1. Jacoby Ellsbury will be our $21 million fourth OF
2. Starlin Castro is set as Yankee 2B.
3. Chase Headley is the leading candidate to play 3B, though Glyber Torres might compete in Tampa.
4. CC Sabathia might be replaced in the rotation, if the Yankees sign the Japanese Babe Ruth - aka the "Japanbino."
All of this should be absorbed through one critical filter:
Cashman never reveals his plans in public. Never.
(By the way, that's not a knock. Though this will disappoint many of you, I am hereby on the Cashman Is Doing Fine bandwagon. How can this be?
Well, we took the World Champs to the mat, we have a young team, our farm system is popping, and we might even ditch that hated luxury tax in time to buy Manny Machado next year. Listen: If we are going to scream at Cashman when times are bad, we must give credit when the Yankees are going well. Let's also praise Cash for doing the right thing and firing Joe Girardi - a tough move that simply needed to happen.
Note: I will still mock him as "Cooperstown," because I don't believe executives and owners belong in the Hall. It's a sacred place for players, those rawboned idiots who crash into walls and drink themselves silly - all for us. Pencil-pushers have no place there. Besides, they get to honor themselves, and if you look around, there is no shortage of statues and street names for those who never once took a fastball to the ribs.)
It's that simple. Brian Cashman never tells us his plans. Clearly, he sees no gain in it. Talks with reporters don't matter. We must simply try to go about our daily lives, clinging to the hope that Ellsbury will be traded, that Starlin Castro isn't the long-term solution at 2B, and that Miguel Andujar will not rot in Scranton. Cooperstown is courting the Japanbino. Let's hope he learned how NOT to do the Asian peace handshake.
I kind of bristle at the idea that anyone named Manny would ever be a Yankee. No doubt this is from deep-rooted memories of "Manny being Manny" as part of the Beantown Boobies.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about Castro. He seemed to be doing great, and then everything kind of broke down. Defense, offense, table manners (or so I assume). Definitely not ready to cede centerfield to Hicks. The guy had a partial very good year, injury, and then reverted back to his normal offensive mediocrity and worse. Jury is still very far out.
Here's the big question: will the Japanese Ruth be a Babe or a Gordon? She was great in "Harold and Maude," but I don't know if the front office has an appreciation for dark comedy and counterculture behavior. Not all of these Japanese players end up being what they were cracked up to be (RIP, Toad). A reason for some concern if we do end up signing him.
JAVIER VASQUEZ......
ReplyDeleteTWICE.
CARL PAVANO AND STEPHEN DREW...
ONCE.
I can't believe they fired the Binders without a replacement plan.
ReplyDeleteAnd I take exception to the Mets sharing that back page. Let's be real, the Mets are nowhere near the discussion for Ohtani.
EXACTLY LEINSTERY....
ReplyDeleteTHE MET LOVING MEDIA IS, AS USUAL, TRYING TO MAKE THE METS RELEVANT. (FAKE NEWS).
OTANI WON'T GO TO A N.L. TEAM (HE WON'T BE ABLE TO HIT, EXCEPT WHEN HE PITCHES)- THAT'S NOT WHAT HE WANTS.
.....AND OF COURSE, ANY MONEY IS TOO MUCH MONEY TO THE METS.
NO SHOT.
Unless he inks the Russian "twins", I don't think I can get on his bandwagon.
ReplyDeleteI am balancing luck with skill.
If we get the Japanese hitter /pitcher, that will be cool. It is only Hal's bonus.
I don't like moving Chad Greene back to starter. This bodes of Joba. The guy is a killer now, in middle/late innings. Why screw that up?
I agree with you, ALL-CAPS and Leinstery. The Mets are not serious...about anything. This is the sort of news they make to pretend that they are still players.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think Alphonso is right: keep Greene in the pen.
Meanwhile, it makes me nervous to see, on other, less erudite Yankees sites, how ginned up everybody is for a big, catastrophic trade for Giancarlo Stanton. That guy has disaster written all over him, between the constant injuries and the probable juicing. Let somebody else take the risk.
All the talk about trades forced by Rule 5 and the like aside, it strikes me that this has to be the Yanks' basic roster, moving forward over the next few years:
ReplyDeleteC
Sanchez
Romine (or some reasonable facsimile thereof)
INF
Bird
Cooper
Torres
Didi
Andujar
Taylor
OF
Judge
C. Frazier
Hicks
Austin
McKinney and/or Cave
P
Severino
Tanaka (if the arm lasts)
Montgomery
Gray (now that we're stuck with him)
CC (maybe, at a much-reduced price)
Otani (get him get him get him)
Warren
Greene
Kahnle
Robertson
Chapman
FUTURE PLAYERS TO BE PLUGGED IN, IF AND WHEN THEY MATURE
INF
Mike Ford
Thairo the Pharaoh
Kyle Holder
OF
Florial
P
Adams
Sheffield
Cessa
Abreu
German
Tate
Assorted others
Those, to me, are the untouchables, at least for now, and barring jaw-droppingly one-sided trade offers, or can't miss free-agent signings.
Which means that we must, sooner or later, get rid of:
Castro
Headley
Ellsbury
Gardner (sorry, Brett)
Toonces (unless we can somehow revive him)
That is a lot to trade with, actually.
ReplyDeleteI don't know every team and what every team needs, but I have a hard time imagining any of the other 29 would give up anything for Headley or Ellsbury. What need does either one fill? Even if you pick up $9 million of Headley's deal or $50 million of Ellsbury's contract....?
I envision Cashman offering one of those tools in a trade -- and the GM on the other end of the proposal laughing his ass off. Into the phone. Into Cashman's ear.
I'm not sure which genius signed Ells to that miserable contract. But if it was Cashman and Cashman alone (i.e., not Hal sticking his nose where it doesn't belong) --- his status as a genius ought to be re-evaluated.
I HEAR YOU JOE, BUT BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WITH ALL THIS SABERMETRIC CRAP, THE NUMBERS HEADLEY HAD ARE PRETZEL-TWISTED INTO INFERRING THAT HE HAD A SOLID YEAR. HOPEFULLY COOPERSTOWN CASHMAN CAN CONVINCE ANOTHER SABER-MONGER GM TO TAKE HIM. (OF COURSE, HE WILL NEED TO PICK UP PROBABLY HALF HIS SALARY).
ReplyDeleteWE CAN ALL ADMIT HEADLEY WAS IMPROVED THIS YEAR (AFTER MOVING TO FIRST BASE WHERE HE DOESN'T BELONG.
.....BUT WHAT SABERMETRICS REALLY DON'T SHOW, IS THE COUNTLESS, PATENTED, "HEADLEY-CERTIFIED" GROUND OUTS TO 2ND BASE IN THE CLUTCH, OR WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE.
FOR THOSE, YOU HAVE TO WATCH THE GAMES....(ALL THE GAMES).
.....PLUS LETS NOT FORGET THE CONSTANT FEAR OF THE PATENTED HEADLEY "AIR-MAIL" THROW FROM 3RD ON EVERY SINGLE BALL HIT TO HIM.
FEAR IS ANOTHER THING THAT DOESN'T SHOW UP ON THE SABERMETRIC BOARD.
You know what it is Horace? They have to say it so their fans don't call for their heads anymore than they already do. For whatever reason the Mets' brass doesn't mind putting out an embarrassing team, but they hate being called out on it.
ReplyDeleteANONYMOUS you have me thinking with all that flack on Headley. How many games did they lose this year because Chris Carter couldn't field? How many more because he couldn't hit? And let's keep in mind he put CC on the DL because he extended an inning by dropping a throw, so those spot start games count as losses on him too. Jeez, those were some of the darkest days I can remember.
Is Chris Carter the worst regular position player this team has ever trotted out for an extended period of time?
Good points all around, guys.
ReplyDeleteYes, Headley was SOMEWHAT better this year, and even SOMEWHAT more clutch. But probably most of that had to do with the fact that his bad back took less of a beating at first.
But as ALL-CAPS says, he does not belong at first, where by my count there are at least three guys ahead of him (four, if you count Tyler Austin, which I would). He deserves a laurel and hardy handshake, good-bye.
And yes, Chris Carter was one of the very worst Yankees, ever. I think the standard is still Charlie Smith, our third baseman in 1967, a singularly terrible player, both at bat and in the field.
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