Manny in Pinstripes in 09?

I like the idea, as long as he doesn't want 3-4 years...

C-Posada
1B-Damon?
2B-Cano
SS-Jeter
3B-ARod
LF/DH-Ramirez
LF/DH-Matsui
CF-Gardner? Jackson?
RF-Nady

with Damon, Nady, and Matsui all in the final year of their deals.

In light of Manny's most recent antics, I seriously doubt that the Yankees would bring him in. Especially since Joe Girardi is a hard nosed skipper. Besides, as the poster above explains, the Yanks have a logjam of OF/DH for next season.

Also, as mentioned before, Damon and Matsui are both in the last year of their deals and are quite tradeable.

who said ramirez was going to play the field if in fact he was to sign with the yankees. hes got DH written all over him. also i believe either damon or matsui need to be traded for this deal to work right for the yanks.

"Boras is banking. How is this guy not get banned from baseball? They did it to Bonds this year, why not do it to Boras next? This is ridiculous. All Manny cares about is money, so the Yankees would be the perfect fit. All the complaints about the media, etc is BS."

What the hell are you talking about?

Hallofamer2000,
The deal was that Manny wouldn't take arbitration when it was offered, not that the Dodgers wouldn't offer arbitration.

Chris, I've posted a correction. It's funny, I knew he went to high school in Washington Heights, but I always thought it was part of the Bronx (it's north of the Cross-Bronx Expressway, after all). But I will freely admit that NYC geography has never been my strong suit.

But I think your hypothetical lineup is destined to remain just that. If the Yanks wanted to add Manny, I think they would have to let either Giambi or Abreu go. And keep in mind that Posada's catching days may also be over. That's a lot of late-30s DH-types in one lineup, even for New York.

Only reason he brought up NY is because they are the only team in all of baseball that would pay him $25 mil per season. No real other reason is needed.

Whoever said Dodgers agreed to not offer arbitration is not correctly informed.

The agreement is actually Dodgers will offer him arbitration and Manny has agreed to definitely not accept it so the Dodgers get the picks.

I dont understand the idea that Manny HAS to be a DH, as many of you keep insisting. jjyankeesfan, in your scenario why not just swap Nady and Manny? Manny in LF and Nady at 1B. Manny is not that bad. And it was Matsui out there, so it is not as if you are going from some gold glove type LF to Manny. Too me, it makes all the sense in the world. Manny and A-Rod in the same lineup is just lethal. And like somebody said, just imagine a driven and motivated Ramirez, who has a grudge against the Red Sox. Tell me how any Yankee fan would not want that. In a lot of cases, you probably want your guys to not make anything personal, and just play the game without your emotions towards your opponent coming into play, but with Manny, it seems as if he can flick a switch and absolutely kill a given team if he felt like doing so.

yeah manny wants to get back at the sox but idk if the yanks is the team he will go to. id watch for the rays to make a move for him. i mean why not? brand new stadium is coming for the rays and they need to find some way to add some fans. so what if they lose a couple draft picks... they dont need them at this time and that would be the place i see him going not the yanks

Nrmax88 - Yes, Manny would HAVE to DH for the Yankees. Don't forget, the Red Sux play in a little league field with a 300 ft fence in left. The only things that made him adequate there is that he knew how to play the wall well...and that he made accurate throws...but they were from SHALLOW left. Yankee Stadium is 399 to left center. HUGE difference...and the reason why nobody likes Matsui in LF...and the reason why a guy like Damon is really needed there. You basically need 2 CF'ers.

Manny could've made 40 million over 2 years for the Red Sox. Look for his next contract to be a monster. Probably 4 years at 17 - 20 million average.

The Yankees will NEVER sign Manny.

The Yankees will try to bring back Nady and Abreu,. Jackson and Gardner will stay in the minors.

Melky is tradeable, the Yanks might have to get rid of Damon but they dont want to, so he might stay as well unless the Yanks get a great leadoff hitter.

Cano is UNTOUCHABLE, so is Joba and Hughes.

Matsui is in the limbo, but will most likely stay. Giambino can stay or go, it all depends on finding a replacement, a powerful 1B.

Yanks will hunt for SP after the season is over and they know who can pitch and who cannot.

Healthy, the yankees are the best team in baseball overall, period, and if they were healthy and concistent it would be
scary.

They have the talent to have a lightsout starting rotation. With the best lineup. Only if they could stay healthy and be consistent........Even better than '98 Yanks.

907 OPS. that's one serious freakin hole in the lineup, coltholt. better get that guy out of there before he sinks the yankees at the plate.

Some of the things you guys say on here is laughable.

Look at Damon's stats and tell me he's "losing" it. Jeter has been hurt, but still hitting over 300 with RISP (one of the only yanks to do that), and he's still having a decent year.. not Jeterlike but very decent year...

If they sign Manny - they don't resign Abreu, or Matsui retires.

The outfield would like something like this:

CF - Melky // Gardner
LF - Manny // Damon
RF - Nady

I don't think they're going to resign Pudge. Next year, they'll have Molina and Posada back (hopefully). They will probably buy out Giambi and then resign him. I mean the guy has 23 HR's and is hitting 260 or so (into that stupid shift). He's not worth what he's making now, but you'd be hard pressed to find an available 1B with that production that doesn't want a 10yr contract.

I see the Yanks 2009 shaping up like this:

C - Posada/Molina
1B - Giambi // Nady // extra bat -- maybe they resign Sexson to a cheap deal.
2B - Cano
SS - Jeter
3B - Arod

With all the money coming off, i'd love to see NY go out and sign both of the brewers.. Sheets and Sabathia.. resign Moose, pettite will be back as well as chamberlain.

Then let Hughes/Kennedy back to AAA/Bullpen to get a bit wiser, then if Moose/Pettite realize they're old - or if someone gets hurt bring them right up.

Chamberlain
Sabathia // Sheets
Moose // Sheets
pettite // Sheets
Wang

We dont know IF CC will sign in ny, or if Moose and Pettite will be back...

To answer your question Matty....Nady would go to 1B where he has experience. Damon in LF, Austin Jackson in CF, Abreu in RF. Giambi is gone. Matsui gets traded. Jorge behind the plate and DH. Manny DH. OR....Jorge at 1B and Nady to RF with Bobby going.

I don't think I would do that either, but that's how it would fit.

Casper,

I think you made one serious error in your remarks about the Yankees rotation. That omission was Wang, the most consistent Yankee pitcher.

The rotation will look something like this.

Wang
Petitte
Joba
Mussina
Hughes/Kennedy/Free agent

Manny - I didn't forget wang.. he was the last person i put... not that he'll be a 5th starter, but I did put him.

"Chamberlain
Sabathia // Sheets
Moose // Sheets
pettite // Sheets
Wang"

baseball fanatic

looks like an allstar team...but you just spent over 400 million in free agency on four players

ArodMVP217, I think it's a bit of a stretch to believe the Yankees would sign Teixeira, Ramirez, Sheets, AND Sabathia. Not even in the almost perfect world would they be able to accomplish that (there's no such thing as a perfect world!).

I believe they'd be able to get two of those four, at most, but Ramirez should really be taken off the list. The Yankees apparently don't want him, and they don't have a place for him, with Matsui as the primary DH, and Damon in left.

They might be able to obtain CC Sabathia or Ben Sheets, but not both. Even if they don't sign either of them, I'd still be content with Wang, Joba, Mussina, Pettitte, and Hughes as the rotation of next season. It was essentially this year's Opening Day rotation, with Joba in the pen.

My main focus would be on getting Teixeira. Dumping Giambi would do wonders for the Yankees, and it would be one heck of a lineup to pitch against, especially with Matsui and Posada back.

There's no reason Chamberlain should be put back into the bullpen. He's already proven himself as a fine starter, and they won't panic about his arm's longevity just because of one injury that hasn't damaged anything structually. Transitioning him from reliever to starter and back doesn't make any sense, especially if he's been successful. They already have sufficient setup guys in Marte and Veras, and if they need another arm there, they'll look for one in the market before they even consider putting Joba back into the pen. Their long-term outlook is to have him as a starter, and they're not going to change that this offseason.

There's also a good chance they'll resign Mussina for another year. He's getting older, but he's revigorated his career, and can still beat most teams with excellent location and mixing of all his pitches. Plus, he'll be looking to try to get as close as possible to 300 wins. He doesn't need to perform at this year's level to remain successful, but I believe he can still provide six stong innings of work and give the Yankees a chance to win almost every time out.

Pitching does win championships, but the Yankees do not have to break the bank to achive one. The Angels have an excellent rotation because they've been able to build and bring up their prospects. The Yankees can have a formidable rotation by doing the same thing, and they already have some of the pieces in Wang, Joba, and Hughes. They can look for a Sabathia or a Sheets, I'm not disagreeing with you there. However, many other teams will also be looking to obtain them, so you can't be too optimistic. There's a reason Cashman keeps stockpiling the minor league talent and refuses to give them up. He knows that the days of overpaying to win are up, especially with more parity present in the league.

Hughes will get better, and Mussina and Pettitte can still pitch big games. Their pitching hasn't been the problem, it's the stifling injuries to so many of their everyday players. What they need to do is get younger position player wise, and be smart in what they look for.

Chamberlain's only health concern has only been tendinitis (triceps tendinitis in '06). The Yankees plan to place him back into the rotation when he returns from rotator cuff tendenitis, which means they're going to stick with their original plan. Sure, they might put him there because the rotation is thin, but would they really compromise Joba's safety when Hughes and Pavano could be coming back shortly? Are they this desperate to win? No. They know Chamberlain can pitch as a starter, he's started for the most part of his entire career. Wear and tear is going to happen no matter where you place him. It's actually better to keep him in the rotation, where he'll usually have four days to rest, while in the bullpen, he could be pitching for three consecutive days. Just take a look at all the closers and relievers that have been on the DL. By the way, Kerry Wood just returned from a stint on the DL.

Everyone has seen Mussina's pitches for 17 years now. He hasn't used any new pitches, and his velocity has decreased from his younger days, which is better for the hitter. Mussina is a smart guy. He knows his stuff isn't overpowering, but he knows how to mix more of all his pitches and use all four quadrants of the zone. He has excellent control, and that's something you never really lose with age. He hasn't used his fastball as much as last season, and that's the only thing that's changed. If 45 year old Jamie Moyer can get hitters out, so can 40 year old Mussina.

Hughes is still young, but can you count on him getting an ERA under 9? I think that's a safe bet. He'll be getting help from his veteran teammates, and experience will make him better. Injuries will be a part of everyone's career, you just have to learn how to deal with them and move on.

We'll already have a surplus by next year with pitchers like Alan Horne and Andrew Brackman advancing through the minor leagues. We lost 3/5 of our rotation (ironically, not Mussina or Pettitte) for an extended period of time, so the Yankees are understandably thin on pitching. Can you expect Sheets and Burnett to stay healthy all season long with their past health concerns? Can CC pitch well in the playoffs after last season's blunder? There'll be unanswered questions for every team. The Yanks just have to stay focused and use common sense.

I thought Joba had an additional health concern while in college that caused his draft stock to sink?

As for Moose...he most certainly does have a new pitch! He's been living on that "Greg Maddux" comeback fastball this year...and in all the years I've watched him pitch, I don't recall seeing that one.

Thank for the chat also Time. Nice to chat with someone that has knowledge of the game and is a gentleman...unlike some of the snapperheads that frequent this board strictly to insult and/or agitate. Ciao~

The idea of Manny in a Yankee uniform disgusts me as a Old Time Yankee fan. Manny is the last thing a respected team like Yankees need. Would you bring a hobo to your mamas house for Thanksgiving?