Odds & Ends: Yankees, Varitek, Sheffield

"[Chris Ruddick] isn't opposed to letting Tony LaRussa and Matt Holliday walk"

seriously, who cares what Chris Ruddick is in favor of or opposed to?

Mauer might in his heart wanna stay with the twins, but he will not unless they pony up and grab some talent to make them contenders, not first round doormats.

3 players are out there to be had that could sway his decision to stay.

1. JJ hardy, alot of teams are going to be after him, and its possible a liriano + perkins/ solid prospect could grab him.

2. Kevin Kouzmanoff. If this guy is going to be as good as he can be, he needs to get out of San Deigo. the Pads dont want to pay him or Heath Bell and for a solid package, both could be had.

These 2 moves would settle the left side of the infield and give the twins a solid lefty for possible setup and relief of Mijares in the bullpen.

For those who think Kouz is junk, his home/ road splits are drastically different. Like to the tune of .282 bavg outside of Petco,and he still had 18 hr and 88 rbis on a bad offensive Pads team, stik him at Target field next year in a lineup with Cuddyer, Mornaeu, Mauer and Kubel, and possibly Hardy, and he will blossom. Not to mention he just set a MLB record for only 3 errors at 3b over the season.

No, You let Damon walk. At all costs. This guy hurts the Yankees in more ways then one. Watching him on an everyday basis is just pitiful. His range/arm in the Outfield is horrendous and although he had a solid season offensively this season, brining him back over Matsui would be a Mistake. I would bring back Matsui as the DH and then repursue Bobby Abreu if i was NY but thats just me

Chris Ruddick of the Sports Network doesn't know what the &3!! he's talking about. That's a bunch of weak analysis based on third-hand rumors from a month ago coupled with poor understanding of stats and small sample sizes. Bay over Holliday? Why? Three sub-par games against top-notch pitching and a fluke dropped catch?

Also, what basis does he have for suggesting Bobby Valentine as the upcoming manager, or that La Russa should leave? He writes, "Sure he hasn't really done anything to lose his job, but 14 years is a long time."

Very poor article with virtually no insight. Who is this guy?

here we go again with the "Giants dont have enough money" excuse

we all know they have money as they were pursuing Manny Ramirez last year and Sabean lied to us all last year when he said he would trade for a power hitter at the deadline since they could add payroll

Neukom said the team can add payroll so Sabean might as well come out and say he's afraid to give Holliday or Bay a big deal because money is not the issue

NO!! please dont get Marlon Byrd the only reason he had 20 homers was because he was with Texas
he'll be another Rowand in SF
DeRosa, Dye or Nady would be OK but Sabran will overpay for any of those guys

and I dont really want Tejada he is getting too old

they should try to trade for Dan Uggla instead and sign one of Nady, Dye, or DeRosa if they're not getting Holliday or Bay

Bleacher Bum,

I agree Tejada is getting old, but he likely could be had for a short term contract and more than likely will put up the best numbers of any of the guys mentioned above (excluding Bay and Holliday). I might even take him at two years over the Giants signing Bay or Holliday to a five year deal that could impload on the team down the line.

I agree Byrd won't hit 20 homers again next year if he comes to SF, but I think he'd have a higher average/OBP than Rowand. Still not a signing to make you renew your season tickets though.

Ugh. That should read,

"By the way, Tejada's numbers aren't really that great. His OPS was .795 this year and just .729 in 2008."

Nady over Byrd with the Giants. Like Bum I don't trust Texas hitters (except Hamilton and Kinsler). Nady has a decent track record in the NL. How about 3 yrs 22M-25M. Then Resign Uribe and Sanchez.

RF Velez/Schierholtz
2nd Sanchez
3rd/1st Sandoval
LF Nady
SS/3rd Uribe/Rentawreck
CF Rowand/Velez
C Posey
1st Ish/Garko

I believe Nady would be a nice upgrade over Molina in the 4 hole. Add to that a full year of Sanchez. While not a huge upgrade this lineup could be around 10th in the NL in runs.

How come the Giants have no money? What's their payroll?

As a Reds fan I'd like to see our next pitching coach be (in order):
Dave Duncan
Bryan Pryce
Rick Peterson
Ted Power
Mario Soto

I think people are being too short-sighted with regards to the Matsui vs Damon idea. I like both players and truly admire Matsui for gutting out the last few years with his bad knees. I also admire him for his professional manner and love the way he swings the bat. However, he IS locked in as a DH only. He IS unable to contribute in the field and he IS somewhat one dimesnional right now. Damon is in a major slump right now (.235/.347 w/ 0 hrs in Sept/Oct) while Matsui has been on fire (.325/.426 w/ 5 hrs). However, there numbers are not that far apart overall:

Damon- .282/.365 w/ 36 dbls and 24 hrs and 71/98 bb/ko rate.
Matsui- .274/.367 w/ 21 dbls, 28 hrs and 64/75 bb/ko rate.

Of course Damon has about 100 more at bats than Matsui and fewer hrs but he still is a more durable player, can contribute defensively, has more speed and provides the Yanks with more flexibility.

If I were GM I would try and improve our defense in LF and have Damon DH the majority of the time and play about 30 games in the field. That keeps him fresh and his body sound. W/o playing the field 150 games a year he could easily be a solid .285/.375 25 hrs, 40 dbls and 20-25 SB guy next year. If the worst case scenario was having both back next year then I could even live with that so long as Cabrera and Gardner were used often to keep Damon fresh and provide better defense. Stay away from Bay and Holliday and don't let Matsui's feel good story blur you from making the best decision.

"Trading with Texas for Justin Smoak and another good reliever would be enough for me."

The Red Sox would never, ever get Smoak for Papelbon.

Paps is still a very good closer, but his salary is getting pretty high, he's all fastballs now, and he's not under team control for that long. Smoak is one of the best prospects in the game, and that's just not a remotely realistic expectation for a return from a Papelbon trade.

" The Sox might be able to pry away a catcher from Texas since both Salty and Teagarden had such poor years"

While I could possibly see Papelbon moved for a young hitter to make way for Bard, certainly not for either of those 2 catchers, there is a reason Boston refused to over pay before the 2009 season in prospects and no way the Sox would just hand over a good closer to texas for 2 catchers who have yet to prove they can hit worth a squat MLB pitching.

I don't know why the idea of Damon as a DH is being dismissed so quickly. Moving him to DH and bringing in a better defensive OF either at LF or CF (moving Cabrera to LF) would work fine. Regardless, of how or where Damon hit the majority of his HRs, he's proven he can be a force with the bat. If the Yanks DH'd him 75% of the time it would keep his body fresh (no more banging his back/knee into the wall on awkward plays) and no more pounding his legs all of those innings. A healthy and fresh Damon could easily post numbers of .285/.370 25-30 hrs, 35-40 dbls and 20 SB. He came close to that this year before slumping in Sep/Oct. His ability to play the LF 25% of the time allows the Yanks to spell other players at the DH spot while keeping Damon's bat in the line up. The only "cog" that might cause that to be a problem is if the Yanks want to play Cervelli full-time at C and Posada at DH. I don't think that will happen in 2010. I see Cervelli as the back up who starts 40 games though.

"Papelbon, Bowden, and Delcarmen for Teagarden and Smoak could work. I doubt Texas would complain about adding 3 good pitchers to a team that historically has none!"

Not really, no.

Delcarmen had a down year in 2009, Papelbon's getting expensive, and Bowden just isn't that impressive of a piece.

Smoak and Teagarden are both still good pieces, although Smoak is significantly better, and the Rangers probably wouldn't trade Smoak unless it was for an elite player.

Crawford isn't a FA until after 2010. Rays might be interested in moving him though for the right piece like Brian Wilson.

i would do it 60 steals is like sixty double if you look at ir that way
jermey would be a better closer any way

"Papelbon, Bowden, and Delcarmen for Teagarden and Smoak could work. I doubt Texas would complain about adding 3 good pitchers to a team that historically has none!"

The Rangers have very good pitching prospects in their minor league system and have Holland and Feliz ready to make their way into the rotation. They do not need Bowden and Delcarmen. They aren't trading Smoak in any deal, especially for a closer that is going to hit arbitration and be expensive.