2011 New York Yankees Thread

[PeteyNice]

Nothing personal, but thats a very flimsy comparison. Niedermayer was a career Devil to that point and not a free agent coming from somewhere else. Niedermayer was given the benefit of the doubt because of where he came from to begin with. It was also a weak defensive free agent market that year. The pitching market this year was incredibly weak outside of Lee. Our problem is starting pitching, who else was available? The target was always going to be Lee and everyone knew that.

The Hot Stove is not over. We can invest a lot of money into the bullpen and bench and maybe trade for a starter either before spring training or wait until July. Boston is definitely better, but not unbeatable. Sabathia, Hughes, Andy (if he comes back) is a solid 3 starter rotation. Burnett may bounce back as well.

I dont blame Lee for choosing Philly. He left a lot of money on the table to go play somewhere he was familiar with, that he enjoyed, and to be on a possibly historic staff. Texas is the one who hurts the most from this. A

The comparison is that by waiting around for your top target to make a decision you miss out on other opportunities. Niedermayer being "a lifelong Devil" is immaterial. Waiting cost the Devils and they still paid for it years later. Hell, you could make a case they still have not recovered. Waiting cost the Yankees. Crawford was a legitimate Plan B. You sign Crawford you can move Gardner for a starter. Now? There is no one on the big league roster (outside of maybe Chamberlain whose stock can't be all that high) that you can move. Most of the top bullpen guys are already gone.

I don't blame Lee for choosing Philly, much as I would not have blamed him for choosing Texas or Washington or Kansas CIty. I blame Cashman for not working harder to get it done and not having a viable Plan B.

Cashman is great when he can write big checks or make salary dump moves. I have yet to be impressed with the rest of his work.

[ghdi]

Martin's a Yankee.

The Yankees have reached an agreement with catcher Russell Martin, reports MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. With Jorge Posada moving into a designated hitter role next year, Martin should be the Yankees' starting catcher. Since Martin has less than five years of service time, he's under team control for 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.

Martin, 28 in February, hit .248/.347/.332 in 387 plate appearances for the Dodgers before being non-tendered this month. His season ended in August due to a hairline fracture in his right hip, so his Yankees physical is not a formality. Martin was once a rising star for the Dodgers, but he turned down a $4.2MM offer (an $850K pay cut) to return in 2011. The Red Sox and Blue Jays also bid for his services. Martin is represented by Matt Colleran.

[Jerrydevil]

This should be a wake-up call for the Yankees to do a better job developing pitchers. They really need Phil Hughes to step it up now. I think Burnett is a lost cause, but maybe the new pitching coach can salvage him.

[ghdi]

This should be a wake-up call for the Yankees to do a better job developing pitchers. They really need Phil Hughes to step it up now. I think Burnett is a lost cause, but maybe the new pitching coach can salvage him.

Burnett has always been erratic year to year it seems. I think he can bounce back, but the pressure to do so is huge now.

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

Really if Pettite comes back and Nova does good enough to be a fifth starter, the Yankees SR will be OK. Boston is obviously a concern, but they weakened Tampa enough that I don't think they'll factor into the playoff race again. If the Yankees want another starter, they should probably turn to someone on the lower end with the ability to eat innings and induce ground balls. Their starting 10 (including Jorge for DH and assuming Martin passes his physical) is locked in and strong. The bench could use a buff or two, considering right now we have Cervelli and Nunez basically. I hear they have interest in bringing Jerry Hairston Jr back, which would be good for bench depth, but we'd be lacking that pinch-hitting threat off the bench.

[thefiestygoat]

I love the Martin signing, especially if he is healthy. I'd even have no problem if this meant letting Montero get more seasoning in AAA then calling him up if he is doing well after the first couple months. Either way having Martin helps the Yankees ease over the Posada-Montero switch and takes away bats from Cervelli.

[nyrsuck26]

I Like the move. Jorge is simply getting too old to play most of the games behind the plate.

[ghdi]

Yankees signed Mark Prior to a minor league deal today as well.

[nmigliore]

Yankees are going to sign former-Met Pedro Feliciano: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/12/yankees-to-sign-pedro-feliciano.html

I think you guys will like him. Very, very durable, dominant on lefties. The only word of caution is don't believe that hes a crossover reliever based on his non-split stats, because hes not; hes a purely a LOOGY.

[Devils Dose]

Yankees are going to sign former-Met Pedro Feliciano: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/12/yankees-to-sign-pedro-feliciano.html

I think you guys will like him. Very, very durable, dominant on lefties. The only word of caution is don't believe that hes a crossover reliever based on his non-split stats, because hes not; hes a purely a LOOGY.

Shhhhhhhhhh!!

Go ahead guys, put him in to pitch 2 innings anytime you feel like it. It really doesn't matter who's coming up to bat.

[Jerrydevil]

Yankees are going to sign former-Met Pedro Feliciano: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/12/yankees-to-sign-pedro-feliciano.html

I think you guys will like him. Very, very durable, dominant on lefties. The only word of caution is don't believe that hes a crossover reliever based on his non-split stats, because hes not; hes a purely a LOOGY.

A LOOGY? I guess that's a specialist to get left-handed hitters out?

[nmigliore]

A LOOGY? I guess that's a specialist to get left-handed hitters out?

Yes: Lefty One Out GuY

[nmigliore]

Yanks signed Rafael Soriano, 3/35... plus they give up their 1st round pick. Yikes. I just don't understand what is with so many teams over-valuing relievers this offseason. Though at least in the Yankees' case, they aren't like the 29 other teams, so what the heck do they care.

Scott Boras is amazing.

[thefiestygoat]

I'm a huge Cashman supporter but I'm not a big fan of this signing. Soriano is a helluva pitcher but relief pitchers are the most inconsistent year to year and sure as hell not worth giving up all that money and a draft pick. I guess the Yankees are hoping that if your starting pitching is suspect that they can shorten the game from the back end. They do have a pretty decent bullpen...it's too bad they messed with Joba's development, really could of used him as a SP right about now.

[PeteyNice]

Talk about a panic move. However, they had little choice. The teams around them improved. The Yankees can't afford to have a down year. I suppose this means Pettitte is definitely not coming back. I respect what he has done for the Yankees but this seems like a douche move dragging it out.

They still need to move for one or two starters. Ian Nova doesn't get 20+ starts on a playoff team.

[thefiestygoat]

Talk about a panic move. However, they had little choice. The teams around them improved. The Yankees can't afford to have a down year. I suppose this means Pettitte is definitely not coming back. I respect what he has done for the Yankees but this seems like a douche move dragging it out.

They still need to move for one or two starters. Ian Nova doesn't get 20+ starts on a playoff team.

I can't get upset at Pettitte for the situation...the guy has done so much for the Yankees, he can do what he needs to for his family and himself now. It has to be hard to be away from your family and miss a lot of big moments in your kids' lives as well as finally walk away from the sport you have based your whole life around.

Nova is an unknown but unfortunately there is probably a good chance he is actually better than a lot of what is out there. I guess we just gotta hope that a lot of things go right or better than expected and maybe Pettitte comes back in mid year.

[PeteyNice]

I think it is fine that Andy is retiring. I am upset that he didn't come out and say it at the end of the season or any point up to now. This will he, won't he nonsense had to hamper the Yanks efforts this off season.

[thefiestygoat]

I think it is fine that Andy is retiring. I am upset that he didn't come out and say it at the end of the season or any point up to now. This will he, won't he nonsense had to hamper the Yanks efforts this off season.

I understand what you mean but I always got the vibe the Yankees were going into the offseason acting like he wasn't coming back. It was a really bad SP market so once they lost out on Lee (which is still a bit of a surprise) they were pretty much screwed.

Who knows, maybe Cashman has some tricks up his sleeve?

[thefiestygoat]

http://nomaas.org/2011/01/the-day-the-front-office-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest/

[PeteyNice]

But there were risk/reward guys they could have gotten on cheap deals like Wang or Webb. Not to mention less flashy but still decent back end of the rotation guys like Garland. This off season has been an epic fail for the Yankees. It would only get worse if they re-sign Damon.

[nmigliore]

There is still Jeff Francis out there, whose better than the overrated Jon Garland anyway. He came back from injury last season and put up some of the best peripherals of his career (3.88 FIP, 3.94 xFIP in 104.1 IP), and he has strong career peripherals (4.32, 4.25 xFIP) pitching in the hitter-friendly Coors Field. I suppose you can question how effective he can be in the AL and if he can hold up the entire season (he hasn't thrown over 150 innings in a season since 2007), but hes probably worth the risk for a team in need of a quality back-end starter. I was hoping the Mets would sign him but I'm very doubtful that will happen.

Carl Pavano is probably the best starter left, but there is no point of bringing him up. Everybody else pretty much stinks or is just a poor fit for that ballpark.

Edit: lol wow, and 10 minutes later news comes up that the Royals signed Francis.

Edited January 14, 2011 by nmigliore

[thefiestygoat]

http://riveraveblues.com/2011/01/whats-the-excuse-now-41224/

I’m not asking for a miracle here, just give the guy a chance to start again in Spring Training. There’s basically no downside. If he gets hurt and his days as an effective pitcher come to an end, who cares? All the Yankees would be losing is a seventh inning reliever. If it works, well then geez, you’ve got yourself a young big league starter, something the team could really use right about now. It’s Spring Training, just try it. That’s all I’m asking. Just make an effort, give him the same kind of rope they gave Hughes this past year.

Now, I’m certain there are things going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about. Heck, Joba’s shoulder could be shredded for all I know. If it is, then they need to trade him as soon as possible and make it someone else’s problem. If there are concerns about his attitude and they’re worried about him getting to comfortable, then just trade him. Stringing him along in middle relief isn’t the answer. And please, all that nonsense about his stuff playing up in the bullpen … give me a break. Of course it’s true, just like it’s true for every other pitcher in the history of the universe. That’s not a good enough reason, it’s just a cop out.

I agree with Mike. Though the point on what Joba's should really is like is interesting and something a lot of us have wondered about for the past few years.

[thefiestygoat]

If/when Mitre fails at the fifth spot, I wonder how much of a chance Phelps and Noesi are going to get at that fifth spot?

David Phelps RHP 6'3 190 24

2010: 26 G 158.2 IP 2.50 ERA 1.103 WHIP 7.9 H/9 0.3 HR/9 2.0 BB/9 8.0 K/9 3.92 K/BB

AA: 14 G 88.1 IP 2.04 ERA 0.974 WHIP 6.4 H/9 0.2 HR/9 2.3 BB/9 8.6 K/9 3.65 K/BB

AAA: 12 G 70.1 IP 3.07 ERA 1.265 WHIP 9.7 H/9 0.5 HR/9 1.7 BB/9 7.3 K/9 4.38 K/BB

Hector Noesi RHP 6'2 175 24

2010: 28 G 160.1 IP 3.20 ERA 1.098 WHIP 8.3 H/9 0.6 HR/9 1.6 BB/9 8.6 K/9 5.46 K/BB

A+: 8 G 43.0 IP 2.72 ERA 0.953 WHIP 7.3 H/9 0.6 HR/9 1.3 BB/9 11.1 K/9 8.83 K/BB

AA: 17 G 98.2 IP 3.10 ERA 1.095 WHIP 8.2 H/9 0.6 HR/9 1.6 BB/9 7.8 K/9 4.78 K/BB

AAA: 3 G 18.2 IP 4.82 ERA 1.446 WHIP 11.1 H/9 0.5 HR/9 1.9 BB/9 6.8 K/9 3.50 K/BB

Edited January 23, 2011 by thefiestygoat

[Jerrydevil]

Is David Phelps the son of Ken Phelps?

"But my baseball people loved Ken Phelps' bat. They kept telling me, 'Ken Phelps, Ken Phelps!'"

[Beezer34]

Yanks giving BC an invite..

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6060943

..I like the move. With no news coming out on Andy.. Bartolo can eat up innings, if he looks like he's got something left in the tank.