Time for Change

[jacksonianmarch]

Well, I am away from home right now, so this might be all I post for the weekend, but that game sucked. I know the adage about pitching and what it does to good hitting, but seriously, one run? One measly run? This so called amazing offense seems like they left their bats home. Every one of them, and especially ARod. Man, this guy was Mr. Clutch all yr, now he is jumping all over the place like a banshee. Well, last night hurt, a lot. We gave a lead to Joba and Mo in the 8th and watched him struggle with the bugs and cost us. Now if Torre were aware and saw what Joba was doing on the hill prior to that WP, he might have brought in Mo in the middle of that inning. Instead, after watching Joba miss with pitch after pitch, he leaves him in to throw his second WP of the inning, the backbreaker. I am done with Torre, and have been for a long time.

So, it is time for change. We have good young pitching around, with two solid pitchers returning to the rotation and then the kids coming in. Even with them in the bigs, we still have a nice farm system. The future is bright, but we need to take notes from the teams we have played. More on this later.

[stocker323]

A-Rod batting 8th tomorrow?

[riverside sluggers]

Arod has been called Mr. April since the 2004 ALCS for a reason

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

Yesterday was rough to watch. IMO this series is still far from over. We face Westbrook and Paul Byrd the next 2 games at home and we have always hit those guys. Clearly it comes down to our pitching. The only thing that pissed me off was game 1 when we had C.C. on the ropes and didnt delivery the knock out punch. Yesterday Carmona was nasty.

[jacksonianmarch]

I am not talking about change for this season. I think we need to adopt the credo that eliminated us the past 4 postseasons. Every team had a two headed monster in the rotation.
CLE- Carmona,Sabathia
DET- Verlander, Rogers, Bonderman
LAA- Lackey, Escobar
BOS- Schilling, Martinez
FLA- Beckett, Willis

If you take a look at the above pitchers, they are or were all aces. Guys who lit us up when they needed it the most. Right now, we have Clemens and Pettitte as the big game guys, but both of them are contact pitchers and both could be gone this offseason. Wang is a contact pitcher, and is better at keeping a team in the game over the long haul than stepping up and shutting someone down for one game. Dont get me wrong, I want Wang and Pettitte back for next yr, but they arent aces or even solid #2's. And it took me this long to see that. Pettitte had guts last night, he was great, but when you look at the other side, Carmona showed what it was like to be awesome. He was great. We need that. We need someone who can take a top spot in the rotation, and so, we need to enact some change.

This starts in the rotation. If Pettitte returns, our rotation assuming we dont make any moves will be
Wang
Pettitte
Hughes.

Those last 2 spots could be Mussina (if Joe is still around), but I'd much rather it be Joba and Kennedy. So in my perfect utopia, I trade Mussina to the Mets in a full out salary dump with some terrible player coming back our way while we eat 3/4 of the salary. I just dont want him in the equation because a pissed off Moose does not make for a good ground for growing our kids. BUT, that leaves us with 3 spots filled by rookies who havent crossed the 160IP barrier, which is scary. So, I'd consider a deal.

The best name out there is Santana. He has already said he would waive his NT and would be testing FA after 08. He is coming off his worst yr in Minny since he started this incredible run, but have a 3ERA in the AL as a lefty power pitcher at the beginning of his prime is a good time to get this guy. The twins are backed in a corner because they need to deal him, and this could play in our favor. But I wont be so naive to think that we get this guy without someone currently on our MLB roster. So I go a different way. People think Hughes, or Kennedy or whomever. What about Cano? Cano, Horne, Tabata for Santana? Intriguing to say the least.

I know this is fantasy land and most likely we wait this out and go with the full crop of kids, but continually watching the same formula beat us is frustrating. We also need to change our offensive philosophy. This team is built around the homerun and built around bashing terrible pitching. But we dont have the grinding guys that we had during that fateful run. Guys who could wear you down, force you to throw 20 pitch innings and dominate late in games. We have guys who can run up counts, but shrink late in games, and that isnt the yankee way. Either way, this thread will most likely take on a mind of its own soon, but there is no denying that this team needs change on all levels and I would welcome it with open arms.

[jacksonianmarch]

Now onto the pen.

We need to resign Mo, that is a no brainer. But with Joba shifting back to the rotation, I am not terribly confident in what we currently have to make this team be a 7 inning team again. Vizcaino is a FA after the yr, and I'd try to keep him, even though he kinda blows. But he isnt a late inning reliever, I like him as a middle reliever who can be used in the right situations. Not as the 8th inning guy, as he was being used prior to Joba's arrival. So, we have Mo and Vizcaino at the beginning of a 6 or 7 man pen. Now there is a guy out there we could get to be that shutdown 8th inning guy and we could sell it to him as a replacement for Mo one day. That is Francisco Cordero who is an unrestricted FA. If you start your pen with those 3, then you can ease the kids in while not having to rely on them too heavily from the getgo. The best lefty option out there is Guardado coming off TJ. And even though he has retained his effectiveness against lefties, he isnt a guy I'd guarantee a spot to.

Another guy we have to move is Farnsworth. This guy is useless. I'd lump him with Mussina and salary dump him somewhere.

The pipe for the pen is pretty bright as well. Sanchez will be back from TJ, and if what they say is true, he should be useful late in the season. He was said to have been pitching with this injury for a few yrs now, and he was still sitting in the high 90s. Another possible pen arm is Ohlendorf. Yes, he sucked this past outing, but he has solid stuff and is new to relieving. And to come back from being demoted to AA and having some back injuries, to being on the postseason roster, it is pretty obvious that they like this kid. Melancon is already throwing and will be at that 1.5 yr mark by the time the season starts. At the time he was drafted, he was considered to be a Huston Street kind of guy and if healthy could have been in the majors by the end of the season in which he was drafted. He is another option. As are White, Whelan and a multitude of other guys with big yet untested arms.

But regardless of how bright the future could be, we need to set that 8th and 9th and relying on a 39 yr old Mo without someone proven in the bridge is a recipe for old man injury. Either way, just venting.

[One Red Seat]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Yankee offense. Tops in BA, OBP, SLG while being top-10 in SB. Nothing wrong at all. I too will be happy if they revamp that lineup.

[jacksonianmarch]

In terms of the lineup, well we'll have to see what happens to Santana and if we make any moves. If we keep Cano, here is what I'd do.

ARod? He makes it really hard to want to keep him when he goes out there and just dominates during the regular season, but looks totally lost in the postseason. This isnt a yankee homer acting like an ass here. Watch the swings. He is so far out in front of his base that even if he makes contact, he will pop it up. He is trying to hit the pitch before it is even released. He's pressing, and it is absolutely obvious. So, what do we do? Most of this will be up to him. If he wants to stay, then I'd make it happen. Even when he presses, he is still a presence in the order. If he wants to go, then nothing we can do will change things, so take the 2 draft picks and move on. If ARod moves on, take a long look at Mike Lowell, who is exactly what the older yankees were. Clutch, a battler, and tough. He's a guy who doesnt get mentioned in the "great" category, but the guy has been an absolute stalwart in your lineup this season and he has been an absolute go to guy in that order. He'd be a nice replacement should ARod go. Now if ARod does go and Lowell re-ups with Boston, then we'd be in trouble. I'd start Betemit at 3b and see what he can do in a full season. The kid has power, but he K's like nothing I have seen before. Wait, I have seen it before, in the guy he'd be replacing.

For Abreu, do what was reported. He always has a good atbat and is a solid bat in that lineup. Exercise the option, keep him there.

Now for the rest of the lineup. Posada needs resigning yesterday. Our best catching prospect is 3 yrs away at least and our next closest replacement just finished a season at Tampa. IE, we dont have one. Posada needs to be kept, as does Molina, who for once is a solid backup that can lead to less mileage on Fievel.

For 1b, I think Minky needs to go. Yes, his defense has been a wonderfully awesome achievement. But the guy is a no hit all D 1b who needs to move on. He bitches and whines when he doesnt play which sucks as well. So, I'd have Giambi and Duncan split the duties, with the eventual transition of the position to Shelley. The guy has shown increased patience throughout his minor league career, and nobody doubts his power. So why not, if he flops then we are no worse for wear since Giambi isnt half bad when he is healthy. If neither can cut it and ARod sticks around, then Betemit needs to start. So he should get a long chance to contribute.

For 2b and SS, status quo assuming nobody is dealt and I have already addressed 3b.

For the OF, Abreu and Cabrera lock down spots. Melky will continue to improve and his defense in CF has been nothing short of amazing. 14 assists this season is great, most of them coming at home. That is a bunch of runs he prevented on just his arm. And he came into this season as a bench player, started off AWFUL then emerged as a .300 hitter for most of the season before ending the yr in a pitiful slump. He will improve. And I think Abreu is a guy we just cannot pass up on since he is signed for 1 more yr too.

In LF, we have a mess. Matsui should come back healthy, but how healthy will he remain if he plays OF every day. Same goes with Damon who throws worse than my sister who broke her arm. Both of these guys are veterans and both will want significant playing time. i think the upside of Matsui is more important than that of Damon at this juncture. So I'd give the starting nod to Matsui and sort out the rest later.

For DH, there is a log jam. Damon could be here. As could Giambi, or Betemit or Duncan depending on the day. It is seriously nice to have options, but one of these vets will need to be dealt because if Damon or Giambi become full out bench players, they will not be happy. For the long haul, I'd have to go with Giambi. When Giambi is on, he is a middle of the order hitter. When he is off, he is a solid OBP guy who will K a ton. I like having him in our lineup. But we'll see what happens.

[riverside sluggers]

The Yankees offense faced 2 Cy Young contenders on the road, they just ran into good pitching

And Id say with Cabrera getting the center field job and Damon owed $26 million over the next 2 years, Yankees are sure to shop him around

[jacksonianmarch]

Originally Posted by One Red Seat

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Yankee offense. Tops in BA, OBP, SLG while being top-10 in SB. Nothing wrong at all. I too will be happy if they revamp that lineup.

and after going through them position by position, I have a feeling it wont be changing at all. We are just way too prone to good pitching and our postseason performances have been nothing short of putrid.

[jacksonianmarch]

BTW, I just looked through the FA pitchers coming available this offseason, and WOW do they suck. Paul Byrd and Curt Schilling could be the gems of the offseason pitching pool.

[jacksonianmarch]

And when I started this thread, I forgot about Betemit. His appearance on the radar has given us options we didnt have before. If we lose ARod, we have a replacement who doesnt exactly suck. If we have the option of dealing Cano for some much needed top of the rotation pitching, we have a replacement at 2b. If we cannot settle 1b, we have a guy who can settle it for us. He gives us options and is someone we need to incorporate into this team. He has too much power and too much potential to just rot on the bench.

[Rdsxmbnt]

Would the Yankees get draft picks for Arod?

I'm not sure how it works exactly in this case, but LA didn't get anything for Drew.

[jacksonianmarch]

Drew's option included a clause which stated that the Dodgers could not offer him arbitration. I remember there being an article stating that this was not the case in ARod's deal. So if he opts out, we can offer him arb, which he will refuse and then we would get a 1st and a sandwich for him.

[ANiMAL]

You didn't do an analystic post about management... or is that just a given?