On the Yankees beat

Yet another reason to love Andy. He, like Jeter, understands at the core that having respect for the manager is one thing, but the owner deserves loyalty too.

Maybe Kevin Long can figure out how to get Abreau not to have his 3rd straight horrendous first half and Cano and Melky to also have better first halves and more patience at the plate.

Maybe he can even get Giambi to hit to the opposite field once a week.

Giambi should be released.

Eat the contract.

HE IS FINISHED!!

Maybe Andy,Mo and Posada are now realizing what a phony this hyped up media suck up really was.
La La land is the perfect spot for this nose picker.
The fans know nothing about baseball and bail out after the seventh inning. Also, with no 200 mm payroll and all-stars at every position clueless will be exposed for the loser he really is.

The Yankees may need to eat Giambi's contract....but they might as well trade him to someone and at least get some minor leaguers in return.

Hopefully some decent 3B/OF/ and relief pitchers.

If A-rod were to leave for the initial reason Boras stated, that is the uncertainty of Mo, Sada and Pett, who all seemingly will be back in pinstripes, and with Kevin Long sticking around, will A-Rod reconsider? Or, as I feel, and much of us on this blog do, was it really all about the money and being above the game?

I'd feel good about all the recent NYY transactions in last 72 hrs., yet BOS winning it all certainly overshadows it all. Ah well, tip of the hat to 'em.

Its NY Ranger season friends.

I still do not see how the Yankees do not trade for Johan.

Melky, Hughes or Kennedy would be the bulk of a great trade for both teams.

The Yanks would be getting arguably the best pitcher in the league who is still 28 years old and in his prime. He should be solid for another 4 years at least.

Santana
Wang
Pettitte
Joba
Kennedy/Hughes/Mussina

Now that is a rotation.

How many contracts have the Yankees eaten?

How many times have we played inferior players because of their contract?

Why does $ outway talent?

Baseball Prospectus had a long winded take on what the Yankees should do - I disagree with a good chunk of it, but can see their point and actually agree with one aspect of it more than I thought I would.

In summary - they make the following suggestions:

Yankees decline Abreu's option
Let Rivera go
Hope Andy goes

Sign:
Ron Mahay LHP
Barry Bonds
Jorge Posada (or Michael Barrett)
Mike Lamb

Rotate Bonds, Duncan, Giambi, Matsui, Damon through LF-RF-1B-DH

Let Betemit have the 3B job but have Lamb around in case he can't hit from the left side well enough to do it regularly.

Let Farnsworth and Edwar battle it out for the closer role until Humberto Sanchez is healthy.

So here's how the lineup would break down:

Damon - LF
Jeter - SS
Bonds - DH
Posada - C
Cano - 2B
Giambi - 1B
Duncan - RF
Betemit - 3B
Melky - CF

Rotation:
Moose
Wang
Joba
Kennedy
Hughes

Pen:
Igawa
Mahay
Farnsworth
Edwar
Ohlendorf
Ty Clip

Bench:
Nieves
Lamb
Matsui
Alberto Gonzalez

That brings me to the part of the baseball prospectus article I agreed with.

Wilson Betemit

Bear with me for a second. The Yankees have been after this kid for 2 years - I can't imagine they were thinking that they absolutely needed to have him just so he could be a full time bench player. I'll grant you, in what we saw of him this season he struck out too often but we've seen that with lots of young players who don't play everyday.

If the options are: Give Lowell a huge contract for 5 years, trade top prospects for a player with a big salary and lots of question marks, or play Betemit who has power from both sides, and go out and get a good insurance policy type guy like Lamb or Casey Blake - I would opt for the third.

Chip -

I would also opt for the 3rd in those scenario's.

But I also think Cano would play a very good 3B. We also have Angel Chavez who had a real solid year in AAA this past year and he could take over at 2nd.

I just would hate for the Yanks to revert back to what they used to do and trade away our young talent for a 3rd baseman.

oh that's rich!!!!I'd cancel my subscription to "Baseball Prospectus" if I were you.

As far as baseball prospectus goes.....

I disagree with just about all of it....

No reason to not have Andy Pettitte in our rotation next year to help with the young pitchers and hopefully stay healthy and win 10-15 games.

Letting Mo go is fine if we have somone to replace him. This list has Mayhay or Farnsworth closing....

Letting Bobby goes for nothing would be stupid and I do not think Duncan is an upgrade in defense or offense.

Barry Bonds I do not even want to explain why i do not think he fits.

Giambi can not be our regular 1st baseman because he can not stay healthy when he does and does not provide us with good enough defense.

Bronx Bomber brought up Ian Stewart at 3B. That is worth a "look see" as to the price to get him. I'd give him the "shot" and back him up with Betemit. With any of these possibilities, (Blalock, Crede, Stewart), it depends on who we gotta "give up".

TORRE IN L.A.

i could not be happier that fake-joe found a job so quickly. now it will all be exposed - who carried whom, torre the yanks or vice versa? the loser manager from st. louis whose career was salavaged by a magnificent team built by gene michael with a lot of steinbrenner money is now going to see what it feels like to do nothing in october (though he did ensure a fairly clear october for all of us over the last few years...)
even if the rockies don't repeat their crazy run (despite a solid foundation), you still have the d-backs and padres as the real power houses of that devision.
i wrote here many times he should have been fired after the 2004 debacle, and definitely after 2006, so i'm extremely happy he is gone, showing the usual lack of class while firing some silly barbs at the yanks.

a manager who doesn't have a zest for winning is the perfect fit for l.a.

p.s. imagine scott proctor as he heard the news... "oh crap, there goes my arm again... can i get traded? please? devil rays is fine..."

CANO does not want to play 3b his mindset is set at 2b.

stewart should be cheap unless the see the future in him and want to part with Atkins

Ian Stewart is supposed to be solid at the plate but awful at defense.

Bomber -

Where the hell did you read Cano does not want to play 3B?

Who cares if his mindset is at 2B....He has the ability to play 3rd and should want to do anything he can to help the team.

which should make him pretty cheap right?

Graig Nettles can let us know if he is workable

He said it in the daily news that he does not want to do it.

Third is easier to play then 2nd because you don't have to cover as much ground. Cano would do fine at third.

could'nt jeter move to third, we could find good short stops

You show me the article and I may believe you.

But it still would not be up to Cano. He has a gun for an arm and the ability to range to his left and right. 3B would not be that hard of a transition.

Can everyone stop saying Cano at 3B??? Here's why he won't be playing there:
1) he doesn't want to (he's already made a public comment on Sirius radio 2 nights ago that he does not want to play 3B)
2) it doesn't make financial sense for Cano ... w/ his power potential and average he will secure a MUCH better contract as a 2B than as a 3B and that's a fact! His agent will never let him switch and as we all know, money always rules the day
3) we have no 2B replacement ... I don't want Luis Castillo or David Eckstein or Alberto Gonzalez playing 2B next year. Betemit at 3B is a better option than any of those guys at 2B

Jeter is having enough trouble ranging at SS. Maybe 5 years ago he would have been able to play 3B. But another 3 years and he may not even be at SS.

Dissin the captain huh? Remember he has two gold gloves. How many do you have?

Any scenario that involves Barry Bonds should be written off. That would be the one move that would push many yankee fans over the edge and say "enough"

Wow, how refreshing to here a player use a word like "honorable" in discussing his signing intentions. What a concept, recognizing you have been treated great, make a ton of $, and don't feel the need to scrounge for a few extra dollars elswhere & show actual appreciation to your employer. Love you Andy.

Girardi will prove to be a great hire especially if we spend tha A-rod $ to beef up the bullpen. JoeG.will get all tos squandered baseruners across he plate a littleat a time if need be if he has a pen that can actually get people out.

Classy way Donnie B. handled his rejection. Kudos to him.

I'm sick of Yankees WASTING huge multi-year $ deals on starting pitchers, no matter how great they may have been recently. Never pans out for us. Too big a crapshoot $ best spent signing & developing your own. Don't want folks like Santana at expense of good young talent who will likely be good longer than an already established starter. Our track record sucks & I go back further even than Don Gullet.

Bri -

1) It should not matter what Cano wants. He should want to do what the team needs him to do.

2) Absolute BS. Hes going to get a contract for huge money this year either way. If he was on the open market looking for a contract I could see your point.

3)We have lots of 2B replacements.

Angel Chavez - Great AAA season thsi year

Andy Phillips - Is a natural 2nd basemen and has excellent defense. Would also give him a shot at a steady start in the lineup.

Dougie M - Also can play 2nd with his already great defense at 1st base.

I am not for Bods at all but it would be nice to have a consistent DH. Not the damon/matsui/giambi/duncan thing that we have now. When was the last time we had a consistent DH? Maybe Chili Davis?

I am not "Dissing" the captain. I am just speaking what the facts are. He is getting older and his range has been a factor.

I do not play for the Yankees nor do I play baseball anymore. SO I would probably not be a good option at 3rd base.

Jeter won his THIRD gold glove in '06.

McCarthy can you hit in the playoffs? If yes, then we need you. LOL

Jeter would not be a good 3B for the following reasons:

1. The main complaint about him is he lacks range to his left. Well moving to third just expands the amount of field there is on the left side of him.

2. His throwing style doesn't translate to that of a third baseman, the ball will sail on him.

3. He's not great charging the ball which would make playing slow rollers up the line much tougher.

4. It is not like there are any more great SS available either through the system or via free agency than there are 3B so you're sorta filling one hole and creating another. Alberto Gonzalez at SS is no better than Wilson Betemit at 3B.

If he is so gold glove caliber then he can move to 3b and we can get a SS

I can hit a slow pitched softball while drinking a beer?

Does that help?

eric duncan is a short stop

It can't hurt. Can you play first. Haha

If you have to hit for Betemit from the left side, then you don't need Betemit on your team. His best side IS THE LEFT SIDE! What a bunch of non-baseball hacks! He has problems from the "right" side. His power/average/rbi numbers are all MUCH greater from the left side. GET A CLUE!!!

Eric Duncan didn't do sh*t this year in the minors.

Yes, I'am a lefty so 1st is my position of choice. Less movement too at 1st...which means more chances to drink.

I love Jeter,and this is not a knock on him, but I say this about any gold glve winner: GGs do not reflect the fielding excellence of a player. Once a player wins one, they are many times given to the same player ceremonially every year. That is why Palmiero kept winning it at 1st despite becoming a DH and Tino being superior.

Errors aren't a good measuring stick either because it doesn't tell you the guys range.

If the team has a good Team ERA, then that means that your infielders are doing the job.

I think Jeter was an excellent shortstop is is now good, or well above average. He has always had trouble going to his left.

Mike (Brick, NJ): In house replacement for A-Rod? What is the ETA for a guy like Stublett, can he contribute? Who are the top three position players other than Tabata and Jackson in the Yankees farm system right now?

SportsNation Jim Callis: (2:21 PM ET ) They don't have a ready in-house replacement in the system. They could play Wilson Betemit at third base, but I'd guess they'd go sign or trade for someone more established. Damon Sublett, a 2007 draftee, is a second baseman, not a third baseman. You could put him at second and move Cano to third, but Sublett is 2-3 years away. After the two outfielders, the best position players are Jesus Montero, Brad Suttle (a 3B but also 2-3 years away) and maybe Frank Cervelli. Seems to me I'm missing someone obvious.

Nice. I like the way you think......no only if you could put a recliner and a TV by first you would be set. Hey do you think the Angels would ever part with Figgins? I love the way he plays.

so who do you sugest mr mike?

What I've seen is that players good enough to be considered for the gold glove get short-changed in their early career before their reputation expands, then they make up for it later in their career before their reputation declines. Reputation is usually behind the curve, coming and going. But in a funny way it can even out.

Chip:

I'm glad Baseball prospectus does not come to my house. I'm sure Cashman will do a much better job of finding and moving players. As far as Cano is concerned. He was an All Star at second base. He feels more comfortable at second. Leave him alone. There are many options that can be had. If the Yankees tried to get Betemit for two years give him a good shot at it. We need pitching. So spend the money on pitching. You can't hit in the big leagues unless you get 300 AB's with consistency. Betemit sat on the bench for weeks at a time. I hope he's playing winter ball somewhere.

This club will do well. Give it a chance.

If Phillips can play 2nd, why can't he play 3rd? Why does Cano have to move to 3rd? Does this sound as ridiculous to you as it does to me? Will you guys lay off Grandma's special sauce? What a mess!
Girardi, please get this mess straightened out for the sake of Yankee-ville!

Phillips does not have the arm that Cano has.

Cano has a cannon for a 2nd baseman.

Chip:

If they get a big bat at 3B, Betemit could be the answer at first. He switch hits, and he made a few great plays there down the stretch. If not, someone on the infield is bound to get hurt for at least a few weeks, so he's a good backup to have- a Cairo or Sojo with power. i would definitly keep Betemit.

Phillips is not the everyday answer.

that is why teams don't even ask about him in trades.

man probally can play 3rd

our lineup will suffer however too many free swingers we need hitters that put the ball in play and Not double play.

We should re-sign Doug Mientkiewicz.

His defense is great to have late in games.

I agree about Doug but he is definitely not the answer at first. What we need is a combination of Giambi's power and Doug's defense. We need Donnie or Tino......oh the good old days.

Giambi needs to be traded away . He can not stay healthy, he really needs to be the DH on a team that already needs to DH Matsui/Damon/Duncan.

Pay most of his remaining contract and get whatever you can for him.

McCarthy ... besides your apparent softball hitting skill you should know that power hitting middle infielders garner more on the market than corner infielders. Yes, Cano is getting a raise from the Yanks when he's arb eligible. But, when he becomes a FA he will be MUCH MORE valuable as a 2B then as a 3B. Not to mention, the guy DOES NOT want to play 3B. That usually doesn't bring out the best in a player when he's resistant to a move, you know? We have question marks at 3B and 1B right now ... moving Cano creates question marks at every IF position but SS ... not a good strategy.

I'am not saying it is my first option to move Cano to 3rd.

But it is before the option to trade away young talent for a big time 3rd baseman. It is also before signing Mike Lowell for to much money.

Craig Nettles didn't have an arm either. Its not about the arm, its about getting rid of the ball. This guy, Nate Silver - Baseball Prospectus, or what I like to call "toilet paper" is probably a Bosox/Met fan who hopes Yankees management ate some mushrooms and read his article. This guy should be following the horsecarts aroung in NYC. What an imbecile. Phillips/Crede at 3rd will be good enough. Remember when Brosius, who was hitting .215 w/A's was picked up by us? How did that work out? Give Phillips, or Crede, a chance for 1-2 yrs. By that time, our young kids in the minors will assume their spots on the roster.

Mike -

you got me laughing hard with your comments - hahaha

but listen many of us on here listed Younger cheaper trade options ian at Col hit poorly but have enough talent even atkins may be cheapers than Crede ,plus he is not a Boras client

Plus seeing Phillips and Bobby meacham hanging out around 3rd gives me the spooks, reminders of wayne tolletson , alvaro espinoza memories

3rd base is about ranging to your left....getting rid of the ball...and having the ability to fire a bullet to 1st base.

There are a lot more closer plays when balls are hit to 3rd base and having a stronger arm makes a big difference.

Did somebody say "sign Atkins???" Good lord, are you kidding me?!! We're going to go from one third baseman who can't hit in October to another third baseman who can't hit in October????? At least A-Rod can make contact with the ball. Atkins looked like he was swinging with his eyes closed!

Let's sign a guy who is gritty and has a track record of WINNING! Not another fantasy baseball superstar.

BB nice reference. Did you know that Espinosa was coaching in the Yanks minor league system? Maybe he will come out of retirment. LOL

Isaid cheap options Dave S, so what atkins is young and that was his first PS, your gonna bury him over that.

Like Mike said we signed brosiuos who batted 215

Dave,

I agree with BB. I think you have to give Atkins a pass on that one. His point is that we need to fin young cheap up and coming players. Atkins is definitely one of them. How do you know that he is not gritty? Did you see him play all year? Sometime it takes being around winners to become a winner.

Postseason stats ..

Garrett Atkins 3B

CAREER STATS | SPLITS| GAME BY GAME LOG | HITTING CHART| POSTSEASON & ALL-STAR

Divisional Series Hitting Stats: Next Stats >>

SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2007 Colorado Rockies 3 13 3 3 2 0 0 1 5 0 1 0 0 .231 .385 .231

Career Totals 3 13 3 3 2 0 0 1 5 0 1 0 0 .231 .385 .231

League Championship Series Hitting Stats: Next Stats >>

SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2007 Colorado Rockies 4 14 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 .250 .143 .143

Career Totals 4 14 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 .250 .143 .143

World Series Hitting Stats: Next Stats >>

SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2007 Colorado Rockies 4 13 3 2 1 0 1 2 6 3 2 0 0 .353 .462 .154

Career Totals 4 13 3 2 1 0 1 2 6 3 2 0 0 .353 .462 .154

Cumulative Postseason Hitting Stats: Next Stats >>

SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
2007 Colorado Rockies 11 40 6 7 3 0 1 3 13 5 5 0 0 .283 .325 .175

Career Totals 11 40 6 7 3 0 1 3 13 5 5 0 0 .283 .325 .175

is he worth an 150 million dollar extension?? no

but is he worth a few low end Prospects? Yep

From what I'm gathering, it sounds like Pettitte and Mo are coming back for 2008. And, once the posturing is done, I think Jorge will too. He has been a Yankee his whole career and Jeter is his best friend.

What about getting Figgins for 3B????

Don't forget Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus when considering the Yankees' list of potential replacements for A-Rod. The Yankees inquired about Glaus at the July 31 non-waiver deadline, intending to play him at first base. The Blue Jays almost certainly will listen to offers for Glaus, whose recurring foot problems leave the team with little choice but to send him to a club that plays on a natural-grass surface.

I asked about that but nobody answered. Are the Angels willing to part with such an exciting versatile player? I wouldn't. I love the way he plays. He is the type of guy that we need.

Rick -

Don't see it happening. If the Angels don't get Alex, Figgins is their starting 3B, if they do get him then Figgins replaces Garrett Anderson as their LF - either way he's young, cheap, and a very good leadoff hitter-I don't see the Angels giving him up.

He also does not hit for power at all. I know we don't need a masher at all postions but you need at least 20Hr's from your corner guy's. He has never hit more then 9 in a season.

Is Atkins even a free agent?

I hear that Drew Henson is available.

What is Henson hanging with Russ Davis?

No law says where the HR's have to come from. Figgins has SPEED and that can kill you just as bad or even worse. It never goes into a slump!

BBB,

I agree but you need to make for the loss of power somewhere. Maybe from 1st base?

I'm looking at this year's free agent class. Not very exciting. Would throwing a big contract at Lowell be a big mistake? I'm a big fan of signing the guy that beats you (like when we got Tino after the 1995 debacle).

Dave,

I like Lowell but first off I think he will sign with the Sox. Secondly I think he will 3-5 years and we will have another Damon on our hands. I would rather get an up and comer or give Betimit a chance.

Rick -

It's true that speed never goes into a slump but the problem is you can have all the speed guys you want - if you don't have anyone who can thump to drive them in then you can't score.

There is 1 thing that no one has brought up. It is possible that Cano and Melky will increase their power numbers this year (More Cano than Melky). If they can come up with 15-20 more homers between them this year and Damon can go back to 75% of his normal power numbers then we might be able to have a low power high average guy at third like Figgins.

Also between a healthy Giambi and Duncan you will have higher power numbers at first.

Dog -

I am assuming that Cano increases to eventually a 35 HR guy. Melky will top out around 12 - 15. With that in mind, I don't mind giving Betemit the shot at 3rd.

I think the Yankees can get Lowell for 3 years if they are willing to overpay him during those three years.

Think about it - with Alex and Clemens gone the Yankees can give Lowell in 3 years the same amount of money a team like the Phillies would give him over 4 or 5 years.

I've said for a while that I don't care how much the Yankees pay for players, I just don't want them getting stuck in long term deals that destroy the team's flexibility.

How about a 3 team deal:
Yankees get Morneau
Twins get Chavez and Dan Johnson
A's get Matsui, Alan Horne, Juan Miranda

Twins could use the savings on Morneau to lock up Mauer and Santana - Chavez can make up for some of Justin's production

Damon - DH
Jeter - SS
Abreu - RF
Hunter - CF
Morneau - 1B
Posada - C
Cano - 2B
Betemit - 3B
Melky - CF

Yankee 3Bmen 2002-2003 (between Brosius and AROD):

Ventura
Wilson
Boone

They still won over 100 games both of those years.

It's the lineup as a whole not just one position.

Whoever they get, his stats will not equal A-Rod. but they may upgrade at other postions and hopefully the ERA will be lower.