Odds & Ends: Holliday, Putz, Lopez, Teahen, Reds

i was hoping to be able to read about feliz you might want to change the title

coincidentaly jamie moyer who happens to be very old throws a good cutter maybe a cutter or a knuckleball are the secrets to longevity

Per DOB:

"By the way, Huddy did an interview today on 680 The Fan, the new AM flagship station of the Braves’ ratio network. He was talking about taking less to stay here and how his agent kept asking the Braves for this or that in the new deal.

“Sometimes you have to tell your agent that I’m happy here, and you work for me,” Hudson said.

Gotta love that."

I agree with DOB, what a sweet thing to say. I'll be happy to see him pitch for the next three years.

*Masset

*put such a strain.

in teh josh hamilton book: beyond belief, Marianoo threw hambone a change up in spring training 06 and he was completely lost. anyone read that

Giving Mo a 1 year deal is insulting. If I were the yanks, I'd give him 3 years/50 mil and a mutual option for a fourth.

I'm pretty sure he got released/outrighted by the Red Sox.

Is Mo's contract really an issue? I was under the impression he was still under contract for a year or two. The Yankees have always dealt with Rivera's contract when it expires and I see no reason to do otherwise here. Sure, I want him back, but no need to deal with that just now.

-JM

"Sorry to tell you man but Chris Duncan is on the BOSTON RED SOX ROSTER! He was traded for Julio Lugo this past season during the trade deadline. "

Actually he never made the roster, was optioned immediately to AAA and the and a few weeks later was released, so he is a FA.

“I’m serious. I hope the organization does whatever it takes to bring me back.” - Mariano Rivera

I respect Rivera for what he's done and how good he's been but I have to say this sounded a little odd to me. It almost sounds as if he's speaking about himself in the third person. Assuming he himself knows what it would take for the organization to bring him back it seems odd that he'd use the term "whatever it takes" when referring to his future status with the Yankees, almost like a preemptive, public relations strike. It sounds like he's planting a seed in the fans heads that if he's not back then the Yankees didn't try hard enough. I guess it's too much to assume that most fans know negotiations are a two way street and if he really only cared about staying with the Yankees he could do "whatever it takes" on his end to make it happen as well.

the Matt Holliday to the Yankee rumors are going to be blasted all over this site until he signs his next contract and it is going to be 75% media speculation and 25% Boras looking to drive the price up.

I just don't see Holliday fitting into the direction the Yankees are going. I know we are going to hear about how the Yankees spent on CC, Burnett and Tex last season so why wouldn't they do it again this year but it is a completely different situation.

A.) Starting pitching was a desperate need for the Yankees last offseason. That is why they went after the top targets on the market in CC and AJ
B.) Texiera is one of the best players in the game, definitely a top 10 candidate, maybe top 5.....while Holliday is a good player he is not in the same league as Tex. He does not play a premier position, is not a switch hitter, and is a great player to add to a team, but not a player you build around, which Tex ultimately is.
C.) The Yankees already have stated they have interest in bringing Damon back showing they are not concerned with adding a superstar to play left
D.) Cashman had to convince the Yankees brass to shell out money for Tex meaning that they were already at the threshold of what they were willing to spend. They were looking to keep their payroll at roughly $180 mil last year before Cash convinced the Yankees brass to sign Tex, so now why would the Yankees be willing to spend even more by bringing in Holliday.
E.) The Yankees had the highest scoring offense in baseball last year without Holliday and also with Arod hurt. Offense is not the priority. Defense and pitching is.