Yankees Winter League Report

Bryan,

Do you know if Sojo is coming up and Pena moving to 3b?
I can't imagine Randolph would come back. Not just because the Mets are paying him but because like Mattingly, Girardi would have to look over his shoulder.

If not Sojo, how about Tino? I heard he prefers to stay in Tampa.

I'd love to have Sojo back.

Bryan,
What do you think was behind Mecham's dismissal? Was he the sacrificial lamb?

THE lesson to be learned here is NEVER send the ace of your staff home in a game that you are ahead when you are in Houston. That play sealed Meachie's fate.

I understand what you are saying but he can't have the responsibility for that. Wang is a 28 year old athlete. There is at least SOME expectation that he can run around a base path without a season ending injury. Afterall, pitchers in the NL do it all the time.

Ok, it's time to make Willie a Yankee again. Dump Thomson and bring him on.

Bring back O'Neill while you at it.

Where the hell is everybody? I figured there'd be at least SOME joy at watching the SUCHS get spanked the last two games.

Another solid email:

Tony Pena Sr
From: Ken Ostrum (kennyo@juno.com)
You may not know this sender. Mark as safe | Mark as unsafe
Sent:Wed 10/15/08 11:34 AM
To: bpark23@gmail.com

My elderly sister received a baseball bat directly from Tony Pena Sr at a game many years ago. Her son made a patio chair using bats and included Tony's autographed bat as part of the chair, She would like to send Tony a copy of the photo. Do you know how I can find his mailing address or E-mail address?

Ken Ostrum
kennyo@juno.com
32 Kinley Dr
Emporium, PA
814.486.3948

____________________________________________________________
Click here for free information on nursing degrees, up to $150/hour

3B coach could be Thompson. Willie could replace Thompson.

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/yankees/archives/2008/10/burnett_jays_ar.html

After reading this Prior-Peavy comparison, I think we need to check in on Volquez.
http://www.dugoutcentral.com/blog/?p=1944

rcgolf, I'm feeling very good about the Sox getting spanked, especially since I'm cheering for the Rays this year. Didn't want to jinx anything though. I swear if the Sox come back one more time I will kill someone(preferably Epstein or Francona)

Volquez is seen as an untouchable player by the Reds no chance they will give him up. Also from what I'm hearing Peavy heavily prefers the NL over the AL, he will not waive his no trade clause in a deal with an AL team.

Matt,
You never answered my question last week, or I missed it somehow. I know you like Hughes, but would you include him in a trade for Matt Cain?

Volquez is "untouchable"? Josh Hamilton was dealt for him. The Reds are trying to cut costs not add them. I think its worth asking what it would take. Funny how Minnesota viewed Santana as untouchable until he rejected their contract offer. It is worth asking.

@Robert. I wouldn't trade Hughes but I am leaning towards say we should include Cano in the right deal.

The only pitchers that would interest me are Both Santanas and Volquez. All the rest, especially Burnett scare me. Fuentes is a must to go with the Youngans.

Matt,
Is that if we can sign Hudson?

Robert,

I think you meant that last post for bpark, not me. No I wouldn't trade Hughes for Cain. Hughes can still be something special for this team who could very well be an ace down the road. I like Cain a lot too. He also could be an ace for a good team, plus he is still very young. It's a tough call, but I would stay with Hughes.

Reds name Edinson Volquez, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto, Edwin Encarnacion as the players they see as untouchable. They aren't going to cut sacrifice this team's future for payroll reasons. No way are they going to move Volquez. I believe his contract is paying him minimum

I hear you but it Santana all over, they won't be able to pay him soon, so they will need to make a decision and they have been trying to move Griffey and Dunn for several years to cut payroll.

Matt,
Yes. I didn't notice BP answered my question. I believe every player is "touchable" for the right package. But I don't see the Yankees bowling over any other team this year. 2010 or 2011 could be a different story with more of our players on the farm nearing Major League ready.

There is no way they can pay Eddy Volquez the kind of contract he is going to command.

I personally would rather include Cano or Nady if we are able to get an Ervin Santana, a Johan Santana or an Eddy Volquez. We need to add to the rotation. If they want Kennadia (or Wright), they can have him but not Hughes.

Rent-a-Pettitte? A rumor is going around that the Dodgers are interested in making him an offer.

Volquez is not proven enough for me. He needs at least another year to see what adjustments are made by hitters against him.

He wont go.

and Matt Cain? OK, given he's played for the Giants. But he's gone 15-30 over the last two seasons? Yes, I know, the Giants but Lincecum was able to throw together an 18-5 season with them. Cain's a young kid from a very small market who showed about the same promise in the minor's as Hughes did. Maybe he's got some talent but why would he fare any better in NY than, say, IPK or Phil? And don't tell me "Well, I've seen him pitch."

Thats true but I would being willing to deal for him if Cinci wanted to move him before he costs too much.

I guess I would be best looking at Volquez's AL #s.

Pass on Caine and Peavy.

and you're going to trade away a 25 year old 2b-man who in his first 4 seasons in the majors is batting .303 with 65 homers and projects by practically the whole of MLB to be a .300/40/100 guy and a batting title contender for a 23 year old who was 8-14 this season and 7-16 last?

Andy likes NY. He didn't want to leave the first time. He doesn't want to leave now. He'll retire first.

I consider trading Cano before Hughes but only for a quality starter.
Pettitte is going nowhere, just a rumor.

Here's the fallacy Golf: We're suppose to hit a 1000 runs and win the world series. Well, we could hit a 1000 runs and finish 4th if we are not good defensively. Cano didn't just have a bad year offensively, he committed way too many errors. Mark Texiera will not fix this team, he will be part of this fallacy. We need a strong rotation with depth and a bullpen with anchors not all young guys. If Mo got hurt, we would be in same situation as the Mets and it would be too late to put Joba back in the pen. I am not advocating trading Cano, I am just saying we should keep Hughes, get Fuentes and 2 solid non Burnett/Pavano starters.

1000 runs might win the division and get swept in the ALDS.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3645152
Clemens to retire a Yankee.

Cain could be another failure in NY, but at least he has enough MLB experience to allow extensive scouting reports. Beyond that, everybody is a crap shoot to some degree!!!

bpark,

Volquez will be getting paid the league minimum next season as well. There's no chance that the Reds will let a staff ace go while at the same time paying such a cheap price. Who would they get to replace him? A more expensive FA? He will be arbitration eligible in '10. He along with Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto, and Edwin Encarnacion are considered untouchable. Chance are the Reds will look to cut all the dead weight they can before they look at looking to trade any of those players, Aaron Harang, and Bronson Arroyo are definite possibilites for trades, that's if the Reds are serious about cutting down their payroll. I just don't see them breaking up that group any time soon.

Matt,
Volquez may not be abritation eligible yet but I guarantee that unless he suddenly collapses, we will have a Santana type situation where they can't pay him. I am making the point, we should do due diligence here and ask.

Arroyo is an another Boston reject, he may be better than Lowe but not better than Vazquez who as you pointed at is barely better than Garland garbage.

Can we get a we want Willie back thread and article please Dr. Bryan Hoch.

Matt where did you stand on Pennington and where you stand now? I wanted him to backup Elister.

I'm not saying the Yanks should go after Harang or Arroyo. They shouldn't. I'm saying the Reds will cut them lose before they trade Volquez since that would do more to cut their payroll.

Actually, I was all for getting Pennington despite the fact he doesn't have a strong arm. It's not like Miami had much choice since they didn't have a decent QB in place. I think he has done extremely well so far, he hasn't cost the team any games. So I think he has been a steal for them. I'm not delusional though, I don't think this team will win more than 8 games this season, with all their holes, but that's still a huge turn around from last season. Pennington is just a bridge to Henne.

As for Cain, looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to his won-loss record and his stats. Playing on a piss-poor team like the Giants can skew anyone's numbers, stats don't tell the whole story. His record says more about the team he has been on than it does about him as a pitcher. The fact that Lincecum had a great record reflects how dominant of a pitcher he is. If anything I prefer Lincecum and I would trade him for a player like Cano. Cain had could be generally considered 23 good or quality starts last season and of those 9 were no-decisions winning 8 and losing 6 games which he could have won. He only had 9 starts which could be considered mediocre or poor for the entire season. In '07, he had could be considered 25 quality starts 8 of which were no-decisions for him winning 6 of them losing 11 of them. The point being, he is a far better pitcher than his numbers indicate. If he were with a team like the Yankees he could most likely have averaged 18-20+ wins since coming to the majors. I love Cano's ability and potential, but I would trade him in a heartbeat for a pitcher who has the potential to be an ace and keep a good team in the game in the game 75% of the time. No, there's nothing to indicate he would do well in the AL, but with that being said, lets not go handing Cano the Triple Crown yet. I don't care who projects him to hit .300+ or hit 40 HR's with 100+ RBI's. Projections are just that projections. As with Cain succeeding in the AL, there's no proof that Cano produce those type of numbers, I'll believe it when I see it. His weaknesses as a hitter were exposed this season, and he's going to have to work on those weaknesses before he can produce those numbers. Besides, does it make much sense to pass on a quality pitcher when you have a chance to get one?

I like how Pennington manages games. John Beck is 2nd rounder, Parcells should have been more patient.

Don't think Parcells liked what he saw in Beck last season. Wasn't much better during preseason either. At least Parcells has this team turned around and has a QB of the future in Henne.

Matt, you say Volquez is a staff ace? A little quick to jump the gun there? Let him earn it first; One season means nothing, I still look at this kid as an unkown. When he can post up those numbers consistently, then we call him an ace, and no, I wouldn't trade for the guy if he was available. To me, he's just as unproven as Hughes and Kennedy and Chamberlain ( though Joba has proven he can be a big time pitcher in this league). ' Don't need a new question mark in the rotation. As for Lincecum, he ahd a good season, but I'd like another couple of seasons before a I annoint him " Staff Ace"; Matt Cain is their staff ace, o doubt about it. I would much rather have him than Timothy at this point.

Although the stats you provide for Cano are unrealistic, maybe you are being a bit too harsh with your judgement. Yes, he had a bad season and looked like a fool with some of the pitches he swung at this year but I credit that to him not seeing the ball well out the pitcher's hand more than anything. Why did it all fall apart this season for him? Well, he had a very unorthodox swing in the past, but his head movement was minimal; His swing was a two step swing in the past year ( 07, 06, 05 ) load, step then swing. And he seemed to have that batting stance perfected. This year, he lost it. His hands were way too far behind his body, his head was moving because he was off balance ( he widened his stance a bit ) and his foot was coming down to late or too early, never in one consistent place. His new stance, however, has him more fundamentally sound and he raised his BA from .260 to .271 in a couple of weeks; That's saying something! It says that he's seeing the ball better, and he may not be the " bad pitch chaser " we have him thought out to be. From the point Cano changed his swing on, take this: he hit .421 with only 2 Ks and 5 BBs. He may never hit more than 20 HRs-- we don't need him too. If he can make that contact that he was making the last two weeks of the season, he could be the next batting champion.

BTW, did you guys hear? Pettitte has decided to come back! That leaves two more spots in the rotation to fill. It' Wang, Chamb and Pettitte; I wonder how this affects our FA approach now.... probably won't.

Parcells simply wants his own guys.
Pettitte is ready to negotiate a return. See CNN. 2 plus Fuentes right? Or Chamberlain in pen and 3 more starters. Paul O'Neill can pitch. We saw this before.

bronxkidd,

I'm not so sure I'm all that premature about calling Volquez a staff ace, especially when you see what the Reds have in the starting rotation.Looking at their career stats I'm not so sure that Volquez isn't their staff ace, but I could be wrong, and he could flame out next season, who knows. I don't think he is as unproven as Chamberlain, Kennedy or Hughes. He was able to get through a whole season with quite a bit of success as his numbers indicate so that puts him ahead of those guys.

If the Giants didn't have Lincecum then I would say Matt Cain is the staff ace of the Giants, but after the dominating season he had this season and being able to put up the won-lost record that he did despite playing for such a terrible team and the fact that he is a serious contender for the CY Young, and the fact that he has better stuff than Cain automatically makes him the staff ace. Could he flame out next season? Yeah, but I doubt it. He just doesn't strike me as that type of pitcher. I would definitely take him over Cain in a heartbeat.

As for Cano, his problems were more than mechanics, he was a bit of a head case too with a poor attitude at times and swinging at anything he saw at times. Just hoping he doesn't go back to that next season, otherwise it won't matter what correctinos he makes in his hitting we'll see the same Cano next season.