You'll Know Where to Find Me
at F*&! Joe Torre.
I said I'd post as events merit, and while I didn't expect to be returning so soon, I guess the dashing of this blog's fondest hope qualifies as an event worth commenting upon. I don't know what swayed George. The media was divided this time so he wasn't going to get killed for axing slow Joe, and since the players had just disgraced themselves and the organization, I can't believe their lobbying was takes all that seriously. The question of 7 mill might have entered into it; that is alot to pay someone for doing nothing, particularly when you've just paid Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano 4 times that for doing nothing. all I can say is that I think it's a shame that they didn't go out and get Joe Giardi, whose ytouth, vigor, and NL smarst would have done wonders to transform the team. As for Pinella, while I am a big fan of him as well, and believe he would have kicked some ass that badly needs kicking, his hiring would have ensured the continued tenure of AROD. That may be the one silver lining in this mess: the Yankees, feeling like they have ot change something, failed to pull the trigger on Torre, meaning that they will have to pull the trigger on AROD.
A willingness to trade AROD, to sign and then trade Sheffield, to decline Wright's option, to decline Mussina's option, might just put them back in the way of getting to the World Series. Consider, you have Wang, you bring up Hughes and maybe Clifford, you trade for Dontelle Willis (plua a third or first base prospect for AROD), you sign either Zito or Schmidt (but not both), you get relief help and a third or first base base prospect for Sheffield, and you have a dominant rotation that doesn't include Randy Johnson (or makes him a number 5), a stronger bullpen and a younger team.
Oh and by the way, you've rid yourself of "inveterate whiner" Mike Mussina, who really has gotten an awfully free pass compared to AROD. You know he's lost almost every big start he's had for the Yankees, including Game 5 Boston 2004, Game 5 LA 2005, Game 2 the stadium 2006. It makes no less sense to say they'll never win with Mussina as it does they'll never win with AROD.
I said I'd post as events merit, and while I didn't expect to be returning so soon, I guess the dashing of this blog's fondest hope qualifies as an event worth commenting upon. I don't know what swayed George. The media was divided this time so he wasn't going to get killed for axing slow Joe, and since the players had just disgraced themselves and the organization, I can't believe their lobbying was takes all that seriously. The question of 7 mill might have entered into it; that is alot to pay someone for doing nothing, particularly when you've just paid Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano 4 times that for doing nothing. all I can say is that I think it's a shame that they didn't go out and get Joe Giardi, whose ytouth, vigor, and NL smarst would have done wonders to transform the team. As for Pinella, while I am a big fan of him as well, and believe he would have kicked some ass that badly needs kicking, his hiring would have ensured the continued tenure of AROD. That may be the one silver lining in this mess: the Yankees, feeling like they have ot change something, failed to pull the trigger on Torre, meaning that they will have to pull the trigger on AROD.
A willingness to trade AROD, to sign and then trade Sheffield, to decline Wright's option, to decline Mussina's option, might just put them back in the way of getting to the World Series. Consider, you have Wang, you bring up Hughes and maybe Clifford, you trade for Dontelle Willis (plua a third or first base prospect for AROD), you sign either Zito or Schmidt (but not both), you get relief help and a third or first base base prospect for Sheffield, and you have a dominant rotation that doesn't include Randy Johnson (or makes him a number 5), a stronger bullpen and a younger team.
Oh and by the way, you've rid yourself of "inveterate whiner" Mike Mussina, who really has gotten an awfully free pass compared to AROD. You know he's lost almost every big start he's had for the Yankees, including Game 5 Boston 2004, Game 5 LA 2005, Game 2 the stadium 2006. It makes no less sense to say they'll never win with Mussina as it does they'll never win with AROD.
posted by joe valente | 1:33 PM
6 Comments:
1. Dropping AROD to 8th in the order was the baseball equivalent of slapping him with a glove and chalenging his manhood. Remember we are talking about last year's MVP and until quite recently a man touted as the best all-around player in the game, on his way to becoming the best all-around player in history. Dropping him to sixth was provocative enough, but in dropping him to 8th, Joe (for once not status quo) was saying I have no faith on you, you're just not very good. He didn't go as far as I would have gone ("Now playing 3b for the NY Yankees, Miguel Cairo, Cairo), but it was a slapdown and one I don't think anyone expects to be truly resolved. The very factthat Cashman felt compeeled to address it yesterday suggests that it is a huge point of contention. What's more, I believe that if the Yankees truly planned to keep AROD, they would need to see a chance of rehabilitating AROD, and that chance would have been the hiring of his favorite manager, friend and mentor, Lou Pinella. Had the Yankees hired Lou, I would be saying, well now they'll be keeping AROD and committing to him totally. They didn't, and they aren't. For this reason, the best of all possible worlds would havew been Girardi, a brilliant, youth oriented, small ball oriented manger, with a Yankee pedigree (so far I'm describing Pinella) but no ties whatsoever to AROD.
2. Well, Cashman resolutely refused to move Phillip Hughes last year, and tha's a really good sign. Tyler Clifford is apparently a monster and that's another.If your scouts can evaluate pitching talent and your GM is willing to stick with them, acquiring pitching on the open market becomes less of a problem. There's less risk of making the kind of mistake they made with Farnsworth and Pavano. I actually think Brunney and Villone were good pick-ups for the price. The problem is less with them then with Torre's overuse of them, which comes back to a starting corps which, Wang excepted, can't get past the 6th inning.
The Yankees are pretty good with foreign born pitchers: they were right about Contreras, but they let Stottlemeyer ruin him; they were right about Wang. Hopefully they are right about this Japanese star (whose name I haven't digested) for whom they are going to make a big push. Johnson was Steinbrenner's bad not Cashman's, and I am prepared to concede that many people, myself included, were wrong about Mussina when they first signed him. I think a good test will be if they refuse his option outright and just let him go. The problem the Yankees have is to replace their starters who burn their bullpen (Wright, Johnson, Lidle, Mussina). Mussina, Wright and Lidle, I believe are gone for the asking. That leaves Johnson, whom we're stuck with. Can we consign him to the role of 5th starter? That requires 3 new arms. Clifford is not ready, so only 1 can come from the minors, Hughes. Can we get one by trade? Dontrelle willis would be a perfect fit for the Yankees. We can surely get one--Zito, Schmidt, the Japanese star--on the free agent market--will we need to get 2? The worrisome thing in my view, and what would surely doom the Yankees to another year out of the running, is if they think they can carry Mussina, Johnson, PAvano and Wang and need to come up with only one new arm. That would be death.
I don't know what you mean; I'll have to look.
Oh God, when you said Munson, I thought no he couldn't be the one that flew into the building...that's really sick-making.
The Yankees are pretty good with foreign born pitchers
But let's not forget... Hideki Irabu.
Good point. but that was awhile ago.
actually gene wojoeciech, a fuckwad pundit on ESPN.com claism that Pinella has already informed the cubs he will be insisting that they go after AROD. I think you're being a little hard on Cahsman; everybody wanted PAvano and everyone was wrong. Jared Wright on the other hand...But seriously, there;'sno way he would take Wood or Prior (Blue Cross and Blue Shield, as they're called), but he might ask for Zambrano and Ramirez. I don't think the Cubs would go for it, but you know, given the interest of teams like the Angels, the Dodgers, the White Sox etc. Pinella might, should this story be true, have set off a kind of bidding war that might profit the Yankees greatly. Everyone wants AROD in part because they think they can get him cheap. The Yankees with AROD's help keep saying he's off limits. Over time, he becomes a prize to be sought regardless of the cost, and when the Yanks can acquire more than he's worth, they sell. For right now, with offers coming in, cashman is doing the right thing by repeating the mantra, not interested.
Post a Comment
<< Home