Oh sweet Jesus, would that be nice. The only problem is, the Tejada article linked above says the Os want hitting prospects, not pitching prospects.

Not familiar with what goes on in Charm City, but is Tejada willing to move to 3b? Haven't been able to find much on the net about that.

His career line as a hitter:

.074/.121/.092 and OPS+ of -44

I haven't posted in a while, so forgive me if this issue has been addressed before, but I was wondering what everyone else is expecting from Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy next year. The reason that I bring this up is that I was talking with a friend the other day who is almost ridiculously bullish on the Yankees' young pitchers and said that he thought each of the three musketeers would win 15 games next year. (Although I believe that pitcher W/L stats are pretty much worthless, I do think that they can give you a very broad idea of how a season went.)

So, I was just wondering what everyone else is REALISTICALLY expecting from the young guns. I'm not going to toss out any numbers just yet, but I believe Hughes will fare the best due to his combination of stuff and command; Kennedy will be a very solid number four/five starter due to his command and ability to "pitch", putting up great numbers against mediocre to bad teams and occasionally getting rocked by the better teams; and Joba, well, I don't know, I think he's going to be great or terrible. He'll rack up a ton of strikeouts, but also, possibly, a ton of walks, as hitters learn to lay of the slider and focus on hitting the fast ball. If he can throw his curve for a strike, he could make me look foolish, but that remains to be seen. I also don't know how his body will hold up over the course of the season.

So, what do y'all think? Please feel free to be as critical as possible.

7 The expectations have to be tempered by the innings caps that they will all be on: Kennedy (180), Hughes (150) and Chamberlain (130) won't be able to go deep in too many games, for their own good. Considering the likely state of next years' offense (800 runs, maybe?) I don't think it's likely that any of them get to 15 wins.

Too bad Cashman couldn't have gotten in on the Lidge deal....what an awful deal for Houston.

I'm pysched about my Knicks and Jints...beat the shit out of the Cowboys this weekend and I might have something to distract me from the Yanks a bit this winter. The winter's are getting lonely, there's only 70 days of skiing one can do in a year, I need a NY sport team (specifically Giants and Knicks) not named the Yanks to step it up this year and give me some form distraction.

I agree with 8 . Their innings will be capped thus preventing them from putting up huge numbers. I think Kennedy will start in the minors until Moose gets hurt or ineffective. Hughes will probably pitch the most innings and have the chance at the most wins.

I have high hopes for all 3, but I'm not expecting them to be work horses next year. We have to expect some growing pains in the process.

http://tinyurl.com/2dzr8l

And similarly, 16 , if Brad Lidge can only get two class-B prospects and a weak reliever, why would Farnsworth get Tejada?

Not quite as attractive as I remember her.

Also, I'm a huge Pettitte fan. He's a genuine guy with a lot of heart. He's been such a central feature of my life with the Yankees. I'll miss him if (when) he goes.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=3098341

First, A-Rod to the Marlins, according to one GM. Next, Bonds to Japan according to one GM. Finally, 14 out of 15 GMs said they'd prefer Torii Hunter to Andruw Jones next year. This may be the most insane one of them all.

Consider: Andruw Jones has been rated the #1 defensive center fielder by UZR, The Fielding Bible, and BP'S RATE each of the last three saeasons. Hunter has fallen off considerably in the last three seasons and is going on reputation alone at this point. Offensively, we can't ignore Jones' down year, but over the past three seasons, Jones has had a better OBP, a better SLG, more HR, and more RBI. And Jones is a year younger than Hunter. Those 14 GMs are out of their minds.

For a comparison, read this interview with the new Pirates GM: http://tinyurl.com/2klobr

Now there's a man who knows baseball.

Because you know, every team has an infinite amount of money and prospects to trade.

14 Silver seemed to be basing the trade on one season of Lidge versus 11 of Bourn and Costanzo. I think he is factoring in money too much though. The Phillies immediate need is relief pitching and they acquired a good one for two "prospects" that they may not even want to be playign 11 seasons for them. In particular, I think Silver uses PECOTA to rate Costanzo too highly. I have read several "scout types" call him a non-prospect.

Anything to make him happy - get him on the phone, Cash...

Last year there were 10 AL pitchers with ERA+ of 130 or better. The three years before that there were 3, 5 and 3.

Most Hall of Fame pitchers don't put up 130 ERA+ in their first seasons.

I can't get baseball-reference to look at rookies, so I looked at 22-year-olds who qualified for the ERA title. Since 1901, there have been a total of 39 who with ERA+ of 130 or better.

It's a possiblity, sure, but it's an unreasonable expectation.

Anyone else hear on XM's BB this AM (or maybe it was Chuck Wilson's Postseason show) that last summer, the Dodgers offered the Marlins Kemp, and Loney, and Billingsly for Cabrera - and the Marlins turned it down!?!?

I'm not sure exactly what this says about Larry Beinfest or Ned Colletti. I can't imagine Colletti didn't know then what he had. I can't imagine Beinfest thought he was going to get a better offer than that.

But Cashman should be looking to take advantage of one or both of those guys, because they can obviously be had.

46 If that's the case, then I'd see if a Melky/Kennedy package could land Cabrera and then offer him to LA for Billingsley, Loney and Laroche!!

No matter how good he looked in 26 IP, a 130 ERA+ is never likely, because it's not likely for anyone except Santana. You're expecting him to be one of the very best pitchers in the league immediately - not just good, but immediately one of the most dominating. I don't think that's realistic.