On the Yankees beat

Lilly awaits Yankee offer

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...ol=970081600908

The agent for Blue Jays free agent Ted Lilly says he expects the New York Yankees to come through with an offer any day now but that Toronto is also still very much in this particular hunt.

What pitcher Yankees should sign or trade this offseason?

1) Meche

2)Lily

3)Batista

4)Igawa

5)Petite

6)Trade - Willis

Someone else on all three counts. Every player listed is crap.

Starting Pitcher

Kei Igawa or Meche

First baseman

Aurilia or Hillenbrand, and Wigginton

Bullpen -

Gagne or Baez. Signing LeftyFree agent left-hander Hideki Okajima or Schoeinweis

Catcher
Zaun or Mike Lieberthal

enough of kennedy - lets get zaun, lilly, and hillebrand.

Cal Ripken was the most selfish players in baseball and is no Derek Jeter, on or off the field.

Love the graphic Jim!

SP: Lilly, he’s a left-handed pitcher who’s pitched in NY and can pick up after Randy in 08.

1B: If it’s not going to be Andy, which I think Cashman has made his mind on that then it should be Aurila he has good numbers against lefties (VS. LEFT: .347 / 1.086) and he offers versatility (1B: 47, 2B: 10, 3B: 52, SS: 26). What would the Yankees have to give up for him? (I hope not Melky and Sanchez; I think they are more important.)

Back-up C: Someone else, I Think it’s time the Yankees start seasoning Nieves. Posada should mentor him and get him ready to take over. Posada is great; we need to preserve him as much as possible. And maybe down the line he can move to 1B and give us some more years. Nieves should get a serious look during spring training.

May the force be with us during the winter meetings!

Yankees just announced they will not pursue anymore big time prize free agents. No more zito

They will go after meche, Igawa, batista.

Where did you hear/read this?

Enough of These Soft-Tossers pitchers like Lily. Lily is another rethread starter , He's former yankees. why would you want him back?

Ny daily news and Bill madden was on SNy, He said Yankees are sick of paying big time free agents like Pavano, Rj, Wright who stunk in Ny.

Tough against Boston? What about Toronto? How would Lily faired against his former team like bluejays? Toronto is also another rival of the Yankees and competing for Al east division and playoffs.

Since lily plays two years for the Bluejays, Bluejays probably know his pitching sequence and know his stuff very well. No Lily, Please Cashman...

Like I said above, Lilly's a left-handed presence, which is needed at Yankee Stadium and on the team. And the bidding for the Japanese lefty is too unpredictable. Plus I agree with Jim FL won't trade Willis unless we give up the farm. And the “soft toss” Mussina put up great numbers this season and contributed 15 wins. He was in the top 5 in strikeouts and ERA and 49th in HR allowed. You don’t need to throw gas to get outs. Location, location, location. Plus we have Wang and eventually Hughes and Sanchez to give the hitter a different look. That's my opinion.

Lily is the only one in the aforementioned bunch even worth considering. He's a solid No. 3 or 4 at best, nothing more, and a lefty that's tough on the Sox; plus if you sign him away from the Jays, that's also a plus. Remember, in N.Y., he was a bottom of the rotation starter who was shipped out in the Jeff Weaver (DOH!) trade, who was in turn traded for Kevin Brown (Double DOH!). A 15-game winner and ERA just over 4 last year. If the price isn't too ridiculous, get him -- should fit in nicely until the kids develop some more.

If the Yankees sign Lily to contract , Does the Yankees lose a draft pick? Is he Type or Type B?

I would rather have Kei Igawa winning the bid for him who the Redsox or Bluejays never face or seen before. It won't cost Yankees a draft pick and keep it.

Kei Igawa is similar player to Lily. They are both Soft Tossers and change speeds.

SP - Lilly because he is a lefty, can handle the pressure of NY, is young enough (30), is a proven AL East pitcher, and it would be a take away from Toronto just like Damon.

1B - Aurilia because he is a PROVEN RH hitter, and can play all IF spots like Cairo, versatilty is big on any team!

C - Piazza because Posada is going to need some days off as he ages and when the backup C is in, we need a hit once in awhile! A bonus is he can also play some 1B if needed and on this team it is needed. Also can handle NY spotlights.

But The Redsox Also Change Hitting coach and improved their team. It's not about How's pitcher done in the past and team like the Redsox. So you never know what lily would against Redsox in the future. New Players are coming and leaving.

I thought under the new CBA draft picks weren't awarded anymore for signing other teams FA's

Enough of These Soft-Tossers pitchers like Lily. Lily is another rethread starter , He's former yankees. why would you want him back?

Tough against Boston? What about Toronto? How would Lily faired against his former team like bluejays? Toronto is also another rival of the Yankees and competing for Al east division and playoffs.

Since lily plays two years for the Bluejays, Bluejays probably know his pitching sequence and know his stuff very well. No Lily, Please Cashman...

If the Yankees sign Lily to contract , Does the Yankees lose a draft pick? Is he Type or Type B?

I would rather have Kei Igawa winning the bid for him who the Redsox or Bluejays never face or seen before. It won't cost Yankees a draft pick and keep it.

Kei Igawa is similar player to Lily. They are both Soft Tossers and change speeds.

But The Redsox Also Change Hitting coach and improved their team. It's not about How's pitcher done in the past and team like the Redsox. So you never know what lily would faired against Redsox in the future. New Players are coming and leaving.

Angels sign Gary Matthews Jr. for $50 million .. Wow, The Market is out of control...

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6198342

In yet another eye-popping free-agent signing, the Angels have reached agreement with center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. on a five-year, $50 million contract, FOXSports.com has learned.

The 32-year-old Matthews, who still must pass a physical, is coming off a breakout season in which he batted .313 with 19 homers and 79 RBIs and played stellar defense for the Rangers.

If I hear one person complain about how much RJ, Giambi, or Arod makes again, I am punching them dead in the face. Jesus H Christ, him and Pierre should both run, not walk, to the nearest casino.

That's the best part of all of this!! NO ONE can say again how the Yankees bought their way into the playoffs or hold A-Rod, especially, to an unrealistic standard cos he earned and got a crazy contract. I love it!

Here's Jeters statistics compared to Ray Durhams over the same length of career with the same number of AB's:

Jeter: , AB (J)6790 (D) 6790, Runs (J) 1277 (D) 1166, Hits (J) 2150 (D) 1907, 2B (J) 347 (D) 397, 3B (J) 50 (D) 80, HR (J) 183 (D) 181, RBI (J) 860 (D) 784, BB (J) 705 (D) 738, SO (J) 1191 (D) 1089, BA (J) .317 (D) .281, OBP (J) .388 (D) .354, SLG (J) .463 (D) .443, SB (J) 249 (D) 263, Fielding PCT (J) .975 (D) .982

Jeter leads in 7 of the 14 categories. Postseason statistics you can't compare b/c Durham has only played in 12 games and Jeter has 119. Also the myth that Jeter raises his games in the postseason is way over blown b/c his only numbers that are up on average is his HR's and BB's, his Strike outs go up too. Everything else is down but not by much except for RBI's. So basically Jeter is a glorified Ray Durham during the regular season, but he's the Yankee captain so I guess we should all just assume he belongs on another level.

Breaking News Regarding Zito Situation, believe ir ot not i don't give a ######

choose to believe me or not i could care less

but multiple texas radio stations and message boards are saying Zito has been offered 7Y 105M by the Rangers.

This is not about ray durham you lame bonehead. He can't hold jeter's jock.
Jeter is this years MVP and those who know anything about baseball agree. When durham excells in the playoffs or head to head vs red sux, let me know beavis.

Not everybody in this country gives a crap about the Yankees vs. Redsox. And according to the statistics it looks like Durham can hold his jock. How could he be this years MVP when he had a year when he batted .354 24hrs and over 100 Rbi's and he finished 6th that year. You fans just want everything, that's not the way this world or sport work.

You can count Gregg Zaun out as the Blue Jays & several other teams are offering him a starting job(he would be my top pick).& count Mirabelli out ...well cuz he's Mirabelli.I'm more intrigued by Suppan than anyone else(I'll pass on Lilly thanks) & Shea Hillenbrand would be a cool addition.

Rick (Rochester, MI): Where would Sanchez, Whelan and Claggett have been in the Yankees Top 10 prospects if the trade had been completed before the list went to press?

John Manuel: (3:07 PM ET ) Sanchez and Whelan both make the top 10. I just finished their top 30, and didn't include Claggett. It's not that he's a bad prospect; they have a deep system, and they like a lot of their guys. I am quite impressed by the Yankees' system's depth on the pitching side.

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Mike (Mpls, MN): While I love the Twins talent, the inflating salaries have me worried that they and other smart teams (i.e., those that refuse to over pay) will be left out of the future of this game for the most part. Thoughts?

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Aswa Nyc: Angels sign Gary Matthews Jr. for $50 million. Market is out of Control. If I hear one person complain about how much RJ, Giambi, or Arod makes again, I am punching them dead in the face. Jesus H Christ, him and Pierre should both run, not walk, to the nearest casino. That's the best part of all of this!! NO ONE can say again how the Yankees bought their way into the playoffs or hold A-Rod, especially, to an unrealistic standard cos he earned and got a crazy contract. I love it!

John Manuel: (3:14 PM ET ) Glad you got that off your chest. You know, Pierre's the only one of those players with a World Series championship ring. But if you don't think the Yankees have bought anything . . . they have spent nearly $1 billion in payroll this decade. I don't think any other club is halfway to that figure. I'm not dogging out the Yankees, but facts are facts. They have more money than everyone else. It's fair for them to spend it, but reality is, they have it and they spend more than anyone. Yankee fans just have to deal with the reality of (a) winning and (b) people complaining about it.

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Drew (FL): John, I'm a Cubs fan and I like to think of myself as someone who's more interested in a "mid-market" mindset... so i'm not thrilled with the Soriano acquisition. Regardless should I be happy with the Cubs progress if they can make it through this off-season without trading Murton, Pie, or Veal and keeping a spot open for Murton to play regularly in LF?

John Manuel: (3:16 PM ET ) People will forget about the Soriano contract if the Cubs win, just once. It's probably so tempting to see an 83-win team in the division go win it all. But outside of Zambrano and Rich Hill (I'm a believer), it's hard to see who the Cubs can count on in the rotation or the bullpen. Let's hope for their sake that Mark Prior can be something close to his 2003 form, or else I don't see them comtending.

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Hoss (Austin): Money aside: Roy Oswalt or Maitsuzaka for next 5 years?

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Aswa Nyc: Angels sign Gary Matthews Jr. for $50 million. Market is out of Control. If I hear one person complain about how much RJ, Giambi, or Arod makes again, I am punching them dead in the face. Jesus H Christ, him and Pierre should both run, not walk, to the nearest casino. That's the best part of all of this!! NO ONE can say again how the Yankees bought their way into the playoffs or hold A-Rod, especially, to an unrealistic standard cos he earned and got a crazy contract. I love it!

John Manuel: (3:14 PM ET ) Glad you got that off your chest. You know, Pierre's the only one of those players with a World Series championship ring. But if you don't think the Yankees have bought anything . . . they have spent nearly $1 billion in payroll this decade. I don't think any other club is halfway to that figure. I'm not dogging out the Yankees, but facts are facts. They have more money than everyone else. It's fair for them to spend it, but reality is, they have it and they spend more than anyone. Yankee fans just have to deal with the reality of (a) winning and (b) people complaining about it.

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Drew (FL): John, I'm a Cubs fan and I like to think of myself as someone who's more interested in a "mid-market" mindset... so i'm not thrilled with the Soriano acquisition. Regardless should I be happy with the Cubs progress if they can make it through this off-season without trading Murton, Pie, or Veal and keeping a spot open for Murton to play regularly in LF?

John Manuel: (3:16 PM ET ) People will forget about the Soriano contract if the Cubs win, just once. It's probably so tempting to see an 83-win team in the division go win it all. But outside of Zambrano and Rich Hill (I'm a believer), it's hard to see who the Cubs can count on in the rotation or the bullpen. Let's hope for their sake that Mark Prior can be something close to his 2003 form, or else I don't see them comtending.

John Manuel: (3:17 PM ET ) Daisuke. Both 2000 Olympians, by the way, and neither got a win, though Team USA won both of Oswalt's starts (against Korea) while Japan went 0-3 in Matsuzaka's three starts.

http://bostondirtdogs.boston.com/Headline_Archives/BDD_dj_sm_SNL_04.jpg

Boston Dirtdogs - How New york Fans whines That Derek jeter didn't win the Mvp

It's All Arod's Fault, according to Joel Sherman

http://msgnetwork.com/content_news.jsp?articleID=v0000msgn20061121T201008175&newsgroup=ap.sportsml.columnist.article&sports=baseball&team=Yankees&league=mlb

Jeter's MVP snub may be related to A-Rod

Nov 21, 2006

For years admirers of Derek Jeter have tried to persuade the detractors that there was more to the Yankee shortstop than any stat sheet could reveal. He was Mr. Intangible. Either you believed in such things and admired all that he brought to the game that is not easily quantified or you pooh-poohed such attributes as the result of folks wanting to see qualities that simply were not there.

How fascinating it is, therefore, that Jeter failed to win the AL MVP award on Tuesday not because of his statistics, but probably because of intangible qualities. How ironic that his distant relationship with the last Yankee to win the MVP, Alex Rodriguez, very possibly cost him this honor. As a shortstop, Jeter’s stats should have won the day. Remarkably it was as a captain that Mr. Intangible might have lost the swing votes necessary to carry this day.

Amazingly, the lesson here is that Jeter does not need to do better at the plate or in the field, but perhaps he needs to do better with Rodriguez.

Rodriguez suffered through a season of far too much inconsistency and inadequacy even if the final results statistically were still better than any AL third baseman. That speaks to Rodriguez’s talent. He can play miserably for substantial stretches of the schedule and still produce his seventh season of at least 35 homers and 120 RBIs, the most among any active player.
Derek Jeter and A-Rod missed being the seventh pair of Yankees teammates to win back-to-back MVPs by 14 points. ]

Yankees Build Giant Dustbowl in Bronx

http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/powerplays/archives/003097.php

By Neil deMause | November 21, 2006

These days, it takes longer than usual to walk to Geneva Hester's apartment at 1001 Jerome Avenue, because you have to maneuver around a pile of burning asphalt. The pyre is being tended by a small phalanx of construction workers hired to erect the new Yankees stadium where Macombs Dam Park stood for the last century, and it completely blocks the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians into the roadway.

http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/powerplays/11.21.06.yankees1-thumb.jpg

(The new view from Geneva Hester's living room window)

http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/powerplays/11.21.06.yankees2-thumb.jpg

(The former Macombs Dam Park, with the Jerome Avenue apartments beyond)

Yankees Build Giant Dustbowl in Bronx

http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/powerplays/archives/003097.php

Happy Thanksgiving To Our Troops

I would like to thank our United States Troops stationed around the world. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families and come home safe.

Go Yankees! God Bless The Troops who are serving in Iraq and Afhganistan.

Lilly; Hillenbrand and Zaun.
Lilly has good career numbers against the Red Sox and especially Ortiz.
Hillebrand has some power and a very good glove, hits to the gaps so his swing is suited for Yankee Stadium. Zaun is a good catcher and not an automatic out at the plate.
Ideally, I'd like to see a trade for Willis and sign Schmidt but I don't see that happening. I keep saying I think Cash is up to something big and I hope it's true. This team needs good pitching in the worst way. Out of the FA pitchers, I think Schmidt can pitch well in the AL because he throws pretty hard.

I'd also like to echo what Jared said to our troops. Happy Thanksgiving troops, we're behind you all the way. You folks are real heroes, not athletes or actors.
Come home safe!

In My own opinion I want Kei Igawa instead of Ted Lily. Lily's another rethread starter. A Former Yankees who stunk in Yankees uniform and was part of Jeff Weaver Deal.

Before making comments about How Kei Igawa will transitioned to Al having with five era. Can you Give Igawa chance to pitch first in the majors? Jesus Christ. How about Wang? He has 4.50 in the Minors and How did Wang turned out this year in majors playing for the Yankees? How do you know that Igawa will be awful in Al? Lily stunk , I don't want the guy....

first time posting here...great blog...

i stumbled upon the gothambaseball website through mlbtraderumors.com

http://gothambaseball.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=928

nick johnson back in pinstripes? what do you guys think?

Nick's lefthanded and way too injury prone. The Yanks need RH pop in their lineup. Nick's a great guy but he's not what we need.
Lilly didn't stink when he was here, the Yanks were just enamored with Weaver and as usual gave up a good young player in the deal. I don't think Lilly is going to be a Cy Young candidate by any means but he is LH and has proven he can pitch well in the AL East.

Pitcher: Lilly, he would provide the necessary lefty to the lineup, has AL East experience, 30 yrs. old and stats are just as fair as the other guys who except for Meche are older. This is not a good crop of FA's. I prefer a trade of some magnitude but do not have the skinny on any real rumors. If, no trade or FA signing go with Sean Henn, he's no more iffy than these Fa's.

Hillenbrand can hit and has good stats. If we don't get him stay with Phillips.

Zaun but do not feel that he will be around and he does not want PT work. Nieves shows not much potential. Maybe Yogi wants to catch 20 or 30 games. Most of the guys available are pretty up there in years. How about Molina with Posada playing firstbase. This maybe crazy-stupid but thre is not much out there.

I can understand BC not handing money out to this crop of FA's. Matthews 50 Million for 5 years! Makes Matsui and Damon absolute bargins.

To Jim and all Yankee fans and those who want to be but can't stand the heat. Happy Turkey Day!

would rather have Kei Igawa winning the bid for him who the Redsox or Bluejays never face or seen before. It won't cost Yankees a draft pick and keep it.

Kei Igawa is similar player to Lily. They are both Soft Tossers and change speeds.

But The Redsox Also Change Hitting coach and improved their team. It's not about How's pitcher done in the past and team like the Redsox. So you never know what lily would faired against Redsox in the future. New Players are coming and leaving.

Ortiz is still in Boston and Lilly fares well against him. Is Igawa LH? If he is, I guess I wouldn't mind having him but just because has not been seen by a team doesn't mean they won't figure him out quickly. I would also argue that the Red Sox have not really improved their team. Until Matsuzaka starts pitching against major league hitters for a couple months, he's an unproven pitcher. They also have no shortstop, right fielder, second baseman and they need help in the bullpen. Also, their entire rotation is RH.

2007 Yankees schedule Released

http://www.ianian.com/yankees/2007.html

April

3 games against Tampa

3 games versus O's

3 games versus Twins

3 games versus Oakland

3 games versus Cleveland

3 games versus Redsox

Imagine Jaret Wright will be pitching against him former team The Yankees? Do you think Wright will hold a grudge against yankees and will be on mission to pitch well against his former team

Winter Leagues - Cano went for 2-4 . He's batting .500

Robbie started winter league last night with the Estrellas. Melky is supposed to start playing tonight with the Aguilas. The league has been playing since last month.

http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/news/story?id=504437

Box scores -http://www.escogido.com/boxscores/2006-07/Estrellas_Licey1122.pdf

Samantha: The Yanks will tear Jaret Wright up next year, they're his worst nightmare. A team that makes you throw strikes and goes deep in the count. If Jaret could only last 5 innings against most teams, he'll be gone by the third against the Yanks.

Don't you see The trend here?

2005 - Yankees were defeated by Angels in 5 game of Alds

2006 - Yankees signed Johnny Damon to contract.

Yankees were defeated by Tigers in four

2007 - If they Signed Lily next year, Yankees probably will get sweept and getting worser by the moment

Rays Released Waetcher

what do you guys think do we sign Doug Waetcher to a deal for our bullpen ? i think we take a risk give me your thoughts

Lily is 1-3 and has 3.97 era against Redsox. Talk about Dominating vs. boston. Don't Talk about too much and hype about this guy. He stinks and awful.

For his career, Lilly has a 3.8 ERA against Boston. I guess we could pass on him and go with Pavano, Karstens, Rasner and RJ (the RJ we have, not the one the DBacks had) and their average 7.75 ERA against Boston.
Yep, that'll work.

I blame Damon.He's Evil. He's laughing when Yankees were losing against Detroit. He's probably The same person who gave hints to Bonderman how to pitch Yankees lineups in the playoffs. Why Cashman sign this Idiot? I would settle with Melky or sign Juan pierre instead. Trade "Bum" Damon, He's Redsox and will never be Yankees in my book. He's the reason The jeter have feud and rip against Arod and each other. The Yankees are better team without Damon . Since Damon signed with Yankees, This Team got Worser . 2005 playoffs, The Angels defeated in Yankees in five. At least the Yankees got to game 5. This year, Damon who sign with the Yankees was defeated by Tigers in 4.

I thought when Damon signed with Yankees; He would make the Yankees lineup better. Instead , It become worser, He did Help Yankees lineup a little better alright by Jeter having a career and second in mvp voting. Also Cano was third in Batting race behind Jeter and Mauer. Only Negative and impact of Damon signing with Yankees was Arod become worse at the plate and Yankees fans started booing him. Arod's lost his confidence and Also affected his soft psyche. 2005, Arod had a career and won the Mvp.

Jimmmy
Robbie
Erick

All likely the same poster, posting the identical post on multiple blogs.

You may have noticed this past week about 40 new names being used to post the same questions, irrelevant news stories, chat captures, screeds, and other drivel to all the blogs.

Likely it is all the same person clogging up the Yankee blogs.

Is this America? It's called free speech buddy . Newsday and Journal News are different. WHy would you tell people can't post tell opinion? Are you god? Do you own this blog?

I don't for a minute believe the Yankees are NOT interested in Barry Zito.

I think Zito is perfect for their rotation.

"Ny daily news and Bill madden was on SNy, He said Yankees are sick of paying big time free agents like Pavano, Rj, Wright who stunk in Ny.

Posted by: Allan"

Yeah. The same Bill Madden who said Joe was fired. He's a REAL credible source on anything.

Starting pitchers:
I always liked Lily and would gladly have him back. It's a shame we ever traded him and it'll cost us a lot more now than if we had kept him in the 1st place.

First basemen:
I'd stick w/ Andy Phillips. Give him a full season at 1st. He's above average defensively. Compared to Giambi there, Andy will save 2 or 3 runs per week. He'll hit about .280. Not everyone has to be an All Star. We got plenty. Andy can do the job well.

Backup catcher:
Jorge is 35, I think. Although he came off one of his best seasons, he can't play there more than a couple of more yr's. Neives doesn't appear to be the long term answer. So, I'd like to to see a trade for a young stud AAA catcher, maybe for a couple of the prospects Cashman's picked up. Have the guy work w/ Jorge just like Girardi did w/ Jorge.

Lilly, Meche, Barajas, Aurilia. Why ? The old adage, you can never have too much pitching and if Hughes, Karstens,or Sanchez emerges, so much the better. It's time Posada had a solid backup catcher and Barajas is the best of the lot. Aurilia can play any infield position.

Well, let's see...

Suppan..because he sucks and would be another edition of an over-paid and under-performing pitcher for the Yanks.

Hillenbrand...because he would fit right in with the rest of the over-blown egotistical "me me me" types the Yanks already have

and, Mirabelli...just be cause he cant hit his weight and would be fun to watch when he strikes out time after time....

why dont the yankees get willis or pettiete or zito?
they should rj is terrible and so is pavono they need good young talent, im telling you get one of them to develop there pithching

Good one, Waldo.

Victor H-It's easy to say "why don't the Yankees get...", the answer is that they're being told Willis is not available, Pettitte may retire and they just don't like Zito that much for the money he wants. They could do just like they did w/ Damon, wait for the dust to settle and his price to go down. Frankly, I'd rather see a trade for Willis above all else, if at all possible.

Hummmh someone mentioned Piazza. is that really a bad idea ?? i think thonly problem would be his money demand he still thinks he can start. but that bat would e beautiful i n the yankee lineup. and yes he knows NY well