Cashman back to "change the story"

Some names to watch:
Wladamir Guerrero: If Anaheim re-signs Texiera, mosts experts believe, Guerrero will be expendable. We will get him this time.
Manny Ramirez: Even with Guerrero, his power makes him a DH candidates in Hankee's world.
Orlando Hudson: Even if he is not on 2nd, we may sign him anyway as a bench player.

Some Yankees to watch:
Cano: could move positions, could be traded. If Hudson is signed, this could be an indication.
Phil Hughes: If the Yankees sign to 2 free agent starters, Aceves will likely round out the rotation and not Hughes. Mistake yes but value high.
Cabrera: No one wants him?
Gardener: If the Yankees add to outfielders, Gardener will become the 4th outfielder. Many teams are intrigued by him much more than Cabrera.
Marquez/Horne: names will come up in all trades.
Kennadia: He will be moved.
Pudge: He has been told to hang tight. Look for him in spring training as a non roster invite as they evaluate Posada.
Akei Igawa: Will he catch a flight?

Not so Long before Kevin is reassigned and Meachum is gone?

Burnett is worth about as much as the contents of Pavano's locker and that ain't much man. Besides, he prefers Florida teams?

No way Manny comes here. If the bosses have learned ANYTHING, ANYTHING at all, it was not lack of baseball talent that made this past season what it was. It was something more intangible, something that Manny Ramierez will only EXACERBATE.

These are not my opinions, they are merely interesting things to watch. You better believe we will do our due deligents with Manny. We are still the Steinbrenner Yankees.

rcngolf,

Obviously you missed my point completely,as I already addressed your point in my earlier post about Pettitte. You obviously missed my point. I apologize if the words I used were to big for you or beyond your comprehension. You obviously are totally incapable of backing up your own statements. By the way, those same people also understood what I was saying. Lets hope you move on to another planet.

Pettitte>the new stadium.

Starting Pitchers on the block?
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/10/olney-young-sta.html

More on 40 man/rule 5:
http://emedia.thetimes-tribune.com/Blogs/SWBYankeesBlog/tabid/552/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/4599/For-your-consideration-40man-candidates.aspx

And since we mention "reaching out" to Mussina, remember we essentially did the same to Pettitte for 2007 and 2008. So, in my book he did much more for the Yankees than Bernie Williams.

We didn't have to bring back Bernie the year before th spring training invite but we did.
Pettitte>Obama.

Ok Matt, I'll give it one more try here. Tell me if I "missed your point".
Andy Pettitte is an old over the hill, washed up has been who will never give anything to the Yankees in the future except bloated numbers. Am I close so far?
And if we're going to go after Andy, Derek Lowe would be a better choice because he was a reliever first in his career.
Did I miss something? Didn't think so. I understand you because I am well versed in reading the scribing of a 9 year old (as my son is in 4th grade.)
I don't have to repeat my arguments again. I've laid out my arguments for extending Andy at least a 1 year contract, if not a 1/1 option. I've laid out my arguments for NOT going after Lowe "or someone like him". I am confident that I got my points across since OTHERS here seemed able to comprehend them. If you didn't get it, that's your problem, not mine.

Pettitte shouldn't get $16M but he should have a spot in our rotation. He helped build the new stadium.

My baseball watching days are getting close to being history.
1) 3 more years of Yankees losing w/ the extension to Cashman.
2) LA Dodgers making it to the World Series.
3) Blow-socks making it to the World Series.
4) Blow-socks winning again.
Is the apocalypse coming?

Seeing as he's apparently deserted the Dodgers, what do you guys think of Brad Penny if he can be got on a short-term deal???

rcngolf,

What a surprise, you did miss my point for Lowe, so you might want to go back to 1st grade and brush up on your reading skills. Where did I say he would be a better choice because he was a reliever first in his career? I never did. Go back and show me where I said that. Once again, I said it was absolutely ridiculous to compare a career starter to a pitcher who was just converted into a reliever in '02. I have repeated myself over and over again why he would be a better option than bringing Pettitte back. You have given no arguments why he wouldn't be except these ridiculous general statements which you can't even back up like "Lowe isn't an AL pitcher". Why? Because he had somewhat high ERA's in two seasons? In that case neither is Pettitte who has more than his share of bloated stats like in '99 when his ERA was 4.70 or '00 when his ERA was 4.35 or his this season 4.54. Here's another one, "He can't pitch in New York". How do you know?

As for Pettitte, yes, I said that he is getting older and his skills are slipping, but I also gave you other reasons as well, reasons you seem to "conveniently" ignore, reasons like brining a player like Pettitte back is a risk, more than your typical player. Another is, he that he can't be counted on to win as consistently as he once did. As rocket pointed out he had a losing record at him this season and this team barely has a winning record at home in games he has started since coming back to the Yankees. Also it doesn't matter if a pitcher is lefthanded, if a pitcher's skills have diminished to the point where he is more of a threat to team's success he shouldn't be on the team. I understand your arguments perfectly, always have, the problem is you willfully ignore, or just plain don't get the arguments against having him back. It's impossible to argue with someone wh is as thick-skulled as yourself and doesn't doesn't bother to look at both sides of an argument or is the only person who just doesn't get it.

rcngolf wouldn't want Penny because he isn't lefthanded, he pitched for the Dodgers, and is injury prone having been put on the 15 day DL twice and being put on the 60 day DL in mid-September.

Me, I'm a little worried about his recent shoulder problems.

hmm I guess the fact that the Dodgers aren't likely to pick up his option is a bad sign for his health

First time in a long time I've posted on this blog, one thing is for sure nothing has changed with all the insults amongst ourselves. Can you guys knock it off? My kid reads this blog fairly often he doesn't need to be reading all the crap that is going on here. I read this blog religiously everyday, and you guys act like Matt is on a crusade to get Lowe on this team. I don't remember anywhere in his posts he said that. I do remember he has plainly said he doesn't want him on this team, so why the argument? Did he something that hurt someone's feelings? I don't mind people disagreeing with each other that is everyone's right, but to let the argument degenerate into constant bickering and constant insults is really pathetic, it just shows what type of people some you are.

I agree this team needs a lefty as part of the rotation, but Matt is also right when he says it's extremely risky to let a player who is near the end of his career be a part of this team. Doesn't matter if he is a lefty, if he can't pitch he can't pitch. I would rather see a pitcher who has the ability like Burnett on this staff. unfortunately, that means an all righty rotation. Not the best situation, but the pickings are slim this season, not much to choose from. I would rather go after the most talented pitcher available (lefty or righty) and look at who gives this team the best chance at becoming a winner. I wouldn't simply sign a pitcher just because he is a lefty. So lets stop this senseless bickering and agree to disagree if need be. After all we're all Yankee fans, aren't we?

One other thing, I just read that the Yanks are looking to reduce the payroll down to the $180 mill level, and the A's might be interested in signing Giambi to a 2-year contract, yeah good luck with that!!!! Yanks would be foolish to bring him back.

Apparently Peavy is on the trading block. You can imagine Hank and Hal getting twitchy if we don't land any FA pitchers. Could be goodbye to the farm.

Peavy's trade value at the moment as he's not on a massive contract is just ludicrous. Cano + Hughes + Jackson might not even be enough. I would advocate staying well away from this one.

Aussie Bryan reports on Rays and White Sox, bases loaded in 7th. Orlando Cabrera up. Good old fashioned Aussie in David Balfour strikes out Cabrera with three mid nineties fast balls. This after some good Aussie Sledging between Balfour and Cabrera.

As an Aussie I may have to switch temporarily to The Rays for The Post Season with that effort, real fireworks.

Aussie Bryan

Cashman is back? I know ‘change’ is a word thrown out a lot these days (Between Obama, McCain, the Yankees…) but this man better change if he wants a championship. In more ways than one. Btw, I know I said I want the Rays to win it all, but I saw the Dodgers game yesterday and changed my mind. But a Rays-Dodgers World Series…I might actually watch. Torre all the way!, Maybe then we’ll all notice just how much we’re lacking in the managerial department. And if Cashman can change that in any way—more power to him.

yankeekiller,

I agree, this team needs to go after the most talented available, the ones who give the Yanks the best chance of being a successful organization.This team needs a lefty which are at a premium right now but it can't afford to settle for lesser talent. IF that means losing a pitcher like Pettitte, so be it!!

I tooooold you guys. Chamberlain's a starter! :P That leaves two nails in the coffin. Wang, Chamberlain. Brad Penny is an interesting suggestion, whoever made it. Since I think Pettitte's coming back, that would be two more holes. Think Sabathia or Burnett; With the payroll being diminished next year to 180 million, I think the priority would be to sign ONE AL experienced pitcher, sign Teixeira ( the Yankees will go hard for him.) and trade for another starter or fill the last hole internally with Hughes. I think Hughes will be the fifth starter. BPark, although I think that suggestion you made about the Yankees opting to put Aceves in the fifth spot isn't crazy, I can't say they would pick him over Hughes with all the trades they've passed on just to retain him. They're sending him over to Arizona to build his innings for exactly this matter. He'll be our fifth starter barring a horrible spring.

BTW, Sabathia has given up five runs ( one run second inning and a GS in fourth ). He pithed 4+ innings. Honestly, I think the Brewers shot themselves in the arm this time. They rode CC too hard and it backfired on them when they needed him most: game two of the NLDS. What did they expect, sending a guy out on only three days rest, three consecutive times? Did they have no other starters? Sheesh, they make Ben Sheets look bad. Manny Parra, Dave Bush, Yovani Gallardo should have all had their shots to get them to this position, instead, CC looked wasted on the mound ( you could see it in his face and body language ) this time around.

Chaz, you might be right about Hughes but I wouldn't say Aceves is out of the equation. Alot has to happen between now and opening day. Hughes could even end up on another ball club.

Maybe its Pettitte, Wang, Aceves, Chamberlain and Hughes in no order. With Moose probably retiring and Joba in the rotation, we still need another back end starter and we need relief help. No Joba in the pen plus Veras/Ramirez don't have the stamina, we need Fuentes plus more.

Well, hold on a minute Buster Olney, did you forget that CC and Burnett were out on the market? They don't exactly fit in as " backend help".

Hughes isn't going anywhere. Veras and Ramirez are middle relief help, what exactly do you mean when you say " they don't have the stamina " ? Like I said, Fuentes will be looking to save games, not set-up. Can we get past this? I bet half the things you say are going to happen won't ever cross Cashman's mind.

Absolutely not. The bullpen is in decent shape, and with the other issues Cashman needs to address this offseason, any changes or additions to the bullpen will be supplementary players as part of a much larger trade. Hughes will definitely start the year in the rotation, and Cano isn't going anywhere; that's utter nonsense. Right now they're breaking down Cano's swing mechanics so they can find the weakness that AL pitchers and scouts took advantage of all year. They're not going to fix his swing and then hand him to another team. I can't believe how short term some fans' memories are, that when an obviously talented player in a struggling club struggles, they turn on him. At the very least, think reasonably: Cashman's staying to try and make his legacy a success, and Cano is one of the few products of the Yankee farm system that is working and will continue to work out. He WILL bounce back next season, and the Yankees know it.

Great posts bronxkidd. I've been wondering what the Brewers were thinking with their usage of Sabathia in recent weeks. Apparently, not much.

Vera/Ramirez ran out of gas

Fuentes may want to close but he didn't always close in Colorado.

Burnett is injury prone like Pavano
CC is too expensive for his body.

Just looked at the Peavy article Robert posted. I really don't see this as a bad option. Like I said, I disagree with candyrunts on the idea that Cano is up for grabs for anyone, but a Kennedy-Melky-Jackson-Rasner package might be something to turn San Diego's head. That way we retain Hughes and Joba, have Gardner come up to the bigs, and don't lose too many valuable prospects while picking up a great starter. I think Peavy could do very well for New York, and I think it would be good for Melky and Rasner to be elsewhere.

Going after Penny might not be such a hot idea since the Dodgers put him on the 60-Day DL in mid-September. We don't know how serious it is or if he will fully recover. Penny is just too much of a risk if not question mark to take on. Go with some one like burnett instead, he is an injury risk too, but at least he has been healthy lately.

Peavy would be a great pick up, but I seriously doubt that the Padres would deal him for a pitcher who has struggled in Kennedy, a CF in cabrera who has struggled or a pitcher like Rasner who is neither a starter or reliever. I don't remember who said this, but they are right when they say you should only move prospects or young players when they are coming off a good year not a bad one. At least their value is maximized that way. Only a fool would trade for a struggling player.

Or a desperate team which I would call the Padres. Kennedy and Melky have both shown a lot of potential at the big league level. The entire Yankees team struggled in 2008, with the exceptions of Joba and Mussina, so by that logic, no one would be interested in any trade with the Yankees.

I don't think Peavy will be with the Yankees anytime soon. It'll be like the Santana sweepstakes except Peavy has a reasonable contract of value and length and countless teams would be involved. They won't accept anything but major league ready players with blue chip prospects thrown in. Think more than Oakland got for Dan Haren.

We'd have to give up a huge amount for the guy. Only Texas needs starting pitching that badly. We have Wang, Hughes, Joba + free agent help that looks promising + some prospects, it's not exactly threatening stuff but without disastrous injuries it'll be a competitive staff

Oh Cubbies! I really thought the Dodgers would be a nice and easy divisional series for Chicago. I just didn't see their pitching holding up relatively to the Cubs'

Teams are 16-0 after going 2-0 up in the NLDS. I guess Milwaukee are screwed too. Hopefully so is 'west-coast is the best-coast' CC

What Candy!? You're rooting for the Cubs? You know what, you feel bad for Big Z, because he pitched a gem ( although he'd still be down two-zero ) and this game would look differently if not for a shoddy Cubs defense. Now they'll come into the series down two games AND in Dodger stadium. Not good for that team, but nothing's impossible. They need to play better fundamental baseball... looks like the pressure has got them losing their minds out there.

On the other hand, I'm rooting for my Dodgers over there. They finally have a complete team. Good, balanced lineup, great rotation, a shut down bulllpen and solid defense. Not to mention that this team is young and mostly homegrown with guys like Kemp, Ethier, Billingsley, Kershaw, Martin, Loney and so on. They wouldn't be here without Manny and Blake though, but that's what the lineup lacked: patient power hitters.

As for what you guys are now dicsussing... I don't think Peavey is in New York unless we give up Joba, Cano and some prospects. The guy has a controlled, affordable salary, he is an ace, and he is young-- 27, I think. So to the Padres I say: Thanks, but no thanks! Peavey is not equal to 150 innings of Joba and a potential batting champion in Cano. Suck on some corn.

I forgot give Billingsley his props! Seven innings, two hits, seven Ks. Man, this is exactly what the Cubs need, for a pitcher to go out there and shut it down... or at least give them a chance. MAN, they did themselves in tonight though, with that horrible defense. Too bad...

I'm rooting for the Cubs and the last two games have been awful. I really wanted to see the Cubs beat the Red or White Sox in the series. Well, as you say nothing's impossible. We'll see how Rich Harden does tomorrow. Worst case scenario I'll root for a Red Sox-Dodgers series and watch Torre manage Manny against the Red Sox.

I guess you guys are right about Peavy, but it couldn't hurt to make an offer.

My only concern about including Melky in a trade is that we'll then have to plan on Damon spending TOOO much time in CF. I'm not convinced that he's good for more than 40 games there and not more then one or two in a row, especially on turf.
If Moose retires, that opens up a VERY large hole and I would'nt be surprised to see the Yanks decide to put Joba there. I think he has to start there, not the "transition". I'm not sure that worked out this year. If they are going to limit his innings then let him skip a start here and there. Limit him to 6 a game, for 30 starts, thats 180. Ok a few more than the 150 they were targeting. But let the kid pitch for crying out loud.
Here's a little gem no one's posted yet:

"But [Sabbathia] struggled in the playoffs — again. He's lost his last three postseason starts, including two against Boston in last year's ALCS. Overall, Sabathia is 2-3 with a 7.92 ERA in the playoffs."

So far some strangeness going on as far as I'm concerned. Cubs down 0-2. Phillies up 2-0. Wasn't expecting that.

Newsday: Sojo replacing Pena, Pena moving to third.
Mail: Yankees looking at Lowe blow Red Sox reject.
Post: Cameron in center.

let's look at Cashmans record
Clemens (good)
Mussina (good)
Giambi (bad)
Matsui (Ok)
Sheffield (Uh)
Kevin Brown (why)
ARod (paid way too much)
Pavano (Are you serious)
Jaret Wright (Are you serious again)
Randy Johnson (over the hill)
Kei Igawa (who)
Pettite in 2006 (too old)
Resigned old Posada and ARod to bigger deal
Didn't trade for Santana( Stupid non move). And he's suppose to put together the team to win a World Series?