The Yankees have made a handful of moves already, and addressed some needs, but no one truly beleives the Yankees are finished dealing. Signing Pettitte got us back our front 3, and the Granderson trade got us back some power that we had lost from Damon and Matsui's free agency. Even acquiring Hoffman adds depth to the outfield, and a solid bat against left handed batters. But there some areas that can use improvement, and here are some of the obvious ones:
Rotation: Though the Yankees have their front 3 set, the last 2 are a little shaky. Joba and Hughes would likely fill those roles now, and Hughes has serious innings limits while Joba was a little less than inspiring in that role last season. Though we have some servicable backups who can give us a start in a pinch, I don't think any of us feel that Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre, or Alfredo Aceves should be in the rotation permanently.
Bullpen: If the Yankees do not add another starter, its likely that both Joba and Hughes will be in the rotation. That eliminates two prominent bullpen options. We also traded away Brian Bruney and Phil Coke, and lost some decent minor league options in the rule 5 draft with Zach Kroenke and Kanekoa Texeira being selected. That being said, we do have options, but it wouldn't be a terrible idea to try and pick up a couple cheap releivers just to have depth. It may also serve to trade some our weaker bullpen pieces (Albaladejo and Ramirez for example) who may have more success outside of the AL.
Offense: With Damon and Matsui becoming free agents, it marks a combined production loss of 52 homeruns and 172 RBI's. Granderson was a solid addition to the offense, but it wouldn't hurt to try to add another bat. The combination of Jeter and Damon as the 1-2 hitters was very succesful last season, and if we had to choose one, Damon should be it. I happen to agree with Boras that Granderson would not be a good number 2 hitter. Too many strikeouts for that. If they do not bring back Damon, Swisher would be a better number 2 guy.
If the Yankees are serious about lowering payroll, and they do not plan on trading anyone with a prominent contract, then they are somewhat limited in their options. If they are not serious about lowering payroll, then Halladay and Damon would both be solid additions. Are there any other needs you think the Yankees should address?
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7 comments:
pfffftttt, none of that matters, since the red sox clearly have the power now with Boof Bonser and Max Ramirez.
I was so pissed off yesterday because I was listening to EEI and the producer came on and went "the red sox just made a move", and the host goes "is it big?", the producer says "yes", so they said they would announce it after the break. I wait the five minutes for commercials, follwed by them spending another five minutes talking about barry bonds son. Finally the hose goes "ok, now for the big announcement, drumroll please.......the red sox, have acquired, starting pitcher.........Boof Bonser!". After this my coworker, who is an Orioles fan, just starts busting out laughing as I'm going "OH COME ON! WTF IS THAT?!?!?!"
Oh well, hopefully they do something more meaningful like trade for the King or Adrian Gonzalez.
That Granderson pickup is going to be huge for the yankees. If Jonny Damon can hit 20+ HR in that stadium*, I'm sure Granderson can hit 40+ you heard it here first
*by stadium, I mean bandbox.
The Red Sox have intrigued me this off-season as they seem to have no real urgency for next year. They'll probably sign Bay, though even that isn't promised with the Mets in the race (laughing on the inside). Reports are that they have faded away in the Halladay discussion, being unwilling to trade Buchholz or Kelly (though I suspect that they know what we don't, the yanks aren't interested so they aren't going to sell the farm either).
I suspect that besides a Bay (or alternatively a Holliday, neither move making the Sox better than they were last year) that Theo may be looking to 2011, especially when he's been talking about "bridging." Weird, but Theo built two World Series champs by not feeling like he had to win it every year.
yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I have no problem with them going through a transition year, I'll still watch the games, as long as it pays off in the end. Its nice to have a team that looks towards the future, and not just goes for winning right now (hello early 90's yankees teams. Yeah, I was living in NY at the time and I still remember Hensely Muelens and Kevin Mass in the lineup, along with a little known player: Bernie Williams.) Guess that worked out in the end....nevermind, bad example.
Well, the Red Sox did go through a transition year in 2006 and then won it all in 2007. Theo Epstein is no fool, though the Sox need to spend more of that money they have. They flash it every now and again (ie. Matsuzaka, and Nancy Drew's mystery book collection), but by and large they try to hide it.
Little known fact, their offices aren't in Boston, but in the Bahamas where they hide their money. No one told them they're just supposed to hide it from the IRS, not free agents.
right field and left field are the only positions now where we dont have an all-star caliber starter. and still most of the fans on the boards i read are not satisfied. my fear is that another embarrassment of riches will eventually force the league to change the rules and ruin the good thing we got going. how about we "suffer" with melky in left?
I actually don't think its a bad idea, but you could do both. You can have Damon spend more time at DH while Melky plays left field.
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