Monday, August 27, 2012

Big Deal In Bean Town

The blockbuster trade that the Red Sox executed over the Weekend with the Dodgers spells bad long-term news for the Yanks. Effectively freeing up a couple hundred million in annual compensation costs means they'll have that much more breathing room to hire younger, more likable players than this last group -- including . . . Josh Hamilton.

10 comments:

Crash said...

Hamilton isn't younger. And most are saying he isn't a good fit for Boston anyways. They will need to address their pitching staff and corner infield positions before signing a guy like Hamilton.

Yankees pick up a little breathing room as their lead in the AL East is up to 4 games over the Rays and 4.5 over Baltimore.

Anonymous said...

This is the old professor having difficulty signing in because they want my cellphone number which is none of their damn business.

I would not worry about Boston being able to sign big free agents. First and foremost free agents are going to look at the atmosphere in Boston which is toxic and secondly how many free agents want to play for Bobby Valentine? Even David Ortiz has indicated he is going to test free agency because of the conditions in Boston.

As for Hamilton, there is a serious question as to whether he can handle the bright lights and media of either Boston or NY. In addition, anyone who signs him will have to include an out clause based on the probability of substance abuse.

Crash said...

Soriano coughs up the lead in the 9th inning and pulls a disappearing act after the game failing to take accountability. Think he did this last year too. The guy just doesn't get it. Don't care if he's having a decent season, you don't pull that shit in NY.

Jeter shouldn't win the MVP, but he he will be in the conversation. I didn't realize this but Jeter has been in the top 10 for MVP voting 8 times in his career. That includes 3 Top 3 (3rd in '98, 2nd in '06, and 3rd in '09). I'm guessing he finishes 3rd or 4th. I think Cabrera wins it, then one or both of either Hamilton and/or Trout will finish ahead of Jeter.

Crash said...

Somehow I missed Teixeira left the game with grade 1 calf strain. If you recall Jeter had that same injury last year, and while it is a mild strain, it takes about 4 weeks to heal up. That means Teixeira is pretty much done for the year.

I say that because with him out of the lineup, A-Rod already out, Granderson striking out at record pace and now hitting below .240, which equates to no protection or Cano, all adds up to the Rays catching and passing the Yankees and the Yankees are quite possibly out of the playoffs. This is the injury that finally breaks the back of the Yankees. Not only do you lose his bat, you lose his Gold Glove defense.

The Yankees are officially in trouble!

old professor said...

Tex will be out for more than a week. How strange is this - a guy gets cut by the Twins, signed by the Yankees, traded to the Orioles, traded to the Astros, back to the Yankees and bats cleanup in his first game?

Rays coming back to earth. Baltimore draws 11,000 for the White Sox - apparently the fans don't believe they are for real.

Crash said...

The AL East will be decided in the next 10 days. Yankees play Baltimore, Tampa, then Baltimore again. If the Yankees can remain in first place after this stretch they will win the AL East.

old professor said...

The Yankee pitching is a complete mess. hughes collapses again. six pitchers in one inning and the most effective was Cory Wade.

Crash said...

The Yankees suck right now. They are sub .500 team since the break. They're not hitting and they're not pitching, neither starting or bullpen. They're lucky they're still in 1st place. If JJ Hardy doesn't make an error, they get swept and are a game back at this point. Hopefully Kuroda has a strong outing and the offense can scrape together a couple of runs to win.

old professor said...

Tonight the orioles will tie the Yankees by the end of the week, the Yankees will be in third place struggling to get a grip on the wildcard.

old professor said...

Look at what has happened in one month - Yankees go from ten games in from to being tied with the Orioles and only one game in front of the Rays. Their age is beginning to show and they seem to be what they are: an aging tired team that can't play fundemental baseball.

Runners on first and second no one out and they can't get the runners over or in. They need to change their thinking and concentrate on doing the little things to win games versus waiting for the homerun that never seems to come.

The rotation is a mess with a CC who may be in decline and aging Garcia who cannot break a plate of glass with any of his pitches and an very inconsistent head case in Hughes. The only pitcher that is throwing like he should is Kuroda - and the team doesn't score for him.

The team has relied to heavily on cast off veterans and now will also be burdened with long term contracts for veterans that are beyond their prime: CC, A-Rod, Tex and Jeter. To make matters worse they have a centerfielder who is hitting under 235 and has 34 homeruns, but will probably lead the league in strikeouts. Oh and the guy will be given a long-term contract to keep him in NY. Cano is also headed for a new deal and this is a guy who didn't want to get his uniform dirty the other night by diving for a ball that he could have kept in the infield to prevent the winning run from scoring.

Forget about the Red Sox collapse from last year, the Yankees are facing an historic collapse never witnessed in the history of this club and the prognosis for the future doesn't seem to get any better.

That trade for Pineda and he has shoulder surgery; Nova will never overcome his lack of intensity; Hughes should be traded to get something of value back (a bag of balls and a few bats); Banuelos pitched in what nine games this season and was being counted on for next year (fat chance there) and Bettances ended up being demoted to double A because he got lit up at Triple A.

I can envision this team rebuilding over the next three years and being tagged as a second tier team. The late 1980s have returned.

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