Hank Promises Changes

So much for the "building from within" strategy. I wonder if the Yankees can win with a $300 million payroll? Pathetic.

I doubt very much the Yankees spend any money on the bullpen. Who REALLY wants a non-elite bullpen arm on a multi-year deal? Especially with the outstanding depth in relief arms the Yankees have assembled.

They'll most certainly keep Marte for one year, $6 million, and continue their successful strategy of assembling cheap, fungible middle relief by merit, the way it should be.

It doesn't make sense for them to give up much for the arms you mentioned, as Marte is the same or superior to each of them, and they already have him.

It's amusing how Yankee fans think that other teams will gladly take their second tier "prospects" in exchange for high value major leaguers rather than their first tier prospects. Good luck getting value from Melky Cabrera and Ian Kennedy and Alan Horne. Of course other teams would consider taking those guys back in trade - but not for front line pitching! I suspect though that most teams who might want a young centerfielder would demand Jackson not Cabrera. Horne and especially Kennedy were
in-demand prospects a year ago, now there are questions about both players major league ceiling.

Would the Giants trade Sanchez for Cano? They need bats for sure, but young, top of the rotation type left handers are at a premium. commodity.

Bernie - I'm not sure that 8-9 4.53 qualifies as "top of the rotation", sorry. He has that kind of stuff, but he's not there yet. Cano is in a down year for sure, but he's been an All-Star...and 2B that can hit .300 20 90 are just as much as a premium as a good lefty.

Horne has been hurt this year, not ineffective. Kennedy has proven only that he needs to grow up and doesn't have the skin to play in NY. Melky JUST turned 24...had led the AL in assists before and is a switch hitter with plus speed. He too needs to mature, but .280 17 80 15sb playing a solid CF is definitely not out of the question.

The Yankees are getting old. They have a bunch of guys who USED to be All Stars. The other problem is that they're paying these older guys more than $12-$15 million per year each. The Yankees don't have much for young talent, and guys like Melky, Hughes, and Kennedy haven't provided much of anything yet. They're not busts yet, but they haven't helped. Overpriced average players don't win you a championship.

The Sox have a blend of older, bigger salary guys like David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek, etc. and young studs like Lester, Ellsbury, Pedroia, Papelbon, Lowrie, Delcarmen, and Youkilis who make close to the league minimum. The Yankees need more Joba Chamberlains. Until they figure out that buying a championship doesn't work, they won't beat the Sox and Rays.

The championships the Yankees won, there payroll was less than $100 million. I know salaries have gone up, but they won with young homegrown talent like Posada, Jeter, Pettitte, and Rivera. Not buying high-priced hired guns. They need to get back to that philosophy. However, I don't see how you can "rebuild" when you have a guy making $27 million a year in A-Rod. If they tried to rebuild, he'd demand a trade out of town.

If they signed Sabathia AND Teixeira, it'd just be more of the same.

Thankfully the Yankees are not stuck with a bunch of overrated prospects, forcing them to once again spend millions to improve their team.

Wait...

P.S. Whoever threw together that offer for Harang..that is laughable..especially the "he only has top of rotation stuff" comment.

Anyone counting on Posada behind the dish next year is crazy. Maybe he can do it. Just don't count on it though.

bjguess:

Any yankee fans wanting frontline young catching can kindly turn their attention to the 4 Rangers back-stops on the block!

Let the bidding begin at sayyy...One major league ready pitcher/CF + prospects.

Your opponents... Reds, Red Sox, Giants, and Tigers.

"For a mid-level prospect or two and Cano you could make a run at guys like Cain, Bailey, Olsen, or even a Kazmir."

Umm, if you think you are going to get Cain or Kazmir for "Cano and two mid prospects", you are really over-hyping Cano. The Giants wouldn't even trade Cano for Alex Rios. Why would they trade him for someone who is hitting .268 and doesn't hustle? And to think that the Rays would trade Kazmir to any team for less than a package of top players is rediculous; less a team within the same division for a player who is playing below the level of almost all of their infield.

The Twins are scrappy, the A's are scrappy, the Angels were scrappy ... the Yanks just aren't and will never be. Sorry.

this is what the yankees should do but won't, and im not saying they would win with this lineup, but it would have potential for future success and let them keep some of the payroll they are getting back:

Lineup:
1.LF Johnny Damon
2.SS Derek Jeter
3.1B Eric Duncan
4.3B A-Rod
5.RF Xavier Nady
6.DH Hideki Matsui
7.2B Robinson Cano
8.C Jorge Posada
9.CF Austin Jackson

Utility:
OF/PR: Gardner
INF: Miranda

Rotation:
1. CC Sabathia (has plenty of good years left regardless what you say about his arm)
2. Wang
3. Chamberlain
4. Moose or Pettite at a reduced rate for a year
5. Phil Hughes

the bullpen is fine, they might need another veteran presence but the arms they have to choose from gives them options.

Wow guys we are using lack of scrappyness as an excuse. The yanks don't need more scrappy players they need pitching. They need a legit righthanded setup man and a starter. Now we are all back on the hate A-rod bandwagon!!!? Guys stop it he's the best player in the game his ops is close to 1.000. What more do you want? Oh it couldn't be jeter! No way he is terrible on defense and even his offense has fallen off a cliff!!!! Could it be throwing out the likes of ponson as one of your starters!The yankees have most of their starters hurt. Do you guys even watch yankees games? I'm not even a fan and I seem to know more then some of you.

Beast- Eric Duncan???? Are you for real?
2008 payroll:209 million
Yankees players who will be off the books:
Pettite: 16 mill
I rod:13 mill
Moose: 11 mill
Pavano: 13 mill 1.95 mill buyout
Marte: 6 mill
Giambi: 22 mill 5 mill buyout

Now no question moose is good on another 2 year 20 mill
I-rod is not needed
Pavano will go back to the nl
Marte should have his option picked up
Giambi should be bought out.

Yankees should persue sabathia and get him for sure. Resign pettite for around 12 mill and resign moose. Now the only huge question mark they have for next year is 1B. They could buy out giambi and sign him for about 12 mill or pick up texiera.

Yankee 2009
Sp
Wang, Sabathia,Moose, Kennedy,Hughes, Chamberlain,Pettite
Rp
Rivera, Marte, Veras,Ramirez,Britton,Bruney

C- Posada, Molina
1B Texiera
2B Cano
SS Jeter
3B A-rod
RF- Abreu/Nady
CF- Damon/ Cabrera
Lf Matsui

This seems like a team with a very good chance of winning.

joe morgan, you obviously didn't read what i wrote. if its not apparent, this team needs somewhat of a rebuild. they don't need to go out and spend money. look at the tampa bay rays. they proving day in and day out you don't need money to build a championship team. everyone is your lineup is old, they need youth. wake up. thats why i suggested the youngsters. the tampa bay rays suffered years waiting for their prospects to be ready and look at them now. that is how the yankees won all those championships...with home grown talent. like..joba and...well not much else right now. cano doesn't show any desire to win a championship. signing cc, texeria, and dunn won't be worth it in the long run. they have depth in their lineup, they have a good bullpen in the making. they need youth who are hungry to win. not cano, not melky and certainly not ipk who didn't care when he pitched horrible.

so lets go spend 300mill on payroll anyway. great plan.

What the Yankees need to do is be patient. Look what happened to the Red Sox the missed the playoffs on what looked to be an awful team. the next year they won the World Series. Don't worry the Yankees might not make the plkayoffs this year or next year, but they will compete.

P.S. I hope they get 1 starter, resign pettite or Moose and give Phil Hughes a spot in the rotation. I still believe he will be a top 15 pitcher within 2-3 years.

Go ahead and rip me for that.

Next year in 2009 the Yankees need to do make some changes with the line-up but mostly the pitching. This years line-up is very capable of destroying opposing pitchers, but the Yanks just arent getting it done with runners in scoring position or RISP. Each series they leave basically like 20 people on base. Some people say its because the 3-4-5 guys arent producing enough runs, which is some what of the answer but you cant rely on 2 or 3 guys to carry the team. All 25 players carry the team. Sure A-Rod is struggling with RISP but hes just struggling this year. But Jason Giambi on the other hand is just to old and lost his "pop" with his bat. He has had a good career but i think its time to retire ( or leave the Yanks). This years pitching and team has suffered many injuries. Wang,Posada,Matsui just to name a few. So until the Red Sox,Twins, or Yankees clinch the AL Wild Card their season isnt over. After the season, the Yanks need to make the changes. This is what they need to do:

1B: Either sign Mark Texiera to a 6yr/108 million or hit the trade market. Trade for maybe Ryan Howard,Prince Fielder,Todd Helton or put Jorge Posada their if he cant play behind the plate again.

2B: Leave Robinson Cano at second. Yes he is struggling this year but he is very capable of hitting well next year.

3B: A-Rod is staying here.

SS: Of course Derek Jeter will stay at short.

LF: Put Xaiver Nady here. Good Power,contact,ect.

CF: Brett Gardner or Austin Jackson. Who ever has best Spring Training gets the spot. (Leave Melky in triple-A until he can hit,maybe bring him up middle year)

RF: Sign Bobby Abreu to a 2yr/24 million contract.

DH: Switch using Johnny Damon or Matsui. (maybe trade Matsui for a 1B men)

Bench: Jose Molina for back-up catcher.
Brett Gardner or Austin Jackson for back-up OF.
Maybe sign Nick Punto or trade for someone as back-up IF.
Wilson Betemit for back-up IF and OF.

SP:

1.Leave Chien-Ming Wang as Ace.
2.Sign a Sabathia,Burnett, or Sheets.
3.Sign Andy Pettitte for another year.
4.Either put Joba Chamberlain in the 4 spot or maybe sign Jon Garland.
5.Sign Mike Mussina to a 1 year deal or put Phil Hughes in the 5 spot. (if Mussina switch #4 and 5 spots).

BP:

1.Put Edwar Ramierz back in the pen.
2.Exercise Damaso Marte's option to add a lefty.
3.Of Course have Mariano Rivera as the closer.
4.Maybe sign Brian Fuentas,Fransico Rodriguez or put Joba Chamberlain as Set-up.
5.Maybe sign a good lefty like Will Ohman
6.Place Brian Bruney here.
7.Either go to the "farm" or use chris britton.

And to end it, the following players need to be dropped:

Carl Pavano
Ivan Rodriguez
Jason Giambi
Andy Pettitte (sign to a smaller deal)
Mike Mussina (maybe sign to smaller deal)
Bobby Abreu (sign to a smaller deal)

This team could run away with the east. Make it to the playoffs and make it to the World Series. This would be a very dangerous team.

Angels fan-

after i posted it and read it over i realized it wasnt the best team with all the signings and trades. i totally agree with you.

Let's hope Hank keeps his promises...

Yankees should go after BOTH Burnett and Sabathia.

I also think the Yankees should trade for Prince Fielder who can hit 50 or more HR's. Would this get it done for Fielder- Hughes,Kennedy,Cervelli and Horne.

Yankees should also re-sign Pudge at a 1 year contract, pick up Marte's option, sign Mike Cameron to a 2 year deal with option, sign Milton Bradley to 3 year deal,Sign Fuentes, sign Casey Blake, Move Matsui to the bench and we would have a GREAT bench..

Lineup-

1.Damon-LF
2.Jeter-SS
3.A-Rod-3B
4.Fielder-1B
5.Bradley-DH
6.Cano-2B
7.Nady-RF
8.Cameron-CF
9.Posada/Molina-C

Rotation-

1.Wang-R
2.Sabathia-L
3.Burnet-R
4.Mussina-R
5.Petite-L

Bench-

1.Matsui-OF
2.Gardner-OF
3.Blake-1B/3B/OF
4.Betemit-INF
5.Molina-C

'Pen-

1.Marte-Lefty specialist
2.Dan Giese-Long man
3.Edwar Ramirez-MR
4.Veras-MR
5.Fuentes-SU
6.Joba-SU
7.Rivera-CL

Chris, you are completely unrealistic. First off, if that's the yankees offer for Fielder, it can be easily matched. I can promise you Fielder, 3 years of Fielder, will cost the yankees jackson as part of any deal and by the way... Kennedy is crap. Then why exactly would Fuentes sign to be a set up man when he's stated he wants to close AND several teams will be looking for a closer. I'm not going to get into your belief that every player will want to be a yankee... this is not a video game.

As for Hank stated he wants Burnett... he hasn't opted out correct? Which means that statement is technically tampering.

Devlsh...you hit it on the head. Those comments are definately tampering with burnett, since his contract has a player option in it. You could make the case that he's tampering with both players, but burnett has to know he'll get more than 12 million if the yankees are in on the bidding. I hope mlb takes a stand against hank and does something for this. He really is a dumbass.

the yankees dont need to get tex and manny and all of the other homerun hitter as u saw with arod he preforms wen it comes to money. who nows what manny is giong to be when he gets his 6/20 deal.They need to spend their money on pitching and hitters that are contact hitters or the kind of players that are like always on base. Hitters like xavier nady are what kind we need

"Isn't there a rule against mentioning players who are on other teams by name? Do you think Hank will get fined for specifically mentioning C.C. and A.J.?"

Not specifically if he just mentioned CC, it's just bad form there. But AJ has an opt out, meaning he could be a FA by choice. If he opts out now and signs with the yanks it could be interpreted as the yanks made an "offer" while AJ was still under contract. Red Sox almost got into that trouble with Drew and the Dodgers... Colletti was claiming that Theo was whispering in Boras' ear. With this, well, there's a direct form of communication through the press.

Let's just take Chris' lineup for a second. FA's coming in and some basic estimates:

Sabbathia $20m/year
Cameron $12m/year
Bradley $14m/year
Fuentes $10m/year
Burnett $14m/year
Fielder $8m for 2009 ??? for beyond

That's close to $80m in new salary. You have a gaping hole at catcher. If you keep Pudge tack on another $10m. You have Joba sharing SU duties with Fuentes. Then Matsui and his $13m contract comes off the bench? Oh yeah, you also have to somehow talk Milwaukee into accepting an awful trade for Fielder (Hughes won't be enough - Kennedy is near worthless at this point).

I didn't mean to pick on Chris. There were about 10 other proposed lineups that had similar problems.

All you Yanks fans need to realize something... There are 29 other teams in this league too. Your not gonna get everyone just by overspending. These players are human and not all of them go soley for the money and not all of them want to be Yankees. You have to realize that and be more realistic!

No I completely understand that... my point was just that there are other teams that players can play for who have money to spend. For example: the Angels. We have 75 mil coming out of the payroll so we have plenty of money to resign Tex, resign our other players and sign someone like a CC,Sheets or Burnett. The Yanks aren't the only ones, although it would seem that way because all the Yanks fans are putting together an offseason that a videogame player would do on MLB 08 The Show.

Here would be my gameplan for the Yankees. Of course, this will never go down, but it is how I would do things. If the Yankees reach a point where there are 20 games left and they are finished, then you start the transition for Jeter to move to CF. Let him get some games in in September, and continue the transition this winter. You then sign Furcal, and if that doesn't work out, you (gasp) move Alex back to shortstop. If Derek Jeter is the leader and the captain everybody loves to think he is, he will realize that this is the best thing for the team. There is also no reason to believe, that Jeter, with his above average speed, strong arm, and great baseball instincts, that he woudn't play a good CF. His bat also plays better there since the Yankees CF problems this year have been well documented. Melky isn't the answer. Adding an 800ish OPS to CF from within would be nice. So then you move for Furcal, on a 2 year deal worth 32 million, with some options and buyouts for another couple of years. If that is a no go, move Alex back to SS, where his bat plays even more then it currently does (where it is the most productive bat there is), and sign a guy like Joe Crede. Let Giambi walk, let Abreu walk, move Nady to RF, move Damon back to LF. Go after Prince Fielder, maybe Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, and another prospect. Then look to move Matsui to a team like the Phillies if they lose Burrell. Mostly looking for salary relief, maybe get a guy like JA Happ back and get rid of some money. Resign Moose, give Andy his walking papers, and let the Joba/Hughes regime begin. They will be the best 1/2 in the league within 3 years. Let them grow and learn and develop, even if it means going through some growing pains with them. Forget about Sabathia. Maybe make a smaller offer for a guy like Oliver Perez or AJ Burnett. As for the catcher, just sign a guy like Olivo and let him split time with Molina. Catcher is not a position where offense is necesarry. Let Posada be the fulltime, everyday DH. Maybe the occasional spelling of a 1B or a C a few times a month. So my Yankee lineup for 2009 would look like this.

LF Damon
CF Jeter
1B Fielder
SS A-Rod
RF Nady
DH Posada
2B Cano
3B Crede
C Molina/ Olivo

or

LF Damon
SS Furcal
1B Fielder
3B Arod
2B Cano
CF Jeter
RF Nady
DH Posada
C Molina/ Olivo

SP Joba
SP Wang
SP Ollie/Burnett
SP Moose
SP Hughes

Mariano
Veras
Edwar
Robertson
Marte

Do some work on the bench, getting more scrappy type players who can slap the ball around and play some de, rather then power bats who are hit or miss like Betemit, Duncan, etc. The Yankees did the right thing. They will be competing again next season, and in 4 years Santana will be on a serious decline and Hughes will be an all star. Unfortunately, patience is not something that NY baseball fans know much about. They want to win now, and the hell with the future.

It took a Mets fan to post the best potential gameplan for the Yanks.

The key is Jeter. If Jeter is the leader everyone makes him out to be then he should welcome a move to the outfield. That changes the dynamics of the lineup tremendously.

I do have major reservations about Furcal and Crede. Wouldn't trust either of them to contribute in a meaningful way. If you are the Yankees with all their resources it would make sense to try and land someone a little more reliable. Or go for a guy that can be traded for cheaply. Someone with a lot of glove and maybe a light bat. The Yankee defense, as a whole, is just awful. Having a strong up the middle presence would do wonders for Wang.

Finally, let the kids play dang it. It's hard to be patient when your payroll is $200m but wouldn't it be great to see what Hughes really can. He's going to be pushed into obscurity with a Sabbathia signing. Save your money and see what the guy is capable of. If he is injury free I think the results will be very impressive.

"I don't believe A-Rod has the ability to play short anymore."

I agree, his body type is really more suitable for a third baseman than a shortstop. He's bulkier than a traditional shortstop.

hiya, yes, money is usually the top factor, especially if it's a 20M/yr contract versus a 15M/yr. But a 16M/yr contract v. a 15M/yr contract? Economics 101. Marginal benefit v. marginal cost. Other factors such as playing time, location, clubhouse, a ring, ego, and of course years, etc. Add to it 2 major details. 1) The yankees are a business and they will run it as such. If a $200M brings in a $200M profit by failing to make he postseason or failing to win the WS and a $300M team makes a $250M profit by possibly winning the WS which team makes more economical sense? Yes, those are made up numbers, but the point remains that NY is a city that will never have trouble selling tickets. 2) The Luxury tax issue. As much as the comish office likes boast the luxury tax is the great leveling factor of the league... it isn't. For the last several years the yanks have been able to write off expenditures of the building the new stadium against luxury tax. No longer. So yes, they may shell out 80M or 100M or hell 500M more per year... but the yanks are still a business and as much as hank promises chages, he'll run the yanks as a business.

My Outlook for the 2009 Yankee Roster:

CF Derek Jeter
SS Orlando Cabrera
RF Bobby Abreu
3B Alex Rodriguez
1B Mark Texeira/Adam Dunn (whoever is available)
DH Hideki Matsui
LF Xavier Nady
C Jorge Posada
2B Robinson Cano
(Trade Damon while he has some value to a team that loses an outfielder via free agency or retirement)

SP Joba Chamberlain
SP Chien Ming Wang
SP Oliver Perez
SP AJ Burnett
SP Mike Mussina

LRP Ian Kennedy

MRP Brain Bruney
MRP Will Ohman
MRP Phil Hughes

SU Jose Veras
SU Damaso Marte

CP Mariano Rivera

"but with ticket prices becoming more unaffordable, they can lose some money if they continue to fail to perform up to expectations"

I'm talking about the actual fans here, not the corporate CEOs that fill up the best seats.

"or Edgar Renteria (former RED SOX)"

Trust me, I'd be incredibly happy if the yanks sign Rent-a-wreck. If he can't handle playing in big market teams like Boston or Detroit... how in the world would he handle the pressures of new york?