Sunday, January 07, 2007

Update / Recap / Questions

Johnson to D-Backs in exchange for $2million, 1 MLB relief pitcher, and 3 minor league pitchers - good

Signing of Cairo to be infield platoon- not bad

Potentially no room on roster for Bernie Williams - bad

Signing of Mientkiewicz - OK not thrilled one way or the other

How good will Igawa and Pavano be?

Will the Yanks use Cabrera or Phillips for trade bait - could it be enough to re-kindle trade talks with the Pirates for Gonzalez?

Will Clemens be in Pinstripes?

I think Tampa or Toronto are going to contest for the Wild Card in '07 (Tampa signed the best player from Japan for the least amount of money).

And, Jeff Weaver coming back to NYC (Mets)?

19 comments:

old professor said...

Mid. Relief - You have to stop going to happy hour before writing your piece. Tampa will finish where it always does, at the bottom of the east. Signing the Janpanese player does not equate into a bonafide major league player. Just ask the Mets who signed Kaz Matsui with a lot of press and praise. Where is he now? (Colorado).

While Bernie has been a long-time and proud Yankee, sometimes business decisions have to be made and there really isn't a place for him on the Yankees. The only way a spot opens up if there is a preseason trade of Philips and/or Melky. Bernie may have too much pride to sign on as a pitch hitter and a fifth outfielder. My guess is he has no offers from other teams. The Yankees can sign him let him come to Spring Training and then let him announce his official retirement. Have a Bernie Day, retire the number and then move on.

Yankee bullpen may be set, but they still need a better option in the starting rotation than Pavano.

Anonymous said...

You are such a fair weather critic.

A business decision to let Bernie go, but you throw a temper tantrum over dishing Randy Johnson?

Every year there's a surprise story and the surprise this is year is either Tampa or Toronto.

old professor said...

Let's see, Bernie would be a fifth outfielder at best with a weak arm and diminished fielding skills and may come of the bench occassionally. How many games would he actually affect? Not many. Johnson won 34 games over two years (more than any other Yankee during the same time period). How do the Yankees plan on replacing the 17 wins maybe Pavano, maybe Karstens, maybe Rasner, maybe Clemens (hey David Wells is still out there too). Will that have a greater impact on the Yankees repeating as Eastern Division Champs? You bet it will.

Toronto has upgraded as a team, but there fate will still lie with the health of their starting rotation. Exactly how has Tampa improved that would allow people to consider them as one of the possible surprises?

Peter N said...

It's Peter, and you got a comment about your comment on my blog post from yesterday...you should maybe get your facts straight before commiting them into print. Re: Papelbon, and another before. Just FYI... I was being polite!

Peter N said...

"Who am I? Well, as of Saturday, October 7th, 2006 (the official end to MLB's season), I am pissed off! Or, heartbroken"....your words...I would add clueless. But it's OK..I can wait for you to grow up and be more of a fan of baseball itself. You have to get your facts right!!!!

Peter N said...

I ain't the only one who is asking you to shape up, am I?????

Crash said...

Sounds like a disgruntled Red Sox fan...I didn't see anything negative posted about the Sox. What's he up in arms about?

Middle Relief said...

Take it easy on him - he's no different than most of the simpletons that claim to be Bo Sox fans.

1 - he's up in arms about the very real scenerio that is shaping up for the 2007 Red Sox which is a 4th place finish.

2 - He doesn't understand, or have the capacity to understand when the MLB season ends for Yankees' fans.

Anonymous said...

Sorry..this isn't the place, but I have to vent.

HOW CAN THE GIANTS BRING BACK COUGHLIN?????

Crash said...

No idea on that one. It's definitely going to get worse before it gets better. Next year Coughlin's back, Tiki's gone, Eli will still be making poor decisions and terrible passes, and Plexico will still be giving up on plays. And because they made the playoffs again this year, next year they will have a tough schedule outside the already demanding NFC East schedule. I hate to be negative but they will be sub .500 and miss the playoffs next year...unless they start out terrible and Coughlin gets the axe early-mid season.

old professor said...

The Giants have more issues to deal with than just their coach. They will have to find a way to replace Barber. Jacobs is a powerful runner, but it remains to be seen if he can be a consistent go to guy.

The secondary was weak at best. They tried to patch a secondary together using old free agents and it didn't work.

They have no depth on the defensive line and their linebackers are getting old and slow.

The offensive line is mediocre at best and Pettigout may not be able to recover quickly from the broken leg.

Add to all of that the issues with the coach and they are in for some serious trouble next year - look at the bright side, they could end up with the number 1 pick in the 2008 draft.

Anonymous said...

In 2008 the #1 pick will be a guy named Bill Cowher.

The G-Men did have injuries and were 6 - 2 prior to Strahan, Harrington, Toomer and Luke P. going down.

Who knows - but I am not happy about the extension.

Anonymous said...

Back to the Yankees...


I am not an incredibly religious man, but can we all agree to send some prayers out for Bobby Murcer...

His illness may have been mentioned in this forum before, but the news that the tumor that was removed is in fact malignant is just sad, horrible news.

Bobby is and will always be a True Yankee in every sense of the word...He often says that the day he got traded from the Yanks was one of the worst days of his life...His performance during the game after his best friend Thurman died is nothing short of legendary and part of Yankee lore.

His second career (as the TRUE voice of the Yankees) has been filled with passion and professionalism.

We're rooting for you Bobby...as we always have.

Anonymous said...

How about David Bechkham signing a contract that makes Jeter and A-Rod look like they're playing for minimum wage.

$250 mm over 5 years

57 said...

Beckham has an extremely hot wife, so in my book he already was doing better than what Jeter and A-Rod get... which would be each other.

Anonymous said...

I thought Pettitte had Jeter, when'd he move to A-Rod?

Anonymous said...

For your information...Jeter is bangin' Jessica Biel....google her and then get back to me, you jealous fools.

old professor said...

Rumors regarding Clemens are beginning to heat up. Apparently, Boston is no longer a serious option for him and that it now boils down to the Yankees and Houston.

It would appear he will follow last year's pattern of missing spring training and coming back to pitch in June. I do not see the Yankees allowing him to be home with his family four out of five days. That is apparently what eliminated Boston. Epstein made it clear they were not interested in that kind of arrangement.

Does it bother anyone that this kind of special treatment - no spring training, show up when you want and only spend one day out of five with the team - should be part of a contract?

Anonymous said...

Prof,

It would bother me more if we weren't relying on Igawa and Pavano to fill the back end of the rotation.

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