Lots of interesting stuff happening today. We'll cover them in individual posts. First up... Yankees Pitch A.J. - N.Y. Post I would not approve letting go of Betances, especially in a deal like this.
Yankees Win Negotiating Rights for Japan’s Hiroyuki Nakajima - NBC Sports Hiroyuki Nakajima Bio - Baseball-Reference.com
A couple of free agent pitchers the Yanks were looking at have signed elsewhere... --C.J. Wilson to the Angels for 5 years, $75 million. --Mark Buehrle to the Marlins for 4 years, $58 million.
Another couple of pitchers the Yankees discussed are out of the picture now... --John Danks signed a contract extension with the White Sox for 5 years, $65 million. --Gio Gonzalez was traded by the A's to the Nationals for 4 players. Plus, Carlos Beltran was signed by the Cardinals for 2 years, $26 million.
We can't sign any big free agents because a) There aren't any good ones left and b) we possibly don't have a lot of money to spend. (wow!!!). We can't trade for anybody worthwhile because now everyone and their dog knows to ask for Montero and The Killer B's in the package. Cash can't let them go now, especially Montero. He would get crucified for saying NO all those times and dealing him now when he's about to break out. I think we're in transition now, we'll aim for the playoffs and then we'll fizzle out or take our chances and maybe get to the series if luck's on our side. The problem with that is that there are still many many years to go on the contracts of poeple like Alex and Tex and a few left on Jeter, AJ and the other dudes who are bringing us down. How are they gonna manage it. They can't strip and start over and they can't add a more payroll. What can Cash do? I think we're mailing this one in (again). What do you say riverplate? Maybe 2013, if we're all still around.
I'm not alarmed in the least. I'd be truly concerned if we had made some dumb deals for non-stars and gave our kids away. I'm thrilled we sat on our hands this off-season and didn't make moves. No one was realistically available at a reasonable price who could be counted on to improve the team we now have, especially in the pitching department. One of the reasons I believe Brian Cashman decided to sign up for another three years is he wants to stay around to witness his handiwork -- these kids he was responsible for drafting -- fully develop for us and come into their own. I know our roster has a feel of being held together by spit and gum, containing guys who don't look formidable and not of championship calibre. However, we ended up with the best record in the American League last season with almost this same team. If the bats simply hadn't died in the ALDS. I remember reading an article about Nick Swisher watching the World Series and feeling sick because he knew the Yankees could have kicked the Cards asses if they had made the WS. Anyway, if just a few of our youngsters manage to bloom in 2012, I think we could be looking at a pretty awesome club and our attitude about the roster will change. The likes of Jeter and A-Rod aren't exactly hobbling around on canes yet. Mark Teixeira is the "everyday player" equivalent of Mike Mussina -- a guy who should dominate and be a true star but just can't seem to kick it up to that level. However, there's no way would I look to move him. A.J. Burnett is a mental case, but stays healthy and is out there every fifth day. Our strong bullpen will manage to survive his erratic starts. Nobody's taking AJ off our hands and I guess he's now essentially a stopgap giving our kids time to grow up. We'll just have to deal with it. And contrary to what some may think, he's not the absolute horror show that Whitson, Irabu, Brown, Rogers and Pavano were for us. Those bums were totally useless. One thing that troubles me is I believe Mariano is serious when he hints that 2012 may be the end of the road. Enjoy him while he's around. It would be great for Mo to go out a winner. And I'm interested to see a full season with a healthy Soriano out there in the pen. Concerning the Yankees spending as much money as they have in the past, they're still fully capable of shelling out the big bucks but it's apparently a matter of the terms in the new collective bargaining agreement that has given them a little pause. It's instructive to read this article to understand how the Yankees are thinking about their future payroll. It's from a month ago, but it sorts out the issues involved... Yankees Aim to Trim Payroll by 2014 to Escape Luxury Penalties - Joel Sherman, N.Y. Post
Great piece on Jorge Posada... As Jorge Posada Rumors Begin, Stomachs Should Start To Turn - Bleacher Report
Another pitcher whose name has been linked occasionally with the Yankees has gone someplace else... --Carlos Zambrano traded by the Cubs to the Marlins. Also, Joe Torre quit as Executive VP for Baseball Operations at MLB to pursue an ownership opportunity of the Los Angeles Dodgers.