Today is the first day that teams can sign international players who are not subject to the draft. The Yankees signed a few: outfielder Yeicok Calderon, shortstop Anderson Felix and shortstop Gian Arias.
The A's made the biggest signing, inking 16-year-old right-hander Michel Inoa, which Baseball America reported was for $4.25 million. Not only is it unusual for the A's to be big spenders, that would be the largest signing bonus in history for a non-Cuban amateur from Latin America.
Jorge Posada is catching today. The Yankees know he needs to get better throwing, but there are no immediate plans to have him switch positions with any regularity. I saw Posada go into Joe Girardi's office and thought maybe something was up, but Girardi told me it had "absolutely nothing" to do with Posada playing more first base.
Comments (19)
I don't know from a moral standpoint if giving a 16 year old child US$ 4 million is a good idea ... hopefully his parents can guide this younster ... and he can help himself and his family for many more contracts to come.
Who would believe that on July 2nd ...
A-Rod 17 Home Runs
Rick Ankiel 17 Home Runs
Enough said ...
All the players I wanted to acquire in the off season are doing great ... Josh Hamilton, Ludwick, Ankiel, Cliff Lee, Percival, Kevin Gregg ...
I just wish Cashman could have made some good moves and put us over the top.
Hopefully he won't be back next year.
go away
Where did the A's suddenly get all of their money? And is anybody in the NY Media who makes a big deal about big contracts for established veterans (namely 1 Mike Lupica) disgusted by it? ! He is very quick to point out how much the Yankees spend on big contracts and over pay blah blah blah, but all of a sudden the A's found money under a rock to give to a 16yr old to enjoy at his prom.
How many games did Ankiel miss?
How many did ARod?
Do you have basic math skills?
Rick Ankiel is nothing more than a pathetic failure.
Couldn't cut it as a pitcher so he quit like a coward and then took steroids to maintain a career in baseball as a hitter.
Josh Hamilton is walking time bomb. Even weaker and bigger looser than Ankiel.
The man is not even allowed to carry his own money for fear that he may get high on hard drugs and prostitutes and be dead inside a weekend off the wagon.
Definition of cowards imo...
Ant your are not a Yankees fan you are a bipolar paranoid jackass.
PS...Jericho is the worst piece of television ever aired and Ted Lilly (though better than Kei Igawa) would be Steve Trachsel in the AL East.
You're a very sad and sick individual.
I sincerely wish you would seek medical attention and leave the rest of us here alone.
well.....
I see some things never change.
Hard to not be excited by them Rays, eh?
Swept my boys, and I dont think they are looking back.
Join the RAYvolution!
Ant, have you looked at anything other than HR numbers? The rest look like this:
Rodriguez: .321 avg, .406 obp, .604 slg, 47 rbi, 49 r, 11 sb, 240 AB
Ankiel: .261 avg, .334 obp, .522 slg, 42 rbi, 48 r, 1 sb, 272 AB
Look at anything but the HRs, and it isn't even close. PLUS, Ankiel has had 32 more at bats. You can adjust at least two more HRs to Rodriguez's total for that. At any rate, Rodriguez, even with his missed time, is merely 4 HRs behind the AL leader, Grady Sizemore, who, by the way, is hitting .267.
Yes, all of the guys you named are having good seasons, and it would have been nice to have them on the team. But as they always say, hindsight is 20/20. Of all the guys mentioned, Hamilton is the one whom I wanted most, too. But, a couple of things. The Yankees already had four outfielders, and look at who the Rangers gave up to get him. Edinson Volquez is the leading Cy Young candidate right now for the NL. Couldn't have seen Ludwick doing this, and Cliff Lee is far and away outplaying his previous performances, let alone last year's. There is ample justification for each of these guys' cases. Every year there are surprise players, but every year there are a lot more who fail to exceed.
You shouldn't be calling for Cashman's head. Rather, you should start reading a bit about how baseball is run.
I have to admit, I was sure the Rays were going to be tough this year, but this is more than I expected. They may still fold at the end of this season, just from lack of experience, but they're not going away for years to come.
In a way--from a pure baseball fan perspective--it's nice to see a young team really come together and thrive. It's also nice to see a franchise that's seen nothing but failure finally find some success. Reminds me of Toronto in the late 80's-early 90's. On the other hand, I hate to see Selig and the owners rewarded in any way for their greedy over-expansion. While it isn't Tampa's fault, every time one of those franchises achieves something, the ill-effects of expansion seem to fade a bit more for memory. We talk an awful lot about false records, steroids and asterisks, as we should, but no one ever mentions the watered-down talent brought on by forced expansion anymore.
Fun game for the boys last night. But they need a righty bat, a lefty in the pen, and some folks to get well fast.
They're one bad week away from becoming sellers. And that week could start today.
That was my point ... it take 27 0uts and 3 strikes per out to win or lose a game regardless of who's playing , The assumption was that this was an automatic loss including myself. however they suprised every one or is it that the yankees and jays played poorly? 7/12 games is puzzling.
However the Rays climb woudl mean
Bobby Abreau and now Johnny Damon would be a nice catch if the Yankees slip.
In all people still want to call players names.
Josh is still a coward ?? what give you right to deframe his charactor, I mean if he is using precaution to protect himself from further harm then be it.
I call it strength
Michael,
You are not a true baseball fan if you can't enjoy the stories of Ankiel and Hamilton, especially Hamilton. Ankiel was a big time pitcher, and for whatever reason, he just lost it. In case you hadn't noticed, this is a VERY common occurrence for young baseball players. What is remarkable, is that he was able to switch to an outfielder, and within just a few years become a good defensive outfielder, and a very good hitter, with a lot of power.
Hamilton, is a whole different story. He is a good guy, that didn't fail to do anything, other than keep his nose clean. He got injured, and in his idle time, made the huge mistake of trying, and getting addicted to cocaine. He spent over three years out of baseball, got himself straightened out, and is now a world class player. He has all the tools. He isn't a burner on the bases, but he has good speed, and is a smart runner. He plays excellent defense, has a strong arm, and a good swing, both for average and power. There aren't many more talented players in the league than Josh Hamilton, so I'm not sure why you say he is a ticking time bomb.
And in reference to what you said about Hamilton not carrying around money, it is very cute that you took something that you heard on the broadcast yesterday, and were able to immediately apply it, however that's a ridiculous argument.
Not carrying around cash was something he started doing when he was trying to break his addiction, and it is a habit that he has chosen to continue, as a reminder to himself to stay straight. One you are addicted, you are always addicted, but he isn't AS addicted now that he would make the mistake of impulse buying coke again.
Both of these guys are great human stories, and if you can't forgive them their faults, I would suggest you look at your own. Hamilton has overcome a lot, and that's something that should be admired. Most people can't pull themselves out of the gutter like he did.
Interesting--but devastating--bit from Buster Olney's ESPN blog yesterday (before the 18 run explosion last night):
"The past two nights, the Yankees have played the kind of games that, during the 1996-to-2001 dynasty, they would have expected to win. They have been drifting in the standings, and the Rays and Red Sox have begun to pull away in the AL East. The Yankees opened a series against the Rangers in Yankee Stadium on Monday knowing they had to start making inroads in the playoff chase. In the dynasty years, they would have taken the field with an enormous mental advantage: They would have been convinced they would win, and even if they had lost, they would have been convinced that the matter of success or failure was something firmly within their control.
But they don't have that confidence anymore, which is not surprising. They don't have many players now who have won consistently at the big league level. Alex Rodriguez and Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano don't have that in their experience, and Joba Chamberlain is still learning about being a starting pitcher in the big leagues. It's not a character flaw; it's just the measure of doubt that most players and most teams have, and so few teams have been able to diminish, in the way that those Celtics and Yankees teams once did.
The Yankees have lost the past two nights, mustering a total of three runs, and they are eight games behind Tampa Bay in the loss column, and four games behind the Red Sox. There is still half of a season to play, and the Yankees may recover, the way that they did last year. Or maybe they won't. Maybe this is will be the first season among the past 14 in which they will fail to make the playoffs.
Beyond the stark reality of the standings, however, there is this: The Yankees of 2008 are really no different than the Rangers or the Athletics or the Brewers or many other teams in the majors; they're just another team of talent trying to find a way to win more games. There is no edge, no more mystique and aura, to borrow a phrase. All of that is history."
Harsh.
Can't say I disagree, either. Though I don't really understand why the Giambis and Abreus would have more influence in the clubhouse than Jeter, Mo, Posada and Pettitte (and Bernie as well until last year). A-Rod is another issue, entirely. But you would think that the kids coming up like Cano and Melky would look to the guys who have won--not the guys who have won nothing--to figure out how to go about their business and play the game the right way.
DC
I didn't think that Onley's comments were as harsh as Wallace Mathews' which are in today's Newsday. I tend to think (and this is because I don't know) that Mathews either hates the Yanks with a passion, or he's a Yankee fan that's completely disgusted with this team.
This season's team is more "Jekyll and Hyde" than any Yankee team in the past few seasons. I can't figure them out. One day they play good baseball and the next day they remind me of the '62 Mets.
The next 2 series will tell a lot about whether or not they make a race out of it, or become (GULP) sellers at the trade deadline.
If the Yanks want to make this a race, they need 3 out of 4 from Boston, at least.
Anything less will just not be good enough.
My one comment on Tampa Bay. They're playing great baseball right now (as all of you know), but let's see what happens if they get any significant injuries over the last few months. Yeah, they lost Pena and Kazmir, but there are other guys on that team who are having better seasons. If any of them go down for a significant period of time, who knows!
Buster Olney is dead on and that's not surprising because he's one of the best baseball insiders in the business.
The problem is that this team is much older than those teams and they don't have the safety net of a dominant starting rotation.
Times have changed.
Speaking of Bi Polar, Mr. Bi Polar himself rears his ugly head. Please go away, Viper, you know little to nothing adn I do believe there is a toilet that is in dire need of cleaning.
A-Rod seen with Janet Jackson, that's Miss Jackson if you're nasty.