On the Yankees beat

Pretty stupid, his emphasis on the structural problems are valid, but over emphasized and exaggerated at that.

What's the deal with the fantasy league, you have room for one more? Jim, do I e-mail you (and if so, what address)?

hey atticas -- our first league is all filled up, rick keyes worked dilligently... but you are more than welcome to be the commish of the second league and we can create a world series of the two winners at the end...

okay great, i'll be willing to do that...how many teams per league? anyone that is interested can e-mail me at atticas1@aol.com

Actually Jim, you know what I was thinking...we can only have a World Series if we have one league an AL-only league, and the other an NL-only league. Otherwise, when the winners of two leagues play, they are likely to have some of the same players on their teams. What do you think?

That's a great idea atticas.
But how are we going to match up the winners of both leagues? can Yahoo do that?

ATTICAS

I'LL BE IN TOUCH

My Propose Trade between Cards and Yankees. Cardinals are looking for starting rotation help since Jeff weaver signs with Mariners. Trade Pavano for Chris Duncan. Duncan will play first base. Called up Humberto Sanchez as replacement for Pavano

Alvaro, You may have to do it all in one league... I think you can do that, make divisions, and then have a playoff system and championship (that's how we do our football leagues with me and my friends, but that's with Sportsline, which is a pay league).

The only way to set up a cross league WS would be to have someone keep score individually. I don't think Yahoo allows you to merge leagues for a WS scenario.

On another note I like the idea of a Pavano for Duncan trade, but we don't need yet another first base/outfielder...though Duncan could be assigned to AAA.

On the Bernie Williams front, I just read this in the Post:

While the longtime Yankee outfielder is reportedly contemplating such a move, the report said he's stung - and not surprisingly.

Williams always has been regarded as a sensitive soul. In his eyes, the gesture could be viewed as half-hearted and a slight on his legacy. The SI.com report said he is not thinking about playing elsewhere in 2007, so the only other choice is retiring.

Last week, longtime teammate Jorge Posada, who has frequently spoken with Williams, indicated the 38-year-old outfielder wouldn't go to Tampa on a non-guaranteed deal.

One of my writers just posted an article about Win Shares and how they are a good base measure for determining a player’s chances of getting into the Hall of Fame.

Babe Ruth still heads the all-time list and the article discusses the HoF chances of A-Rod, Bernie, Jason Giambi, Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon and Mike Mussina among others so I thought you might be interested in checking it out:

http://www.rotorob.com/baseball/win-shares-and-the-hall-of-fame-2007-update/

Cheers

R ‘n B

www.RotoRob.com

Daily fantasy sports analysis with an edge

Groomed for a return
By Eric Wilbur

http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/wilbur/s…turn/index.html

Boston Globe Writer who writes for The Redsox urges to Theo to sign Clemens and offer a him a contract. I don’t want Redsox getting Clemens. Imagine The Boston Rotation with Matsuzaka,Schilling, Papelbon, Beckett and Clemens. Yikes

The Sox-Yanks missile gap
Even without Helton, Sox hold surprising offense edges
By Steven Goldman / Special to YESNetwork.com

http://www.yesnetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070130&content_id=1418685&oid=36019&vkey=5

I disagree with Goldman .The Yankees lineup is much better than Redsox. Matsui who was injured mostly last year and Also Cano missed some time as well, yet Yankees scored 937 runs last year

Chip : especially if Duncan plays 1st base the way he plays the outfield...my sense is if the Yanks unload Pavano it would be for a catching prospect and/or a good lefty reliever.Pretty obvious.

Shaun Powell this is my take.

They Yankees should not move away from Yankee Stadium. Building the New Stadium next door to Yankees Stadium doesn't give the New Stadium the right to be called Yankee Stadium. Its not on the "Hollow Grounds".

The Yankees should have waited until CitiField is completed and moved in with the Mest in 2010.

The remodled Yankee Stadium then could have be redone while the Yankees played at CitiField. No one would have thought anything of it.

I hope the Yankees realize that history is against the Yankees.

Since the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins have left their "Hollow Grounds" they have not come close to winning a championship.

Think about that Steinbrenner and Mr Powell.

Ruse, the more I look at it the more I'm starting to think that if Pavano shows enough this spring to make him a valuable trading chip the Yankees will keep him.

I like the youth and quality guys that are in the rotation, but all three of the top guns, Wang, Moose, Andy have had injuries in the last couple of years, Igawa is an unknown as are (relatively speaking) Karstens, Hughes, Sanchez, Rasner et al.

Now Farnsworth...him I could see being traded.

I say we package Farnsworthless and Pavono for 1 good player!

Scott - The St. Louis Cardinals and Angels both won the world series after moving into their new digs.

Look I'm going to miss Bernie Williams and Yankee Stadium, but neither can last forever. Yankee Stadium needs to be upgraded for a ton of reasons and besides, we should be happy about it. A side effect of the new Yankee Stadium will be that the team no longer has to pay into Revenue Sharing.

Scott - first of all, sharing a stadium with another MLB team is impossible, just for the fact that each team is going to have to play 81 games there, and the scheduling would be a nightmare. Second of all, the fact that you even bring up the idea of sharing a stadium with that A ball team in Queens is making me cringe and laugh equally (weird paradigm of emotional manifestations, right?).

Furthermore, the whole "hallowed grounds" and never being able to win a Championship in a new Stadium is pretty retarded and illogical. I've never believed that there was any "curse" that was keeping the Red Sox from winning the World Series. I just think they've had inferior teams for that entire span, during an era which saw Yankee teams as good as they've been. Now that the Red Sox have wiser investors willing to spend more money and hire people to develop talent properly, they're a force. It has to do with common sense, not superstition.

Some interesting stuff in this bit on Si.com by Jon Heyman:

Big week for the Yankees, and Clemens isn't even there yet. The Yankees became the first team to enter into an agreement with China and announced on Wednesday morning that the All-Star Game will be played at Yankee Stadium during the venerable ballpark's final season of 2008. They even did a smart thing on Tuesday when they put executive and noted wordsmith Mark Newman on a conference call to talk about their prospects. Nobody can make somebody sound better than Newman, who has quite a few folks to brag about in the system now.

In speaking of right-hander Philip Hughes, Newman said, "He's probably the best young pitcher we've had in the organization since I've been here in terms of potential and performance" (That is very true. One Mets official said he thinks Hughes is better than their own young stud, Mike Pelfrey.)

Humberto Sanchez, a hard-throwing right-hander acquired from Detroit in the Gary Sheffield deal, has "as good stuff as anybody we have, along with Hughes." (More high praise indeed.)

Newman added that teenage outfielder Jose Tabata's 2006 season was "very similar to Derek Jeter at that age." (I'm pretty sure that one topped the praise for Hughes.)

On another note, I disagree with the way Heyman is essentially saying that Doug M. is the reason Bernie does not have a contract for this season.

Heyman argues that the Yankees should have either left Giambi at 1st or just let Andy Phillips (whom he calls a youngster despite the fact that Phillips will be 30 this season - at some point he just needs to be called what he is, a career minor leaguer) play every day.

First of all I think we all agree that Giambi at first is a non-starter. He should not touch a glove and that's that. As for Phillips, I like him as a bench player because of the versatility he brings (able to play every position other than CF, SS, C) but as an everyday player I think he would get exposed. Plus, having him in the field and replacing him on the bench with a player who can only play OF/DH removes that versatility from Torre's bench.

The bottom line is that none of this would be happening at all if the Yankees were able to get by with only 11 pitchers, but due to the questions in the rotation and Torre's predication for burning through his pen recently they have had to add another reliever to the mix.

I don't know about you, but I would much rather have Bernie turn down this invitation, retire, and make plans in 2009 for his to be the first number officially retired in the new stadium.

I agree with Chip, Bernie should retire in a classy way, although with the ongoing drama this will not be able to happen. It may seem harsh, but I think the next time Bernie should step in a field with the Yankee’s uniform shoul be in about 4 - 5 years in the Old-Timers’ Day game. How long does he have to wait to participate in it? When is P O'Neill, Tino, Girardi and Brosius going to appear in the game?

Shaun has the guts to write from the heart ... that is what real journalists do ... they make people think and engender further discussion.

Yankee Stadium is a physical structure with many great occurrences attached to it. But as all structures become old and outdated its time to move forward. You can never replace the memories of the stadium in your head unless the good Lord wants them remove. So, lets move forward just as we must without Bernie.

Chip:We'll see how the starting 5 shake down during spring training,I agree Pavano could ,whatever we might think,start the yr in pinstripes....Rick the Yanks have a list of very capable middle relievers ,so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the Yanks trade Farnsworth,we forget the Yanks have Veras and Beam and possible Cox who all will play some yet to be established relief role by yrs end...Chip ,scouts are suggesting Tabata will be a Sept.call-up in 2008 and starting in 2009.

Alvaro,
I don't think there is a time limit needed for a player to participate in old timers day. Jim Leyritz played at least last year if not the last two (last year was rained out I think, so it has been two). I expect to see Paulie out there this year, Brosius I'm not sure about, he seems to have disappeared. The last I heard from/about him he was happy playing "Mr. Mom".

Chip: Be advised, and I bet Jim B. could confirm this someday, that Jon Heyman has had a long standing grudge against Giambi and subtly blaming him for the Yanks bringing in Doug M. and Phelps is just another way for Heyman to take a shot at Giambi. I exchanged emails with him when he worked at Newsday and asked him why he seemed to hate Giambi so much (every day he wrote a piece ripping Jason to shreds) and his answer was that "Giambi is too nice, he doesn't get mad and it irks me". Nice.

I know that there's no time limit needed to participate at the game. I remeber Sojo played in one and later on the season played for the Yanks.

Jim A; I don't hate Giambi,but he's far cry from being the player the Yanks signed ,after posting great numbers in 2002,he's really not been worth the 20 million per the Yanks have shelled out,he did have great numbers hitting at Yankee Stadium the first 1 1/2 then he went off the 'roids' midway thru 2003 ,he's admitted to this,so I'm not making it up,since that time he's had 2 great 1/2 seasons from the last half of 2005 thru midway 2006,so he's not shown up much at all for 2 seasons at 20 mil per,+ they signed him to play 1st base now he's DHing.Outside of his walkoff HR against the Twins in 2002 and 2 homers off Pedro in 2003,he really hasn't any recent defining moment and has become a .250 hitter who hits an occasional HR usually early in games but generally does nothing after the 6th inning,stats support this ,but it's A-Rod who takes it on the chin,Heymans critique sounds coincidently more like the rap against A-Rod than Giambi.

ruse, Ca.
I trust your stats for I'm do not have an affinity for them in general. I agree that Giambi should donate all his gloves to the orphange of his choice. He still can hit the homers and has a very good eye for the plate. My suggestion to Jason which would improve his stats with more hits and Rbi's is to go the opposite way. Many times I watch with runners in scoring position and he's pulling pitches toward the right side where 5 players are positioned. Most of the time the batted balls are hit solidly. Hitting the other way may present additional oppts. for the Yanks and Jason as Mr. Ortiz does. Its not all about the HR.

Larry: I absolutely agree with hitting to the opposite field,actually Giambi once excelled at going the other way,he got to pull happy,of course pitchers know this ,they pitch him high and tight low and away,he usually strikes out on high cheese,what else is new?

i think the yanks need to hold on to pavano until roger makes up his mind on playing for the yanks. any thoughts on this guys?

Ruse,
I agree that Giambi is a different player than the one they signed for various reasons including steroids. One other reason is that right field porch is so inviting he has become a dead pull hitter. I remember his first at bats in spring training after signing w/ the Yanks, he hit 3 HR's all to left field but we never saw that again from him. However, he is hitting for more power than he did in Oakland and is getting on base just as much. As for being worth $20M, really, is anyone?

I absolutely agree with you mike fl, if they deal pavano, then clemens doesnt sign, what kind of a rotation would that be? Of course, we would be counting on pavano a great deal, but might as well givem another shot since they say he's "healthy." If clemens doesnt sign with the yanks, and pavano has already been dealt, then we have wang, AP, moose, igawa, and an unproven youngster. yes, we might strike gold with a youngster, but odds are we won't. So although pavano shouldnt be counted on heavily, he still has a little more experience than the young guys, and when he's HEALTHY, he has some pretty good stuff.

Yanks staff isn't that good

C'mon, let's be serious. CWang won games behind a great lineup but he isn't dominating. Mussina is still pretty good, not great. Pavano is an absolute tossup, but his time in NY hasn't given anybody any indication that he is reliable. Pettite was pretty average last year. And Igawa could also go either way. The bullpen lacks a dominant setup man, and after Rivera the pen is basically below-average.

The Yankees have the best lineup in baseball, no doubt. But their pitching staff lacks an ace and really shouldn't be impressing anyone.

They need Clemens badly. Very badly. Chances are that once they get him they'll just force him into retirement.

Wang didn't dominate last year. He had 3.63 ERA. Opposing hitters batted .277 off of him. And in 218 innings he only struck out 76 batters. He's not even close to being as good as Santana. I think Ervin Santana will have the better career.

CWang has a good sinker but that's it.

Scott Proctor had his first good season last year, but he might have been overworked. 100+ innings for a reliever is a lot. We'll see what he does this year.

Jim A: I don't agree Giambi' power numbers are better,just more or less the same,he used to average about 35 doubles a yr w/ Oakland plus 35 or so HRs.Walks are one thing but a RBI double is another.Of course no one is worth 20 mil but relative to what other DHs make I'd have to say Giambi is grossly overpaid...hopefully NY won't offer free agent 7yr long term contracts anymore,to many variables.

Halbetron:Wang didn't dominate? That's because his primary out pitch is a sinkerball that induces groundballs.3.63 ERA is considered excellent in the AL .Who is as good as Johan Santana ? Ervin Santana is going to have a better career ? You have a crystal ball?

Many of these guys commenting are just posting the same thing on Yankee blog after Yankee blog. It's become a problem on my blog, on Pete's, on this one. And I can pinpoint each comment in this thread that appears word-for-word on the other blogs. It's really getting annoying, people. Just stop.

To Mike,Fl. and Dave, I totally agree with you. Pavano must be held on to until May or June because RC, who I'm not in favor of signing for many reasons. Could go to two other teams. I do not feel RC can dominate in the AL East. Also, I believe. Call me crazy stupid but Pavano could be the wild card.

To Halbetron: our pitching staff is not the best 1 through 5. I have no problems saying this but what they bring to the mound is consistent performance which will allow the team to win. No team dominates anymore even if it say so on paper. Wang to me is an excellent pitcher who has a very good out pitch. Sure 75 K's in 200+ innings is below par but this is his style of pitching much like AP. You have heard it before He's a pitcher now not just a thrower. This is a sign of maturity and adjusting to mind and physical changes.

Would you want 4 other Wangs in the rotation. I would.

Guys, I believe Igawa is going to be the lefty guy out of the bullpen come june or july. I honestly do not believe he has enough stuff to make it in the majors as a starter. Yes, there are pitchers out there with equal stuff and are successful, however Igawa has no idea how to pitch to these guys, unlike those pitchers who have the experience. It's going to take some MAJOR adjusting to for Igawa to be successful with his stuff. Dice-k is also going to have to make adjustments, but his stuff helps him because its better than Igawa's. Hopefully he does adjust quickly and Posada can guide him through the league. But if not, i believe he will be in the pen, and we'll be seeing Karstens/Rasner/Sanchez/Hughes(hopefully not yet in july).

No offense, Jim, I love your blog and I know he's your fellow Newsday writer and all, but I really can't stand Shaun Powell's articles. He just seems to write inflammatory columns that have no place being called news, they're just designed to rile up Yankee fans.

For instance, besides the current waste of column space about Yankee Stadium, I don't know if anyone remembers his column about Boston Massacre II and how it didn't really mean anything because it didn't compare to the BoSox winning those games against us in the 04 ALCS. Obviously, if that's your definition of when games 'mean something,' there won't ever be a game that means something short of a postseason clincher. But that's just a stupid way to define when a win 'means something.' Obviously those were big games and that series meant a whole lot. The Sox never recovered and the Yankees won the AL East for the 9th time in a row. Everybody could see the writing on the wall at the time and everybody was saying that, but Powell has to come along with this dribble just meant to inflame Yankee fans saying that the Yankees didn't do anything so special in that series. Simply ridiculous. A 5-game series sweep of Boston at home would be incredibly big for the Yankees any time of year, but it was even bigger at that point.

So, that's a long example, but that's the type of thing I think of when I think of Shaun Powell. I understand writing things that have some basis in fact even if they are going to anger Yankee fans, but to do it for that sole purpose with no connection to reality is just stupid and doesn't belong in a newspaper.

larry m,fl

you are so right! ive said it all along that pavano is going to surprise everyone and be the difference in the al east!

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