Wednesday, July 13, 2011

All-Star Reflections

So the All-Star game is now over and it would now appear that the AL domination over the NL is over. It doesn't help that some of the premier AL pitchers have moved to the NL (Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee), but it also doesn't help that a guy like Prince Fielder can launch a 3-run homerun on command. And that shortly after dropping a pop fly that seemed to hit off his wrist. But Fielder isn't there because of his spry cat-like defense he's there for his bat, and at the end of this season, he's a free agent. So here's the question: with the pitching market looking weak as ever, should the Yankees consider adding a permanent DH in Prince Fielder? Of course the cost will be enormous, but the the truth is, we may very well need to add offense to off set weaknesses in our rotation. Right now, Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia are major players in our rotation, and you simply can't rely on that for a second season. We have some promising young pitchers, but you have to give them time to develop and you have to give them run support. Then we need to consider the facts, A-Rod's health issues are indicative of a player who's aging and potentially declining. It happens. When healthy he should still produce, but can we really expect A-Rod to hit 40 homeruns and have 100 RBI's as he used to? However, Prince Fielder's a big guy, and a super long term contract, the kind the Yankees are known to give, may just be setting us up for similar problems down the road. But the question remains, do we acquire a bat like Fielder's to make up for what could potentially be a weak rotation next season?

4 comments:

joey said...

What do you think about getting CJ Wilson? CC, CJ, AJ, Hughes and Nova would be solid. Don't you think?

Rob B said...

What? Nothing about Cano's mad desire for power leading him to win the HR Derby? Just reflections on going after Prince Fielder? You guys are slipping.

Anonymous said...

Cano is just beginning to look like our next Alex, but the weakness in our rotation needs to be addressed somehow. I don't know about Fielder, but if CJ is available for next year, we must definitively go after him.

Rich Mahogany said...

I have a funny feeling that Fielder will not age gracefully. On a similar note, the Yankees will need the DH spot more and more to rest players as ARod and Jeter age. Imagine the problems we would have this year if Posada sat on the bench every day because a Fielder type had the DH spot.

Also, CC probably will opt out after this season, necessitating either giving him more money and years or giving a huge contract to another starter who will have great leverage over the Yankees. If Colon and Garcia manage to finish the season healthy and effective, they will want to get paid.

It's borderline miraculous that the rotation is as good as it is, considering that Colon and Garcia easily could have been injured all season and Burnett can go off the rails at any moment.

The team needs to put all its available money into pitching, whether to retain CC and bring in complementary pieces, or get frontline guys who can replace CC's production if he leaves.