260 replies to this topic

[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/20...e-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 by nmigliore, 14 January 2011 - 09:42 AM.

[thefiestygoat]

http://riveraveblues...cuse-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 by thefiestygoat, 22 January 2011 - 09:11 PM.

[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.g...tory?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.

[nyrsuck26]

Yanks giving BC an invite..
http://sports.espn.g...tory?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.

Agreed. It can't hurt.

[Martyisth3b3st]

Yanks giving BC an invite..
http://sports.espn.g...tory?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.

I assume -- and hope to God -- that this was merely depth for the minors... I'd give Ian Nova a shot over Colon's shell of his former self, A Semi-Colon if you will... in a new york minute.

[yankeesjetsfan]

Now the Yankees are going to have 2 pitchers (Prior and Colon) who were out of baseball with injuries all last season. Not a huge fan of this move. I'm praying that Petitte comes back for one more season.

Mike

[PeteyNice]

Both Prior and Colon signed minor league contracts. I fail to see any situation where these are bad signings.

[Martyisth3b3st]

I never said it was a bad signing... if this were Cashman's only idea as a replacement for Pettite and Vazquez in the rotation, hell yeah it's a bad signing. But it's not.

[thefiestygoat]

I believe Colon has an opt out if he isn't on the big league roster at the end of spring training. The signing can't hurt but I would be shocked if they get anything out of it, hell, I don't think Colon has a shot of making it out of spring training. Plus it's not even like he can be an inning eater - the guy hasn't cracked 100 innings pitched since 2005. I'd still say that Phelps and Noesi have more of a shot than Colon.

I'm sure Cashman is still exploring trade possibilities, I have faith in him that he will get something done at some point.

[nmigliore]

I think you Yankees fans might enjoy this, especially ones who are big on the Joba debate. Garik16 is a contributor at BtB who writes spectacular pitchFX articles, and he essentially goes over Joba Chamberlain's career to date here: http://www.beyondthe...iever#storyjump

He basically concludes that while Joba might be not the ace-like starter he was in 2008 (pre-injury), as well as being difficult to project as a starter going forward, its a worthy risk to try him out in that role again where he could bring better value opposed to Joba the reliever.

Definitely worth a read though to see how Joba's stuff has altered over the past 3 years.

Edited by nmigliore, 28 January 2011 - 01:28 PM.

[yankeesjetsfan]

Honestly, I dont think he is a starter. His last time in the rotation, he barely went 5 innings before he went kaput. He just didn't have that aura as a starter that he did when he first came up.

Mike

[thefiestygoat]

Great read nmigliore, thanks for the link. I've always been in the Joba is a starter camp...it's no secret that even an average starter is more valuable than a great reliever, but I really think that the Yankees know his shoulder is more fragile than we think. I just can't see a smart man like Cashman keeping him in the bullpen if he was fully healthy. It sucks to think of what could've been but hopefully Pettitte comes back and/or Nova does well enough to be the 4 guy in the rotation. I still wouldn't be shocked if Cashman pulls a trade off anytime before spring training too.

Hopefully at least one of the B's (Banuelos, Betances, Brackman) develops into a top of the rotation starter while one or two of Nova, Phelps, Noesi, and Warren develops into a decent starter at the major league level to help ease the pain. Big year for pitching at the AA and AAA levels, that's for sure. Hopefully none of these guys end up killing their prospect status/trade value like McAllister last year.