The lobby of Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort was surprisingly thin throughout the day as GMs and agents checked in. But with the Yankees' Tampa headquarters only a little more than an hour away, there were Yankee people here all day. The man who runs the show, Brian Cashman, checked in just before 8 p.m. and bolted across the lobby and straight to the elevators, no doubt to read our blog for your advice.
Couple of things from today:
-- Wrote a story for tomorrow's newspaper about the Andy Pettitte situation that continues to hover over the Yankees. It's probably the question with the greatest potential for next season yet to be answered (unless you count trade A-Rod), and the answer will not likely come until well after these winter meetings are finished. Pettitte hasn't thrown a baseball yet but plans to begin his offseason workouts soon. He'll decide whether to retire, sit out a year or play for the Astros or Yankees after he tests his body.
-- Can you believe Tanyon Sturtze got a guaranteed contract for next season? Given that he's 36 and coming off rotator cuff surgery, I figured he was a prime candidate to be a 2007 Yankees spring-training invite. (And given Joe Torre's love of all things Sturtzie, a prime candidate to make the team, too.) Guess it's the latest sign of a crazy market. Keep in mind the Braves pitching coach is Roger McDowell, and he was Sturtze's Triple-A pitching coach in 2004. Sturtze credited him for turning him around.
-- Julio Zuleta is a questionable option for the Yankees, at best. He began the offseason looking for a multiyear deal from the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, his team in Japan for four years. But they didn't want him back and intentionally lowballed him, offering him the same contract terms as his last deal, one year at $3 million. It was a deal they knew he would decline. Also, this guy received a 10-game suspension last season for charging the mound, initiating an ugly scene that caused his manager, the respected Sadaharu Oh, to apologize afterward. Only a guess: I bet he signs with the Devil Rays.
Comments (22)
Jim B. Turning Sturtze around ? Have you checked his career stats? Granted he had a couple of very very brief stretches of slightly better than mediocre performances ,but usually would resort to the golper ball pitcher we've all come to hate. I do wish him well ! Good luck Atlanta !
I recall Sturtze having a (brief but) good run when he first came to the Yankees. They picked him up off waivers and he replaced Karsay or someone like that and did the job for a while, then he went downhill.
Ruse is right..I liked him, thought he was a good guy, but good luck Atlanta!
On Zuleta:
He was beamed by that team over 10 times in a pretty short period of time, so i can't honestly blame him for charging the mound.
The D-rays already have a lot of 1b/dh candidates next year, if they really have money to spend they should be looking for some pitching.
As for Zuleta to the Yanks or not, i would try to give him a 1 year 4M deal with incentives up to 8M and see if he bites, if so perfect, low risk for a potentially good player.
Id rather have Phillips at 1b than this Zuleta.
And remember, Texiera FA after next yr
I would sign Zuleta's to one year deal with 3.5 million plus incentives and option for second year.
How's about Thompson replacing Melky's if he got traded? Another option will be Bronson Sarndinhia.
rufus is right about texeira. the guy is perfect for yankee stadium, old or new. bring him in for 2008.
Good thing Tanyon is gone!I can't remember a single good thing he did for this team other than get body slammed by Gabe Kapler in that wonderful Fenway brawl. As far as Zuleta I would give him a try but I still like the idea of having Andy at first. I really don't see the need for them to throw money to Hillenbrand(another Gary Sheffield) or even a lower tier guy like Perez. I don't believe Andy would hurt us by being in the lineup everyday. We have enough production from Damon,Jeter,Abreu,Cano,Posada,A-Rod,and Matsui. I really don't think we need power in every slot of the lineup. Let Andy do his thing and if by the All Star break he is not producing then we can explore other options. First base is the least of our worries. We should focus on pitching and more pitching!
Okay, i know. we need as much pitching as we can get our greasy fingers on. But i want a catcher for the future and right now its a buyers market with high trade value. I don't think we should sign a catcher like Bengie Molina or any other hag who won't start but will complain that they should be. Here is a list of Catchers i would love to trade for our future.
Jeff Clement SEA
Jared Saltalamacchia ATL
Jeff Mathis LAA
Neil Walker PIT
Kurt Suzuki OAK
Alright, those are the catchers i would rather get then signing somebody. Some Firstbasemen i think we have a shot at trading for are these players.
Daric Barton OAK
Ryan Garko CLE
Wes Bankston TB
Justin Huber KC
James Loney LAD
Larry Broadway WAS
Jim- Thanks for the timely update. I still say Darin Erstad at 1st base, lefty or not. Keep us informed as to the rumors concerning Kenny Williams and the W\SOX. I think he will be the main force driving these Winter Meetings. THANKS
I know rumours have been circulating about Texiera availability.Switchhitting 1st baseman.Great hardnosed player.I could see packaging Cabrera w/ lower level prospects for him.The Rangers desperately need a centerfielder.??????????? although Texiera has said it is his life long dream to play for Baltimore being from Maryland & growing up a Oriole fan
Arbitration has ruled everything lately but once that's cleared things get rolling. One more quality starting pitcher from Lilly, Meche, Pettitte (if he decides to return) or Zito if the Yankees jump in. If Shea Hillenbrand's attitude is OK he can hit and would solve the 1st base situation.
A backup catcher from Barajas, or Molina or a low level deal with the Dodgers for Toby Hall who will be available seeing as the Dodgers are thinking about Mike Lieberthal as their backup.
Any combination of these moves and spring training could begin next week as far as fans are concerned.
In response to Jim B's intro: I would not wait or sign Andy P. My concern is his heart is in Huston with his family. This will way heavy on his mind. Dontrelle sounds interesting. He does have a near .600 winning %. Throws alot of innings. I would give up Melky and Sanchez and cash but not Proctor. If, the price is higher. I still like Lilly for all the reasons mentioned about him on the positive side.
At firstbase I would stay with Andy Phillips because the offense will be fine if just left alone. His defense is way more than adequate. A good guy with the chemistry of the team. This with the option of going after Texiera as a FA. Backup catcher, I quite honestly do not have a clue.
Sturtze was a good guy but always appeard to be in awe of the stadium lights when pitching. More so his signing shows the issues with securing quality pitching. A guaranteed contract off of a year on the DL. Atlanta always looks at this type of pitcher for the possibility of the more bang for the buck, better them than us.
Getting back to pitching. I would much rather give up Melky and guy we never had before than A-rod in a trade. I still believe A-rod if the small portion of fans would leave alone could lead this team to the ring. Melky does not have the ability to carry a team to the the ring.
XM Radio is reporting (a few minutes ago) that there are rumors flying around that Cash is meeting w/ the White Sox about an A-Rod trade.
I like Crede a lot, but Freddy Garcia and Crede just don't seem like enough to me.
Especially w/ Crede's bad back.
Of course we have to take everything we hear w/ a grain of salt.
I know that the Yanks would prefer a righty 1B, but would Aubrey Huff be either a horrible choice or cost too much money? I'd guess that last season killed his value, but he's versatile enough that if someone went down with an injury, he'd be able to shuffle right in.
Also, what happened between the Yanks and Fasano? Any word on that ever come out? It seemed like a decent enough fit...
Fredzeppelin,Fasano? what did they say about him ? He always saw a pitch he couldn't hit.Huff is a good player,plays rf,1st,and 3rd,but probably wants more than the Yanks are willing to spend.Check back at the end of the week,lots of pieces to th puzzle laying around.
i'm wondering how much of pettitte's decision about retirement has to do with his name surfacing on the jason grimsley affidavits about steroid use. thoughts?
Yankee fans,
Pitching is our problem. I love when I hear about this team needs grit. If the Yankees had better starting and setup pitchers they would of won the World Series in 04, 05, 06. This non-sense about the glory days with the gritty players is just that. I watched the teams in the 70's. 76 team needed a big bat..then came Reggie in 77..if the Yankees did not have solid starting pitching and relief corps they would never had won their Championships. Remember the cornerstone of the early Steinbrenner years was Catfish Hunter. When Guidry took off in 77 they still had a solid rotation with Ed Figueroa. Their were quality starters on that staff. Plus they had their solid bullpen combo of Lyle, Gossage. This formula had them on their way to winning the first of two championships. Now let's look at the 96-00 run. Here are some of the quality starters the Yankees had. David Cone, Pettitte, Jimmy Key, Clemens, Wells, Gooden etc. Plus the bullpen of Rivera, Wettlend. Nelson. Stanton, Rivera were outstanding. Let's hope that the pitching is what Cashmen is thinking in Florida. It may be hard with all the distractions down there.
Let me know what you think!!
Phil D
You've hit the magic nail on the head!!
Rick, I know you understand the problem the Yankees face. All the soundbites from Cashman relate to improving the pitching staff. My problem is his track record. Were the decisions of Pavano, Wright, et al his? Or was that the reason he was able to win the power struggle with the Tampa crew? My gut says that he was NOT on board for all those decisions. He has his fingerprints all over the young arms youth movement. It's almost like the banishment days of George revisted. Maybe George is really letting his son-in law and the baseball people run the show. Any thoughts on this?
No Phil Cash has been doing the Day to day since he and Torre MOANED about it two years ago when Toore "threatned" to leave. All cash or anybody did was trying to follow the tigers formula and get pitching so i na case like that the yankees actually feared well because they are over stocked with decent position players and pitchers that can bring value. the truth is George is done and with that rumbling spreading players are looking at the yanks sideways. Zito would've came to the yanks if George was active trust me so he would've gotten overpaid annnnnd?? he a 29 year old superstar his comp is a bunch of over the hill players, plus you have a inexperienced pitching coach , healthy steinbrenner would say gator goes to minors , need a rick petterson type who uses that well recomended pitching machine to help players
Phil D
I think we're seeing a new direction era for the Yankees, one without the "BOSS". It remains to be seen about Cashman's decisions, but I am not liking what I am seeing so far of the Swindell era.
It looks to me that we are in for a bottom line corporate approach to running the team. Trimming the payroll to get into a realistic range is fine, but failing to pull the trigger when needed is not. With George, at least we always knew he would do whatever it took to WIN!