Baseball Toaster Bronx Banter
Help
Hope (is the thing with a Chest Protector)
2006-05-25 10:36
by Alex Belth

Steve Lombardi links to a good piece about John Flaherty discussing Randy Johnson's performance last night. The Yanks acquired back-up infielder Nick Green, while on a more worrisome note, Jorge Posada will have a magnetic resonance imaging exam today to determine if there is anything seriously wrong with his hamstring. We can only hold our breath and hope that Posada is OK though I wouldn't be surprised to see a whole lot of Kelly Stinnett this weekend.

Comments
2006-05-25 10:59:36
1.   Cliff Corcoran
Just to cut you all off at the pass, Green has been assigned to Columbus. The Yanks got him from the D-Rays for cash. They recently demoted Felix Escalona to Trenton, so Green will likely fill his spot and be a non-factor as far as the big league club goes, though it could be that the recent rash of injuries have taught the Yanks something about organizational depth, not that Green really provides that.
2006-05-25 11:37:19
2.   Sliced Bread
Cliff, when was the last time the Yanks purchased a player for cash? Ruth? That one worked out ok.

How does player-for-cash transaction go down? One of Steinbrenner's Tampa toadies has to run out to an ATM because the Rays won't take a check?

2006-05-25 11:45:25
3.   Bob Timmermann
Teams purchase players for cash pretty much every year. Usually they are pretty small deals.

But I've often wondered how the financial end of the deal does work.

2006-05-25 11:47:12
4.   Schteeve
Why wouldn't it simply involve a contact, an invoice, and a check or wire transfer?
Seems pretty straightforward to me.
2006-05-25 11:51:31
5.   Cliff Corcoran
"Cash" is just the term used for a financial transaction, I'm sure it doesn't mean actual cash as in hard currency. As Bob points out, these cash transactions are as close to trading a player for a bag of balls as baseball gets. In fact, some of the money likely goes toward covering those sorts of everyday costs.
2006-05-25 11:58:05
6.   Sliced Bread
Yeah, as much as I enjoy imagining one of Steinbrenner's guys running to a 7-11 for cash, I figure the transaction's a wire transfer, and there's probably a standard contract laying out the terms such as when "ownership" begins etc.

But who are some recent Yankee "purchases" - any notable players? and what was the price?

2006-05-25 13:21:53
7.   NetShrine
Hope (is the thing with a Chest Protector)

"Without Feathers" - gosh that was a funny book

2006-05-25 15:15:29
8.   wsporter
Has there been any clarification or explanation of the C. Bean situation? I see he is not listed as DFA to the right.
2006-05-25 15:19:39
9.   wsporter
8 Additionally I see that he is on the Clippers roster which appears to be up to date as Nick Green also appears on the roster.
2006-05-25 17:20:45
10.   Yankee Fan in Chicago
Weep for the Cubs brothers.

Dusty aapparently is hearing "good things" about our Toney Womack's performance in AAA Iowa.

To which one can only add, "of course you are Dusty, you're the guy who refused to give Hee Seop a legitimate shot in the majors, so it's no surprise you think that Womack is going to be the Cubs' savior at 2nd base."

2006-05-25 17:35:43
11.   randym77
Any word on how Jorgie's MRI came out?
2006-05-25 17:57:11
12.   Jeteupthemiddle
6 Wasn't Raul Mondesi for cash?
2006-05-25 18:09:58
13.   Cliff Corcoran
12 Nope, just seemed that way. The Yanks got Mondesi for Scott Wiggins.

8 Bean cleared waivers and was assigned to Columbus.

2006-05-25 18:10:13
14.   yankz
From Baseball Musings:

"The Phillies are facing a very good problem. Shane Victorino is playing lights out while Aaron Roward is recovering from his broken nose. He's creating about two more runs per 27 outs than Aaron did, and his defense in center is very good. When Rowand comes back, does Victorino become trade bait for a pitcher? Or do you keep him around, spelling Abreu and Burrell defensively and filling in when someone's injured? He reached base twice in five tries today, keeping his OBA at .400. At age 26, he's at the peak of his abilities. He seems he would be valuable to someone in a starting role."

Too expensive (in terms of pitching prospects) for the Bombers, I'm guessing.

2006-05-25 18:14:01
15.   Bill
Jorge has a "torn hamstring tendon" and will be evaluated in "a few days." He is not DL'd but the Yanks will call up Nieves or Hill. I'm guessing this will mortph into a DL stint, but we'll see.
2006-05-25 18:16:06
16.   randym77
From AP:

>>Yankees catcher Jorge Posada has a torn hamstring tendon in his left knee and will be sidelined at least a few days.

Posada wasn't placed on the disabled list following his MRI exam that revealed the injury, but the club said Thursday that it planned to call up a catcher from the minor leagues on Friday. Posada is scheduled to be evaluated in the next few days.<<

2006-05-25 18:16:46
17.   Marcus
15 I just read that as well. Is it me, or does "torn hamstring tendon" sound like something that keeps you out longer than "a few days". That's unfortunate, to put it mildly.
2006-05-25 18:21:11
18.   vockins
10 The Cubs have really fascinated me this year. Their suck is intriguing in a way that the Marlins, Rays, and Royals isn't. I truly believe that the management thought they were in contention for the WS.

Is Juan Pierre the worst leadoff batter in the history of baseball (that played every day)? I wouldn't doubt it at all. He's got an OBP of .270, 85 GO (1st in the majors by a mile), and he's walked 8 times so far this year. Eight times!

I wouldn't doubt it at all that Womack bats right behind him if he ever gets promoted. A Pierre-Womack 1-2 would be absolutely incredible. I'd start tuning in to Cubs games for the same reason I might rubberneck at a scene of a 747 crash.

2006-05-25 19:53:14
19.   joejoejoe
If Posada goes down look for Cashman to make a move. You can't make Stinnett or Nieves be something they are not - hitters. Mike Redmond is a decent catcher backing up Joe Mauer in MN. Ronnie Paulino is also a good catcher with Pittsburgh. Both teams are likely to make a swap for prospects.

If Posada is hurt he will be missed. He's a huge advantage over most teams with his offense at Catcher.

2006-05-25 19:53:34
20.   jkay
From Newsday........

http://tinyurl.com/jha26

General manager Brian Cashman said through a spokesman that Posada will be evaluated by team trainers during the next few days. If he does not show progress, the disabled list is a possibility.

"This is not a tendon from what is described to me that he needs to function with," Cashman said. "We just have to wait for the swelling to go down before he could play. How long that is, I don't know."

2006-05-25 20:00:11
21.   Yu-Hsing Chen
To be honest, the Rays havn't really sucked that bad considering their injury problems... and i wouldn't be surprised if they send the Os to the cellar this year and beyond...

The Marlins and Royal's suckitude have been totally expected.....

The Cubs however....... the curse lives on... hard core.... not that they are doing a good job of avoiding it or anything....

A couple of other teams are sucking more than expected too... Angels and Twins comes to mind...

Ack, torn hamstring doesn't sound like something that can avoid a pretty lengthy DL ... good god nooooooo

2006-05-25 20:42:06
22.   Simone
Poor Jorgie. Ugh. Sounds like a long stint on the DL. After watching highlights of the Houston/Nationals game today, I'm just hoping that the Yankees don't end up with a catcher as bad as Matt LeCroy.
2006-05-25 21:43:03
23.   tommyl
Don't be so pessimistic yet about Posada. I'm not sure which tendon it is, and it also matters how severely he's strained it (a strain and a tear are actually the same thing). If its a grade 1 or 2, he's got a shot at coming back really quickly.

Also, the NYtimes had this hilarious comment:

Asked if Pavano could pitch again this season, Cashman said, "Actually, it's expected."

That's just too funny. I'm sure he'll stub his toe, or maybe use the wrong conditioner in the shower one morning which will delay his comeback further.

2006-05-25 21:47:40
24.   tommyl
And speaking of injury woes, be glad you're not English (not that I am). They are likely to lose Wayne Rooney (by far their best striker) for the World Cup due to a broken foot he sustained in one of the very last games of the club season.
2006-05-25 22:17:25
25.   wsporter
13 Cliff, How did that happened so fast? Don't they have to wait 3 business days for the waiver period to expire even if it's a DFA situation? In fact isn't that one reason to DFA a player. You can get him off the 40 man while you decide what to do with him and don't clog your roster while you wait to see if he clears waivers?

It just doesn't make sense to me that they would expose him to waivers especially since he has 2 options left. (he does have 2 left doesn't he?) As you pointed out yesterday they could clear room on the 40 man by moving Pavano or Matsui to the 60 day DL.

It's bugging me because either I'm missing some information on how the DFA process works or they're up to something that I can't figure out. I feel like Alvie Singer worrying about the Warren Report; except that was, you know, important.

Why did they do it this way?

2006-05-26 03:45:44
26.   randym77
The NYT quotes Cashman as saying Jorgie's injury is unusual. It's not a tendon that's commonly injured, and it's not one that's necessary to function. They are going to play him as soon as the swelling goes down.

And he expects Pavano to resume throwing in three weeks.

2006-05-26 06:56:02
27.   Cliff Corcoran
25 No damn idea. I asked Peter Abraham to ask Cashman why he DFAd Bean rather than option him, but Abraham, who thought Bean had been optioned, only confirmed the DFA and gave me the info on him clearing waivers and returning to Columbus. No explaination.

26 Pavano had bone chips removed from his elbow in 2000 and it took him a full calendar year from his surgery date to return to action.

2006-05-26 09:07:17
28.   wsporter
27 Cliff, thanks, I really appreciate you're having looked into it. I guess it'll remain a mystery. Maybe Judge Crater has the answer, now if we could just find him.....

Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.