MLB Nation

Swisher to Yankees Thoughts

madcrunk — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:12:15 +0000

The more and more I think about this trade the more I like it. At first I thought “…..ok fine whatever”. But now it almost seems perfect. I read in this one article that it removes the leverage that Teixeira would have on the Yankees and it would make it easier for the Angels to sign him.

The Yankees would go into negotiations already having a first-basemen in this scenario and would not need Teixeira’s services.

I know that doesn’t sound that great but the Yankees would have a lower profile first-basemen option as well as an OF’er. So now the Yankees can really focus on their rotation needs.

Ultimately this would end Giambi’s stay as a Yankee. But you probably figured that one out.

Personally though, of course I would rather have Teixeira and I still believe they’ll go after him because hey, these are the Yankees we’re talking about right?

——MLB Nation

Peavy, C.C., Lowe and Burnett (Is It Really All About the Benjamins?)

madcrunk — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:36:20 +0000

The Yankees already have their plans in mind, which may include going after C.C., Lowe and/or possibly Burnett.

Burnett seems like a chance to me, and I bet others would say the same. When he’s on, he can rival some of the best pitchers.

Now I know the Yankees need pitching but it seems that C.C. and Lowe do not actually want to be Yankees (and maybe throw A.J. in there). If thats the case then they would just more hired mercenaries. It seems to me that Peavy of the four mentioned would be the best suited for NY.

Peavy’s winning attitude fits directly into what the Yankees want from their players. I think the fans would like to see Peavy more just because of how competitive he is. The fans would probably want someone who wants to come to NY instead of someone who is coming for the money.

If it was just about the money I would like to think that the Yanks would go after Peavy instead of C.C.

We know that C.C. wants to win but we know that he would prefer to be a Brewer and he has said that if the money was equal he would stay.

How do I know that everyone isn’t coming just for the money? Well, I don’t. But some guys seem to hide it better than others. Heck for all I know Mariano could be staying just for the money. (NOT TRUE, just an example)

We’ll only know who they get when they get them, but I really think that C.C. will be a Yankee by the beginning of spring training. It would be hard to resist the amount of money they are going to shell out.

—–MLB Nation

Brett Gardner, Phil Coke, and His Minor League Buddies.

madcrunk — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:47:17 +0000

picture from: newyork.yankees.mlb.com

Man I love this guy. He’s your prototypical speedster. Watching him fly around the bases and run down fly balls is a thrill. Gardner does not take his playing time for granted and will hustle day in and day out. You will never see him be nonchalant, which tells me he’s paying attention. The fact that he already has a couple of walk-off hits already is icing on the cake for me. This guy can create runs with his speed on the base paths and distract the pitcher from his game plan.

– which can lead to runs if the pitcher pays too much attention to him and just leaves a beach ball in the middle of the zone–

The only question is that if he can hit, we know he’ll take his walks. He has a track record of starting slowly at every level in the minors but we have yet to see if what he displayed in September is the real Brett Gardner.

There have been rumors about Mike Cameron of the Brewers coming to the Yankees. Personally i believe this move would make little to no sense for two main reasons.

1. Cashman said he wants to get this team younger and more athetic
- Cameron is not young and isn’t getting younger
- his ability is diminishing

2. I’m sorry Mr. Jackson

Pic: web.minorleaguebaseball.com

- With Austin Jackson waiting in the wings, why not Melky and Brett battle it out in spring training and see what this kid has in 2010 or maybe even mid 09?

- Why bother signing a guy for a year when you have two options. Centerfield is a defensive position so carrying a guy hitting .200-.260 won’t hurt you, especially if you’re the New York Yankees.

3. Ok there are 3 reasons.
- starting pitching is a must for this team, if the Yanks want to get hitting go get Tex, dump him at first, and be happy

- If Hughes and Kennedy would have combined for maybe 4 wins maybe the season would not have ended the way it did. I’m all for Hughes being in the rotation however. I want these young guys to succeed so much.

____________________________________________________________________________

*Speaking of which, the silent stud, Phil Coke could possibly be a starter down the road. There isn’t much talk around Coke it seems, when i first saw him against Detroit i said to myself, “who is this guy and where in the world has he been all this time?”

I find it hard to believe that the Pirates passed up this guy in the trade for Nady, he must have had a bad outing or 2. This kid looks so dominant when he pitches. I don’t want to get ahead of myself because the next thing you know he could just get lit up every time. With that 0.61 era he’s sporting in 14.2 innings i’d like to see more.

I’ll take this Coke over Pepsi any day. (hilarious i know)

—–MLB Nation

15 Possible Rotations for 09

madcrunk — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:48:38 +0000

These are 15 possible starting rotations for your New York Yankees in 2009.

What I would want is labeled with an & and is in italics with bold.

What I think will happen is labeled with a $ and bolded.

I scaled these out of 10 with a reasoning

1 being the lowest 10 being the highest.

All of these are assuming that Mussina won’t retire, which for the Yankees, is not good considering he always takes the ball no matter what and you can always count on him for a 3 – 4.5 era and will log his innings.

#1.) 7.5

-C.C. (this is assuming he doesn’t stay with the Brewers)
-Wang
-Joba
-Moose
-Hughes

C.C most likely would like to stay in the NL after tearing it up and i believe he has publically admitted he would like to stay.

#2.) 7

-Wang
-Garland
-Joba
-Pettitte
-Hughes

Garland will probably resign with the Angels.

#3.) 5.7

-Wang
-Burnett
-Joba
-Mussina
-Hughes

Even assuming Moose won’t retire, Burnett likely (I believe) won’t opt out with the Jays. I don’t see why he would.

#4.) 4

-Wang
-Sheets
-Garland
-Pettitte
-Hughes

Sheets will probably on his way off the Brew Crew but will probably not sign with the Yanks

#5.) .0000009 (not sure why i bothered with this one)

-C.C.
-Peavy
-Wang
-Burnett
-Sheets

There goes the payroll. This would be an extreme case, 100% sure it won’t happen, its just a possible rotation don’t get worked up over it.

#6.) 7.4

-Wang
-Lowe
-Joba
-Pettitte
-Hughes

Lowe’s price will be high but knowing the Yankees it doesn’t matter.

#7.) 6.7

-Wang
-Lowe
-Sheets
-Pettitte
-Joba

Getting both Lowe and Sheets is a stretch to say the least.

#8.) 6.8

-Wang
-Dempster
-Moose
-Joba
-Pettitte

Dempster will probably not sign with the Yanks and Moose is still undecided.

#9.) 5

-Wang
-Pettitte
-Perez (Oliver)
-Joba
-Byrd

I feel Perez will resign with the Mets and Byrd will end up with an NL club.

#10.) 3

-Wang
-Pettitte
-Joba
-Fogg
-Hughes

Looking to upgrade the rotation i don’t see them going for Fogg and leaving a lot of ? marks.

#11.) 8.5*$

-C.C.
-Wang
-Joba
-Pettitte
-Hughes

Again this is assuming C.C. is not a Brewer, he would be looking to compete and the Yankees will probably throw the bank at him if he would come.

#12.) 3*&

-Peavy
-Wang
-Joba
-Pettitte
-Hughes

I love Peavy, he is such a competitor and fierce beyond belief. Problem is, this most likely won’t happen. Peavy has already stated he would like to stay in the NL even though he has a select few teams he would consider waive his no-trade deal for. The Yankees most likely will not empty their farm system too much and would almost have to give up Hughes so thats why i put this a 3. I would really like to see this rotation in 09.

#13.) 5.6

-Wang
-Burnett
-Joba
-Pettitte
-Wolf

I could see this as a possibility in 09 but don’t bet on it.

#14.) 7.6

-Wang
-Penny
-Joba
-Pettitte
-Hughes

I’m not entirely comfortable with giving this a 7.6. I’m not sure if the Dodger’s want him back but, nonetheless he is a great pitcher when he’s on.

#15.) 4.5

-Wang
-Garland
-Moose
-Pettitte
-Joba

It seems like the Yankees are going to take one of the two between Moose and Pettitte. I would love for Moose to come back but i just don’t see it happening, i hope i’m wrong.

—-MLB Nation

Prosportsdaily.com | Mlbtraderumors.com

madcrunk — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:39:33 +0000

Anyone looking forward to offseason moves, rumors and such should check out these two sites.

Prosportsdaily.com

- has more than just mlb rumors

Mlbtraderumors.com

- has free agents to be in 09

—–MLB Nation

My Pledge to You.

madcrunk — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:10:37 +0000

Of course this blog will be focused on the Yankees with things like, offseason moves, “that game last night” and all that good stuff. But i will TRY to offer more than that, I will offer more than just one perspective.

Heres my checklist

—-listen to both sides (check)

—-be as unbiased as i can (check)

—-believe that anything can happen (check)

—-throw the numbers away in the postseason (check)

—–MLB Nation

Fan of the ‘Game’

madcrunk — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:44:12 +0000

Yes, i am a Yankee Fan. More importantly a baseball fan. I became a fan of the Evil Empire in 2001. Yeah thats right 2001, I never watched the Yankees win a championship but i am fortunate enough to have watched them go to the World Series in 01 and 03.

It sounds like I’m a bandwagon fan but honestly I’m not. My dad first took me to a game in 01 against Baltimore. Being only 11 at the time i didn’t really understand what was so special about the game, I’ve always like playing it but watching it was something very difficult. If my dad were to have taken me to a Mets game I would probably a livid Mets fan right now with the past two seasons.

Being only 18 i’ve only seen success and playoff runs but now that the Yanks have been falling flat on their faces the past couple years really turned me into a true fan of the game. I used to just watch the Yankees and thats it. I used to feel like during the playoffs ”hey the yankees aren’t in it (ALCS/WS), what do i care?”

There’s nothing better than being unbiased or very very close to that. It allows you to soak up all the goodness MLB has to offer. Of course I’m going to be a little biased towards the Yankees but thats expected, but if there is a valid point to be made I’ll listen to it and offer a response. I usually find myself arguing both sides of a point and seems like i argue with myelf most of the time.

—–MLB Nation