Both the Post and Fox Sports are reporting a supposed three-way, blockbuster trade between the Tigers, Yankees, and Diamondbacks. Looking at it from only the Yankees perspective, the trade would consist of receiving Curtis Granderson and a couple prospects in exchange for Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, and Michael Dunn (a left-handed reliever).
Supposedly one of the teams is not playing ball. Hmm, I wonder which. Why would the Yankees trade a the guy who is supposedly their very cheap future in center field, a cheap left-handed reliever who, though inconsistent at times, has had success in the Majors, and another left-handed reliever for a good center-fielder who doesn't hit for much average, has power, but strikes out a lot. Would you give up all that for a more athletic Jason Giambi? I wouldn't. Honestly, I'm not surprised to read that it's the Diamondbacks who are really pushing this trade, though the Tigers would get a pretty nice crop themselves. The trade seems least beneficial for the Yankees, especially considering the prospects would be coming from the D-Backs. Nothing against Arizona, but we just traded the only D-Back who ever did anything for us at the Major League level and the other guys we picked up when we traded for Randy Johnson haven't exactly lit the world on fire.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Good Stuff From Fox Sports
Click here for some live updates on the progress at the Winter Meetings. Of most relevance to the Yankees are the report that the Tigers are close to completing a trade for Jackson to an unknown team, and that the Angels have entered the bidding for Jason Bay. If Boston can't lock down Bay, their offense starts to look pretty shakey for next year, even with the addition of Marco Scutaro.
Brian Bruney Traded to Nationals
Joel Sherman from the New York Post is reporting that Brian Bruney is being traded for a player to be named later. Of course, it was reported through his twitter account. Its a smart move in that Brian Bruney was eligible for arbitration, was going to get a raise, and already made $1.25 million this last year. For a releiver, he was going to start getting expensive. Then there's the fact that he didn't pitch great after his injury.
This does make it seem like the Yankees are trying to cut payroll which is their stated goal. Player-to-be-named-later deals tend to be all about getting rid of a guy. That's why they don't bother to actually work out a trade.
Allegedly, Andy Pettitte turned down a deal in the $10 million range. I have a feeling this is going to be another drawn out negotiation. They should just guarantee him $12 million and be done with it. Unless he wants the $16 million he made two seasons ago in which case he's over projecting his value again.
This does make it seem like the Yankees are trying to cut payroll which is their stated goal. Player-to-be-named-later deals tend to be all about getting rid of a guy. That's why they don't bother to actually work out a trade.
Allegedly, Andy Pettitte turned down a deal in the $10 million range. I have a feeling this is going to be another drawn out negotiation. They should just guarantee him $12 million and be done with it. Unless he wants the $16 million he made two seasons ago in which case he's over projecting his value again.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Since It's Slow Right Now . . .
This Daily News feature is a collection of 'Sport' most Gruesome Injuries.' There are some doozies.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Balance of AL East Shifts to Red Sox
Coming off their 27th World Championship, it looked like the New York Yankees would be favorites to win the AL East next season, however, the Red Sox have put a road block in the Yankees hopes by signing the game changer, Marco Scutaro. Scutaro had a monster year for Toronto batting in out-of-this-world .282 with 12 homeruns and 60 RBI's. With Scutaro joining the Red Sox, Pedroia no longer has to worry about moving to short. Scutaro is a known winner, having played for such powerhouse teams as the Mets, Athletics, and Blue Jays. Now that he's with Boston, the Red Sox have secured their position as contenders.
"We've been planing this move since last spring." Explained Boston GM Theo Epstein. "We knew Scutaro would be a free agent this year, and we started saving up money. We put out tip cups at our stadium vendors that said 'Please Donate to the Sign Scutaro Foundation', we knew this opportunity was too good to let slip by. Now that we've signed him, I can feel the Yankees trembling. Derek Jeter needs to know that we've now brought the best shortstop in the game to the AL East."
When explained that Scutaro was already in the AL East last season with Toronto, Epstein lashed out.
"You tell Derek Jeter that Scutaro's with us now! You tell him and see how he reacts! We're winning the AL East this year!"
When told that Scutaro would be playing for Boston next season, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter became thoughtful:
"Who?"
When told that he was the shortstop for the Blue Jays, Jeter replied:
"Alex Gonzalez?"
When told that Alex Gonzalez hasn't been the Blue Jays shortstop since 2000, Jeter replied:
"Manuel Lee?"
When told that Manuel Lee was the Blue Jays shortstop in 1992, Jeter replied:
"Good year. I got drafted."
So there you have it. Derek Jeter was drafted in '92, and the Red Sox hold the balance of power in the AL East.
"We've been planing this move since last spring." Explained Boston GM Theo Epstein. "We knew Scutaro would be a free agent this year, and we started saving up money. We put out tip cups at our stadium vendors that said 'Please Donate to the Sign Scutaro Foundation', we knew this opportunity was too good to let slip by. Now that we've signed him, I can feel the Yankees trembling. Derek Jeter needs to know that we've now brought the best shortstop in the game to the AL East."
When explained that Scutaro was already in the AL East last season with Toronto, Epstein lashed out.
"You tell Derek Jeter that Scutaro's with us now! You tell him and see how he reacts! We're winning the AL East this year!"
When told that Scutaro would be playing for Boston next season, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter became thoughtful:
"Who?"
When told that he was the shortstop for the Blue Jays, Jeter replied:
"Alex Gonzalez?"
When told that Alex Gonzalez hasn't been the Blue Jays shortstop since 2000, Jeter replied:
"Manuel Lee?"
When told that Manuel Lee was the Blue Jays shortstop in 1992, Jeter replied:
"Good year. I got drafted."
So there you have it. Derek Jeter was drafted in '92, and the Red Sox hold the balance of power in the AL East.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Organizational Meetings Disrupted by RJG
With the Yankees finally sitting down to find out what their budget for next year looks like, we thought it would be a good time to call our good friend Brian Cashman and offer him our advice on the upcoming Winter Meetings, potential free agents and trade prospects. As always, he was gracious with his time. Below is a transcript of our conversation.
BC: [Whispering] Hello?
RJG: [singing loudly] Bronny the magic dragon, lived by the sea . . .
BC: [still whispering] Keep it down, I'm in a meeting right now.
RJG: [still singing] Why'd you answer then?
BC: [still whispering] Lonn Trost is giving some bullsh*t presentation on how we should air-condition the legends seats in order to sell more of them at full price.
RJG: Oh come on, Bronny, you know Lonn can't hear anything over the sound of his own voice.
BC: [no longer whispering] You're right. This may be a while and it's boring as hell, what's up?
RJG: Just wondering what next year's payroll is looking like and whe. . .
BC: Hal is right here, ask him. Hey Hal, phone call.
Hal: Hello?
RJG: Um, hello Hal. So, what's the payroll? Should you be on the phone right now?
Hal: Yeah, Lonn's explaining the benefits of gold-plating the Legends Seats. The budget will be determined shortly. We'd like to drop payroll, but we have a bajillion dollars to work with.
RJG: A bajillion?
Hal: uh-huh.
RJG: Can I speak with Cash again?
Hal: No problem, here you go Cashmanizstan.
RJG: Cashmanizstan! That's the best nickname ever. I'm hurt that I didn't think of it.
BC: Did he answer your questions?
RJG: I think Hal may be on drugs or something.
BC: That was Hank b--ch! [Laughs hysterically] I can't believe you thought Hal would talk to you. That's classic.
RJG: That's not nice. So are you trading for Halladay or what? Can you give him an extension with Jete and Rivera coming up for new contracts next year and still reduce payroll?
BC: Actually, according to my new proposal, yes.
RJG: What's that?
BC: Well, if we measure payroll in 1998 dollars, when the dollar was actually stronger, we're paying far less than we ever have before. So I could throw money at Halladay, Jete, Rivera and still "reduce" payroll.
RJG: I don't think they're going to go for that.
BC: Why not?
RJG: Because I'm pretty sure they want to reduce payroll regardless of the relative strength of our currency.
BC: Are you sure about that?
RJG: Yes.
BC: You know what your problem is, Roberto?
RJG: What?
BC: You're a bigot!
RJG: That doesn't make any sense! Can I speak to Hank again?
BC: Why don't you go to the "lame" store and buy yourself some more lameness since you're so lame?
RJG: Am I already talking to Hank?
Hank: Yep.
RJG: Can I speak to Cash?
[Click]
There you have it folks, the organizational meetings are underway. We will soon have a sense of what the Yankees are able to do this off-season in terms of payroll. Well, we won't but the Yankees will.
BC: [Whispering] Hello?
RJG: [singing loudly] Bronny the magic dragon, lived by the sea . . .
BC: [still whispering] Keep it down, I'm in a meeting right now.
RJG: [still singing] Why'd you answer then?
BC: [still whispering] Lonn Trost is giving some bullsh*t presentation on how we should air-condition the legends seats in order to sell more of them at full price.
RJG: Oh come on, Bronny, you know Lonn can't hear anything over the sound of his own voice.
BC: [no longer whispering] You're right. This may be a while and it's boring as hell, what's up?
RJG: Just wondering what next year's payroll is looking like and whe. . .
BC: Hal is right here, ask him. Hey Hal, phone call.
Hal: Hello?
RJG: Um, hello Hal. So, what's the payroll? Should you be on the phone right now?
Hal: Yeah, Lonn's explaining the benefits of gold-plating the Legends Seats. The budget will be determined shortly. We'd like to drop payroll, but we have a bajillion dollars to work with.
RJG: A bajillion?
Hal: uh-huh.
RJG: Can I speak with Cash again?
Hal: No problem, here you go Cashmanizstan.
RJG: Cashmanizstan! That's the best nickname ever. I'm hurt that I didn't think of it.
BC: Did he answer your questions?
RJG: I think Hal may be on drugs or something.
BC: That was Hank b--ch! [Laughs hysterically] I can't believe you thought Hal would talk to you. That's classic.
RJG: That's not nice. So are you trading for Halladay or what? Can you give him an extension with Jete and Rivera coming up for new contracts next year and still reduce payroll?
BC: Actually, according to my new proposal, yes.
RJG: What's that?
BC: Well, if we measure payroll in 1998 dollars, when the dollar was actually stronger, we're paying far less than we ever have before. So I could throw money at Halladay, Jete, Rivera and still "reduce" payroll.
RJG: I don't think they're going to go for that.
BC: Why not?
RJG: Because I'm pretty sure they want to reduce payroll regardless of the relative strength of our currency.
BC: Are you sure about that?
RJG: Yes.
BC: You know what your problem is, Roberto?
RJG: What?
BC: You're a bigot!
RJG: That doesn't make any sense! Can I speak to Hank again?
BC: Why don't you go to the "lame" store and buy yourself some more lameness since you're so lame?
RJG: Am I already talking to Hank?
Hank: Yep.
RJG: Can I speak to Cash?
[Click]
There you have it folks, the organizational meetings are underway. We will soon have a sense of what the Yankees are able to do this off-season in terms of payroll. Well, we won't but the Yankees will.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Let the Sanctimony Begin
Just finished reading this article on Golf.com, then finished throwing up in my mouth. Okay, I get it. Tiger messed up. I had fun with it here on a couple posts, but please, let's stop talking about how his legacy is ruined and he'll never be Jack Nicklaus and blah blah blah. Tiger's legacy is as a golfer, not a nice guy. I don't hang out with him, neither does the author of that article, none of us does. All I know about Tiger is he shaves with a Gillete Fusion, plays Golf better than most human beings, and drives a Buick. Oh wait . . . Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! He crashed a Cadillac . . . I don't know what to believe anymore. So does Jesus actually hang out with Santa Claus or is all that a lie too?!
Let's be serious. Tiger was a great golfer before this and he will be a great golfer after. People, mostly people who write for newspapers will feign shock and disappointment and then when he wins another Major will write a bunch of BS about redemption. I hate the sports media sometimes.
Tiger is human, the same way A-Rod is human, and Michael Phelps is human. Remember the Charles Barkley "I am not a role model" commercial? Well, he was right. Stop deifying these guys and they won't "disappoint" you. Tiger plays Golf. He's still going to get paid a lot of money to do so and we're still going to watch. And yeah, we watch. In fact, if it wasn't for Tiger most of us would never watch, but because of him, we do. It will stay that way. Within a few days or weeks most Americans will have forgotten about this anyway and just be looking forward to the Yankee press conference announcing the Halladay trade.
Let's be serious. Tiger was a great golfer before this and he will be a great golfer after. People, mostly people who write for newspapers will feign shock and disappointment and then when he wins another Major will write a bunch of BS about redemption. I hate the sports media sometimes.
Tiger is human, the same way A-Rod is human, and Michael Phelps is human. Remember the Charles Barkley "I am not a role model" commercial? Well, he was right. Stop deifying these guys and they won't "disappoint" you. Tiger plays Golf. He's still going to get paid a lot of money to do so and we're still going to watch. And yeah, we watch. In fact, if it wasn't for Tiger most of us would never watch, but because of him, we do. It will stay that way. Within a few days or weeks most Americans will have forgotten about this anyway and just be looking forward to the Yankee press conference announcing the Halladay trade.
Dustin Pedroia Considering a Move to Shallow Left
According to a report at Fanhouse, The Red Sox are considering moving second baseman Dustin Pedroia to shortstop and pursuing one of a number of second base options on the free agent market. The 5'8" Pedroia has said he'd welcome the challenge.
"I've got a good arm, I know I'll probably have to set up in shallow left if I'm going to get to any balls at shortstop, but I think I can still throw guys out," explained Pedroia. "Besides, then I can talk to Bay or whoever we end up with in Left, it'll be fun."
"I've got a good arm, I know I'll probably have to set up in shallow left if I'm going to get to any balls at shortstop, but I think I can still throw guys out," explained Pedroia. "Besides, then I can talk to Bay or whoever we end up with in Left, it'll be fun."
Braves Sign Wagner, Yankee Payroll
The Braves are set to sign Billy Wagner to a 1 year $7 million deal that has a $6.5 million vesting option for another deal. The impact on us? Almost none. But it did get me thinking about the upcoming meeting Cashman was having about payroll, and the subsequent development of a plan for the off season. The Yankees have some money coming off of payroll, namely the following:
Johnny Damon: $13 million
Hideki Matsui: $13 million
Andy Pettitte: $11 million (payout with incentives)
Xavier Nady: $6.5 million
Chien Ming Wang: $5 million
Jose Molina: $2 million
Which added up gives a combined $50.5 million coming off the books. However, this is somewhat deceptive because the Yankees still need to fill the roles that some of these players leave open, so some of that money will be coming right back on the books. Beyond this, built into their contracts the following players are set to earn raises:
CC Sabathia: $9 million
Derek Jeter: $1 million
Robinson Cano: $3 million
Nick Swisher: $1.45 million
Damaso Marte: $0.25 million
That's a combined $14.7 million in raises to current Yankee players. Lastly, the following players are arbitration eligible and will likely get raises:
Brian Bruney
Melky Cabrera
Chad Gaudin
Sergio Mitre
They probably won't be getting huge increases, but its worth a mention. Let's say that they commit half of the $50.5 million coming off of payroll into filling some of the vacancies left by our free agents. That leaves roughly $25 million of saved money to devote to the $14.7 million in contractual pay raises, and whatever raises players would get through arbitration. In this scenario, the Yankees will have less than $10 million of the $50.5 million that came off the books, remain off the books. This means little for now, with such a bad free agent crop, but next season it will be interesting to see how the Yankees manuever between trying to keep their payroll down with Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera becoming free agents, more of their young players becoming eligible for arbitration, and a rich crop of free agent pitchers that will likely be available.
Johnny Damon: $13 million
Hideki Matsui: $13 million
Andy Pettitte: $11 million (payout with incentives)
Xavier Nady: $6.5 million
Chien Ming Wang: $5 million
Jose Molina: $2 million
Which added up gives a combined $50.5 million coming off the books. However, this is somewhat deceptive because the Yankees still need to fill the roles that some of these players leave open, so some of that money will be coming right back on the books. Beyond this, built into their contracts the following players are set to earn raises:
CC Sabathia: $9 million
Derek Jeter: $1 million
Robinson Cano: $3 million
Nick Swisher: $1.45 million
Damaso Marte: $0.25 million
That's a combined $14.7 million in raises to current Yankee players. Lastly, the following players are arbitration eligible and will likely get raises:
Brian Bruney
Melky Cabrera
Chad Gaudin
Sergio Mitre
They probably won't be getting huge increases, but its worth a mention. Let's say that they commit half of the $50.5 million coming off of payroll into filling some of the vacancies left by our free agents. That leaves roughly $25 million of saved money to devote to the $14.7 million in contractual pay raises, and whatever raises players would get through arbitration. In this scenario, the Yankees will have less than $10 million of the $50.5 million that came off the books, remain off the books. This means little for now, with such a bad free agent crop, but next season it will be interesting to see how the Yankees manuever between trying to keep their payroll down with Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera becoming free agents, more of their young players becoming eligible for arbitration, and a rich crop of free agent pitchers that will likely be available.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
What Yankee Players Do With Their Post Season Shares
The post season shares were announced yesterday and a full share for the Yankees was a whopping $365,052.73. 46 full shares were awarded, and we were able to catch up with a number of players to see what their thoughts were on the extra money.
"Its a great feeling. Kind of like when you look in your bank account one day, and realize there's $48,876,938.46 instead of the paltry $48,511,885.73 that would have been there otherwise. There's no better feeling." Explained Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
"I'm probably going to spend my post season share on a new addition on my home. And by addition I mean, I'm buying my neighbors house and then connecting the two with a 8 car garage in between." Explained left fielder and free agent Johnny Damon.
"Me? I'm going to buy a dog." Explained Nick Swisher.
For $365,000 we asked?
"They're giving us $365,000!! I never knew post season shares went that high! That's more than I made all year!"
When asked what he would do with his post season share, first baseman Mark Teixeira said this:
"I'm going to buy the entire Bionic 6 collection. Not the DVDs mind you, but the actual copy rights to it. Then I'm going to wait for the movie to come out and rake in the big money."
Is there a Bionic 6 movie coming out?
"With $365,000, I'll just bribe James Cameron." Explained Mark Teixeira.
And lastly, we asked Derek Jeter what he would do with his share.
"I'll probably take a vacation with it."
Where to?
"The moon."
"Its a great feeling. Kind of like when you look in your bank account one day, and realize there's $48,876,938.46 instead of the paltry $48,511,885.73 that would have been there otherwise. There's no better feeling." Explained Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
"I'm probably going to spend my post season share on a new addition on my home. And by addition I mean, I'm buying my neighbors house and then connecting the two with a 8 car garage in between." Explained left fielder and free agent Johnny Damon.
"Me? I'm going to buy a dog." Explained Nick Swisher.
For $365,000 we asked?
"They're giving us $365,000!! I never knew post season shares went that high! That's more than I made all year!"
When asked what he would do with his post season share, first baseman Mark Teixeira said this:
"I'm going to buy the entire Bionic 6 collection. Not the DVDs mind you, but the actual copy rights to it. Then I'm going to wait for the movie to come out and rake in the big money."
Is there a Bionic 6 movie coming out?
"With $365,000, I'll just bribe James Cameron." Explained Mark Teixeira.
And lastly, we asked Derek Jeter what he would do with his share.
"I'll probably take a vacation with it."
Where to?
"The moon."
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