After last night, perhaps you’d like to reconsider your defense of Mussina? That was a crucial game, sandwiched between a tough loss and a doubleheader with two unreliable starters. That was a time to step up. Moose didn’t get the job done.

You don’t spend 26 mil just to talk to a pitcher so he can be easier to trade – there is nothing positive to take from the Igawa signing – nothing. Cashman listened to the wrong people.

Since June 7, he has a 3.09 ERA and 6 of his 7 starts were Quality Starts in the very least (and his one non quality start he went 5 innings and gave up 2 earned runs).

Before June 7 he wasn’t in any kind of rhythm or trying to rebuild his arm strength (off days and injuries).

I know it is kind of in vogue to criticize the guy for needing conditions to be “exactly right,” but he hasn’t been an issue of late.

His peripherals (GB% FB% LD%) support this as well.

Also, I don’t think the Yankees signed him thinking he would be a number 1 starter for them this season. I think the expectation was for him to be a number 3 at best (with Wang and Pettitte besting him statistically) considering his age.

Don’t just offer what you don’t like.

One deal, that I think the Yanks could get done, is Mussina for Burrell. Philly doesn’t want/need him, and the Yanks could use a righty bat off the bench. He’s an expensive bat off the bench, but here’s the way I look at it.

The rotation with Hughes and Karstens (or Joba, or DeSalvo, or Clippard) is much better than the rotation with Mussina and Igawa. Salary-wise, Burrell is owed just about the same amount as Mussina, and his walk year is next season, so maybe you catch lightning in a bottle.

Farnsworth a boatload of cash for Betemit is a great deal for the Yanks, as far as I’m concerned.

My mentioing of the contract was to demonstrate that if Igawa could pull it together next year, or put up something similar to what the Yankees thought that they were getting. He would be much easier to trade.

In my opinion they could have done well to allow Rasner and Karstens fight it out for the fifth starter role, but the Igawa siging wasn’t as much about talent, but had more to do with splash as brxbmrs pointed out.

If we are going to get into the hypothetical time machine and sign a diferent pitcher, forget about Lily and go back and sign Gil Meche. Cashman mentioned interest in him last offseason, but nothing ever came of it. Now there is a guy that could have really helped us this year.

For Cashman to try and save 2.5 mil a year by hoping Igawa and Lilly would give you the same results again is ridiculous and shows a major flaw in Brians thinking.

Steinbrenner never put Cashman on a budget and by Brian trying to self-impose one on himself took away the only real advantage the Yanks have in building a current team – and that’s their checkbook.

I think Cashman was tired of being criticized for his huge payroll and didn’t have enough guts to tell the pundits to go fcuk themselves.

Cashy’s head is in the right place by trying to develop and protect the farm but it certainly took him long enough to realize this is what he should have been doing years ago – not just last year.

When you look at the bench and pen that Cash has put together the last 3 or so years, there is alot to criticize and I think its fair to wonder what a guy like Teryy Ryan or Billy Beane or Schuerholtz could have done with an unlimited payroll and their ability to nurture a farm.

The savings on lux tax is just a bad arguement. First, the Yanks have under 80 mil committed to payroll in 2009 so they technically only have to worry about 07 & 08.

Lilly’s 40 mil was back end loaded – he makes 5 mil this year and 7 mil next. Therefore he only makes 4 mil more than Igawa the next two – for a lux tax hit of 1.6 mil.

When you take into account that the Yanks put up 26 mil up front to talk to him and consider that they are losing over a mil in interest on that money, it makes even less sense.

Also, lux tax issues aside – Cashman committed more money to a guy who never pitched in the majors and one who he said was projected to be a #5 starter.

Nothing in this deal was reported honestly. There is alot at play here. One, Torre and Cashman never liked Lilly’s stuff. Two, I bet the Yanks wanted Igawa to increase their Japanese presence and were embarassed by losing the Dice-K sweepstakes.

Third, for Cashman to spend 46 mil on a bottom of the rotation starter is crazy, I am sure he thought he would be better than that and he listened to the wrong people – this is a major flaw with Boy Brian, he can not evaluate talent on his own.

I’m sure the Yanks thought that Igawa could be traded more readily if the Yanks developed Hughes, Joba, etal and had a surplus in the next few years, but the reality is they paid over 25 mil more in the first year for a guy who not only isn’t as good as Lilly, but doesn;t belong in the major leagues and may never have any value to anyone.

Using your logic, what is Igawa worth next year to another team if he has a “halfway decent” year? Is he worth $34 mil which is what the Yanks will have paid him after year two? Will the Yanks get anywhere near that in prospects or a major league caliber player? No way.

Kaat told Cashman that Meche was the best bang for the buck FA available, Cashman listened to the wrong guys – or caved into the wishes of guys like Levine who lose sight of what is truly important to the fans.

I think Lilly would be very useful, eating up innings. Add a half run or so to his ERA for the league difference and his ERA is still lower than that of any Yankee starter other than Wang. Also, unlike Igawa, Lilly has pitched a lot in the AL East, so he knows the competition. He would have been a good bridge for two seasons until the kids are ready. The final two years would probably have been a waste. Better that than four years of Igawa, which looks like a total waste. Unless he produces, no GM will take him in a trade (would you?). And if his future is in the bullpen as a long releiver, there were other cheaper options (Karstens, Rusner).

Probably best not to belabor the point, however. What’s done is done, and we cannot turn back the clock.