On the Yankees beat

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Jim B: the celebration has begun, check one page back on the blog and you'll see.

So what do you think of this acquisition, from a baseball perspective?

Finally he is back in pinstripes. I can't wait to see him pitch. This guy has heart and is a proven big game pitcher. Great move Cashman. We got a guy who proven he can pitch in NY and years and millions less than Zito.

Jim A.can anyone answer that question ? My only pause for concern is that the Astros could have invoked the mercy rule and took Eric and Andy Phillips to Houston...It's a great move ,it sets the future in motion w/ the young talent they have coming thru the pipeline without any undo pressure and opens up trade possibilities with the likes of Pavano.

OH HAPPY DAY!!!!

Good call. AP will be a "soft patch", allowing the young guys to further develop. I feel much better about next season already.

Jim A. Having Pettitte in the rotation will save the Yankee bullpen from burnout,a rough guess would put it at 40 less innings they'll have to pitch.

Dear Mr. Pettitte,

We graciously await and anticipate your re-arrival.

Sincerely,

The Minnesota Twins
The Toronto Blue Jays
The Cleveland Indians
The Chicago White Sox
The Texas Rangers
The Baltimore Orioles
The LA Angels
The Detroit Tigers
The Seattle Mariners
The Kansas City Royals
The Boston Red Sox
The Oakland Athletics
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays

PS. Bring your best game.

PSS. And your 6.57 ERA against the American League in 2006

finally!!! god dam the best move 'cash has made in years.! Finally bringin back some god dam yankee pride. Reunite teh boys with jeter posoda and pettite they boys are back. i cant wait
pettite is a true yankee and a big game pitcher with heart and pride and any yankee fan is dam happy to see him back!

On the previous blog page I needed to beat down another irritating and deluded Red Sox fan. Maybe I should refer the above weasel to that page.

Against the AL the Red Sox were a sub .500 team in 2006. They conveniently forgot that.

I won't have the pleasure of giving Andy Pettitte a standing "O" when he returns to the Stadium for his 1st outing but I will be at Legends Field in Tampa when he makes his return there. Good to see #46 on Andy again. This tightens up the rotation and takes some pressure of rushing Randy back. Andy's record at the Stadium is borderline outrageous. Gotta have those leftys to neutralize teams stacked with lefty hitters.

Posted by: Chris | December:

"OH HAPPY DAY!!!!"

Ditto that and double it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unless the luxury tax rules have changed, this signing will cost NY $22.4 million ($16 + $6.4). Any member of the news media who doesn't include that in his report is irresponsible. (I'm looking at you, Murray Chass!)

So, really, what do they do with Igawa? Totally low-ball him and offer him something like 3/$12? That's still costing them $37mm. Do they offer him starters money? Middle relief dough? If they claim they couldn't reach a deal with him, the Japanese league will go nuts.

Red Sox fans need to take the @#@#$E@ out of their $@$!@#

SO what if the Jap league go nuts ?? what they gonna do hold a gun to their heads? so they don't leave while under contract when the player becomes a free agent they'll leave, as for bending over for the bidding war, if they smelled reality and realised your not getting american top notch starter money for an unproven commodity then all would be well

thank god!!! now maybe we can deal pavano and lose his contract and get one more starter(zito,willis)

Chris Russo just said it again, Arod is bad karma to this yankees team and They need to trade him.

Great move, now why dont we bring Leyritz back for some more of the past glory :)

I'd say as for Igawa, it was initially projected that they would offer him in the relm of 4.5 mill a year, which is reasonable for a guy who could be the #5 starter or long releif while he adjusts to the Major Leagues. Not to mention that it would be more than he made last year by ~50% i believe.

As for the Luxary tax, for the Yankees its really not a huge worry, I think overall they will still see a net decrease in salary this year potentially with some $$ coming off the books [Pettitte's 16million will simply replace Wright/Sheff's salaries last year, 13 mill + 7-4 million buyout].

Hey Jim A: Sleep easy tonight. Brian Cashman is at the helm. How are we looking so far. Now, crash Pavano will be on the move unless a bolt of lighting hits him and or he goes through puberty.

The kids can work with Pettitte and Mussina for the next two years. Hopefully, Andy wants to buy a new car or donate to the choir and add a music room to his church in 2008.

Our next search should be bullpen help. Maybe Rasner and the young guys can get their skills together working their way in the bullpen. Proctor, Farnsworthless, Mariano, Meyer need two or three more.

I'll have to check out the schedule and drive up to Tampa. It will be nice seeing Andy pitch again. One thing good about Tampa Bay stadium. You can sit about 12 rows from the field for about $68 bucks a real deal.

great news and good bye carl the loser pavano. i know, everyone's doing the math and having pavano at the no. 5, behind wang, pettitte, mussina and rj, but that's not happening. in the beginning you don't need a 5th starter, then i bet they give igawa a shot and come july it's one of the youngsters, most likely hughes, not to mention the prospect of clemens. so anyway you spin it, that's a good signing.

I think its hard to project the rotation at this point, however, it will not be Hughes, he hasn't pitched above AA Trenton and they don't want to destroy his arm by putting 200 innings on it when he has never pitched more that around 100 or so in a season. We won't see Hughes till midseason or more likely September where he comes into the bullpen just for support and experience.

I still can see Pavano getting a chance and maybe being dumped afterwards, he needs to boost his value before they can trade him; right now he has almost none.

This is wonderful news. So far everything Cashman has done this offseason has simply clicked. We havent broken the bank, havent given up youngsters, acquired excelent pieces, and have allowed ourselves the luxury of not rushing any minor leaguers and allowing them to come around on their own turns. Great job Cashman.

[b]Kazmir continues to rehab injured left shoulder[/b]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2691412

[quote]TAMPA, Fla. -- Devil Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir expects to be ready for spring training after missing most of the second half last season because of an injured left shoulder.

"There's no doubt I'll be ready," Kazmir said Friday at a toy collection drive. "My shoulder feels great. It's 100 percent."

Wang vs Kazmir in Opening Day Yankee stadium. Can't wait

Petite - Fossum Game 2

Mussina - Shields - Game 3

Yankees vs Orioles at Camden Yards
Rj vs Wright -

Pavano/Igawa vs Loewen

Larry M.Don't forget Bruney,has trouble fromm time to time w/command but can be dominate.Farnsworth is jekyll and hyde to me ,close your eyes and hope for the best.If the Dodgers are interested maybe trade him for Kuo.w/Veras,Beam,Cox the Yanks are pretty well set.If there is any truth to the rumour circulating they might land Marte then their staff is gradually coming into focus...now backup catcher,resign Cairo...

The Yankees needs to improved their bench, Right now Boston has the Edge. Pena, Cora and Hinske.

Drew ,not to knit-pick Hughes 2006 12-6 146 IP 168 SO era 2.16 so he's pitched well over 100 innings they'll probably bring him along at 175 innings this season ,hopefully the rest is history...

Finally -- a step back in the right direction by signing Pettitte. Kudos to Cash.

Wang is one of the most overrated pitchers in the league...his batting average against last year was .277, not exactly dominant, as are his 76 K's in 218 innings. If you take away what he did against Toronto, Tampa Bay and Seattle last year (and both TB and SEA absolutely sucked), then he was just a mediocre pitcher. The guy is a sham, and totally dependant on getting huge run support and having guys swing at pitches that they can't drive (his sinker).

SP's

Wang
Pettitte
Mussina
Johnson
Pavano/Igawa

(Hughes, Karstens, Sanchez, Clippard)

RP
Mo
Farnsworth
Bruney
Britton
Proctor
Meyers
Villone (when he signs)
Beam

I like it a lot.

34 years old with an injury history. Coming off a 4.20 ERA in the NL, with a career 3.81 ERA - he gets $16MM.

Zito is 28. He's coming off a year in which he had a 3.83 ERA in the AL. He has a career 3.55 ERA (all in the AL), and he's pitched over 200 inning for every one of the last six years. What's he worth?

zito may be the better pitcher but why sign him to a five year deal that'll cost, with luxury tax over 160m when you got two of the minor's best starters waiting to come up? Pettitte has proven he can pitch in NY in the playoffs, which is enough reason to sign him over Zito already. Plus, he's a short term, cheap answer. Let Zito get his 17m per for 5 years somewhere else.

Zito's record against the AL East is mediocre.

Andy has done it here. He has been a solid performer in the post season.

To JBG, who cares what Zito is worth? Let the team who wants him pay out the nose for him with a lengthy contract. The Yankees and their fans got who they wanted and will standby the decision. NO one's a guarantee. This is baseball.

I hope the Mets pick Zito up and blow out their budget. It will help NY baseball especially because they will knee jerk the price up to keep pace with the Boss.

It feels like a dream come true to me...

the person who questions Wangs strikeout totals probably doesn't realize he's a ground ball sinkerball pitcher...you need to get wise !! there are other categories some of you forget :character,heart,intangibles =Pettitte

Very glad to see AP back where he belongs. A true Yankee, class act, and a gamer. When he was showed the door after 2003, I was pissed for a month.

However guys, we are STILL a SP short: Wang, Pettite, Mussina, Igawa??, and MAYBE a useful RJ??

News flash - Pavano has already sprained his A hole in Arizona.

Gee, an interesting comparison:

Pettite 14-13 in NL.
Lilly 15-13 in AL East.

Pettite 4.20 ERA in NL.
Lilly 4.31 ERA in AL East.

Pettite $32 mil = 2 yrs.
Lilly $40 mil = 4 yrs.

I really can't understand why BC didn't even make Lilly an offer???? He is as good or better than RJ or Igawa.

We could of had a rotation of: Wang, Pettite, Mussina, Lilly, and one of the above two with the other in LR. That's what I'm talking about.

My Predictions for Yankees rotation in Win and Losses 2007?

Wang - He won 19 games and second in cy young young in 2006 . The Al east improved dramatically . Wang's will not repeat his success from winning 19 games last year. I think He will win between 13-14 games and 4.25 era

Pettite -
"Welcome back Andy" The Yankees pitching legend has return. My predictions will be 15-7 with era 4.35

Mussina
16-7 and 3.67 era

RJ- 17-9 5.00 era

Pavano/Igawa - 15-10 and era with 4.48

One last rational for why we should of signed Lilly also. Next year RJ is gone. What if Andy decides to go back home again too? Now, all that is left of the rotation is Wang, an older Mussina in his last year, and Igawa.

That's it! Even with Hughes coming in for 2008, it is awfully thin. That is why I wanted Lilly so bad for the 4 years, depth for working in the kids. After next year, we will be right back where we were a week ago, looking for SP's.

Any Chance the Yankees could pry Toby Hall from Dodgers since Lieberthal signs with them? thanks..

Rick Reyes,Why are worried next year? Sanchez and Highes will be starting next year. Carlos Zambrano from the Cubs will be free agent in 2008.

Rick Keyes: Go out and have a drink. The 2007 season hasn't started and you have 2008 issues to ponder. This blogg will become impossible if this facet is taken up by the regulars.

There will be more free agents and we'll have more money to spend. Especially when RJ leaves the city. There will be no offer forthcoming for his srvices. Please no 2008 hype. I take one day at a time. Its more enjoyable at my age.

To Ruse ca: I completely forgot our wealth of young talent left over from last year. From nothing to a wealth of pitching talent. Its nice to see Britton, Proctor, Bruney, Farnsworth and Mariano pitching. With Mariano throwing the softest at 93-95mph. This is great. Now stick Meyers in between when the moment calls for his heater at 76mph. I can throw that hard.

Alex

Hughes and Sanchez are both top prospects, but neither has proven anything in the ML yet. We don't know if they will be there or not??? Also, it is not the Yankee way to have two rookies in the starting rotation at the same time. They will work these guys in one at a time.

The Yanks always like to have the veterans to hold the fort while working in kids here and there. You are counting your chickens before they are hatched. I, being an old Boy Scout, like to "Be Prepared". That is why I am worried about the next year. I don't want to be right where we were yesterday again next winter.

Rick ,glad to see your intact! I dunno ,you really can't throw stats around from last yr Pettitte got off to a slow start but finished strong,while Lilly has never really improved as a pitcher his winning 15 games is comparable to RJ 17 wins both had bloated ERA and were fortunate enough to get great run support,Blue Jays improved offense is responsible for Lillys win totals he still lost 13 games despite all of that....I still think someone like Mulder can be gotten at a discount if the Yanks feel they need to improve. 2008 will bring a whole set of other question marks ,but also 1 yr closer to maturation of the kids Hughes,Sanchez,Clippard,Karstens...The Yanks are in the position to move Rasner & Pavano in a trade....I keep thinking Teixeria is on their Radar...Any thoughts?

Ruse, Ca. In a trade this year or as a FA. If a trade who would be the bait. Crash Pavano?

ruse

It's good to be back to where I can think straight. If Andy chooses the option, I feel we'll be alright in working in the kids. But, if he leaves again at the same time RJ goes, we are right back in a big bind. And they are two of our LH's.

I am not big on the Mulder thing unless we could get him on the cheap with lots of incentives. I still say Pavano is GONE somewhere. Lilly was at least a proven commodity, LH, and I was looking at him as the #4 SP, not a savior.

Teixera would be awesome if we could swing it, but I have resigned myself to a Phillips/ Phelps best man win scenario. With the rest of our lineup, we can live with that at 1B for this year. Then we could go after Teixera next winter.

Rick,one other thing,you mention Yanks don't like starting rookies especially 2 at the same time,actually thats more of Torre' policy,things could change if Matty or Girardi become the next manager in 2008.Remember waht was the last time 2 great pitching prospects arrived together? Rivera and Pettitte in 95...look around the league not alot of great talent...for God's sake Brandon Webb won the Cy Young award w/15 victories.15 !!!

ruse

I agree we have alot of good young pitching prospects, and anything COULD happen. I just don't see it working out that way. I could be wrong.

Ruse,
Going back to your comment about the bullpen. I agree, and posted a comment saying the same thing earlier today. With starters going more than 5 innings each, unlike last year, the load on the bullpen is greatly reduced. Maybe we won't have to worry about wearing out Scott Proctor and probably Brian Bruney.
Since Farnsworth's back gets locked up more than Bonds' personal trainer, he can sit back and rest a bit and maybe get healthy. It is a ripple effect for sure. I think it's a good day. ESPN keeps saying Pettitte is one of the four or five best pitchers in baseball...not sure I really agree with that but maybe the top 15.

Rick: Next year is next year. A lot can change between now and then. Trades, FA signings and breakout rookies can happen. The rotation is a lot more stable than list year IF RJ is healthy. Let's not forget that in July, besides kids like Hughes possibly coming up, maybe Andy's buddy from the commercial on the previous page will want to join him. I'd rather not though, because I don't really care for him but hey, if we need an arm, that's not a bad one to have.

Agree with everyone who mentions that we need to work on the bench, but as Cash said, the rotation was his priority. Now he'll work on getting Igawa signed and then he'll concentrate on the bench is my guess.

ESPN also states that Houston let Pettitte go over $2M. Weird.

STARTING ROTATION 2007:

WANG
PETTITE
MOOSE (he's a better 3rd starter and gives him less pressure)
RANDY (getting old and the fourth spot will give him less pressure as well)
KARTSENS (he deserves this spot over pavano any day)

Pavano is going to get moved, if not now then by spring training. I think he outgrown his welcome in pinstripes. The front office, his teammates and fans lost ALL faith in him. Besides Kartsens deserves a shot. As for igawa I think they might try him out in the bullpen this year as well as a spot starter and groom him for 2008. I'm not sure if clemens might come back and if so, not to the yanks. This is a good move from cashman, which gives our big guys philips and sanchez time to get better and bring them up slowly to the majors.

If I missed anything, let me know?

Larry, of course it's only a hunch,but if they trade for him ,they could possible renegotiate his current contract,if he becomes a free agent ,his hometown Orioles will make a competitive offer.Teixeria has expressed interest in playing for Baltimore one day,I think his childhood hero was Ripken.

Jim A

I know, I know, one year at a time. But, I just don't want to go through this crap again next year. My heart can't take it. RJ is still a big IF?

I don't really care for Clemens either, but he CAN pitch. And, if we can sign him in July, that is like making a big trade at the deadline without having to give up anything.

I could be wrong, but I really don't see the Yanks bringing up Hughes this year, except for maybe September. I see them giving him a full year at AAA and then breaking him in for 2008 as the #5 guy.

For this year, I could see Sanchez getting a shot if needed due to injury, etc. he is older and more experienced than Hughes. We also have Karstens and Rasner for 2007.

True or False
Joe Torre cluleess and mismanaged the Bullpen?

Paul Quantrill who was overworked by Joe torre. It cost them winning the Alcs in 2004 and going to winning world series. I remembered that Day when Ortiz hits game winning homerun against Quantrill. I still had nightmares and flashback from that series.

True or False

Besides, Starting pitching, clutch timely hitting and defense. An important key in winning the playoffs is the bullpen

True or False

Yankees will break the record in 2007 for 1000 runs in a season ?

True or False
Yankees will score more 5.5 runs per game next year?

True or False

Mariano and Proctor is only reliable guys you can put in pen and they're workhorses?

Predicts how many starts will Pavano will make in 07 and wins?

Jim A. It will have a ripple effect through the bullpen,better rested etc.I dunno about you guys but the 5-6 inning game turn it over to the bullpen is tedious baseball to me .It used to be Mendoza for long relief Nelson,Stanton,Lloyd,Rivera.7 inning starts

Chris: I felt more comfortable with Rasner than Karstens in the 5 spot. He through a bit harder with good movement on his pitches. Just A thought.

Rick,
I agree. I think if we see Hughes in 2007, it will be in July for spot starts and bullpen work to "get his feet wet".
They've been so careful with him so far I don't see them just throwing him in there now. There is some depth with Karstens and Rasner, but let's face it, Rasner was cut by the Nationals who as of today have exactly ONE starting pitcher, so I'm not getting too excited by him.
We still have a lot of IF's in the rotation, questions about all of them and we could drive ourselves batty if we think about all of them, but at least we have options now. Pettitte will stay for two years unless he gets hurt, is what he is saying today.
If for some reason NONE of the kids work out for next year, hell go for Zambrano, he's still pretty young and a very good pitcher. We took a good step today so I think we should let things shake out. I can see trading Pavano to Minnesota for any spare part we might be missing such as a utility player or 1B if Phillips/Phelps aren't working. For some reason, Minnesota has always felt like they could fix Pavano, so let 'em try.
Good to have you back!

Ruse,
You just reminded me of something I wanted to ask earlier today. We still have Mendoza in our system don't we? He's been rehabbing for what seems like years, but it would be nice if he were ever able to regain his form of a few years ago. He was way underrated I thought.

Jim and ruse

We need to move Farnsworth too, maybe package him with Pavano. Texas needs pitching, don't they?

We have lots of other hard throwing RH like Bruney, Britton, Proctor, etc. If we could add a good LH (maybe Igawa), I think the bullpen would be solid. And, they shouldn't be overworked this year, which should pay big dividends.

Omar,
Note the timing of your first true or false question: Notice that when the Yanks did not have reliable starting pitching, people started accusing Torre of mismanaging the bullpen. I do think he gets enamored with certain guys and trusts them more than anyone else, but having starters who don't log innings caused some of that "mismanagement". I hope so, and I hope this year it turns around.
Sorry, but the "Clueless Joe" thing just doesn't work. Not after 4 WS titles, 6 WS appearances and 10 div. titles. He does deserve some credit for keeping a team of egomaniacs together.

NY Yankee Fan LONG LOST FOOTAGE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7WiYsq_EGM

December 16th 2003 A Yankee fan disgruntled over losing Andy Pettite blows off steam at The Doc's place.

Jim

Thanks for the welcome back. Mendoza was at Columbus last year I think. How old is he now?

I just hope Andy doesn't get home sick and call it quits after one year. If he's here for two, then I'll feel much better.

Omar,Torre did't burn his bullpen out ,Quantrill was on the downside of his career when he came to NY,you can't be dipping into your bullpen in the 5-6 innings of every game and expect to advance in the post season,that why we're all elated at the prospects of Pettitte pitching deep into ballgames ,remember he and Rocket flew the coop in 2004 for Houston,with them the Red Sox don't make it to the World Series in2004

I see the natural order of things being Wang #1 and Pettite #2 and Mussina #3. But, because each of them give you innings, and we are trying to protect the bullpen, maybe it is best to split them up some. Kinda like JT did last year by putting Wang in between Wright and RJ. Any thoughts on this strategy?

JR,
I think the guy in that video was the great prognosticator. He was saying the White Sox, Red Sox and Cubs all basically sucked. Now, three years later. Both Sox have won WS and the Cubs almost made it in 2003. Strange...

Rick,
I think the top 4 starters, assuming RJ gets healthy, can give you at least 6 (RJ) or 7 (Wang, Pettitte and Moose) per start. We'll see what we end up with in the 5 spot, Igawa or one of the kids, but if it's Igawa and he has any success, he'll pitch a lot of innings.

Sox shady business practices:

Tried to get A-Rod to violate the Union agreement and reduce the value of his contract

Stole Kevin Millar from Japan, violating well known baseball etiquette

Backed out of a trade with Baltimore and Colorado after AGREEING to a deal

Had a "missing player" involved in a trade with Minnesota

Were reported to tamper with Julio Lugo during last year's trade deadline that caused the DRays to back out of trade talks with the Sox

Are reported to have attempted to tamper with Matz and his contract negotiations.

Are reported to have tampered with JD Drew to get him to opt out of his contract

Jim A. I like the idea of moving Farnsworth.Rangers,Dodgers both need to improve their bullpens.He would certainly go with my blessings! Mendoza and El Duque combined 22-6 in 98.I loved Mendoza 2 2/3 innings 3 hits 0 runs.He looked good early at AAA but tanked later on in 2006,I don't know what the future holds for him...

Ruse,
Florida needs a closer as well and he could probably close in the NL. There would be interest from a few teams as his contract is probably not considered outrageous anymore.
I wouldn't be sad to see him go at all.

I keep bringing this up, but I suppose this is a good time to do it again.
For the life of me I can't understand why people are always analyzing these "deals" by the amount of the salary paid.
George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees for 11 million dollars. He can sell it probably for close to a billion.
What possible difference could it make to him if he gets this guy at a bargain for 12 million, or assures himself of outbidding Houston by giving him 16 million twice?
The price of the deal is irrelevant here.
If the Yanks have a better staff because of this, then it's a good deal, if not then it isn't. The only thing that the Yankees need to worry about is becoming a lousy team like they were in the 80's so that they might 1) stop drawing 4 million fans, and 2) might somehow lessen the value of the franchise.

Same thing with our Japanese signing. Put me in the camp of people who couldn't care less if we pay him 8, 9, 10, or 11 million dollars per year. If he's a superstar, it was well worth it. If not, he wasn't. In a few years we will lose both Manny and Schilling's salaries. A few million one way or the other won't matter as long as the team is always competing for the big prize. I'd really hate it if we lost out on a potential number one pitcher because our big money team started acting like Billy Beane has to act, by weighing every single decision by some formula determined by who knows what----or by getting into arguments like "Well, we shouldn't have to treat him like a free agent. He's not a free agent!!!" Great. Then we can be very happy that we were morally right and walked away from the decision, and in 2 years he'll win 23 games in the Bronx. Good for us.

Bloggers who keep bringing up the Red Sox every 10 minutes please I really don't see them as competing w/ the Yanks for the division,Yankees have to get past teams in 2007 like the Tigers,White Sox and Angels good balanced teams.My sense is the Red Sox are trying to reinvent themselves,they have no identity as a team,they have major question marks,they have regressed defensively from last yr w/some of the moves theyve made,and it might even get worse if the Matsusaka deal backfires....

Andrew,
I think most of us agree with you, obviously we're from big market teams and there isn't a salary cap so we, or at least I, personally do not care. Sometimes it's good to be the big guy and if you can outbid someone for a guy you want, go for it. There's a risk no matter who you sign, free agent, your own player or a foreign player. Look at what happened to the Braves several years ago. Ron Gant had a great year for them, they ponied up a big contract and he trashed his leg on a dirtbike and was never the same. Sh*t happens so you may as well play the game and shoot for the moon right? Boston will get their deal done w/ Matsuzaka, there's a lot of posturing going on right now but we all know it will get done.

Any chance the Yankees could trade Sanchez and Farnsworth for Brad Lidge? thoughts?

Chris Russo is an idiot.

Boston is all kinds of dirty or just really inept.

Mandy Moore or Jessica Simpson?

Al,
I've seen Lidge blow way too many games. I wouldn't give Sanchez up for him. If Lidge can't save games in the NL Central, I don't think he'd fare too well in the AL East.

Never heard of Mandy Moore...jeez, I'm old.

Jim A. I heard on XM today that Clemens might be tempted to follow Pettitte back to NY ...Rick would be happy another quality starter 1 yr deal...any thoughts? I personally wish the Yanks close the book on Clemens.

True or False ? -Yankees offense will have tough time to scores runs next year and they will struggles against tough al east and rest of al.

True or False - Arod's will continue to be awful at plate and unable to hit in the clutch.

Cano's had great stats and numbers in 2006? Predicts What Cano's numbers in 2007? Is this year was a fluke?

Does Yankees 97 wins was fluke despite the Injuries? Predicts how many wins the Yankees will win in 2007

Ruse,
I agree, I'm not happy about the prospect of Clemens returning to the Yanks. He just loves himself so much it kind of makes me ill. He'll wait and see who is in first place in late June before making his decision and he'll go with the team that can carry him to a WS title (again).

ruse

I personally don't care for the Rocket either. However, it's like Billy Martin used to say...."I'd play Hitler, Mussolinni, and Stalin if I thought they would help me win".

Interesting question, any chance Andy fails the physical?

Yankees Rotation vs Boston

Wang
Petite
Mussina
RJ
Pavano/Igawa

Redsox
Schilling
Beckett
Papelbon
Matsuzaka
Wakefield/Clement/Lester

I hope Cashman sign one more pitcher for insurance policy.

Suppan, Mulder and Batista. I'm will be happy if CashMoney sign three of these pitchers.

You can't have enough starting pitch. Pitching , Pitching and more pitching.

DId you watch suppan playoff perfmance against Mets and Tigers? These Two teams have power lineups?

How about Batista's perfomance against the Yankees in 2001 playoffs?

Mark Mulder - past playoff perfomance.

No, but Rj questionable coming from back surgery and Carla Pavano is always hurt and stealing cash from Yankees.

Mussina's coming off hamstring injuries and blowing lead in alds

Right Now I would say The Yankees rotation is still question mark.

Trade Arod to the Angels for Adenhart, Mchpherson and low prospect

The Red Sox are no longer interested in closer Eric Gagne, but sources close to the negotiations said the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers have made offers of one year for close to $6 million.

Yes, I'm so happy that Gagne didn't choose Boston. Redsox Bullpen still in shambles and horrible.

source - bostonherald

Dammit...I'm gone to take one friggen final and there are 145 posts?! Welcome back, Andy!!!! :)

And they said it would never happen, Pettitte coming back to the Yankees where he belongs!!!! Now maybe we can get back into the World Series again and show the world who the NY Yankees are and always have been....THE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!! Now, if we can just get back "The Rocket", AKA Roger Clemens to come back home.

Alex posted a question as to whether the Yankees can get Toby Hall from the Dodgers as a backup for Posada. That would be a real good move. After being traded from the D-Rays to the Dodgers last July, Hall saw little playing time. Now the Dodgers just signed Mike Lieberthal as Russell Martin's backup. Hall is unhappy being on the west coast (lives in Tampa) and probably wouldn't cost much in the way of a prospect from Cashman. Hall knows the AL & AL East from his time with the D-Rays. He'll never win a batting title but is a better stick than Flaherty, Stinnett, or Fasano ever were. Go get him !

Are there any starting catching jobs out there that Hall thinks he is in the running for? I've heard that he wants to start, but I'm not sure what teams have jobs open. So far, I can only think maybe Philly or Texas? Hall would be a better backup than some of our recent ones, that is for sure. The only plate Fasano belonged behind had a whole lot of pasta on it. Good guy though, I wish him well.

Ron Guidry won't have to spend much time with Andy and a few others in the spring so the time can be spent working with Hughes, Karstens, Clippard, Sanchez, etc.
His biggest thing should be making a project out of Farnsworth. He needs to learn how to attack the strike zone and throw hitters off with learning a good changeup. Too many hitters have just been sitting on his fastball. He should be alternating with Bruney and Britton as set up guys so Proctor doesn't get burned out like Villone and Sturtze did.

Hall can flat out hit. His salary of 7 million a year might present a problem. And he's a lefty we could have as many as 5 or 6 lefties in the starting lineup which could prove problematic. The other issue he must play more than a backup catcher. His bat is too good for a demotion.

How is Hall's defense perceived? I always thought of him as a offense first kind of guy, but can't remember for sure.

What a coup Cashman can pulloff if he can ink Zito to a reasonable deal. Never know, especially with the way the Damon contract went down. Possible rotation:

Zito
Pettitte
Wang
Mussina
Johnson

Igawa, Pavano, Sanchez, Karstens, Phillips, and Rasner in the wings in case someone goes down.

What a coup Cashman can pulloff if he can ink Zito to a reasonable deal. Never know, especially with the way the Damon contract went down. Possible rotation:

Zito
Pettitte
Wang
Mussina
Johnson

Igawa, Pavano, Sanchez, Karstens, Phillips, and Rasner in the wings in case someone goes down.

Pettitte is the only X-MAS gift Yankee fans will get this yr. The only way Cashman even considers signing Clemens is if the R\Sox look like they are going to sign him. I like the possible Marte for Thompson trade. We add a little salary, but a hard throwing lefty in the "pen" is always a plus. I also like the rumor that the Yanks are trying to get Eliezer Alfonzo from the Giants to serve as Posada's caddy. I wouldn't trade him if I were the Giants, but they were dumb enough to sign Bonds. If we eat some of Pavano's contract, maybe we can work him into the deal.

Good get, but it won't get Yanks over the top - By Filip Bondy of Ny Daily News

"Pettitte is a solid addition, a smart gamble. But he is not the move that breaks a three-series playoff losing streak. Right now, the Yankees still figure to be just another one of eight teams playing baseball in October, nothing more. "

"Pettitte is now another Yankee starter who is not an ace. The team has a lot of those. The Yanks' main hope right now is that W@ng, a talented finesse guy, can somehow step up and embarrass people in October the way that Kenny Rogers did for the Tigers, only without the pine tar. "

"Since then, the Yankees haven't thought that large. They haven't really chased anybody who would put them over the top. They've just filled a pothole here, a wagon rut there. They lost the bidding war for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who may be a difference-maker. They've seemed oddly disinterested in other free agent pitchers."

W@ng is a finesse pitcher? Are you kidding me? He throws 94-97mph. This Idiot Writer Compares Him to Kenny Rogers. What a Joke...

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/478602p-402672c.html

Yankees–O's offered Pettitte 4 Years 66Mill?

According to todays NY Daily News Article by Anthony McCarron

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/478604p-402671c.html The Orioles apparently made a late, unsuccessful run at Pettitte, offering four years and $66 million, according to a baseball official. Hendricks would neither confirm nor deny any Baltimore involvement.

To Jim A: he won't hurt us defensively.

1. Wang IS a finesse pitcher who relies primarily on location of his (hittable) but heavy sinker, even though it hits 92-94.

2. The Orioles are insane.

no Wang can throw 97mph. The reason this idiot writer called him finesse pitcher because he doesn't have strike pitch . Also He's not strikeout pitcher.

Top 10 teams in MLB right now

1. NYY - Still best offense like ever and their pitching staff is coming around. Still doubt they win the series though but I think they will have the best record.

2. CHIW - Thome, Konerko, Dye and Crede plus some good talent on their pitching staff.

4. LAA - Best pitching staff in the league by far. Offense will be improved, and D will be back to elite status. I'm a homer.

5 DET - Pitching wont be as good as last year but they stay in top 5 with the Sheffield addition.

6. BoSox - They have Drew and Lugo and should make Matsuka official soon. But probably should be lower with no pen right now. Adding Drew with the Manny and Ortiz duo is big if he is healthy and Lugo's speed will be nice.

7. TOR - Rios, Wells, Glaus, Thomas, Overbay and their lower guys in the order even add pop. Maybe a really good offense. Yeah their staff looks thin but Halladay and Burnett at the top of the rotation and BJ Ryan closing means their pitching is at least average.

8. LAD - Most likely the best pitching staff in the NL. Plus their offense has not any real power hitters but most are a threat for 20 bombs. Furcal, Nomar, Kent, Either, Martin, Betemit and Gonzalez. That's everybody outside of their lead off hitter Pierre.

9. CLE - Pretty young, they have pretty good SP but their pen sucks.

10. Mets - NO PITCHING! They should sign Zito and trade Milledge for another starter. With a couple of top of the rotation starts they could move to top five.

ATL just misses top 10 IMO. Actually I think they will contend with NYM for the East this year. CHIC, MIN, OAK, FLA are bundled right under.

Not saying it will happen, but mark this down, if CASH pulls off a reasonable Zito signing, then there's more to RJ's back operation than meets the eye!

Cubs are ruining Baseball

The Cubs have already made a big splash in free agency, signing Henry Blanco, Mark DeRosa, Ted Lilly, Wade Miller, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, and Kerry Wood to a combined $272.5 million in contracts

Now they added Marquis to Cubs payroll worth $20-28 miliion. The Cubs spent $305 million this offseason.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2691994

Roy,I live in the Bay Area,and have watched Alfonzo catch ,he has terrible foot work and Giants pitchers complained that he calls a bad game.If you look at his stats which I don't have in front of me ,his strikeout to walk ratio is horrific, OBP terrible.By comparison Flaherty was a much better back-up...If the Yanks are interested in Marte they might inquire about Ryan Doumit ,the Pirates switchhitting backup catcher/1st baseman,he put up good numbers in the minors but has had nagging injuries which have held him back.....

Do you think Yankees could sign Free agent Edgar alfonso in minor league contract and possibly as backup infielder

haley R. Edgar Alfonzo is an over the hill ,with zero range 3b & 2b who to begin with never enjoyed sitting on the