beyond.

If both pitchers are Yankees than the rotation would be: CC, Lee, Phil, Andy, AJ

I can live with that. Although I would prefer CC, Lee, AJ, Phil, Joba and then over the course of the season you would have Nova, Mitre, Phelps, Brackman, etc fill in for starts here and there and possibly earn jobs.

The roster will pretty much be the same next season. Maybe we get Lee and some bench/pen faces are new, but there is going to be little turnover.

I also kind of want to keep Berkman, but there is no spot for him since our DH has to be a revolving door with Montero/Posada and some old player who needs a break (ARod, Jeter, maybe Tex).

Would he sign 4/100?

I know 100mil might seem low, thats 25mil per year. That’s better than 150/7 or whatever the rumors are for him.

The key for the Yankees and their high money deals are the years.

For example, its almost a necessity we only sign Jeter to a 3 year deal. Even if we have to bump up the per year money, its more important we sign him to less years. Same would go for a FA signing like Lee.

There is no guarantee they would have been as good as Yankes in 2010 as they were in 2009.

Losing them was a good idea. Getting younger is necessary

 I hope the Rangers lose in the world series, so that Cliff Lee is more open to signing here

I agree with everything here

all i’m in for is to get a #2 doesn’t matter who

swisher should go. I am not saying replace him with either crawfod or werth but lets be real here, an average outfielder at best, no arm, no speed. His uppercut swing led to how many strike outs and what, a .050 average?

maybe a future spot for our jeter…how long has the rumor been talked about jeter moving to the of in his lattert years

Some scouts wonder if the Yankees might try to trade Nick Swisher this winter. He talked smack about Cliff Lee before Game 6 of the ALCS, then turned in an 0-for-3 that left him 2-for-25 in the series, dropping his lifetime average to .162 in 33 playoff games.

Interesting living here, all TV is showing here is Rangers success, interviews with everyone team related, except one, I have not seen one C Lee TV interview here after winning the series ???
I grew up in the tri-State area, a life long diehard Yankee fan.

Burnett is not going to get better. Almost anyone could replace him. Toss him in the pen and use him when games are like 10-0 either way. Do not rely on him. Bring back Matsui. This guy hits in the clutch and had a good year for the Angels (21 HRs, 84 RBIs, .274, and played in almost 150 games)—he’s an iron man while Nick Johnson is a rusted-out shell.. He is one giant-head and shoulders over Marcus Thames, etc; and he is a real Yankee. He has soul. Something Cashman could never understand. Oh and get rid of Cashman — other than spending a bilion to get Sabathia and Texiera, what’s he ever done that smacks of a clever, agile, baseball mind, remember that after Pettite and Clemens went to Houston the Yanks have no pitching for 6 years. He could have picked up Lee, Oswalt, or Lilly, already for this year when we really needed them and now they are gone. Cashman should be gone too. Imagine a Yankee GM with Baseblal smarts and al that moolah to spend. Wow!

The lineup is weak. Not everyone has to be a star but some players are better situated to get a big hit when needed. We need to cut down on the strikeouts. Swisher is good but does not have enough power to justify his batting average. I expect Tex had an off season but he should be (and I expect will be) batting 5th not third. The Yankees need more depth in the lineup. If they keep Gardner as the everyday left fielder he really needs to lead off regularly to try to use his peskiness to get on base in the first inning. I think Jeter will rebound and will not hit 40 points below his career average but I see signs that his days of hitting .340 are over. He will likely settle down into a .300 or so player with poor power. He will ultimately need to be moved lower in the lineup and his new contract will have to be signed with the understanding that he cannot let his ego get in the way of anything the team needs to do. I suspect Posada is on a severe downward slope. They need to get Montero in to start transitioning Posada away from catcher. That means we need a third catcher who is a better hitter than Cervelli. Someone LIKE a Jim Leyritz. Matsui should not have been allowed to depart. That was a big mistake. We need someone like him.

Regarding pitching, I don’t think we need to break the bank on Lee. I STRONGLY feel that either Joba should be assured a spot in the rotation and a year to work out his issues and learn how to win consistently or he should be traded while his value is high. His stuff is too good to leave him in the pen and I don’t see him as a closer. Bring Andy Pettitte back at all costs.

Stop hating on Swisher. Hes a good player.

And while he may have stuggled in the past few seasons, his contributions will never be forgotten. As for Mo sign him to a 2 or 3 year deal and let him break Hoffman’s record.

and get some fringe prospects in return. I wouldn’t necessarily consider those two bargains considering their short time spent with the team. Aside from Orlando Hudson every FA season, bargains don’t really exist. Go cheap and roll the die or pony up for a sure thing.

Resign Jeter. Mo, and Pettit, if he would come back. Let all the rest of the FA’s and a few others go, Javy, Berkman, Kearns, Cervelli, Nick Johnson. Thames, Pena, and if I am missing anyone ?? Then sign Lee and Laird, fill the roster with a Nunez and a fourth OF from the ranks, bring up Montero in May and I think we would have a competitive team. Nunez would get playing time backing up the INF’ers, Jorge can catch and DH. The only one I have a difficult time with letting go is Wood, but I understand if he wants to close.

Great post, Brandon. I agree that we should definitely try to bring back Andy for one more year. I also think the whole Cliff Lee thing is up in the air, as he may well end up wanting to stay in Texas. It’s close to his hometown in Arkansas, the Rangers have been wooing his parents and his wife’s parents, and they’ve also indicated that they’re willing to throw big money at him. Plus they’ve now proved that they’re a “winner,” something Lee has said is important in determining where he goes. Anyway, I think it’s more and more likely that it’s more of a tossup as to whether or not we land Lee, should we choose to go after him.

Something about Montero that’s been mentioned before: unlikely that we’ll see him in the bigs before June, as that will give NY an extra year on the arbitration clock. Posada will play out the last year of his contract and then in all likelihood retire, IMO, and Andy will retire after next year as well (if he doesn’t retire this winter). Mo is probably a good bet for two more years. Jeter? I think he’s going to bounce back and have a good year next year, but I think many are underestimating what he’s going to ask for in terms of a contract. I think he’ll want 4 years and $65-$70 million.

I like the idea of leaving the outfield intact, but we sure need to do something about DH. I know some of our older players will need to DH more and more from time to time, but I think we really did miss Matsui this year, in terms of having a really reliable offensive force at the DH spot.

what’s wrong with bringing Ivan nova to try for a rotation spot?..he was pretty good in his couple of starts…just needs to strech that ARM out…

by the way…if a.j. is so mentally soft…what makes you think deading rumors is gonna help when your talking about moving our 2 guy in the rotation to the 4th or tth spot?…wouldn’t that kinda defeat the purpose of keeping the little confidence he has left up….

That 4 years for jeter is going to kill us…I think he will have a better year average wise…but all his other production will go down….bring posada back and prepare him for the inevitable…Montereo baby…..

at the end of the day though….we need tex to be tex again and arod to be arod…when there on…the rest just seem to fall in line….

the 2010 Phillies and their 3 aces say hi…from home.

Pitching is fine, but it can only do so much. You don’t hit, you don’t win. Simple as that.

They just showed Derek Jeter in a Red Sox uniform!

/off topic rant

I’m not suggesting getting rid of Swish, he was great in an all star year…but what if the Yankees can find a good Right Fielder with either good speed or that hits for average well, and move Swisher to the (presumably) vacant DH spot? Not that Nick’s defense is all that awful, but they do tend to replace him late in games more than they did anyone else. And I hate the way he plays the ball sometimes (diving needlessly, for example).

Am I completely crazy for this line of thought?