The Yankees have requested the medical reports on Freddy Garcia. He went 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA for the White Sox last season. The Mets are also interested. Ex Yankee news... -Melky Cabrera has been signed by the Royals for one year. -Austin Kearns has returned to the Indians on a 1-year deal. From the Associated Press:
Yankees, Damon Discuss Bronx Return - N.Y. Post I'd love to see Johnny back. He shouldn't obsess about the at-bats. Because of injuries and slumps, they'll come. I think he would see plenty of playing time.
I think there are some in the organization who believe the Yankees must build a highly explosive lineup to compensate for the weak pitching situation caused by Lee (and probaby Pettitte) not being around. They also feel A-Rod is slipping and Jeter has seen better days. Rolling the dice on Ramirez may be considered worth the gamble, if one buys that argument.
A lefty with NYC experience and a 3.31 ERA, sounds like Feliciano is a pretty good pick-up for the bullpen.
Apparently they've re-considered. Latest reports are that the Yanks have, pending a physical, signed Soriano to a 3-year deal for 35 million.
Any move that improves our team even slightly is more than welcome at this point in time. Soriano is a trouble maker though and i don't know who has put their hands up and said, "i'll handle him". Good luck to them. As far as the money is concerned, i couldn't care less. Bull pen looks decent ON PAPER. Rotation is really weak. How can we possibly challenge with what we got now when other teams are gonna throw Lackey, Beckett and the rest at us. Our season right now depends on a lot of players doing better than expected. AJ is the biggest question mark but he isn't the only one. How will Jete perform? Can he improve? How will Mo' stand up to yet another year? Who is the hell is our starting catcher? How will Posada perform as DH? How will CC come off his surgery? What is Joba's role? Will AJ be worse than shit, again? These are all legitimate questions and i haven't even asked other ones like, How will Hughes handle a full year of pitching? Can A Rod get better? So on.... and so on........
Preparing for a future without Mo. Details of the contract... Yankees Add Soriano to Bullpen with Creative 3-Year Deal - N.Y. Post I think they may try to move Joba back to starting, despite what Cash may be saying at this time. Meanwhile... Jeter Wants Jump on Spring Training - N.Y. Post
No Yanks Rift Over Soriano Signing - N.Y. Post This is baloney. So the Steinbrenners told Cash to work out a deal for Soriano? Like this didn't happen all the time when Boss George was in charge? This move actually gives the Yankees and Joe Girardi more options than they previously had. Right off the bat, Joba is available to become a starter again or can be traded without leaving a huge hole in the bullpen. As far as Rafael Soriano's reputation for being a jerk is concerned, the Yanks probably figure that the professionalism in the clubhouse and hanging around with the likes of Mariano out in the pen will keep Soriano respectful of the team and he'll concentrate on his work and not become a pain in the ass. Let's face it, they had to make some kind of move and the "Cliff Lee money" was available to do it. Meanwhile, Soriano leaves the Rays. But hey, they already got a replacement... Kyle Farnsworth!!!??? Are the Rays serious or just totally desperate.
What's the furure for Joba? Personally, I'm hoping Rothschild can work with him and make him a reliable middle reliever. But if the opportunity comes for the Yankees to package Joba up for a good starter, I don't see how they can pass on it given their current starting rotation issues. BTW, and sorry if this was already posted here, but it looks like Rothschild's entire interview was based on an 8 hour long AJ Burnett tape session. I doubt that's all they talked about, but still it's interesting that the Yankees are apparently convinced that Burnett can be effective again.
?'s answered IMHO. 1) Jeter will be fine. He had a down year 2 or 3 years ago and bounced back well and I believe he has one more rebound remaining before he is over the hill. 2) Mo is clearly not human, so no problemo here. 3) Montero early until we have to package him and Joba in order to get starting pitching help. 4) Switch hitting Jorge, without the wear and tear of cathching, should be a little better than last season but he has clearly lost some bat speed the last couple of years. Cashman may pick up another bat somewhere along the line just in case. 5) If CC isn't good to go the whole house of cards falls. 6) Joe has to put Joba in situations where he can excel to keep his trade value high, which means Joba will probably not be put back into a starting role unless he is still on the team after the trade deadline. 7) AJ needs some positive starts early in the season to regain his mojo, as thin as they are with starters, a lot rides on AJ's shoulders this year. 8) Hughes will rarely go through a full year without injury because he throws like a shortstop instead of a pitcher, so expect a month or two off per season for him. 9) I think if Tex is better, Arod will be better. Opposing teams have to pitch to somebody. Loading up the bullpen is a must for the weak starting rotation but the Bronx Bombers will have to live up to that nickname to remain in the pennant race this season.
The Yankees avoided arbitration and have officially signed deals with the following pitchers: --Phil Hughes for 1-year / $2.7 million. --Joba Chamberlain for 1-year / $1.4 million. --Boone Logan for 1-year / $1.2 million. The Yanks seem to be on the verge of signing Andruw Jones. Ex-yankee news: --Marcus Thames has signed with the Dodgers. --Jason Giambi has signed with the Rockies.
Yankees Considered Bringing Back Bust Pavano - N.Y. Post Yankees GM Didn't Want to Pay Soriano Like a Closer - N.Y. Post Is Brian Cashman serious? He would have re-signed Carl Pavano but didn't want Rafael Soriano? Is his head up his butt or what? And I find it very interesting that Cashman wasn't involved in the Soriano deal. I guess the Steinbrenner's decided it was better to shut him out.
Andruw Jones is now a Yankee. I like this acquisition a lot. Yankees, Jones Agree on 1-year Deal - N.Y. Post
Well, he definitely has the rep of being a great defensive outfielder and can play all three spots. Should be a great asset to protect a lead. Maybe he can summon up his 90s form and get some clutch hits for us too. It's been so long since I've seen Jones even play I had to go to MLB.com and look up his stats. I never would have guessed that he hit 51 homers in 2005!
Some news about our former rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays... Let's face it, the East is back to a battle between only the Yanks and the Red Sox this year.
Jete to CF before the end of his new deal? I wouldn't mind seeing that as long as his replacement at SS was a clear upgrade. I don't know if Jeter would have the wheels for it in two years or so, though. People talk about his range at SS now, but if you're going to put him out in CF you better have fast players in right and left to cover.
