Yankee plans are already being leaked out. I thought this was great:
This is the dire state of the Yankees.

The Braves can make 14 postseason appearances, win only one Series and call their run a dynasty. The Yankees can make the playoffs 11 years in a row, capture six pennants, win four World Series in five years and be called Bronx Bums.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/bbw/columnist/nightengale/2005-10-19-majors_x.htm

I do understand why they are called Bronx Bums, they get every FA available, while Atlanta retools with their farm system.

Excellent find Dimelo
Only thing that bothers me is the trade of Cano for Hunter and signing Nomar idea. Sounds more of the same that got us into this situation. No one to do the dirty work and everyone trying to be a star..I would trade Sheff to but the obvious question he mentioned was "where to do you get 34 and 123". The answer is you don't. If you bring in Hunter and a second baseman with a bat (Nomar rejuvenated?) then perhaps you can get away with a Juan Rivera type in RF and trade Sheff for upper tier prospects. But again, more of the same seems like.
Gotta love the hot stove...

I'm sorry, but when you write a sentence like "Neifi Perez of the Cubs would be a perfect fit" you show yourself to be a complete moron and lose all credibility.

You took the words right out of my mouth, Dan. I'd love to see a MSM outlet actually come up with a reasonable, workable plan for the Yanks. Not surprisingly, they all seem to spout the same nonsensical garbage.

I think the Tori Hunter asking price will somewhat lowered since he is coming off that foot injury. I would take that chance with dealing Cano, though. We get a hell uva good CF, they get a 2b they need. Cano is lethal with his bat but a liability with his attitude and glove. Something that will cost us in the future as much upside there seems to be. We sign Nomar to fill 2B. Nomar is downright basement bargain price right now. Last I heard he is being offered to play with the Dodgers with a one year contract once again for below market price. He is just waiting to prove himself out of these one year contracts. Dude, is coming off an injury too, but not as serious as Hunter's. It wouldnt be like year's past by getting more old talent for young talent. Last time I checked. Nomar is a pretty good player and not that old. They call those kind of players, seasoned veterans. And a one year contract is a good "test" rather than the ridiculous "test" contracts weve had with Rondell White, Pavano and Wright.

I don't like how every sportswriter is saying we need a defensive 1B to play everyday to put Giambi at DH. Sure there were plays in the playoffs he shouldnt have made (or situtations they shouldnt have been in the first place), but did we not solidify the fact this year, Giambi is a BETTER player offensively when he plays 1B fulltime? Did we forget that? Take the good with the bad...is what I say with the 1B situation. Find a backup 1B (or even keep Tino) and just swallow the fact Giambi is your everyday man.

I agree with every sportswriter and I doomed this day when we have to say, Posada needs to be slowly positioned out. His days are winding down and we can only think of how it would have been a perfect year to break in Dioneer Navarro. I say, stick with Posada and get lucky in a backup cather in the offseason. Find a talent in someone elses farm like a future V. Martinez or Molina type that no one knows about. I dont see Will Nieves filling that roll. heh This is where Cashman comes into play. Cashman's signing is pivotal. A good GM will find a player in another farm to backup Jorgie. Will it be Cashman who knows.

I'd rather sign Bradley for CF or, failing that, give the job to Bubba until July when we might be able to pick up an above average CFer. Hunter will cost players like Cano, makes over $20 million over the next two years, and is coming off a serious injury. I think JT Snow as a back-up is a better idea than revisiting Olerud. And signing Neifi Perez as a back-up infielder is way less moronic than having Enrique Wilson, Rey Sanchez, or Felix Escalona on your bench. I'd prefer a good glove-type from the system but it ain't happening with Torre...unless Cashman pushes it as he did with Cano and Wang. One thing people forget about Don Zimmer's influence was his real affection for young players and rookies. We need someone like that on our coaching staff now.

no way i take a chance on nomar and his recent injuries, not to mention his lack of intestinal fortitude. i recall peter gammons talking about making nomar a second baseman sometime during the season, and he was hesitant, stating that nomar's throwing style was not a good fit for second base. besides, do you really want to hear about the evil empire signing nomar, even if they could get him for a song? (he won't be good anyway.) for me, if you're going to deal cano (which i am not sure is the right thing to do; none of the centerfielders we could get for him is young enough or good enough; hunter is on the wrong side of 30 to come back effecively from his injury; pierre doesn't get on base at all; although steve goldman at pinstriped bible today suggested milton bradley, which is intriguing in a rubber-necking way), i would think about mark grudzielanek or ronnie belliard, both of whom are nice playyers--not great, but nice--not unlike the types who used to bail the yanks out every october before we went nuts and stopped thinking about the types of players we were buying.

Girardi was often cited as managerial material during his career, plus he was a member of the Catchers' Guild, and he has that Northwestern pedigree. He was the hottest candidate available, and I'm not surprised that somebody would be so eager to give him his first chance.

I wouldn't trade Cano for Hunter. Actually I would, only if we get Furcal to play 2nd. Even though Furcal is going to want Renteria money, that's awfully steep.

Nomar...pah-fucken-lease. No way!!!

One thing I did like about that piece is that the Yankees don't want Damon. Nothing would piss me off more than to see Damon in pinstripes. If there's something all GM's should have learned by now (after the Mets traded for Roberto Alomar) is to use the pre and post all-star splits to see how a player is trending and I don't like Damon's numbers.

Pre all-star: 0.343/0.386/0.473/0.859
Post all-star:0.282/0.343/0.397/0.740

Given his age, lack of arm, decline in SBs, I think that would be huge mistake by the Yankees.

With my limited knowledge of "chemistry", the mix of Sheffield and Bradley doesn't sound good to me.

It's a dream, a crazy one, but it would be great if the Yankees can somehow swing a deal for Soriano. He would be great at CF. Those long legs, batting in the 6th hole with Cano right behind him sounds so appealing to me. I don't know why...but that just seems to fit. I'm sure somebody will question my sanity because you have two guys with very low OBP batting right after another, but having Soriano on base with a lefty Cano and the threat of Soriano stealing just makes Cano that much more dangerous.

How about this: Pavano to Texas, Soriano to Minnesota, Hunter to the Bronx. Saw Hunter on BDSS and he looked good, said pinstripes would be nice and rehab is going very well.

Please no to nomar, jedi, his injury was muscle completely tearing away from the bone in the groin. I know he came back to play at the end of the season, but how effective is he. He seems to be just an injury waiting to happen at this point in his career.

:::Raising Hand:::

Dimelo, I am fore that.

Except Soriano has this crazy idea in his head he will be the best offensive and defensive 2nd baseman in history. Rangers tried to move him back to his natural spot at SS but he declined. He's never going to move to CF.

I love the hot stove. I hope the Yanks try to bring in some talent that wows nobody. I don't think you need more danger in the lineup, but you do need guys that can
1. take advantage of pitchers wanting the challenge them rather than Jeter, Arod, Sheff, Giambia and Matsui,
2. but also guys that know when to be selective to help wear down starting pitching so that the aforementioned stars can do their thing,

A bullpen would also be nice

just heard some crazy rumor...Manny for Beltran. Mets are stupid enough to do it.

Ben, I hear you. We seem so far away from the type of team we had in the 96-0 run its not even funny. Enough stars. Get people who know how to bunt, move runners over, take the extra base and only swing for the seats when there ahead in the count. And at all cost get a real bullpen in here please..

#11 Rags
That's not a bad idea. I'd prefer to keep Cano (just say no to Nomah) I think he can still be molded (even if it means keeping Reuben around) the Yankees do need some youth on this team.

Rags, that's a pretty decent idea.

Aaron Gleeman, who writes about the Twins, covered the T. Hunter gossip here: http://www.aarongleeman.com/2005_10_16_baseballblog_archive.html#112969503385630968

I'd rather have Soriano than Torri. Though I agree with Jedi that Sori has this false sense that he's the best 2nd baseman in the game.

Regarding #11, why would Texas take Pavano? Essentially they would give up a 40/40 guy in Soriano for Pavano? Straight up? Not without the Yanks giving up some other talent to make up for it. There's no way Selig allows money to be the difference.

As for Manny for Beltran, I would think about it. If you make the deal, you could move Cameron back to center where he would be happier. Manny would stay in left. Clearly Manny is in decline. But he is still going to be very very good. The Mets have a promising right fielder in Victor Diaz. Maybe you trade Cliff Floyd then for more pitching, say a closer? Then in two years, Manny's contract ends and you go from there.

BxSparks,

I know I know. It feels a little like nastalgia on our part, always harking back to the team of the last century. But I took a tremendous amount of satisfaction in those years from the way the Yanks conducted their business. There were of course the knuckle heads and frustrations that winning the WS four times blots out. But I definetly felt untill 2002, that there was a lot of intelligence behind the roster moves. Win lose or draw, that makes for a satisfied fan on my part. Build the team with intelligence so that when they play, and that baseball part of baseball comes into action, it's comforting to know you did the best you could. Even had they won recently, it hasn't felt like a smart team for some time.

I'd imagine that Beltran has some sort of no-trade, and could nix the deal if he wanted. Which is not beyond the realm of possibility if he thinks Boston is in decline, unfriendly to minorities, not a big enough market, etc. Not saying that he would, just saying...

Sayonara Matsui, give me Brian Giles. Bat him and his absurb OBP second in front of A-Rod and the like.

Also for more on Torre, Mazzone and some potential trade-bait/free agent players, check out Steve Goldman's latest Pinstriped Bible. http://www.yesnetwork.com/yankees/pinstripedbible.asp

On Torii Hunter: "Expensive, coming off of an injury that might compromise his defensive abilities, and because he doesn't do anything exceptionally well on offense, he's not a great bet to age well. If the broken ankle isn't a long-term problem, he would be a good acquisition if the Yankees don't overpay. The Twins apparently need to shed his salary, so they have limited leverage, and the Yankees really need their pitching prospects."

Giles might not be a fit, but he's always seemed like he'd be a great Yankee in the Giambi mold offensively, but a good hustle guy too.

Alex, riffing on your thoughts about race and the Randolph-Girardi situations (which I wondered about myself)...if I can veer off-topic and address you as a hip-hop fan as well as sports fan, what are your thoughts on the NBA dress code?

Anything involving Hunter is a NO.
Anything involving Cano for Hunter is a HUGE NO.

That's just a bad idea.

I like the idea of signing Giles, but I'd resign Matsui too. Make Sheffield the full-time DH and Giles plays RF. Then, as jedi reminds us, Giambi has to play the field - which he should anyway, given those splits.

I still think the Yanks don't have to look further than Crobsy and Phillips to find a fly-catching CF and a late-inning defensive replacement at 1B. They're cheap AND you don't have to give anyone up to get them!

Then, as JohnnyC said, if Bubba can't cut it, come June/July someone like Hunter might be available for much less than Cano.

Bradley is an intriguing option, but IIRC he won't be back from his injury until mid-May. Injuries are what scares me about Bradley, not his attitude. He's only had 1 season where he played over 120 games.

A Beltran for Manny deals scares the crap out of me. No way its just a straight up deal, and I guarantee its the Sox who get extra, not the Mets. I hope Minaya isn't stupid enough to do it.

Max,
I don't know that this is the appropriate place to really get into the NBA dress code, but no, I'm not for it. Shoot me an e-mail and we can continue chatting about it.

Murray already pointed it out re Girardi/Randolph, but the catching thing is a big deal, given the success of ex-catchers as managers recently, and the idea that you need someone used to handling pitchers and having played every day.

The other point no one's mentioned is Girardi's tv experience. He worked at YES doing both booth and studio and here in Chicago doing studio stuff.

I'll bet that loooks good on the resume given that a manager does have to manage the press these days. Might as well get someone with experience in the guild as well as the requisite communications skills.

Alright, lets be resonable here: Soriano is not coming to the Yanks, why use do we have for him? He doesn't want to go to CF, and his instincts aren't that good. If we want to move an IF to CF, move Jeter. And if you seem to think Cano's attitude is off (which I don't buy, perhaps prone to mental gaffs, but hes only 22), remember Soris?

I agree with Goldman, we would only overpay for Hunter, and he will only provide us with CF defense, if fully recovered. If D is waht we want, we can find it much cheaper.

And as for Manny for Beltran, I can see it happening. The Mets really want him, so does Pedro. Manny really wants out of Boston, though New York isn't nec. an upgrade media wise. The thing is, as a Yankee fan, you have to root against that trade. As long as Manny is in Boston, yes, he makes Ortiz look much better, but Boston remains hamstrung by his contract and "Manny being Manny." But, if they trade Manny an unlaod his contract onto the Mets, PLUS get Beltran in return, then not only do they have more money to spend on a 1B and/or RF, but they also have a franchixe CF who will rake in Fenway. Remember his #'s in Houston, another similarly small bandbox?

Until now I've thought that trading Cano while his stock was high would be smart because I don't get the sense that he's a student of his own game. But being reminded that he is 22 is helpful. If you compare him to Jeter when he first came up, I'm sure a lot of the attitude and defensive stuff would equate. The guy comes off as a little cocky, but we really can't tell how he will develop unless the Yanks give him a chance to develop.

It just seems like he's the kind of guy Yankee fans covet, young, talented, cheap, from within, huge upside. He's our very own DeJesus. I'm not a huge fane of his yet but I hope he makes me one.

Dimelo,

Nobody would worry about Sori stealing w/Cano at the plate since the kid looks at about 3 pitches an AB.

From what I understand, the Sox made the offer to the Mets. I can't really see them doing it after all the hoopla surrounding the Beltran signing by Minaya last year. I can see the Mets countering with a Cameron/Looper and whatever else to bring Manny in, although I doubt the Sox would go for that...

Any talk about trading Cano completely pisses me off. Esp when we spend the whole season complaining that the Yanks always go for the glamor guy on the wrong side of his career for too many dollars. Hunter and Nomar are slippery slope drop-offs waiting to happen. Robinson Cano is a 22-year-old, .280 hitter with power, a potentially slick glove, and is under NYY control at a bargain rate for a number of years. Writing him off after a rookie season with a few rookie mistakes is totally irrational. I know he doesn't walk- but how many Latin American players under the age of 25 do? There's that saying in the DR, that you don't walk your way off the island.

This whole idea of filling one hole while opening another, just because the new guy is a bigger name, is ludicrous. What's gonna happen in a year when Hunter has clearly lost a step, and the Yanks have a couple CF prospects champing at the bit? Well, we'll be in great shape then, except for the fact that our 24-year-old 20 HR second baseman is playing for the Twins...

Nomar sounds like a bad idea, since he's proven that he's an injury waiting to happen. Plus, I would get tired of listening to all the crap about the Yanks having all three of the golden boy shortstops.

Canó has to stay. He's young, works for minimum wage, and seems like a good kid. I think his attitude and concentration issues can be ironed out.

Torii Hunter? Not much better than Johnny Damon. I'd still love to see the Yanks take a look at Milton Bradley. The downside (or, one of the downsides) is that his injury will probably keep him out for the first part of the season -- at least that's how it was reported at the time. He's young, fairly fast, above average defensively, and he switch hits with some pop. Plus, I'm sure he can be had cheaply. The big concern, though, would be the fact that he had trouble even with the milk-and-cookies press out here in LA. Who knows what would happen in NYC?

I'm not sure that a new GM (or a lucky Cashman)would suggest mortgaging the future on a 31 year-old CF coming off a season-ending injury.

But if the Yanks do trade the future away for a Big Name, I hope it would be for Vernon Wells and not for Torii Hunter.

Who might be a better fit is this kid out in Detroit, Curtis Granderson. I watched him on my MLB Extra Innings, and he's something else. He covers that huge CF in Detroit with complete confidence. Not much bat, but a lefty.

And hey, Pavano wants to be closer to the Auto-Industry. Two birds. One stone.

"Not much bat, but a lefty."

Sounds like Bubba to me.

No way the Jays trade Wells to the Yanks. He's the centerpiece of a rebuilding team that hopes to contend sometime over the next couple of years. He'd be the right guy to get but I would be shocked if he was made available.

I'd prefer Hunter to Damon simply because I enjoy his personality more, but neither are a promising choice really. Especially Damon. Juan Pierre? That name makes me shudder.

Louisville Slugger pays Bubba NOT to use their bats!

Re: Manny

I had a friend in college who played summer league baseball in NYC vs. Manny in the early 90s. My friend always talked about how great he was, monster shots, couldn't pitch him inside, quick wrists, etc. But he also said there was heavy speculation Manny was lying about his age. Now maybe it was because he was so amazing, but if he's 2-3 years older than he claims, there may be a quick drop off in production.

Why not move A-Rod to Centerfield? Wouldn't it be easier to find a suitable 3d baseman?

Upperdeck, that's an interesting point. I'd argue that the dropoff in Manny's production has already begun, though - check the stats. Except for a slight uptick in 2002 (when he missed 40 games), his OPS has been going down since 2000. And he'll be 34 in 2006 - even if he hasn't lied about his age at all. I'm not surprised Boston wants to trade him.

AROD took a year to learn 3B, imagine how long it will take him to learn CF.

The (mostly) internal solution:

Posada to 1B, where his offense won't suffer due to exhaustion.
Giambi to 3B, where he started his career.
A-Rod to short, where he's belonged the whole time. I blame this whole 3B experiment on Ripken in his last All Star Game.
Jeter to 2B, because he can't go to his left, so now his right will be up the middle.
Sheff to Catcher. If he's gonna yap, then let's have him yapping at opposing batters.
Matsui back to Japan, I can never understand his postgame interviews anyway.
Cano for Bonds and Alou to play LF and RF.
Bubba in Center.

I'm Dominican and I know a lot of Dominicans lie about their age, most of the time it's done when the parent has a child that's about to enter a US public school (reference Danny Almonte). Manny was born back in the Dominican Republic, so chances are that his parents lied about his age so he wouldn't feel out of place being 17 and still having the brain matter of a 12 year old. So instead of saying the truth, it's always easier to come up with the happy median and say Manny is really 13 or 14. BTW, I am no not accusing Manny of this or his family. I lived Washington Heights long enough to see it done repeatedly and if Manny did it too, then it wouldn't surprise me.

BTW, after 9/11 it has become more diffucult for parents to do this.

Knuckles, are the Yankees going to field a softball team?

//Why not move A-Rod to Centerfield?//

uh, cause A-Rod can't track pop flies.

44 Gets my nomination for the joke of the day. Good one, knuckles.

I think we should keep everything the same, except for a few things. Crosby in CF, resign Matsui, keep Cano at 2B. Posada needs a guy who can play the field for him, and preferably not Flaherty.

Our bullpen definitely needs work. Trash everyone except Flash and Mo. Get BJ Ryan.

#36 Shawn.
I think the Yankees would have better luck prying Nook Logan from the Tigers. He's speedy, but I'm not sure he has the bat for the ML. Still the Tigers might be interested in Curtis for Carl, though they've got some projected good young arms.

Ack. I hope that article is wrong. I don't think we should trade Cano. Nor Wang. We need more young blood, not less.

I don't think Jeter was quite as immature as Cano obviously is, even in his rookie year. Jeter has always played a tough mental game, and I don't remember him ever being bratty to the press like Cano. But if we wait for another Jeter to come along, it's going to be a long wait. IMO, Cano has already shown he's more willing to learn and adapt than Soriano ever was. He's only 22; give him a chance.

I am glad they are determined to keep Matsui. I have a feeling Matsui wants to stay, too. They love the Yankees in Japan. Godzilla in a Devil Rays uniform just wouldn't be the same as Godzilla in pinstripes.

Apparently Torre and Cashman have contacted Larry Bowa, are they going nuts bringing in this fucken retard?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2199155

A few thoughts:
"Clearly Manny is in decline."
AVG .292 | HR 45 | RBI 144.
We can only hope our guys decline like that.

We don't need any ONE particular guy. We need guys that:
have good plate disipline...
above average defense...
good on the bases...

We have a lot of big guns already.
Our weekness was bad plate disipline (when we lost games) and bad defense. We need some solid players, some suoer stud hitters who can't run or field.

Why trade Cano who is already above average at his position, MIGHT improve (on both O and D) and is CHEAP, and will be CHEAP for a few years?

I think Nomar is a great player, but an accident/injury waiting to happen. I'll pass on him.

Tori Hunter is my type of guy, but TOO expensive. I'm not sure he will perform with the pressure of NY.

Bradley? Common. No more mal-contents. We don't need talent that badly.

With taxes going up, a 200mil payroll is a bad idea. I would like to see us buy/trade smarter, bring up/develope some kids, and aim for a 150-160mil payroll in 2008.

CF is very important, as we will lose our RF'er after this year (unless Sheff will go for a one-year contract).

Can we trade RJ (and eat a bunch of his salary) and some other foder to the Mets for Beltran?

I want guys 30 or under with some future.

P.S. Did someone has a 'just say NO to Damon' petition? I don't want this guy!

Happy you guys didnt get Mazzone. You couldve used him. I am a Red Sox fan. Check out my site.

Diesel Sports Blog

www.dieselsportsblog.com

Player A

Career 2005
OPS+ 100 107
RangeF CF 2.70 2.43
F% .991 .987

Player B

Career 2005
OPS+ 103 126
RangeF CF 2.70 3.05
F% .991 .994

Player A is Tori Hunter, who ppl want to pay $10m + give up their best cheap young player for.

Player B is Randy Winn who is a free agent and won't cost $10m.

o_O

I pick B!

I got nothing against Hunter, but I don't want to give up Cano.

53 Everything you said made sense, except for Bradley. He is young, and talented and wont break the bank or a bunch of prospects. If Torre doesn't treat him like Lofton, then he could be an important pick-up. There has been enough documentation that he was not a bad guy in the Dodger clubhouse, and has pretty much admitted his faults with Cleveland.

If we really care about getting younger, then Torii Hunter or Randy Winn should be passed in favor of Vernon Wells or Bradley. I dont think Wells is available, but Bradley could be.

Re: Larry Bowa

If that moron ends up with us, where the hell will Torre put him? Bench coach? That would be the worst decision ever. The only ONLY place I can see him fitting is at third (where he's coached before) and moving Luis to the bench. And the upside is, there's always a chance Bowa would get smacked by one of Sheff's rocket fouls.

Cano for Hunter = Bad longterm idea.