On the Yankees beat

Girardi is the best choice, now we gotta see if H\H can avoid another PR disaster concerning Mattingly. The on the job training with "The Boys" continues.

And awaaaaaaay we go!!!! This is the right move ... I hope.

Great move! Let's get some fire in that dugout! And finally someone who knows how to call a game and maybe call for a hit and run or stealing a base... imagine the possibilities!

Awesome! I love the Giradi hire and Cheers to go Away-Rod . He has made it possible for the NYY to return to their late 90's roots. Fiery and gritty players - not an MVP or All-Star at every position team. Long live the Paul O'Neill type players. Hope H/H don't screw this up - let Cash and the baseball people make the baseball decisions.

Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for winning the 2007 World Series and becoming the World Champs for the 2nd time in 4 years.

A core of up-and-coming rookies, a devastating pitching staff and the BEST lineup in the league will take this team to the top of the next several years to come.

Good luck YankeeLand on your rebuilding years!

Looking forward to competing against you in the future...maybe in like 2015????

Now someone pull the trigger on the Melky + Wang for Santana trade!!!!!

I love Don Mattingly. He has been a hero of mine for most of my life. That's why I DON'T want him to get the job. I never want that guy - whom I idolize and want my newborn son to idolize as well - to be in a position where I have to second-guess and negative assess his abilities. Call me crazy, but that's how I feel.

I didn't really think there was a bad choice in the mix.

I believe what cost Mattingly the job his lack of experience. Because of the roster being in such a state of flux, if the Yankees tank next season it might have hurt Mattingly's legacy and no one wants that. I am disappointed that we might have hurt him to a point where if the job ever does come available again and the team wants him to manage he'll turn it down.

I think Girardi is a good choice and am looking forward to next year.

Great Move! Maybe the core of the p[layers will stay, Just think Yankees Vs Dodgers 2008 series and Joe Girardi and Joe Torree exchanging lineup cards at home plate (NYPost story)

I don't think Mattingly would be tainted in any meaningfuly way. It is what it is. A great chance to manage the most storied team in all of sports.

Yes, a team who has a destructive GM that has made almost uncountable mistakes. (Igawa, Giambi, Brown on and on ad infinitum ...) But a team with a good future nevertheless.

We have a lot of talent.

Highest payroll.

Highest equity.

Was Ted Williams tainted by his managing the Washington Senators? Or his sick children cutting off his head and freezing it? You think the Yanks are cursed? What kind of a curse would that act bring?

There are players out there we need and need to get now. Ludwick/Rasmus, Johan, Gregg, Phillips the 2B on Cincy. Kazmir. Get them, buy them. Steal them.

Melky and Matsui and Abreu and Giambi leave us fourth best in the AL. They scare no one. Colorado has a better on the field core. I said this back in June right on this Blog.

Get to work Yanks!!!!

Just a thought - I see a lot of talk about moving Cano to third. What about signing Luis Castillo for 2b - he's a FA - and moving Cano to third. He's only 32 and still is pretty much a sparkplug.

I also see a lot of talk about Melky and Wang for Santana. I'd rather see a Melky/Kennedy and almost ML ready prospect for Santana (assuming we have a window to sign Santana to a 4 year extension). Wang's won 38 games the last two years - and he's very young. I think he's a great pitcher - albeit not an "ace" in the strictest sense of the word. Then we can sign Hunter and be the Twinkies, East. So, my thoughts (and yes, anon, it's all speculation, or wishful thinking):

Damon LF
Castilla 2b
Jeter SS
Posada C
Abreu RF
Hunter CF
Matsui DH
Cano 3B
Mentky/Phillips/Duncan 1B

Santana
Wang
Pettitte
Joba
Hughes

Also, keep in mind that we've won world series' in the past with the likes of Scott Boras and Charlie Hayes at third base. There's no way we equal A-rod's production as far as pure numbers, but then again, we don't have to.

we definitely can't equal a-rod's production at third, but why not throw 3 years at mike lowell.

Scott Boras??? at 3rd

I'm all for that, Sean. I just think there are other teams at the top of Lowell's list. I don't know if he'll give a home team discount, but he's also stated his desire to play in Philly.

BTW, I meant Brosius - not Boras. I should be banned for life from the blog for that comment.

totally different class of indiviual.
Boras/Brosius

hey Bosstrots ... u must have Arod's jackarse agent on your mind ... it's Scott Brosius, not Boras, that we need back!!! LOL Anyway, I'd love to give the Twins a bag of used balls and Giambi for Santana but that's not happening. The only way to get Santana is to give up talent (hence Wang in the mix) and I'd do a Melky/Wang trade for Johan in a millisecond. Santana is only 1 year older than Wang so no concerns there. And we can trade melky while his trade value is high. As for Lowell, he won't leave the Sox and coming off the year he had (plus WS MVP) he's gonna want $48 mill for 4 years (sounds like Damon, no?) ... plus he'll be 35 when season starts ... not good for a long term deal

I heard Girardi has boarded a plane bound for NY. I would expect a press conference tomorrow.

Check this out: Some Boston city officials wanted to have their celebration parade on Saturday so businesses would not be inconvenienced and school kids could attend but the players wanted the parade to be held ASAP so they could get on with their vacations.
How's that for a slap in the face of the faithful fans? It's not just the Red Sox, that's not what I'm saying but it just goes to show that we (the die hard fans of our respective sports teams) mean nothing to these people at all.

Francessa just said that the "rumor" is that Torre gets the Dodger job, Mattingly becomes his bench coach (his agent just told Fan that he won't be back with Yanks) and that Pettite follows them! Hot stove league in October!

Sean,

If I thought with any certainty that Mike Lowell could hit as well for the Yankees as he has for Boston I would be right there with you - problem is I think a lot of his hits are courtesy of the Monster and in Yankee Stadium those hits would be harmless flies to left.

Mattingly does have some ties to the Dodger organization - his son Preston is in their farm system. I don't think Andy will go to the Dodgers though. I think he is serious when he says it is Yankees or no one next year.

I know Hank Steinbrenner gets blasted a lot on this blog, but I like everything he says here: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2007/10/28/2007-10-28_hank_steinbrenner_says_goodbye_to_arod.html

The Twins aren't stupid. If we want Santana, they'll shop around the league and see who will give them 3 or 4 top prospects for arguably the best pitcher in the game. You think others won't be able to figure out that Cabrera is a solid OF'er at best? Not much power & a hacker? You think that and Wang, who was lit up like a pinball machine in the playoffs get's you Santana? I love the stupid hot stove comments posted on this board.

if the dodgers wanna be stockpiled with aging players then so be it

Mikez,

In all seriousness what do you think it would take to get Santana?

Jim,

Great article. He is starting to sound like his father. Roy should like that. LOL

Minny is going to ask for the farm for any Johan deal.

They will start by asking Cash this:
Melky and Wang or Cano plus Kennedy.

The only way we trade our young pitchers is to get a proven ace in return.

We are gonna need a righty bat too. Shelly Duncan should not be considered a candidate.

I can almost see it now

Mattingly, Posada and Pettitte join the Dodgers with Joe T!

Posada isn't going to the Dodgers. They all ready have Russ Martin.

Dog,
In my opinion the Twins would start by asking for Joba AND Hughes for Santana and then they would say, okay, we want Joba, Melky and a lower tier prospect. I believe it would take Hughes or Joba, plus Melky and maybe even another pitcher like Ohlendorf or Sanchez to get him. I believe that price is too high but you couldn't blame them for asking. Teams aren't lined up to try to help the Yanks out that's for sure. Hopefully they all develop a hatred for Boston and ease up on the Yanks a little :)

Jim,

I agree. I would never trade either Joba or Hughes at this point but I would consider Wang, Melky and possibly Kennedy or one of the other pitching prospects in the minors. Of course I could be delusional and the Twins would laugh at that. I am so glad I am not the GM. LOL

Current Yankees line-up

Damon-lf
Jeter-ss
Abreu-rf
Posada-C (if he resigns)
Matsui-dh
Cano-2nd
Betemit-3rd
Mientkiewicz-1st
Cabrera-CF

Does this work? I am not happy with this.

Steve,

That won't be the lineup at the start of the season. I am sure there will be some suprises in the off season.

Hey Kat,

Has I read in your article that "Boras emphasized that it was important to Rodriguez that the team he signed with be able to contend for a World Series. Given the up-in-the-air status of Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte, who can become free agents, he wasn't ready to commit to the Yankees.

Have you, or any other reporter called Posada, Pettite or Rivera and ask if they heard from A-Rod? If A-Rod were truly interested in the make-up of the team, and what the yankee FA's where planning on doing, he probably would have called them.

It's highly unlikely he did. We all know what Pay-rod is all about. I would offer Lowell a nice contract ASAP.

How did
Raines
Boggs
O'Neill
Williams
Martinez
Fielder
Duncan
Leyritz
Jeter
sound back in 1996, superstars?

Steve

I agree.

I think a lot of us are either hurt by A-Rod choosing to leave, or are in some way relieved that he wont be around to be the overwhelming distraction he was and post-season source of frustration..

However, like you...Every line up I've seen from our blogging brethren here today all show an amazing weakness now.

NO ONE SCARES ME!!!

Without Alex we become in my opinion only a cut above most of the teams in the AL which is still not horrible but certainly not a line up I for one am comfortable with WHATSOEVER.

If we can't get Cabrera or a combination of 2 above average bats to add to what we have now I'm gonna be pretty nervous about 08...

MFN15,

It sounded pretty good to me then. Raines was one of the best leadoff hitters of his time. Boggs was one of the best hitters of all time, O'Niell was one of the best clutch hitters at the time, Bernie was an up and coming superstar with power and speed, Fielder was over weight but could still mash the ball, Tino was a great hitter and first baseman at the time. The only question marks were Duncan (had a career year), Jeter (great rookie season) and Leyritz (great clutch hitter with grit). I would have taken that lineup any day back in 96. The key to that team (and all WS teams) was the pitching.

MFN15,
Back in '96, the competition was considerably weaker. Look how much the luxury tax has allowed teams like Minnesota, The White Sox, The Angels and others to improve. Heck, even Tampa Bay is no longer a pushover. Plus, other teams like Detroit, Boston (obviously), Toronto and Seattle have stepped it up a bit over the years and all are now capable of having good to great seasons.

Having said that, I'll go to my grave saying that the Yanks will go only as far as their pitching will take them.
They will need a RH bat of some kind, but it's about the pitching.

mfn15 - I liked the 96 line-up (trying not to be biased) better then th 08 version I posted

dog - I hope its not the 08 lineup but if the season started today it might be and I dont like it.

PTRS - one OF bat and a corner IF bat. Not so sure about Cabrera

Pitching was the point, in retrospect, those guys were all you said but if it weren't for good pitching, they would have won nothing.

This is the best decision they could have made. I am already over the A_Rod debacle, see ya! and Joe G is the best for the job...we are now at the start of a great new era!

Let talk about the pitching.

Wang
Pettite
Hughes
Chamberlain
???

Rivera (if he resigns)
Ohlendorf
Ramirez
Henn
Farnsworth (hope not)
Veras

Jim A

I'm not sure it's necessary or possible for us to replace all of A-Rods impact but the problem I see with all these potential lineups proposed today is that we don't see one GREAT hitter..

Angels-Vladdy/A-OPT-?
Redsox-Manny/Papi
Tigers-Magglio
Cleveland-Hafner/Martinez

I could go on...But it's pretty obvious without Alex and having too many wrong side of 30 guys ie Matsui/Abreu...We no longer have a legitimate fear instilling offense IMO...

THIS IS VERY BAD

Roy,
You can forget getting Escobar from the Braves, they just traded Renteria to make room for him.

Phucker,
You are right, it doesn't look good at all. I hate to say this, but I wish Manny would pull some of his nonsense on the Bosox now and they'd waive him again. The Yanks could jump on him!

I would like to see the Yankees go after guys like Austin Kearns, Johnny Gomes, Mike Lamb, Mark Loretta, Brad Wilkerson, and Aaron Rowand. I am not sure about pitchers though, there doesn't seem to be much available.

PTRS is right, no one is scary right now but I will put my neck on the line (I reserve the right to take any and all of this back) and say that we have something in Cano. Started off terribly but regained his stroke down the stretch. And in the last few weeks of the season had more patient at bats. His average is not effected by Lefties too much. Plus not too bad in this ALDS. And if H&H are serious about Shelly gettng more AB then we might have a power weapon there waiting to shine.

Signing Giradi is the right move.
In the 90s we did not have the most dominating lineup. What we had was hitters that could double you to death, walk, and hit a homerun when needed. You do not need a team that scores 10 runs a game if you have a good pitching staff.
What the 90s team had was very good starters and a dominating bullpen. All you needed in the 90s was 6 or 7 good innings and we had a lights out bullpen.
Rivera
Wettland
Mendoza
Nelson
Stanton
That was the difference.
This decade we let Pettite go which was a big blow to our starters and we never found replacements for Mendoza Nelson & Stanton.
Mussina is a good pitcher but not a #1 starter an OK #2 but I would of rather have been a #3.
With the young arms they have the Yankees in a couple of years could be dominate again.
Professional Hitters, Good Starters, and a great bullpen is the way to win.
You do not need overpriced primadonas:
A-Rod
Sheffeild
Giambi
What we do need is players like:
Broscious
Oneil
Tino
This decade has been the 80s all over again. Hopefully A-Rod leaving and Giradi being the manager we turned the corner.

I assume the "big" issue being discussed with Girardi is his coaching staff. These guys have their "favorites", and rightfully want to surround themselves with people that are "loyal to the king". Anybody heard who Girardi favors for bench and pitching coach?

We need to stop comapring the 96 team to every team the Yankees put on the field. Great TEAM but we need to move on and stop clinging to it like a safety blanket. If we get guys like this guy or that guy we can win a string of WS agian. Baseball has changed so much with revenue sharing and talent scouts across the globe.

What that team did was special and no other team has won that many WS in row since. That says a lot about them and baseball.

Roy,
Nope, and I was trying to find out who his staff was in Florida but got sidetracked.
I think Pena will stay on and become the bench coach and Dave Eiland will be the pitching coach. Beyond that, I have no idea.

I've scoured everything I can find and even googled and nothing turns up about any issues between Posada and Girardi. Olney was asked on ESPN whether he knew of any and he said they shared playing time very respectfully when they played together during the handoff period with maybe a hint of a big-brother/little-brother dynamic that in his view did not even arise to the level to be called tension (Olney used to be NY Times beat reporter for NYY).

I am not real thrilled with it, but what is IS!

I sure hope Pettite
stays, and Farnsworth GOES!

As I said what is IS.. speaking my mind is not going to change anything, nor win them games.

I hope Girardi does well.
Doing well is not what "Gets it" though. They need to flippin win the WS! I don't see it happening though. Gosh I pray I am wrong. I truly do!!!!

JIM A-
What players were involved in the Renteria deal?

Joltin Joe Girardi-o!

Sammy's hittin the sauce again. Somebody get Frank.

Why does everyone here insist on what is needed to win again is to repeat the past?

I agree on the pitching being a clearly inferior to the "good ol'days" of the nineties and should be improved but those who keep bringing up Brosius are in my opinion out of their minds.

Yeah the teams of the nineties were great and no there weren't necessarily superstars at every position but offensively,(if memory serves me)those teams had players who possessed "intangibles" who elevated their game in big situations.

I'm not sure that's something you can draft/sign/or trade for necessarily.

Until we can accurately measure a players ability to provide the "timely hit" we have to put the best team on the field ie best players and hope for the best in terms of their chemistry and intangibles.

Not to mention the fact that as it is presently constructed TODAY the line up can not just adapt a completely different style all at once.

If we're presently a "big ball ie "work the pitcher" and wait for the homerun club we can't just lose the heart of that lineup and decide to play small ball.

Gradually sure but not overnight.

I think we'll need something a lot stronger than "Joe Crede" or players of a similar ilk to not be catastrophically weakened by A-Rods exit.

Roy,
Two minor leaguers. I don't have their names just now.

staff isn't bad next year as it is ... Pettite - Wang - Hughes - Moose - Joba. I'll go to war with that. Moose can certainly be a solid #4 for the last year of his contract. If Chamberlin shines, he moves past moose on the depth charts. Any injuries and we have Igawa (who turned himself around after being sent to the minors) or Karstens (not a terrible #5 pitcher) or even (dare I say) Pavano!!! (he has 1 year left). point is, we're okay for 2008 on the pitching side (except that we need some more beef in the bullpen but then again, every team does). It's the hitting that will be a concern at this point (with a long off season ahead and plenty of curveballs to be seen). I'd rather not sign Lowell off a huge year though (that's the Yanks OLD philosophy) ... remember, he was a complete "throw in" during the Beckett deal. And, he's 35 and he played "pepper" with the Green Monster while w/ the Sox (most of those shots are outs at Yankee stadium).

Bora$$ is on Kay's show now.

Girardi will do GREAT. We will get offense from Matsui (healthy), Abreu (playing for a contract), Cano, Jeter and Posada. Damon will have a good year as well. Duncan should provide some power from the right side if he gets some at-bats, and Phillips/Crede will be a defensive "upgrade" over the phony. We can hope that Giambi finds something, and I think there is a possibility that Melky will be traded, (Yanks might try to pick up Torii Hunter). We may not score as many runs, but our pitching will be much improved, as well as our defense:
Starters:
Pettite
Wang
Hughes
Joba
Kennedy
Pen:
Igawa
Veras
Ohlendorf
Farnsworth/Horne/Sanchez
Mo
Yep, Yanks will find 11 decent pitchers among these, and several other guys. Our bullpen will not be a problem.
Gotta be optimistic!
Go Yanks!!!

Phucker,
I agree, but it's early. The Yanks will get something done. I hope it's a stunner too!

Don't knock Crede too much if he's healthy, that dude can play.

Injuries killed this team last year so I hope they avoid that problem again.

We need to go out and make a deal for Miguel Cabrera. Yes, he had a bit of a weight problem last year, but i think it was all motivation related. he's played under Girardi and done well.

Maybe Girardi will return the favor to Zim and bring him back as bench coach :)

For those of you who don't recall, it was Zimmer who talked the Yankees into bringing Girardi to the Yankees as he always liked his style of play and his smarts.
That would make Jeter happy.

Miggy can hit but he CAN'T field. He's a tree stump w/ a glove. Does he want to DH? Then bring him on ... if not, we can't afford both him and Jeter on the left side. Jeter's getting older and in a couple of more years his range will be very limited. Did Texeira sign w/ Braves yet? After losing Renteria maybe he's open to exploring the market???

If Zim gets back into a NYY uni on any terms we'll know for a fact that George has become a total nonentity. He hates Zimmer, persecuted him in all sorts of nasty little ways and ran him off.

Scott

I've heard that Cabrera and Girardi were on pretty bad terms but I agree Cabrera would be the only player I believe would have a chance to fill in adequately for A-Opt.

That said he's gonna be tough to get and he's got a pretty big list of concerns that have been mentioned by some today...

1. He's Fat and he's 24 and fat!
2. Questionable work ethic.
3. Defensively he's a liability.
4. He's likely to command 200 million after 08

To echo Chip from the previous thread..After all those concerns he'll still require quite a chunk of prospects from our end to get him and only in a BEST CASE scenario would he be worth such a price.

Jim A,

I just need to correct something posted earlier. The Luxury tax has nothing to do with revenue sharing. The money that the Yanks and others pay for their excessive payrolls does not go to any other team. This is a common misconception.

Couple of contradictory points about Cabrera:

1. Published stories had it that the reason he resented Girardi was that JG tried to get him to (a)get in shape and (b) hustle his lazy butt.

2. On the other hand people can get too worked up over the 'lean and mean' thing. Remember how many people here were sure that Joba couldn't amount to anything because he was overweight?

NSH

No I dont remeber that. What I do remeber is pointing out that a guy who had to lose 60 pounds because scouts had called him "fat" and had a history of knee and arm problems in addition to the weight problems was a major question mark, especially as a starter.

So just what has Joba amounted to?

Paraed tomorrow! Be there tomorrow!!!

I will make sure to walk my dog in the street before your parade <-(thats the way its spelled) and leave all of ya a little something to bring home with ya! You can use Shilling the Sharpie's red sock to wipe it off with.
Down with The Nation!
We will be on the hunt for ya next year!

Nudge, I know you have a lot invested in that contrarian posture that you affect here. But the fact is (sorry, JTF) that you were one of the fools who thought he was just a fat boy with a fast ball, and what he amounted to was a skilled and fearless young future star of the mound, with an ERA of nothing, a winning attitude, and at least three plus pitches.

Hey Yankee land.

I decided not to check in last night or this morning as I figured the trolls would be out in force.

If you are not a fan of the Red Sox, then I would imagine the World Series was kind of dull (even though half of the games were 1 run games and game 3 was a 1 run game heading into the 8th). It was kind of like the Yankees/Padres series where, yeah the games were close a few times... but was there any real doubt?

Well for a dull October (or as soon to be has been Dane Cook says Oct-TO-ber) we are bound to have one intense off season.

Hell, the off season wasn't even 12 hours old and we had A-Rod splitting, Girardi signing and Joe possibly taking over for Grady Little.

(Joe Franklin would be an improvement over Grady Little.)

Man this is going to be a fun off season

I'm guessing Schilling is heading to Philly...

If I were the Yankees I would make Mariano priority one right now.

If Rivera skedaddles, it would make A-Rod's departure as significant as Clay Bellinger's

NSH,

WOW you get all that from 24 IP? Man you should be a super scout. Unfortunately his next 3 IP in the playoffs weren't quite as succesful now were they(4.91 ERA, 1.69 WHIP)? But I guess you can pick and choose the performances you like. All those big games against team without winning records and all.

Stop quoting me with YOUR words because I never said he was just another fat boy with a fastball. I said he was not a sure thing, as he still isn't. Especially if the genius' try to make him a starter. You can make things up all day and attribute them to me if you like, but then you're just arguing with yourself.

I know it was lots more gripping from your angle, Sully, and hope you're enjoying it to the full.

No, arguing with myself I'd at least have an opponent who pays attention to the facts. For example, no one needs to "make him into a starter". He is a starter, did great at it all through college and the minors, and was briefly used as a reliever because of a catastrophic lack in our bullpen. Pay attention to reality, Nudge, if you want people to overlook your negativism and take you seriously.

What the Yanks should do ...

If Mo goes, Joba is the Closer. We have to be flexible. Smoltz did it. Righetti did it.

If Mo stays, get Gregg from the Marlins. Or maybe someone like Troy Percival who is a poor man's Gregg.

Gregg has no wind up, good control, 93 legit heat and nice slider. Fast to the plate.

Of Jorge goes and you get a Piazza or Bard behind the plate, no one can run on Gregg. Molina will be in the mix.

Use the payroll and the equity leverage to raid the Cards, Tampa, Cincy, Nationals ... all the loser teams.

Find the best players, don't just go for foreign non-American players as the Yanks and the Mets do 90 percent of the time in their globalism as religion mantra.

Find a well oiled machine that communicates and knows how to win. No leadoff man like Knoblauch means no WS.

If you can't get Johan, get Kazmir. Don't overpay. Melky and Wang and Horne and Carpenter. That's enough. No more than a 3 year contact for any pitcher.

We don't need 10 ML pitching phenoms.

3B ... Chavez. Crede. Move Cano. Be A Mitt and Andy P. could platoon ... would that weaken the bench? Chavez is a good guy. He raved about Pettitte. He is Mexican and would be a good ethnic favorite for the fans. Why not Eric? He's like a Brosius type.

2B ... Loretta. Phillips on Cincy. That guy hits and he is there to play hard. He ain't throwing the ball of his shoe and laughing. I saw him and Hamilton and Austin Kearns at Busch Stadium ... they all play very hard and love the game.

Steve of NC fame spoke of Kearns. I like him too. Real player. Like a Chad Curtis. We need those kind of guys. LF, CF, RF, sell peanuts. Steal a base. Bunt, hit behind the runner.

Biggest pickup could be David Eckstein, a Knoblauch type. He led the Angels and the Cards to WS wins. Why not? Put him at 2B. Also insurance for DJ.

Get Ludwick or Rasmus from the Cards who have 7 good OFs and need 4. If not get So Tagachi, who is Japanese and can step in any OF position and be a link to Japan if Godzilla and Igawa turn south.

Remember as Yankee fans we have all the extra global hoops to jump through. We can't just have a team. It has to be a politically correct, certain kind of team. You saw what it's done for Omar Minaya. (Mike Jacobs, Benson, Bannister, Kazmir).

Hire Mazonne. Let Guidry roam. Keep Eiland with the kids in AAA till June, then bring up Sanchez and Horne and Eiland if everyone is ready.

If JT and Mattingly go to LA, let them. That's like a No Man's Land. Why go there? For wildfires and earthquakes? What?

If A Rod goes to SF, well we never won with him. He was terrible in the post season. Poor guy.

No reason to panic, unless the Yanks stick with Matsui, Abreu, Damon, Giambi, Farns, Igawa and Mussina. I have a feeling that they will. We will have the older players breaking down and under performing as always.

But we can always hope ...

And Sully,

I didn't even watch the games but I am glad if you are happy. If your teams aren't in it then ... what's the use?

Hey Sully,

Congrats to you on the WS win. You have a good club with young players and helping vets. It could be a problem for the AL if they continue to prosper but we know to win the WS the ball must bounce your way.

NSH,

Pay attention, you will learn something. The English language is word dependant. When I say make him a starter and you hear make him INTO a starter, you have now expressed your own opinion.....again! Boy is it hard to communicate when someone hears their own words constantly. Read ..slowly..and..you..will..stand..a..better..chance..of..getting..it..right.

As for taking someone seriously, you are on the cusp....if you listen and get peoples words right. Elsewhile just make up what you want and talk to yourself.

Sully,
I think the Sox will bring Schilling back for one more year. I don't know if either of them wants to see him finish in a DRays or Phils uniform.

Nudge,
Luxury tax goes toward player development among other things like player benefits etc. Teams like the poor, poor Twins who are owned by a filthy rich SOB can use the tax to broaden their scope for scouting so in a way, it helps those teams become more competitive. The 34% pot of revenue the team's contribute to actually helps middle market teams pay salaries.
Revenue sharing/luxury tax helps teams get competitive, keep their players.
Does that work for you?

The Red Sox are not exactly the most sentimental team in the MLB.

They tend to cut ties a year too early than a year too late.

Sometimes it works (Pedro, Damon, Nomar) sometimes it doesn't (Cabrera)

The Red Sox got more than they could ever imagine out of Schilling (6-1 in the post season and a bloody sock over 4 seasons) and will probably offer him an incentive deal and the Phillies or Mets will offer him a 2 or 3 year deal which he would take... and break down on someone else's watch.

Lest we forget the Phillies were a good team this year and are a pitcher or two away from being a solid playoff team.

(And Schilling likes to wear the hero's cape!)

Jim A,

Good job!

Sully,
I guess the difference I felt would be that Schilling seems to have lost a little of his confidence and maybe he is thinking he'd like to go just one more year and I think the Red Sox would be open to that. This way, Schilling gets what he wants, a "farewell tour" and the Red Sox get what they want- a veteran in the rotation to stabilize it should any of the kids li