I would like to see the Yanks make a run at a couple of these names:
BJ Ryan (probably would have to over pay and looking to close)
Billy Wagner (again, probably looking to close)
Octavio Dotel
Kyle Farnsworth
Ricardo Rincon (need a consistent lefty in the pen)
Shigetosi Hasegawa (has to be better than Quantrill)
as for starters...Millwood had a good year last year and I think AJ Burnett is on everyone's list...but I would like to stay away from these NL guys who don't have to fact the DH.
I would be shocked if we looked at a starting pitcher unless we trade Pavano. Right now, not even including Small, we have six starters. I don't think Wagner would come in either event but I think Ryan is a possibility. Dotel may be interested, but he may want a role where he enters as the primary set-up man with a chance to close (on a team with a closer that isn't a lock).
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I don't think the Yankees need starting pitching. Small will work in long relief, and any two from Farnsworth, Ryan, Gordon, or Wagner would be more than enough. We'll probably resign Sturtze, and after resting in the off-season, we could potentially have a lights out bullpen from the 7th inning on. The Yankees are also reportedly interested in Sauerbeck, and rightfully so--he would be a great LOOGY addition (his numbers aren't impressive, but that's because the Indians used him against righties...)
Sauerbeck just resigned with the Indains for 2006 plus an option for 2007.Originally Posted by conkermaniac
Second place only means you're first loser. Go ANSKY!! 23-2-21-42
Ryan is a must, as far as Dotel goes I would really like to see him offered a Lieber type deal as many members of this forum have discussed already, I also would like to see Farnsworth on this team even though he has had problems with in consistancy.
The loser now will be later to win...
I don't think we'll see all 3, but I agree with your idea of Ryan and the "Lieber" deal for Dotel. He was great as a set up guy in Houston so maybe closing isn't for him. If all worked out well long term Ryan could succeed Mo and Dotel become the 8th inning guy.
Second place only means you're first loser. Go ANSKY!! 23-2-21-42
Again, if the Yankees already have 9 pitchers and you sign Dotel in addition to 2 other relievers, who gets bumped? Does someone get traded? Does Wang get sent down? Does Sturtze not get his option picked up (don't they have to make a decision that fairly soon)? Do you make the mistake of carrying 12 pitchers again and having guys rot on the end of the dugout bench? And if you don't do those things, why would Dotel bother to sign with the Yankees when he isn't gaurenteed a spot?
Unlees we make trades involving our starters for OF, I don't see the Yankees chasing SP.
They'll probably have meetings with Millwood and Burnett to try to drive their prices up, but that will probably be it.
In the other hand, we need to rebuilt a pen (IIRC, from last year on the opening roster we lost Karsay, F-Rod, Stanton, Q and proabably Gordon) and giving that we don't have MLB ready talent on the majors (maybe Cox or Henn) expect at least 3-4 new arms for 2006.
Other than B.J. Ryan, who should be priority number one, I think the Yankees should wait to see how the arbitration offers pan out, who requires draft pick compensation, etc.
I think Cashman has to try as much as possible to recreate the bullpen structure where Rivera closed, Stanton/Nelson were his lefty/righty workhorses and Mendoza pitched an inning or so earlier as needed. This is the only way Torre knows how to manage so give him what it takes.
Ryan/Farnsworth would be a nice combo with more k's than Stanton/Nelson and Sturtze could settle in to the longer outing/fewer appearances role, keeping him fresher.
The key for the bullpen is that every member is someone Torre will use. Guys like Proctor, Franklin, FRod gather dust until its too late and then get used everyday, making things worse. If Aaron Small is around he'll be a guy Torre feels compelled to use, which will help space out the innings.
Agreed, unless starters get traded, the Yankees lack the roster flexibility go start signing big name starters. Once they pick up a RH setup guy and a LH setup guy, they have 11 pitchers on the ML roster (Johnson, Mussina, Pavano, Wright, Chacon, Wang, Small, Rivera, RH Setup, LH Setup, Sturtze). That doesn't leave room for giving a limited role to Dotel and seeing how he feels. It doesn't leave room for signing a big name starter. Now, that might not be the ideal 11 pitchers, but they are the ones the Yankees have under contract and there isn't much that can be done about it unless you start trading them or releasing them (well, I guess you could send Wang to AAA).
BJ Ryan is atleast one of two missing puzzle pieces and the key to the success or lack thereof of the Yankees off season i'd say.
"Shut up you guys (1933 Pittsburg Pirates) or I'll put on a Yankee uniform and scare the sh** out of you." - Waite Hoyt
After Matsui is signed:
This whole offseason centers around getting BJ Ryan. His ability to help this team cannot be matched by any other free agent. I would like Farnsworth as well, and re-signing Sturtze would be good.
No starters are needed, or wanted. The options do not seem appealing, and we already have 7 starters under our control. No need for another. BJ Ryan must be had for this team to really be a monstrous threat in the late innings.
While I agree that getting a starter comes behind the CF and bullpen needs, I am not as optimistic as most people, including Cashman and Torre; that starting pitching is "all set". I saw so little out of Pavano and Wright this year that its absurd to think they are going to help us next year, in my opinion Aaron Small overachieved all season, Moose, Randy, and Wang are all injury risks (especially Moose and Randy), and Chacon is a wild card as well. Yes, we have a handful of good starting arms, we hardly have a dependable starting core of pitchers that can be trusted from April to October. On a better note, I just realized its November and April is not that far off.
You can't really add starters without subtracting - how do you get starters that are more dependable? I think pitching is so unpredictable that making any moves now is likely to be counterproductive. If anything all the new faces from last year will benefit from a year in NY. Acclimating another crop of guys that might or might not be better just creates more uncertainty.
It is undertsood that the guys the Yankees have have question marks. The problem is, the only way you can really address those question marks without trading or releasing the players currently on the roster (or sending Wang down) is by acquiring AAA depth. AAA depth is great to have, but it's not like you're going to sign a potential Cy Young winner to sit in AAA for a split contract.
In other words, sure, Jaret Wright is a question mark, but he's a question mark with a major league contract. It is very difficult to attract a quality free agent pitcher without having an open spot on the ML roster.
Bullpen. Bullpen. Bullpen.
Our starting pitching is fine imo although I wouldn't mind if we traded Pavano for a CF and replaced him with Washburn. I always did like 2 LHP in the starting rotation. Anyway, Ryan is a must get. A viable 7th inning guy is a must as well. Farnsworth (expensive), Looper, Tavares, Hasegawa, Dotel are some of the guys who could possibly do a solid job for the Yankees. Sturze would be solid for the 6th inning and long relief. As for Gordon, unless he is overpaid I don't see him taking a back burner to Ryan so if we get Ryan, he is gone.
"If you are falling off a cliff, you might as well try to fly"....JS
[QUOTE=junkman73]
BJ Ryan -- Obviously the Yankees need a setup man, Ryan is my first choice
Billy Wagner -- The other choice for the setup man
Octavio Dotel -- Coming off big-time surgery, no thanks
Kyle Farnsworth -- Ugh. See other thread
Ricardo Rincon -- Totally agree. Yankees should have two lefties in the pen, one as the setup man, Rincon as the specialist
Shigetosi Hasegawa -- Had one great year, not much other than that. Pass
The Yankees already have too many starters -- six, even seven if you count Small. In order to pick someone up, they'd have to trade at least one guy on the current roster; I don't know who the odd man out is, and there's really no FA really worth having.
Depending on which teams sign which players there are a lot of different scenarios but I'd like the Yankees to let Gordon sign elsewhere and take the picks. Even if they sign a free agent reliever to replace him they would still get an extra sandwich pick (and could move up in the round like with Lieber last year).
Also, signing guys like B.J. Ryan and possibly Farnsworth make more sense than Gordon right now because they'll still be young enough at the end of their deals to be good enough to get another deal, increasing the odds of draft picks.
Yankee free agents at the end of their contracts tend to be so old and expensive (Bernie, Kevin Brown, Mussina next year) that they can never recoup the picks lost when they signed them (like Boston will do this year with Damon).
I agree w/ everything except the part about Farnsworth.
"It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protestor to burn the flag."
Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, Lt. Col., USMC
Burnett offered 5/50 million by the Blue Jays. Muliple teams in the mix.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/column...rry&id=2227230
He'll probably end up make 11-12mil per year for 5 years. But Toronto seems to want it done ... that's a heck of a first offer.
Millwood was in Cleveland.
what about Ray King?
He was solid lefty specialist....better than Ron Villone
SoxSucks!!
"It was a blessing."
-Roger Clemens, in regards to leaving the Red Sox
not a free agent
Anyone think of Julian Tavarez from STL? Sure he's a little weird looking and his numbers won't blow you away, but at least when I've watched him in the playoffs the past couple years he's seemed to do a pretty good job. If he's cheap he might not be a bad option for middle relief.
I've been clamoring for him since the off-season. He would be a nice addition, along witn Rincon. Promote Smith and you are done.
Small, Sturtze, Smith, Rincon, Taveras, Mo.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5116520The Phillies have emerged as the most aggressive suitor for free-agent reliever Tom Gordon, viewing him as a potential closer if Billy Wagner departs or as a setup man if Wagner returns, FOXSports.com has learned.
~John
No. Please. No.
Here's to you, Mr. Robinson. Jesus loves you more than you Cano.
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Why not?
But Ray King made some problems w/ LaRussa
Cardinals may trade him.
SoxSucks!!
"It was a blessing."
-Roger Clemens, in regards to leaving the Red Sox
So much for Ryan...
"And I wonder, when I sing along with you. If everything
could ever feel this real forever. If anything could ever be this good again."
I want someone like the Phillies to grab Gordon, because then we're guaranteed a first rounder. We can sign whoever we want quite safely.
I agree. 21 is high enough, plus we get a supplemental pick. That works for me.
the yanks will still get a very good prospect at 21. there'll probably be a very good boras client that should go higher, but his monetary demands drop him into the yanks lap
Jesse Barfield was a great Yankee!
Either way we're getting a good draft pick no matter what picks we give away
^true. But perhaps we can convince him to take less to play for a possible championship team
how can it be a championship team? they can not even guarantee him a future major league spot.
Hey Joey Eischen is available. That guy is nasty against lefties, he doesn't solve the set-up question but we'll likely give that to Farnsworth anyway.
Joba!!! Joba!!! Joba!!!
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/13327919.htmThe Sox might have to trade Damaso Marte. Plenty of teams are interested, from Colorado to the New York Yankees, because of his flashes of greatness. But Marte had a 5.49 earned-run average in 34 home appearances last season. Many Sox observers believe Marte hasn't been the same pitcher since receiving a three-year contract before the 2004 season.
Last season was a luxury for the Sox, with two talented left-handers in the bullpen in Neal Cotts and Marte. But the Sox could try to move Marte and his $2.25 million salary, sign a left-handed specialist (Mike Myers is available) and apply the rest of Marte's money elsewhere.
At the same time, an effective Marte could be essential against left-handed hitters such as Cleveland's Travis Hafner and Minnesota's Joe Mauer.
~John
The last 3 years he has held lefties to .188 BA.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/player...ching3&three=1
Hes good, I'd take him in a heartbeat if it was a salary dump thing...
Calmer than you are.
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=...Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2However, "we've got to surround Kyle with a lot more,'' Cashman said. "I'd just like to improve our pen ... and to feel good that we have a legitimate chance going forward to compete in the AL East and beyond.''
Rivera has won back-to-back Rolaids Relief Man awards as the top-rated AL closer, but the Yanks need to be deeper and more diverse. Primarily, they require a situational lefty who can face the opposition's big lefty hitter in a key seventh- or eighth-inning spot.
A trio of 35-year-old free agent left-handers have attracted the Yankees' attention: Mike Myers, Ricardo Rincon and Joey Eischen.
Over the past three seasons, Myers held lefties to a .208 batting average (.278 on-base percentage). Rincon has kept lefties to a .217 mark (.276 OBP) during that same period, while lefties are batting .242 (.308 OBP) against Eischen.
But in the past three seasons, Eischen has the better strikeout-to-walk ratio (87 K, 40 BB), compared with Rincon (107-74) and Myers (74-57).
The Yankees also are keeping tabs on right-hander Julian Tavarez, 32, another Boras client. Failing the addition of another impact right-handed reliever, Jaret Wright, who has two years left on his contract, is a candidate to join a bullpen that includes Tanyon Sturtze and Aaron Small.
~John
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