Why Aren't We Looking at Jon Garland?
by jscape2000 on Nov 22, 2009 3:00 PM EST
in Analysis
0 comments
I'm campaigning for Jon Garland as 3rd starter (or 4th if Andy re-signs).
With the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, the righty threw 204 innings. He doesn't strike anybody out, but he doesn't walk anybody either.
The 30 year old signed last season for one year and $7M with a $10M option. I see no reason he'd expect significantly more than that for 2010. He'd be a respectable 3rd starter and easy to deal if all the other pitchers come on strong and push him out of the rotation.
He's a Type B free agent, so while the Dodgers would receive a sandwich round pick, the Yankees would not sacrafice a draft pick.
If you're worried about guaranteeing spots in the rotation to both Joba and Phil, and you're not excited by a 4 or 5 year commitment to John Lackey, or if you're skeptical about Rich Harden and Ben Sheet, then Jon Garland is your man.
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Few players are more likely to see a regression in their numbers than those getting well into their 30s who have suddenly had a big bounce-back season. The Yankees caught lightning in a bottle with Matsui, Damon and Pettitte, who are free agents, as well as incumbent 30-somethings like Jorge Posada. Even (gasp) Mariano Rivera cannot fight Father Time forever.
This off-season, if the Yankees want to repeat, they should try to add younger players. By doing that, they will also avoid the trap of complacency.
If Jonah Keri is right, it means keeping Hughes, Joba, Ajax and Montero.
But it's more complex than just 'get younger.' What about signing 36-year-old Johnny Damon for two years vs. signing 30-year-old Matt Holliday for six years and losing a first round draft pick?
about 2 hours ago
Travis G
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Aroldis Chapman fires agent
He's now represented by the Hendricks brothers, whose other clients include Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain.
about 2 hours ago
Travis G
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The 40 Man and Free Agents
by jscape2000 on Nov 22, 2009 7:15 AM EST
in Analysis
4 comments
Chad Jennings points out that the Yanks currently have 39 players on the 40-man roster.
Assuming that they non-tender Chien Ming Wang, that leaves only 2 empty spots on the roster.
Pettitte, Damon, Matsui.
Either Cashman is sure that he only wants to bring in 2 free agents (and sure about cutting Wang), or he's sure he'll trade away somebody who is currently on the roster. Given the Yanks' lukewarm regards for Hideki, I'm sure it's the end of Godzilla in New York. Cashman may even be willing to enter the season with Gardner and Cabrera in the outfield- I don't like cutting that much power out of the lineup.
I'm hoping Cash sees trade possibilities. Roy? Another pitcher? An outfielder? Prospects?
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Cooperstown Calls
If you're looking for something to do over the holiday, you might consider a pilgrimage to the shrine in Cooperstown.
Matsui's bat, Damon's spikes, Mo's hat, Jorge and Jose's masks, Jeter's bat, Pettitte's jersey and cap, a ball from the first Fall Classic at New Yankee Stadium, and Waldman's scorecard (I didn't realize that she was the first women to call a World Series game).
The Importance of Pettitte
by jscape2000 on Nov 21, 2009 4:00 PM EST
in Analysis
5 comments
We do this every year, don't we?
But how important is Andy Pettitte to the Yankees' success?
I certainly want him to come back, but as I look over the end of the year numbers, I can't help but notice that he got lucky.
His BABIP was .301, down from .339 last season, and the lowest of his Yankee career (he posted lower twice with the Astros). It was out of line from his Line Drive %, so we should expect some regression.
My gut reaction was to think, Andy gives up a lot of groundballs, and with the addition of Tex and with Jeter's career year with the glove, it's certainly possible that they turned more grounders into outs that previous seasons- maybe the difference is sustainable. But Andy's Ground Ball % went way down: from averaging 50% the last 3 seasons to 42.9 percent this season. And all the rest of those outs turned into fly balls, not a terrible thing for a lefty in Yankee Stadium, but not encouraging either.
His fastball continues to average 89 mph, and the cutter still looks good. FanGraphs figures he was a $15M player in 2009. Make no mistake: a pitcher who can throw 200 innings in the AL East is a valuable player. And the Yankees need him back.
I just worry that we're hoping for more than we have right to expect.
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Matsui's future
by Travis G on Nov 21, 2009 11:00 AM EST
in PA Book Club
9 comments
Hideki Matsui must have wondered what he did to deserve such a cruel fate. He left the Japanese major leagues seven years ago to prove himself against the best in the world. In Japan, he had won three MVP awards and three championships. In 2003, he crossed the Pacific and joined the best team in MLB, coming off a stretch in which they'd won four titles and five pennants in seven years.
His first season saw the Yankees reach the World Series, with Matsui hitting a big three-run homer in Game 2. But as we all know, the Yanks lost the Series in six. The next five years went downhill from there, ending in an LCS loss, three straight LDS losses, and then failing to make the playoffs completely in 2008.
Matsui missed most of the 2006 season when he broke his wrist sliding to catch a pop-fly. He then missed about seven weeks in mid-2008 with knee problems. 2009 looked to be the 'swan song' for Matsui with the Yankees (and possibly in MLB).
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Yankees notes: See ya, Shelley!
by Ed Valentine on Nov 21, 2009 9:41 AM EST
in News
14 comments
Let's take a look Around the Yankee Universe this morning. Not a lot of news on the last Saturday before Thanksgiving, but always some interesting stories around our New York Yankees.
- GOOD LUCK, SHELLEY: The Yankees have dropped Shelley Duncan from the 40-man roster, again, and it appears Duncan's Yankee career is over. Personally, I wish Duncan well. He can be a productive big-league hitter if he can find a team willing to give him 300-400 at-bats.
- BREAKING DOWN AROLDIS CHAPMAN: The 21-year-old Cuban left-hander is one of the more intriguing players to follow this off-season. He is also one of the riskiest big-money investments, according to Baseball Intellect.
Chapman is going to be a risk for whatever team signs him. His upside is tremendous, but he’s raw in every sense of the word. Does he have the mental capacity to turn himself into a pitcher and not be just a thrower? Does a team’s development staff have a good track record in developing a talent like Chapman? Does Chapman have what it takes to put it all together and develop into a legitimate number one starter? We’ll eventually get our answers, but some team will have to shell out millions of dollars before getting them.
Baseball Intellect's breakdown discusses Chapman's mechanics, his maturity and projects his future. They seem to lean toward the opinion that his production won't end up justifying the huge investment a team will have to make to sign him. - MATSUI IN DEMAND: Hideki Matsui's services as a hitter might not be in huge demand around baseball right now. Matsui is, however, in huge demand as an advertising spokesman in Japan. The World Series MVP continues to be a huge hero in his native country.
- WANG WOULD LIKE TO STAY: Chien-Ming Wang told reporters in his native Taiwan that he would love to stay with the Yankees. If that doesn't work out? Wang said pitching for Joe Torre and the Dodgers wouldn't be so bad, either.
- SPEAKING OF FREE AGENTS: WFAN's Sweeny Murti says sentimentality and what players like Matsui, Wang and Johnny Damon have done for the Yankees in the past will play no part in GM Brian Cashman's decisions about 2010.
Emotion is for the fans, not the people who run the teams. And while Brian Cashman has as special a place as you do for the players who just brought home #27, he’s not going to let his heart keep him from moving the 2010 Yankees forward. So if it’s not in the team’s best interests to keep Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui in a Yankee uniform, it won’t happen simply as a reward for 2009.
Cashman is no sentimental fool. If you need proof, ask Bernie Williams. Cashman could offer the dynasty icon no more than a spring training invitation before the 2007 season. All the chants of "Ber-nie Will-iams" you could ask for from the bleachers weren’t going to be enough to change his mind. Cashman had decided that it was time to get younger and it was time to cut ties with Bernie.
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