Two points before I head into the clubhouse:
Some people are unclear about the rules on last night's game. Rule 4.12 a states that a game shall become a suspended game that must be completed at a future date if the game is terminated for any of the following reasons:
the 5th is: "weather, if a regulation game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead."
Hope that helps.
Point two: Wow, Abreu really stirs up passionate feelings among this crowd. I was just trying to make a broad example that coming into the season, the Yankees had good reason to expect much more from Abreu than he has given. They don't seem to want to put all their eggs in the one basket that is Teixeira.
Regarding Teixeira, as I wrote last weekend in the paper, the Yankees have let the Rangers know they are interested. However, they don't anticipate the price being one they are comfortable with (i.e. Hughes). The Rangers don't expect any prospect to be untouchable when gettingi back 1 1/2 years of a top-tier player who provides Gold Glove-caliber defense and can hit 40 homers per year. Otherwise they can just take the two first-round draft picks if Teixeira walks. As far as Teixeira being able to play in NY, who can ever say with absolute certainty? I know it would interest him, perhaps for the long-term. He's from Baltimore, which is not far away, and his sister lives just outside NY.
Don't really want to spend so much space on him, but people seem very interested.
Comments (15)
KAT
Why are you surprised? We've been blogging about Abreu and Tex for months now.
If Texas decides to hold on to Tex and opts for the draft picks then it's going to be 5 yrs before they can even think about turning the Texas franchise around plus draft choices are not a guarantee.If a team can deal 2 or 3 decent prospects for Tex now they could help sooner than later.Right now Texas has Michael Young ,an injured Blalock,a so so Kinsler,Tex and very little else they can look to the future with.
Ken (Caracas, Venezuela): Quick one - Who will win the World Series?
SportsNation Keith Law: (3:42 PM ET ) Red Sox.
Kat, I think we are all just frustrated and want the team to make a major move, that is all.
And Abreu making 16 mil. is a crime. How does he cash the checks? It's sickening. Where is his P R I D E? It's like sending women into combat ...
Good reporting that Tex's sister lives near NY.
You are doing a good job.
I would read the USA Today Sports everyday and study the baseball section as I do. You can get a lot of information there.
Bless all of you today,
Anthony in St. Louis
Yanks can't deal Hughes-As far as Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Tyler Clippard-I would give anyone of them up in a heartbeat to get TEX.
PS-I really hate B. Abreu and Kyle Farnsworth.
No way do I give up Chamberlain for Tex right now but I'd certainly do Clippard and perhaps Kennedy.
Chamberlain has a shot at being a frontline starter by 2009 and young stud pitching is much harder to find than a First Baseman.
This team will be much better if they can stack a rotation of Wang, Hughes, Pettitte, Chamberlain, and perhaps someone like Zambrano if they can bring him to the Bronx.
They can piece together a lineup if they have a stud rotation and it's no coincidence that the Yankee dynasty was in full swing when they had a rotation that compared to any team in MLB -- while having good solid players but not All Stars throughout their lineup.
This strategy works for Oakland tear after year, so why wouldn't it work for the Yanks again?
Unfortunately, the Yanks have a few contracts that are immovable at this point (Giambi, Damon, Farnsworth, Matsui, and Moose) so there is nothing they can do about it until those deals expire and replace them accordingly.
Until then, the only thing the Yanks can do to make them a contender again in 2008 is to sign a guy like Zambrano and stack the rotation with studs.
Viper,
Chamberlain is a few years off and no Stud. You guys all get jazzed up here over these unknown guys because of an article in the paper or someones hopeful profile. Not one young Yankee player has come through yet. Not one!
Hughes is a big question mark and Chamberlain not even that. By the time he is ready Pettitte may be gone. If you can get a proven for a maybe...thats a no brainer. Tex for Chamberlain....a GM would be fired for refusing that deal.
Additionally this lineup needs major overhaul. You have only 2 postions secured out of 8. Getting Zambrano may be a pipe dream if you need to fill all the other holes. Cashman would be a fool to refuse a deal that fills any of them.
Nudge,
Clearly, you have mistaken me for someone who hears something good about a young kid and thinks he's the next Roger Clemens.
Sorry, but you've mistaken. I've been following these guys for a long time and most experts who really who really know what they are talking about usually rave about Chamberlain.
Chamberlain will almost definitely get a taste of the majors next season and will probably be a part of the rotation in 2009.
Hughes is only a big question mark because of his injury status -- not because of his talent.
The Yanks can piece together a lineup if they stack the rotation.
Maybe you haven't noticed, but the Yanks haven't won any rings since they decided to sign All Star free agents for every position.
Besides, Tex is not a free agent until after 2008 -- which a lot of people forget.
The Yanks can go after Tex then and sign him because Giambi's contract will be off the books and they can spend whatever they want for him.
Paying for Tex now with a possible future young stud and then paying for him again when he becomes a FA after the 2008 season doesn't make any sense at all.
Nudge, the value of minor league players isn't determined through reading articles and pondering about hopeful profiles. Experienced talent scouts watch these players very closely and comparisons are made. They look at the numbers, which don't lie. Now the question does remain whether minor league potential can translate into major league success. We can assume the potential is there based on what our experts tell us. Hopefully, they know what they're doing (which is a different issue).
NUDGE
I know pitching prospects are a crapshoot.I've known about Kennedy and Chamberlain since their signings.I don't think Joba is a few years off .He's at Trenton more than likely will be at SWB either by the end of the season or beginning 2008.Same goes for Kennedy.W/ Dellin Betances not far behind.
You don't trade Chamberlain for Tex.I disagree about a GM losing his job for not making that deal.The asking price for pending FA will go down as the trade deadline draws near.This happens year after year.I am aware of Tex not becoming a FA until after the 2008 season.
Lucy the experience scouts and the yankees is not a good defense. Case in point is Igwa (excuse the spelling)
Damon contract is movable he has a 12 team window that he said he would allow to be traded to
KATWOMAN-
Due to your previous "gig", your observations concerning TEX and his current team are greatly appreciated. Keep em coming. THANKS
Bomber, as far as Yankee scouts, your point is what my last sentence was meant to address. My main point, though, was that we don't form opinions about the talent in our farm system merely by reading articles and taking the media's word for it. Talent scouts are the sources of that information. They have a system in place where judgments are made through observations, comparisons, and numbers (in addition to other factors as well). We hope they know what they're doing and that we can rely on them.
However, like you, I've had my own doubts. I've been ranting all along about the quality of pitchers we've been trading for or buying (many of whom are already in the majors and did not come from the farm system, e.g. P-----, Brown, Johnson, etc.) Maybe it's those scouts who are making those decisions -- or our managers -- who might not be doing the greatest job because they've been selecting too many duds for too many years. This is just my humble opinion on the matter.
I would emphasize that my gripe has been with pitching selections, not hitting selections.
Of late there hasn't been great FA pitchers available.Also in the trades the Yanks made for veteran pitchers they haven't given up the farm for them.If my memory serves me I believe the last good hitter the Yanks traded for during the season was David Justice in 2000 for Jake Westbrook.That trade benefited both teams.