2009 Top 50 Free Agents

Tim I am a diehard dodger fan and I was just wondering why whenever you talk about where you think Oliver Perez is going you always say the dodgers. Why is tis

do you think the dodgers would be better off using money to sign CC or MANRAM

I really think K-Rod stays an Angel.

He doesn't get the 15MM from anyone, and he gets quintessentially the same offer from Angels and Mets, and he takes the Angels because he knows he will get lambasted in NY.

yea but if they go with a rotation like that then they are relying on three young starters who all look promising, but they are still VERY young

As I said, I don't recall who wrote the article, but there was a point in the past few years that they didn't have a good farm. I don't rememeber who wrote the article.

Yes they will get some picks back. I agree. But I highly doubt they will woo everyone into playing for their team. This has become a much more competitive sport. The Rockies were in the World Series last year and the Rays this time.......Just because they have 26 championships doesn't mean every player has a lifelong dream to fulfill to play for them.

The Yanks will spend plenty of money, the question is, will they spend it wisely?
CC & Tex are wise signings, no matter what the price. Burnett (who I like) is often injured and Manny is the exact opposite of what they claim they are trying to do..get younger and better defensively.
Whomever thinks the yanks can't sign Tex, CC and Burnett, should those 3 want to come to NY, hasn't followed the Yanks very long.

As for the Yanks "growing their own players" they have right now Jeter, Posada, Mo, Joba, Wang, Cano & Melky, all who came up thru the Yankee farm system. Their minors are ranked in the top 10 by Baseball Prospectus. In fact they had more "homegrown" players on the 2008 opening day 25 man roster than both the Sox and the Mets.

"This has become a much more competitive sport. The Rockies were in the World Series last year and the Rays this time.......Just because they have 26 championships doesn't mean every player has a lifelong dream to fulfill to play for them."

I agree..with what the AL east looks like right now, going to the Yanks (or for that matter the Sox) for "a chance to win" is no longer a given. The East will now be a 3 or maybe even a 4 team race. If a player is going to look for a team where he can win, he might be better off going to a team like the White Sox or the Twins, they will probably have an easier road to the playoffs.

Teixeira is going to the Red Sox. Not the Angels.

"This just in. In a stunning move, the Yankees have signed every single free agent pitcher on the market, just because they can afford it."

Having a big budget is one thing, but Cashman is not going to sign Burnett, Sabathia AND Teixeira. I will eat my hat if they even sign any combination of two of them. Cashman and Hal at least have some vague clue what they're doing and will pull rank over that blithering idiot Hank. Locking up two seven plus year deals when you already have as many disastrously long contracts on the books would be career suicide.

I think the Yankees will get Sabathia, and they're welcome to him with his career 8.61 Yankee Stadium ERA and his questionable build (A lot of people are saying a long term deal on him is throwing money away, considering the breakdown rate of pitchers of his body type).

As for the Sox, again, just because you have money coming off the books doesn't mean you go out ant blow it for the sake of blowing it. I don't think they'll stand pat, but they're sure as Hell not going out and signing a bunch of marquee free agents just to keep themselves near the luxury tax limit. My guess is they'll make pushes for Teixeira and Burnett, just to see if they can get them, or to at least drive the asking price up for the Yankees.

They'll "inquire" into Sabathia just for the sake of driving up the price for the Yankees, who're well known as his most likely high bidder, but I've yet to see anything indicating Epstein and company are legitimately interested in him.

Teixeira, they'll show legitimate interest in just because no one with that kind of money wouldn't be interested. I don't know that they'll sign him, but they'll probably make a serious effort.

I think Burnett is possibly a high target for them. His AL East numbers are good, but his injury history is terrible and considering he's into his thirties now, there's no guarantee he'll get better. Burnett will almost definitely opt out of his contract, as the odds are against him ever being of this much value again. I'm on the fence on him. His numbers sound great to have, but he's been so plagued by injuries that I can't imagine giving him anything more than four years.

The GMs run the teams instead of the fans for a reason. If the overall Sox fanbase had its say, Varitek would be signed to a five year, $100 million deal and Ellsbury would be locked up as a higher priority than guys like Pedroia and Youkilis.

I would be just as pleased if the Sox signed one of Epstein's beloved "project pitchers" (A low cost, high potential free agent like Colon) as a backup in case one of our current guys doesn't pan out. From there, I'd be content to see Theo sign Papelbon and Youk to longer deals while we can still get them for a reasonable price and start something rolling on Pedroia just in case he starts raking in his now customary manner come May. Between locking up their four top young priorities (Papelbon, Youk, Pedroia and Lester), the Sox could easily bridge the gap in salary coming off the books if they really felt like it, and that'd be money much better spent than going out and signing someone like Sheets just because they can.

"In fact they had more "homegrown" players on the 2008 opening day 25 man roster than both the Sox and the Mets. "

The problem with your assessment there is that three of those guys, in fact three of their biggest impact guys of that list, have been with the team for over a decade now and are among the highest paid players in their positions. Jeter, Posada and Rivera are well past the youth movement ideal.

While the Sox have less overall "homegrown" players on a technicality, they have a higher amount of high impact youth on their current roster. Homegrown is nice when you're playing trivia, but youth and current/future ability is a lot more important.

turnthe2-

Money talks, and they have a lot of it. IMO, I see them getting one of Teix or CC. I am torn between which I would prefer. Eventually you need to move someone to first. And with all the catching in the lower levels, the talk is moving Montero to first. I do not really want to block anyone. However, Teix is an offensive asset that would be great. Personally, I would LOVE to sign Manny. You can say whatever you want about the guy, but simply put, he can MASH. And he does not seem like he is slowing down.

With CC, the Yankees get an ace, but there is always so much risk signing pitchers to long term deals. IMO, I see Mussina coming back. I just do not feel like this was his last year. As for Andy, I would like to cut ties with him. I just do not like what I saw at the end of the year. I would like to see Phil and IPK in the rotation, again. I am not ready to give up on IPK. Personally, I would like to bring back Pavano for a one year incentive laced deal. I feel like he has something to prove, and could at least pitch better then league average.

Thank you Obsessions

Just because the Angels need Teix more than the Red Sox, doesn't give the Angels an advantage in acquiring him. The Angels have $25 million coming off the books, the Red Sox have $40 million coming off the books. The Red Sox are clearly in a position to give Teixeira the more expensive contract.

"Hopefully Yankees get Mark Teixeira, Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett...Hopefully, they pick up Damaso Marte's option as well"

I hope you're saying this as someone who's rooting against the Yankees, cause that's a pretty ridiculously ill advised agenda right there.

Obsessions..I agree with you on the homegrown thing. But the discussion was about the players, not the impact they have had this year or in the future.
The Yanks have and have had a good minor league system for the past few years, good not great, but it certainly is not the crap the haters try to make it seem like.

"now as for you delutional redsox fans.. understand this if the yankees want them the yankees get them you cant win a bidding war against the yankees cause money is of absolutley no issue whatsoever ......remember your not the yankees your a small town team ...you dont get who you want.....you get who the yankees dont want."

Daisuke Matsuzaka argues otherwise.

turnthe2..
I read it, but the farm is more than just drafting. I agree, they lack when it comes to drafting. However they have a strong record of signing players from Latin America and have recently gotten some young guys in the deals for RJ & Sheffield.
Also, I have no issue with drafting comparrisons with teams like the Sox, but let's not compare what the Yanks do with what the Rays do. When you have the #1 pick for 11 years in a row, you had better have some impact players, if not, someone needs to look at the scouting dept and the front office.

We did not need Dice K that much. And you guys kinda over paid for him also.

"Wrong. The Yankees pitching has been similar for 3 years. Last year was their best team era year out of the last 3. The only difference was that their 900 run offense dropped down to the mid 700's this year. It has been discussed here before. The Yankees offense was what killed them in 2008. Not their pitching. Not at all. Like I said, the pitching has been about the same since 2006. In 06 and 07, the yankees scored a ton of runs, and in 08, they scored close to 200 less then they did in 06/07. Their pitching improved slightly."

Your argument is rendered effectively meritless when you consider the fact that the Yankees outscored the AL pennant winner, heck, they outscored the alleged offensive juggernaut of the Angels by a pretty decent margin. The only thing your argument proves is that the Yankees' pitching has been inconsistent for years, which is something I'd never argue against. Pitching has been the Yankees' most clear and obvious need for years now and nothing they have done has corrected it. Unless the Yankees sign a solid ace, they are doomed to either missing the playoffs entirely or yet another first round exit.

Hell, the Sox managed to make a great run in the postseason, but when you boil it down, the problem was they were outpitched. It's commonly accepted that great pitching beats great hitting any day of the week.

You need a good combination of pitching and offense to win consistently. The Yankees have a good offense, but mediocre overall pitching.

Paul Byrd, a Pirate? Yikes. We don't need another Matt Morris.

0bessions-
Whoops. That should read...
LF - Manny/Matsui/Damon
RF - Abreu

And though I agree that Teix would be a great signing. I personally do not like that eventaully someone has to go to first. Whether it is Posada, or one of the catching prospects, or less likely Jeter.

Obsessions..
I posted this in another thread, but it bears repeating.
In 2008 the Yankees lost FIVE games where Darrell Rasner gave up 4 or fewer runs. Add in the 2 they lost when Moose gave up 2 and 3 runs and the Yanks would have been right in the playoff mix. Granted the pitching hasnt been great by any stretch of the imagination, but in 2008 the bigger problem was the offense, or lack thereof. I believe the Yanks were near the bottom of all 30 teams when it came to hitting with RISP.
If Rasner gives up 3 runs and you are the Yankees, you HAVE to win those games.

TurnThe2, its a retrospective article. We all know the Yankees ignored the draft for too long, that's nothing new, but Olney talking about 1997-2005 doesn't really matter when it comes to analyzing their minor league system in 2008. BP ranked them 3rd heading into 2007, 6th coming into 2008. I'll even grant that they should be dropping after a terrible high draft, but they aren't anywhere near as desolate as you may want them to be.

BTW

Did Mike Mussina retire or something? How is he not a Top 50 or not even a Honarable Mention.

Toweny..
Signing Tex and CC IS tossing out tons of money.
Why do you think they can't afford it anymore? Are they going broke all of a sudden?
They can afford what they chose to afford.

yankfan1 mosse was #11

Moose is Number 11

Thirty5Thirty6,

We have not seen the full outcome of the Sheff trade but what are the rankings on these players? how have they helped the farm like yankeesgirl49 has been claiming?

There are tons of players who sit in the minors for years and years and do nothing. What help have they established? I can name off a ton of Sox prospects but that doesn't mean squat. I love the sox but I'm not about to scream to high heaven how great Lars Anderson is. Until a player reaches the bigs, really they are just fillers until deemed worthy or needed.

Towney why would the yankees have moved giambi at the trade deadline? Incase you forgot they were buyers at the deadline not sellers?

I'm not a "hater" you rebutled me and i back....and now you come up with "everyone hates the yankees cause they win" spare me.

I respect that they have put together some good teams and hate how they have contributed some to the economic state of the game. And one day they may make a mistake they can't recover from.

The Yankees are going to spend, but they can't buy every FA. I expect CC and Lowe to be suiting up for the pinstripers next year.

Whatever happened to Yu Darvish? Tazawa isn't in the top 50 either?

Turn..I wasnt referring to you with the term hater..it was a general statement. Thats why I put it in a separate post from the one I responded to you with.
I actually appreciate your insight in your posts. They make a lot more sense than a lot of others I read here, and elsewhere, even if I dont always agree with them. You know as well as I do, that there are a whole lot of people that rip and are negative about the Yanks no matter what they do, just for the sake of hating them.

"In 2008 the Yankees lost FIVE games where Darrell Rasner gave up 4 or fewer runs. Add in the 2 they lost when Moose gave up 2 and 3 runs and the Yanks would have been right in the playoff mix."

And the Sox lost NINE games where Tim Wakefield gave up four or fewer runs and eight of those had him giving up three or less. Those nine games alone would've put the Sox as the top team in the MLB. Hell, Jon Lester only gave up three runs in game seven of the ALCS, but did you see the Sox in the World Series?

That's less indicative of the quality of the offense and more indicative of the quality of the opposing pitching. The Yankees still finished in the top ten offenses in the MLB last season. If you've got a team stacked with power hitters like they do, it's kind of ludicrous to lay the blame at the offense's feet when your rotation consists primarily of Andy Pettite, a musical chairs game consisting of rookies and Sidney Ponson plus one actually consistent pitcher in Mussina combined with a bullpen featuring guys like Marte and Farnsworth at alternating parts of the season, I think it's pretty clear where the blame lies.

Their offense was full of quality sluggers and good overall hitters, but their pitching staff has not been able to put together a consistent season since 2004. Common sense says that's their primarily problem.

yankee fans are so stupid...the team that they fielded last year really wasnt that great...your pitching was horrible and when you have a bad season like this one you go out and try to buy everyone saying that you basically have "unlimited and money and will do whatever it takes to get sabathia"...if it were up to me there would be a 150 mm salary cap so that the yankees would actually have to get some talent for themselves

"And the Sox lost NINE games where Tim Wakefield gave up four or fewer runs and eight of those had him giving up three or less."

That's because they were missing Varitek's bat in the lineup.

Mike Lowell- 34 and coming off major hip surgery owed 2/24. Yea youre right they wont have to eat money if they trade him for a bag of range balls

"...understand this if the yankees want them the yankees get them you cant win a bidding war against the yankees cause money is of absolutley no issue whatsoever."

"They can afford what they chose to afford."

...and you wonder why people hate Yankees fans! You actually think that's a GOOD thing. I like THAT team; the one that tries to BUY their championships. Ugh. Where's the fun in rooting for an organization like that? Sure, they'll win, but at what cost? You have no connection to the players and the business side of baseball begins to bleed onto the field. Awesome. The Yanks are the baseball equivalent of Walmart. As an O's fan, I have to find my pleasures wherever I can and NOTHING has brought me more pleasure over the past several years than watching the Evil Empire slowly crumble. Here's hoping you get everything you ask for...and that it blows up in your faces.

As an O's fan, I have to find my pleasures wherever I can and NOTHING has brought me more pleasure over the past several years than watching the Evil Empire slowly crumble.

That is so unbeleivably pathetic. Maybe if peter angelos pried open that big wallet of his you could have had a few better teams to root for since 83. Although I guess if my team made about 150 mil a year and payroll was only 68 mil id be bitchy too.

Um, Wong, if you're team had ever won, or had good investors, or good GMs over the years, you would have a high payroll team now. The Red Sox will probably be a 150$ mil. team in the season, Yankees at 180...why? Because the fans come to their games. They come to the games because the team wins. Don't whine because the other team doesn't get enough fans in the seats, etc.

2 world series in 5 years is not a dynasty.

RSD,

You continue to prove why you shouldn't have a right to post on this board. I try to debate points with other people. You simply whine, hoping people will agree with your biased opinions.

Wong,

Ah, my mistake. Good post then.

My bad I kinda skimmed through it.

Tommy... Tim has a job. That's why you're on this site. Great feedback there though. Really constructive. Sheets is a gamble, but if the Braves bring in Ibanez, land Peavy, and sign Sheets... that gamble could make legitimate World Series contenders soon.

Do all Red Sox/Yankee fans just completely rule out the Angels as re-signing Teixeira? The whole "we're going to sign every huge free agent!!" mentality is always good for kicks I suppose though. If Tex is smart, he'll stay in LA. Less pressure, nicer weather, and a younger team that's going to be better for a long time.

But hey, Tex makes perfect sense for the Red Sox because the Twins will just welcome Mike Lowell for $24MM with open arms, despite his age and injuries this season. Those small and middle market teams will gladly take your garbage, because in a perfect world, everything works out for the East Coast teams. Hey, maybe Minnesota will even do something nice and give you Kevin Slowey or Scott Baker for Lowell! Yeah! There's some Beantown Logic...

(Apologies in advance to Red Sox/Yankee fans who don't have their heads up their asses, I realize you're out there, it just unfortunately seems that you're too few and far between at times)

I could see Jason Giambi to the Diamondbacks. They need power, shift CoJack to LF, do something with Byrnes, and trade Tracy.

He'd come cheap, and DBacks can easily get back in playoffs with quality power bat.

Only problem is Byrnes. Eric Byrnes.

the twins just signed mauer, morneau, nathan, and cuddyer to contracts. they didn't resign torii hunter because he is in the downturn in his career and he's not worth 18 million dollars a year, especially on a team with a 60/70 million dollar payroll. Santana was traded because he was a diminishing AL pitcher, just look at the stats. He is much better in the NL and once again, wouldn't have been worth the money for the midmarket twins. The twins should be commended for what they do as a mid-market team, they've won 4 divsion titles since 02 and have been in contention 6 of the last 7 years.

MorneauVP, I would like to point out that while Hank may want to abolish the NL, Theo & Co. may not want to as they love sweeping them in the WS.

More like Johan forced our hand. I will admit that package is better than what we got, but that was not available when we asked for best offers and you must count the advantage of having Johan in the NL. It was a rookie GM in Bill Smith that made about a C- trade. and RSD Neshek is a key part to our bullpen and a huge reason we struggled last year. If you think we will even consider more than a B level prospect for Lowell with the sox eating 1/2 to 2/3 of his salaries you are on something.

Now people are going to complain about the Yankees left field porch. Let me hear it.

Den Orath,

Thats exactly what I'm talking about. You guys overplayed your hand, when the Sox called they said take it or leave it and you won't get this offer again.

That's where the Twins screwed up, they tried to make this a very long process, and it was.

Instead, you guys get Deolis Guerra (of course with the rest of junk).

I never could understand that, why take a 19 year old single A pitcher when you could have players ready to go.

The Jacoby package would be looking good now too.

Beyond me.

Soxcurse, the Twins know they got screwed in the deal and the packages the Sox and Yanks were offering were much better. The only reason they didn't take those offers is because they wanted him in the NL so the only time they'd face him is in the WS.