The mere chance of such an intergalactic summit should dramatically increase the chance of Manny becoming a Yankee. For starters, it shows the franchise has not flatly rejected Machado and his huge price tag. (Interesting: There is no talk - yet - of a meeting with Bryce Harper.) Secondly, it would give Manny a chance to address the slivers of DNA that still link the House of Stein crown prince to his all-or-nothing father.
In the previous millennium, a meeting between Old George and a free agent - be it Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Hideki Irabu, Jason Giambi or even Carl Pavano - inevitably led to a signing. The session had the effect on George that the Saudis' souped-up Radio Shack electro globe had on Trump. It made him believe. (Whether the players delivered, well, that's another story.) George was always a sucker for any player who wanted to be a Yankee.
This winter, there are six such free agents.
Machado's Yankee desires were outlined last summer by a cousin. Growing up, Harper made no secret about his goal of playing in the Bronx. Same with Patrick Corbin, who grew up in North Syracuse, a Yankee hotbed. JA Happ has said he wants to return, as did Zach Britton and David Robertson, who recently upped the ante, suggesting he will play near his Rhode Island home. Translation: the Yanks, Redsocks or Mets.
Food Stamps Hal won't meet with all of them. But if he's truly planning a sit-down with Manny, we will learn once and for all if he is his father's son. Because all Machado will have to do is hang his head, say that his anti-hustle statements were misquoted, or misconstrued, and - if he can keep from cracking a smile - all will be forgiven. It's the Steinbrenner way... that is, if Hal is really a Steinbrenner.
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Here's a radical idea. Sign them all. Every one of them. Then trade away everyone from this year's team who gets replaced, preferably for great prospects. And get rid of the marginal players, including Bird. We're stuck with Sanchez, since there aren't any great catchers up for grabs. That's OK. Give him another year to prove himself.
What we need to do is scarf up all of the star free agents possible. Sign 'em. Pack the team with guys every team wishes it could afford. In five years, when they're past their prime, cut 'em, regardless of how much money they're owed. Just cut 'em. And sign more stars along the way.
It's time we really were the Evil Empire. Take no prisoners. We should trash the coaching staff while we're at it, but that seems less likely. Just spend, spend, spend. The money will come flowing in for years, and Hal will end up richer than ever. We'll be the All-Star Yankees--every position jammed with name brand players with big contracts.
We might even win some championships. Who knows? Whatever is happening now sure doesn't work.
They'll talk to Harper. Everyone is dealing with Bryce's sticker shock. Once the price goes down, he'll be starting at !B or CF.
A meeting between Hal and Manny is like a certain US President meeting with a certain Crown Prince to discuss strategies for eliminating meddlesome reporters.
Over caviar and tea.
Truth is, John M., signing free agents is the only way Coops was ever able to build his 1, more-or-less champion, in 2009.
Of course, even then, the core of the team—The Great One, Jetes, Posada, and Pettitte—had still been provided by his predecessor. But for once, he managed to ink three guys who worked out for at least a season, CC, A.J., and On-the-Mark.
Much as we will inevitably come to loath Harper and Machado, that could happen again.
What's more, they are almost unprecedented in being established stars at such a young age.
The peak age for baseball players is 28. After that—doping aside—it's only a question of how quickly or slowly you decline. That's why smart teams don't usually build their teams around free agents, but bring them in to complete squads that are close to championship caliber.
With both Bryce and Manny, we're talking two guys on the plus side of that 28, for three seasons.
That's almost unheard of. We would probably see them continue to get better for those three years, which for free agents is a huge bonus. Figure another 3-4 years of them being at least good after that...and then who cares, really?
The one problem: Hal cares, that's who. He sees huge, continuing expenditures for guys who by that time will not be increasing his revenue in any way.
Uh-oh.
John M,
I could get on board with that. I would watch...
1B Harper
2B Gleybar
SS Machado
3B AnDUjar
LF Stanton
CF Hicks
RF Judge
C Sanchez
With a Staff of
Corbin
Paxton
Sevi (or trade per hoss.)
Tanaka
CC (and Happ if Sevi gone)
and/or as Hoss suggests... sign Happ and trade Sevi now to replenish the minors. Although given how young and star laden the above is I don't know where they would play. I guess Sevi for future pitching.
Sevi aside... if that's who they put on the field I wouldn't even mind if they raised the stadium price of PBR to a dollar an ounce. And why don't they sell beer by the ounce?
Last, in line with Hoss' fear from earlier (since tempered by 13 bit) I think Boston signs Corbin as a double dagger.
Doug K.
I used to enjoy the Hot Stove stuff, especially when we were winning. And let's not forget that, aside from the aberration of 2009, we have actually sucked for a lot longer than 10 years Think about it.
Anyway, I used to like the offseason stuff, the horse trading, etc, but now I'm just tired of the predictable, old kabuki dance. Same old shit. Same old hackneyed phrases, same old PR bullshit. And the same old stupid moves. Cashman is not a good GM. His track record of mediocrity is overwhelming.
I LIKE ALPHONSO'S HYPOTHETICAL ...
HAL, MANNY, THE CROWN PRINCE, AND TRUMP.
DO WE WANT TO HEAR BULLSHIT THAT MAKES NO SENSE?
I AGREE, TRUMP IS WRONG HERE...SIMPLE... DON'T PLAY BLIND. (...BUT MONEY WINS OUT HERE DOESN'T IT?...RIGHT OR WRONG).
HAL IS RIDICULOUS.
HE WILL QUESTION MANNY LIKE TRUMP WOULD THE CROWN PRINCE, AND IN THE END, HAL WILL SIGN MACHADO, EVEN THOUGHT THE GUILT IS THERE AND IT WILL NEVER BE RESCINDED.
CRAZY WORLD.
Again, I'm conflicted here.
The best thing to do would be to fire Coops, and clear out his largely ineffective collection of scouts and coaches.
BUT...Hal is NEVER going to do that (apologies to ALL-CAPS, but it's worth stealing his upper case to make the point).
So...if Coops is NOT going to go, what do you do with him?
Well, the only way he wins is by signing free agents...sooooo—sign some free agents!
Harper? I HATE the idea! The guy strikes out way too much, seems to vanish every other year, and is not terribly clutch.
Manny? I HATE the idea! He seems to be Jogginson in training, and a real turkey.
Corbin? I HATE the idea! At least, now that we hear that his arm is about to go.
If this were my organization, I would start at the top, bring in the best baseball men I could find, and have them build for many years ahead.
But this ain't that. Sad fact? The BEST we can hope for is...Harper, Manny, and if not Corbin, then Happ.
That would at least be entertaining.
And 13bit, I have to disagree. I know what you're saying: after 2001, it always seemed like this team was off, somehow, even when it was winning the most games in baseball. But they didn't suck.
Those years were at least entertaining, even if frustrating. They were at least good-faith (if incompetent) efforts to win it all.
This will be different.
This is going to be Hal PRETENDING he's going all in...but looking to save money.
In other words, we won't get Manny or Bryce. But we won't get them because they're suspected bums, and we prefer to build from within.
We won't get them because Hal doesn't want to spend the bucks. Because he is more interested in his Pigeons than his Pinstripers.
This is the end of the Yankees as we have know them for a hundred years. Prepare to be just like any other team and its fans.
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