Live from the World Series
Hello from the press room at Citizens Bank Park, where it’s 72 degrees and comfortable. Outside? Not so much. I’ve been assigned (among other things) the role of MLB.com’s amateur meteorologist for the rest of the World Series, which essentially entails keeping up with all of the forecasts out there for these games.
Who’d have thought weather would take on so much importance? I’m proud to report – as would my idol, Phil Connors from Channel 9 Pittsburgh – that it will be cold tonight in Philadelphia, with highs in the low 40s. But the Phillies and Rays will be on the field to finish Game 5 of the Fall Classic.
I’m just hoping that the public address announcer will say, “The delay lasted 46 hours.” (OK, it’s a suspended game, so probably not.) I love Citizens Bank Park — it might be my favorite park in the National League — but it’s time to get on out of here, one way or the other.
Yankees news? Well, there’s some out there. Brian Cashman was at an event in midtown plugging a new video game and addressed several topics, most prominently the legal situation of Joba Chamberlain. Cashman said that he has spoken to Joba and said that Chamberlain knows the sort of predicament he’s in – arrested for suspicion of DUI, having an open container and speeding – “can’t happen.”
Here’s a Yankees Winter League update released by the team:
- LHP Jeremy Bleich, of the Waikiki BeachBoys, earned the win in an 10-3 victory at the North Shore Honu on 10/24, allowing just 5H and 2ER in a career-high 7.0IP (8K)…leads the Hawaiian Winter League in innings pitched (25.2).
- RHP Kevin Whelan has not allowed a run in five appearances out of the bullpen for the Peoria Javelinas (7.0IP, 4H, 8K).
- RHP Victor Zambrano, playing with the Navegantes del Magellanes of the Venezuelan League, recorded a no-decision in his last start on 10/25 vs. the Cardenales de Lara, allowing 4H and 1ER in 5.0IP (3BB, 2K)…is his only run allowed in three starts this season (16.0IP).
- 2B Reegie Corona, also with the Navegantes, is batting .381 (8-for-21) with four doubles and 5 RBI.
- OF Austin Jackson, also with the Javelinas, is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak and leads all Yankees Winter League prospects with 15H…is tied for the overall organizational lead in RBI (11).
- RHP Phil Hughes started for the National Division in the third annual Arizona League Rising Stars Game on 10/24…recorded a no-decision, allowing 3H and just
1ER in 3.0IP (4R, 2BB, 3K, 2HR).
Bryan Hoch
http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2008/10/yankees_may_be_in_market_for_m.html
http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2008/10/yankees_may_not_meet_mark_teix.html
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spinside305904087oct30,0,3027439.column
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10302008/sports/yankees/yankees_may_gun_for_manny_135928.htm
If Texeira wants more than 6 years he and Boras can f*** off. I doubt Ramirez would make financial sense either. What he’d command plus what would probably be lost on paying Matsui to sit on the bench or play elsewhere
I don’t care how productive Manny is @ the plate, he’s not worth $20 mil/year for 4 years. @ best 2 years but still not $20 mil. His best attribute would be playing the Monster against the chowds. I don’t care that Tex is a switch hitter & 28. He’s not worth $20 mil/year for 10 years either. I don’t want to see him play 1B ala Buckner when he’s 35-38 years old. Jeter will be playing 1B in a year or 2 & not LF like some one previously mentioned. Posada might be playing 1B sooner. We all know this team needs pitching first and foremost.
Oh and the World Series that I watched maybe 30 minutes total. Probably second worst to chowds vs. Rockies.
Horrible WS and horrible way to send baseball off; Horrible. Anyway, with the end of the postseason, it’s the start of a new season: HOT STOVE SEASON BABY! LET’S GET IT ON! I am so waiting for that 2K Sports video game to come out. I plan to be a GM one day. ‘ Challenging job, but I’ll handle it.
Horrible WS? There were 4 pretty close games in it…the standard of play Cole Hamels aside wasn’t great but I enjoyed it far more than any of the last four. The rain suspension didn’t help matters, but only game 4 was as one-sided as series in the past. How could anyone only watch 30 minutes of it? Not interested in watching the Rays pitching staff that’s going to be facing the Yanks for the next half decade? What about Jamie Moyer making the fall classic for the first time at 45? Blanton’s home run? (Edwin Jackson will probably be available this winter – that pitching definately put me off him) Er Hamels almost being the first pitcher to go 5-0 in the postseason?
There’s probably more in that WS than most to interest neutral viewers.
Yay for the Phillies! East coast represent! And I feel bad for the Rays and all, but coming from literally last place to second place is totally unthinkable. Some might even say impossible…but guess what? It happened. So it’s not totally impossible for us to get Cole Hamels is it?
I think that Scott Boras is crazy if he still thinks that Teixeira is going to get a 10yr/$200mil contract. Yes Teixeira is good, but with everything going on in the economy as well as the trend of giving out less long term deals in the league (not including A-rod) and the fact that he’ll be 39 come the end of that contract, it’s HIGHLY unlikely that anyone will offer him that deal, or even a deal close to that. Now, a 6yr/$19-20mil deal is far more reasonable, and I bet the Yankees will offer him something to that effect. If the Yankees can’t land Teixeira, do they bring back Giambi for another year and hope that Miranda will be ready to start seeing some time at 1B in ’09 and take over the job in ’10 (I seriously hope not, I think the Yankees need to cut ties with Giambi, sorry)? I don’t see Jeter being moved over to 1B anytime soon, like some of you guys are thinking.
As for Sabathia, I agree with just about everyone else that thinks the Yankees are going to offer a king’s ransom to Sabathia. Take into account that CC is 28 and a FREE AGENT (they’ll lose 2 draft picks but not organizational prospects), put the Brewers on his shoulders and got them into the playoffs, and the fact that the Yankees passed on Johan Santana because of the contract demands AND the prospects the Yankees would’ve had to give up to get him, it seems like a no-brainer that the Yankees wouldn’t throw Fort Knox at him to lure him into New York. I also personally don’t believe a thing Doug Mientkiewicz says (not just in regards to CC but to anything, remember him playing cat and mouse with the WS baseball a few years back, lol), but yes it’s been rumored that CC wants to stay close to California or that he likes the NL, but who in their right mind would give up a shot at being on a team that makes a serious run at the playoffs every year (and that’s not even factoring in the money)? Everyone knows the Yankees are committed to winning a WS, and they strive for that year in and year out (not that the other teams in MLB don’t) and they are in such a great position to make the playoffs every year. Don’t forget that new stadium across the street… With that in mind, I can see the Yankees offering Sabathia a Santana-like contract, if not even more $ included. They NEED pitching like a fat kid needs cake, so why not pursue the best pitcher in the Free Agent market, and arguably in the game (at least over the 2nd half of this past season)? If the Yankees don’t land Sabathia, they’re going to have to focus on a whole crop of FA pitchers, most with either minimal experience or injury problems. Sheets is really good, but often injured, same goes with Burnett. Garland is an innings eater and a proven effective starting pitcher in the AL, he wouldn’t be a bad option to look into as a #4 or #5 starter (MUCH better option than Ponson, Rasner or Pavano EVER would be, especially if Moose does retire).
I think if the Yankees somehow can’t get Sabathia, they’ll take a serious look at Oliver Perez, the 27 yr. old lefty from the Mets. He’s got some nasty and powerful stuff, but has battled control issues throughout his career. As solid and dependable as Derek Lowe has been, I think the Yankees need to stay away from signing any 35+ yr. old starting pitchers not named Pettitte or Mussina. In my opinion, the Yankees should be looking at the FA market for pitchers out of a list that includes Sabathia, Burnett, Sheets, Garland and Perez. Even though Sheets and Burnett have had injury issues in the past, their upside is too great to not at least look into them and see what they’re looking for. I guess also looking into maybe acquiring a SP through the trade market is a possibility, but what SP is out there on the trade block that is good and not named Peavy? As for the bullpen, I really don’t see too many changes being made from the members that held down the bullpen for the majority of last season, unless there’s a trade or 2 made including any of them. Do the Yankees pick up the $6mil. option on Marte? Does Phil Coke get a shot at being a lhp in the bullpen for the Yankees for all of ’09, or do they ship him back down to the minors to continue to be a SP? What will be the asking price for Brian Fuentes? If he’s reasonably priced, do the Yankees decline Marte’s option and make a push for Fuentes?
On to the OF… What options do the Yankees have for CF other than going with a Gardner/Cabrera platoon or by going with whichever of the 2 have a better spring training? If the Yankees re-sign Abreu (which I think they should for a 1yr. deal with club options for 2 yrs., that would give them flexibility to go after a stud OF such as Matt Holiday. Carl Crawford, Nick Markakis, etc.) does Nady play LF and have Damon play the majority of CF? Matsui’s days as an everyday OF are most likely behind him, so he’s going to see most of the time at the DH spot. Is it time to maybe use a few of the prospects that the Yankees have been stock piling to make a deal or 2? I think the Yankees have enough pitching prospects to make a few deals, without depleting their system.
Sorry for the book people. Sometimes I just start typing and don’t realize how long the post is until it gets to be novel-status.
Someone needs to send the MLB Trade rumors link to the Yankees players and let them have a good long look at what their counterparts in Tampa are making. It’s embarrassing when you consider that they (the Yanks) have been playing GOLF for the last month.
A lot has been said about the necessary changes for 2009. In my opinion:
STARTERS: Top priority. Some considerations: all efforts to get Sabathia should be pursued, because the Yankees more than ever lack a number 1 starter, while teams like Boston, or the Angels, have two. Chien Min-Wang is not 1-(or maybe even 2) because it implies you have to perform during post-season, which he hasn´t…yet (I hope he will next year!) Pettitte could be considered, but only if everybody accepts the fact that today he is at best a 4-5 pitcher, and so his $16 million of last year should be reduced… Unless changing news, Mussina is apparently bound to retire.
Cashman made a HUGE mistake last year not getting Santana. Every argument was about how expensive he might be, forgetting the pluses –two Cy Young´s, healthy, a fighter, and young-. The fact is that, so far, in the last decade Cashman has brought many Santanas-past-their-prime (Clemens, Johnson, Brown, Mussina) but never has been able to get the real deal.
And, let´s not forget, the value of guys like Santana (especially at 29) is that they are an extremely rare commodity.
If Sabathia doesn´t come, let´s be realistic and try to get a young arm (Zeinke?) and see what happens, but for God´s sake do not continue paying lots of millions to veteran guys –Lowe comes to mind- who right now are no better than a 3-4 starter, or often-injured guys (Sheets?) and tell us that they are the “solution” -they may come, but they must be paid according to their realistically expected contribution.
BULLPEN: Cashman has never been able to replicate this combo:
Mendoza-Stanton-Nelson-Rivera.
Meanwhile, let´s check the situation of some rivals:
Phillies: Durbin-Romero-Madson-Lidge
Boston: Masterson-DelCarmen-Okajima-López-Papelbon
Angels: Arredondo-Oliver-Shields-Rodríguez
Tampa Bay: Bradford-Howell-Price-Balfour-Wheeler
I liked what I saw in 2008 regarding new guys –Coke, Bruney, Ramirez, Veras- but a steady veteran would be a great insurance.
This post season has shown, once again, that if in short series you don´t have a dependable bullpen you go nowhere…
INFIELD-OUTFIELD:
I would bring back Abreu if he takes a 1-2 year deal. Look at his offensive numbers, especially this last season, and compare them with guys like Ordoñez, Guerrero or Drew. And he is better defensively. Besides, with Abreu gone, and if Giambi does not (and should not) return either we are talking about 196 RBIs that have to be recovered out there in the market.
A great attention must be placed to improving defense. That is why, if Abreu stays, and a guy like Teixeira is the first baseman, then Cano could be used as a bait (Colorado, San Diego, Arizona, could be interested), and Orlando Hudson, faster and much better defensively, could replace him. But if Abreu and Giambi are not adequately replaced, then I am afraid Cano´s bat should stay, and pray God he improves his defense and somehow a new Cano, with a brand new attitude, comes forward.
A young centerfielder like Nate McClouth would be a great improvement . If not, Damon is the guy. Cabrera and Gardner so far have shown only to have the tools of a 4th Yankee outfielder, and that´s it. (If I had to pick one, Gardner would be my choice.)
A third catcher should be considered. Let´s face it, even if Posada´s shoulder is OK, he will not catch more than 100-110 games, and Molina is just a good back up to the back up. And, what if Posada cannot catch? The team would have got another candidate for DH, but then at least one, maybe two more catchers would have to be found ASAP. (To think that Dioner Navarro was a Yankee rookie!)
Summary: Sabathia, Teixeira, McClouth (or someone similar) would be great picks. If they are not available, then spend less, cross your fingers, but please, do not get back to the 80s and bring the Loftons or the Camerons that were damaging in the past and would be in the future. Other names to be considered: Conor Jackson, Daric Barton, Joey Votto, (1B) Max Ramirez, Jarrod Saltalamacchia (C), Nick Markakis, Jeremy Hermida, Matt Holliday (OF).
Post: if Abreu declines arbitration, Manny will be targetted. Obviously the thinking either way is Damon in center.
Giambi won’t net a draft pick, he played too many games at DH.
By bpark23@gmail.com on October 31, 2008 12:22 PM
Denver papers are discussing a Kennadia-Taveras deal. Taveras is slow, we need someone who can cover the outfield.
Tino doesn’t want 3B job, he wouldn’t mind Cashman’s job.
I’m not so sure that Mike Mussina was brought to the Yankees past his prime. He signed as a FA in 2000, at about the age of 31. He’s spent the past 8 yrs as a pitcher for the New York Yankees, and he’s averaged 15+ wins a season since he joined the Yankees. Through his tenure as a Yankee, he’s started at least 27 games each season, and the last time he started less than 27 games in a single season was 1994. He’s been effective and durable through his whole career. I honestly hope that he doesn’t retire, and comes back to the Yankees. He does so much for the team that losing him would be a huge deal (think of all of the experience he has and the knowledge he has that he passes down to the younger pitchers in the organization).
I do think the Yankees should trade for Saltalamacchia, there’s plenty of young arms in the system that the Rangers need, seeing as they have nobody in Texas and they have a ridiculous stock pile of young catchers. Salty would provide long-term insurance at the C position, as well as 1B in a pinch. Going forward with my post from before, I think the Yankees should make 100% pushes for Sabathia, Teixeira and Saltalamacchia. Those should be the 3 major acquisitions for the Yankees this offseason. However, they shouldn’t end there. They also need at least 1 more SP, maybe 1 veteran arm for the bullpen, and a finalized long term fix for the OF.
sper,
Every time I try to make a case for Moose someone shoots it. He’s been a big part of this team for a LONG time, giving them innings and wins (including 20 a season removed from HOWLS for his head on a platter!)
This team needs a legitimate ace next season.
Yes rcngolf, I totally agree with you. There wouldn’t have even be a remote shot at the Yankees making the playoffs this past season if it wasn’t for Moose. Furthermore, he’s been a stable ROCK in the rotation since he joined the team 8 yrs. ago. If he wants to pitch at all next season, the Yankees need to jump at the chance and give him another contract. If I was Cashman, I’d even try to convince Moose to pitch for another yr at least, if he is in fact leaning towards retirement. If they want Pettitte back, why wouldn’t they want Moose back?
Wakefield, Delgado and Barajas picked up.
I think Mike Mussina has always been a very good pitcher. With the Orioles he even had excellent seasons; but his only full season in his whole career with an ERA lower than 3.00 was…in 1992.
Post season? his numbers, at best, are good, but not more than that…When he got to the Yankees the expectations were certainly higher…
Then again, even more than Pettitte, I would like him to come back, but remember, right now he will not be a 1-2 pitcher and that´s what the Yankees need most.
Another thing: Beyond the obvious names that are currently being considered, I would really like that Cashman could, somehow, surprise everybody and get, very cheap, one of those “sleepers”, the kind of players who so far have not achieved anything special, but have the tools and the promise to make it. A year ago, trying to get Shane Victorino would have been possible; today, forget it pal. But the guy always was hangin there, showing promise. I saw him play winter ball and he already was showing the same “extra” effort in his game that everybody enjoyed in the recent post season. What about Carlos Quentin? Almost the same case. Now Kenny Williams looks like a genius.
Who will be the Quentins and the Victorinos of 2009? Identifying them, and getting them cheap, that´s what makes the difference between a regular GM and guys like Pat Gillick….
Hey redsuxblow… You should be put in posting time out. Almost every post I’ve read from you has an insulting comment on it toward someone from this blog. Maybe you should relax a little bit and stop insulting people, because the majority of your posts aren’t really that thoughtful. Moose is not an ace, and everyone knows that, but don’t say the Yankees need to get younger, and then go and spew out the names of 2 pitchers, 1 being a 32 yr. old injury plagued pitcher and the other being a 35 yr. old pitcher that did alright in the WEAK NL west division. How does that really make this team younger, or better for that matter? I’ll take Moose over Lowe every day. Yes the Yankees need to get younger, but they also need to have the veterans around, because their impact is far greater than just what they accomplish on the field. They teach the younger players, help them along with strategy, scouting, pitch locations in certain counts, etc. etc.
That’s telling this know-nothing ******* redsuksblow. Reading this retard’s posts has been nauseating!!!!
My know-nothing posts? Whatever you say guy.